Ch 12 War Zone
The war on innocence had begun. The Joker's face was on everything that had a screen. The first phase of his plan was well under way. His thugs and criminals were spreading at a frightening pace through Cirque City. The Joker's techs and hackers were on a full assault already creating chaos with traffic lights and shutting off power to certain parts of the city. Police scrambled around unable to cipher between false and true orders, falling into devastating ambushes. Communication going in and out of the area ceased as the Joker gained control of satellites. Cirque City became engulfed in chaos.
"Cirque citizens! I beg you, please if you do not wish to join our most malevolent cause hehehehehe DIE!" more cackling followed as the last images of many a person seen was a laughing demented face. Gun fire rang out from all parts of the city. Shot after shot was followed by the thuds of fallen bodies. The smiling crazed Joker still laughed as his army continued their systematic destruction of the organized lives of the innocent.
On another com-line the Joker's voice came through as if talking to a lover he said, "It's time for phase two." Super powered villains replied by leaving swaths of destruction. Explosions began to become more frequent as figures rose into the sky flinging down before them lightning, fireballs and other unnatural projectiles. Monsters sprang forth from hiding spots using brute destructive force to rip people apart and to clear roads by throwing cars into buildings. The city was in turmoil as smoke from fires, short screams of pain, and bullets racked the air. A person could only run, could only hide, but neither for too long.
"Frank, get a tech to clear the com lines. We need to tell the cops where to gather. Be sure to tell them bring anybody they find and to ignore any other order. Go."
Liliana and her small army were emerging from the city's maintenance tunnels. They had already met opposition down below and now adrenaline pumped they were ready for more. Armored vehicles took up defensive positions and men ran out scanning for targets. Before Liliana could take a breath the newest intel was before her, maps and images taken from street cameras. Scanning the information orders began to fly from her mouth. "Alpha squad, take Hound and clear a path to Hidden Glen. Bravo, follow behind and check buildings for any survivors. Once at the rendezvous point let Sabir clear the building. Syko, take your men out on a hunting party. Take out as many of their 'gifted' as you can. Delta take your men and clean up any fodder Syko leaves behind. I'm out to find my father. Frank take your men and camp out somewhere. Be our eyes and ears. Move out."
Her men were off. Unknowing of the destruction ahead. Hound, the man who was something of a werewolf, led his squad down a grid locked street. Cars were stopped in horrible wrecks, and those that weren't in a crash were somehow set ablaze by some other force. Guttered shops looked like wailing faces of ghosts. There was blood splattered in a messy fashion in some spots. Hound couldn't remember when he smelled so much blood. This worried him…were they too late? A fog of strong musk surrounded him. It was a mix of two scents, both filled with testosterone and reeked of adrenaline. Not good.
"ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!"
A behemoth jumped down from five stories up, crushing a car with a resounding crunch of metal. Alpha Squad backed away firing rounds and looking for cover. Bullets would enter the monstrosity's body, tearing muscle and bone only to go right through. Something was wrong though it just stood there in its crouch taking hits and convulsing with the amount of impact. The creature's body was healing so quickly a round would hit and before a second had made impact, the skin was already flawless. The beast let out another spine tingling roar, this time charging with an intense glare in its eyes. Hate motivated this being as it swung swipe after swipe of deadly claws across men's chests. Hound reacted to the beast's sudden movement by changing into his own monster and tried desperately to intercept it as it attacked a third man. This really isn't good…He seized the beast before it could make a kill. With its head in his left hand he shoved his right claw down the beast's throat. It flailed uselessly against its assailant; it wasn't the only one who could regenerate. Hound decapitated the monster from the inside of its throat. A howl came from down the street. What now? A second monster had appeared. It was bigger and furrier. It opened its mouth and a let out a ball of fire that blazed down the street towards Alpha squad. It had its own men following it. Men outfitted with makeshift weapons along with the latest advancements. Gunfire opened with a new gusto. Hound ran straight for the fireball spitting thing with an unprecedented speed. A voice was talking to him on his headset; his only reply was a growl that was soon muffled in the neck of a man who just turned the corner. Hound was moving among them in a whirlwind of swipes, bites and kicks. Damn beast, where is it. As if reading his mind the reddish being of fur met Hound's claws with its own. The Joker's men around them started falling as Alpha squad shot lethal round after lethal round. The two beasts in the center of death were locked in a titanic battle of strength, neither resorting to another form of attack other than the grappling game they were already playing. Each taking the upper-hand when they found a fault in the other. This game ended when Hound began to tire, he suddenly used the other monsters strength and grip on his own hands as a gymnast does the pair of rings, lifting his legs up and shoving both feet into the opposition's face. His hands were freed, landing back on his feet Hound threw his weight into the chest of the still stumbling beast, jaws awaiting to feel veins pulsing beneath his teeth.
It was over for now, the body of the fallen beast lay on the ground sizzling into smoke as its head rolled further away. Hidden Glen wasn't too far and Alpha squad met only a few more grunts on the way.
"Bravo the way is clear, I repeat the way is clear."
"Copy that Alpha. We're on our way."
Alpha set up a perimeter within Hidden Glen Lodge. It was an apartment building whose first floor also acted as a hall complete with lobby and anteroom. It was only moments before Bravo came into sight with a little less than a hundred people in tow, half were police from the nearest police substation. Sabir was at the head of the large group. Dressed in the black robes of a desert man, he took the stairs with a grace that hinted a depth to the man.
A scimitar in hand Sabir looked Hound up and down and finally said, "Hound you look terrible, take a breather and I'll clear the upper floors."
"Thanks for your concerns, but please…just do your thing."
A smile slid into being on the assassin's tanned and worn face. "Bravo squad, I'll be right back." The man disappeared in a puff of smoke. The sound of a breath being taken in was barely audible somewhere on the second floor to anyone who was there. On the third floor, Joker's men prepared for their next assault. The sound of a breath went unnoticed as guns were loaded and the criminals approached the door to the stairs.
"So Mac, you're taking the other two down the stairs while me and Zac take the elevator with our machine guns right?"
"Yes man, god damn how many times do we gotta go over this?"
A swish sound cut through the air as a knife materialized in the back of Mac.
"I didn't mean it Mac, honestly…Mac? MAC!" a steel point protruded from the second man's throat.
Tatatatatatatat
Someone had opened fire on Sabir, but the rounds just sailed through the spot where he was standing.
"What the HELL! Where'd that bastard go?"
A whisper was all Zac heard before feeling something so cold slice into his neck. "Here"
The next minute happened in a blur. The rest of the Joker's men in the building had come running looking for an adversary. They were struck down by punches and hits to lethal points on the body. Before they fell to the ground Sabir was gone once more appearing on another floor clearing it and moving on again.
"Building cleared."
"Good, now Alpha and Bravo hold there and protect everyone we send there. Send any civilians to Hidden Glen Lodge. I'm still hunting. Keep the lines clear. Ringleader out."
"Great my friend, we're stuck puppy guarding," Sabir said to Hound as he appeared beside him downstairs. Hound began to rise from his seat on the ground.
"Yeah but I don't think we'll be bored," he gestured towards the group of gruff looking men who were following a select few garbed in strange robes.
Syko and his powered group were fighting off another surge of enemy. Blue, an old friend and comrade of the Ringleader, was the one to stumble across the enemy base. The Joker had armed this outfit with plenty of rockets, which were currently landing with explosions around Syko and Blue at the moment.
"I can't get a good look at them. How many do you think?"
"Can't say for sure but damn them for the artillery," Blue replied.
"Thurgood you're up. Wherever you are get rid of them. Me and Blue can't get a good shot."
Thurgood, the "ghost" man who can walk through walls and possess others, was seen running through straight into the gun fire then leaping straight into a grunt who tried falling back to get out of the way. Within a second the man who had fallen down was firing his rifle at his own men. The grunt was soon riddled with friendly fire as Thurgood fell from the dead man and jumped again into another body, possessing over and over again until at last there was just one man left who waved to Syko and Blue signing all clear.
"Too bad he wasn't originally on the good side," Syko commented to Blue.
"None of us were," was all the black man said before rushing into the building with an energy shield he created.
Syko shook his head and followed. They were falling behind schedule, and the original plans had changed. The Ringleader had disappeared since her last transmission. Delta and his men were continuing the original task of taking out powered individuals that were fighting for the Joker, while Syko, Blue, Thurgood, and the ever silent black mage searched the city for their leader.
The black mage once again fell in behind Syko and Blue as they entered the building. Thurgood, still in the possessed body was at the end of the hall with a rifle in hand. He motioned for silence as he pointed to a room whose door was firmly shut. Noises of movement kept the team intrigued. Syko took a position on the opposite side of Thurgood as Blue stood in front of it. The black mage whose name had yet to be given placed his hand on the wall. The team had already done this maneuver a million times today. Blue gathered energy from his surroundings. With a nod from the mage, the 6'3" hero dressed in blue threw a solid punch at the door and a longitudinal energy wave blasted the door across the room.
Syko was about to rush in when everything started to slow down. He watched as everything in the room and hallway began to ripple, as if he was looking through water. Crrrraaaaaaaaappppppp. This single thought seemed to take an eternity to fully complete…
The world started to make sense again as Blue found himself in a room. It was dark all around him and the only light was on him. It shone from above and somehow illuminated below him too, for he had no shadow. Strange…hmm…what was I doing? Another light appeared before him, a girl sat on the floor with her arms wrapped around the legs that were to her chest. She was quietly sobbing, letting out a cry every few seconds.
"Little girl?" he asked in what he hoped was a comforting tone. "Oh little girl?"
Sobbing was her answer as she turned her back on him. Blue took a step towards her trying not to move too quickly or scare her.
"Excuse me little girl, can I help you?"
"G-g-go away," she said in a sweet, hurt sobbing voice.
Another step closer, hand reaching out for her shoulder…contact. Nothing happened for a second, and Blue found himself really feeling good about what he was doing. Her sobs quieted slowly, as if his right hand was slowly ebbing into her comfort. Suddenly her left hand clasped his hand on her right shoulder, like two lovers meeting at their secret place. Blue didn't notice how in one instant the girl had grown into a stunning young woman; her hand was perfect and somehow held his whole attention. In another instant she gracefully stood while turning, revealing a beautiful face with perfect tanned skin and straight black hair, grey eyes stared into Blue's brown eyes before closing and her soft lips touched his. Too shocked, Blue didn't realize how unnatural his paralysis was. Stuck in a kiss of lethal passion, Blue was slowly being drained of life.
Thurgood knew something had happened; he was used to finding himself in strange places. The strangest thing about now though, was he wasn't alone. The owner of the body he was occupying was with him also. They both stood looking at each other. How very interesting. I do wonder how this will turn out. Thurgood wasn't garbed in his usual street attire but in his more refined English suit of the 1800's, Ahhhh the good old days. The previous owner, he knew was named Smithy, stood still dazed and wondering what exactly was going on. Thurgood couldn't control anything in this realm and that too was strange. No powers? As if someone had read his mind a chilling voice sang a song of death and destruction all in two words.
"Kill him,"
Smithy now had a look of a crazed loon, his mind corrupted by whatever was here. Thurgood was never really a great fighter, he had adapted to his powers so long ago and at such a young age that he really didn't need to learn how to make do without. Smithy on the other hand grew up on the streets, a runt part of a group of orphans fending for themselves. Smithy knew exactly how to kill with just his hands. Thurgood barely had a chance to notice Smithy's change in stance before the grunt charged.
The black mage, Vincent Natalio, stood amongst the black. He recognized the work. She recognized him as well, he felt it. The shadows around him swirled torn between two masters of the dark arts. Soon a compromise was settled. He was stuck in this trap but nothing else could be done to him. Aaaahhhhh Vincent…what a pleasant surprise to find you on their side…These thoughts were not his own and Vincent found himself somewhat surprised by her show of prowess. Now, now my sister there's no need to hide yourself from me. We've come to an understanding remember?
Yes we have, but to show myself to a traitor, you ask too much Vincent. He could feel her emotions now, anger and frustration came across from her with an underlying core of pain and abandonment.
Sister, please show yourself. Age means nothing to us, but I do wish to see what you have become.
Shadows moved as a slim figure began to take shape. In front of Vincent Natalio stood his sister, though not of blood they were raised together in the same home and in the same art. Her face was that of an angel, clear light skin, eyes of an electric blue, her jaw a perfect line leading to a pointed chin.
"So my sister has at last become the beautiful black swan mother had always told us you would be."
"Yes I suppose I have become beautiful haven't I, Vincent? Then again what do you know about beauty? You've never been interested in women, only in your own power."
Her face was that of an accuser, her clothing shifted colors and shapes repeatedly until she decided on the clothes she once wore as a child. Vincent too became clothed in the once scratchy wool shirt and trousers of the past. They were children again in a meadow they visited frequently to play. It was just as she remembered it; tall trees by the wood, soft grass, rolling hills, and sun filled skies. Neither spoke a word, just letting the world around them fill their eyes. Memories from centuries ago played through Vincent's mind. Horses and wildlife could be heard now. Breezes played with the grass as well as their hair. Insects flew around buzzing their lives away.
"Do you remember this Vincent?"
Little Vincent nodded.
"How bout this?"
The world around them suddenly darkened to night. Fire blazed high in columns that towered above the trees. Screams rent the air as people set aflame ran through the burning forest. Atop one of the hills stood a figure with arms raised high, fire leaping from his fingertips. The night was loud with the sounds of death and pain. Villagers from beyond the hills were running from their homes for the woods they thought safe. They only ran to their fiery death.
"Do you remember Vincent how father destroyed the village and its people? How he killed so many just so they would no longer question his rule of the land? How the final straw was not of their doing but of ours? Vincent, do you remember who he killed that night?"
Tears came to Vincent's eyes, he remembered too well; his love and her closest friend. A young woman appeared between the siblings who stood facing each other. The woman's face was bloody, her clothes torn, slashes across her skin were the least of her injuries. Within her hands was her heart, a glowing thing that their father had cast from her body, a metaphysical orb that shined like a miniature sun. Her face showed no emotion as she just knelt down, ankles beneath her, feeling nothing.
Voice trembling he said, "No more."
"Yes more brother, you have yet to suffer the consequences of father's doing as I have. You must bear her pain and love as I have dared to. She no longer feels but logical thought is still within her grasp. Suffer brother."
Vincent wept openly now, no longer a little boy he stood the man he is today and could do nothing but watch the woman he once loved feel nothing and do nothing but mourn without truly mourning the loss of so much.
Syko fought hard not to fall into the illusion. He was an illusionist himself and could feel her power wash over him. He could feel how her mind wanted to possess his, but this wasn't just a mind power, it was backed by something dark and something Syko faced very few times before.
"So another with mind abilities," a female voice said.
Syko stood in the room his team had breached. The others stood frozen in their positions. Syko realized his movements were slowed to such a crawl it took an eternity to clench his fingers into a fist. All of the team's weapons had been stripped of them and placed in the corned of the room. The female was slender and dressed in a simple, form-fitting full body armor. Syko had seen the armor's material before, strong stuff if it was what he thought it was.
"Hmmm….your a peculiar one Mr. Syko. Not many have been able to fight off my attacks as successfully as you. My own brother, who stands in the hall could not fend me off, even after recognizing who it was that was assaulting his mind. Mmm but where are my manners? You must want to talk…. So talk Mr. Syko."
His jaw had relaxed and his head and neck was under his own control again.
"Brother? You mean the mage, why would you want to hurt your own brother?"
A smile crept on her face. "Why don't you leave family business to me and him? I do wonder why though you didn't first ask about your precious Liliana. Isn't she the one your after?"
"My orders are my own, and how I go about fulfilling them is also my business."
Again that award winning smile appeared on her face. She stepped towards Syko and gently kissed his lips. He had tried to maneuver around it, to avoid a dirty trick, but the woman was no newcomer at kissing moving targets. Upon contact Syko felt a wave of lethargy spasm across his face and down his body. His eyes closed as his body descended to the floor. The last thing his mind processed before falling completely unconscious was footsteps leaving the room.
Wake up he told his body Move! Syko was trying to awaken from his unconscious state. He had never stopped fighting that woman's attack and now his stubbornness was starting to pay off. He was starting to feel his body again, first came his toes, which he wriggled around trying to solidify his contact with his body. Next he could flex his calves a little. Slowly over time Syko regained control of his body but the process took what felt was ages.
Suddenly with a surge of energy Syko jumped from the floor landed on his feet and bellowed, "AH-HAH!"
Nothing had changed since that damn kiss. His comrades were still frozen but things were different. Blue was paler, the body Thurgood had been occupying had bruises and scratch marks on its face, and in the hall the mage had a river of tears sliding down his face. This really isn't good. Syko ran outside to check if things had changed. Delta and his men weren't far off, he could hear their rifles sing.
"Delta come in over."
A few more bursts of rounds went off before a reply came in.
"Syko this is Delta, we're on our way. Over"
"Thanks but no thanks, continue doing what your doing. Over"
The gun fire had lessened to maybe two or three guns now.
"Sir Frank gave me orders to save you, after your team went off the radar two hours ago."
"Damn, alright well here's my orders, stay there and try to pull out as many goons as you can. I need time to get my team operational again."
"Fine, one giant disturbance coming up."
A second later a whole building blew sky high definitely killing all the baddies in it.
Syko ran inside and touched Blue's muscled shoulder. In an instant he was in the man's mind. There was darkness and a cone of light. Blue was kissing some dame. One major difference though, Blue was older, much older. Syko ran towards the two but found himself moving backwards and away. Whoever set this knew what the hell they were doing. Syko took a second to gather himself then projected within his mind an image of himself next to the kissers. Syko opened his eyes to be standing right next to the beautiful girl whose face seemed to glow more the longer the kiss lasted. He was about shove her off when the girl's hand came up and Syko was blasted away.
"DAMN HARPY!"
Syko imagined himself a gun this time and took aim. The girl broke the kiss right before the round Syko fired reached her head. Blue was still frozen in place but his eyes showed intelligence of what was going on. The girl screamed a scream that would've sent Syko flying if he hadn't procured for himself a shield. This kind of fight Syko was used, mind battles were he could achieve more than others. Syko projected multiples of himself, and felt his mind expand as he took each of those bodies under the control of his one single mind. They all had a weapon and all fired rounds at the girl who stood no chance against the master of will and mind.
Blue came out of his reverie stumbling as if he forgot how to stand or walk. He was back, he knew from his own mind. Syko had already moved onto Thurgood's body and in a moment the body slumped down dead as Syko and Thurgood stood panting from exertion. The last to be freed from the mind trap was the black mage. It took more time to free him for some reason, but when it was done Syko came back with a hollowed look on his face and the black mage quickly regained his composure, wiping his face dry then putting on a stone façade.
"My name is Vincent Natalio," the black mage finally said breaking the silence, "and that was my sister, Meira."
The team shook their heads not knowing what to say instead continuing on with their work. Packing their weapons and stepping out of the enemy base, Syko and his men walked out into the setting sunlight. Night was coming with its darkness but the city was still bright, its buildings still ablaze from the days work.