CHAPTER 8

Darian Kane stepped into the main chamber, his eyes drawn as they always were to the large tank in the center of the room. It slightly resembled some of the aquatic tanks he had seen at the aquarium he had taken his daughter to, except the water in this tank had a slight greenish glow to it. And inside he made out the form of a man in a suit with many tubes and cords connected to it, a large crane above. Just outside the tank by a control panel stood a man in a lab coat. His head scientist.

"Dr. Shen," he greeted.

"Ah, Lord Kane," Shen said, bowing a little. "I must apologize, I did not hear your arrival. I was distracted by, well…" he gestured to the tank.

"How long has he been in there?" Darian asked.

"Almost 12 hours," Shen replied.

"So we are on schedule?"

"We are indeed. Just a few more minutes and we will be able to begin."

Darian nodded. He had waited long enough and he knew more would have to be done. But it was coming together at last. That was what mattered, in the end.

 He felt it before he heard it, slight tremors beneath his feet followed shortly by small booming noises. He turned and saw the large form appearing from the shadows, the giant with pasty skin and a plain face over 15 feet tall carrying an enormous crate in its hands. "Ah yes, good. Just put it over there," Shen gestured to the corner. The giant turned, placing the crate down near the glass window looking out into the lake waters before it rose back up and went still, awaiting further instructions.

"That thing still gives me the creeps," Darian remarked.

"Oh, the Animan is harmless. To us, anyways," Shen replied. "To our enemies, well, he can get a little…enthusiastic."

"Yes, I know," Darian replied calmly. He could picture seeing the remains of those who had crossed the Animan clearly. It wasn't something he would ever forget.

"And, I do believe we are ready," Shen said. He flicked a switch and pressed a few buttons. The large crane above them rose up, lifting the man until he cleared the waters. The man's face was hard to read inside the helmet, but Darian noticed that his arms seemed to sag a little.

"He is still alive?"

"Oh yes, vital signs are all normal. But this process would take its toll on anyone. And someone of his caliber? Well, we'll have to see, won't we?"

"Hmmm," Darian said in reply, folding his arms over his chest. He watched carefully as the crane slid the man over and lowered him to the ground before releasing, dropping him the last few inches. Darian walked over and unfastened the clamps of the helmet, pulling it off. The man gasped, falling to his hands and knees. He looked like he had aged ten years in that tank, his skin bleached of all its remaining color and his veins sticking out to the point where Darian could practically see the blood throbbing within them. But the eyes. Darian grabbed hold of the man's head and lifted it up, giving him a better look. The eyes had glowed before, but now they shone with ethereal light. Eyes he knew that didn't just pierce the darkness now, but could pierce through the fabric of time itself.

"L-lord-d-d K-kane," the man spluttered. "T-to what-t-t d-d-do I owe-e the-e ho-onor-r-r?"

"12 hours in sensory deprivation tank designed to maximize your foresight to the extreme and still you haven't lost your glib tongue," Darian remarked. "Impressive."

"I-I always aim t-to p-ple-ease-e," the man replied.

"That is true." Darian stood back up. "Now, shall we begin?"

The man seemed to try to laugh but it came out as an intense coughing fit. Darian just watched patiently as the man seemed to try to cough up his own lungs, his whole body shaking life a leaf. After a few minutes, he finally sank back against the tank, breathing softly.

"Are you done or do you need a few more minutes?" Darian asked.

"S-scre-ew y-you," the man replied, giving him the finger.

"Hmmm." Darian came down to one knee. "It's a shame to see you like this. I remember you in your prime. A true force to be reckoned with. One of the greatest warriors this world, this universe, had ever seen. Now you're just a sad old man whose aspirations have left him in the dust to rot."

"Y-you shou-uld l-lead a m-motiva-ational-l se-eminar-r. Y-you'd-d be a b-big hit-t."

"I must say I am glad you have kept your sense of bravado after all these years. Most people would have turned into spineless jellyfish by now. One actually did."

"Y-yes, I know-w. I w-was there-e when he-e mad-de the a-ani-imatron-nic build-d-a-b-bear over there-e." The man gestured to the Animan still standing by the corner.

"But you have managed to stay strong after twenty years," Darian leered. "You do remember that day, don't you? The day when the skies turned black and red and ash rained down. When you watched all your friends die. When you realized that sometimes, the heroes fail to save the day." Darian smirked. "Well, maybe not. You were blind for most of it."

"You s-seem lik-ke a professi-ional-l asshole," the man said but Darian could see he'd struck a nerve. A drop of water came down his cheek and Darian didn't think it was from the tank.

"Now, I don't want to just rehash the bad old days, well bad for you anyway. I want to talk about something else on that day." Darian leaned forward. "On that day, when your friends died and your powers came loose, they went somewhere. Now, I actually know where they went so don't deny that. What I want to know is where they will be. And you are going to tell me."

"W-why is that-t?" the man asked.

"Because if you don't, I will hurt you in ways you can't imagine," Darian said. "You must realize you still have family. Your siblings and cousins and all their little children. Children you never had the chance to meet. I will bring each and every one of them here and torture them to death. Now, you won't see them suffer but you will hear their screams, so you will only be able to form a picture of what I'm doing to them. And then I'll just track down the families of your former partners and make them suffer as well, so you can fail them all over again." Darian leaned in close. "Now, being a family man myself, I don't particularly want to do that. But I will. Because anything is worth the cost to me."

The man glared up at him, his whole body brimming with rage. Once that look led to battles that shook the earth. Now, just a display. "We should-d hav-ve let y-you rot in tha-at hellhole."

"Yes, you should have. But you didn't. And now here we are. So, what is your answer. Because I can get one of my people to bring the first kid in about twenty minutes."

The man still glared up at him before sagging, lowering his head. "You d-don't want t-to know where it's-s going-g," he said softly. "You-u just want-t confir-r-mation you were right-t. It's coming h-here. The co-omet will be here-e in tonight. E-eleven hours and s-seven minutes-s."

Darian smiled wryly. "Off by two minutes. I must be losing my touch. Hmm. Well, good thing I have you to help me. Just imagine. All that power you once held in your hand and so much more will soon be in mine." He smirked. "You are truly a broken man."

The man chuckled at that and Darian raised an eyebrow. "That's funny to you?"

"I'm n-not the one th-hreate-ening kids t-to get wha-at I want," the man replied. "I w-wonder what your-r da-aughter w-would think-k of y-you."

Darian's expression dropped, turning dark. He leaned in close to the man and whispered, "mention my daughter again, and I'll rip those new eyeballs out of your skull."

"Y-you have a s-strange obsess-sion wi-ith my eyes-s, man-n," he said in reply. "A-and we both kn-now you won't-t touch the-em. You n-need them. My s-sight."

Darian grimaced. He was right. The man's sight was crucial to his plans. It was the one card the man had to play. But that was all he had. "Put him back in the tank for another 12 hours," he said. "See if he has any other insights he'd like to share." He faced the man again. "'How the mighty have fallen' has never been more true. You are the last of your kind. And I won't be sorry to see you go."

The man rose up shakily and glared at Darian. "L-legends n-never die-e."

"Tell that to the ashes of your friends," Darian told him before walking away. Soon, he would have all the power. And then, the next phase would begin.