Just doing my job
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Original - Misc › Superheroes
Rating:
Adult +
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25
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Category:
Original - Misc › Superheroes
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
25
Views:
2,372
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Patriots and Tyrants
“NATHAN!” Kay’s hand slapped me across the face hard enough to bring me back to reality.
“Ren?” I asked in the vain hope that what I’d seen had been a hallucination.
“Charlotte took her.” Jackson appeared out of nowhere and helped me to my feet, “The only good news is Simon has control of all the remaining satellites, so they’re not going to be taking any more pot-shots at us.”
“Like that means a thing any more?” Diana dropped the charred remains of one of the clones at our feet, “They’ve already started.”
“What?” I looked down at the body and saw the flag on its shoulder, “England…”
“They’ve started the take over.” Kay looked grim; “It shouldn’t be to hard to find out where they are if they’re moving openly like this.”
“What about Sid?” I asked, “How bad is she?”
“I’m not going to lie to you Nathan: it doesn’t look good.” Kay took a deep breath, “Charlotte hit her with a focused energy beam. Despite her remarkable resilience to damage, there has been a lot of damage. She was hit in the back, so the damage was done to her spine. It looks like she’ll be paralysed from the waist down, at least for the foreseeable future.”
“Sid’s tough, she can heal almost any wound.” I nodded grimly, “We should head back to…”
The sound of heavy gunfire echoed down the corridor.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
We reached the command centre as one, Kay pushing past us to get the first view: Artemus lay on the floor in a expanding pool of his own blood, a laser pistol still held tightly in his hand. Simon was leaning against the far wall, struggling to stand.
“I hate those clones.” He muttered before falling back down, “Ouch
Jackson and I helped him up while Kay checked Artemus. She pressed a finger against his neck, looking for a pulse. The look on her face told me all I needed to know.
“You going to be ok?” I asked Simon as we got him back into a chair, “Is there anything you need?”
“Just time.” He looked down at the bullet holes in his chest, “I have enough redundant systems to bypass the damage, but it will take a while for me to repair myself.”
“Time is one thing we’re running out of.” Kay sat at the computer, “I’m going to see if I can find out where the Conspiracy is operating out of.”
The rest of us stood around in silence. Some of Kay’s assistance arrived with a stretcher and took Artemus’ body down to the infirmary. Kay had already called for a doctor to keep an eye on Sid while she scanned every corner of the Internet.
“What exactly happened?” Jackson asked, “How did they get in here?”
“I don’t know: I was re-writing the encryption for the satellites when Artemus yelled out a warning and pushed me over.” Simon shook his head, “I think I’m the one they were after.”
“Another life they’ve destroyed.” I looked at the stretcher as it wheeled Artemus away, instantly regretting that I hadn’t gotten to know him better. I knew that Ren would take his death hard, and her name reminded me of the look on Charlottes face when she’s disappeared.
“I think I have something.” Kay announced as she turned on the radio.
“This is the BBC World Service, relaying a statement from the British Government.” A typical BBC voice reported, “The superhuman terrorist known as Ren has been captured by security forces from several nations, working under UN supervision. Ren, whose real name is still unknown at this time, has been wanted by authorities for some time, but sprung to public notoriety after the destruction of the Lagrange-1Space Station two months ago…”
“Can you find out where they’re holding her?” I asked, worried that we might already be too late.
“They’re not exactly being subtle with their communications.” Kay called up a map on the computer, “It looks like they’re operating out of the holding facility under Salisbury Plain.”
“Makes sense.” Jackson nodded, “It’s one of the few places that can hold a superhuman.”
“Ok, I’m going to get her back.” I headed for the door.
“Nathan, you can’t just walk up to the door and ask them to give her back!” Diana protested, “It’s one of the most secured locations on the planet.”
“Watch me.” I headed out down the corridor
“Then I’m going with you.” Kay came up behind me, “I’m not letting you do this alone.”
“Kay, you’re in no fit state to get involved in something like this.”
“I’m pregnant Nathan, not injured.”
“Yes, you’re pregnant: you’re responsible for two lives, not one.”
“I’m also responsible for the sort of world my child grows up in.”
“She’s got a point you know.” Jackson appeared, followed closely by Diana, “It’s time for us to draw a line in the sand: are we going to let these bastards get away with everything they’ve done?”
“I can’t ask any of you to follow me.” I looked at the others; “This is most likely a one-way trip: they’ll throw everything they have at us.”
“Sometimes you have to risk everything you hold dear for something you believe in.” Kay shrugged, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
“I thought Jackson would be the one to quote a dead president?” I half smiled, “Ok, how do we get to England?”
“Well, I don’t know about you guys.” Simon appeared, leaning against the wall for support, “But I happen to have a ship parked outside…”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I’d like to say that, during the journey between Tibet and England, I made some rousing speech that would be quoted for years to come. I’d like to say that I inspired the others to do great things in the name of freedom and justice.
I’d like to say a lot of things, but I’d be lying through my teeth. I’ve never been one for making speeches. Instead we sat in silence as Simon piloted the shuttle over the North Pole, each contemplating in our own way what was to come.
Kay meditated, seeking oneness with the universe. Jackson and Diana sat holding hands, neither saying what the other was thinking. I sat thinking: in my life, I’ve loved three women. Kay, who is perhaps the closest thing I have to family in the world. Charlotte, who I thought I knew better than anyone, and at one time wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
And Ren: the only person who never asked anything of me. I don’t claim to understand her anymore than Kay, but that wasn’t important. Unlike almost everyone else, Ren was always herself, never apologising for what she was.
Of all the people I’ve know, Ren was the most content with herself.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
“We’ve picked up a couple of friends.” Simon pointed at the radar screen as we passed over Manchester, “Fast movers, defiantly not friendly.”
“You got any weapons n this thing?” Jackson asked.
“Yes; a laser.” Simon started to put the ship through evasive manoeuvres, trying to lose whoever was following us, “But it takes up a lot of power: we’d have to slow down to almost a crawl.”
“I’ll take care of them.” I unbuckled my belt and made my way to the hatch, “Everybody hold onto something: it’s about to get a bit windy in here!”
“Wait!” Diana stood up as I opened the hatch, and jumped out after me.
We fell through the ships slipstream for a moment, before getting our bearings. There was a flash as Diana transformed into living flame, tailing smoke as she made her way towards on of the jets following us.
I took off towards the other jet, allowing it to overtake me so I could approach it from behind. The pilot ignored me, seemingly intent on shooting down the shuttle, sending burst after burst of tracer fire after it. Grabbing hold of the jets tail, I punched a hole clean through it, ripping out the control cables leading to the rudder.
This got the pilots attention, and he put the jet through a series of banked turns, climbs and drives intended to shake me loose. But they failed, and keeping a tight grip, I made my way forward to the wings. Taking hold of the fuselage with one hand and the leading edge of the left wing with the other, I pulled the two apart as hard as I could. The metal screamed as it started to give way, jagged rents appearing in the wing as I literally ripped it apart.
The aerodynamic destroyed, the jet stated to spin wildly as the force of the wind ripped the wing clean off. I held onto it for a moment, before letting it fall to the ground far below, hoping that it would land somewhere unpopulated.
There was a loud bang, and the canopy hit me in the face as the pilot ejected. The still unexplained distortion field flared into life, protecting me from debris as the jet went into an uncontrolled nosedive.
Sitting on the fuselage behind the now empty cockpit, I felt somewhat like Slim Pickens in Dr Strangelove. I couldn’t resist a quick “Yee-haw!” before letting go and looking round to see how Diana was doing.
I needn’t have worried: the other jet was already a blazing wreck headed straight down, it’s pilot hanging from his parachute, making some rather unfriendly hand gestures.
We both accelerated until we were inline with the shuttle, each taking station off one wing.
To Be Continued…
“Ren?” I asked in the vain hope that what I’d seen had been a hallucination.
“Charlotte took her.” Jackson appeared out of nowhere and helped me to my feet, “The only good news is Simon has control of all the remaining satellites, so they’re not going to be taking any more pot-shots at us.”
“Like that means a thing any more?” Diana dropped the charred remains of one of the clones at our feet, “They’ve already started.”
“What?” I looked down at the body and saw the flag on its shoulder, “England…”
“They’ve started the take over.” Kay looked grim; “It shouldn’t be to hard to find out where they are if they’re moving openly like this.”
“What about Sid?” I asked, “How bad is she?”
“I’m not going to lie to you Nathan: it doesn’t look good.” Kay took a deep breath, “Charlotte hit her with a focused energy beam. Despite her remarkable resilience to damage, there has been a lot of damage. She was hit in the back, so the damage was done to her spine. It looks like she’ll be paralysed from the waist down, at least for the foreseeable future.”
“Sid’s tough, she can heal almost any wound.” I nodded grimly, “We should head back to…”
The sound of heavy gunfire echoed down the corridor.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
We reached the command centre as one, Kay pushing past us to get the first view: Artemus lay on the floor in a expanding pool of his own blood, a laser pistol still held tightly in his hand. Simon was leaning against the far wall, struggling to stand.
“I hate those clones.” He muttered before falling back down, “Ouch
Jackson and I helped him up while Kay checked Artemus. She pressed a finger against his neck, looking for a pulse. The look on her face told me all I needed to know.
“You going to be ok?” I asked Simon as we got him back into a chair, “Is there anything you need?”
“Just time.” He looked down at the bullet holes in his chest, “I have enough redundant systems to bypass the damage, but it will take a while for me to repair myself.”
“Time is one thing we’re running out of.” Kay sat at the computer, “I’m going to see if I can find out where the Conspiracy is operating out of.”
The rest of us stood around in silence. Some of Kay’s assistance arrived with a stretcher and took Artemus’ body down to the infirmary. Kay had already called for a doctor to keep an eye on Sid while she scanned every corner of the Internet.
“What exactly happened?” Jackson asked, “How did they get in here?”
“I don’t know: I was re-writing the encryption for the satellites when Artemus yelled out a warning and pushed me over.” Simon shook his head, “I think I’m the one they were after.”
“Another life they’ve destroyed.” I looked at the stretcher as it wheeled Artemus away, instantly regretting that I hadn’t gotten to know him better. I knew that Ren would take his death hard, and her name reminded me of the look on Charlottes face when she’s disappeared.
“I think I have something.” Kay announced as she turned on the radio.
“This is the BBC World Service, relaying a statement from the British Government.” A typical BBC voice reported, “The superhuman terrorist known as Ren has been captured by security forces from several nations, working under UN supervision. Ren, whose real name is still unknown at this time, has been wanted by authorities for some time, but sprung to public notoriety after the destruction of the Lagrange-1Space Station two months ago…”
“Can you find out where they’re holding her?” I asked, worried that we might already be too late.
“They’re not exactly being subtle with their communications.” Kay called up a map on the computer, “It looks like they’re operating out of the holding facility under Salisbury Plain.”
“Makes sense.” Jackson nodded, “It’s one of the few places that can hold a superhuman.”
“Ok, I’m going to get her back.” I headed for the door.
“Nathan, you can’t just walk up to the door and ask them to give her back!” Diana protested, “It’s one of the most secured locations on the planet.”
“Watch me.” I headed out down the corridor
“Then I’m going with you.” Kay came up behind me, “I’m not letting you do this alone.”
“Kay, you’re in no fit state to get involved in something like this.”
“I’m pregnant Nathan, not injured.”
“Yes, you’re pregnant: you’re responsible for two lives, not one.”
“I’m also responsible for the sort of world my child grows up in.”
“She’s got a point you know.” Jackson appeared, followed closely by Diana, “It’s time for us to draw a line in the sand: are we going to let these bastards get away with everything they’ve done?”
“I can’t ask any of you to follow me.” I looked at the others; “This is most likely a one-way trip: they’ll throw everything they have at us.”
“Sometimes you have to risk everything you hold dear for something you believe in.” Kay shrugged, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
“I thought Jackson would be the one to quote a dead president?” I half smiled, “Ok, how do we get to England?”
“Well, I don’t know about you guys.” Simon appeared, leaning against the wall for support, “But I happen to have a ship parked outside…”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I’d like to say that, during the journey between Tibet and England, I made some rousing speech that would be quoted for years to come. I’d like to say that I inspired the others to do great things in the name of freedom and justice.
I’d like to say a lot of things, but I’d be lying through my teeth. I’ve never been one for making speeches. Instead we sat in silence as Simon piloted the shuttle over the North Pole, each contemplating in our own way what was to come.
Kay meditated, seeking oneness with the universe. Jackson and Diana sat holding hands, neither saying what the other was thinking. I sat thinking: in my life, I’ve loved three women. Kay, who is perhaps the closest thing I have to family in the world. Charlotte, who I thought I knew better than anyone, and at one time wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
And Ren: the only person who never asked anything of me. I don’t claim to understand her anymore than Kay, but that wasn’t important. Unlike almost everyone else, Ren was always herself, never apologising for what she was.
Of all the people I’ve know, Ren was the most content with herself.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
“We’ve picked up a couple of friends.” Simon pointed at the radar screen as we passed over Manchester, “Fast movers, defiantly not friendly.”
“You got any weapons n this thing?” Jackson asked.
“Yes; a laser.” Simon started to put the ship through evasive manoeuvres, trying to lose whoever was following us, “But it takes up a lot of power: we’d have to slow down to almost a crawl.”
“I’ll take care of them.” I unbuckled my belt and made my way to the hatch, “Everybody hold onto something: it’s about to get a bit windy in here!”
“Wait!” Diana stood up as I opened the hatch, and jumped out after me.
We fell through the ships slipstream for a moment, before getting our bearings. There was a flash as Diana transformed into living flame, tailing smoke as she made her way towards on of the jets following us.
I took off towards the other jet, allowing it to overtake me so I could approach it from behind. The pilot ignored me, seemingly intent on shooting down the shuttle, sending burst after burst of tracer fire after it. Grabbing hold of the jets tail, I punched a hole clean through it, ripping out the control cables leading to the rudder.
This got the pilots attention, and he put the jet through a series of banked turns, climbs and drives intended to shake me loose. But they failed, and keeping a tight grip, I made my way forward to the wings. Taking hold of the fuselage with one hand and the leading edge of the left wing with the other, I pulled the two apart as hard as I could. The metal screamed as it started to give way, jagged rents appearing in the wing as I literally ripped it apart.
The aerodynamic destroyed, the jet stated to spin wildly as the force of the wind ripped the wing clean off. I held onto it for a moment, before letting it fall to the ground far below, hoping that it would land somewhere unpopulated.
There was a loud bang, and the canopy hit me in the face as the pilot ejected. The still unexplained distortion field flared into life, protecting me from debris as the jet went into an uncontrolled nosedive.
Sitting on the fuselage behind the now empty cockpit, I felt somewhat like Slim Pickens in Dr Strangelove. I couldn’t resist a quick “Yee-haw!” before letting go and looking round to see how Diana was doing.
I needn’t have worried: the other jet was already a blazing wreck headed straight down, it’s pilot hanging from his parachute, making some rather unfriendly hand gestures.
We both accelerated until we were inline with the shuttle, each taking station off one wing.
To Be Continued…