Slowly opening his eyes, he was met with the same familiar interiors of his cell. Dan suddenly got back on his feet and ran his hand over his chest. The pain and possibly broken sternum was gone, as if the previous fights had never happened. The only difference he could make out in his surroundings was the scent of blood that hit his nose. He assumed that the struggle between the escaping prison inmates and the guards had ended and they were still cleaning up the aftermath.
A pair of heavy footsteps out in the hall approached his cell. Dan laid his eyes at the space beyond the metal bars and saw the armored form of a familiar enemy. The spiked armor and the skull painted helmet belonging to Adam Torrent. He was accompanied by another fully armored and helmeted Kodak agent.
Both Kodak agents stopped in front of the cell and stared at him through their helmets. Dan couldn’t see their faces or guess their intentions.
“The fuck do you want now?” Dan asked bitterly.
“Orders from higher up,” Adam said. “Take a shower then put on your armor.”
Dan had no idea if these assholes were telling the truth or screwing around with him. He was already pulled out of jail once as cheap entertainment for Judith. For all he knew, these two could be luring him to some secluded area and just torture him for the laughs.
“And what if I say no?” he said.
Adam stepped closer towards the metal bars. “No choice kid. Judith Blight and Colleen Odyssey want to see your ass. You would be wise not to keep those ladies waiting.”
“Like I respect either of them,” Dan spat. “But okay. Beats sitting around in here.”
Adam unlocked the door to his cell and pulled it aside. Dan slowly and deliberately walked while keeping his eyes on both agents. He didn’t trust either of them one bit.
“Judith wanted me you’ve become quite a nuisance,” Adam said. Dan felt the cold barrel of a shotgun pressed against his back. “Walk and follow him. Keep a consistent pace. You’re not getting any tours on the way to the bosses.”
“Yes officer,” Dan said bleeding with sarcasm.
The other Kodak agent led the way and Dan simply followed behind. Dan could only guess what additional nonsense he was about to be put through. He still hadn’t figured out why he and Li were kidnapped. What did either of them have that made them valuable enough to be taken captive?
Dan looked down as he stepped in something that made a wet splash. He saw a small puddle of red along with numerous shell casings that hadn’t been cleaned up after his brief attempt at a prison break.
“Are all of your janitors on break?” Dan asked.
“Keep walking,” Adam said with an edge.
The two led him to the same bathroom where he took out two of the guards and looted their gear. He winced when he saw the bullet holes that pocketed the bathroom stall where the female inmate was gunned down in the crossfire.
“You have thirty seconds to rinse up,” Adam said. “And not a second longer.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Dan said.
He walked in and found the nearest shower head. Since he was only wearing a shredded up pair of pants, stripping down was easy. He turned the nob on the wall and began giving himself a rinse. He ran his hand through his dark hair and tried scrubbing his body as best he could without any soap.
Heavy footsteps from behind made Dan spin around.
“Your time is up,” Adam said. The agent threw him a stained grey towel.
“You know, if this is some dinner party, I’ll still probably stink up the place and ruin the event,” Dan said as he began rubbing the towel haphazardly throughout his body.
“No such luck,” the agent said. “Your armor is next to the sink over there. Dry yourself off and we’ll get this over with.”
Adam spun on his heel and walked away at a brisk pace. The agent clearly wasn’t int he mood for a conversation. Neither was Dan.
If Dan was allowed to wear his armor again, he could only imagine what Judith had in store for him next. As if it could get worse than being thrown into some gladiator pit and fighting opponents to the death for the amusement of that bitch.
After drying himself off as best he could, Dan approached the sinks and saw his armor. The sleek Mk. II Stealth suit along with his dark long coat with the red dragon pattern on it. Putting on the armor was a mundane experience. For such an advanced piece of kit that could render his footsteps completely silent and stop small arms fire, putting everything on was almost as straightforward as putting a t-shirt and jeans.
Adam poked his skull helmet through the open doorway and said, “Time to go.”
Dan put on his gloves and the mask around his face before exiting the bathroom. Before he could take another step further, Adam pressed his palm against his chest.
“Before we get any further, I’m blindfolding you,” the agent said.
“Are you serious?”
“You’re a crafty little asshole, I’ll give you that. I wouldn’t put it past you to observe and memorize routes so that you can plan another prison break.” Adam took out what appeared to be a thick piece of fabric and then forcibly wrapped it around Dan’s head, covering his eyes. The texture of the fabric felt more like rubber than cloth.
Dan was spun around and he felt the familiar barrel jammed into his back. He had a feeling that it wouldn’t be smart to test out his armor’s durability against a point-blank shotgun blast.
“Move,” Adam ordered.
They barely reached ten steps before Dan attempted using his glare ability to burn his way through the blindfold, even if he risked possibly burning himself and his eyes. But it was no use. Even without the strange collar restricting his abilities, it didn’t work. The strange rubber-like texture of the fabric led him to believe that this material was somehow nullifying his supernatural powers. It wouldn’t surprise him if Kodak had some level of countermeasures ready against the Church of Nanotology.
Dan continued walking aimlessly, not knowing how much time had passed before he was shoved into a vehicle. He had the cold barrel poking the side of his head to remind him he was still under armed escort. The vehicle’s engines revved up before they went on a drive. At the very least, his nose wasn’t subjected to the scent of blood and human waste as the wind rushed toward his face on the ride.
The vehicle finally stopped before Dan heard the door open and a subtle gesture from Adam, which included a more forceful poke to his head, signaled for him to get out. Dan stepped out of the vehicle and felt Adam grab his blindfold from behind. The agent ripped the strange fabric off his eyes and Dan could finally open them to a large black structure in front of him. He had a second to check out his immediate surroundings.
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The sky was a blood red accompanied by distant staccatos. The entrance to the building in front of him had six Kodak agents standing guard, three on either side. Adam poked him with the barrel of his shotgun from behind ushering him to move.
The doors opened and his escort brought him inside. Dan was escorted through poorly lit hallways with lights so dim he had to squint to see anything beyond ten meters in front of him. They turned a corner and he was hit by lights that flickered so much that Dan believed a regular man would have suffered an epileptic seizure.
They stopped at a set of doors. The slabs of metal slowly parted away to reveal what resembled a throne room inside just like from the fantasy novels he had read from the rundown libraries he broke into as a kid. The cavernous interiors along with the elegant chandeliers along the ceilings were something he didn’t expect from Kodak. Judging from the appearance of their armor along with their brutality and bloodlust, he was expecting a lot more skulls to line the empty walls and more shades of red instead of the strangely muted tones of black and dark blue.
At the other end, he saw an elevated floor of the room where numerous assholes awaited them. The trio crossed the distance between the doors behind them and the steps up to the floor and Dan got a better look at who was waiting for him.
The familiar grin from Judith Blight was the first thing he saw as she waved at him. Beside her were two additional female Kodak agents who both shared a face he recognized. Lola Odyssey was the agent who wounded Jane during the mess in Amethyst. She stood next to the throne while her sister Colleen reserved her spot in it. Colleen was the high-ranking agent Dan briefly encountered during the heist while he was disguised.
An agent with long flowing blond hair had her back toward him. As she slowly turned around, Dan could feel his facial muscles twist as he saw the face of Kate.
“You fucking bitch,” he shouted.
Without thinking, Dan powered up to his berserk mode and was already dashing a few steps up to the upper floor before a powerful hand grabbed his collar and yanked him back. He landed flat on his back and a boot smashed onto his torso.
Dan immediately dug his fingers under Adam’s boot. He lifted the boot a few centimeters but stopped at Adam’s countering by pushing down.
The agent pointed his shotgun mere inches away from his face. “Calm the fuck down kid. You’re outgunned here.”
Even with the extra strength boost from the berserk, Dan had a hard time pushing underneath Adam’s boot. He reluctantly powered down. Adam still has his shotgun aimed at Dan for another few seconds before a fit of coughing briefly took the barrel out of his face. Then a voice cut through the tension.
“Alright Adam, I think he gets the picture. Pick him up,” Judith ordered. “And if he gives you any more trouble, don’t hurt him too bad.”
The agent took his boot off of Dan’s chest and grabbed him by the collar again, pulling him up to his feet. Adam coughed a few more times before clearing his throat.
Dan straightened out his collar and patted the arms of his coat before looking up at the upper floor were the trio of high-ranking Kodak females gazed down at him.
“Well, that’s quite the first impression from you Dan Orion,” Colleen said, still sitting in her throne. “I’ll have to ask you to practice some manners and etiquette for the remainder of your time here.” Colleen gave the signature Kodak grin. Dan wondered if all Kodak agents were trained to make the same face towards anyone who they deemed as inferior. “Though I can sympathize, Kate has pissed me off plenty of times before in the past.”
“I guess that’s one thing we can agree on,” Dan said. “But let’s cut the bullshit. Why the hell am I here? I’m obviously a VIP of some sort if Judith went through the trouble of capturing me.”
Colleen opened her mouth but Judith cut into the conversation. She walked in front of Colleen and stood in front of her. The blatant disrespect wasn’t lost on Dan. “It’s good to see you’re still in high spirits after your recent prison break and the matches I put you through. And yes, I did bring you here for a purpose. Do you have any guesses?”
“Fuck off Judith. You piss me off,” he spat.
Lola snickered at the exchange while Colleen remained silent.
“Well, good morning to you too,” she said, waving her hand. “Dan, are you satisfied with your position at the Alpha Corporation? If you have had any doubts about the way they treat you or the power you wield, I got an offer for you. How about you take my side as my champion warrior and you can reach new heights you never thought possible?”
Dan blinked at the offer. He looked back at Adam and the other Kodak agent who escorted him here. Both briefly exchanged glances at each other. When he looked back at the top of the floor, he saw Kate widen her eyes at Judith while Lola walked up to the agent with her arms crossed.
Colleen’s reaction was the most entertaining. Dan’s eyes were glued to the exchange when a hand grabbed Judith by the shoulder and she turned around to see Colleen glaring at her.
“Have you gone mad? What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t think I have to elaborate. What I just said can stand on its own,” Judith said. Dan couldn’t tell who was supposed to be in charge.
“I thought the reason behind his capture was to make him into a test subject to study the Arctic serum. It was the best we could hope for after our failed attempt at taking the shipment,” Colleen said. “If there’s a way to get the magic capabilities mass-produced to counter the Church of Nanotology, we need it now.”
“Dan has much more potential than being a mere sample for our scientists to study,” Judith pointed out.
“Did you even remember to deactivate the beacons in their armor when you brought them here?” Colleen snapped.
“Calm down,” Judith said with a dismissive wave. “I did that a bit later than I should have, but even if I didn’t, the Alpha Corp isn’t crazy enough to stick their necks out for two low tier agents. Even if they so happen to be the first few enhanced with their newest serum.” She turned and looked down at Dan. “If you accept my offer, I guarantee you will be on the fast track to better armor, guns, and proper training to hone your abilities.”
Colleen gave Judith a glare so intense that Dan thought she was performing the glare ability to disintegrate her on the spot.
“I already have one defected Alpha agent and she’s not exactly proving to be a valuable return on investment,” Colleen said. “What makes you think Dan is worth this ridiculous sales pitch of yours?”
“So what will it be Dan?” Judith said, ignoring Colleen. “Do you accept my offer?”
He didn’t hesitate to answer. “Fuck you and your offer.” He then glanced at Colleen and pointed his finger at her. “And don’t compare me to Kate. I’m not a snake who would abandon their comrades just because the grass is greener on the other side.”
“Well that was a waste of time,” Colleen said. “The kid said so himself. I don’t know what the fuck is going through your head Judith.”
The Kodak brunette turned her head toward Colleen and said, “Since I captured him, I reserve the right to do with him as I please. As far as anyone is concerned, I own him.”
“That is not how that works,” Colleen seethed
“The Bloodknights are not under your command Colleen. You have no say in what I do,” Judith said. She looked back down at Dan. “Since Colleen doesn’t believe you to be worthy of my time, how about I show her some real world results? We’re a bit short on active agents in this particular sector so how about you join some of the other convicts and hunt down some cultists with us?”
“What?” Colleen and Lola shouted in perfect unison.
Judith ignored the protest from the Odyssey twins. “You will accompany some of our agents and help cleanse this city of some vermin that are running amok on our streets. It beats rotting in a cell, don’t you think?”
Dan stared back up at Judith trying to detect any hint of sarcasm or deception in her words. If he was supposed to be their prisoner and had value to Kodak, why would he be sent out on a mission?
“Of course, this mission will be heavily supervised. You’ll specifically be tasked with hunting down a cult master from the Church who is suspected to be in this city, the one controlling all of these cultists. We’re already taking whatever bodies we can to throw at these pests, but we could use someone a bit more competent such as yourself to throw into the fire. Plus, it will make the twins here back off when they see how powerful you truly are.”
Dan looked around the room once more only to see the confused looks on everyone’s faces. “Do I have a choice?”
Judith gave him a predatory grin. “Bring him to the armory. We’re going hunting.”
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