Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?" –Revelations 13:4 Omni So, this is what Yohko had been planning from the very beginning. ......... I can't do anything but wait, wait and hope for the outside chance that we can kill something that's hopelessly more powerful than all of us put together. Wait...and think, and heal my wounds. Damn you, Yohko. We were in this together. You and I, Yohko, the striking swords of humankind, bent on enslaving these beasts, these freaks of genetic mutation, to our will. We were to become their masters, slaughtering those we saw fit and controlling those whom we chose. It was to be our revenge against the losses we felt: you your brother, and I my father. Ha...my father. I don't think I ever really loved him as a daughter should, but since he's been dead these three years, I actually miss the maniacal bastard. It's sad, and predictable, in a very human way. My father never liked the so-called heroes, those who had abilities normal people didn't, or shouldn't. He hated them. Foolish bigot—and I took after him. His pet project was the Inertial Compound substance, a tool that gave normal people the ability to briefly rob heroes of their powers. I think this is what I adored about him, really—the fact that he was willing to change things, to do something, and not just sit and complain. That's an admirable trait, isn't it? Well, no matter. He's dead, and his legacy is mine—locked right in this little prosthetic eye of mine. ......... "WHAT is it?!?!" "I don't think something like that would have a name!" Amielle, scared out of her wits, clutched onto Alicia's hand. I've never seen the Shadow Girl afraid of anything—but I have to admit, my own knees are buckling right now. It's the same all around: everyone you'd think would be able to stand up tall to this Thing is cowering, their entire bodies ready to shed their own flesh in fear. I can't say I blame them at all. I followed Yohko all the way here, listening to her explain the final bits of her plan. She had all the components; now all she needed was something to store it in, preferably a body, a strong one. I offered mine, but she turned me down. We'd need a really exceptional body to store this power in. A normal human would combust if they held it all. I think she meant to put it inside Pale. Yohko and I were surprised to find that woman here, the one that had wrecked our base. Such a power was hard to find, even in an age of festering freaks around every corner. I didn't know how she'd put all that power in that strong body—maybe by injection, or some other strange procedure—but to attack her like a vampire and draw the body into her own... Such a thing sickened me. Then, she began to change, into something I could not describe even if I had memorized a dictionary. The sheer monstrosity of the creature was baffling. It was...Everything. "Where's Yohko?!" I screamed at it. I saw the beast's face change, and nearly retched as the form became like my comrade's face. Yohko?! "I'm in here, Soma," it said—like a violin played the wrong way. "Isn't it grand? We have everything we've ever wanted right here. With the components of all these people, in the addition of my own body, plus my brother's remains, and the body of this she-devil, we can now execute our ideals! Just think of it! We can wipe out all the unnatural beings in this world, and make a final utopia for the pure-blooded humans!" "So what do you say?" it shrieked, the voice now completely different. It had the face of Yohko, but the face also shifted to a more masculine one, that of her twin brother, Yosuke Kamaguchi, dead all these years. Yes, Yosuke was killed by the same breed of creatures that slew my father, all the more reason for us to join forces. But...what had she become? I felt godlessly sick when one of the heroes looked hard at this monster, squinted, and shrieked. "Oh my god! Director Taichou!" ......... When Yohko Kamaguchi told me her plan to rid the world of the super-powered freaks, I jumped at the chance. We had both lost something precious to us, and we were willing to spill as much blood as possible to make up for it. I was to be her hand, her avenging angel, the one who went out and did all the killing—what superb fun. She had other tools at her disposal as well, such as the research lab where she tested and retested on the creatures we both despised. I think she had it in her mind to make the successful survivors a part of her main plan, but I didn't know the specifics. Another tool was the Ferret, innocent little hermaphroditic Ferret, who had no idea what she (he?) was getting into. When it came time for the Iron Arena Games, Yohko couldn't wait to show off her new playthings. I was going to rise to the top, show off my powers, and win the money she needed to conduct her research; the Ferret's job was more covert. Because sweet little Joanna could project a ghost copy of herself anywhere she chose, Yohko had her enter into the locker room of every twisted freak in the games, planting her nanotechnology onto their bodies. Just imagine, all that power being directly fed to her computer lab! The thought gave me wonderful chills, and it was almost as pleasant as the actual battles. I didn't know what she had in mind for all that accumulated power, nor did I care. I assumed she'd create some super-powerful weapon that would pinpoint the weaknesses of all freaks, and exploit them. With her knowledge of nanotechnology, she could even pick out which strand of DNA caused such a mutation, and destroy it, rendering all past, present, and future heroes sterile. Of course, I couldn't see the train coming; the light blinded me too much, and I paid for my consequences. I don't know which is worse: the fact that I actually depended on these abnormalities, or that we all lost. Granted, the odds weren't in our favor, but even so... ......... "Don't be so alarmed, Aura," said the voice of Taichou, director of MERCS. "You've known me for a long, long time. The truth is, Yohko Kamaguchi and I are one and the same! Didn't you figure it out? ...But of course not, how could any of you? We hid it so well! Only Sayonada, our beloved godfather, knew the truth. For years, Yohko perfected the art of disguise, even going so far as to endure torturous experiences with a DNA synthesizer. The end result was the unnatural ability to change her gender—from Yohko to Yosuke, or as you all know him, Director Taichou." I don't think any of these heroes had a snappy comeback for that one. "Insidious!" spat the Spoon Man at last. "What was it all for?!" "Actions speak louder than words, my idiotic friend. Let me demonstrate! I see you cowering before me, thinking I am some terrific danger for you to defeat! Well, come and get it, then! Let's see if you have what it takes! I'm just aching to test this new body out!" "This could be trouble," murmured Thunder-Claw, but the heroes went after it anyway. Their efforts were completely futile. Thunder-Claw struck first, impetuous fool. He shot the Omni-creature with his strongest volt, but the being absorbed it, relishing its flavor, and sent it hurtling right back, twice as strong. The Stalker, Amielle, roared as the demons of the netherworld rushed to attack this monster, but the light of a hundred stolen powers washed the shades away. BK Power ran out and struck the being with all her might, but the attack bounced right off, sending her hurtling backwards. In response, Omni struck the ground hard, knocking everyone flat on their backs. It laughed madly. "HAHAHA!!! It really worked! I have all those powers and more! Go on, go on! Let's see more! Give me more, I say!!" "If that's what you want," Alisti growled, "then you'll get it." Everyone cleared a path for the Disintegrator as she unleashed her biggest blast, and I think even Omni recoiled in pain. A section of its body had been totally erased, and for awhile, things looked good. But the sickening sound of regeneration slithered through the silence, and its body became whole in seconds. Alisti blasted it again, and again—and fainted, weary from exhaustion. Omni laughed and regained its form, begging for more. It was pointless to try. I figured it out before anyone else: Omni had stolen the superpowers of every hero and villain that Yohko had ever came into contact with. All those experiments, all those fighters, all those people working for MERCS—all those warriors in the city during those nightmarish days—she had recovered them all, and stuffed them together, fusing with her the flesh of her dead brother and the flesh of the evil golem, Kali, the only body that could handle such power. I figured this out; everyone else was too stupid to notice. Then Pale stepped forth. Things got a little more interesting. ......... Yeah, I was in love with Yohko. I loved her like nothing else. She wasn't a woman, she was a goddess, powerful and wonderful, beautiful and strong like a river. We understood each other like sisters, and many times we worked and slaved on the same projects, finding our paths intertwining like the sweating flesh of lovers. And yes, on many nights, we did find sexual gratification with one another, beautiful and boundless as the heavens. I knew her heart burned for another, but I didn't care. In that moment, Yohko was mine, and I took her for all she was worth. Seeing her turn into that thing broke my heart. It was worse than the death of my father. At least I could strike back at the offending evil, find a goal and shoot for it, and even have some fun along the way. Yet how could I avenge myself against this, against the only person I ever loved, my comrade and sister-in-arms? I fought her anyway. What she had turned into disgusted me. And maybe I did hate her a little bit. She was...she was... ...... "YOHKO KAMAGUCHI, YOU ARE EVEN WORSE THAN THEY ARE!!!" The heroes laid in piles, every one of them defeated, some unconscious. Those who were strong lifted their comrades to safety; those who could heal tended to the wounded. Cobra's arm grew back; it seemed ordinary compared to the filth before us all. Alicia wept, feeling her first true sting of failure. I noticed Amielle tending to her, giving her love, making me sick. But most of my focus was on the demon, the thing before me, the one who had betrayed me, and herself. I told her what she was and stood by my accusation. "Soma, my dear, what do you mean?" "Just look at yourself!" I screamed. "Look at what you've turned into! Yohko, how could you? I respected you! I admired you! I loved you, for God's sake! I thought you were going to destroy the freaks, not become worse than them!" "Soma, don't you understand? I'm not worse; I'm better, far better than all of them. I have all their best traits and none of their weaknesses. I have all the best traits of man, my brother, and of woman, myself. I even have that body, the product of magic. I am completely perfect! I am the apex of evolution! Some day, every human will be like this! We'll all be equal at last!" "You sick scum!" I shouted. "You deluded, beastly, inhuman monster! Do you even know what you're doing?! Yohko...you've betrayed what we both stood for! You've turned traitor! You're a freak amongst freaks, a degenerate legion of mashed-up abnormalities and nightmares! I hate the so-called superheroes...I hate them with all of my heart, all of my mind, and all of my soul...but even they are not as bad as this! If it comes down to choosing sides—whether I'll choose their side or yours—then I'll take their side any day of the year!!!" The thing looked at me with some scary semblance of sadness. I shuddered in my rage. "And you have the nerve to call me traitor... Well, I suppose if that's your choice..." And until that day, I never knew real pain. ......... I was carried back along with the others. We were able to escape thanks to Pale; she used nearly all her powers just to subdue the monster long enough to open an escape for us. We all fled, but I think that Yohko could've followed us if she wanted to. ...No...it's not Yohko anymore. It is the Devil itself, the very incarnation of him. And so now, we're all here, some miles off, sitting and waiting, recovering and idling. I was tended to—not by Siren, thank goodness, but by Wainright. We didn't exchange many words; she just used what little powers she had left over to restore my body. "...I don't suppose this means we're all square," she said. I shook my head. "Not by a longshot. I meant it when I said I'd prefer you all over that, but only because you're the lesser of two evils. Get this into your head, kid: I still hate you and your kind. My father is dead because of a stupid crossfire between two conflicting sides, both of which just happened to consist of super-powered monsters. And don't tell me you're sorry either," I pointed, "because sorry isn't going to take away three years of pain and madness! Don't you even dare!" "...All right. So what will you do now?" "What can I do?" I mumbled, gesturing wildly. Good, my arms were okay, and my legs too. One prosthetic implant is enough for me. "You were in that battle, you saw what that thing did. None of us could touch it. All I can do is wait. Once you're done with me, get the hell out of my sight, and tell your friends likewise." "I don't believe that will be necessary," she said. Wainright finished her work and left me in my solitude—good. She went back to healing her friends, and I went back to my thoughts. We were all licking our wounds, wondering what was going to happen next. As soon as we all got here, somebody came up with a last-ditch effort to save our hides. It probably wouldn't work, and the odds were against all of us, but I'm not too proud to say that I hoped everything would turn out all right. After all, if I'm still alive by tomorrow, I'll have a few scores to settle. ......... "It's pointless to fight that thing," Shalis said, her shoulder supporting Namie. "If we go back and challenge it again, we'll only get ourselves killed. I am grateful that everyone made it out alive, sort of, but we shouldn't take any more chances." "Would you let that thing go free, then?" grumbled Sally. "You know what'll happen if it runs into any other heroes. It won't spare them." "Do you think it spared us?" "How else would you explain the ease of our escape?" "Easy? You call that easy?!" "We did get away. If it wanted to, it could've followed us." Shalis snorted. "So do you have any ideas? If you're up to saving all your pals, by all means, share your thoughts." Sally just shook her head; nothing was coming up. Everyone was asked their opinion, but nobody had anything better to give—nobody, that is, except for Alyssa Hunter. "There is one thing we could try," she said. "It might not work, but it's better than nothing." "What is it?" "Fighting that creature directly will do us no good. If we go up against it in arms again, we'll only die. We're just not strong enough." "Oh yeah? And how in the world did you figure that out?" "Will you let me finish? Anyway, our powers are nothing next to that thing...but there is one power in the world greater than all of ours, even greater than that monster's, or so I'm hoping. A power like this can change the world itself...or, if twisted, destroy a person to a level that is unimaginable." A silence, a long one. Joyce spoke up first. "What do you mean?" "Get me a cell phone. If I'm right, and I pray to God I am, there's only one person alive that can help us now. ......... Ring-ring! Ring-ring! "MERCS headquarters, front desk, this is Lin, how may I help you?" "Lin, this is Siren. Get me Yui Miyamoto, and hurry." To be continued...
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