1.4 Sins of Our Grandfathers Part 2

“Look out!” shouts Vance as I hear fire crackling and metal screeching.

“Narszara!” I call as I send out a yellow alert, “We have to help them!”

“We shall put on our armours and fly to their aid,” declares Narszara as she puts on her still damaged helmet.

I dash for the lab as I hear fighting breaking out for the others. As I run, I go through a mental checklist of Vengeance’s members.

Nightmare likes to terrorise people who have been accused of breaking the law. Preferably by breaking into their homes and threatening them in front of their families.

Mad Cat and Mad Dog are twin sisters who both can change their form, into a werecat and weredog respectively. Sort of like Carrie except she doesn’t lose control like the Mad sisters like to. They generally brutally assault murderers, wife beaters and other crimes of that calibre they claim. 

Not that I personally consider hitting your wife to be as bad as murder even if I still strongly disapprove of domestic abuse.

Avenger can shoot fire from his hands. He likes to burn up murderers and attempted murderer. He also includes those that have committed manslaughter as members of the first two groups.

Forsworn can control metal. He prefers to go after petty criminals such as thieves and speeders. Fortunately the Sentinel and Bulk armours have contained trace amounts of metals for a while now, instead relying on a ceramic that my granddad and the first Bulk came up with following the Invasion.

Shade is the final member of them and only decent one. He can phase and travel through shadows. He can also make darkness solid. Like hard light except it is more hard dark than light. He likes to go after mobsters, gangster and other parts of organised crime. He is also the only one that rarely kills. When he does, his victims really deserve it or innocent lives are at stake.

Despite almost all of them being monsters, a large amount of the public supports them for some inexplicable reason that is beyond my ken.

Despite neither granddad or me selling equipment to supers like them, they have still acquired some of my tech somehow. Part of me wants them to try and use it against me so they can find out what happens when you use someone’s own inventions against them.

I’ll bet they’re going after us because of Charlie and Stefan. People like Vengeance have no problem with going after the families of criminals how wrong that is.  They probably want to punish Charlie and Stefan for the crime of being related to their grandfathers.

At this point, I’m already suiting up. Just as the process finishes, Narszara rushes into the lab, wearing her armour and armed with her green-bladed sword.

“Are you ready milord?” ask Narszara.

“Yes,” I reply, “I’ll take me seven minutes to reach them at full speed.”

“I will take me ten,” says Narszara, “If you go first, I will arrive second. We cannot afford to fly together.”

“Agreed,” I say and we run for the closest exit.

Once up in the air, it occurs to me I haven’t called the police, MI9 or the Defenders.

“Norris Oakley,” I hear him say after he answers his phone.

It was easy enough to find his personal mobile number.

“This is the Sentinel,” I say, “Vengeance has ambushed Bulk, Bolt and Storm Knight in Portsmouth. Narszara and I are flying to them.”

“Those American thugs here!” exclaims Oakley.

“Yes, I need to make some other calls,” I say before I hang up.

“Agent Lewis?” I say as I once I called our MI9 liaison.

“Yes Daniel?” replies Lewis, “Bulk, Bolt and Storm Knight are investigating the weapons warehouse in Portsmouth right?”

“It was a trap set by Vengeance,” I reply, “Narszara and I are flying to help them now.”

“Damn it!” shouts Lewis, “This is not going to go well. Especially with the Americans.”

“I’m going to call the Defenders now,” I say before hanging up again.

“Hello Daniel,” says Aunt Mary as she answers.

“Mary,” I say, “Charlie, Vance and Stefan were investigating a suspected weapons warehouse in Portsmouth. It turned out to by a trap by Vengeance. Narszara and I are heading there now to help them.”

“Vengeance?” says Mary, “&*%$!”

That startles me. Aunt Mary never swears unless it’s really bad.

“I’m not going to bother telling you to stay away and wait for back up,” says Mary, “Just be careful. I’m not going to get there in time. Only Britannia can. But even then she’ll take fifteen to twenty minutes. How close are you?”

“Just over four minutes out,” I reply, “Narszara while be a couple of minutes behind me.”

“Try not to die,” says Mary wearily, “And call Laura.”

“Good idea,” I say before cutting the connection and dialling Laura Aquiline.

“Yes Daniel,” says Laura as she answers

“Vengeance has ambushed Charlie, Vance and Stefan in Portsmouth,” I say to her.

“I’ll be there in half an hour,” replies Laura, “Try to keep all of you alive and don’t worry about hurting any members of Vengeance. They deserve whatever get.”

As Laura hangs up, I get a call from Sam.

“What’s going on?” demands Sam, “You just sent a yellow alert.”

“Change it to red,” I say, “Vengeance has ambushed the others in Portsmouth. Britannia is twenty minutes away and Laura is thirty.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” replies Sam, “Give them heck until I get there.”