Chapter 1: City Of Chaos
"The greatest battle a man can have against evil, is against the evil inside of that man": Masked hero 100
That following night…..
S.L.E.E.T commander General Arcane, leader and one of the last surviving founding members of the world's secret Anti-terrorism and peacekeeping and espionage organization, had lived a long time in his life as the leader of S.L.E.E.T. he had seen things few people would believe if he told anyone about the things he had seen.
He had heard some things from various people, his superiors and various men and women in his organization that he considered friends about many things he himself had found unbelievable.
Like nanotechnology, the multiverse, and temporal displacement… all things science fiction, proven true by the scientists of S.L.E.E.T, and since then kept secret under division 70, so that this information would never leak and fall into the wrong hands.
But arcane knew all too well that if the scientists at S.L.E.E.T could figure it out, so could the ones on the other side.
For S.L.E.E.T was at war with the terrorist organization F.E.I.N.D, a sinister cabal of mad scientists, corrupt businessmen, tyrants and fanatics all with one goal in common….total domination of the world under their banner.
The organization was headed by four unknown leaders all operating under the guidance of the big boss, someone not even F.E.I.N.D knew the identity of.
Through their own geniuses working for them or espionage F.E.I.N.D had learned a good deal of the "high level" stuff that S.L.E.E.T knew but not everything.
That is why General arcane also had his scientists work on ways to counteract any discovery's made in defense against possible "Frankenstein monsters" or escalation with the knowledge of new technology and power.
But though F.E.I.N.D knew about alternate realities and time travel, they weren't interested in it….because one, they had been proven true….but were just not actually made viable…and two…the leader wasn't interested.
If the leader of F.E.I.N.D said no, it was no…whoever they guy was, he scarred even the hard cases that worked for F.E.I.N.D.
But nonetheless F.E.I.N.D was always trying to steal something from S.L.E.E.T.
Chuckling to himself arcane muttered "kleptomaniac maniacs", take things that might be useful or just because….but still, they had caused Arcane one too many headaches in the past…but not as much as this following year.
It began when one of his best friends, Dr Marcus Walters, Geneticist and physicist stumbled onto an extraordinary genetic discovery.
He discovered in certain humans only, lay a new gene, a gene found in the human D.N.A…but incredible he found unlike the other genes in the D.N.A chain… it was dormant…and reacted to energy.
After testing it on rodents and other animals he found that the gene alone had a signature that could be detected by machinery.
After building a detector of some sort, arcane was astonished and concerned with the number of genes found by the detector alone.
All were found dormant in the percentage found, 700 out of 6-billion humans on the planet.
Arcane with this knowledge given to him told his friend to find a way to activate the gene to see if this new gene that Marcus had dubbed the Meta gene (new gene) was capable of harm or not to humanity's future.
And see if there was any possible way these Meta genes would activate on their own power as well as by some outside force.
Because if they knew, soon enough F.E.I.N.D would find out as well, so Marcus set to work with his Scientist father John Walters, Biogenetics who had been working on the project of an energy reactor powered by a strange gem that had been found in a crater in the south west of the united states.
Marcus found the signature of the energy in the gem, caused activity in the gene in one test subject, and realized this gem was probably the source of this strange mutation and possibly the source of activating the gene itself out of dormancy.
Working together with his father they both designed and built a device that would activate a test subject's gene safely by channeling the energy of the gem and converting it into radiation that would awaken and hopefully trigger the gene.
On the day of the test however, F.E.I.N.D agents somehow got in, one by the name of "DR Cyber" one of F.E.I.N.D's high techies leading the siege.
In the ensuring struggle something went wrong and the lab was leveled by a massive explosion, no one survived…save the scarred land and the burnt out lab building and the ruin of machinery that Marcus and his father had both named, the meta gene activator…which was found to have been the cause of the blast.
Marcus and his father were not found, no corpses of anyone there were ever found…obliterated by the blast.
This set the Meta gene research division back by a few years but thankfully it also sent F.E.I.N.D back to square one, but then he soon found out that the leader of F.E.I.N.D had cancelled their own Meta gene research deeming it unnecessary, the spy in F.E.I.N.D who had returned to arcane had told Arcane this, and also that the big four relayed "the job has already been done"
Arcane since then had screened all his personal and retooled S.L.E.E.T, now it was up to its peak in defense and research.
The spies coming in were few to none now.
But he couldn't help but wonder if the danger was over with F.E.I.N.D abandoning this new discovery, or another danger had been released with this discovery.
Today after several months, he couldn't also help but wonder if there was any truth of that concern.
Several months ago, he and his soldiers and agents in tandem with the U.S military went to handle a situation in Las Vegas.
Arcane couldn't remember for some odd reason what the event was about, only that they had fought something and the result was half the Las Vegas strip was wrecked.
None of the witnesses could say anything about that day either.
Like a floodgate that strange day caused a string of strange calls and tabloids and newspapers and stations start reporting on strange occurrences of people exhibiting powers like out of a comic book.
Strangely, they all seemed to be coming from only in the U.S.A and southern Canada area….but the reports were all dismissed as hoaxes surrounding terrorist battles.
This backup story had worked by saying the events were caused by other means and people bought it but arcane knew that it wouldn't hold for long if these "sightings" and "unexplained battles" continued.
He never expected that one of these "sightings" would lead to the discovery of a criminal underworld and F.E.I.N.D conspiracy.
When a sighting had been seen in the crime filled and now martial law imposed city of lunar city, and disaster struck the city…arcane was quick to respond and go investigate.
On the way arcane read the info his agents had found for him, some kind of living shadow had been terrorizing the gangland, particularly of the city's vicious crime lord the supposed Brain of crime.
When evidence had been found by unspecified means proving or at least hinting that industrialist and weapons designer Dorian Finch of Finchtech industries and other companies under his name was the brain of crime, various army and special forces had been assigned to go in and take the brain down due to him becoming a very real danger to the people of the city.
He had apparently gassed people with some kind of gas that put them in some kind of coma that doctors couldn't wake them from.
Also a team of special forces had been assigned to escort Millionaire philanthropist and industrialist Martin Kishi and his family away from the city last night for their safety until the situation in lunar was defused.
He had read about the attempted murder on the Kishi kids, probably caused by the brain to blackmail Kishi into submission to the brains orders. He remembered the face on the son who had miraculously survived while his sisters were either dead or barren due to the attack. The look on his face said one thing in the newspaper picture arcane had been looking at when studying the situation in lunar. It was cold, angry….vengeful.
But surprise, surprise the Special Forces had been found out to be disguised F.E.I.N.D soldiers of fortune who didn't want Dorian's arrest losing one of their best weapons sellers and designers; they kidnapped Martin Kishi and his wife and held them hostage along with the workers who happened to be in the Kishi business tower at the time when it was put under siege.
Supposedly the mystery vigilante had saved them, but soon after there was a gas explosion all over the city, similar to the one from two days ago, and so here he was on the outskirts of lunar at the encampment of the military and National guard on the outer shore of the lunar bay, looking out at the military quarantine that had been established around the city, which was now enveloped in a fog of purple gas, and smoke from the riots occurring in the city…arcane could hear the screams.
But the army and S.L.E.E.T dare not enter the city without finding a way to keep the gas from getting through the gas suits they had.
Whatever this stuff was, it was designed for one thing: make people crazy!
The gas was also staying in lunar instead of drifting with the winds.
Various reporters had lined around the beach, taking shots of lunar city, while trying to get information from the military who shooed them away.
Arcane looked back to the city, and muttered to himself "god help their souls" for the people trapped inside the cloud of gas.
KISHI MANSION:
The once noble interior of the mansion that was my home was now a mess, made by my father, mother, aunt and cousin. My mother was doing the best she could since now she could officially to help barricade the windows and doors of the mansion to prepare for the eventual onslaught of the riots occurring around the city.
The gas, that strange purple gas was causing anyone who breathed it to go axe crazy!
Only a few in the city, her and her family included seemed to be immune.
She knew that her son was somewhere out there in that chaos, and so was her daughter…in the hospital.
"Martin…" she began.
"I know" my father acknowledged, "I'm worried about them too"
"I'm not sure if this will work for long uncle" Jeremy said to my father, "half the city is at war"
"I know…all we can do is prepare" my father answered.
Jeremy looked over at his wife and daughter; she was comforting their daughter who was scarred by what was happening around them.
"All right…" my father wiped the sweat from his brow after stuffing grandma's couch on top of the barricade at the front door.
"Take positions everyone!" my father ordered my family and the kitchen staff, they all went to their assigned places, guarding the barricades and looking out the window cracks to check and see if the riots and mobs had made it to our side yet.
Mother and one the staff, Caitlyn if I remember correctly, managed to get the T.V to get onto a news channel inside lunar that was still active.
"As fires and riots and civil unrest increase into the 98% range, all of north and west lunar is under attack by citizens affected by the gas. We have lost contact with the other news stations but we have world that the military circling the city cannot enter without being affected by the gas. The police are trying their best to keep the mob at bay but they are slowly being beaten. The city hall has so far remained impregnable. The battle is coming close but so far the Mass riot hasn't reached south lunar or the Residential Island. Lunar News Net will stay on the air as long as possible." the reporter said, trying to mask his terror.
This day of hell was slowly starting to end, night was beginning to fall. My father knew that it would be even dangerous at night out there in the carnage the city was under, but he had to get to the hospital and rescue his daughter…Kagae, he wouldn't know where to begin, but the last he heard was he was visiting his sister, so maybe Rachel knew where he went and then they could look as best as they could before the battle reached the hospital area.
He knew the monster truck from his "reckless" youth was down in the garage, the one place they didn't have to really barricade due to the doors being magnetically shut.
He decided to ask Jeremy if he would come with him, he knew how much the young cop wished he was out there helping people but chose to protect his family instead of returning to active duty to make sure they were safe.
It wasn't a cowardly action, but he knew Jeremy felt he was dishonoring his badge by doing so.
Jeremy was a good nephew and a good cop; my father respected that very much. He was also the only cop around right now he knew he could trust to help him with the rescue of Rachel. He decided to try and talk about it to Jeremy.
He wouldn't force him to come; he would come by his own choice!
If Jeremy accepted his plan then at least they would have a guy who could really shoot on this attempted rescue that would ensure once they left the mansion.
He looked out to the city that was on fire and said "god…watch over my son!"
CITY HALL
The Grand councilman and his fellow council members looked out the windows of the top of city hall, looking out at the destruction that was enveloping the city. Unaffected people and police fighting or fleeing the gas affected citizens and criminals who were wrecking maximum carnage on the city.
The city council knew who to blame for this attack, Dorian finch, the brain of crime.
They should have known better than to trust him no matter how well his various crimes and business's helped their own ambitions.
Especially when he told them to "try and take me on you magic freaks" revealing he knew the councils true nature as low level magic users from the magic realm.
Now they had placed protective charms around the building, hoping to ride out the city's destruction, as long as the charms remained in place no one could get into the city hall.
The hall could have sheltered hundreds more people than just seven, but they didn't care.
They were just "preserving" lunar as best as they could, by ensuring they would be alive to rebuild from the ashes…when Dorian Finch, the brain of crime had had his fun with lunar city.
Although they all hoped they were strong enough to hold him off if he came for them, because now they knew…he wasn't human, not a normal human anyway.
OLD TOWN: The old woman, Sarah Mc Mullin who I had helped find a room, saw the news coverage of the chaos and like others was immune to Dorian's gas.
Gritting her teeth as she did it she barricaded the door with furniture and then grabbed a baseball, preparing herself for the inevitable.
"God please" she prayed, the mutagen I had given her having healed her vocal cords, giving her a voice again after years of silence "help us all!"
DORIAN FINCH TOWER, FLOOR 129
Clarice Harding grabbed her head in pain as she slowly began to awake.
She looked around to see she was sitting on a leather couch in some kind of office waiting room.
She noticed that there was some kind of purple fog or smoke in the room, either that or her vision hadn't adjusted yet from waking up.
Slowly her memory began to return to her.
She remembered the brain… Dorian, attacking her house and dragging her and her father to his tower through some kind of teleportation similar to the one the shadow knight had used to get her to safety.
Then she remembered seeing the gas explosions around the city, enveloping the city in the gas.
Then she remembered Dorian grabbing her, tossing aside her father who tried to save her, and then he pulled her in and starred deep into her eyes…then she woke up here on the couch.
She then noticed a long metal pole in the middle of the room, and…her shirt and pants and socks on the floor?
She then noticed she felt a draft.
She slowly looked down and then screamed in horror.
She was in her underwear and on her lap and beside her were various sex toys and vibrators.
All of which had been previously used!
She then realized what had happened.
Dorian…that sick freak, hypnotized her or something and made her do pole dancing and masturbation for his sick pleasure.
She then noticed in the room was a camera on a tripod.
"AND HE ROCORDED IT!" she screamed in absolute disgust, jumping up from the couch and grabbing the camera before tossing it across the room, breaking it.
She furiously put her clothes back on, she was going to find Dorian and kill him!
When she had her shirt back on, she then noticed the bright orange glow coming out of the window of the office.
Curious, she looked behind her and was dumbfounded as she saw lunar city burning!
Various buildings were on fire and bellow, people were acting like monsters…if she didn't know any better she would swear she was in the "final night" and she was probably right.
Suddenly she heard a laughing sound from behind her and she turned to see Dorian, eyes glowing red and in his shadowy hands grip was her father, District attorney Salvador Hardy.
Broken and bloody, but he was still alive.
"That was funny… the way you through that camera like that…" he said as he pulled out a video tape, "especially when you weren't complaining when you were thrusting those toys up and down your tight spot down there…. Little slut!" he chuckled devilishly.
Not going to make the mistake of looking into Dorian's eyes again, she charged at Dorian.
But before she knew it Dorian shot out his hand and sent a cascade of shadows at her, they slammed into her abdomen and sent her flying toward the wall, pinning her there in a cocoon of shadows.
She struggled to get free, but to no avail… "YOU MONSTER!" she screamed at Dorian in rage.
"Thank you" Dorian smiled curtly, "don't worry I didn't rape you miss Hardy, you're not my type of girl for that. This…" he held up the tape, "was much better. Imagine how many of my clients in the pornography department will pay for a video of the D.A's daughter degrading herself…."
Salvador hardy spoke weakly, "she's only 16, how could you!?"
"I'm the brain of crime. I do crime, it's in the name" he said almost hurt by the question as to why he does the things he does, "I aim to be the best there is, to be the modern professor James Moriarty. But all the crimes I do, they have been done before. Extort some family, terrorist occupy a building…straight out of a movie…but no crime lord has ever caused a city wide riot of lawlessness. Those people out there, with that gas, I control. They will act like savage monsters until the city burns to ashes. I'll get my own file in the history books among the best of the worst…as the world's first super villain!"
He then stopped his monologue to look out the window, "beautiful isn't it. But all in all this is just a demonstration of power. When this is over I will send out my demands to the government to surrender to my power, or I will destroy another city. If they refuse, well…stupid them! My plans are coming along nicely. Now no one can stop it"
"Wrong!" D.A Salvador Hardy spat in defiance, "there is another out there with your power, he's stopped you before…he stopped you and your goons from murdering my daughter and that cops family"
"The shadow knight" Clarice said in defiance.
"don't count on that vigilante fool helping you, or saving the city" Dorian said dropping the D.A, walking over to Clarice who struggled to get free from her bonds, looking at her, she closed her eyes, Dorian smiled, she understood how that power worked, he finished his sentence," Because I killed him remember and if not…the hero you used to know, won't exist anymore by now"
