The assassin shot once at Rachel, but Vladimir managed to shield her from the bullet. The round caught him in the shoulder and although he let out a sharp curse, Vladimir pushed through the pain to take Rachel by the hand and toward a multi-paned glass window. Vladimir seized one of the nearby stanchions, freed it of the velvet rope that restrained it, and brutally broke open the window in a single motion. He clutched Rachel tightly, told her to hold her breath, and transformed them both into a colony of bats, which fled out the window and into the city.
-- -- --
Mizuno watched as the young man fled with his companion and told his teammates, in German, to forget about the couple who escaped through the window, “
Mizuno’s group was intermingled with over a hundred people throughout three rooms with pillars, paintings, and walls, which separated them from Strom. He wore his usual attire along with his pearl Ghost mask and shot whomever Mizuno ordered him to execute through the use of the communicator. The plan was to instruct Strom to kill anyone Mizuno deemed a threat, without any sort of damage or interference to any of the art or to the patrons Mizuno felt were innocent. As such Mizuno only brought Strom, Yong, and Bruce to be able to control the audience (in the event that anyone decided to step in as a hero), Kyle and Melanie for their part in the translator system, and Mithra and Afifa for transporting the group at the completion of the incident.
“
“
Emergency lights came on and dimly illuminated the museum. Amid the renewed screaming and wailing bellowed a newcomer, who shouted, “Y’all started the party without me? How impolite.”
Mizuno swore under his breath in Japanese and muttered, “
Yong told him he had. “
One of the outward walls exploded inward and buried two people in rubble while a second explosion within the building collapsed an interior wall and ignited some of the paintings along with the building itself. A greater panic ensued as the crowd raced toward the exits, all of which were locked.
Mizuno peered through the chaos and smoke for the newcomer but failed to locate the man. He touched his hand to his transmitter and barked, “
Strom chimed in and told Mizuno he planned to remain as well. “
Mizuno tried to talk him out of it but Strom discarded his headset and lost himself in the confusion. “
Jeremy Dalton stood strangling some poor soul before he turned and launched a set of shuriken toward Mizuno. He dodged the projectiles with ease but lost the assassin in the process. Mizuno returned to the communicator and told Kyle to contact the police and firemen in the area and have them get to the museum as soon as possible. “
“
Mizuno stopped and saw Kyle partially buried beneath a pile of debris, illuminated by the fires and the hole in the wall nearby. “
Within a second everyone in the building went blind. The shrieks of the terrified art patrons overtook the commotion of the gunfire between Strom and Dalton. Mizuno wasted no time in the temporary darkness to reach Kyle and began to remove the rubble that pinned him down.
“
Their sight returned and Mizuno quicken the excavation. “
“
“
Mizuno didn’t have time to react to Dalton’s surprise attack, however Kyle managed to see the impending assault before Mizuno and placed himself between Dalton’s blade and Mizuno. Dalton sliced deep into Kyle’s shoulder and brought Kyle and Mizuno to the ground.
Strom caught up to Dalton and took a shot at him but missed while his opponent retreated into the growing inferno. He left Mizuno and Kyle to pursue Dalton. Strom took cover, reloaded his weapons, and tried to keep his wits while the building began to collapse.
“Fancy meetin’ you here Strom,” Dalton called out over the crowd. “How ‘bout we just end this here and now?”
“
Three more explosions shattered support beams and brought the entire floor down a level. The rubble pinned Strom and Dalton attacked him before he managed to locate his weapon. The assassin dug one blade into Strom’s left bicep and a second into his right shoulder. Strom tried to move to counter Dalton but found his arms immobile.
Jeremy Dalton snickered and wrapped a set of earbuds around Strom’s neck. “Y’know, I’ve waited fer a very long time ta be in this position. I neva got an opportunity ta put it to tha test, but I always knew I was the better man Strom.”
A shot rang out that missed Dalton entirely, but managed to scare him off. Mizuno and Kyle appeared from behind him and worked as best as they could to free Strom. Kyle activated his communicator and was relieved to find he could still contact Mithra and the others who escaped earlier. He called for an immediate extraction and gave Afifa their rough location in the crumbling museum.
“
Mizuno told them to shut their eyes as Afifa returned for them. She didn’t waste a second to transport them out of the dying museum before the entire structure collapsed.
-- -- --
The colony of bats left Rachel and her wounded companion alone on the roof of a skyscraper miles from the Seattle Art Museum. Rachel’s heart raced and a rush of adrenaline caused her to body to tremble. She looked around the cityscape from where she stood and tried to catch her breath while Vladimir wandered off toward the other end of the roof.
“Oh my word…” she gasped. “Did you see him? Ghost, he looked right at me and…And what the hell happened back there Vladimir?” Rachel waited for a reply before she repeated her query. She looked around the remote and deserted rooftop for her Romanian companion but failed to find him initially. All she saw were a few air conditioning units and a stairwell entrance. “Vladimir?”
“Rachel, please, stay back.”
She walked to the other end of the stairwell structure and found Vladimir. He clutched his shoulder and backed away from her. Rachel saw the blood on his hand from the bullet wound and resolved to aid him. Rachel rushed to his side and set her hand on his shoulder. A light poured out of his wound, but rather than mending his wound, Vladimir’s blood began to boil
and the flesh around the injury blackened.
Vladimir let out a bloodcurdling shriek and cast her aside without regard for her safety. Rachel fell to the floor while he cursed her and clawed at his abrasion to remove the darkened skin and the bullet lodged deep in his shoulder near the rotator cuff. He tore the metal slug out and cast it away as his shoulder regenerated itself, though the area Rachel touched remained darkened.
Her eyes widened and she asked how long he had known about his ability. But Vladimir only nursed his shoulder and told her it wasn’t her concern. “Rachel, you need to leave.”
“What? Vladimir…”
He walked away from her and tried to distance himself, but she followed after him. “Vladimir, what happened? I tried to heal you but–”
“Rachel, please, leave me alone.”
“No, I’m not going to abandon you when you’re hurt–”
“I am not hurt,” he barked. “I was completely fine before your intervention.”
“How did you heal yourself when I couldn’t heal you?”
“Leave it alone Rachel and get out of here.”
She picked herself up and tried to approach him once more but he only lashed out and told her to flee. Rachel frowned and told him she would not. “You know I never meant to harm you, right?”
“That is not important now Rachel–”
“Yes it is,” she cut in. “Vladimir, I would never do anything to harm you.”
He paused and lowered his head for a moment. Vladimir released his grip on his shoulder and asked what she meant earlier when she said she wanted to be with him. “What do you want Rachel?”
She hesitated to say anything. Her pulse raced at the thought of confessing her feelings for him, and doubted she could say anything romantic or overly heartfelt. She simply repeated what she told him at the museum, “I meant that I want to be with you.”
Vladimir looked away and asked her in a whisper, “Do you love me?”
Her heart beat faster at his words and with all the courage she could muster Rachel admitted that she did love him.
Vladimir only let out a sigh and told her he never meant to mislead her. “I do not care for you in such a manner Rachel.”
Her heart stopped and she felt as if she was hit by a truck. It took everything Rachel possessed to avoid tearing up and bawling, but she managed to contain herself and say, “I-I thought this was what you wanted.”
He shook his head and told her she misread the situation. “I should not be here, and neither should you. In fact, you and Jordan–”
“I hate that ass,” she spat. “I broke up with him because I wanted…I want to be with you.”
“And I cannot be with you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I do not love you Rachel.” He watched her start to cry and tried to console her by restating their friendship.
“Why won’t you at least try?” she asked. “Couldn’t we just see where it went? I mean, just to see if you could love me?”
Vladimir rubbed his eyes and told her things were not as simple as she believed they were. “This situation, my state of being, that is, is far too complex for love. And I must add, not that I mean any harm or disrespect to you, but you and I, or myself and anyone else for that matter, will never be.”
“Why not?”
“I…” he stopped himself and tried to find the words to tell her what he needed to say without revealing anything, but could only manage to tell her that his life, the reason he was even in Washington State, was too complicated for him to explain to her.
“Could you at least tell me why you’re flat out rejecting me Vladimir?” she asked while she wiped tears from her eyes and crossed her arms.
“I do not know if I can,” he hissed, “That is why this entire situation irks me and is why I cannot simply tell you why we cannot be together.”
“Why not?”
“I have no idea Rachel!” he finally shouted. “I wish I knew why I was even here in this city, or at that school, or why I even know who you are. I really do. But I am as lost as you are.”
“Then perhaps it is finally time to set things straight.”
Light emerged from the space behind Rachel and a stranger in radiant armor descended to the rooftop. The area returned to normal and the man lightly touched down and joined Vladimir and Rachel.
The stranger smiled and spoke in a quiet, yet strong and resolute tone, “I am sorry that it has taken so long for this arraignment to finally come to fruition, but alas, all good things come in their due time.”
Rachel felt a sudden familiar sensation at the end of his sentence. The clamor of the city stopped along with all of the traffic on the streets far below. Leaves hung alongside the birds, midair and motionless. All wind and motion died in an instant. She watched as the armored fellow and Vladimir readied for their conversation and beckoned that she joined them.
“Who are you?” she finally asked.
“We have met twice now,” he reminded her. “I am Pyotr.”
“Vladimir’s host brother?”
Pyotr chuckled and admitted that his role of host brother was nothing but a ruse. “You see Rachel, Vladimir and I have been friends for a very long time. Comrades even before our common goal presented itself.”
Vladimir frowned. “Pyotr, does she truly have to learn about all of this? Hasn’t–”
“Vladimir,” the armored man stopped him. “Now is not the time to argue. I have my orders and I am here to fulfill them. This should not come as an astonishing turn of events; you suspected this from the moment you met her.”
Rachel scowled and asked for clarification. “What are you talking about?”
Pyotr said, with a smile, “When I told you that Vladimir and I have been friends for a long time, I may have been too coy. I know this may come as a shock Rachel, but Vladimir and I are both roughly just over two centuries old, though to be correct, physically we are much younger, but we have tarried here on this earth, some more than others, for a little over two centuries.”
Rachel shook her head and muttered, “That’s not possible.”
Pyotr agreed that the claim seemed outlandish, “But I assure you it is true.”
“How can anyone live that long?” she asked. “Is that some sort of super power?”
The armored man laughed and told her she wasn’t too far off from the truth. “I am an angel of–”
“You’re an angel?” she blurted out. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”
Pyotr frowned. “Stopping time, appearing out of nowhere, flight, and the incandescent light which emanates from within me isn’t enough to prove who I am?” He smirked, “I guess times are changing and a super hero would sound more believable now…but I guess you will have to take it on faith that I am precisely who I claim to be.”
She turned to Vladimir and asked if he claimed to be an angel as well. “Or are you some kind of cherub or something?”
Pyotr chuckled again, “No no, Vladimir is a vampire.”
Rachel only stared at him without a word. Vladimir however was quite tired of Pyotr’s intercession and broke in, “I am aware of how frustrating this must be and I am sorry we are burdening you with all of this–”
“No,” Rachel stopped them, “No, this, this is absolutely insane.” She started walking away from them, and muttered, “Most people who have super powers want to make the world a better place, but you two think it’s funny to set up elaborate lies and use your power to threaten and intimidate others.”
“Rachel,” Pyotr called out to her. “I apologize for the manner of my introductions, but I am not sure how I could better enlighten you.” She turned and waited for him to continue. “But please, allow me to share something with you that may allow you to better trust in my words.”
Pyotr slowly approached Rachel, who recoiled as he reached for her hand, but upon his touch she felt a serene peace and calm overtake her. Warmth surrounded her like a midsummer’s evening and in an instant
the anxiety and unrest from the conflict at the museum fled and she felt her body relax. For a moment Rachel believed she was outside her body and that she floated unconscious in a near-slumber like state of mind. All of the stars above her shone bright through the ambient city light and the cosmos unfolded before her. She could witness and feel the universe expand and retract, she trembled with excitement as the universe collapsed in on itself and moments later burst and bloom into numberless celestial entities, and Rachel heard each mortal soul in the universe gasp for life in a collective sigh.
And in that moment Rachel was right back where she stood with the angel and the vampire.
Pyotr offered a sincere smile and assured her she was among friends. “I am so sorry I troubled you before Rachel, but time is so very vital in all of creation, and as you can now imagine, creation is a very expansive and detailed thing.”
The young woman only barely brought herself to nod in affirmation. “So…what is it that you need me for?”
“Do you recall everything we spoke about at our second meeting? I told you about your ability to heal yourself and others, though that was only but a part of your power Rachel.” He took her by the hand and walked with her back to Vladimir’s side and set her down on the rooftop. “Your gift is divine in nature, which is why you injured Vladimir when you tried to heal him.”
Rachel frowned. “You’re saying he’s evil?”
Vladimir glanced away from them and admitted it was true. “Rachel, there is a very great deal you are not aware of. I have committed grievous sins and I only work alongside Pyotr for two reasons: to firstly redeem myself for those past crimes, but more importantly to locate and utterly obliterate a greater evil.”
Pyotr intervened, “A long time ago, Vladimir and I were both mortal and average people. We lived in London and had a very close group of friends. However we all failed to notice one in our midst was struggling and deeply troubled. A young man named Constantine slowly grew apart from our tight-knit group and he began to become violent, moody, and angry. One day we discovered how violent he had become and it sickened us. We tried to…reason with him, but there was no use. Constantine used immoral and unspeakable means to steal immortality and immense power for himself. Our circle of friends was forced to flee our homes, out of fear, and later we all resolved to either find him to bring him to a reckoning of the crimes he committed, or to ultimately bring about his end.”
Impact (Book 1): Regenesis Page 52