That’s all for now, I feel the need to sleep again. It is wonderful to see you all again. Tricia, if you would escort me back to my room?” Julian asked, suddenly overwhelmed by this exertion.

“Of course Father,” she replied.

It was early morning Biel time, when the attack occurred. It was this fact, and this fact alone that saved the lives of most of the employees of the AERIE. The main shop exploded into flame and started to burn freakishly fast. The sound woke Rumi up and she ran to the door of the house. Jon met both her and Betina who watched agape as the building collapsed inwards. Betina ran to the main communications console to send a message to the AERI in Canada. She had just coded the emergency frequency and hit transmit when she was knocked flat by a steel baton. Jon ran towards her but was stopped in his tracks by a huge man in a garish costume.

“Going somewhere Doc?” Thug asked casually.

“Let me by you great ox, Betina’s hurt!” Jon bellowed. There was a rushing noise as a woman appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

“You don’t get it do you Jonathon? That’s why we’re here. To hurt you and your little project… pfah! And you call yourself an intellectual. Dragonschild!” Vengeance commanded. “We’ll contain these three while you find any others and crush them!”

The slight oriental woman nodded and grew to twenty feet tall, taking most of the roof with her. Rumi tried to escape out the front door but found she was moving very slowly, everything around her somehow seemed accelerated.

“Going somewhere Love?” Mobius sneered. “I don’t think so. Hey Boss, I have Ms. Takahashi over here,” he called to Vengeance.

“My, she’s so young... and foolish. Well, with age comes wisdom so they say,” the black clad woman sighed. “Mobius, give her some wisdom would you please? Just about seventy years worth should do,” she smiled cruelly.

Rumi suddenly felt pain throughout every fibre of her body as the world around her froze. She looked at her hands as they seemed to wither before her eyes. Then as quickly as it had started, it was over. She collapsed in a heap in the dirt, without an ounce of strength left in her now frail body. She had been aged to ninety two in less then a minute. Thug carried an unconscious Betina and the struggling Jon out of what was left of the house a moment before it exploded into flames. He dumped them by the old woman and stood watching.

“My GOD! Rumi!” Jon screamed in horror. “What have you done to her you sick fucks?!?” The woman in black just shook her head and smiled evilly.

“Such language in front of ladies Doc,” Natalia frowned churlishly. “I should wash your mouth out but I think I’ll leave that to my compatriot here. Shark, would you do the honours please?”

Jon found himself surrounded by water. It filled his lungs and he could not escape. He was rapidly losing consciousness as he saw the big one casually toss Betina into the air in the direction of the forest. His last thought before he passed out was that he would never see the woman he loved again. Natalia looked around at the carnage and dusted her hands off. It was a pity that Darling Gregory couldn’t have been here to witness the destruction of his dream. Oh well, his day would come she reminded herself… it was what she lived for.

The alarms started going off in the AERI sometime around midnight. Greg rushed to the lab followed quickly by Julian.

“Hestia! What’s going on?” Greg shouted.

“I’m trying to find out Daddy,” she responded. “There was an emergency signal from AERIE and then all data links and communications were severed abruptly. Now there’s nothing… not even static.”

Greg was out of the lab and into his bedroom immediately upon hearing that and he started pulling on the ACM instantly. He’d just sealed the suit when Julian came into the room.

“Just what are you planning Son?” he asked quietly.

“Rescue ops at the bare minimum Julian. But combat if it comes down to it,” Greg said over his shoulder.

“Greg… I hate to say it, but you’re no match for those animals,” Julian rubbed his forehead contemplatively. “They match you in strength and speed and they have offensive capabilities that you don’t. Greg, the reality is that your design was for espionage, not combat.”

“Well Julian, what do you suggest we do?” Greg asked savagely. “Unless you have the phone number for The SIX handy, Trish and I are all we have at the moment,” Greg’s sarcasm was evident in his response.

“Sadly, I don’t, but maybe I do have something that will even the odds slightly…” Julian responded mildly and he seemed slightly crazed to Greg when he said, “Kryptonite…”

“…Kryptonite? You’ve got to be kidding me…” he snorted contemptuously.

“No Greg, just a dash of irony,” Julian smiled blandly. “Kryptonite is the code word to deactivate the villains’ defence systems… my small revenge upon Ravensclaw and hopefully the downfall of the evil that I created.”

“So I just say ‘Kryptonite’ and… and what?” Greg asked.

“The villains will have no armour or repair functions,” Julian’s eyes glittered like steel. “They’ll still have their powers, however even the use of those powers could injure them mortally.”

“Thank you Julian, you’ve just given me the edge I need. If you’ll excuse me now, I have a battle to win,” his demeanour became hard as he focussed on the task at hand.

The Professor and Hestia followed Greg out to the living room where he gently took the Kychiri katana down from its place of honour above the fireplace.

“I didn’t expect to be using this anytime soon… however…” he handled the sword with unreserved reverence.

Trish impelled him with urgency.

Greg attached the scabbard to the back of the ACM and walked out into the yard. He looked sadly at the Professor and Hestia standing in the lit doorway then pulled up the hood and sealed it. He activated the lifters and rocketed into the inky blackness. Julian watched for a minute more and turned to go back in from the midnight chill.

“Godspeed my children,” he whispered, “Godspeed.”

Greg assumed a cruising height of 20,000 feet before pouring on all the velocity they were capable of producing. The sonic boom was almost immediate as they quickly attained Mach five.

she responded.

They were already passing Gander by the time the flight adjustment had been made and remained silent in their own thoughts for the half hour it took them to cross the Atlantic. The dazzle of false dawn over the shore of Ireland caused Greg’s vision to momentarily blur but the automatic overrides cut in before they were blinded by the rising sun. Less than 10 minutes had passed when Greg spotted the eastern edge of the Alps and cut their airspeed back to Mach one. They could see the smoke rising from the AERIE over the forest and again cut back their speed to one hundred KPH.

Greg said panic-stricken.

Trish commanded.

she finished.

he requested.

Trish responded.

They landed behind what had been the main house of the AERIE and silently drew the katana from its sheath. The blade glistened in the light from the fire and the rays of the rising sun. He could see two bodies in the main compound and approached them cautiously. He immediately saw Jon and an elderly woman he didn’t recognise. Upon his approach he realised to his horror that the old woman was Rumi… somehow. He had no time for further thought as a sheet of flame roared over his head.

“That was just a warning shot,” the mocking voice came from behind him. “What’re you supposed to be, some kind of samuree? A friend of the old bird perhaps?”

Greg whirled on the voice. A man in a garish red and yellow costume was casually tossing a ball of flame in his palm.

“No, I came to investigate what happened here… are you responsible for this?” Greg demanded.

“Me and some of my friends, yeah,” Firefall admitted proudly. “I was asked to stay behind and make sure nothing was left of this place. You don’t look like one of The SIX. Who are you anyways?”

“My name is Shadowknight and I am your downfall, you punkass piece of shit,” he snarled.

“Oh, really? What fancy talk,” Firefall grinned crookedly. “Are you fireproof in that little suit of yours?” he taunted.

“More so than you are…” Greg smirked behind the hood. I have one word for you and your kind…”

“Oh, and what would that be, more profanities maybe?” Firefall’s smile widened considerably.

“Nope… Kryptonite,” Greg pronounced.

Firefall dropped the flame ball he had been holding as if it was a live coal.

“Jesus, that was hot!” he yowled.

“Well if you can’t stand the heat…here try some cold steel instead…” Greg slashed out at the gaudily dressed man and scored his chest.

“Hey! Watch it… that hurt… oh shit…” Firefall’s expression changed to one of dismay. Greg closed the gap between them rapidly and stood waiting.

“What did you do to me…?” Firefall bellowed. “I’ll fry you for that!”

“Go ahead if you want to become a pile of ashes mixed in with the rubble around here… either way, you’re not leaving here alive,” Greg responded casually.

Firefall powered up to incinerate his foe and screamed out in agony as his skin boiled away and his flesh charred. Greg ended his pain with one stroke of his blade. More mercy than the dead man and his team had shown to his friends. He turned back to where Jon and Rumi were laying in the centre of the compound. Rumi stirred and opened her eyes. She saw the black clad figure and struggled to crawl away.

“No… leave… us… alone!” she croaked weakly. Greg quickly dropped the hood of the ACM so Rumi could see his features.

“Shhhh… Rumi… it’s OK… it’s me… Greg…” he managed.

“D-Doc? I’m… sorry. We couldn’t … stop them…” she gasped for breath.

“Rumi, it’s OK… you did your best. I’ll get the rest of them,” Greg soothed the girl. “Rest now… I have to check on Jon…” he choked out.

“B-B-Betina was thrown into… the woods… Doc… please… help… her.” Rumi lost consciousness as they turned to Jon.

He lay absolutely motionless on the ground.

.

Greg reached down and gently closed his friend’s eyes never noticing the tears falling freely from his own. He made Rumi as comfortable as possible, turned and ran toward the woods. It took them ten minutes to find Betina’s badly broken body in a heap by the base of a large oak tree. She was alive, but just barely.

Working quickly, he chopped down several dozen saplings to use as splints and a makeshift travois. He set the bulk of the fractures and thanked the Goddess that Betina wasn’t awake to feel any of it. They carried her out of the woods and lay her down beside Rumi.

“Rumi… Rumi can you hear me?” Greg asked gently.

“Yes… Doc. I hear… you…” she whispered.

“The emergency crews will be here soon. I beg of you, please don’t tell them about me,” he pleaded. “You can just say that one of The SIX arrived or something. My presence must be kept a secret… do you understand?”

“Sure thing… Doc,” she smiled weakly. “You’ve always been my… hero…” Rumi’s voice trailed off as she exhaled her last breath.

“Goddess NO! RUMI! NO!” Greg cried out.

Trish urged.

Greg choked back a sob and ran for the woods just as the first of the fire crews pulled into the main compound.

Natalia relaxed in her quarters at Hammer Base. They’d done a good job levelling the pestilence of AERIE and if they were lucky, they could go after the Franklin Island base soon too. The communicator in her suit sounded.

“Vengeance,” she responded.

“Boss, there’s a problem…” Munio sounded worried.

“What is it Sam?” she asked.

“We can’t contact Firefall. He should have been enroute to the base by now but his locator has gone dead.”

“Forget it for now Sam, it’s probably just a suit malfunction,” Natalia replied unconcerned.

“OK Boss,” Sam acknowledged.

Greg flew back to North America even faster then he had flown to Europe. He needed some sort of emotional release and at the moment speed was all he had at hand. He had no idea what he was going to do but in his grief and rage, he altered his course toward New York City.

Trish questioned him rationally.

he replied grimly.

she pointed out.

Greg stated miserably.

she overrode him sharply.

Greg sighed.

Greg piqued.

Nathanial Ravensclaw walked into his office cheerfully that morning to find a small pile of ashes on his desk and a message carefully carved into the mahogany surface.

‘one down, five to go… Shadowknight’. He picked up the phone to Hammer Base and felt his good mood rapidly evaporating.

“Get me Natalia… immediately!” he roared.

“Good morning Daddy,” she answered cheerfully.

“Never mind that,” Nathanial cut her off savagely. “Are any of your team members unaccounted for?”

“Firefall hasn’t checked in from his mop up duties yet,” Natalia said.

“He’s dead! Don’t ask me how, but he’s dead!” spat the enraged man. Ravensclaw Sr. quickly filled his daughter in on the message he had been left by the person calling themself ‘Shadowknight’.

“It appears we have a new player on the stage My Dear,” Nathanial had regained a modicum of composure. “Someone who can even defeat an enhanced person and I suspect that Japanese woman Sachi Watanabi, the one who stole Saber from us.”

“That sounds like a reasonable assumption Father, but your trace of the woman’s identity turned up nothing but false leads. She doesn’t exist,” Natalia pointed out.

“All I’m saying Daughter, is that we have to be very cautious. In the meantime, I have a plan to get The SIX out of our hair permanently. I’ll brief you later when all of the details have been worked out. For now, rest… and just… watch your back,” he cautioned her.

“Keep me informed Daddy, and you be careful too. I love you.”

“Goodbye Natalia, I love you too,” he said perfunctorily.

To Be Continued