New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age

by Christian Green

  Agent Mallory walked over to Jason to take a look. He eyed the prison and gave him a dirty look. “This here is our newest prisoner. His name is Erik Masters. He was brought in just a little while ago by Agent Hardine's unit.”

  Jason studied Erik carefully. Erik sat in his cell with a mischievous look on his face. Agent Mallory shoved it off as Erik trying to play mind games with them. Jason however, suspected it was something more than that. Jason pulled Agent Mallory to the side so that the prisoners could not here them talk.

  “Don’t touch me!” Agent Mallory said firmly, forcibly removing Jason’s hand off him.

  “Your files on this man are incorrect,” Jason said.

  Agent Mallory gave Jason a hard look. “So first you come here and accuse us of capturing Post Humans without just cause and now you insult us by saying our files are incorrect.” Agent Mallory turned his back on Jason Shaw and began walking away.

  “I’m not insulting you I’m simply stating a fact.”

  Agent Mallory turned back to Jason and got in his face. “I think you are forgetting something. As long as you are in here, your abilities don’t work either. I assure you, without those abilities of yours, you ain't nothing. Right now me and you are even.”

  Jason ignored Agent Mallory’s confrontational remark. Even without his abilities Jason was quite the skilled fighter.

  “Please Agent Mallory; just take a look at these files. Your files contradict the reports The League has. Our files are quite accurate and I assure you our files on this man is different than the ones I'm looking at here.”

  Agent Mallory huffed. He took the device from Jason and looked it over. The report G.U.A.R.D had on Erik Masters stated he had the ability to manipulate fire. That report was on The League’s files as well. However, in addition to manipulating fire, The League’s report’s also stated that Erik also could communicate and manipulate electricity.

  That wasn’t such a big deal, because of the inhibitor field prevented Erik from using those abilities. The problem was, in the League’s report, it also stated that Erik was highly resistant to any suppressing manipulator. Meaning it would require a much higher dosage from the inhibitor in order to suppress Erik's abilities.

  “Why isn’t this report on our database?” Agent Mallory asked with suspicious intent. Jason didn’t have an answer for him. “Are you sure your report is correct?” Agent Mallory asked. He studied and compared the reports again searching for answers.

  “Have you ever known our reports to be incorrect?” Jason asked.

  Agent Mallory shook his head angrily. Every report the League had on Post Human criminals had been correct thus far so there was no reason to assume this report was incorrect. Agent Mallory looked over towards Erik Masters who was sitting comfortably on his bed.

  “You think it's possible someone intentionally erased part of Erik's file from our system?” Agent Mallory asked.

  Jason nodded, “It would make sense. We know someone hacked into this system last week, that's why we are here, to assess any possible breaches. It makes sense.”

  Agent Mallory did not want to hear that. He wanted answers. Who was responsible for this and why. Those were questions that Jason did not have answers to.

  “So what do we do now?” the agent asked respectfully. Jason found it interesting how when his or The League’s expertise was needed, the agents suddenly showed them a little more respect. Before Jason could answer Agent Mallory’s question, Erik began whistling for their attention.

  “I take it you guys are talking about me? Perhaps noticing some sort of problem?”

  Agent Mallory began walking towards Erik. Jason took a step back behind the agent which shielded Erik's view. He inconspicuously rolled up his sleeve and pressed a button on his watch. He rolled the sleeve back down and walked over to confront Erik.

  Stephanie Morgan was sitting at the her desk back at headquarters when her attention was grabbed by the sound of an urgent distress signal. She picked up her phone and called Mr. Connors immediately.

  “Yes?” Mr. Connors replied slightly irritated. He was en route for an important meeting that would likely have major impact on the League.

  “Sir, one of the distress signals just activated.”

  Mr. Connors irritated tone vanished and was replaced with a concerned tone.

  “Who’s signal is it Stephanie?”

  Stephanie looked at her screen for confirmation.

  “It’s Jason’s signal Sir.”

  This was the first time Jason's signal had ever been activated. It was usually Jason responding to someone's else signal.

  “Have you been able to make contact with him?”

  “No sir, I've called three times but it went straight to voice mail.”

  “Where is the signal coming from?” Mr. Connors asked.

  “It's coming from the island sir.”

  Mr. Connors did not like the sound of that. “Where is Jessica?”

  Stephanie searched Jessica’s itinerary to see if she had anything important listed for the day. Stephanie grimaced as she checked.

  “Sir, Jessica is currently overseas assisting with the hurricane recovery efforts. Do you want me to make contact with her?”

  Mr. Connors thought for a moment but decided against it. He didn't want to bring her in unless he absolutely had to. “Inform Jackson and Shayne and have them investigate the situation. Also, keep calling Jason and see if you can get through.”

  “What about Noah and Bianca sir?”

  “Neither one of them have the capabilities required to make it to the island.” Mr. Connors replied.

  “Understood,” Stephanie said.

  Stephanie ended the call with Mr. Connors and informed Jackson and Shayne of the situation. She sat back in her chair monitoring the situation. She felt useless being stuck at the office and hoped whatever the situation was, that everything would be alright.

  9

  The Great Escape

  “You guys look a little nervous,” Erik said smugly to Agent Mallory and Jason Shaw. “What’s the problem? What’s got you two military men so rattled?”

  Agent Mallory took out his gun and aimed it at the young prisoner, completely disregarding protocol. “Say another word! Come on, I'm begging you. A freak like you, no one would ever miss!”

  Although Erik deserved some of the harshness he was receiving, Agent Mallory's threats were taking things just a little too far. Jason stepped in front of the agent preventing him from getting a good view of the prisoner.

  “Get out of the way Shaw!”

  Jason ignored Agent Mallory’s demand.

  “This is not helping. If you kill this prisoner while he’s in his cell, I will have no choice but to report what I saw.”

  “You threatening me?”

  Jason shook his head left and right. “No, not threatening, just telling you how it is. I will report you if you shoot this man. Post Human criminal or not, he has certain rights.”

  The agent looked at Jason as if he was a suspect. Why was Jason so interested in the life of a criminal? Agent Mallory suspected Jason was working with Erik Masters and it was his intention all along to get Erik released from his cell.

  With his suspicions floating around his head, Agent Mallory was even more determined to end Erik’s life. Sensing the only way he would get to Erik was through Jason, Agent Mallory prepared himself to kill Jason first.

  Jason could sense the agent was about to make a move. Jason reacted quickly, and twisted the agent's hand. With Agent Mallory's hand twisted, Jason easily removed the gun from his hand. The prisoners cheered Jason on. It wasn’t that they liked him or thought he was going to help them escape, they cheered him because it was about time someone put Agent Mallory in his place.

  Agent Mallory grabbed his arm and cursed out of anger and pain. Jason emptied the clip and slid the magazine into his pocket. He walked over to the agent to check for any spare weapons he might’ve had on him. Agent Mallory swung at Jason as he ap
proached, but Jason dodged the left hand punch and countered with a punch to Agent Mallory’s ribs. The agent toppled over much to the chagrin of the prisoners.

  “Agent Mallory please stop. I’m not here to hurt you. I'm not here to help anyone escape. I am here to do my best to make sure this facility is completely secure and right now it's not.”

  As if on cue, Jason heard the sound of something powering down and his fears quickly became a reality. Jason knew what was about to happen next and it wasn't good. He helped Agent Mallory back up to a standing position and warned him that the prisoner's cells were about to open.

  “Which ones?”

  “All of them!” Jason replied.

  Agent Mallory grimaced as he reached for his radio.

  “Code Red, I repeat we have a code red.”

  He repeated the warning three times but no one heard him. Radio communications had been completely knocked out.

  “I’m afraid it’s too late to call for backup and it’s too late to stop what’s about to happen,” Erik said from his cell. “You should've put more trust in Jason instead of worrying about him protecting us.” Erik looked over at Jason and shook his head in disgust.

  “These are the type of people you want to protect? This man just tried to kill you for trying to stop him from killing me. Don't you see that to them you're still the enemy regardless of what you do?”Erik stepped out of the cell smiling emphatically.

  Seconds later the other cells began to open as well.

  “I'm curious to know if you're really as powerful as everyone says you are. I bet you're more hype than anything else.” Erik said.

  Jason could feel his abilities returning to him. He was thankful for that, but it also meant all the prisoners abilities were returning as well. Jason reached back in his pocket and handed Agent Mallory the clip he took from him moments earlier. Agent Mallory looked at Jason with a confused expression.

  “There's 214 of them down here and it's just me and you. Looks like you're going to get your wish after all.”

  Agent Mallory nodded and took the clip back from Jason. He loaded it into his gun and aimed it at Erik. The prisoners began surrounding Jason and Agent Mallory. Several of the prisoners positioned themselves in front of the elevator to prevent Jason and Agent Mallory from leaving.

  “It seems you two are at a real disadvantage here. Tell me agent, what kind of contingency plan does your organization have for odds like these? I mean really, you two aren't so tough without your teams to back you up are you?”

  Jason took a step forward. “Why don’t you stop talking and come find out yourself just how tough I am?” Erik laughed sadistically. He wasn’t stupid, he knew good and well that he couldn’t take Jason Shaw by himself. That wasn’t a fight he wanted to have. Those weren’t his orders.

  “As much as I would like to take you out myself, I have others things to do. However, I’m sure there are a few guys here more than willing to do it for me!”

  Erik called out to the prisoners looking for volunteers to take on Jason Shaw. He had done his research. He knew there were prisoners in the facility that had personal grievances to air out with Jason. He played up to their desires for revenge.

  A burly looking man stepped forward and cracked his knuckles ready to take on the challenge.

  “That freak a friend of yours?” Agent Mallory asked sarcastically.

  “His name is Christopher Hagan,” Jason said.

  “He was one of the first Post Humans I battled and turned over to G.U.A.R.D. He was foolish enough to try and break into Shaw Enterprises while I was there.”

  Jason stepped forward to confront Christopher Hagan.

  “You remember me?” Christopher shouted.

  “How could I forget?” Jason replied.

  “Good!” Christopher smiled and then charged forward.

  Jason showed no fear as Christopher charged towards him. In fact, Jason stood perfectly still awaiting Christopher’s attack.

  Agent Mallory had his sights locked on Christopher. For his own personal well being, Agent Mallory wanted nothing more than to see Jason take Christopher Hagan out. Agent Mallory didn’t like the idea of being left alone with the prisoners one bit. He stood there praying that Jason would be able to defeat Christopher.

  Christopher got within striking distance and hurled a heavy punch towards Jason’s face. Jason stood still and caught Christopher’s fist with relative ease. He twisted Christopher’s arm, similar to how he did Agent Mallory's. Jason’s strength and forcefulness brought Christopher to his knees. He gave the troubled prisoner an elbow to the face and watched as Christopher fell flat to the ground.

  “Seriously? Is that all you got?” Erik called out, doing his best to antagonize Christopher and get him angrier. “I mean seriously, I go through all this trouble to get you guys out of here and you let this traitor take you down?”

  Christopher stood up, turned and faced Erik. “You're next boy!” Christopher shouted.

  Erik did not seem the least bit concerned. Jason couldn't tell if it was just sheer arrogance or if the young man actually had reason to be so confident in himself. Christopher turned his attention back to Jason and threw another strong punch at him. This time Jason allowed the punch to make contact. The heavy handed Christopher’s punch made contact with Jason’s ribs, but did very little damage. Jason’s dense body structure strongly decreased the possibilities of him getting hurt.

  Frustrated, Christopher took a wild an undisciplined approach in his conquest to defeating Jason. This was a strategy that had very little effect. In the corner of Jason’s eyes he saw the fear on Agent Mallory’s face. Jason reminded himself that there were many other prisoners left to deal with and he would need to conserve all the energy he had.

  Jason took the offensive and nailed Christopher with a strong punch to the ribs. Christopher left himself wide open for Jason to easily counter his attacks. He was big and strong but lacked discipline and skill.

  Jason was big and strong but had both supreme discipline and skill. Although the two men had muscular builds, the match was very lopsided.

  Jason had Christopher wheeling. Jason shifted his position and placed himself in a boxing stance. He delivered a series of closed fist punches to the face. Each punch felt like Christopher was being hit by heavy dumbbells. Blood poured from Christopher’s face with each crushing blow. Erik shook his head disgustedly as he watched Jason work Christopher over with ease. Erik thought for certain that the incarcerated prisoner would've posed more of a challenger, but Jason was instead living up to his reputation.

  Luckily for Erik, seeing Jason beating wasn't vital to his plans. This was more so entertainment. A distraction until the next part of his plan was ready to be executed. Jason delivered one final punch that ended the fight. Actually it was a combo punch. He hit Christopher with a closed fist straight arm jab to the face and followed it with an elbow punch that rendered Christopher unconscious. The prisoners looked down at the unconscious man and began to have second thoughts of whether challenging Jason was a good idea or not.

  “Get the machine back online now!” Agent Hardine shouted to Garrett and the other technicians. He knew by now that the inhibitor fields had fail and that the prisoners would be regaining their abilities at any time now.

  Garrett and the others furiously pressed on the keys trying to get the system back up and running. He was sweating heavily as the pressure was building.

  “What is it? What’s the problem?” Agent Hardine asked.

  Garrett looked at the technicians and then at the computer with confusion. “I can’t, I can’t get the system online. My commands are being overwritten and ignored.”

  Agent Hardine gave him a suspicious look. The other technicians confirmed that they too couldn’t get the systems back online. “I thought you had the ability to communicate and control electronics?”

  Garrett stared at the screen.

  “Well?” Agent Hardine said.

  “I do, but somethin
g else is influencing the system. Something else is controlling them, preventing me from talking to it.”

  Agent Hardine took the safety off his gun and headed for the door.

  “Wait! Where are you going?” Garrett shouted.

  Agent Hardine turned back around. “I don’t have time to wait for you to get the system back online. Those cells are going to open and some pretty pissed off Post Humans are going to come out. I’ve got to get down there and help out!” Agent Hardine left the room.

  “What about me?!” Garrett shouted.

  “What about you? You're the tech genius. You're the one that talks to electronics. So figure something out and get this system back online!”

  The agent ran to the elevator and pressed the button to activate the doors. He cursed to himself remembering that the power was down and he would have to manually make his way to the prison quarters.

  Garrett checked his cell phone for a signal. It didn’t come to a surprise to him that he wasn’t able to get a signal. He turned his attention back to the screen and cracked his knuckles. Someone or something was engaging in a cyber war with him. This was his world and he refused to let someone best him in his own field.

  Several security teams were already en route. Agent Hardine quickly assembled an escort team to guard the technicians who were manually trying to power back up the Inhibitor field.

  It was his belief that if they were unable to get it back online through means of technology, then doing it manually was their next best option. The escort team quickly took off to complete their task. Agent Hardine and the rest of the security teams continued up the stairs towards the prison quarters.

  “There is no way we’re going to be able to contain 214 prisoners if they’ve got their abilities back!” one of the security guards said.

  Agent Hardine forgot these weren’t his men. These men weren’t out in the field battling Post Humans. Sure, they had training, but they hadn’t been out there in the field. They hadn’t experienced battling a Post Human before he or she was under the influence of the Inhibitor.