Chapter 5

Flashback

“Where do I come from and who are my parents?” John asked as his guardian sat down in a

chair across from him. He remained silently for a long time as he stared at John with his stern eyes.

“The world is full of many secrets but… the answer to the unknown lie within.” He said

causally as he stood his feet and began away toward the steps of their nicely sized home. John sat confused wondering what he even meant by that. It didn’t answer where he came from at all.

Present

John came out of his daze as he peered out of the window of the helicopter. He hated being in

high places but he remained calm as he looked to see them flying over the ocean. After a while he looked over at Diane who sat silently with her eyes closed. Shane was in the front with the pilot who apparently was hired a while back. Celina was dressed in dark blue combat suit and had her hair pulled back. Everyone seemed focused and ready except for John.

The problem was that he wasn’t ready for this and he honestly didn’t want to be here. 

After a few minutes of flying over the ocean a strange island came into view. It was shrouded

by a strange fog. There was a large facility at the top of a mountain. There were trees everywhere surrounding the mountain. The sand on the beach was a light gray as the waves of the water caused the said to become darker. The atmosphere gave John an unsettling feeling as they landed on the beach. Everyone got off the helicopter and began headed toward the mountain.

“Superhumans are bound to be lurking everywhere.” Diane said as she sped past everyone.

John, Shane and Celina followed Diane. As they continued to run explosions could be heard in the distance causing everyone to begin running faster. The trees were a dark eerie green and as John ran everything felt blurry. He hardly paid attention the scenery as he examined the area for threats. He moved swiftly behind these people he hardly knew. He kept his distance because he didn’t know if he could trust them either. After a while they confronted by a group of people.

They were super humans who appeared to have killer intent. John darted forward as he

withdrew his combat batons. One of the superhumans stepped forward and lunged at John. With much ease John evaded the attack as he began to attack his attacker’s legs with the batons. The man cried out in pain as he slammed his fist on the ground causing the ground to shake.

John nearly stumbled but managed to keep his balance.

Diane appeared beside John and delivered a devastating blow to the superhuman. The man

went hurdling into a tree as another superhuman appeared. She had low level electrical abilities. John was able to evade her attack easily as he lunged forward and tackled her to the ground. She covered her face as John heard her whimper in fear. He sighed as he grabbed her and picked her up.

“Get out of here!” John ordered.

The young woman stared at him nervously for a moment before running away from her

comrades. Shane appeared and shot a flurry of arrows at the other superhumans charging. As

they continued running the arrows exploded around them while some got hit head on by the

blast. John watch as Celina threw beams of energy at things in the area causing them to begin

floating in the air. He watched her closely as she began to throw the floating objects at the

superhumans sending them crashing to the ground.

He realized she was possibly telekinetic. These people were all well trained and fought

strategically compared to the superhumans. John slowed down as he stopped to see the destruction they were causing. He didn’t understand how this was helping Diane’s cause. John started to continue after them until a woman appeared in front of him. She was wearing tribal like clothing and had a serious look on her face. He watched as bright ball of energy formed in between her

hands.

Slowly, he felt the air pulling him toward her. He struggled to hold his ground as the earth

gave way. John looked to see his friends still fighting. Around him people were being pulled into the energy. The woman’s hands moved rapidly and the energy grew. Around John things were turning to ash. With a look of shock John saw a man dissolved into ash. John breathed heavily as he grew anxious. His clothes faded away as the energy spiraled. With his hand raised he saw the tips of his glove disappear. His skin peeling away to reveal bone. He roared in pain as he pushed

forward.

All he could hope to do know was stop the woman from killing anymore people. Two

superhumans died the moment he started getting closer. John dug in his pouch on his utility belt and withdrew a taser.

“I refuse to live in a world where people only want to hurt others!” John exclaimed.

Now standing before the woman she appeared baffled by something. John noticed most of his flesh was gone. John was practically a walking corpse at this point as the strange mist covered his body. The woman screamed as John shoved the taser in her side. A loud cracking sound erupted as the energy dispersed. John went hurdling backward onto the ground. He his head causing him to wince in pain as Diane appeared. She had what appeared to be a confused look on her face. John figured she was surprised he survived the woman’s attack.

“You’re not human after all.” She said as she helped John to his feet.

John’s clothes were ruined and his goggles were broken. He threw the goggles to the ground

as they began trudging up a hill. The fighting had mostly ended for the moment. John was

relieved because he didn’t want to have to deal with another superhuman like that. The wounds on John’s body were disappearing as the mist continued to emit from John’s body. He noticed Diane appearing to examine him as they walked together.

“A lady with these strange claws told me to find Dr. Lee.” John said as he heard Diane make a

grunting sound. He glanced over at her to see her looking down toward the ground.

“Estella has always been loyal to my father. She might know where he is.” Diane said as John

nodded slowly.

They both took off running as they continued to ascend up the hill. They continued to fight

the superhumans that came at them the closer they got to the facility. John could feel that time was against them as he began to hear monstrous howls. There were creatures on this island as well as superhumans. As they continued moving and fighting the superhumans began to retreat.

“Something’s coming so let’s hurry and get inside.” Shane ordered as they follow ended up

on a trail that led directly to the facility.

John glanced over his shoulder before he continued ascending up the trail. After hiking for a

few more minutes they finally made it. The sky was darkening which meant the afternoon had already begun. The doors to the facility had been blown open. John began to feel something strange as he could hear this gust of air blow passed him. Why did he feel so on edge as he slowly took a step forward? John could feel his hands trembling as he stepped into the doorway.

From what he could see someone was already there. Dozens of bodies were scattered

everywhere covered in blood. A superhuman was sprawled on the ground drowning in her own blood. John felt this darkness growing worse inside of him. He didn’t know whether he was trembling in fear or rage. A hand touched his shoulder causing him to look over to see Diane with a worried look on her face.

“You alright?” She questioned as John looked away.

He continued to look at the carnage before him. John walked over to one of the bodies and

knelt down. It was the young woman with electrical powers. She was still alive but barely. John knelt down as the woman winced in pain as she breathed heavily. She sighed as she looked around at her allies.

“What happened?”

“A group of people dressed in black and red attacked. Some of them weren’t like anything

I’ve seen in this world.” She said as she started to groan in pain.

John sighed as he stood to his feet and turned away. He headed up the stairs while he noticed

the others split up. He felt relieved that Diane was allowing him to take his own path. It would allow him to make his own decisions here without the others berating him for not taking certain actions. John stepped into a hall where he saw a figure slaughtering what looked to be scientists.

As John stood silently the man turned around allowing John to see his face.  The man had deep pale skin with a fairly tall muscular build. The sclera of his eyes were dark silver and the iris were red. His armored clothing was black lined with bloody red colors. He wielded this unusual sword that seemed to be made of something unusual as well.

“It’s an honor to meet the young prince first.” He said in a deep and strange accent.

The figure smiled wickedly as he approached John. The man was giving John the same

feeling he felt at the entrance of the building.

“Who the hell are you?” John asked as he pulled out his batons preparing to fight for his life.

The man laughed as he darted forward with unnatural speed. John stepped back from the man. The sword nearly tore through John’s side. He stumbled to the ground as he moved again.

“Bezad …Trust… you shall learn more soon enough.” The man said in a strange

accent as he chuckled silently.

He turned and ran down the hall as John attempted to follow. Bezad turned a corner at the end of the hall.  When John got to the corner he was gone. John slammed his hand into the wall causing the wall to crumble. He looked at his hand surprised he managed to do that. What was happening to him? He wondered while heading up a set of stairs in search of Bezad.

John peered down both ends of the hall to see more bodies. He sighed as the eerie feeling

continued to get to him as he headed down the hall. At the end of the hall someone was sitting leaned against the wall. The wall appeared caved into a sort of impact. Blood sneered down the wall and became hidden behind the body. John ran over to them as he realized it was Shane who had been stabbed by a sword. John’s hands continued shaking as he stared at Shane.

“Sucks I didn’t get to see my sister one more time.” Shane chuckled as he slowly took his last

breath.

John stumbled back as he began to breathe heavily again. He couldn’t move as memories

began to consume him.

Flashback

John darted from behind a set of crates moving as fast as he could. The man had the gun

aimed at Mrs. Valentine but he was trembling. John was going as fast as he could, but he was too far. The man looked over at John as his partner grabbed the gun. While he grabbed the gun the man accidently fired. A shot of light briefly blinded John as he froze. His eyes slowly turned to see a lifeless Mrs. Valentine crumble to the floor. He saw the tears in her eyes as she hit the ground. Blood drenched the ground beneath her. John’s hands began to tremble as he started breathed heavily. He roared in pain and pure rage as everything around him turned black.

Present

“John! Snap out of it.” A voice said.

John looked up to see Diane standing over him. She reached out her hand as he stared at it for a long time. He finally grabbed it in order for her to help up. John was silent as she walked over to Shane and knelt beside him. She seemed unhappy as she grabbed his hand for a moment before getting back up. As they continued walking a loud explosion occurred at the end of the hall.

A man appeared around the corner running with a frightened look on his face. He was

extremely pale with white hair and yellow eyes. The man was around six foot two and had a

slender build. He was dressed in a black. As he came closer, he stopped when he saw Diane. John stood silently and still motionless as they man’s expression changed.

“Well, it’s the little runt herself. Listen I can’t play today dear.” He said in a strange manner

as he looked over his shoulder.

A man with glowing skin appeared from a shroud of smoke. He had a serious look on his face

as he marched angrily toward them. Dante turned and a form energy appeared in his head. He heaved it into the direction of the man. The man’s body appeared to have absorbed it as his hand glowed brighter. A blast of energy knocked Dante to the ground. The man’s serious expression changed when he looked at John.

“You’re the son of Dr. Xile.” He said pointing at John.

John stared at the man he assumed to be Dr. Lee. He didn’t understand how he knew him.

“I’m an orphan and the man that raised me gave me my name.” John said in a serious

tone as Dr. Lee smiled. He came closer to John causing him to clench his fist.

“Orphan or not, there was a man who went by the name of Dr. Xile. A brilliant scientist and

the man that helped me create this serum.” Dr. Lee said as he stood before John. The scientist made John agitated for some reason. John couldn’t figure out why he felt this hostility towards

him.

“What made you want to make a serum like this anyway and why use it on criminals?” John

questioned as Dr. Lee said while turning away. Dante staggered to his feet causing Dr. Lee to

blast him once more. John could hear Dante groaning in pain.

“I originally wanted to create something that could help the medical field. That was until I

came across a child born with abnormal genes. She was a preternatural which was the foundation to create genetically enhanced superhumans. Before her… I discovered you. Your genes and DNA was something not of this world.” Dr. Lee said as John stared at him with a confused look on his face. John noticed Diane standing silently with her hands shaking. The look on her face had a hint of growing rage.

“If I’m not human then… what am I?” John questioned as Dr. Lee shrugged as he glanced

over at Diane with a stern look on his face.

“I’m not sure. I will say this… the people that attacked this place are the sign of a dark age.

The year two thousand one a dark force descended upon us. Many lives were lost that day but no one wants to prepare for another catastrophe out of fear. After that year, I succeeded at making a successful superhuman.” Dr. Lee said as a loud yell erupted John’s ear.

Diane appeared in front of him and crashed into Dr. Lee. He went hurdling down the hall as

she went after him. John watched as they fought recklessly. As John started to go aid her his

body moved on its own. A blast of energy scraped his arm causing him to turn around. Dante

stood smiling with his hand stretched out.

“I wasn’t expecting you to dodge that.” He said sounding slightly exhausted.

He lunged forward swinging wildly as John easily evaded his attacks. Dante grew enraged and blasted everything. John bounded in different directions. His body on autopilot as it reacted as a blank face stared at the enemy. Without thought he moved forward. He appeared above Dante with his hand raised. Dante stumbled to the ground as John came downward. With a bellowing roar John hammered the ground. The floor gave way and they fell through. The two hit the ground igniting pain in both. The staggered to their feet facing each other.

“You done?” John asked as Dante laughed manically before lunging forward.

John grabbed him and threw into the wall. He started to walk over to him but stopped and

looked down the hall. A figure with his arms covered in flames was approaching. He had long

black hair and was about six foot three. John recognized the man easily even at the distance. It was one of the men who had killed Mrs. Valentine. He remembered his name which was Jason. The man had smile on his face until he got closer to John. His flames slowly disappeared as his hands began to tremble.

“You’re that kid…” He trailed off as John darted forward.

He was no longer in control of his body. His right foot behind him surging with power. The

growing power climbed up his body. With a bellowing roar his arm came forward. This

explosive power in his arm barreled into Jason’s chest. The force directed into Jason’s chest

knocked the air out of him. The ground ruptured beneath their feet. Jason went hurdling down the hall and crashed through a window. The building nearly exploded on top of John as debris fell. He turned to see Dante laying on the ground with a frightened look on his face.

“I’ve never seen a preternatural or even their man-made counterparts do anything like that.

You’re a monster.” Dante said as he started to crawl away, but John grabbed his leg.

He yelled angrily as he threw Dante up in the air sending him crashing into the ceiling. Dante

fell back down and was covered by debris. John sighed as he started walking down the hall but his body suddenly gave out. His vision became blurred and he collapsed to the ground.