Skelanimal jumped to his feet when he watched Midgard go down. He backed up, getting away from the edge. “Oh, crap. This ain’t good.”
Tapping his communicator, he called out, “Krampus. I’m gonna need help. My team is down. I ain’t got anyone to transport me back. Krampus?” There was nothing but fuzz.
Heroes moved away. Zooming off or boarding their vehicles. A few remained to work with the authorities on cleanup and rescue. Some also worked with BADGE to bring in the WMD members.
“Okay, so they’re busy, that’s good. I just gotta find...” he fell over when a boot hit him in the face. “ow!”
Nevets landed on the roof, ready to fight. His black dog zoomed to his side, a strange aura of shadow around the creature.
Skelanimal laughed, “Oh, I can deal with you.”
Suddenly he went flying forward after a kick to the back. A sword flew through the air and stabbed his loincloth into the rooftop, pinning him down. Shinobi stood there, another sword ready. “Go ahead, Skelanimal, try. I can have a dozen heroes over here in a matter of seconds. And, this time, you don’t have any extra power to help you.”
“Crap.”
Chase gagged and fought as Krampus pinned her to a wall, his claw around her throat. He growled at her, “WHAT DID YOU DO!?”
“I...I...” She tried to answer, but he was preventing her words.
He suddenly threw her away, slamming her against another wall. “I should have known you would betray me? How long have you known your true identity?”
She coughed and held her throat from the pain. “I...I don’t know...who I am...Just that...you have me trapped. This... this isn’t right. I had to help.”
He let off a little smile, “Help? Ha! You merely interrupted the distraction. That league attacking Tokyo was nothing compared to what is coming.”
She pulled herself up by use of the wall and said, “I don’t know everything about me. But, I will stop you if I can.” With a burst of motion, she threw her blades at him.
Krampus calmly caught each one, inches from his face, and then crushed them. “How pathetic. You are good. But, your skills are in thievery, not taking on a god.”
“You’re no god.”
“Soon I shall be. And many worlds will fear me as much as they once feared Legion. Now, I will allow you to live, that you may bear witness to my greatest triumph.” He turned from her, heading for Quark.
Chase stood there, unable to process this. She was completely free to move around, but she couldn’t do anything to stop him. He was far too powerful. All that remained for her was to sit here, in the darkness, and watch him destroy the world.
Skelanimal flew back against the wall of the same BADGE cell he had spent so much time in. All at once an arm hit him in the back and shoved his bony face against the metal surface.
Nova, holding him in this merciless position, yelled, “WHERE ARE THEY?”
Skelanimal fought against him, but found Nova stronger than he expected. “I ain’t talk’n”
Nova pressed harder, “You are lucky this cell is still being repaired. You would be in a world of pain.”
“I can handle it.”
Chromatic Death approached, “Woah, dude, you get’n serious. I like it.”
“What do you need?” Nova asked.
Chromatic said, “Oh, we just put all the WMD in special holding cells. Telepathic heroes are work’n to help them.”
Nova shoved harder on Skelanimal, just for the sake of his anger, “anything else, Chromatic?”
“Not bout them. But, I do have an idea with this one.”
Nova asked, “what?”
Chromatic worked his guitar for a moment and then said, “Can ya hear this?” He played something.
Nova said, “no.”
Skelanimal said, “Ow!”
Chromatic smiled, “Yup, the report on this scumbag said he’s got better hearing. Thought this might help. Hey, bonehead, I’ll stop this when you start talk’n,” He began a steady strumming that was amplified by his power.
Nova frowned as Skelanimal squirmed. Suddenly the glass surfaces on monitors and in the light fixtures popped and shattered. Several of the security robots reacted in strange ways, and a warning siren beeped.
Skelanimal whined and cried, finally yelling, “MAKE IT STOP, I’LL TALK, JUST MAKE IT STOP!”
Nova dropped Skelanimal, who flopped down on the floor in a pile. Chromatic stopped his guitar and leaned back against a nearby wall. “He’s all yours. I’ll just stick around to make sure he keeps talk’n”
Gar flew beside Santa’s sleigh, both gliding along over the frozen north. The bright sunlight above made the white world below glow with amazing brilliance. After a long distance of this traveling, the ice broke up and gave way to crystal blue waters. A few boats watched in awe at the spectacle above them.
“Where did Nova tell us to go?” Gar asked.
Santa swooped around him, “Iceland. That’s all Skelanimal knew. He said it was the WMD base, but we would need their help in finding it and they are in no shape to talk right now.”
“So, we search an entire country?” Gar asked.
“Well, Iceland isn’t exactly a large country.” Santa snapped the reigns and his sleigh shot off. Gar beat his wings and picked up speed to follow.
Chase held the side of a table, sporting some injuries from being thrown across the room. She wanted to find something like a knife or blade to throw. Even if he killed her for it, she had to injure him, to slow him down. Do something.
“What are you doing?” She whispered.
Krampus towered over the chair where Strange Quark was bound. He flicked switches and activated special power cords. “This is a little treasure from the days of Legion. Back, during their long reign of power, they came across people worthy of being part of the core of their villains. However, these people were too noble, too honorable to accept the offer to be members of Legion. They created this through study of psychic energies. It alters a person, changes them to indulge their most evil desires. I have changed it so it will not only turn a person to their darkest passions, but make them obedient to me.”
Chase slowly walked toward him, “You...you used that on me.”
“Good, very good. You do have some logic in you.”
“This desire in me to steal, to hurt people... that thing did this to me.”
Krampus stood back as the machine became active. “I only enhanced what was already in you. If you embrace this, you can join me and be a part of a new order.”
Chase thought about this for a moment and then watched the energy of the chair pour over that strange blue man. He woke up and started screaming. His eyes went wild, his body changed color over and over. The surging pain exploded out as horrible cries of agony.
“STOP!” Chase begged. “You’re hurting him!”
“I know. I don’t care.” Krampus pushed a lever, and the energy intensified.
Chase covered her ears in a futile attempt to block the sounds of this poor mans screams. She knelt down behind the table and wished she could run from this. Tears fell down her face as she desperately wanted to know who she was and why he wanted her. Why she was so important that he used her to bring about this horrible ending. Chase wept, blubbering out an inconsolable pain in her.
Suddenly, buried deep in her mind, she heard a voice. “Chase, you are not the person you once were. You are a hero now.” Who said his to her, she didn’t know. But, she knew it was the voice of someone she cared for, someone who she trusted implicitly.
“I am a hero.” She said through her tears. Then she understood something. If she was a hero, then her skills were meant for good now. “If I am a thief, then a thief I will be.” She jumped up and grabbed the sack with the ruby in it.
“NO!” Krampus saw here and reached out his claw. His sack nearly flew from her hands as he drew it toward him.
She grabbed it by the cords and yanked right back.
All at once, the cords loosened, and the sack flew back to him, while the ruby fell free. Chase jumped to grab it, but was caught in a wave of red power that exploded out from it. Even Krampus stumbled back by this surge. The Ruby did not fall. It hovered in the air, beaming a brilliant red glow.
“NO, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” Krampus called out.
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