Moving Day: Part 2 of 2
The all powerful Wind Duster! The mighty Freight Train! The enigmatic Dark Arrow! Formed together due to events that are better left unspoken and lead by the brain power of CBTF Director, Morris Pfeifer and Head of Public Relations, January Morgan, they are the Response! The World's 'Greatest' Superheroes!
Scotland...
"It's finally arrived..."
The coffin had been shipped in from America, Briar knew that much. It was painted black and crafted with Pine wood, natural to his home country, the coffin's width having been doubled from the norm due to the vastness of the occupant inside. The man's body simply wouldn't fit inside a normal coffin.
"Your brother's dead." Briar's Uncle grumbled, the long, thin, white beard attached to his chin jumping and shaking everytime he spoke. He was tall yet incredibly thin... and despite being one of the richest men in Scotland it was abundantly clear that he hadn't been looking after himself, mostly due to the scruffs of dirt on his face and in his hair.
"I know." Briar said, his throat aching with pain as he tried to halt the tears welling up in his eyes from dribbling down his cheeks. The coffin had been bought and paid for, it was specially designed and crafted for members of Briar's family. He rested his hand upon the thick, black wood and gripped the beautiful steel axe that had been sent along with his brother's body, the skull in the axe's helm seemingly glaring up at him with it's hollow, grey eye holes.
"What are you gonna do about it?" Uncle asked before coughing up nasty white chunks of something god awful right near the coffin, his beady black eyes squinting in the blackness of the Blackwood Family's Catacombs.
Briar Blackwood brushed his hand against the top of the axe and let his warm tears finally drop onto the hilt. It was at that moment when he felt power... he felt proud of himself for the first time in entirety... and most of all... he felt anger. Anger at the people that had dared to take his brother Abhainn from him.
"I'm going to kill the Response." He answered, gripping the axe in his giant, meaty hands.
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The 5th Column (Response Headquarters)
It was moving day. Chuck Hawser could barely contain his excitement as the elevator doors leading to his new home opened up. He stepped out of the metal chamber, effortlessly carrying several cardboard boxes filled to the brim with his belongings and possessions.
"This is going to be amazing!" He yelled while placing the boxes down next to countless others, all neatly placed in the living room.
"What IS this stuff?!"Morris Pfeifer, wearing his high tech power armour, asked while placing a couple more boxes down next to Chuck's. He pulled one of Chuck's action figures from the box and stared at it, his visor turning golden from its usual black as he scanned it. "...I don't even know what Demon Dog is..."
"Comic book stuff." Chuck muttered. "Well.... actually he's a TV Show. And the offspring of the Greek Monster, Cerberus b-" Chuck realized he was geeking out in front of his boss. He glanced up and despite not being able to see Pfeifer's face from under his helmet he could tell he wasn't amused. "...nevermind. You wouldn't understand."
"Correct."Pfeifer carefully placed the figure on a nearby shelf and looked around the room quickly as if he was making a last check. It was a beautiful place, with a gorgeous view of the City from the large glass windows lining the walls, the glass was bulletproof of course. It housed several rooms, two of them were bedrooms, the main living room filling the majority of the building also acted as the dining room and kitchen with the team's headquarters also housing a Gym, holding a virtual simulator capable of creating holograms for training exercises. It was a great penthouse, with many different ways to contact the CBTF and (best of all) free Cable and Wi-Fi.
However... it wasn't really what sprang to mind when Chuck thought of 'Superhero Headquarters'. It was more of a 'Titans Tower' then 'the Justice League Watchtower'. Designed more for comfort then for defending the Planet. Which was fine, it really was. Afterall it was rent free and also housed a smoothie machine.
"Is that everything?" Pfeifer asked."All your cr... stuff brought up?"Chuck nodded to his boss. "Sw- I... I mean 'good'!"The Director had been spending a lot of time around the younger members of the CBTF, specifically the ones in charge of handling and upgrading his armour, it was pretty clear that some of their personalities had started to rub off on him. He cleared his throat quickly in an attempt to forget the modern slang he had spent the last few years trying to avoid. "Need any help unpacking?"
"Nope. I'll be fine." Chuck muttered while opening one of his more important boxes marked 'Playboy'. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the Director turn to leave, in truth it was hard to NOT notice it... his armour tended to make a loud clanging noise whenever it moved. "Thanks for letting me stay here, sir." Chuck called after him.
"Oh it's fine."Pfeifer replied as he opened one of the large windows in order to save him the time of taking the elevator. "We needed SOMEONE to keep any eye on him."Chuck opened his mouth to ask who the Director was talking about only for the ding of the elevator doors opening to interrupt him. "That'll be your roommate."He said quickly before activating his armour's jets and shooting into the sky. "Good luck!"He yelled before disappearing into the sky.
Freight Train turned towards the elevator, panic spreading across his face as Alan Maystrike stepped into the penthouse, a cardboard box (filled with what looked like body parts) under his arm.
"Hello... roomie." He muttered, a smirk spreading across his face as he slammed the box on top of Chuck's pile.
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Indigo City, Midtown District, Midnight.
When the first flickers of orange flame spread across the blackness of the night sky many people ignored it at first, the ones who paid it any attention were either still reeling from the events of the Great Impact or telling their girlfriends it was a shooting star in the hopes of getting to second base.
As the flames grew ever closer more people began to take notice, especially when the fire seemingly corrected its course and turned towards Indigo City. Some people believed it to be the return of the beings behind the first Impact returning to finish what they started while religous officials claimed it to be the wrath of God coming to wipe Indigo City off the face of the Earth for daring to allow the Mutant Species known as 'Carriers' to spread across the Earth.
In truth it was neither. IT's name was Jacob Brighton, anyone who'd paid attention to the news last year would know about him... he was an astronaut... also dead, but that's kind of irrelevant at this point since this being was very much alive and heading directly towards the major American City that seemed to currently be hell on Earth.
As Jacob Brighton plummeted towards the Earth, streaks of white hot flame covering his skin as well as pieces of space junk that had joined his descent a single thought passed through his mind.
It was good to be home....
Jacob crashed into the pavement at an incredible speed fast enough to send all nearby objects in the surrounding area flying from the impact. Cars flew through the air, glass in buildings shattered... but none of it mattered in the slightest. Jacob sat in the middle of his crater the flames that had once covered his skin slowly disappearing. A smile spread onto his face... and then he passed out.
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