Freak Show
Chapter Two:Wade A Minute...
Angel and Spike went with Gwen to the Freak Show tunnels. They had left Oz and Laura back at the hotel researching, while Faith hit the streets, looks for clues about the mysterious 'Genetic Nazi' group that Gwen had described. Gwen led them deep into the sewers underneath L.A, into places Angel had not even entered.
"How do you two know each other then?" said Spike
"Well, we were both trying to steal the same thing." said Gwen.
"I wasn't stealing it!" exclaimed Angel. "I was just borrowing it."
"Yeah, tell it to the judge." said Spike.
"We're here." said Gwen.
Gwen pushed open a panel on the side of the sewer wall, and a secret door opened. Inside was a large open area filled with tents and hovels, making up a small shanty town. About ten to fifteen people seemed to live down here, all with abilities that made them shunned by the world above. Some of them had obvious differences, deformities that made them look more demonic than human. Other differences were more subtle, like Gwen's abilities. They could pass as normal humans, but they chose to dwell below ground and be allowed to be who they are. A young girl of about eight or nine, whose body was covered in thick black hair, ran over to Gwen.
"Miss Raiden!" shouted the girl. "I'm glad you're back. I thought the bad men might have come for you."
"Hi Tina." said Gwen. "I'm glad to see you too. Can you run and tell Wade that I have brought the help I promised?"
As Tina ran off, Gwen turned to Angel.
"Wade is the leader of the group down here. He's tough, the best fighter they have. His gift made him pretty much indestructible. But it also made him kinda crazy."
"How do you mean?" said Angel.
"Well, as far as we can tell, his cells are constantly regenerating, meaning he can't take any real damage without healing it up. But it also acts like a cancer, and left his skin disfigured. It won't kill him, but the pain that he first felt as his body started to be twisted, it left him a little unhinged."
"And this guy is your leader?" said Spike. "This should be a barrel of laughs. You got a negotiator here with Tourettes as well?"
"We don't need a negotiator here bud." Said a voice from behind them. "We need someone who likes to party hard, and I mean the kind of parties only sadists, masochists and Angelina Jolie would go to."
Angel and Spike turned to see what looked like a ninja standing there. His face was completely hidden by a black mask, as was his entire body. Across his back were a pair of swords, and strapped to his thigh was a long dagger.
"Wade, I presume?" said Angel.
"You presume correctly Mr Vampire." said Wade. "Wade Pool, at your service. Which one of you is Angel, and which one sounds like a cartoon dog?"
Meanwhile, Laura and Oz were researching using the Council database to find anything on this group that was hunting the freaks. So far, they had had no luck.
"My eyes are so tired." said Laura. "I'm starting to think the Council have nothing on these guys."
"That makes me think they are a recent group then." said Oz.
"Why would they want to be hunting the freaks?" mused Laura. "Do you think they mind being called freaks?"
"Gwen used it often enough."
"Very true. I wonder why we have heard nothing from the Council yet? Its been at least two hours since we called. Its been getting harder and harder to reach anybody there these days."
Back in the Freak Show tunnels, Angel had just stopped Spike from killing Wade.
"If he calls me a bloody puppy one more time, we are gonna sodding see just how much damage ninja boy can take!"
"Spike, cool it." Angel turned to Wade.
"What's your story then? I wouldn't expect to find someone like you hiding in a rat filled tunnel. Not normally where you would find a hero."
"You hung out in one for ages didn't you?" said Spike.
Angel shot an evil look at the younger vampire.
"First of all," started Wade, "I'm no hero. I'm just looking after this lot until we can deal with those Nazi nutjobs. An' I got my reasons to hide. Used to work for the government. They used to kidnap freaks like us and make them do hardcore missions, ones regular troops would probably die in. They took me when I was sixteen, trained me, and turned me into an assassin."
"Sounds like the bloody Initiative to me." said Spike.
"Eventually I busted out, and took a few others with me. They have been hunting me ever since. Nice to know how wanted I am..."
The doors to the Hyperion opened, and Faith strode in. Laura looked up from the computer.
"Anything?"
"A whole lot of nothing, with a side of zip." said Faith. "Heard anything from Angel and Spike?"
"Nothing. Heard nothing from Giles either. Oz is calling again now."
Perfectly on cue, Oz walked through the door of Angel's office back into the lobby.
"You speak to Giles?" Laura asked.
"No, put through to someone else. We have a bit of a problem."
"What did they say?" said Faith.
"The guy I spoke to, he said Giles' orders are not to interfere with either side under any circumstances. They are humans and not our fight."
"You have got to be kidding me right?" said Faith. "Who did you speak to? There has to be some kind of mistake."
"The guy said his name was Wood. Robin Wood."
