"I still can't believe we did that!" Said Jazz over our new communicators. (She built them herself.) I called back. "Don't worry. If we need motorcycles, we will NOT steal them from
that one used car lot." Yes. Motorcycles. We had three of them. We hiked our way to Nevada, and we stole some gear. We were very careful to not touch anything. We typed a note saying 'Sorry, needed this stuff more than you did.' or something like that. We all had helmets at least. Jazz held on to me. Sara was in front of me, she was holding on to the handlebars and my hands were over hers. She was not going anywhere if I can help it. Longarm was on another bike with Magnet in front of him the same way Sara was in front of me. Megan was on the other bike with Viktor holding on to her, which must've been humiliating for him. Zeus was flying high up in the sky above us. Jazz said, "You could've at least, leave some money for the cameras we smashed!" Why can't she just let it go? "And use our food money? I don't think so." "Uh. Cyrus?" "Sup Magnet?" "Where are we going again?" "San Diego." "Why?" "There's a Comic Con going on there in a day or two." Viktor came on "Ha! Nerd!" "Nice Viktor. I mean that we going to blend in with the costumed........people." Longarm came on "Don't beat around the bush. They're a bunch of freaks and you know it." He was recovering well. Yeah, since I gave him my blood, I think it gave him my healing factor.
We stopped just outside the city and left our bikes behind a billboard in some bushes. We walked the rest of the way there, which we don't mind at all. The Comic-con is tomorrow so we spent the day sight-seeing. After we ate lunch we went to the San-Diego zoo. It was pretty cool. A sob story act fooled the guards into letting Zeus in. The girls adored the Pandas. Viktor and Magnet had a ball with the birds, especially the parrots. Longarm enjoyed the snakes, which I don't get. He found them 'interesting'. I don't care for them. Anyway as much as we would like to stay here, we had to find a place to sleep and get something to eat. Y'know, those kind of luxuries. Anyway we split into four groups and agreed to meet in front of the hotel when it got dark (we it passed on the way to the zoo). Megan and Sara, with
their sob story: anyone would fall far them. Viktor and Magnet, with their sneaky sonar and magnetizing powers combined. Me and Jazz with our trained stealth, no one would even notice us. Although I don't know how well that'll go with Zeus being rather clingy to me. Longarm was a professional so, he was on his own. I trust him.........he'll be fine..........right?
Anyway, we went around taking money outta wallets and placing the wallets (with IDs and credit cards still in them) back in place. When it was getting dark we started heading back. Jazz started a conversation. "Cyrus, can I ask you something?" I wonder where this was going. "Yeah, Sure. What's up?" She said, "Why don't you care, about other people? Other than our family?" Here we go. Zeus ruffled a little. As if to say 'Uh oh. I know Where this is going.' I said, "Why should I? I mean, it's either
them, or us
; and then there are the people that get in the crossfire. They would never accept us. We are non-human,
mutants,...........freaks. I just accepted that fact. I'm just looking for a way to survive. If that means to hide, steal, or even murder someone, fine, so be it." She sighed and said, "But, if you have the power to do something great, isn't it your
responsibility to?" I turned to her. "What Oh-So-Great thing do we have to do? We are not some heroes in a comic book! The only thing we need to do is survive." We walked and she didn't say anything for a while. We got in front of the hotel and she stopped me and said, "But, with what we can do--" "What we can do?! Jazz, I can't hardly die, Viktor is unstable and blind, Megan has
wings, and not the fluffy white kind, we can't hardly censor anything from Sara, Magnet has to much power to deal with, and
you;" I looked at her. Tears were starting in her eyes. Please, Not Jazz. I can't stand to see her cry. I put a hand on her shoulder and finished with a lowered voice, "I mean that it's enough for me to take care of you guys, I don't care for the rest of the world. We may be more powerful than humans, but we are still the victims of it all." I gave her a hug and said, "Come on. No need giving the others any worries." We went inside and met up with the other kids. We counted all the money we got. We scored a total of $192.50. Sara and Megan did a great job. We booked two rooms for the night. One for the Guys. And one for the Girls....and Zeus. On Sara's behalf.
The fact that we get to sleep in a hotel was a miracle enough. We didn't care if it was a big and fancy five star hotel. We need the showers. My family smells like a barn after a week or two with no showers. Or maybe that's just me. We had a difficult time when it came to who sleeps where. We had a main bed and a couch that unfolded into a bed. When it came right down to it; it was Viktor and Longarm in one bed (and not to happy about it ) and Magnet shares a bed with me. I don't care I'm not getting much sleep anyway.
All day I kept getting this feeling that I'm being watched. I looked at my watch, 11:30. Grrrrrrrrrrr. I need to sleep! There was a tiny knock at the door. I got up quietly without waking Magnet up. I opened the door with no one there. I looked at the bed Longarm and Viktor where sharing, which if the blanket was stretched out any more it would tear right down the middle. Still asleep. Magnet was still asleep, his favorite goggles dangling from his tight grip. O.K. Time to investigate; I sleep in my usual day clothes so no need to get dressed. I sniffed the air, getting a good wiff of who was here. It was familiar, but I couldn't pin it down. It lead me to the lobby, at first I thought it would be the lady behind the counter, but it lead me outside. I tracked the scent down the street to a Target. The door was stuck open.......with ICE on the edges of the door.
I entered. Some lights were on. If Stephen King is reading this, I think I found one of the next settings for your next novel.....movie....whatever. I walked down some isles still tracking that scent. It's getting stronger, meaning he's close. I entered the frozen treats isle. Half of the isle was covered in darkness, blinding me from that end. The scent led me there. I called out, "I know your there. I have a few questions for you. Let's start with 'Who are you?' and 'What do you want?' " No answer. A figure appeared out of the shadows. "Glad I got your attention." The Bounty Hunter said. I remember this guy. "Zero." I growled. "Oh, you do remember me. I'm touched." He walked up to me and said, "About the abduction thing, I seriously thought.......he told me that you were his adopted children. I thought--" I cut him off. "I don't care! I promised myself I'd kill you when I got the chance. I noticed you froze and broke the cameras. Good. I thought I'd have to shut them off myself." I extended my claws. He saw it and said, "I didn't come here to fight you." He was going to say something else, but I didn't let him. "I did!" I said and I lunged at him. I slashed and kicked. He dodged and blocked. He formed a bat of ice and did a home-run worthy swing on my forehead. I staggered. Who knew ice could hurt so much? I calmed my breathing. The wound (bruise) healed almost instantly. He threw the bat away. "You can't keep up with your injuries forever." He said. "Yes I can." I said. I tackled him in to a book shelf on the far side of the isle. I continued to punch him in the face. On the third swing, he caught it, put his palm to my chest, and suddenly I was propelled through the air until my back was against the wall. He froze me to the wall. So he is a mutant. The ability to form ice from thin air. I guess that's why they call him Zero. As in Zero degrees Fahrenheit! My breath was showing, just like his. It WAS cold in here, but his breath also showed the last time I saw him too.
He walked up and said, "Would you just stand still and listen to me for ten minutes!" I obviously wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.......at least not until the ice melts enough for me to break through it. "Fine." I muttered. He let out a big sigh (which made him look like a smoker) and said, "Someone is going to betray you. I don't know who or why, but someone is going to have you killed. Tomorrow." Despite what I was feeling right now, I chuckled. "O.K. Two problems with that. 1) How did you get THAT information and 2) Give me one good reason why I should believe anything YOU say. Your the one who kidnapped my family, Remember?!" He responded, "I already told you the reason for that! To answer your first question I was trying to restart one of the Archer computers and--" I continued my interrupting habit. "Wait, What?" He said, "Archer co. A weapons company. Some suspect that the current owner is a criminal master mind. But he's so sly no one can lead anything back to him." "Bishop." I muttered. He continued "Anyway, I got it online just in time to hear a transmission going out. 'The group is moving to San Diego. Prepare to strike.' he said. I don't even know if the mole is male or female. The voice was altered. For obvious reasons. And to answer your second question. If you don't believe me, you risk having your entire family getting destroyed, or worse getting into the hands of Bishop."
He let that set in a bit. Before I get distracted I asked, "Why bother helping us?" He sighed again, "If someone was going to survive mutations, like yours, they would have to be injected into the embryo of a, not-yet-born, baby. And, quite frankly, I'm
not O.K. with that." I thought about that. So, we do have parents. That's a shocker. No, really, it is. Maybe we can find them and see if they'll really except us. No. That's just another fairytale that'll never come true. Whatever. He started walking away. "I can't do anything about it now. The rest is up to you." He started to walk away again, when I said, "Hey! You gonna let me down, or what?" He threw a few ice shards at me. I flinched (As much as you can flinch when frozen to the wall), but they didn't pierce me. The ice started to break up, and I fell to the ground. I got up and dusted myself off, and scraped some ice off my shoulder. I looked up searching for Zero. He was gone. O.K. Bounty Hunter you live today, but I will kill you, one of these days. I looked at my watch. 12:19. O.K. Just a nice midnight stroll, yeah, that's all it was. At least, as far as Jazz will know. But.......who is the traitor? They all had a chance to kill me, or capture me at one point. Sara and Magnet are too young and innocent to do anything like that. Megan is too kind. Viktor wouldn't be able to keep it serious long enough. Jazz is my right hand man, err, uh, girl. If I couldn't trust her I could trust any body.
The next morning I was awakened by an angry Jazz. "CYRUS!" I sat up straight in my bed. Magnet was gone, probably in the kitchen. Jazz burst in the bedroom and said, "You are sooooooo beyond dead." I looked at her and said, "Don't I get a trial, or at least a right to know why I'm being convicted?" Her face turned red, probably out of anger. "You know very well why. Come here." I got up and and followed, better see what the fuss is about. I entered the other room just in time to see Jazz changing the channel to the news. I watched as it gave the details. Let's see.......frozen cameras......doors forced to stay open with ice........claw marks........unknown on how this could be done. So, what happened last night wasn't a dream after all, yippee.
So I had to tell her about the fight last night (of course I left out the part about the traitor in the group, I don't know how to break that down to her just yet). When I was done she looked puzzled. "Why would he attack you like that? It doesn't make any sense. He was able to kidnap us so easily last time." "I know. Anyway he got away before I could kill him. I doubt that we've seen the last of him." She looked at me up and down. She knew I wasn't telling the whole truth. Dang it, how do women do that!? Anyway she let it go. As for me I need to think of a new destination for us. Anyway we all got ready for that Comic-con. Megan thought it would be cool to dress up in costumes. I had to say no that. Costumes are for disguises and disguises are for James Bond and other spies. Plus, that costs money, which we don't have a lot of that right now.
We went, and it was Packed! It was like everyone in the universe was here. We saw people of all shapes and sizes. I saw a group of kids dressed up as the X-men from the movie. They had a section for recent and up-coming movies, comics, games all that jazz. They had playing decks for Yugi-oh and Pokemon and even one for Chaotic (whatever that is). I said, "O.K. Guys. Find a partner and have a ball. I need to strategize." I sat down on one of the benches so I could think. Longarm, Magnet, and Viktor went towards the video game section like moths to a flame. Megan, Sara, and Jazz stayed behind. With Zeus on Jazz's shoulder. Megan said, "Jazz. Me and Sara are gonna go and see the movie section. Wantta come?" Jazz turned to them and said, "You go on ahead. I'll catch up with ya in just a sec." She sat next to me and said, "I don't have to be a mind reader to tell something's wrong. There's something your not telling me." I looked at her. Was she born with that power, or was it another integrated-into-her thing? I replied, "The Bounty Hunter, Zero, he said-" I lowered my voice, "-someone, in our group, will betray us." She sat there with a face that said please, please, PLEASE, tell me this is a joke. I continued, "I don't know whether I should ignore the warning, assuming it's a trick, or try to find out who it is."
Then Jazz looked furious. "Why didn't you tell me this before? Come on. We need to find the others and get outta here." I nodded. We both looked started looking around. I said, "I'll get the guys." Jazz said nothing. That means she'll start raging at me later. I looked in the Videogame section. No guys. I finally found them in the card gameplay section. Magnet was playing and Viktor was behind him. I walked up and put a hand on Viktor's shoulder. "Vik, we gotta go. Like, Right Now. Meet outside the front door." He nodded. I tapped Magnet's Shoulder. He turned around. "Hey Cyrus." He said. I flinched. Yes, please, shout out my name and let everybody know I'm here. "Hey Bud. Listen, we need to go....Now." He now understood. He nodded, put his cards down and said, "You win. But I will have a rematch someday." We all left the section, I asked Viktor where'd Longarm went. "He said he saw something and wanted to check her out." "Check her out? What--Oh." He nodded. "Must've been a nice view." he muttered under his breath. "Wait for the others outside. I'll be right back." I started the hunt for Longarm.
It was five minutes into the search, I was next to the emergency exit when I heard, "Cyrus!" I turned to see Longarm, half of him was out the emergency exit. He continued in his hushed voice, "Cyrus, uh. It. You have to get here quick!" I ran after him. Once outside he yelled over his shoulder, "Just follow me!" I did. He led me through an alley and to a warehouse. Of course if I were smarter than the average bio-logical weapon, I would have noticed that the warehouse was owned by Archer co. Well, I didn't. He opened the door and said, "Quick, the traitor ran in here." It wasn't till I jumped into the building until I realized what he said. "Wait, how did--" "Cyrus! Look out!" A strong pain struck me in the back of the head. The last sound I heard before I passed out was an evil chuckle.
I woke up sometime later. I was still in the warehouse and I was suspended in the air....by chains. I closed my eyes, trying to remember. Let's see. Following Longarm into the warehouse. Hey, Whoa! I'm in the air. I mean way up in the air. I called out. Like an Eagle. Wait that's not me. I....I'm looking through Zeus's eyes?
Uh. Zeus? I thought. The bird called out again. Huh.
Let's see I am......there! I'm in that building. Go get the others and hurry! I opened my eyes, to see Longarm, down on the ground, far away from me. He was holding a crowbar that had some blood on the other end of it. "Hey! Your awake! What's up Dude? How's that knot on the back of your head? Well, on second thought, I guess that's healed over by now." I was stunned. "Longarm. Your the traitor." Then I let acid drip into my voice, "I am going to kill you. It will be slow and the deepest pit in hell will seem like heaven after I'm done with you." He grinned, "How cute. Even when captured you still make threats. And that one was a bit dark, even for you. Don't worry I'll talk to the boss man and get you a promotion." "Longarm. Why?" He laughed. Then started mocking me. " 'Oh, Longarm. Why d'you betray me?' Please. Spare me the drama session. I was working with the Archers and Sci-fys the whole time. All it took was an innocence act to gain your trust. Don't worry, when Bishop gets here we'll capture your friends and keep them alive. At least, long enough to be dissected!" I was ready to tear his head off and hang it on my mantle. That is, as soon as I actually get a mantle. I heard some cars stop outside. "Ah. They're here." Longarm mused. I saw something move at the corner of my eye, but I pretended not to notice.
A minute later four Knights came through the door. I mean old days of yore' Knights. They had shields in their left hands and swords in their sheaths, hanging on their left side. I doubt those are regular swords. Next were the two Archers. They had big metal bows, with smaller rods in the middle of it, where the handles are. The Archers themselves had costumes that made them look like futuristic versions of the 'Assassin's Creed' character. One of the Archers said, "It is your pleasure, to be in the presence of the all mighty, Bishop!" And, on cue, Bishop, looking the way he did the first time I met him, walked in. "Wow." I said. "You have to have someone announce your presence before you walk into a room? What, No red carpet? No theme song?" He mearly looked at me through his shades. "Ah. Cyrus Noble. Still not yet worthy to fight me." He looked at Longarm. "You did well. Your freedom, your home, your money, and your new life will be waiting for you." He returned his gaze on me. "No such pleasures are in store for you. Don't worry, your friends will be joining you soon."
Cyrus. Get ready.I said, "Why do you want me? I mean, out of all of us, why me?" He answered like it was the simplest thing in the world. "You are the first successful experiment with the ability to heal any wound or disease given to you." "So. My blood is pretty valuable huh?" I mused. He continued to stare with no emotions on his face. I said, "What if I said I injected some of my blood into a former-buddy of mine. Longarm. To save his
life. Which I will forever regret." He turned to Longarm. Longarm had a questioned look on his face. "Where are you getting at, Noble?"Asked Longarm. Then Bishop asked, "Is it true?" Longarm stuttered. "Y-yeah, but....." Bishop interrupted, "Boys. There has been a change in plans. Take Longarm AND Cyrus to the lab." Longarm looked like he was about to explode. "We had a deal! Bishop!" He raged. Bishop's Knights surrounded him.
My pose' chose this time to strike. It started with a metal javelin flying from the darkness behind me. It hit the ground between the knights and Bishop. A electric explosion hit the knights, but they seemed to rebound off of Bishop. Of Course. Magnet used his abilities to chuck one of the Knights across the room like a ragdoll. Megan flew down, picked up one of the Knights by its ankle, and drop him. Viktor shot one of the Elite Archer Guards. He's not getting up any time soon. Jazz, Magnet, and Sara slid down the ladder as if it was a fire house pole. Sara put her hands to her head. Magnet was letting me down. More Knights fell, most likely do to Sara's mind attacks. Bishop put his wrist to his mouth and said, "Send in the Rooks." Zeus was trying to peck out the eyes of the other Elite Archer when I got free. "Thanks Mag." I said. Just then the walls exploded. Two tank sized......things were standing there. They were 10 feet tall. They looked like black towers that came to life. All covered except for their face. "Ah, Crud." I said. I looked at Longarm. He was walking backwards away, slowly. "You're not gonna help us, you coward?!" He responded. "Why should I? You're going to kill me anyway!" "Which would you rather take you? Us or Them?" He looked between the two of us. Then he said, "O.K. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." I smiled, "But your still my enemy." We all charged at the Rooks. Megan couldn't break them. I couldn't slash them. They weren't made of metal. Their minds were protected by something. Tripping them with extremely long arms didn't help. Zeus had little success with scratching their faces. Viktor blasted one of them. The Rook was caught off guard and slamed Bishop with his forarm and knocked him out against the wall. Guess he's not as tough as I thought. I said, "Jazz! Sonic scream, now! Everyone else, cover your ears!" I grabbed Sara and Magnet and pulled them under me as I hit the deck. Jazz sucked in a lot of air and let it out in piercing scream. Even when muffled her screech was so
painful. One of the Rooks fainted with a groan, only to be followed by Rook number 2. Jazz stopped, her hands on her knees. I got up and said, "Great job Jazz. Guys tie up Longarm." Before he could protest they were all over him. I turned and walked over to a nearby Knight. I picked up the sword that the had a death-grip by the owner. It had a trigger on the handle. I clicked it on. It was kinda like a high-tech buzz-saw sword. It had a whizzing/humming noise. I grinned and walked over to Bishop. Just in time for him to get up and steady himself. "Guess what, Bishop?" I said as he looked at me. "I say I'm more than worthy to kill you."
With that I stuck the sword right through his stomach. I sliced diagonally upward. What I saw was not what I expected. As he fell on his back I realized that Bishop wasn't even human after all. He was a robot, more specifically an Android. The machine started laughing. "You think I would risk coming here m-m-m-myself?" It said with more static in it's voice. Digital numbers appaered in his shades '5............4..........3..' "Uh Oh." I said. I ran as the Machine exploded in a firey blast. Which would've worked in killing me if I didn't dive behind the knocked out Rooks for cover. The sword I used landed beside me, stuck in the ground and handle in the air. I grabbed the sword and started for the others. They were creative I'll give them that much. They tied him up in a straight-jacket using his own arms. I looked at him. On any other ocasion I would laugh. We would all laugh. I almost didn't trust my voice. "Jazz." I said slowly. "Get the kids outta here." She nodded and did so without question. Megan stood there for a second, like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. She just ran after the others. I glared down at my tretcherous foe. He had fear in his eyes, as he should. I said, "You broke the hearts of my family, including me. I thought you were my friend." A tear ran down his cheek. "Now, I will take away the very thing you're proud of." I let that set for a moment. Then I whispered what he was thinking, "Your Arms."
He looked at me in shear terror. With the sword I recently used I cut off his arms at shoulders. Not a whole lot of blood came out but it came out all the same. Because of his new healing factor, he won't die, but he's gonna go through a lot of hell. He cried out in pain until he passed out. I stuck the sword in the ground and left. Outside everyone was silent. They stared at me, except Viktor but his face was in my direction. Megan had her hands to her mouth. I said, "I didn't kill him." She seemed to loosen up, as did the others, not by much, just a little bit. I said, "Let's just get the bikes and get outta here."
