Chapter 50 : Green terrorist
Hi, everybody ! Hope you're having a wonderful week. And if not, I hope this chapter's gonna be able to distract you from your troubles at least a little bit…
As usual, I'll take any and all comments, reviews and stones you can spare. Though I might react… strongly, shall we say, to some comments and reviews. On another note, but a familiar one too, my Patréon page is 10 chapters ahead and you can find my other stories there if you're interested. Simply search for Cathbel on the website and you should find it.
Now, what about the book, story, comic of the day… This time, I want to talk about a video game series that marked my youth : the Legacy of Kain series. It's composed of two separate series with a final episode concluding both. The first series is Blood Omen where you play Kain, a nobleman murdered and later brought back as a vampire by a necromancer. The second series is called Soul Reaver and you play Raziel, one of Kain's children who was betrayed and cast out. Finally, the story concludes in Legacy of Kain : Defiance, where you play both characters. It's a pretty epic story, with a rich background and a world all its own. The only thing I regret is that it's getting old and unlike other stories, nobody seems to want to make a remake out of them…
Anyways… enjoy the read and I'll see you all next time.
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Let's rewind a little to the beginning of the day. Though I say that, there actually were no outward signs that a terrorist attack was about to happen… No, Cory and I headed for school after washing ourselves and having breakfast. We joined up with Doreen and Peter. He was excited about a conference planned for later in the week by one Reed Richards… No idea what it's supposed to be about since I tuned him out. When he's like this, all fanboy, I don't really listen to him. It's a subconscious action on my part, I swear ! My mind just drifts towards things it considers more important, like the cosmogony of my dimension.
Anyways, we talked at our usual table for a while until it was time for class. After a couple of hours of lessons, suddenly gunfire and shouts resounded inside the school. And this basically brings us to here and now…
Green Goblin, or rather his goons since, as a boss villain, he can't be bothered with menial tasks, gathered everyone into the gym, including the staff and the mother of one student who is present for some reason. And now, the Green Goblin is about to monologue…
« We are looking for Spider-Man and his friends ! Nobody has to get hurt as long as those four little twerps give themselves up ! If they don't, well… You guys will experience firsthand what'll happen. Let's just say, none of you'll like it. Not that we would… We're not monsters, after all ! »
After this, he erupts in laughter for some reason. There's nothing funny about anything he said, but I guess Norman's simply unhinged. I ignore him and continue to scan the crowd. I spot Cory, twitching and obviously asking herself if she should use her powers… I'm glad she hasn't : if they find out that she has powers, they'll treat her like they do 'mutants' or anyone with superpowers. We just have to take Spider-Man's example, who serves as Jameson's scapegoat for anything wrong with New York…
Dismissing this train of thought, I continue looking and… Yeah, as expected : I don't see Peter or Doreen. Looks like they managed to dodge the Goblin's goons. How are they going to play out this rescue ? I shake my head and retrieve a notebook from my backpack. It's time to coordinate…
With their assent, Doreen, Peter and Cory are all carrying one of my tattoos. Usually, it serves no functions except as a marker and something to be used later. Like right now… So, I activate Cory's and start communicating with her. I start by telling her that Peter and Doreen are out there, somewhere and to be patient…
Then, I connect with Peter and Doreen to see where they're at… And my point of view shifts from the gym's bleachers to the rafters, looking down on us all.
Oh ! So they're already here, huh ?
I prevent myself from looking up. Better not give their presence away…
As I give Cory an update and tell her not to look up either, Green Goblin and his goons resume moving. It seems like the villain's patience has run out… I 'open' a channel between the four of us and tell them about the plan.
I'll act as a distraction and bait. You take out the goons and get the bystanders out of here !
That's basically the extent of my plan. I just hope my civilian decoy will be believable enough to pass off as me… Haven't had much chance to use it. And Green Goblin is the kind of villain who'd buy any and all available footage of his own crimes… I fear he'll be able to put two and two together. Norman Osborn is quite smart, after all.
I dismiss the thought and pump myself up.
« The show must go on ! » I mutter to myself.
* * * * *
Norman Osborn is annoyed. He was sure taking a few hostage from what he believes to be Spider-Man's school would be enough to lure him out. Still, almost half an hour has passed and the web-crawler is still nowhere in sight… Is it possible that the teenager was absent from school today ?
But then, this still leaves his trio of friends. The tentacled atrocity, the furry girl and the new one who can cause earthquakes… Unless the whole team has been called on another criminal emergency, but then, Norman doesn't believe they operated out of New York, yet. And he's made sure that they don't have the support of the government. This last part especially is critical to his hunt of the arachnid themed superhero. While he is sure that the hero benefitted from the use of HIS serum, his capture would prove problematic should he be supported by a certain government agency whose acronym formed a tool to protect oneself and others…
S.H.I.E.L.D. is the only organization actively recruiting mutants and mutates, that Norman knows of. The others are more secretive, or unlawful and thus, less of a threat to his activities, he believes.
In any case, it seems he underestimated the heroes survival instincts. Or perhaps, their intellect ? Now, he has to force their hand…
Green Goblin sighs loudly, the sound amplified by his disguise speaker. With a falsely disappointed tone, he says :
« Heroes, these days… They're simply not the selfless paragons of justice and virtue they used to be. They don't do them like Steve Rogers nowadays, do they ? Now, we have to show how serious we are… »
With a look and a simple nod of his head, two of his men approach the group of scared children and adults. Unsurprisingly, there is no one trying to play 'hero' when the mother is grabbed. Even her own child keeps mum. Pun intended. Not that Norman knows who is her child… He doesn't care. The only thing of interest right now is the fact that she can serve, either as an example of their willingness to do harm, or as bait to draw the true heroes out.
As expected… or rather, unexpected : the light go out. And not just the artificial one. It is day time outside and the gymnasium is illuminated by natural light through massive windows on the sides. And yet, it fails to pierce the sudden darkness encompassing the room. Just as suddenly and before his men start to panic, the light comes back and a voice sounds behind Norman :
« You wanted us. Well, here I am ! »