To Wound a Watchman
The Hank Joseph Broker story
Ever thought... "How Bad can it get?". Things can get pretty bad, those who live on the fringe, fighting battles they can't possibly win, waring un-beatable foes and constantly understanding the term underdog will probably say things can get pretty bad. "Lifes no picnic." Has justifyed many injustices, too numerous to count. It is true that things can get pretty bad...
Crisp music drifted through the car, lightly twittering as the vehicle climbed the onramp of Skyway City's Skyline. "Daddy? My class is going to a museum and we need a shapron... Mrs. Kinsley wanted to know if you wanted to be our shapron." Katherine said as they rounded a corner. "A what honey?" Hank said, his mind half on his daughter, half on the crowded road ahead. "A shapron, you know someone to watch us..." Hank smiled "Thats "Chaperone" Katy, and of course, I'd love too." Katherine smiled as she looked back to the road. "Daddy, whats that smoke?" Hank heard and, though he had noticed it before his daughter, said nothing. "I don't know, stay here." He said as he unclipped his seatbelt and stepped out of his car. Over the vast sea of cars, Hank could see three large mechanical figures fighting four men in costume.
"Honey, go to that alley over there and hide until I come to get you, ok?" He said as he reached back into his car, drawing his pistol, shotgun and badge. Katherine nodded her head as she unlocked her door. Hank watched as his eight year old daughter ran towards the alley he had indicated, nodded is head and started wading through the sea of abandoned cars.
The first clockwork giant pummeled the hero nearest it and shot rays of blue lighting at the second man. The others contented themselves with throwing the other two men into walls. Hank knew these heroes, "THE QUANDECINT QUAD", they were being thrown around like ragdolls before his eyes. "HEY UGLY!" Hank bellowed at the one crushing Quincy Quad, the youngest of the four. Not really thinking, Hank then began to hail the huge toy with .36 calibre rounds from his pistol, it wasn't a smart move. While Hank had successfully drawn attention away from the waining hero, he had also drawn it towards himself. Hank ducked behind an overturned mail box as a bolt of electricity shot towards him, then rose and shot a couple of shells into the oncoming Clockwork. The Giant, easily 30ft tall, lifted a stray car and hurled it at one of the Quad and then turned its full attention on Hank, a malevolent aura surrounding its cold frame. Hank loaded another shell into his shotgun and replaced the bullets missing from his pistol.
The hairs stood up on Hanks neck as lightning whistled past the postbox and into a nearby car, bursting the abandoned vehicle into flames. Hank lifted himself over his makeshift shield and pumped a few more shots into the advancing giant, now no more than ten feet away. Hank looked around for anymore heroes, having watched a fifth hero join the fray, though none payed attention to the giant now searching for Hank...
Hank heard a colossal crash as one clockwork was dispatched, its pieces falling to the ground as the mystical force holding it together dissipated. 'That's the thing with these abominations, just punish em and they go down' Hank thought as he shot two more shots into the the colossal tin can, then quickly ducking to avoid another oncoming lightning bolt. Hank heard another crash, thinking it to be another giant, and then watched as a car bounced right over him. Deciding it time to switch hiding spots, Hank bolted towards a car to his right, narrowly dodging more lightning as he moved. Reloading as he dropped behind the car, Hank pumped the shotgun and glanced over the its crushed roof to shoot at the clockwork. Hank went rigid as the bolt struck him, falling backwards as the left half of his head burned and his body went numb.
Squad training instructs a injured officer to play-possum until the heroes can clean up the mess, this is what Hank did, until something made his heart skip a beat. "DADDY!" Hank heard as the giant turned away, only to stop and investigate the sound. Hank looked to his far left as Katherine ran out of the the alley towards him, her eyes wet with tears. "DADDY!" the giant had heard it too and turned its attention to the running child. "NO!" Hank yelled as all pain, all debilitation, all emotion fell away, save one, fear. Hank grabbed his daughter before he even knew what was happening, holding himself between her and the massive Clockwork Giant, waiting for the telltale whistle. Hank's body coursed again in agony, the skin on his back blistering as he was struck by another lighting bolt, but this time he did not fall down, play possum, he ran. Hank was struck again and again by the serpentine blasts a he ran, again and again his speed lessened. Hank was struck rigid as a thick segment of rebar pierced his back, letting blood into his lungs, and letting loose a shrill cry from Katherine. Hanks eyes went blurry, his vision faltering as he crumpled to the ground, the last thing he saw was his daughter lying next to him.
Hank gasped suddenly, air filling his lungs, as he took in his surroundings. The room was a light blue and full of gifts, banners and cards. Hank tried to call for a nurse, but no noise came out of his mouth. He blinked, confused, and attempted to sit up, no such luck. 'Button... Call button were is it' he thought as he worked his hand to find a button, he grasped something and squeezed it. Hank watched as a light above his head lit up and a muffled beap blurted out somewhere else in the room. The next three minutes was a blur as several men an women filed into his room, some nurses and doctors, some were reporters, some officers he knew from the force. Hank blinked as the last of the medical staff left the room, leaving none but his fellow officers in the room. "Hey there buddy, how you feeling." Hank swiveled his head awquardly towards the voice, his eyes resting upon a wiry youngster, Lexan Bernard, Hank's partner. "Always said that your headstrong attitude would land you in I.U. didn't I." Lexan mused, the humor in his voice tragically forced. Lexan's eyes scanned Hank's limp body, a grim look encompassing his youthful face, making him seem several years older. 'What happened' Hank tried to say, no words coming out. "They said you fought quite bravely," Lex continued, "Said you pumped more than twelve pounds of lead into one of em."-'Em? The giants?'-"Your damned lucky the heroes saw you, cause I doubt we would be having this conversation otherwise,"-'Heroes? They must have saved me...'-"But if it weren't for you, I guess Quincy Quad would be were you are."-'I saved a hero...'-"Pity everyone wasn't as lucky,"-'Who else got hurt'. Lexan's eye's glassed up almost immediately, a small crystal trickle falling from his blue eyes. He turned around and gasped as he headed towards the door.
Hanks following visits weren't quite as long as his one with Lexan, most being reporters coming in to take his picture befor being shooed out by a nurse, until a strange man wearing a white satin suite came to see him.
Hank stared up at the man, his visioned blured by the bright light coming from the man's eyes. "Greetings Hank," He said without emotion, "I feel I should inform you that you were saved by me,"-'So this guy saved me'-"
Hank smiled, or at least tried to, his lips and face felt numb. "At the very least you are alive, and lucky to be so." The man continued, "My name is Seth, Seth Calypso.".
Hank tried to thank the man, but his voice disappeared before he could form the words. Seth must have seen Hank mouthing it out and replied, "You are welcome." His cool manner still cutting like a scalpel on his tongue, "you want to know where your daughter is?" Seth sighed, the most emotion he had shown thus far, "She is in intensive care much like yourself, the doctors don't think she will make it."
Hanks eyes widened, and his heart sunk, a floud of terror, concern and sadness wash over him. Hank tried to grab the man, but his arm stayed faithfully at his side, limp and useless.
"I have a proposition for you Mr.Broker." Seth continued, either ignoring or not noticing the look of concern on Hanks face, "I am a scientist, you see, and I have the technology to rebuild you. Much of you body, including your left and right leg, as well as your left arm, were destroyed."-"WHAT!"-"The process how ever is both painful and potentionally fatal, it blinded me, and it could very well kill you in your weaken state. You would be a new man, a system of both technology and biology, you would still be yourself, but not quite human. You would gain great strength and resielence, with you new body, you could help the city like you never thought possible."-"Is this guy nuts? Screw that, I'm no godamn gineu pig, and I sure as hell won't be no goddamn frankestein's monster freak.".
"No?" Seth replied as if reading Hank's mind. "Very well, if you however change your mind, I shall be in contact with you."
Hank's next few days in intensive care were uneventful. Hank had lost allot of his will to live, save for the posibility that Katherine might make it. On the fith day Calypso returned he floated in and took rest near Hank's bed. Calypso grabbed Hanks remaining hand, and held it gently. "It is with a heavy heart, but the doctors have informed me that your daughter has perished, her body was too far gone. Her spirit left and even the empaths could not bring her back. I am sorry." He said slowly with his monotone voice that seemed to willt the flowers near Hank's bed. Hank's heart broke right down the center at the news. He gripped Seth's hand with in anguish.
Without Katherine, and his body all but useless, Hank was empty, save the cold sadness, and deafening anger at those resposible. It was those giants' fault, Hank and Katherine would have spent the day at the museum learning about past heroes. One word came to mind "REVENGE".
Seth seemed to sense this and spoke again, "You seek revenge, retribution against those responsible? Yes. Bear in mind that my offer still stands. I could rebuild you, I cannot bring back your daughter, but I can help you make the clockwork pay for what they took from you."
It had long ago dawned on Hank that Seth could obviously read minds. "I accept, I will destroy the clockwork." He thought.
"It shall be so." Calypso responded.
Over a year followed of painful experiments and excruciating rehabilitation, but finaly Hank was reborn as the one man army Seth had promised he would become. Once again out on the streets, protecting the innocent and making the guilty pay.
Hank looked down on the ant-like colony of heroes, swarming over Atlas Plaza. Hank liked to watched the plaza, spotting the newbies who had only just become acquainted with their various talents and abilities. 'Just wait till they find out what a being a Hero is really about' he thought, his thoughts broken by the static of his Com... "Broken? You there?"
This is the first in many histories Im going to write, if there's a history of a specific Character mentioned in one of my stories, feel free to let me know at for your time, many more to come.