by Riley Tune
As soon as the force field was no longer on them, Perkins unleashed fire, causing the swordsman, and his partner to separate some as they avoided being hit. Perkins, still laying down fire, ran behind Danielle, and if she could see the maniacal smile on Danielle's face, she would have likely been equally afraid.
Leading the charge, Danielle felt an energy and power flow through her as her Two-Fold enhanced darkness consumed her. Her vision around her turned to black and white as her shadow form took over. She was moving directly toward Flex in a speed that she didn’t realize she possessed. Behind her, she could hear Perkins scream as several bolts of energy from her blaster passed through the shadow form of Danielle and rocketed towards the Pain Conduit.
“Man, that’s cool,” Danielle said under her breath. To the running and gunning Perkins behind her, her words sounded more like a deep grunt. She had never heard Danielle speak in her shadow form before. As Danielle got closer, the girl standing over Flex shifted, and raised her hand up to Danielle. Perkins screamed as pain consumed her, and the blasts of energy stopped, but Danielle felt fine. She realized her shadow form was immune to the pain attack and didn’t miss a step.
As she got closer, the Pain Conduit stepped back and looked at the metallic man standing just above her. The creature gave a slight node of the head. Before anything else could happen, Danielle's shadow arm passed directly through the conduit. Having body armor was great, but to a shadow it meant nothing.
Danielle had to time it right, and before she even extended her arm, she could feel her form beginning to change. Once her shadow arm was inside the Pain Conduit, she forced her body to return to normal, as she did so a small grunt came from the armor-clad woman who now found a solid arm rearranging her insides.
Danielle couldn’t see the Pain Conduit’s face behind that mask, but she could hear the sounds as the mask looked down at its own body. Her arms grabbed at Danielle's arm inside her, but weakly. “Pain’s a bitch isn’t it,” Danielle said as darkness consumed her eyes, and tendrils began to form around her free arm. She opened her hand and a wave of dark energy exploded from her palm and collided with the Pain Conduit.
Perkins, down on one knee beside Flex looked on as a part of Danielle rose to the surface that she had never seen before. But as the Pain Conduit began to rip apart under the weight of Danielle’s dark energy, Perkins saw the power that Danielle truly had, but had never used. She was always so nice, and playful. Teasing Hunter about his name, while at the same time flirting with him to the point that it made others uncomfortable.
Even in training, Perkins couldn’t remember seeing Danielle with such power. Perkins grinned some, as the fear she had felt for a moment fade away. “Total badass,” Perkins said as she tried to pull Flex to his feet.
“That’s my girl,” Hunter said to himself from across the battlefield. From the safety of his force field, he could see the events happening over by Flex, and was impressed. He hadn’t really seen Danielle in such form. He assumed it was the extra boost she had gotten from using her powers in full form at night.
When they would practice, or even go out on missions, it was usually in the Diamond District, the part of the city where light and daytime was eternal. When they did venture into the Ebony District, problems were usually solved by Flex or Power Prince so fast that Danielle didn’t get a chance to shine. “Well, no more pulling punches in practice,” Hunter said as the swordsman attacked him again.
Hunter had done his part of the plan. He kept the other two busy while the girls had all the fun. Flex was slowly coming around, but Hunter couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t out of the fire yet. That thing on the hill still hadn’t moved. It just watched, and Hunter had seen enough movies to know that when the boss is observant, it’s never good.
“First things first,” Hunter said as he went on the offensive. He rocketed into the air about eight feet and stretched his hand out. A force field surrounded the swordsman. As he flew around, bolt after bolt of red energy covered the night's sky as the larger of the two continued to fire. Hunter allowed his vision to turn blue and sent back a blast of his own energy.
As the dark area turned blue with the passing of Hunter’s Impact Blast, the larger male’s gun exploded when Hunter’s attack found its mark. From the sky above, Hunter’s eyes had gotten large. His aim had gotten better, but not that much better. He had been aiming for the man’s armored torso, but blasting his gun away worked too. It looked more hero- like, as well.
As the gun exploded, Hunter followed it up with a balled fist delivered to the torso he was originally aiming for. While his punch found its mark, it didn’t have the desired effect. Hunter had enhanced strength, but it paled in comparison to the likes of Flex. The large man stood, unflinching, as he looked down at Hunter. “Oh, for Atlas’ sake,” Hunter said as the larger man’s arms came crashing down, and collided with the newly- formed force field.
Instantly, Hunter opened a small hole in the force field and unleashed another blast of energy from his eyes, this time it was so much that shadows danced on the ground as the area turned blue. A hole the size of a shoe box tore through the frame of the hulking man. As his body fell, Hunter turned to look at the swordsman still trapped in his force field. “Just me and you, blade boy,” Hunter said as he felt a slumping in his stomach once he realized that the man had created several large cracks in his force field.
He had spoken too soon, as he heard a sound like metal being dragged across more metal. The sound was loud and caused each of them to look at the man that was slowly walking down from the hill top. He or it didn’t walk like a normal person as expected. It had a slow, purposeful stride to itself. Arms clasped behind the back and radiating with all the confidence in the world. Had this metal figure had a face, Hunter felt like it would be smirking.
As the creature moved closer, Flex stood tall. The effects of the Pain Conduit were gone. Hunter, ignoring the hostage of his force field flew over to join the rest of his team. “We need to go,” Perkins said quickly. “For what?” Danielle said. “Four against one, I personally like our odds,” she continued. “I agree,” Flex chimed in.
As his words left his mouth, the Warden’s arms relaxed from being behind its back, and a haze field rippled from him. As it did so, the sand, heat, and wind seemed to come alive as it all danced within the field. “It’s not just him,” Perkins said. “All the Wardens are connected he could have another Warden’s Circle on the way already.”
They all didn’t know it but they were thinking the same thing. Another Warden’s Circle meant another Warden and another Pain Conduit. Even Flex wasn't ready to feel that again. Hunter glanced to Flex. Hunter never ran from a fight, but he understood that sometimes one had to retreat to only come back stronger. The version of him from a year ago wouldn’t have thought things through so logically.
Hunter grunted as he felt a slight pain. He knew that pain and turned to look at the swordsman in his force field. To his surprise, the massive sword was now in a different form. Instead of being massive it was rather thin. It was also extended beyond the force field. Apparently, this new version of the weapon was able to pierce the force field. “Son of a,” Hunter said formed another force field around the damaged one.
To the side of them Perkins dropped to one knee as she coughed uncontrollably. The newly dancing sand around them was covering her body now as it tried to find a way inside of her. Each member of the team noticed the same thing happening to them as the sand surrounded then and began to turn bright orange. The sand covered their skin and began to sizzle. Even Flex, to his surprise, felt pain from this heated sand.
Twice in one day he had felt pain. He was beginning to dislike this Warden’s Circle more and more. As the metal man walked towards then, hands still behind its back, the sands’ glow intensified as the area became so hot that specks of sand on the ground turned to glass- like pellets. “Execute black pearl,” Flex shouted as he backed up. Hunter nodded from inside the force fiel
d he created for them as Danielle summoned her powers. They knew what this meant, and had done the move several times in practice. Black Pearl was a way for them to combine their powers.
Danielle unleashed waves of dark energy, that seemed to have no effect, on the Warden, but did halt his advance towards them. As she did so, Hunter began to form a force field around the creature. In seconds, the force field Hunter had created was engulfed with thick swirling black tendrils and pulsing dark energy. They couldn’t see the Warden inside of his new prison, and could only hope it couldn't see them. “I don’t know how long that will hold him,” Perkins said. “Then we better move,” Flex replied. “Lead the way.”
Perkins wasted no time and dashed through the sand, followed by Danielle, Flex, and a very tired Hunter. He had used a lot of energy creating so many force fields at once, and needed a good rest or a large plate of food to replenish.
In the lead, Perkins moved as fast as she could. Never looking back to make sure her friends were with her, and never loosening the grip on her blasters. She didn’t slow down until she came to what looked like a tall pillar that stretched so far into the sky that the top couldn’t be seen.
“Inside. This will give us some time.” Perkins said as she opened a door at the bottom of the pillar. “What is that noise?” Danielle asked as her hand motioned to block her ear. Flex and Hunter, while they had said nothing, had heard the sound too. A strong rhythmic humming that seemed to be radiating from the pillar. “Inside,” was the only reply Perkins said. No more questions came, as they rushed into the darkness of the pillar. Once inside, Perkins shut the door and dropped to her knees panting. As soon as the door was shut, a single light came on.
It emitted only a thin beam of light, but it was enough so that they could see a few feet around themselves. Flex moved to comfort Perkins and placed a hand on her shoulder as he helped her to her feet. “We should be okay in here for a little bit. Maybe until daylight.” Perkins said. She was speaking to them all, but only Flex had her attention now.
Hunter was the first one to notice that, while her words were comforting, they weren’t exactly correct. Had Perkins been looking in the same direction as he was, she would have likely seen it first. “We can’t win from losing,” Hunter said as he tried to draw attention to the fact that they were not alone inside the pillar.
CHAPTER 10:
HELLO ABEL
F lex was the first of their group to notice Hunter’s shift in posture. His leadership skills kicked in, and his eyes began to scan the room. He still couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but for that matter, Hunter truly couldn’t either. He knew he had heard something, though.
Hunter hadn’t been on Mo’eizus long, but he had learned enough in life to trust his instincts, and instantly called a large force field into life. He stepped back and looked at it. The force field was a swirling, pale blue wall of protection, and once it was in place, Hunter instantly felt better. “By the great beast,” Perkins said as she walked to stand beside Hunter. “Kill the force field,” she said quickly.
“Say what now?” Hunter asked as he looked at her with a frown on his face. “No flashy powers,” Perkins said. Her words were low, but just loud enough so Danielle and Flex could hear her. “We don’t want the attention or the Wardens.” Hunter had a quick flashback of their recent clash. In a blink of an eye he remembered the pain, seeing his force field get damaged and the feeling of that heated sand burning his skin. Then he let out a long sigh, and the force field faded away.
Perkins leaned and looked into the darkness, and as she did so her bright green eyes seemed a little brighter for a moment and then faded away. “Perkins. Is that you?” Hunter jumped some as the raspy voice came from the darkness. “Here we go,” Hunter said to himself as he balled a fist. Warden’s be damned, if he needed to, he was prepared to use every power he had, to face whatever was in the darkness.
He trusted Perkins and her insight, but Hunter had no dreams of being ambushed or murdered inside some creepy, old, vibrating pillar.
“Really. Somebody is already hiding in here?” Danielle said as she shifted to look into the darkness. “Not hiding,” the voice came back from the darkness. “Hiding is for cowards and vermin. We are planning.”
The words made Flex clench his jaw. “How many of you are there?” he asked loudly, as he stepped to the front of the group, sticking out his chest in a way that only a person with invulnerability could. Hunter, not to be outdone, moved and stood directly beside their leader. Flex looked at him through the side of his eye. “Really?” he said under his breath. “It is my planet after all. May as well, get the best view in the house.”
Hunter planted his feet firmly, “and you know how I love to put on a show,” he continued. “Wait for my signal,” Flex said. “If I don’t give the word, then no powers.” Hunter groaned. “Sure.” He hated it, but he had no intentions of disobeying Flex. He was the team leader and Hunter respected that, so, for now, he would follow his lead.
“Hello, Abel,” Perkins said through a sigh. “Why don’t you come forward into the light?” As the words left her mouth, the sound of footsteps moving began to fill the room. Slowly three men and a woman came into view. As Hunter looked at them all, his mind was flooded by hillbilly jokes. They were all dressed fairly similar to how Perkins had made the team dress. They all also had on goggles, and for some reason, they all were very dirty.
Hunter didn’t notice it at first glance, but now he could clearly see that all four of them looked like they had been working for years without a single shower. “Hey there,” one man said. He was the tallest of the group. He had wide shoulders, a round stomach, and short dingy hair. “Why don’t you come get close to a real man?” he continued.
“Sorry big boy, but I’m spoken for,” Danielle said quickly. “She’s with me,” Hunter said as Perkins raised a hand to stop him. “Good,” the large man said. “You can keep her, too. I was talking to him.” The man jerked his head towards Flex. “Nerf, he is cute,” the woman of the group said. To Hunter’s surprise, the other two men nodded their heads in agreement.
He furrowed his brow and smirked to Flex who took in a deep breath. “Entire new dimension, and yet your Ken Doll powers never fail you.” “Not the time, Paragon,” Flex said through gritted teeth. The sound of his name, made Hunter focus as he gave a slight nod. He couldn’t help but joke. It was his way to keep calm in the situation, seeing as how he couldn’t use his powers.
“He’s with me,” Perkins said to the group at large. “What are you doing here, Abel?” The large man spoke again. “As I said. I’m planning.” “Fine. Plan away.” Perkins continued. “We don’t want any trouble, we’re just.” Abel laughed loudly, and as his laughter filled the pillar, Hunter got a funny feeling in his stomach.
He was already trying to ignore the fact the once roomy pillar was slowly starting to feel crowded, and now these randoms were here. “Nerf, Perkins,” Abel said. “You’re in here the same reason as us. You don’t want to bump into the Wardens. That’s also why you turned off your little box that your group loves so much.”
“Box?” Perkins replied. “That created the force field.” This time another person spoke. It was a pear- shaped man standing to the side of Abel. His words made him receive a stern look, followed by a fast punch to the face. The sound of Abel’s hand hitting the man echoed around the pillar and made the odd- shaped man stumble. “Speak over me again, see what happens. You get one warning, Martel. One!” Abel shouted.
The man called Martel silently nodded as his hand covered the spot where he had just been punched. “As I was saying,” Abel said calmly as he adjusted his clothes while spinning on the spot to face Perkins again. “We saw the force field from the multibox.” Perkins darted her eyes some and then realized what they were talking about. They thought that Hunter’s power was actually her using the force field on her multibox. “Oh,” she replied. Abel tapped a single finger to his head. “I’m always watching. You should
know this, Perkins.” Abel moved a little closer to them, but this time his team didn’t advance. “You see we are here because we planned on it. Moving from pillar to pillar. Shadow to shadow. This was actually our last stop before we made it to the cage.”
Perkins' eyes bulged for a second as recognition washed over her face. The look was gone in an instant, but Flex had seen it. He wanted to ask her what the cage was, but figured now wasn’t the best time. No instead he allowed her to keep the lead on their conversation with Abel. “You’re going to the cage,” Perkins replied. It was more of a slow statement, instead of questions.
“But this isn’t the route to get there,” she said as she looked at Abel, and then his team. “You’re sneaking in.” Abel clapped slightly. “You always were smart enough to get by, Perkins.” Flex glared at the man. He was pretty sure that was an insult to his better half, and if she gave him the go-ahead, he would toss this Abel directly through the pillar and into the next one.
“You see Perkins, I had a bit of unfortunate luck. I owe a lot of funds to a lot of people. Funds I don’t have.” Abel turned and walked into the darkness then came back holding a chunk of what looked like bread. He took a bite, and then passed it to the female. She in return took a bite and passed it on. “We were going to just run in, take their goods and then make our way to the North section.”
Abel rubbed his chin and looked Flex over again. He licked his lips slowly, and Flex grimaced. “He really wants a piece of you,” Danielle whispered. Flex ignored her. “I have a better plan now. One that doesn’t involve my guys and I going to that nerfing cold North Section.” Perkins twisted her head slightly.
