Last time Harry and the others got to know better the team of Meta-Humans whom The BPRD had put together before the new millennium; The Ramblers. In the process, we also met a brilliant young doctor and an old pen pal of Hermione; Aaron Spartan and Virgil Blake. After witnessing two of the Ramblers nearly killing each other, we found out that the murderer, Shannon Revek, has been located, or so we hope. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 8: Power of the Meta-Human
"So you really tried to convince the Muggle President to let you fight the War on Terrorism?" Hermione asked Jill Sparrow. Harry and his family were in a large SUV that, along with other Bureau vehicles, were on their way to confront Shannon Revek, or so they believed. Patricia Walker said that Shannon may have already left the area where the Bureau's trackers picked up her psychic resonance, but it was the best lead they had so far.
"Patricia and several other high-ranking Bureau operatives went to the idiot himself just after 9/11," said Aaron, who was also in the car, "Patricia explained it very clearly so that even that idiot could understand that The Ramblers were just what was needed to find the masterminds of 9/11 and take them out quickly and quietly with minimal collateral damage."
"And we would have," said Jill, "sure, we as a team weren't as mature back then as we are now," at that Ron muttered 'I'll bet.'
"And we were less experienced," continued Jill, "but we could have done the job."
"Unfortunately our 'fearless' leader of the free world is as stubborn as he is dumb," said Aaron, "wait, what am I talking about? He's not my leader, I'm from Canada, so what am I worrying about? Ahem…anyway, you can probably guess what the idiot said."
"He said no," said Ginny.
"Right in one," said Jill, "he said that The Ramblers and the rest of The Bureau should stay with what we know best, fighting supernatural threats, and that we should leave human evils to human good, or so I heard that's what he said."
"Max then appealed to the idiot in person," said Aaron, "I was there when Max explained that The Ramblers were the ones for the job; 'Turn us lose,' he said, 'and we'll make the world that much safer, that much sooner.'"
"But he still said no," said Ginny.
"Again, right in one," said Jill.
"I'll never forget what Max said when we heard the idiot say that his decision was final," remarked Aaron, Max said… ''Very well, Mr. President, we'll stick with what we Meta-Humans know best. I hope you win your war on terrorism, 'cause it's yours now. But you should know, you've already lost something; you've lost my vote.'"
"Come to think of it," said Jill, "the President never had Max's vote to begin with; he wasn't old enough to vote when the idiot ran for election. Even so, Max and most of his team come from Democrat families, so that pretty much makes his statement to the President sort of redundant."
It was then that the car stopped. Harry and the others got out, while Travis, Warren, Patricia, Max and the other Ramblers got out of the other SUV's. Aaron pointed to a large derelict warehouse that was within walking distance of Penn Station.
Another car, a large black van, pulled up and parked. Max and his team opened the back of the van and began extracting their weapons. All of them strapped on Kevlar body armor, some of which was modified to meet the needs of the wearers. Harry and his family were curious as to what kind of weapons The Ramblers were using:
Max, in addition to his revolver, also had a smaller revolver, a .38 special, which he placed in a shoulder holster as an auxiliary weapon, while filling his gun belt and two shoulder bandoliers with as much ammunition as they could carry.
Jill unsheathed her saber long enough to make sure it didn't needed to be sharpened, then she took a 9mm pistol and some magazines of ammunition, and a handful of throwing knives.
Leon had an M16 automatic riffle and several magazines of ammunition, a 9mm pistol auxiliary and a long combat knife which he clipped to his belt. He then checked that the laces on his boots were secure.
Daniel and Jeff also had automatic riffles, but where Jeff didn't need another weapon, his Meta-Human ability of absorbing energy made up for that, Daniel took with him a wrist-mounted dart launcher.
Katina only took a set of custom-fitted body armor to allow freedom of movement. Harry would soon learn that Katina had no need for weapons other than her mind.
Andrew had his oversized pistol, which he identified as a .475 cal magnum, "the same model that Charles Bronson used in Death Wish 3," Andrew said as he places as much ammunition magazines as he could into his pockets.
For auxiliary weapons, Andrew had several of what at first looked to be small metal ball bearings. "These are special mini bombs," said Andrew, "just throw them and they explode on impact. They won't cause much damage, but if one of these goes off near you, you'll feel it. Believe me, you'll feel it like hell."
As for Gillian, she wore very lightweight body armor, but carried no guns. Instead she strapped to her back a long sword, called a Ninjato, the kind that ninjas use. She also had several throwing knives, called kunai, and several shuriken throwing stars.
"Looks like somebody likes ninjas," said Chris in a teasing manner.
"Yes I do," said Gillian in an eager tone. She smiled widely, "the way of the ninja suits my ability very well, thank you."
"I've noticed that you're not stuttering anymore," said Hermione, "forgive me if I sound rude, but…"
"It's alright," said Gillian as she smiled again, "I'm just excited. I always am before a mission."
"It's part of who Gillian is," said Aaron as he and Virgil also donned Kevlar vests. Aaron had with him a black medical bag, while Virgil had his hands free. "The anticipation and adrenaline rush of a mission causes her to focus more. Just wait till after the mission, she'll be talking normally again."
"Just look at that…that cannon Andrew has," said Ron to Hermione in a hushed tone, "you don't think he's compensating for something?"
"It has crossed my mind," said Hermione, "but it's none of our business."
"There's nothing wrong with him physically," said Jill as she walked over, "I once snuck a peek at Aaron's medical files. Andrew is as healthy as they come, for a Yankee," she then leaned close to whisper, "but between you and me, the only thing he's compensating for is lack of social confidence."
"You mean he's had lady troubles?" Ginny asked.
"In a manner of speaking," said Jill. She then leaned close to foil any eavesdroppers, "don't get me wrong, I only annoy him because he annoys me. Deep down he's a decent bloke, and not a bad looker, and he's also very good in the kitchen; his rice casseroles alone almost make up for his eccentricities. Hell, I'd fancy him if he weren't so damn annoying."
"People keep forgetting that my hearing is perfect," said Andrew in an aggravated tone, "and you, Jill Sparrow, just because we have a truce, doesn't give you the right to push the envelope with me. There's a limit to the amount of abuse I'm willing to take from you."
"Right, let me know when I reach that limit," said Jill in a teasing manner.
"Knock it off, you two," said Max as he loaded his revolver, spun the cylinder and holstered it, "it's almost go-time."
"Not yet," said Travis Bachman, "we're waiting on the Aurors from the AMA," he checked his watch, "they said they'd be here by…"
Just then the sound of twenty or so Appariting wizards erupted in front of Travis. There stood John Baxter with a score of Aurors.
"Damn it, John!!" exclaimed Travis, "did you have to do that in front of me?"
"Sorry, Travis," said John as he slyly smiled, pleased to have gotten one over his Muggle counterpart, "Appariting isn't an exact science."
"Bloody right," said Ron in an agreeing tone, "and if you're not careful, you'll get splinched."
"What's 'splinched?'" Gillian asked.
"That's where part of you get's left behind when you Disappriate," said Rebecca, "most of you gets to where you want to go, but minus a small part. Usually it's an arm or a leg, but I once heard of someone leaving his lower half behind."
"Sorry I asked," said a disgusted sounding Gillian.
"Why would you do that?" Andrew asked, "risk losing part of yourselves?"
"It's quicker than traveling by brooms," said John Baxter, "sure, there are safer methods of wizard travel; there's the Floo network, but some wizards aren't fond of traveling by fire. And then there's Portkeys, but they tend to be a bit expensive. So most of us learn how to disappear and reappear, despite the risks involved."
"And they say I have a death wish," muttered Jill.
"For once we agree," said Andrew.
"Okay people," said Max in a commanding tone. It was clear to Harry that Max was taking the initiative, "we've picked up Shannon's resonance in that warehouse. But beyond that we're in the dark. Katina…"
"There's at least five Scanners in there," said Katina, her eyes were closed, a look of deep concentration on her face, "maybe more. I can't tell if Shannon is one of them, they're all bunched together."
She opened her eyes, "They didn't sense me."
"Good," said Max, "we still have the element of surprise. Gillian…"
"On it, boss man!" said Gillian as she smiled eagerly. She stepped into the shadows and vanished.
"What just happened?" Hermione asked, "she didn't Dissapparite, did she?"
"Gillian knows more than how to use ninja weapons," said Aaron, "her stealth ability can make it so she can merge with the landscape, even with shadows."
"Gillian can probably infiltrate any high-security building in the world," said Jeff Dambrisi, "she once tested the new security upgrades for The White House and the Pentagon after 9/11. She pointed out several flaws to be corrected and suggested many improvements, all of which were accordingly implemented."
"She could walk right into the AMA and the Ministry of Magic in London," said Jill, "look around, take some notes, and walk out without anyone ever knowing she was there."
"So she's a spy," said Ginny.
"We prefer the term 'intelligence procurer,'" said Daniel Pulaski.
Rebecca then handed the modified Omnioculars to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Chris and Samantha. While John, Travis, Max and the others were talking, clearly planning a strategy, Harry and co were looking with the Omnioculars at the warehouse.
Harry could see inside the warehouse walls and could make out the shapes of over 100 people, and a few shapes he was sure weren't anything human. But beyond that he couldn't tell what was what and who was who.
"Bloody things don't work," said Ron.
"You're having trouble with yours to?" Harry asked.
"We all are," said Hermione.
"They should work," said Rebecca, "I thought I had them calibrated right. Let me see them." Harry handed his back to her. Rebecca took out her wand and began making some adjustments, "if I can get the settings right, we'll be able to see inside with perfect clarity."
It was then that Gillian came back, appearing from the shadows as if they were like a portal "It's not good," she said, "there's 80 mind-slaves in there, all heavily armed and wearing body armor. Six are guarding the front door, with another ten in the hallway leading to the main storage area. I counted fifty with AK-47's, while the rest have automatic shotguns. I also saw some grenade launchers, some RPG's and at least 300lbs of plastic explosives being fitted into pipe bombs, car bombs and vest bombs for suicide attaks."
"Looks like we've stumbled into the middle of a major terrorist operation," said Max in an eager tone.
"At last!" said Leon in an jubilant tone, "a chance to take part in the war on terror!"
"If we do this right," said Katina, "and if we can get one of the enemy leaders here to talk…"
"And if we can trace them back to the masterminds…" said Jeff Dambrisi.
"And take down the masterminds," said Daniel, "then the President will have to take us more seriously. We can finally fight the war on terror on our terms!"
"As it was meant to be," said Jill.
"Any sign of our 'friends' from the Middle-East?" Andrew asked hopefully.
"I didn't see anybody affiliated with any known terrorist organization," said Gillian, "all the mind-slaves are just that."
"Damn," said Leon in a frustrated and disappointed tone, while the other Ramblers let out similar hushed curses.
"Next time," said Virgil in a placating tone, "next time. Although it is unfair that you're being denied a chance to use your abilities as you really want them, no thanks to the idiot in the White House, Tanj."
"There are others with them," continued Gillian, "twenty Meta-Humans; five Scanners that I know, as well as ten other rogues. There's five more who I don't know or know what their abilities are."
"You mean Revek has other Meta-Humans working for her?" Hermione asked.
"That," said Gillian, "as well as ten demons."
"Demons we can handle," said John Baxter, "but what's this about other Meta-Humans?"
"Not every Meta-Human who comes to The Bureau stays there," said Aaron, "some say no. Most of those are sent back home, but with their memories adjusted. We've gotten pretty good at hypnotizing people, wouldn't want to let any sensitive information get out accidentally."
"You said that most are sent home," said Harry.
"Yeah," said Aaron in a reluctant tone, "I was hoping we wouldn't get to this. Some Meta-Humans who refuse what The Bureau has to offer run; either they're frightened by what they see and learn, or they're angry. We call these people Rouges."
"We've had to go after these Rouges," said Max, "most we've caught and brought back to The Bureau for memory modification. But some manage to get away, and most of those who get away are among the most dangerous."
"Like Revek," said Ron.
"Exactly," said Andrew.
"There's still more," said Gillian, "I also saw ten people wearing black robes and carrying wands."
"So there are dark wizards involved," said John, "as if this night couldn't get any worse."
"If Revek has joined forces with dark wizards," said Harry, "then…"
"Then this conspiracy could be reaching all over the place," Ginny finished for him.
"I'll bet those dark wizards in there are, at least partly, responsible for the murder of the wizards who were working on The Harmony Project," said Hermione.
"I'll take that bet," said Ron.
"Then we need to stop it before whatever it is they're planning comes to fruition," said John. It was then that one of the Aurors said something to him. "Well that's just great."
"What's great?" Harry asked.
"We've detected an Anti-Apparating field around the warehouse," said John, "we can't get within twenty yards of the building."
"So no popping inside," said Jeff.
"But they still don't know we're here," said Daniel, "I've ensured that they won't until it's too late." He held up a laptop computer, "I've hacked into their security systems and told it to ignore us. For all they know it's an empty neighborhood out here."
"Good," said John, "we still have the element of surprise. It'll make things better when we do this."
"What are the odds that all of those in there are under Shannons's control?" Leon asked, "not just the mind-slaves."
"I honestly don't know," said Max, "for all we know, Shannon may actually be using diplomacy and charm to get others to work with her, she's done that before."
"Well she was a very convincing woman," said Katina, "even before her ability emerged, or so I've heard."
"Well we'll find out soon enough," sighed Andrew as he thumbed the safety on his pistol, "let's get this over with."
"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked in an accusing tone.
"What has to be done," said Jill, her face heavy with grim determination.
"John," said Travis, "you and your Aurors can handle the dark wizards and demons, but leave the mind-slaves and Rouges to us, it'll be better that way."
"I understand," said John in a grave tone.
"No," said Hermione in a shocked and appalled tone, "no! No, they can't do this!"
"Do what?" Ron asked.
"My god," said a shocked Harry as he realized what was going to happen, "they're going to kill them; the muggles who had their minds enslaved, Max and The Ramblers are going to kill them."
"What?! No!" said an outraged Ron, "they can't just murder them!"
"It's not like we can just let them go," said Leon, "they're completely under Shannon's control."
"But they're people," said Ginny, "they're innocent people."
"Those poor bastards are no longer the people they were," said Max, "they've been programmed with a single purpose; to obey without question. And once we go in there, they'll be ordered to kill us, no matter the cost. Our only option is to fight back as hard as we can."
"But you can't just kill them," said Hermione, "they're people, innocent people. There must be another way."
"There is no other way," said Katina, "we've tried just about everything, even trying to take control of them ourselves. I've tried to break Shannon's hold on her slaves before. Trust me, you're better off not knowing what happened to them when I tried to free them."
"They lost their innocence when Shannon took them," said Leon, "for all we know they have all those high-powered weapons in there to launch a major terror attack on the city, and it's up to us to stop them."
"So for the next hour or so," said Jill, "it's kill or be killed. I'm sorry if that offends you, but that's how it is."
"Well it does offend me," said Hermione in an intense tone, "and I abhor it," she then sighed in a defeated tone, "but I cannot think of an alternative. Just get it over with."
"We'll be as quick as quiet as possible," said Andrew, "Leon and Gillian, they're going in first. They'll take out the guards and we'll go in. It'll be over before you know it."
"Alright," said Travis, "is everyone ready?"
"Ready!" said Max as he spun the loaded cylinder of his revolver.
"Ready!" said Jill as she unsheathed her saber.
"Ready!" said Leon as he cocked his riffle, then unsheathed his combat knife.
"Ready!" said Andrew as he cocked his oversized pistol.
"Ready!" said both Jeff and Daniel as they cocked their riffles.
"Ready!" said Katina as she cracked her knuckles.
"Ready!" said Gillian as she took a throwing knife in one hand and a pair of shuriken in her other hand.
"We're ready over here," said John, while the other Aurors nodded in agreement. They all had their wands out.
"I'm ready to," said Rebecca as she took out her wand.
"No," said John, "Rebecca, you need to stay with Harry and his family, and that's final."
"Why?" an irate Rebecca asked, "I'm as capable an Auror as the others, why can't I go with you?"
"It's not that you're not qualified," said John, "but I need you out here." he then gave Rebecca a look that said that he didn't want her to get hurt. "Besides," he continued in an official tone, "I happen to be a Level 5, while you're still at Level 3. If you keep arguing with me, I'll report you to Director Irvine for insubordination."
"You're a hard, uncaring son of a bitch, John Baxter," said Rebecca as she glared at him, but then her expression softened for just a second, as if saying that she understood.
"That I am," said John. He then looked at Chris and Samantha, "what about you two? Want to be written up as well?"
"Our job is to stay with Harry and his party," said Chris, "nothing more."
"You won't catch us being insubordinate," said Samantha.
"Good," said John, "and I know that you two are capable, but you'll do best out here." John then looked at Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
"Don't look at us," said Ron in an innocent tone, "we're supposed to be on holiday."
"And I'm not even an Auror," said Ginny.
"We'll stay with you," said Aaron, "if they need me, I'll be right there, but I prefer not to be in the line of fire once the shooting starts."
"Same with me," said Virgil, "I never liked guns anyway. Now, lasers and energy weapons, those are what I like."
"Wish us luck," said Patricia as she, Warren, Travis, John, Max and everyone else headed towards the other side of the warehouse.
"You'll need it if Shannon is there!" said Aaron.
"There they go," said Harry as the assault team went around the corner.
"And just in time," said Rebecca as she handed the Omnioculars back to Harry and the others, "They're fixed."
"Outstanding!" said Chris.
"Wish we could hear inside as well as see," said Ron.
"I'd rather not hear helpless people being slaughtered," said Hermione.
"They don't look helpless to me," said Harry as he focused on all the weapons the mind-slaves were handling.
"Still," said Ron, "I'm sure there'll be more than gunfire going on in there."
"Someone might be talking soon," said Rebecca.
"Yes," said Ginny in a sly tine, "too bad we won't be able to hear it."
"What are you up to?" Harry asked.
"You remember the Extendable Ears that Fred and George made?" Ginny asked, "well," she took several small flesh colored pellets from her pocket, "George and I shrunk some and modified them so they work without any tubing."
"Wireless Ears," said an impressed Harry, "and you put some on our friends."
"There one on Jill, Max, Travis and John," said Ginny, "but I didn't say that."
"We didn't hear anything," said Chris and Samantha.
"Neither did I," said Rebecca.
"Huh?" said Aaron in a mock confused tone, "sorry, I wasn't paying attention there."
"You say something?" Virgil asked.
"Never mind," said Ginny in a sly tone. She handed several larger flesh-colored pieces to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Chris, Samantha and Rebecca, who then put the receivers, for that's what they were, in their ears. Ginny had one for herself as well.
"They work," said Rebecca, "I can hear John and the others. Smart man, your brother George."
"Smart and happy," said Ginny, "he really is doing better without Fred, now that he's got Angelina."
"You mean Professor Johnson," said Hermione, "remember, she took over as Transfiguration Professor."
"And Cho's doing much better," said Harry, "I still find it hard to believe that McGonnagal convinced old Bins to 'move on.' Cho always did like History of Magic class."
"Now that she's teaching History of Magic," said Hermione, "things will finally be interesting. Not that I didn't enjoy that class."
"You and only you," said Ron.
Harry then brought his Omnioculars up to his eyes in time to focus on the other side of the building. He saw six ordinary looking people, four men and two women, all armed with AK-47's.
The next thing Harry knew, two of the mind-slaves were down, a pair of shuriken sticking from their throats, while Leon ran in and slashed the throats of two more with his knife. Gillian then threw a pair of knives at the throats of the last 2 mind-slaves. All six enslaved guards were dead within three seconds, none of them made a sound.
"Goodness!" said Hermione.
"They're efficient," said Ginny, her voice had a slight tremble that betrayed her disgust, "I'll give them that."
Harry had to agree as he watched Jeff and Daniel drag the bodies out of the way, while Max, Travis, John, Warren and four Aurors cautiously entered the warehouse.
"They're not saying much," said Ron, the shock of seeing six people slain so quickly beginning to wear off.
"They're still communicating," said Aaron, "Max and his team have their own hand-signal language."
"John helped develop hand-signals for our Aurors as well," said Rebecca, "I'm sure both codes are similar enough for coordination."
By now the entire assault team was inside the warehouse and making their way to the main storage area.
"You want to look?" Harry asked as he offered his Omnioculars to Aaron.
"I'll pass," said Aaron, "I've been keeping an eye on The Ramblers since 1999. Believe me when I say that I've seen enough for a lifetime."
"I choose not to watch," said Virgil.
It was then that the first gunshots rang out. Harry and the others quickly refocused on the main storage area where the remaining mind-slaves, all 68 of them, (Max and his team having taken out another six on their way inside) began shooting at the assault team. Max and The Ramblers began shooting back, while John and the Aurors shot stunning spells, still determined to take some alive anyway.
One of the demons in human form rushed at the assault team, its hands morphing into claws and its teeth into fangs. Jill beheaded within two seconds.
Two more demons where killed when Andrew threw his mini bombs at them. The miniature explosives stunned the fell creatures long enough for Andrew to shoot them in the heads with his oversized pistol.
"I though you said we'd get to handle the demons!" John shouted at Andrew.
"You're right!" said Andrew, "The rest are yours!"
John aimed his wand at the fourth demon, which had by now sprouted octopus tentacles from its arms. John then shouted the killing curse, green light shooting from his wand at the vile beast, destroying it.
"Guess it is legal to use the killing curse on demons," said Ron, "at least in America."
"Good thing to remember," said Harry.
The last demon then rushed at John, bat wings sprouting from its back. It flew up to the rafters of the warehouse, then dove down to try and snatch John with its razor-sharp talons. It missed as John rolled to the side, still trying to avoid gunfire from the mind-slaves.
John then sent the killing curse at the demon. He missed and then had to dodge its swooping talons again.
"John," Rebecca whispered.
"He's fine," said Samantha. She then winced as she saw John getting scratched by the demon, "maybe not."
John wasn't seriously hurt, but he lost hold of his wand. He dove to grab it, but it was just out of his reach. The demon then landed between him and the wand. It licked its lips with a serpentine tongue in anticipation of a kill.
"I'm going in!" said Harry as he pulled out his wand.
"I wouldn't," said Virgil, "don't interrupt them."
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"He's talking about that!" said Rebecca. Harry quickly put the Omnioculars back to his eyes in time to see Gillian cut off one of the demon's clawed limbs with her ninjato. Max then shot the demon between the eyes with his revolver, destroying it.
"Let me guess," said Virgil, "Max and Jill?"
"Gillian actually," said Hermione as she watched Max help John back up. Gillian then handed John his wand.
"Oh," said Aaron, "where's Jill?"
"Looks like she's now the one in trouble," said Harry. Jill was stuck behind a concrete support column, while a hail of machine gun bullets and shotgun pellets peppered around her. She was safe for now, but she couldn't move from cover without risking certain death.
"Not so much a 'Lady Death Wish now," said Chris.
"There's being daring," said Samantha, "and then there's being stupid. Jill isn't stupid."
"Now we're going in," said Harry.
"No," said Virgil, "give him a chance."
"Give who a chance?" Ginny asked. Harry then saw Andrew shoot two of the enemy gunmen, then throw another handful of his mini bombs. The micro explosions distracting the mind-slaves long enough for Jill to move to a better covered position next to Andrew. Harry saw Jill nod at Andrew as if saying she was alright. Andrew nodded in acknowledgement, then the two of them moved to an even better position to strike back at the enemy.
"They seem civil enough now," said Ron.
"Yeah," said Aaron, "Andrew and Jill tend to put their differences aside when the mission gets serious like this. Just wait till things calm down, they'll be back to normal then."
By now nearly all of the mind-slaves were dead, the rest were stunned by John and the Aurors. The enemy dark wizards had also been stunned, the Aurous had their wands secured, their bodies restrained and placed under careful guard.
All that was left was the Rouge Meta-humans. Three of them had been killed in the crossfire, while four more were incapacitated by crippling bullet wounds. Only three were left, apparently the rest had fled the building at some point during the fighting.
"Good god!" said a shocked Harry as he looked over the blood-soaked floor of the warehouse, "this is…"
"Total carnage," said Chris.
"What he said," remarked Samantha.
"And I thought we saw some terrible stuff during the war," said Ron.
"You'll get no arguments from me," Ginny.
"I know it's terrible," said Aaron, "but a necessary evil."
"Now I want a look," said Virgil. Harry handed his to him. Virgil took a quick look at the dead and wounded Rouges and the three live ones, "Shannon isn't there. Either she escaped when the shooting started, or she was left before we got here."
Hermione then said something that sounded like, "living weapons."
"What's that you say?" Ron asked.
"The Ramblers," said Hermione in a distant but determined tone, "they're living weapons. My god, Rebecca, you were right; that's what The Bureau is doing to Meta-Humans!"
"This is one time I wish I was wrong," said Rebecca.
"Oh bloody hell," said Ron in a hushed tone that only Harry could hear, "Hermione, she's got that look again. You know the one, the one she had when she found out that Hogwarts has House Elves?"
"As if I could forget that," said Harry. It would be a long time before Harry would forget the way Hermione acted during their 4th and 5th years at Hogwarts when she was obsessed with Spew, no, it was S.P.E.W.
"What's she talking about?" Chris asked.
"I'll tell you what I'm talking about," said Hermione in a strong, determined tone, "The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, who supposedly stand for 'Truth, Justice and Freedom,' are taking innocent people who's only crimes are being born with strange gifts, and turning them into brainwashed killers."
"You can't be serious," said Samantha.
"Take a good look at what's going on in there," said Hermione as she pointed at the warehouse, "and you tell me if I'm being serious or not." She then looked at Aaron and Virgil, "well? I can tell you have some story to deny what I just said, so say it already."
"We've got nothing to say about this," said Aaron, "not right now anyway."
"You may think that they're nothing more than weapons," said Virgil, "but remember, you and Rebecca said it, not us. You'll learn the truth soon enough."
"I'm sure there's a better explanation for what Max and his teammates are doing," said Ginny.
"Well why don't you enlighten us on what you think they're doing," said Hermione, "well, what do you think, Ginny?"
"Umm…" said a frustrated Ginny, "…I…okay, now that you're looking at me…just give me a second…damn! I've got nothing."
"Before you say anything that matches your smug expression, Hermione," said Rebecca as she continued to watch the battle, "and yes, I can sense your smug expression, you should know that as of this instant, Max and his comrades aren't looking very much like living weapons."
Harry and the others looked again. Apparently Max and the other Ramblers were trying to attack one of the remaining enemy Meta-Humans, a particularly ugly 6'11" brute that looked like it could rip a troll in half. As if this was bad enough, it could project energy beans from it's hands that would vaporize anything they touched. Being as such, he was fast enough to vaporizes any bullets fired at him, while Max and his team couldn't get close enough to attack physically.
"Hiendric Kiel," said Virgil as he looked through Rebecca's Omnioculars, "he took one look at the inner working of The Bureau and ran for the hills. Apparently we were too civilized for him."
"It doesn't have to be like this, Hiendric!" Harry heard Max shout at the enemy Meta-Human, "you can still have a place at The Bureau with us!"
"And be a slave to normals!?" the Rouge, Hiendric, shouted, "never!" he shot an energy beam at Max, who dodged it, "It is you who should come to us! Come to Shannon and her vision of the future!"
"You're a fool, Hiendric Kiel!!" shouted Jill as she and Andrew took cover behind some shipping crates, but then had to move again as Andrew pointed out that the crates contained plastic explosives, "anyone who believes in Shannon and her lies is as crazy as she is!"
"Shannon Revek is the one we have been waiting for!" shouted the second remaining enemy Meta-Human, a girl about 19 with short brown hair and light brown eyes. She looked like an average young woman that was half frightened out of her wits.
"Melinda Berkensile," said Virgil as he took a look with Ron's Omnioculars, "a Scanner. She's one that ran because she was scared."
"The world is full of corrupt people," said Melinda Berkensile, "full of hate and pain. Shannon will cleanse the world of the filth that has plagued it for so long. She will rebuild the world into a paradise ruled by Meta-Humans, where normals are the slaves, where normals have been put into their place."
"You don't really believe that, Melinda," said Katina in a placating tone, "you know in your heart that such a world as Shannon wants will never exist, not as long as people continue to be stupid."
"That's what Shannon said!" exclaimed Melinda. Harry could tell that she was terribly frightened by her own words, as if she truly didn't believe them but was too afraid to speak the truth, "People are stupid, that's why we need to put them in their place. That is the destiny of Meta-Humans; to be masters of the world!"
"That's not what I meant," said Katina as she took two steps forward, "I meant all people are stupid. They're afraid of what they don't understand, and they can be made to believe any lie, either they're afraid of the truth or they want to believe the lie."
"She has a point," Hermione said, "I'll admit that."
Harry watched as Katina's words began to have a positive effect on Melinda.
"Come back with us, Melinda," said Katina as she held out her hand, "you don't have to be afraid anymore."
"I…I don't…" Melinda seemed to be at war with herself. Harry could tell that she wanted to go with Katina, but the fear inspired by Revek was holding her back. Finally she took a step forward towards Katina.
"Don't you dare!!" exclaimed Hiendric Kiel, "stay right where you are, bitch!"
"Don't listen to that pig-headed brute, Melinda," said Katina, "you are so close. Come back with us and I promise you you'll be safe."
"Take one more step, little girl!" snapped Kiel, "and it'll be your last!"
"I…I…" stammered Melinda. She looked like she truly wanted to go with Katina, but was too afraid of the oversized Rouge to move. But finally she took another step towards Katina.
"You just signed your death warrant, bitch!!" shouted Kiel as he aimed his hand at Melinda, "give my regards to Satan!"
"Let me handle this, Hiendric," said the last standing Rouge, a sinister looking man about 22, standing 5'9" and had short white hair and very pale skin.
"Oh sh$t," said Aaron as he looked with Ron's Omniocculars, "Zane Danco. He's not as insane as Shannon, but he's pretty close."
"Shannon warned me that you're devotion to the cause wouldn't hold up, Melinda," said Zane Danco in a menacing tone, "she said that if you showed any sign of betraying us, you were to be terminated, with extreme prejudice."
"Don't you touch her!!" screamed Katina.
"I have no intention of laying a finger on this traitor," said Danco, "but she still has to die. Hiendric, keep our friends occupied."
"Gladly!" said Hiendric Kiel. He then began blasting energy beams at Max and his team with such speed and intensity that The Ramblers had no choice but to take cover.
Harry and the others watched in horror as Zane Danco advanced on Melinda.
"It is time for you to die, Melinda," said Danco as he smiled viciously, "it won't be quick, and it certainly will hurt." He then locked eyes with Melinda.
Melinda's eyes then dilated in terror. She tried to run away, but some force was keeping her rooted to the spot. Her head began to tremble.
"What's happening to her?" a horrified Ginny asked.
"Psychic pressure," said Virgil, "Danco is going to make Melinda's head explode."
Melinda's head was shaking violently by now, while blood was beginning to drip from her nose.
"Fight back!" Katina screamed, "Melinda! You're stronger than this! I know you are! Fight back!"
But fear hat taken hold of Melinda, leaving her helpless against Danco's psychic assault on her mind.
Harry then saw Max try and attack Kiel. Max almost got within range to attack, but the Rouge blasted Max with both hands, forcing Max into a support column at the other end of the storage area. The column buckled from the force of Max's crash and broke, causing part of the overhead ceiling to collapse onto Max, burying him.
"That's it!" said Harry, "we're going in there and helping, whether they want us or not."
"We may get there to late," said Ron, "we can't Apparate in, and the door is on the other side of the building."
"Of for crying out loud, Ron," said Ginny in an irate tone, "are you a wizard or not?" She ran to the wall of the warehouse, her wand in her hand. Harry and the others were right behind her, "if it'll take too long to go in through the front door, then we'll make our own door." she aimed her wand at the wall they were facing
"Reducto!!" shouted Ginny, blasting a 10ft wide hole in the wall of the warehouse.
This caused Danco to be distracted long enough to lose control over his attack on Melinda. She collapsed to the ground, her eyes rolled back into her head and blood flowing freely from her nose, but she was alive.
Hiendric, seeing Ginny, Harry and the others at the new opening in the wall, went even more berserk than before. He fired off several energy blasts at them, but Harry had already cast a shield charm, deflecting Kiel's energy blasts harmlessly into the floor.
Howling with frustrated rage, Kiel then grabbed a nearby RPG launcher and aimed it at Harry, "Die! Mother-F#ck#r!!"
"Expelliarmus!!" shouted Samantha, and the RPG launcher flew out of Kiel's hands.
"Nice," said an impressed Harry.
Kiel then grabbed a crate full of plastic explosives and threw it at Harry.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" said Chris, catching the crate in the air and hovering it to the floor harmlessly.
"Nice," said Ron.
Kiel then bellowed like a mad bull, much similar to one of Uncle Vernon's tirades, and charged headlong at Harry, but Rebecca then hit him with the bat-bogey hex. Kiel suddenly found himself being attacked by half a dozen irate bats that originated from up his nose.
"Very nice," said an impressed Ginny.
"How about this?" Hermione asked as she aimed her wand and summoned half a dozen canaries, who then proceeded to join the bats in attacking Kiel's head.
"And for the finishing tough," said Harry. He aimed his wand at Kiel and thought Levicorpus! Kiel shot several feet into the air, suspended by his feet, all the while the bats and canaries kept up their attacks.
Libracorpus! thought Harry, sending Kiel headfirst onto the concrete floor of the warehouse.
"Fantastic!" said Virgil Blake.
"It's not over yet," said Aaron. He had his medical bag with him as he headed towards the unmoving but breathing from of Melinda. But Danco stood between Aaron and his patient.
"I think not," said Danco, who then focused his gaze on Harry, "you'll pay for your interference, infidel! Shannon's word is the word of God! And it is the will of God that all those who stand in our way must be destroyed! Your suffering shall be legendary, even in hell!"
"You'll have to deal with me first, asshole!" shouted a very angry Katina. She glared at Danco, sending a bolt of psychic energy at the Rouge. He recoiled from the force of Katina's attack, but recovered and sent a bolt of his own at her. She recoiled and recovered. The two of them began trading psychic attacks, neither side looking like they were about to lose any time soon.
"How is she?" Ginny asked as Aaron finally reached Melinda.
"She's alive," said Aaron as he took out some sort of scanning device and used it on Melinda, "thank god for small favors. But as to will she be alright, that's a horse of different color."
"I think we've got bigger problems than that," said Chris. By now Kiel had recovered from his magical tormenting, looking very battered around the face, and a large lump had formed on his head, but he looked like he was still in the fight.
"See you in hell, infidels!" shouted Kiel as he charged up a massive amount of energy in his hands a prepared to shoot it at Harry and the others.
But Jeff got in front of Harry, just as Kiel shot his energy beams. Jeff took the full force of the attack, his body completely absorbing the energy.
"Right back at you!!" shouted Jeff as he channeled the absorbed energy into his hands, now doubled its original strength, and shot it back at Kiel. The attack blasted him off his feet, but he soon got back up.
"Pathetic fools!" shouted Kiel, "you think my own power can harm me?!"
"Actually I was hoping it would," said Jeff.
"But I can!!" from the pile of collapsed ceiling emerged Max, his clothes were ripped and he was bruised and bleeding from several small cuts, but he looked like he was ready for battle. Then to Harry's amazement, the cuts and bruises began to heal. Within seconds it looked like Max was never hurt.
"You took me by surprise, Hiendric," said Max as he took off his gun belt and handed it to Leon, "That's the only time you'll get the best of me. I'll ask you again, return to The Bureau, receive the memory treatments, and we can forget that this whole mess ever happened."
"Never!" shouted Kiel, "I'll kill you myself!"
"Didn't you learn anything in your short time in The Bureau?" Max asked in a taunting tone, "I'm hard to kill."
"We'll see about that!!" raged Kiel as he charged at Max, who in turn ran at him. Jill, Andrew, Travis, John and everyone else got to the other side of the warehouse floor to get out of the way.
Kiel and Max met in the middle of the room. Kiel swung several punches at Max, who easily dodged them. To Harry's Seeker-trained eyes it looked like Max could anticipate every move Kiel made and moved accordingly.
Max then dodged another punch, then grabbed Kiel by both shoulders and slammed his left knee into Kiel's right side four times, shattering several ribs. Max then used a Judo throw to send Keil onto the floor. Max then drove his right elbow down onto Kiel's left shoulder, breaking the Rouge's collar bone, then grabbed Kiel's right arm and forced it to bend the wrong way hard enough for it to break in two placed.
Max jumped back as Kiel tried to get back up. It seemed unbelievable that someone who had just taken so much punishment would want to continue fighting, but there Kiel was, getting back up.
Max would have none of that. He kicked one of Kiel's legs, forcing Kiel to his knees, where then Max delivered a roundhouse kick to Kiel's head, sending him to the floor again.
Max then forced Keil onto his stomach and then grabbed the Rouge's head in a hold that threatened to break his neck if he added any more pressure to his hold.
"This is your last chance, Hiendric!" said Max, "tell me where Shannon is and I'll spare your life!"
"F#ck you, Max Kildare!!" spat Kiel.
"So be it," said Max in a defeated tone, "forgive me." He then snapped Kiel's neck, killing the Rouge.
"Bloody hell," said a shocked Ron.
"I gave him every chance to redeem himself," said Max as he stood up and walked away from the dead Meta-Human, "but he wouldn't listen."
"Some people are beyond redemption," Patricia.
"Yes," said John, "some people, like Voldemort, and Shannon Revek."
"There's another who's beyond redemption," said Gillian as she pointed her sword at the still battling Danco, who was loosing to Katina. She had Danco on his knees by now, looking nearly exhausted. But Katina looked like she was nearly out of energy herself.
"If I die, I take you with me!" said Danco as he pushed more psychic energy into his attack, but Katina pushed back harder, even though it looked like she was also on the verge of passing out.
But then Daniel ended the battle by shooting Danco in the head, killing him. Katina then gasped as her mental energy found nothing to land upon. But she quickly regained control over her power before it could hurt anyone innocent.
"You alright, Katina?" Daniel asked.
"I would have been fine if you hadn't butted in, moron!" snapped Katina. Even though she looked like she had just ran a marathon, Katina still looked like she could keep fighting.
"Well excuse me for trying to help!" said Daniel in an insulted tone.
"I didn't ask for your help!" snapped Katina.
"Both of you, shut up!" shouted Max after he finished downing an entire 16oz bottle of orange Gatorade, then he drank one of blue. It seemed he had become badly dehydrated during the battle, that his electrolytes had been thrown out of balance severely. Harry guessed that Max's healing ability had something to do with it.
"We'll worry about who shouldn't have helped whoever later," said Travis, "right now we've got bigger things to worry about."
"Shannon got away," said Andrew as he holstered his pistol.
"She won't the next time," said Jill as she cleaned some blood off her saber and then sheathed it.
"Great," said Leon, "now we got to wait for the Trackers to find Shannon again."
"And wh-who knows where s-she'll turn up a-again?" said Gillian, now stuttering again now that things were calming down.
"Either way," said John, "I think we did some good here tonight," he pointed at the captured dark wizards, "I'm sure one of those may have some information about what Shannon is up to. My people will take them back to the AMA. Travis, if we learn anything, you'll be the first to know."
"Much appreciated," said Travis.
"I don't know about the rest of you," said Jeff, "but I'm starving."
"I could eat the ass of a dead hippopotamus," said Daniel.
"You're depraved," said Katina, "but yes, I'm famished also."
Harry was then surprised to find out that he also was hungry, and so was Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Rebecca and Chris. Not Samantha though, she was feeling a little nauseated by all the slain enemies around her.
On the way back to the cars, Max spoke to Harry, "that was some great spell work you and your people did against Kiel. He was one of the more dangerous of my kind, but you handled him like he was nothing."
"After what we've been through," said Ron, "a rampaging Meta-Human isn't that big deal."
"And let's not forget what you did, Max," said Ginny, "it was like you owned that monster."
"I'm just very good at Mixed Martial Arts," said Max in a modest tone, "chances are I would have taken him out regardless of what happened. You wizards, and witches, you're the real heroes tonight."
"You are," said Aaron. He indicated Melinda, who was still unresponsive. Several Bureau medics had her in a stretcher and was being taken to one of the Bureau vehicles that served as an ambulance.
"You saved her life," said Aaron, "and there's a good chance that the damage to her mind can be repaired. You've given Melinda the chance to live, all thanks to you."
At that Harry didn't know what to say. He looked back at the blood-soaked floor of the warehouse and shuddered, painful memories of The Battle of Hogwarts coming back, and he was sure Ron, Hermione and Ginny felt the same way.
Yet despite the horrific carnage he, his friends and family witnessed just now, Harry had a feeling that some good had come of it.
The end of chapter 8.
Next chapter, Harry and his family learn more about two of the Ramblers. But as the mood relaxes, the enemy tries to strike down the one whom Harry loves the most. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!