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Showing posts with label Scion Alex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scion Alex. Show all posts

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Astrobiology 106 - Part 4



My name is Mercedes Whitman and I'm a hero on a foreign world. I am the daughter of two heroes, and was trapped on this Earth during an Event that sealed the way back home forever. They call me Black Sapphire when I’m out patrolling, and these are my Blogs.

“I am filled with such hate, such rage, it consumes me. I fear that I will lose myself in the days to follow. My soul holds on as my conscience berates me.”

“I do not understand what you are saying.”

“I am saying that my essence is corrupt and fails me.”

“I will cure you and I will save your soul.”

Astrobiology 106 Part 4 - Fate of the… 

“Hope comes with the Dawn.” Dawnbringer

Sapphire exited the ship and stormed off towards the Director, her fist clenched at her side, one mega-ton punch primed. 
“I assume you are angry?” He said when she was within range. “Understand that any attack on my person will constitute an act of aggression and result in your expulsion from the Academy and exile from ever stepping foot on the grounds again. Also you will not receive the information you came for.” The Director smiled smugly.

“MEGA-TON PUNCH!!!” Sapphire’s fist slammed into the Directors jaw and lifted him from his feet and he flew backwards. She watched him sail across the room, heading towards a large pillar. Immediately he slammed to a stop and several potted plants launched in random directions, their momentum accelerated as his was bled off into them. He dropped to the ground a moment later unharmed from an additional impact.

“Look asshat, you sent me to capture or kill someone who actually does need to die for murdering my boyfriend some time back, but now seems to be the only one protecting that world from you.” She straightened from her punching posture and began to walk toward him again. “You people claim to be scholars, but you're thieves and conquerors.”

“That is incorrect,” bright orange blood dripped from his mouth and a cut on his cheek. “We wish to witness the rebirth of a Star Force whole. KhazaRhan refuses to allow anyone on the world. There is only so much we can learn from orbit, readings from the surface would be beyond useful. Can you negoti…” Sapphire growled and cut him off as she took another step closer.

“Not going to happen. Once that thing hatches, I’m going to find KhazaRhan and kill her permanently. Now you are going to hand over the details that you have on the Scions and the one called Alex, and I’ll give you the rest of my report.” The Director stood and brushed himself off and thought it over for a few seconds, then nodded.

“Follow me.” The Director turned and walked away. Sapphire shot a look over her shoulder to Hr’lune and nodded.

Sometime later, Earth…

“We once played a game between the two of us.  Well, my father and I used to play a game. Once my kinetic abilities began to manifest he developed a way to hone them and narrow their field and improve my line-of-sight capabilities. It was all done with a baseball and a blind fold, believe it or not. I was so bruised by the time we got done playing but it was fun and I don’t regret a single minute of it.” Sapphire sat in a chair across from the Scion imprisoned in the SPIRaL.

Alex looked up after a moment, “Please continue. I like hearing stories.” His head sagged again. “I never had a chance to have any children myself. The Entity claimed me as one of his Scions some time ago. I have been trapped ever since.”

“The way that it is understood is that the Entity chooses one whom is worthy to take in the god seed and become his Scion. But he cannot force that choice on to someone. They must choose to become greater?” 

Alex nodded. “Cannot be forced. But who would ever turn down so much?”

“I see. I know there’s a power and responsibility speech somewhere or one that has absolute power corrupting, but I’m not here for moral dilemmas. I am here to try and free you from his hold.” Sapphire stood and walked to stand in front of him. The light weakened him and only had a slight effect on her, but she felt queasy nonetheless. “There are ways to free you. One is by death. A second is if the Entity takes back his seed. Thirdly, there is a way to drain the power from you and move it into another host. The Academy believes that is how the third killed the first; she drained him and then murdered him.” A glimmer of hope shown in his eyes and he smiled.

“But what if I don’t want to be free from the Entity?” His voice had shifted and his demeanor seemed harsher. “What if I am allowing myself to be caught and wish to be held captive in this place? Do you really think humans could hold D’eth, the final Scion?” He began to push at the restraints and the metal began to groan.

“Yes I believe that Alex Whitman is a good man, a human man, and he does not wish to wreck havoc across the universe. You weren’t captured by a human; you were captured by an alien bounty hunter. That proves just how weak you currently are. But then again, you are on Earth, and we have at least a dozen Super Geniuses, and they designed this cell, your restraints and the block you currently reside in.” She took a step away from him and turned back to speak over her shoulder. “Oh, and the power dampener as well. SuperDude might have a hard time escaping from here, and he’s the most powerful person on this planet. Enjoy your stay. I’ll be in touch.”

Epilogue

Mercedes sat at the bar quietly waiting for her date to arrive. The waiter set down another beer and grabbed the empty from the countertop. The bell dinged above the door as someone entered. She glanced at the mirror over the bar and saw Nicolette Chalm walk in. She was dressed like a normal person, as off-duty as someone in her position ever got. Mercedes swiveled in the stool and grabbed the glass from the bar and stood. She motioned to a booth, and met her halfway.

Nicolette sat as the waiter arrived with two menus and a glass of water. Mercedes thanked him and sat down, picking up a menu after she set the beer on a coaster. She opened it up to the entrees and found a large green "4" colored in crayon across the face. She sighed and waved the waiter back over and ordered an appetizer.

TBC in Stand Alone 8


Astrobiology 106 - Part 1


My name is Mercedes Whitman and I'm a hero on a foreign world. I am the daughter of two heroes, and was trapped on this Earth during an Event that sealed the way back home forever. They call me Black Sapphire when I’m out patrolling, and these are my Blogs.

Black Sapphire stood up and stretched.  She walked over to the pool and sat down on the edge and looked down into the still waters.  “I need to see him.”

“Not going to happen.”  Walters materialized from the shadows behind her.

“I need this.  Think of it as closure or something.”  Walters was quiet for a moment.  Then he nodded.  “Thank you sir.”

“Don’t thank me yet.  I promise you it won’t be easy.”  He vanished into the darkness again.

Astrobiology 106 Part 1 - Legacy

Deep in the Column Research Facility, ARCten

“The Dark Avenger himself vouched for you.  Ordinarily we wouldn’t allow an unknown like you into this facility but apparently you have some kind of connection with this…thing.”  Nicolette chewed on a pen as she talked a sign that she hadn’t had a cigarette in quite a while.  She glowered at Black Sapphire expecting an answer.

“He’s my fath…a version of my father.”  The pen dropped to the floor.

“You’re fucking kidding me.  That alien thing is your Dad?”

“A version of him yes, my actual parents were sealed on the other side when the Cascade was closed,” Sapphire looked sad as she reminisced.

“Could be worse, my father bought it a little bit after Spectacular and his Family went and started the whole damn war.  Lucky fucker didn’t live to see what a shithole the world became.”

“Yeah, lucky,” Sapphire turned to look back at the monitors holding the Scion Alex Whitman

“Don’t be like that.  I’m not trying to be an asshole; truth is I’m not good with the whole emotional part of social interactions.  I’ll let you talk to this guy and afterwards we’ll get a beer and talk about our families.  My dad the Super Spy and your parents the…?”

“Also super spies.”

“Huh, ain’t that a bite in the ass.”  Nicolette led her deeper into the complex.  She stopped before a bunker like door, a small round window showed the room beyond, it glowed from the ambient power radiating from the Scion.  “We dampened him as much as possible but we just don’t have the resources or abilities to keep aliens contained like the Academy is.  Somewhere below us we still have a handful of Harvesters from the invasion years ago, only one of them has ever talked with us and provided any kind of solid intelligence.”

Sapphire looked back to Chalm from the window.  “I thought they were all dead?”

“Oh hell no, that’s what the world was meant to think.  The fact of the matter is that the species was on the verge of extinction and we had prisoners of war.  So the United Nations decided to house them in a level all to their selves and ensure that they never escaped.  The last Director was in charge of that.”

“Wasn’t the last director your father?”  Sapphire asked.

Nicolette shook her head.  “Gregory Haines was the last guy in charge.  He stepped down when I was able to take over and runs the Columns Strike team.  He’s useful when I need to send someone in black ops style.  Heroes being the vigilantes that they are and all wouldn’t look right if the media caught wind of me sending them in.”  Sapphire shook her head as she thought of just how different this world was to her home, and where the heroes worked with and for the government to maintain the peaceful balance against the dark forces of villainy.

“Well I’m as ready as I’ll ever be I suppose.”  Sapphire stepped away from the door and waited patiently for it to open and allow her passage.

“Anything gets wonky in there you GTFO.”  Chalm spoke calmly.  “Understand?”  Sapphire nodded.  Chalm punched a huge red button of the way and the lights dimmed as red alarm lights powered up.  Air hissed as the door unsealed and pressure between the rooms normalized.  Sapphire stepped through and the claxons announced the doors closing once again.  She waited patiently as they resealed and the lights came to life in the chamber holding the Scion.

“Alex Whitman?”  She asked the prisoner as she reviewed the bonds they had him in.  The Scion stirred slightly and raised his head to look at her.  She noticed a purple hue to the light directly above it.  It tilted its head to the side and began to look the room over.  “I ask again are you Alex Whitman?”  It shook its head.  “What are you called then?”

“I am my Father’s son.”

“Your father?”

“He who filled me with his Seed, the Entity.”  The Scion beamed at this announcement.

“You were born Alex Whitman of Earth, born in New York City, New York.”

“I do not know these places, or recognize these names.  I am only Scion now.”  Sapphire narrowed her eyes at him then.

“You aren’t lying are you?  You really don’t remember who you were.”  She walked back and forth in front of the Scion and gradually built up speed, she grabbed the Scions head and force fed kinetic energy right into him and through him.  He thrashed against his restraints and screamed then, loud and long.  A speaker crackled to life near her.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Sapphire?”  Chalm asked mild confusion in her voice.

“I am my fathers’ daughter.  My true father and I are linked to a dimension that eats kinetic energy and I was hoping that this version would be linked to the same place.”

“Why would you even think that?  You’ve already said he isn’t the same person.”  Chalm questioned.

“Because during the Event we found out that a lot of people had doppelgangers and that they had similar power sets.  I assume you know about SuperDude and AEONs battle across North America that lasted days because they were too evenly matched.  Although not everyone has a double and that led to major victories on both sides when it came down to using these wildcards.”  The Scion stopped moving and its breathing came is gasps.

“I remember something.”  He spoke quietly in between breathes.  “I like cheeseburgers.”  His head sagged and he was unconscious.

“I guess whoever they were is still in there.  I just need to find a way to get to it.”  Sapphire turned away from the Scion and waited to be let free from the cell.  Her mind went over what she knew of the Scions and came to the single conclusion.  “Let me out of here I need to call Hr’lune and see if he can get me into the Academy.”

TBC in Astrobiology 106 Part 2

Astronomy 102 - Part 4


My name is Mercedes Whitman and I'm a hero on a foreign world. I'm the daughter of two heroes, and was trapped on this Earth during an Event that sealed the way back home forever. They call me Black Sapphire when I'm out patrolling, and these are my Blogs.


SATURDAY SUPER STORIES - ASTRONOMY 102: Part 4 "A New Hope."


"They call themselves the Branded." Walters voice came through the comm unit. "I’ve been researching them for awhile now. I thought they might be some kind of gang, but it seems they are all victims of one of the Scions attacks... those who lived. The effect of the God Seed leaves them tainted, or branded as it were."

"This helps me how? There's got to be more than a hundred here, and they're all looking right at me. I won't fight civilians."

"I don't think you will have to. They are gathering, drawn to that location by the Scion's arrival."

"So they are the bullseye on the landing zone?! Great." She turned back to the crowd. "YOU PEOPLE NEED TO MOVE BACK!!! THIS THING IS COMING IN HOT!!!"

The crowd as one, looked skyward, and watched the flame streak across the sky and get closer.

"PLEASE! YOU ARE ALL IN DANGER!!!"

"He comes for us." One of them called out, his arms in the air, beckoning. "He comes for us ALL!!!!" he screamed. The light grew closer and closer, and brighter and brighter. The city around Black Sapphire was a light, as if it was high noon.

"The object is slowing down. I have three angles of it now. Hacked one of the Ruthless satellites. It appears to be a ship." Walters spoke. "Small one, two man craft at the most, armored and built for speed. No FTL that I can discern."

"Faster-than -light? I thought light speed and hyperspace were outdated. So what's the play here? The Scions all fly on their own power. None of them need a ship, but your scans read "Scion.' So..."

"I don't know. Could be a trap."

"You always say that." She could feel the heat from the engines now. The light dimmed, and it came in for a slow landing. The ship itself was ugly. Squat and in need of a serious overhaul. She could see the patches from the ground. If she didn't know better it was vaguely like a bull's head in shape.

The engines sputtered and shut off and it dropped to the pavement, slamming into the ground and grinding the asphalt to dust. She watched as the crowd of Branded in unison took three large steps back and dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.

The 'mouth' of the craft opened and being walked out, standing around three and a half feet tall. Its space suit also looked like a bull, or a Minotaur. He strode forward purposely and stopped in front of her. He looked up at her, the faceplate black on the helmet.

"Um, welcome to Earth?" She stammered. The little being cocked its head to the side and slapped a hand on an orange button on the front of the suit, and it seemed to fold into itself and retract behind him. Before her stood what she would call a myth, a minotaur, only very tiny. He cleared his throat.

"Oy!! Prisoner transfer. I bring one Scion back to his place of origin and do hereby relinquish custody to you." His accent was vaguely British. "You 'ave the proper paperwork or wut?"

"Huh? Prisoner transfer? You...captured a Scion? How? What?" She was flabbergasted, and having a hard time coping with what was happening.

"I don't have the bleedin' time for this frail. I have one Scion, you are at the LZ for the pickup. You're a woman, so I assume you're Director Calm of the Column?"

"What? No way, she's crazy, and it's Chalm." She waved her hands as she spoke.

"Whatever." He pulled out a remote and hit a bunch of keys on it and the ship began to make noise, metal on metal, and another hatch began to move.

"So how did you manage to bring this one in?" She inquired.

"Easy. I am one of the universe's greatest bounty hunters. Plus I have this!" He slapped a hand to the armor covering his chest, the colors rapidly shifted through the spectrum and settled back down to a dull green. "It's prismatic, you see. These energy-types are easy with this thing on. I just have to make sure I don't get hit with the right thing at the wrong time, or it gets a bit dicey."

"Huh. You got a name by the way. Feels like I should have asked that forever ago."

He nodded, "Hr'lune, Bounty Hunter and agent of the Academy."

"The Academy?" She asked.

"The Xenobiological Institute for the Discovery and Archival of Foreign Species. They are basically a bunch of space scholars, run around the worlds and spy on everything and study it, and take samples. They employ a diverse range of species to acquire things for them." He shrugged his head back, one of his horns pointing towards the hatch that had almost finished its cycle. "Sort of like this one. They got their readings, took some blood and whatnot and turned him over to me to release back into the wild. But it turns out that there's a bounty on the Scions, all of them, and it’s a biggun'" He grinned a mouthful of yellow and black teeth.

"Who on Earth would have placed a bounty on the Scions?"

"Bloke named Spectacular." She sighed and face palmed.

"That jackass."

"Quiet, there's a chance he's listening in on Comms." Walters said. She sighed again.

"Anyways...I'm not from the Column, and I can't pay your bounty, I was here to prevent a Scion from destroying the city. I didn't expect you at all." The arm holding the prisoner swiveled into place and rested the restrained prisoner on the soil. Sapphire gasped, and took a step back. Her eyes wide behind her mask.

"What? I agree he's not the prettiest of the lot, but he's no danger right now, as long as we get him into a secure facility." He poked a stubby finger into the meat of the man’s thigh.

"No, you don't understand. That's my father."

To be continued!

Next up: Stand Alone 2