ISSUE #5 (August 2018)
Written by John Cheese Featuring: Dare
Pathfinder
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"As unusual as it seems the weather service has issued a tornado warning for the Gotham Bay area due to the rapid formation of a supercell cloud." The weather woman announced over the radio as the two cops kept watch at the gate of the mansion. "People are advised to keep indoors and seek shelter in basements and other underground spaces until the storm has passed."
"Rumour is the Gotham Turnpike is flooded." One of the cops grunted as he took a swig out of the water bottle in the cup holder. "If it is the feds won't be coming to pick this rat up for a while." "Guy didn't rat out Blockbuster so we do our jobs." His partner announced over the sound of rain thundering down. "Plus, we don't want Intergang here, they bring all these costumed freaks to the party like this Pathfinder guy." "That's the only good thing about the rain, even the freaks stay inside in this kind of weather." The first cop stated as a flash of lightning across the bay in Gotham lit up the sky. Putting the bottle of water down he didn't have time to react to the skeletal arm reaching through the floor of the car until it plunged through his torso. "Fucking hell!" His partner spat as Pathfinder phased up into the vehicle and into his skin, the sounds of bones clicking and tendons snapping filling the car as the hitman made himself at home in his new skin. "Not bad." Pathfinder stated as he finally settled, his host's mouth speaking out of sync to the words. "Passable at least. And as you said officer," He added as he turned to the dead policeman next to him, before opening the door and stepping out into the deluge, "Even the freaks don't want to be out in this." Parkour in the rain was definitely one of her stupidest ideas, Aliki thought as she skidded across the roof of the building on the opposite side of the road to the address () had given her. She was already soaked and freezing, and by the looks of the police presence, going to have to wait for Pathfinder. Except something was wrong, while everything else she owned may be ill designed for vigilantism, her mask was state of the art and could easily peer through the darkness, including into the police cruiser with the door open. The one remaining officer was dead, no obvious wounds, no signs of a struggle. Pathfinder was here. Leaping into action, Aliki dropped to the pavement and sprinted towards the house, the rain masking her approach slightly as she approached the three cops sheltering under the porch. Her advantage of surprise was lost as one of the cops pointed to her, and the other two opened fire forcing Aliki flat against the wall. "We have hostiles within the perimeter." One of the offices announced over a CB radio. "Intruder matches the description of the 'Dare' vigilante. "I'll get the HVI ready for extraction." The officer who hadn't opened fire announced as he disengaged and headed inside. "Did Harry sound a little off to you?" One of the remaining officers asked as Aliki climbed up onto the first floor. "Forget about him keep your focus on where Dare snuck off to." His colleague announced as Aliki slipped the window open and headed into the bathroom. Looking through the peep-hole she spotted the police officer from outside standing at the bottom of the stairs arguing with the cop guarding the bottom of the stairs. Something was odd about the man, it almost looked as if his skin didn't fit. "I've got to call this in Charlie, until I can be sure that the duty captain pulled you off the perimeter you'll have to stay down here." The guarding officer a well-built dark-skinned man ordered as he pulled out a phone. "I've got no time for this." Charlie hissed as a skeletal hand reached out and phased through the phone, the electronic device exploding in a shower of sparks. The officer holding the now dead phone was smart enough to get some distance between himself and his former colleague. "You aren’t going anywhere Pathfinder!" The officer snapped as he drew his weapon and trained it on the hitman wriggling free of Charlie's skin. "You can't stop me officer." Pathfinder stated as Aliki darted out of the bathroom and vaulted over the banister, bounced off the wall on the way down and tackled him to the floor. His finger already on a hair trigger, the officer emptied an entire clip at her, forcing the neophyte vigilante to slip left to avoid being hit. In that time Pathfinder was on the move and throwing a swift elbow sweep at Aliki. Ducking under the blow Aliki retaliated with a jab under the elbow, before slipping behind him and away from the haymaker aimed at her. "Both of you put your hands up!" A commanding voice yelled from up on the banister causing Aliki and Pathfinder to look up at the array of weapons aimed at them. "Lethal force has been authorised light them up!" Another officer ordered as a shower of automatic fire opened fire forcing the two costumed individuals to scatter. Leaping up onto the banister Aliki flipped over the top, slamming an officer to the floor as she dismounted whilst Pathfinder headed to the stairs. "Wall move in, keep Pathfinder downstairs!" The officer in charge yelled as Aliki sprung over a cop armed with a shotgun, the blast tearing a massive hole out of the wall. At the top of the stairs, four officers formed up, two armed with shotguns ensconced behind two colleagues equipped with riot shields. "You're all dead." Pathfinder stated calmly as he walked up the stairs, the shotgun blasts bouncing off his skin as he advanced on the wall. Reaching the shields, he reached through the guards killing the men holding them, before advancing on the gunners behind them, their fates sealed. "Fall back to the panic room!" The officer in charge yelled as the three remaining officers bolted upstairs to the attic. Perusing them Pathfinder stopped as Aliki landed a sliding kick to his shin, before mule kicking him through the banister back onto the ground floor. "Give it up Yellow Peril, I want Liam Beckett, I will kill him regardless of what you do." Pathfinder stated as Aliki perched on the banister ready to spring down on him. "Don't throw your life away for him, it's not your time" "Oh, I plan to spend whatever time I have left topping you!" Aliki hissed as she fell towards Pathfinder like a rocket. Sweeping his leg, the hitman opened up a rent in the floor and backed off enough for his foe to miss and plunge harmlessly into the basement, the ground reforming over her. Blinking in the half light of the underground space Aliki ran to the door into the kitchen and rebounded off as the locked door shuddered but didn't open. Looking around Aliki spied the flash of torch light behind a small window. The pane of glass would hurt as she smashed through it, but not as much as the thought of failing to avenge those Pathfinder had killed this morning. By the time Aliki had escaped the basement and scaled the drainpipe the fading sound of gunshots could be heard echoing round Lanely Point. Breaking back into the house Aliki saw Pathfinder backhand the last living officer in the room, his hand phasing through the woman's neck before walking towards the reinforced panic room. "You know I have a job to do." Pathfinder stated without turning to look at Aliki advancing on him. "I have no problem adding you to the body count but honestly, you being alive works for my employers since your interference weakens Blockbuster and his shrill harpy." "Then leave." Aliki stated as she aimed a kick at Pathfinder's head only for him to duck out the way and momentarily make the panic door intangible, trapping the vigilante’s foot in the metal. "I'll deal with you in a minute." Pathfinder stated as he phased through the door, the sudden change in density allowing Aliki to free her foot. Seconds later the steel plating opened to reveal Pathfinder standing in the room alone. "I'm a simple man, I kill who I'm told, I work hard and don't leave lose ends." He hissed as he turned to face Aliki, his mask doing nothing to conceal the growing ire trapped behind it. "But I don't like being played!!" He roared as he charged Aliki and swung a punch, his opponent leaping to the chandelier to escape. "And this is my fault how?" Aliki asked as she kicked off from the wall, swung over Pathfinder's follow up blow and landed on his shoulders, her fingers digging into his eyes. "I thought whoever the police were protecting was here too." She added as Pathfinder raised his hands to grab her, only for his opponent to push off from the wall again, sending them both charging through the weakened balcony to the floor below. Thudding into the wooden boards, Pathfinder got to his feet and saw Aliki perched delicately on the edge of the balcony looking down at him. "You've earned my ire." Pathfinder stated, his anger under control once more. "First you, then Beckett." He sneered as he moved his foot slightly to repeat what happened last time the pair were in this position. Springing down Aliki bounced off the wall, into the hitman's back pushing through the intangible floor into the basement. "I don't like being played either." Aliki stated as she looked towards the kitchen and Pathfinder's most likely route back into the battle. "Especially from an act I've seen before." She added as the lights flickered and then went out, the approaching storm shorting out the power. "Oh, you haven't seen even a little of my act." Pathfinder hissed as a skeletal hand phased through Aliki's left leg, causing her to wobble and collapse. Thrashing Aliki watched as a glowing skeleton crawled out of the basement through the floor, a crack of lightning illuminating Pathfinder as his muscle, flesh and clothing’s reformed in a slick wave of darkness. "The feeling will return soon, unfortunately you'll be dead long before it does." He stated as he bent down ready to plunge a skeletal hand through his pinned prey's torso. "You'll still lose." Aliki hissed as she drew an arm over her chest in an attempt to defend herself. "Someone will stop you!" "Perhaps." Pathfinder sighed as the window crashed open as a salvo of grenades soared into the room. Before cracking open, thick grey gas spilling out across the floor. "Maybe it will be you but consider this intervention as a warning, don't cross me again." He announced as he phased through the floor and into the basement. Coughing and spluttering Aliki felt her eyes well up as masked men in armour march into the room, their weapons trained on her. "Target Alpha has escaped, Target Delta is contained and ready for transport." One of the figures stated as Aliki faded in and out of consciousness. "New orders, Soames says to take her out to the Municipal Dump and dump the body." A second officer stated. "Says to keep the lights and sirens off, need to know so no bragging, no photos." "You kidding Sargent?!" A third spluttered as handcuffs were wrapped round Aliki's hands. "Stow it trooper, today Dare don't just disappear." The SWAT sergeant stated as Aliki finally fell unconscious. "Today Dare dies!" |