1.13 Breakout Part 9

I fire my sonics at Vistorix and after a moment, he loses his hold over my ankles and drops. As he falls, I cut power to my rocket pack. While Vistorix lands on his back, I come crashing down on his gut, feet first.

As the supervillain gasps, I leap off on him. He tries to get to his feet, but I quickly kick him in the chest. Vistorix is sent flying into the wall. He attempts to get his to his feet, but once he is almost done, I punch him in the face.

He roars and swipes at me, but I duck and blast him with one of my sonics. I follow my sonic attack with an uppercut to the face. Vistorix grunts as my fist connects with his jaw. I don’t give him a chance to recover as I fire both sonics at him.

Vistorix stumbles forward, groggily reaching for me. I step back out of his reach and fire both of my wrist mounted lasers into his eyes. Vistorix screams and drops to his knees.

While it might seem a bit little lethal or maiming, Vistorix’s superdurability means that the lasers only temporarily blind him, the same way a flash of bright light blinds a normal person for a moment. And since he also has super senses, the lasers are much more painful and the blindness longer lasting.

I unleash a fury of blows against the supervillain until he sways unsteadily and topples over with a loud crash. I let out a breath of relief and look around the room.

It seems like all of the supervillains are down. Better get back to work on restraining their powers with special cuffs and putting them back in the cells.

***

I suppose the tour was technically a disaster, but nobody apart from the escaped villains were injured and the cameramen actually got some pretty good footage of me in action.

Sure a few people were claiming I was excessively violent, but the vast majority were praising me for taking on that many supervillains singlehandedly and doing as well as I did.

Personally I feel that while it might seemed I was a bit over the top, I didn’t do anything to the villains if I wasn’t sure they would be able to survive it. And in my defence, I was horrible outnumbered with a whole load of civilians to protect.

Now all I need to do is finish finding out why Bateson when rogue. I mean sure he was going to cross the line at some point, but why then and not some point sooner or later.

“Janelle,” I say as I take the Sentinel armour off back at the base, “Can you bring up any relevant information on Glenn Bateson?”

“Sure,” replies Janelle, “Would you like me to check for anything which might explain his treachery today?”

“That would be helpful,” I reply back, “How were Judy and Alex after I left? Did Alex start on Judy’s training?”

“Alex started teaching Judy the basics before they stopped to play card games,” says Janelle, “They got on well and Judy exited the base mere moments before the breakout started.”

“Glad to hear that,” I reply, “How is the security at Blackguard at the moment? Any possibility of the villains breaking back out?”

“Not any that are worth mentioning,” says Janelle, “With most of the superheroes in the nation there and the beating you inflicted, I would be extremely surprised if any even tried to escape now.”

“True,” I mutter as I finish taking the armour off, “Part of me just wants to relax while another part wants to get this situation sorted out as soon as possible.”

“You can do both,” says Janelle and I look around.

It is quite hard to look at a disembodied voice so I settle for just looking up at the ceiling.

“Please tell,” I inquire.

“Well, you can trust other people to get the job done,” replies Janelle, “I, Alex, Narszara and the other members of the League of Heroes can all look into this. Meanwhile you can relax and have fun. Remember Daniel, you are part of a team and you don’t have to everything. You have people you can trust and depend on to help you out and get the job done.”

“True,” I agree with a smile, “There is the rest of the League plus our friends and allies. I almost made a fool’s mistake by trying to everything myself. I would have burned myself out at some point.”

“And that is why you should go and have fun,” says Janelle, “Play games or hang out with your friends or something.”

“Good idea,” I reply, “I haven’t played many of my strategy games in long time. There is probably bunch of new updates and some new DLC out.”

“Should be,” agrees Janelle cheerfully.

“Then I’ll get my laptop out and play some of my games,” I continue to speak as I head for area of the lab where I kept my personal belongs, “I’ll probably start a new save in CKII or perhaps EUIV.”

“Sounds good,” Janelle agrees again.

The AI goes silent as I get my laptop out and open up one of my games. Nothing like having some fun playing a Grand Strategy game after an intense day as a superhero.

1.13 Breakout Part 8

I am sent flying, but stabilise myself with my rocket pack and it isn’t like that punch hurt me through the Sentinel armour.

I take a moment to survey the room. Not that many supervillains remaining as only Vistorix, Nightmare, McNamara and Hall remaining with Edison finally being taken out by the electro-spyders.

“Come on,” I say, “Is that the best you got?”

“I haven’t even begun to fight,” snarls Vistorix, “I’ve been rotting in that cell for two months, waiting for some payback on the @#£$s that put me there. Now one of you is finally here and within my reach.”

“Just remember how badly you lost in our first fight,” I reply before opening fire with my lasers at Nightmare.

 I chop his arms off. While it might been a bit gruesome for superhero such as myself, you have to understand that it is a known fact that Nightmare can re-grow limps using his shapeshifting and that this isn’t the first time that he has lost both his arms.

“Son of a bitch!” yelps McNamara and Hall looks quite unnerved.

But Vistorix just lets out a throaty laugh and rushes me. He lets out a swing at me, but I dodge and enter the air with my rocket pack.

The thing with Vistorix is that while he can’t really hurt me, he can send me flying and I also lack any real capability to harm him except my attacks won’t knock him around like a ragdoll.

And I have to take into account that Vistorix is a highly experienced fighter even if he still fights like the brute he is. While our villains have generally been operating as long as Vistorix, they haven’t got in as nearly as many fights as Vistorix has been able to.

What can I do stop-I’m an idiot.

I have wrist-mounted sonics. I’ve been so used to using my wrist mounted weapons against machines that I forget how effective they are on organics. If only I had remember about them at the start of the fight.

I fire both of the sonics at Vistorix’s head and he drops to his knees before toppling over. I doubt I have taken him out for the rest of the fight, but I have brought myself a minute or two take out the other three remaining villains. As McNamara and Hall fire off futile fireballs and lightning bolts respectively at me, I drop down between the two of them.

I slug Hall in the jaw and knock him over backwards before kicking McNamara in the gut. I follow it up with a punch to the chest and the Irish man goes flying. Nightmare is still trying to regrow his arms when I turn on him. I stun him with the sonics before grabbing him by the hair. I slam his head into the ground a couple of times until I am sure he is out for the count.

Once again, I turn around to face Vistorix.

And once again, I am just in time to see his fist before he punches me in the face. I start to go flying, again, but this time Vistorix grabs my ankle and smashes me into the ground.

“Really?” I say, “Best you got?”

“Not even close,” snarls Vistorix as he grabs by the neck and starts smacking me against the wall.

Smack. Annoying, but not dangerous. Smack. Very annoying. Smack. I ought to stop this now. Smack.

I activate the rocket pack and fly up into the air. While the sudden movement does cause Vistorix to lose his grip around my neck, he quickly grabs my ankle again before he can fall.

“Janelle,” I say, “How long until back up?”

“Narszara and Sam are twenty minutes as while Sam is faster, Narszara got a head start,” answers the AI, “Britannia is about thirty minutes away. Multiple other Leaguers along with the majority members of all three governmental teams are on their way.”

“Are you giving them updates?” I inquire.

“Yes,” replies Janelle, “While the Leaguers, Britannia and Warden know who I am, the others just assume I’m an automated system to give situational updates.”

“Good,” I say.

While I trust Janelle and many other AIs, the majority of the planet’s populace has mixed to negative feelings about synthetic life. I personally find that what a sentient AI is like vary from each one and there are actually a lot of parallels between synthetic and organic life if you just look for them.

Such as creators being considered birth parents, power sources being considered food and drink and recharging being considered the same as resting.

 But like with people, you have to be careful with AIs. Software AIs are the hardest to deal with as they can go pretty much anywhere as long as the hardware can handle them. Hardware AIs are easier as they are confined to certain pieces of hardware unless transferred so you don’t really have problems unless their hardware is out of your league.

Regardless of what I and other people think of AIs, I still have a Class 4 supervillain to deal with here.

“Let’s tangle,” I tell Vistorix, grinning beneath my helmet.

1.13 Breakout Part 7

I shove the section of solid metal wall aside as I get to my feet. The thing slammed me  into the wall.

“Everybody out!” I yell as I realise how bad the situation is.

Somebody let all of the prisoners out. Every single last one and the power restrainers won’t keep their power neutralised for long.

And the person to blame is without doubt Glenn Bateson.  I should have known, but it wasn’t like I could do anything about it without any proof or evidence of wrongdoing.

How would have that gone? Hey, I think is prison officer I just met isn’t to be trusted because I think he might be a bad guy. Let’s arrest him and throw him into one of the cells.

But that would explain why a chuck of the wall just flew into me.

All of the country’s native supervillains, Vengeance, Vistorix and a rogue superpowered prison officer scattered between the ground level and the two walkways versus me, Treves and the other officer on the tour.

I can take them. Or hold them off long enough for someone else to arrive.

“Hey Janelle,” I say into my League communicator, “We got a breakout here at Blackguard. Officer Bateson just released all of the inmates.”

“I understand,” comes the swift reply, “Informing all relevant authorities.”

“Don’t bother calling for help,” Bateson tells me as several more chucks of the wall hover around him, “I’m jamming all signals in or out. No one will hear you.”

Now there is a trick up my sleeve. If they don’t realise that I have already called for help and their jamming is actually affecting me, then I might be able to catch them off guard.

Both Treves and the other guard have drawn their stun guns, but they’ll do little against the freed prisoners.

At least the crowd of reporters are heading back out. No idiots hanging around to get some footage.

Target priority first. Who are the biggest threats and which ones to use spyders on and which to use missiles on?

Black Death’s touch won’t affect me through the Sentinel armour while Gaia’s Vengeance doesn’t have any vegetation to work with. Hall’s lightning and Avenger’s fire are also useless.

With high amounts of metal in Blackguard, Bateson and Forsworn could be pretty dangerous as well. The rest also have the potential to cause some trouble for me, but I can probably take them if I play if smart.

But Vistorix, along with Gravilord and Edison, is the most dangerous with a very real chance of beating me. The three of them are easily the biggest threats of the assorted supervillains.

Two missile for each of the Mad sisters and the last two for Vistorix. Electro-spyders will take care of Edison and Gravilord. The rest I should be able to take.

I open fire with all of my missiles and electro-spyders as I activate the rocket pack. I zoom straight at Bateson.

I crash into the rogue prison officer and we both slam into the other wall that has mostly been stripped away by Bateson.

I hear something cracking and huff of breath from Bateson before I pull away. Bateson starts to drop to his knees, but before he can collapse into a heap on the floor, I slug him one in the face.

Not too hard, just enough to break a jaw. That combined with the ribs I probably just broke will keep Bateson out of the fight.

I spin back around to face the rest of the supervillains. Both Mad sisters are transformed, but only Mad Cat is down with Mad Dog shaking off the effects the missiles that caught her. It seems that her missiles were intercepted by Forsworn and Avenger judging by how those two are on the ground.

I should have expected teamwork from Vengeance. They were a successful team back when they were ‘heroes’.

Gravilord is also out while Edison is staggered. It seems that he was able to catch two of the three spyders I sent at him in his temporal field.

Vistorix is getting back to his feet after being blown onto his back.

Time to thin the herd. I grab one of the chucks of metal that were floating around Bateson and lob it at Mad Dog before reactivating my rocket pack and flying up at Nightmare.

Best to take Vengeance out of the fight.

The metal takes out of the stunned Mad Dog and knocks her off the walkway while Nightmare is better prepared for me. He shapeshifts out of the way, but I still catch him with a kick that sends him flying.

I unleash a flurry of low-power laser shots at the other villains to scatter them. Edison is still busy dealing with the electro-spyders. That leaves only White Lord or Redmund McNamara as main threats until Vistorix or a member of Vengeance recovers.

I launch myself at White Lord, ignoring Hall’s crackling lightning. My armour can more than handle bit of lightning.

White Lord attempts to dodge, but even with his enhanced speed, I’m still faster in the Sentinel armour. I catch his arm and yank it out of the socket before tossing White Lord into a wall.

I feel something ding against me and somebody yelp in pain. I turn around to find Gaia’s Vengeance clutching her fist in pain.

I punch her in the gut, kick her knee before finishing her off with a backhanded slap that knocks her aside.

I spare a glance at Treves and his officer. The two of them are covering the door and have even taken out Black Death with their stun guns.

I turn to take on Vistorix only to find his fist coming straight at me.

1.1 New Beginnings Part 8

I sit in the lab the day after the fight with Vistorix. Today was interesting at school as pretty much everybody, teachers included, were all talking about last night.

It was annoying that I couldn’t say my part in it and instead had to listen to the dumb theories that some of the more stupid students had. One of the downsides of having a secret identity I guess.

Like the whole fight was government set-up to promote a new League of Heroes that was under their control and Vistorix had been hired and was going to be secretly released with a bunch of cash.

As I said, dumb theories and stupid students. Fortunately the majority of people believed Aquiline’s story, thanks to it being something what was plausible and the Defenders backing it up.

I get to work, checking the status of each of our costumes.

The Sentinel Armour was easily repaired as the two dents were barely there at all and nothing else was damaged. I also took the opportunity to look at the others’ costumes as there wasn’t time in the fight to check, it didn’t occur to me late to see which ones they were wearing the videos of us didn’t show clearly.

James aka Vision wore a black uniform-like costume that covered his entire body, including a full facial mask with black lenses over the eyes. No symbols on it at total and was made out of my granddad’s cos-mat, the standard material for League costumes. No damage from the fight.

Samuel aka Lantern’s costume was a variant of the old Lantern’s costume. The new costume is main white costume, but with black upper arms, lower legs and feet. The belt is black and contains a greater number of items with more variety despite Sam being unlike to ever use them. As the original Lantern’s visor was lost with his death, Samuel makes do with glasses with lens made of the same material as the visor and a modern HUD. He also has an earpiece communicator. Despite being up front in the fight, Sam’s psionic field protected his costume from harm, leaving me nothing to repair.

The original Lantern covered his body in white with dull blue over the legs and arms and a blue belt at the waist that held a few items. A light blue blocky visor with a limited HUD plus a League communicator earpiece to protect his face and secret identity. It wasn’t made out of cos-mat as it was invented a couple of years after the Lantern’s death. As he died at the end of the seventies with his body lost in action, his costume and equipment has been updated since.

Skyler aka Commando has a costume that is identical to her grandfather’s costume except it’s been 

made to fit her. Both Commandoes wear a patterned camouflage combat uniform with union jack on sides of the upper sleeves. Each set is made from cos-mat minus the first Commando’s earlier ones, which were made from the same stuff that normal army uniforms were made from.

The one worn by Sky pretty much has the right arm ruined. It’s been badly torn and is covered inside and out with blood and muck.

It will to be hard to repair. Easiest way is to just remove the entire arm and add on a new one.

“Hello Daniel,” says a voice behind me.

I turn around to see my Aunt Mary or Warden standing in the doorway.

“Hey Mary,” I reply as I put Sky’s costume down, “I was wondering when you would arrive.”

“I visited your house first,” says Mary, “Only your mum was there and we chatted for a bit. She’s not too happy with the idea of you replacing dad as the Sentinel. Britannia was right about the danger.”

“If it was up to me, I wouldn’t,” I reply.

“But...” says Mary as she enters the lab.

“At least Sam, Sky and James are going to do it,” I continue, “I’m certain more of the others will also join them. I didn’t really want to, but I decided that if I’m needed, I’ll help out. Plus I’m already involved as I effectively run and own the base since granddad died and I also organise all our costumes and equipment. Not to mention I been continuing to supply other supers and foreign governments using Sentinel Tech. I suppose I’ve been already indirectly involved and might as well get fully involved after tonight.”

“Those are good reasons,” says Mary, looking approvingly at me, “Many capes want to fight for fame or glory, sometimes for fun and others simply because they can. Spectre and Multitude do it for fame while Werebeast just wants the riches. Others such as Powerbeam and Green Knight do out of a sense of duty, kind of like you. Britannia does it to help people, again like you. Being a superhero because of a sense of duty and a desire to help people is a good thing and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Any idea what the old League is going to do?”

“They’re going to find out who else wants to join before announcing a new generation to the League of Heroes to the public,” I reply, “They feel that is the best option as actually gives us some help as it means we’re part of an official group rather than a bunch of rookie starting out on our own. And it makes sense since we would be using the League’s resources and reputation anyway.”

“That’ll help when dealing with the police, government and other supers,” notes Mary, “I think Helen might want to join up by the way.”

“She has got grandma’s powers,” I reply.

“Yeah,” says Mary, “Guess we’ll be seeing each other around more then.”

1.1 New Beginnings Part 7

It takes me a second to remember whose voice it belongs to. Laura Aquiline, my tip-off about 

Vistorix, using one of my granddad’s voice changers.

I relax, now understanding the confused reactions of the Defenders.

I give James a mental nudge, something he taught me to do if I want this attention.

As he connects our minds again, I can feel their worry and confusion.

It’s just Laura using one of my voice changers, I tell them.

Huh. From their reactions, you think she’s one of the most feared and dangerous people in the whole 

world, says Sky.

She is, James points out.

Never seen her that way, Sam disagrees.

It makes sense I suppose. It’s just strange to think of kind and caring Laura as a mysterious ruthless and cold blooded killer. But their reactions make sense if they never meet her private side like we have, I say.

I look at Laura as she walks out into the open. Dreadnought backs away fearfully while Green Knight turns to face her, trying to avoid openly quivering and failing. Warden stands her ground as she, like me and others, knows Laura personally. Britannia lands facing Laura.

Laura seems quite amused by the reactions of the Defenders. Not that you can really tell due to her outfit if didn’t know her like I do. Long black robes cover her body along with some plated armour that is without doubt enchanted. An assortment of weaponry and gear cover her body whilst a mask of some sort shields her features from onlookers without actually covering her face from view.

Don’t ask me how that works because I have no idea. All I know is that it doesn't do by using science or following the laws of physics.

“I figured you two could take him,” says Laura to me and Sam.

“Wait what?” asks Britannia nervously.

“Laura was the one to inform me about Vistorix,” I state.

“Laura?” asks Britannia, confused.

“We’re on a first name basis,” explains Laura, “Of course I don’t use his when we’re in costume. I don’t mind because I don’t have secret identity. Never felt a need to hide you I am.”

“You’re on a first name...” starts Green Knight before trailing off, his voice shocked.

“Yep,” says Laura as she bends down and inspects Vistorix.

She looks up and turns to me and the rest of our group.

“You ought to go before the police or somebody decides to start causing trouble,” says Laura.

“Now wait just one moment...” begins Britannia before faltering at a glare from Laura.

“What about public story?” inquires Warden, the only unfazed Defender.

“HEY!” shouts Laura suddenly to the crowd watching them, “Vistorix showed up to attack Brockenhurst! Some of the grandkids of the League of Heroes risked their lives to stop and protect people! And they did it without collateral damage to anyone’s property or anyone getting hurt!”

The crowd bursts out in cheers.

The rest of us, Defenders included, are too shocked at Laura’s unexpected and blunt approach to the situation to stop her.

“Now you should go before the press wants any interviews,” says Laura, “I never really got along with them. Guess I killed too many of them for them to ever like me.”

“Good idea,” I reply, “Let’s go. Vision, use your telekinesis to carry Skyler. Flying off will is our best bet as they can’t follow.”

With that I activate the rocket pack and zoom off into the air. I look at the others. Sam is next to me with James trailing behind us and Sky is behind him.

A message notification shows up on my HUD. I open it up. Text message from Warden.

We will take care of the police and press.

Aquiline’s cover story is holding.

Green Knight and Dreadnought are impressed by all of you.

Britannia is still angry, but don’t worry about it.       

I will visit you tomorrow. We’ll talk more then.

Good luck and good night.

I close the message. Things are going well. The public believes Laura’s story. We impressed Green Knight, Dreadnought and Warden. Britannia is angry with us, but that was to be expected. No surprise there.

It takes about couple of minutes of flying before we land at an entrance. Me or Sam could have made it one.

“How’s your arm?” I ask Sky as the entrance opens up for us.

“Could have been worse it weren't for my regeneration,” answers Sky, “Thanks for saving my life back there.”

My reply is a simply solemn nod as we enter the base. It hasn't really hit until just now that Skyler was almost killed by Vistorix. I guess I was too focused on the fight to realise that at the time.

While we did take down an experienced Class 4 in our first fight, we almost had our first death as well and Sky would have been maimed if it wasn't for her regeneration.

“That was awesome!” shouts Sam once we’re far enough underground, “We kicked Vistorix’s arse! Even the American heroes have trouble taking him down.”

“It was pretty good despite my arm,” agrees Sky.

“It was kind of exciting,” admits James, “I'm not sure if I would want to do it again however.”

“Yeah,” I agree, “It was fun. Especially when I kept blasting him.”

“And when I kept swooping in and beating down,” laughs Sam, “He was so angry.”

“Nothing compare to the look on his face when he realised his punches did nothing to me,” I say, “Priceless. I didn’t even get a bruise. Heck, my armour got nothing more than a dent.”

We all start laughing, giddy in our victory. We had successful first super fight and it was genuinely fun when we look back on it.

1.1 New Beginnings Part 6

I look up to see Britannia, the nation’s number one superhero, floating down. She also looks very angry with them as she lands in front of me.

Britannia or Elizabeth Greene if I remember correctly has a similar power set to Vistorix. A reverse in similarities compared to Sky and Vistorix’s close power set as Britannia is much stronger version of Vistorix. She is one of the few class 5s in the country or even the continent.

“Vigilantism is illegal,” says Britannia in a harsh and unkind tone as Samuel and Warden land near me and Britannia respectively, “What do think you were doing?”

“Stopping a Class 4 villain going on a rampage,” I retort, “Vigilantism isn't a crime by itself. It just happens to involve breaking the law most of the time.”

“And why did you take it upon yourselves to deal rather than leave it to the proper authorities?” demands Britannia as James and Skyler come out of the woods.

“They did call us,” points out Warden before either me and Sam can reply, “That’s why we got here so quickly. And we all know the police couldn’t do much against Vistorix, but die. Plus they kept it away from public and private property with effectively no collateral damage.”

Britannia shots her teammate a look before turning back to me and Sam. Her glare has seemed to have lessened. Not Britannia seems to be any less angry with us mind you.

“None the less it was still illegal what you did!” Britannia shouts at us, “And you could have been killed!”

“You make sound like we’re a bunch of kids who have no idea about what we’re doing!” angrily shouts Sam, “We spent our entire lives involved with super stuff even if we weren’t actively fighting the bad guys!”

Technically not true. Our grandparents have only been involving us since we were about ten, but we did grow up knowing about their superhero lives.

“Vistorix is a Class 4,” rebukes Britannia.

“So am I! Sentinel is a Class 4 too!” retorts Sam.

“Actually you’re a Class 4 with Class 5 and 6 potential,” Warden cuts in.

“And I actually saw some of the fighting,” continues Warden as Britannia turns to her, “Sentinel took two direct blows without a bruise and blasted Vistorix while he was knocked off his feet.”

“Actually I fired the sonics and Psychic’s grandson used his telekinesis to aim them at Vistorix,” I say.

“If I'm going to use a codename, it’ll be Vision,” dryly states James, “For reasons.”

“Brit, you know that is nothing to laugh about when it comes to Vistorix’s punches,” says one of the other Defenders, a man with the name of Green Knight and a power set a lot like Skyler’s, “It would have taken myself down and out. Same with everyone else on the team apart from you and Dreadnought.”

“And I can say from experience that even though I can take the punches, they still hurt,” says the other Defender with them, a woman in a steely grey costume, “Sentinel being able to take two head on and keep fighting as if they were nothing is really impressive.”

“Besides they right when they say they know what they’re doing,” says Warden, “I also grew up like they did. Being amongst the League of Heroes and all that it contains. It may not mean they have gone and out fighting villains, but they won’t make the mistakes of normal rookies and they all at least have decent idea of what they’re doing and how to it right. Don’t forget how good I was I when I join up with the Protectors.”

“I’m sure Bolt, Vibration and Psychic will give them their support,” says Green Knight, “I’m certain that they got all the stuff of the League.”

“Yeah, but,” says Britannia, clearly unhappy, but without a point to press.

“Looks they actually did pretty good, they know what they’re doing and they’re trustworthy,” says Green Knight, “The old League is pretty much gone, but these kids are attempting to use their gifts and inheritance to help people. In fact I’d been disappointed if they decided not to live up to the League’s legacy.”

“Don’t give them any encouragement,” says Britannia, her voice low and harsh, “They need to stop.”

“We didn’t choose for Vistorix to show up,” protests Sky, “We just stopped him before he could cause any major damage. He would have been in Brockenhurst before you showed up.”

“Actually if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have known about him until he was in Brockenhurst, let alone show up to stop him in time,” says Warden before she glances at her fellow Defenders, “I only knew as early as I did because Sentinel told me. He also told me that he and the others were going to try stop and him.”

“You know this line of work is dangerous and often doesn’t have happy endings?” demands Britannia, but much softer than before.

“Look at my arm,” says Sky, holding out her right arm, showing where her costume was destroyed and her arm is only just finishing reforming, “I lost my grandfather because of his duty as Commando. I also got my powers solely because the government gave them to me.”

“As you also know I never got to even meet my granddad,” says Sam with a tint of sadness in his voice.

“Beside we know how good it can go as well,” I feel compelled to add, “My grandparents lived long and happy lives as did the rest of the League.”

“I can barely believe it,” says a deep voice suddenly.

Britannia flies up, desperately looking around for the speaker. Green Knight draws his shield and adopts a defensive stance, looking shaky while Dreadnought seems to freak out. Warden for her part looks confused, as if she can’t place something. 

1.1 New Beginnings Part 5

I fly in and tackle Vistorix before he can land another blow on Skyler.

He can recover, I fly upward fast and toss Vistorix up. As he falls past me, I punch down hard into his stomach, sending him flying down fast.

“Sentinel?” I hear Sam say, “Heck yeah!”

Sam has clearly recovered.

I feel James’ presence in my head a moment later, followed by the presences of Sam and Sky. Skyler is in a lot of pain.

We got a telepathic conversation for communication, says James

I knew you would come Daniel, says Sam

I only came because Aquiline called about Vistorix. I also called my Aunt Mary. She said she’ll some Defenders with her, I retort, but my heart really isn’t in it.

Did she says something else? asks James

Only not to do anything stupid and keep out of trouble, I tell him.

Of course she would. Too late for that, snorts Sam.

Right, I agree with him.

Vistorix is getting back up from his crater, reports James

Okay. James, keep the link up and get Skyler to safety. She’s out of this fight for now and you’re not going to be much help against Vistorix. Sam, me and you can take him if we work together, I tell them, taking command of this mess.

Got it, says Sam.

I look down. Vistorix has just gotten to his feet. I aim my lasers at him and fire at full power. Due to his invulnerability, they won’t burn him in half like they would do to most people, but they still sting pretty badly.

Sam swoops down once again and punched Vistorix in the gut. The villain takes a step back as Sam flies back up again. Vistorix is breathing heavily.

Good, I think, He’s getting tired.

I got Sky away from you guy, but she’s out cold by the way. Her arm looks better though. The bone is already mended, reports James.

Good. Vistorix is worn out. He can’t take much more, says Sam.

I’ll keep him distracted while Sam gets hits in. James, you can help keep him distracted? I ask.

Understood. How long until Warden and the Defenders arrive? asks James.

Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? I don’t know, I answer.

Vistorix is charging, Sam cuts in.

I spin look down at Vistorix. He’s heading for Sam and is probably going to jump up at him.

I fly down towards Vistorix and aim the sonics at him. I fire.

While you down see or hear anything, you can see the effects on Vistorix.

The villain staggers forwards, clutching his ears and roaring in pain. He trips and slams face first into the ground several meters away from Sam.

Vistorix attempts to rise, but collapses on his first try. On his second, I’m already flying straight at him. I smash into him, sending us both into a tree.

I jump back, checking my rocket fuel. Granddad always complained about fuel running out.

96.8% remaining. More than I expected. Then again, Granddad did go inactive once the nineties started and the Sentinel Armour has greatly improved since then.

I face Vistorix again and realise how getting distracted can cost you in battle.

Vistorix slams his fist into me, staggering me before the other sends flying backwards. I fire my sonics. I feel something moving my arms. It must be James using telekinesis to aim my sonics at Vistorix. I’m rewarded with Vistorix’s cry of pain and swearing before I crash into the ground.

Damage reports come up on my HUD. Slight dents in the outer armour where I got hit, but nothing important was damage. Not even a bruise. The Sentinel Armour really is awesome.

Leap to my feet and adopt a defensive pose. Vistorix is looking up at me in shock before letting off a tirade of cursing.

“How the @#&$ are you still up,” shouts Vistorix in pure rage, “That would have &£%$ing taken down Warden or the Crimson Crusader!”

“I am the new Sentinel,” I reply, my voice calm and cool, “I didn’t even get a bruise.”

At this point I spot a bunch of spectators with phones or cameras recording the fight.   

I snap my attention back to Vistorix. I can’t afford to get distracted again.

Fortunately Vistorix doesn’t have much fight much fight left in him. He’s standing there, barely upright and panting.

Lantern swoops in again and punches Vistorix off his feet as I charge in. I punch Vistorix into the ground before step back out of his reach.

The villain moans before he stops moving except for breathing.

I stand back, hoping that he’ll stay down this time.

Sky pretty much finished healing, James tells me and Sam.

I can’t believe you guys have already taken him down. I really wanted to get him for this, complains Sky.

Glad to hear you’re better, replies Sam.

You can feel the happiness from him and I can see the big grin on his face.

What about our audience? How do we explain this? I ask.

Let the Defenders deal with that. Warden and one of their jets show up a couple of seconds before Vistorix went down, answers James.

Warden showed up when Daniel got punched. She decided to watch rather then get involved, Sam tells us.

I guess she wanted to see how good we were, I mutter.

Suddenly a large voice booms out.

“You have no idea how much trouble you are in.”

1.1 New Beginnings Part 4

I bit back a swearword. I never sworn before and I don't intend to start now, but I can barely believe it. One of the worst case scenarios has happened.

“Where?” I ask.

The person on the other end is the current Aquiline, the most feared super for several centuries.

She’s also an old family friend and one of my mentors.

“I’ll call the Albion Defenders,” I reply, “Can you help out?”

“No,” replies Aquiline, “I’m an hour out. Call your aunt and I think you should head out in the Sentinel Armour. It’s the most advanced man-made armour in existence. Either you or Lantern can hold your own against Vistorix or another class 4 and the two of you with James and Skyler should be more than enough for Vistorix. Remember, the public is a useful ally for both you and your enemies and collateral damage will turn it against you.”

“Got,” I say as I begin to phone my Aunt Mary or the Warden, “Call for back up, me and Lantern can hold our own and we need to avoid causing destruction to keep the public on our side.”

“Good,” is Aquiline’s answer before she cut the connection.

“Hey Aunt Mary,” I say once she answers.

“Yes Daniel?” asks my aunt, the older sister of my mother.

“Sam, James and Skyler went on patrol,” I say.

“What? That’s illegal-,” starts Mary before I cut her off.

“Vistorix is about to attack them,” I state.

“What!?” shouts my aunt, “I’ll get some others and we’ll be out here. You need to-,”

“I’ll be going on in the Sentinel Armour to help them,” I say, cutting her off again, “Me, Sam, Britannica and Dreadnought are the only people capable of holding our own against Vistorix in the UK and you know it. Don’t worry, we know to avoid cause damage if we can.”

“Don’t do anything stupi-,” starts Mary before I cut the line as I reach one of the forest exits.

The doors open and I fly out, bring up the others locations on my HUD to the south by Brockenhurst.

I increase my speed and as I near it, I begin to hear the fighting.

I spot them before they see me.

James is holding back as Vistorix is probably mentally shielded and telekinesis isn’t much use unless you got something that can hurt the person you’re fighting.

Skyler is also staying back. She forgot to bring any Fairbairn–Sykes Knifes and so did I. Some of modified ones would be very useful against Vistorix. He and Skyler effectively have the same power set with different origins, but he’s much stronger and tougher.

Samuel on the other hand is going at Vistorix. Aquiline was right when she said he could hold his own against Vistorix.

Samuel’s powers come from a psionic field around him, allowing for a variety of abilities. While he doesn’t have all of the ones the first Lantern had yet, he got the superdurability to take Vistorix’s blows along with strength and speed to return them. Plus he had flight, something the supervillain lacks. Samuel also has weak telekinesis, but is refraining from using it for same reasons as James.

“Come on wannabe!” roars Vistorix, “I can take all of you””

“Got to get through me first,” says Samuel as he swings a punch at his foe.

Vistorix jumps back. Samuel may be a good boxer, but Vistorix has plenty of combat experience.

He lunges for Sam, but he flies out of reach.

“Coward!” shouts Vistorix in anger, “Stay on the ground and fight me like a man!”

Skyler leaps up behind the villain and punches him in the left shoulder.

The villain roars and turns to face her, but she has already retreated.  James tosses a swarm of broken sticks at Vistorix, a distraction for Samuel. Sam takes it, swooping in and punching Vistorix in the face before flying back up again.

Vistorix staggers back, lashing out in an attempt to hit his attacker. He grunts and looks around before focusing on James. He charges with animal-like roar.

James uses his telekinesis to fly up into the air as Sky and Sam dash and swoop in respectively.

Sam punches Vistorix in the face again while Sky trips him up.

Vistorix grunts with pain before he tries to get to his feet. Sam goes in for kill, figuratively speaking of course, as a swarm of punches pummelling Vistorix.

But then it goes wrong as Vistorix kicks Sam in the stomach, sending him flying into a tree.

The villain grabs a log and tosses it at James, who easily dodges it. But Vistorix has jumped up at him while James was distracted.

Skyler intercepts Vistorix, sending them both tumbling into the ground.

Vistorix is up first and stomps on her right arm. Sky screams in pain as her arm is crushed. Her regeneration should heal that before morning, but not before the fight ends. Vistorix raises his fist back for the killing blow.

Now it’s my turn.