Out of the Ashes, Book 2 Part 5

Out of the Ashes, Book 2 by Misty Meenor A Comic RetCon Universe Story

I shook my head. "Something's not right. I've seen the living quarters. There were younger children here. There's no indication they were infected and turned, and if they were abandoned when their parents turned, we'd have found signs of it. Where have they gone?"

"That is no concern of yours."

The voice came from the shadow of a storage shed. It belonged to a tall man, with short-cropped blond hair, in military fatugues bearing the Red Skull insignia. Four others appeared behind him, fanning out to cover us with automatic weapons. "Your more immediate concern, Miss Mars, should be, 'How do I remain very still to keep my associates from being killed.'"

Court sighed and glanced at me. "They've got the doctor, too."

The man raised an eyebrow, nodding to Court in acknowledgement. "Indeed. American Dream, isn't it? She will be joining us, and then we shall be taking a short trip." His voice grew cold. "I must warn you both that your associates are hostages to your good behavior. At the first sign of trouble, they will be shot. And," he strode over to Major Weiss, eyeing the big man casually, then struck him in the chest with the palm of his hand with such force that Weiss was knocked backwards through the air to land stretched out on his back. "You will find we are not without a few surprises."

Weiss rolled to all fours, gasping for breath. The Colonel and Major Roth attempted to help him to his feet, but he shrugged them off and stood on his own. "Impressive stunt," he acknowledged. "Be sure and let me know when it's my turn."

"It won't happen," the man said dismissively. "Ah. Here comes the good doctor."

The doctor was escorted by two more soldiers, with rather efficient-looking submachine guns at the ready. I exchanged a glance with Court, she shook her head minutely. We came here for information, it seemed we'd be getting more than expected. One bright spot is that he didn't seem to know about Jack.

I just hope Jack doesn't do anything stupid. I wanted to catch his eye, but he was standing behind us.

The man faced the group of us and offered a short bow, clicking his heels together in the Teutonic style. "You may address me simply as Nummer Eins. I am aware of your names, already. Doctor, I believe you and Miss Dream are each in possession of a ring with some rather special properties. You will hand these over now."

Court glared at him. "How did you know about those?"

"It is enough that I know. The rings, please. I will not ask again." At his signal, the soldiers raised their weapons.

"They won't work for you," Court warned, as she and the doctor removed their rings and dropped them into the man's outstretched hand.

"That misses the point, which is, they will no longer work for you." His smirk quickly became a grimace and he gasped in pain as the rings flared with a brilliant silvery light, and he hurriedly dumped them out of his hand onto the packed dirt. We could feel a wave of intense heat, and I stepped back involuntarily as the rings became too bright to look at directly, before fading away completely, leaving no trace but the afterimage swimming in our vision.

Damn, I was gonna miss my ring. I felt like I'd just lost a friend, although I knew the rings were just an extension of the AI in Jade's starship.

The man frowned. "Unfortunate, but we couldn't risk bringing them with us anyway. The Leader was most explicit." His eyes flashed to the soldiers. "Separate them, the metas from the others. Oh, and do strip off those ridiculous suits. It was amusing for a while but that color is getting tedious. I can assure you, there is no virus here."

The soldiers split us into two groups, a few paces apart, and I noticed with some chagrin that they'd included Jack with Court and me. We peeled out of the suits, feeling naked in our bare feet and disposable paper coveralls. All of the soldiers remained with the hostages. "Your friends will go first. If you cause any trouble, if we don't arrive precisely on schedule, they will be killed. Understand?"

We nodded our assent, and we just stood there for a few moments. I was straining to hear the sound of an incoming vehicle -- a helicopter, a truck, anything, when the other group just... vanished.

Oh, crap. Telep --

There was a soundless, colorless implosion, and a feeling like I was simultaneously being stretched into an infinite length and squeezed into an infinitesimal point, before being stuffed through a pinhole in reality that the universe didn't know was there.

-- orter.

Darkness. I blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted from bright tropical sunlight to the lower light of our destination. It was cooler, too, and the oppressive jungle humidity was gone.

As my eyes accommodated to the light, I took in our new surroundings. We were standing on the rocky floor of a large cave -- a cavern, I quickly realized, as the scale of the place became apparent. The open space had been refitted as a large warehouse; arc lighting mounted at intervals cast sparse circles of illumination across the open floor, throwing shadows in all directions while leaving the distant ceiling shrouded in permanent night. The far ends of the cavern remained unlit, although with my enhanced vision I could make out a sizable motor pool at one end, assorted vehicles ranging in size from jeeps to heavy trucks parked in neat rows. Electrical cables crisscrossed the floor. Most of the remaining available wallspace was lined several rows deep with crates and assorted supplies. There was a steady industrial background hum, echoing and re-echoing off the distant stone walls and roof. Possibly generators or ventilation equipment, mixed with intermittent machine noises I couldn't identify.

Our friends were a few paces away, being hustled by the soldiers towards a pair of mundane-looking double doors leading out of the cavern. If we were ever to seize the initiative, it would have to be now -- but I was paralyzed by the risk to the others. The Colonel must have had the same thought; suddenly he seemed to stumble, and fell on one knee, causing the soldiers escorting the group to bunch together before they could stop. The majors must have been waiting for this, and set upon the surprised guards, attacking them hand-to-hand, too close for their automatic weapons to be brought to bear. They were hopelessly outnumbered, but they never expected to win alone. In a flash Court and I were in their midst; and a few seconds after that there were two piles on the floor; unconscious soldiers, and guns.

"That will be enough, escape is quite out of the question." The voice had come out of the shadows, dry and amused. Nummer Eins had not moved from his spot, but his smirk had grown wider. A few handclaps sounded, sarcastic applause. "Most impressive, I admit -- but where is the rest of your party? Missing anyone?"

From behind a stack of crates stepped the doctor, a knife held to her throat. My heart sunk when I realized who was holding the knife.

"Jack."

He flashed a grin. "Afraid so. I trust you're not too disappointed."

Soldiers poured from the double doors, surrounding us, but Court ignored them, advancing on Jack. "How could you do this, Jack? Brian was a hero. Your father was a hero. How could you betray their memories like this? You loved your brother. He thought the world of you. What happened?"

Jack's face twisted in rage. "What happened? He died in the fucking desert, is what happened. Trying to force your American democracy down the throats of people nobody cares about, who didn't fucking want it in the first place, all so you fucking Yanks can flex your global muscles, pat yourselves on the back, and feel good about your oil supply." His voice hardened. "When Brian died, it tore my father's heart out. He just... stopped living. Your America killed them both."

"Ahem. Jack, do shut up now, you're boring us," the voice interrupted. "Miss Dream, that will be close enough. I'm sure Jack is quite fast enough to slit the doctor's throat before you so much as twitch, but there's no need to test him." Nummer Eins produced a small pistol of an unfamiliar design, and pointed it at Court.

"Introductions are so tedious, but, I suppose necessary." The source of the voice stepped into view, a man of medium height, wearing a laboratory coat, the kind that buckled side-to-side, all the way to the neck. His head seemed too large for his body, his skull appearing emaciated, misshapen. He was quite bald, with pale, almost translucent skin the texture of thin parchment, drawn tightly over his bones. Something had made the capillaries in his face and scalp rupture, giving it a blotched, reddish tone. He gave the appearance of advanced age, except that his voice was strong and clear, his carriage upright, his step sure. His eyes were bright, but his heavy brow made them appear to be sunk into his head, and combined with his thin-lipped rictus of a smile, showing too many teeth, gave the rather sinister impression of a skull, set atop a living body.

"My name is unimportant. The world will know me soon enough as the Red Skull. For... rather obvious reasons." He faced the Colonel and the majors, now surrounded by a dozen soldiers. "Colonel Dmitri Illyanovitch Karpov. Major Benjamin Roth, Major Eric Weiss, I know, I know, blah, blah, blah." He waved his hand in irritation.

"Gentlemen, the good news is, I have no particular use for you. I'll run a few tests, keep you for a week or so, and let you go. Goodbye, go now, shoo." He waved them away, and the soldiers hustled them non-too-gently through the double doors.

He turned to the doctor, still with Jack's knife at her throat, offering her a rather ghastly smile. "Doctor Elizabeth Morris. One of the world's leading authorities on diseases of the brain. You, I can use. You know what they say, good help is hard to find, and you're one of the few people equipped to appreciate my work..." His voiced trailed off tantalizingly, like he was expecting her to leap at the rare treat he was offering. He patted her cheek, then he turned away abruptly. "Or, I can kill you. Either way, you're not going home. Think on it, we'll talk later. For now, just sit tight and be a good little hostage while I talk to your meta friends."

Jack tightened his grip on the doctor as the Red Skull turned to Court, hands clasped behind his back, studying her from all sides like some zoological exhibit. Her hands clenched into fists, but she held still; the risk to the doctor was too great.

"American Dream," he finally spoke, his tone conversational, like they were chatting over tea. "Would it surprise you to know that I killed that entire village for the sole purpose of bringing you here, to this meeting?" At her horrified expression, he grinned and nodded vigorously, his grotesque head bobbing as if at a particularly fine joke, shared with a child. "Yes, yes, it's true, and here you are. I must admit, your friend" -- he shot a murderous glance at me that belied his civil tone -- "was an unexpected twist, but we adapt, we adapt. In fact -- well, that's getting ahead of ourselves, yes?"

He straightened, and rocked on his heels, lecturing Court. "Very well, then. To the point. It is one thing to have you here, but I am quite aware it is another matter entirely to keep you here." He waved a hand dismissively. "Tiger by the tail, et cetera, et cetera. So. A simple experiment is in order."

Without warning, Nummer Eins fired his strange pistol. Blue-white lightning arced, crackling and sparking over Court's body, lighting the cavern briefly with a ghastly flickering strobe. Court screamed and collapsed to the ground, writhing and twitching uncontrollably. Eins knelt by her side as she continued to spasm, and fitted a narrow metallic collar around her throat, closing it with an ominous heavy click. He attached a slim leash, which he held negligently in one hand.

The Red Skull clapped his hands in delight. "Excellent! Excellent! One can think they have a solution to a problem, but the proof is always in the pudding, yes?" Nummer Eins tugged on the leash, and Court slowly climbed to her feet, gasping for breath, her hands clutching at the collar, as the Red Skull continued. "One last demonstration. I'm afraid the leash is not just for show. Go on, go on, take it."

Nummer Eins held out the leash for Court, holding it in two fingers, smirking. Reluctantly, Court reached out for it. As he released the leash, the lightning danced over her body again, this time originating from the collar, and Court collapsed in convulsions once more, her breath coming in choking gasps. Eins plucked the leash from her nerveless fingers, and the sparking stopped, leaving a sharp tang of ozone in the air. Court's chest heaved as she gradually regained her feet, swaying unsteadily.

"The leash must always be held by somebody else. Or hung up on a special post. Anything else, and -- well, you see what happens. Oh -- and you don't want to try to remove it. The results would be quite fatal, eventually. Same thing goes for the collar, of course."

The Red Skull turned dismissively from Court towards where I had been standing. "Now, Miss Mars presents a different problem --" Except I wasn't standing there any more.

It was obvious that if there was any chance for escape, that opportunity was fading fast. With everyone's attention on Court, I'd shot up to the sanctuary of the cavern roof, trusting in the darkness to hide me, and slowly drifted to hover over Jack. His reaction time might be unbeatable, but if I could catch him by surprise... that would have to be enough.

Time ran out when the Red Skull finally noticed my absence. In the blink of an eye, I was on Jack, my hand gripping his on the hilt of the knife. Too late, he tried to slash the doctor's throat, but even with his metagene-enhanced body, he couldn't hope to match my strength, and the knife refused to budge. I tightened my grip, feeling the bones in his fingers splinter like green twigs under my hand, and he howled in pain.

Dropping the knife, I grabbed Jack by the neck and flung him hard at Nummer Eins, the collision knocking Eins back several feet, tangling them both in a heap. The leash was torn from Eins' grasp, sending Court into another helpless fit, and I scrambled to grab it. "Doctor, I need you to take this, while I --"

The doctor hadn't moved, except to clutch at the knife protruding from her stomach, an astonished expression on her face. She gasped, eyes wide with shock, unable to find her voice as the Red Skull gave the blade a vicious twist, one hand gripping her hair, holding her upright as she fell to her knees, arms wrapped around the fire in her gut. A red stain began to spread across her belly, soaking into her paper coveralls.

"Stop!" he warned, as Court and I both tensed, preparing to charge him. The now-bloody knife was once more at the doctor's throat.

"The woman has perhaps thirty minutes of intense agony before she bleeds to death. But I can save her!" he added hastily, as we continued to advance. "Good as new, in twenty-four hours, I give you my word. You want to live, don't you, doctor? You want the pain to stop? Tell them!"

The doctor hesitated a moment, her breathing short and shallow, then slowly nodded her head, unable to meet our eyes. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered.

"How can we trust you?" Court spat.

The Red Skull rolled his eyes. "You dare make this about me? This poor woman -- stay with us, Elizabeth, it's not my fault your friends want to drag this out -- this poor woman wouldn't be suffering at all if you hadn't brought this upon her!"

He sighed, and his tone became condescending. "You can't trust me, of course, I should have thought that would have been obvious by now. But I have gone to a lot of trouble to get you here, why? If I had wanted you all dead, you would most assuredly be dead, and I wouldn't have needed to bring you here to do it. Finally, I have no need for lies. The truth is more than sufficient."

He called out into the darkness. "Maria! come out here. I want you to meet these people." After a moment a woman's figure shuffled out from behind a wall of crates, slouched and moving carefully, from handhold to handhold, as if her balance was uncertain. At some point her head had been shaved bald, and her hair seemed to be growing back unevenly, in coarse tufts, in some places not at all, and could not hide the surgical scars and misshapen bulges protruding from her skull. She was dressed in institutional yellow pajamas, the cheerful color contrasting horribly with her pallid skin. She was young, no more than eighteen or twenty, but she carried herself like a decrepit old woman. Her eyes were empty and dull, her mouth slack. In one hand she clutched the arm of an old rag doll, as tattered and lifeless as herself.

Nummer Eins and Jack had untangled themselves, and moved to stand with the Red Skull. Eins wound his hand in the doctor's hair, keeping her upright, and took the knife from his boss, continuing to hold it at her throat. Jack held his pulped hand, glaring murderously at me.

"Maria is my latest project, I'm very happy with her." The woman made her way to stand unsteadily next to the Red Skull, her eyes on the floor, clutching the ancient doll to her chest with both hands, rocking from one foot to the other. "She has many talents, don't you?" He turned to whisper in Maria's ear, and the woman closed her eyes and became still for a moment. Jack and the doctor vanished soundlessly. Nummer Eins slipped the knife into his belt and stood at ease, still looking unbearably smug.

"Your friend is in the infirmary, they'll know what to do. I have a regeneration tank, one of my earliest inventions. I swear by it, myself. She'll be fine by this time tomorrow. Better than fine. It adds years to your life. Believe me, I know."

He put his arm around Maria's shoulders, ignoring her reflexive flinch. "Now, where were we? Oh, yes. Maria is the one you've been looking for. She's your zombie plague. Of course, I can't have you telling anyone, when I let you go."

He stopped, surprised. "Oh! I suppose I should have mentioned that sooner. Yes, I'm going to let you go. A week or two, at most. So sorry."

He hugged the woman, who barely seemed to notice. "Ahem. Which brings us to, how do I hold on to the incredibly powerful Miss Mars? And how will I keep you from telling anyone my little secrets? Ah. Well. Maria, show them."

Maria raised her head, her eyes meeting mine. I had a moment of panic, as I felt a presence in my head, insinuating itself, twisting around parts of my mind. There was the briefest sense of ... apology?... before it pulled. There was an obscene ripping sensation and an incandescent detonation behind my eyes, and I collapsed to the ground, senseless.