Mystery Men Parrt 8

MARCH 20, 11:32 PM

He had been staring up at the Spire for over fifteen minutes. He was nervous, he realized…very nervous. It had been a week since he’d been told to come here. A week of imagining what this meeting would mean. Who was the stranger who had told him to come here? How had the man found him? Were there more people like him in Century City?

A week of pondering these questions had left him anxious to know the answers. He had spent the two days after the attack at the Courage Café in bed, recovering from his wounds. That had nearly cost him his job…luckily he got along well with his supervisor. For the next three days, he had spent his free time trying to locate the reporter, Karl Rainey. He thought that Rainey would be able to give him some information that might help him realize what was going on. He couldn’t find him, however; no one at the Chronicle would tell him anything about where the reporter was, just that he would be unavailable for the foreseeable future.

The Fade flexed his arm, still feeling a slight pain where the killer’s knife had torn into his shoulder. After a couple days, the wound was pretty much entirely healed; he thought the climb to the top of the Spire would be manageable. He could make the climb, sure…he just wished he was going up there with a little more information.

Well, he thought, glancing at his wristwatch, no reason to wait any more. He stepped back a few strides on the rooftop, gauging the distance he would need to make the leap. He ran toward the edge of the roof and leaped out over Central Avenue, his long trench coat flailing behind him in the night air.

He caught the edge of a window on the twenty-eighth floor. He quickly sprang from that one up to a window on the next floor up. His shoulder felt a bit sore, but the exterior of the building left enough handholds to make the climb easy. He scrambled upward, toward whatever awaited him at the top.

* * * * *

The stairs creaked as he made his way down into the basement. The bricks of the wall were cracked and flaking, cobwebs clinging everywhere. Even though the house, like every other building on Century Island, had only been built in the last couple of years, it seemed much older than it was. No doubt an effect of its occupant, he thought. He sucks the life out of everything.

The man who called himself Alexander Hilles pushed open the door to the basement and stepped in. The cramped room was lit with the flickering light of numerous black candles. Arcane symbols of all types had been scrawled on the walls in chalk…and in other substances. Seated in the middle of the floor was the man Hilles sought. He wore a thick black robe and seemed to be working on something on the floor before him. Hilles cleared his throat.

Mr. Left replied without turning. His attention was on whatever was on the floor in front of him. “Greetings, sir. Welcome to my home.”

With an effort, Hilles calmed himself. He needed Left, and so had to tolerate the man’s…eccentricities. “I told you I never wanted to come here, Left. Why did you ask me here? What is so important that I have to enter this…this place?”

“You asked me to learn what I could about the Pantheon. I’ve learned much.” Left turned away from his work on the floor and gazed blankly at Hilles. “And I have devised a way to deal with them.” Small red spots covered his face and a long smear marked his forehead.

Hilles stepped forward. Left leaned back slightly, giving him a better look at what he was working on.

On the cold stone floor was the body of a young girl, no older than eight. Her yellow dress had been torn open above the waist, exposing her belly. Her stomach had been roughly cut open, and her entrails were spilled out about her. Blood had pooled around her body, small swirls and streaks had been drawn in it. Left’s hands and the front of his robe were covered in blood. A small knife lay nearby. Left’s eyes, as lifeless as the child’s, looked up at him.

Hilles had seen such gore countless times on the field of battle, and other similar atrocities committed as the spoils of war. There was something about this, however, that disturbed even him. His rage threatened to overtake him. He wanted nothing more than to dash Left’s head against the wall. He spent a moment calming himself. “What is this?”

An empty smile spread across Left’s face. “A small ritual I’ve performed to learn what you wanted to know.” He turned back to the corpse and indicated the symbols drawn in the blood. “To get a glimpse at the future.”

“The future?” Hilles scoffed. “And you had to kill this child for that?”

Left smiled again. “Children are the future, are they not?”

Hilles decided to put the child out of his mind for the moment; she was dead already, and he needed to know what Left had learned. “What have you learned, Left?”

“The Pantheon that seeks to oppose you gathers tonight.”

“Tonight? You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Left answered. “Very soon, actually. Four men and a woman…the professor’s niece, I believe.”

Hilles’s brow furrowed. “That can’t be. She is not of The Blood…how could she be a part of this Pantheon?”

Left shrugged. “It is unclear. It seems she has been changed somehow.”

This troubled Hilles. The little Halfbloods that were running around this accursed city were something he knew how to deal with. Where exactly they had come from, he had no idea…his German allies weren’t responsible for them…but that didn’t really matter. The fact that Left seemed to think Klein’s niece had been changed somehow…that was troubling. What could that mean? Any general would tell you that any unknown factor was an unwelcome one. “What do you mean ‘changed’?”

“As I said, it is unclear. She is not of The Blood…and yet there is a power that she wields that could pose a threat to our plans here.”

Hilles thought for a moment. “Where are they gathering? I will send the German Halfbloods to kill them…I can send at least a dozen. Surely that will be enough.”

Left shook his head. “I do not know where they are gathering. Again, it is unclear.”

“What good was your…ritual then?”

Left shrugged again. “I could have learned more if I had a few more children…but I have another way of finding them.”

Left pointed to a corner of the room shrouded in darkness. A movement caught Hilles’s eye within the shadows. “What is it?” he asked.

Left grabbed a candle from the floor beside him and moved it closer to the corner of the room. The dim light was enough to reveal a monstrous winged shape within. Red eyes glared out at them from the darkness, and Hilles heard a low steady growl. “It is commonly called a Blackwing. As far as I know, none have been created in over five centuries. They are the perfect hunters…”

Hilles nodded. He was familiar with the creatures, though he had never seen one before. Supposedly, they could sense those of The Blood and had been used to kill many over the centuries. “So…we release this beast out into the city and hope that it finds and kills this fledgling pantheon?”

“It shouldn’t be difficult for it to find them if they are all together.”

“But killing them will be another matter,” Hilles said. “One of them fought Silence to a standstill. Another killed Talon and defeated Northwind. Are you sure this creature can kill them all?”

Left considered this for a moment while he eyed the creature. “It very well might. At the very least, it will kill a few of them and break the Pantheon before it truly forms. Whatever remains, I’m sure we will be able to handle.”

Hilles nodded. “And you will be able to coral it once it has finished?”

“Yes,” Left replied. “Using the child’s eyes in another ritual, I can establish a link with the Blackwing’s mind.” He smiled at Hilles. “Waste not, want not.” He picked up the small knife.

“Very well,” Hilles said. “Unleash it and see what damage it can do.”

Left brought the knife to the girl’s vacant blue eyes and expertly cut the orbs free of their sockets in a few strokes. The sorcerer muttered a few words in some alien tongue and dipped the eyes in the pool of blood. He tossed one to the creature in the corner who snatched it in his clawed hands and quickly brought it to its maw. Left mirrored its actions, bringing the other eye to his own mouth and biting into it. He chewed a few times and then swallowed. “Delicious,” Hilles heard him whisper softly.

Left uttered another magical phrase and the creature sprang from the corner of the room. It spread its massive wings and flexed its over-muscled frame. It roared, a deafening sound in the small basement, and then smashed through the cellar door. Hilles ran to the doorway and watched as the creature beat its wings and launched itself into the night.

He turned back to Left. “Impressive,” he said to his minion. “You’ve done well, Mr. Left.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Hilles made his way over to the staircase that led back up into the house. “However,” he said, turning back to face Left, “do not jeopardize my plans by risking implicating me in murder.” He gestured toward the poor child. “This will be the last time I come here, Left. And keep your…hobbies in check.”

Left chuckled. “Of course, sir. I understand.”

Hilles nodded a final time. “Good. Inform me when tonight’s business is done.”

Hilles made his way up the stairs and out of the house. Errikos stood beside his car awaiting his return. “Is everything all right, master?” the large man said as he opened the car door. Hilles turned up to look at the night sky and briefly saw the silhouette of the creature against the light of the full moon. He smiled. Tonight would see his plans put back on track.

“Everything is fine, Errikos. Take me home.”

* * * * *

MARCH 20, 11:56 PM

The Fade watched as a pair of gloved hands rose above the ledge. He thought about using his ability to blend to conceal himself, but decided against it; if this meeting was supposed to assemble the Mystery Men of Century, then it wouldn’t serve to have his first act toward the others be one of deception. Instead, he made his way over to the ledge and extended his hand to the new arrival.

The man who was climbing onto the roof wore a mask that covered his entire head, except for his mouth and eyes, which narrowed warily as he looked up at Fade. The man only hesitated a moment before taking his hand and allowing him to help.

“Tough climb, huh?” Fade asked as the man got to his feet. The newcomer was wearing what seemed like military fatigues…except instead of the usual olive color, his were blue, with a double stripe, red and white, running down the outsides of his sleeves and pant-legs. There were large white stars on the backs of his gloves and another on his forehead. Two metal discs hung from either hip, one white and the other red.

“Not so bad,” the man said, his voice touched with a slight southern drawl. It seemed true; Fade realized he wasn’t even breathing heavy. He eyed Fade up and down. “You’re one of them Mystery Men, aren’t you?”

Fade nodded. “I suppose. You’re not?”

The man shrugged. “Hadn’t really thought about it. This is the first time I’ve worn this get up outside of the …out.” Again, he eyed Fade’s outfit. “So what’s your name?”

Fade cocked his head. “You mean, what do I call myself?”

The other chuckled at that. “Yeah, I reckon that is what I mean. Seems to make sense, don’t it?”

Fade nodded again. “It does. I call myself the Fade.” He extended his hand to the man once more.

The man took his hand and shook it, his grip strong. “I go by Champion. That guy Paradox asked you here, too, huh?”

“Paradox? Is that what he calls himself? I suppose…I never got his name.”

“That’s what he told me it was last night. Told me to come here tonight at midnight.”

“I met him a week ago,” Fade said. “So…um, what do you think this is all about?”

Champion chuckled at that. “Well, I reckon that since we all go these special abilities, Paradox thinks it‘s a good idea to…” He trailed off, as if something had caught his attention. He craned his neck, listening for something. “Do you hear that?”

Fade didn’t hear anything and he said so. Champion moved back over to the small wall that ran around the observation deck that they were on. “It’s some kind of low humming sound…faint, but getting closer. There.” Champion pointed out into the sky to the south.

A dark shape could be seen making it’s way through the air toward the Spire. It looked like some kind of bird. “What is it?” Fade asked.

Champion’s eyes squinted within his mask. “I’m not sure,” he said. “But I’ll be damned if it don’t look like a flying man carrying a girl.”

Fade’s brow dropped in confusion. “What?!?” He ran over to the wall to get a better look.

Sure enough, it appeared to be a man with some kind of flying apparatus strapped to his back. He wore a metallic helmet that had two large red lenses for his eyes; they seemed very like the Fade’s goggles. He was approaching swiftly, laying prone in the air. In his arms he carried a young woman bundled in a pilot’s jacket.

The flying man came in above the observation deck, stood upright, and came down for a landing. The machine on his back gave several short low hums as he descended to the deck. He touched down lightly and set the young woman down on her feet.

Fade just stared, amazed. He had just watched a man fly across the city! “Wow!” was all that he seemed capable of saying.

Champion didn’t seem quite as impressed. He approached the two newcomers warily. “Who are you?”

The man turned to face him. He was dressed in a strange looking jumpsuit…it looked metallic, but fit him like cloth. The harness that held his flying device to his back strapped over his shoulders and chest, and numerous other items hung from it. The large belt that he wore was also covered in small tools and gadgets. A large rifle of some sort was strapped to the flying device, its stock sticking up over his right shoulder. His hand went to the weapon cautiously, but he didn’t draw. “I was asked to come here,” the man said, his voice electronically filtered through his helmet.

Champion’s hands went to the two discs at his hips, like some kind of gunfighter. He seemed ready to attack, although the Fade had no idea how he meant to do so.

“Everyone just relax,” the young woman said, throwing back the hood of her jacket. Long brown hair tumbled down to her shoulders, framing her pretty face. Fade thought he recognized her, but he couldn’t say from where. She calmly and slowly stepped between the two men, a hand raised toward each of them. “No need to get all riled up.”

The man with the flying machine relaxed, his hand drifted back down to his side. Seeing this, Champion also stood at ease. “Okay, okay,” the man said in his southern accent. “Guess I’m just a little on edge.”

The other man removed his helmet and held it tucked into his elbow. He was probably a few years older than the Fade, about thirty or so. His hair was brown and short, slicked back away from his face. He turned and looked at Fade. “My name’s David.” he said. “David Barry.”

“You were asked to come here, too?” Champion asked.

David Barry turned back to him. “Yes. I didn’t get his name, but he was a young man, early twenties at most, with brown hair and gray eyes. Dressed in a black uniform of some sort, with red gloves and boots.”

Champion nodded. “He told us to come here, too. He calls himself Paradox.”

David raised an eyebrow. “Paradox? That’s a strange thing to call yourself.”

“I don’t even know what it means,” Champion replied.

The young woman explained. “It is an impossibility….something that happens but shouldn‘t be able to happen.”

Champion grunted. “Well, I go by Champion, and that little guy over there is Fade.”

The woman laughed. “What the hell is with all the strange names?”

“Actually,” a voice said from above them, “they are more like titles.”

The four of them turned to see the man who called himself Paradox standing above them, clinging to the large antenna that topped the Spire. He smiled down at them and dropped down to the observation deck.

He stood there for a moment and looked at the four of them, a small smile on his face. “I’m glad to see you all decided to come,” he said. He turned to the girl. “Especially you, Ms. Klein…I was very worried about you.”

She didn’t seem to know how to respond. “I…I managed to get away,” she said. “Thanks to you.”

Fade realized where he knew the girl from. “Klein?” he asked. “Wait a minute…your that professor’s daughter aren’t you? The one who’s gone missing?” He had read an article about that in the Chronicle a couple of weeks before; her picture had appeared alongside the article.

“His niece, actually,” she answered and turned back to Paradox. “That’s why I came…Dave told me that you know where my uncle is.”

Paradox hesitated. “Well…not exactly, but I have a good idea of who has him and where he may be. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to gather all of you together.”

“But the professor is still alive, right?” Champion asked, his voice thick with concern.

“As far as I know, yes,” Paradox answered.

Sara Klein looked at Champion. “You know my uncle?”

The masked man nodded and reluctantly explained. “I worked with him at Fort Nicholas. He helped turn me into…helped give me my special abilities.”

Sara seemed surprised by this, but turned back to Paradox. “I think you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, mister. What exactly is going on here?”

Paradox paced the observation deck. “There’s so much,” he said, “I don’t know where to begin explaining.”

“How about explaining how you knew about all of us?” Dave asked.

Paradox nodded. “Okay,” he said with a sigh. “I learned of you by learning of the enemy’s plans. They knew about all of you. I managed to learn their plans, and learned about each of you in the process.”

Fade finally found his voice. “Who do you mean? Who’s the enemy?”

It was Sara who answered. “It’s the Germans, isn’t it? That creep that attacked me in my uncle’s lab spoke German. This is all about the war in Europe.”

Paradox nodded. “The country called Germany has agents here in Century. They are our primary concern.”

“But America is neutral,” Dave said. “We send supplies to Britain and France, sure, but we haven’t gotten involved yet.”

Champion laughed at that. “How long you expect that to last?” he asked. “Let me tell you…America is gearing up for war big time.”

“America’s involvement is a foregone conclusion,” Paradox added. “It’s just a question of how and when they enter the war.”

“Okay,” Dave replied, “but how do we fit into all this? Why did you bring us together?”

Paradox took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Because we have been gifted with abilities far beyond normal. We can accomplish what others have no hope of doing. But the other side has its own…mystery men. Large numbers of them. Together we can help make sure that the right side wins.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Fade said, holding his hands up at Paradox. “How exactly can we do that? I can do some pretty amazing things, sure…but affecting the outcome of a war? I don’t buy it…”

Paradox’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “What? You don‘t ‘buy it’?” he said. “What do you mean?”

Fade blinked at him. “I mean how can five people influence how the war goes?”

“There are more of us out there,” Paradox answered. “We four are just the beginning.”

“Four?” Sara asked, her tone touched with anger. “What do you mean ‘four’?”

Paradox put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ms. Klein,” he said. “But you don’t have the same kinds of abilities that the rest of us have. We will save your uncle, but we can’t take you with us.”

“Oh, really?” Sara replied. With that, she broke out into a sweat. Large beads of moisture formed on her face and hands. In the moonlight, the sweat gave her a yellowish hue.

After a moment, Fade realized that it wasn’t the moonlight…the beads of moisture actually were yellow. The liquid flowed over her skin and clothes, coating her entirely in only a few moments. She stood before them coated in some kind of golden metal. “You sure about that?” she asked.

Paradox had stepped back and taken his hand from her shoulder. “Amazing,” he said absently. “It’s different already…” He shook his head, gathering his thoughts.

Champion shook his head as he looked at Sara. “Now there’s a sight I never thought I’d see.”

“The jar that I had in my hands when I ran out of my uncle’s lab,” Sara explained to Paradox. “This stiff was in it. Now, it’s in me.”

Paradox nodded. “Alright then,” he said. “The five of us.”

Fade felt totally out of his depth. “Wait,” he said, grabbing Paradox by the shoulder and turning the young man to face him. “Maybe you guys know, but I don’t…how is it that we have these crazy abilities?”

“Actually,” Dave said before Paradox could answer, “I don’t have any.”

Paradox smiled at him. “Are you sure about that, Steelhawk?”

Dave threw his helmet to the ground. “Why do you insist on calling me that?” he yelled. “I want some real explanations from you, not the half-assed answers you’ve been giving us!”

Champion had moved over to the wall and was looking down toward the ground. “Guys,” he said, but Fade realized the others didn’t hear. Dave was yelling at Paradox and Sara was trying to get him to calm down.

Fade moved over to the ledge next to Champion. “What is it?”

“It sounds like…” he stopped short and shoved Fade to the ground. “Look out!”

A large dark shape flew up over the ledge from below. Something hot and wet struck the Fade’s cheek and neck as he tumbled away. He heard Champion cry out in pain.

He sprang to his feet, ready to face whatever it was. He reached up and wiped his cheek…Blood, he realized. He heard the others stop their arguing behind him. He heard a sudden intake of breath from Sara.

Champion was stumbling away from the ledge, holding a hand to his face, blood pouring out between his fingers. Perched on the wall behind him was the thing that had attacked him.

It appeared to be a man…or at least, it had the same shape as a man. Except for the two huge, bat-like wings that extended from its back. Its skin was as black as coal, coarse gray hair covered its chest and forearms. It wore a tattered pair of pants, frayed just below the knee. Instead of feet, it had talons like a hawk. They clicked against the concrete of the wall as the thing flexed its leg muscles. Its ears were enormous and pointed, sweeping back from either side of its head. Its eyes were totally red and seemed to glow in the night.

Fade watched in horror as the thing raised its clawed hand up to its mouth and licked Champion’s blood. It growled viciously. Behind him, he heard Paradox mutter one word. “Blackwing.” Sara screamed.

Fade backed away from the thing, trying to get over to Champion to see how badly the man was hurt.

“What the hell is it?” Dave screamed as he drew his rifle over his shoulder. “WHAT IS IT?”

The thing leaned forward and roared, a deep guttural sound. With one beat of its massive wings, it sprang from the wall straight at the Fade.

“Holy shit!” he cried, quickly tucking and rolling to his right. The creature still managed to rake its claws across his back, ripping right through the leather of his coat and into the skin beneath. He cried out and spun away from the beast.

Dave raised his rifle at the creature. “Stand clear!” he told Sara and Paradox as he fired. A low hum was all the sound that the gun made as it went off.

He caught the creature dead in the chest. It tumbled back away from them, growling angrily. It was back up on its feet almost instantaneously and lunging for Dave.

“My God,” he managed to get out before the thing’s claws tore into his shoulder, knocking the rifle from his hand. Dave fell back to the floor and tried to shuffle away from the monster. Whatever his jumpsuit was made of, it had saved his life. If that had been regular cloth, the thing would have torn his arm off. It loomed over Dave, moving in for the kill.

Fade started to move in, but Paradox got there first. He delivered a left hook to the creature’s jaw that would have taken a man’s head off. He followed that up with an uppercut and another hook. The thing stumbled away from Dave as it tried to defend itself.

Fade moved in behind it, hoping to surprise it while Paradox still had it occupied. In one fluid motion, the thing managed to lash out and grab Paradox by the throat. It whirled around and hurled the young man right at Fade. He felt a couple of ribs crack as they collided, felt himself tumble back into the wall, felt the concrete crack from the impact, then felt open air beneath him.