[ g e n e s i s ] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [ c h a p t e r 3 ] The Aegis Brigade was out in force, and that was a bad thing. It had only been eight years since they had completed their metamorphosis to a global police force from their origins as a special unit of the US police forces nationwide, but many things had changed in those eight years, among them the knowledge about the Brigade. Though the group was tight-lipped about certain things, they readily exposed the fact that they were better trained and better armed than any military force on the globe. In short: if the Aegis Brigade meant to find someone, it was a foregone conclusion that they would find them. Stryker hoped to God that this conclusion had never been tested on a psion, two former Brigade members, and three ki-using individuals. "What the hell is going on here?" scowled Arcturus as a pair of Aegis Brigade patrol cars whizzed by the alley they hid in. "I've never seen the Brigade mobilize this quickly before - it hasn't even been an hour yet! Wish they'd been this efficient while I was in charge." He took one last glance down the street, then motioned for the group to move, Stryker still carrying the unconcious Nathan. They darted across the empty street, aided by Jeannine's ki cloak. "Arcturus, the situation is bad," sighed Jeannine, letting her cloak drop as they retreated into a darkened corner. "I can't keep cloaking us forever, and if it wasn't for the cloak we'd have been captured a long time ago. We need to get out of the city, and the Brigade has made that impossible. And there's a definite possibility that Nathan won't survive without medical treatment." There was a scuffling of feet in the alleyway, and Stryker set down Nathan. "Jeannine, reactivate the cloak! I have an idea!" Moving as quietly as possible, Stryker crept towards the intruder, quickly seeing him as an Aegis Brigade officer. The moment the officer had his back turned, Stryker grabbed him and covered his mouth, then bashed his target's head against the nearest wall, causing his eyes to widen. The officer struggled still, and Stryker pressed his hand into the officer's back with a hissed whisper of "Ryuushindan". There was a small flash and a spasm, then the officer fell forward. "Come on!" he hissed, turning to his companions. As Arcturus lifted Nathan, Stryker dashed for the patrol car. "He was a vet - a solo patroller. With any luck, we can use this car to head for sanctuary." Jumping in, he lowered it to the ground, and the other three members got in the car under Jeannine's cloak. "I see one critical flaw in this plan, Stryker," said Arcturus, leaning forward from the backseat. "Where are we going to go? All transport systems have been closed down, and the Brigade isn't stupid enough to let this car through. There's no place that they won't be looking, except -" The older man stopped, then slapped himself on the forehead. "Of course. I'm an idiot." Stryker smirked his consent, then lifted off and started heading in the direction the car's autonav pointed him. "There's one spot the Brigade would never check for us, because getting there would be absolute suicide. It won't last forever, but it'll give us time." He pushed the accelerator down. "The principal police office complex." [-] Hissing as its systems shut down, the hovercar set down gently, and Stryker smirked as the group piled out of the car. He jumped out first, and looked to Arcturus and Jeannine for kudos. Jeannine smiled back. "That was very clever, Stryker. It didn't solve all of our problems, but at least it got us safe for a little while." Nathan stumbled out, still severely groggy. "Ow. Does the Aegis Brigade stock painkillers?" he muttered, still looking several levels below fine. The car ride hadn't exactly been smooth, and it had jostled the disoriented young man awake, but it hadn't been a very pleasant reawakening. None of the three had brought up the issue that the newly-triggered psion was a murderer. It seemed like the worst possible issue to try and address at the moment. Stryker sighed, then glanced around the room. As long as he kept himself focused on the crisis, he would be able to function without a problem. "Our first priority should be trying to figure out another way out of this city," he said, trying hard to think. "If we can find a helicarrier, we could fly out freely. AB Carriers are allowed passage without explication. They'd probably be housed -" "I already took the liberty of making sure that all carriers were off and flying before you arrived, Stryker Marx," came a raspy but still eerily familiar voice. The click of metal on metal came floating through the air, and as the four turned they could see a figure coming towards them slowly, deliberately. "It was the one certain way to make sure I would be the one who ended your flight." With sudden swiftness, a sniper rifle could be seen rising out of the darkness, fused with a mass of yellowed flesh. "You will not leave this city alive." Arcturus's eyes went wide. "Damn you, Donner. You went and used it." The others looked at him strangely, and he whirled to face them. "Donner used part of Sebulax's experimental project. It's a serum designed to stimulate the change into a Genetic Aberration." He looked back at the creature that used to be Richard Donner, aghast. "It was never supposed to be used." Donner laughed angrily and stepped out into the light. Yellowed skin had burst out and melded with the metal of his BOA, his head now a halo of laser sights. Armor still covered his chest, but his legs had burst out into a reverse-joint pair like those of a gazelle. His arms were mostly skin now, with the only two exceptions in his shoulders and the arm that held his sniper rifle. "Never supposed to be used, Arcturus? Only until it was perfected." He smirked. "Or until circumstances required its usage." "Shut up. RYUUSHINDAN!" Stryker thrust his hands forward, and green force coalesced into a bolt and raced towards Donner. The now-aberrant man sighed, then glided to one side effortlessly. Raising the sniper rifle, he let his laser sights converge on Stryker, then fired twice, tearing twin gashes in the side of his arm. The young man winced in pain, but had learned not to let gunshots slow him down. "What's going on, Donner? Why do you want rid of us so badly?" The aberration laughed, letting laser sights dance around the room. "I was ordered to get rid of the lot of you now. You've become more of a liability than an asset." He looked at Stryker, sneering. "Of course, you and the Red Cross medic could get out of this, if you wanted. Give yourselves up, and I promise you that no harm will come to you." A look at Arcturus brought a scowl back across Donner's face, and he raised his rifle at the older man. "Of course, the first thing is to take out this -" Nathan Johnson had never had a second of training on how to use his powers, but he was still an extremely powerful psion. And that meant that while he lacked control, he could still make his gift do what he wanted it to. He wanted to get rid of Donner, and a blast of yellow force ensured that. The former Aegis Brigade administrator was flung across the room, hitting the hovercar with an audible crunch as Nathan blinked. "How did I... do that?" he asked, looking to Arcturus. If Arcturus was listening, it didn't show. "He's primarily after me, I think. That blow probably only took him down for a minute, tops. We need to split up." He whirled to face Jeannine and Stryker as Jeannine examined the gunshot wounds. "Stryker, you head up by the western side while Jeannine and I take the eastern side of the building. We'll meet up on the roof." Stryker paused, then nodded and motioned for Nathan to follow him. Nathan, now shellshocked, simply ran after Stryker as he dashed for the stairwell. Arcturus began to move for the other stairwell, but Jeannine stopped him. "Wait just one second. What makes you so certain that he's after you? What if he's after someone else?" He sighed and began moving, and Jeannine, now angered, dashed after. "If you ask me, a powerful psion like Nathan and someone with a massive ki flow would be more attractive targets than the two of us -" "That's the idea, Jeannine," replied Arcturus, grabbing the woman and yanking her along behind him. She gaped, and he ignored the expression as he opened the door to the stairs. "I have a plan, Jeannine. I know what I'm doing. Just leave the rest to Stryker." Donner began to stir, and Arcturus began to run up the stairs. Jeannine lingered only a moment, then followed. [-] Nathan and Stryker thundered up the stairs, the clicking of Donner's feet on the stairs audible behind them. A laser sight danced in front of Stryker's line of vision, and he cursed under his breath as he yanked Nathan up faster. "We've got to stop this bastard before he follows us all the way to the roof," he snarled. Glancing at the next landing, he kicked open the door and yanked Nathan through it. It was an administrative floor, with a maze of cubicles surrounding the pair. "Not the best of places to make a stand." "He's close," said Nathan almost mystically, glancing towards the door. He and Stryker began to dodge into the cubicle maze as they heard the Aberration approaching, Stryker looking at Nathan with some surprise. "I'm not just a telekinetic, Stryker, I'm also a telepath." He smirked. "It took me by surprise at first, but it's kind of neat now. With all of my powers... it's as if the entire world were turned on for me." The sound of bullets firing echoed through the floor, and Stryker yanked Nathan to the floor as they burst out above his head through the cubicle wall. "Damn! He's gotten even better with that thing." Both men stood, seeing laser sights dancing around the room. "Nathan, you should take cover. I can take on Donner without a problem." Nathan blinked. "Go!" As Nathan ran off in another direction, Stryker lept into the air, looking for Donner. He didn't have far to look - the former man was still near the stairwell, smiling as he saw Stryker make himself an open target. "Tenryuuzan!" shouted Stryker, letting the ki flow around him as he dove towards Donner. Donner didn't even move, simply let Stryker slam into him without so much as a minor movement. Styker gaped, then winced as Donner hefted him off the ground and flung him up and over the cubicles, sailing through the air. "My strength has increased tremendously in this form, Styrker," snarled Donner as Stryker crashed hard into a desk with an audible crack, then rolled to the floor. He remained there on his hands and knees, a trickle of blood running down the side of his mouth. "Assaulting me directly was foolish. Continuing to attack me at all is even more foolish. Help me kill Nathan, and we can end this here." There was a whir, and a slamming torrent of psionic force tore out of behind a row of cubicles, slamming hard into Donner. "What the hell is this all about?" cried Nathan, letting his anger and confusion focus into a massive blast. He still wasn't really in complete control of his powers, but he had learned enough for the moment. Despite all of his confusion, he had to admit - he was enjoying the rush. When the bullet tore through his shoulder, he stopped enjoying it. He crumpled to the ground, clutching the wound and gritting his teeth in agony. He hadn't even noticed the laser sights, only the pain. Donner, smiling, was advancing towards him. "Novice. Your first attack on the lower level caught me off-gaurd, I'll admit, but you have too much anger and not enough focus. It was child's play to brace against such a clumsy assault." Donner stood over Nathan, and pointed his rifle at the younger man's forehead, still smirking. "Ryuushindan!" shouted Stryker, blasting Donner's rifle off-target. He growled, but by that point Stryker had already launched himself at his foe, tackling him hard around the midsection. The assault took Donner completely off-gaurd, and Stryker took the advantage, slamming Donner hard in the head, then punching him fast and hard in the gut. He snarled at Stryker, then backhanded him and flipped away, letting his laser sights converge on him with surgical precision. Taking aim, he fired before Stryker could possibly dodge. Stryker winced in anticipation, but heard only a ping as the bullet bounced away. Looking up, he saw a telekinetic force construct before him, erected by the wounded but determined Nathan. Stryker looked at Nathan, and the return glance was incredibly telling. They weren't that different, he and Nathan: both scared, confused, doing their best to deal with situations they had found themselves in suddenly and unexpectedly. Flashing Nathan a smile, Stryker dashed towards Donner again. Donner sighed, then jumped high and came down hard with a kick to the former Aegis Brigade officer's back. Stryker jerked forward and coughed blood, then fell to the ground as Donner raked Nathan's position with bullets. Nathan reacted with amazing grace, erecting a quick shield and then blasting the force towards Donner. The GA dodged sideways directly into an uppercut from Stryker, who then pushed a Ryuushindan directly into Donner's chest. He had expected a reaction, but Donner simply scowled and smacked Stryker away with his gun. "Foolish boy," snarled Donner, taking aim at Stryker's chest. "Maybe this will silence you." Before Stryker or Nathan could react, Donner fired twice, and twin bursts of blood erupted from Stryker's chest. The young man took a step forward, then coughed more blood and clutched his chest in agony. His eyes fluttering closed, Stryker fell backwards to the floor, body ensheathed in ki energy. Nathan gaped, and Donner turned to face him. "You wanted to know what this is all about, young man? It's about evolution. It's about making sure that humanity makes critical steps forward in the right direction, not the direction that was laid down by those ignorant of the truth." He smiled and let his laser sights converge on Nathan's forehead. "I don't take joy in your death, if it's any consolation. Just the knowledge that humanity is back on the right -" "STOP!" shouted Nathan, lashing out with his powers as he had never before. Psionic force crashed into Donner, bolt after bolt exploding in a rain of yellow force. "Damn you, you murdering bastard! Damn you!" In desparation, Nathan focused and released as much force as he could, hitting Donner hard and sending him staggering backwards. "You killed Stryker, damn it!" "I'm not dead," came Stryker's voice, first weak, then stronger. Both Nathan and Donner turned to see Stryker rise again, ki still encircling his body. "You miscalculated, Donner. You hit my lung, not my heart. Hurts like hell, but I'll live." Stryker winced from the pain, slowly standing more and more upright. "Can't say the same for you." With rage and determination burning in his eyes, Stryker aimed his hands at Donner. "BAKUHATSURYUUSHIN!" A column of force erupted from Stryker's hands, slamming into Donner and sending him flying back into the stairwell. Stryker didn't stop, only narrowed his eyes and pushed harder, widening the blast. Something critical snapped in the building's structure, and the stairwell began to collapse onto Donner, who was still screaming in pain as the metal and stone buried him. Stryker stood for a moment longer, then braced himself against the wall as the pain hit him again. "Come on," said Nathan, helping Stryker stand as they headed for the opposite stairwell. "Looks like it's my turn to help you." The pair managed to hobble over to the stairs, and with one last glance at the wreckage, they began to trudge up to the roof. Behind them, the room remained silent, then stirred as Donner's arm burst free of the wreck. [-] Arcturus turned with visible surprise as Nathan and Stryker limped up from the same staircase as he and Jeannine. "Let me guess. Stryker decided to play hero and take on Donner." Nathan nodded, Arcturus sighed, Stryker winced, and Jeannine went over to examine him. "Kid, that was really stupid. Donner's probably practically invincible by this point if any one of us try to take him on -" "We got him," replied Stryker in a hiss, blood still trickling from the side of his mouth. "We managed to take him out, Nathan and I. And he told us a couple of things in the process." Stryker winced again as Jeannine inspected the wounds, then turned back to Arcturus. "Of course, we still have the basic problem of being stuck here. I expect that some officers should report back fairly soon, and then they'll realize that somebody else is already here. Since most Brigade buildings are covered in sensors -" Jeannine was not listening to Stryker, but inspecting the injuries. "I don't believe this," she said, moving her hand as close as she could without actually touching them. "Stryker, this entry wound looks like it should have sent the bullets directly into your heart. I don't have any idea how you managed to survive, unless..." She looked closer. "Could your ki have actually redirected the bullets inside your body?" "He was glowing when he hit the ground," offered Nathan, still helping Stryker stand. "I thought he was a goner. But whatever he hit Donner with, Donner stayed hit. We came up the other stairwell because the one we had been on got collapsed onto him. No way he could have lived through -" A bullet whizzed through the air, clipping Nathan's shoulder only enough to notify him that there was someone with a gun nearby. All four turned to the entry to see Donner standing there, half his laser sights gone, his gunless arm crushed, one leg with a piece of metal driven through it. "That hurt, Stryker Marx. More than I would have liked." He managed a smirk, and let his laser sights slowly move across the roof. "Too bad you won't get a second shot." Within a second, Jeannine and Arcturus were in combat positions, in front of Stryker and Nathan. Donner simply laughed, then swung his gun wildly and let it fire repeatedly. The four scattered as bullets danced across the roof, and Arcturus snarled. "You should have stayed down there, Donner. Ryuuhazan!" The blue energy blast slammed into Donner, who still seemed unfazed by it. "Haven't you gotten this yet, fools? You cannot kill me!" Donner gritted his teeth, then reared back as his crushed arm began twisting in impossible angles, until finally he raised it high above his head, fully healed. "Whatever you do to me, I will simply heal and destroy you! Surrender now and make your deaths faster!" "Trash," came a sneer, a voice that Stryker found oddly familiar. Jerking his head, he looked over to see the woman from the bookstore standing across the roof, her red hair blowing in the wind. She had changed her outfit - she now wore a green bodysuit, with golden gloves extending back to her elbows and a sash around her waist that came down to her knee on one side. "Why don't you try dealing with a real opponent?" Donner snarled at the sight of the woman. "You." Raising his gun, he unleashed a stream of bullets towards the woman. She raised her hand, and the bullets stopped, then dropped to the ground. He scowled, but before he could fire again, she had sprang into the air, then suddenly dove towads Donner, purple energy gathered around her hand. In one movement, she jerked her hand downward almost too fast to see, and a burst of purple energy tore through Donner's arm like a blade. The arm and rifle both hit the ground, and Donner snarled. "Killing me won't accomplish -" "I'm beyond caring," she sighed, jerking her hand upward. A line of purple force tore through the middle of Donner's body, slicing his body in half right between the eyes. The body fell, and the woman smirked as the green blood of a GA seeped onto the roof. After a moment, she looked around at the four members of Arcturus's entourage. "You're welcome." "You're the woman from Nathan's bookstore. The one who told me to jump out the window." She nodded, and stepped towards Stryker as the others gathered around her. "Who are you?" "My name is Madelyne Van Houten," she replied, letting purple energy spill out around the other four group members. "Who I am is a more complicated question, and we don't have time for all of the answers." She smiled. "Don't worry, though. I'm your ticket out of this city." There was a burst of energy, and all five people standing on the roof teleported away. / ¤********{ e l e c t r o n i c t r a n s c e n d e n c e }-+†‹±ø£'? /*/>>>>ø>>« Eliot Lefebvre, AKA Lost Factor, Stormcloud, Q! »<<ø<<<<\* ¥ø==« Transfan, X-Fan, X-Phile, Trekker, Gamer, Otaku, and more »==ø¥ ÷----ø--« ET Website: http://www.crosswinds.net/~lostfactor »--ø----÷ *====ø==« Mirror: http://members.fortunecity.com/lostfactor »==ø====* *\>>ø>>« Contact: eltf@hotmail.com, Eliot.Lefebvre@uconn.edu »<<ø<