Chapter 13 : A spectacular entrance

[Author note : New KoSP chapter. In this one, I introduce new characters which I hope will become recurring ones. It's even possible that I'll post on my Patréon exclusive chapters about some of them to explain more of their background... Can't promise anything, but I have some ideas. Anyways ! As always the Iron-Lad Squib comes tomorrow !

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 : 2 advanced chapters

The Squib who became Iron Lad... In DC : 3 advanced chapters

Enjoy !]

===========

A steampunk-looking robot, a human with torn clothes and grumbling to himself, two people dressed up in the equivalent of cheap business suit on this planet, and another, more lavishly dressed, muscular but with the beginnings of a beer belly, unconscious and foaming at the mouth. This scene was the result of Simon's interrogation of the 'tyrant'. As it turns out, the man was only his body double ; the tyrant having left the city as soon as words of Simon and Crys' capabilities had surfaced.

This left the Terran quite disgruntled, hence the grumbling. Now he was left to swear about fat cowardly shit-stains of dictator and their useless potbellied double, their masochistic guards and everything Simon could find to complain about. Finally, Crys commented :

« That's quite enough of that, Simon ! The man can't have gotten very far… And unless I'm mistaken, it shouldn't be hard to find a military convoy heading out of this city. If, you're still decided on bringing the man to justice, I suggest we start interrogating the locals about any such group and where they might be heading… »

Simon sighed. Was he, though ? Decided ? This whole ordeal felt like such a waste of time ! It reminded him of the colonization back on Earth… The 'enlightened' people wanted to bring order and civilization to 'savages', only to end up committing genocide, turning them into second grade citizens with no voice or just sucking the resources of the land dry… In this case, he came with his big ideas and noble goals, wanted to overthrow a dictator and, then… What ? He wasn't gonna take the man's place ! Nor would he bother organizing a democratic campaign. In fact, even if he did, would it really matter ? As long as the military was opposed to the regime, even if it was fairly elected, a coup d'état could happen again… and again…. And again !

At this point, as long as the people didn't rise up against their oppressors, his actions wouldn't really matter. And then, he thought of the 1st French Revolution… This Regime turned into a bloodbath for the former ruling class. Almost every day, the new government found new reasons to execute nobles… Moreover, the movement, originally united for a common goal, was divided when it was in power, creating even more conflicts… It took the arrival of Napoléon Bonaparte to address and right the chaotic situation. Not that conquering and expansionist ideas were much better, mind you !

In any case, Simon arrived at the conclusion that, even if he did capture the tyrant, it might not mean much !

« Why bother ? » He answered his friend with a sigh.

« How about to quell the unrest you started by putting your nose where it doesn't belong ? » An unknown voice suddenly came from the voice, startling Simon and even Crys was surprised that his sensors hadn't picked up anything. He muttered :

« Looks like I'll have to update my systems… »

« No offense, but I think you'll need a complete overhaul and rebuilding… »

Another voice came, this one from a strange portal of blue light and warped space, followed soon by the appearance of a woman dressed in high-tech armor and carrying weapons right out of a science-fiction movie.

My entire life's become science-fiction, though, Simon thought. The other person was a man. A Red man, that was the only and most appropriate way to describe him : from his dark red hooded robe, to his face covered in the color, as if dripping with paint or blood, the man was monochromatically covered in it.

But it seemed those two weren't the only ones to come. An crossbreed between an avian and wolf-like humanoid gracefully flew in from the window, his gaze carrying something akin to hate for Simon. Hate confirmed when the man said :

« Terrans such as this one should just be killed… It'll prevent any information about this world from coming to their ears ! »

Parts of the wall seemed to… recede, as if melted or magically pushed when a buxom woman completely comprised of Crystals came in. This was impressive, since she just walked in from the outside when they currently were on the third floor. Crys took note of the rock-like path leading from the adjacent roof and up-to the opening the woman entered from…

Geokinesis or a form of magical manipulation of the Earth… Crys pondered.

« Enough, Turo ! You do not know the child. Perhaps he has nothing to do with his warring kind… »

In answer, the bird-wolf-man made a sound close to a snort while a black spot of ink appeared on the wall on the far side, expanded and suddenly changed… The black turned to color, depicting two persons and some kind of blurred background. And then, the images became animated as the people passed through the image as if it was some kind of portal, or something.

One of them, sporting the tentacles Simon was familiar with but with a different skin tone, spoke with a completely foreign voice :

« You should have waited for us before introducing yourselves… » The person complained.

Meanwhile, the other, a woman of a yet unidentified race, beautiful and with a grey skin-tone, wearing way~ too much colors, sniffed the air a couple of time and commented perkily :

« Smells like death, here~ ! Love it ! »

Simon, up until now, had been still and silent, observing the situation and each new arrival that were slowly forming a circle around the both of them. But now, far from being intimidated, or acting threatened, he swept the group with his eyes, an excited grin slowly stretching his lips.

Each one of these weirdos seemed to have some kind of power or a talent differentiating from the others. The high-tech carrying girl was probably some kind of engineer, though her get-up pointed more toward a soldier… The Red man wore blood on his face, war paint or something else, Simon thought the latter since his robes weren't designed to fight in hand to hand combat. The Crystal, beautiful woman… Well, he wasn't sure but her appearance was too perfect to be natural, as if she sculpted her own body. The fact that she seemed to be able to manipulate Earth also pointed to this direction. The Avian-Wolf-man… No comment. He didn't like Simon and for some reason, Simon felt the same about him. Maybe it was just because he sounded racist.

As for the last two… Simon had no idea which one made the painting/portal. The octopus-man was able to produce ink and it started out as ink, so maybe… And the perky girl ? He wondered what the hell she was doing here if his guess was right…

« Are you guys the Justice League of this world ? »