Soulfrenzy

Chapter 21 – Terra Firma

William Schmitt...

Johann repeated the name in his head, rehearsing it as he always did. He had been that man for so long... it was hard to recall that he had had another life before, a glorious life of science. Now, walking amongst Relicorp's powered-down battle suits, dressed in the business attire he had learned to be comfortable in, the past seemed more fantasy than fact.

But he remembered her - the masterful experiment that had gotten away. He recalled the cheers in the lab when he discovered the childrens' powers had been implanted. He had created the warriors of the future; it had been his crowning achievement.

But then, so sudden in recollection, he had lost it all. The indoctrination process had failed, and they... she... had escaped. Caught by the confessions of his creation, and devoid of any way to buy his freedom, he had fallen from grace, even faced prison. He had only narrowly escaped by lying hidden for years.

But he had found her again. She was last seen here, and now he had the resources to hunt her down once and for all. First, however, there was the call.

As expected, Johann's cell phone began to buzz in his pocket. He checked the digital clock on the warehouse wall; eight o'clock precisely. Lukas was, if anything, punctual.

"Hello?" he asked in the language of his country. His accent was distinctly different from the dull, slightly southwestern drone that he adopted on-camera. He sounded almost Russian.

"Greetings, brother," came a similar, younger voice from the other side of the line. "How goes the Product's release?"

"As well as expected," Johann replied. "The city is growing a convenient sentiment against the Teen Titans. They are almost eager for the suits' establishment."

"Perfect. And the scanners? They are operational?"

"And untraceable. The Jump City Police Department will never know how much they will help us."

"And the Product itself? Powerful weapons to leave in their hands when we are finished."

"Insignificant to what we will gain, should our mission succeed. But there is a kill code."

"Our mission will succeed, brother. It must, if Markovia is to be reborn."

"Very well then," Johann replied. He masked the irritation in his voice. The young brat thinks he can preach to me... "If you are so reliant on success, then, have you any evidence to suggest her location?"

"That is your role, no?" Lukas responded curtly. "I have my tasks in the operation, but tracking her is not one of them."

"The Product's sudden launch is a significant investment for a lack of proof." Johann's expression hardened on his end of the line. "I have furthered our cause since you were in diapers, Lukas. Do not lie to me. Is she here, or no?"

There was silence. Communication with Lukas was always a game of intimidation; make yourself hard enough, and you got what you wanted.

"If I recall correctly, it is because of you that our cause is so behind schedule," Lukas intoned. "But, if it pleases your aging mind, then know this: Geo-Force was spotted two months ago in the city. He would not be here without cause."

The call terminated before Johann had a chance to answer. The graying man snorted and hung up, sliding the phone into his pocket. As abrasive as Lukas was, his call had borne fruit: she was still here.

Relicorp's CEO strode to the nearest wall and flicked a switch. Giant floodlights suddenly exploded to life along the warehouse's long ceiling. Dozens of ten-foot-tall, chrome forms gleamed in their light. He smiled at their symmetry and complexity: the bulbous "heads" that contained a myriad of sensors, the caged cavity in the torso that housed would-be pilots, the flexible arms and legs that housed over a dozen weapon compartments between them. The Relitech suits were his greatest engineering creation, yet they were merely a tool to a greater end.

Deep within the robots' spherical heads was every variety of sensor ever built. What seemed like new toys to the police would be Johann's eyes and ears, positioned all over the city. He would have all the surveillance he needed to find her; for here she was. Her brother had seen to that.

"Terra firma," he murmured, in the southwestern slurr of William Schmitt. "Terra firma, indeed."