Author: I bring to you chapter 5 (to which I'm still writing chapter 6 and am stumped; partial writer's block seems to have hit). x_x In this chapter you finalllyyy get to meet the man you've all been waiting for.. the one and only.. the hunter (you'll understand when you read lol). Along with two other mystery guests that I've thrown into this story. Most of these chapters will seem as if filler (to pass the time), but there is a reason I'm writing (and have written) what I have so far. It all has a purpose. That's all I'm saying for now. I do hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: DC totally isn't mine. I just own the Energy Court users and whatever else I create.
[MaraJade57]
Yayyyy. n_n To be honest I don't like Alex either, lol, but for other reasons. :P Yesss. I've always wanted to write something with Captain Marvel in it.. and as I was finishing up Mani Latica and beginning to jot down stuff about Judmentica I was like.. wait.. I can totally pull CM into this.. Yes! And thus I did; though sadly his parts are minor. Enjoy!
Slade enjoyed the sting of the salty spray of sea water that managed to reach the top deck he stood on. It was refreshing, mingled with the evening breeze. The crew were in the cabin and below, tending to the ship and the course they were on. Wintergreen was standing a bit away and behind Slade, his hands linked at his back by his waist.
"We'll be arriving in one hour." A voice at Slade's belt drew him to his walkie-talkie.
He pressed a button on the side. "Very good." He released the button and folded his arms at his chest.
"Slade.." Wintergreen's low tone gained the mercenary's attention as he half turned to acknowledge his friend, lifting his head in curiosity. "Are you really planning to adopt her?"
The mercenary, head freed from a mask, smiled, but it was a devious one. He tilted his head back to peer up at the growing clouds. "I want her completely on my side. She still cares for her little friends deep down, but the deaths of the two pushed her into my arms. We're going to assist Atty in finding the rest of the energy users and killing them."
Wintergreen furrowed his brows. "Oh?"
"We have much to do.. in so little time. I've already gotten a lead on one of the users."
"Where?"
Slade faced Wintergreen. "The other scientist kept tabs on the users that scattered even when he was tending to other business. He wanted to make sure he could round them up one day if he needed to. The file said the last sighting of the Vilotica was in Florida. I'd sent a local contact to monitor him. Earlier I was informed that he'd slipped a bug onto the kid.. and a bit later he vanished with a blue cloaked female with dark hair. Raven. That means he's now in Jump City, our destination."
"So what are you planning to do, sir?" Wintergreen questioned, wonder in his voice. "If the Titans are rounding up the users are you going to fight the Titans just to kill three young teenagers?" Slade had told him how three lived elsewhere aside from Ruba and Atty. Jack, for the time being, was no threat as he, himself, was plotting to kill the users.. which was why..
"I'll send.. someone to deal with them."
"Who?" Wintergreen folded his arms against his chest.
"The one who has equal irritation when it comes to them. One other wanting them gone from the picture.. Jack Zendric." The smile became a dark grin.
What Slade didn't know though.. was of just what was causing Atty problem- or who should be clarified. Slade would find out.
New York was a huge place. He was unfamiliar with it's area just as unsure as he had been in Chicago all those years ago.. but that was in the past. He'd gotten lost and ended up by some huge news reporting building that's name glowed way up above in gilded grey lighting.
He wandered into a park, trying to isolate his target; tinted glasses showing the world before his eyes as colored heat signatures. The humans were all normal yet one body was more brilliant, golden, signaling him as the target. He focused on the person before lifting his goggles to view the person as their identity portrayed. Lucane DeRomare was as most people knew him, but he was alien by the true name of Gold Fang, a humanoid shape-shifter of the race called Du-con from the world of Contar, which was occupied by both the Cor-vals and the Du-cons. They were a race that liked to study other races, learning from it's observations before using a thing called the Giga-Dare Beam on said planet. The world couldn't survive a blast from that. Sadly the rest of the heroes were off doing other stuff. There was only one Du-con here and it was Atty's job to eliminate him from the equation.
It was interesting to see how the man acted, pretending to be human and fooling everyone around him. It was sad, really, but Atty held no pity for this creature. He was going to get rid of him.
A form had stopped him though, one that made his heart skip a beat.. one that had long since been a mere nightmare racing around his mind when he slept. Now.. it was a reality again.
Standing a bit from him, he noticed, was a young man, roughly five foot six with a slim frame, black hair cropped just as short as it had been when he was a kid with twin shaved marks above his ear on either side. When he opened his eyes to look at Atty.. they were dim green. His outfit was very.. simple, seemingly. A grey shirt, matching pants and a long coat that was to his knees, black and sleeved. The sleeves went to the wrists, a white line circling the wrist collar parallel to the ground. The collar at the neck was short and the front opening went down a few inches before closing until the hips, then opening wide to trail almost like side tails. The coat itself was lined with white and a single cross was placed on either side of the opening. He wore no shoes, no socks, merely stood barefooted.
The male tilted his head as a slow.. soft.. and yet demented smile grew upon that pale face.
It was almost bone chilling to see Jack Zendric in the flesh after so many years of just recalling the end of the scientist.
Ody put his hands on his hips as the young teenager studied the older merc. "My! You've grown up, Atty!" Hearing the voice was like listening to a nail dragging down a chalkboard. "So much from the boy I used to watch from a distance."
Lorius didn't know how to respond. He merely said, "And you're no longer that timid child. You're a monster."
Jack shrugged, not caring. "At least I'm not in the pocket of a ruthless mercenary, a traitor energy user and an old war veteran." He chuckled, but the sound was ghostly. "But I suppose that's typical. You sank while I rose."
Lorius jabbed a finger at Jack, eyes narrowing. "If you've come here to kill me.. you're sadly mistaken in that happening."
Jack leaned forward, a smoldering burn to those forest eyes. "Kill you? No, my dear Lorius. I don't want to kill you.. tsk, tsk, incorrect assumption!" He gave a soft, almost genuine laugh. "Heavens no- I want to destroy you, just like the rest."
Lorius was already prepared for an attack the moment he saw Jack.
That was how it began. How it ended.. was another matter entirely. People got involved.
It started when Jack lifted a hand and fired a beam of black, rippling energy. Lorius rolled to the side, bouncing back up just to have to dodge another beam. The first struck the ground, but the second hit a tree behind him.
Gold energy swirled before engulfing Lorius' body and he was gone; not literally but visibly. He was in stealth mode.
"Face me! You coward! Fight me like a man! Accept your death at my hands with pride- ooohf!" Something connected with Jack's back and he was thrown forward, but he spun, searching for the reason. He met only air. "Reveal yourself!"
"Now why would I-" His voice radiated from several feet away from Jack. "-do that?" It came from the totally opposite area this time.
"The future says you die by my hands! When is just relative! You will either fall now or later." Jack spat, venom in his voice. "You wanna know why I'm crazy, Lorius? History said one of the users would change; it didn't specify which. I took it upon myself to be the one, to take the overdose. I prevented one of you from becoming the monster the future said would arise. It burned, so badly, but I handled it. I killed the scientist. I saved you all, but did I get a thanks? No! You treated me like I was inferior! A beast not worth loving! So I schemed to kill you all, to correct my mistake of letting you live, but you all scattered. Took time to track you down, but who would have thought the red bitch would take out two for me." Jack was now smirking so widely his face looked like it would crack. "I'll let her live, until last, as a thank you."
"You'd never get past Slade to kill her." Lorius' voice echoed from all around.
"I will once I kill the rest of the users, you included." Jack chuckled before lifting a glowing hand, black energy sizzling about the fingertips. He brought it down onto the ground, a crater forming from his sheer strength. The webbed cracks rippled out, shattering the ground and moving it unevenly as if a meteor had struck.
Lorius didn't have time to jump away and as such was knocked to the ground. He lifted a hand just as the energy faded from his body, revealing him to his enemy, who smirked and advanced like a predator. Just as he stood above Lorius, ready to end this, a form flickered from behind Jack and suddenly the killer was gone, a whooshing sound following the disappearance.
Lorius was on his feet, spinning, just in time to see Jack skidding to the ground many feet away.. and a man unexpected was just a couple arms length to the side of Lorius.
His heart skipped a beat for the second time that day.
A red cape billowed. "Superman?!"
A deep snarl slithered out from Jack's mouth as he rose to his feet, dusting debris, dirt and grass from his clothes before gazing toward his attacker. He tensed at the sight of the strange and yet glorious Man of Steel standing by Lorius.
He was tall, with sharp blue eyes, short black hair with a curl over the forehead and a stern expression on his face. He was in his typical hero costume; the blue uniform with the traditional red-and-yellow S shield on the chest, red trunks, boots, cape and a yellow belt.
"What's going on?" Superman demanded, looking at both with a seriousness befitting a powerful authoritative figure.
"Superman!" Lorius' voice drew the hero's attention to him, accidentally distracting him for the short time that Jack needed to summon up black energy.
Lorius threw out his arm toward the superhero, as if to warn him, but it was too late. A beam of energy shot forth and connected with the hero's back, flinging him toward a tree. He slammed into it and fell onto his side before rising to his feet seconds later.
Superman narrowed his eyes at Jack. "I take it you're not the friendly kind."
Jack snorted. "Friendly my ass. I'll show you friendly." He flung up his hands, shooting another beam, to which Superman countered with heat vision. The energy collided and exploded at the center.
Superman flew and tackled Jack, wrestling with the young teenager.
Lorius turned, searching for Lucane DeRomare, but he saw no signs of him. He pulled down his goggles and saw a flash of gold to the side and ran after it. That alien scumbag was not going to get away from him!
He was gaining on the Du-con, who had noticed he was being chased. He was within four feet before he grappled the shape-shifter to the pavement of the walkway they were on. Cars zoomed by, but the pair paid them no mind. Lorius flipped the creature onto his back, lifting a hand to pound into the face, but the head shifted and his fist hit the ground instead. He snarled and reared the limb back, preparing for a second hit when something slipped around his arm, pulling it back. He turned his head to see a black shape swooping down toward him.
Great, another distraction!
The shape landed a bit away, pulling on the cord to hold the arm back. A dark, menacing voice came from the form, surprising him. "What do you think you're doing?" It sounded almost like..
The form stood to the true height, black-suited appearance half concealed by a deep cape that fell behind him. A mask hid most of the facial features, but the pointed tips at the top of the head alerted him to just who he was- along with the full, decked-out attire of the vigilante.
"It's not what you think it is, Batman."