I’ll leave you to come up with a suitable codename. Now study your book. I’ll see you in four days in the training arena.

The AIs at Saber Base correlated all the data on the attempt on Greg’s life and after four days finally tracked the toxin used down to an extremely rare plant found only on Madagascar. It was nearly unknown except to a few esoteric botanists and would not grow anywhere else on the planet. Solomon reported there were as few as three people known to ever have used it in assassinations and one was dead, one was in prison and the last was still at large. Joachim Azeri was their suspect and he was nowhere in the Parry Sound area. The Prof compiled a list of Azeri’s known haunts for them and Greg and Trish took off for Barcelona to hunt down the man who had preyed on them. They carried the Kychiri blade with them as a form of poetic justice and vowed to get proof that Ravensclaw was behind these multiple attempts on their life. Greg was very intent on this because, as he viewed the situation, it was bad enough to try and kill him, but the fact that Trish had almost died as well… that was quite simply a step too far and completely intolerable to him.

The training arena was located in an unknown sub-basement of the massive New World Trade Centre and was usually used for combat training of The Council’s Special Forces, but today it just held six solitary figures. Each one was dressed colourfully if somewhat gaudily, save for one figure in black. Nathanial Ravensclaw sat in the stands and watched as each of the team that he had commanded be created stood awaiting his signal to begin. Nathanial nodded to the controller and the signal for the first of the team was sent.

George Rico had chosen the name Firefall for himself. He was twenty five years old and had been a rising star in Ravensclaw’s legal department. The fact that he’d never even studied law or passed the bar was the reason he owed such loyalty to Mr. Ravensclaw. The boss had pulled strings and George was now able to argue cases anywhere in North America, however what the boss had done could very easily be exposed and his parents would be ruined. This was the hold that Ravensclaw had over him. Firefall heard the command through his costume and activated the flight abilities he now possessed. He shot into the air and activated his heat power. An aura now glowed about him as he took careful aim at the target that sprang out in front of him. He concentrated and a jet of flame incinerated the object. The targets kept coming at him with increasing rapidity and he flamed them all in turn. This was easy. A bolt of energy sizzled past him and shook his concentration so much that he began to fall. He recovered and flew straight at the laser burning it with as much heat as he could muster. The mountings turned to ash and the projector fell to the floor of the arena in a melted mass. He reduced his heat output, flew back to the original grouping and powered down.

“Impressive Firefall, but you must concentrate on all of your surroundings. That laser nearly hit you,” Nathanial glanced up from his notes.

“I understand Mr. Ravensclaw,” George responded.

“Next… Thug? Is that the best you could come up with Sammy?” he asked.

“Sorry Mr. R, it’s what I’ve always been called,” Sam shrugged his response.

“Begin!” Ravensclaw commanded.

Sam Munio had been an enforcer since he was thirteen years old, first for the local mob and then for Mr. Ravensclaw’s outfit. His loyalty was unquestionable and he was feared and respected for it. He’d never expected to be granted the kind of power he now had and he revelled in it. Sam charged straight forward and tore through the steel walls that dropped in his way like they weren’t even there. He was a little afraid of flying, but he wouldn’t disappoint the boss so he activated the lifters and attacked the airborne targets, somewhat clumsily at first but with ever increasing gusto. He spotted the laser out of the corner of his eye and dove to grab a chunk of steel from the floor. He hurled the debris at the projector and was satisfied to see the burst of flame when he hit it. He flew back to the group and landed, dusting off his hands.

“Very good… work on your flight,” was Nathanial’s only comment.

“Yes Sir.”

“Next,” Nathanial pointed, “Mobius… begin.”

Frank West took to the air and flew directly into the oncoming targets. West was one of Ravensclaw’s strategy people. He had been an excellent chess player but had been accused of cheating. Mr. Ravensclaw had taken him in when he was at his lowest and given his life purpose again. The first assignment he had been given was to destroy the life of the player who had accused him of cheating. Cheating? He had used a strategy that was new and innovative and the other man couldn’t possibly counter it. He had used original thinking and that was a sin in the world of chess it seemed. The other player had taken his own life because of West’s actions for Ravensclaw and that had satisfied him. Now he stretched his new time-sense and watched the world slow to half the speed it had been going before the projectiles had fired. He stopped in space and took the time to turn them around, then released them and watched as they destroyed their own projectors. The lasers he froze in time at the first sign of activation and casually broke them too. To the observers he appeared to flit around like a wasp and the weapons actually seemed to destroy themselves. He froze time for everyone but himself and then settled back into the group and then releasing the time lock, he seemed to appear out of thin air.

“Bravo Mr. West,” his boss applauded. “If you will pardon the pun, you’ve had the best time so far.” West just smiled coldly at Ravensclaw and went back to his thoughts.

“Ms. Tang…” Ravensclaw consulted his notes, “…Dragonschild, you may begin.”

Lia nodded and disappeared. There was a sudden rumble from the far end of the arena as she reappeared at twenty times her original size. The leviathan reached up and crushed the laser projector before it could track her then she promptly disappeared again. She reappeared once more at her previous goliath size and swatted the target drones with her hands. She reduced in size back to her original proportions and flew to the waiting group.

“Excellent work Lia,” Ravensclaw looked pleased. “It looks as though she’s beaten your time there Mr. West.” Lia simply bowed her head in Nathanial’s direction.

“Mr. James, your test awaits… Shark is it?” he smiled toward the young man.

Steven nodded and walked to the area that had opened in the floor. He dove into the murky tank. Taking a deep breath, he found it was as easy as breathing air. His eyes adjusted to the dimness as the first target drone approached him. He could actually feel the disturbances in the water and this help focus him on the target. A spear of solidified water skewered the target and he swiftly moved on to the next. He could sense the location of each of his opponents and swept them all up with a wave of his hand. The resultant wave of water deposited the drones neatly on the edge of the tank where they were, at best, ineffective. The tracking laser couldn’t follow his swift movements through the water and he tore it from it’s mounting with ease. Activating his lifters, Steven flew from the water barely causing a ripple. He dropped the laser into the pile of target drones and flew back to his starting point.

“Well done Steven! We’ll have the analysis of your initial test shortly,” Ravensclaw made a notation on his pad. They waited while the field was cleared of debris and the tank was re-covered.

“Natalia…” he tapped the board before him, “…Vengeance, nice choice Dear. I thought you might enjoy live targets. Try not to injure them too badly please. Begin,” Nathanial commanded his daughter.

Natalia watched as the armed men and women took to the field. She took a deep breath and ran. She had never moved this quickly before… no one had. The attacking force appeared to be trapped in amber as she struck at them and disarmed them. She leapt over a dog team and neatly tied the handler up with the leashes. Blow upon blow she rained down on the men and targets before the first even fired his rifle. She was through the mass of men and back at the line just as her last opponent dropped. It was truly amazing to behold.

“I don’t believe it,” Nathanial marvelled. “That was under ten seconds! You were just a blur to us. I hope the high speed cameras caught that. All right people, that was fantastic! Continue the individual drills today and tomorrow and then move on to team exercises. I am very impressed by all of you. Natalia, come and see me when you’re finished training for the day.” Ravensclaw rose and left the training area and the team to continue their practices.

It was 5:00pm when Natalia entered her father’s office. He was on the phone so she amused herself by moving small objects around the room at hyper-speed. Her father ignored the distractions with great aplomb and finished his call to Spain.

“Natalia, I see you’ve finished for the day. I’ll need your input on the team and its potential. As team leader, you need to understand how best to use your underlings,” he pointed out.

“I’ll have a report to you as soon as possible but right now, I feel like I need to eat several pounds of meat. Apparently, it’s how we fuel our powers. You had better set up a team HQ for us somewhere away from here and keep it supplied and staffed,” she advised him crisply. “We’ll want to keep a distance from your legitimate enterprises.”

“That aspect is already in progress My Dear,” her father smiled. “We started construction on a Base for your team as soon as Saber had completed the suits. It’s in New Jersey, outside of Hoboken.”

“NEW JERSEY!?” she screamed.

“Be quiet Dear!” he responded in a commanding tone. “We had a nearly completed war shelter built there for The Council and now it’s currently being modified for your needs. It’s secure and quiet comfortable.”

“OK… I guess,” she pouted, “but I want a condo here in town for my off time.”

Shadowknight had infiltrated the Barcelona underworld by taking on the persona of one of Interpol’s most wanted criminals. It was easier to get information this way but the constant contact with the scum of the city was taking a toll on them both. They had become so many different people that Greg felt he was losing himself to the hordes of personalities and since the almost successful attack on their life, Trish had become cold and driven to find Azeri and the men who had hired him… the men who held her father captive. It was April twelfth when they finally got a lead on the elusive Joachim. He was presently staying at the estate of a St. John Lindquist which was just outside Barcelona, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Trish urged.

Trish cut him off,

she insisted.

Trish activated the alter-ego file and quickly assumed her true form. Changing the ACM to full battle mode, she attached the katana to her back.

she cut him off again abruptly,

Trish was growing more impatient with each passing second. Besides this, there was the matter of rescuing her father that was weighing heavily on her as well. It seemed to her that he would only be safe as long as he remained useful to his captors… and how long that might be was an ever-present and ominous unknown factor. She felt the clock ticking with every breath.

he reassured her. Greg suddenly felt Trish’s underlying sense of urgency and recognised its validity.

Trish activated all of their defensive and offensive modes and cut in the lifters. The moon was in its dark phase and the scattered cloud cover afforded them near invisibility. They were over the sprawling compound in minutes and saw that the lights were on in the main room. They landed softly in the yard and spotted the cameras immediately. Trish lowered their ambient temperature to that of the night air so as not to be imaged thermally and they crept forward stealthily. Through the undressed windows she could see two figures sitting by the fireplace, one of them old, in his 80s she guessed, the other man in his 40s, small lean and brown from the sun. That was Azeri, she recognised him from the files she’d received from Solomon. The glass of the window was very thick, definitely sound and bulletproof. She uncovered one ear and stretched her hearing to pick up the conversation inside.

“…sure that this Howard person is dead then?” the older man was asking.

“Si… I have witnessed the convulsions of that particular toxin before and death is immediate,” Azeri confirmed. “Howard was on the floor in his death dance. I took footage with my telephone.”

“Good, good,” the old man nodded and smiled, “now Ravensclaw can focus on his main project, the elimination of The SIX. They don’t know it yet, but they will soon enough… they have finally met their match. The Council will once again be unopposed. Here’s your payment… in full.”

The elderly man passed an envelope to Azeri who took it and placed it in his jacket pocket. That was evidence enough for Trish. The old man had tied himself in with both Ravensclaw and Azeri. Re-covering her ear, she drew the katana and dove at full power through the window. It exploded inwards in a hail of glass pellets and shards that showered the room and its occupants.

“What the Hell?” Lindquist shouted. “Where are the Guards?”

“Too late for that old man, I want information and I want it now!” Trish growled. “And you, Azeri, stay where you are or you’ll die sooner rather than later,” she threatened her would-be assassin.

“Who are you to burst in here making demands young woman?” the old man sputtered his outrage. “Your short life just got a lot shorter. I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with here...” he continued his tirade.

Azeri made a dive for Trish who decapitated him with a single stroke. His body lay twitching on the floor, his head rolling to a stop by the fireplace. She calmly wiped the sword clean on the corpse and returned her attention to St. John.

“Oh bringer of light,” she said with a grim chuckle, “Who I am is not so important right now, however, I trust Azeri’s death has proven that I am serious about you giving me the information I require,” she spoke slowly and distinctly in a low, throaty snarl.

“You’ll never leave this place alive and even if you manage to escape, you will be hunted down and eliminated,” he said coolly, “so you’d be wise to consider your next move carefully. The guards are on their way now,” St. John stood his ground.

“I don’t fear you or your ilk, look at this blade carefully,” she held the katana up so it gleamed brightly in the ambient light from the fireplace. “I took it from Hidako Kychiri when he attempted to assassinate Dr. Gregory Howard. I was the one who dumped the body of Paulina Torhammer in the river in Bonn. I am everyone and no one. You can call me Shadowknight. I see you have a pistol there… go ahead, use it… I won’t attempt to stop you…” she sneered at her prey. The old man grabbed the gun and fired thirteen rounds at Shadowknight. He was astounded to see her still standing.

“So… you have body armour,” he hissed dismissively, “but you haven’t a chance when my men arrive.”

“I have a better chance at surviving the hail of gunfire than you do St. John Lindquist. A ricochet will most certainly take you out!” she laughed callously. “Is that how you wish to die?”

The door burst open then and a dozen men armed with machine pistols ran in taking aim on Trish.

“You make a valid point, My Dear,” the old man waved them off. “Tell me what, aside from revenge on Azeri, did you want? You mentioned information… what information would an old man like myself have to offer you?” his tone had changed to a syrupy sweetness.

“Where is Nathanial Ravensclaw?” she replied impassively.

“I would assume he’s in New York City in his offices,” Lindquist said offhandedly, lighting a cigar. “What do you want with him?”

“I want more information…” she spat with disdain, “…information about your little ‘Council’ of tin-plated Gods… information about why he…” she nodded in the direction of Azeri’s disembodied head, “…killed Dr. Howard.”

Greg asked.

she replied

he joked.

she mock scolded him.

“And just what is your connection with the late Doctor Howard?” Lindquist probed.

“I was hired as his bodyguard,” Trish lied, “however, the poison attack by Azeri was not anticipated. My code of ethics forces me to finish this fight with the one who started it,” she responded matter-of-factly.

“Then perhaps I can make you an offer… Shadowknight was it? I’ll send you to Ravensclaw provided you don’t kill him,” he wheezed. “You’ll work for The Council and have more power than you’d ever dreamt possible. Refuse me however, and you’ll soon be known as a common murderer and treated accordingly. How does that fit with your code?” he suggested.

“Your proposal intrigues me, tell me more…” Trish had set her trap and now all she had to do was patiently await her prey.

To Be Continued