by Will Wallner
"I'm sorry! It was Mickey's fault!" Clyde howled.
"What about Hunter's special powers, have you seen them?" Viper didn’t care to admonish Clyde again, he needed to focus on getting information about Hunter.
"You mean that blue stuff? Yeah, I've seen it. It was like something out of a comic book." This triggered another memory from Tech City, when Taz had a part time job. He loved working at the comic book store.
"Where is he going now? I need to find him." Viper realized he'd gotten all the information he was going to get from these two. He now needed to find Hunter himself.
"I dunno, he abandoned me, just like everyone else." Taz spoke angrily.
"Taz, that's not true, he just wanted to protect you from bad people." She looked at Viper. "Like him."
"Nakita, you must know something? What does he plan to do?" Viper understood the disdain she felt for him but tried to reason with her through the calm tone of his voice.
"He told me he's going to find that missing boy. Mickey told him about Nexus, so my guess would be, he's going to try to find them. It's clear that you're working for them." Nakita looked at Viper with intensity. "If you want to find him so badly, just sit back and wait, he'll come to you." Her eyes told him, that was a threat.
Viper placed his gun back in its holster and turned away from Nakita to face the steering wheel in the front of stealth vehicle. After the starting the engine, he looked at Nakita and Taz in the rear-view mirror. "I'm going to look for Hunter and you're both coming with me."
11. THE GUTTER RATS
Tiberia
Day 12 Month 4 Year 2037
Larvos was the first to exit the truck. They had finally arrived at their destination, out in a remote part of the Tiberian desert. He jumped out and greeted the guards standing at the entrance.
"That was quick, did everything go as planned?" One of the guards asked Larvos.
"Not exactly. The mission was a success, but not because of us." Larvos took a sip from his metal cannister. A shot of liquor would help wake him up after the long drive.
"I don’t understand. Did you finally take out that MAW unit you've been tracking? The guard was an older man, wearing a worn out 'Crimson Blade' uniform. He didn’t look like a typical soldier, which is probably why he was on guard duty, instead of fighting on the front lines.
"The MAW unit has been destroyed. Just not by our hands." Larvos watched the truck, as a stretcher was being unloaded from the rear. "Someone else beat us to it." Larvos clicked his fingers to get the attention of the soldiers leaving the truck. "Put him in the tent next to the supplies!" He yelled.
"Did someone get hurt? Who was that?" The guard noticed the stretcher and feared one of his comrades had been injured.
"It's not one of our men." Larvos spoke discretely.
"You captured the enemy? Did we take a prisoner?" The guard couldn't believe they'd brought an enemy soldier back to their base.
"I'm not sure but keep this a secret for now." Larvos patted the guard on the shoulder, then approached the truck.
Next out of the truck was Jet, struggling to hold Moja by her leash. Moja pulled with all of her strength to stay close to the stretcher, while Jet pulled in the opposite direction, trying to hold her back.
"I don’t think we can keep them separated. I'll take her to the tent with the medic team." She told Larvos.
"Jet, be careful. I'll be there soon. Wait for me in the tent." As Larvos left, he gave Moja a quick head rub.
Jet walked with Moja to the tent where the medic team had taken Hunter. The area looked like a temporary military base, constructed completely out of large tents and other temporary structures. The base was filled with soldiers, most of which wore Crimson Blade uniforms. Each soldier had added a personal touch to their uniform, so none of them looked completely identical. Some would have customized armor plates, with colorful painted artwork designs. Others would add a bandana or head decoration. In Jets case, she added a blue lightning bolt right down the center of her helmet. Her long red hair stuck out from underneath and contrasted the camouflage assortment of greens which covered her body. Despite her femininity, she was a warrior, and she looked like it. The whole base was full of mercenaries. There were military vehicles and crates of equipment, scattered amongst the tents. This was the remains of Crimson Blade. It was clear, Larvos was the leader this group. Jet approached the tent where Hunter was being kept. It was a small structure, on the outskirts of the base, used to store supplies. This wasn't where injured soldiers were usually kept, it was just for Hunter. Jet entered the tent, with Moja pulling as hard as she could to get inside.
"He should be alright. I don’t think there's anything more we can do for him. He needs time to rest, so his body can recover. If anything changes, come get us immediately." The medic team left Hunter, lying on the makeshift stretcher in the middle of the storage tent. Moja sniffed his lifeless body. Hunter was passed out; due to the effects of the pain medication he had received. Jet stood over his body, silently waiting for Larvos. She placed her hand close to his face, to feel if he was still breathing. The gentle air tickled her skin as he exhaled.
"Don’t get too close." A familiar voice spoke to her.
"Just checking." Jet turned to Larvos. "I don’t think he's a threat to us. There's no way he's an MAW agent sent to infiltrate us." She looked back at Hunter.
"After what happened with Ryuu, I can’t help but be suspicious. I'll never be able to let my guard down again. Only our brothers and sisters, who we've known since the beginning, can be trusted. Everyone else is a potential threat to us." Larvos was holding a bag under his arm. "We can’t afford to take any chances. We have to know for sure." He tapped the bag with his leather gloved hand, which produced a metallic clanking sound.
"What do you have in mind?" Jet considered if Larvos might have some sinister plans..
"Nothing too extreme, just some safety precautions." Larvos placed the bag on the ground. Whatever was inside, was heavy enough to make an impactful thump, as the bag hit the ground. Larvos removed a set of heavy-duty chains. "We're just going to tie him up. Can you give me a hand?"
Although Jet wanted to believe the man she'd found out in the desert was on her side, she knew Larvos was right. She just hoped tying Hunter up, was all he had in mind. She knew Larvos could torture a man, if needed. Jet tied Mojas leash around a steel column, used to support the metal frame of the tent. The column was buried deep in the ground with concrete, making it very strong. As she did so, Jet realized why Larvos picked this tent.
"This steel column will make a perfect anchor to chain him too." Jet helped Larvos unravel the chains.
"Despite being cute, the dog isn’t enough for me to let my guard down. We must know for certain who this man is before we allow him to walk freely among us." Larvos approached Hunter, holding the thick, heavy, chains. Moja growled, sensing his intentions were not so kind. "I'm sorry girl, I wish things could be different." Larvos started to wrap the chains around the stretcher, pinning Hunter down. Jet stood on the opposite side, helping Larvos wrap the chains tightly.
"If he's an MAW spy, he sure is putting on a good show. His injuries are real. He looks like he's been through a war." She took one end of the chain to the steel column, waiting for Larvos to bring the other end. They had secured Hunter's unconscious body.
"I wouldn’t put anything past Ryuu. He wouldn’t think twice about sacrificing one of his own men. He could have beat this man to a pulp to create the illusion he was not part of the MAW convoy. Before the final wrap of the chain, Larvos sensed something. "You’re awake, aren't you?" Just as Larvos suspected, Hunter opened his eyes. Jet couldn’t believe it. "I guess you've been listening to everything?" Larvos let out a short laugh, as if he couldn’t believe that he had been so easily tricked.
"I'm sorry, I didn’t mean eavesdrop. I promise you, I've got nothing to do with MAW." Hunter spoke with a weak, frail voice. Even though his body had the ability to recover unnaturally fast, his
injuries were still very severe. It would take some time before he had fully healed.
"Of course, you'd say that. Friend or foe, you'd deny any relation to MAW." Larvos didn’t let Hunter being awake, deter him. He continued the final wrap of the chain and handed his end to Jet. "My gut tells me you're telling the truth, but I've been wrong in the past, and it's cost me dearly. I hope you can understand, I don’t have a choice."
Jet locked the chain, firmly around the steel column, securing Hunter and the stretcher in place. Even with superhuman strength, it would be difficult to escape.
"What are you going to do to me?" Hunter asked. His body was still weak. He could feel he was beginning to recover but still wasn't strong enough to use his gift. Even if he could have unleashed the might of Phthalo Blue, he would have only used it as a last resort. From the short amount of time he had spent with them, Hunter's instincts told him these people were not his enemy.
"We're just going to talk. I want to ask you some questions about what you were doing in the desert. If I'm satisfied with your answers, we'll let you go. It's that simple." Larvos stood over Hunters body, while he talked down to him.
"Where is this place?" Hunter had regained consciousness, shortly before they arrived at the base. He had no idea where they were.
"We're somewhere in Tiberia. You'd know that just by looking at the ground." Larvos knelt down and picked up a handful of sand. He held it up for Hunter could see and then slowly let it drift through his fingers.
"Back in the truck, you told me you were the leader of Crimson Blade? I thought they had been wiped out in the war?" Hunter looked up at Larvos and tried to assess his surroundings. He knew Jet and Moja were close by.
"Don’t believe everything you hear on the news. I am indeed the former leader of Crimson Blade, and we are what's left of that army. We no longer call ourselves Crimson Blade. Now we are the Gutter Rats again. Right now, you're at our base, in a remote part of the desert, where MAW can’t find us." Larvos put his snakeskin boot on the stretcher and leaned in close to Hunter. "I've answered your questions, now it's your turn to answer mine. Who are you? What were you really doing out in the desert? What happened to the MAW unit we were tracking?"
Hunter was silent. He looked at Larvos, contemplating in his mind how much truth he should reveal. Why not just tell him everything? These people didn’t appear to be savages. The way they treated Moja, was kind and compassionate. They clearly have nothing to do with MAW, in fact, it appears as if they are still at war with them.
"Let's start with something easy. What is your name?" Larvos pressed Hunter to get any reaction.
"It's Hunter. Although, to be honest, I'm suffering from memory loss. I don’t actually know what my real name is. My first memories are waking up in a small village on the western side of the continent. That was almost four years ago." Hunter let out a long sigh. "It's a long story."
"Take all the time you need. We're not in any rush. Just tell us the truth." Larvos brought two steel folding chairs and placed them by Hunter's side. He then signaled for Jet to take a seat. "Tell us your story, Hunter."
~
For several hours, Larvos and Jet listened to Hunter's story. They questioned him in detail about anything they didn't understand. Most specifically, about the powers Hunter possessed.
"It's called Phthalo Blue. I don't know where it comes from, or how I got it, but it's incredibly powerful." Hunter's voice was tired after talking for so long.
"Can you show us?" Larvos rubbed his chin, trying to process everything he had heard from Hunter.
"I can demonstrate its power for you, but I would need to be untied first." Hunter had told them everything. The only thing he left out was the dark spirit which haunted him.
"I need to think about it." Larvos still was conflicted in his mind whether he could trust Hunter.
"Putting your powers aside for the moment, what would you do next, if we set you free?" Jet interjected herself into the conversation. She also had her doubts.
"My goal is to find Malcom and the other missing children who were abducted in Tech City. I believe they must have been taken to a secret MAW base somewhere. That's what the MAW soldier told me out in the desert. I have no idea what they are doing with these children. I must find them."
"I have an idea, but it's too terrible to even think about." Larvos sighed and held his forehead. It troubled him deeply.
"What are they doing?" Hunter needed to know.
"They are experimenting on humans. Turning them into monsters. That's why they are abducting children." Larvos spoke bluntly, without compassion.
"What!? That's insane. How do you know this?" Out of anger, Hunter pushed against the chains which bound him. The disturbing thoughts of what could have happened to Malcom made him panic. "Please, let me go!" As the chains rattled back and forth, Moja growled at their captors, trying to lunge forward, against the pull of her leash, which was tied to the steel column.
"Down girl!" Jet tried to calm her.
"Her name is Moja." Hunter tried to look to where Jet and Moja stood. "Jet, you must believe me. I only want to save those children." He looked back towards Larvos. "Larvos, please! I can fight these people!"
"Think for a moment. If you really share our desire to stop MAW, then you have to understand how dangerous the enemy is. Right now, they're building an army more powerful than anything that's ever existed on Eros, and even worse, their leader is a psychotic maniac." Hunter listened to Larvos' words and considered the implications.
"How do you know all this?" Hunter asked.
Larvos paused for a moment, unsure whether to reveal his hand. He looked into Hunters eyes.
"I have a man on the inside. That's how I know about their human experiments and their new army. We're working together to stop MAW, but we can't act recklessly. We must plan with precision how to take them down. We don’t have the resources or man power to attack them head on. If we did, we'd be wiped out for good. I've made mistakes in the past, and it cost us dearly. I can’t afford to act recklessly anymore. We've been on the run for months, taking any opportunity we can to inflict damage, and gain information, while minimizing the risk to our men. They're looking for us, trying to hunt down the last remaining Gutter Rats, but so far, we've been able to avoid detection."
"Why does MAW want you dead?' Once again, Hunter had no idea what was going on around him.
"It's their leader Ryuu, and his vendetta against me and my people. We've been sworn enemies for decades, but we're not their main objective." Larvos' Rockstar persona began to return, as he nonchalantly explained that the most powerful force on Eros wanted him dead. "As we speak, they're preparing for an invasion."
"An invasion? Where?" Hunter knew very little about the politics of Eros. The War of Tiberia was already underway when he awoke from his coma, and Valley Village was on the opposite side of the planet, far away from any danger.
"I don’t know their target, but there would be no other reason for them to amass such a large military force." Larvos stood up from Hunter's side, and paced around the room, while he spoke his mind. His thick snakeskin boots pressed into the sand and gravel, providing the soundtrack to his speech. "I wouldn’t put anything past Ryuu, he's a demon. For all we know, he could be planning to conquer all of Eros."
"This doesn’t make any sense. Why would someone want to start another war? What could they possibly hope to achieve?" For someone without memories or experience, the concept, or motive for war, might be impossible to understand.
"A rabid dog doesn’t need any motivation to attack. Ryuu's heart is full of darkness and hatred. I knew how dangerous this man is, and yet, I helped him achieve his position of power. That is my sin. I should have killed him when I had the chance." Larvos continued to pose in a way which exuded the rockstar rebel within him. Speaking of Ryuu, gave Larvos purpose. "Jet, untie him."
