- Epilogue -
- -
Cayo-Tay stood above the two graves that lay side-by-side. Rain
fell around him, soaking his clothes for the first time since he had
the experiments on his home planet. Barbara sat on her knees between
the graves, tears trailing down her cheeks as she mourned the loss
of her only two children.
At the head of each grave stood a statue,
depicting the two heroes at their best. The headstone below the statue
of Barbara’s daughter read:
Andrea “Star Storm” Knight
April 4th,
1978 – March 13th, 2004
Fought with honor and valor
Died defending
the citizens of Paragon City
Hero from the day she was born
Likewise,
the headstone that stood beneath the statue of Barbara’s son read:
Richard “Lightning Storm” Knight
October 18th, 1976 – March 13th,
2004
Son of Paragon City
Defender of the World
Tay nodded his respects,
knowing deep down that they would still be alive if not for him. He
whispered softly to both of their spirits, “Your deaths will not go
in vain.”
Barbara rose in front of Tay, turning as she stood to face
him. They embraced tightly, sharing their grief.
“I can’t stay here,
Tay,” Barbara said finally.
He nodded, already knowing that she was
going to leave. “I can’t go with you. They died saving me. I’m going
to make the Crey pay.”
“Vengeance doesn’t make the hero, Tay. Vengeance
will lead you down the wrong path,” her voice was forced, wavering
from sadness.
“Maybe so, but that doesn’t change what I’m going to
do to the bastards that –“
Barbara placed a hand on Tay’s lips, staying
his voice with her gentle touch. Her eyes were red, brimming with
tears. He nodded, surmising the gesture’s meaning. The petite woman
stepped back, pulling in a shaky sigh. “I know you’ll do the right
thing when the time comes, Tay.”
At her feet was a bag. In it was
a box wrapped to protect it from the weather. She picked up the bag
and held it in her arms. For several long moments she looked at the
box before holding it to Tay.
Their eyes locked as he accepted the
bag. “It’s a new costume. I was planning on giving it to you when
you got back from your stakeout three weeks ago, but…” She trailed
off. He knew what would have been said, so he didn’t press for her
to continue. “Don’t open it yet. Wait until you get back to your apartment.”
“All right.” He smiled softly, wanting to assure her that everything
would be indeed be all right. It’s a bitter thing to know that nothing
will be all right, however. “I heard about an outbreak in one of the
containment zones. I was going to head there after we left here. I’ll
wear this there.” They hugged again, and then Barbara began walking
away towards her car.
Tay stayed between the graves, holding the box
against his chest securely. Barbara took one last look at the man
who had saved her so long ago. Her lip quivered, seeing her daughter’s
smiling face on the statue depicting her. She called out, her voice
a mere whisper. Tay heard her well enough, though. His hearing was
still as attuned as ever.
After she spoke, she got into her car and
left the graveyard. Her words rang in Tay’s mind over and over.
“Don’t
look for me, Cayo-Tay.”
- -- - -
In the Crey Industries skyscraper,
Countess Crey sat at her desk, sorting through the myriad of files
strewn haphazardly in front of her. Her mind was strictly on business.
The mess with the two Storm heroes had her company in a PR nightmare,
but they would recover. They always had.
The buzzer on her intercom
went off and she pressed the button with the slightest touch. “Send
in Dr Vasques, please. Also, call Bruno and Madeline to my office.”
“Yes, Ms Crey.”
The intercom clicked off, and a few moments later
Dr Vasques strode purposefully into the office with a file tucked
between her bosom and forearm.
“Before you say anything, Doctor, know
that your project was a complete failure. We failed to get any useful
data from the subject before our lab was completely destroyed, that
is if there was even any useful data to begin with. So, begin by telling
me why I shouldn’t have you thrown into Liberty Harbor?” The Countess
didn’t even look up from her papers as she spoke.
The suddenness of
the death threat took Vasques off guard and she stuttered as she attempted
to do just what the Countess asked of her. “Th-the incident was unfortunate
but wasn’t a complete disaster. While the raid on our – your – lab
took place, I was in a research room examining the subject’s DNA.”
“I assume you’re going to have a point?”
“Y-yes, Ms Crey. I found
that his DNA was much like ours, humans that is, except advanced.”
“Advanced? He was a mutant? I fail to see how this helps you, Doctor.
There are mutants popping up all over the world.” The door to the
office opened and in strode a slickly dressed man with a fedora propped
crooked on his head alongside a female who’s head was wrapped in a
bandage.
Doctor Vasques recognized the woman immediately as the psychic
that had kept Heat Flux unconscious for two weeks. All of a sudden
she began to feel uneasy.
“No, not a mutant. Not a human either.”
She opened the file and dropped several enlarged photos in front of
the Countess. “Look at those.”
“I’m not a Doctor, Doctor. These mean
nothing to me.” Countess Crey nonchalantly pushed the photos off her
desk.
“Those were taken with your lab’s best microscope. It’s his
DNA. What I found was… was incredible! Here, look! She moved closer
and held a paper out. She dropped the rest of the file onto the desk
and pointed at a line of code that ran from one side of the paper
to the other. “This here shows a part of one helical turn. In it are
four hydrogen-bonded bases. Now humans have four bases: Adenine, Thymine,
Gaunine, and Cytosine. This shows that there are two more bases in
his DNA!” Her eyes were wild, a grin on her lips from ear to ear.
The Countess looked up and gauged the scientist’s reaction to the
revelation she had just nearly shouted. “Again, I say that I am NOT
a scientist. I am a business woman.”
“Right right,” replied Vasques
quickly. “Short and sweet. Two years ago we procured DNA from the
aliens that attempted to invade earth. Their structure was similar
to this, only way more advanced. If I had to guess, I would say millennia
or more.
“Like chimpanzees and humans. Heat Flux is the chimpanzee
to the Rikti’s human!”
The Countess cocked her head, and then smiled
coolly to the Doctor. “Good work, Doctor Vasques. It would seem that
my investment in your project wasn’t a waste. Do you still have samples
of your subject’s DNA?”
“Yes! Of course! We took several over the
course of the two weeks we had them. They are at cold storage in your
Skyway City location.”
“Good. I appreciate you bringing this to me,
Doctor Vasques. If you follow Bruno and Madeline, they’ll take you
to your new offices.”
Vasques smiled broadly and strode ahead of the
two lackeys. Her head was held high as she left the office.
The Countess
tapped a long fingernail on the desk, gaining the attention of Bruno.
They shared a mere glance, one that told the mook everything he needed
to know. It was a look he had seen many times before. He grinned a
gap-toothed grin and tipped his fedora forward. “Yes, ma’am.”
As they
left the office, Madeline asked, “Where are we taking her?”
“Liberty
Harbor.”
The End