[b]Just Wanted to be a Hero[/b]
"Leave me alone!" A voice cries out and then a nearby building explodes. The windows shatter out into the street, glass raining down from the sky. A crowd of people quickly turn and run away as smokes billows out from the building. A car is turned on its side and a man in older guardian gear looks down into his hands and collapses down onto his knees. His veins slowly begins to turn a dark black and a smoke like substance spews out of his fingertips. A large crack forms in the road beneath and the grass and plant life dries up and dies.
"This wasn't supposed to happen." He mumbles. A spotlight shines down on him and he uses his right arm as a visor to block the bright light. He drowned out all the outside noises but could tell they were demanding something of him. Were they Guardians of the Vanguard and did they want to arrest him? Perhaps they were the Guardians from the Rusted Lands by the burning lake. Maybe they were just some simple police forces from the Last City coming to investigate. He couldn't tell and he didn't care.
He clenches his fingers tightly together making a fist. A surge of power quickly swirls and forms inside of him. The black smoke forms an aura around him and he focuses this power into his hands. The spotlight flickers out and the airship spins wildly out of control. The area quickly turns black and is then wisped away by a gentle wind. The destruction and death is still their but the mysterious man was gone.
[u][b]-- Helldiver HQ --[/b][/u]
The team returns to the headquarters, out of breath and their bodies stressed. Edison-12 and Tesla-18 quickly make their way to the lab, Tesla going straight to work on examining the specimens she had gathered. Edison drops down into a chair resting his processors and allowing his thoughts to clear. Shay, Leon, and Chiahru make their way upstairs, into the lounge area, where they're quickly caught off guard by an intruder. Leon swiftly draws his weapon.
"Step back!" He demands, shay slowly rests his hand on Leon's side arm and lowers it.
"So you've decided to stay?" He asks as he approaches the intruder.
"I have, I feel like you're going to need my help." Abi replies, "And just in time, looks like you've got a new mission on your hands." she continues and points to a large monitor in the room. A Exo reporter explains the current situation, behind them is a the ruins of a recent explosion. In the upper right corner, a video is playing from an event prior.
"Can you zoom in on the video playing? The person in the footage looks familiar." Leon's Ghost curiously asks.
"Sure." Abi responds with a cheerful smile, she turns to a nearby terminal and begins furiously typing. The video footage magnifies and the man in the pixelated footage looks exactly like the man from the rusted lands earlier.
"Do you know that Guardian?" Abi's Ghost turns to ask the crew.
"He's not a Guardian." Shay's Ghost comments as the dark abilities from the man cut off the footage and the screen returns to the Exo reporter.
"He's messing with technology we don't understand. Leon, go get Edison and Tesla. We need them to view this footage and help us find a way to track this man." Shay commands. Leon nods and makes his way downstairs. "Meanwhile, let's head out to the site and see if we can find anything."
[u][b]-- Small Business District, Last City on Earth --[/b][/u]
"Everyone needs to back up, this area is now off limits to both civilians and the press!" Chiaharu barks out to a crowd of bystanders trying to catch glimpses of the crime scene. They stand around with portable communication devices up in the air and several members of the press talk to other nearby Concordat Guardians. Abi and Shay stand near a large crater in the ground where the man had disappeared.
"I'm picking up large amounts of the Darkness seeping into the space here." Abi's Ghost explains. Shay kneels down and starts to push aside pieces of rubble and other debris. His Ghosts floats down next to him and begins scan the area. Abi move towards a shop with it's windows busted out. The tables inside are a dark black is if burned or charred but they appear to be in perfect condition besides the black coloring. She steps into the building, crushing small splinters of glass from the windows. The room is oddly still, as if frozen in time, and it makes her feel slightly uneasy. A gushing and soft squelching sound comes from the back corner and when she approaches she finds a patch of barnacle like organisms. "What is that?"
"I'm not sure, hey Shay!" Abi calls out. Shay turns to the sound of her voice and moves towards he. He approaches and crouches next to the barnacle like substance.
"I've seen this before, it often originates around Hive seeder ships." Shay continues to examine the small organisms.
"Hive?" Abi's Ghost questions curiously.
"It's a new species of alien we've just recently encountered." Shay's Ghost explains. Screams comes from outside of the building followed by the loud thunder from an explosion. It quickly grabs the attention of Shay and Abi who run to the blown out windows. A large storm of swirling smoke forms above the area. Bolt are dark arc energy shoot out from the cloud and the bitch black eye of the storm widens like a rift in space and time. The body of the man in Guardian gear plummets to the surface. Shay quickly draws his weapon and approaches.
"Stay where you are! Don't make me shoot you!" He yells out. The man struggles to stand up, his armor covered in a dark ooze and the barnacle substance. He stumbles around like a drunk or zombie. His helmet visor as a large gash in it, and a black smoke continuously billows from the crack.
"Back away!" The man yells waving his hand in Shay's direction. A bolt of dark energy shoots out of his and collides into Shay, sending him flying back into the building, destroying tables and chairs in his way. Abi can only watch in horror as destruction seems to follow this man's every movement. "This wasn't supposed to happen! I just wanted to be a hero, a Guardian of the light like you! He promised! HE PROMISED!"
-
Whoa what a killer cliffhanger! Figuratively of course.