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Mob Rules, the conclusion Sunday, 26-Sep-1999 09:37:52
Chapter 12 "You gave your name…" the Apostate hissed slowly, "…to her?" "Well… yeah" Visionary answered carefully, not so sure that this plan was as well conceived as he had thought. Of course, nothing looks quite as promising once you find yourself chained to a wall and surrounded by insane cultists. Life's funny that way. "A thousand pardon's Your Holiness…" Brother Ashe broke in, "But if the armored female has found our Chapter House, then…*hurk*!!!!" The man collapsed wheezing as a vicious backhand from the Apostate caught him in the throat. "You gave your name…" he growled again, "to some two-bit, tin-plated, tart?" "Now you're just being rude" Visionary II chided, shifting her somewhat bored stance. "You had no RIGHT!" The horned villain roared, slamming a fist into the chained man's gut. Visionary doubled over as much as his restraints would allow as a crippling pain shot through his torso. "I was to be your replacement!!! It is *MY* appointed task!" An uppercut threw Visionary's head back, bouncing it off the stone wall. "Our creator decreed it! YOU HAD NO RIGHT!!!" As sparks of light danced around the edges of his vision, it occurred to Visionary that being the focus of a man's obsessive delusions was not quite as flattering as it should be. He also vaguely wondered if Jarvis was still feeling his pain. He certainly hoped so… the broken finger the butler had left him with was throbbing nicely now in addition to his tenderized internal organs. It seemed only fair that Jarvis should share in this as well. "Now… take it easy on the guy…" the armored woman called, staying safely in the center of the room. "He's had a busy day, you know." With hate in his eyes, the Apostate spun away from his battered nemesis. "BURN!" he commanded of the woman in a voice that left little room for argument. She stood unfazed. "Ah… no." she answered, polishing her nails on her breastplate. "I don't believe I will." "You… you're immune…" His eyes widened in disbelief. "How can you be immune?! You're just an imposter, a pretender to the name!!! You can't have *his* protection! You're a fraud, nothing but a fake!" "Hey!" she cried indignantly, coming to full attention. "I'm real, dammit!" "Your Holiness!" one of the cultists interrupted, with a nervous glance towards the still prone Brother Ashe who was quietly gasping for air. "The sentries have just reported in from the tunnels! The Chapter House is under siege by Legionnaires!" "No…" the Apostate declared, trembling with rage. "this doesn't end yet!" "The hell it doesn't" Lisa answered from her chains. "I, for one, have much better things I could be doing with my time." "*urk*" Visionary managed in agreement. "Well… since we're all in agreement…" Visionary II said cheerfully, bringing her arms together, palms outward towards the cult leader. An angry green glow began in the center of each hand. "…How about you come along quietly?" The Apostate nodded to the cultist near the door, who slammed his fist down upon a large red button. "Ah… no." he echoed. "I don't believe I will." Red light filled the bunker, along with a steady chiming. "In twenty seconds, all this communications equipment will explode" he informed her as he walked calmly towards the door. He held up a small, pen-like device. "This is a deadman's switch for the same explosives. Your priorities are, of course, your choice." The rookie hero kept her repulsors trained on him as he headed for the door, but shot a quick glance to the chained Legionnaires. "Uh… Which should…" "You're kidding…" Lisa said, cutting her off with a meaningful glance. "… Right?" "Our orders are to hold the corridor at any cost!" One of the robed cultists cried fervently. "To battle, my Brothers!!!" Ten of the men charged to the attack. "Art these cannon fodder at least ninjas, or some such thing?" Donar asked Jarvis skeptically as the brown horde advanced on them. "A challenge less embarrassing for a warrior born?" "Nah… just religious types. Disillusioned farmers and such." Jarvis answered, signaling the manga armored Yakusa troops at their command to hold back. "But let's try to have some fun anyway." Donar sighed as he whomped the first one on top of the head with Mjalcom. The cultist crumpled quickly to the ground. "At least the fabled hordes of Hydra doth have rousing battle cries…" He negligently smashed another portly cultist into the wall with a backhand swing of the bat. "And the battalions of AIM doth tickle mine funny bone by donning buckets over their villainous heads." He casually punched a skinny bald cultist in the face, causing the man to do a full aerial somersault before crashing to the tunnel floor. "But these base varlots are as free of engaging chatter as they are drearily garbed. They doth offer little entertainment value." "You know," Jarvis pointed out, waiting for the godly Legionnaire to share a cultist or two. "Not every adventure we have can be wildly entertaining." "You'd think there would be an off switch" Visionary II said, ripping wires out of the equipment hand over hand. "I mean, these people don't seem all that reliable… I'd bet someone has leaned on that self-destruct button at one time or another." "Five seconds, dear" Cheryl reminded her calmly. "I'm not finding any explosives" the armored woman answered. "Do you think he was lying?" "I don't know…" Lisa said, "He seemed like such a trustworthy masked megalomaniac." "Hey, I'm new at this!" Visionary II snapped as she finished gutting the last of the equipment. "Cut me some slack." "It's a moot point anyway" Cheryl said. "If we were going to explode, it would have happened already. Now, perhaps you could unchain us? My wrists are chaffing something awful." "Oh… right" She quickly snapped the manacles restraining the Legionnaires, and managed to catch the battered Visionary as he came free from the wall supports. "You know" he said in a hoarse voice, "You could have jumped in there and helped…" "The plan was to keep him talking until the reinforcements could arrive, remember?" Visionary II responded cheerfully. "He was still talking at that point. Besides, I kept you from getting shot in the head. Don't be such a baby." "Nice outfit" Tina observed, massaging her temples where the explosive headband used to be. The armored woman gave a little spin to show off her chassis. "The color scheme wasn't my first choice" she said critically, "but it's got some nice lines, doesn't it?" "Definitely" Starseed said approvingly. "Hey, waitaminute! I can talk again!" Tina concentrated, then nodded. "The Apostate's too far out of range for him to use his powers on us." "I say" Yo chimed in, "That's a relief. I found that man to be rather boorish, I'm not afraid to tell you…" Lisa hugged the proper British man. "My poor, poor Yo… how do we fix this?" Cheryl tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I believe a bunny injection is in order." "A what now?" Starseed asked. Cheryl scooped up the freed purple bunny and it snuggled close to her. "As I understand it, Yo's Pure Thought Energy has been contaminated by conformity. I'm willing to bet a fresh idea could shatter that conformity and bring back the old Yo." She stroked the pure thought bunny. "I'd say this little guy could spare a thought or two." "You sure that's such a good idea?" Lisa asked, holding onto Yo protectively. "I mean, that critter was made out of Visionary's thought energy… Won't that make Yo a bit… slower?" "Hey!" Visionary objected loudly, still curled up on the floor (and trying to move as little as possible), more-or-less where his successor had left him. Cheryl chuckled. "Be nice" she admonished Lisa. "Besides, I'm fairly sure stupidity isn't contagious." The lawyer snorted. "You have a kinder view of the world than I have." After retrieving a syringe from the Chapter house's deserted infirmary, Cheryl proceeded with the experimental bunny injection. The results were rather startling. Yo's dapper British gentleman's exterior literally shattered like glass, revealing a happy, ambiguous and familiar form underneath. Yo joyfully declared this condition to be "sucking much less", and was careful to assure the rest of them that, while he hated being less than Pure Thought Energy, the condition looked very cute on the rest of them. At this point Jarvis and Donar joined them, flanked by twenty or so manga Yakusa troops. "I just got a call from NTU" Jarvis was explaining. "Providing that the maps we found of the sewers are correct, the rest of the Legion and Yakusa have every possible exit from this place staked out. Nobody's come out since Donar and I came in." "Or so they believe…" Starseed grumbled. "No… NTU set up electronic monitors" Jarvis assured them. "Should they be tripped, we'll all get the alarm. The Apostate might be able to make the guards on site believe nothing was wrong, but not the rest of us." "Clever" Tina said with more than a hint of admiration. "Using his inability to affect machines to snare him." "So… that's that, then." Starseed said hopefully. "We wait for the police to come and sweep out the tunnels, then all go home and call it a day." "Not quite" Jarvis answered. "Wherever the Apostate went, he took god-knows how many cultists with him…" Donar gave a derisive snort. "And we still have that little unresolved matter of the nuclear bomb." Yo looked worried. "You are not thinking that the uncute man could be using it on Pariodiopolis?" Donar laid a hand on the odd Legionnaire's shoulder. "Nay, friend Yo… only a fool of epic proportions would want to lay waste to such a fabled realm as Parodiopolis!" "Um… speaking of fools…" Lisa said, looking around the room. "What happened to the Visionaries?" "This is stupid" Visionary II said, following her predecessor down the dank corridor. "I don't know why I'm helping you." Visionary shrugged. "You're a Visionary now…" he said with a wry smile. "Stupidity is part of your legacy." "Wonderful" she grumbled. "Maybe there's an opening for a 'Jarvis II'." She stopped and grabbed hold of his arm. "Alright, spill it. Before we go another step, explain the point of all this. Still trying to be the hero?" His face flushed a guilty, angry red. "You heard them… the Apostate has to be stopped." She folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah? Well, I can think of about fifty people more qualified for the job than you." "Hey! Why not me? I'm immune to his powers…" "As am I, not to mention Yo… Tina, if she concentrates…" She gave him a level gaze. "Anyway, even if you weren't already beaten to a rather sorry pulp, he'd be out of your league. You're no fighter. So I ask you again, what are you trying to prove?" "Rather blunt, aren't you?" Visionary answered moodily. She shrugged. "What do you expect? I've only known you since that whole mess with Virtual Zemo. Now stop trying to avoid the question." He glared at her, then finally sighed. "You heard him… I'm useless. I've lived here for more than half a year, and what have I accomplished? Everybody else on the team has saved the world ten times over…" "Hey… it's a TEAM" she pointed out. "There's no 'me' in T-E-A-M. Wait… there is if you rearrange the letters…" She shook her head. "Nevermind… I hate pithy clichés anyway. What I'm saying is… you're a part of the team…" "On the advice of legal council! They didn't even want me!" He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and thrust it at her. "Take a look at this…" She did so. "Hmmm… okay" she said carefully, flattening out the document. "This would seem to be a placemat from 'Denny's' with a half-finished crossword puzzle on it." "What?" he asked, grabbing the paper back from her. "By the way… 21 across is 'jambalaya'." "Aw crap" he muttered. "Well… the actual print-out must be in *Jarvis's* pocket…" he explained sheepishly. "But if this were it, you'd see that he never wanted me in the Legion in the first place!" "Yeah?" She asked, tilting her head to look at him curiously. "So?" "So?!? He felt I never deserved to be on the team from day one … and he was right!" Visionary exclaimed. "I have to prove that I can pull my own weight with the Legion! I can be more than a screw-up, dammit!" "Not likely" she said calmly. "At least, not as long as you keep your head up your ass." He blinked. "What?" She sighed and shook her head. "Look, you're as obsessed as this Apostate creep." She leaned in until they were nose-to-faceplate. "I admit… I had fun back there, playing the hero… but that's not who I am. Maybe someday, but not today." She pulled back and gestured to her armor. "This… is bullshit. You don't change clothes and become a different person… and you *certainly* don't trade places with anybody." She started pacing. "You spent all that time in Jarvis's body, with Jarvis's powers… and you didn't learn that you *weren't* Jarvis? You thought that you could be him, if you only tried hard enough?" She turned on him, looking very angry for a person with no visible facial features. "And when that failed, you changed tactics, didn't you? When you first told me of this whole idea, I thought you were actually being clever! Exploit the bastard's insecurities… his moronic need to be you!" She was practically yelling at him now. "But you actually believed it yourself, didn't you? You had visions of yourself going down in a blaze of glory, and me actually being your replacement!!! The new, more competent Visionary, carrying on the tragic legacy of the original!!!" "Well… I had hopes that it wouldn't come to that…" he said in a small voice. She glared at him. "I should tell Cheryl, and let her kick your sorry ass from here to Timbuktu." He was visibly paled by this threat. "But… Dammit, I need to *be* somebody!" "Idiot!" she snarled, then let out a long sigh. "Look… I don't know how you got on that team, but I do know why you're still there. It's because *they* want you there." She looked at him thoughtfully. "What I don't know is this… Do you want to be there?" He stood there a moment before answering. "Of… of course I do! They're my friends!" "Then tell me this… how does measuring up to them as a hero have any bearing on them being your friends?" "I… I…" Visionary was saved from having to answer this question by the sudden appearance of forty well-armed cultists stepping out of the shadowed corridor to surround them. He wasn't sure how to take the fact that he was relieved. "So good of you to come" the Apostate purred sarcastically. The Visionaries stood in an immense underground amphitheater with countless robed cultists aiming weapons at them. The villain sat upon a huge throne that dominated the 'stage', while his followers lined the chamber in ascending rows. "I've had a change in plans" "Um… okay" Visionary answered carefully. "I'm so glad you approve" the horned man said dryly. "I've decided to destroy Parodiopolis while I have the chance. Oh, sure… It may take a while longer to get people to believe that it was the opening gambit in a world war, but I have faith that it can be accomplished." "Faith? You?" an angry voice barked. "I think not." The cultists parted to let one of their own come through. He had an odd gate to his walk, as well as bloodstains in a rather embarrassing part of his robes. "Brother Bartek?" The Apostate said dangerously. "I thought you were still recuperating from your loss of… face. Have you lost your manners as well? And are you now eager to have your head follow?" Brother Bartek drew himself up to his full height before his former high priest. "My Brothers, I have been visited by our god!" he stated in a voice that carried to the furthest row. "And he has denounced his priest as a charlatan! A false prophet, leading us from the Master's true glory!" Bartek looked upon the Apostate with pure hatred. "He has named ME his new disciple!" The cultists were exchanging worried glances, not sure how to take any of this. "You dare much" the Apostate said coldly. He turned his eyes to his flock, who were riveted on this exchange. "Have I not lead you to greater glory in a few short months than you had achieve throughout all of your existence? How could I not have done this without our Lord Parody Master's will? Your Brother Bartek's shame and humiliation have taken a toll on his sanity. Behold, I will show you the true light! I will call forth our god himself to testify!!!" The cultists paled at this news, and many of them prostrated themselves on the ground while the Apostate began chanting in Latin. Visionary felt the room grow noticeably colder, and the torches along the wall began to sputter. The villain's chanting slowed as he looked about in concern. "Yes… let us hear the testimony of the Lord" Bartek called spitefully as a dark shape began to form in the air before the throne. Finally, with a crash of distinctly red lighting, and the stench of sulfur, an immense, almost painfully dark and indistinct creature hovered above them all. Those cultists that did not instantly flee in terror quickly joined their prone brethren. The Parody Master looked around him and chuckled evilly. "And that, my beloved children, is how one makes an entrance." "Um… you see something too, right?" Visionary II asked her predecessor. Visionary just nodded, not trusting his voice to stay below a falsetto. The Apostate backed away from the 'deity' slowly, nearly falling over his throne in the process. "Surprised to see me, are you?" the Master asked mildly. "You certainly live up to your name… you never once did believe in my existence, did you?" A huge, dark, claw-like appendage reached out for the armored man… only to pause before it closed around him. "That ignorance is your saving grace… had you believed I existed at all, I would have to flay you eternally for your arrogance in speaking for me. As it stands, however, you have supplied me with something I scarcely dreamed possible…" The god's face twisted into an obscene smile, "loving children which I can guide in the true faith. With the organizational structure you've built, I can reach into all the bastions of mankind's power. For such a generous gift, some gesture of gratitude is customary, is it not?" The claws closed about the Apostate, passing through his flesh without tearing it. The man convulsed, and let out a chilling scream of agony. The Parody Master lifted him off the ground and held him to his own eye level. "See then, non-believer, the truths which you deny…!" The Apostate stopped screaming and suddenly began trembling at unknown visions. That soon gave way to convulsions. With a laugh and a negligent gesture, the dark god tossed him like a rag doll across the amphitheater. He crashed in a metal heap, with one of the horns of his steel mask snapping off and his body twitching spastically. Brother Bartek looked extremely smug. The rest of the cultists looked ready to pass out from terror. The Parody Master turned his awful attention to the Visionaries. "I have already informed Baron Zemo of the location and existence of the nuclear device" he said in a bored voice. "He shall make proper use of it when the time is right." He paused and looked closely at Visionary, then grinned broadly. "Future Chronicler, please do tell the Council that they are already far too late… Pallas is a fool to think otherwise. And let the lady Jury know that I eagerly await our wedding night." He turned away from them then, and spoke to his remaining followers. "Come my children… you have so much to learn." With that, he and the cultists faded into darkness and vanished. The two heroes stood there for a few moments breathing heavily. "Well, that was pretty creepy…" Visionary II finally managed, heading to gather up the trembling remains of the Apostate. She hefted him by the back of his breastplate and carried him down to the waiting Legionnaire. He didn't struggle. "So what do you suppose this vegetable saw?" "I think… I'd rather not know." Visionary answered, seeing the pathetic wretch that once seemed so formidable. "So what was that stuff about Chronicler, Pallas and Jury?" "I have absolutely no idea" he admitted, then added "and I think I'd rather not know." "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!" a voice roared from the entrance to the amphitheater. Jarvis stormed in, followed by the other Legionnaires. He looked rather pissed… even for Jarvis. "Just wrapping things up" Visionary II said cheerfully, dropping the Apostate with a thump and casually stepping over his twitching form. "How about you?" Jarvis opened his mouth to yell some more, but apparently couldn't adequately phrase his response. Cheryl silently embraced her husband, and then promised to scold him later. "So if it's over, where are the rest of the cultists?" Lisa asked curiously. "We caught a few of them running out of the sewers like they had the hordes of hell on their tails." "Damn near" Visionary sighed, not letting go of his wife. "Ha…" Visionary II shook her head, "You wouldn't believe it if we told…" She was interrupted by a primal scream. In a flash, the Apostate was up, lunging at Visionary with the jagged, sharpened horn from his broken mask clutched in his trembling hand. The Legionnaire froze in shock as the armored man brought the makeshift dagger down with tremendous force… plunging it into the chest of Visionary II as she flung herself between the men. Starseed was the next to react, letting loose a "GAHHH!" scream that sent the villain sailing across the room to smash into the throne and finally collapse, unconscious. Visionary II looked down at the jagged horn that was embedded deep into her heart. "Always make sure that the bad guy is truly incapacitated before turning your back on him…" she said to herself. "I should have known that one, even as a rookie." Visionary looked at her with concern, as the others stared in shock. "Um… are you okay, Hallie?" "Hmmm? Oh! Yeah, I just need to fire up the Movie Gun and hop back into the VR world to do a few repairs…" "Hallie?" Jarvis finally managed, still in a bit of shock. "Of course" she answered. "Who did you think it was?" Epilogue: Akiko Masamune discretely checked her watch again. She truly hated these meetings… Surprisingly, being in charge of them only seemed to make them all the more tedious. "What's the current estimate of cult activity in the Cartel?" she asked. "We've ferreted out any cult members in the higher echelons of power…" Dominic Cortese, new head of the Italian families replied. "However, it's hard to say who any of the young up-and-comers are faithful to… and we've had to do some heavy recruiting just to make ends meet." That was an understatement. Things had finally settled down in the underworld circles as the struggles for powers had been played out. An out and out mob war had been averted, once the Apostate (long may he rot in that mental institution) had been revealed as the mastermind behind the bombing of the last Cartel meeting. Still, by then a significant number of family members had been 'retired'. Of course, Akiko had come out on top, as she had predicted. It hadn't hurt that she had rather special connections to back herself up… A few leaks to the Legion about her adversaries' plans had resulted in a number of plots against her being squashed by the heroes… all in the name of justice, of course. In fact, the Legionnaires probably believed that themselves. They were, in fact, much easier to control that way. And now they were fast becoming world famous… a respectable team of heroes with a booming membership. Far too respectable to be associated with the likes of her. She flipped to her weekly report on the Legion contained in the Yakusa briefing documents. Jarvis had returned from the dead, but spiffy had taken his place. Visionary was still on leave… She turned to the last page in the folder, a handwritten contract with a number of signatures at the bottom. It proclaimed them loyal Yakusa family members… with a few small provisions. She chuckled to herself. Would those beloved heroes be willing to bend those provisions in order to keep their ties to her a secret? Yes, the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that her predecessor's main mistake was trying to avoid the cosmic conflicts that erupted from time to time. *That* was where the real power was. It was a game she felt ready to play, one with an entirely new set of rules. With the Legion in her pocket, willingly or not, she had the players lined up. As for the rest of it, if there was one lesson she had learned in her lifetime of organized crime, it was this simple fact: Whoever has the most power makes the rules. And Akiko Masamune liked power… Visionary |
| Mob Rules, the conclusion (Visionary) (26-Sep-1999 09:37:52) |
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