Michael Summers/Reflections in a Broken Mirror
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
A story of a battle between the Cerulean Legion and the Crimson Order that rocked the Gish in King's Row. The Villain known as Harbinger is unmasked. Christopher's connection to Michael and Kirste is revealed. This story takes place before Michael leaves the Cerulean Legion for the Void Guardians
Contents |
Reflections in a Broken Mirror
by Raymond Jenkins
Chapter One
Michael Summers smiled as he walked the streets of Galaxy City. He had just finished turning over the lease of his apartment to Star officially, which made him feel.. well... free. He and Kirste now officially had their place together and things were going wonderful between them. He wore blue jeans and a white t-shirt, his sunglasses glinting in the sun. A bottle of water met his lips as he tried to ignore the other things in his life. Aside from have a psychotic double and fighting back tides of Circle of Thorns Magi every other day, his life was better than it had ever been.
The thought made him chuckle as he turned a corner, waving casually to a pedestrian that recognized him and asked for his autograph. Michael nodded, he had no reason not to. As the man pulled out his pen, Michael felt a wave of terror wash through the air. The pen dropped to the ground as the civilian fled. It was a small warning. But a warning none the less.
A concussive force struck him in the middle of his back, sending him sailing through the air and slamming into the door of a parked car. Glass shattered and rained down on him in little pricks of sensation. The familiar azure glow surrounded him as he donned his uniform and turned.
Always on my days off... he sighed mentally. It was probably a gang member or some two bit villain wanting some payback.
"Summers... finally we meet," came the hollow voice. A voice from his recent nightmares. Nightmares of Kirste dying in horrible and indescribable ways. It was his own voice. Void of emotion.
Michael looked up from a crouch at the man hovering. He was cloaked in the colors of the Crimson Order... yet he held no Shard within him. Slightly confused, he slowly rose to his feet.
"I should have remembered how easy I was to catch off guard," came the mocking voice once more. Michael grit his teeth and clenched his fists. Cosmic force, gathered by the Source Shard within him swirled around his hands.
"Oh, I think that is quite enough, Summers."
There was a tearing of metal and falling glass as the car door he had crashed into was torn from its home, twisted and reached out to encase the Legionnaire. Michael strained against the force, his mind racing. He had assumed his double would have the same powers as he did.. but what the hell was this?
"Surprised? I would be," a small laugh came from the Harbinger as he slowly lowered himself to the ground. "Imagine my surprise when I come to this time, seeing myself not only as a sniveling romantic wretch, but in possession of one of Scion's precious space crystals."
"Not the only surprise you have in store for you today, bud," Michael tossed back at him, punctuating the statement with a burst of source energy from his eyes. Harbinger stagged back, shaking off the blow.
"An interesting trick... try this one..." Harbinger stepped forward, gouts of energy tearing through the air from his hands. Summers threw himself to the side, feeling the wave of heat and power sizzle past his body and impacting with the car behind him. The vehicle rocked on its wheels, the windows shattering explosively.
"I've seen better," Michael joked, pulling his aura to him, then expelling it outward. The twisted door frame gave way, falling to the ground around him. Panic flowed to him from the citizens around him. This battle would be devastating to the block. Without hesitation, Michael leapt into the air, training blue energy as he streaked towards the clouds. As he flew past Harbinger, he let loose a volley of energy, more as a taunt then anything else. Harbinger, predictably, took to the air and gave chase.
Harbinger smiled behind his helmet. It was perfect. Summers was doing exactly as he had anticipated. Remove the fight from the Civilian populace. There was only one real place to not do collateral damage nearby... Harbinger had planned on it and Michael executed that plan wonderfully.
Michael soared over Equinox, eyes turning to the south and trying to map the best route to the ‘Row. Galaxy was no place for this battle and the ‘Row was the closest. He glanced below him, spotting Harbinger flying up after him, the air around the caped mutant shimmering like a heat wave.
“Tell me,” Michael called after him, climbing higher into the sky. “How does it feel knowing you ruined y our life?” He had to keep him following and baiting him seemed a good way to get it done.
Harbinger said nothing, silently climbing the distance between them. His hands glowed an angry crimson, trailing through the air behind him like a tracer. A quick gesture sent bolts of power streaking towards Summers.
Michael twisted in the air, a barrel roll dropping his altitude by a dozen or so feet. Harbinger and he were on an even keel, which is the way the Villain had wanted it in the first place. Michael studied his course for a moment, then, confident he was traveling in a safe direction, he cast his glance back, took in Harbinger’s position, and fired off a bolt of Shard Energy at his pursuer. The azure bolt of power hissed through the air above the dominator as he simply dropped a few yards. He’d lose a fraction of a second in speed to re-elevate himself, but he knew where Michael was heading and wasn’t too concerned with the velocity drop as he climbed back up to be even with his double. Out of spite, more than anything, he returned fire.
Michael frowned at the incoming attack, pulling up and spiraling into the air. Harbinger followed suit, the two combatants twirling around each other in the sky over Gemini Park. Red and blue streaks of power flew between the two fliers as they spun around and over one another. It turned less into a chase and more of a sustained dog fight, with the two former fighter pilots, both with the same experience and knowledge of aircraft warfare attempting to tag one another. Harbinger, however, had the edge when it came to open flight experience. With more than a lifetime over Michael in that respect, he quickly turned Michael’s game of cat and mouse into an amusement for himself… and a source of concern for Summers.
“Is this what you do with your time?” Harbinger asked between blasts, “Play house instead of train? At least I’m not the one who wasted his time on foolish sentimentality.”
Turning in the air at the top of a climb to face his tormentor, Michael snapped back at Harbinger.
“You destroyed your own life. Leave me to mine!”
“You have no life,” Harbinger sneered. He reached out with a gloved hand and yanked Michael down towards him with a magnetic grip. Michael struggled, trying to regain altitude, but it was futile. As he drew nearer, Harbinger flew towards him, ramming into his chest and carrying him towards the ground. “You have nothing but a dream and wasted potential.”
“I have what you destroyed.”
“You have nothing of consequence.”
The air tore past them as Harbinger shoved them both to the ground. He angled their descent at the last minute, reaching out to drive Michael into the ground as they made contact. The defender’s uniformed body cut into the ground, slicing a gouge through the grass as they skid across the earth sending sprays of dirt into the air.
Traffic around the southern portion of Galaxy City slowed as citizens stopped to watch the battle. Train wrecks, car crashes, and fights. Nothing piqued the curiosity of the average joe more.
As the dirt settled, Harbinger stood over his double, cape billowing behind him.
“Does it hurt to see what you become?” He asks, his voice amused.
“Does it hurt to see what you were?” Michael responds, punctuating his statement with a burst of cosmic force, sending Harbinger to the ground. The defender ascended into the air, glancing around quickly at the growing crowd. He had to get the battle moving… and quickly. Otherwise Harbinger could have upwards of fifty hostages. “No sleeping on the job, pal.” He tossed at Harbinger and slowly climbed back up into the sky.
Harbinger simply watched for a moment, then, because it was required of him for things to progress as planned, he gave chase once more.
Chapter Two
Gabriel Evans sighed. The stalker leaned against a fence post in King’s Row, eyeing the construction site across the way.
“So, is this where “God” wants to meet us?” came a female voice, seemingly out of no where. It was oddly alluring in its disembodiment.
“Yeah,” Gabriel responded, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. It was nice having a secret identity sometimes. Here, in the ‘row, where people generally knew it was better to mind their own business, the Shard-bearer was just another guy in a black t-shirt and blue jeans, smoking a cigarette and drinking a bottle of pop on a sunny day. “’God’ will be here soon.”
"Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you weren’t such a sniveling coward?” Harbinger called after Michael, flying up an over a billboard as they entered King’s Row.
“Ever wonder how happy people would be if you shut the hell up?” Michael answered, pulling up in the air to scan the area around them. The “Gish” wasn’t that far from their position, and there had to be an open area. Hell, the Clockwork were trying to assemble a giant robot here every other week. How hard could it be to find a deserted parking lot or something?
“I was thinking the same of you. Great minds must think alike,” Harbinger mused in a bored tone. He pulled up after Michael, knowing what the hero sought, and what he would find. It was almost as if he had foreseen this very instance with himself as Summers took to the air, speeding south once more.
“We are nothing alike. Nothing,” Summers snapped off his reply.
Harbinger just smirked. “We both lived to protect our loved ones,” They twisted in the air around each other, Harbinger firing off a few bolts of power as he spoke, “What would you sacrifice to save millions? Would you even have the strength to sacrifice anything?” Michael spun out of the way of the oncoming energy, returning fire with a beam of source energy from his eyes.
“You killed the only thing in the world you loved more than anything,” the defender growled, moving to close the distance between them. They were close enough now that he could shepherd Harbinger to the construction site he noticed earlier. Now he could indulge the villain in the battle that they –both- apparently wanted. The two of them hovered over a manufacturing plant of some kind, a few trucks in the nearby parking lot, several smoke stacks rising out of the squat, five story frame. Across the street construction had begun on another industrial building, but had been constantly halted by gang activity or the occasional coming of the robotic monstrosity known as “Paladin.”
“You can go to hell!” Michael hurled at the dominator as Shard energy blazed from his hands. Harbinger took the impact in the chest, losing altitude and twisting in the air. He placed his back to the construction site, hovering. Placement was incredibly easy. All it took was one phrase to knock Summers into a small rage and send him screaming through the air towards Harbinger.
“I sacrificed her for the greater good.”
“Heads up,” Gabriel nodded towards the aerial battle, “’God’s’ home.”
Gabriel chuckled at Abaddon lightly, ducking into the shadows as he stepped towards a forklift. His Crimson Order uniform fizzled into being around him and the shadows drew towards him, as if offering up their embrace.
“The rest will be arriving shortly, Abby. Keep an eye out. And for god’s f-ing sake, no face-planting on this one, alright?”
“Bite me, ninja-boy,” came the woman’s reply as Gabriel faded into the shadows, pulling his Shard’s power around him, then around it as well. He had to try to “mute” his shard. It was time to try a new trick.
-=----------------------------------
As he drew near to his foe, Summers pulled back, then shifted his weight. There was one trick he had learned since first taking to the air with his Shard. It was time to share the lesson. Both of his fists clenched together, Michael brought them down on Harbinger and sending the dominator careening out of the sky and impacting with the dirt of the construction site below. Michael descended to hover over the site, watching as the dominator rose to his feet.
To be honest with himself, Michael wondered how he looked under that helmet. He wondered what had happened to him in Harbinger’s world that would make him so bitter, so… opposite of who he thought he was in this reality. His attention shifted to the crane on the construction site. The metal was groaning and creaking loudly, the towering structure swaying like a tree in a storm.
“Time to swat a fly,” Harbinger chuckled as the crane was ripped from it’s foundation, the metal twisting and tearing. It was as if a great pair of hands had taken the metallic construct and tore it to pieces , ripping it apart into hundreds of shards of metal.
“Oh, hell,” Michael twisted into a roll, diving towards the ground as steel shards the size of rifles flew through the air around him. He tried to take them at angles, it he had to take them at all, letting the brunt of them scrap off of his armor. A length of steel caught him in the soft spot between his left shoulder and his chest. The blade’s jagged exterior tore through his muscle and flesh easily and he cried out as he felt it pierce through his back, scraping his shoulder blade. Losing his concentration, Michael fell from the sky.
Ever attentive, Harbinger caught his double in the air, holding a clenched fist up as his magnetic powers captured Summers. The dominator snapped his fist towards the ground and Michael mimicked the motion like a demented puppet, slamming into a pile of excavated dirt. Several more shards hovered around Harbinger as he confidently strode towards his target.
“You know… I know how you feel,” his voice became somewhat sympathetic, like one trying to relate to a child when they say they stubbed their toe and it’s the most devastating thing in their world. Michael simply turned on the ground, grasping at the metal weapon sticking through his body. He knew if he pulled it out, it would not only make a worse wound, but it might knock him out from the pain. As it was, his Shard was working to stop the bleeding. Complete healing would be impossible while it was still in him, though. Harbinger simply continued talking.
“I sacrificed what I had for the stupid dream that one day, your pathetic Legion would eliminate Scion and free the worlds under his boot,” Harbinger shock his head. He held his right hand outstretched towards Michael. Slowly, he began to close his fingers. As he did so, the jagged pieces of metal around him closed in on the wounded defender.
“You killed her!” Michael yelled in rage. His eyes began to glow a defiant blue as he climbed to one knee, his hands filling his shard energies. Harbinger smirked beneath his helm and rotated his hand. A single shard sailed like a missile, whistling through the air and striking Michael in the right shoulder. A wound identical to his first. The defender spun like a top, a small dust cloud rising as he hit the ground once more.
“She died by Scion’s Orders.”
“None of your ‘dreams’ makes up for you murdering her you son of a <expletive>!”
Harbinger raised his hand higher into the air. A crimson glow surrounded it softly as another length of steel hurtled through the air, striking Michael in the left side of his stomach right below his ribcage. Summers screamed.
“Her death killed those dreams. It showed me the truth,” Harbinger responded calmly.
“F- your truth! She meant everything!” Michael screamed at Harbinger. In his mind, there was no difference between the two. Kirste was Kirste. Regardless the dimension or reality. Add to that Harbinger’s attack on his fiancée the night she looked at their apartment and it was beyond rage that filled the defender’s soul.
A burst of cosmic power surged through Michael, exploding from his eyes and slamming into Harbinger’s chest.
“Even a Shard denied you! You don’t have one!”
Harbinger grit his teeth, sending a blast of power into the pinned form of his double. Michael growled in defiance as the stream of energy beat him into the ground, each twitch of his body sending lances of pain through his form where it had been impaled by the metal shrapnel. His blood flowed over his armored uniform, glistening in the sun. Energy from his Shard was infusing him, trying desperately to close his wounds against the steel.
“She holds you back, as she held me back from true power! From having the conviction to do what is needed!” Harbinger growled, sending another torrent into Michael. "You romantic idiot, she is a leash keeping you from true ascension.”
Michael writhed on the ground. Pain was his world, pain and Harbinger’s senseless rage flowing to him like a burst dam. He spit blood on the dirt, making a crimson-brown mud ball.
“She is my light,” he gasped in agony.
“Then it is time to extinguish her,” Harbinger simply stood over Michael. The steel shrapnel still hovered around him as he gestured with his left hand to the steel “I” beams that had been piled on the ground nearby. Two of them floated towards the dominator as he spoke. “And you get the pleasure of watching.”
Michael glared up at Harbinger in anger, desperately activated his communicator. He didn’t want to die. Not yet… but he didn’t want Kirste showing up. Spitting another patch of blood to the ground, he spoke on the Legion com-link.
“Harbinger…. King’s Row… emergency… keep… Kirste away…”
Harbinger just smiled behind his helmet. It was all so perfect. On top of the Legion showing up he –knew- Kirste would arrive. The Summers’ women always showed up… pissed off.
Chapter Three
Night-Star looked down from a rooftop in the Gish. Below him a small gathering of Skulls was working on a drug deal. Flashing a smile he looked back at his companions. Satsuma Choshu and Christopher stood on the roof with him. Christopher had his arms crossed, an indignant look on his face. Satsuma was taking a look around the roof, as if sizing everything up.
“Found some. Drug deal looks like. We ready?” Star asked, his voice light, his smile absolute.
“What, exactly, are we doing?” Christopher asked, his voice tinged with impatience. Satsuma raised a brow, then shrugged.
“Patrolling,” Night-Star replied with a smirk, he posed dramatically in his best Statesmen impersonation. “’To keep the streets of Paragon City safe for the everyday man!’ you know?”
“Right,” Christopher replied, “But don’t we have more important things to worry about than a drug deal? Plagues? Insane Council? Circle of Thorns?” Satsuma smiled and laughed at the Circle of Thorns mention. Hell, his first night as a Shard-bearer he was fighting Circle of Thorns with Michael and Kirste. –And- Demons.
“Patience, young grasshopper,” Star chuckled, getting ready to leap from the roof by the looks of it. “Do you think Kane from ‘Kung Fu’ just up and started walking the earth? Hell no. He had to start small. Snatching the pebble and all that jazz.” He pointed down to the small gang. “See that? Pretend it’s a pebble.”
Christopher sighed in resignation. As he went to take a step forward, all of their com-units buzzed to life.
“Harbinger…. King’s Row… emergency… keep… Kirste away…”
Michael’s voice over the comm. Made Christopher instinctively flinch. Harbinger had his father. It was not going to happen again. He was not going to lose his family –again- to that monster. His body exploded into a cloud of light and reformed into his Nova form.
“We need to go. NOW!”
“Nah. I know a good noodle shop right down the street-hey!” Star joked, but Christopher and Satsuma were already well on their way.
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Danni Starsong brushed debris out of her hair as Mykhall exited a cave entrance in Talos Island. The peacebringer winked at her boyfriend and smiled.
“Lovely date, I think,” she chuckled. Mykhall smiled and shrugged. Their coms going off paused the conversation at that as Michael’s pained voice reached their ears.
“Harbinger…. King’s Row… emergency… keep… Kirste away…”
“Oh, nertz…” Danni frowned, exploding into her Bright Nova form. Mykhall had already hovered off the ground. “We should hurry.”
-----------------
John had taken the day off. He had recently decided that such things were more of a necessity than the treats he used to view them as. Standing shirtless in his King's Row apartment, he cooked some eggs for a sandwich as he rubbed the recently-acquired tattoo on his right deltoid. The shard had healed it rather quickly, but the new sensation of texture the ink created he found interesting.
Plopping down in front of the television, he found a movie to watch and started munching his fried-egg and cheese sandwich. It was going to be a great day. Relaxing. Calm. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and sipped at a cold Lipton Green Tea with Citrus.
Suddenly, vexingly, Talbot's com-link went off. He walked to it and switched it on.
It was Michael's voice. "Harbinger... King's Row... emergency.. keep... Kirste away..."
"Oh, flying hell..." Talbot said, running towards the balcony he kept meaning to decorate. He leapt over the railing and started a 20-story plummet as a blue and black uniform appeared from his skin, covering his body. "Talbot here.." he barked into the wristwatch-sized communicator, "I'm on my way."
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Kirste’s face was grim, her body tense, her mind focused. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. Sinjin had finally convinced her to test drive some bikes. They roared down the winding country road, Sinjin maintaining his lead – Kirste determined to catch him. She’d almost had him once but he’d looked over at her and grinned his easy Cross grin and raced past her.
A wide curve loomed ahead - it would be reckless of her to attempt it - the thought made her smile. Sinjin moved over slightly – Kirste leaned low over the handles and accelerated hard. Sinjin saw a blur of movement to his left and heard Kirste’s laughter drifting on the wind as she blew past him. He was grinning broadly as Michael’s message came over the comm.,
“Harbinger…King’s Row…emergency…keep…Kirste away…”
Without stopping they changed direction and sped towards the Row. Kirste’s face was grim, her body tense, her mind focused. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so scared
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Night-Star leaned against a forklift, peering around it in a crouched position. Harbinger was speaking to Michael, the words, though, Star couldn't make out. They didn't really matter, either. There were steel beams and jagged shards of metal floating around the guy... no es bueno in the Scrapper's mind. Christopher crouched between Star and Satusma, back in his human form. Choshu and Star were trying to get him to keep his head down, since the two of them knew the intricacies of keeping hidden, but Chris did not.
"Okay," Star whispered, looking back at his teammates, "Be careful. This guy looks kinda Big league."
Satsuma smirked and popped his neck. "If it was easy it wouldn't be any fun, Star."
"This is not fun. We need to stop this guy before he kills Michael," Christopher reminded them, his voice tight. "It's not a game, and this is not a joke. I'd appreciate it if you two just focused and we get Mr. Summers the hell out of here."
Star blinked. "Oooookay. Calm down there, Sparky. We'll get him out."
"Yeah, what's got your boxers in a bunch? We got this," Satsuma assured him.
Harbinger stared at the bleeding defender, two spikes of anticipation coming to him from somewhere to his back. At first, he thought it was his two hidden ones... then he felt the third, rage. Harbringer turned in time to see his son and two other heroes charging towards him from behind a forklift... of all things.
"Hey, bucket head, I hope you have health insurance with that snazzy outfit!" Star tossed out, running for the dominator. Harbinger ignored him. Star had always been insignificant.
Satsuma was grinning, then swore beneath his breath as he felt bands of force wrap around his chest. There was a moment of being suspended in the air, then he was hurled over the fence of the construction site and into the street. The shard-bearer hit the ground in a roll, coming to his feet a few yards away. Shaking himself off, he began running back to the battle as he heard Christopher screaming.
"You're going down, Harbinger! No getting away this time!"
Harbinger gestured in the air, "You will never learn, will you? Then, as a stern parent might, it's time I teach you a lesson." One of the steel "I" beams spun through the air towards the peacebringer.
Night-Star ducked and rolled under the beam as it passed him, his hands reaching into his belt for his throwing knives.
"Didn't they teach you to play nice with others at "psycho villain daycare" when you were a kid? Yeesh," the scrapper mused, coming to his feet and hurling the weapons at the helmeted dominator. The blades stopped in mid-flight mere inches from Harbinger’s stomach.
"You always were a fool, 'Gabriel'"
Christopher leapt into the air, a flash of light and he was again in his Bright Nova form. Though highly maneuverable, the form of the nova could not stop steel beams. The metal support struck him as he finished the transformation, sending him hurtling towards the remains of the lifting crane. Christopher growled to himself as his world reeled with the blow and he was sent into hundreds of pounds of scrap metal.
Satsuma jumped up to the fence, his hands grabbing on the top of a pole and pushing him off. The shard-bearer twirled in the air, landing in a graceful crouch as he saw Christopher get slammed into what was left of a crane. Star had his concern, however. As Satsuma sprinted forward the two daggers Night-Star had thrown at Harbinger were turning in the air and tearing towards Star with a vengeance.
Star spun on his feet, feinting to his left, then twirling down low and to his right. His mind was a tornado of chaos as he felt the blades graze past him, cutting a hairline scratch across one cheek. As he stopped moving he looked to spot the weapons turning in the air and coming back at him once more.
"You have got to be kidding me! That's cheating!!!" Star screamed in protest.
Satsuma jumped towards Harbinger, his fists clenched as he plotted a course of combination attacks in his mind. But, when the dominator simply held a palm up in his direction as if asking him to wait a moment, he felt his chest constrict as he was hoisted higher into the air, invisible lines of magnetic power restraining him.
The blades spun around Night-Star as the scrapper danced to the baseline in his head. He had several new cuts, and he knew there was no way to get away from his weapons now. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he clenched his jaw. This completely and utterly sucked. And he had -just- this week had such a great time with Katelyn. He decided, before the blades closed in again, that it was karma balancing itself out.
"Your Legion is helpless, Michael," Harbinger chuckled beneath his helm. "They mean nothing to me, and should mean the same to you. Allow me to demonstrate..."
Satsuma knew it before it happened. He knew this was going to be painful, and he knew he wasn't going to like it.
"You cheap son of a-" he didn't get a chance to finish as he was hurled down like a child's bouncing ball... into an oncoming car. The scrapper impacted on the roof of the vehicle, shattering the windows as he left his back crush through the metal. His vision blurred for a moment as his head slammed against the surface, then was whipped backwards again as he found himself thrown into the sky.
Night-Star twisted on the balls of his feet and crouched, preparing to back flip as the knives closed in again. His speed, however, did not save him this time. Two white hot lances of agony raced through him as he felt a prick on his skin, then the familiar sliding sensation as the two daggers buried themselves to the hilt in his chest. Mercifully, he didn't even have time to scream as he was grabbed by Harbinger’s power and hurtled through the side of a dumpster.
He lay upon the dusty, jagged garbage of the construction site, his blood flowing like little rivers over his chest and down his sides. Brown eyes sought out the sky above him and his mind just continued to move. Never thought I'd go out like this. He sighed mentally. Damnit, Kate... where are you when I could use the backup? Then his world went black.
Satsuma felt himself being plucked out of the air like a rag doll. Swearing to himself he stared as the jagged and sharp points of the crane wreckage grew closer and closer.
Chapter Four
Christopher Summers snapped back to consciousness, his head pounding against his skull as if it were trying to escape a prison. He reverted back to human form, pushing pieces of metal off of him, his muscles sore. Warm liquid dripped down on him from his metal cage of shrapnel, splashing on his face and chest in a constant drip as he moved. The peacebringer touched a hand to his face, wiped some of the liquid off then looked at it on his fingertips. The white gloves were stained crimson with blood. Panic seized him as he fought through the wreckage, clawing his way up. It was like being stuck behind the lines in Scion's Recycling Camps, bodies of those who refused to submit and reform thrown crumpled with the rest of the trash on their way to the furnaces.
As he pierced the metal walls around him, he climb atop the fallen crane. He was still here, still in this world, to his relief. Satsuma lay before him, cursing silently, his hands feebly grasping at the half a dozen shafts of metal that were protruding from his chest and abdomen, glistening in the afternoon air with his lifeblood.
"Bastard... wait... till... I get off your... pincushion... sunova... "
"Sh-" Christopher sighed, kneeling on the wreckage next to his friend. he had battlefield experience. decades of it... plus he and Novascream had each other's experiences to draw on... but he had no idea where to begin with Satsuma. Battlefield medicine was different for a shardbearer than it was for a normal soldier. In Satsuma's case he could regenerate, but he needed to be pulled off of the spikes first. Wondering how much time he would have to work, Christopher looked up in the direction of his father and Harbinger.
Michael coughed up blood, struggling to get to his feet. Harbinger watched in amusement, his metallic weapons floating calmly around him. The defender's hands closed around a metal spike in his shoulder. He clenched his jaw and began to pull, feeling the edges of the metal catch on muscle and tendon. He screamed and fell to one knee, continuing and pulling the shard of metal free. Blood splattered on his armor and the ground as he tossed the spike away. His shard worked furiously, enhancing Michael's own abilities to heal himself.
"That's it Summers," Harbinger chuckled, "Keep fighting. Don't give in... no matter how pointless or feeble it is. Never stop fighting."
Michael ignored him and gripped the shard in his side. As he began to pull, he noticed the length of metal he just ripped out of his body twirled into the air and hurtled towards him again. He clenched his jaw before the strike, refusing to give in to the pain. The shard ripped back through the repaired hole in his armor and dove hungrily into the rapidly healing flesh beneath, re-tearing muscle and skin. The defender mutely spun, falling face down on the dirt.
"Let's see if you're as resilient as I remember, Michael..."
"Howabout we say we did and not?" Danni Starsong's voice rang out in the air.
Harbinger turned, watching as Danni shifted into her White Dwarf form, the bright nova replaced by the hulking body of the neutron star inhabitant. Mykhall was with her, not even taking the time to land as he flew directly for the dominator.
"Mykhall," Harbinger sighed, "Don't make me kill you... I don't have the patience today," he gestured towards the alien tanker, the remaining "I" beam he had in his arsenal whipping before him like a baseball bat, slamming into the tanker's side and sending him crashing through the fence of the construction site, through the air above the street, past a pedestrian, through the fence around the manufacturing plant, and into the ground there.
Mykhall skid across the ground, his back coming to rest against the bricks of the plant. His eyes blinked as he shook his head, his shard lifting him back into the air. The villain had caught him off guard once, he would not let him do so again.
"Bad idea, buddy," Danni intoned, charging forward. Her fist came crashing into Harbinger’s abdomen. She felt resistance and only pushed harder. Harbinger refused to move. He simply stared at her from within his helm.
"You were saying, Starsong?"
M442- Wolf chuckled in his Crey powered armor. Seemed like Harbinger’s preparations in having him and his minions layer him with force fields was paying off. Now it was time to wait for the other target to arrive before he moved everyone in.
Christopher struggled with Satsuma, trying to lift him off of the shards of metal that had torn through the scrapper's body. Satsuma, to his credit, winced and grit his teeth, but refused to cry out in pain as wounds were re-opened, healed by his shard, then re-opened again as Chris tried to free him.
"This isn't working," Christopher grumbled.
"What the hell is going on with the fight... maybe you can help... there instead of wasting time with me"
Christopher looked over at the fight again and frowned.
"Unfortunately, I don't have the pleasure of dealing with you myself, Danni..." Harbinger grumbled as Starsong's fist slammed into him once more, her indignation fueling her. His feet slid a few inches back on the dirt. His magnetic fields of protection added to Wolf's force fields was worth the cost.
"Deal with me, yeah. Sure." She swung again, connecting with the invisible field, but feeling it give slightly. Harbinger was rocked back as her attack connected soundly on his helmet. If she had lips... she would have smiled.
"Damnit, Starsong," Harbinger growled, whipping his head back to face the peacebringer, "I promised your double that in exchange for her services..."
Harbinger reached out with his powers, irritation and will warping the magnetic sphere in front of him and clamping down on Starsong. He wouldn't be able to hurt her, but she couldn't touch him, either.
"That I would leave you unharmed."
"What? What are you-?"
Danni was ignored as Talbot descended from the sky.
"You've ruined my day off," Talbot intoned grimly, his aura of shard energy glowing protectively around him.
Christopher flew up and over the battlefield as John Talbot flew through the air towards Harbinger. Mykhall had recovered and seemed to be just standing around in the area in front of the manufacturing plant across the street. Chris looked down for his father, finding him on his hands and knees in the dirt, coughing up blood and bleeding on the ground. Shifting his concern back to that direction, the peacebringer's powers carried him to land next to Michael Summers.
Mykhall focused. The commander had arrived, and that would buy him some time. He focused his mind, feeling the Shard within him. Coaxing it's energies from it, he felt Source Energy suffusing his body, making him more resilient from harm and protecting him from Harbinger’s abilities.
"I brought out the Great John Talbot. Flattering old friend," Harbinger laughed, the shards of metal around him beginning to swirl in the air.
"I don't know you, nor do I want to, but you hurt my teammates, even the pilot, and you and I have 'words.'"
John let loose a burst of shard energies at his target. Harbinger gestured, pulling the swirling metal down before him to act as a shield. The source power pounded relentlessly against the metal.
"Christopher, pull Summers back," Talbot clicked on his comm, "Mykhall, flank him and we'll take him down. "
Mykhall launched himself up into the air, pulling up a few dozen yards above Harbinger’s back. His plan of attack was simple in it's execution. Slam into Harbinger, and while he's dazed, the Commander would take him down. Mykhall forgot one small fact. Life is never simple.
Talbot poured on the juice, firing bolt after bolt at Harbinger, pounding back the shield of metal.
"You know, for someone who no one wants to reveal anything about you're not very scary."
"I'm.. busy..." Harbinger smirked, sweat beading on his forehead as he held his left fist clenched behind the metal shield, holding it together, but feeling it creep back and threatening to give way. His other hand reached out towards the parking lot of the manufacturing plant. A vehicle there shifted on it's shocks, rocking violently. Timing was key in this, and he knew he wouldn't get a second chance. Straining, his head pounding, Harbinger clenched his jaw as he felt a trickle of blood drip out of his nose.
"Now, Mykhall!" Talbot flew forward, his hands and body glaring with source energy. As he drew within a few yards he unleashed the power in a bright explosion of azure power. At the same time Mykhall threw himself towards Harbinger’s unprotected side, seeing the dominator reach for something towards the plant, and poured on the speed. He had to get there before whatever it was the dominator was trying to accomplish worked.
Chapter Five
Christopher Summers knelt down beside his father, his face grim. He watched as the defender's eyes glowed a soft blue. Michael rocked back on his knees, hands closing around the shard in his side. Christopher reached out and put his hand on Michael's.
"Da-" Christopher paused for a moment, "Michael... don't It'll re-open them." Michael looked up at him and shook his head.
"I have to get them out... and they are going to need me. Back away kid."
Comm silence was killing Kirste. She had heard Talbot and the others arrive and her heart lifted somewhat. But, as she twisted the accelerator on the motorcycle she felt a shiver go through her spine. It was still Harbinger... and that scared her to death. For her and her teammates.
Starsong struggled against her prison. Her family needed her and she was stuck. The tendrils of power that bound her she could feel weakening. As if it were a euphoria, she shuddered in anticipation. This guy was going to pay.
A scream from Michael pulled her attention from the fight. Christopher was kneeling next to his father, his hands helping Michael pull the metal from his body. Danni swore mentally and felt her heart tug. Poor Christopher... he knew that he couldn't let his father know who he was, though how the resemblance got past Kirste and Michael she never knew. Michael's armored uniform was covered in his own blood as they pulled the last shard from him. Casting a glance back at the fight, she pounded against her invisible prison.
"Mykhall, look out!!!"
Harbinger felt the shield begin to give way as he brought his right fist flinging back like a slingshot. The timing was perfect as he threw himself to the side. Mykhall slammed into the ground just as the shield gave way meeting Talbot's ravaging bolts of Shard Energy face first. Mykhall's face was a mask of absolute shock as he staggered back, slammed over and over by the torrent of source energy at Talbot's command. The force of the blows drove him backwards through the air. He felt a split second of resistance against his back as a box truck came hurtling from the parking lot of the manufacturing plant and crashed into him. Pain raced like electric fire along his nervous system as the truck's structure began to give way, Mykhall's shard reinforced body slamming through the grill and slamming the engine block into the cab.
Finally, Talbot's explosive attack ceased giving them both enough time to mutter a single word in silence.
Mykall's world exploded. And so did the box truck.
Danni screamed in rage as Mykhall was thrown flaming into the sky. Bits of shrapnel and burning wreckage fell like rain. The explosion had hurled Talbot across the ground, gouging a small path in the dirt. Michael and Christopher had been thrown to the mound of dirt by the concussive force of the blast and as the wave washed over her magnetic prison, she felt it weaken even more. As Harbinger climbed to his feet, she yelled.
"You're mine, bucket head!"
The explosion in King's Row would have given Kirste all the location she needed to find her fiancée even if she didn't have his coordinates off of the Legion Com-link. As the echo from the blast hit them, she and Sinjin rounded the last corner to the construction site. Sinjin nodded to her as she gunned the bike.
Talbot was climbing to his feet, his aura flaring in anger. Around him his team was recovering from the explosion. Mykhall had hit the ground, landing next to Satsuma. Talbot watched as the tank rose to stand, his uniform scorched and torn, revealing cut and bleeding skin beneath. Mykhall looked over to Satsuma, who glanced up.
"Get me off this... so I can kick... that guy... in... the nuts..."
Mykhall raised a brow, not comprehending for a moment why Satsuma would want to kick cashews. Then just shrugged and slowly began lifting the scrapper off of the spikes. Satsuma growled in pain as the metal withdrew from his body, his shard immediately working on closing his wounds. The scrapper nodded a thanks as Mykhall set him on his feet.
John frowned, taking in his resources at the moment. His people were all hurt or exhausted and their enemy was getting a chance to recuperate. Not on his watch. Talbot took to the air as Kirste's motorcycle squealed onto the scene. Sinjin Cross was right behind her.
Harbinger smirked, watching as Kirste skid her bike to a stop, looking over the chaos. She was looking for Michael, he knew. And Sinjin Cross would be her back up. Well... he chuckled... he had taken that little fact into account.
"Order... Alpha Pattern," he whispered over his com, his voice hidden behind his helmet.
"That's us, right?" Abbadon asked, gathering her magics to her with practiced ease.
"Yeah, that's us. Time to mess up the Legion's day," Gabriel responded with a whisper.
Wolf smiled behind his helm, receiving the transmission flawlessly.
"Transmission acknowledged. Executing." He replied with confidence. His visor turned to take in Sinjin Cross, an information readout scrolling over his HUD. He locked on to Cross, then turned to mentally key in the designated drop point. Nodding in satisfaction, he gave the command to execute.
Sinjin hopped off his bike as Kirste took to the air, spotting Michael. She let the machine fall to the ground, not caring. Michael was covered in blood and Christopher was helping him to his feet. She flew straight by Talbot as he gathered source energy to him as if she didn't even see her Commander. Cross sighed and cracked his neck.
"Exercise time, it seems." he stepped forward and felt like he was falling through the air. Sinjin's vision blurred and flashed for a split second... and then he was looking at the fight from a completely different angle.
Sinjin Cross had appeared on the other side of the wrecked crane, staring at the broken and twisted frame of metal. Talbot was still in the air, charging himself up as Harbinger leapt into the sky. He could hear Danni yell in delight as her voice echoed over the battlefield.
"HAAAAARRRBBBYYY I'M HOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!"
But Sinjin had concerns of his own. Something was off around him.
Sliding his legs into a combat position, he slowly turned, his hands raising before him in a defensive form. There was a blur of movement and flicker of shadows from his left as a female dressed in a Crimson Order uniform struck out at him, her hands a torrent of darkness.
Sinjin sidestepped, an open palm striking aside the attack. His right leg chambered and shot out in a side kick, connecting solidly in the woman's solar plexus. There was the satisfying whoosh of air as her breath ejected itself from her lungs and she staggered back. As his foot touched the ground once more he felt another rush and the sudden impact of two fists slamming into his lower back. Cross grunted as he felt the shadows themselves start ravaging his flesh. Strips of black cloth flew shredded into the air with a small mist of blood as Gabriel's attack thrust Sinjin forward. With practiced grace, Sinjin pivoted on his lead foot, using the forward momentum with a spin to power a kick back at his attacker. Gabriel was struck in the chest, sending him staggering back a few steps.
Sinjin Cross spun to keep both fighters in his field of vision, his stance becoming more aggressive.
"This is going to be a bad day for some of us. Consider it a fair warning," he spoke, blood trickling from the multiple lashes on his body.
"Michael!" Kirste cried out, landing beside her fiancée. He glanced up at her, his jaw set, his eyes grim. Christopher looked over at her and shook his head, pointing to the shards of metal around Michael that were covered in blood. Kirste blinked, then looked from Michael to Harbinger.
Christopher reached out to lay a hand on Kirste. Her hands had begun to shake violently in rage. He already had his father almost killed, he had to try to calm her down as well. But, he knew his sister, and he knew his mother. Both of their tempers were almost legendary. He wasn't the least bit surprised when she took off like a rocket, screaming in anger.
The peacebringer just sighed and helped his father to his feet.
"She'll be alright, Michael... just get yourself patched up," he assured his father.
"Right... kid... my ass." came the reply. Michael reached into himself and felt his shard, strained as it was. He tapped into it again, willing his wounds to close, feeling the flesh continue to heal at an accelerated pace. He was down for the moment, but he was definitely not out of the game yet.
"You piece of <expletive>!" Kirste screamed at Harbinger. The mutant turned to face her just as Talbot loosed a volley of Shard energy.
Harbinger growled as he was hammered by the force of Talbot's shard and driven to the ground where a very unhappy Peacebringer named Starsong was charging towards him.
"Miss me?" Danni asked, sending one of her huge fists flying into Harbinger’s chest. The force fields gave way and the dominator rocked on his feet. Behind Danni he could see Mykhall taking to the air and coming their direction. Kirste was closing in and Talbot was maneuvering for a clear shot. He knew in a fair fight there was no way he could take the Cerulean Legion on his own. One fool had already thought that, and they all saw what happened to him.
"Not as much as I've missed Trinion," Harbinger laughed in reply. Danni growled and slammed her shoulder into him, snapping his head back and knocking him to the ground.
"Danni, MOVE!" Kirste commanded, hovering over the dominator, but her angle blocked by the hulking form of the peacebringer. Danni ignored her for the moment, Harbinger’s words registering.
"What the hell are you talking about?!?"
Talbot soared into a position on Harbinger’s flank, his eyes glowing blue. The aura over his body sparked and sizzled with barely contained power.
"Wouldn't you like to find out?" Harbinger laughed, gesturing at Danni. The White Dwarf was hurled into the air, slamming into Kirste with enough force to send her spiraling to the ground.
As the two Legionnaires fell to the ground, Harbinger snapped to his feet. He could feel Talbot almost ready to explode. Two seconds more, at maximum.
"Pattern Gamma, target change to Talbot. Chain execute to Pattern Delta." he snapped off the command, not caring if the Legion heard it or not. It was time they learned how he had played them for fools.
Wolf smirked. It was about damn time. He locked Talbot into his targeting reticule and executed the command. It had to be timed perfectly. Harbinger had known of the possibility of one of the Legion's blasters joining the fight and explained his strategy to Wolf. From what the mercenary could tell, Harbinger had either studied these people for a very long time, or he used to be one of them. He knew them backwards and forwards.
The air around Talbot shimmered as he flew down to Harbinger.
"It's time we end this!" The commander snapped, source power filling him to the bursting point.
"You have no idea how right you are, old friend." Harbinger replied. Talbot vanished a split second later.
John Talbot exploded six hundred feet in the air above King's Row.
To the pedestrians and gang members of the 'Row it appeared that a small star exploded in the middle of the day. The blue light of source energy washed over the battle below and the surrounding blocks, the devastating power unleashing energy levels off the charts. John swore to himself as he began to fall. He knew he didn't have much time before terra firma took him with open arms. Twisting in the air, he spread his body out, trying to create as much air resistance as possible. With a calm desperation he reached out with his will to his shard, trying to pull some spark of power to halt his fall.
The source stone within him flared momentarily, giving him the energy to slow his fall ever so slightly, but he smiled as Mykhall veered in his flight, soaring up to catch his falling leader.
"I have you, Commander" Mykhall spoke calmly as he gently snagged Talbot from the air.
"Good, set me down to catch my breath, then get back in there. Make sure Kirste and Danni have the help they need. Cover Mike and the new kid from Harbinger."
"As you wish."
Wolf frowned in disappointment as Talbot was saved from what would have been an incredibly humiliating defeat by his teammate.
"Heroes," the mercenary huffed, turning his attention to his next order. M442- Wolf punched a few buttons on his wrist call-pad and locked coordinates in his HUD. He vanished in a flash of light from the front office of the manufacturing plant. It was amusing, really. Harbinger had sent Mykhall through the fences to give him a clear view of the battlefield.
Satsuma Choshu landed softly on his feet behind Sinjin Cross.
"Need some help?" He asked, cracking his knuckles as his shard healed the last of his wounds. "Sure, you take the guy. I'll dance with the lady."
"I always get gypped." Satsuma smirked, moving into position beside Sinjin. He winked at Gabriel and slid into a stance. "Hey, stud."
"I'm going to enjoy watching you bleed," Gabriel smiled, speaking from behind the mask that hid the lower half of his face.
"Yeah, you'll try."
Abbadon moved in on Cross, feinting a snap kick to the knee, then twisting it into a crescent kick aimed for the fighter's face. Sinjin didn't even flinch as he raised a hand in an effortless block, stepping in and sending a palm strike to her side.
"You just learn how to fight?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Come on then, pretty boy, show me what you got."
"You been talking to Kirste?" Cross smirked.
Gabriel slid in at Satsuma, a flurry of quick jabs moving towards his opponent's face. Satsuma leaned back to avoid them as the Stalker suddenly lowered his body and lunged forward.
Chapter Six
Kirste and Danni recovered quickly, Kirste's shard's power infused her, flowing into her limbs as Talbot was set down by Michael and Christopher. Stepping forward, Kirste sprung towards her target, her eyes alight with hatred.
"You have threatened us long enough, you <expletive>!" Kirste growled.
"Dearest, this isn't really a good time," Harbinger replied, a gesture sending her flying into the air. Danni was charging in right behind Kirste, a fist the size of a basket ball smashing into Harbinger’s helmet. He reeled back, his concentration flickering for a moment.
"For someone who says they know me," Danni laughed after the hit. "you seem to have underestimated how resilient this form is..."
Kirste leveled herself out, glaring down at Harbinger. Danni followed up with a second attack, her other fist slamming into Harbinger’s helm again. The metal cracked, flakes of steel flying into the air.
Kirste sent herself rocketing towards Harbinger, her hands clenched together.
"<expletive> you, 'honey!'" the tanker snapped in fury. Her hands smashed into Harbinger’s protected face. Shards of metal were scattered into the air as the villain's helmet shattered in the furious assault.
Harbinger was sent hurtling through the air, crashing through the brick wall of the manufacturing plant across the street. Stone and debris fell from the hole, raising a cloud of dust that obscured the dominator's form.
Kirste's eyes fell to the pieces of Harbinger’s helmet on the ground in front of her and Danni, her heart skipping a beat. Reflexively, she looked over at Michael. Her fiancée was on his feet and walking slowly towards her. Christopher was beside him and Talbot was taking to the sky once more with Mykhall.
Kirste's mind raced. Too many people. Too many people would see what she and Michael already knew. In a snap decision, she flew across the street to confront Harbinger in the plant.
"Kirste, wait for-" Talbot grumbled, flying after her. "Everyone, Kirste has point, stay alert!"
Danni charged across the street, her White Dwarf form's thundering footfalls announcing her approach. Michael took to the air with Christopher, Mykhall taking position with them.
"That... -hurt-, 'dear one," came Harbinger’s voice from within the building. Kirste's flight stopped suddenly as a magnetic grip held her fast in the air.
The tanker struggled furiously, muscles flexing in rage. "You sorry sunova-..." Kirste growled, eyes glaring into the settling dust as Harbinger’s silhouette emerged, leaning with on hand on the broken bricks. He stood, shoulders slumped. "I... -she- never loved you, you pathetic hollow-"
"That will be quite enough out of you, Mrs. Summers," Harbinger growled, stepping from the broken wall. Long, blonde hair hung over his face for a moment as he reached out towards Kirste, the lines of power holding her constricting tightly.
"And that will be quite close enough, Legionnaires." Harbinger’s form exploded in power, a crimson glow flaring over his body. He threw his hand towards the approaching Legion, power lines from the high capacity towers above them snapping from their places and flicking around the members of the Legion. The electrical pulse wasn't enough to kill them by any means, not with the Shards, but it was more than enough to incapacitate them for a moment.
Harbinger turned his face to them, spitting a small spray of blood to the ground. As he raised his blue eyes the dominator's hair fell from his face. Though his face held a visage of hatred and contempt, it was unmistakable to the members of the Legion none the less.
Michael Summers stood before them, clothed in the uniform of the Crimson Order and seemingly prepared to kill every single one of them.
--
Wolf smiled, erecting the last of his force fields around the robots under his command as they were air dropped to the battlefield. The fight with Harbinger’s two stalkers was going bad. For the Stalkers. Harbinger knew his people were, to an extent, expendable. To give the Legion some sort of belief that he could be crushed easily. Lull them into a false sense of security. But, to be taken seriously, he had arranged some other surprises as well.
Wolf pulled up a satellite overlay of the battlefield on his HUD. The staging area for the next strike force was prepared. He chuckled as he saw Argyle and Nocturi wielding steel beams, bending them and otherwise joking around.
"Well, doesn't this explain a lot..." Danni grumbled, struggling against the power lines.
"Shut up, Danni," Kirste growled.
"He.. he can't be... " Christopher blink in disbelief. His eyes flew between Harbinger and Michael, denial etched over his face, "No... "
Talbot stared for a brief moment, then decided this was something they could all discuss at some other time. The current threat was more important than confusion.
"Surprised?" Harbinger chuckled, "I wouldn't be. It's only a matter of time before I finally get sick of all your petty problems. Your marital issues,"He looked over at John and smirked wickedly, "Your identity problems, gender specific or not," his eyes took in Danni. "I do have to tell you, Starsong, Talbot... I have to give it to Trinion. She relayed some wonderfully accurate information since being taken in by you. The jail break "attempt?" Her and I thought it would be wonderfully dramatic."
Harbinger floated up into the air, red flares of power crawling over his body.
"We relied on your 'attachment,' Starsong. You performed exactly as we planned. A devious one, your double." Harbinger glanced over at Talbot and offered a small wave, his lips twisting in a smile. "Farewell, old friend. Wolf? Omega Pattern. Chain Sierra on Starsong."
The Legionnaires struggled against their bonds, slowly feeling them weaken... but by the time they were free, Talbot and Starsong had vanished.
Kirste and Mykhall moved almost as one, both ripping through the air towards Harbinger. Kirste's anger carried her there a moment before her teammate, slamming her fists into Harbinger’s face. His very existence mocked everything she knew and loved in her fiancée. His taunting, his cold words, his manipulations that nearly cast doubt on the most beautiful thing in her life drove her to the edge and she rode her anger like a tsunami, letting it guide her fists to his body. Harbinger staggered, dropping to one knee. Fists clenched together once more, Kirste drove them into Harbinger’s back, a smile of satisfaction beginning to line her lips as he dropped to his hands and knees.
Mykhall flew around Kirste, bringing a fist down on the middle of Harbinger’s back. The force of the blow threw the dominator to the ground. As Mykhall reared back for another punch, Harbinger twisted on the ground, throwing a hand towards his enemy. His rage and his anger propelled Mykhall through the air. He sailed through one of the smoke stacks, clipping of a section of concrete.
"Now that the gang is all alone... " Harbinger muttered under his breath. The flares of power over his body intensified as he raised his shielding once more. Kirste was knocked back as he rose to his feet, turning to face the three Legionnaires confidently.
John Talbot appeared in the streets on the opposite end of the construction site. Reflexively, he charged his fists with source power. Then he heard it. The hiss of hydraulics and the robotic thumping of metal feet. They appeared from behind two shipping containers stacked on top of one another.
Three small robots, no taller than five feet accelerated to a trot, their arms cannons of some sort. They hummed for a moment, then began firing crimson colored flares of light. John leapt into the air, arcing over the lancing lasers.
There were several more sets of footfalls. A mechanical rumbling and the sounds of gears echoed off the containers. A twenty foot assault robot moved from behind the container, turning to face Talbot. Behind it, two more medium sized robots moved, ends of their barrels glowing in anticipation.
"All I wanted was a peaceful day off..." Talbot sighed, strengthening his protective aura.
"Little late for that, buddy," Came Wolf's smirking voice as the Master Mind teleported to the top of the containers, energy rifle in his hands. There was the sound of unfolding metal and opening compartments as the Assault Bot unleashed a salvo of missiles at the Commander of the Cerulean Legion.
Danni Starsong's White Dwarf form had barely finished shimmering into existence before she was assaulted. Strikes infused with armored strength and dark essence blasted against her armored body. Nocturi was a blur of movement and darkness, the shadows around the Brute snapping back and forth like caged beasts. Danni blinked, then growled, sending a giant hand thrusting towards the villain. Nocturi swore as she palmed his face, raising him into the air.
"That stings!" She snapped, shifting on her feet and slamming down the brute's head into the concrete below her.There was an audible crack as the concrete began to spider under the force of the blow.
"Hey, big <expletive>, he -hates- that!" Argyle Kilgore's gravelly voice rang out behind the peacebringer. His shard flared up his aura noticeably as he dropped out of the sky, both hands clenched together and hammering in to the back of the White Dwarf.
"You guys are like freakin' flies! Everywhere!" Danni laughed, twisting on her feet and using Nocturi as a cudgel she slammed Kilgore to the side.
"And I got me a swatter."
Mykall bounced off of the asphalt of the street a half a block away. After pulling himself out of the minor hole he made in the ground, the tanker shook himself to clear his head. The Magae's antennae twiched for a moment as he sensed something nearby. A whistle broke through the air behind him and Mykhall turned to face it, curious.
He was greeted a thundering smash to his face. Lightning arced over his body for a moment as his new opponent's attack sent a surge of bio-electricity coursing through his frame. A friendly, one might say almost cheery, voice, came immediately after.
"Ey there. I'm Valen. Meet mah fist, punk!"
Michael dove towards Harbinger, his eyes and aura flaring violently.
"Let go of her you bastard!"
Harbinger raised a fist and casually crushed the breath from Michael with a magnetic field. Christopher was frozen in his place, his entire world had crumbled. He knew that Harbinger had killed his sister. He had visited the site of her death when he had arrived in this time. He knew that Harbinger had killed his mother as well...
Everything raced to him. The year his father went missing, gone to a world targeted by Scion. Six months later, the strikes against the Legion. Crippling supply lines and assassinating sympathizers against Scion's rule. Harbinger seemed to know all of their resources. Now it all made sense. Though his mind clicked it all in to place, he still couldn't accept it all at once. Now, he saw his father from his time... crushing his father and his mother in fields of power. He had no idea what the hell he should do...
"It's time you learned, as I did, that your love for her is a weakness that must be purged." Harbinger replied, moving up to Kirste as she stood, suspended in his power. Blue eyes sought hers out and he smiled sweetly. An echo of an emotion long since passed. A gloved hand caressed her cheek for a moment as he leaned in to kiss her on the lips. his touch was gentle, almost a ghost of the man she knew and was going to marry. When he pulled away from her his face was cold, chiseled from stone. His voice died low, to nearly a menacing whisper.
"In both worlds you cause me nothing but pain. You died in one... you will die in the other," Harbinger’s hand moved from her cheek in a sweeping gesture, trailing along her jaw line slowly before suddenly snapping to her neck. He grasped her trachea in an eagle claw technique, ironically, that he learned from Sinjin Cross in his own world. As he began to squeeze with his fingers, his powers reached out and slowly, painfully, began to slow the flow of her blood to her brain.
"Goodbye, 'love.'"
Chapter Seven
John knew that it was only a matter of time before the cannons finally reach their mark. Evasive fighting was one thing.. but this was ridiculous.
The volley of missiles had streamed towards him and John took off into the air. Once he was high enough out of the reach of the cannon fire, he pulled his power from his shard and started flying and blasting missiles out of the sky.
He had completed a full circuit of the battle field, spotting Sinjin and Satsuma finishing up with the Stalkers. Sinjin seemed to be toying with the female he was fighting. Toying or flirting... it was hard to tell.
Danni was fighting two men, one with a harsh scar down one side of his face. She seemed more than capable of holding her own.
John was about to head down to the plant to help Michael and Kirste when the air around him crackled and flared white again.
"Damnit-"
"Don't think it's that easy," Wolf chuckled as Talbot reappeared surrounded by the murderous robots... firing all the weapons they had.
Mykhall was pounded by blow after blow, each time feeling like a lightning bolt struck his skin as electrical energy arced over his body and around him.
"Not much of a fightah, eh?" Valen laughed, dancing around the alien and sending another punch at him. Mykhall turned, grabbing her wrist and pulling her forward his other hand slammed into her stomach viciously.
"I was waiting to say 'hello,' to return your greeting," the Magae smiled in mock happiness. His uniform was shredded, hanging in tatters from his chest. Scorch marks and small cuts littered his skin, like strokes on a canvas painting the hell he had been through throughout the day. "However, I do not believe that you would understand it.." He pushed her slightly away, then yanked her back towards him by her wrist. The Magaen's shoulder smashed into Valen's ribcage with brutal force.
"Ah think ah understan' this 'ere," Valen smirked, "How 'bout you?" As close as she was, there was only one painful option. Valen Star sent a bioelectrical charged knee into Mykhall's groin.
Nocturi swore behind his mask. All he could see was a huge claw gripping his face as he was swung around like a rag-doll. He could hear Argyle swearing and fighting with the Peacebringer. And he was sick of being out of the action. Gathering the shadows around him, he gripped around Danni's wrist, just to locate it. As she swung him again, he clenched his fists and brought them hurtling down on the armored joint. The darkness aided his strike, combined with his own anger and fury, he managed to force Starsong to release her grasp.
Argyle moved in with a grin as the Peacebringer dropped Nocturi. The Order member skid across the ground, rolling to his feet next to a shipping container. Argyle laughed, ripping a sign from the ground and hurling it at the White Dwarf as he charged in at her.
"A sign post? You're kidding, right?" Danni swept her huge arm in front of her, planning on slamming the Shard-bearer aside. The brute had ducked, however, and waded in, his shard enhanced strength backing blow after blow that he landed on the incredibly hard armored skin of the Kheldian.
Sinjin stood over his opponent with a look of resignation. She managed to get one good blow in on him earlier in the fight... but for the most part... she was nothing. Satsuma fought with the other stalker still, both of them regenerating wounds shortly after receiving them. It seemed to be a wasted battle. One on one, that was.
Sinjin Cross decided it was time to see how fast Gabriel really could heal.
---
"It took killing you to make me realize how pointless being the compassionate romantic was." Harbinger squeezed harder on Kirste's throat. He could have simply made her black out and have killed her quickly. Unfortunately, he wanted her to hear how much she ruined him before he had freed himself from the shackles of her emotion. He wanted her to suffer before she died. "The most difficult thing I ever had to do, actually. Judging lives of the Legion against its future survival was simple in comparison... but when he had me murder you... "
Michael struggled in a rage, shard energy glowing around his body and surging in his eyes.
"Michael... " Kirste struggled to speak to her fiancée through the hold Harbinger had on her, "just remember...I will always love you..."
The dominator's eyes blazed with hatred and his grip tightened on her throat.
"Don't you EVER say those words to me you lying <expletive>!" His power ravaged through her body, wrecking havoc with her nervous system, causing her muscles to spasm as the current flowing through them was scrambled.
"I have had ENOUGH of you," Christopher screamed, his powers of flight hurtling him into Harbinger in a tackle. The Peacebringer's eyes glowed with power as he sent fist after fist into Harbinger’s body. The dominator just laughed.
"Youngling, we've done this dance before," Harbinger sent several volleys of energy into Christopher at point blank range, sending him flying out of the manufacturing plant and rolling into the street.
Michael burst free of his restraint as Harbinger was attacked. When Christopher was thrown past him, he paid it no heed. Kirste had fallen to her knees, gasping for breath and trying to regain control of her body.
"You're done for," the defender informed Harbinger. There was no threat, it seemed a simple statement of fact.
Shard energy blazed around Michael Summers and through him. He had learned his abilities and progressed through them with lightning speed when he was first sharded, but lately he had seemed content to not push his boundaries too far. This was different. Michael was intent on laying waste to the man before him no matter what he had to do. No matter what limits he had to break.
Cosmic force blasted into Harbinger’s body, cracking the ground beneath him. The dominator lay dazed for a moment as Michael put his hands together, a hum of energy gathering around him as the source shard sucked in the surrounding ambient energies, sending them spiraling, swirling from the corners of the room to Michael's hands. Kirste looked up at her fiancée weakly, her eyes narrowing against the intense light gathering in his grasp. Harbinger weakly raised a hand to shield his vision as he summoned his own power.
There was a violent flaring of azure light that splashed outside the building as the foundation shook.
John moved as quickly as his shard could carry him, rushing the assault robot. His aura flickered and flared as bolts of crimson light surged against it, slowly beginning to penetrate. The Commander of the Cerulean Legion clenched his jaw and charged his hands with energy, knocking aside the assault bot's cannon and punching straight through it with his free hand. There was a sizzle and the smell of burning wires as he followed up with a charged palm to the machine's torso. The 'bot was hurled back, it's chest smoking.
Knowing he didn't have a second to waste, John focused his power, drawing on his shard heavily. Talbot's aura exploded again, the energy tearing into the robots around him and ripping them apart.
The blue shockwave knocked Wolf from his feet over fifty yards away as burning metal and circuit boards flew through the air. The merc knew when it was time for a strategic withdrawal to regroup, and with a moment's focus, he vanished in a blaze of white light.
Mykhall staggered from the blow, trying to regain his bearings as Valen grabbed his antennae and slammed her forehead into his face. The tanker was thrown back, landing in a heap on the street. As the brute moved in to finish him off, the Magae flew to his feet, his fists coming together in an uppercut that struck Valen under the chin. Nearby, the windows in a car shattered from the shockwave of energy.
Valen's world spun as she was hurled through the air.
She spun herself in the air, regaining her bearings. Landing in a crouch, her bioelectrical aura sizzled angrily as she sprinted forward to meet her enemy.
"Now that wasn't nice, was it?" She asked, her fists leading her way.
Sinjin decided that Gabriel hadn't been able to heal as fast as he should have as he stood over the man's unconscious form.
"Now, that was what we call a flag on the play," Satsuma remarked grimly.
"What?" Cross asked him, a brow raised.
"I had him. You had your dance partner, I had mine."
"Well, if you had been trained better you would have finished before the end of the song."
Harbinger pulled himself to his feet fifteen yards on the other side of the building. Michael's attack had devastated the ground floor of the plant, throwing the dominator through two walls on the interior, plus the exterior brick wall. He had potential, the dominator had to admit, but he had to work on his follow through. Harbinger’s shields had saved him from the worst of the blast, but his uniform was nearly destroyed in the process.
As he stood, his scars played across his chest, moving with his muscles as he hovered slightly aboved the ground.
"You made your choice Summers," he called back after his exhausted double, "Now be buried with her..."
Harbinger reached out, grasping the threads of the magnetic sphere and twisting.
It began as a simple trembling of the building, much like an aftershock from an earthquake. Michael bent down to help Kirste to her feet as the shaking grew more violent.
"Michael, MOVE!" Kirste yelled out in alarm as a portion of the ceiling fell towards her fiancée. She surged forward, knocking Michael back and swinging her fists at the falling concrete. The stone became dust at the force of her blow, but where she had stopped one, the rest of the building started to fall on them.
Michael growled in frustration as Kirste swore under her breath. He dove at her, driving Kirste to the ground.
"Michael what the HELL are you doing?!?!" She screamed a him as he kept his body over hers as the world came falling down around them.
"Shut up and survive." he threw back at her, kissing her on the lips as the shard within him pulsed strongly, sending it's life sustaining energy into both of them as the building came tumbling down.
Harbinger watched as the manufacturing plant went down in a heap. Standing for a moment, he simply stared at the wreckage. Within him, he could still feel the two of them alive, his empathetic senses probing the area. Finishing them off would not prove a challenge... but he was weak and needed to recuperate rather than risk apprehension.
Speaking into his com, he smiled.
"Wolf... Endgame."
A moment later, Harbinger vanished from King's Row.
Danni Starsong faced off against both brutes, barely scratched. The two Crimson Order members had ripped poles or fixtures from the ground and wielded them as weapons against the Peacebringer. As a white aura surrounded them and they faded from view, Danni shifted back to her human form.
"Nertz... I was having fun, too."
Sinjin and Satsuma were busy picking up Night-Star's unconscious body as Gabriel and Abbadon began to vanish. Satsuma swore under his breath and shook his head.
"That figures..."
Mykhall and Valen traded blows left and right, brute and tanker giving and taking with equal ease.
When Valen started to fade, they both stared at each other, Valen swearing profusely.
"Well isn't this a <expletive> <expletive>? I HAD YOU! I <expletive> had you!"
And Mykhall stood alone in the center of the street, shaking his head.
Chapter Eight
Harbinger walked silently through the Crimson Order's base. Behind him to his right was Valen, who silently smirked at seeing his bare back and the play of scars over it. Her commander's mood was sour, however, so she said nothing... for the moment. Gabriel and Abbadon trailed behind him and to his left, Gabriel making a whispered comment to Abbadon about it being the "left hand of the damned." He silenced himself after a withering stare from Harbinger as they moved along. The two brutes, Argyle and Nocturi simply brought up the rear.
It was a tense walk, the followers sensing the displeasure in the air as they rounded to the meeting area of the Crimson Order's lair. Finally, Harbinger seated himself in a chair and motioned for all of them to do the same.
Valen leaned against a wall facing him, her purple hair being given a slight shake to rid it of a few shards of glass. Gabriel and Abbadon simply sat, waiting for whatever was to come. Nocturi stood by Valen, the shadows around him dancing in frustration. Argyle shrugged and took a seat next to the stalkers.
"Tell me where things went wrong... and I'll tell you how we make sure it never happens again..."
Harbinger’s voice echoed coldly through the walls of the Crimson Order's home, chilling the air as it wafted away into the night.
