Post by The Circle Television Network on Dec 11, 2016 18:34:32 GMT -5
Chapter XVII: Everyone Has Their Own Agenda
Argos Square
Downtown, Empire City
Stacey grumbled to herself as she drove to pick up Spike Staggs, still unsettled by her earlier meeting with Brandon and Anka; “Brandon had some nerve to bring that shifty-eyed bitch to my home! I’ve been a cop for a loooooong time…and I know when someone is a little bit off. Little Miss. Anka Jarius…aka Angel of Empire City…is more than a little bit off…A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN JUST OFF!” Stacey smirked, disgusted with herself for her own self commentary, but she continued on all the same; “As much as I care for Brandon…the fucking jerk-ass idiot that he is…I’m not going to hold his damn hand and lead him to water so he can drink. Brandon use to have a feeling for shit like this!” Of course, that was a long time ago when he was a badge-carrying member of ECPD. Now it seemed that he was a religious nutcase, preaching rhetoric…hardly the man she remembered.
She pounded the steering wheel, upset with herself. How she wanted to tell him how Spike had helped him in Gateway Park! It wasn’t the mysterious hand of ‘God’ like everyone was saying. To just shit all over his beliefs…that would give her a great deal of pleasure, but that wouldn’t be because it’s the right thing to do, it would have just been petty revenge. Revenge for him deserting the department…but mainly for him deserting her. It was selfish… “…fuck it…”
She pulled up to the address that Spike had given her and true to form, he was standing there rubbing his hands together in eager anticipation. She stretched over and kicked open the passenger side door. “Your chariot awaits Romeo. Let’s go talk to your girlfriend.”
Spike jumped in the car, closing the door behind him. “She’s not my girlfriend.” He watched as Stacey pulled out her pistol, checked the clip, then slammed the magazine back home, as she racked the slide, then put it away. He nodded, “I’m glad to see that you are taking this seriously Detective. That thing…whatever it is…it isn’t Michelle.”
Stacey eyed Spike, “I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt in checking out Ms. Andretti. I’m not convinced yet…but I owe you.” She shrugged, “I tried pulling a few strings to see if we could talk to her before the Town Hall, but I got denied. We’ll have to see her afterwards.”
Spike pounded his fist on the dashboard. “SOMETHING IS WRONG! I CAN FEEL IT…I’VE SEEN IT!” Spike thought back to his vision…it had never steered him wrong. Something was going to happen today…and this was his chance to save her.
Stacey glared at him, “Take it easy on my car Staggs!” She patted her steering wheel gently, smiling to herself at the irony after she had pounded on it in anger earlier. She hit the accelerator, peeling out and headed towards the downtown area. She didn’t know what they were going to encounter, but whatever it was…she planned on being ready for it…
As the car angled towards the massive coliseum, a shadow passed behind them, accompanied by the beating of wings.
Caesars Coliseum
Downtown, Empire City
The production assistant stuck her head into Michelle Andretti’s dressing room, her head was beading with nervous sweat, “There are like THOUSANDS of people out there…damn near the entire city! DON’T GET NERVOUS, FOR GODS SAKE!”
Michelle turned in her chair and eyed the shaking woman, “You worry about the broadcast to the people who didn’t come out, and I will worry about the ones that did.” She cocked her head to the side, “Any word from Superius or the Angel?”
The woman shook her head. “No…but they wouldn’t miss this chance to speak to the people, would they?”
Michelle turned away as she replied, “The gods can be rather fickle at times. Let's hope today is not one of those times.”
The woman nodded glumly, “We will have everything in place for you Ms. Andretti. The rest will be in the hands of the gods I guess.” She closed the door, seemingly leaving Michelle alone.
Michelle arched her back and the shadows that once filled the room receded, seeming to retreat into her body as they revealed Arella as she stood in the corner. She stepped forward, “Don’t worry about the demi-god, Superius is too vain not to show up.” She shrugged, “As for my mother…I know of her hatred of Superius. When we first met, she was consumed by it. If and when she shows…it won’t take more than a little push in the right direction, and the Angel of Empire City will reveal herself to be no angel at all. The One God religion will wither on the vine and die…and our contract with the humans will be fulfilled.” Arella stared at the thing inhabiting Michelle Andretti’s body as it continued to absently play with her ring finger. Arella grabbed her arm, “Tell me you are not continuing to obsess over that ring! We are too close for distractions!”
She looked at Arella, her face darkening with her mood, “I will not be distracted! You have promised us power. Once the deed is done…I will have even more power than before.” She turned back, still absently touching her hand. “I will goad the Angel into revealing the hatred inside her…and once that is done, we will destroy her.”
Arella looked away, “Once it is done…yes…once it is done.”
Minutes later, Spike stood beside the detective as he watched Michelle come out and a massive cheer went up from the crowd. Their adulation didn’t register as he was too busy measuring the woman’s every move. Everything inside him screamed that something was wrong. She looked and sounded like Michelle, but she wasn’t Michelle…at least not anymore. As soon as this farce was over…he would get to the bottom of this game, once and for all.
Stacey put her hand on his shoulder, “As soon as this is over…we will speak with her. I have already cleared it.”
Her words were cold comfort to him. His visions had shown him that there would be a fight before this was all said and done, and with so many innocents around…causalities would be unavoidable. All Spike could hope to do is to limit the damage.
Stacey’s keen eyes roamed the crowd, searching for any sign of trouble. With so many people here it was a near certainty that something would go wrong, she only hoped that she would be able to spot trouble before it was too late. As she peered out over the masses, she saw something that looked out of the ordinary. A single person in a crowd of hundreds, but this one person seemed more interested in the others around her than the stage. Stacey started to call for uniformed officers to check the person out, until the person turned and she recognized her as Grace Sloan…Agent Grace Sloan. The same mysterious woman who had come to her office in an attempt to recruit her into her equally mysterious organization, The Agency. Stacey wrestled with the thought of having her checked out anyway, but she finally decided against it…opting instead to keep her eye on the woman instead. Agent or not…she still didn’t completely trust the woman or her claim of them being the ‘good guys.’
Up on stage, Michelle took her place behind the podium as she checked the time. Almost as if on cue, the crowd came alive and began to part as the mighty Superius walked into the coliseum. The people parted before him as he strode amongst them in his gleaming armor, then came back together in his wake, reaching out to touch his billowing red cloak. Many citizens collapsed to their knees in reverence as the demi-god passed and made his way to the stage.
Michelle smiled as she announced to the crowd, “People of Empire City…our General and Lord Protector…our god...SUPERIUS!”
The General bowed his head as the crowd roared his name in adulation. After several minutes, he was forced to raise his hand to quiet them. “People of Empire City…I am honored and humbled by your cheers, however that is not the purpose for my return or my presence before you today. I…”
Before he could finish, a gasp arose from the masses as the crowd looked into the sky, several proclaiming; “LOOK! IT’S THE ANGEL!” Anka’s massive wings stretched out as she descended to the stage, landing just opposite of Superius.
The crowd was a living, breathing thing as they pulsed with reverence over the two symbols of the divine on the same stage. Michelle smiled as she looked at Anka…the dark entity inside her seemed to sense the malice inside the winged woman, just as Arella had said it would be. All she had to do was bring her volcanic anger bubbling to the surface. Once the whole of Empire City saw it’s ‘Angel’s’ petty human jealousy, the One God churches would be finished. Michelle clapped her hands, “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE ANGEL OF EMPIRE CITY!”
Anka cast a quick glance out over the massive crowd…a thousand thousand eyes upon her…sheep…all of them. Her stomach churned at the thought of them all hanging on Superius’ every word for hope…a savage…a dictator…a rapist…a murderer. Her wings bristled and she turned her attention fully to the eyes of the man…the monster…she wanted to destroy, he was Rome…he was her enemy and maybe her ticket into eternity. Perhaps Superius himself had not been the one to murder her people, but it was him who allowed Rome to survive and expand its murderous influence over the world, when it should have collapsed under its own bloated weight.
Michelle couldn’t have looked more pleased as their plan was coming together. The angel was here, just as Arella had said she would be, and now…all she had to do was play on her emotions and get her to reveal her less than divine nature. “People of Empire City…today is a glorious day! Your god and Lord High Protector has come…THE MIGHTY HERO AND CONQUER OF EVIL, SUPERIUS!” The crowd roared and cheered with sound that rumbled like thunder. She turned to Anka, “Then we have the Angel…a herald of the so-called One God…” she paused, “…what do we even call you?”
Anka opened her mouth and almost told the world her birth name…but at the last moment, she decided against it. Of course, only the most astute would recognize her father’s name from the biblical texts…Jairus. Instead, she decided to call herself by another name…one she felt was far more appropriate. Just as God had cursed her…she would be known as a curse; “Hexx…” The name reverberated through the crowd, some spoke the name in surprise and others in reverence. Anka didn’t care in the least, her focus was still on Superius…and his was on her.
Michelle spoke up, “Well, that is certainly…”
Superius cut her off, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Tell me angel…Hexx, is it? You claim to come from the heavens above. What is your purpose here…among my people?”
Michelle couldn’t help but to smile as Superius was beginning to do the work for her. She turned to the winged woman, as the rest of the citizens of Empire City did, waiting for her answer.
Anka was at war inside herself. Her fierce anger towards Superius was reaching a boiling point…it took all that she had not to fly across the stage and bash his smug face in. She knotted her fists at her sides instead, “General…I have never made any claims of divinity.” Her wings flared behind her, ever so slightly, making her point for her, without her giving voice to it. “As for my purpose…I have come to open the eyes of the people…not YOUR people, but THE people.”
A crowd grew silent, but for a ripple of tension that seemed to fester. Superius stood a bit straighter at the not so veiled insult. “The people of this city are MY people! I have nurtured and protected them! That has always been my purpose…it always will be.”
Anka narrowed her eyes, “Tell me this, Lord High Protector…who gave you dominion over those you considered to be the lesser peoples of the world? You remember them, don’t you General? I remember them! The people you crushed and ground to dust…upon which you built your magnificent city!” She gestured around her, then turned her attention back to him. “Perhaps you are a god…to those who would rape and pillage innocent people in the name of Rome!”
A gasp went up from the crowd as she spoke with open disrespect to the demi-god. Superius himself seemed unnerved, “You talk madness! I helped to forge this city from nothing!”
Anka could take no more as she screamed at him, “YOU FORGED THIS CITY ON THE BONES OF THOSE WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN YOU AND YOUR WORTHLESS GODS!”
Michelle covered her mouth just as most of the crowd did, but she covered her mouth to hide the broad smile across her face. The Angel was on the verge of revealing the truth of who and what she was to the entire city…just as they had planned.
Superius stepped towards Anka, ready to confront her nose to nose, “HOW DARE YOU, I…”
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”
Stacey jumped as a voice rang out from the crowd and she saw Grace attempting to tackle another woman to the ground. Suddenly she was thrown back into the mass of bodies around her. The crowd screamed as the entire stage seemed to buckle and collapse with a tremendous crash.
The woman Grace had attempted to subdue was none other than Gaia, the most wanted woman in the city. A dripping black aura was seen around her clenched fists as she focused her power on crushing Superius and all that stood in her way. The people screamed as they attempted to flee in an absolute panic. Those closest to Gaia seemed stuck in their tracks even as they were pulled towards her, surrounding her like a writhing human shield.
Spike screamed as a massive cloud of dust rose from the ruins of the stage, “MICHELLE!!” He started running toward the chaos that everyone else was attempting to escape.
Stacey tried to grab him as he ran past, but she only got empty air. She pulled out her gun and tried to aim at Gaia, like every other officer and sharpshooter in the coliseum, but it was useless as she surrounded herself with innocent people on all sides. Stacey keyed her radio, “DON’T WORRY ABOUT SUPERIUS! CLEAR THE EXITS! THE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TRAMPLE EACH OTHER IF WE DON’T!” Stacey jumped the railing and started pushing her way through the crowd as she moved toward Gaia. “IF YOU GET A SHOT ON THAT RED HEADED BITCH, BLOW HER BRAINS OUT!”
As the riot police moved in, the people that hung in the air around Gaia were suddenly flung away from her in all directions, knocking officers and other bystanders alike to the ground like bowling pins. Shots rang out as Gaia rose into the sky, but the bullets were useless against her as her power sent the rounds tumbling off in different directions.
Gaia laughed, “PATHETIC HUMAN WASTES!! THIS WORLD NO LONGER BELONGS TO YOU!!” Gaia turned her power on the entire coliseum itself, as she prepared to bring it all down around them.
Inside the wreckage of the stage, where dust still billowed, Anka arched her back and her wings cast off the debris that come down on her. She made her way through the rubble until she saw Superius pinned beneath a collapsed pillar, an enormous weight, even for a being of his considerable and god-like strength. Anka wrenched free a piece of rebar and she stood over the General as he strained to free himself. He stopped as she saw her standing over him, her eyes burning with vengeance. “You murdered my people…you killed my entire family…and now, it’s your time to die you murdering Roman dog!”
Superius raised his hand, “WAIT! Do you not hear that? The red witch means to bring down this entire structure and kill hundreds of people! We cannot allow that!”
Anka screamed, “HOW MANY HAVE YOU KILLED?!” She drew back and smashed the metal bar into Superius over and over, screaming as she put her entire body into it. The demi-god attempted to fend off the blows, but he was left nearly helpless before her vicious onslaught. As indestructible has he had been considered, he soon began to wear the wounds of the savage attack on his free arm and face.
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
She swung the metal until her hands hurt and sang with the reverberation of bouncing off the General’s bloodied skull. She wanted to see his blood ebb out and cover the earth, just as she had been forced to watch her father’s as he lay dying in her arms…just as she had been forced to watch the blood of her surrogate daughter Arella do the same…all at the hands of Romans…Romans under the command of this false god. Her own hands bled and her arms grew weary, but she screamed as tears coursed down her face in black streaks as it mingled with the dirt and dust that swirled around them…
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
Each blow sounded like thunder and there seemed to be no end in sight. Anka did not care how many other’s died today…so long as Superius was among them. He would pay for taking away her family…her father, her mother…and even Arella…
For a moment, she thought it was her mind playing tricks on her. Through the blanket of dust, from the corner of her eye she saw movement. As she looked, her breath caught in her chest, she saw Arella dragging a blonde woman from the debris. The bent and bloodied rebar fell from her hands and clattered to the ground. Anka took a step towards her, calling her name; “…ARELLA…?” The girl turned for a moment, their eyes meeting for the first time since she perished in her arms within the veil hundreds of years ago.
The blonde woman looked up and suddenly an ominous black shadow seemed to rise up and obscure them both. A scream rang out as another massive pillar fell between them, sending up a massive cloud of dust. “ARELLA!!” she screamed, moving to find her, but her foot was caught. She looked down and Superius held her fast.
The General’s face was a crimson mask, but he still managed to speak, “S-Stop her…s-she will…kill t-them ALL!”
Anka yanked free of him, but his words echoed inside her head. Gaia would kill them all…but Anka only cared about one. She balled her fists in anger as she screamed out a curse of fury and shot upward like a missile, a trail of whirling dust in her wake. As she broke into the clear, there was complete chaos all around…and at the center of it…one person… “GAIA!!” Anka continued her path until she hit Gaia’s gravity field, then fell to the ground. She took to the air again, heading for Gaia, but again, the gravity well slammed her back to the earth more forcefully.
The people screamed as one of the massive pillars near the exit teetered, threating to topple over and crush hundreds of people. A loud crash came from the stage as Superius immerged from the wreckage, battered and bloodied. He moved with wounded purpose as he made his way to the massive pillar, posting himself against it, holding it upright. The ground cracked beneath his feet even as he strained to keep the structure from collapse, despite his weakened state.
Anka felt Gaia’s power weaken on her for a moment as she turned her attention to Superius. She wasted no time as she blasted herself into the sky angling away from Gaia as she continued to rise several hundred feet above her. Anka folded her wings back like a hawk as she plummeted down and hit Gaia from above, driving her down into the ground.
As they hit the hard earth, Gaia’s concentration was broken and the gravity well she created dissipated. A massive cheer went up from the crowd as the enormous structure stopped shaking and creaked loudly as it settled into place and Superius collapsed to his knees, spent as the people gathered around him. Gaia groaned as she struggled to get to her feet, her eyes narrowed to deadly slits as she glared at Anka, “TRAITOR!!” she yelled as she whirled around. Before she could turn her full power against Anka, Superius, or anyone else her body went ramrod still as her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the ground.
Agent Sloan stood over Gaia with a handheld device that stunned the meta terrorist, rendering her immobile.
She keyed a communications device on her lapel, “Maya! It worked, Valentine is down!”
Stacey ran up to Agent Sloan with her gun pointed at Gaia’s head. “What in the hell is going on here?! What is Valentine?!”
Using her free hand she gently nudged Stacey’s gun away from Gaia, “Whoa! Easy now…we have this under control!”
Stacey stared at her, “We? Who in the hell ARE you people?!”
She started to answer the detective’s question when a large crowd began to gather, all of them with a murderous look in their eyes as fear turned to thoughts of revenge. Agent Sloan looked at Stacey, “Detective…could you possibly do something about this…pretty fucking please…” She swallowed, “…I don’t know how much longer this thing is going to incapacitate her!”
Stacey looked down at Gaia and a part of her wanted to put two shots into the meta’s head herself, but that wasn’t the way to uphold the law. She turned to the crowd, “STAY BACK!! THIS IS A POLICE MATTER!! GAIA IS UNDER ARREST!!” The crowd continued to stalk them, many of them screaming about loved ones that had perished at the hands of the meta terrorist. Stacey reluctantly brandished her gun, “Please…PLEASE! STAY BACK!!” The crowd moved in, ready to pounce…
“ENOUGH! STAND BACK” Anka stood between the mob and the helpless Gaia. “She will face man’s justice before she taste’s God’s wrath.” Anka turned and looked at Stacey, and then down at Gaia, before turning back to the mob. “Go home to your families.”
Begrudgingly, the crowd backed down, slowly dispersing as they headed for the exits. Stacey and Agent Sloan breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the detective, “Looks like you are in good with the One God after all, huh?” Stacey rolled her eyes as she pulled out her cuffs and moved to put them on Gaia, but the agent stopped her. “I wouldn’t do that…this field is keeping her immobile…but I have no idea what it will do to you. My extraction team is going to be here any moment!”
Stacey narrowed her eyes, “Sloan, this woman is under arrest! She is not going anywhere with you!”
Agent Sloan shook her head, “Sorry…this is already a done deal Jordan. The Agency is taking custody of Gaia. We are the only ones equipped to hold her.” She looked up as a black ship positioned itself over the area and several people in black uniforms and face shields repelled down, securing the area.
One of the people walked up to Gaia, removing her helmet and deploying several small devices around the meta. She checked the field on a handheld device and turned to Agent Sloan and nodded, “We got her Ma’am! This field will hold her until we get back to base.”
Agent Sloan nodded, patting the girl on her shoulder, “Nice work Maya. Now, get her out of here before more vigilantes come back here and decide they aren’t playing by the One God’s rules anymore.”
She nodded and they began extracting Gaia into the ship. As Agent Sloan began to follow them, Stacey grabbed her by her arm, “Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on?!”
She smiled at Stacey, slowly removing her hand from her arm, “That depends on if you are going to join us?” She took hold of one of the repel ropes, “You still have my number detective.” She gestured for Stacey to call her, as she was wrenched up with the rest of the black ops team.
Stacey waved away the dust as she watched The Agency…whatever that was…fly off with Empire City’s most dangerous threat. She holstered her gun and turned to Anka, “I still don’t like or trust you!”
Anka turned away from her, “Then you are far more wise than the rest of these foolish sheep!” She looked over to the wreckage of the stage hoping to catch another glimpse of Arella…or who she thought was Arella among the ruins. Her eyes narrowed and her heart skipped a beat as she saw movement coming through the jumble of broken beams, wood, and concrete.
Spike Staggs stumbled through the dust, looking frantic until he saw Detective Jordan. He ran up to her, “STACEY, I COULDN’T FIND MICHELLE! SHE WASN’T IN THERE! I LOOKED EVERYWHERE!” He glanced at Anka, remembering his vision…she was there…so was Michelle. This had to be right…she had to be somewhere close. He turned back to Stacey, “I saw her Stacey…I saw her in my vision!” He looked at Anka again, “You were both there…”
Stacey put her hand on his shoulder, “Tell me what you saw…exactly what you saw!”
Spike closed his eyes, recounting his vision, as he saw it on the rooftop of the Loeb Building when he confronted Gaia, he spoke as if he was in a dream; “Fire…a roaring fire! Flames all around! A man…A BURNING MAN!”
Anka rolled her eyes, “This is nonsense…”
Stacey glared at Anka, but she was right…that made no sense at all.
Spike continued to recount his vision; “Alarms ringing…a vault…people screaming…money littering the floor…A BANK!” He paused, opening his eyes to look at Stacey; “A woman…a policewoman…the one from Gateway Park…you…” He looked at Anka, “Wings beating…flapping…burning…the Angel!”
Anka arched her brow, “Burning? I don’t burn.”
Spike continued to stare at her, “But…you will.” He closed his eyes, recounting the last part of his vision; “Darkness…shadows…THE SHADOW…Michelle…?”
This peaked Anka’s interest and she grabbed Spike, her dark eyes boring into him. “SHADOW! WHAT SHADOW?!”
Spike’s eyes fluttered open as he shrugged away from her, “A shadow…it took Michelle…it’s like…like it’s inside her!”
Anka stumbled back, as she recalled seeing just such a shadow when she saw Arella in the ruins. “…a girl in shadows…or was it shadows in a girl?”
Stacey stared at Anka, rolling her eyes, “Now you’re a fucking believer?!” Stacey shook her head. “I am not going to run off chasing after some silly dreams without a stitch of proof! I’m sorry…I’m a cop, I deal in reality, not fantasy…”
A uniformed officer ran up to Stacey, “Detective, it’s chaos out here trying to get these people safe, but there are alarms going off over seven blocks. We are going to need help dealing with the looting…we are going to need some serious back up!”
“Perhaps I can be of help…” They all turned and looked on in awe, all except Anka, as Superius limped over, bloody and battered, but still more than ready for battle. “This is my…” he paused, and looked at Anka, his expression unreadable, then turned to the detective, “…this is our city to protect. I will rally the military.”
Stacey nodded, “General Superius…we thank you…again.”
Superius nodded, moving with greater purpose even as he cast one last look at Anka. She returned his gaze with a cold look of her own…her hatred of him was still not sated.
As the uniformed officer turned to leave, Stacey stopped him. “Before you go…you said that there were alarms...going off for seven blocks. Was one of them…a bank?”
The officer held up his hand and checked with dispatch, then nodded, “12th and Argos.”
Stacey nodded and the officer set off to assist with clearing the streets. She turned to Spike, pointing at him, “I’m not saying I believe any of this stuff…but…it’s a hunch…just a hunch! We will go to the bank to check it out…just the two of us, do you hear me!” She turned to Anka, but she was already gone. Stacey threw up her hands, “GODS! THAT BITCH IS PISSING ME OFF!” Stacey headed for the parking garage. “Let’s go!”
Spike ran along side her as the two headed to the exit. “The angel…she has to be there…it was in my vision.”
Stacey chuckled, “She was also on fire in your vision…let’s hope that part comes true!”
Spike stops walking and shakes his head, “Wow…that’s really rude!” He runs to catch up with her as the two head to her car.
As the devastated coliseum was still being emptied, a familiar face moved through the crowd, his eyes to the sky instead of the exit as he watched the Angel fly off. Meepus had come to the event, not to hear the banter between Superius and the Angel of Empire City…but to get his hands on power…real power. As he followed her path, he blew into his hands to warm them, but it was all for show. Meepus was a living furnace in which ethereal fire raged…but what raged inside him now was desire…desire for the power he had seen wielded by the so-called Angel.
Meepus had once been part of Gaia’s insurgency before it had been smashed to pieces by the return of Superius and the bitch of a police detective…the one that he had watched from the shadows as the Angel saved her life with a ring…a magic ring…a ring that he had planned to take from her when she showed up to address the fucking stupid sheep of the city!
He had lived his life in fear of what he was and what he could do. The humans had locked him away as a criminal for using his gifts until Gaia had set him free. Then he thought he had found his purpose as a foot solider in Gaia’s meta insurgency. He had thought that was all that he was ever going to be…until he saw other possibilities. Once he got his hands on the ring…he was going to be a God!
The battle had spoiled his chance to take the ring as he originally planned…but with the city now in chaos…he would have another shot. Superius and Angels be damned…nothing and no one was going to stand in his way!
The Burning Man was going to set fire to the world...
EPISODE CREDITS
CAST (In order of appearance)
Detective Stacey Jordan … Nina Stokes
Spike Staggs … R.C. Tucker
Production Assistant … Chantal DeVille
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
Arella … Orchid
Grace Sloan … Amy Jo Smyth
Superius … Seth Jorgenson
Anka ... Kenzi Grey
Gaia … Kate Steele
Agent Maya … Maria Salvatore
Uniformed Officer … Eric Weaver
Meepus … Kaden Kessler
Directed by … DubbleFC
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … CTN Television Studios
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
Argos Square
Downtown, Empire City
Stacey grumbled to herself as she drove to pick up Spike Staggs, still unsettled by her earlier meeting with Brandon and Anka; “Brandon had some nerve to bring that shifty-eyed bitch to my home! I’ve been a cop for a loooooong time…and I know when someone is a little bit off. Little Miss. Anka Jarius…aka Angel of Empire City…is more than a little bit off…A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN JUST OFF!” Stacey smirked, disgusted with herself for her own self commentary, but she continued on all the same; “As much as I care for Brandon…the fucking jerk-ass idiot that he is…I’m not going to hold his damn hand and lead him to water so he can drink. Brandon use to have a feeling for shit like this!” Of course, that was a long time ago when he was a badge-carrying member of ECPD. Now it seemed that he was a religious nutcase, preaching rhetoric…hardly the man she remembered.
She pounded the steering wheel, upset with herself. How she wanted to tell him how Spike had helped him in Gateway Park! It wasn’t the mysterious hand of ‘God’ like everyone was saying. To just shit all over his beliefs…that would give her a great deal of pleasure, but that wouldn’t be because it’s the right thing to do, it would have just been petty revenge. Revenge for him deserting the department…but mainly for him deserting her. It was selfish… “…fuck it…”
She pulled up to the address that Spike had given her and true to form, he was standing there rubbing his hands together in eager anticipation. She stretched over and kicked open the passenger side door. “Your chariot awaits Romeo. Let’s go talk to your girlfriend.”
Spike jumped in the car, closing the door behind him. “She’s not my girlfriend.” He watched as Stacey pulled out her pistol, checked the clip, then slammed the magazine back home, as she racked the slide, then put it away. He nodded, “I’m glad to see that you are taking this seriously Detective. That thing…whatever it is…it isn’t Michelle.”
Stacey eyed Spike, “I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt in checking out Ms. Andretti. I’m not convinced yet…but I owe you.” She shrugged, “I tried pulling a few strings to see if we could talk to her before the Town Hall, but I got denied. We’ll have to see her afterwards.”
Spike pounded his fist on the dashboard. “SOMETHING IS WRONG! I CAN FEEL IT…I’VE SEEN IT!” Spike thought back to his vision…it had never steered him wrong. Something was going to happen today…and this was his chance to save her.
Stacey glared at him, “Take it easy on my car Staggs!” She patted her steering wheel gently, smiling to herself at the irony after she had pounded on it in anger earlier. She hit the accelerator, peeling out and headed towards the downtown area. She didn’t know what they were going to encounter, but whatever it was…she planned on being ready for it…
As the car angled towards the massive coliseum, a shadow passed behind them, accompanied by the beating of wings.
Caesars Coliseum
Downtown, Empire City
The production assistant stuck her head into Michelle Andretti’s dressing room, her head was beading with nervous sweat, “There are like THOUSANDS of people out there…damn near the entire city! DON’T GET NERVOUS, FOR GODS SAKE!”
Michelle turned in her chair and eyed the shaking woman, “You worry about the broadcast to the people who didn’t come out, and I will worry about the ones that did.” She cocked her head to the side, “Any word from Superius or the Angel?”
The woman shook her head. “No…but they wouldn’t miss this chance to speak to the people, would they?”
Michelle turned away as she replied, “The gods can be rather fickle at times. Let's hope today is not one of those times.”
The woman nodded glumly, “We will have everything in place for you Ms. Andretti. The rest will be in the hands of the gods I guess.” She closed the door, seemingly leaving Michelle alone.
Michelle arched her back and the shadows that once filled the room receded, seeming to retreat into her body as they revealed Arella as she stood in the corner. She stepped forward, “Don’t worry about the demi-god, Superius is too vain not to show up.” She shrugged, “As for my mother…I know of her hatred of Superius. When we first met, she was consumed by it. If and when she shows…it won’t take more than a little push in the right direction, and the Angel of Empire City will reveal herself to be no angel at all. The One God religion will wither on the vine and die…and our contract with the humans will be fulfilled.” Arella stared at the thing inhabiting Michelle Andretti’s body as it continued to absently play with her ring finger. Arella grabbed her arm, “Tell me you are not continuing to obsess over that ring! We are too close for distractions!”
She looked at Arella, her face darkening with her mood, “I will not be distracted! You have promised us power. Once the deed is done…I will have even more power than before.” She turned back, still absently touching her hand. “I will goad the Angel into revealing the hatred inside her…and once that is done, we will destroy her.”
Arella looked away, “Once it is done…yes…once it is done.”
Minutes later, Spike stood beside the detective as he watched Michelle come out and a massive cheer went up from the crowd. Their adulation didn’t register as he was too busy measuring the woman’s every move. Everything inside him screamed that something was wrong. She looked and sounded like Michelle, but she wasn’t Michelle…at least not anymore. As soon as this farce was over…he would get to the bottom of this game, once and for all.
Stacey put her hand on his shoulder, “As soon as this is over…we will speak with her. I have already cleared it.”
Her words were cold comfort to him. His visions had shown him that there would be a fight before this was all said and done, and with so many innocents around…causalities would be unavoidable. All Spike could hope to do is to limit the damage.
Stacey’s keen eyes roamed the crowd, searching for any sign of trouble. With so many people here it was a near certainty that something would go wrong, she only hoped that she would be able to spot trouble before it was too late. As she peered out over the masses, she saw something that looked out of the ordinary. A single person in a crowd of hundreds, but this one person seemed more interested in the others around her than the stage. Stacey started to call for uniformed officers to check the person out, until the person turned and she recognized her as Grace Sloan…Agent Grace Sloan. The same mysterious woman who had come to her office in an attempt to recruit her into her equally mysterious organization, The Agency. Stacey wrestled with the thought of having her checked out anyway, but she finally decided against it…opting instead to keep her eye on the woman instead. Agent or not…she still didn’t completely trust the woman or her claim of them being the ‘good guys.’
Up on stage, Michelle took her place behind the podium as she checked the time. Almost as if on cue, the crowd came alive and began to part as the mighty Superius walked into the coliseum. The people parted before him as he strode amongst them in his gleaming armor, then came back together in his wake, reaching out to touch his billowing red cloak. Many citizens collapsed to their knees in reverence as the demi-god passed and made his way to the stage.
Michelle smiled as she announced to the crowd, “People of Empire City…our General and Lord Protector…our god...SUPERIUS!”
The General bowed his head as the crowd roared his name in adulation. After several minutes, he was forced to raise his hand to quiet them. “People of Empire City…I am honored and humbled by your cheers, however that is not the purpose for my return or my presence before you today. I…”
Before he could finish, a gasp arose from the masses as the crowd looked into the sky, several proclaiming; “LOOK! IT’S THE ANGEL!” Anka’s massive wings stretched out as she descended to the stage, landing just opposite of Superius.
The crowd was a living, breathing thing as they pulsed with reverence over the two symbols of the divine on the same stage. Michelle smiled as she looked at Anka…the dark entity inside her seemed to sense the malice inside the winged woman, just as Arella had said it would be. All she had to do was bring her volcanic anger bubbling to the surface. Once the whole of Empire City saw it’s ‘Angel’s’ petty human jealousy, the One God churches would be finished. Michelle clapped her hands, “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE ANGEL OF EMPIRE CITY!”
Anka cast a quick glance out over the massive crowd…a thousand thousand eyes upon her…sheep…all of them. Her stomach churned at the thought of them all hanging on Superius’ every word for hope…a savage…a dictator…a rapist…a murderer. Her wings bristled and she turned her attention fully to the eyes of the man…the monster…she wanted to destroy, he was Rome…he was her enemy and maybe her ticket into eternity. Perhaps Superius himself had not been the one to murder her people, but it was him who allowed Rome to survive and expand its murderous influence over the world, when it should have collapsed under its own bloated weight.
Michelle couldn’t have looked more pleased as their plan was coming together. The angel was here, just as Arella had said she would be, and now…all she had to do was play on her emotions and get her to reveal her less than divine nature. “People of Empire City…today is a glorious day! Your god and Lord High Protector has come…THE MIGHTY HERO AND CONQUER OF EVIL, SUPERIUS!” The crowd roared and cheered with sound that rumbled like thunder. She turned to Anka, “Then we have the Angel…a herald of the so-called One God…” she paused, “…what do we even call you?”
Anka opened her mouth and almost told the world her birth name…but at the last moment, she decided against it. Of course, only the most astute would recognize her father’s name from the biblical texts…Jairus. Instead, she decided to call herself by another name…one she felt was far more appropriate. Just as God had cursed her…she would be known as a curse; “Hexx…” The name reverberated through the crowd, some spoke the name in surprise and others in reverence. Anka didn’t care in the least, her focus was still on Superius…and his was on her.
Michelle spoke up, “Well, that is certainly…”
Superius cut her off, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Tell me angel…Hexx, is it? You claim to come from the heavens above. What is your purpose here…among my people?”
Michelle couldn’t help but to smile as Superius was beginning to do the work for her. She turned to the winged woman, as the rest of the citizens of Empire City did, waiting for her answer.
Anka was at war inside herself. Her fierce anger towards Superius was reaching a boiling point…it took all that she had not to fly across the stage and bash his smug face in. She knotted her fists at her sides instead, “General…I have never made any claims of divinity.” Her wings flared behind her, ever so slightly, making her point for her, without her giving voice to it. “As for my purpose…I have come to open the eyes of the people…not YOUR people, but THE people.”
A crowd grew silent, but for a ripple of tension that seemed to fester. Superius stood a bit straighter at the not so veiled insult. “The people of this city are MY people! I have nurtured and protected them! That has always been my purpose…it always will be.”
Anka narrowed her eyes, “Tell me this, Lord High Protector…who gave you dominion over those you considered to be the lesser peoples of the world? You remember them, don’t you General? I remember them! The people you crushed and ground to dust…upon which you built your magnificent city!” She gestured around her, then turned her attention back to him. “Perhaps you are a god…to those who would rape and pillage innocent people in the name of Rome!”
A gasp went up from the crowd as she spoke with open disrespect to the demi-god. Superius himself seemed unnerved, “You talk madness! I helped to forge this city from nothing!”
Anka could take no more as she screamed at him, “YOU FORGED THIS CITY ON THE BONES OF THOSE WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN YOU AND YOUR WORTHLESS GODS!”
Michelle covered her mouth just as most of the crowd did, but she covered her mouth to hide the broad smile across her face. The Angel was on the verge of revealing the truth of who and what she was to the entire city…just as they had planned.
Superius stepped towards Anka, ready to confront her nose to nose, “HOW DARE YOU, I…”
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”
Stacey jumped as a voice rang out from the crowd and she saw Grace attempting to tackle another woman to the ground. Suddenly she was thrown back into the mass of bodies around her. The crowd screamed as the entire stage seemed to buckle and collapse with a tremendous crash.
The woman Grace had attempted to subdue was none other than Gaia, the most wanted woman in the city. A dripping black aura was seen around her clenched fists as she focused her power on crushing Superius and all that stood in her way. The people screamed as they attempted to flee in an absolute panic. Those closest to Gaia seemed stuck in their tracks even as they were pulled towards her, surrounding her like a writhing human shield.
Spike screamed as a massive cloud of dust rose from the ruins of the stage, “MICHELLE!!” He started running toward the chaos that everyone else was attempting to escape.
Stacey tried to grab him as he ran past, but she only got empty air. She pulled out her gun and tried to aim at Gaia, like every other officer and sharpshooter in the coliseum, but it was useless as she surrounded herself with innocent people on all sides. Stacey keyed her radio, “DON’T WORRY ABOUT SUPERIUS! CLEAR THE EXITS! THE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TRAMPLE EACH OTHER IF WE DON’T!” Stacey jumped the railing and started pushing her way through the crowd as she moved toward Gaia. “IF YOU GET A SHOT ON THAT RED HEADED BITCH, BLOW HER BRAINS OUT!”
As the riot police moved in, the people that hung in the air around Gaia were suddenly flung away from her in all directions, knocking officers and other bystanders alike to the ground like bowling pins. Shots rang out as Gaia rose into the sky, but the bullets were useless against her as her power sent the rounds tumbling off in different directions.
Gaia laughed, “PATHETIC HUMAN WASTES!! THIS WORLD NO LONGER BELONGS TO YOU!!” Gaia turned her power on the entire coliseum itself, as she prepared to bring it all down around them.
Inside the wreckage of the stage, where dust still billowed, Anka arched her back and her wings cast off the debris that come down on her. She made her way through the rubble until she saw Superius pinned beneath a collapsed pillar, an enormous weight, even for a being of his considerable and god-like strength. Anka wrenched free a piece of rebar and she stood over the General as he strained to free himself. He stopped as she saw her standing over him, her eyes burning with vengeance. “You murdered my people…you killed my entire family…and now, it’s your time to die you murdering Roman dog!”
Superius raised his hand, “WAIT! Do you not hear that? The red witch means to bring down this entire structure and kill hundreds of people! We cannot allow that!”
Anka screamed, “HOW MANY HAVE YOU KILLED?!” She drew back and smashed the metal bar into Superius over and over, screaming as she put her entire body into it. The demi-god attempted to fend off the blows, but he was left nearly helpless before her vicious onslaught. As indestructible has he had been considered, he soon began to wear the wounds of the savage attack on his free arm and face.
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
She swung the metal until her hands hurt and sang with the reverberation of bouncing off the General’s bloodied skull. She wanted to see his blood ebb out and cover the earth, just as she had been forced to watch her father’s as he lay dying in her arms…just as she had been forced to watch the blood of her surrogate daughter Arella do the same…all at the hands of Romans…Romans under the command of this false god. Her own hands bled and her arms grew weary, but she screamed as tears coursed down her face in black streaks as it mingled with the dirt and dust that swirled around them…
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
Each blow sounded like thunder and there seemed to be no end in sight. Anka did not care how many other’s died today…so long as Superius was among them. He would pay for taking away her family…her father, her mother…and even Arella…
For a moment, she thought it was her mind playing tricks on her. Through the blanket of dust, from the corner of her eye she saw movement. As she looked, her breath caught in her chest, she saw Arella dragging a blonde woman from the debris. The bent and bloodied rebar fell from her hands and clattered to the ground. Anka took a step towards her, calling her name; “…ARELLA…?” The girl turned for a moment, their eyes meeting for the first time since she perished in her arms within the veil hundreds of years ago.
The blonde woman looked up and suddenly an ominous black shadow seemed to rise up and obscure them both. A scream rang out as another massive pillar fell between them, sending up a massive cloud of dust. “ARELLA!!” she screamed, moving to find her, but her foot was caught. She looked down and Superius held her fast.
The General’s face was a crimson mask, but he still managed to speak, “S-Stop her…s-she will…kill t-them ALL!”
Anka yanked free of him, but his words echoed inside her head. Gaia would kill them all…but Anka only cared about one. She balled her fists in anger as she screamed out a curse of fury and shot upward like a missile, a trail of whirling dust in her wake. As she broke into the clear, there was complete chaos all around…and at the center of it…one person… “GAIA!!” Anka continued her path until she hit Gaia’s gravity field, then fell to the ground. She took to the air again, heading for Gaia, but again, the gravity well slammed her back to the earth more forcefully.
The people screamed as one of the massive pillars near the exit teetered, threating to topple over and crush hundreds of people. A loud crash came from the stage as Superius immerged from the wreckage, battered and bloodied. He moved with wounded purpose as he made his way to the massive pillar, posting himself against it, holding it upright. The ground cracked beneath his feet even as he strained to keep the structure from collapse, despite his weakened state.
Anka felt Gaia’s power weaken on her for a moment as she turned her attention to Superius. She wasted no time as she blasted herself into the sky angling away from Gaia as she continued to rise several hundred feet above her. Anka folded her wings back like a hawk as she plummeted down and hit Gaia from above, driving her down into the ground.
As they hit the hard earth, Gaia’s concentration was broken and the gravity well she created dissipated. A massive cheer went up from the crowd as the enormous structure stopped shaking and creaked loudly as it settled into place and Superius collapsed to his knees, spent as the people gathered around him. Gaia groaned as she struggled to get to her feet, her eyes narrowed to deadly slits as she glared at Anka, “TRAITOR!!” she yelled as she whirled around. Before she could turn her full power against Anka, Superius, or anyone else her body went ramrod still as her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the ground.
Agent Sloan stood over Gaia with a handheld device that stunned the meta terrorist, rendering her immobile.
She keyed a communications device on her lapel, “Maya! It worked, Valentine is down!”
Stacey ran up to Agent Sloan with her gun pointed at Gaia’s head. “What in the hell is going on here?! What is Valentine?!”
Using her free hand she gently nudged Stacey’s gun away from Gaia, “Whoa! Easy now…we have this under control!”
Stacey stared at her, “We? Who in the hell ARE you people?!”
She started to answer the detective’s question when a large crowd began to gather, all of them with a murderous look in their eyes as fear turned to thoughts of revenge. Agent Sloan looked at Stacey, “Detective…could you possibly do something about this…pretty fucking please…” She swallowed, “…I don’t know how much longer this thing is going to incapacitate her!”
Stacey looked down at Gaia and a part of her wanted to put two shots into the meta’s head herself, but that wasn’t the way to uphold the law. She turned to the crowd, “STAY BACK!! THIS IS A POLICE MATTER!! GAIA IS UNDER ARREST!!” The crowd continued to stalk them, many of them screaming about loved ones that had perished at the hands of the meta terrorist. Stacey reluctantly brandished her gun, “Please…PLEASE! STAY BACK!!” The crowd moved in, ready to pounce…
“ENOUGH! STAND BACK” Anka stood between the mob and the helpless Gaia. “She will face man’s justice before she taste’s God’s wrath.” Anka turned and looked at Stacey, and then down at Gaia, before turning back to the mob. “Go home to your families.”
Begrudgingly, the crowd backed down, slowly dispersing as they headed for the exits. Stacey and Agent Sloan breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the detective, “Looks like you are in good with the One God after all, huh?” Stacey rolled her eyes as she pulled out her cuffs and moved to put them on Gaia, but the agent stopped her. “I wouldn’t do that…this field is keeping her immobile…but I have no idea what it will do to you. My extraction team is going to be here any moment!”
Stacey narrowed her eyes, “Sloan, this woman is under arrest! She is not going anywhere with you!”
Agent Sloan shook her head, “Sorry…this is already a done deal Jordan. The Agency is taking custody of Gaia. We are the only ones equipped to hold her.” She looked up as a black ship positioned itself over the area and several people in black uniforms and face shields repelled down, securing the area.
One of the people walked up to Gaia, removing her helmet and deploying several small devices around the meta. She checked the field on a handheld device and turned to Agent Sloan and nodded, “We got her Ma’am! This field will hold her until we get back to base.”
Agent Sloan nodded, patting the girl on her shoulder, “Nice work Maya. Now, get her out of here before more vigilantes come back here and decide they aren’t playing by the One God’s rules anymore.”
She nodded and they began extracting Gaia into the ship. As Agent Sloan began to follow them, Stacey grabbed her by her arm, “Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on?!”
She smiled at Stacey, slowly removing her hand from her arm, “That depends on if you are going to join us?” She took hold of one of the repel ropes, “You still have my number detective.” She gestured for Stacey to call her, as she was wrenched up with the rest of the black ops team.
Stacey waved away the dust as she watched The Agency…whatever that was…fly off with Empire City’s most dangerous threat. She holstered her gun and turned to Anka, “I still don’t like or trust you!”
Anka turned away from her, “Then you are far more wise than the rest of these foolish sheep!” She looked over to the wreckage of the stage hoping to catch another glimpse of Arella…or who she thought was Arella among the ruins. Her eyes narrowed and her heart skipped a beat as she saw movement coming through the jumble of broken beams, wood, and concrete.
Spike Staggs stumbled through the dust, looking frantic until he saw Detective Jordan. He ran up to her, “STACEY, I COULDN’T FIND MICHELLE! SHE WASN’T IN THERE! I LOOKED EVERYWHERE!” He glanced at Anka, remembering his vision…she was there…so was Michelle. This had to be right…she had to be somewhere close. He turned back to Stacey, “I saw her Stacey…I saw her in my vision!” He looked at Anka again, “You were both there…”
Stacey put her hand on his shoulder, “Tell me what you saw…exactly what you saw!”
Spike closed his eyes, recounting his vision, as he saw it on the rooftop of the Loeb Building when he confronted Gaia, he spoke as if he was in a dream; “Fire…a roaring fire! Flames all around! A man…A BURNING MAN!”
Anka rolled her eyes, “This is nonsense…”
Stacey glared at Anka, but she was right…that made no sense at all.
Spike continued to recount his vision; “Alarms ringing…a vault…people screaming…money littering the floor…A BANK!” He paused, opening his eyes to look at Stacey; “A woman…a policewoman…the one from Gateway Park…you…” He looked at Anka, “Wings beating…flapping…burning…the Angel!”
Anka arched her brow, “Burning? I don’t burn.”
Spike continued to stare at her, “But…you will.” He closed his eyes, recounting the last part of his vision; “Darkness…shadows…THE SHADOW…Michelle…?”
This peaked Anka’s interest and she grabbed Spike, her dark eyes boring into him. “SHADOW! WHAT SHADOW?!”
Spike’s eyes fluttered open as he shrugged away from her, “A shadow…it took Michelle…it’s like…like it’s inside her!”
Anka stumbled back, as she recalled seeing just such a shadow when she saw Arella in the ruins. “…a girl in shadows…or was it shadows in a girl?”
Stacey stared at Anka, rolling her eyes, “Now you’re a fucking believer?!” Stacey shook her head. “I am not going to run off chasing after some silly dreams without a stitch of proof! I’m sorry…I’m a cop, I deal in reality, not fantasy…”
A uniformed officer ran up to Stacey, “Detective, it’s chaos out here trying to get these people safe, but there are alarms going off over seven blocks. We are going to need help dealing with the looting…we are going to need some serious back up!”
“Perhaps I can be of help…” They all turned and looked on in awe, all except Anka, as Superius limped over, bloody and battered, but still more than ready for battle. “This is my…” he paused, and looked at Anka, his expression unreadable, then turned to the detective, “…this is our city to protect. I will rally the military.”
Stacey nodded, “General Superius…we thank you…again.”
Superius nodded, moving with greater purpose even as he cast one last look at Anka. She returned his gaze with a cold look of her own…her hatred of him was still not sated.
As the uniformed officer turned to leave, Stacey stopped him. “Before you go…you said that there were alarms...going off for seven blocks. Was one of them…a bank?”
The officer held up his hand and checked with dispatch, then nodded, “12th and Argos.”
Stacey nodded and the officer set off to assist with clearing the streets. She turned to Spike, pointing at him, “I’m not saying I believe any of this stuff…but…it’s a hunch…just a hunch! We will go to the bank to check it out…just the two of us, do you hear me!” She turned to Anka, but she was already gone. Stacey threw up her hands, “GODS! THAT BITCH IS PISSING ME OFF!” Stacey headed for the parking garage. “Let’s go!”
Spike ran along side her as the two headed to the exit. “The angel…she has to be there…it was in my vision.”
Stacey chuckled, “She was also on fire in your vision…let’s hope that part comes true!”
Spike stops walking and shakes his head, “Wow…that’s really rude!” He runs to catch up with her as the two head to her car.
As the devastated coliseum was still being emptied, a familiar face moved through the crowd, his eyes to the sky instead of the exit as he watched the Angel fly off. Meepus had come to the event, not to hear the banter between Superius and the Angel of Empire City…but to get his hands on power…real power. As he followed her path, he blew into his hands to warm them, but it was all for show. Meepus was a living furnace in which ethereal fire raged…but what raged inside him now was desire…desire for the power he had seen wielded by the so-called Angel.
Meepus had once been part of Gaia’s insurgency before it had been smashed to pieces by the return of Superius and the bitch of a police detective…the one that he had watched from the shadows as the Angel saved her life with a ring…a magic ring…a ring that he had planned to take from her when she showed up to address the fucking stupid sheep of the city!
He had lived his life in fear of what he was and what he could do. The humans had locked him away as a criminal for using his gifts until Gaia had set him free. Then he thought he had found his purpose as a foot solider in Gaia’s meta insurgency. He had thought that was all that he was ever going to be…until he saw other possibilities. Once he got his hands on the ring…he was going to be a God!
The battle had spoiled his chance to take the ring as he originally planned…but with the city now in chaos…he would have another shot. Superius and Angels be damned…nothing and no one was going to stand in his way!
The Burning Man was going to set fire to the world...
EPISODE CREDITS
CAST (In order of appearance)
Detective Stacey Jordan … Nina Stokes
Spike Staggs … R.C. Tucker
Production Assistant … Chantal DeVille
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
Arella … Orchid
Grace Sloan … Amy Jo Smyth
Superius … Seth Jorgenson
Anka ... Kenzi Grey
Gaia … Kate Steele
Agent Maya … Maria Salvatore
Uniformed Officer … Eric Weaver
Meepus … Kaden Kessler
Directed by … DubbleFC
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … CTN Television Studios
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
