payne to the max part 2 V2.0
The world that denies thee, thou inhabit.
The peace that ignores thee, thou corrupt.
Chaos. I remain, as ever, thy faithful, degenerate son…
Janus, I invoke your spirit. Hear my plea.
Seize the night for your own reason.
Come, appear and show to us that which is infinite power.
The mask transforms itself into flesh and blood.
Your holy presence curdles the heart. Janus! Take the night!
Sunnydale, Ca
6:15 PM October 31, 1997
Shaking his head violently to clear it, Max Payne staggered to his feet. The way his head was ringing, it was almost as though he has back in that basement with Frankie Niagara and the baseball bat. In fact, Max would have gladly taken the worst tequila hangover in history instead of having to go through that kind of headache again.
Looking around, Max was shocked to see that he was no longer in Hell's Kitchen; in fact, it looked as though he was in suburban New Jersey. A much warmer Jersey, in fact. The last he remembered, it was in the low 40's in the tri-state area, but now Max was starting to sweat under his leather coat.
Max could see that the street he was on was pretty much deserted. What looked to be little kids in Halloween costumes were running around, there were no adults in sight. Looking around to make sure that there was no one was close to him, Max's hand instinctively dropped on the 9mm Beretta pistol holstered on his hip, taking a firing grip on it but not drawing it yet.
Seeing that the area was clear, Max began to touch-check his gear. His Beretta and spare mags were in place, as were his badge and ID hanging around his neck, but his cuffs, his folding knife, his pager, his cell phone were all missing. It didn't make sense, if someone was going to steal his stuff, why would they leave him with his pistol and badge, arguably the gear a street punk would find the most valuable?
"Xander! Ohmygod Xander there you are!" Turning, Max saw a young red headed girl running toward him. Seeing people run toward him usually resulted in a bad reaction from him, but this girl didn't look to be much of a threat. Dressed in a midriff top, short skirt, and high boots, she look more like a streetwalker than anything. Max left his hand on his Beretta just in case.
"Xander! There's something going wrong here! I was trick-or-treating at this house when all of a sudden the kids turned into monsters and I couldn't breathe and fell down and then I got up and everything is going crazy and we gotta find Buffy!" Max was a little surprised that the redhead was able to get everything out in what seemed to be one breath.
"Look, I don't know who you think I am, but I'm Detective Max Payne, NYPD, and the last thing I know was that I was in Hell's Kitchen and now I'm here in Jersey." Max was eyeing the girl as he spoke and was surprised to see the girl turn pale.
"Xander, stop kidding around, we have to find Buffy, something Hellmouth-y is going on here." The girl reached out to grab his arm, but before Max could move his arm away her hand went *through* his arm, causing the sensation of extreme cold for a few moments.
"The hell!" Max took two steps back and drew his Beretta, aiming it right at the girl's face, which had turned even paler, if that was possible. "What the hell are you!"
"Xander, you were dressed as a video game character. Everyone turned into their costumes, you're not really Max Payne. You're Alexander Harris, you're a high school student. I'm Willow Rosenberg, your best friend, we go to Sunnydale High School together, we are not in New Jersey, we're in California." Hearing the click of the trigger starting to be pulled on his pistol, Willow put her hands up and started to step back. "Look, check your ID, you'll see what I mean."
"This confirms everything I've said." Max took hold of his badge and flipped it over, showing the girl the police ID card that had his name and picture on it.
"Your state ID. The ID you have in your wallet." Max looked at the redhead for a moment before he decided to do it. Waving his pistol at the girl to make sure she didn't move, Max switched his pistol to his left hand and while still pointing it at the girl used his right hand to pull his wallet out of his hip pocket. Immediately he could tell it was not his wallet; his was black leather and worn, while this one was green nylon and ragged. Flipping it open, instead of his New York drivers license and the picture of Michelle were a California drivers license for one Alexander L. Harris, age 16, and a picture of the redhead, the kid on the DL and a blonde girl.
Looking back up at the redhead, she had a kind of sad smile on her face. With her hands still up in the air, the girl motioned with her head toward a parked truck. "Now look at your reflection."
Moving so that his pistol was still aimed at her, Max stepped up to the over-sized mirror on the door of the truck. By this time, it wasn't a complete shock for Max to see that the face he had was not his own. Lowering his pistol, he turned to face the redhead, who was slowly lowering her arms.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Max could see the girl wince at his language, but otherwise not react for a moment.
"We're in Sunnydale, California. There is a mystical convergence here that's called the Hellmouth. It releases energies that attracts supernatural creatures. You and I are some of the people that fight those creatures."
"How the hell does that explain this?" Max waved his hand at himself and at the girl.
The girl, Willow, took a deep breath. "Sometimes people cast spells here, and the Hellmouth affects them. Most of the time the Hellmouth energy increases the power or the intensity of the spell, but a lot of the time the energy warps the spell, causing side effects. All I know now is everyone wearing a costume for Halloween got turned into what they dressed up as. You dressed up like a video game character and now you think you're Max Payne, whoever that it."
Max felt a little insulted. Granted, apparently he didn't exist here, but that was no reason to be rude. "And who were you dressed up as?" Max eyeballed the flat stomach exposed by the shirt and the long legs under the short skirt. He was amused to see the redhead start to blush.
"I was dressed up as a ghost, mister." Red put her hands up on her hips and glared at him.
"Ghost of what? One of Vinnie Gognitti's girls?" Max could see the confusion appear on Red's face.
"Who's Vinnie Gognitti? Sounds like some kind of gangster."
"He is. Likes to beat up underaged prostitutes and runaways. A couple of them didn't survive." Max saw both disgust and embarrassment on Red's face.
"Look, you said that someone cast the spell that did this, do you know if we can find them?" The redhead began to shake her head.
"I don't know that much about magic, but Giles, the school librarian, does. We need to go tell him what's happening."
"The school librarian? What the hell is the coursework at this school? Math, English, black magics?"
"You'd be surprised. Look, follow me, we gotta find Buffy and go to Giles…" Whatever else the girl was going to say was interrupted by the sound of a woman screaming. Max's instincts kicked in as he turned and ran toward the sound. Max could hear the redhead yelling at him but he kept running anyway.
Coming around the corner, Max could see a woman in an old-fashioned dress standing on the far side of a police car parked in the middle of the street. She was backing away from the car screaming her head off, and automatically Max's Beretta appeared in his hand. He was dreading what he would find on the other side of the car, and as soon as he saw what was on the other side he saw that his fears were right. What he was not prepared for was the amount of blood surrounding the fallen police officer.
Kneeling down, Max put his free hand on the officer's shoulder and pushed slightly, rolling the man onto his back and revealing the unblinking eyes of the recently dead. Max started to put his fingers to the throat to see if there was a heartbeat when he saw the gaping wound; it looked as though something had taken a massive bite out of the neck, opening up the jugular and carotid vessels and the windpipe. There was no way that kind of wound was survivable.
Cursing under his breath, Max stood and turned toward the two women. The redhead was trying to calm the other woman down but was not succeeding. Holstering his pistol and talking three long steps Max grabbed the woman's arm and wheeled her toward him. The short dark haired woman looked about start screaming again, but Max moved his face close to hers and gave her his best dead-eye stare. That caused her to shut her mouth before she started screeching again.
"Did you see this happen?" Max held on to the woman's arm in case she panicked again.
"No! I was walking down this road looking for my retainers when I saw that strange carriage with the flashing lights." The woman spoke with an upper class English accent. "I had just found that unfortunate man when you and that harlot," she motioned toward the redhead, "came upon me."
"Harlot?" Max tried to restrain his smirk even as the redhead began to look angry.
"Yes. I was riding in my father's carriage on my way to our family home when I found myself suddenly on this empty road. No one else was with me when I looked around so I began to walk. Please help me sir, for I am defenseless. My father will pay handsomely for my safe return."
Max looked over at the redhead with a question on his face. Red seemed to understand what he was asking. "She's Buffy Summers, our friend. It looks like she got turned into her costume too."
"What was she dressed up as?" Max released the woman's arm and turned toward the redhead.
"An eighteenth century noblewoman."
"You're kidding." Max looked over at the woman, who was looking around with a frightened expression on her face. "Don't tell me she's one of those fighters you were talking about."
"Actually, she's the main fighter. She's the Vampire Slayer." The redhead shrugged her shoulders.
"I certainly do not slay anything! That is men's work. I am perfectly content to learn embroidery and house keeping at the abbey until my father arranges a suitable marriage for me." Both Max and the redhead blinked upon hearing that come from the presumably modern girl.
"Oh kay. Look, stay here for a minute, I need to do something." Leaving the girl standing there for a moment, Max walked up to the dead police officer, the redhead reluctantly trailing behind him.
"You sure this friend of yours is a, what did you call it, a vampire slayer? She sounds like a total airhead to me." Max crouched down and picked up the pistol lying on the ground in front of the officer. It looked to be unfired.
"Totally sure. And don't let the costume fool you, she's really a blonde California girl… if they were ten times stronger and four times faster than regular people." The redhead looked back and forth between Max and the noblewoman.
"That is supposed to encourage me?" Max gestured toward the gaping wound. "What would do that kind of damage?"
"Sloppy vampire, some kinds of demons. They normally don't go around attacking out in the open." Red crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders.
"What about those costumed people? Could they do something like that?" Max examined the pistol he picked up. It was a Beretta similar to his own.
"I… guess. If they were dressed up as some kind of monster. Ohmygod! A lot of people are dressed as monsters, it's Halloween! If they all turned into their costumes, we have a lot of monsters here that don't act the way the real ones do. We have to get out of here fast and get to Giles!"
"How far away is this Giles guy?" Max shoved the Beretta under his belt and while cursing under his breath began to pull gear from the dead officer's belt.
"He's at the school library, that's a twenty minute walk from here."
"Look, I don't think Lady Buffy over there is up to a twenty minute walk through the Twilight Zone. Is there someplace safe we can stash her?"
"Buffy's house is five minutes from here. That should be safe enough." Red watched as Max began to load his pockets with the gear he had gotten from the fallen officer: spare pistol magazines, an expandable baton, a tactical flashlight, and a folding knife. Turning around Max walked back toward the frightened noblewoman.
"My lady, we are not safe here on this road. This young woman knows of a place where we can seek refuge until morning. We can wait for reinforcements there and then we can return you to your father." Max figured that the noblewoman would be less likely to panic again if he spoke to her in a way that was familiar. Mimicking the way the actors spoke on that idiot TV show 'Lords and Ladies' would probably do the trick.
"Thank you kind sir. I have no doubt you will be rewarded for your courage." The fear on the noblewoman's face changed to a ghost of a smile. "Surely you are a brave master-at-arms to be out on a night like this." Her eyes were on the pistol that was shoved into his waistband.
"I am no master, my lady. I'm just one of the sheriff's men. But you must come quickly, before we are attacked." Seeing the redhead roll her eyes at his language, he motioned at her. "Come on Red, lead the way.
1629 Revello Drive
Sunnydale, Calif.
6:25 PM October 31, 1997
Max thought they were going to make it to the house unscathed. After watching Lady Buffy almost scream at the sight of a passing car, he was able to convince her that she need to be silent so as to not draw attention to them. This had the added benefit of keeping the confused noblewoman from complaining about their guide, whom she called a harlot, a tavern wench, and some other things he was sure were not complementary. It was kind of amusing to see the redhead's ears start to match her hair before Max was able to quiet her.
"Ohmygod." Hearing the redhead's gasp up ahead, Max hurried up to where she was standing behind a bush.
"What's up, Red?" Max could see that she was looking at a house a couple of lots ahead.
"There's people in front of the house." Max could see a half dozen figures milling around in front of a house.
"Monsters?" The figures were short, but their misshapen faces were clearly visible.
"Kinda. We need to get past them to get into the house."
"Shouldn't be a problem." Max drew his and the dead officer's Berettas and checked to make sure the safeties were off.
"NO! You can't shoot them! They're little kids in costume!" Red's wide-eyed face got close to his. "They don't know what they are doing, you can't kill them!"
"They'll be more than happy to kill us, Red. Remember that dead cop back there?" The redhead blinked but didn't back down.
"They're little kids." Max could see the resolve form on her face.
Sighing, Max holstered his pistols. "What do you want us to do then? You got another place for us to hide?"
The redhead suddenly looked unsure. "No, not really. My house is in the other direction."
"Could I at least knock them out?" Red looked up at him in surprise.
"There's six of them, you can knock them all out?"
"Yeah, if I move fast enough. That brings up something else, how are we going to get in the house?" Seeing the blank look appear on the redhead's face, he continued. "The doors are locked, right? You have keys to the place?"
"No. Even if I did…" Red swiped her hand though the bush, moving none of the leaves or branches.
"Who would have keys? Are there some stashed outside?" Red appeared to think for a moment, before turning to look at the pale noblewoman standing next to them.
Her face twisting for a moment, Red asked the noblewoman, "My lady, do you have any pockets in your gown? Any keys perhaps?"
"Certainly not! The groundskeeper and the guards of my father's house have the keys, I would have no reason to…" As she spoke, Lady Buffy absently touched the skirt of her gown, her voice trailing off as she felt something. Reaching into a pocket she pulled out a key ring with a miniature rainbow attached to it.
Max took the key ring from Lady Buffy and showed it to Red. "Which keys open the doors?" After she pointed them out, Max dropped the key ring into his jacket pocket. Turning toward the wide-eyed noblewoman, he said, "My lady, when I give the signal, you must follow this young woman into the house she shows you." Seeing the reluctance form on her face, Max pressed on. "My lady, you must listen to what she tells as though it was me. It is the only way to get you out of harm's way." Seeing the noblewoman nod, Max turned toward Red. "When I give you the signal, lead Lady Buffy up to the house. I'll have the doors open and we can call your librarian friend from there." The redhead nodded as well.
Max turned and moved toward the edge of the bush concealing them, drawing something from under his jacket. Looking back to see that the two women were standing ready, Max took a deep breath and began to walk quickly toward the group of peewee monsters. He got with ten yards before they saw him.
When they all turned toward him, Max began to move…
…fast.
Max POV
This is something I could never talk to anyone about. Certainly not to my superiors at the DEA or the NYPD.
I had always had fast reflexes, some of the fastest ever recorded during the medical exams taken before entering the Academy.
But this was something I couldn't talk about because it had to do with Valkyre.
While working undercover, I had a couple of vials of V break in my pants pocket during a fight with some dealers. Luckily I got away before the convulsions hit. The broken vials cut my leg and the V got into my bloodstream.
I'm not sure how much of the drug I absorbed, but it was enough that some junkies thought I had overdosed. They hauled me into an alley and left me behind a dumpster. I think they were going to roll me but something scared them off.
After the hallucinations and the green fever dreams passed, I went to a quack that the lowlifes used for medical care. He pulled four pieces of green stained plastic from my leg, slapped me on the back, and wheezed that I must have an angel looking out for me, that I should have died.
After that, I noticed that I could move faster than I had before. It wasn't for very long, but it was almost as though time slowed down, that the world was stuck in molasses while I was still moving at normal speed.
It wasn't until Nicole Horne and her goons shot me up with a triple dose of V to OD me that it really happened.
The previous exposure must have built up my tolerance, because I didn't die. But now I could move *fast*. Other people barely looked like they were moving. I could see *bullets* flying in slow motion when people fired at me.
I know some people would think it was just an illusion. My brain running so fast that it looked like things slow down. But two things showed otherwise. The first was obvious; if I saw people firing at me, I could usually duck fast enough that the bullets would miss me.
The other I found out when I finally broke the V case. Valkyre was originally developed to be used by solders in battle. It had effects that were usually only found in crystal meth, ecstasy, and PCP. Soldiers could be stronger and faster, but anything over one dose at a time would result in rages, uncontrollable bursts of violence.
I was in the lucky one percent that didn't lose complete control when I was on V.
But I felt no temptation to use V. Because when I was in that green fever dream, I was usually running though endless hallways, hearing the sobs and cries of my wife and daughter. And no matter how fast or strong I was, I could never get to them before hearing the gunshots that ended their lives.
I had heard the junkies that killed my family ranting how they had tasted the flesh of fallen angels while high on V.
In reality, you became of the Fallen. No absolution, no chance of redemption.
Moving toward the monsters, I clicked into what I called Bullet Time. The world turned amber, people slowed down, and all I could hear was my heart slowly pounding.
Twirling the collapsible baton, it clicked into place as I reached the first transformed child. Swinging sideways the baton hit across it's stomach, driving the air from it's lungs. I slipped the baton behind the knees and yanked, flipping the kid backwards onto the sidewalk.
The second kid took a tap on the side of his head from my fist. He folded like a cheap lawn chair.
The third, forth, and fifth were more gut shots. They wound up curled up on the ground trying to catch their breath.
The last kid almost got to me. Instead I spun him around and put him in a strangle using the baton across the side of his neck. It didn't crush his windpipe but it temporarily cut blood flow to the brain. After a few moments he slumped unconscious.
Luck for me that is when it ended. As far as I can tell I can Bullet Time lasts for about fifteen seconds in real time. It feels like a full minute to me. Sometimes when I'm worked up it could last longer, but I had to be sure that I had done what I wanted before I ran out. Otherwise I could run out of time in the middle of an awkward situation.
Standing among the gasping, moaning monsters, I motioned toward the two hiding behind the bushes. Seeing them run up toward me, I pulled the keys from my pocket and moved to open the door. By the time I got the locks undone, the noblewoman was pressed up against me, trying to get as far as possible from the monsters on the sidewalk. The redhead just walked *through* the wall next to the door. Luckily the lady didn't see it; I didn't need to deal with another screaming fit.
Once we got in I slammed the door shut and locked it. Looking around, the redhead lead the noblewoman toward the center of the room. I looked around to make sure that everything was secure before I turned back toward them, collapsing and putting away the baton before I spoke.
"Can you call your librarian now?" The two women were staring at me, but it was Red that spoke first.
"How were you moving so fast? I've only seen Angel move that fast, you haven't turned into a vampire have you?" Red looked like she was about to start hyperventilating.
"Not now. I'll explain later. Call your librarian now."
Red made a move to pick up the phone but her hand went through it. Looking at me, she shrugged helplessly.
Walking over to the phone I picked it up and put it to my ear, but I didn't hear a dial tone. Looking over at Red I simply said, "It's not working."
"Check the wall phone in the kitchen." We both walked over and tried that one, but that was dead too.
"Look, we have to get word to your librarian friend. You're a ghost, the monsters out there can't hurt you. Can you run over and talk to him in person?"
"Yeah, it will take a while to get there and back, though."
"Run as fast as you can. I don't think you need to breathe much." Red looked at me in surprise, but then nodded.
As Red was turning to leave, I heard the sound of screaming outside the front door. Moving toward the front, we heard the sound of gunshots, heavy caliber stuff.
Running up to the window beside the door, I looked outside and saw a group of figures surrounding two people, one lying on the ground and one standing with a gun in their hand. Immediately, I drew my pistol and moved toward the door.
"You two, stay here! Don't come outside for anything!" Red and Lady Buffy nodded, frightened looks on their faces. I opened the door and immediately slammed it shut behind me.
Moving quickly toward the two people, I could see that the group surrounding them had reduced in number dramatically. There were two figures left and as I watched, the shooter hit one in the chest with what sounded like a Magnum handgun and knocked them down and out.
Drawing the tac light, I went into Weaver stance, illuminating and moving toward the last figure. That is how I was sure I really did see what I did.
The yellow eyes, brow ridges, and extended fangs…
The Magnum pistol pointed right at the monster's face…
The boom of what I recognized now as a Israeli Desert Eagle .44 Magnum…
The monster's head blowing apart…
And the monster's body turning to dust and disintegrating.
I came to a dead halt, my pistol and light still up. All I could see was someone that looked female facing away from me, her dark hair in a pony tail, wearing a red leather jacket over black jeans.
Suddenly, the woman turned, the Desert Eagle now pointed at me. But for once I didn't focus on the gun pointing at me. I focused on the smirk on the woman's familiar face.
"Max. We got to stop meeting like this."
The Beretta and light slowly dropped down, pointing away from her. Her Desert Eagle did the same.
The face was slightly off from what I remember. But the smirk on her face, the smoky voice that had haunted my dreams, I recognized instantly.
"Mona?"
end payne to the max part 2