The Conglomerate part 2

A forest in Switzerland…

A deer wondered through a grove of trees, its ears twitching in various directions in a constant state of alertness. Letting its guard down for just a moment, it stopped at a stream to get some nourishment. As it craned its neck down to drink, a tendril of energy came from the branches above and wrapped around its throat. It began to thrash and buck but its strength soon began to fade as it was hefted off the ground. It took some time but the deer finally fell and its body immediately began to shrivel up, bones and all, as if deflating. Once the tendril absorbed the last bit of bio-energy, the deer was finally sucked dry, leaving fleshy leather stretched over a brittle skeleton.

Syfire leapt down from the tree, landing solidly on his feet. Since being unintentionally left behind by the U’ntari during the Resurgence, he had been surviving in the wilderness, using his powers to gain sustenance from the wildlife. When he felt bold enough, he’d occasionally venture outside the forest and glean information from the outside world to know the whereabouts of his enemies, particularly the U’ntari warrior Shujai. To him, he was once a great hero who became a traitor to his own race and needed to be eliminated. He had nothing else to live for on this primitive world except revenge; he only needed to find a way to get close to his target.

It had been months since he saw an intelligent lifeform, so it was quite shocking when the woman appeared in the middle of the woods. What was more shocking was that she had apparently been invisible for an unknown amount of time. Syfire leapt back and unleashed his tendrils while taking a defensive stance, “Who are you?”

“Jennifer Sawyer,” she answered calmly, “I think your people had files on me.”

“If you were a target, you weren’t mine.”

“No. The assassin that attacked me is dead now, but you share the same uniform. I suspect you were part of the same group.”

“The Silencers,” Syfire continued to talk to her, but didn’t let his guard down, “Did you come here to claim another life?”

“What I did was in self-defense. I have no reason to fight you.”

“But you chose to track me down. For what purpose?”

“I recently used Neutronium-infused DNA for an experiment. I wanted to pursue the matter further. I aimed to lock on to the unique energy signals from the dead assassin. My goal was to find one of the few remaining U’ntari on Earth.”

“You found me. Now what?”

“I wanted to see if you’d be willing to help me. We need to capture a being who’s been of great interest to me.”

“I’m not your ally,” he barked without need for further clarity.

Sawyer continued nonetheless, “This being was supposedly the one responsible for destroying the U’ntari satellite which was a turning point in the Resurgence as you know.”

“Astra Machina… I know of her. She’s in the group known as the Commission, along with a few of my enemies, namely Shujai.”

“The U’ntari that allied himself with Earth.”

“That’s the one.”

“So can I count on you to help me?”

“Would you be willing to help me kill Shujai in return?”

“Quid pro quo. It’s an intriguing prospect.”

“There’s more,” Syfire indicated the burn scars across one side of his face, “Ryan Bennings and the Cavalier did this. I’d like to pay them back and as I understand it, those two are also in the Commission.”

“What are you getting at?”

“From my experience, Earth’s champions rally together. From a logical standpoint, it makes sense to be ready for multiple opponents.”

“I only want Astra Machina.”

“If you captured her, don’t you think her friends would come to her rescue? We share more enemies than you realize,” Syfire finally retracted his tendrils, “I’m willing to work with you if it means killing Shujai, but if we’re at an impasse, then we should just part ways.”

“Wait,” she raised a single hand, “You have a point. The Commission might be a problem, but from what I know of the group, it would take far more than the two of us to eliminate them. There would have to be a conglomeration.”

Syfire stopped, “Do you have any ideas?”

A valley in Russia…

Weeks later, Sawyer and Syfire initiated a break-out in the Ice Box and during the confusion, took Professor Miles Cady. While Syfire had a hatred of Ryan Bennings, Sawyer knew they needed an ally who was more familiar with him. Cady had known Bennings since he was a child and attempted to use his telepathic abilities to kill him twice in a short amount of time. Sawyer knew his power would be a benefit, even if Cady was opposed to the idea of forming a team. Not long after they initiated the escape from the Ice Box, they ventured to Eastern Europe. Shortly after landing, they stood in a grassy valley in the middle of Russia for reasons Cady was unsure of.

“I’m more than willing to kill Ryan Bennings,” Cady told the group, “But I won’t be friends with a corporate mogul and an alien fascist.”

“We’re not friends, so consider the message received,” Sawyer told him coldly as she continued to gaze at the surrounding mountains.

“Will he ever shut up?,” Syfire groaned while also watching the mountains.

“If you don’t like hearing my voice,” Cady sneered angrily, “Perhaps you shouldn’t have kidnapped me to begin with!,” he checked his surroundings as well, “And I’ll ask again,… Why the hell are we here?”

The Ural Mountains were chilly, but compared to the bitter cold of the Himalayans, the weather was comfortable. They were clearly several miles from anything remotely resembling civilization, and that made Cady uneasy. Sawyer didn’t answer him directly, but her conversation with Syfire filled in the blanks.

“There’s a rumor that Silencers came to these mountains,” Sawyer began, “It’s also believed the Second Phase’s main headquarters are somewhere in the Urals. Do you know if they were a target?”

“I know there was a mission to remove a group of cybernetic humans, but little else,” Syfire explained.

“No matter. Since we landed here, I’ve been broadcasting a message to the Second Phase. If they’re anywhere in the vicinity, they’ll know I’m trying to make contact.”

“Are you crazy?,” Cady shouted while frantically checking the area once more, “Why on Earth would you contact the Second Phase?”

Sawyer gave him a strange look, “So I can speak to them.”

Soon, a rectangular portal opened in the ground and two operatives emerged: Doc Serenity and Recall. Cady was initially nervous but his fear increased with the sudden strong winds and the low hum from above. He looked up just in time to see a set of Second Phase aircrafts descending into the valley.

“I doubt this is an attack,” Recall announced. “Jennifer Sawyer wouldn’t be foolish enough to fight at the base of a valley.”

“Our leaders are still cautious,” Doc Serenity told him, “Especially with the U’ntari there.”

“As I explained in my message,” Sawyer began, “We share mutual enemies. The Commission has been a threat to the Second Phase, both as a team and, in some cases, individually. One member on the team is even a former IMD agent.”

“Intrepid.”

“Yes. Her. The IMD has been a thorn in your sides longer than the Commission.”

“We don’t give in to petty concepts like revenge,” Serenity explained. “We admire your technological breakthroughs. Yet, we don’t condone advancement for monetary gain.”

“Fair enough.”

“But our leaders see the logic in eliminating potential threats,” Serenity motioned toward Recall, “Our operative should prove useful. Recall has photographic reflexes, memory, and predictive movement. He’s one of our more analytical agents. He should suffice.”

Recall didn’t bother greeting them and instead told them plainly, “I hope you plan on recruiting more members.”

“I assure you, I will,” Sawyer answered.

A desert in the US…

The next stop was the state of Nevada. While Cady was beginning to acclimate to a cold environment, he was now in a hot, arid terrain, which he found disagreeable.

“There are only rumors of a cult living here,” Recall argued. “If the Iconoclast sect of Iseda is here, there is no guarantee they have any connection to the goings on in the town of Winghaven.” His allies were clearly ignoring him, but he continued all the same. “Furthermore, you have only seen grainy images of a young woman in the Commission whom you believe to be connected to all this.”

Sawyer turned to Cady, “You were medicated in the Ice Box. Have the meds worn off?”

“Yes, why?”

“Telepaths have a certain connection to mystic energies. I need you to see if the Iseda cult can be contacted.”

“If I refuse?”

Sawyer raised an arm horizontally and it suddenly elongated into a thorny blade, which left Cady dumbfounded as he was unaware she had any superpowers. Syfire and Recall were likewise surprised but maintained their composure.

“Just give me a second,” Cady shook it off and closed his eyes to concentrate. “There’s a psychic connection to mystic realms and entities, that’s true. I’ve detected Ley Lines, if anyone’s familiar with those. I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.”

Several minutes later, the air on the horizon began to shift. Cady, who had sat down on the sand long ago, rose to his feet, using his cane as a crutch. “I think someone’s coming,” he warned. A group of figures emerged from nowhere and Cady sensed the usage of Ley Lines. The figures wore old, dirty clothes with some even going so far as to wear garments that appeared handmade. What was most alarming was that the leader of the group, a slender Caribbean woman, wore a blindfold over what appeared to be badly injured eyes. In her hands, she held a severed head.

“Oh God!,” Cady shrank back in fear once he noticed what she was holding.

The severed head looked him in the eyes and impatiently asked, “Who are you?”

“Oh… Oh…!,” Cady spun around vomited in the hot sand.

“I can speak for myself, Eleazar,” Queen Faith whispered to the severed head before turning to the group in front of them, “I can’t see but I can sense power. I can sense something that isn’t from this world… and I sense… fools who’ve altered themselves using technology.”

“I understand your sect of Iseda renounces modern luxuries,” Sawyer began, “There’s much you detest about us, but we have similar enemies.”

“You are my enemies!,” Queen Faith growled and a wind blew the sand around them, “Why shouldn’t we kill you right now?”

“I doubt you have the ability,” Recall responded sharply.

Sawyer waved a hand at him, signaling him to stop talking before addressing Queen Faith once again, “There’s an Iseda priestess who’s a member of the Commission. I believe she’s an enemy of yours.”

“Alysa Saraki is no priestess,” Faith growled.

“Whatever her status is, there’s bad blood between you, it seems,” Sawyer cocked her head to the side to study Queen Faith, “We’re going to go after the Commission as we all share common enemies and that means we’ll likely kill Miss Saraki at some point. I thought it’d be prudent to ask that you be a part of it. Your abilities could be of use.”

Queen Faith raised her head as a sign of attentiveness, “I’m willing to listen.”

As the two women negotiated, Syfire stared at the decapitated head in Queen Faith’s hands and leaned over to Recall to whisper a question, “Humans can’t survive with just a head, can they?”

“It’s an impossibility,” Recall answered confidently.

He subtly pointed to Eleazar, “How do you explain that then?”

“… I can’t,” he admitted.

A garden in Costa Triste…

The final stop was South America. Sawyer had previously done business in the small island country of Costa Triste and had enough connections to personally visit the man who ran it. Nadie was guided in his wheelchair trough his garden while a number of men with assault rifles stood guard at various points in the villa. Sawyer casually walked alongside him as they spoke.

“I don’t like most Americans and I don’t like the wealthy,” Nadie explained to her, “And I don’t particularly like that you had a sweat shop in my country.”

“I don’t expect you to be as self-righteous as the others,” Sawyer told him, “We don’t need to agree on much. You want the Cavalier dead and you know I can arrange that. This is the only reason why you let me come to your villa. Everyone on this team has a stake in eliminating the Commission and that includes you.”

“And you’re a businesswoman who should know how to negotiate better,” Nadie stated plainly, “I have an employee who’s like a son to me. He’s wanted by the American authorities, and he is now trapped there. He’ll help you on this mission, but on the condition that you give him the means to bring him back to Costa Triste.”

“Done. Let me know where to find him.”

A mountain in the US…

The next day, Mano leaned against the wall of a cabin in the woods while facing five strange figures. “There’s some asshole on a motorcycle after me these days,” he informed the team, “If by some chance you see him, don’t hesitate to rip him in half. Otherwise, I’m more than willing to help you kill the Knight and get the hell out of this country.”

“This man has no powers,” Recall spoke to Sawyer but made no attempt to be quiet, “He’s the weakest of us and I’m curious to know what his purpose is.”

“Relax,” Mano said in Spanish, “It just means I have the biggest set of balls here.”

Recall turned to him sharply, “I speak multiple languages, including Spanish.”

“I don’t care,” he stated plainly.

“Everyone here serves a purpose and a shared goal,” Sawyer explained as she paced around the cabin. “We don’t have to like each other. We know what we want out of this. Together, we bring wealth, resources, skills, and advanced technology. We also have magic and telepathy. These assets should allow us to quickly track down the Commission individually.”

“Individually?” Mano asked.

“We have a better chance initiating one-on-one fights, rather than dealing with them as a unified team. We should eliminate them before they can regroup or retaliate.”

“Just show me where Alysa Saraki is hiding,” Queen Faith responded, “Do what you will to the rest.”

“You mistake me, Priestess,” Sawyer said apologetically, “We’ll supply information to each other and assist when we can, but we will not be fighting our usual enemies.”

“What?”

“They know how to fights us. They know our powers, our abilities, our weaknesses,” Sawyer shook her head and crossed her arms, “No, this time around, we’ll be giving them fights they never expected.”

Continued…