This was an old story of mine (A New Hero) that I've completely rewritten from the ground up. The result is it being a much better story then the original. Oh and I'd like to thank zaratan for being a beta, he's really helped me out.
Act 1: The not to distant future
"Wait up!"
The small child ignored the shout and tottered across the grassy field. He stumbled slightly and falls, but he's soon back on his feet. His small legs carried him quickly through the familiar terrain. The sound of the leaves crunching under his feet brought a mischievous smile to his face. A butterfly fluttered nearby and temporarily captured his attention, but not for long. He was now closer to a sweeter prize. He darted in between two trees and came into a clearing.
The sight of the pond brought the child to a complete stop. He paused for a moment to take in the scenery. A flock of white birds go on their daily routine ignoring the child completely.
"Ducks" he exclaimed in joy
He reached into his pockets and fished out a small bag containing an assortment of cereals. He grabs a handful from the bag and inches closer to the birds.
"Here duckies eat"
It didn't take long for the ducks to spot the snacks and surround him, much to his delight.
Then someone called out his name. He turned, expecting to find his mother. But instead he found a man dressed in all green. It was strange but it seemed as if his face was complete shrouded in darkness, still though there was still something oddly familiar about the man.
The man stood a few feet away and continued to stare at the boy in complete silence. Then he called out the boy's name again.
"Hi" said the small child
"Hi" the man replied then he turned toward the ducks. "you like ducks?"
The boy nodded slowly. The man kneeled on the ground and with his index fingers he began to trace symbols in the dirt. When he finished writing he waved his hand over the symbols on the ground. The boy watched in amazement as the symbols began to glow. Suddenly all the ducks around him stopped at the same time, gathering in a straight line in front of the boy and began to dance in unison.
The boy squealed in delight, he clapped so hard he almost fell over backwards. He turned towards the man who was now walking towards him.
The strange man called out his name again "do you know who I am?"
"Stop right there" shouted a different voice. The boy immediately recognized it as the voice of the mother. She appeared from behind him and kept on moving until she was between him and the stranger.
"Don't come any closer" his mother said. She flicked her red hair away from her eyes and pointed something at the man. The boy looked at the object she pointed at the man, he didn't remember what it was called, but he remembered his mother telling him it was bad.
Suddenly the ducks scattered into the sky. "Bye, bye duckies" he said completely oblivious to the conversation his mother was having. He spotted a lizard in the distance and took a step towards it.
"Anthony, stay close to mommy."
He stopped; the tone in her voice had scared him. She had a scary look on her face, but she was crying at the same time. He clutched the back of her leg; he could suddenly feel the tension in the air.
The man said a few more words that Anthony didn't understand. Then he looked down towards Anthony and said a few more words.
His mother said a word that he had said once and gotten spanked for it.
The man placed his hands together and pulled them apart. Once again to Anthony's amazement a red flower magically in his hand. The man let the flower go and it slowly floated towards his mother.
Furiously she batted the flower out of the air, and shouted at the man. The thing in her hand shook from side to side.
He shook his head slowly, said a few more things, and turned his attention to Anthony again.
He finally said something Anthony understood "good bye Anthony"
Then everything went black.
Anthony slowly opened his eyes and to his horror found a young girl staring into his face.
He brought his hands up to shield his blushing face, "what are you doing?"
"Nothing, I was just watching you sleep" she said flatly and leaned back against the tree they were resting under. "Is there a problem?"
The question caught him off guard "no I just…" he sighed "forget it"
She stretched her arms out "You know I just realized you've got green eyes. I can't believe I haven't noticed until now, they're beautiful."
Anthony was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Thanks Maya, you've got beaut- I mean your eyes, they're um" he racked his brain for the right words to say, but nothing good was coming up. Then to his relief he found a way out.
"Hey look there's your brother."
The second she turned around he released his breath. He silently thanked the heavens for his best friend's good timing.
Her brother ran up to them breathing heavily, he stopped and took a second to adjust his lucky blue cap "Anthony man I've been looking all over for you." He looked around and smirked "Well, what do we have here?"
Aaron Taylor and his sister were a year younger than Anthony, but they had been friends for as long as he could remember. They also happened to be part of a five-member team in Global Justice.
Maya stood up and wiped the dirt from her pants "don't start"
"Sis, look at it from my point of view, two people on a beautiful day, under the tree all lovey dovey, to me that looks like…"
"Friendship?" she sighed
"No sister I see romance."
Anthony could feel the blood rushing to his face.
"Ok Aaron, what if it was you and Anthony sitting under the tree."
"There wouldn't be a problem because he and I are not in love."
She brought her hands to her face. "You are such an idiot."
"Maya, I don't appreciate your tone of voice. I believe you should show your older brother his proper respects!"
She rolled her eyes "Aaron you're only older by three minutes."
"Five minutes, I believe mother will verify that."
"Anthony, you can deal with my idiot brother. I'll catch you later."
Anthony watched as she walked off, part of him was sad to see her leave, but mostly he felt relieved. Aaron smiled as he followed Anthony's eyes.
"So dude you ask her out yet?"
Anthony looked his friend incredulously "What is wrong with you?"
"I'm just trying to help you out"
"You know, most brothers wouldn't try pushing other guys on their sister."
"Better you than some other bum."
Anthony became visibly frustrated "Aaron let's just get off this subject, alright."
"What's your problem? Today's the day you've been waiting for."
"I know; I just came out here to relax before the test, than I ran into Maya.
A serious look came over Aaron's face "You worried about failing?"
"Why should I be worried?"
"Because this VR mission is very different from the rest; you mess this up and you're dead"
Anthony picked himself off the ground. "Thanks for the concern but I've got to do this. If you haven't noticed, the senior members of GJ have been sending us on pretty weak missions. Escorting, data collecting, nothing that can make a difference in this war.
"Ah and you think you can make a difference, in war that's been going on for eighteen years."
"I don't think I can make a difference, I know I can."
"Ah."
Anthony brushed some grass off his blond hair "Don't worry about the VR mission, Aaron. I'll be fine"
"It's the hardest mission Wade has ever created. No agent's even attempted it yet, it's scared everyone away."
"It only a combination of my mom's past missions. If she could do them then why can't I?"
"Hmmm another quote added to the famous last words list."
Anthony chuckled "It's no big."
Aaron looked back at his friend slightly puzzled "No big?"
"It's no big deal, that's what I meant."
"Right… anyway, I got you gift." He handed a small box to Anthony "the latest invention from Wade tech."
"Wade let you in the lab?"
"Why shouldn't he, I'm his number one assistant."
Anthony's right eyebrow rose as he studied his friend's face.
"Ok I broke into his lab. Man, the security program on it is lethal; you have to see its coding Wade is such a geni--"
"Okay you've confirmed your techno nerd status." He opened the box to find two contact lenses and a small earpiece. "So what is it?"
"It's the ultimate invention in communications. Put the contacts on."
Anthony followed his instructions as Aaron pulled out a small PDA.
"Now everything you see I see" He pointed to the PDA screen, which was focusing exactly where Anthony was staring at the moment.
"On my PDA I can zoom in on what you see and relay to you anything you might have missed. I can also X-ray in real time, capture heat signatures and record everything you see on the mission for later use."
"Spanking!"
"Wait a minute. What did you just say?"
"What?"
"Just now, what did you just say?"
Anthony's nose began to twitch "Spanking?"
Aaron laughed out loud "Spanking? First it was no big, now it's spanking? Where do you get this stuff?"
"Shut up, now what does the ear piece do?"
"So you can hear my great advice, duh. With it in your ear all you have to do is speak and I'll hear you, and I'll be able to give you any important information I find."
"This is great stuff man. You're a genius."
Aaron stood in front of his friend with his arms open wide. "Come on."
"What?"
"You know what I want to hear?"
"Jeez, ok Aaron, you're my Wade."
"That's what I'm talking about!" Aaron said gleefully. "Now, let's go get ready for the mission." Together they began to make their way back to Middleton.
"I just got a great idea; you can ask my sister out. Then with the earpiece I can give you some smooth lines, like in that e-Book Cyrano de Bergerac.
"Shut up Aaron! And, that was a play before it became an e-Book."
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"Hey wake up, this isn't a game."
Aaron's panicked; breathless voice snapped Anthony back into the reality. He clutched a staff in his hand, and took a second to assess the situation. He was in serious trouble, and using it wasn't an option.
He stared at the creature in front of him. It was huge.
The creature was seven feet tall, with the body of a man but the head and claws of a panther. Sprinkle that with the speed and agility of a panther and you've got a problem on your hands.
"Mutant mercenaries ...Wonderful."
Anthony snuck a glance at his left leg; the mutant had managed to get a good swipe at it. The damage was minor but it hurt like hell. He checked his body armor, it was fine. It was a standard GJ armor, designed to resist fire, dozens of different acids and even close range fire from most handheld weapons. But he wasn't so sure how well it would handle claws.
He looked back at the mutant, who was now joined by another. They let out a loud roar that drowned out the engines of the cargo plane.
"Aaron I need an overview of the sitch."
"Well, you see that large container on the other side of the cargo bay."
Anthony glanced behind the creatures and spotted the container that was being fussed over by what looked like a lab technician. "Check."
"Inside the container is a technovirus, one of two groups of viruses in the adenovirusgenus and considered part o--
"English, Aaron and make it short!"
"It changes people into mutants, and since you're 10,000 feet off the ground the virus will hit the air and spread very fast."
"How mush time do I have before it goes off?"
"You're down to 00:02:01… 00:02:00 actually. It's not late to quit the program. "
"What's my name Aaron?"
"Not this again…Anthony Possible."
"And what has my mother been telling every night since I was kid?"
"Anything is possible for a Possible."
"Exactly!"
"Why does that statement only come up when you're about to do something suicidal? Hey, tell me this, is it possible for a Possible to get a date?"
"Shut up Aaron! Hold on can this earpiece play music?"
"Sure, what do you want to hear?"
"Something with a danceable groove."
"I'm your DJ."
As the music hit Anthony's ears, an additional mutant had joined the original pair. Anthony took a step forward and in flash the first creature struck, moving with blazing speed for a creature its size. A flash of claws filled his field of vision in seconds.
The mutant slashed at Anthony's face, which he blocked with staff. The creature slashed with his other hand, forcing Anthony to bend over backwards, and the claws went sailing over his face. He brought his body straight and smacked the creature in the head. The creature roared with pain before Anthony smashed the other end of the pole in its face, knocking it away. A second mutant hurled itself at him. Anthony rolled backwards when the mutant's weight slammed into him, but using its own momentum against it, Anthony used the staff and his own feet to send the mutant crashing into a nearby wall.
Anthony continued to roll until he could get back on his feet. The third mutant slashed at him with both claws. Anthony dropped to his knees and thrust the staff into the mutant's neck. It stood still, gasped for air once, twice and then collapsed onto the floor.
"Anything is possible." Anthony smiled to himself as he stepped over the mutant body.
The music in his ear cut off. "Hate to interrupt your greatness, but you've got about a minute thirty left."
Anthony rushed towards the container
"Stop right there!" The lab technician yelled. "You can't stop my greatest achievement." He reached into his lab coat and removed a small remote control.
"I'm pretty sure, that's not going to make things any easier."
"That falls under the category of no kidding."
The man pushed a button on the remote and immediately a deluge of laser beams split the cargo bay in half separating him from the container.
"You'll never get here in time" the man cackled.
"Those laser beams are moving around randomly there's no way I can track any of their movements."
"How much time do I have left?"
"Sixty seconds! By the way, did I fail to mention that the container must explode to release the virus?"
"Ok Aaron, play me something classical but upbeat. I need to concentrate."
"You're not thinking about…"
"You're my Wade right?"
"Ok I'm your Wade… good luck."
Anthony closed his eyes as the ode to joy filled his ear. He took a few steps forward, turning his body sideways, and placing his left foot right in front. With his right hand over his head he swung it forward as he jumped off his front leg. The momentum carried him over a pair of laser beams; a perfect aerial cartwheel. He landed on both feet and dropped down on his stomach and slid under another group of lasers that passed harmlessly overhead.
A seemingly erratic laser beam rushed toward his head, from the push up position he pushed himself a few inches of the ground and rolled onto his back as the laser passed away. From his back, he twisted his legs while rolling back onto one shoulder to a standing position. He was in immediate danger once again from charging laser beams. He did a back flip over another group and right after landing he quickly rolled onto his back and leapt to his feet.
Finally with a cartwheel linked to a front roll, he found himself on his feet and outside of the laser grid.
The lab technician was ready. A knife in hand he rushed at Anthony. After dealing with mutants a regular human was no problem. He sidestepped the man and quickly disarmed him. The man howled with pain as Anthony twisted his hand behind his back.
"Tell me how to shut it down!"
"Never" the man screamed with his free hand used the remote to turn off the laser grid.
Anthony looked up to see why. There on the other side of the cargo bay stood one of the mutants, but this time it was carrying a rocket launcher.
"What? Since when did they use weapons!"
"Tell him to stop!" Anthony yelled.
"No, you must die and the virus must be realized in open air to be fully effective!"
"Then just open the doors!"
The mutant prepared to fire. Anthony ran towards at full speed but it was too late. The mutant fired, and Anthony rolled to the side and watched as the missile flew right by him and slam into the steel walls of the cargo plane.
"This is so not fair."
The blast created a large hole in the plane a strong wind blasted into the area, and then proceeds to suck everything out. Dozens of items were blown out the plane including the mutant and his master.
Thinking quickly Anthony had embedded the technician's knife into floor, he hung from the handle of the knife as the cargo plane tipped.
"The container it's going over."
Anthony watched in horror as they container rolled slowly toward the hole and it was gaining speed. Anthony quickly surveyed the room, for anything that could help. He watched helplessly as the container rolled out of the hole.
"Aaron, Global Justice armor comes with a built in parachute right?" he called out
"Yeah, but can we just think about this for a minute?"
"No time for that."
Anthony let go of the knife and was launched into the open sky. The speeding wind assaulted his face, temporarily blinding. Anthony forced his eyes opened and looked through the rushing wind to spot the container.
"There it is, a little to the southwest."
Anthony was momentarily stunned as the earth rushed towards him.
"Snap out of it, we've reached terminal velocity. I guess you've forgotten that we've been trained in skydiving."
Anthony blinked and shook the initial feeling of fear off. He maneuvered his body in a vertical position to increase his speed.
"Thirty-five seconds"
The container came into view
"I've got to get closer" Anthony kept his body rigid until his speed increased to the point where he could grab the bottom of the container and pull himself closer to it.
"Thirty seconds"
He popped open the panel from the front of the container, it beeped and a screen appeared.
Initiating protocol a computerized voice told him and then the screen came to life. To Anthony's amazement a game came on the screen
Please clear all of the blocks to end the countdown.
"What the hell is this?"
"It looks like Tetris, or maybe columns."
"What is Wade thinking?"
"You don't really have time to complain, just clear the stupid blocks!"
Anthony took a glance downward to see the earth still rushing forward, and then his hands began to dance across the panel's keyboard.
"25 seconds man maybe you should just let it drop, you'll fail but you won't die" Aaron yelled desperately.
"We've come too far to pull out now!"
"20 seconds! You're cutting it close, aren't you?"
"Aaron shut up" Anthony eyes remained on the screen moving at rapid speed, in perfect coordination with his fingers.
"15….14…13…12…11"
"Almost there"
"9…8…7…6...5…4...
"Yes"
Countdown disabled the container opened up revealing three small cylinders. Anthony grabbed the cylinders and pushed the cylinder away from. Quickly he reached from the hidden pull cord in his arm and released the parachute. A whip-like force suddenly yanked him back and his free fall came to a quick stop.
"Holy crap that was…that was completely insane!"
Anthony watched as the container slammed into the earth and exploded into millions of tiny pieces.
"Tell me something I don't know," he replied breathlessly.
The color of the sky around him began to change into various colors, beginning to blend around him as the environment changed. The sky above him and the earth below him began to resemble a sloppy oil painting
VR Mission complete
Anthony listened intently to the booming robotic voice.
Congratulations you are the first to successfully complete this mission. You are a credit to Global Justice.
Eventually the virtual world faded away.
The giant simulator resembled a huge cockpit; it released a large amount of steam and opened up like a clam, revealing the body inside. The pain in his right leg immediately forced Anthony to awaken from his induced sleep. He massaged his leg and unbuckled himself from the VR device. His head spinning, he stumbled out of the machine with the look of a drunk. He dropped to all fours, and looked up to find a mass of people standing before him.
"What?" Was all he managed to say before the crowd erupted in applause.
Still disorientated, Anthony searched for answers as someone pulled him up from the ground. "That was some great work, there buddy. There's no doubt that you're a Possible."
Through his double vision Anthony managed to recognize that he was being congratulated by a senior Global Justice agent. In fact they were all Global Justice agents.
The agent raised Anthony's hand in the air. "With two Possibles in Global Justice, we'll beat Janus in no time!"
"What's going on?" Anthony murmured, but he was drowned out by the celebrating crowd.
Possible! Possible! Possible!
"Bringing all these people being here was your idea, wasn't it?" Maya said to her brother.
Huddled together in a corner on the far side of the room, Maya, Aaron and the rest of their team watched the celebration. The other two members were Tomas Vencelas and Reece Whatley, each of them had participated in every mission Anthony had ever been involved with.
Aaron patted down his hair put on his cap and adjusted it accordingly. Then he turned to his sister. "So what if I did?"
"He could have died in front of these people."
"But he didn't it. Some of us have faith in our friends."
"God, you just don't get it do you? This isn't a game! He could have been killed!"
Aaron placed his hands together seemingly in deep thought. "All right, this is what you do. You go over there and confess your love to him…"
"Stop," she held up a finger, "just stop!" She gave him one last look before walking away.
Aaron turned to Tomas. "It's a shame, the way people hide their true feelings." From the corner of the eye Aaron could see that his conversation with his sister had flustered Reece. His eyes were still on Anthony's celebration but it was obvious he was eavesdropping.
"What's with you?"
"I'm cool" Reece rubbed the cleft of his chin and continued to watch the impromptu party. Reece was the same age as Aaron and Maya, he was of medium stature with brown hair. He didn't have any sharp features but there was a hint of cleverness in his dark black eyes.
"I don't get it?"
"What don't you get?" asked Tomas
"Why they love him so much? It's got to be because of his mother."
"Or maybe," Aaron began, "it's the consistently reassuring cloud of self confidence that surrounds him, and the handsome young face that emphatically says "yes I can do the impossible!" Well that's why my sister likes him anyway."
The last statement clearly hit home.
"What are you, his publicist?"
"I prefer the term confidant."
"Yeah Anthony's something else, just like his mom," Tomas added.
Aaron shuffled Tomas' hair. "You said it short stuff!" Tomas, at the age of thirteen was the youngest member of Global Justice and was unusually short for his age, a fact Aaron liked to point out on occasion,
"How in the world did I get involved with this Possible fan club?" Reese grumbled as he glared at Anthony, who was being paraded away.
"Where am I going?" Anthony asked as the mass pushed him towards the exit.
"The Possibles rule!" someone screamed out from the crowd.
"Uh thanks, where am I going?"
"Dr. Director is asking to see to you"
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Dr. Director sat comfortably in a high leather chair behind a large metal desk. She sat there with a large smile on her face.
Anthony couldn't help but notice that for a woman in her fifties she was still attractive. But the smile she had on now was making him very uncomfortable. Seated in the guest chair adjacent to the desk sat Senior Agent Will Du who was pretty much second in command.
"Senior Agent Du, Dr. Director."
The office was filled with a heavy silence.
"Anthony I had the pleasure of seeing a recording of your recent milestone. Another notch under your belt I suppose."
"I didn't see it that way."
"Well then, enlighten me Anthony?"
"I saw it as a chance to prove myself"
Dr. Director flipped through a bunch of papers on her desk "I believe you asked to do this test a month ago and you were denied, were you not?"
"Yes"
"If I remember correctly, didn't we decide to delete that mission because it was so hard?" Will Du responded in a tone so serious that it automatically increased the tension in the room.
"I… um… asked Aaron to dig around some old files…"
'So," she cut him off sharply, "you had your friend hack into our computer files."
"Yeah"
"Additionally you invited a group of Global Justice Agents including new recruits to watch you break the rules."
"I…"
She cut him off by clearing her throat "Although you deliberately broke numerous protocols, I have to say that was some really impressive work."
Will Du broke out of his serious role "Possible, your mother would be proud, and so would your father."
Anthony's heart almost skipped a beat. He gave a large beaming smile.
"In all my years in Global Justice I've never seen anything like that, and after watching your mother for so many years, that is saying a lot."
"Thank you!" He winced from the pain in his leg. "It was a lot harder then I thought it would be."
"But I'm not so sure why you did it though. You've got nothing to prove."
"Dr, Director I wanted to prove that I could handle bigger missions."
Dr. Director shot a glance at Will. "You're not satisfied with your current workload?"
"No sir. I think I… no, my team can make a huge difference for Global Justice."
"But that's not for you to decide."
Anthony took a deep breath "I've shown in the past that I'm a capable leader."
"Yes you have."
"Our team success rate is at one hundred percent; I just proved that I can handle anything that the enemy can throw at me…"
"Watch the hubris Possible"
Agitated Anthony slammed his fist on Dr. Director's desk "I can help you win, just give me a chance!" he pleaded.
"Possible it sounds like you believe you can end the war on your own."
Anthony ignored the comment and just stared Dr. Director directly in the eye. "Please"
"You've shown excellent progress over the years…"
"Yes"
"But we have an excellent reason for not sending you into the front lines."
"And that is?"
"And that is my decision, as the head of Global Justice. I have no reason to explain myself to you. You're dismissed."
Anthony started to argue again but the stern look he got from Dr. Director told him that this was one time he wasn't going to win. It took all of his strength not to blurt out what a huge mistake they were making but he said his goodbyes and walked solemnly out of the office.
"You've got to admit he was very impressive out there." Will sighed "I don't think I would have survived that simulation"
"Will, we knew this day would come when he applied to be an Agent."
"He'll never believe that this is for his own good."
"It's a shame. In a different world he'd be our number one agent" Dr. Director replied.
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Anthony exited the main GJ office only to come to face to face with his teammates. They stared at him eagerly awaiting any news.
"Well bro what's the story."
Anthony looked from Aaron to Maya to the rest. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He shrugged at them angrily and then stormed off.
"What was that all about?" Tomas asked.
"Looks like we're still stuck doing baby missions." Reece stated before walking off.
Aaron shook his head and walked away he was followed by Tomas
A half hour later: Global Justice training hall
In a room surrounded by mirrors, Anthony stood alone, staring at the fifty-pound bag that swayed back in forth in the middle of the room. It was built to take a beating, which was good because that was exactly what he was going to give it. He walked over to a small radio pushed the play button, before walking back towards the bag. The bag swung back and forth as he unleashed a series of punches and kicks on it.
"Atta boy Roc" said a voice from the room's entrance.
"I kind of want to be alone right now Aaron."
"Do I sound like a boy to you?"
Anthony stopped his attacks and looked toward the door. "Maya"
She smiled and entered the room. "Don't let me stop your training."
"Sorry, I just expected your brother," he said before continuing his assault on the bag.
"Working out your anger on the bag huh?"
"Anger? I'm not angry"
"So you're fine?"
"I'm fine"
"Really? Well let's just listen to your choice of music
When this life
makes you mad enough to kill
That's Rock Bottom
When you want something bad enough you'll steal
That's Rock Bottom
When you feel you have had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you sad enough to tears
"What, that song is classic" he said trying not to lose face.
"It's not the first time I've heard you listening to it."
"I like the melody!" Anthony replied hoping that she would change the subject.
"You were pretty impressive today."
"Thank god!' he thought. "Thanks unfortunately I didn't get my message across."
"Do you think they'll ever give us an important mission soon?" she asked.
"Don't know." he grunted.
She watched him attack the bag for a while longer, but she eventually grew tired of waiting and walked towards the exit.
"Maya, do you remember anything about the battle of Ragnarok?"
Maya paused, looking back. "Yeah a little, it was a long time ago"
Anthony paused for a minute and stared out into space.
"Yeah, my mother told me a little about it. She said it was the worst day of her life, three fourths of the resistance died that day. They all died trying to keep some prophecy from being fulfilled."
"Right, I remember a lot of people coming home crying, and my mom wouldn't tell me or my brother why."
"Yeah it took my mom awhile to tell me about it too." Anthony sighed deeply.
"If I remember correctly your mom destroyed an important artifact belonging to Janus. After that, Janus hasn't been seen ever since. Apparently, he just told his men to do whatever they want with the world."
"Janus hasn't been seen nor done anything for eight years, and we still can't beat him."
"But, because of what your mom did at the Ragnarok, we're at least at a stalemate with the Brotherhood."
"Stalemate, please." Anthony retorted
"At least were not losing."
Anthony raised his hand in the air "but we're not winning either! We should be breaking down Janus' door right now!" He punched the bag hard.
"Lately, I've been thinking about just walking out there, and hunting him down myself."
Maya's eyes widened in shock "do you have a death wish?"
"Maya he killed my father!"
"He's killed a lot of people's fathers. Not just yours." She responded gently.
Anthony suddenly felt ashamed. "Don't you want revenge?"
"I do, but I don't want to throw my life away."
"Every time I go out and I see people suffering all because of one man. I feel like I should be doing something more to help them."
"It's impossible to help everyone, you know that don't you."
Anthony leaned against the wall. "Sometimes, I think I was born just for this you know. My life will only have meaning if I stop this one man and restore the world back to how it was."
"You'll miss a lot of important things if you attribute your life to an impossible goal."
"Yeah what will I miss? He laughed
"You'll miss the important things, like friends, family," she lowered her voice to an almost whisper, "me."
"What was that last one?"
"Peace, you'll never have inner peace" she said quickly.
"I'll never have inner peace while Janus is still alive" he began his assault on the bag again. He didn't even notice when Maya left the room.
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Forteresse du serpent New Orleans
Two men in green robes walked slowly through the stone tunnel. They gave each other a reassuring nod when they reached the end of the passageway.
They lowered their heads and chanted for the good of the Brotherhood five times before pushing through the steel door that was in their way. They entered a gigantic office, one entire wall depicting a portrait of an enormous snake wrapping itself around the globe. The opposite wall was a stunning view of the Gulf Sea.
In the middle of the room was a long rectangular table, where some the highest ranking members of the brotherhood sat. The two men walked towards the chair furthest from the door. They trembled in awe as they neared the savior, Janus. He wore a robe just like them but with golden snake emblems curling around his body. Janus was the only member who was hooded and a spell blocked all from seeing his face. It had been decided that the savior was too holy for the unworthy to see his face. It was rumored that no one had seen the savior's in eight years.
They kneeled before him and gave praise. He waved them off and they began their presentation.
"My lord we have good news, it will please you to know that the Chrono project will be complete soon, but the only facility that we can perform such an operation is relatively close to Global Justice Middleton HQ."
The seated members began to argue amongst themselves voicing their disapproval.
"The facility has long been abandoned at it's the only one left in the U.S with a Superconducting Super Collider" said the second presenter urgently.
"There are other countries with that technology, we can find another" shouted a seated member.
Janus raised his hand and the room instantly became silent. "The location is fine. We have no time to search for another collider."
The other members of the Brotherhood turned to each other whispering softly.
"Do you disagree with my judgment?"
No one spoke up.
"And if it pleases my lord, would you care to go over the list of targets" said the first presenter.
"Proceed"
The placed a small box on the desk and it projected a holographic image for all to see.
Target list initialized
Everyone in the room watched intently as images of the various enemies of the Brotherhood flashed before them.
Dr. Director
Bonnie Rockwaller
Maurice Francis
Todd Smith
Will Du
Monique Taylor
Yori Junko Miyamato
Wade load
Kimberly Ann Possible
"Stop the presentation!" shouted Janus.
"Is there something wrong my lord?" cried one of the presenters.
"Remove her from the list!"
The presenter looked around the room. "But my lord, she's the biggest threat of…"
Janus smashed his fist onto the table and it shattered into a dozen pieces shocking all of the members.
"Remove her from the list."
"Yes my lord." the presenter mumbled in fear.
Janus stood up to address the group. "You all have nothing to fear. I alone will carry the Brotherhood to its true destiny, but I must have your complete obedience, for The Brotherhood!"
"We shall follow you forever for the brotherhood!" they chanted in unison.