Chapter 23 : Troubles brewing

[Author note : New KoSP chapter. I started to post more on P A T R E O N. Once I've sufficiently increased the number of chapter my patrons can read, I'll try and post (no promises) a little more here. But I know you guys are more interested in my Fan fiction than this story. Personally, I liked writing it more than this one too at first. Now... The passion is basically gone for both. Maybe not gone... Dimmed. I just need the spark of inspiration that would make me go : "That's an awesome idea ! Can't wait to put it to word on screen !"

If you're interested in my stories or want to encourage me, please check out my Patréon : https://www.patréon.com/user?u=66371596 (replace the é by a normal e) or look for Cathbel on their website

KoSP : 4 advanced chapters

The Squib who became Iron Lad... In DC : 5 advanced chapters

AoH : Prologue + 6 chapters (exclusive)

MoH : 8 chapters (Exclusive)

VOG : 6 chapters (exclusive)

Enjoy and please tell me what you think of it !]

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Looking through the intake of the last inmates, the warden smiled. This time, at least, he could make a little money off of those scumbags. He opened his drawer to retrieve a piece of paper with communicator's code before grabbing his personal coms. Focusing on the paper, he swiftly tapped the code and waited for the other side to pick up.

« Yes ? » An annoyed voice started the conversation.

« Yes. It's the warden Peterson from Silverlocks Prison. I believe we have someone that might interest you… »

« Really ? » The annoyance had been replaced by a mild curiosity.

« Yes. She's a lightning mage who was also a contract killer. And a good one apparently… »

« How'd she get caught, then ? »

« Apparently, someone else was stronger than her… »

« Alright… Sedate her and drop her off at the usual location. »

And without another word, the communication was cut off.

* * * * *

The room had been sterilized according to the user's specifications. The walls were covered with small white tiles up to about 2 meters high and then, a white coat of paint took over. There were no glasses, no windows in the room, giving it a bit of suffocating feeling. Only a single door on one side of the room allowed entry.

In the middle, underneath a large lamp, was a metallic operating table, like the ones you'd find in a medical examiner's morgue. And on the table, there was a woman with blue hair currently sleeping. The thing was… She was strapped to the table by metallic restraints. And nothing she could do would get her out of those, no matter how powerful she normally was…

The door opened on an attractive thirty-something years old young man with long blonde hair tied in a pony tail, golden eyes and a pale complexion. The man in question was wearing scrubs and a surgical mask.

As soon as he entered, he headed for a table set next to the operation table and his subject to retrieve and activate a small device. He then started speaking :

« Test subject number 14159. Female. Arcanist of the lightning element. Subject has reached master level… » He paused as he contemplated her.

From what he understood of the situation, she'd been found in a bank, tied up and unconscious after she declared being there to kill everyone. At the time, the bank was being robbed of sensitive informations regarding the director and her orders had probably been to tie up any loose ends. A massacre happening during a hostage situation was nothing new…

However, she was defeated. Her level of mastery made her a powerhouse very few could contend with, especially one on one. And yet…

« I will proceed with the awakening of the subject, now. Administering anti-sedative meds and compliance agents. I'm hoping she'll be able to answer some questions before the operation starts… »

* * * * *

A few hours later, the woman was… deceased. Cut open to be studied by the man in question. He'd obtained everything he needed from her and more. Not only was he able to study and vivisect a prime Arcanist subject, he believed he even found his next one !

He had a physical description of him : Terran of approximately 20 years old. Brown hair, brown eyes with pale skin mostly attributed to 'caucasian'. The fact that the subject in question might be just another lightning arcanist didn't bother him much. After all, from his interrogation of the former subject, the new one, despite having discovered his talent recently, was able to negate all attacks on him and played around with the woman without apparent strains.

He was even able to apply electromagnetic manipulation to such a degree as to slow and stop projectile fired like a rail gun. This subject would make one fascinating study ! All he had to do now, was to find him…

* * * * *

In the high tech HQ of a team of Arcanists and freaks, the usually mild-mannered Penelope was anything but ! Had been every since a few months when they picked up clues about the Genocidal… The man, beyond being a psychopath without remorse, the worst serial killer of all times, was also the person who killed Penelope's bond-mate.

In fact, if most in the team had encounter with the man in question and they all hated him to some degree, it could be said that Penelope had the oldest 'relationship' with him. She had been his… mentor, when he first bonded and struggled with the new dynamic and powers he developed. And the way the man thanked her for that was to… kill her own bondmate. Penelope never understood why and at this point, all she wanted was for his cold dead body in her sights ! Preferably, because of her…

Penelope was browsing through the team's recent information on the Genocidal for the umpteenth time. She was frustrated to say the least… She was the one who brought the most information about the man to the team. Every time she looked at the entries on the man, she read about his identity when she found him, her interactions with him until… And then, reading on, she was appalled by how little information the team had gathered since then.

She struck the table with the flat of her hand, cursing under her breath (something she rarely did). Getting up from her seat at the desk, she groaned and crossed her arms, annoyed that despite everything the man did in the years leading to this day, they still knew so little about his comings and goings, his activities or even his motivations. At some point in the past, perhaps, Penelope might have thought to know him… That was before her bond-mate's death.

However, more than her thirst for vengeance, it was something else that drove her, that made her so desperate… She had finally found others like her and her bond-mate. At the moment, she wasn't sure what to think of them, so she kept her distance but… Unlike with the Genocidal, she was older. Wiser. She could tell with the few interactions she had with them that Simon and Crys weren't like… him !

« I'll do everything in my power… » She swore to herself. « … To protect them from you ! »