Andy looked around the room. Each of the others was preparing for their assault on Hilles Tower. Assault’s the only word for it, really, he thought as he watched Malone check the two .45 pistols that Dave had provided for him. Dave was busy strapping himself into his flight pack, the long rail gun tucked into its holder, the butt sticking up over his right shoulder. He also wore a pistol at his hip, along with the other gadgets he had there. This warehouse of his was used more for storage than the others, he had said, and it was filled to the brim with weapons that had been provided to him by the Brass at Fort Nicholas. He had explained to them that most of his contracts were with the military and revolved around improving weapon designs. Paradox was off in the corner of the room, kneeling with his eyes closed. It was almost like he was in a trance. Meditating, he called it, Andy thought. He said he was meditating in preparation for the battle. Paradox had barely said a word since his breakdown and seemed happy that Champion had taken charge.

Champion himself was checking the bucklers that hung at his belt. Andy had seen him use them in battle, strapped to the backs of his hands. His face was hidden by his mask once more, several thick stitches holding together the tear that Blackwing had ripped into the fabric when he had clawed Champion‘s face. He locked the bucklers into place at his hips and walked over and placed a hand on Andy’s shoulder. His blue eyes locked onto Andy’s. “What is it, Andy?” he asked.

Andy shrugged. “I don’t know if we’re ready for this,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong… I’m all for it, we have to do something. But we’ve been going pretty much non-stop for the last two days. Between the…attack at the top of the Spire,” he looked apologetically to Malone as he said this, but the gray haired man just went on loading his pistols as if he hadn’t heard, “and then that ambush they laid for us at Dave’s other workshop…well, we haven’t had any time to rest. Are we up for this? Should we wait?”

Champion considered this for a moment. “Well,” he began, “the way I reckon is that they ain’t expecting us to come for ‘em so soon after they tried to take us out. That pretty much makes now the best option we got. If we wait any longer, all we accomplish is that we give them more time to prepare. That make sense?”

Andy nodded reluctantly. “I guess,” he muttered.

Champion folded his arms across his chest. “I want you to be sure, Andy,” the soldier said. “If you aren’t sure, then I don’t think we should go ahead with this.”

Sara looked up at that, reluctance plain on her face. Since learning that her uncle was alive, she had made it very obvious that she didn’t want to wait before going into action. Andy tried to avoid her gaze as he voiced his concerns.

“What you’re saying makes sense, Champ,” he said. “I just think that…well, it just seems like we should be as ready as possible for this fight. And I’m not sure we are.”

“Listen, Andy,” Champion said and took a deep breath. “Out of all of us, you were the only one already out there using your abilities to do exactly what we want to do now…you were helping people. You’re the most experienced out of all of us. If you aren’t ready for this, then maybe none of us are.”

Andy didn’t say anything to that. It didn’t really seem like a very valid argument; Paradox was certainly more experienced than he was, whatever he had been up to before gathering them. And both Sara and Malone had only recently gained their abilities, so you couldn’t really count them. Champion himself had been kept at Fort Nicholas awaiting American involvement in the war in Europe. And Dave had been using his abilities, working on his flight harness and the other gadgets he had created. The fact that Andy had gone into action as the Fade proved nothing, really. And yet…

“How do you feel, Andy?” Paradox said from the corner, still kneeling, his eyes still closed. Champion turned to face the young man, but said nothing. His gaze slowly returned to Andy, waiting for his answer.

Andy thought about that. He felt fine, he realized, not tired at all. He was used to that…once he had learned of his abilities, he had realized that he rarely tired and healed much faster than a normal man. But it was more than that, too; putting aside his reservations, he felt better than he had in some time. Looking from Paradox to Champion, he felt…Invincible, he realized. I feel invincible. So why this doubt? What’s bothering me?

Paradox answered as if he had heard his thoughts and knew exactly what the answer to his question was. “Put on your mask, Andy,” the young man said. “It’s the Fade that we need now.”

He only hesitated a moment before pulling the new goggles that Dave had given him from around his neck up over his eyes. As his view of the room was washed in the red tint of the goggles, he knew that Paradox had been right. The Urge flowed into him, removing all his doubts. It demanded action. It demanded justice.

He nodded to Champion. “I’m ready,” he said.

Malone slammed the cartridge into one of his pistols and then slid it into its shoulder holster. “Damn straight, kid,” he said. “Let’s do this.”

Champion nodded. “All right.” He looked at each of them in turn. “This is it, people. We stick to the plan and everything should be fine. They tried to take us out twice now, and we weren’t ready neither time, and we still beat ‘em. Well, now we’re ready…and we’re comin’ for them this time. No way do we lose this.”

Beneath his red goggles, the Fade smiled eagerly. He had never felt the Urge so strongly before…it seemed to feed off of Champion’s words, like fuel to a fire that burned inside him.

He welcomed it.

*****

March 22, 1:05 AM

Dave looked out at Hilles tower. Even in the steady rain, it was easy to see. It seemed like a long slab of darkness jutting up into the night sky. Flashes of lightning illuminated the thick clouds, briefly outlining their destination. He couldn’t help but feel like a character from one of the stories his Gram had read to him as a child. He nearly laughed at himself for that. It’s only because of all the crazy stuff Paradox tried to feed us. Despite his doubt, though, he was coming to a reluctant acceptance of at least some of what Paradox had told them. Genetics was a young science to be sure…but it seemed like the most likely explanation, that there was some form of heredity involved with their abilities and that Paradox’s crazy theories were just hyperbolic in nature. Wherever he learned this stuff, it’s pretty obvious that it was not from an objective source. Certainly there is some kind of scientific explanation.

He shelved such thoughts as the others made their way up beside him. He would have time to look into the matter later. I hope, he thought.

They were atop a four story office building about two blocks away from Hilles Tower. It was from here that Champion decided to launch their attack.

The masked soldier stepped to the roof’s ledge, gazing up at the Tower. “All right, folks,” he said in his southern drawl, “this is it. Everyone remember the plan?”

They all nodded. Dave turned to Sara, her anger and pain obvious on her face. He wished that he could do something to comfort her. He wished he had the strength to just wrap his arm around her shoulders and tell her everything would be okay…that Professor Klein would be fine. Since their argument over the professor’s secret laboratory, though, she had kept him at arm’s length. Of all the challenges he had faced over the last few days, that was the one he found the hardest to deal with. The plan called for her to go in the ground floor entrance by herself while the others went in through the large windows on the top floor. The idea of her facing whatever might be inside scared the hell out of him. It’s bad enough that she is mad at me, he thought. I can’t even imagine what I would do if something happened to her.

He cleared his throat and spoke up. “About the plan, Champion…”

The soldier looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. “What is it, Steelhawk?”

He nearly winced at that. Bad enough that Paradox had called him by that name, now it was catching on with the others. They all seem to like their little nicknames, he thought. Hell, they even seem like they need the names…but not me. It made him feel like little more than a tool…a device or a weapon to be used and then cast aside when its job was done. His eyes shifted to Paradox, who watched with a blank expression on his face.

“I don’t like the idea of Sara going in there by herself.”

Sara turned on him angrily. “Oh, come on!” she shouted, stepping towards him and pointing accusingly. The golden sheath that had bonded with her flowed from her pores and covered her head to toe. She nearly glowed, even with the clouds blocking the moonlight, she nearly glowed in the darkness. “That’s nonsense!”

Champion put a hand in front of her, easing her back. “She’s just as capable as any of us…”

Dave cut him off. “I know that, damn it! That isn’t the point!” it was hard to keep his voice even. “I don’t think any of us should be going in there alone! Who knows what’s waiting for us in there? What if she runs into Hilles without any of us there to help?”

“She won’t,” Paradox said quietly. He was looking up at the top of the Tower, his arms dangling lifelessly at his sides. “He’s up there…at the top of the Tower, waiting for us.”

The Fade reached up to the brim of his hat and pushed it back on his head as he looked at Paradox. “You’re really starting to creep me out, man,” he said.

Dave ignored the exchange and instead focused on Champion. “You interrogated Silence. If you believe what he told you, then none of us should face Hilles one on one, and you know it!”

Champion nodded. “I reckon you’re right, Dave.” It annoyed him that now that he was trying to convince him of something, Champion had started using his proper name again. “But we’ve got to take risks. Silence said that Professor Klein is in the basement somewhere…Sara can cover the most ground the fastest. She’s his best hope…and she wants to do it. The rest of us will face Hilles and whoever else he has in there waiting for us. It makes sense this way.”

Sara looked at the soldier with beaming eyes. It would have infuriated Dave to see that…would have, if not for the fact that he felt Champion was right. Something happened to him as he listened to the soldier…something…inspiring, was the only way to describe it. And if Champion was right, Dave realized, then his protests really were just because of his feelings for Sara.

“All right,” he relented at last. “We stick to the plan.”

*****

March 22, 1:10 AM

Hilles felt them outside. His Focus had always been combat, and so he sensed the approaching conflict. He knew that it would be a momentous battle…he felt it. His eyes flared red and he smiled.

He had ordered Errikos downstairs with two of the halfbloods to guard the old man. He had balked at the idea of leaving Hilles alone to face the approaching Pantheon. Hilles had impressed upon him how important it was to keep the old man guarded. However Klein had learned of the Blood and how to unlock it, it was obvious that some outside force had helped him in doing so. Before he had died, Messenger had devoted countless hours of telepathic probing on the old man, but something kept the man’s mind protected from such intrusion. It was a mystery that Hilles was quite curious about, and he intended to find out exactly what Klein’s story was. The old man admitted nothing, and even seemed unaware of any outside influence.

They were approaching now, his Battle Sense felt them moving slowly and stealthily towards the Tower. He considered invoking his full power so that when they entered, they would face him in all his wrath and power. But he decided against it. Better to have them witness my glorious power firsthand. It will break their spirit.

He removed his jacket and his shirt, revealing his heavily muscled frame. He looked down at the scars that crisscrossed his broad chest and ran down the length of his arms. They were like a book to him…the story of his long and violent life. He hoped to add a new chapter to that story…the first interesting one in centuries, to be sure.

He smiled again and stood at the ready, waiting for this new Pantheon to come and face him.

*****

March 22, 1:17 AM

Sara watched nervously as the Fade and Champion scaled the walls of Hilles Tower. The intermittent rain that was falling was surely making their task more difficult. They were approaching the three quarter mark, her cue to enter the building and find her Uncle. She gazed across the street through the many glass doors into the lobby. There was only one lonely night watchman, his feet propped up on the front desk and his hands tucked behind his head. He looked on the verge of falling asleep. He shouldn’t pose a problem, she thought. I’ll take him down and make him tell me how to get to the basement where they’re keeping Uncle Samuel.

But what if he didn’t know? What if he was just a regular person who had no idea of the secret doings that went on inside the building? Well, then I’ll just have to search until I find Uncle Samuel myself.

She looked back up to the climbers. It was almost impossible to see them now, they were so high up and the rain made it so difficult to see. But she noticed a brief movement, like a shadow shifting about the surface of the building. It looked like they had made it about three quarters of the way up to the huge windows that marked the buildings top floor. She steeled herself and then slid across the street in a golden blur.

She burst through the glass doors and was on top of the security guard with such speed that he didn’t even get a chance to react. All he managed was a brief “What the…?” and then she punched him in the face, sending him tumbling to the floor.

She was atop him in a moment, her hand already taking the shape of a long, sharp blade. She let him see it and then pressed it to his neck. His eyes went wide at the sight of her.

“Where is Samuel Klein?” He didn’t answer. His mouth worked soundlessly, trying to form words but failing. She shook him angrily. “Tell me where he is and I will let you live. Otherwise…” She slashed out with her bladed hand and cut the guards chair in two, then brought the blade back to rest against his neck.

“I-I-I don’t know,” he managed to get out. “I swear, I d-don’t know who that is!”

She believed him. Cursing, she let the Gold shift around her hand, flowing from its bladed form into a more rounded, blunt weapon. She struck him aside the head, knocking him out cold. He went limp and she allowed him to slump to the floor.

She stood and looked about the lobby. It was a spacious room, but had only two doors leading out of it. There were also two elevators. Since they seemed like her best bet to getting to the below ground floors, she checked them first. They only went as low as the lobby…all the buttons were for floors above ground.

Shouldn’t take me too long, she thought. She went back to the guard and snatched the key ring from his belt, just in case. She slid over to the closer of the two doors and checked the knob. It wasn‘t locked, so she pushed it open and entered the long hallway it led to. Doors lined either side of the hallway, four on either side. The hallway ended in a T-intersection. She slid down the hallway, checking each room in a blur of motion. Each looked like a normal small office and each was empty.

She searched the rest of the floor in a similar manner, taking only a couple of minutes to do so. Finally, she saw a doorway marked with a small sign that read “STAIRWELL” in big white letters. She slid over to it and found that it was locked.

The third key she tried opened the door, and as she made her way down the stairs, she knew she was onto something. The room at the bottom of the stairs didn’t have the same feel as those above. She couldn’t place exactly why she felt that way, but that was how it felt.

She entered the small room, which was formed by concrete walls and held only a small table with two chairs. There were two doors, one on either side of the far corner. She moved toward them, slower and more cautiously than she had moved about upstairs.

Movement, coming close, the Gold said to her, sensing the vibrations of approaching footsteps. There<, it indicated the door on the left.

She slid up to the wall beside the door, pressing her back to the concrete, and waited. A moment later it opened, and a man bearing a rifle entered the room. He was dressed all in black, like the men who had attacked them at Dave’s workshop, but was not masked. He didn’t notice her until it was too late.

“Vas ist…?” was all he managed to say before she grabbed the barrel of the rifle and pulled him into the room, throwing him against the wall. Hearing him speak in German was all she needed. She slid over to him, her hand forming into the blunt weapon she had used upstairs. She struck him aside the head, and he crumpled to the floor in a heap.

More, the Gold said. Behind.

She turned to see another man dressed similarly raise his weapon at her. He fired, but she avoided his shots by sliding to the right. She then dashed back in, letting the Gold around her hand shift into a blade. She slashed the barrel off of his rifle. He stammered as he stared at the ruined weapon. The blade shifted back into a thick ball around her hand and she took him out with a vicious blow.

A burst of gunfire caught her unaware. She threw her arms up over her face instinctively, praying that she wouldn’t die here, so close to finding her Uncle.

She felt the bullets striking her body, but they ricocheted harmlessly off the Gold, spraying bits of concrete as they then struck the walls and floor.

She lowered her arms to see three more armed men. They were staring at her in awe.

She smiled and waded in in a flash.

*****

March 22, 1:26 AM

The Fade had reached the top of Hilles Tower and was hidden among the shadows as he watched Champion make his way up the last few yards. His black trench coat was soaked through from the rain. Far below, he saw a glimmer of movement that had to be Paradox running up the side of the building. That sure would make things easier, he thought with a touch of jealousy. His eyes then shifted upward, where he saw Steelhawk flying upward toward them with Malone dangling from his arms. This is it, he knew.

He looked back to the huge, rain splattered windows that stood between him and the top floor of the building. Activating the infrared filters on his goggles, he saw only one form within. He knew it was Hilles…he just knew it. As crazy as Paradox had seemed earlier, the guy seemed to know his stuff. The Urge was demanding that he jump through the window and face their enemy…it took everything he had to hold himself back and stick to the plan.

Paradox and Champion reached the top of the building almost simultaneously, Champion just a step ahead. Steelhawk crested his rise and burst forward, the engine of his flight harness humming in the rain. He dropped Malone to the ledge as he passed and then crashed through the glass.

The four of them followed him through the broken window without a word. It was almost as if they were one at this point…there was no need for Champion to shout orders.

Steelhawk tucked and rolled, coming to a stop on one knee and drawing his rail gun. Shards of glass fell from the mesh of his armor. He scanned the room, looking for signs of the enemy. “Show yourself!” he shouted to the dark room.

The room was decorated with small Roman style statues on pedestals spaced periodically about the walls of the room. The ceiling was at least fifteen feet above and seemed to be made of the same marble as the floor. Fade stepped over bits of glass and the ruins of a huge desk and locked onto the heat signature in the corner of the room. He tensed as the form took a few steps forward.

“Here I am,” came a voice from the shadows. He raised his hands and stepped out into the dim light provided by the cloudy night sky.

Hilles was bare-chested and barefoot, wearing only a pair of finely tailored slacks. His chest and arms were covered with scars. His hair was a dark color and was slicked back from his face. He was a large man, well over six feet, and muscled like a circus strongman. He had an aristocratic look to him, and a wry smile on his face. “Welcome,” he said, his voice quiet but clear in the office. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Well,” Steelhawk said, “here we are.” He squeezed the trigger of the rail gun, the weapon thrumming magnetically as it fired.

The shot took Hilles in the chest, and he stumbled back a few feet.

The five of them watched in amazement as he regained his composure. There was a small semicircle of blood on Hilles’s chest where the shot had struck, but that was it. He raised one hand and brushed at the wound as if it was a trifle that he could flick away. His smile had taken on a decidedly wicked twist. “Will we not even parlay a bit before we do battle?” he asked through his teeth.

They didn’t answer him. Fade and Champion both leaped at him, one from either side. Hilles braced himself for their attack.

As soon as they were close, his right hand shot out, catching Champion by the throat. Fade lashed out with a punch, but Hilles turned it aside almost effortlessly. He followed that up with a blinding kick directly to Fade’s chest, which sent him flying straight back and into one of the halves of the ruined desk.

Champion struggled to free himself, but it was no use. Hilles held him in an iron grip. “You behave like savages,” Hilles said and then slammed his forehead into Champion’s face. There was a sickening crunch and Champion’s nose exploded in blood. “And yet you no doubt think of me as a villain.” He cast Champion aside, sending him crashing into the wall. The stone wall cracked beneath the impact and Champion slumped to the floor.

Malone opened fire with both pistols. There was little hope, though; if the rail gun had no effect, then what chance did the .45s have, no matter how high powered they were? The bullets struck Hilles, and then fell to the floor at his feet.

“Ah, the instruments of modern warfare!” Hilles declared and then closed the distance between he and Malone in the blink of an eye. “Glorious, are they not?”

Malone lowered the weapons a few inches, in awe of Hilles’s power, unable to act.

“Still, I prefer a more…traditional weapon,” said Hilles. His right hand came up and then shimmered a bright red. Suddenly, in his hand he held a long red sword. It shone with a light that cast the room in an angry red. He smiled and slashed the weapon forward in a blur.

Malone fell back, screaming in agony. His pistols fell to the floor, and it took a moment for the Fade to realize what had happened.

Malone’s hands still gripped the guns.

Blood sprayed from the stumps of Malone’s arms and he fell backward to the floor, writhing in pain.

“Progress,” Hilles scoffed. “Who needs it?”

Steelhawk raised his rail gun and fired several shots. “YOU BASTARD!” he screamed, his eyes narrowing behind the lenses in his helmet.

Hilles was hit, but shrugged even multiple shots off. He slashed his red sword around in a wide arc and split the rail gun in two with a single stroke. He then kicked Steelhawk in the chest much like he had the Fade, and sent him sprawling.

The Urge pushed Fade to his feet. He winced as he breathed, but ignored the pain.

Suddenly, Paradox was atop Hilles, an arm wrapped around his throat. His other hand pistoned in, punching him repeatedly in the side of the head.

Hilles reached back with his free hand and grabbed Paradox by the back of his shirt. He ripped the young man from his back and slammed him into the floor in front of him. He followed this with a powerful downward thrust of his sword. The weapon sped down at Paradox’s face with thunderous force.

It thudded into the floor, burying itself in the marble beside Paradox’s head. Paradox scrambled to his feet and faced Hilles, who showed a bit of surprise.

“A Trickster, eh?” Hilles said as he tore his sword free and brought it to bear. “I’ve faced your kind before, little man…your little tricks won’t save you!”

“We’ll see,” Paradox replied and lunged forward. Hilles slashed with his sword, but Paradox managed to duck beneath the glowing blade and delivered a kick to the knee. This actually caused Hilles to stumble back a bit, knocking him off balance even if it seemed to do no real harm.

Fade took this opportunity and kicked at Hilles’s wrist with all his might. He connected, and managed to send the sword spinning from the man’s hand. It clattered to the floor, its weird red light cascading around the room.

Hilles laughed at that. “Well played!” he said. He lashed out with a vicious punch, but Fade managed to avoid the attack. He realized his mistake, though, when Hilles followed up with his other hand, catching the Fade in the chin. He spun in a circle and fell on his ass.

Hilles’s hand glowed red again. This time, a long bladed knife appeared in his hand, shining with the same red color as the sword. “But you have no chance against me, little halfblood.” He drew back and then flung the knife forward.

Fade raised his hand defensively, and felt the knife pierce the back and slide out through his palm. He felt a burning sensation in his middle and pointer fingers. He cried out in pain.

He lowered his hand to see that about five inches of the foot-long knife had passed right through his hand. It took him a moment to realize that both of his first two fingers were missing at the second knuckle. Blood spurted rhythmically from each of the two stumps, in time with his rapidly beating heart.

Paradox moved in at Hilles again, but the big man spun and delivered a backhand that caught him across the face. Paradox fell to the floor and before he could recover, Hilles delivered a kick to his stomach. He chuckled and then delivered another. Paradox coughed and groaned in pain.

Hilles turned and looked about at his foes. “Pantheon,” he said with contempt. “Indeed.”

His eyes flared the same red color as his weapons and he laughed, a loud and victorious sound that echoed off of the high ceilings and out into the night sky.

Century and all related characters are © and ™ 2005-2007 John Coleman.
Metahuman Press is © and ™ 2005-2007 Nick Ahlhelm.