Walls

“MOVE!”, Argi screamed at the guy as he held the creature tightly with his borrowed power. He could feel the invisible strands of power begin to tear and it would only be moments before the monster broke itself free. But a few moments was enough for the guy to pull away from the bone spike and quickly slip away from the immobilised deformed beast.

Argi’s concentration wavered and the creature broke free, immediately launching itself wildly towards the guy. Argi watched as it came near the guy, but the guy managed to evade and land a few strikes as it passed him. It crashed into a nearby wall, which did little but shook the crumbling dust of the stones off the building. It took off again for the guy, but its sense of direction was slightly off as it veered off the guy’s side rather than head towards his entire body.

The guy easily dodged and attacked the monster again with his fists, striking into its fleshy lumps that did little to harm it. He moved to create some distance between himself and the monster, coming near to where Argi stood. Both of them observed the monster as it collided into the wall again. A smile stretched across the guy’s face and he turned eagerly to Argi.

“It’s still blind”, the guy muttered, which was barely audible to Argi.

But as soon as the words were uttered, the beast snapped back up and charged for them. They both threw themselves away from the war path of the monster and hurried to create a safe distance away from it. Another crash unsettled the dust of the wall and the creature was disorientated. It stumbled slightly, but it remained determined to find its preys.

“How do we stop it?!”, Argi yelled as he got up. But he was forced to move as the monster came for him, drawn by the loudness of his question. As he stepped away from its path, he was expecting for it to blindly pass him as it had done before, but it relied on its other functional senses and collided into him. The heavy impact of monster sent Argi to the ground, shocking him so much that he couldn’t use his power or escape. The beast landed on top of him and proceeded to claw at him with its unbroken arm, ripping his sleeves to shreds and leaving savage cuts on his exposed arms. It let out a howling scream and seemed to widen its mouth to prepare the dive towards Argi’s head.

Before Argi could let out a terrified scream of his own, the beast was hauled back from him and tossed to the side by the guy. The guy hastily helped Argi to his feet, but the beast was heading for both of them again. Argi quickly raised his hand, but rather than freeze the creature in its tracks again, he shifted its movements and caused it to charge away from them without it giving off any indication that it had changed its course.

“What now?”, Argi asked desperately as he and the guy distanced themselves away from the creature and they saw that it had hit the wall again. In its daze, they would only have a few moments to try and plan something before it would rush towards them. A silence hung between them as the guy watched the creature staggering from its collision with the wall. Argi acutely became aware that it had started to grow cooler around him, but it apparently did not affect the guy.

“Make it run into the wall again”, the guy finally said as he dashed away and left Argi alone to be the bait. The monster started another charge towards Argi, who used his power to alter its course away from him and avoiding a repeat of his earlier mistake. It ran into the wall again, but before it could fall from the impact of the crash, the guy rushed to place himself behind the creature. He grabbed the back of its oddly shaped head and smashed it into the bricks, causing a muffled cracking sound.

The guy did not stop at that, as he quickly lifted the head back up and relentlessly bashed it against the wall again and again. The monster frantically tried to claw at the guy with its arm but it screeched in pain and its oddly shaped head was becoming more and more deformed with each hit. The guy swept his feet to bring the beast to its knees, lifted one of his feet and stomped at an angle on a point of its back. The attacks had only taken seconds, but a muffled pop later and the beast ceased moving and stopped its wailing.

-

The two men sat side by side each other against the wall opposite where the creature laid dead. They were both drawing deep breaths of air as physical and mental exhaustion from their flight and fight caught up with them. No-one spoke for what seemed like eternity, as both of them were still processing the terror of their ordeal. But they savoured the blissful moment of triumph and victory as they listened to the distant sounds of the afternoon traffic.

Argi was the first to snap back to reality and he began to rise from where he sat. Something tugged on his trousers, which Argi found to be the guy pulling weakly to get his attention.

“Leaving so soon?”, the guy murmured, his words heavily accented that Argi had only just noticed.

“I need to go”, Argi simply said and shook his leg to release the guy’s grip from his trousers.

“Before those suits find you?”, the guy said with a little more force behind the words, but it was enough to halt Argi in his place.

Argi looked down at the guy and studied his profile. He noted the guy was of South Asian descent from his appearance and accent, the dark clothing he wore, and the scar down his cheek. He also considered the guy’s actions since their first meeting, how they had fought together against the monster, and the hints pointing to the possibility of a power from the guy. Although he couldn’t figure out the guy’s intentions, Argi let out a sigh and finally said, “…yeah”.

“I have a place. You can stay with me”, the guy perked up with his offer, as if the fatigue from their recent battle was no longer an issue.

“I don’t know you. You don’t know me. Why should we trust each other?”

“Because we just took out that…thing”, the guy said as he nodded his head in the direction of the dead mass of flesh and bone. An awkward silence hung between them for a moment, but the guy broke it simply by saying: “My name is Rudraya”.

Argi watched Rudraya closely, like a predator surveying its prey. He contemplated the offer and the gesture behind it, but in the end, his mistrust overcame and reined his decision. Without a word, he walked away and left Rudraya there in the alleyway, walling him off from further questioning. He walked away thinking that that would be the last he would see of him, but he couldn’t quite shake off the urge that he would encounter the man again. And along with that, the mystery of the monster would not be far behind.

The shadow Moveth

It was not enough, it was never enough. He surveyed all that stood before him, anyone else would have been more than happy with what he had amassed here. In an old factory warehouse he had a team of loyal and hard working men; they crafted with wood, bent sheet metal, broke down the scrap and some welded the old and new alike. Here the men made their livings and off their backs he was made richer and more powerful by the day but this was only a shell of the dream he had working in his head. Loyal workers were hard to find and turning a profit in this city was hard, being the newest city in Europe everyone had rushed to sow up any and all business they could. He had been here for years now, hadn't he? He rubbed his temples and went inside his little office and pushed some papers about uninterestedly. The one paper that remained at the top was their expected profits and losses sheet he had his secretary type out for him. It was green across the whole board, they were killing the market with their good old fashioned family values based business, the fifth son in succession to take the company to new heights each time.


Truthfully this little space was only one of a much larger chain, factories and offices, lock ups, green space, future renovation projects and several diversity projects within various area's of Novum Aurora. He had come when Novum Aurora was still young, still ripe for the taking and in truth he had taken in handfuls. He wasn't the most well known self made man in this city but he was the wealthiest and most influential behind the scene's. Keeping to himself and biding his time, he had played the game and at every turn he had been rewarded. Though now, a deep feeling off unrest had stirred within him and nothing would abate it. Half of him screamed within his mind, a knawing, scraping wail that wracked his mind and the other stood stock still in confusion. Nothing was helping and as he realised he had never actually sat down he took himself from the room and left to find a secluded part to himself. Here the business man stood in his frustration, once sure no one was around his face broke character and within a split second his features had changed, morphing in grotesque fashion and soon he was replaced by a young but weary man who no longer resembled anything of the man who stood before.

The youth was dirty and unwashed, clothes tattered and bloodied as the man who had been standing there before was well kept and suited from head to toe. He roared and yelled as his left hand became a giant blade that he rammed through the wall with force, a single straight slice tore from one end to the other, as if a great beast with one large claw had tried to rip right through the wall at those within. In seconds he was pacing back towards the office, his face already shifting, like boiling skin shifting and moving in waves until shape and form was reconfigured and by the time he crossed the first work he was a business man, in suit and tie, fancy black polished shoes and a smile on his face as he made his way back to the little office that was his own on site. Soon it would be closing time and the men would leave and he would sit in his office looking busy. He had paperwork left, right and centre and even more sheets requiring his signature for permission's and requests. He did his work diligently and worked on till everyone had been gone for a while, then he was free to be himself again.

He would sit in the office and let his shape change back to the real him and once he was himself again he rested the pen in his hand and pushed aside the papers, clearing a small space on the desk for himself. Now he was alone, he pulled a single file from within the lowest cabinet only he had the key for and he swiftly turned the lock to close it once again. The file he left on the desk, pulling it open to reveal a few papers, all official, signed and sealed waiting for a single signature. He read it to himself. "I, David Smyth hereby sell my company and all it's holdings, shares and assests to .." The name was off some big hotshot company that came into town looking to buy up all it could to set up shop with holdings in a little bit of everything. If he signed this he would be freed of his responsibilities within this company he had taken over. Sign this paper and he would be rich beyond imagination and free to create the future he was so keen to see. Something had stopped him so far, something in the back off his head told him to hold out and wait just a little longer, it was always just a little longer, then a little longer again. He had waited and waited, he called to the voice within him, asking how much longer he would have to wait for his right moment, the waiting was agonizing and his temper grew short. He sat in silence for a long time, lost in thought and time slipped him by.

It was already dark when the voice inside him called out. The voice spoke slowly and softly in a whispered hush tone. It whispered it's approval, that the future was within his hands now and all he need do is simply reach out and take it. With that his paper thin smile crept across his sinister face and he lifted the pen, signing the paper in his neatest hand writing and quickly parcelling the file inside his scruffy jacket and he left. He was ecstatic as all the things he had been building up to were now here. No longer hiding within the skin of others, acting as if he was some kind of business man, a gangster or some simple pawn in the grand scheme of things. He was free, his muscles began to tense and relax rapidly with excitement and he had only one place he needed to go now. He took the form of an elderly gentleman, somewhat regal in his attire and very formal sounding in his tone of voice. He went to the company to finalise the deal, it was late but he knew rightly that the man he needed was still inside the building, he wouldn't be expecting to see him with the paperwork however. He entered the office and the security eyed him quickly up and down and upon seeing he was a frail old man decided to let him speak his bit.

He talked his way past the guards with ease, he simply mentioned his business dealings were with their boss and it was worth millions to all, stopping him would be a bad idea and they were swift in helping him reach the upper levels. He took the elevator and when the doors open the very man he was looking for was waiting for him, clearly the time was very much right. He was admitted instantly into a small corner office out of the way of the cleaning staff that were busy tidying up for the night. He had been met by a small framed man, the usual business man type, big rimmed glasses that sat awkwardly on his nose and that simplistic kind of grin an unintelligent person gives when you dangle something worthwhile in front of them. The two talked and the old man took out the file within his old tweed suit and placed it on the table and slid it to this true business man sitting on the other side whose eyes lit up like Christmas tree's upon seeing the signature and seals on clear display. Soon the whole thing was official and the elderly man left his past company and walked the streets aimlessly. He had no need to hide himself anymore and with that the old man vanished and Viktor was the man who stood in the street. Dishevelled, blood stained, tattered and broken was Viktor but again that sinister smile he wore was ever present on his face.

It was done and tomorrow the plan was going to reach it's next phase when finally he could let loose and begin his new reign over these poor pathetic creatures, scurrying like ants all day long, working to bring home a little money to their pathetic families. He would bring them something new and something better. The night however was his now, what to do with his time he wondered? It had been a while since he had really gotten any challenge in this place, he needed a good kill, something that would fight back, someone who wouldn't go down within the first minute or so. He still had his target to acquire but she wasn't the kind of challenge he wanted right now. Where was the American when you needed him, he could find him a challenge but the true challenge there would be finding the slippery malcontent. He came and went as he pleased for the most part, he was harder to keep in line than most, a man who has stared death in the face really had much to fear from anyone after that point. He had stared at death himself and he knew once he had done it, things weren't the same and fear was no longer a factor. Now he was the fear of others.

In the end he never found the challenge he was seeking and the hours passed by like a flicker, the next day he returned as David Smyth, in truth it was his name that he had placed over the man he killed, people never asked questions and he planned on their ignorance. That day he dismantled his company and the staff were transferred to their new stations. Viktor stood as David again in his little office for the last time. He smiled and went to take the obligatory photo's with his new business partners and sat through an awful press conference. He hated this kind of tedious thing but it was necessary for his greater scheme. To the outside, it would all seem like random events spanning across the city but there was an ideal behind it all, it was all so closely knit together that to stare at the strands on their own would never reveal a thing, that's why it had taken so long for it all to come together and why he had to play some many parts. He wondered why he was always doing all the real work himself but in the end it had paid of brilliantly and within hours this whole farce would end. The business man will have played his part and he would disappear under unknown circumstances.

The Russian Bratva leader had fulfilled his purpose, he need never take that form again either, the operations each of them had set up had already begun to grind into life and they would simply sustain themselves. Money and power were the two things anyone needed. The first had been solved by both men he had "removed", the deal he just signed alone had given him enough money to run on for years, the Bratva would continue all operations as normal and there would be a steady flow of money trickling it's way back in. The power he now had to, men could be bought and sold with ease, people had become cheap and predictable. The others who stood in his way would be off no consequence now as the Bratva had proved most helpful in their little under cover operations to, by infiltrating the infrastructure of all major public sector works he had eyes and ears everywhere. Police officers and fire fighters were in the ranks, he could use them to sniff out trouble, or use them to hide his own affairs, or make them go away entirely if somehow someone did catch wind of what he was doing. It had taken time, it all started when Novum Aurora had been nothing but an empty shell being built from the ground up but as Novum Aurora rose, so too had he.

He had tiptoed around for so long, he knew exactly what he would do for his first free act. He left the meeting when all was said and done, hopped into his chauffeured and had the driver take him across town to the more run down industrial centre of Novum Aurora, exited the car and told the driver to take the rest of the night off. Once he was alone, he changed form once again and he stood as Viktor again. Peace at last, here was were it would begin. He found the most secluded warehouse on the outer edge near the docks, it was still fairly large and would suit his purpose down to the ground, it was once a chemical company that had gone down the tubs when they had accidently spilt some of their product into the ocean and had to use very penny they had to fix the damage they had caused. It had been left empty, no one really wanted large chemical vats, empty storage rooms and the longest walk from any available road within half a mile. Here was perfect and it was within the hour that he had bought the place, desperate for a sale it went down at a bargain price and anything left behind was his. He spent the night, grand visions in his head of what it would become in future.

He woke up in the small office located at the far north western end of the warehouse, he had lay his head down on the desk and had drifted into an uneasy smokey haze of a dream. It started with only a thick grey fog, swirling and churning but eventually he could see through it, he was in the warehouse, though not alone. There was a loud commotion, things were flying everywhere and within the middle of it all was himself but he was not his usual self. He seemed out of control and wild, lunging and attacking forces unseen in the foggy haze off the dream. Several figures were there with him but he never got a clear glimpse of them, figures darted back and forward, driving him through the warehouse as the place blazed with light as fire seemed to engulf all around him. He fought and fought but in the end he ran out of energy and they beat him back till suddenly he felt the sharpest most painful surge of raw energy run through his body and the vision of himself toppled and fell, falling into the vats below off the warehouse beneath and there he died. He lifted his head from the desk to find the first rays of the morning sun begin to rise, his unfocused eye's recoiled behind his eyelids before they readjusted.

He shook the dream off as nothing but a dream but as he thought more and more on the dream he realised he had visualised this place almost perfectly like he had dreamed off making it into. Though who would stand up to him in such a way, as he thought on it one face became clearer, he tried to picture it and concentrated on that one image as a man stood over him as he fell back into the vats, one face lingered in front of him and it haunted him deeply. He was tall and muscular but his eyes saw nothing, a blind man with the power to topple him? Impossible! He stormed out of the office and crossed the main floor and as he got half way across he stopped and called out to no one in particular in a tone that spoke only off discontent with being disturbed and interfered with at such a moment as this. He couldn't stop the anger from rising in his voice as he spoke to nothing in this big empty warehouse.
"I suppose you've been here watching me the whole time, did you complete your task and make sure it found it's target this time? Or do I have to do everything around here myself these days?!" His voice was icy cold and his stare was raised to the roof, into the rafters where nothing dwelt. There was a brief uncomfortable silence before a small, calm and collected voice spoke back with mixed tones of irritation and playful childish delight.
"Ohh, someone is cranky this morning, not had your morning coffee yet or did someone just piss in your cereal? I did as you asked to the letter but there was an unforeseen complication. It attracted the crowd we were looking for but the third party were also involved. The third party took a few casualties from two prospective candidate's, a few from your big beastie and a few more got their just desserts from yours truly, couldn't leave them all the fun?" An unseen voice called back with both malice and joy in it's ever changing tones. The American was a sly customer, he knew were any powered individual was at any given time and he could slip in and out without being noticed, this made him helpful but infernal simultaneously. This new information he gave was both intriguing and disturbing. Viktor had not expected any movement from the third party just yet but it seemed that things were escalating on all fronts.
"Did you draw them out or was it one off our prospects? It wasn't me but in the confusion it could have been either off the two, they both fought the third party and each had interesting talents. Hmm, tell me off their powers and what happened to my Bio-soldier, I seem to recall the report off it having seemed to have slipped your mind? It was defeated, the two are stronger than expected for such a simple demonstration though they did not escape entirely unscathed nor do I doubt the mental shock off meeting your little pet having not taken some sort of effect on them. One is able to copy powers of those around him, almost leech like in fact and the other has the ability to absorb the nearby energy and channel it into anything he needs, his limbs for speed or strength and even advanced healing. Though he is limited, he seems to be unable to do them all at once. I had expected better results but I guess my Soldiers are not yet at full strength, though the individual with the power of energy absorption peaks my interest, he might actually give me a challenge for a match in speed and strength. My previous target seems to be aware off my attempt to make contact, your invisibility might be better suited for the task as for this... Rudraya... Whatever his name is, I believe that is more a task better suited to me, find the girl and leave the other to me. The copycat cannot be allowed to replicate our powers, he is a wild card and he interest's me not... Go, do not return without the girl or I'll have one of my soldiers waiting for you in a dark alley. As you wish... I take my leave."

The American left and Viktor stood alone again. A challenge had been found at last, at his feet was a small file, a photo off a young man and detailed information. Disturbing, annoying, sneaky and prickly that American could be but his usefulness was impossible to deny. The dark grin once again crossed his face and soon he too had left the warehouse and the silent halls never rang to a sound again that day.