Post by The Circle Television Network on Sept 25, 2016 21:06:28 GMT -5
Downtown
Sheffield Heights, Empire City
Chapter VIII (Part 1): One Down…One to Go…
The scene opened on the streets of Empire City as Michelle Andretti, fresh faced reporter for Channel 8 News was on her first assignment on her new job.
She had scratched and clawed her way out of entry level positions at the station, doing all she could to finally make it to the big time and now it was finally happening for her. She would finally have her first on-camera spot on the news as she interviewed people on the street about the increasingly dangerous threat that metas were posing to the populous.
As she went from person to person, hoping to get someone to speak about the controversial subject, people shunned her, unwilling to show their face on camera and be recognized by one of the super powered ‘would-be’ gods that were slowly starting to eat at the foundation of the city. Michelle nervously played with the ring on her finger as she wondered if today was going to be the last time she got an assignment. She smiled nervously as she looked back over her shoulder at the cameraman, her friend Spike Staggs.
Spike was a star behind the scenes at Channel 8, he always seemed be right where the action was with camera in hand, getting all the best video for the station. He was the reason that the channel was at the top of the ratings. Michelle had been overjoyed when Spike had volunteered to go with her for this relative fluff piece. Even though it wasn’t a top tier news piece, having him attached to it would make sure they got airtime.
As for Spike, he had other reasons for being here…just as there were other reasons for his inexplicable luck at being at the right place at the right time. Spike was a meta-human with precognitive abilities that allowed him glimpses into the future. He had used this power to his advantage in his career and it had always only been business…but his latest vision involved his friend Michelle disappearing and he had no intention of allowing that vision to come to pass. It was a shadowy figure…a creature that could transform into a shadow…he would be the one to try to take Michelle, and Spike was going to be there to stop him.
Spike looked around cautiously, recognizing the surroundings from his vision. The shadow man was going to appear here and take Michelle…at least, that is how it happened in his vision. That is not the way it would happen today. He spoke up from behind the camera, “Hey Chelly, stand over by that pole so I can get a better shot of you…the light is a lot better.”
Michelle gave an exasperated sigh. Things were not going the way she hoped. No one was talking to her about the meta threat, and now she was being told that she didn’t look good on camera. She wondered what next as she moved over to the pole, shaking her head. “Better?”
“Yeah, I…” Spike stopped as a vision flashed before his eyes, startling him…
Gateway Park and the massive statute of Superious, all cloaked in the darkest of night…SHADOW…
There was the beating of wings…not like a bird…giant wings…ANGEL…
GUNFIRE! COMING FROM ALL AROUND!! There was blood all around…so much blood…
“SPIKE, THE RING!!” Michelle…?
A flash of gold glimmering in night…a golden RING inside a bloody lifeless hand…the hand closing around it…
“Spike? SPIKE!” Spike shook himself out of his vision as Michelle stared at him, but something was wrong…she was unable to move and blood trickled from one of her nostrils.
Spike attempted to move, but he was also rooted to the spot with camera in hand. The ‘Go Live’ button was depressed and all he could do was watch as the image was broadcast live over Channel 8.
The camera zoomed in on the woman who stood beside Michelle. She was thin and pale with a wild shock of red hair on her head.
She smiled viciously as she spoke, “This one…want to ask me questions about what I thought about the meta threat.” The woman snickered as she looked at Michelle, trembling and frozen in place. “Meta threat? Is that what you are calling it?” She shook her head, “It’s not a threat…it’s the inevitable…it’s a revolution…”
Spike struggled against the power that held him, but it was of no use. Among his other gifts, Spike could move some objects with his mind…but now he was held powerless. Everything he tried to move as held down as if it weighed a ton and no amount of force he used could move it.
The woman looked at the two of them with a smirk, “You humans, you irritate the hell out of me. You're all so vain… you always think it's all about you. Your society weighs its insipid opinion on us based on how many of you we save, or by how many of you we hurt. We are so amazingly sick and tired of constantly being labeled a villain or evil by your media based on your supposedly unfailing moral standards. You want to know what the point is? The point is, for all your dressing it up, for all your not wanting to admit it…we are superior to you. Humans inherited this earth from the monkeys he evolved from. In the course of history, he's asserted his dominion over his brethren by force, using nature's law of survival of the fittest to his advantage. Now things have come full circle. It's now our time to inherit this earth… from the humans!”
Spike turned his power on the woman herself, lifting her off her feet, and distracting her momentarily. With the hold broken, Spike felt his body release, the camera falling, as he started to move toward Michelle. The distraction only proved to be momentary, as woman held out her hand and black energy seemed to surround it. “MICHELLE!” Spike screamed as he collapsed to the ground, pinned there as if a great weight were crushing him into the ground. “AAARRRRGGGGHHH!” he screamed as he felt his bones cracking and his body being mashed and crushed into the earth.
Michelle, momentarily free, ran to Spike, grabbing his hand as if to help him, but she was suddenly caught in the grip of the woman’s power. “NOOOOOO!” She bore down as the red haired woman turned her power on her, snapping her back and folding her over as blood trickled from her mouth.
The red haired woman walked over and looked down at the camera as it floated a few inches from the ground. With no effort, the camera lifted up and focused on her face. She grinned, “My name is Gaia…and soon your dominion over me and my kind will be at an end! With my brothers and sisters by my side…the age of humans…IS OVER!” Static filled the screens of everyone watching as Gaia’s power crushed the camera into junk.
The crowd that had gathered around to watch suddenly fled in horror. People screamed as they ran in all directions, but with the calm of a natural super predator, she directed her power at them in turn, crushing them like tin cans in a horrific manner. As she walked after the fleeing masses, all ran but one. A young girl stood in the shadows of a nearby alleyway watching the scene, her face obscured by the hoodie she wore. When Gaia approached, she did not flee. “Girl…you should be running…don’t you think?”
Gaia’s hands crackled with black power as she made ready to crush her into nothingness. She stopped as the girl put her finger to her lips, “Shhhhhh…” Gaia stopped, blinking and seeming confused momentarily. The girl pointed off into the distance, “The prison is that way…is it not?”
Gaia cocked her head to the side as she narrowed her eyes, then she followed the girl’s gaze off into the distance. A smile touched her lips, “Yes…yes it is…” Her hands pulsed with power as she lifted off the ground, as if gravity was meaningless to her.
As the woman flew away, the girl dropped to her knees, falling to the ground as her hands reached out as if struggling for a hold on anything. Her hands pulled back the hoodie and her face was revealed, her Asian features undeniable and unchanged for centuries, it was Arella and her eyes were again blind and unseeing…yet, slowly they began to clear. She collapsed to the ground, breathing hard as she whispered, “Thank you Father…”
Penitentiary for the Criminally Super Powered
Centerville, Empire City
“There you go, Detective.” The guardsman at the desk keyed a command into the console, disabling the bluish, semi-visible force-field leading down into B block. Detective Stacey Jordan followed the guard escorting her into the wide hallway where the inmates were kept behind various means of containment, from force-fields to phase beams to good old fashioned iron bars. Several of the inmates, having not seen a woman in a long time, slithered towards the front of their cells and leered at her with gleaming eyes. Very few gave any obscene gestures or called out to her though, and they only did it covertly once she and the guard had already passed by. It seemed that they were fearful of the guard's wrath. It was probably with good reason, the prison was known for being a tough prison for tough people.
Empire City Penitentiary for the Criminally Super Powered (ECPCSP) was an intimidating place. It had been constructed to be. Residing on the edge of the city, though still in view of the statue of Superius, a monument to its protector and would-be god, it didn't so much resemble a prison as it did a fortress. From the three different types of fences enclosing it, to the massive wall surrounding the prison proper, to the guards themselves—they all wore heavy, semi mechanical armor and carried military-issue weaponry—everything about ECPCSP had been carefully tailored to drain away all hope of escape from its inmates. And it had been highly successful, boasting only two escapes in the last thirty years.
“This is it, ma'am.” The guard stopped in front of a dingy cell with an electrified force-field in front of it.
Det. Jordan peered inside at the shady figure sitting on the bunk. He had a newspaper in his hands, but now looked up at them anxiously. This was the one she had come to question about the fire that had burned down Brandon's church…the firestarter, Meepus.
“Don't touch the field” the guard said. “It's electrified. Other than that, take all the time you need. When you're finished, just call out. I'll be nearby.” He ambled off, his heavy metal boots clinking loudly off the steel floor.
“Come to bail me out, sweetheart?” Meepus put down the newspaper and approached the front of the cell, stopping well short of the bars. Like the other inmates, he wore a silvery, power-inhibiting collar with a green LED display. He gave her a grin that may have once been cheerful but now just made him look tired. The place was working its magic on him.
“No, I've come to talk to you about a fire” she replied.
“Fire!” Meepus exclaimed. “Lady, I'm like the MAN when it comes to fire! Get the guards to let me outta here and I'll ignite anything you want!”
Stacey raised an eyebrow. “We'll see. What do you know about the fire at Madison Chapel a little over a week ago?”
Before Meepus could answer, the entire cell block shuddered with a sudden brief rumble.
A woman's voice came on the prison's intercom system. "Good evening, my fellow metas. My name is Gaia. I've set you free from your human captors."
Meepus looked around in confusion, before he felt the inhibitor collar suddenly blink red twice then snap open and fall to the floor with a CLANK.
"In return, I only ask that you take whatever measures of revenge you feel necessary on those that put you in chains. Once outside you will find Empire City a much different place. I've seen the chaos out there. Empire City is in her twilight hour. It is now our time to take control. The time of the humans has ended. The time of the Super…has begun. Go, and take what is rightfully yours. Destroy the humans…and all who stand with them."
Stacey took a hesitant step back as Meepus glanced up, a small smirk growing on his lips as the doors in the block swung open.
There was another explosion, this one almost directly overhead. A portion of the ceiling blew inward with great force, sending massive chunks of concrete hurtling towards the guard and the detective. Stacey managed to yell, “LOOK OUT!!!” and attempted to pull the guard out of harms way. But he was a big man, and his heavy armor made pulling him away nigh impossible. Instead he slipped from her grasp, with Stacey barely having time to flatten herself against the wall as one of the pieces of concrete collided with the guard. His personal shield generator and armor took most of the damage—probably saving his life—but it still knocked him back through the hall, where he skidded to a stop against the wall, quite unconscious.
Portions of the ceiling collapsed all around them. Stacey pushed herself from the wall, coughing from the dust and debris. She peered through the dust to see if the guard was alright, instead, she was greeted by a most unwelcome sight…
“Ohhhhh snap, son…” Meepus grinned as he saw the lone detective. “It must be my birthday!” He chuckled, “Now…you were asking me a question I believe…something about fire I think…”
The other inmates had started yelling excitedly amidst the chaos, most busting from their cell in a mixture of brute strength and energy blasts. Stacey squared off in the center of the hall, pulling her service pistol. “Police, FREEZE! Hold it right there!” she yelled.
Meepus merely laughed. “Sorry lady…but the irony of what you just asked me to do…is really funny!”
He thrust his hands forward, and an enormous gout of flame erupted from them. The bars of his cell glowed red, then white hot, then began to liquefy into a distorted molten mass that parted before Meepus. The ethereal ball of flame continued its course down the hall, heading right towards the detective. She staggered back before the rush of superheated air preceding it, stumbled against a chunk of concrete debris on the floor, and fell. Her eyes wide, all she could do was watch the fireball continue its implacable course towards her, and throw her arms over her face…this was the end for her.
Stacey felt the heat wash over her…and pass by. It was no worse than a muggy summer breeze. She lowered her arms to find the flames dissipating in the air, as though they had struck a wall of wind. The detective's benefactor landed in front of her, a small woman with graceful wings protruding from her back, beating back the flames with slow, powerful strokes.
Anka didn't look over her shoulder at the detective to address her, doing what she could to stay unrecognized. Instead, she kept her face hidden as she spoke, “Go. I'll handle this” she said.
Stacey slowly got to her feet, uncertain. Then she saw Meepus encase himself in flames. That, along with another series of huge explosions that rocked the jailhouse, convinced her to take the woman's advice. She rushed back towards the safety of the prison's administrative areas to link up with the guards, who would no doubt have their hands full with every super in the prison on the loose. Meepus watched her go, then turned his fiery gaze back on winged newcomer.
“Yeah, so…. I'm gonna bust on outta here.” Anka offered no response. “You're uh…kinda in the way, toots.”
“I know” Anka said. Though every instinct inside her said to stand aside and allow him to leave, she knew that doing so would only put Stacey in more jeopardy. She needed to buy more time to ensure the woman’s safety…as she promised Brandon she would.
Meepus laughed, and the flames encasing him turned white-hot. “Alright, sweetheart, don't say I didn't warn you!” He giggled, and dashed towards her with amazing speed, leaving a streak of flames behind. The inmates began to cheer, the evening's entertainment had fallen into their laps, and if they were lucky, the carnage would ensure their escape as well.
Meepus hurled a volley of fireballs as he rushed towards Anka. She leapt into the air and took flight; the balls of fire flew under her, hit the force field of one of the inmates' cells, and exploded into a blossom of flame. Meepus dashed under her as well, moving too fast to correct his speed so suddenly. He skidded to a stop, and turned round just in time to see her swooping in quick. One of her wings swung at him in a kind of powerful backhand, unmindful of the flames wreathing his body. The blow knocked Meepus into the steel wall between a couple of cells. His body left a molten, charred impression in the metal.
“Honey, you're asking for it!” Meepus growled as he slowly rose from the wall. He threw a rapid succession of fireballs at her, but her quick aerial maneuvering made her hard to hit, and she merely dodged the majority of them. The fireballs instead exploded against the ceiling, around the cells, or against them, causing some of the cheers from the inmates to turn into angry shouts of protest. He dashed under her, attempting to keep up as he tried to shoot her down from the prison's high ceiling. None of the fireballs hit their target as Anka gracefully wove in, out, and around their path.
“Tired yet?” Anka called down to him, halting her flight into a hover.
Meepus scowled at her… but then it turned into a grin. “I'm just getting warmed up” he said. He held both his hands up into the air, and a flame burst forth from them like a gathering tornado of pure fire. It began to grow…and grow…and GROW.
Anka and the inmates saw what was coming. The inmates began to cry out, fearing that the enormous flame would consume the entire block. Instead of flying off, however…Anka merely hovered there, giving Meepus a small smile. It only served to anger him more. He concentrated the behemoth mass of flame into a gargantuan spear. “DODGE THIS!!”
He bellowed, and hurled it at her like a javelin. It arced towards Anka with the speed of a flaming arrow. She simply flew to the side, out of its path...but Meepus merely snapped his fingers, and the entire works exploded as it coursed passed her. The cauterizing flames encased her, obscuring her from view. There were also inmates up there, on the third floor of the block; their alternative cheering and screams told Meepus all he needed to know...or so he thought. He turned away, ready to make his way out, when he heard a dull thud behind him. He smirked as he looked over his shoulder, expecting to see the woman's charred body smoldering on the floor…but was instead greeted by the sight of Anka slowly rising from one knee, the wings that had enveloped her and protected her from the blast stretching to their full span. His smirk turned into a sneer…
“So you think your wings are fireproof, huh? Allow me to show the difference between fireproof and fire-resistant, kiddo…” He made a quaint gesture, and the flames that had encased the ceiling from the explosion rushed downwards to obey his command. Anka dashed towards him, using her wings to propel her along the ground, but the flames were a fraction faster. They flew down in front of her, blocking her path to Meepus, forcing her to bring one of her wings to bear again as a shield and slowing her progress forward. Meepus danced back away from her, out of range, and gave the flames another command. This time, the fire rose up and arced over Anka, enveloping her and forcing her to cover up completely.
“Shoulda just got outta the way, toots…I wouldn't've had to barbeque you like this…” Meepus crooned as he built up another charge of flames around his hands. He released it in her direction, sustaining the burst like a flamethrower. The flames began to grow paler as he increased the temperature. He stepped in closer, adding to the pressure from the steady stream of flames. “Cooking in there, yet?” He laughed.
Anka was, in fact cooking. The temperatures Meepus was generating were nothing short of incredible, and her wings were taking a pounding. Even encased in them as she was, the heat was reaching nearly intolerable levels. Below the edge of her wings, she could see the steel floor around her glowing red hot with the sustained flare, and the soles of her shoes were beginning to melt. She held out as long as she could, watching him through her translucent wings as he came closer in his zeal…to close in fact…
Anka gave a wordless, defiant cry as she stood and spread her wings with enough force to send a shockwave rippling through the air, instantly extinguishing the fiery tomb. The firestarter was knocked off his feet from the sudden gale, flames still trailing from his hands as he was sent rolling down the hall. Inmates in a 180 degree arc around her were likewise knocked back against their cells. Not sparing a moment, Anka rushed at Meepus as he struggled to get to his feet, and landed a right cross that lifted him off his feet for the second time in the span of very few seconds, depositing him next to the narrow hallway leading out of the cell block. He struck the wall with a tremendous “UNNGH!!” and slid down it, the wind knocked out him.
Two guards emerged from the passageway, weapons at the ready, not seeing Meepus as he lay in a heap in the corner. Instead they focused on Anka, who had been in mid-stride, dashing towards Meepus in order to finish him off. Instead, she was forced to dodge out of the way as a series of ion bolts came sizzling towards her as one of the guards opened fire.
“STUPID ASSHOLES!” Anka yelled in protest, shielding herself from the projectiles with her wings.
“She's right, cease fire! That's the one the Detective told us about, she's here to help!” The trigger-happy guard's partner yelled… but by then it was too late. Meepus, who had managed to recover somewhat, rose up and grabbed the guard closest to him, pushing him towards Anka…sending a fireball along the way for good measure. It struck the guard from behind, immediately encasing him in flames. The other guard whirled to face this new threat, and received a fireball in his chest for his efforts.
Hurriedly, Anka used her wings to create another gust of wind, beating the flames off the horribly burned guardsmen, Meepus had already dashed down the exit and made his escape, leaving a fiery trail behind.
Anka looked at the two men on the ground writhing in pain and rolled her eyes as she stepped over them, dragging her fingers through her hair. Stacey was safe…but an even bigger problem now loomed. Every super-powered fiend housed in an entire wing of this prison had now been loosed on the city by a madwoman by the name of Gaia. No one would be safe now…
Downtown
Sheffield Heights, Empire City
As Spike lay on the cold pavement, feeling his life ebbing away all he could focus on was Michelle, her lovely body bent and unnaturally broken. He wondered how his visions had failed him…how he had been so wrong. This was not what he had envisioned…this was not the end he had foreseen. All he had wanted to do was protect her…keep her safe…what good was his power if it failed him when he needed it most?
*cough*
Spike strained to see as Michelle coughed and convulsed, her body arching up, bones cracking and moving under her flesh as they found their proper positions once more. Spike’s eyes grew wide in amazement as Michelle sat up, completely unhurt, but her body shaking as she stared at her hands, then over at Spike. “S-Spike…” She managed to sputter as she started to crawl towards him, reaching for his hand.
Her touch was electric and Spike felt his body respond immediately to her touch. His vision cleared and he opened his mouth to speak, “Chelley…what…” His voice caught in his throat as he saw the dark shadow forming behind her…just as it had in his dream.
She turned as she saw his eyes and she started to scream, but it was cut off abruptly as the shadow leapt on her, dragging her into itself. She tried to crawl back to Spike but its hold on her was too strong. She reached out her hand one last time and Spike grabbed it, holding on for dear life…but she again slipped from his grasp as she was pulled into the yawning darkness.
Spike managed to scream, “MICHELLE!!!” as he sat up, his own body knitting itself back together. For a moment, he didn’t know what had happened until he opened his hand and saw the ring that Michelle had worn now resting in his palm.
He scrambled to his feet, turning around, looking for any sign of Michelle or the shadow that had taken her. He squeeze the ring in his hand as all he saw around him was death and destruction. He stopped, staring down at the ring…it was part of his vision…he had seen the ring…he had seen...
Gateway Park…
Gunshots…
An Angel…
Crushing Blackness…
Spike didn’t know how much of his vision had to do with Michelle or the shadow creature that had taken her. All thoughts of the mad-woman calling herself Gaia was put out of his mind. He had one mission and one mission only...get to Gateway Park...find the Angel...and then save Michelle from the shadow that had taken her...or die trying...
EPISODE CREDITS
CAST (In order of appearance)
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
Spike Staggs … R.C. Tucker
Gaia… Kate Steele
Arella … Orchid
Detective Stacey Jordan … Nina Stokes
ECPCSP Cell Block Guard … I. Jabron
Meepus … Kaden Kessler
ECPCSP First Responder 1 … Raymond Burns
ECPCSP First Responder 1 … Carlos Fuego
Directed by … DubbleFC
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … CTN Television Studios
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Pedos Candy
Sheffield Heights, Empire City
Chapter VIII (Part 1): One Down…One to Go…
The scene opened on the streets of Empire City as Michelle Andretti, fresh faced reporter for Channel 8 News was on her first assignment on her new job.
She had scratched and clawed her way out of entry level positions at the station, doing all she could to finally make it to the big time and now it was finally happening for her. She would finally have her first on-camera spot on the news as she interviewed people on the street about the increasingly dangerous threat that metas were posing to the populous.
As she went from person to person, hoping to get someone to speak about the controversial subject, people shunned her, unwilling to show their face on camera and be recognized by one of the super powered ‘would-be’ gods that were slowly starting to eat at the foundation of the city. Michelle nervously played with the ring on her finger as she wondered if today was going to be the last time she got an assignment. She smiled nervously as she looked back over her shoulder at the cameraman, her friend Spike Staggs.
Spike was a star behind the scenes at Channel 8, he always seemed be right where the action was with camera in hand, getting all the best video for the station. He was the reason that the channel was at the top of the ratings. Michelle had been overjoyed when Spike had volunteered to go with her for this relative fluff piece. Even though it wasn’t a top tier news piece, having him attached to it would make sure they got airtime.
As for Spike, he had other reasons for being here…just as there were other reasons for his inexplicable luck at being at the right place at the right time. Spike was a meta-human with precognitive abilities that allowed him glimpses into the future. He had used this power to his advantage in his career and it had always only been business…but his latest vision involved his friend Michelle disappearing and he had no intention of allowing that vision to come to pass. It was a shadowy figure…a creature that could transform into a shadow…he would be the one to try to take Michelle, and Spike was going to be there to stop him.
Spike looked around cautiously, recognizing the surroundings from his vision. The shadow man was going to appear here and take Michelle…at least, that is how it happened in his vision. That is not the way it would happen today. He spoke up from behind the camera, “Hey Chelly, stand over by that pole so I can get a better shot of you…the light is a lot better.”
Michelle gave an exasperated sigh. Things were not going the way she hoped. No one was talking to her about the meta threat, and now she was being told that she didn’t look good on camera. She wondered what next as she moved over to the pole, shaking her head. “Better?”
“Yeah, I…” Spike stopped as a vision flashed before his eyes, startling him…
Gateway Park and the massive statute of Superious, all cloaked in the darkest of night…SHADOW…
There was the beating of wings…not like a bird…giant wings…ANGEL…
GUNFIRE! COMING FROM ALL AROUND!! There was blood all around…so much blood…
“SPIKE, THE RING!!” Michelle…?
A flash of gold glimmering in night…a golden RING inside a bloody lifeless hand…the hand closing around it…
“Spike? SPIKE!” Spike shook himself out of his vision as Michelle stared at him, but something was wrong…she was unable to move and blood trickled from one of her nostrils.
Spike attempted to move, but he was also rooted to the spot with camera in hand. The ‘Go Live’ button was depressed and all he could do was watch as the image was broadcast live over Channel 8.
The camera zoomed in on the woman who stood beside Michelle. She was thin and pale with a wild shock of red hair on her head.
She smiled viciously as she spoke, “This one…want to ask me questions about what I thought about the meta threat.” The woman snickered as she looked at Michelle, trembling and frozen in place. “Meta threat? Is that what you are calling it?” She shook her head, “It’s not a threat…it’s the inevitable…it’s a revolution…”
Spike struggled against the power that held him, but it was of no use. Among his other gifts, Spike could move some objects with his mind…but now he was held powerless. Everything he tried to move as held down as if it weighed a ton and no amount of force he used could move it.
The woman looked at the two of them with a smirk, “You humans, you irritate the hell out of me. You're all so vain… you always think it's all about you. Your society weighs its insipid opinion on us based on how many of you we save, or by how many of you we hurt. We are so amazingly sick and tired of constantly being labeled a villain or evil by your media based on your supposedly unfailing moral standards. You want to know what the point is? The point is, for all your dressing it up, for all your not wanting to admit it…we are superior to you. Humans inherited this earth from the monkeys he evolved from. In the course of history, he's asserted his dominion over his brethren by force, using nature's law of survival of the fittest to his advantage. Now things have come full circle. It's now our time to inherit this earth… from the humans!”
Spike turned his power on the woman herself, lifting her off her feet, and distracting her momentarily. With the hold broken, Spike felt his body release, the camera falling, as he started to move toward Michelle. The distraction only proved to be momentary, as woman held out her hand and black energy seemed to surround it. “MICHELLE!” Spike screamed as he collapsed to the ground, pinned there as if a great weight were crushing him into the ground. “AAARRRRGGGGHHH!” he screamed as he felt his bones cracking and his body being mashed and crushed into the earth.
Michelle, momentarily free, ran to Spike, grabbing his hand as if to help him, but she was suddenly caught in the grip of the woman’s power. “NOOOOOO!” She bore down as the red haired woman turned her power on her, snapping her back and folding her over as blood trickled from her mouth.
The red haired woman walked over and looked down at the camera as it floated a few inches from the ground. With no effort, the camera lifted up and focused on her face. She grinned, “My name is Gaia…and soon your dominion over me and my kind will be at an end! With my brothers and sisters by my side…the age of humans…IS OVER!” Static filled the screens of everyone watching as Gaia’s power crushed the camera into junk.
The crowd that had gathered around to watch suddenly fled in horror. People screamed as they ran in all directions, but with the calm of a natural super predator, she directed her power at them in turn, crushing them like tin cans in a horrific manner. As she walked after the fleeing masses, all ran but one. A young girl stood in the shadows of a nearby alleyway watching the scene, her face obscured by the hoodie she wore. When Gaia approached, she did not flee. “Girl…you should be running…don’t you think?”
Gaia’s hands crackled with black power as she made ready to crush her into nothingness. She stopped as the girl put her finger to her lips, “Shhhhhh…” Gaia stopped, blinking and seeming confused momentarily. The girl pointed off into the distance, “The prison is that way…is it not?”
Gaia cocked her head to the side as she narrowed her eyes, then she followed the girl’s gaze off into the distance. A smile touched her lips, “Yes…yes it is…” Her hands pulsed with power as she lifted off the ground, as if gravity was meaningless to her.
As the woman flew away, the girl dropped to her knees, falling to the ground as her hands reached out as if struggling for a hold on anything. Her hands pulled back the hoodie and her face was revealed, her Asian features undeniable and unchanged for centuries, it was Arella and her eyes were again blind and unseeing…yet, slowly they began to clear. She collapsed to the ground, breathing hard as she whispered, “Thank you Father…”
Penitentiary for the Criminally Super Powered
Centerville, Empire City
“There you go, Detective.” The guardsman at the desk keyed a command into the console, disabling the bluish, semi-visible force-field leading down into B block. Detective Stacey Jordan followed the guard escorting her into the wide hallway where the inmates were kept behind various means of containment, from force-fields to phase beams to good old fashioned iron bars. Several of the inmates, having not seen a woman in a long time, slithered towards the front of their cells and leered at her with gleaming eyes. Very few gave any obscene gestures or called out to her though, and they only did it covertly once she and the guard had already passed by. It seemed that they were fearful of the guard's wrath. It was probably with good reason, the prison was known for being a tough prison for tough people.
Empire City Penitentiary for the Criminally Super Powered (ECPCSP) was an intimidating place. It had been constructed to be. Residing on the edge of the city, though still in view of the statue of Superius, a monument to its protector and would-be god, it didn't so much resemble a prison as it did a fortress. From the three different types of fences enclosing it, to the massive wall surrounding the prison proper, to the guards themselves—they all wore heavy, semi mechanical armor and carried military-issue weaponry—everything about ECPCSP had been carefully tailored to drain away all hope of escape from its inmates. And it had been highly successful, boasting only two escapes in the last thirty years.
“This is it, ma'am.” The guard stopped in front of a dingy cell with an electrified force-field in front of it.
Det. Jordan peered inside at the shady figure sitting on the bunk. He had a newspaper in his hands, but now looked up at them anxiously. This was the one she had come to question about the fire that had burned down Brandon's church…the firestarter, Meepus.
“Don't touch the field” the guard said. “It's electrified. Other than that, take all the time you need. When you're finished, just call out. I'll be nearby.” He ambled off, his heavy metal boots clinking loudly off the steel floor.
“Come to bail me out, sweetheart?” Meepus put down the newspaper and approached the front of the cell, stopping well short of the bars. Like the other inmates, he wore a silvery, power-inhibiting collar with a green LED display. He gave her a grin that may have once been cheerful but now just made him look tired. The place was working its magic on him.
“No, I've come to talk to you about a fire” she replied.
“Fire!” Meepus exclaimed. “Lady, I'm like the MAN when it comes to fire! Get the guards to let me outta here and I'll ignite anything you want!”
Stacey raised an eyebrow. “We'll see. What do you know about the fire at Madison Chapel a little over a week ago?”
Before Meepus could answer, the entire cell block shuddered with a sudden brief rumble.
A woman's voice came on the prison's intercom system. "Good evening, my fellow metas. My name is Gaia. I've set you free from your human captors."
Meepus looked around in confusion, before he felt the inhibitor collar suddenly blink red twice then snap open and fall to the floor with a CLANK.
"In return, I only ask that you take whatever measures of revenge you feel necessary on those that put you in chains. Once outside you will find Empire City a much different place. I've seen the chaos out there. Empire City is in her twilight hour. It is now our time to take control. The time of the humans has ended. The time of the Super…has begun. Go, and take what is rightfully yours. Destroy the humans…and all who stand with them."
Stacey took a hesitant step back as Meepus glanced up, a small smirk growing on his lips as the doors in the block swung open.
There was another explosion, this one almost directly overhead. A portion of the ceiling blew inward with great force, sending massive chunks of concrete hurtling towards the guard and the detective. Stacey managed to yell, “LOOK OUT!!!” and attempted to pull the guard out of harms way. But he was a big man, and his heavy armor made pulling him away nigh impossible. Instead he slipped from her grasp, with Stacey barely having time to flatten herself against the wall as one of the pieces of concrete collided with the guard. His personal shield generator and armor took most of the damage—probably saving his life—but it still knocked him back through the hall, where he skidded to a stop against the wall, quite unconscious.
Portions of the ceiling collapsed all around them. Stacey pushed herself from the wall, coughing from the dust and debris. She peered through the dust to see if the guard was alright, instead, she was greeted by a most unwelcome sight…
“Ohhhhh snap, son…” Meepus grinned as he saw the lone detective. “It must be my birthday!” He chuckled, “Now…you were asking me a question I believe…something about fire I think…”
The other inmates had started yelling excitedly amidst the chaos, most busting from their cell in a mixture of brute strength and energy blasts. Stacey squared off in the center of the hall, pulling her service pistol. “Police, FREEZE! Hold it right there!” she yelled.
Meepus merely laughed. “Sorry lady…but the irony of what you just asked me to do…is really funny!”
He thrust his hands forward, and an enormous gout of flame erupted from them. The bars of his cell glowed red, then white hot, then began to liquefy into a distorted molten mass that parted before Meepus. The ethereal ball of flame continued its course down the hall, heading right towards the detective. She staggered back before the rush of superheated air preceding it, stumbled against a chunk of concrete debris on the floor, and fell. Her eyes wide, all she could do was watch the fireball continue its implacable course towards her, and throw her arms over her face…this was the end for her.
Stacey felt the heat wash over her…and pass by. It was no worse than a muggy summer breeze. She lowered her arms to find the flames dissipating in the air, as though they had struck a wall of wind. The detective's benefactor landed in front of her, a small woman with graceful wings protruding from her back, beating back the flames with slow, powerful strokes.
Anka didn't look over her shoulder at the detective to address her, doing what she could to stay unrecognized. Instead, she kept her face hidden as she spoke, “Go. I'll handle this” she said.
Stacey slowly got to her feet, uncertain. Then she saw Meepus encase himself in flames. That, along with another series of huge explosions that rocked the jailhouse, convinced her to take the woman's advice. She rushed back towards the safety of the prison's administrative areas to link up with the guards, who would no doubt have their hands full with every super in the prison on the loose. Meepus watched her go, then turned his fiery gaze back on winged newcomer.
“Yeah, so…. I'm gonna bust on outta here.” Anka offered no response. “You're uh…kinda in the way, toots.”
“I know” Anka said. Though every instinct inside her said to stand aside and allow him to leave, she knew that doing so would only put Stacey in more jeopardy. She needed to buy more time to ensure the woman’s safety…as she promised Brandon she would.
Meepus laughed, and the flames encasing him turned white-hot. “Alright, sweetheart, don't say I didn't warn you!” He giggled, and dashed towards her with amazing speed, leaving a streak of flames behind. The inmates began to cheer, the evening's entertainment had fallen into their laps, and if they were lucky, the carnage would ensure their escape as well.
Meepus hurled a volley of fireballs as he rushed towards Anka. She leapt into the air and took flight; the balls of fire flew under her, hit the force field of one of the inmates' cells, and exploded into a blossom of flame. Meepus dashed under her as well, moving too fast to correct his speed so suddenly. He skidded to a stop, and turned round just in time to see her swooping in quick. One of her wings swung at him in a kind of powerful backhand, unmindful of the flames wreathing his body. The blow knocked Meepus into the steel wall between a couple of cells. His body left a molten, charred impression in the metal.
“Honey, you're asking for it!” Meepus growled as he slowly rose from the wall. He threw a rapid succession of fireballs at her, but her quick aerial maneuvering made her hard to hit, and she merely dodged the majority of them. The fireballs instead exploded against the ceiling, around the cells, or against them, causing some of the cheers from the inmates to turn into angry shouts of protest. He dashed under her, attempting to keep up as he tried to shoot her down from the prison's high ceiling. None of the fireballs hit their target as Anka gracefully wove in, out, and around their path.
“Tired yet?” Anka called down to him, halting her flight into a hover.
Meepus scowled at her… but then it turned into a grin. “I'm just getting warmed up” he said. He held both his hands up into the air, and a flame burst forth from them like a gathering tornado of pure fire. It began to grow…and grow…and GROW.
Anka and the inmates saw what was coming. The inmates began to cry out, fearing that the enormous flame would consume the entire block. Instead of flying off, however…Anka merely hovered there, giving Meepus a small smile. It only served to anger him more. He concentrated the behemoth mass of flame into a gargantuan spear. “DODGE THIS!!”
He bellowed, and hurled it at her like a javelin. It arced towards Anka with the speed of a flaming arrow. She simply flew to the side, out of its path...but Meepus merely snapped his fingers, and the entire works exploded as it coursed passed her. The cauterizing flames encased her, obscuring her from view. There were also inmates up there, on the third floor of the block; their alternative cheering and screams told Meepus all he needed to know...or so he thought. He turned away, ready to make his way out, when he heard a dull thud behind him. He smirked as he looked over his shoulder, expecting to see the woman's charred body smoldering on the floor…but was instead greeted by the sight of Anka slowly rising from one knee, the wings that had enveloped her and protected her from the blast stretching to their full span. His smirk turned into a sneer…
“So you think your wings are fireproof, huh? Allow me to show the difference between fireproof and fire-resistant, kiddo…” He made a quaint gesture, and the flames that had encased the ceiling from the explosion rushed downwards to obey his command. Anka dashed towards him, using her wings to propel her along the ground, but the flames were a fraction faster. They flew down in front of her, blocking her path to Meepus, forcing her to bring one of her wings to bear again as a shield and slowing her progress forward. Meepus danced back away from her, out of range, and gave the flames another command. This time, the fire rose up and arced over Anka, enveloping her and forcing her to cover up completely.
“Shoulda just got outta the way, toots…I wouldn't've had to barbeque you like this…” Meepus crooned as he built up another charge of flames around his hands. He released it in her direction, sustaining the burst like a flamethrower. The flames began to grow paler as he increased the temperature. He stepped in closer, adding to the pressure from the steady stream of flames. “Cooking in there, yet?” He laughed.
Anka was, in fact cooking. The temperatures Meepus was generating were nothing short of incredible, and her wings were taking a pounding. Even encased in them as she was, the heat was reaching nearly intolerable levels. Below the edge of her wings, she could see the steel floor around her glowing red hot with the sustained flare, and the soles of her shoes were beginning to melt. She held out as long as she could, watching him through her translucent wings as he came closer in his zeal…to close in fact…
Anka gave a wordless, defiant cry as she stood and spread her wings with enough force to send a shockwave rippling through the air, instantly extinguishing the fiery tomb. The firestarter was knocked off his feet from the sudden gale, flames still trailing from his hands as he was sent rolling down the hall. Inmates in a 180 degree arc around her were likewise knocked back against their cells. Not sparing a moment, Anka rushed at Meepus as he struggled to get to his feet, and landed a right cross that lifted him off his feet for the second time in the span of very few seconds, depositing him next to the narrow hallway leading out of the cell block. He struck the wall with a tremendous “UNNGH!!” and slid down it, the wind knocked out him.
Two guards emerged from the passageway, weapons at the ready, not seeing Meepus as he lay in a heap in the corner. Instead they focused on Anka, who had been in mid-stride, dashing towards Meepus in order to finish him off. Instead, she was forced to dodge out of the way as a series of ion bolts came sizzling towards her as one of the guards opened fire.
“STUPID ASSHOLES!” Anka yelled in protest, shielding herself from the projectiles with her wings.
“She's right, cease fire! That's the one the Detective told us about, she's here to help!” The trigger-happy guard's partner yelled… but by then it was too late. Meepus, who had managed to recover somewhat, rose up and grabbed the guard closest to him, pushing him towards Anka…sending a fireball along the way for good measure. It struck the guard from behind, immediately encasing him in flames. The other guard whirled to face this new threat, and received a fireball in his chest for his efforts.
Hurriedly, Anka used her wings to create another gust of wind, beating the flames off the horribly burned guardsmen, Meepus had already dashed down the exit and made his escape, leaving a fiery trail behind.
Anka looked at the two men on the ground writhing in pain and rolled her eyes as she stepped over them, dragging her fingers through her hair. Stacey was safe…but an even bigger problem now loomed. Every super-powered fiend housed in an entire wing of this prison had now been loosed on the city by a madwoman by the name of Gaia. No one would be safe now…
Downtown
Sheffield Heights, Empire City
As Spike lay on the cold pavement, feeling his life ebbing away all he could focus on was Michelle, her lovely body bent and unnaturally broken. He wondered how his visions had failed him…how he had been so wrong. This was not what he had envisioned…this was not the end he had foreseen. All he had wanted to do was protect her…keep her safe…what good was his power if it failed him when he needed it most?
*cough*
Spike strained to see as Michelle coughed and convulsed, her body arching up, bones cracking and moving under her flesh as they found their proper positions once more. Spike’s eyes grew wide in amazement as Michelle sat up, completely unhurt, but her body shaking as she stared at her hands, then over at Spike. “S-Spike…” She managed to sputter as she started to crawl towards him, reaching for his hand.
Her touch was electric and Spike felt his body respond immediately to her touch. His vision cleared and he opened his mouth to speak, “Chelley…what…” His voice caught in his throat as he saw the dark shadow forming behind her…just as it had in his dream.
She turned as she saw his eyes and she started to scream, but it was cut off abruptly as the shadow leapt on her, dragging her into itself. She tried to crawl back to Spike but its hold on her was too strong. She reached out her hand one last time and Spike grabbed it, holding on for dear life…but she again slipped from his grasp as she was pulled into the yawning darkness.
Spike managed to scream, “MICHELLE!!!” as he sat up, his own body knitting itself back together. For a moment, he didn’t know what had happened until he opened his hand and saw the ring that Michelle had worn now resting in his palm.
He scrambled to his feet, turning around, looking for any sign of Michelle or the shadow that had taken her. He squeeze the ring in his hand as all he saw around him was death and destruction. He stopped, staring down at the ring…it was part of his vision…he had seen the ring…he had seen...
Gateway Park…
Gunshots…
An Angel…
Crushing Blackness…
Spike didn’t know how much of his vision had to do with Michelle or the shadow creature that had taken her. All thoughts of the mad-woman calling herself Gaia was put out of his mind. He had one mission and one mission only...get to Gateway Park...find the Angel...and then save Michelle from the shadow that had taken her...or die trying...
EPISODE CREDITS
CAST (In order of appearance)
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
Spike Staggs … R.C. Tucker
Gaia… Kate Steele
Arella … Orchid
Detective Stacey Jordan … Nina Stokes
ECPCSP Cell Block Guard … I. Jabron
Meepus … Kaden Kessler
ECPCSP First Responder 1 … Raymond Burns
ECPCSP First Responder 1 … Carlos Fuego
Directed by … DubbleFC
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … CTN Television Studios
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Pedos Candy