The Badges vs The Commission part 5

Sean Pierce walked briskly down the windowless corridor, lit by cheap bulbs along the ceiling. Passing several locked doors, he arrived at one particular cell, which was immediately opened by an armed guard. Inside, Ryan Bennings sat on a mattress as if waiting for an appointment. Pierce motioned for the guard to wait outside and he complied, closing the thick steel door behind him.

“Would you believe it if I told you I didn’t want it to come to this?” Pierce asked.

“Nope,” Ryan stood to his feet, “I’m gonna assume this is a black site on US soil. I’m ‘only being detained for safety concerns’. I’ll probably be free to go once I disclose the whereabouts of Dante Greer. Sound about right?”

“It would certainly help.”

“If it’s any consolation, I’m certain Dante is with my team, but I’ve no idea where they are at the moment.”

“Don’t bother. We’ll track them down soon enough.”

“Lemme guess, Intrepid left a tracking device on Hyperion’s Light? Probably dropped in the exhaust system just before she escaped. I say that because I’ve otherwise been pretty good at making sure she didn’t hide any devices on my ship.”

Pierce gave him a respectful smile, “You always knew, didn’t you?”

“Of course. Back when I was recruiting for the Commission, I asked you to send a Badge over to my team because I knew you’d be spying on me either way. I just made sure it was on my terms. I was always one step ahead.”

Pierce looked around the dark cell mockingly, “And yet, here you are.”

“And yet…,” Ryan parroted, “… I caught Intrepid talking to you about Dante Greer and planned accordingly.” He shook his head, “Let’s be real. You made it obvious from the start you were gonna butt heads with us. You didn’t like the idea of my squad showing up the IMD.”

“I don’t like the idea of unchecked power.”

“Yes, you do… but only if you’re the one going unchecked.”

“I answer to Interpol. We have protocol.”

“And yet, I’m being held in this cell without due process. Seems like an abuse of power to me.”

“Do stop whining, Bennings. You knew the consequences. You knowingly broke the law.”

“Yes, I broke the law, but for the right reasons. You knew the Upstarts was a bad idea, just as much as I did. You just can’t help but lick the boot.”

He sighed, “I never liked the Upstarts and kept tabs on the program, yes. Despite all appearances, I do care for Dante Greer and I know he looks up to you, but I think you’ll agree, you’re the worst possible role model. Let’s be real here. You successfully hid him away, …but now what?”

Elsewhere, Hyperion’s Light hovered in the sky. Unbeknownst to the team inside, a tracking device deep within a ventilation chamber was signaling the IMD. In the meeting room, Alysa Saraki and Dante Greer sat at the table. Shujai quietly stood off to the side, watching a series of monitors for oncoming vessels. Dante Greer stared at him angrily before leaning over to Alysa Saraki.

“Do we gotta keep him around?” he whispered.

“He’s on the team,” she answered firmly, “Not gonna lie, it took me some time to get used to it, but he’s alright.”

He shook his head, “They’re dangerous.”

“He’s saved our lives more than once,” she responded.

Nearby, the Cavalier spoke to Astra Machina as they formulated a rescue mission, “Any idea where they took Ryan?” he asked.

“He’s probably still in the US,” she answered, “But I can’t find anything, even on secured networks.”

“Probably a black site,” he surmised.

“Then there won’t be any records of it.”

Cavalier crossed his arms in frustration, “I don’t like this. The longer we spin our wheels, the more likely it is that the Badges will find us.”

“I kinda want that,” she responded. “I hope Intrepid is with them. I’m still mad at her and I want her to know it.”

Several clicks away, the Cloudburst flew en route to their location. Dafne Mansoor was in the pilot’s seat, still mulling over recent events. She followed the signal she had planted a day before, which served as a constant reminder of her betrayal. She resented every second of the trip. In the co-pilot’s seat, Jill Frakes struggled with her own resentments. She and Mansoor had butted heads during the “Agent Crown Dilemma” weeks earlier; she wanted to respect Pierce’s orders and Mansoor went against them. In the end, the team sided with Mansoor despite Frakes being the current field leader. More recently, Frakes failed to capture Ryan Bennings, so it fell onto Mansoor’s shoulders to subdue him. She hated the feeling of being under-minded.

As the Cloudburst approached Hyperion’s Light, alarms went off inside the larger ship. “There’s an approaching vessel,” Shujai announced, “It’s the Cloudburst.” Cavalier led everyone out of the room, “Ok, people. It’s happening… again. We all know the plan!” Dante stood up to follow, but Cavalier placed a hand on his shoulder, “Stay here until someone comes to get you.” With that, the team left and Dante sat, sulking.

Back in the holding cell, Ryan Bennings cleaned his glasses as he spoke to Pierce, “Y’know, I couldn’t help but notice, just before they captured me, there were an awful lot of unconscious Badges on the field.” He placed the glasses on the bridge of his nose, “Are you sure your team’s up for round two?”

Pierce raised a single eyebrow, “Did you forget about the Elite Squad? I formed that division for some of our more… stubborn targets.”

Inside the Cloudburst, Frakes made an announcement over the PA to the group in the hangar: “Elite Squad, we’re approaching the drop-zone. Be ready.” Casey Hernandez did a few stretches and approached the hangar door. Deepak Bakshi appeared less physically confident, but stood next to Hernandez nonetheless. “Remember what I’ve been teaching you about your powers,” Bakshi reminded him. “I’ll keep it in mind,” Hernandez assured him. Then, he turned to the Thai man in a lotus position at the back, “Yo, Wang. You ready, man?” Arthit Wang inhaled deeply as he finished his meditation and calmly rose to his feet, “I’m ready.”

Wang approached the two men and placed a hand on both their shoulders, increasing their mass as the hangar opened, releasing howling winds inside. Not far away, they saw Hyperion’s Light which curiously opened its own hangar. “They knew we were coming?” Bakshi asked nervously. “Intel said they’d expect us,” Hernandez told him, “Look alive, gentlemen. We’re moving in 3… 2… 1…”.

With the two vessels hovering, there was a space of roughly 3 clicks between them and a very long drop below. Hernandez used his black hole powers to collapse the space between the two vessels, instantly landing the team inside Hyperion’s Light. Once they were in the landing bay, they noticed the door closing ominously behind them. Outside, the Cloudburst quickly turned around. “Elite Squad is away,” Frakes reported, then they flew the aircraft out of the area to avoid an attack from the much larger ship. Inside Hyperion’s Light, the three agents looked around the dark hangar for any signs of the enemy. “Stay focused,” Wang told them. “Stay calm.”

In a cell far away, Ryan Bennings sat on the old mattress on the floor, “So the Elite Squad, huh? The big guns. If I recall, there was one guy with the power of the sun, another guy with the power of a black hole, and a third guy who controls mass. That’s pretty heavy-duty.”

“They were all given entire Neutronium canisters prior to training,” Pierce told him. “I should hope they’re a force to be reckoned with. I’m sure you remember they created a singularity in space, once. Took out an entire U’ntari armada.”

Ryan gave an impressed whistle, “So what’s the plan now? Get your most powerful guys to overwhelm the Commission now that I’m not with them?”

“Without your leadership, it should be a simple matter of taking them while their pants are down, yes.”

“Seems like you’re focusing on me too much,” Ryan shrugged.

“And here I thought you enjoyed being the center of attention.”

“I’m just saying, you might be looking in the wrong direction. I have no powers or special training or anything. I’m easily the least dangerous guy on the Commission.”

“Come now, Bennings… you and I both know that’s not true.”

In Hyperion’s Light, the Elite Squad moved carefully among the crates and machinery. They also noticed the Cavalier’s Dragon hovercraft, ready for takeoff. “Should we split up?” Bakshi whispered. “No…,” Wang told him. Before he could explain further, Shujai flew over the hovercraft and targeted Bakshi who barely had time to boost his strength and durability with solar energy. The punch sent Bakshi to the opposite end of the hangar, where he bounced off the inner-wall. Hernandez quickly acted; he raised his arms and there was a strange rippling effect. Shujai noticed the space between him and the Squad expanded despite previously being within a few feet of them. Everything appeared stretched and frozen in time. Then, the air curved into a transparent tunnel and it sent him into the hallway like a marble being sucked through a vacuum.

Cavalier dropped with his morning-star against Wang’s shoulder, but his increased mass ensured the blow didn’t move him at all. There was a flick of the wrist and upon contact, Cavalier found himself weightless and it hurled him over a stack of crates.

When Bakshi stood to his feet, lasers appeared out of thin-air and struck him, forcing him against the wall once again. Realizing his assailant was invisible, he began manipulating gravity in the area to bend light. Alysa Saraki’s invisibility spell was overpowered and she and Astra Machina were revealed. Bakshi’s palms lit up and he calmly warned them, “Be careful. I’d rather not hurt anyone.” Alysa raised a force field and Astra built a shield for herself just before two solar beams shot out, pushing them back.

In the hall, Shujai flew at Hernadez but found himself curiously unable to reach him despite his momentum. The Badge manipulated the space between them; no matter how fast Shujai flew forward, he never got close. “I’ve been learning a few things since we last fought,” Hernandez told him and used his matter-absorption power to suddenly draw Shujai forward against his will. After Shujai was yanked toward him, Hernandez repelled him down the length of the hallway, where he was smashed through a wall. A second later, a bio-blast shot out of the newly made hole. Hernandez threw himself out of the way, but the force of the blast slammed him against the side of the hallway, stunning him. “You need to keep learning,” he heard Shujai’s voice from a distance.

In the hangar, Cavalier’s limbs became heavy, and he couldn’t move. “I don’t enjoy fighting,” Wang informed him as he rested a hand on his shoulder, “Our mission is to find Dante Greer.”

“Well, here I am.”

Dante rushed across the hangar with stored-up kinetic energy. When he collided against Wang’s chest, he sent him flying. Cavalier’s normal mass returned, and he fell to his knees. Catching his breath, he looked up at Dante, “I told you to stay put.”

“I’m sorry, Cav,” Dante said, “I’m tired of hiding.”

“We’re trying to protect you.”

“People gotta stop tell’n me that shit,” he grumbled and raced toward Wang.

At another section of the hangar, Bakshi used his gravity powers to lift Alysa and Astra into the air. “I’m not sure we can fight much longer inside this ship,” he warned, “We might cause too much damage and crash.”

“Then ya’ll shouldn’t have come here,” Alysa told him.

Alysa emitted bright lights and sounds that briefly blinded and deafened him. It forced him to let go and regain his bearings. As he recovered, Astra built restraints around him.

Across the hangar, Dante threw punches at Wang who, using his superior fighting skills, calmly blocked his blows, making sure to lower his own mass so that Dante couldn’t build as much kinetic energy.

“I’m sick of this shit!” Dante roared, “People keep trying to tell me what’s good for me! Maybe I know what’s good for me!”

Wang calmly stepped back, avoiding more hits, “You’re angry. I know there’s a lot you’re afraid of.”

“You don’t know shit!”

Wang caught Dante’s next punch. The punch after that was caught as well, and both arms were held aloft. “Bakshi told me you have kinetic energy-based powers,” he explained quietly. “My powers are to manipulate mass.”

“Who cares!”

“From what I understand, the more mass an object has, the more kinetic energy it can create.” Wang let go of Dante and stepped back.

“The hell you doing?”

“There’s no reason to fight.”

Wang sat down in a lotus position once again and closed his eyes. “Get up!” Dante shouted in a rage, “Fight me! Everyone keeps pissing me off and won’t leave me alone! Now, all a sudden when I’m ready to stand up for myself, you got no fight in you? Bullshit!” Despite Dante’s rage, Wang remained motionless, at peace. Dante wasn’t sure of his next move.

In the hallway, Hernandez decreased the space around Shujai, trapping him in a huddled position on the floor. Angrily, the U’ntari warrior released a quick burst of charged bio-energy from both hands. The force of the energy-wave threw Hernandez back and he used his matter absorption powers to take as much energy as he could manage. He hit the floor and there was a strange tingling sensation throughout his body. When he sat up, he found his right hand shrouded by strange, black energy. Shujai likewise gave pause. Hernandez raised his fist and focused on the energy, releasing an ebony beam that hit Shujai in the chest and sent him flying back once more. “What the hell?” Hernandez muttered to himself.

In the hangar, Bakshi was still stunned but with a burst of solar energy, he broke free from Astra’s bounds, sending both her and Alysa sliding along the floor. Cavalier raced to them and helped them to their feet. “What’s the plan?” Alysa asked. Cavalier pulled a device from his utility belt, “I’m making the call.”

Back in the prison cell, Ryan Bennings stretched out on the mattress, placing his hands behind his head and showing a level of relaxation Pierce hadn’t seen from him since they began their conversation. Ryan spoke while staring up at the ceiling, “I heard that, a while back, there was some Greek arms dealer who got ahold of alien tech. Apparently, his team learned how to disrupt Neutronium energy. They created a Negation Field that rendered the Badges powerless for a while.”

“That was Billy Bacchus, yes,” Pierce answered, masking his confusion. “He built a machine to spread a Negation Field around his island.”

“Now, if some crazy rich guy and his team of moderately competent engineers produced a Negation Field, don’t you think I would have figured it out much earlier?”

Pierce smiled once more. “I’m sure you have, but I’m also sure you won’t use it in this situation. Why else do you think I wanted my team to fight on your ship? Last I checked, Hyperion’s Light ran on a Neutronium Dyson Sphere. Generating a Negation Field onboard would remove my team’s powers, certainly.  But there’s also a very good chance it’d take out your ship’s engine as well.”

“I’d say there was a 100% chance of that happening.”

The Cavalier pressed a button, and inside the ship’s lab, a strange glow emerged from a large generator. Immediately, Bakshi, Hernandez and Wang felt power leave their bodies. Additionally, Dante Greer and Shujai felt the same way as they were also powered by Neitronium. Their abilities vanished. What’s more, it plunged the entire ship into darkness as the lights shut off. In the lowest level, the Dyson Sphere stopped spinning and the glow that once surrounded it dimmed. The ship shifted listlessly in the air, just before it plummeted out of the sky.

In the cell, Ryan Bennings smiled from ear to ear as he lay on the mattress, “The ship losing power is, obviously, not ideal. Of course, it’s a good thing I have an artificially intelligent being on my team who’s synched up and can generate power on her own.”

Hyperion’s Light plummeted out of the sky, passing through the clouds on a crash course with the surface of the planet. Inside, Cavalier, Alysa, and Astra held on to railings within the hangar. Bakshi and Wang bounced around the hangar, with Dante falling after them. Before he could be injured, however, Alysa caught him in a telekinetic spell. In the hall, Hernandez and Shujai hit the ceiling and walls. “Astra!” Cavalier called out as the team hung vertically, “I really hope you got this!”

“Just a moment,” she said cheerfully, and metallic tendrils dug into the ship. As it fell, back-up lights flickered on and Astra transferred her own power into the ship. After that, the thrusters came online and fired up, beginning the process of righting the aircraft. Alarms screamed inside the ship and it dropped toward a body of water; the Commissioners held their breaths. With the ship’s descent slowing down, it straightened up. Meanwhile, the unconscious members of the Elite Squad slid along the floor. A powerless Shujai also rolled around until he found a doorframe to hold on to. The ship glided over the water before finding a beach where it landed, roughly but safely.

Cavalier and Alysa caught their breath. Dante sat on the floor nearby and looked around in confusion. As for Astra, she had gone offline to transfer all power to the ship.

Alysa turned to Cavalier and with a shaky voice said, “Hey, Cav?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s not do that again.”

Continued…