I hit the locker room of the Eye before meeting Chiron, and I start putting on my armor and costume while sending a quick text to Penny.
Got into LHU. See you in the fall!
"
What do we have?" I ask Chiron and Nysus as I enter the command room of the Eye, placing my helmet on my head and making sure my gauntlets are secure. Chiron has a huge smile on his face, meaning he's found something good. Something real good.
"
We've been scanning the usual outlets for any sign of Xerxes, and we think we've found something," he starts.
"
Yea see, I helped," Nysus cuts in.
"
You did," Chiron says, hitting a few keys on the command console and a map of Lost Haven flashes on the main screen. On it I can see one of the shorter skyscrapers in downtown Lost Haven highlighted. "
From some intel we've recovered, we believe he's in the city at this location. It looks like you're right. He's slipped up and now it's your turn to strike."
I smile to myself and turn to head towards the roof of the Eye of the Fates, "
You don't have to tell me twice."
Once I'm on the roof, I shadow meld and begin racing towards downtown Lost Haven, my heart pounding. I've never been more excited to be on patrol, and I can understand why. The opportunity to take down someone on the FBI's most wanted list is by far the biggest thing I've had the opportunity to do since becoming Cerberus, and this can help announce my presence to the world.
Within a few moments, I'm standing in an alleyway across the street from the downtown high rise. Only a few of the windows are illuminated from the inside, an odd sight to see downtown. Meaning Chiron's instincts and data mining are probably correct, and Xerxes is indeed in that building.
I go back into the shadows, and appear in the lobby, where three men brandishing swords stand at attention in front of the elevators. I smile as they begin approaching me slowly, "
Come on...do you guys really expect to beat me?"
But they don't respond, instead, the send of swings, jabs, and parries towards me, forcing me into a quick defensive position with my sword, which is saying something. According to Chiron, I'm naturally adept at sword fighting because of my lineage, but these guys are good.
The four of us do some sort of dance of death, swords clanging against each other as each of us barely miss our targets. Eventually the lopsided fight gets the best of me, and one of them manage to strike through my defenses and hit one of my unarmored parts. The gash is small, but catches me off guard. I push my attackers back with a blast of fire from my hands.
"We expect to beat you," they all say in unison, which is the creepiest thing ever, by the way, "because we are the Immortals."
"
Xerxes really takes his name seriously, doesn't he?" I say, as I toss more fire at them. They dive out of the way, but they've never seen fire like I've got before. It chase them as the swipe to put it out, and in a matter of moments I have them cornered by flames, which all of a sudden morph into a representation of my namesake, the hound Cerberus. It slams into them, the heat causing them to pass out as I command the flames to dissipate. "
Sorry gents."
I search their unconscious forms and find a key card before heading for the elevators. I insert it and instantly it takes me towards the penthouse of the high rise. I feel my heart almost leap into my throat as I head higher and higher. The fact that I've gotten this close to someone that has never been close to capture is insane, and even though I shouldn't be nervous, I am.
But the nerves are instantly erased as I'm greeted by a hail of gunfire as the doors slide open. I instantly blend into the shadows of the darkened room and flow to the other side. As I make myself tangible again, I find that the bullets have come from motion sensing turrets in front of what I can only assume is Xerxes's massive desk. And on top of that I've been hit. Warm blood flows from my left arm, right above where the Immortal got me with the sword.
It's odd to feel the pain. It almost puts me into a trance. I've never been hurt by an opponent besides Chiron, and he was almost always holding back. I attempt to shake the thoughts from my head as I noticed an ajar door located behind a bookcase. Something screams in my mind that it's incredibly fishy, but I head through it anyway.
Complete darkness greets me on the other side as the door closes itself behind me. Before I can react at all, what seem like hundreds of floodlights blast on, bathing every inch of the room in white light. On top of that, a icy cold mist fills the air as I look around attempting to adjust to the harsh light. As I do so, a laugh as cold as the air echoes from somewhere in front of me in the bright blur. As my eyes come into focus, the imposing form of what I assume is Xerxes stands about twenty feet in front of me, with ten more Immortals in a circle around me. Xerxes stands about six-foot six if I had to guess, and is dressed in a dark red suit with a black shirt underneath. His bald head reflects a lot of the light coming from all around me, and as he speaks as powerful voice emanates from his powerful jaws, "
Well, well hero. You are as cocky as I thought. You really thought this was going to be easy."
"
For a couple minutes there, yea I thought it would be," I answer as I search for a way out of this predicament, not seeing anything, especially with no shadows to meld with.
"
I must commend you though," he continues. "
No one has ever made me sweat this much. You really did have me worried. But now you have the honor of being killed by me personally. Something I haven't had to do for almost a decade. Even my Immortals have not been used against a rival in many years. But they were eager to use their considerable skill yet again."
"
Dude, you're monologuing, what an idiot!" I mock as I attempt to summon flames to take out the Immortals closest to me. Unfortunately all I manage to do is get a small burst that reminds me of a lighter running out of fluid. And then it dawns on me. the fluid is to stop me from casting fire. That was my last ditch effort, and now all I've got is my sword and natural abilities.
"
Yes, only now are you realizing how foolish you are," the crime boss smiles. "
I watched from my office as you stopped my men at that disaster of a bank robbery. I know how to stop you. And now you don't stand a chance."
With a snap of his fingers, his Immortals descend upon me. I act qucikly, and manage to lash out with my blade, catching two of them across the chest and drop them, but the huge mismatch is evident. They slash the sword from my hand, and once it's gone they begin pounding me with bare fists and feet. One rips my helmet off and tosses it away, and then drives his knee into my face. Even with my enhanced durability, the strike cracks my nose, and blood flows from the wound.
For I don't know how long more blows are landed on me than I can count, and I'm convinced more pain than my nervous system can keep up with. Fists, elbows, knees, and feet batter my body until I can barely kneel, let alone stand. And it's at this moment I hear a snap. I figure it's my neck or and arm, but as the Immortals back away i realize it's Xerxes calling him off. He's obviously seen enough and he's ready to finish me off.
Funny. I never thought I'd go like this. Taken down by some mob boss who I thought I'd already cornered into nothing. He doesn't even have powers. I figured this would be practice for the rest of my hero days. Not the end of a very short career.
He approaches and laughs, "
Ah, well this is the end, Cerberus. I'm sorry to say. You have fought admirably. But when you are found tomorrow, it will look like a mugging gone wrong. No one will know of your bravery. No one will know of your heroics. And most of all, know one will have any clue I was involved."
But as he rears back his massive fist for his first strike, a voice echoes in my head,
Call upon the Earth. Gaia will assist you. It is one of your gifts. Do as I say, my boy.
I don't know if it's instinct or someone sort of being controlling my body, but I can feel the ground beneath the skyscraper, all those floor below calling to me. And i don't hesitate. I scream with all my might as if it will repel my attacker by itself, and raise my arms. As I do so, the building shakes and rattles, and the floor next to me blows apart, as two chunks of earth rip through it, sending the Immortals tumbling through the holes.
As the rocks circle me in a defensive motion, I stand. The surge of energy and power that flows through me is something that I've never felt before, and I can't help but smile at Xerxes, not completely alone in the room with me, "
You were saying?"
I toss the boulder at him, and it strikes him full on, sending him tumbling into one of the walls. I then hew the rocks and form them into binders that attach him and bind him to the wall.
"
What the hell are you?" he asks, rage filling his face.
"
Besides the man that will finally put you behind bars?" I smirk, as I feel the cold mist leaving the room through the holes in the floor. I fire some purple-black flames at him, surrounding him in a circle of flames shaped like three dog heads entwined, "
I'm Cerberus, the Heir of the Underworld."
I turn to leave, and as I drop through the floor, shadowmeld into the darkness, and head back for the Eye. Once I'm there, Chiron catches me as I collapse from exhaustion as I become tangible, "
My word, you look like hell, Desmond."
"
I'll get the infirmary ready," Nysus says, the concern in his voice is honestly touching.
"
Did he get away?" Chiron says as he palces me on a bed in the infirmary.
"
No," I respond weakly. "
I got him, Chiron. But he was ready for me. He know how to conteract my powers. But then...then I heard a voice in my head that told me to reach for the Earth."
"
My word, you used geokinesis," Chiron smiles at me as he and Nysus tend to my wounds. "
I never thought that would have manifested in you already."
"
What do you mean?" I ask obviously confused.
"
It's your final power," Chiron explains. "
You can use the Earth as a weapon. But it usually doesn't manifest until your twnety-fifth year. It's astoudning."
"
And the voice?"
"
If I had to guess...that was your father," Chiron smiles. "
But there will be plenty of time for questions. Now you must sleep."
Before I pass out, I flip open my phone and find a response from Penny.
Hey! That's great! Sorry for responding so late, but I was on a date! Tell you about it later!
I think that hurts more than anything from earlier.
**********
A hooded figure smiles as he surveys this new city. Called Lost Haven, he can see the name is fitting. The beautiful skyline shimmers in the night sky as the stars act as nightlights to the sleeping citizens.
But he was not here for the cities beauty. No, not at all. There were beings here that he would need to kill, would need to destroy. And if the power surge he had sensed not long ago was true, then who ever he would battle here was powerful indeed.
The gigantic man next to him snorts in disgust. He was never one for beauty or aesthetics, but he was a good companion, and useful for destroying those that are not worthy of their royal blood. They were better than the humans that populated this city, and they were better than those of their kind that protect them.
But that was all about to end in Lost Haven. Death had come to this city, and he wasn't leaving until his mission was complete.
