Chapter 1
Part One- Marzda
Thump thump thump.
The vibrations of the guards footsteps danced lightly across my hands. Laying on the cool floor of my cell, palms down on the hard cement, it was easy to map out the intricate prison.
You'd be surprised at the things that made even the slightest of vibrations. From the shuffling of papers in the offices two floors above me, to the thumping footsteps of the guards who are constantly walking the halls. Even the flushing of the toilets from the other cells, as gross as that is, gave me a detailed view of the plumbing.
Over the past five years I had been listening and watching, searching for my way out. But much to my dismay and annoyance, there was none. The guards always traveled in twos, their paths crossing precisely every forty-five seconds at the hallway intersections. Bio-locks and scan cards at every reinforced door, not to mention the cameras every ten feet. Every inch of the place was covered. And that wasn't including the cells.
Made of a clear shatterproof glass, the eight by eight foot cube stood in a line of other cubes. Outfitted with a thin mattress on a shelf that was securely bolted into the wall, a small cubby with a toilet, a sink and a shower head sticking out of the ceiling. All the necessities that an incarcerated meta human could want. But I use the term human loosely.
I'm not human.
Something that the guards never let me forget. As if I could. The only reason I'm here and not in a normal prison is because I'm from another planet. Well that and I murdered a bunch of people. Supposedly.
But that's a story for another day.
Today, I was breaking out. I refused to be a prisoner any longer, and come what may, this would be my last day as one.
Thump thump thump
The guard was almost to my cell and I had to hide a smile in anticipation. A few more seconds and he was here.
"Prisoner 937 on your feet!" He barked at me.
I don't need to open my eyes to see him. His heavy breathing gives me a clear picture of him- a plump man with a face that was always covered in sweat and a long scar that ran down his cheek. It always brought a smile to my face since I'm the one that gave it to him. I ignored him again, hoping he'd come into the cell to get me up. But no such luck.
"Prisoner 937! You will not be told again, get to your feet!"
And again I ignored him.
Until the collar I was wearing started to beep. I was used to being shackled in one form or another, but this collar was something special. Tailored to each prisoner, it was designed to dampen powers and inflict the most pain it could given that persons weakness. And mine just so happened to be piercing noises higher then the human ear could perceive.
Keeping my eyes closed I slowly sit up, "what's the occasion Scar?" I had nicknamed him that for obvious reasons and only used it when I needed to rile him up.
As usual, it worked.
He gritted his teeth and hissed out, "you'll speak when spoken to Prisoner."
Getting to my feet I whined, "but Scar, I've missed you and our games." The games in question being where I get bored and rile up the guards so much that they come in and fight me. Hence how Scar got his, well, scar. The games had another reason though, one that thankfully they hadn't figured out. One that would be put to use today.
Scar held up a remote and my collar beeped louder this time, "it won't work today. Can't have you blemished for your big day."
Big day? Nothing ever happened around here. "Aww you guys remembered my birthday. How sweet," I said in a sarcastic tone.
I could feel the disgust roll off of him, "if I had my way you'd never see another birthday. Not that you can see anyway." He says it like it's an insult. It's true I never open my eyes, but that doesn't mean I'm blind. Something I've never bothered to correct them on though.
"Ouch Scar, you kiss your mom with that mouth?" I said in a hard tone. Before he could answer I said, "oh wait, she's dead isn't she? Suicide was it? Guess even she didn't want to be around you."
My reward was a piercing sound from my collar that dropped me to my knees. Holding my ears I fought the urge to scream, I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. My cell opened and Scar walked in, his boots squeaking softly on the floor. The noise from my collar stopped and I turn my head up at Scars smiling face, "that all you got?" I asked angrily.
He held up the remote but before he could press it I sprang up, kicking it out of his hand. He fell back onto the wall, gripping his now broken hand, watching in fear as I took a step towards him, "you never should have opened that door." Punching him once in the face, he fell to the floor unconscious.
I click my tongue, looking around for the remote and finally finding it under the bed. Scanning it quickly I found the unlock button, the collar falling from my neck when I push it. Breathing deeply as my full powers came back, I rub my neck as I grab Scar and give him a slap to wake him up. When his eyes open he looks at me with hatred and fear, "you'll never get out," he hisses at me as he struggles to sit up.
I grin at him, "maybe, but you won't be around to find out." I let out a long sharp whistle that goes higher and higher and watch as his confusion turns to pain and fear. He grabs his head as blood starts to pour from his eyes, nose and ears. Increasing the sharpness he lets out a strangled gasp as his brain liquifies. With a gurgle his hands drop and his body goes limp.
Standing up I go to the door of the cell and look out, seeing the other guard at the end of the hall, his back to me. The encounter with Scar had taken only a few moments, and the other guard hadn't noticed his absence yet.
Ripping of a piece of the blanket, I tie it around my eyes. Sure I never open them on purpose but accidents happen.
Steadying myself I creep out of my cell and towards the guard, praying that the other inmates would stay silent. For the first time in my life, my prayers were answered. At least until I snapped the guards neck when I got close enough. The inmates cheer and slam their hands on the cells. Dropping the guard, I lean against the door that separates me from the rest of the prison.
Images of the prison come to me, where all the guards are, and most importantly the way out. I watch as two guards approach the hallway where I am, and as they get closer I ready myself. They stop outside the door and let out a sskaaaa sound. They go flying back as the door slams into them and I race past their unconscious forms.
I click my way through the halls, avoiding guards where I could and taking them out when I couldn't. Somehow I managed to get to the first bio locked door before the alarms started going off. At the first ring of the alarm a sharper image of the prison came to me. The idiots where actually helping me, not that they realized that.
Thanks to the echos it was easy to pinpoint the weakest part of the door to target and with a sskaaaa it flew off its hinges. If I had known it would be this easy to escape I would have done it when I first got here. It was almost too easy though, and worry starts to gnaw in my gut. I ignore it, focusing on what's in front of me.
Three more doors and ten guards later I was at the main intake for the prison. As the door flew off it's hinges, a picture of the next room came to me. Twenty soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, guns aimed at the hole I had just made.
"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" A voice yelled.
Fine with me, I didn't need my hands to kill them.
Walking out of the hole I raise my hands, grinning at them. "How's it going boys?"
"GET ON YOUR KNEES!"
Yeah right, "I get on my knees for no man," I tell him.
"GET. ON. YOUR. KNEES." He repeated, aiming his gun at my head.
I cock my head at him, "no."
I do however drop to my knees just as the first and only bullet flies. When my knees hit the ground an invisible wave ripples from me and smashes into the guards, sending them flying away from me. It takes me a minute to catch my breath, the larger the pulse the longer the recovery.
When I'm finally able to catch my breath I stand and stride towards the door. As I pass a guard he grabs my ankle, blood dripping from his mouth. Shaking him off I leave the room and exit into sunlight on the deck of a giant cargo ship. Not what I was expecting but where else could you store dangerous people.
Spotting a helicopter on the far side of the deck I make my way towards it. I'm almost there when a guard pops out nowhere and tries to grab me. Two quick punches to the face and he's down. Stepping over him I get to the helicopter and hop in. Flipping switches I started it up and was lifting off just as another wave of guards was rushing the deck. They raised their guns and started shooting but after a few seconds I was far enough away for the bullets not to reach.
I was checking my bearings when a voice behind me said, "that was one hell of a show." I jumped so hard that the helicopter dived. "Maybe I should drive," he says once it was straightened back out. "Considering the blindfold and all."
I get a good view of the backseat as he talks, cursing myself for not checking sooner. Sitting there with a smug smile and an eye patch was bald black man who just sat watching me. "Who are you?" I finally asked.
"Names Fury. Director Fury," he grins. "And I want to offer you a job."
Turning back to the controls I said, "no thanks."
"You haven't even heard my sales pitch yet." When it became obvious I wasn't going to answer he continued, "I work for a secret branch of the United States government that employs enhanced and powered individuals such as yourself."
"Employ or enslave?" I ask him. Both sounded the same to me.
"My employees are free to leave whenever they want. Although most find that life within the compound is noticeably better then life out in the world."
"Compound? Sounds like a fancy word for prison and in case you hadn't noticed, I just escaped from prison and I'm not trading one for another," I tell the man.
He just looks at me with that stupid smirk, "tell you what, you come with me and check it out for yourself and if you don't like it, you can leave. No questions or strings."
"No."
"You got something better to do?" When I didn't answer he said, "that's what I thought. Did you even have a plan for when you got out?" Again I didn't answer, "so what have you got to lose?"
"My freedom," but I'd been without it for so long that I didn't even know what freedom meant anymore.
"I can promise you, that you'll never be a prisoner again." His voice was surprisingly gentle and reassuring and despite my best effort, I believed him.
"Fine. Where are we going?"
"Maybe I should drive," he says again. "Nothing to hit out here but there is where we're going."
I shake my head, "I can see." Tapping the my temple I tell him, "echolocation."
"Huh," he says before finally answering me, "South Dakota."
