My board shot up to my hand as I landed on the deck of the carrier. Batman landed just above me on one of the shipping containers.
"Athena, turn on thermal imaging." My lenses turned from night vision to thermal imaging.
I scanned the whole carrier and frowned under my mask.
"There's not a single other warm body on this ship." I said as Batman hopped down from the container.
"It won't be like that for long. Penguin's men will find out they were fed false information." Batman's robotic voice came through.
I crossed my arms, "I don't know. This seems way too easy. Penguin seems to be that type of bad guy that always has an insurance policy when things don't go his way."
"We're thinking along the same lines then. Look for the statue in the shipping containers but keep your guard up." I nodded and the two of us split up.
I went towards the front of the carrier while Batman went towards the back.
I opened several shipping containers as I made my way to the front. Most of them were empty and others were filled up to the brim in pallets. None of the pallets had the statue.
"Find it?" I heard Batman's voice in my ear.
"Nothing yet." I responded back. I closed yet another empty container. I went to go to the next one but I stopped feeling a presence behind me.
"Whoever you are, you're not as sneaky as you think." I called them out.
"I'm hurt, Voltess. Have you forgotten about me?" My eyes widened hearing a voice I didn't think I'd ever hear again.
I turned just in time as I felt a gust of wind slam into my gut. It sent me flying into a nearby shipping container. The metal groaned as I left a dent in it. I slid down to the floor and looked up at the figure approaching me.
"Voltess! What's going on?!" I heard Batman's voice yell in my earpiece. He must have heard the impact from the other side of the carrier.
"We've got company, Batman." I said as I stood up to my feet.
The figure walked out from the shadows to reveal himself. A man around thirty years old with black hair except for the gray streaks going along the sides of his hair, dark eyes, and wearing a dark gray flight suit.
"Meta-human company." I added.
The man smirked, "You never really were a fan of working alone, were you?" He taunted.
"How are you here?" I ignored his taunting.
He chuckled, "The same way you are." A metal batarang suddenly lodged itself into the adjacent container. A red light emitted from it and a smokescreen poured out from the opening hatch in the batarang.
My vision quickly became obscured and I could hear coughing coming from in front of me.
I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, "We need to move." I heard Bruce's normal deep voice whisper in my ear.
I let Batman lead me away far enough before hiding behind a shipping container. Just as we hid, a huge burst of wind below around the carrier. The smokescreen from earlier was now gone.
"Are we playing hide and seek now, Voltess?! It's rude not to introduce me to your new friend! After all, we use to be friends ourselves. Isn't that right, Melody?" Batman glanced at me with a shocked look in his eyes.
"What is going on, Mel?" Bruce's unaltered voice still came through in a hiss.
"He's somebody I thought I'd never see again. He was locked up in a secure prison for meta-humans the last time I saw him. We use to work together years ago. His name is Ryan Hayes. I can't explain much more than that right now." I explained to Batman.
"Can you explain his powers?" The voice synthesizer was now turned back on.
I nodded, "He can turn parts of his body into air itself. It sounds less dangerous than it actually is. Don't underes-" I was interrupted by a voice coming from above.
"Found you." We looked up to see Ryan looking down at us from atop the shipping container.
He held up his left hand that morphed into the starts of a cyclone. Electricity sparked from my legs as I lunged forward. I grabbed hold of Batman's arm as I did so, causing both of us to dodge the attack. The gust of air hit the metal carrier beneath our feet to leave a sizable dent.
"Nice reflexes, as always." Ryan taunted as he hopped down from the container. He grinned seeing Batman's towering form standing protectively in front of me.
"So this is the infamous Batman I've heard so much about. The way Penguin talked about you it sounded like he was describing the boogeyman. You're definitely intimidating." Ryan said with a smirk.
"You're working for Penguin?" Batman questioned.
Ryan threw his head back and laughed, "You think I work for him? I don't work for him, I work with him. There's a difference. You see, without me Penguin would have never had the gall to reveal himself. Penguin has been in charge of the mob since the beginning. Morozov was merely a puppet and Penguin the puppeteer."
"What could you possibly offer to a man like Penguin, Ryan?" Ryan's eyes narrowed at me dangerously.
He pointed a finger at me, "Don't call me that. Ryan Hayes is dead as far as I'm concerned. You can call me Cyclone." A brief dramatic silence filled the air.
I held back a chuckle and Ryan or Cyclone deadpanned as stared at me, "Really? Come on, that took me days to think of that." I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing any further.
The vibranium retracted down to my neck, "Cyclone? That's the best you could come up with?" I criticized him.
"Stark's ruined you, I hope you realize that." I shrugged.
"Debatable." Cyclone rolled his eyes.
Batman looked thoroughly miffed at mine and Cyclone's exchange. To me, bantering with your enemy was common when it came to The Avengers. Bruce as Batman is way, way more serious with his fights with criminals that I've noticed.
"We're getting off track now. I see you openly let Batman see who you are which tells me he already knew. Exactly how much do you know about Voltess here?" Cyclone taunted with a smirk.
"I know enough." Batman said gruffly. His eyes narrowed on Cyclone.
Cyclone grew a coy smirk on his face, "Do you now? Then I guess you know all about The Avengers then." My eyes slowly started to widen. No! I hadn't told him any of this yet!
Batman glanced at me before back at Cyclone. The villain let out a laugh, "Oh, she didn't tell you about them? Do you even know who The Avengers are? Doubtful, considering they, myself, and Voltess here aren't technically supposed to exist in this universe."
"What?" Batman said just above a whisper.
"Come on, Batman. I know you're smart. I'm sure you've heard of the multiverse theory?"
"Cyclone, shut up!" I yelled at him.
Cyclone wagged his finger at me, "Tsk, tsk. I thought friends didn't keep secrets from each other, Voltess? You've been keeping your biggest one from him. You came here the same way as I did, Mel." Cyclone snapped his fingers. My jaw clenched and my hands tightened into fists. He was referring to Thanos' snap.
I could feel the steely gaze of Batman on me, but I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with him. This was not how I wanted him to find out.
"I watched my body turn into dust before my eyes. Then, I woke up here. I had no idea how I got here. My last memory was being locked up in that damn pressurized cell. I kind of figured it out on my own. I thought I was the only one sent here until I saw you on the news." Cyclone pointed at me.
"You stopped that bank heist and that's when I knew I had to meet up with you in some way. So, I met up with Morozov, who took some persuasion from yours truly, to meet the real boss of the mob." I thought back to the footage that the hidden camera caught. It was him that Morozov was so scared of.
"Penguin and I currently have a 'I scratch his back, he scratches mine' arrangement going on currently." Cyclone stated.
"What exactly is he helping you with?" Batman demanded.
Cyclone smirked, "My revenge against Voltess. I'd say to ask her for the story but who knows if she'd actually tell you." He chuckled at the end.
"And you?" Batman ignored his earlier taunt. With his Batman persona in full swing, I couldn't tell if Bruce was mad at me or not. I already assumed he's hurt and angry at me for keeping something from him.
Cyclone's smirk turned more serious, "These statues for one," He moved his leg to reveal the diamond penguin statue behind him, "and the bat's head on a silver platter." My vibranium suit instantly formed back around my face.
My blue electricity crackled from my hands as I took a step forward, "Not going to happen." I almost growled out.
Cyclone smirked, "We'll see about that. He's no Iron Man." His hand morphed into a small tornado and shot out in our direction.
I shot my own electricity towards the air funnel. "You need to get out of here!" I yelled at Batman.
"I'm not leaving you alone to fight him!" He yelled back at me.
"He's a meta-human! You don't stand a chance against him right now! Our best bet is for me to hold him off and you to retreat! I'll regroup with you back at the cave. Now go!" I threw my board down and in one motion I hopped on and sent an electrical burst at Cyclone with my other hand.
I flew past Cyclone and I looked behind me as he followed me. I know Ryan and I know his vendetta against me is stronger than his deal with Penguin. I'm his real target, not Batman.
I didn't stop until I was higher up in the night sky. Cyclone hovered as well. Where his feet would normally be were replaced with small twisters.
"Mel, I'm not leaving you to face this guy alone. Stall him as long as you can. I have an idea." I heard Bruce's voice come from the earpiece.
Damnit Bruce, why didn't you listen? He leaves me no choice now. I kept my composure and held my tongue back. Cyclone needed to be clueless with whatever Bruce had planned. As far as he's concerned, Batman fled after I told him to.
"Playing the martyr card, I see. You claimed you'd regroup with him but we both know that's not happening. I told you what would happen if we met outside of that prison, Mel." Cyclone reminded me with a glare.
"Yeah, yeah I remember. I beat you once before and I can do it again." Cyclone scoffed.
"You only beat me because of Stark and a room full of liquid nitrogen." He held his arms out, "I don't see either of those things here."
"Tony might not exist here but there are others like the Avengers out there. There has to be." Cyclone threw his head back as he laughed.
I stayed quiet as he laughed. Come on Ryan, get into a monologue. Do the cliché villain thing. I need to stall you for as long as possible.
"You must be joking. You mean people like Batman? He's just a normal guy in a suit with some fancy gadgets. He's no super soldier, he has no superpowers, and he's certainly not a god from another planet. From what I can tell, Mel, the two of us are the most powerful beings in this world." I shook my head.
"What happened to you, Ryan? You're no longer the same guy I use to call my friend." Cyclone clenched his teeth and glared at me.
"You know what happened, Mel. It's your fault that I'm like this now. How about this? I'll make you the same offer I did years ago." Cyclone held out his hand.
"We're in a different world now. Nobody knows the names of Melody Moser or Ryan Hayes anymore. It's a clean slate here. We can be together again. Just like old times." For a second there I saw a glimpse of my old friend in him.
"And if I did? What would we do, Ryan?" I asked him.
The smirk appeared on Cyclone's face again, "Anything we want, Mel. Between both our powers, nobody could stop us. We can start right here in Gotham City. Help me kill the bat and this city could be ours for the taking. What do you say, Mel?" His comments made me feel sick to my stomach. Ryan was truly gone and Cyclone took his place.
"Lure him back to the shipyard, Mel. There's a ship close to the end of the harbor. I have a trap ready for him at the bottom deck." I heard Bruce's voice in my ear. Perfect timing.
"I'm giving you the same answer I did years ago. No deal." Cyclone's glared darkly at me.
"Fine then. I'll kill you alongside the bat." His hands began to turn into twisters.
I smirked under my mask, "That's what you keep saying but I'm pretty sure I'm still alive." Electricity began to crackle in my hands.
I fired off two electrical bolts at him before flying off in the direction Bruce had told me over comms.
"Running again?! That's all you seem to do, Voltess!" I heard Cyclone yell behind me.
I looked behind me to see a gust of air heading by way. I swerved my board to the right and then to the left to avoid another attack. I tucked in my legs and dove down to the large ship at the end of the docks. I dodged another air attack just in time.
I neared the deck when I felt something collide against my back. I let out a grunt in pain as the force caused me to fly off my board. I tucked my body in as I rolled onto the deck. I was able to roll on my feet and skidded against the decking.
I looked up in time to see Cyclone rushing at me from above. I dove out of the way of his punch. I charged a stream of my electricity from my hand that hit him on the back.
Cyclone gave a yelp out of pain before letting out what sounded like a growl. He turned around and the two of us said nothing as we glared at each other. We began to circle around each other. We were both waiting for the other to make a move.
My eyes quickly glanced at the opened entrance to the lower deck. I needed to get him down there.
"This could have gone differently, Ryan. You had an offer to join S.H.I.E.L.D. after Fury found you. You could have become an Avenger." I slowly made my way towards the entrance of the lower deck. I could make a break for it and he would follow. I just need to get closer.
Cyclone scoffed, "And become their little lapdog like you did? Fury created the Meta-Human Program for a reason. It's because he feared Meta-Humans that he sought them out to control them. S.H.I.E.L.D. told you when to use your powers and kept you hidden until they needed you. They always kept an eye on you because they feared what you could have done if you suddenly changed sides." My vibranium receded as I glared at him. I was almost there. Just a couple more steps.
"I didn't want that life. I didn't want somebody above my head telling me what I could or couldn't do with my powers. They belong to me so why should some low life Government agent be able to tell me what to do with them?"
I glowered at him, "You killed all those people, Ryan. You used your powers to do despicable things. You're wrong about Fury. He never had to control me or worry about me changing sides. He knew I only ever wanted to help people. I chose to use my powers for that purpose. Just like how I chose to do this!" I fired a quick electrical bolt that collided against Cyclone's shoulder.
Cyclone shouted in pain as I made a run for it below deck. I went down both sets of stairs until I was now at the bottom deck. It was pitch black and I could hardly see anything in front of me.
I slowly started to back away from the stairs. I could hear the loud footsteps of Cyclone stomping on the deck above. I felt a gloved hand cover my mouth as I got pulled away.
Even though I knew who it was that grabbed me, it still scared me. I could barely make out the outline of Batman. The only really visible part was his lower half of his face and his eyes. He held a gloved finger to his mouth. Signaling me to remain quiet and removed his other hand away from my mouth.
"Come out, come out wherever you are, Voltess." I heard Cyclone's taunting words. I could hear him step onto the same deck as us now.
"Is it really wise of you to go below sea level? I can blast the hull wide open and you'd be shorted out instantly." Batman looked beside him before turning back to me. No words were exchanged but I could see it in his eyes. He was telling me to stay put.
I nodded to him and he quietly left. It amazed me how he could make his footing lighter when he wanted to. Normally, Bruce has some heavy footsteps.
I heard Cyclone's footsteps getting closer to where I was. That's when I heard something that sounded like metal clinging against something big.
I could hear Cyclone's footsteps now change in the direction he heard the sound. I turned my head slightly to see Cyclone's back.
"Come out now and I promise I'll make it quick." Cyclone taunted.
"That's my line." I heard Batman's robotic voice speak out.
I couldn't make out much but I saw Batman throw something at Cyclone. Whatever it was, it wrapped around Cyclone and I could see electrical shocks from the darkness.
I heard the familiar sound of Batman's cape flapping around. Cyclone got kicked by Batman and sent him into something.
"Not bad for some normal guy in a suit with fancy gadgets." Batman taunted. He had heard our earlier conversation up in the air.
"You really think this is going to hold me?" Cyclone scoffed.
"No, but this will." Light suddenly appeared on the lower deck.
My brows lifted in surprise seeing a decompression chamber. Cyclone was currently laying in it with a bolas wrapped around his torso. Cyclone's eyes widen in shock and fear.
"No, not this again!" He struggled to free himself as Batman closed the door to the chamber.
He tightened the lock and made sure it was sealed. Just as Cyclone finally freed himself, Batman had already activated the control panel and increased the pressure in the chamber.
The twister Cyclone tried to create suddenly vanished. He let out a scream from what I could tell but it was muffled thanks to the machine. He smacked his fist onto the glass of the door.
"I remember the little tidbit of you being locked in prison with a pressurized cell. This ship just docked in Gotham yesterday. The whole crew are deep sea researchers. They need a decompression chamber on board for the bends. This will be your new jail cell, Cyclone." A small grin appeared on my face. His attention to detail has always been amazing. Cyclone only brought that up once.
My sensitive hearing picked up on police sirens just outside. "Did you call Gordon?" I asked Batman.
"They're here?" He asked gruffly. I nodded and Batman walked away from the decompression chamber.
"We need to leave." Was all Batman said as he walked past me. I heard thudding coming from behind me.
I turned my head to see Cyclone slamming the side of his fist against the door. His yells are completely muffled.
"Let's go." I heard Batman's strict voice. I turned my head away and followed the masked vigilante up the stairs.
Introducing Voltess' main villain. For those that don't remember, Ryan is the character Melody was with when the storm in New Mexico happened. As for what exactly happened to him and why he blames Melody? That's in the next chapter.