Modern Mythology Part 5

I dream. I stand upon the shore, looking out over the ocean. There are others gathered around me. I think I know them, or some of them, at least. But I also don’t know them. Dreams can be funny like that, can’t they?

We are looking out at a city. It’s on an island about a mile out into the water, but you can’t even see the island… the city looks like it just rises out of the ocean itself. It is the most incredible city I’ve ever seen. Its buildings and towers rise high into the sky. They must number in the hundreds. It is like something…well, like something out of a dream.

It’s Century City, but it isn’t. It is the Century that could be, or will be, or maybe the Century that was…although I don’t see how that could be. It is bigger than I remember it being and far more developed. I can see bridges that run between buildings, and skyscrapers that are taller than any I’ve ever heard of. Looking at it, it is like the culmination of the very idea of a city.

I turn to those around me to see if they are as amazed as I am. Most of the people are formless… like ideas of people. Two of them, however, I can see clearly.

The first is the young man I know as Paradox. He is wearing his black jumpsuit…except something is different about it. Something is missing… or something is there, or both, I can’t quite make sense of it. Like the nearby people, it is vague and shifting. Paradox is speaking and his words seem angry. I look up at his face.

His brow is furrowed, his mouth a tight line as he listens to the other man talk. I hear a noise that sounds like many insects banging against a screen door, trying to get inside to the light. It is like many small voices speaking in unison.

I look from Paradox to the other man. I grow frightened in that overwhelming way that can only happen in dreams. The man is covered in small machines. They hum and move about his body like cogs of some larger mechanism. They almost seem to crawl about him. He wears a helmet with a large visor covering his eyes. Behind the visor, his eyes glow with an artificial, alien green light. Although his eyes glow, there is something dark about them…dark, or empty, perhaps.

“It is what must be done,” the man says to Paradox. “Surely, after all I have shown you, you understand that.” It isn’t a question.

Paradox doesn’t speak, he simply nods slowly.

The frightening man turns to me. His empty, glowing eyes seem to look right through me. He scares me…has always scared me. “Are you ready, Blackwing?” he asks in his many little voices.

I flex my wings in response, batting at the air around me. I growl from deep within my chest. Despite, or perhaps because of, my fear of the man, I listen to him. It is almost like I am acting out my response… like it has been written and I am just playing the part that was assigned to me.

The frightening man… his name teases my memory… (Smith, I think…something like that)… he turns to the others and addresses them. It is twilight suddenly. Everything had been lit up like noon a moment before, but now it is twilight. Dreams can be funny like that, can’t they?

“This is it. This is what all our struggles have been leading to. Are you ready?”

The assembled group answers him in unison. Their strong voices are a stark contrast to his. Some of them take on a more distinct appearance. They become more real than before. I see an old man in a green hood, a bow clasped in his fists. Beside him is a huge man, easily eight foot tall. His bare arms are marked by so many scars that they look like a roadmap to some crazy city. His face is covered from the nose down in a mask that reminds me of the kind a bandit would wear in a western. He doesn‘t speak as the others do, he just nods. “Yes,” the others say.

The scary man nods once, as if any further action would be inefficient. “Of course you are. We all are.”

He turns back to Paradox. “Most importantly,” he says, raising his hand to rest on Paradox’s left shoulder. “You are ready.”

“I am,” says the young man. He looks as sad as any person I have ever seen.

“Just one more thing,” the little voices whisper. His hand slides down from Paradox’s shoulder and grasps the material of his black jumpsuit. There is a symbol of some sort; I can see it between his metallic fingers. He tears the symbol away from Paradox’s shirt, leaving a fist sized hole. The man raises his glaring eyes to face Paradox. “Much better,” his many voices proclaim.

Paradox only nods again, then he hangs his head for a moment. Finally, he turns out to face the city. The artificial light of the city seems almost as bright as the sun’s light had been. “Let’s do this,” Paradox whispers.

The frightening man’s mouth curls upward ever so slightly. “Indeed,” he answers in his many little voices. His hand opens and the bit of material from Paradox’s jumpsuit flutters slowly to the ground.

I look down and manage to catch a glimpse of it. It is a series of red and white stripes, with a smaller image in the corner. It looks like a black square… maybe blue… and there is a symbol of some sort inside the square. I can’t quite make it out… but it looks crooked… it looks…

*****

 March 21, 11:04 PM

Malone’s eyes snapped open. Someone was shaking him. He looked up to see the Fade staring down at him, concern obvious on his face. When the young man saw Malone was awake, his expression softened. “You okay, Mr. Malone? Seemed like you were having a doozy of a nightmare.”

“I’m fine,” he replied and sat up. Andy, he remembered. When the mask is off, he goes by Andy. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. A doozy did not do his dream justice.

“Do you remember what happened?” Andy asked.

At first, Malone thought the kid meant what had happened in his dream. He remembered every little detail of that…but he realized almost right away that that wasn’t what Andy meant. “We were attacked,” he answered. “A bunch of masked men…men with powers like you guys have. But that’s all.”

Andy nodded. His goggles hung loosely from his neck. One lens was marred by several small cracks. One gloved hand toyed with the goggles absently as he spoke. “Yeah, there must have been ten of them or so. But we managed to take care of them.” His hand went from his goggles to his face and he covered his eyes. “Paradox killed them.”

Malone remembered flashes of the battle. Their attackers were surely not pulling their punches. He couldn’t blame Paradox for treating them in kind. “From what I remember, that seems like the only option they left us.”

Andy shook his head. “Some of them, sure,” he said, his voice cracking as he spoke. His hand came away from his face, and his eyes were shining brightly in the room‘s dim light. “The ones we killed in the middle of the fight. But once the fight was over…Paradox rigged Dave’s workshop to blow up. We took one of them with us and left the others inside.”

Malone remembered how sad Paradox had seemed in his dream. Andy looked the same way right now. “Listen, kid…those guys were killers, that was obvious. And they’re with the Germans, too. They ain’t good people. They deserved what they got.”

Andy nodded. “I know. It’s just that I never considered myself capable of killing anyone. And even with everything that I’ve learned about what we are dealing with, I’d still like to avoid it if possible. But when we were fighting…The Urge…it got so strong that it was like I lost myself. It was almost like I wanted to kill them…even though that isn‘t the way I want to do things.”

Malone put a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “I hear you, kid,” he said. “The other night…when I became that thing…I tried to kill you all. I don’t even remember it.” As soon as he said it, he realized why he didn’t remember everything from the fight. He snatched his hand back from Andy’s shoulder, as if leaving it there was putting the kid in danger. “Oh, God,” he could barely hear his own voice. “I turned back into that thing again, didn’t I?”

Andy hesitated for only a moment before nodding.

Malone’s jaw quivered as he asked the next question. “What did I…did I hurt anyone?”

“Just a couple of the bad guys,” Andy replied. “You helped us win, Mr. Malone. Goldrush…Sara told us that one of them stabbed you and that you turned into that Blackwing thing right afterwards.”

Blackwing, Malone thought. That is what that weirdo from my dream called me…Hell, it is how I thought of myself in the dream. I just didn’t realize it until now. “Where did you hear that name, Andy?”

“What? Blackwing?” he asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. “That’s what Paradox called you when you were that…way.”

“Paradox,” Malone muttered. He looked Andy in the eye. “You ever get the feeling that he knows a lot more than he’s telling anyone?”

Andy nodded. “Yes, sir…he’s said some things that just don’t seem to make no sense…”

Malone patted the kid’s shoulder again. “But you trust him, don’t you? Even though you don’t think he’s telling us everything?”

The kid considered this for a few moments. Finally, he nodded once more. “I do. Even if he ain’t telling us everything, he’s definitely helped us out so far. I mean, it was him that turned you back into yourself the first time you turned into Blackwing.”

The kid was right. Malone trusted Paradox, too…even though there was reason to believe that they shouldn’t. Worry about Paradox later, he told himself. “Where are we, Andy?”

The young man looked about the room. “Another shop of Dave’s,” he explained. The room was small and filled with old crates. Most were covered with sheets to keep them safe from dust, except for the few nearby. The sheets had been pulled from those to make a small makeshift bed for Malone. “I guess he owns like three warehouses that he uses for work.”

Malone rose to his feet. He noticed that his clothes hung from him in tatters. This is going to become a problem if this keeps happening, he thought. I don’t make enough to buy a new wardrobe every week. Realizing that he was entertaining the idea of turning back into that monster, he shoved those thoughts away. “What does he do, Andy?”

“Dave? He works on inventions…engineering and mechanics…stuff that can be used by the military,” the kid explained. “But I don’t think he works for the government or anything. Seems like he does all this work for himself…more like a contractor. He even said he has a pair of better goggles for me…which is good since these got cracked in the fight.”

“Then how does he afford to rent out three workshops?” Malone asked, his private eye instincts kicking in.

Andy shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think he might be rich.”

“Interesting,” Malone said absently. He made his way over to the door and opened it. Peeking out, he saw a dark hallway extending in either direction. “Where are the others?”

“Just down the hall, I think,” Andy said and pointed. “We sent Mr. Rainey and Officer Hogan away. Paradox said they should try and let the authorities know what they’ve learned, even though they might get into trouble. They were supposed to leave Century, I guess…or at least Rainey was." When Malone stepped out into the hallway, the kid followed. He heard voices coming from down the hall. There was an open doorway at the end that led into a much larger room.

He walked in to find Sara and Dave talking quietly. Their conversation quickly cut off when they saw him. He nodded at them. “Glad to see you’re both okay.”

Dave’s hand went to his bandaged shoulder. “Not entirely,” he said. “But I’ll be fine. How are you feeling, Malone?”

Malone shrugged. “I feel fine,” he answered as Andy came into the room behind him. He actually felt better than he could ever recall feeling. The normal aches and pains he always attributed to his middle age were gone. His hand absently rubbed along his abdomen…a brief flash of memory came to him then…he recalled the sword piercing his stomach and the look of delight in the eyes of its wielder…but there was no pain, nor any mark showing that the wound had ever happened.

What the hell have I become? he wondered.

Again, he shoved thoughts of Blackwing away. He looked at Sara. The young woman was sitting in a chair with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around her knees. She looked as frightened as he felt.

“Where are the others?” he asked her. “Where’s Paradox?”

She turned and pointed toward a door off in the corner. Even as she did, the door opened and Champion came into the room. His mask was pushed back from his face and hung at the back of his neck like a hood. It was the first time Malone had seen him without the mask. He had blond hair that tumbled about his head in loose curls. The gash that Blackwing had inflicted upon him was little more than a red line along the left side of his face. His eyes were a cool blue, but at the moment looked troubled. His skin seemed paler than it should. He raised a shaky hand and placed it over his mouth. He looked on the verge of being sick.

Sara’s brows furrowed as she looked at him. “What is it?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

“What did you find out?” Dave asked putting a hand on Sara’s shoulder.

Andy leaned in and whispered to Malone, “Him and Paradox were interrogating the guy we took prisoner.”

Champion heaved a deep breath, getting his bearing. “A lot,” he finally answered. “A lot.” He seemed incapable of elaborating.

Questions came from all of them in an incoherent jumble. That ended, though, when Paradox entered the room behind Champion.

The young man seemed nearly as shaky as Champion. The shirt of his black uniform, marked only by that one significant tear when they had met him, now hung from his shoulders in tatters. His dark red gloves seemed even more so now, and they gleamed in the light as if wet.

They are wet, Malone realized. Oh, God…what has this kid done?

Sara’s hands went to her mouth as she gasped at the sight of him. Malone heard Andy mutter some regretful sound behind him.

Paradox straightened as he faced them all. “I had to do it,” was all he said.

Champion shook his head. “No you didn’t,” he said, an edge of anger creeping into his voice. “We could have brought him to Fort Nick…they would’ve known what to do…”

“No they wouldn’t” Paradox cut him off. “They aren’t ready for dealing with people like us yet, Champion. And they would have taken you back. You need to be with us.”

He shook his head again. “I ain’t so sure of that no more. You might’ve convinced me that there is a threat to America here in Century…but I didn’t sign on for torture and murder.”

That seemed to strike Paradox like a physical blow. His mouth became a tight line and he closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them, he went on. “I don’t like it any more than you do, believe me. But it had to be done. There is far too much at stake.”

“He was tied up, man!” Champion shouted. “How do you reckon that was necessary?”

Paradox removed his bloodied gloves and tossed them into the corner of the room, as if removing the physical evidence of his actions would somehow make his argument more compelling. “He would have broken free eventually. He was already healing, Champion. We all heal faster than normal…even Dave, and his powers aren’t even of a physical nature.”

At that, Dave spoke up. “I told you I don’t…”

“Shut up!” Paradox yelled, cutting him off. “You build things that shouldn’t be possible yet. You are standing in a room with a man who can blend into shadows, one who can lift a car, one that turns into a monstrous bat creature, and a woman who is bonded to a living metal. Your skepticism is getting a little old, Steelhawk.”

When Dave just stammered in response, Paradox turned to the others. “Listen…I know how hard all of this is to scan. It seems unreal…impossible. But it is real…it is happening. A new age is dawning and we are the best chance of making sure it goes our way. I don’t know what else I can do to prove it to you.”

Oh, man, Malone thought. The kid is about to burst into tears.

Champion didn’t seem to notice. “I know how,” he said. “Why don’t you tell us everything? How do you know all these things? Where’d you learn about this Atlantis stuff and all that Halfblood bunk you were telling us about?”

Tears actually did start rolling down Paradox’s cheeks at this point. “I can’t,” he muttered. “You don’t know what I’ve gone through…what I had to do to get here. You can’t understand what kind of responsibility I have.”

Dave stepped forward, pointing at him accusingly. “Maybe if you told us, we could understand! You show up out of the blue and gather us all together to face some threat…you tell us that we all have the blood of gods and that is why we can do the things we do…but you haven’t explained any of it!”

Paradox fell to his knees. “You wouldn’t be able to scan it,” he said, the tears now flowing freely. “I can’t explain…you would think I’m crazy. Half the time, I think I am crazy.”

“Aw, man,” Andy said. “I think he’s flipped his wig.”

Malone stepped close to Paradox and put a hand on the kid’s shoulder. I want answers from him, too, he thought. But it seems to me like now ain’t the time. Looking down at Paradox, weeping on his knees like a child, he recalled that sad look he had had in Malone’s dream. He trusted the kid, even though he suspected he wasn’t being totally honest. Maybe he has his reasons. “All right, enough’s enough,” he said. “We have enough to deal with without attacking each other.”

Dave scoffed. “So says the guy who turned into a monster and tried to kill us all.”

“Dave!” Sara yelled in an accusing tone.

Malone turned to him and just stared. He didn’t blink or look away; he just kept staring, daring Dave to say it again. When Dave finally looked away, he continued. “Whatever is going on, there’s no denying that we’re all in trouble. I have a history of weird shit happening to me…but so far, this takes the cake. Someone’s after you people and they turned me into that thing to do it. Paradox may not be telling us everything, but the fact that we’re all in danger is pretty obvious to me. Can we all at least agree on that?”

They all nodded, Dave only hesitating a moment before adding his own reluctant nod.

Andy spoke up. “But what can we do about it? What do we do next?”

Malone shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess that depends on what they learned from their prisoner.” He looked at Champion. “You said you learned a lot…care to share?”

Champion nodded. “According to him, it’s definitely Hilles that’s behind everything. Apparently, he is taking all the money his companies make here and using it to fund the Nazi effort in Europe. The goons that attacked us earlier are all German. He has more of them here in the city, too. It seems that the Germans have learned about the Blood and have figured out how to…turn it on, I guess.”

Dave’s brow furrowed. “Turn it on? What do you mean?”

Champion shrugged. “Didn’t make much sense to me. Sounded like the Germans have figured a way to give people powers like us. According to Silence…that’s what he called himself…there are a lot more people who are of the Blood than you’d think. But it’s like the Blood is sleeping…like it has to be woken up. I don’t know…science never was my strong suit.”

“Sounds to me like science has nothing to do with it,” Andy said.

Dave nodded. “It sounds like they are using genetics or eugenics to produce these abilities.”

Champion shrugged. “Never heard them words before, so I couldn’t say. Whatever the case is, this guy mentioned the same things that Paradox has told us. The Blood….Atlantis…Truebloods and gods…all of it.”

“What does this have to do with my Uncle?” Sara asked. “Is he all right?”

Champion looked at her and smiled. “I guess that’s the one bit of good news that we got out of him. Professor Klein is still alive.”

Tears welled up in Sara’s eyes. “Thank God,” she said.

Champion continued. “Seems the Professor managed to figure out the same things as the Germans…how to awaken the Blood. Guess that’s how he made me what I am. But the Germans couldn’t imagine how he learned this. So they took him. But they haven’t managed to figure out how he did it, so they still have him prisoner.”

“Where?” Sara asked. She was wiping her tears away.

“Hilles Tower,” Champion said.

Sara clenched her fists as the golden metal she was bonded to flowed over her skin and clothes. “Then that’s where I’m headed.” Within a moment, she was covered with the golden substance, shining in the dim lighting of the room.

This little girl has guts, Malone thought. He put a restraining hand on her shoulder, only to watch as it slipped right off of her. “Hold on, Sara,” he said. “We have to hear everything before we go off half cocked.”

Dave spoke up at that point. “Wait, wait…why were they so surprised that Professor Klein could discover how to awaken the Blood? He’s a brilliant man, he has taught in some of Europe’s finest universities and done research for most of them…why would they find it strange that he could learn about the Blood?”

“I reckon it’s ‘cause he didn’t have a specimen to learn on like the Germans did,” Champion explained. “According to this Silence guy, Hilles himself is of the Blood…although he claims to be what you’d call a Trueblood. He says he’s centuries old.”

That stopped them all in their tracks. Malone tried to wrap his head around it. He couldn’t help but think of Mother Bones at that point. The crazy old fortune teller had told him he wouldn’t ever escape the strangeness that had plagued him so often throughout his life. Guess she was right, he thought. Looks like I am just going to have to accept all this crazy crap.

It was Andy who broke the momentary silence. “What does that mean?” he asked. “That Hilles is some sort of god?”

Paradox finally spoke again, tears still running down his cheeks. “Don’t you see? We all have a fraction of the Blood running through our veins. Hilles is a Trueblood…he has no normal human ancestry diluting his power. Our abilities pale in comparison to his!” His hands crept up to cover his face in despair.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Andy asked them. His gaze went to each of them frantically. “If he is that powerful, what can we do against him?”

No one said anything. Champion looked down at Paradox, weeping on the floor as if he was broken. He nodded once to himself. “Okay,” he said at last. “It looks like it’s up to us. We sent Hogan and Rainey to turn over the evidence they managed to find against Hilles, but who knows if that will do any good? And who knows what the police could do anyway? So we have to take care of this.”

“But how?” Dave asked. “What can we do?”

Champion shrugged. “I come from a long line of soldiers…so there is only one thing I can think to do. We fight, man. We bring it right to him…right up there in his tower. We take him down and stop him from doing whatever it is he wants to do. I told you guys…it’s only a matter of time before America’s in the war. Well, if the Germans have soldiers of the Blood…well, that idea scares the shit out of me. We have to put a stop to this.”

Andy shook his head. “I don’t know, Champ,” he said. “If this guy’s as tough as Paradox says, then what chance do we have? Plus, who knows how many more Mystery Men he has up in that tower of his? Could be hundreds.”

Champion shook his head. “There are only a handful more,” he explained. “According to Silence, he sent most of them after us today.”

“Still…a handful of them plus Hilles himself,” Dave said. “We almost got killed earlier…it seems like we won’t stand a chance.”

Sara looked at Dave with narrowed eyes. “I don’t care how many of them are up there. They have my Uncle and I’ll go through any number of them to get him back.”

Champion nodded. “Damn straight. The Professor was the only person at Fort Nick who treated me like a person instead of some kind of walking gun. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna leave him to Hilles. If we don’t do this, then who knows what Hilles and his German pals have in store for America? Seems to me like they are ready to do some damage if they decide they want to…Century’s only a few miles from Washington.

“Listen, together we stand a chance. Together, we can do this. We can’t even think about failing…no one else can do this. Like Paradox said, we’re special. We aren’t like everyone else. We have these abilities for a reason. Way I see it, we been blessed. You don’t get a gift like this and not use it.”

Malone felt a surge of adrenalin go through him as he listened to Champion. He found himself nodding as the kid spoke. Maybe he could take the awful thing that had happened to him and make it something good. Listening to Champion, it felt like anything was possible. He reluctantly took his eyes from the young soldier to see that the others were nodding just as he was.

“We’ve all seen the papers about what’s going on over in Europe. I’ve heard reports that put what the papers tell us to shame. Whether America wants to be involved or not, they are. Same goes for us…whether we want to be involved or not, we are. The Germans want to be the only country that has people of the Blood…Mystery Men…fighting on their side. I am not going to let that happen. I left the army…went AWOL because Paradox convinced me it was the right thing to do. Now, whatever I feel about him, I reckon he was right about that, at least. If I hadn’t’ve left, I’d still be at Fort Nicholas getting ready for the time when they decided to finally put me to use. Instead, I listened to him…and now here I am in a position to do something about what is happening.

“He brought us together for a reason. There ain’t no denying that now. We can’t walk away from that. We have to fight.”

Andy was smiling now. “All right, man,” he said. “You convinced me. Seems like this is what we were made for, doesn’t it?”

Sara agreed. Even Dave nodded, his previous reluctance gone. Malone felt charged like he never had before. I feel like I could take on the whole damn world, he thought. “I’m in, too,” he said. “We’ve got to see this through to the end.”

Champion nodded. “To the end, then, whatever it brings.” He shoved his hand forward, palm down. Andy slapped his gloved hand down atop Champion’s, and one by one, the others did the same. Malone laid his hand atop the others’, and felt a strong connection with them. The five of them stood there for several moments, hands together in the center, Champion smiling and nodding at them each in turn.

Malone turned to look at the still kneeling Paradox. He had almost forgotten about the young man who had brought them all together. What he saw was a far cry from the nearly broken down man he had seen moments before.

The tears were gone from his cheeks, and his mouth was now split in a slight smile. There was a gleam in his gray eyes as he looked up at the five of them. A gleam that implied everything had happened exactly as he wanted it to.

*****

 March 22, 12:00 AM

Left found Hilles in his usual spot in his office, looking out the big windows over the city. Errikos stood by the door eyeing Left warily. Left couldn’t contain a sneer as he looked at Hilles’s bodyguard. He swept past him into the room and didn’t give him a second glance.

“What is it now, Left?” Hilles said, his voice touched with weariness. “What bad news have you for me this time?”

“The Pantheon is formed, milord,” Left reported. Such an event had been easily detected by his magics. It had happened less than an hour before. Once they had triumphed over the German halfbloods, Left had known it was only a matter of time. “They will most likely come for us. Soon.”

Hilles turned from the window. His eyes were glowing red with his legendary rage. “Let them come. I tire of this subterfuge.”

Left spread his hands out before himself. “As you say, milord,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “Do you not fear that perhaps you underestimate them?”

“I fear nothing, Left,” Hilles said. “You should know that by now. I am one of the last Truebloods. I have lived through centuries of strife and conflict and have never faced an opponent I could not defeat.”

“But now that the Pantheon Bond has formed, they are much more powerful…”

“More powerful than me, Left?” Hilles asked. “Watch your words, lest you incur my anger.”

Left backpedaled. “I voice only my concerns for our continuing plans, milord.”

“Bah!” Hilles cried as he swept an arm across his desk, scattering the items atop it around the room. “These are not my plans, Left. They belong to those goose stepping worms back in Germany! I only allied myself with them because they seemed to have discovered the Blood and were able to bring it out in certain individuals. I thought for the first time in centuries that I would face worthy opponents once more. A resurgence in the Blood was just what I was looking for. So I allied myself with them, and taught them about the idea of a higher race of being. Look how they’ve run with that idea! They fancy themselves the Master Race when they are just as pathetic as the rest of the world.

“And now, when I can finally face opponents that could actually pose even a remote threat to me…you would have me run? In order to further the plans of a wretched madman with delusions of superiority? No…that I will not do. I will face this threat and then perhaps continue my alliance with the Germans, if it suits me. But I have waited centuries for a challenge…I will not now run from it.”

“A Pantheon is indeed a formidable challenge, milord,” he said. “Perhaps they will even prove worthy. I just fear they may prove too strong even for you.” It was dangerous ground he was treading, and he knew it. But he would not let his own plans fall through because of Hilles’s lack of interest.

Hilles’s eyes flared. “You dare?” He brought his arms down in a fury, shattering the huge oak desk to splinters. Red light the color of blood and flame and war flashed throughout the room. Left felt one of the shards bite into his cheek, but he stood his ground. “These whelps have but a fraction of the Blood, while I was born of Trueblood parents and at one point walked the halls of mighty Atlantis itself! This island is but a remnant of my ancient home…and these so called Mystery Men a remnant of its might. Their pathetic Pantheon means little to me. You forget, Left, that I have broken Pantheons as easily as I have broken this desk!

“As Achilles, I brought low the Sons of Priam and the walls of fabled Troy itself! After the war, I rid myself of the treacherous Agamemnon, thereby shattering the very Pantheon I had helped create.

“Achilles, Alexander, Hannibal, Mordred, William…I have lived many lives, Left, and the one constant has been conquest. And you believe that these mongrels who between them possess but a fraction of the Blood will do what no other Pantheon has ever been able to do? Not the Sons of Priam nor the Knights of the Round?”

Left bowed graciously. “I am simply looking after the best interests of my chosen lord.”

“Feh!” Hilles spat. “Begone, Mr. Left. Your services are no longer needed nor desired. Go back to whatever bone yard you crawled out of.”

Again, Left bowed. “As milord wishes.” He backed away out of the room, then turned to get his things and leave. It was done. Even if Hilles managed to defeat the assembled Pantheon, his alliance with the Germans would probably be over. Left thought about the best way to approach them himself, desiring to act as their new agent here in America. This land was ripe with opportunity and he wanted nothing more than to reap what he could. He would have to leave before the Pantheon arrived…especially if the Blackwing remained with them. He had no idea how it had managed to break from his influence…such a thing should have been impossible…but it was obvious now that it wanted revenge, and he was unsure if he could reestablish control.

No, better by far to leave and let Hilles face whatever was coming on his own. Left would seek his own fate…one where he could be his own master instead of attaching himself to someone in a position of power. The Germans would be the best tool to use to make sure that came to fruition.

Back in the office, as Left made his way down the hall to make preparations for his departure, the man known as Alexander C. Hilles stood once more at the window, arms folded across his broad chest. Clouds obscured the moon and a slight rain had begun falling in the dark night sky. Somewhere in the distance, thunder boomed.

“Let them come,” he whispered to the dark.