“We’ll be fine. We’ve got bullets and inhibitor darts. Both of those will work well.”Agent Hardine replied confidently.
“Some of these guys aren’t effected by bullets!” one of the security guards said.
“That’s what the inhibitor darts are for. Now no more talking, we’ve got a job to do. We’ve have to contain this facility!”
It took seven Post Humans to pin Jason Shaw down. Even with the seven of them it took all of their strength to keep him down. Agent Mallory was already bogged down by the prisoners and was in bad shape. He did successfully kill two of them before the prisoners overpowered him.
Their immediate reaction was to kill Agent Mallory, but Erik ordered them not to. Even though he had no authority over any of them, no one questioned his request. For now, Erik was the one that had somehow gotten their cells to open. He was the one that seemed to have a plan, and for that reason, the prisoners were going to listen to him. Erik assured them he had a plan for getting off the island, so until they were off, they were all going to follow his lead.
Agent Mallory watched nervously as Jason struggled to free himself. Jason fought and fought, and finally freed his hands. With a massive push, the prisoners pinning him down went flying through the air. Jason jumped back to his feet while the next wave of prisoners went after him. While he had his back turned fighting the group of prisoners, another prisoner shot off some form of energy in his direction. Jason was too busy battling what seemed like a never ending group of Post Humans to notice the energy being hurled at him.
“Look out!” Agent Mallory shouted noticing the energy rapidly approaching Jason.
When Jason turned around there was no energy coming towards him. Instead all he saw was a ball of ice hitting the ground.
“Looked like you could use some help,” Jackson Prescott shouted playfully. Jason was certainly glad to see him.
Shayne Tucker intercepted an energy projectile heading Jackson's way with a ball of fire.
“Looks like you need to pay more attention.” Shayne said to Jackson.
Jason smiled. He felt much better now seeing Shayne and Jackson. The prisoners consolidated their numbers and moved to one side of the room. Even with Shayne and Jackson around Jason and Agent Mallory were still severely outnumbered.
“Is Jessica here with you?” Jason asked curiously.
“No,” Jackson replied.
“She's still overseas,” Shayne added.
“Oh, so you guys got here by ship?” Jason asked.
Shayne looked at Jackson with an annoyed look on his face. “Jackson here parked the jet while it was still in stealth mode and somehow misplaced the keys.”
Jason looked at Jackson in complete bafflement. “Do you have any idea how much that ship cost? How does something like that even happen?” Jason didn't even bother waiting for a reply because he knew nothing Jackson could say would be able to justify losing a ship.
“It's cool, we'll just pick up a spare pair of keys and uncloak the jet once were done here,” Jackson replied. Jason looked over towards Shayne who tried his best at that moment to disassociate himself from his best friend. “If Jessica didn’t fly you guys here and you didn’t have the jet, how did you get here?” Jason asked.
Jackson looked over at Shayne and smiled proudly.
“Apparently, Shayne can run so fast now, that he can run on water!”
Agent Mallory looked at Shayne nervously. It seemed like every day the abilities of Post Humans were becoming even more unbelievable.
“How in the world can you do that?” Jason asked, but didn't really expect an answer. Shayne however had one for him.
“Water has surface tension that makes water droplets round. I can move at such a fast rate that I don’t have enough time to sink.”
For a second, Jason was surprised Shayne had an answer, then he remembered how incredibly smart Shayne was.
“You guys can talk about all this science crap later. Right now we need to figure out how we’re going to survive this,” Agent Mallory said sharply.
One of the Post Humans with superior hearing heard the sounds of footsteps approaching; he informed Erik the security guards were on their way. Erik took a few steps towards Jason and company. Jason stood tall ready to deal with whatever Erik had for him.
“Well, this has been fun. We’ll do it again real soon, of that you can be sure! Today was just the beginning. Soon our kind will claim this world as our own. The time will come when you League members must choose a side. War is upon us and it's a war the human race can't win. Choose your side wisely!”
Seconds later Agent Hardine and the assembled security teams busted through the doors and aimed their weapons at the prisoners. “Don't move!” the agent shouted.
Erik Masters looked at the agent and smiled. “Now!” he shouted.
The room was suddenly filled with a light that shined brighter than the sun. Everyone inside immediately closed their eyes to prevent themselves from being blinded by the brightness. When the members of the League of Protectors and the agents of G.U.A.R.D opened their eyes, to their surprise, every prisoner inside that room had vanished.
10
Holding Cell
Agent Baker escorted Lowry Holston and Gary Jenkins out of the G.UA.R.D armored truck. They were still in Chicago and it would be a day or two before the prisoners would be transferred to the island. Since the breakout that saw over two hundred Post Humans escape imprisonment, prisons around the world had to make special accommodations for any Post Human captured.
Shaw Enterprises were rapidly producing large quantities of inhibitors to accommodate these human prisons that Post Humans were once again finding themselves locked up in. Meanwhile, Jason Shaw, Garrett Blake and Commander Sullivan were working vigorously to figure out exactly how the breach into G.U.A.R.D systems occurred and who was responsible for it.
The three men worked together and oversaw every upgrade that was being made to the facility. The prison outbreak left the public fearing for their safety. To make matters worse, there was no trace of the prisoners. It was as if they just vanished off the face of Earth. The Chicago prison was nothing like the one on the island though. It was basically a holding cell until the appropriate accommodations could be made for new prisoners on the island.
The staff consisted of a dozen officers working twelve hour shifts each day. There were three individuals at this particular prison that had abilities. There wasn't an inhibitor field to keep the Post Humans at bay, so the officers had to rely on daily injections to do the trick.
There was enough inhibitors lying around to keep the Post Humans suppressed for another day or possibly two, but that would really be pushing it. There was a weapons and armor room, a kitchen, a control center and cells that allowed for no more than ten prisoners at any given time.
With the addition of Lowry Holmes and Gary Jenkins, that brought the total up to nine. Luckily, six of the prisoners were ready for transport the following day. Arriving a day before the capture of Lowry Holmes and Gary Jenkins was a Post Human by the name of Charles Ortega.
Jason Shaw, Jackson Prescott and Shayne Tucker were responsible for bringing him in. Surprisingly, Noah was nowhere to be found that day even though the threat was coming for his city. Just looking at Charles made the officers on duty nervous. Everyone had read the reports on him and none of them wanted anything to do with him. Although none of the officers said anything to one another, they all believed if Charles didn't get transported soon, they were all going to die.
With the League being scattered and the whereabouts of Noah Winters and his alter ego unknown, if Charles regained his abilities, the officers knew they would be no match for him.
Charles stood at about five feet ten inches. His face is handsome and he sports a well groomed goatee. His skin is tan and his complexion is often described by women as perfect. His hair is the color of midnight and he fashions it with a spiky look. Charles doesn’t boast a large muscular frame like Jason Shaw or a well defined
frame like Noah Winters, but he's in good shape.
The man has been described by those that have seen him in action as the devil reincarnated. As far as anyone could tell, there was no redeeming qualities about Charles. He had no moral compass, no conscience. He's the perfect sort of villain that only writers could think up.
If his deadly personality wasn't enough to frighten anyone who crossed his path, his abilities certainly were. Charles can absorb the life force from others. He uses this ability as a way to kill others and in the process heal himself. In addition, the absorbing process granted him youth. No one knows for certain how old Charles Ortega is or even if Charles Ortega is his real name. As long as he continues to absorb life from others, there is no telling exactly how long he can live. That ability alone is enough to give pause to anyone confronting him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t all he had in his bag of tricks.
Charles Ortega could phase through an individual similar to how Bianca Ramirez does. The difference being Bianca uses it to move through walls and other solid objects while Charles uses it to stop other people’s hearts from beating. On some occasions, Charles likes to rip the heart out just because he can.
Charles uses his absorbing and phasing abilities in a variety of unique and creative ways, all of which are deadly to anyone he uses them on. If that wasn't enough, Charles also has extraordinary strength, speed and durability. His strength is significantly less than Jason’s, but its greater than any human's. His speed is significantly slower than Shayne’s, who is perhaps the fastest man in the world, but Charles can outrun a car moving at full speed. Charles’ durability is in correlation with the amount of time passed by since his last absorbing. The more recent he absorbs a life, the more durable he becomes.
He is largely considered one of the most dangerous known Post Human. Before his capture, he was listed on the G.U.A.R.D's top ten most wanted list.
When captured by the League of Protectors, Jason was overheard saying that he never wanted to face that man again. Hearing that from Jason, the man that is considered to be the most powerful Post Human, gave many cause for concern.
“Who do we have here?” one of the officers asked as Agent Baker escorted the two men inside.
“To my left is Lowry Holston. He’s capable of projecting fire from his mouth.” The agent looked Lowry over and shook his head in disgust.
“These freaks just seem to get freakier and freakier by the day,” the agent said.
Agent Baker smiled, agreeing wholeheartedly.
“What about this guy here?” the agent asked looking towards Gary.
“This one’s name is Gary Jenkins. No projectile ability or anything like that, but he can electrocute you if you are within touching range.”
The agent chuckled amusingly and shook his head.
“I thought electrocution was something that God delivered.”
Agent Baker shrugged his shoulders. Neither he nor Agent Kelley was very religious and they had no way to explain the Post Human phenomenon.
“Did you ever think that perhaps this is God’s doing?” Charles asked from behind his cell. All of the agents in the room turned to face Charles. This was the first time since he was captured that he spoke.
“What are you over there talking about?” Agent Kelley asked. His tone was forceful and sounded in charge, but Charles could see pass it. He could see the fear in Agent Kelley’s eyes and could hear it through the cracks of his voice.
“Have you ever considered the fact that this is God’s will? Have you ever considered the fact that God gave his chosen ones the powers of the angels? Perhaps we Post Humans as you call us are actually angels reincarnated or descendants of the angels. Have you ever taken a moment to consider that?”
The room was silent and the rest of the agents looked towards Agent Kelley to see how he would respond.
“Will of the Gods? Descendants of the angels? You think God sent you here to absorb human life? You think God sent you here to phase through a person’s body and kill them? That’s what you think God sent you here for?” Agent Kelley asked.
His voice was determined to sound strong. The agent was clearly annoyed by Charles and wanted nothing more than to put a bullet through Charles’ skull.
“Then you tell me Agent Kelley, why do you think that some of us have these special abilities and others do not?”
Agent Kelley did not have an answer for Charles and instead he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. “Abominations! That’s what you are, all of you. Abominations that were created so wrong that God himself couldn’t fix.”
Agent Baker tried not to make eye contact with Agent Kelley. He didn’t know much about religion, but he was fairly certain what Agent Kelley said wasn’t true. Besides that, he didn't want Charles to get riled up. Charles looked on at Agent Kelley very amused. It was like something that was locked in his head suddenly became unlocked and he understood everything he needed to know.
“It is people like you that have doomed this planet. It is people like you that will suffer the most when the new world order is complete. I will take great pleasure in seeing people like you suffer,” Charles said calmly.
One of the other agents pulled his sidearm out of the holster and pointed it at Charles. “Is that a threat you abomination?” the agent said echoing words spoken by Agent Kelley just moments earlier.
“Agent Bartowski, holster your weapon immediately!”Agent Baker ordered. Agent Kelley was Bartowski’s superior officer, so he ignored Agent Baker’s demand.
“Agent Bartowski is it? I do not make threats, I make promises, and I promise you this…Before this day is over I will take your life and I'll enjoy watching you shrivel up into nothing but bones and dust.” Charles folded his hands together and closed his eyes as if he was praying.
“Open his cell, let me end this freak!” Agent Bartowski pleaded.
Charles kept his eyes closed and ignored the agent. He had said all that he wanted to say and found no need to speak any further.
“Let it go Randy,” Agent Kelley said to Agent Bartowski. “Put your weapon away, I don’t feel like filling out all the paperwork required if you killed this guy.” Begrudgingly, Randy did as commanded.
Agent Kelley turned his attention to Agent Baker and instructed him to place Lowry Holmes and Gary Jenkins in their cells. He had some paperwork to fill out and he needed to complete it before Agent Hardine arrived for the prisoners' transport.
The next day a G.U.A.R.D helicopter developed by Shaw Enterprises landed at the jail. Agent Hardine and two other G.U.A.R.D agents exited the helicopter and walked inside the building.
“Welcome Agent Hardine,” Agent Kelley said respectfully. He was more than happy to see an agent accustomed to dealing with Post Humans arrive.
“We weren’t expecting you for another couple hours,” Agent Kelley said.
“Are the prisoners ready for transport?” Agent Hardine asked.
Agent Kelley frowned slightly. He could tell Agent Hardine was in no mood for small talk and not having Charles ready for transport reflected poorly on him.
“In just one minute Sir, he’s currently being examined by the doctor for final inspection.”
Agent Hardine nodded but was less than thrilled to have to wait. He walked over to the cells and looked at the other prisoners.
“Confirm them,” he said to one of his other agents.
The agent took out a device that was resting comfortably in his pocket and scanned the other prisoners. Once the scanner recognized the prisoner, it pulled up the prisoner’s file and confirmed their status.
“Prisoner’s status confirmed Sir,” The agent replied
Agent Hardine acknowledged the confirmation with a slight nod of the head.
“What’s the holdup with the last prisoner?” Agent Hardine asked. He seemed visibly annoyed with the tardiness.
“I’ll check on it right now,” Agent Kelley replied. In his head he was cursing furiously. It was just his luck that he wou
ld make a bad impression on one of the most established agents in the world. “Agent Bartowski, what’s the holdup?” he asked over the radio dispatch. No answer.
“Agent Bartowski, do you copy?” There was still no reply.
Agent Kelley looked back at Agent Hardine with a confused look on his face. Agent Hardine gave Agent Kelley a hard glare and then pulled out his gun. “You two, come with me,” Agent Hardine said to the two other agents standing beside him.
“You, radio in the League of Protectors and see if you can get a hold of Noah Winters. Heck, while you're at it, see if you can get a hold of that Black Vigilante guy as well. I'm pretty sure we're going to need all the help we can get,” Agent Hardine said.
“Sir?” Agent Kelley said slightly confused.
Agent Hardine shook his head in disbelief. “We can’t take any chances with this guy,” Agent Hardine whispered as he and the two agents headed towards the weapons and armory room. Agent Hardine looked at the two agents and stopped them.“Won't be any need for inhibitors. Shoot to kill.”
The two other agents looked at each other nervously. Anytime Agent Hardine gave an order like that, things were about to get serious. Agent Hardine held his left hand up in the air and closed it in a ball. The two agents immediately stopped moving and hugged the wall to their left tightly.
“What is it?” one of the agents asked.
Agent Hardine did a gesture with his head signaling for the men to look forward.
“Oh crap!” one of the agents replied. The other agent peered over his shoulder and had a similar reply. Agent Bartowski, who was in his early thirties, was lying dead on the ground. His body was shriveled and decomposing. His remains looked elderly, like someone in their eighties or nineties would look, just like Charles Ortega promised.
11
The Phasing of Men
“Agent Hardine, so we meet again,” Charles Ortega said as Agent Hardine, Agent Thomas and Agent Curry entered the weapons and armory room. “The last time I saw you, I nearly killed you. I'm glad that you survived, round two should be even more interesting.”
New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age Page 8