Sole Scion - 12. Chapter Twelve: The True Test

Chapter Twelve: The True Test

 

 

 

With white radiant light coming from all directions Daniel couldn’t see that the wall opposite him was in fact a one-way-mirror. Andrew knew. He was on the other side watching everything. Sitting next to him was the Chief Examiner Scott Grey. “You have the power to end this.” The Examiner said, not for the first time.

“If I knew how I would, but Daniel is not a Neo.”

The Examiner arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Andrew slammed a fist against the armored glass. “Yes I’m sure! You think I never wished he was a Neo like me. It would make things so much easier if he were just like me.”

“How so?”

“My father would treat him better. My friends wouldn’t snub their noses at him. Most of all it would allow me marry him.”

“I see… you wish to form a partnership.”

“Partnership.” Andrew snorted. “You make it sound like a business relationship.”

“In many ways it is. To form a partnership both parties must agree to the terms of the marriage contract and which assets will remain separate. It’s like the merging of two companies.”

“Merger… that’s the problem. Daniel has no wealth of his own. He might have no money but he is still the one I love.

The Chief Examiner stepped between Andrew and the one way glass. “But the law says differently. Neos can only form partnerships with Neos just as Norms can only form ones with each other. Of course if we are able to prove that Mr. Winters is in fact a Neo then…”

Not able to endure further tormenting Andrew exploded. “Enough!” What would you have me do? Push a river up Mount Everest? He’s not a Neo and doesn’t want to be.”

“But you do. You also have the power within you to make him one. If he loves you as much as you love him then it is possible.”

“I do love him which is why I would never force him to become one.”

“Then he will remain in that cell and you will continue to watch.” The Examiner stood to leave.

Before Scott left Andrew rose and shouted; “Why!”

The Grey stopped but didn’t turn around. “Because I love him.” The Examiner opened the door and left.

Andrew stared at the closed door the Grey had just walked out of in a shocked daze. Love him? Are you insane? You might love him but after this he will never love you.

 

 

 

 

Not only Andrew knew what Daniel was being made to endure. Far away Primes that had never known the collar and had been born free met to debate the crisis. With them was Logan Smith.

“I told you giving him to the Labatts would prove to be a mistake.” Logan fumed. He had known it would put Daniel in more danger. Living among the most powerful Neos on Earth had brought too much unwanted attention on the boy.

The Primes however were unwilling to concede the point. “It could be worse.”

“Could be? Since when have the paragons of logic start speaking of ‘could be’s’. It cannot get worse than it already is.”

“Being in the hands of Julian Lordon would be worse.” The Judicar to the left of the Prime Judicar felt the need to point out. “The same is true with Nosferatu.”

A second Judicar rose and spoke. “Let’s not forget about the Omegas.”

“But Julian does have him!” Logan yelled.

“He does not,” the Prime Judicar insisted from his throne.

Logan paced around the blue floating disc that hovered a few yards away from the Prime Judicar. “Explain. Is Daniel not locked up at the NET’s main research complex? Is not NET part of the NSP? Is the NSP not controlled by the Awakening Council? Is Julian not its leader?”

Logan might have gone further but was silenced when the Prime Judicar rose from his chair. “Julian is but one voice on the council. He is first among equals on the council but he does not dominate it. So far our agents have reported that Julian has no knowledge of Daniel’s existence let alone his presence at the NET’s main base.”

“Varrus knows. He will certainly tell Julian.”

“As far as Varrus is aware the Winters is being used to gain leverage on Karl’s son, nothing more. The only one who suspects the truth is the Chief Examiner. You know all too well he of all people has good reason to keep the truth a secret from the others. Scott Grey would kill Julian before he lets the Patriarch of the Awakening threaten some he hopes might not be just anyone but possibly the Scion of Brutus.

Logan could not argue the point. The Praetor’s most favored son, Brutus, had been killed during the Roman Civil Wars by Julian and his bastard follower, Travis Walker’s ancestor, Octavius. The supreme leader of the Greys had never recovered from the loss. That did not explain however why he later decided to join Julian in his attempt to create a world where Neos would be the dominate species. Logan took in a deep breath to calm himself so he could gather his thoughts. “As impossible as it might be, let’s say Daniel is of Brutus’s bloodline. What then? Do you think Scott will be able to keep Daniel’s lineage a secret from the Praetor forever?”

“The Chief Examiner does not have to keep Daniel’s identity a secret forever, only long enough for Daniel to escape to Mars.” When he finished speaking the leader of the Judicars sat back down on his throne.

“He might escape Julian’s claws by sending him to Mars but only to let Daniel fall onto Walker’s sword.” He knew he should laugh on using such an ironically appropriate pun but he was still too angry to see the humor in what he had just said.

“Which Walker are you referring to?” One of the Judicar’s asked

Logan frowned. He was unsure of what the Judicar was referring to. “Travis Walker of course. How many can there be?”

The Prime Judicar leaned forward to get a closer look at Logan. “As far as we are aware there are two. One is a Scion of Julian’s adopted son, the exiled Demon Walker. The other is the Segundo Everett Walker who wants to rule Mars.” As he gazed down on Logan the Prime sensed something was not quite right with Logan. He couldn’t put his finger down on exactly what had changed but he could not help but feel troubled by it.

Logan knew only a little of what had transpired during the centuries that passed when Daniel father had been trapped on one of the broken remains of what was left of the Ares homeworld. Supposedly both had been present… the one had become a Demon while the other was the Demon’s Segundo clone. Both had wanted possession of Daniel’s father, Avery Winters. Avery had eventually escaped only to find that due to the speed the ruins of Ares had been moving the effects of the theory of relativity caused over a three hundred years to pass on Earth for what had been for him only a few months.

Logan once again wondered if it would have been best if Avery had never come back. He had brought Azrael and with the meteor, the Plague back with him. Then again if he had not returned then he would not have been present to wipe out the Omega Symbiotes which had been on Earth for thousands of years. Either way Homo sapiens would have become an endangered species. He didn’t know which would have been better but he was sure the Primes saw present circumstances as preferable.

That did not mean things had gone according to the Judicars’ plans. “What of this Talon fellow? Are we sure he didn’t die in the bombing?” Logan asked the Primes.

The Prime Judicar leaned back in his chair before replying. “We cannot say how he managed to survive but we are certain he did. He is the Demon Travis’s agent on Earth. His ties to the Nosferatu have proven to be false. We do not know the connection between the two factions but compared to the risk Julian poses they are the larger threat. That threat must be dealt with.”

Logan didn’t have to look far to know who the Primes wanted to deal with it. “I guess there’s no point in me not volunteering. You will insist I go anyway. Where will I find this Demon.?”

“Where Daniel’s father met his end.” The Prime Judicar replied.

“Didn’t he die when the Azrael meteor slammed into the Atlantis Eye fragment?”

“Yes.”

“I see… and how am I supposedly to get there?” Logan knew he wouldn’t just have to travel through territory claimed by the Plague he would also have to find some way of getting to the bottom of a five mile deep crater littered with volcanic cracks.”

The Judicar next to the Prime rose. “We believe the Gate in the Eye fragment is still functional. All it lacks is a powerful enough power source to reactivate it.”

“I don’t think I have an extension cord quite that long.” Logan replied sarcastically.

“A working gate can connect itself to the Eye and repower it.” The Judicar said condescendingly as if speaking to a child.

“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” The Primes were really starting to piss Logan off. They could have just offered to use their own gate and send him on his way.

The Judicar seemed to be thinking on similar lines. “If we could use our Gate to get you there we would not be wasting your time explaining why we cannot. Our gate lacks the power to connect and repower the Gate at the Eye. We also can’t use the Gate in Antarctica because it is under the control of Everett Walker. Even if we could Julian is building his new capital city right on top of it. I do not know about you but I doubt he would be kind enough to let you use it. He’s so terrified of what might come through the Relic he’s buried it under a thousand tons of steel and concrete.”

“If I can’t use your Gate or the Gate in Antarctica how am I supposed to get to the Eye?”

“There is another… one that will better fit your needs. We believe the Falkland fragment still has a functioning gate.”

Logan frowned. “I never heard of a third Gate.”

“It was not part of the original design. It was built by the Togo after landfall.” The Prime said. Pressing a series of holographic buttons a three dimensional projection of NET’s Falkland’s base popped into existence between the Prime Judicar and Logan

“They must have built it in secret if Varrus doesn’t know about it.” Logan knew all too well how Varrus along with most of the Guardian Council had hunted down and killed the people of Atlantis. Back then the council feared that the Togo, with their advanced technology, would enslave the entire human population and make gods of themselves.

Soon after the Togo had been dealt with Varrus and Julian had fought over what to do with the remaining technology they brought with them during the Exodus. Varrus had insisted that Atlantis be destroyed least the same technology that had destroyed their homeworld destroy Earth. Julian, however, wanted to use the technology to build a new empire just like the Togo had wanted but with his followers in charge. In the resulting war Julian’s colony in Minos was destroyed and Atlantis broken up into separate parts.

With Julian having gone into hiding Varrus used the few surviving Atlantis technology based weapons to destroy as many of the fragments he could find.

Until now Logan had been aware only two had survived with their gate engines intact. The one in Alaska, the Eye had been one of Atlantis’s main engines. The other one had fallen close to the South Pole in Antarctica. At the time both had been beyond Varrus’s reach and given their hostile environments he had little fear of them being found.

Logan knew all this. What he had not known was that the Togo had wanted to escape the fighting between the Ares factions and find a world of their own. They established a colony far from Varrus and the other survivors. They settled in the part of South America that would one day become Argentina. What would become known as the Falkland Islands was their attempt to salvage one of the Atlantis fragments into a functioning spacecraft.

As the Prime explained, it was the Togo’s insistence on remaining racial pure that led to their demise. With their refusal to mingle with the native human population they never gained the native populations evolved immunity to local diseases. So like what happened when Europeans and their diseases reached the Americas, the builders of Atlantis were eventually wiped out by local pathogens.

Still their legacy remained within the bowels of the Falkland Atlantis fragment. If Logan could find a way inside he could attempt to use its gate to reach the Eye and the Demon Travis. On the way back he could then free Daniel and send him on his way to Mars.

It was a suicide mission and the Primes knew it but as clones sharing a common mind the sacrifice of a single individual was never seen as a significant sacrifice.

Given his orders Logan began making his preparations. He would do as the Prime commanded but not for the reasons the Guardian Council believed. Over the years Logan had gotten tired of being the Judicar’s attack dog. Logan had been ready to abandon his duty when he crossed paths with a very interesting person. The man offered him a deal and all Logan had to do was take care of a small matter that even he felt needed being taken care of. While he didn’t see why doing his new friend this small favor would not help further the Guardian Council’s aims, Logan knew that if the Council knew who he was now taking orders from the Prime Judicar would be taking steps to eliminate him. If all worked as planned however it would be Logan who would be giving the orders not the one having to follow them.

 

As the Primes feared Daniel was not the only survivor of the bombing. Talon, part Bionoid, Demon Spawn, and Symbiote was also not so easily gotten rid of. How else could one explain how he managed to reach Earth while still inside the Ark located in the core of the Azrael Meteor as it collided with Earth? His beloved Travis had survived the loss of his core as well. That did not mean Talon questioned his role in life. He loved the Demonic Travis as much as also despised and feared him. How could Talon not hate his lover when his beloved was still obsessed with finding a way to get Daniel’s grandfather, Harry Winters, back? If their fragment of Ares had not been launched towards Earth, he would still be hunting for Harry. Now that Talon was on Earth and with Harry’s son dead only Harry’s grandson could fill the void only a Winters could fill.

Talon understood all that. After all he was the Bionoid offspring of Harry. He also carried much of Travis’s anima. When he first saw Daniel, he felt a portion of the hunger and desire Travis still felt towards Harry.

This left Talon conflicted. The Demon Travis had been his first and until they reached Earth his only lover. Since then however he had enjoyed the flesh of many men and in each he planted the seed of a Sleeper. They were now as much a part of him as his ten toes and ten fingers.

However, the Sleeper he fought during the last moments of the Academy was not among his many lovers. The kid… calling himself Ray was a different kind of Sleeper. He, like Talon was able to shift from being a Sleeper to one of the Awakened at will. Right now Ray was in his human form. He was beaten, battered, and more than a little bruised.

“Why haven’t you killed me?” Ray whispered as he weakly struggled with the net of barbed chains wrapped around him.

Talon replied with a question of his own. “Why haven’t you freed yourself? You have the power. Awaken… you know you want to.”

“No.” Ray replied.

“Now you’re acting like a child.” Talon chuckled when he saw the flash of anger on Ray’s face. “So you can lose control.”

“I will not lose control.” Ray insisted.

“You lie. You are barely maintaining control of your body as we speak.”

“No Talon I will not.” A look of defiance glowed from Ray’s violet eyes.

On hearing his true name, Talon fell to his knees. “How… how do you know my name?”

“You never knew me but I’ve long known you. You were on the Tosian Ark. You betrayed my friends. You should have died with Azrael crashed into Alaska.”

“How can you know of the Ark and I not remember you?” Talon needed to know how this brat could have escaped the Ark. He and Travis had been so careful. They had gone to great effort to make sure that Talon had been the only one allowed to leave. To think this planet’s stupid scientists think the Plague has its source in bacteria and viruses when he was patient zero. “Who infected you?”

“No one.” Ray replied somewhat smugly.

Now it was Talon’s turn to lose control of his emotions. “That’s impossible.”

“Maybe you are not as special as you think you are… you big meanie.”

Talon only knew of only one sort of fellow who would talk about meanies. “You… you’re a Watcher?”

Ray shrugged “Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. It’s so hard to remember. That was a long time ago.”

If one Watcher had survived then there had to be more survivors. “Where’s Pugs? Is he alive?” Talon demanded. He had to know if his own Watcher had survived. Since losing Pugs to Avery Winters there had been a void in Talon’s life that no lover could fill.

“Why do you want to know?” Ray asked mockingly.

“Because he’s my Watcher and I want him back.” More than Travis or any other man, Talon loved his Watcher most of all. It still wounded him deeply that Pugs had abandoned him for Daniel’s father, Avery.

“But what if he doesn’t want to take you back?”

“He would have to tell me that himself. Avery is dead. Pugs has no one left to serve but me. Tell me where he is and I’ll let you go.”

“What if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll feed you to my Demon.”

“Got to catch me first you big meanie.” There was a blinding flash of light. By the time Talon recovered all he saw of the Watcher was his trail of fading purple sparks. “Run… run away you fucking light bulb and tell Pugs I have not forgotten! Tell me I have not forgiven! Let him know I will hunt him down and he will be mine again!”

When Talon had regained control of his temper night had fallen. Looking down at his watch he saw he was running late for an appointment he had no choice but to keep. He wasn’t worried however. He knew the sea plane his people were sending would arrive in time for him to reach New York before dawn of the next day. Just as he wanted revenge against the Winters he wanted every single person connected to the cursed family to suffer as well.

 

 

 

Tara Winters had been many things in her life… daughter, wife, mother, drug addict and for the last thirteen years one of the Nosferatu. Out of all of them she found her life as a huntress of the night the most fulfilling.

Since she received the blood baptism she had free rein to enjoy all her darkest desires, both old and new. She had taken the blood of many victims and had claimed almost as many lovers. To others in Dmitri’s Cabal her lust for sex and blood had caused her to go mad. She knew better. With all that Dmitri had given her… money, youth, immortality she resented his control over her. She had felt the same way with her first two husbands. Her first, Avery Winters had been a pushover in all things other than those involving their son. Even after so many years, it still irked her that she had always been second in both her husband’s and son’s hearts.

Having always received a lesser share of his love she encouraged the rumors that Avery was, as she coined it, a fucking fag. When the photo of her husband and the man she suspected of being his lover showed them embraced in each other’s arms appeared in a local newspaper she saw it as a chance to destroy the close relationship between them.

She only thought to remove a rival for her husband’s affection. She never believed she would suffer any negative consequences. Her verifying the authenticity of the photo destroyed Avery’s and Karl’s friendship, her husband’s political aspirations, and unfortunately their marriage.

 

With her husband sequestered to a mental hospital and the bank accounts nearly dry. Tara jumped ship and entered a marriage of financial convenience to Greg Peters. As a power attorney and political enemy of Avery she had seen her second marriage as the perfect revenge against her weak willed husband. Her second marriage would prove the worst mistake in her life.

Though Greg had been the one to leak the incrementing photos that destroyed her first husband life to the press, she never thought to ask how he managed obtain the pictures. She later learned that he had not bought them off from a detective as he claimed but had taken the photos himself while he had been at the same gay bar while on a date with his closeted lover.

Even to this day she couldn’t place her finger on the one single event that led to her realization of her husband’s true sexual attractions. It could have been the late calls that he would be spending the night at the office. She questioned herself on why she was finding condoms in the laundry. After all they had been trying to get pregnant since the wedding. There were the phone calls where he would excuse himself from the room and his insistence that he had a few nights to himself.

With her first marriage tainted by accusations of cheating she recognized the signs of Greg’s infidelity. She refused to accept the truth however. It took a few years for her to admit it but after the lies she had made up to hurt Avery she could not make herself believe that she would allow herself to marry a man where they would prove to be true.

The house of lies did not come tumbling down until she ended up in the hospital with cytomegalo-viral pneumonia. An otherwise dormant virus carried by 90% of all adults it becomes active in people with weaken immune systems such as recipients of organ transplants and those with HIV. It was the later that nearly killed her.

When the doctors told her she was positive her suspicions automatically fell on Avery but they had been divorced for many years and had stopped having sex a few years before she filed for divorce. He was also dead so there was no way to test him. That left Greg. Either no longer feeling the need to hide the truth or out of guilt for what he had done he admitted he had been cheating on her with another man. They soon divorced. Due to the pre-nup he insisted she sign before they got married he left her with nothing but her son.

Now Greg was among the living dead… a zombie, or as Dmitri put it, a Dead Eater. It was an apt description for what he now was since after she had taken her victim’s blood she would often let him eat what was left over.

With their constant taking of victims she had her own cabal of vampires and zombies of near equal size compared to the more finicky blood connoisseur, Dmitri. Still she dare not oppose him. His blood was stronger and his leadership more respected.

That did not mean she didn’t have her advantages. Those she turned worshiped her with mad devotion. They were also far more brutal in their thirst for blood and power. While Dmitri was a chess master of manipulation setting the board took time, time that Tara and her juggernaut followers would not forever allow him to have.

This evening she found herself seating on her throne made of human bones in her self-declared audience chamber. Located deep in the bowls of the New York Ark her base of operations could not be further from the skyscrapers and mansion townhouses Dmitri and his Cabal preferred.

With most of her followers out to hunt for the night’s feast, she, and her undead ex-husband were the only one’s present. The near mindless Dead Eater sat like a dog on all fours beside his mistress.

She stroked his pale slime oozing from his scalp while listening to the sound of crunching bones as he sucked out the raw marrow. “Poor Greggy. You looked starved. Don’t worry… we’ll soon have meat on the table. Remember the old days when you provided the meat? I think we can agree that the meat I bring home is of a far the finer cut.”

When the zombie didn’t respond she smashed one of here steel stiletto heels into his skull. He collapsed. His half dead flesh quivering in spasms. “Teach you not to respect me… respect our marriage. You are half the man Ave was!” Realizing what she said she took in a sharp hiss of air. Why did I bring him up? Was it out of regret for what I did to Ave or hatred for what I am now?

From the darkness a voice responded to her thoughts “Both.”

Tara drew the knife she kept stuffed in her bosom and jumped to her feet. “Who’s there?” She sniffed the air and peered into the dark tunnels with her vampire keen eyes. She smelled neither the living nor the undead coming from the tunnels but somebody was out there… hunting her. As the bloody huntress of the night she was prepared for this reversal of fortune. “Come out, come out wherever you are.” She put the knife between her teeth, freeing her hands. She then placed each on one of the skulls built into the armrest of her throne.

“No worries there harlot.” A man stepped from the shadows. He had grey hair, pale blue eyes. In one hand he held a knife, in the other was a revolver. The ends of both were aimed at the vampire’s heart.

Tara recognized the man at once. “You… you’re Samuel, Dmitri’s butler. You have some nerve showing up here. Where is my son? I will not let you steal him from me.”

“Steal?” Talon laughed mockingly. “More like saved from being killed or turned.”

“Better a Nosferatu than the Labatt’s pet whore.”

Talon cocked the gun. “Better dead than then let you ruin my plans.”

“That has yet to be seen.” She sat back on the throne but kept her hands on the two skulls. “So Samuel have you come to kill or to fuck?”

“I’ve come for blood.” Talon stepped into the opening.

“Then come and get it.” Her blood burned hotter with each step he took.

When he was within ten yards of the throne she tilted the skulls forward. There was a snap, followed by the clamor of the metal plated floor collapsing under Talon’s feet. He fell into a pit filled with a pack of ravenous Dead Eaters.

Peering into the pit Tara watched with glee as the zombies swarmed over Dmitri’s number one goon. The sound his desperate gunfire that echoed up into the main chamber was sweet music to her ears.

After the last bullet was fired Talon fought them off with his hunting knife. Throats were cut and guts spilled but against such numbers the end was a forgone conclusion. One of the Dead Eaters jumped him from behind. He attempted to shake the cretin off but it had already dug its ghoulish claws deep into his flesh. While distracted, two other zombies tackled him from the left. Soon a half dozen were piled on top of him, each slashing, gnawing, and eating.

Tara danced around the pit. Talon’s screams were like the blare of Gabriel’s trumpet announcing Armageddon. Suddenly everything went silent. Looking down she saw all was still. Then, to her shock and fury, the pile of zombies were pushed aside. Talon then stood. His face was a shredded mess and chucks of flesh were missing from his arms. Instead of blood however, a sticky white sap like oozed from where the zombies claws and teeth had dug into his flesh. Tara was not sure but she thought she saw the glint of metal where bone should have been. His once blue eyes now burned a demonic fiery red.

Picking up his knife where he had dropped it, Talon raise the knife and pointed the tip at Tara. “Now it’s my turn.”

Since joining the Nosferatu Tara had not known what it felt like to fear for her life as much as she did now. No human could have survived her hungry pets. By the look of him, Dmitri’s butler was not human. Nor was he a Nosferatu. She backed away from the edge of the pit.

With a single jump he was out of the pit. The point of the skinning knife was still pointed at her.

Tara continued to back away. He matched her retreat by pursuing herewith each step she took. Backing into the chair of skulls she could not retreat any further. Talon looked at her with the gaze of a prowling lion. “What will you do now bitch?”

Tara fell back onto her throne. “What I have to do to survive.”

“Are you suggesting we negotiate your death?”

“Surely I must have something you want other than my head.” She dug her fingers into the chair… blindly searching for the secret compartment hidden among the ribs that made up a part of her throne’s left armrest. If she could find it in time, she might escape with her life.

“I want your blood… all of it.”

“All of it?” She hoped not all. If she could bargain for a little more time she would escape.

“More than you would be willing to surrender.”

Not all but too much. Dmitri had warned her that without enough blood she would become a mindless zombie like her ex-husband. That this creature knew that caught her off guard. He clearly was aware of many of the secrets of the Nosferatu than she first assumed. Such knowledge added to the danger she was in.

…click. She found the compartment. She was about to push the lever that would release the trap door under the throne…

Talon threw his knife …thud. Thrown with mechanical precision it sliced off the thumb Tara had wrapped around the lever just as she pulled up on it. If Talon had thrown a second sooner she would not have escaped. The seat collapsed, letting Tara fall down the escape chute.

Talon ran forward with every intention of following but the tube had been designed specifically to fit her narrow frame. His larger muscular body could never fit inside. Before he could think of an alternative detonation charges collapsed the tunnel. The explosion was soon followed by more from above. Tara had set off her lair’s self-destruct device.

Talon grabbed his knife and the severed thumb, the only trophy he had won from this night’s hunt, and ran for it. Running with the speed of an Olympic champion he managed to stay one step ahead of the explosions and falling rubble.

After the echoing sound of the collapsing roof went silent he stopped and examined his prize. He would have to get the thumb to the lab before necrosis set in. With so few cells to work with he wasn’t sure they would prove enough to suit his needs. He would then need to meet with his new friend and tell him what to do with the small bit of flesh.

 

With Daniel the prisoner of NET Talon would have to smoke him out of their fortress headquarters. Once he had Daniel he could hand him over to his master. Avery might have betrayed me but that’s alright. I’m certain that one way or another I will be able to free you and all will be forgiven. I miss you Pugs…and I just HATE, HATE, HATE the Winters for taking everything I once had away from me. I will make them suffer as the traitors made me suffer when they abandoned me to the Demon. Harry might be lost and Avery dead but so long as Harry’s bloodline endures I will still have someone to hand over to my master… the Demon Walker. Once I free my master and given him the last Scion of Brutus all will be forgiven. Then, and only then will we both be able to take our revenge against all those who dared to wrong us.

            ____________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

After having escaped Talon, Ray didn’t go too far. As soon as word of the bombing had become public he knew his family would come for him. He found them waiting for him to the south of West Falkland on tiny Sea Lion Island a few days later.

Seeing his father he went to Ryan Gains and reclaimed his human form. “Ready to report Captain.” He gave his father a sharp salute.

“Well Ray, what happened?”

“Cadet Winters was very close to discovering the means of detecting Sleepers within the human population but Talon stopped him before the experiment was completed.”

“Talon is still alive?” Ryan asked, completely shocked by the news.

“Yes… he has aged some but he is still alive it seems. It also seems he has not forgiving Avery for taking Pugs away from him.”

“I take it Talon had a lot to do with the Nano outbreak that occurred?” Ryan asked.

Ray nodded. “Yes… he seems to be Patient Zero of the Sleeper phenomena.”

“Damn… I guess that explains a lot.” Since Talon was really a Bionoid clone of Daniel’s grandfather, Harry, he never possessed anything close to a normal human cellular biology. It was therefore no wonder that the best scientists in the world had not been able to discover the pathogen that caused the disease. The vector would not be a virus or form of bacteria like those that had been detected among the non-Sleeper Nanos but something else… “Was Daniel close to detecting you?”

“No,” Ray replied. “At least I don’t think so. His test would only have been able to detect the Nano particles produced by Talon and those he infected. I’m not really a Nano but I can make myself look like one.” Ray changed into a Demon and back. “See.”

Ryan shook his head and laughed. Even though Ray had been with them for over twenty years the Watcher had not lost his childlike innocence and desire to please the man he saw as his father. “A very good disguise Ray. What about Daniel?”

“Daniel was taken prisoner by NET. Right now he is being kept inside the Falkland Ark. Want me to go after him papa Captain?” The Watcher asked eagerly.

“Soon but we need to come up with some sort of plan first.” Ryan and his team had gone to the Tosian Ark among the ruined remains of Ares to rescue Daniel’s father, Avery, and bring him back home. Though they never imagined they would be gone from Earth for centuries they had arrived back on Earth using the same means Avery and Lanyon used to return to Earth and therefore experienced the same time-shift as they had.

After the meteor strike and Avery’s death, Ryan and his team left their jobs at Labatt Industries and went to work for themselves as mercenaries who sold their services to individuals and governments willing to pay for them to deal with certain Nano infestations they didn’t want the general public to know about. Eventually their reputation attracted the notice of Logan and the Guardian Council who at present were paying them a massive retainer fee for exclusive use of the team’s unique services.

While they were allied with the council, they, unlike Logan, did not take their orders from the Judicars. They would exchange intelligence and sometimes go on joint missions but Ryan never let the Guardians fool themselves into believing they could boss him and his people around. He had seen how the Primes used their own people as cannon fodder.

Ryan and his people also felt no loyalty to the present Karl Labatt. The Labatt they knew would not have let Daniel’s father face the Symbiotes on his own. Though he too would have certainly died at least Ave would not have died alone.

They were their own masters, their own Double Dozen and much more beside. Like Talon they too carried the Plague. Theirs however was a far kinder disease. Those infected by them did not Awaken unless they wanted to. They could also regain their human form whenever they chose. More importantly they could not be controlled like machines by Talon. None of them understood why they were different only that out of all those who had survived the mission to Ares they were the only ones who had held onto their true humanity.

“Sir… the Council wishes to speak with you.” Neil, Ryan’s second hand and lover handed him the satellite communicator.

Ryan was caught off guard. He didn’t know the Council knew of his mission here. “Do they know this signal might be traced?”

“I am certain they do but they insist.”

“What the hell do they want to talk about?”

“Daniel.”

“Give me that.” Ryan snatched the comm. device and plugged it into his ear. “What do you want? I’m busy.”

“Expect a package. You may do with its contents as you wish.”

“Package? You risked blowing our cover to tell us you’re sending us a present?” Ryan got no response. The line had already gone dead. “Fucking assholes.”

“What did they want sir.” Will, Ryan’s third in command asked.

“They said they’re sending us a package… whatever the hell that means. It’s not like there’s a post office within walking distance… not after what happened on East Falkland.”

“I think we should spread out sir.”

“Why?” With the rising wind Ryan could barely hear what Neil was saying. Sparks began to fly. “GATE!”

Everyone jumped, some into the ocean. There was a blast of light and heat, followed by the billowing of smoke. From it stepped a dozen heavily armed men. With them were several crates of gear.

Ryan knew who had to be leading them before he could see his face. “Logan what the hell does the Council think it’s doing?”

“Sorry about that the abrupt entry but with so many patrolling aircraft in the area, gating was the only way we could get to you undetected.”

“We managed to get here without any trouble,” Neil shouted.

Logan laughed. “You have the stealth submersible Argonaut. You were also in position well before all hell broke loose.”

“True but that doesn’t explain why you’re here. As you can see we have everything under control.”

“Control?” Logan could not hold back a mocking laugh. “You are far from being in control of the situation.”

“We didn’t come to cause a fight, only gather information,” Ryan pointed out.

Logan shook his head in disbelief. “Gathering information was always supposed to be secondary to protecting the last of the Winters.”

“As far as I see it Daniel is safe where he is,” Ryan insisted.

Logan’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. “In the hands of NET? They’re as much our enemy as those with the Plague you’re so obsessed with.”

“That’s only because you don’t understand the Nanos like we do.” Ryan squeezed his fists. If he was a lesser man he would give Logan a personal first row seat to what a Nano could do. “Look… we have several of our agents keeping an eye on Daniel. He could not be in safer hands. Far safer than yours at least.” Ryan held back from laughing as Logan’s face went red. He knew all too well how much it still grated on the Bionoid’s nerves that the Council decided against making him Daniel’s guardian.

Ray stepped between them before things got out of hand. “Look, you two fighting won’t help Daniel one bit.”

“Shut up you silly light bulb. This in grownup business.” Logan shoved Ray to the ground.

Seeing his adopted son being treated so roughly caused Ryan’s blood to boil. “You shouldn’t have said that.” Ryan threw a left hook over Ray shoulder right into Logan’s jaw. The man fell.

Seeing his father was not about to stop beating Logan into a pulp Ray covered Logan with his body. “No fighting. No fighting!”

“Step out of the way corporal.”

“No papa. I won’t let you hurt him.”

It took every ouch of strength to force Ryan to step away but in the end that was exactly what he did. “Get a medic to check him out. Hopefully I didn’t break his jaw.”

Neil spate at Logon face. “Why not sir? He deserved it.” Like Ryan, the men didn’t tolerate their official mascot being mistreated.

Ryan glared down at Logan. “Because I’ll need to ask what he’s planning. Who knows… he might have a good idea for a change.”

Lieutenant William shook his head in disbelief. “I doubt the Council would admit they’ve made a mistake even after they get us all killed.”

“They’re clones… the loss of a few of them doesn’t really matter much to them. However if their entire race is threatened they would not care what it takes to save themselves. If given the option of choosing between preserving their damned gestalt and the rest of humanity you better believe they’ll pick that cursed Overmind of theirs without blinking an eye. In the end one’s survival will always come first,” Neil said with little sympathy.

“Tell that to Ave.” Ryan replied bitterly.

“He was one of a kind.” Neil agreed.

“No… his whole family is.” Ryan corrected.

The medic soon returned. “Sir… you can talk to him now.”

Before Ryan could reach Logan, Ray stopped him. “Let me.” Ryan was against it but Ray insisted he do the questioning. At the very least it would limit the number of punches thrown. Of course if Logan refused to cooperate Ray could always electrocute him.

When Ray returned he looked like he wanted to throw energy bolts at Logan. “I think the Council has lost its mind.”

“What do they want this time?” Ryan demanded.

“Logan wants us to help get him inside NET’s main base so he can use its Gate.”

“I didn’t know there was another gate. Is the Council really sure there is one? Ryan asked.

“Yes captain.” Ray replied.

“And where will he be gating to?”

“The Eye.”

Several men whistled. Ryan was less amused. “That’s insane. Even if it survived there’s nothing down there worth the risk of going back for.”

“He’s not going there to find something. He wants to go there so he can kill the original Travis.”

“And this gate is the only way he can get there? There has to be a better way.”

“I do not think there is… We only escape with the help of the Guardian.”

“How does Logan plan to get back once he’s down there?” Neil asked.

“He said if we help him reach the Eye he can repair it and use it to come back,” Ray explained.

Ryan thought about Logan’s plan for a few brief seconds but in the end decided he didn’t like it. “And Daniel…? I know Logan. He wouldn’t be willing to do something this crazy without it involving Daniel.”

Ray looked down as if embarrassed. “On the way back he will try to free him. He’ll then try to escape with him to Mars.”

“Mars? To the other Travis?” Will asked. “None of this makes sense.”

Neil scratched his chin. “Won’t leaving Earth help keep the young man safe from Lordon?”

Ryan shook his head. “I hardly consider that a fair trade. We all have dealt with the former Segundo Prime. He is a blood thirsty Pinocchio desperate to prove he’s a real boy when he’s really nothing but a cloned copy of the original Travis.”

Ray didn’t like the idea either. “He will want Daniel to love him like he wanted Ave to. He might even hurt Daniel if he doesn’t.”

Neil pointed out that while Everett might try to force Daniel to submit to him at least he wouldn’t kill him. What Julian Lordon might do to Daniel was another matter. Since his defeat at the end of the Second World War he remained in the shadows. During that century Julian focus his efforts plotting his return to power and the birth of a new Neo dominated empire. All he had lacked was the proper environment to fuel his genetic genocide.

The fall of Azrael changed everything. Not only did most of the world governments fall but the appearance of a mutating plague that only Neo’s seemed immune to allowed him and his people to fill the power vacuum created by the destructive impact.

Daniel’s very existence however, was a possible threat to all Julian had achieved. His research on Sleepers had been closing in on a method of detection. If the Sleepers hidden among the general population could be identified and isolated then demand for Blue would collapse. As Lordon Pharmaceuticals and the Walker Corporation were the sole suppliers of the drug any drop in demand would weaken Julian and the NSP’s power and influence.

Also, as the son of one of the original Double Dozens, Daniel stood to inherit all the influence his father once had over those who had become the dominate voices among the Neo leadership. All it would take is for Daniel to prove himself a worthy successor for the other 23 families to gather themselves around him. Of course Daniel wasn’t the sort who liked taking command and giving orders but when forced he would prove effective if not inspiring leader.

Daniel was indeed a threat to all of Julian’s plans to dominate the solar system. It was only a question of time before Julian came to the same realization himself.

Ryan didn’t like the idea of helping someone with such questionable motives as Logan’s but getting both of them inside the Atlantis fragment would serve both their objectives. How to get inside the most guarded facility in the world would be challenging but not impossible. He had Ray and his own platoon of Sleepers. Most importantly he already had a handful of loyal agents inside NET HQ. “Very well we’ll get him inside but some of my men and I will be going in as well.” Seeing Logan prepare to protest he cut him off. “I know what you’re going to say… it would be easier to slip only one person inside rather than an entire platoon but you are the one coming to me asking for help. If you want any chance of getting inside we’ll be doing this my way which means you will follow my orders to the letter. Have I make myself clear?”

Logan gritted his teeth but nodded. “Crystal clear.”

“Good because if you don’t I’ll pull out whatever your kind have for a motherboard and crush it under my boot.” After he had made his threat clear to Logan, Ryan started giving orders to the rest of his men to board the Argonaut.

Before he rose to follow Logan dug a hole with his fist in the soil and dropped a small capsule in it. Once back on his feet, he used his boot to cover the spot up. Ryan could do what it wants, in the end Logan would follow his real orders to the letter.

The Guardian Council had taken abusive advantage of Logan for centuries. Such abuse could not be endured forever without the person reaching his breaking point. Their refusal to grant Logan guardianship over Daniel had been the last straw. Since the Council hadn’t appreciate any of the sacrifices he had made over the centuries he had offered his service to a different organization that had already proven how much they appreciated Logan’s efforts to serve them.

Logan was ready to let Ryan think he was the one in charge. In the end it wouldn’t really matter. Once, long ago, Logan Smith had loyally served the original Travis Walker. It had been Daniel’s grandfather, Harry, who had convinced him to betray his former boss and imprison him within the ruins of Ares. It had taken a long time but Logan now knew he had made a mistake. If he had not sided with Harry Winters then none of the horrors that had happened as a result would have occurred.

Having been given a second chance to make up for his past mistakes Logan wouldn’t do as the Council wanted and kill Travis as planned. Instead of killing Travis he would free his old boss from his submerged tomb and together they would have their revenge against all who had wronged them.