Chapter 2

The story continues from "Chapter 1" 

Chapter 2

         Despite his wealth, this was the first time Vincent flew first class. In fact, it was the first time he had flown anywhere in thirty five years. Things had changed somewhat in that time. With the new Khaos technology available, the entertainment system was far better than Vincent remembered. The choice of over 100 movies, from classics to recent releases failed to interest him, however.

         The meal was satisfactory. He barely tasted it, though. His mind was on other things. How much had changed since he had left the world behind. He hadn't even turned on the TV set for the last ten years. Would Washington be any different than he remembered it? Or would his memories cloud the reality of the situation.

         At the front of his mind was how he would handle the current military liaison. What would he tell them? Should he go by the name The Alchemist, as he had all those years ago? Should he choose a new alias? What use would he be really? It had been so long since he and the others had put General Armageddon away. Of course, at the time no one knew he was Khaotic. They thought he was just using a Khaotech suit of battle armor. How could he have gone undetected? The answer to that was obvious. He had been in jail for ten years before the first Khaos scanners had been created. Since he had been in prison so long, without using any powers to try to escape, they just didn't bother probably. And now he was back to haunt them all. If he didn't come out to finish the madman off now, then the madman would probably come to finish him before long.

         Vincent felt tired. His warped metabolism didn't require a lot of sleep, but he did need some. He tried to stave off the need for as long as possible, since when he did sleep, the dreams were often waiting. He hoped that this time, he could sleep with no interruptions. In the back of his mind, he knew that was a false hope. Everything he was thinking about brought the subject of his nightmares to the front. He drifted off, and his mind carried him back to 1996. What was now known as the battle of Armageddon.

         Everything in the area was scorched and burned. The smell of charred earth, and melting metal was strong and sickening. The sounds of explosions and screams echoed across the battle field. It was like a war, even though there were no more than a hundred fighters at the start. Lucky they took Pyre down before he could do any more damage. Too many innocent bystanders around to let that flaming maniac run loose. Still, even with all the casualties, there were a few dozen Khaotics running around. Hard to tell who was on whose side. That's why Vincent stuck close to his fiance and her sister. He knew he could trust them. They had operated as a trio for the past year. The Alchemist, Steel Sister, and Metal Maiden. They were a good team, but now they were in way over their heads. There was too much going on. Paragon was a good strategist, but she couldn't do much when there were this many variables on the field. All anyone could do was try to keep the civilian casualties to a minimum.

         None of them were sure how long Jennie, or Sister Steel, could stay in her metallic form. It seemed to exhaust her after she shifted back. She had been 'armored up' for longer than she ever had been now. It had to be taking a toll. Metal Maiden looked as good as ever, of course. It took a lot to hurt her, and they had been on the sidelines trying to protect the bystanders for most of the fight. No major confrontations yet. Alchemist hoped they could keep it that way. As he was thinking that, a car came flying through the air towards a crowd. Damn that Polarian, he didn't care how many people he killed. No, that wasn't true. He cared a lot. He wanted the body count to be as high as possible. Alchemist raised his arms, and blasts of violet energy lanced out of his fingertips. As they touched the flying projectile, it began to corrode. By the time it hit the crowd all that was left was powder. Maybe a few scrapes, but nothing serious. Sometimes it was good to be able to make anything into anything else.

Polarian didn't like being denied a kill that big. He floated over, with his partner Blackrazor following on foot. Polarian looked like an idiot in his red and blue garish costume, but he always liked the attention. Blackrazor, on the other hand looked as lethal as his name implied. Covered in a field of obsidian energy with foot long claws coming from his hands. Alchemist wasn't looking forward to seeing if those claws could cut through his shields.

         This was what Jennie had been waiting for. She longed for action. She charged Blackrazor, confident that her living metal body could deflect his claws. She found out she was right, but it didn't do her much good. As The Alchemist screamed for her to stick close to him, she was pulled off her feet and dragged to where Blackrazor was standing.

          Polarian grinned. "Looky here. A nice metal woman. Didn't you know I can do anything I like with metal girly?" As he said this, Blackrazor was slashing at her. All his claws could do was lightly score her body. Polarian looked down at his frustrated partner. "Hey, boy! Hang on a second. I think I can make that easier for you." As he concentrated on Steel Sister, Alchemist and Metal Maiden ran towards them, but they had to cover too much distance.

         In seconds, Steel Sister resumed her more fleshy form. Polarian laughed. "I told ya, I can do anything I want with metal. That means I can turn you off."

         Steel had already started to shift back, but it was too slow. Blackrazor ran her through. Unlike Polarian, who was always talking, Blackrazor was as silent as the grave. Jennie slid off the energy claws as Alchemist and Metal Maiden got there. Grace ran up and just started hammering on Blackrazor. Even with the energy shield, he was probably black and blue razor by the time she was done with him. She might have killed him if Polarian hadn't intervened.

         The hulks of three wrecked cars rose from the ground and came up over Polarian's head. "It takes time for you to shift stuff Alchemist. You won't have it at this distance. Now you just let me gather my partner and go and I might be nice and let these fall right here. If not..."

         Talking at this point was a big mistake. Alchemist lashed out with a more powerful blast than he even knew he was capable of. Polarian darted out of the way and cackled. "Fine. You've signed the death warrant for...Oh sh..."

         The blast was never meant for him. It struck the cars and they quickly turned to solid concrete and fell on the stunned Polarian. That must have attracted the General's attention, since he flew over and blasted Metal Maiden full force. She fell over her sister and Armageddon landed between them and Alchemist.

         It was impossible to read body language through the armored suit. It was obvious, however, that he thought himself invincible in there. "My scanners would indicate that you are the most potent of my enemies on the field. Maybe more powerful than Paragon herself. I wonder why you are so much less effective than her. No matter. You and your lady friends have annoyed me, so now you shall die. Any last requests?"

         "Yeah. Shut the hell up!" With that the power launched from his hands and caught the armored madman square in the chest. And he just stood there and took it. Alchemist channeled everything he had at the lunatic. He could feel warm trickles coming from his nose and ears, and Armageddon just kept coming.

         "I know all about your little tricks my friend. I took the time to arrange battles I could scan and have developed counter measuers against all of them. You really are helpless before me." With that he raised his gauntlets and fired an enormous blast of concussive force. It sent Alchemist flying across the field. Armageddon took to the air, his jets spouting fire. He hovered just over Alchemist. "It has been an interesting confrontation. Even challenging perhaps, if anything can be challenging to a living god. But now, as all good things, it must come to an end." His gauntlets began to power up to full.

         Alchemist looked up and barely thinking, launched a final blast at the General, who just snickered at his foe's desperation. His arrogance ended, however, as a series of explosions erupted within the suit, disrupting the entire system. He fell next to his intended victim.

         Alchemist looked over at the fallen man. "You forgot to shield the jet ports. Change everything in the jets to hydrogen and boom. I didn't think you were as well protected from something inside the armor." Then he staggered over to the women. He was a mass of blood and bruises, but he was alive. Steel Sister wasn't. Blackrazor's claws had cut through her heart. She must have died almost instantly. Alchemist fell to his knees and...

         Vincent jolted straight up in his seat, startling an attendant that was about to tap his shoulder. "Um, ah, we are now begining our final descent over Washington sir. Could you please fasten your seat belt?"

The story continues in "Chapter 3"