Well the cops were fired, but not jailed for the brutal murder despite the fact that the videos showed the whole story in black and white.
Anyway, one day I was caught up returning home by this gang on the streets. They tried to rape me, but I sterilized them the old fashioned way.
When I got back to our home, a small abandoned shack in the middle of the woods, I found that he wasn't there. I searched for her for 2 days before I found his body."
Em began to tear up at that part. Max tried to stop her from continuing the story since it was obviously so painful for her, but Em grabbed her lips with one hand and kept them closed.
"It turns out he was starving, so he went to a local pizza joint. He tried to sneak off with a pizza and the owner shot him dead for it. Bastard didn't even go to trial for it because the police didn't care about a small 12 year old boy who didn't have a family or a home.
After that I waited for a week, watching the guy who'd killed my little bro. Then one day when he was alone I knocked him out. Then I tied to him his car and set it to go over into the lake behind his shop, where he was found drowned to death a week later by a fisherman.
The cops took the video and saw me doing it, so I ended up here with a life sentence and no chance of parole."
Max grabbed Em and hugged her tightly. She fully understood everything Em had said. Especially the revenge part. She'd killed her father and a number of other people like him just because of what that man had done to her mother.
"Wanna know the actual hilarious part of it? The police actually used the death of my little bro as a reason I should be put away for life. They claimed I was dangerous if I was willing to drown a man to death for revenge."
Em laughed without any traces of humour at that part. After that her tears stopped flowing and she managed to recompose her smile.
"Hey new girl, come over here for a minute." someone yelled from across the room. Max turned to look at the person who was presumably calling to her. Before she could get a good look at the person, Em spoke up.
"Whatever she's offering you, don't take it."
Max spotted the person just as Em finished speaking. The person in question was an incredibly tall and thin woman with jet black skin and hair. She had her hair framing her face almost perfectly and wore, of all things, a blue jumpsuit instead of the usual orange. She was sitting on the table and surrounded by a group of 5 girls of varying descriptions.
"Why not?" Max asked as she stared at the person in question.
"That's Jay. She owns most of the prison. Even the guards are in her pocket due to blackmail."
"Why does that matter?" Max asked as she turned her head to face Em again.
"She tried to get me to kill a guard who she couldn't get on her side. When I refused she tried to have me stabbed. Me and the 5 people who tried to stab me ended up in the hospital for 12 weeks with over a dozen broken bones each and a few hundred stab wounds between us. 2 guards, including the one she wanted dead, ended up trying to stop the scuffle and we killed them because of it."
'That sounds fun.' Max thought sarcastically to herself.
"Go on over there and find out what she wants, just to be polite. But make sure you refuse it." Em said.
Max sat there for a minute more as the entire prison slowly became interested in her. She even saw the guards staring at her intently.
Finally Max stood up to go over and talk to Jay. But when she got halfway there, a massive, ear shattering explosion blew open the door between the guard control room and the floor. Jay and her posse were knocked to the ground and at least one of them died from the close proximity to the explosion.
Most of the others were disoriented from the explosion, leaving Max the only person in the prison still standing. She squinted her eyes and used her enhanced vision to see beyond the debris in an attempt to find the person responsible.
She didn't have to wait long as a hailstorm of bullets started flying through the hole. As soon as Max saw them her adrenaline kicked in and the entire world slowed down. She could see the bullets in slow motion, as if she able to move as fast or faster than they could.
As the first bullet closed half the gap between it and her, Max moved. She ran forward towards the bullets, noting that at least 2 of them would hit the women who were lying on the ground. She grabbed those bullets out of the air and hurled them back through the door with as much force as she could muster. A moment after she did the bullets stopped with the sound of a loud metal on metal pinging.
Max stood over the other women, placing herself between the attackers and the prisoners. After a few minutes of standing there, a shadow appeared on the other side of the door. Soon more shadows joined that one and they made their way through the darkened control room. When they stepped on the other side of the ruined door, Max immediately noticed 2 very disturbing things about them.
The first was that they were carrying very powerful looking rifles. The second was that they were all guards in the prison.
Part 5:
Hero
Chapter 21:
Guard Takeover
Max cautiously watched the group of heavily armed guards approaching her. She needed time to think of a plan. While she had many super powers, including regeneration, she knew painfully well that she wasn't invulnerable. That much had been proven before when she'd been shot in the shoulder through a wall and nearly died from the experience. The rifles the guards were carrying could very well kill her just as easily as they would a normal human.
The guards stopped inches from her face and stood there, completely motionless, staring at Max. Both sides had an uncomfortably long staredown. But Max was using the time to her advantage. She strained her senses, putting everything into overdrive to scope out the area as much and as fast as possible.
'There's 4 more behind us!' Milia half shouted in Max's head. Max had to use her all of her willpower to stop herself from making any noticeable movements lest she scare the guards into attacking again. There were still people in the room who couldn't fight back. And Max intended to save them all.
'What the fucking hell?!' Max shouted back. 'You nearly got us all killed!'
'Sorry! I was just trying to help! I swear!' Milia shouted back, in shock and pain at having been yelled at.
'I'm sorry. I just would have liked a quieter warning.' Max replied, sounding genuinely sorry at having hurt Milia again.
'It's okay. You're right, I'm sorry for scaring you.' Milia replied.
'Now what were you saying?' Max asked. So far the guards had just stood there staring at Max. And they seemed plenty content to do so.
'The guards in front are just a distraction.' Milia said. As she did Max felt her senses extend back into the room of their own accord.
'Are you doing that?' Max asked.
'Yeah. I can retain control over our senses even when I'm not in control of the body.' Milia replied.
'Right. We'll talk about invasions of privacy lately.' Max said, intent on getting everyone to safety before bothering with anything trivial.
'Technically it's my body too, so you can't even call it an invasion of privacy. Just a reclamation of stolen goods.' Milia replied.
'Reclama... I'm gonna kick you.' Max replied.
'Have fun. I'm sure those guards would love the sight of a girl kicking herself in her own ass. Who knows, you might be a big hit on those porn sites.' Milia replied.
'I'll put you on a porn site you...' Max stopped as she realized what she just said.
'Haha! Got you there!' Milia laughed back. Max pushed aside the thought and focused on the task. She'd have a long, very one-side talk with Milia about appropriate punishments for that little embarrassment after this was all over and done with.
'Okay we'll talk about that later. Now seriously we're wasting time. What's going on?' Max asked, still sounding slightly upset at Milia.
'It doesn't matter yet anyway.' Milia said. 'They're getting into place all over and preparing to shoot the whole g
roup dead.'
'You know, that's something I'd like to know BEFORE we get into an argument about porn.' Max said. Though it was spoken mentally, Milia could swear she heard the sound of Max grinding her teeth together to keep herself from yelling.
'Well I have a plan though. And would require them to be in place and prepared to take us out.' Milia said.
'What plan?' Max asked. She was really surprised that Milia had a plan. But she had already agreed to trust Milia, so maybe at least hearing the plan would be worthwhile.
'When they're in place and ready to fire, we use our super speed to snatch their weapons from them. Then just beat them up.'
'That is a terrible plan.'
'No it's not. If they're still moving we can't know how they'll react when we move. If they're in position they will likely attempt to stand their ground. That will make it easier for us to stop them.'
'That's...' Max paused. It was actually a rather brilliant plan.
'Yes I know. I'm the smart one after all.' Milia replied. Max could almost hear the grin.
'I just hope it works.' Max thought back at Milia.
Max finally returned her attention to the outside world and waited. She pretended to be staring at the guards in front of her while she really was focusing her other senses on the guards outside her field of vision.
She counted 4 more guards in varying positions behind her. That made 10 once she included the 6 in front of her that were attempting to distract her from the others behind her. Not that is was much of a distraction, but as far as they were concerned the 'standoff' was working.
'They're in position. Ready?' Milia finally said after an entire, incredibly intense minute.
'I hope so.' Was all Max said before she sprang into action. She grabbed the guns of the 2 nearest guards and wrapped them around each other. She proceeded to do the same with the remaining 4 guns and then threw them into a pile off to the side. They were now completely useless and Max was feeling better. It seemed Milia had indeed come up with an excellent strategy.
Max turned around to face the 4 remaining guards. It was at that moment that Milia's plan fell to pieces.
As soon as they turned around they realized their error. The guns of the 4 guards behind Max were pointed at the still disoriented prisoners, not Max.
Her adrenaline kicked into overdrive and the entire world slowed to less than a crawl. She could see the tiny explosions of the bullets leaving the barrels of the assault rifles. It appeared to her that those explosions and bullets they propelled were moving slower than a drunken snail, but she wasn't sure if she could reach them all in time. All of the rifles were fully automatic and firing hundreds of rounds per minute into the crowd.
Max instantly made up her mind about how to take care of the situation and used the momentum of her turn to kick off the ground and dash forward. She left a small crater from where her foot kicked off the ground and flew forward towards the nearest guard.
Max grabbed the gun while it was still being fired and twisted the barrel around. The barrel compressed inward from the center of the twist and quickly shrunk, preventing any more bullets from being fired. She continued down the group, doing the same to each of the barrels. When she was finished, she quickly disposed of the bullets in midair by grabbing them or redirecting their flight paths away from anyone who might get hurt.
After that Max moved back to through the guards and, one by one, she punched them in the gut. With her superhuman strength and speed she had to hold back, essentially giving what felt to her like a tap. But in reality the force of the blow ended up cracking the ribs of most of the ones she punched.
After that she finally stopped, standing over the pile of mostly unconscious group of people lying on the ground, and the worlds time seemed to return to normal. However, as soon as it did, a loud and deep explosion sounded throughout the room. The force of the blow knocked some of the already tumbling guards back into the nearest walls, knocking them out cold.
After that was over Max moved to check on them all. She had no idea what the sudden explosion was, but it had hit the guards very hard. Much harder than she had liked. Thankfully all of them were at least alive and would likely live through the ordeal as long as they got medical attention soon.
After checking on them all Max went and checked on the other prisoners she had been getting to know before the ordeal started. She first checked on Em, who appeared to be stirring.
"You alright Em?" She asked the woman as she knelt down next to her.
"Max? What's going on?" Em asked.
"It's nothing. I'll take care of it.' Max replied. Em gave her a funny look and opened her mouth to speak.
"Max, why are you being so quiet? Tell me what happened."
"I said it's nothing Em."
Em looked horrified after Max finished.
"Max. I can't hear you." Em said.
Max looked at the woman and cocked her head sideways. When she did she noticed the blood coming out of Em's ears. Max had to fight the urge to gag as she thought about what had happened. Em's eardrums had been blown out. She was effectively deaf now.
'Well congratulations on dispatching my guards Miss Einhardt." An ominous voice said. Max instantly turned to try and locate the voice but she didn't see anyone.
"Oh no you won't get to see me." the voice said. Then Max finally noticed the voice was coming in over the PA system for the prison. Whoever was speaking wasn't in the room with them. He likely wasn't even in the facility at all.
"Who are you?" Max asked bravely.
"Your death."
Chapter 22:
The Atomic Threat
Max turned and stared into the nearest security camera. She hardened her stare and stood as tall as she could. This person was trying to intimidate her and she wasn't going to stand for it. At least not while she had other people to protect.
"Oh? Trying to defy me I see." the voice said. "It won't matter for very long. You see, I've already assured your death. It's just a matter of time before your life is over. And with it, the lives of those people you care about."
"I doubt that's really the case." Max said.
'Yeah asshole!' Milia yelled inside Max's head.
"It doesn't matter what you think. It's the end for you." the voice said. Max just smirked in response.
"Oh? You thought your superpowers would save you?" the voice asked, a disturbingly cold laughter dripping from it. Max suddenly frowned at that and her eyes softened as the implications of what the voice had just said hit her.
"Yes I know about those. You're really not very discreet with their use you know. Should be more careful in the next life." the voice said. It laughed gently but evilly after that, sending chills down Max's spine.
"It doesn't matter. I'll still find a way to save them." Max replied, but she said it without any confidence. Whoever this was knew about her powers. And if they knew about them for a long enough time, they may have found a way to stop them or to kill her despite them. It was a worrying prospect to Max.
She shook her head. Now was no time to get scared or worried. She would win because she had to. If it meant saving the lives of the people here then it would be worth it. And a chance to start making up for her past and do some good in the world was always a good thing.
##########
"President Winters!" a man wearing a military uniform half shouted with a salute as the President of the United States entered the secure bunker underneath the white house.
"What's the progress on getting into the facility?" Winters asked the man.
"We're still a long way off sir. At least another day to cut through anything and get inide. And then we'll have to clear the place, which could take hours." the man said.
"Well double time it. They've already had 2 whole days inside that place. I'm surprised nothing's been launched yet."
"Aye sir. I'll tell the teams to get me a faster way in."
"Spare no expense. If we have to bomb the place out then we'll
do it."
"Yes sir!" the man said as he walked off. The President went off in a different direction and entered his private bunker office. He closed the door behind him and sat down at the desk. Looking down, he sighed heavily and picked up the phone.
Without dialing a number the phone started ringing. There were several tense seconds where no one answered, but finally the sound of a receiver being picked up reverberated through the line.
"Mr Winters, I assume." Came a thick Russian voice.
"Yes sir Mr Vetrov." Winters said.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of a phone call Mr. President?" Vetrov asked.
"I'm sorry to inform you, President Vetrov, but we have a dire situation here in the States."
"The World News informed me of such, but the details were sparse. I have been eagerly awaiting an explanation."
"I'd like to apologize for not getting you one sooner sir. I have been busy coordinating our people here to take care of the situation."
"Think nothing of it. I am glad you forewent the niceties to ensure safety. I take it you have time now to talk?"
"Indeed. But I'm afraid we don't know too much more than what you've heard. An small band of terrorists have taken control of a nuclear cache here in the States. Thankfully we had just finished dismantling anything capable of reaching the European continent, but our country and Canada are still in major trouble."
"If that is so, then why have you called me personally? You could have just as easily sent me a message by courier."
"Indeed. I'm calling for another reason as well." Winters paused for a long time before continuing. "We may need your help dealing with this situation."
There was a long pause as Vetrov considered the plea.
"I see. And how would we be able to aid you?"
"Well the terrorists managed to use the bases security measures against us. If it comes down to it, we may need you to send in a small strike force to aid in destroying the base. We don't have the level of conventional firepower to concentrate in one place right now due to the war."
Chronicles of the Supers (Book 1): Born From Darkness (The Story of Max) Page 12