Book 2: Chapter 23: Purpose (1/2)

Gregoir raced the cruiser down the streets of his city, dodging past traffic and weaving through lanes as his radio crackled with constant activity. His sirens blared; cars and bikes veered out of the way as he tore across downtown Austin, heading towards the sounds of battle. In the distance, he could hear the loud, low whine of the villain siren, a sound that hadn't been heard in years.

Mere minutes ago, dozens of battles had broken out across lowtown, the colloquial name for the collection of run down high-rise apartments south of downtown. Scale territory, filled with the working poor and homeless, who'd modded themselves into numb automatons to make their existences tolerable. The police had failed those people every bit as much as the city had, and now they were being targeted in some kind of insane, large-scale attack.

Every available unit had been called to respond. SPEAR Teams had been deployed, and Gregoir had been assigned to assist Alpha team, who had engaged some kind of powerful new villain. There was confusion, everywhere. Motives for this attack were unclear. It seemed as if Coldeyes' Crew were the culprits, but though the majority of upgrades being reported followed the gang's cold theme, there were plenty of outliers. Alpha team, in particular, reported contact with a villain enveloped in a corona of blinding fire. Chaos was rampant, nothing was certain.

The city had lost its mind, but Gregoir Pierre-Louise was here to set things right! He could see his destination, the great, blinding light and flickering shadows of a second sun parked at ground level. It peeked past the dilapidated condominiums, the fiery edge casting light into Gregoir's eyes. He squinted to see past it, mindful of the pain, but pushing forward anyways!

”Nike-Alpha-Seven arriving on scene!” he bellowed into his radio receiver.

Gregoir took the corner at eighty miles per hour, rear tires spinning and screeching and leaving behind black trails of melted rubber. One hand gripped tight around his radio, as he took in his surroundings.

Light. Heat. Flame. A person-shaped star stood in the center of the road, holding its hands before itself, almost like it was in awe of its own power. Gregoir's eyes prickled as he gazed at the incandescent outline. The concrete beneath the villain's feet was flaking away into dust. Warping, melting, popping like popcorn kernels, as the mixed limestone and granite was reduced to its component atoms. Mere feet away, metal street lights glowed cherry red and bent like taffy. Beyond that, the Alpha team fought the villain's allies.

The road was littered in spent shell casings. Gregoir spotted several submachine guns laying on the ground. Those belonged to the attackers, cast aside at the appearance of the SPEAR Team. Small arms would not help them against the police elites, but the same could not be said about the other victims. Gregoir could see bodies lining the sidewalks, dead Scales and civilians alike. Green and red mixed together, making yellowish pools of blood that bubbled from the heat.

Cornelius' team were outfitted with assault rifles and Genius-designed ammunition, weapons meant to rip through people and walls alike. Their kit had zero concern for collateral damage. Their jobs were to end the problem as quickly as possible, and their gear reflected that urgency.

The villains had come prepared. He watched lead deform against the chest of a man whose body had taken on the properties of some kind of hard metal. He watched them deflect off invisible shields of air, and get caught by walls of hard ice. He watched them hit a field of shimmering ice crystals and stop, suspended and frozen, before shattering like snowflakes against a windshield.

There were five that he could see, counting the living star. Four were being engaged by an equal number of Alpha team. Cornelius himself was posted beside the squad's van, grimly unloading different types of ammunition at the fire villain. Gregoir watched him changing color coded magazines, as his cruiser tore onto the scene.

”Nike-Alpha-Seven, moving to assist!” he cried, not even needing his radio to be heard, as he slammed his pedal against the floor. His blood boiled, his heart raged, and his fighting spirit soared!

Cornelius blinked at the declaration, before smoothly shifting targets. Bullets struck against the chest of the metallic villain, exploding into a sticky substance as he fought off a member of Alpha team. Gregoir drove straight past the melee, plowing through a field of tiny, floating crystals that covered his car in rime. Another man gestured sharply at the moving vehicle, and a sharp icicle the size of a tire formed and fired in less than a blink. Gregoir's mighty fist struck the object out of the air before it could take off his head.

Then he was through, his bouncing, broken car faithfully performing its final duty, as he drove straight at the living star. The outline of a person seemed to flinch backwards, and heat billowed outward! The car immediately began to warp, the hood melted away, and the engine died. Tires popped, and the bumper dissolved. Metal grinded against warped concrete as the car dragged across the ground. Gregoir bellowed out his defiance, his fighting spirit conveying him forward! He heard, more than felt, the gas igniting beneath him, but it was far too late. Momentum was on Gregoir's side!

The figure cast forward both hands in warding gesture, and the world exploded. The car around him vanished, turned to shrapnel and dust. Gregoir's forward movement stalled, as he lost his steed. Gregoir dropped to the ground, skin burning, and clothes dissolving, but he was undaunted! Pain was an illusion! He didn't have time to bleed! Not when there were people to save!

He was Gregoir Pierre-Louise, and this was his city!

His foot crashed down against what was left of the ground. The concrete gave way, already stressed beyond its breaking point, and Gregroir launched forward with a battle cry!

”I see you, villain!” he cried as fire scoured away his clothing. He landed beside the glowing outline, cratering the earth. The villain fell to the ground, babbling something incomprehensible. Gregoir could hear nothing beyond the sound of his own pounding heartbeat.

His arm snapped forward, latching on to the villain's throat. His fingers burned but the pain only drove him forward! His body would not break! He would not allow it! He bellowed into the villain's face, ”Know my name! Know your end!” He dragged them close, eyes gazing past that blinding outline. ”I am Gregoir Pierre-Louise, and—”

He stopped, as he took in the features of the... child he was holding. Twelve, or thirteen. A juvenile, glowing with power, but looking like he was gazing at the face of the Devil himself. The boy scrabbled desperately against Gregoir's grip around his throat, and the giant man let go in shock.

”What...?” he began uncertainly, but the villain— the boy threw out both hands in a desperate gesture. Heat struck Gregoir once more, tearing through his defenses, seizing upon his vulnerability, and the air exploded! He was fired backwards and away, crashing through the glass doors of a nearby apartment building. He bounced and rolled across the lobby until his back struck the hard metal doors of an elevator. They buckled beneath the force, and he barely caught himself before he tumbled down the shaft.

Gregoir shook his head, confused, disoriented. His fighting spirit flickered, smoldered. Why was there a child here? What foolishness had overtaken the boy, that would lead him down this path? What vile company did he keep, that was willing to bring a child to a war zone? He needed to know.