The Next Step Part I
The streets run with blood. Blood of the innocent. Blood of mutants. It has been one month since the day Nathan Winters revealed himself as a super being, a god. He claims to be the savior of the Earth, purging its populace of all impurities. But to him, he only sees one race as the flaw. One race as the imperfects. The mutants.
It has been twenty five days since order Providence, the decree that labeled any mutant as dead. Ever since then, Cable has had his Supersoldiers, or as he calls them, Flagsmashers roam the streets with the assistance of the Ultimatum, the country‘s police, searching for any man, woman or child that’s DNA classifies it as a mutant. When they find them they are shot on sight. No mercy. No compassion. No regard for life. These are the days mankind had hoped to leave behind, but hate always lives in the hearts of man. Especially those who live for revenge.
Barjnov, Rumekistan
“Hey, Kane! I found one!”
“Kill him, Malik! Put a hole in his ****ing head!”
Midnight. Two of the seven Flag smashers fly over the streets of Barjnov, the capital of the country. Garrison Kane and Albert Malik patrol the streets searching for the remaining mutants that still live in the country.
The two super soldiers chase a young teenager, no older than fifteen down a long street. The young teen is branded by his skin. It is a light green pigment, reflecting the light from the moon, making him glow. In the dead of night, his mutation is like a target on his head. He runs for his life down the street, making turns in and out of alleys as he desperately tries to find a haven.
“Malik, this one’s mine.” Kane says with an evil smile.
“Fine, Kane. But I’m radioing the Ultimatum in this area. Where there’s one-”
“Oh come on, Malik. Live a little! When they get involved its always by the book. I want to have a little fun.”
“Alright you psycho ****, have fun.”
Malik says giving Kane a thumbs up. Kane nods and drops his altitude. He begins hovering off the ground by no more than ten feet. He chases the mutant as he runs, keeping pace with ease. The young mutant looks over his shoulder and sees the super soldier right behind him, closing in fast. The mutant leans down as he runs and picks up a rock. Quickly, he turns and throws it at his pursuer. He rock hits Kane in his face, causing him to close his eyes for only a second.
“Ah!” he yells, brushing the dust and pieces from his face.
“Now you’re going to-” Kane looks around for the mutant, but to his dismay, there is no trace.
“Aw, I get it. Hide and seek, huh?” Kane says as he cracks his knuckles.
“Alright, I can play along.”
Kane slowly flies through the streets as he circles the block. He searches every area, looking into every corner, every dumpster, every small space he can find. As Kane continues to patrol, he reaches to the pouch on his upper thigh. He opens it, and pulls out a pistol. He loads a clip into the gun, making a clicking noise. As he rounds the corner, Kane lets out a quiet laugh.
Turning the corner, Kane spots his target. He sees the mutant leaning up against a stack of crates, cowering in fear. Kane laughs louder now, holding onto his pistol with both hands and aiming up the sight at the end of the barrel.
“I told you I’d find you kid.” Kane says as he pulls the safety off the gun with his thumb.
“Now you have to die!”
“No! You die!”
“What?”
Before Kane can react, a man breaks through a window on the building to his left. Glass fills the air as the man lunges toward Kane. Replacing the man’s arms are large blades. The sharp edges shine in the moon light, glistening brightly. The man brings his arms down in a quick swipe, aiming for Kane. Kane pulls back, but not fast enough. Before he can realize what has happened, the man’s blades sever Kane’s arms at the elbow, chopping them off in a clean slice.
“AH! OH MY GOD!” Kane yells in agony as he falls to the ground.
“You little ****ing mutant!” Kane stares at his arms, watching the blood spew from the open veins and arteries. His forearms his the ground with a thud, rolling around on the hard concrete in a growing puddle of mud.
“You cut off my arms! YOU CUT OFF MY DAMN ARMS!” Kane falls to his knees, staring in shock at his severed limbs.
The man who attacked Kane walks to the teenage mutant. As he grows closer, his arms form back into human arms, the blades disappearing and morphing back. As Kane yells and screams, the man holds out a hand to the mutant teen.
“It’s okay, kid.” He says with a generous smile.
“You’re safe now.”
“W-Who are you?” The mutant asks.
“I’m part of the resistance, son. We’re fighting back. We’re taking Rumekistan back.” He turns back to Kane, staring at him while he continues to scream as the blood flows like waterfalls from his arms.
“Taking it back from people like him. Like Cable.” The young mutant looks at the man’s hand and then up to the man’s face. He stares with joy, hope filling his body as tears come to his eyes. The mutant goes to put out his arm to grab hold of the man as he leans forward.
“I’m sorry, do you two think Cable is a tyrant?” A voice calls out. The two mutants look around them, searching for the voice. They hear the sound of a gun loading above them. They look up and see another super soldier hovering just overhead, his pistol pointing at them as he laughs.
“No one questions, Cable!” The man yells as he pulls the trigger. Two bullets fire from the barrel in a loud bang. They fly through the air in the blink of an eye, moving like silver streaks. They embed themselves in the mutants heads, cutting through their skulls and entering into the brains. With a gasp for air as their souls leave their bodies, the two mutants fall dead.
The soldier above them laughs as he puts his pistol back in his pouch on his leg. Slowly, the man lowers himself to the ground. He looks over to Kane, his eyes staring in shock at the massacre of his friend.
“Kane!” he yells as he rushes to his friend’s side.
“My God! Garrison! Stay with me!”
“Little…****er…cut off my arms.” Kane says, spitting blood from his lips.
“No, it’s not bad.” The soldier says, struggling to keep down his food.
“We’ll get you fixed up. You’ll make it.”
“End up…like Straka…won’t I, Malik?”
“No. No, you’re not going to end up like him. We’ll fix you, buddy. You’ll make it.” Malik says as he puts his finger to the device in his ear.
“HQ! This is Malik! Send units to my location now! Kane’s had an accident. Repeat, this is an emergency! We have a man down!”
“Make that two!” A voice shouts from behind. Malik turns to see a figure lunging at him. His arms are outstretched, at the ends of his fingers are sharp claws, stained with blood. The figure jumps in the air as he attacks Malik. Unable to react, Malik stares in shock at the attack.
“You bastards are dead!” Suddenly, a gun shot sounds loudly, echoing off the buildings. The mutant falls to the ground dead, his eyes still open, completely caught off guard.
Malik looks at the dead body, still caught in a daze from the assault. Slowly he raises his head, looking up to see the shooter. To his surprise, he sees a man hovering in the air holding a smoking gun. The man lowers his arm and begins to descend down toward Malik. As the man grows closer, Malik soon realizes who the man is.
“Cable?” He says in disbelief.
“Yes, Malik.” He responds with a frown.
“I hear there’s some trouble here.”
“W-Wow, sir…that was fast.”
“I intercepted the message. How’s Kane?”
“Fading, sir.” Malik says, picking up his ally. He holds up his bloody body to his leader, hoping for a miracle. Cable stares at Kane’s wounds, examining them closely.
“He’ll make it.” Cable says coldly.
“Fly him to the base.”
“But, sir…he’s losing blood fast.” Cable stares at Malik motionlessly, his face showing an expression of aggression and disappointment.
“Are you questioning me, soldier?” He asks in a deep tone.
“N-No, sir. I’ll get him there stat.”
“Good.”
Malik holds his comrade in his arms and lifts into the air. The blood flows from Garrison Kane’s arms, staining Malik’s gray uniform with a dark red pigment. The two figures lift off into the air and fly off toward the government buildings in the distance.
Cable watches them leave, making sure they are out of sight before holstering his pistol. Cable looks down at the bodies of the mutants on the ground. He frowns as he looks into their eyes, still held open by the muscles in their bodies.
“The resistance.” Cable says with disgust.
“Damn you, Bishop. Of all my high ranking officers, you were the only one I’d never have suspected to be a mutant.” Cable stares back down at the body of one of the mutants. His eyes soon veer off, following the stream of blood pooling in the alley way. Cable takes a deep sigh and closes his eyes. As he calms himself down, his head moves up, lifting it high. He opens his eyes and stares at the stars above, his eyes glowing in the darkness of the night.
“It’s a shame, Lucas.” Cable says with remorse.
“We were good friends. For you, I might have tried to find a cure.” Cable lets out a deep breath. Unpredictably, Cable’s emotions change. The remorse and regret leaves his mind and soul, and is soon replaced with a feeling of resentment and hate. He squints his eyes in an angry frown as he closes his fingers into a fist, gripping tightly at his own hands.
“Might have, Lucas. Might.”
