Regicide *HF* by Shockwave
Chapter 1: Party!
Everything sparkled the night of the big gala to celebrate the
creation of the new Purple Court. The King and Queen on the Black Hellfire
Club, Darkwolf and Rogue graciously offered to host the celebration at their
New York Mansion. The small chapter house for the regular members was
proposed to open in downtown New York, so Rogue argued that it was the most
expedient place for the celebration. Darkwolf had jokingly said that the
real reason they wanted the party at their place was that he didn’t want to
have to leave the Mansion in his monkey suit, as circumstances inevitably
lead to its being… ah, unkempt by the time he arrived at wherever he was
going. No one in the other branches of the Hellfire Clubs had any objections
to this choice of location (any objections that counted anyway, as Xeus
discovered). So the Black Hellfire Mansion was decorated in deep shades of
purple and silver. The Ballroom, where the main events of the evening would
take place, sparkled with hundreds of little lights. On the back center
wall, which dominated the view of the room and where all eyes would be drawn
upon entering through the double door, hung the golden emblem of the
International Hellfire Club. Beneath it, somewhat smaller and in their
respective colors, were the emblems of the Hellfire houses Red, Black,
White, Grey and now Purple as well. Pillars and arches with ivy and roses
decorated the room and glorious artwork tastefully decorated the walls. A
big band was setting up in the corner. Buffet tables lined the far wall and
a scattering of tables where there for any who desired rest. The center of
the room was dominated by a huge dance floor (which eased Xeus’
disappointment at not having his witty objections taken seriously). The
gifted who formed the Inner and Outer circles of the courts as well as the
students and hundred of New York’s wealthiest Hellfire affiliates were
invited and the party looked to be another smashing success. Security,
however, was hideously tight. No one was ever going to forget the hideous
events of the Millenium Gala and ever since then rigorous measures were
taken at every event in an attempt to prevent a similar disaster from
occurring.
“Well Queenie, we are certainly going to throw Steven and the new
Court a great bash this evening,” commented Darkwolf to his queen Rogue as
he lay on her bed watching her dress. He was already in his tux and Rogue
insisted that he wasn’t going to be out of her sight until the party to
ensure that he would still look presentable when everyone began to arrive.
He didn’t mind in the slightest and kept voicing lewd suggestions to the
Queen as she slipped into a sparkling black dress. She smiled wickedly at
him but refused to give in to his ploy. They didn’t have much time for
fooling around. “Zip me up,” she asked. “Definitely a pleasure,” said
Darkwolf. “No bra this evening,” he chuckled as he tickled Rogue’s bare
back. “These galas wouldn’t be so bad if I could wear something as little or
as naughty as what you get to wear,” he sighed. Rogue turned around. “How do
I look,” she asked with one eyebrow lifted high in mirth. Her dress fit like
a second skin, it had a square neckline that showed off a bit more than just
the tops of her breasts. The sides of the gown laced down to the long slits
that started mid-thigh. It looked to Darkwolf like if he pulled one of those
little strings the dress would fall right off. Tempting thought! How badly
would she beat him up if in the middle of a dance…? Darkwolf was unable to
complete the thought because Rogue clouted him in the head.
"Are we going to play rough? I need my spatula!" he exclaimed eagerly.
"Later," promised Rogue. "I take your re-action to mean that I look good.
Shall we go down?" Darkwolf sighed. “I supposed, but those people don’t
understand how much fun you can have with a spatula” he trailed off as
together they left the room and made their way down the stairs.
Chastity and Ryan were running late. They had both been dressed but
had not been able to keep their hands off eachother when the other looked so
good. Chastity purred with pleasure as she adjusted her little red dress.
She had opted for a semi-oriental formal for the evening with the high neck
and the row of buttons trailing down one shoulder. This dress was a little
showier than your typical modest dress of this style. There was a keyhole
neckline that showed off her assets the way she liked, and the skirt was
only opaque for a very short length before it turned to gauze and revealed
her shapely legs. She smiled at Ryan as she twisted her hair back up into a
simple knot. “We should do this again if the party gets dull,” she suggested
in her sultry voice. Ryan returned her sensual smile as he straightened his
hair. “You’ll have to make me an offer I can’t resist,” he replied. “Let’s
head on over there,” he said next, changing the subject. Chastity was
slightly annoyed that the party was being held at the Black Hellfire Club
Mansion, but hadn’t voiced any objections when it was suggested for, as Ryan
had reminded her, the Purple Court was sort of their subordinate and they
didn’t want anyone complaining that the Red Court was gathering too much
power. At least not too loudly! She still pouted a little, but Ryan had
managed to talk her into it. They had barely managed to get Steven to return
from Jamaica so they we’re pretty much going to let him get what he wanted,
for now. Chastity loved it when Ryan was so masterful.
“So where are our King and Queen?” Xeus asked Epyon. He and Epyon
nodded at the people who kept coming up and greeting them or offering their
congratulations. “Dude, everyone is almost here already. The party is
swinging but I wanna be first to dance with the new Queen as befits my
position as God of Dance, so I’m stuck waiting around. Even the old wizard
Gomurr is on the dance floor! With three buxom ladies, from the looks of it
too! How does he do it?” “Last I saw them they were arguing about clothes in
the sitting room that Monet said the Purple Court members could use,” Epyon
answered. “What?! RedKnightBishop is a snappy dresser, what problem could
ShockWave possibly have with his wardrobe?” “She didn’t have problems with
his tux, he had problems with her dress. He bought her one for the occasion
and wanted her to wear it but she had one of her own.” Xeus laughed. “You’re
kidding! That’s just priceless. Too bad we’re missing it!” The ballroom was
suddenly silent at the entrance of the Purple King and Queen, arm in arm,
through the double doors. They were greeted by thunderous applause by the
people gathered there. Epyon and Xeus made their was over to join them.
Xeus looked at ShockWave’s outfit. She was wearing a long sleeveless
dress of a dark purple color with a full skirt with glittering black lace
layered over the dark purple fabric. “Which dress is that?” Xeus whispered
to Epyon. “Hers,” Epyon whispered back with a grin. “ShockWave, your outfit
looks spectacular,” Xeus told her. “I’ve been saving my first dance for you,
let’s get out on the floor!” Xeus exclaimed quickly whirling her away. Xeus
was a fantastic dancer, but ShockWave managed to keep up with him and laugh
at his antics. "A Queenie that can dance! Maybe I will respect you," Xeus
said teasingly. She mock glared at him. "I demand respect whether or not you
think I can dance, Xeusie." "Well from what hear you got RKB under control
so we shouldn't have any problems... so long as you hang on to your sense of
humor anyways." "With you around, will I have a choice?" Xeus laughed.
Epyon glanced at RKB out of the corner of his eye as he sipped from a
glass of champagne that her grabbed off a waiter's tray. "So things are
going good?" he asked. "Most satisfactory. I think our Queen has shown
herself quite capable of making her own desicions and the Club members all
seemed charmed by her. The Purple Court is going to be a power to be
reckoned with as our lineup is made up of mostly levelheaded people." The
Purple Knight frowned. "Won't that most likely get us into trouble? Not that
I don't relish a battle, but I thought we wanted to cut down on infighting
between the clubs." "But sometimes when you need a thing to be done you have
to do it yourself, and this will give us liberty AND access to the Hellfire
resources." Steven thought for a moment and turned towards the knight. "What
are your opinions of the members of our Court, Thomas?" "Xeus is volatile,
but dependable. Paradox... well I don't know him so he's a wildcard. You
must have your reasons for making him Bishop. ShockWave... She's a nice
girl. I like her, but if you plan to somehow manipulate her or to leave her
in the dark about a lot of things because she has that aura of being
carefree that makes her seem like a newbie, I have a feeling you got another
thing coming. Me? I'm quiet, not too out there and people tend not to notice
me too much. I plan on watching your guys’ backs because I have a bad
feeling about something... And you, Steven? I had thought you gave up the
King thing with the whole Beverly Hills disaster. You and I are friends, but
you're the mind reader and I don't push so I can't quite be sure what's
going on in your mind. I'll just have to trust you, and like I already said,
watch your back." Steven nodded. "I knew I could depend on you Thomas." The
music for the first dance ended and Xeus and ShockWave were coming back
over. "I'm going to go see if this band plays any Sinatra and mingle with
our guests," Steven said excusing himself.
Paradox danced the next dance with a new Hellion chick called Scarlett
Mistress. She was a bombshell, but he wasn't paying to much attention to
her. He watched the members of the new Purple Court mingle about the room.
He was Bishop of this new Court. Quite a step up from a BHC Upstart. He
liked the top better than the bottom of the rung, he decided. Look at the
way this girl looked at him, for example. There was respect in the Scarlet
Mistress' eyes. She, the newest Hellion, had caught the attention of an
Inner Circle Bishop and he was dancing with her. Once you had power in
reflected into everything around you. Paradox loved that feeling, the rush
it gave him. He wanted more and he never wanted to be powerless again. The
dance ended and his gaze roved about the room for the next tempting female
body.
Spark and Ian Fitzroy stood by the tables and talked. They commented
on how good particular females looked and whispered suggestions back and
forth. The young Hellions took another drink and were glad that they had the
opportunity to enjoy themselves like this after the stress of all those
classes. They were disappointed that the changes meant they could no longer
train with the Black Hellions. “Maybe Headmaster Booth won’t have time to be
so tough on us now that he’s got this new job,” Ian commented. "I hear he's
still going to do some teaching, probably," said Spark. Ian sighed. "Dude,
I'm tired of that guy busting my @$$ I hope the next Headmaster lets us
really bust loose with our powers instead of this step by step control
routine. I wanna really wreak havoc and see how much I'm capable of." Spark
shrugged. "I think the way they do it is smart. %$#^ frustrating for us, but
smart." Ian elbowed Spark in the ribs. "Hey look over there! The cute new
girl is sitting alone at a table. Let's go talk to her, she's hot!"
All in all it was a great party. It was now late in the evening a few
people had had too much to drink and passed out at the tables. There was
still some dancing going on, however, most people still too excited to
retire to their rooms. Inner Circle members of various courts were sitting
around at different tables arguing about policies and how a new court was
going to change things. The Red King was talking business with a wealthy
tycoon, trying to get him to invest in something or other. The lovely Red
Queen was charming the old guy as she stood there hanging on Ryan's arm.
ShockWave glanced about the room speculatively trying to decide whom she
wanted to talk too. Her glance lingered on Gomurr for a second. She had
talked to him a bit earlier in the evening. Enough to notice how much he had
changed. She wondered if she should try to find out more from him or if she
should just forget what was past and leave her former mentor alone. "Would
you care to dance with me, my Queen?" The Purple King asked, appearing
suddenly at her elbow. "Certainly," she replied smiling up at him. RKB led
her out to the dance floor. The band was playing one of his favorite
Sinatra. Steven Booth is a man of secrets, ShockWave thought. He has power,
knows how to use it, and has his reasons but those he usually keeps to
himself. It was going to be an interesting relationship. "It seems that the
Purple Court Gala was a smashing success," ShockWave commented to him. "Yes,
I..." before Steven could continue the lights went out and the room
descended into pitch-blackness. The band trailed of disjointedly and there
was a chaos of voices and people bumping in to one another.
"Maybe I spoke to soon?" ShockWave laughed. "People are going to get
hurt in this blackness," Steven said. ShockWave heard the implied command in
the King's voice. She nodded and raised her hands, letting waves of
lightform energy radiate out from her palms, filling the room with a light
that was dim at first but grew stronger as people's eyes began to readjust.
She didn't bother re-lighting the whole room, but gave off instead just
enough light for people to see by so they could make their way out of the
ballroom. The party was close enough to over anyway. Everyone started making
their way outside when a voice called out to her. "ShockWave!" called Khalid
Hunter, otherwise known as Mufasa. He had been sitting at a table lost in
his own thoughts when the lights went out. The Purple King and Queen made
their way over to where he now stood. "I think you were meant to see this,"
he said pointing at the wall. There was a message scrawled across the wall
behind the tables. A message in drippy rust colored letters... blood? It
said: "Toast him and feast him while you still can,
The Purple King is still but a man
And the hour now draws ever nigh
When Steven Booth will surely die!"
Chapter 2: Tropical Troubles
Epyon paced the stone hallways of the Purple Court’s Jamaican castle.
The castle belonged to the Purple King, Steven Booth, and he had decided
that it would be the new home of the Purple Court. The Hellions who were his
students were also residing there, and their classes took place in the high
tech basements that hid under the ancient exterior. The full court and all
the Hellions were currently in residence at the castle. Two days had passed
since the Gala that officially announced the reign of the Purple Court. Two
days since the threat had manifested on the walls of the BHC ballroom. The
words of the rhyme ran through Epyon’s head. RedKnightBishop refused to
diverge from his regular schedule, or even allow any extra precautions.
Steven was Epyon’s friend, and he trusted and respected the man, but he
wished he would take the situation more seriously. As Purple Knight the
security of the court lay in Epyon’s hands and Steven wasn’t allowing him to
do his job. Epyon gave his pacing purpose and direction. His feet stopped
before the large carved door that led into the Purple Queen’s offices and
private chambers. He paused to look at the elaborate tapestry that
ornamented the wall besides the door. It depicted a great battle with
hundreds of knights charging at eachother with spears and swords.
Epyon raised his hand to knock on the door, but before he could the
door opened and ShockWave stared up at him with her bright green eyes (it
seemed to her that she was staring up a very long way, as the young knight
was so much taller). “Epyon,” she said with a nod. She stepped lithely past
him into the corridor. “I know why you’ve come,” she said indicating that he
should follow her. “I have the same concerns, and Steven has graciously
agreed to meet with me to discuss them.” The last bit she added in a wry
tone of voice. “He’s a very proud and confident man,” Epyon said. “That’s no
excuse,” ShockWave said sharply as she smiled up at him with her eyes
twinkling. “He can’t do everything. That’s why we have our jobs and he has
to let us do them. He’s only being foolish if he thinks he can do it all.”
She shook her head disgustedly. “Anyway, I’d like you to come along to the
meeting. Voice your concerns.” She turned and faced Epyon squarely, halting
their progress. “And I don’t care if he was your teacher and mentor, tell
him to let you do your job and that if he has a problem with that he can
shove it up his nose!” Epyon smiled at her. “That’ll go over with him
wonderfully,” he laughed. She smiled and shrugged. “He’s not stupid. I’m
sure he sees the truth of the situation. Mind readers are just so darn
arrogant though. They seem to think they know everything just because they
can tell what people are thinking.” They arrived at the doors to Steven’s
office. “Shall we?” Epyon asked, knocking and holding the door open for her.
Mona, Steven’s Jamaican secretary, signaled for them to proceed
directly into his office. “He’s expecting you both,” she said. Steven
Booth’s office here was as tastefully decorated as all his other offices. He
incorporated a slightly medieval theme to the room that fit the castle well.
There were two matching suits of armor on either side of the door. Above the
windows behind his desk hung the Booth Family Crest. Exqusite artwork hung
on the walls. At the large and beautiful desk sat Steven Booth himself,
staring down at the latest test scores from his Hellions. “Good morning,
ShockWave and Epyon,” he said with a slight nod in their direction but
without getting up. “Won’t you please be seated?” When they had sat down he
looked up at them both and then locked eyes with ShockWave. “You know why we
are here,” she told him simply and frankly. “We are concerned for you,
Steven. Security was top-notch at the Gala, and yet someone was still able
to cut the lights and write that message without any of us catching on.”
“Also,” Epyon added. “I ran the tests and that message was actually written
in blood. Someone is really serious about killing you, Steven. By all the
indications we have they are smart enough and powerful enough to actually be
a threat to you.”
Steven gazed at them both piercingly. “What do the two of you suggest
for me then? Shall I hole up somewhere quivering in fear? Withdraw from my
many spheres of activity? That might actually be what they want. And if this
person or persons was good enough to get past our security without any of us
detecting anything; no strange energy patterns or thoughts about the room,
what do you propose we do to stop them?” ShockWave flushed. “You know we
aren’t suggesting that you hide, Steven.” Epyon nodded. “We just want to
take some precautions. There is always something we can do. I’ve already
interviewed everyone who was at the party and spoken to all the Hellions
warning them to be alert and report anything unusual to me. I want you to
allow us to keep closer tabs on you though. I want one of us to always be by
you so that when this person or persons does come after you we’ll be there
to kick their ass.” “We aren’t asking anything unreasonable, Steven,”
ShockWave added when Epyon was done. RedKnightBishop smiled wryly. “You want
to keep tabs on me? 24 hour surveillance? Tell me then, ShockWave, are you
proposing to sleep with me in case they come for me at night?” ShockWave
jumped up and slapped Steven. The impact was reinforced with a shock of
energy and Steven’s face flew sideways, but his expression did not flinch.
“Damn you, Steven,” ShockWave said. “That was uncalled for and childish. You
know we are just concerned for you. We need you for crying out loud! Having
someone tagging around after you is a pain, but your power and prestige
demands that we take some precautions. So cut the crap and quit testing me!”
ShockWave turned around, her eyes still blazing as she looked at Epyon. Her
anger quickly faded, however, and Epyon could see that Steven’s comment had
actually hurt her.
Epyon smiled at ShockWave reassuringly. Steven was just in one of his
moods. It was because his pride was hurt in not being able to detect the
mind that bore him so much malice at the Gala. “I know you’re right,” Steven
conceded to her. “But there are so many people who could possibly bear me
ill will because of my rise through power. The fact that this individual is
able to move without my knowledge and the fact that I haven’t been able to
find anything out through all my sources makes me wonder if there really is
anything we can do but wait for them to make their move. It seems that all I
can do is mentally prepare myself for this battle and go about my regular
schedule.” Steven paused and looked at Epyon. “However, any precautions you
wish to take are fine.”
They were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Mona poked her head
through the door. “Sir? This envelope was just slipped under the door.”
Epyon’s eyes met ShockWave’s for a brief instant before he dashed out of the
inner and outer offices to search for the bearer of the note. ShockWave took
the note from Mona and opened it on her way over to Steven’s desk. Rusty red
letters again. She handed the note to RedKnightBishop. This one read: As
inevitable as the coming of night
No matter the King’s psychic might
Or the valiant efforts of his Knight
Death shall come to you in our fight
Epyon came back into the room. “No one in either direction,” he said
grimly. The Purple King pushed the note across his desk to Epyon. “Another
one,” he said simply. “Do they just appear out of thin air?!” Epyon
exclaimed in frustration. ShockWave shook her head. “The energy pattern that
accompanies teleportation of any sort, be it magical, technological or
biological, is distinct. I would have felt it…” “I didn’t sense anyone there
either,” said Steven. “Not even a psychic blank spot.” Epyon swore under his
breath. “I won’t believe that no one is doing this. I will get to the bottom
of it.”
On the beach a few miles from the Jamaican castle that housed the
Purple Court and it’s doomed king, someone was laughing…
Chapter 3: Knight’s Quest
Epyon, The Purple Knight, was searching, seeking for anything that
would give him a clue who was after the Purple King. The last rhyme left by
the elusive persecutor had said that no matter his efforts Epyon would
accomplish nothing. Epyon took that as a personal challenge. He was going to
nail this person. ‘Or at the very least I have to find something out,’ he
thought wryly to himself. He was tapping away at his computer, hacking into
the files of all the known bad guy organizations out there. He was having
limited success, but all the signs and the little he was able to get showed
that none of the big guys were doing this. You could never tell what groups
like the Iluminati were doing, and their database was nearly impossible to
hack into, but there were usually some signs if they were up to anything
big. The National Enquirer hadn’t reported any usual mystical activity
recently on their website, and there was no indication that the Iluminati
considered Steven Booth or the Purple Court any exceptional threat besides
their hate for all things Hellfire.
This wasn’t the extent of Epyon’s research, however. He was also
considering the possibility that the culprit was a member of the Purple
Court or of the Hellions. The other courts of the IHFC as well, since they
were full of powerful mutants. None of their powers seemed particularly
suited to this game though. Steven should have been able to sense the mind
of one of his students if they had been in the corridor by his office, and
they were all accountable. What if someone had powers that no one else was
aware of though? The possibilities and the guessing seemed endless, however.
Epyon sighed and leaned his head against the screen.
“Dude! You definitely need a break!” exclaimed Xeus, coming in to the
Knight’s office without bothering to knock. Epyon glared at him, but Xeus
ignored him. “Look, I don’t think it’s being overconfident to say that we’ll
figure this all out in the end,” Xeus said in his easygoing manner. “No need
to kill yourself over it.” “We’ll figure it out in the end, but that doesn’t
mean that the end won’t be the dead body of our Purple King. A real
auspicious start to our new court! I managed to catch enough of
conversations between Inner Circle members of other Courts at the Gala to
know that a lot of them don’t think we’ll make it as it is. The disaster at
our first Gala just confirmed that opinion to them I’m sure. Then there’s
the fact that Steven’s actually my friend to consider and the fact that if I
don’t kill myself over this as you put it HE might end up being the one
killed!” Epyon pounded a fist against his desk in frustration. Xeus placed a
calming hand on the Knight’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean it like that, Epyon,”
he said. “As Purple Rook I’m just as concerned about our King and the
survival of this court as you are. However, you aren’t going to be of any
bloody help if you run yourself so ragged that when you do come across a
clue or lead you don’t see it because you’re to tired and uptight!”
Xeus sat on Epyon’s desk and nonchalantly crossed his legs. His whole
aura was cocky with the confidence that he was right. Epyon rolled his eyes.
“Ok, so you’re right. Do you happen to have some such clue or lead?” Xeus
smiled broadly. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
Xeus and Epyon walked into the Main Lobby of the Port au Prince Holiday
Inn. Xeus was dressed in his regular, flagrant clothes calling attention to
himself and how good-looking he was. Epyon was dressed more conservatively,
trying to blend in with his jeans leather jacket and sunglasses. He drew
just as many eyes as Xeus, however, because of his height. A lot of women
couldn’t keep their eyes of him either, fascinated by his muscular body and
his slightly less conventional good looks. To them Xeus looked like a guy
you’d have a passionate fling with while Epyon looked more like the man they
dreamed of who would hold them tight and protect them forever. Xeus led
Epyon through one of the employee’s only entrances. “Where are we going?”
Epyon asked. “You’ll see, dude. Chill.” Xeus went up to one of the maids
that was rushing about getting her cart ready for her shift of housekeeping.
“Hey… Francine,” Xeus said reading the girls tag. She stopped what she was
doing and smiled up at the handsome stranger that had addressed her. “You
must be new here, I thought I knew all the gorgeous young housekeepers in
this joint.” The maid tittered. Epyon rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses.
He wished that the average female didn’t always act like such a nitwit.
“I was wondering if you could tell my friend and I where we could find
Maria?” The girl’s glance wavered slightly at the mention of another female
and she didn’t look quite as helpful as she had the moment before. “You see,
my friend here is an old friend of hers and was told that he could find her
working here,” Xeus continued with a piercing look that told the girl that
he was available and was definitely interested. “She’s working on the third
floor rooms, section E,” Francine supplied with a coy smile. Xeus grinned
back. “Thanks so much, sweetheart,” he said letting his hand rest briefly on
her cheek. “I shall have to come look you up sometime,” he added. The girl
tittered again as Xeus and Epyon walked back out through the employee
entrance.
“I hope that we came here for something more than just watching you
flirt with females,” Epyon commented dryly to Xeus when they were back out
in the lobby. One of the hotel clerks at the desk gave them a funny look
when he saw them coming out the employee door, but then he turned away to
check in another guest. “Relax, this is all going to be worth your while,”
Xeus assured him. “Maria and I are good… friends,” he said as he punched the
button marked 3 on the elevator. “She told me something interesting when I
called her last night to set up our next meeting. It sounded like just the
sort of break that we needed in this case.” Satisfied, Epyon lapsed back
into silence as they rode up the elevator.
The elevator dinged to a stop and the doors rolled open unto the third
floor. Xeus and Epyon stepped out onto the paisley carpet. Xeus turned left
and Epyon followed. They came upon the housekeeper’s cart outside room 324
E. Xeus poked his head through the open door of the room. “Maria?” he called
in a singsong voice. A pretty brunette stuck her head out of the bathroom.
“Xeus!” she exclaimed with a smile. She came out of the room, peeling off
her rubber gloves. She came over and gave him a quick hug. “Who’s your
friend?” she asked indicating Epyon. “He’s someone who would be very
interested in what you were telling me about on the telephone,” Xeus
replied. Maria nodded knowingly. “Do you want to see the room? I don’t think
the guest that stays there is in.” Xeus nodded. “I think we need to see it,”
he said. “But don’t worry darling, we won’t tell anyone you let us in,” he
added with a charming smile. “It’s room 366 N,” she said leading them down
several hallways.
When they arrived at the room in question, Maria knocked and then used
her housekeeping master key to open the door to the room. “Housekeeping,”
she called into the room as she poked her head in. She stepped in while
Epyon and Xeus waited outside. “No one is here,” she said when she
reappeared a second later and ushered them into the room. The room looked
like all hotel rooms, sterile and impersonal with a nicely made up bed.
Except for the fact that a suitcase stood next to the desk in this room, you
wouldn’t have been able to tell that someone was currently staying there.
“Has the room been cleaned already?” asked Xeus with a faint note of
disappointment to his voice. Maria shook her head. “No, I clean sections E,
K and L on the third floor and I haven’t gotten this far yet.” She looked up
at Xeus and Epyon. “This room is always perfectly clean when I come to clean
it. That is what made me so curious about the person staying here. Yesterday
my curiosity got the better of me and I searched the drawers and desk
looking for some idea of what sort of person this was. My heart was in my
throat the whole time, worrying that he would come back and catch me. There
was nothing in any of the drawers, but when I opened the desk drawer…” Maria
pulled the middle desk drawer open.
Inside the desk drawer was some stiff cream colored notepaper, alike in
color and shape to the paper that of the message slipped under the door of
the Purple King’s office. Beside it was a bottle of red ink, kept warm by a
small device on the underside of the bottle. The bottle was full of blood. A
note lay in the drawer as well, written in the same drippy rust colored
letters. It was the note that had scared Maria, making her realize that the
man staying in this room was psycho. The ‘ink’ had been fresh when she found
it. She told Xeus and Epyon how she had slammed the drawer shut and run out
of the room when she realized what was in there. She hadn’t been able to
tell anyone in the hotel because she wasn’t supposed to be looking through
the guest’s drawers in the first place. When Xeus had called her that night
she had babbled to him incoherently about a strange man staying at the hotel
who kept jars of blood in his room. Xeus hadn’t been able to get any sense
out of her then, but he made her promise to go to work the next day and
arranged to come check things out. The only reason she was in the room again
now was because Xeus and Epyon were there to protect her.
Xeus turned to Maria who was fidgeting nervously. “You don’t have to
stay with us, Maria dear. Go back to work and forget that you saw this. Quit
your job if you wish, but don’t tell anyone what you have seen or that you
let us in here.” Maria nodded and left. Xeus turned back to Epyon who was
examining the note. “What does is say?” he asked.
Epyon read him the message: “Have care how you play my game
Chess is our little game’s name
To lose a piece would be a shame
On your head will lie the blame”
“What the hell does that mean?” Xeus exclaimed. “King, Queen, Bishop,
Knight, Rook; the Hellfire Courts are traditionally set up to mirror chess
pieces. This guy is playing a game with Steven, tormenting him with these
messages and mysteries,” Epyon responded. “Yeah, I got that,” Xeus said.
“But what does he mean about losing a piece?” “It means that he’s going to
take out one of the court members before he gets to Steven,” Epyon said
simply. “Damn it!” Epyon exclaimed pounding the desk in anger. “We don’t
know enough about this guy yet. Does Maria have a list of the guests in the
rooms she cleans with check-in and check-out dates?” he asked. “Probably,”
Xeus said with a shrug. “I’ll go after her and get it if she does,” he said
and dashed out of the room.
Epyon glared down at the contents of the desk. His thoughts raced as he
searched the rest of the room for any sort of clue. The suitcase by the desk
contained nothing but a few nondescript articles of clothing. A toothbrush
and a tube of toothpaste were all that was in the bathroom that wasn’t
provided by the hotel. There was nothing else. Xeus returned about when
Epyon had completed his search.
“I got the list,” he said. Epyon scanned it. The guest listed for room
366 was one Robert E. Booth, checked-in the same day that the Purple Court
and the Hellions had come to Jamaica. There was no checkout date. Epyon gave
Xeus a grim look. “Go down to the Lobby and call Steven, tell him what we
found and warn him that this guy is going to go after someone connected with
the Purple Court. It could be the Queen or Paradox, maybe even one of the
Hellions if he considers them pawns. I’m going to stay here. We have to wait
and see if this guy comes back. If we catch him then… After you’re done
talking to Steven come right back up here. We’ll wait for him together. He
could be after you or I afterall, so I want us to back eachother up.” Xeus
nodded. “You were the one mentioned in the other note too,” he said. “I’ll
keep the call as short as possible.”
The question however, remained on Epyon’s mind. Who would it be? And
most importantly, when would the strike occur? The note had been fresh
yesterday…
Chapter 4: Captured Pieces
Earlier that same day…
ShockWave’s mind was preoccupied as she zoomed around the curves of the
two-lane Jamaican freeway. The beautiful beaches with turquoise waves
lapping at the white sands of the shore were unnoticed to her left as she
rounded the turn. What occupied her mind was the rhyming maniac that
continued to threaten the Purple King. Everything was composed of energy,
there had to be some energy signature involved here. It was probably just to
faint for her to notice. What could possibly be so low-level though? Body
functions used up huge amounts of energy everyday, but these patterns were
usually cloaked by the fact that they were always going on and became like a
background noise that nobody noticed. But a person left specific energy
traces. These were fainter if the individual was human, and larger and more
distinct for mutants or superpowered beings. She had trained herself to
notice these things though. Usually you could tell just by the wave patterns
of heat that hung in the air after an individual left, but there were other
ways. She sighed and flipped her hair back. It was almost like this person
was a ghost.
Later…
Paradox sighed as he patrolled the battlements. The situation just
seemed a little ridiculous. Here he was patrolling the battlements of a
castle against some unknown threat. Talk about medieval! He was also
slightly ticked at the fact that he was actually the Purple Bishop, third in
power in the PHC, yet here he was patrolling just like any common peon.
‘Would it really be so bad if Steven Booth got whacked?’ he thought
rebelliously. That would mean that Paradox would be King. That wouldn’t be
so bad. Besides, Nathan didn’t like their leader too much. The man was too
powerful for comfort, and his mind was much more powerful than Paradox’s.
That meant that he always had to be on his toes around Steven. He didn’t
like that. {Paradox come to my study} came a mental command suddenly. Nathan
cursed. Steven had just broadcasted the thought and hadn’t actually invaded
his mind, but it made him nervous to think that he could if he wanted to and
the thoughts that he might find there… well… Away now from the battlements
he went, heading for the office of the man who called himself Steven Booth.
Steven sent his mental broadcast out to Paradox as soon as Xeus told
him that they had found something. The other man would need to know whatever
they learned as soon as possible, so he may as well have the Bishop on hand
when his conversation with Xeus was over. “And he was registered as?” Steven
was saying into the phone as the Bishop came into his office. Nathan lounged
in one of the chairs and looked up at the patterned ceiling. “I see… There
is no Robert E. Booth, not currently living at least. That’s a good idea. It
probably won’t be so easy to get our hands on him but a stakeout seems
justified… Yes I’ll be sure to protect my Hellions and warn the others… No
other clues? I see… Very well, a most fortuitous find. The note was probably
meant to be delivered after the fact to taunt us, but now we might just be a
slight step ahead of him. Good work.” Steven hung up and turned his
attention to Paradox.
“Xeus and Epyon found where our friend has been writing his bloody
notes. They are at a Holiday Inn in Port au Prince,” he informed his Bishop.
“It’s about time we got a lead,” Paradox said, his eyes lighting up at the
prospect of maybe seeing some action sometime soon. “The two of them are
going to hang around the hotel to see if our mad rhymer turns up. However,
Xeus informs me that they found what seems to be intended to be his next
message to us. It seems likely that he plans on striking one of the members
of the PHC next. Do you know where the Queen is? My scan of the people
currently in the castle shows that she is not currently here.” Paradox
leaned back in his chair. “ShockWave? She went on a drive. She had business
to attend to in town or something. Said she’d be back soon. Took her phone
with her.” The Purple King nodded. “I’ll give her a call to inform her of
the situation. Afterwards I propose that you tag along with me to my
afternoon class with the Hellions. It’s harder to strike against one piece
when they are close together.” ‘Crap,’ thought Paradox. ‘A boring afternoon
watching mutant brats go to class, perfect!’ “Why don’t you just give
ShockWave the news telepathically?” Paradox asked, carefully not voicing his
previous thoughts. “Her mind is hard to get into because of the energy
field. I’d like to avoid using my powers as much as can be conveniently
avoided via cellphones. Perhaps our enemy will slip and I could detect him
if I keep mentally alert,” was Steven’s reply.
About 15 minutes previous…
ShockWave had stopped at the beach on her way back to the castle. She
stood on the sand and gazed out at the turquoise waters, breathing in the
sea scents and salt-spray. She had always loved the beach and feeling the
warmth of the sun on her upturned face. Ever since she was small she had
gloried in the sun’s touch. She knew now the reason for that. Even then she
had been drawing energy from it with her mutant powers, even if she hadn’t
known it. The sun was a great source of energy. The waves it gave off still
had enough power to make plants grow on a planet billions of miles away.
That was awesome. She wasn’t sure what brought her mind back from the
thoughts she was luxuriating in. There certainly wasn’t any sound or
perceivable change in the space around her. She did look back down however,
and noticed a figure rather nearby, making it’s way towards her across the
beach. At first she didn’t even realize that this person made no sound and
left no footprints in the sand. It’s funny how one can miss such details at
times.
The figure didn’t seem to rush, but came up rather quickly. It was a
tallish (she wouldn’t really consider many people tall anymore after being
around Epyon) man with dark wavy hair and light eyes. He came up to her with
a smile almost as if he knew her. She smiled back, wondering if she had met
him before and just not remembered. You met so many people at Hellfire
functions that it was hard to remember all the faces even though they all
seemed to remember you. “Hello, ShockWave, nice to find you out enjoying
this beautiful day,” he said. Her green eyes narrowed. He had addressed her
by codename. She could remember the faces of everyone who had good reasons
to know that name. She stepped back defensively, tapping into the energy
that coursed through her body and the air around her to create a static
field. “Who are you?” she demanded.
He smiled. There was something just off about his smile. Lips shouldn’t
be able to curl that way and still be called a smile. “You don’t know me, my
dear. Nor have you any reason to know me. You just choose to associate with
the wrong people. It’s like… how shall I put it? Evil by association? I am
sorry for what shall happen to you.” The man shrugged. “But you can take
comfort in this, which shall be your last thought: you will be serving in
the course of justice and righting someone’s past wrongs.” ShockWave knew
then that this had to be the person who had left those notes in blood.
Something about his demeanor told her that he was crazy. She wasn’t sure
exactly why, but he now wanted to get her because of her association with
Steven. ‘Not without a fight,” she thought. She shot a bolt of solar energy
through his chest as she took another step back away from him. The bolt went
right through him, and as it passed through she noticed that she could see
through him around the area where the bolt hit him. She lashed out
physically at the same time, with a kick packed with enough energy to down a
bull. Her leg went right through him causing her to lose balance and fall.
She rolled with the fall and came up glaring at him, but he just stood there
looking at her pityingly.
“Don’t you want to help rectify the crimes committed against me?” he
asked. “What kind of justice would be served by your killing me, when I
don’t even know what the heck you’re talking about?” she said, vainly
scanning him for some sort of energy pattern. No sound, footsteps, or energy
signature. He was like a ghost… “You will give up your life to replenish
what I’ve lost,” he said. Suddenly there was more than one of him. One
second, one figure stood before her, the next there were three. All ghosts…
Ghosts shouldn’t have been able to hurt her since they were intangible, but
suddenly she was afraid. Her thoughts turned to flight, but faster than she
could cocoon herself in the proper energy for flight, a piece of driftwood
smashed against the back of her skull. ‘How did another one get behind me,
and how can ghosts hold things?’ was her last thought before the darkness
covered everything.
Four figures stood over the crumpled Purple Queen. The one holding the
driftwood let it drop and it fell right through its body. Another pulled
something out of its ghostly clothing and placed two small devices on either
side of ShockWave’s temples. “Next you will be made to know what you did and
suffer for it, Steven Booth,” the ghosts all said as one. “And you will know
that your Queen is to be sacrificed to make amends for the losses suffered
because of you.” ShockWave’s body was teleported from the warm sands of the
Jamaican beach. A ringing sound came from a phone that lay in the sand. It
had fallen out of ShockWave’s coat pocket when she fell. One of the ghosts
grinned and picked up the phone. “Hello, Steven,” it said. “Your chess has
gotten weak. You just lost a Queen.” There was a stunned silence on the
other side. “Oh, and those pieces positioned at the Holiday Inn won’t find
anything further. I know your game. My next move will be a checkmate.” The
ghosts then disappeared from the sands as if they had never been.
“No!” yelled Steven Booth into his office phone. But the voice was now
gone. While they spoke he had scanned for ShockWave and whoever was on the
other end of the line. The astral mirror of the beach where ShockWave had
been a few minutes before was empty however. No one was there. There wasn’t
a mind connected to the voice on the other end of the line. Beads of sweat
broke out on the forehead of the Purple King. If his powers were completely
ineffective against this being, perhaps this really would be the endgame…
Chapter 5: Consequences
“Is she dead?” Epyon asked gray-faced. The remaining members of the
Purple Court were gathered in Steven Booth’s private chambers. Steven was
sitting at the small desk that was in his room. Xeus lay across his bead,
looking at them all upside down with his head hanging over the edge. Paradox
sat cool and collected in an armchair. Epyon paced nervously. The mood was
somber and the room was quiet except for the sound of Epyon’s boots hitting
the stone floors. The question hung in the air for a several seconds. Steven
Booth sighed and rested his forehead against the palm of his hand. “I’ve
scanned and scanned, but there is no trace of ShockWave on the astral plane.
If she was knocked out then she never regained consciousness.”
No one spoke. Epyon’s pacing became more furious, his boots
clack-clacking across the stone. “It just seems so wrong. She came back from
California for this?” Xeus said trailing off sadly. “Kinda liked the girl,”
he muttered to himself. Steven looked up at Xeus. His haggard look said that
he didn’t particularly need to be reminded of the fact that he was the one
who brought ShockWave to this, and he was the one that this mysterious
attacker wanted to get at in taking her. “This was not what I intended,” he
said aloud. Paradox smiled wryly. “Well you know what they said about well
laid plans,” he told Steven sarcastically. “Cut it out,” snapped Epyon. “We
have enough problems without falling apart and getting into the backbiting
game.”
“What are we going to do though?” Xeus asked. He looked over at Steven,
their King and leader. The old man looked so frail and old sitting there at
his desk. He didn’t look at any of them and said nothing. Epyon was the one
that took command and spoke. “There was nothing in her car, and no
fingerprints or anything on the phone we found lying in the sand. All we
have to go on are the poems and the room at the Holiday Inn. There were
clothes in that suitcase, so whether or not we are able to detect this guy,
he is a man. There has to be a way to get to him. We just have to try
harder.”
“Do you know anyone who’d have a vendetta against you?” Xeus asked
RedKnightBishop. The King sighed. “It could be anyone. There isn’t anyone
particular that comes to mind. I didn’t go around trying to make enemies,
it’s just something that comes inevitably in the rise to power.” Steven
looked utterly dejected as he spoke. The man had never felt so vulnerable
before. Whoever this attacker was, he seemed to be impervious to anything
they could do. Having always had power over those around him, Steven wasn’t
used to being vulnerable.
Paradox frowned at the King. “Whoever it is, is obviously crazy,” he
said. “All the signs are there. The way he toys with us, the poetry,
messages written in blood. This person is obviously and obsessive maniac.
He’s bent on tormenting you and making you suffer as much as possible most
likely in vengeance for some wrong. Someone with these kinds of problems
doesn’t even necessarily have to have suffered some real wrong at your
hands. He only needs to perceive you as the cause of his wrongs, someone to
pin the blame on. His sense of justice is going to be warped and so any
means of getting at you and making you suffer is going to seem all right to
him. That’s why ShockWave bit it. It seemed just to him so long as he knows
it’ll make you suffer.”
“Do they have to have a history of mental illness?” Epyon asked
Paradox. The other man shrugged. “Not necessarily. You only get the written
history if the person is being treated for diagnosed mental conditions. This
sort of problem might not necessarily become manifest until much later in
life if things go well for the person at first. He’d be perfectly normal
until some event made him snap. Whatever it was that broke him would have
something to do with Steven. You can try searching the database for anyone
in all of Steven’s dealings for the past 40 or so years for a mental case,
but it isn’t too likely that you’ll come up with anything. You’d have to be
damn lucky to get anywhere that way.”
“It’s a start though,” said Xeus. He sat up on the bed. “It’ll be
pretty darn boring, but we can start with the most recent and work our way
back. Compile a list of candidates and then do some checking up on them to
see where they are today.” Epyon perked up a little. “I can get our
computers here to run through the database. There are so many companies to
go through though…” He trailed off for a moment thinking. Steven Booth’s
holdings were massive. He’d have to narrow the search field a bit. “Paradox
and I will go through the employee profiles,” he said slowly turning to eye
Paradox. “You know the most about how this guy’s mind is going to work. You
can tell which people are likely to become this sort of obsessive maniac.”
Paradox nodded his agreement. Epyon then turned to Xeus. “I’ll hack in a
connection to police databases and so forth and you can check up on the
candidates we find to see where they are now.” Xeus jumped off the bed,
raring to get going. “It’s sure going to take a long time,” Epyon said
sadly. “Let’s just hope we get lucky.” With that, the three of them trooped
out of Steven’s rooms, leaving the frail man unnoticed at his desk.
Steven was feeling vaguely sick. His proud arrogance and his confidence
were gone. He’d always tried to be a good man. He sought after power
tenaciously, but he always tried to go about it the best way possible
hurting as few people as he could manage. Power to his eyes was something
that belonged to he that could manage it and who would use it well, for
good. That was how he justified his ruthless gathering of companies, moneys
and political power. It was the responsibility of the best and strongest to
lead others. He had seen a darker side in the Hellfire Clubs, however. Often
power corrupted those who were best fitted to wield it. He tried to
counteract that, and had had some successes. It was a tough battle to fight
alone. Steven didn’t like to admit it often, but he knew that he was old and
his body was frail. He had sought ShockWave out and been impressed with what
he saw. She thrived on challenges and pushed back when she was tested. She
had been like a ray of hope to him. Not only that, but he felt that she
would keep him from falling and becoming what he fought. Perhaps with her
help he would see his vision realized. But had he gotten her killed?
It was a common them for tragedy inadvertently destroyed or threw away
the one thing of beauty and wonder that could have fulfilled his noble
vision. The great man was often his own destruction. Steven wondered if this
was fated to always occur in life. Paradox had said that he need no
necessarily have injured this person who sought some sort of retribution
from him. Steven knew however, that although he may not be blameworthy for
all that went wrong with the man’s life, he must indeed have inflicted at
least some small harm. Perhaps this tiny flaw would be the crack that
widened and caused his whole empire to come crumbling down. Would he be
powerless to stop it? If the mind of this man was truly unassailable to
Steven’s mental prowess he would not be able to reason with the man. Could
he in conscience use telekinetics to destroy someone he was already
responsible for harming? Alone in the darkness of his room, Steven wondered
if he’d even get the chance to do anything…
Chapter 6: Checkmate
Steven Booth finished his address to the class of Purple Hellions. He
glanced around the room and sighed. Half of them were asleep. ‘Class is over
now’ he mentally shouted into the sleepers’ heads. He allowed himself a
small smile as he watched Ian and Spark start out of their slumber. Spark
looked at the headmaster and half-shrugged his shoulders apologetically. Ian
Fitzroy just rolled his eyes. He wouldn't fall asleep if Steven would bother
to keep things interested. Steven had been a little… distracted recently.
Normally he wouldn’t allow that to interfere with his classes, but he had
lost a bit of his drive due to recent events.
Ian walked with Spark to the elevator and up to the ancient looking
upstairs section of the castle compound. The Hellions had lunch in the huge
stone dining room. The room was pretty impressive, and had a lot of cool
things in it. Steven got upset if they broke to many things though. Ian
glanced at the suit of armor that stood in one corner. It looked like a
patchwork tin man. Somehow when they fooled around at meals, that particular
suit of armor was always the casualty. “I really wish he wouldn’t yell into
our heads like that,” Spark said rubbing his temples. “Sometimes it gives me
a wicked headache!” Ian laughed and Spark glared at him. “This wasn’t his
worst,” he reminded his friend. Ian frowned at him. “He’s been off lately. I
think we could almost get away with anything these days.” Spark shrugged.
“Someone’s after him. Whoever it was got the Queen too,” he added the last
part in a slight hush. They hadn’t “officially” been informed of anything.
Such things were hard to keep quiet in a castle full of young people though.
The Hellions had been rather adept at discovering secret passages as well.
“It is a big disaster for our dazzling new Purple Court. Not surprising
the old man’s off,” Ian said. “Just don’t let him hear you say that,” Spark
warned him. “His temper isn’t doing so well today either. You saw the way he
blew up at Lark in Lab today for screwing around as usual. Our Headmaster
isn’t his usual calm collected self at the moment.” They both looked over at
the table were Steven sat with the other members of the PHC. All their faces
were grim as they discussed something in low voices. Spark and Ian sat down
at a table with some of their classmates in order to quietly gossip about
what was going on, and to get a plan together to try and sneak out for a
night on the town while the Headmaster was so preoccupied.
At the other table, where the preoccupied members of the PHC sat the
atmosphere was a little gloomier. Xeus, Paradox and Epyon hadn’t had any
luck yet in their search. Anyone they had come up with so far had either
been accounted for, happy with new jobs, or deceased mostly by suicide. It
seemed that disgruntled employee’s of Steven’s many corporations either got
over it or decided to end it all after their termination from the company.
They had only managed to delve into the past 2 years of Booth Corporation’s
complex history, however. This didn’t cheer any of them up. They had a lot
more to go through and but a slim chance of some real payoff. And all of
them could feel the clock ticking away…
Steven was teaching an afternoon logic class. He was going over the
various forms of premises, and the valid syllogisms. The students sat and
listened, some interested and some half bored. When the lights blew out, all
of them became suddenly alert. “What the hell?” exclaimed Spark jumping out
of his seat. Laughter filled the room. “Keep your seats, little students.
This game is meant for your teacher and not for you.” A tall figure stepped
out from behind a door and grinned. Steven searched all he could, but
couldn’t grasp a mind behind that grinning face. Ian lunged at the figure as
his teammates took up positions to cover him, but to his surprise he passed
right through and smacked into the wall. “The damned things are ghosts!” he
cursed.
“They are everywhere,” Scarlett Mistress said with a tinge of fear in
her voice as the room filled with dozens of ghostly copies of the figure.
“They can affect the world around them too,” Lark called out as she ducked
to avoid a desk that whizzed over her head. Steven Booth saw his students
fighting the various ghosts just trying to avoid getting nailed by hurled
objects and sudden blows from behind. They worked well together, but they
were having no effect. He knew that this was just a distraction. This
“ghost” wanted to get to him. Steven was just grateful that it wasn’t really
hurting his students. He could sense their bright young minds reeling in
confusion but seeking for a plan that would allow them to defeat their
enemy. A moment before a flurry of ghosts converged on him and pummeled his
weak body, Steven knew they weren’t going to be able to beat this. As he
passed out he thought he perceived a hint of something… satisfaction?…
Chapter 7: Answers
Epyon scrolled through lists of past and current employee’s of Cryogen
Genetics, one of Steven Booth’s scientific research companies. Paradox
watched over his shoulder quickly scanning through the psych info that he
considered pertinent to the case at hand. They had been doing this for hours
so far today and had stayed up late into the previous night on the same
task. It seemed like a pointless wild goose chase, but Epyon kept them at it
because they had no other leads to follow up on. Paradox suppressed a yawn.
They had been at this so long that none of them were really paying too much
attention anymore. They all looked dispirited and haggard. Epyon was
scrolling through a bunch of employee files when Paradox suddenly grabbed
his shoulder. “Stop! He shouted.” Startled Epyon read more carefully what
was on the screen. It was a file for an employee named Michael Glindorf, who
had worked for Cryogen four years ago. “He was fired for doing tests on
human subjects,” said Paradox appearing to be fascinated. “Steven tries to
keep that sort out of his companies, but it’s inevitable that some slip in,”
said Epyon. “We’ve already run across a couple of guys like him,” said Xeus.
“They just find jobs with someone who has a less rigorous moral code,” he
said with a shrug. “I have a feeling about this one, though,” said Paradox.
“Check out what happened to him afterward,” he asked Xeus. He turned back to
Epyon. “Can we get more details about his termination with the company?” he
asked the computer whiz. “Sure,” Epyon said with a shrug.
While Xeus did some research over on his end, Epyon did some rapid
clicking and came up with more information on the circumstances of Mr.
Glindorf’s termination with Cryogen Genetics. “It seems that Mr. Glindorf
was working under the direction of his supervisor Mr. Stevens who had
authorized some clandestine testing of certain ‘modified versions of the
companies products. Cryogen is a facility devoted to finding cures for
medical conditions like the ones Steven suffers and many more as well. It
seems that certain of the compounds they came up with had potential for
development in the biological warfare department and in the narrower field
of inducing human mutation,” Epyon paused, his eyes scanning the screen. “It
seems like this Stevens guy was running a pretty big show before RKB got
wind of it. They had made several discoveries before they were caught and
Steven then fired everyone involved. Upon termination the employees were
bound by legal contract not to reveal what they had been doing while working
for the company as it was highly illegal and would be really bad PR for
Booth Industries.” More clicking and Epyon came up with more stuff. “RKB
thought that all the research and data from this clandestine operation was
destroyed, but it seems that this Mr. Stevens ended up publishing all the
researchers work as his own under a false name later and made a bundle
selling it to illicit companies.”
“What happened to this Stevens character?” Paradox asked. “He was hired
by a shady government run op after he published his stolen work,” Epyon
said. “Worked there for a couple of years… Hmmm… It says here that he died
last year when one of his test subjects got loose in the lab.” Epyon hacked
back out of the classified information section of the government site before
the anti-hacker protocols could catch him and turned to Paradox. “That rules
Stevens out as our man, though he certainly seems enough of a vindictive son
of a gun to wreak mass havoc.” “Wrong personality type, though,” said
Paradox. “Stevens was probably a coward. Come up with anything on Glindorf?”
he asked Xeus.
“He was the real loser type,” Xeus said rolling his eyes. “He couldn’t
publish any of his accomplishments because of the termination contract with
Cryogen and RKB refused to give any of the terminated employees references.
Glindorf went jobless for about a year. Lost his house and car to debt, his
wife left him, doesn’t seem to have had any other family… Then he was hired
by some small company eXegen Research that just reeks of black market. I
think they did mutant experimentation. Small potato company though. Went
bankrupt last year. Glindorf wasn’t with them when if went under though. He
just disappeared about six months before. It may have been something
connected to the work he was doing, but the company was smart in one respect
they didn’t really keep any records.” “So this guy is possibly still
around?” Epyon asked. “It’s possible. Wouldn’t be much of a life though and
there’s no record of it. This guy was just trashed after Steven fired him.”
“That’s exactly the sort of person we are looking for,” said Paradox. “He
could just be dead though…” said Xeus. Just then Ian Fitzroy burst in on
them.
“The headmaster’s been taken!” he told them. Ian explained what had
happened and how the ghosts had just disappeared when RKB was taken. “Damn!”
swore Epyon. “The power and the alarms were cut to that room at the same
time using the security codes! We might have been able to help.” “Security
codes? Doesn’t that imply an inside job?” Xeus asked suspiciously. “Not
necessarily,” said Paradox. “A ghost could have just watched one of us using
the codes earlier this week and we wouldn’t have seen him. We were never
able to detect his presence before.” Xeus frowned. “It he’s a ghost that
means he could be this Glindorf guy already dead or Stevens or innumerable
others. Aren’t we back at the beginning again now?” “Not necessarily,” said
Epyon. “This duplication property of the ghosts means that this is no
ordinary specter.” Paradox nodded. “I just have a gut feeling that it’s this
Glindorf guy though,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who he is now, we are
going to kick his ghostly ass,” Epyon said fiercely. Epyon made Ian explain
to him how the ghosts had made Steven’s body vanish with little electronic
radio transceiver devices hooked to a teleporting unit. “Probably used the
same sort of device to take ShockWave’s body from the beach. Those devices
have a limited range though. We’ll find him.”
“What do you want us to do?” Paradox asked. “Xeus go up and get an
energy reading of the teleportation signal. That should have left some trace
even if the ghosts don’t. He’s taken Steven somewhere, which means that the
King is still alive even if he plans to kill him soon. He’s got to have a
teleportation device which is a pretty nifty bit of technology which I doubt
is too common around here. I’m going to see if I can figure out where this
guy is hiding his base. Ian you go and take care of the Hellions. Put them
on full security alert, but calm them down, we are taking care of this.”
“Should I notify the Red Court?” Paradox asked. Epyon paused for a moment.
“No. The Purple Court takes care of it’s own problems. No need to involve
them. I want you to dig up more about this eXegen place, find out what
happened to Glindorf. We all meet back here in an hour, I should have
something by then and then we are going to get Steven and destroy whoever
thinks that he can mess with the PHC.”
Steven awoke with a headache. The first thing he noticed was that he
wasn’t psionicaly impeded in any way. His mind was completely free to roam
around the room that he was in. He kept his eyes closed as he did that and
detected only one other mind on a low level. Probably someone who was
unconscious. When he tried to expand his mind beyond the room, however he
found himself blocked by some sort of barrier. The place was protected from
mind scans and as a result he couldn’t call out either. Steven could feel
that he was tied to some sort of flat surface. His legs were manacled, as
were his arms. His head however could move freely. He opened his eyes and
looked about. He was in some sort of steel laboratory. He was on a metal
table and instruments and machines took up all the space in the room around
him. He glanced over to his left where he sensed the unconscious mind to be.
Tied to an operating table with all sorts of strange machines attached to
her lay ShockWave. One of the machines seemed to be siphoning energy off
from her and she looked pale and lifeless.
“I have you at last, Steven Booth,” rasped a voice full of hatred.
“I’ve waited years for this, planned it for so long and now at last I have
you in my power and I will make you pay for what you did to me!” A gaunt
ghostly figure flickered to life beside him. “You had all the power and
wealth, you hide daily behind a desk always gathering more and more in and
no one can stop you as you destroy so many lives in your greed. But you do
not have power over me now, Mr. Booth. I am no longer your hard working
scientist trying my hardest to obey my supervisor so I can do work that will
impress you and cause you to throw me a few scraps from your table. Our
discoveries were so BIG! But you with a flick of your pale wrinkled hand
cast us all out in the cold. You ruined me Steven Booth,” the name was spat
out like a curse. “No one would hire me when you refused references. No one
wanted a scientist rejected for undisclosed reasons by the owner of a
powerful and respected corporation. When you cast me out for doing what you
asked of me there was nothing left. You had that power. To destroy a man’s
career and his life with a wave of your feeble hands. My own wife didn’t
even want me after you cast me out!” he screamed. He stood there panting for
a moment.
Then the ghost took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. It was a deadly
calm. Those eyes through which Steven could almost see the machinery beyond
flashed with such deadly hate and loathing that it was almost a physical
blow. It disconcerted him that he could not feel the angry mind behind those
feelings that were so strong. “You probably don’t even remember me. My name
would mean nothing to you, the powerful millionaire who rules lives. But
know now Steven Booth that this nameless face, this nonentity of a person
that you created will destroy you and end your power over the lives of
others.” “I did not create you,” Steven asserted quietly. “You are what you
make yourself,” he told the man. “Wrong!!” the ghost shrieked, his
intangible face inches from Steven’s. “You’d like to think that. That’s the
excuse your sort always gives. But everything I am comes from you and what
you did to me.” The ghost that was once a man called Michael Glindorf stood
back and gestured down to his ghostly body. “The reason I bear this form is
also due to you Mr. Booth,” he hissed.
Steven gave him a disbelieving look. “I may have fired you, sir. You
were likely one of my Cryogen employees’s the ones sacked for carrying on
research that my company policy expressly forbid. But I did nothing to you
that would cause you to become this thing that you are.” Steven’s voice was
full of confidence and a touch of arrogance, character traits that never
abandoned him even in crises where he could face death. This filled the
angry specter with even further rage and he trembled with it as he stood
before his bound victim. “Because of you the only job I could get after a
year of desperation and running from debts was a shoddy dangerous job
working with bad equipment in illegal and highly dangerous mutant
experimentation. The death toll for the place was high, though kept quiet.
Because of you I had no other choice but to take the only opportunity
offered to me once you disgraced me.” The specter started pacing. “It was
dangerous work. We experimented on volatile mutants and attempted to induce
mutations on unwanted bums that were pulled randomly off the streets. Our
task was to combine various kinds of powers to produce a powerful being of
infinite strength and no mind that would do whatever the nameless man who
paid us ordered. Just after the millennium, a little more than a year ago we
got our hands on a dazed and mentally damaged mutant who seemed to have the
power to produce copies of himself with different powers. Our employer was
intrigued. He wanted us to use his strain of mutation to make his one
super-soldier into an army. But something went wrong… I was working on
draining the mutant strain from this broken mutant copy when a power surge
blew the systems and things went berserk.” The ghost was breathing hard. His
eyes were out of focus as if he was seeing past events as if they were
happening right now.
He continued with his voice lowered. “I got caught in the system
backlash and the pain was so intense that it was all I knew. I don’t know
when the pain stopped; it was a long time later. When I became aware again
everything was a wreck around me. The machines and equipment were all melted
into slag. The mutant was an unrecognizable mound of melted flesh and so was
my technician. I reached out for something to hold on to, I thought I would
pass out from the stench of them, but my hand went right through the melted
console,” the ghost’s face crumpled and he let out a little whimper. Then
the rage returned to his eyes. “I discovered that I was nothing but a ghost,
a formless man doomed to a half existence. I could touch things if I
concentrated, affect the real world one little piece at a time, but I no
longer had my body, my life! I later discovered that I had somehow gotten
the mutants power and could make many copies of myself. But they were all
just like me, no real substance, just ghosts of myself at my control. A
month later I went back to that place and destroyed all their laboratories
and all their research. I vowed to myself that I would ruin all who caused
this to happen to me and I would find a way to have substance again. I found
the man who caused us all to be fired from Cryogen next, a man named
Stevens. He had stolen all our research and profited from our loss. I killed
him. He never knew what happened but he died a painful death. You should
have seen the fear in his eyes. He couldn’t see whatever it was that was
causing him pain, killing him…” Glee danced in those cold eyes as the
rejoiced in the memory. Steven looked away in disgust.
“Now,” the ghostly maniac hissed. “Now I have you in my power. The
ultimate cause of my condition will die knowing that one he once ruined
through his power has shown him how powerless he really is and you will die
for doing this to me!” Steven knew that there would be no reasoning with
this thing… He was mentally unhinged and he could do nothing but lie there
listening and awaiting his death. The ghost glanced over at the unconscious
figure of ShockWave and took a step towards her. “My cause against you is
proven as just by God in the fact that when I found you again and all my
plans where laid I also discovered the answer to my curse. This mutant, this
young woman who was foolish enough to sign on to your twisted schemes will
enable me to have a body again!” He ran a ghostly finger through her cheek.
“I took her because it would cause you pain and because I saw in her my
cure. She has boundless control over the energy patterns of this world. She
can manipulate and generate them at will. With her power as my own I can
fashion a new body for myself and be real again. This is what was meant to
be. I kept her alive so that you could see it, you could know that once I
have killed you I will suck the powers out of her and take back all that you
stole from me! I WILL LIVE AGAIN!! She will die, but her death will repay
the injustice of your blind power and what it stole from me. It is willed by
God Himself! Divine Justice for the injured servant. And now Steven Booth,
it is time for you to die so that I may live again.”
Chapter 8: Endgame
Michael Glindorf, or at least what was left of him, was everywhere as
his hour finally arrived. Doubles of his ghostly self stood about the
machinery operating different systems. They could only make one small part
of themselves tangible at a time, so it took quite a few of them to do
anything, but Steven Booth heard the machines around him hum to life. Then
they came up to him and started attaching wires and tubes, as the original
stood watching with a gleam in his eye. “I want you to know,” he said “That
you will die completely powerless. This machine is going to painfully rip
your powers from your DNA until there is nothing left and you are just a
lifeless husk. Unlike your friend here,” he said indicating ShockWave whose
energy was being slowly drained and stored for the use of the machine that
would take her powers away and confer them on the insane Michael. Draining
her energy down below the level needed to maintain consciousness was what
enabled Michael to hold her prisoner long enough to taunt the Purple King
with her fate. “You shall be purged from the data banks and your essence and
power poured out so that no part of you will survive.”
Then an alarm went off somewhere. “Intruders!” swore Michael. He
duplicated more copies of himself. “Go see what’s going on and stop the
intruders. No one will ruin my hour of triumph!” The ghosts vanished through
the walls off to investigate the alarm. Michael sighed at their
intangibility and the limited way in which he could affect reality. But that
didn’t matter now, he’d have his revenge and then a perfect body composed of
pure energy flawless and immortal.
Michael Glindorf’s hidden base was actually right at the beach. It was
hidden inside a mass of coral that he had discovered to be hollow when he
accidentally walked through it during his explorations while he planned his
revenge. There was only a slim opening in the rock that he had carefully
chipped out so that he could get pieces and parts into the cavity to build a
teleporter with which he transported all other equipment into his brilliant
hideout. Epyon had discovered it while scanning different areas for strange
concentrations of metals or energy output that would be created by such
devices. He had found some rather strange readings not far from the beach
where ShockWave’s phone was discovered. Coral, needless to say, did not
normally have large mineral deposits. Xeus blasted the narrow opening,
making it larger and spraying delicate pieces of coral everywhere. Paradox
wiped a bit of blood of his cheek, caused by a stray coral fragment. “There
is something appropriate to the romance of revenge in a beautiful coral
base,” he commented dryly. “Well maybe we’ll use this place for something
after we kick this guy’s ass,” Xeus said.
There was a dark tunnel leading further inwards in the coral cave. Wires
and battery units lined the walls. “Incoming!” said Epyon as ghosts came out
of the walls towards them. “Freaky!” said Xeus and then the ghosts were upon
them. “Run right through them! We’ll fight them once we get to the main
chamber and find RKB,” commanded Epyon as he charged right through the first
approaching figure. He caught the double off guard and ran right through it.
The second one had time to make his fists tangible and landed a couple of
blows, but Epyon charged right through him too. Together the three ran the
gauntlet, with blows raining upon them on either side. Progress was slow, as
they were pushed and shoved back by limbs that became tangible as they tried
to pass. The narrow space seemed to hamper the doubles from working too well
together, however, and effectively blockading them in the tunnel. They were
progressing.
“So they come,” said Michael receiving his double’s report. “Fine. In
here we have lasers and the computer defense system. Activate it when they
come in and we’ll kill them too.” He turned to Steven. “Let’s start the
process then. I’m afraid I can’t wait until you’re gone to start on your
friend either. You can just die together. Less glorious, but you lose and I
win. Good enough.” He pressed a button on a console to the left of the table
to which RKB was strapped. Pain as he had never known it ripped through
Steven’s body. He felt the life being literally ripped out of him. He let
out a mental scream of agony and it echoed through the room before being
sucked into the machine. Michael smiled and turned to the machine were
ShockWave lay. Michael might not have been able to feel the mental cry of
the Purple King before it disappeared, but his was not the only mind in the
room. ShockWave’s mind operating on a subconscious level, and the cry jolted
her. She didn’t have enough energy to react with more than a flicker of her
eyelids, and this passed unnoticed by Michael in his glee. He activated his
machine and pain, as she had never known flooded through ShockWave’s body.
Her unconscious reaction to this assault was to pull energy from the machine
into her body so that she could defend herself, and she came awake with a
scream, startling Michael. At the same time, Paradox, Epyon, and Xeus made
it into the room.
Chaos erupted all around him, but Steven didn’t notice. Life was
slipping painfully out of his frail hands. He didn’t know that dying would
feel so… well there wasn’t really a word for it. Everything seemed to slow
down, which made it seem that the pain would never end even as he felt the
end coming.
“We have to help them!” said Paradox, seeing Steven and ShockWave’s
pain. “I’ll get the Kingy,” said Xeus dodging laser blasts that sizzled
towards him and passed right through the ghosts that approached menacingly
without harming them. He leapt and charged through laser beams and objects
thrown at him by the doubles that ran rampant. “Flip me towards ShockWave
and then see it you can shut down some of this machinery,” Epyon told
Paradox. The other man nodded his dark head and they executed a maneuver
launching Epyon across the room like a human cannonball. He landed beside
the table where ShockWave was struggling weakly with her bindings and the
doubles that were trying to subdue her. He was standing literally in the
middle of a ghost. Not a pleasant feeling, but they hadn’t reacted to his
presence yet so he gazed at the machine learning its secrets. He was in his
powered up form and the hum of the machines literally spoke to him in his
mind, analizing its patterns and weaknesses faster than any computer
processor ever could. He smashed through certain wiring and then commanded
the shackles to release the Purple Queen. He pulled her from the table and
leapt away to a section of the room less crowded than the one they were in.
“I have to help Steven,” Epyon said, placing her on her feet. She collapsed
onto her knees unsupported. Epyon turned back, frustrated. “Power up,
ShockWave. There should be plenty of energy in this room for you to use,” he
said wondering if the machine had affected her mind when it tried to suck
her powers from her.
ShockWave looked up at him and shook her head. “Maybe its because I’m
so energy starved, Epyon, but I can see the energy patterns of the ghosts
when they become tangible now. We can hit them if I can make Xeus see what I
see, but if I power up I’ll lose it.” Epyon smiled. “We have to be able to
get at the original Looney Tune,” Epyon told her. “This guy ended up like
this from an accident experimenting on a Madrox clone leftover from the
Millennium chaos.” ShockWave nodded weakly. “I think I might be able to pick
him out.” Epyon grinned. “Then lets smash these suckers!” he said, picking
her up.
Xeus managed to get RedKnightBishop free from the contraption that held
him, but the venerable old King was limp and unresponsive in his arms as he
had to duck and cover when the ghost clones started aiming firepower towards
them, opting for more conventional methods of producing death when the more
exotic had failed. “Damn, damn, damn,” he swore hiding behind what looked to
be some sensitive equipment. He couldn’t touch these buggers and he couldn’t
see a way to get them out of this chaos. “Shoddy rescue job, eh?” Steven
coughed weakly. “You’re alive!” exclaimed Xeus. “I certainly don’t feel
alive at the moment. My body is one mass of pain and my mind feels as if it
isn’t really all there. I think my soul is but thinly attached to my body at
this point.” Xeus dragged them both through a quick tuck and roll to avoid
some bullet spray. There certainly was a fine arsenal down here, and no lack
of ghosties to use it. “Tell your soul to get back en casa right away. I
need you to connect your mind to the others so we can form some sort of plan
for getting out of here!” Steven winced in pain as he reached slowly out
with his mind. His astral self was normally the most vigorous immortal part
about him. There he was completely untouched by age and weakness. Now he
felt feeble reaching out. Not a pleasant experience for the most powerful
mind on earth.
‘Epyon?’ his mind called out feebly into the void. He could tell there
were minds out there, but he couldn’t seem to latch on to any of them.
‘Steven! Glad that you are still alive, old man! You need to connect
ShockWave’s mind to Xeus’ quickly! I don’t know if Paradox is still alive
out here somewhere, but she has a way of seeing these ghosts and a way to
beat them.’ Steven tried explaining to Xeus what he was going to do as he
reached out for their two minds. He managed to grasp their two minds, but he
was fumbling about like a child with little co-ordination. Trying to put
them together felt like being a baby who was trying to thread a needle or
shove the circular block through the square hole.
Suddenly and without warning Xeus found himself seeing things from
another person’s perspective. It wasn’t exactly a painless jump either; he
felt a headache coming on. Black spots danced across his vision but he
wasn’t sure if that was due to RKB or that was just the way ShockWave was
seeing at the moment. He could see the ghosties differently now though. Part
of them, the parts that touched or affected physical objects, were subtly
composed of psychokinetic energy. “Yahoo!” he cried out, abandoning RKB
behind a console and leaping out to grab a ghost who was bringing a machine
gun to bear on them. He sent a jolt of electricity, his own special
lightning, up those tangible hands and the ghost dissipated right before
him. He rolled into the fray splaying lighting everywhere and watching
ghosts fall apart as he went. But somehow more always kept coming.
Epyon supported the swaying ShockWave, trying to keep her upright and
conscious as she looked out at the battle scene giving Xeus more targets.
“We need the head of all this chaos, the original or this will never end,”
Epyon whispered to her. ShockWave nodded and scanned the room. “No!” she
gasped. Before Epyon knew what was happening he felt energy being drained
out of him. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Xeus was right
in the middle of the fray when suddenly all his little lightning bolts
curved away from their targets and shot across the room towards ShockWave.
She stood now surrounded in a haze of energy and she left a rippling wave of
energy blast from the palm of her hand across the room. It hit a ghostly
figure standing over the nearly unconscious but still hanging in there
Steven Booth right were its heart would have been. The concussive force of
the hit knocked everyone to their knees as shockwaves rolled outwards and
away from the decimated target. The ghost of Michael Glindorf was destroyed
just before he could destroy his hated enemy. All the other specters in the
room flickered and disappeared.
Silence followed the blast and the lights flickered and went out.
Everyone who could, weakened Steven being the exception, regained their
feet. “Whoa!” said Xeus in the darkness. “Our Queen packs a mean punch.”
ShockWave held up a hand and let rippling energy grant them some
illumination. “Is Steven still alive?” she asked. “He’s still breathing,”
Paradox said stepping out from wherever he had been and checking on the
King. The high-pitched whine of the computers and machinery in the room cut
short any other comments. Everyone covered their ears. “Shut the systems
down before they explode and kill us all,” ShockWave yelled at Epyon. The
noise soon stopped, the computer systems responding to Epyon’s commands as
if he were their god.
“So how do we get out of here?” ShockWave asked. She and Paradox were
supporting Steven between them, and the Purple King smiled weakly at his
Inner Circle. “I think we could all use a little spiffing up and a
fortifying brandy,” the King joked weakly. Xeus grinned. “Follow me!” he
said leading the way back through the tunnel in the coral and blasting
fallen debris out of his comrade’s way as he went. The Purple Court was a
little bruised, their King a little shaken, but they had survived. There
mettle was just as strong as any previous IHFC and they would not go down
easily.
Epilogue:
Unbeknownst to them, the members of the PHC were watched as they picked
their way out of the ruins of a madman’s revenge. Nadia Fira watched them
with keen interest in her liquid mirror. “Very interesting,” she told
herself quietly. The newest Queen of Pentacles drew her finger across the
water of the mirror making the image vanish. Her vampire fangs pressed
hungrily on her lower lip, reminding her that she had not tasted blood in
awhile, but she dismissed the urge and sheathed her fangs. Her thoughts
right now were more pressing, and Nadia Fira was more than just an ordinary
vampire like the Queens before her. She had been a powerful sorceress before
being given the vampire’s kiss and becoming one of them. Few knew this fact
and she had slowly killed the one who made her one of the undead with her
arcane arts so he couldn’t tell. Her rise to the Queenship of the Court of
Pentacles in the recent chaos left in the ranks of the Illuminati had been
artful and subtle. No one knew her great potential in power and evil. She
smiled to herself. She had found this madman, Michael Glindorf, and set him
on the newest Court of the Hellfire Circles on purpose as a little test. The
Hellfire organization had ever been a thorn in the Illuminati’s side and
their elimination was necessary for the Illuminati to succeed in their
goals. She had decided to make the newest, and she thought possibly the
weakest, of the Hellfire Courts her special test case. It seemed that they
weren’t so weak after all, but this experience had been quite informative.
They worked well together, teamwork was high, a nice little group of
superpowered beings. Yes, they would be quite a challenge after all. Her
violet eyes flashed with pleasure and an evil grin curved across her
beautiful lips. All other schemes would not occupy her attention. She would
break the PHC and watch it come crumbling down. She could be patient and
slowly and discreetly shake their foundations and break their confidence.
They wouldn’t see her hand in it, as they wouldn’t in this Glindorf case,
and she would slowly carve them up. Yes, the PHC would be her particular
enemy. Once she made one Hellfire Court come crashing down the others would
see that she and only she could fill the leadership place vacated by
Necromancer and then she would have the key to eliminate the rest of the
Hellfire Brood.
Nadia Fira laughed quietly to herself. She would show them all and in the
end she would rule all! She stroked her delicate fangs. Time for a quick
meal…
