Loose Ends

The Meta-Human Detention Center, Codename: “The Brick”
Location: Classified

“So Merv…what’s on the schedule for tonight?”

“Just the usual Bob, we have an inspection at o’ two hundred but other than that it’s another night of baby sitting the crazies.”

The two guards sat in a control room over looking a secured recreational area for the prison inmates. These weren’t any ordinary inmates nor was this an ordinary prison. The Meta-Human Detention Center, unofficially known as the “Brick” was a facility to house the growing number of super human criminals. These were individuals with an array of unique physical and mental powers and abilities.

No normal prison could contain these convicts. Some could simply fly away while others could punch through a concrete wall with ease. In the Brick these criminals were assessed and techniques employed to neutralize their powers.

From their control room the guards could watch the recreational room and call a rapid response team in the event of trouble. These inmates were allowed to congregate and socialize because they had powers that could be easily neutralized. The facility housed some inmates that would never see another living being again because of the lethality of their power.

Bob gestured over his shoulder, pointing his thumb towards the reinforced glass window. “We have a great batch of sheep tonight. We got that guy who shoots ray beams out his eyes, that armadillo looking guy, and that mind reader one.”

“Not the mind reading guy!?!” Merv said in an irritated tone. “I hate that guy…acts like he owns the place and everyone should be serving him. He’s a jerk.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to know he’s just watching television tonight and not going on about taking over the world.”

“Good. I’ll let him watch anything he wants as long as he stays quiet…”

The recreation area had light exercise equipment, tables, chairs, and televisions built into the walls to occupy the inmates as they received mandatory time out of their cells. Many of the inmates in the room had various devices attached to them to negate certain powers. One of these individuals was the individual who called himself TekLo. A thin metal band was wrapped around his head and held in place by straps. The straps could not be undone and were arranged to make slipping the harness off impossible.

The metal strap contained micro-circuitry that sent electric pulses into TekLo’s cerebral cortex. This pulse negated TekLo’s telekinetic powers. He was also administered a sedative to prevent him from being able to focus his power. Unbeknownst to his guards he had perfected a way to appear to take the sedatives without swallowing the tablets. It took some time but TekLo’s mind was as sharp as ever. The mental inhibitor caused him a serious headache in his lucid state but it was a pain he could endure.

TekLo sat by himself. Pretending to be sedated, staring at one of the televisions. This particular one was showing a 24 hour news station. There was no sound, just the closed captioning on the screens. Teklo read the display as it covered a story that caught his attention.

“Bay City’s local heroes broke up what could for lack of a better word be termed a demonic summoning earlier today. As you can see from this footage Colonel VuuDuu interrupted a Bay City Bombers game during half time.”

Before the display listed the heroes names, TekLo knew who they were. He had faced them and been defeated by the pair many years ago. They were the reason he was trapped in this concrete cage.

“Solar Flare and Priest arrived just in time though to prevent some kind of giant demon from emerging from a pentagon Colonel VuuDuu had drawn on the field.”

The television screen showed video of a flaming pentagon in the center of a football field. Terrified players and spectators could be seen as a huge four armed, horned devil like creature emerged out of the ground. It rose up to about it’s toro’s height which was easily fifty feet. Raising one of it’s four clawed hands the creature appeared to be ready to swipe at a group of players being held at gunpoint along the sidelines. Gunman with white horned heads painted on their faces smiled wickedly as the players froze in place.

Before the clawed hand could descend a bright blast of light struck the creature leaving a noticeable black burn in it’s otherwise red leathery skin. The creature turned to face it’s attacker as a bright light swoops in and knocked down a row of gunman. Coming to a stop a human form could be seen. The gunman to aim and fired at the brightly lit, hovering form of Solar Flare. The bullets had no affect and a series of light pulses took down the remaining gunman as the players fled to safety.

The demon creature then reached out to grab Solar Flare with two of it’s arms as the other two tried to pull the rest of the demon’s body out of the pentagram. Solar Flare evaded the grappling move easily by flying a tight figure eight and then rising up. He then aimed both of his hands at the demon a beam, far greater than the first one shot down and connected square in demons chests. It tried to block with it’s two outstretched arms but Solar Flare kept the beam going. Slowing he started to lower towards the demon forcing it back down into the pentagram. Once the tips of the horns had sunk into the flames Solar Flare stopped the beam.

He drew back his arm and threw a punch that shot a ball of light down that dug out a section of the field. This disrupted the line of one part of the pentagram and the flames withered out as the portal to the hellish dimension of fire closed.

“That is amazing footage but Solar Flare wasn’t alone at Bomber Stadium. This footage was caught by a spectator on his phone. It shows Priest at his best!”

The screen now displays a video that was jerking from side to side. The blurred image of fire and shadow figures could be seen until the pictures steadies. The person taking the video appears to be hiding behind a row of bleachers.

The video shows a number of gunmen aiming their weapons at a group of cheerleaders. The video swoops up to catch a blurry image of Solar Flare flying in but turns back to the cheerleaders as a form land in front of the camera. Priest can then be seen with his katana drawn and running towards the gunmen.

Priest charges the nearest gunman who, along with all of the others, was distracted by the sudden appearance of Solar Flare. The sword comes down in a flash and sparks fly as the gunman’s rifle is split in half. A follow up round house kick takes the thug down.

The next gunman just starts to register Priest’s attack as the hilt of the sword connects with the gunman’s jaw. His head jerks back as Priest’s knee slams into the man’s chest. Doubling over the man is knocked unconscious without ever firing a shot as he gets an elbow to the back of the head.

The remaining two gunmen manage to aim their weapons at Priest and both manage to get a couple automatic rounds off. The muzzle flash of their guns light up their faces, horned visages painted on, screaming in rage. But not a round connects…

Priest’s sword hand moves in a blur as he continues to close on the gunmen. Ricochets spark off the steel blade as Priest expertly redirects the rounds back at the shooters. Both men drop their guns as the shots come rebounding back into their arms and hands. The men crumble to the ground clutching at their wounded limbs.

“Then the heroes dealt with Colonel VuuDuu himself!”

The screen goes from the amateur footage back to one of the camera’s filming the game. Colonel VuuDuu, dressed in military fatigues decorated with a a variety of skulls pulls out a pair of ornate ceremonial daggers. He crouches into a defensive posture as Priest walks up from one side and Solar Flare hovers in from the other.

A few feet from Colonel VuuDuu Priest raises his sword in a ceremonial challenge and Solar Flare’s fists glow brightly as he clenches his fists. Seeing the two heroes ready to fight and a lack of any of his henchman Colonel VuuDuu drops his weapons to the ground and puts his hands up in surrender.

The camera pans to the cheering crowds. Police arrive and take Colonel VuuDuu into custody.

“Solar Flare and Priest stuck around for awhile to make sure everyone was okay and to sign autographs.”

TekLo watched this with clenched teeth, having forgotten about his act of being in a drugged state, as the television played video of Solar Flare signing players jerseys and Priest receiving notes from many of the cheerleaders he saved.

Slamming his fist on the table the room went quiet as everyone turned towards him.

Standing, TekLo turned to face the various other inmates in the room. “What?” He said in a voice filled with contempt. “I will have my revenge on Solar Flare and Priest. This prison can not hold me like it can you vermin!”

“Uh oh.” Merv said in the control room. “We got a live one down there.”

Bob queued a microphone. “Attention all inmates you are to line up at the exit doors and return to your cells immediately.”

TekLo turned to look up at the control room glass. He couldn’t see through the mirrored glass and tried to reach out with his mind. He knew he had the power to shatter that glass, he just had to focus. But the neural inhibitor increased it’s interfering signal the more he focuses. The pain was excruciating at this point and TekLo screamed. Partially it was the pain but more than that was pure unfiltered rage.

On both sides of the room a section of wall slid away and heavily armed and armored guards spilled into the room. The guards corralled the other inmates along the walls near the prisoner exists.

Several guards, guns drawn, moved around TekLo.

From the control room speaker came a voice that addressed TekLo by his prison identification number. “Prisoner, 1J Bravo. You are to cease and desist any hostility. Lay down on the ground with your hands behind your head.”

TekLo stared at the control room glass again. He tried to overwhelm the inhibitor but the targeted pulses blocked his power. The humiliation of what he had been reduced to was too much to endure. His defeat at the hands of Solar Flare and Priest years ago, their rise to be the heroes of Bay City, and now to be ordered around by these inferior beings! He would stand it no more.

The guards closed and TekLo tried to throw them agains the walls with his telekinesis. But his powers would not answer. He reached up to the inhibitor strapped to his head. He tried to pull the straps off but the guards charged and tackled him to the ground.

Up in the control room the two guards watched amusingly as TekLo was tackled to the ground.

“Well, that’s that I guess.” Bob said to Merv.

“Yeah, at least it broke up the monotony.” Bob replied as he picked up the alert phone which had just started to ring.

“Yes, this is Bob down in rec room 4. Yeah, we got the alert under control, you guys picked it up fast but we got it under…what proximity alert? The problem is IN in the recreation room not outside. You must have malfunction…”

Bob was cut off by a blast coming from the recreation room wall opposite the control room. Unbeknownst to the prisoners the recreation room was an outside wall. It over looked a sheer cliff face several hundred feet above the shore of the ocean. Reinforced concrete that was several feet thick made it impossible to breach. At least that was what they thought.

Inmates and guards alike were caught in the blast. Several were dead from the rock and steel debris from the reinforced wall. Cries from several wounded individuals could be heard.

TekLo was unharmed by the blast as the guards on top of him provided a shield. Three were dead he could tell and the other two were seriously injured.

Standing up TekLo couldn’t see anything in the dust but as it settled a form emerged.

“Sylenz?”

“Lord TekLo.” The figure replied. He was wearing samurai armor that was high gloss black and trimmed with gold. The helmet was a wild eyed smiling face with fiery red eyes. He wore two swords on it’s side and a long bow strapped to the back of the armor. “I have come to retrieve you my lord. I apologize for the time it took me to locate you.”

Alarms started to go off as Sylenz the warrior drew a sword. TekLo didn’t blink as the blade flashed in front of his eyes, cutting the straps of the inhibitor. TekLo removed the band and the constant pulsing vanished. The residual pain of his earlier struggle remained but he could feel his mind reaching out. He sensed the two guards in the control room. They were scared. Both were calling for assistance. Only a sheet of reinforced glass stood between them and TekLo.

Closing his eyes TekLo began to hover above the ground. Slowly he rose until he was equal in height with the glass. Opening his eyes he lashed out with a telekinetic bolt. The glass shattered easily.

With his telekinesis restored TekLo grabbed both of the guards and pulled them forcefully out of the control room and held them in the air in front of him.

“Witness my true power you insolent fools.” Both guard flew to opposite sides to the room. Their bodies slammed into the walls and fell lifelessly to the ground.

“My lord.” Sylenz said respectfully. “Your device has been completed following your directions from when we last spoke.”

TekLo lowered himself to the floor and regarded his servant. “It’s is operational?” The excitement in TekLo’s voice was obvious. “Excellent.”

“Yes my lord. I continued the work while I attempted to locate you. I trust you will be pleased with the results.”

“Then we have little time. I will not be delayed another day in exacting my revenge on Solar Flare and Priest. They will pay and then I will attend to my other problems. I trust you have arranged transportation.”

Sylenz bowed and gestured towards the hole that had been blown through the wall.

TekLo walked towards the hole, throwing concrete, inmates, and guards aside with just a thought to clear a path for himself.

Following behind Sylenz drew his bow and notched an arrow. A guard foolishly appeared in the control room viewing area and was struck in the head with an arrow before he could get a single shot off.

Notching another arrow Sylenz disappeared into the hole in the wall…