Agent Hardine did a quick glance around the room. He spotted Agent Pearson and Agent Summers lifeless bodies on the ground near that of Agent Bartowski. Like Bartowski, the life had been sucked out of them.
He noticed that Charles helped himself to the riot gear that was kept inside the armory in case of an emergency. With the three agents being dead, Charles figured they wouldn’t be needing it.
“We’re taking you in Charles,” Agent Hardine said aiming his weapon at the dangerous man.
Charles stared intensely at the three agents. Agent Thomas was slightly shorter than Charles. He stood at about five feet eight inches. His skin was pale and his build was average at best. Agent Thomas had blue eyes and golden brown hair.
The third Agent, Agent Curry is of Scottish descent. He was about the same height as Charles and had a slim build. His hair was brown and his eyes green. Out of the three agents, Agent Curry seemed the most apprehensive in confronting Charles.
“Do you remember the last time you said that to me Agent? Do you recall what happened the last time you tried to bring me in?” Charles asked.
It was about three months ago in a small hotel in Baltimore that Agent Hardine’s unit encountered Charles Ortega. The day resulted in the death of two agents and one civilian.
“That was then, this is now. Stand down and drop the shield,” Agent Hardine ordered.
Charles smiled politely. “Why would I do that? Why would I willingly give up my defense against you?”
Agent Hardine hesitated in answering Charles. He wasn’t sure if the question was rhetorical or not. One of the things that Agent Hardine found most troubling in regards to Charles was his intelligence. Charles wasn't some mindless criminal that was just out causing trouble. There was a reason to Charles's destruction. Everything he said and did was part of something larger. Something Agent Hardine didn't quite understand, but he knew it was something of significance.
Charles often used mind games to get into his opponents head. Agent Hardine knew in his heart if it wasn't for Jason, Jackson and Shayne, Charles would've never been apprehended in the first place.
“I’m not going to tell you again, stand down and drop the shield!” Agent Hardine shouted. He was in no mood for Charles’ games. Charles found the confrontation amusing.
“I believe you did just tell me again Agent Hardine.” Charles stepped a little closer to the agents still holding the riot shield in his hand. “You know what I mean. I never understood why people say I’m not going to tell you or ask you again and then they do just that. It makes the whole I’m not going to do it bit seem foolish.”
Agent Curry had heard enough. It could’ve been fear setting in or taking a defensive stance, but Agent Curry fired at Charles.
Charles cocked his head to the side and stared curiously at the agent. Charles rushed forward slamming the shield into Agent Curry. The agent fell back, hitting the ground hard. There was a big gash across his chest from the impact of the shield. Agent Thomas fired at Charles, but Charles adjusted his stance and used the riot shield for cover. He ran forward towards Agent Thomas and hit him hard across the face with the shield; he proceeded into a low three sixty spin and took the agent off his feet.
Agent Hardine lined himself up for a shot. His heart was racing and he knew he had to make his shot count. With his left eye closed, Agent Hardine squared his feet and fired six continuous shots. Charles barely deflected the shots with the shield. Annoyed, Charles dropped the defensive stance and heaved the riot shield at Agent Hardine’s head.
The shield traveled with great velocity towards Agent Hardine. At the last possible second, he ducked, and avoided being decapitated. He wasn’t able to fully avoid impact though. There was a trace of blood dripping from his neck where the shield nicked him. Agent Hardine could feel the blood dripping. He couldn't feel any pain though, he was filled with too much adrenaline to worry about the injury. The agent reached up to his neck and wiped the blood on his pants. Against his better judgment, he slid his gun back into the holster, rushed forward and tackled Charles.
Between Agent Hardine and Charles Ortega, Agent Hardine was the better skilled fighter. However, Charles abilities made him better equipped for a brawl. Nevertheless, Agent Hardine hopped on top of Charles and delivered several punches to the face. Charles reversed positions and landed his own series of punches.
“Stop right now!” Agent Curry shouted.
Blood poured down from his face due to the impact of the shield. Without even looking, Charles released a forceful amount of energy that sent Agent Curry into a wall on the right side. Agent Hardine used the distraction to kick Charles off of him. Charles rolled backwards retrieving the riot shield just in time to defend himself from the bullets Agent Hardine and Agent Thomas fired on him.
Charles pushed forward with the shield in hand and slammed Agent Hardine into the wall. Agent Hardine fell to the ground next to a bloodied Agent Curry. Agent Thomas stopped firing as he didn’t want to hit his fellow agents by mistake. Charles used this to his advantage. He threw the shield as a distraction. While Agent Thomas was adjusting his position to avoid impact, Charles ran up on him and grabbed him by the throat. He bum rushed the agent into the wall on the left side of the room using only his left hand. With his right hand, he concentrated heavily and used his phasing ability to penetrate Agent Thomas’ body.
“No!” Agent Hardine shouted weakly, he tried to prevent the phasing but it was too late. Charles grabbed the heart of Agent Thomas and stopped it from beating.
Agent Thomas' face went completely pale and a look of horror came across him as he realized what was about to happen. His lifeless body dropped to the ground and Charles stood there momentarily with a satisfied look upon his face. From the distance, he could hear Agent Baker and Agent Kelley approaching. He was certain backup would be on the way soon and he needed to get out as fast as possible.
Agent Hardine slowly made his way back to his feet. He was in pain and was concussed from the impact of being slammed into a wall. But he wasn't about to let Charles leave without giving everything he had. Charles looked over to check on Agent Curry’s status. He was in worse shape than Agent Hardine. He was barely moving.
“You are going to pay for that,” Agent Hardine shouted in reference to Agent Thomas’ death.
“Unlikely,” Charles replied smugly and without warning, he let off a concussive blast of energy. Agent Hardine was unable to avoid the blast and it hit him squarely in the chest. He wouldn’t be an issue for Charles anymore.
“I didn't know he had energy projectile abilities,” Agent Curry mumbled.
“Neither did I,” A weakened Agent Hardine replied.
Charles looked around between the two men thinking of whose life he would take first. If logic played a factor, than Charles would’ve chose Agent Hardine to drain the life from. Agent Hardine was younger and would require less draining than Agent Curry would, but Charles chose to drain the life of Agent Curry instead.
Charles enjoyed his confrontations with Agent Hardine and wanted the agent to have another shot at him in the future. He didn't view Agent Hardine as a challenge, but he appreciated the man's bravery. He walked over to Agent Curry and ripped his shirt open. He searched for the agent’s knife and found it concealed under the agent's left pant leg.
Charles used the knife to cut open the agent. He then placed his hand on the open wound and began draining the life from him.
“Freeze!” Agent Kelley shouted. He fired two shots that connected and lodged themselves into Charles’ shoulder.
The draining process provided Charles with instantaneous healing and Agent Kelley watched as Charles’ body quickly healed itself and pushed the bullets out. Charles removed his hand from Agent Curry and rushed towards Agent Kelley. Without hesitation, Charles ran forward and drove the knife through the agent's chest.
Agent Kelley fell over, slumping to the ground. Charles sat down beside him and began the draining process on him instead. Once Charles
was satisfied with the draining, he stood up, walked over and grabbed Agent Curry's knife holster. He slid it around his left leg, grabbed the riot shield and walked out of the armory. Charles readied himself for the next wave of attack. With Agent Hardine neutralized, and Agents Bartowski, Pearson, Summers, Kelley, Thomas and Curry dead, there wasn't much of a threat left for him to worry about.
Charles Ortega ran through the G.UA.R.D kitchen and unloaded a devastating concussive blast that immediately killed two of the agents. He looked over to his right side and released another blast of energy. The agents were able to avoid the blast, but it bought Charles more time. He released a third blast with his left hand moving left and his right hand moving right that sent every remaining agent flying off their feet.
Charles smiled with delight. The rest of the prisoners were cheering Charles on gleefully as he made his way towards the exit door.
“Hey! What about us?” one of the prisoners shouted from behind the cell.“You aren’t going to leave us here are you?”
Charles turned around to face the questioning prisoner. “You might be prisoners but you're human prisoners. You serve no purpose for me.”
“What about us? We're just like you!” Gary said.
Charles looked the two men over. He was unimpressed with their presence. “You two might be Post Humans, but you're nothing like me. You can rot here with the rest of these pathetic people.”
With a wide grin on his face, Charles turned back around and placed his hand on the doorknob. He had done it; he had escaped the holding cell and was in the clear! With a slight turn, Charles opened the door and took a step towards the exit.
BANG! One step was all that Charles got.
The room went completely silent as they watched Charles' body go limp. The man that had taken the lives of several agents just moments earlier laid motionless on the ground. The prisoners looked out by the door trying to figure out who was on the other side.
It was the Black Vigilante. Luckily for Charles, the increased life and healing factor would protect him. No sooner than the bullet plunged itself into his body, Charles’ body rejected it and spit it back out. Charles stood back to his feet. The prisoners were all engaged in the confrontation brewing between Charles and The Black Vigilante.
Dressed in an all black Kevlar ninja body suit, Noah slid his gun back into his holster and readied himself for a fight.
“The Vigilante. I'm surprised to see you here. Figured your agenda was with the gangsters, mobsters and politicians. How honored I am to see that you took time out to come confront me.”
Charles glanced around the room to make sure the agents were still down.“I have to admit though; I would’ve placed money on the League showing up here. Never in my wildest imaginations did I think I would meet the vigilante of Chicago. I wonder how much money I could make if I revealed your true identity. How much do you think you're worth?”
Noah didn't reply. He didn't want to take any chances on someone recognizing his voice. He would need some sort of voice changer device if he was going to continue to parade around in this ninja garb.
“Not one for words huh? You know, I’ve seen your work, its impressive. I think maybe if you and I teamed up, we could do some serious damage. With our skill, there isn't anyone that could stop us. Not even Jason Shaw, Noah Winters or those other League jag offs.”
Noah was more than aware of the type of mind games Charles liked to play. He knew all about psychology and there was nothing Charles could say that would throw Noah off his game. Mental toughness Noah valued as much as physical toughness.
Charles extended his hand, “What do you say, how about we work together?” Charles didn't really think Noah would accept his offer but it was worth a try. As expected, Noah had no interest in joining up with Charles.
“Well then, shall we get on with it?” Charles asked.
The Vigilante nodded. Charles smiled, pushed his hands forward and released one of his concussive blasts. Unlike the agents, Noah was more than capable of defending himself from Charles’ attacks. With ease, Noah contorted his body to evade the energy blast. Charles frowned slightly and threw a string of energy blasts in Noah’s direction. Noah considered putting up a force field to stop Charles' attacks, but he didn't want to do anything that would alert Charles to his real identity. He had no choice but to flip, duck and dodge the incoming attacks. He exerted more energy in doing so, but kept his secret identity in tact.
“It’s not often I come across someone with your level of skill. It's really quite impressive,” Charles said.
Noah charged forward and connected with a knee to Charles' face.
Charles didn’t see that coming. He stumbled back as blood oozed from his nose. Noah followed up his attack and rushed towards Charles. He grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. Charles, desperate to free himself from Noah's grasp, twisted his body and put a hole in the wall with his energy blast. He went through the hole and avoided Noah's attack. Noah could do nothing but appreciate Charles' quick thinking.
“You know, there’s a reason why I’m one of the most dangerous Post Humans,” Charles boasted. Charles reemerged from the opening in the wall and caught Noah off guard with a energy blast. The blast sent Noah backwards. He was unable to brace himself and as a result, he hit the ground with tremendous force.
“I'm not some ignorant thug rolling up doing drive byes. I'm not some Spanish speaking man sitting on the front porch. I'm not some fat Italian out ordering hits. I'm Charles Ortega, I'm a Post Human with superior skills and an intellect to rival any. You aren't on my level Vigilante.” Charles hurried to Noah’s vicinity and climbed on top of him. He reached down by his left leg and pulled out the knife he took from Agent Curry a bit earlier.
“This is the point where you die,” Charles said nonchalantly. He drove the knife downward trying to penetrate Noah’s heart.
Charles positioned himself on top of Noah. His strength was preventing Noah from getting out from under. Charles continued driving the knife downward as Noah desperately struggled for his life.
“You should’ve joined me when you had the chance!” Charles exclaimed.
With one final effort, Noah quickly took his left hand off Charles and reached for a blade concealed by his side. He grabbed the blade from its holster and used it to stab Charles on the left side. Charles cursed profusely. He stumbled backwards but quickly took to a defensive stance. Noah did a kip flip, getting himself back into a defensive stance as well.
“Kill him! Kill him!” the prisoners shouted. They were watching the fight intensely. Charles looked over to the prisoners and a plan quickly formed. He looked back at Noah and smiled mischievously.
“I bet some of this trash you helped clean up.”
Noah looked at him suspiciously, he had an idea as to what Charles was thinking but he was hoping Charles wanted to finish the fight the right way. That wasn't the case though. Charles looked back towards the prisoners and unleashed consecutive energy blasts. The blasts were directed at the locks that kept the prisoners behind bars. The prisoners pushed open the gates and cheered excitedly. Almost all of them had a score to settle with the Black Vigilante and that moment was as good a time as any to try and exact revenge. Charles directed more energy blasts towards Noah to give the freed prisoners an even better chance at getting their revenge.
The G.U.A.R.D agents were beginning to come to and Charles knew his window of escape was closing. With Noah forced to concentrate on the other prisoners, Charles now had his opening.
“Until next time!” Charles called out as he made a run for the exit.
Noah desperately fought the prisoner's off him and tried to make his way towards the exit to go after Charles.
“Stay!” Charles shouted. He delivered a massive blast of energy that caught Noah square in the chest. The impact sent Noah flying backwards into most of the prisoners.
Charles ran out the door and made his way towards the G.U.A.R.D helicopte
r.
The pilot was sitting there anticipating Charles arrival after witnessing the blast, “Stop right there!” the pilot ordered.
Charles snickered at the audacity of the pilot. He ran forward while the pilot squeezed the trigger. Charles allowed the bullet to make contact, knowing his body would recover in no time. The pilot tried to get off another shot, but it was too late. Charles had reached him and was draining the life from him. Charles took just enough energy to weaken him. He wanted the pilot alive, he needed the pilot alive.
“Get inside,” Charles ordered. The pilot did as instructed. Charles hopped into the passenger seat and kept the gun pointed at the pilot. “Get us out of here.”
Reluctantly, the pilot placed his hands on the small steering wheel and eased the plane off the ground. A dazed Noah stumbled out of the building and watched as Charles and the pilot took off.
“Until next time!” Charles shouted as the helicopter ascended into the skies.
12
The Enemy of My Enemy
Charles walked into the abandoned warehouse slightly tired from his encounter with Noah Winters. This particular location he had been occupying for the past several months. It served as a base of operations for him. Had Noah not been so concerned with the local criminals, he might've noticed Charles setting up shop in his city.
Charles you could describe as ambitious. He wasn't doing what he was doing for some political agenda. He didn't care about the fate of the world. He was out to make a name for himself. He wanted to use his abilities to become the most famous Post Human around. Correction, he wanted to be infamous. He wanted everyone in the world to fear him, to bow before him. With his impressive display of abilities, he felt he could accomplish such a challenging goal.
He wouldn't do it alone though. How could he? It was common knowledge that for every major criminal, there was usually a support staff. A group of lesser men and women that did the bidding for the main criminal. Charles wasn't the top gun though. As powerful as he was, he lacked the resources required to truly make a run at infamy.
New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age Page 9
