Heroes The Breakaway Chapter 1-Sweet Home Chicago

Fyedka was hidden among the piles of scrap when the mysterious man jumped his friends. His first instinct was to stay hidden and try to turn the shadows on the man before he realized what was going on... that is until the man vanished into the shadows themselves. Fyedka slipped silently away from where the man had disappeared, trying to work his mind around how he would get past this one. When he saw him melt away into them, Fyedka tried to take control of the shadows and see if he could unveil him but a burst of light from Jasper's cane cleared them away before he could get to them. Despite knowing Jasper was just protecting himself, Fyedka swore silently to himself as he dashed back into the heaps of scrap. He couldn't help but wonder if controlling the shadows while the man was inside them would give the young man control of the villain himself.

As the man ran around in the light, Fyedka tried to pull all of the remaining shadows toward himself, creating a kind of cloak around himself while hopefully taking away the villain called Oscuro's hiding places. After the fight with the robot, the strain was almost agonizing. Fyedka could feel his muscles beginning to quiver with exhaustion, sweat dripping down his face, as he managed to stretch all of the shadows towards him making the scrapyard look preternaturally bright despite the lingering night. It was as though the moon had created a kind of night version of high noon where the black sky remained dark and starry, yet none of the heaps of scrap seemed to cast a shadow anywhere.

Breathing hard, Shadow stepped away from his own cloak of darkness just long enough to spot John with his hand holding Oscuro in place by his head while the masked villain chattered incessantly. He heard the man all but brag about creating the robot that had attacked the people and Fyedka seethed. How could anyone care so little about human life that they would put innocents at risk for a stupid science project? The apartments the robot attacked could have been the one Shadow's family had lived in, filled with poor, hardworking immigrants just trying to get by, never bothering anybody. Fyedka felt his control on the shadows waver, his body aching to collapse, and forced himself to focus. This coward had no right to run around putting people's lives at risk for his own nerdy curiosities, especially if he was too ashamed to show his face. Slowly stretching one thin tendril of shadow along the ground, Fyedka put every ounce of his remaining strength into moving it towards the man's mask. If the slippery villain wasn't going to show himself, Shadow would unmask him himself.

"Aluminum...yes, oh that's good, lightweight and and a fine conductive material to boot. Does you power entail the drawing of an electrical charge from the ambient electromagnetic field that is always surrounding us or do you create the charge yourself like a walking tangle of electrons? You know they say the human mind contains enough energy to light a city block for a short time but I could not say how one would harness the energy contained therein. I dare say one would probably have to kill you and then perform a necropsy on your Irish meta brain. That would most likely yield the answers but then the power would be lost, perhaps it would be more prudent to dope you up and then perform some manner of open brain biopsy, I think I would wear some thick rubber gloves if I was poking around in your cranium."

Oscuro spoke these words as if he was making mere chit-chat, this was small talk to the sociopath in the black goggles. The villain was almost laughing as he spoke of wearing heavy insulating gloves if he were 'poking around' in Jasper's exposed brain.

Oscuro relaxed a good deal as Jasper brought the intensity of his 'orb' to a small flicker.

" You saw my creation? It was a wonder to behold wasn't it? All full of sound and fury, it is akin to the titans of ancient Greek and Roman legend, it is a force of nature and on a whim I can bring this entire city to it's knees."

Oscuro was preparing to chatter on when a slim tendril of inky shadow slipped up behind the masked man and slithered over the top of his shoulder and hooked onto Oscuro's mask and gave a hearty pull.

The mask stretched and for a half second was held in place by Oscuro's goggles but it soon began to tear and come loose. The fabric began to pop at the seams, seams that ran down both sides of the mask at the ears. The seams ran up and down in the fabric, the front of the mask was peeling away, coming undone like a knit sweater.

"No,No, No, NOOOoooooo!" Oscuro screamed and began to try to force the fabric back into place.

"No, my eyes...my face...please anything but that!" The formerly smug man was pleading now, practically screaming as he begged.

As the mask came away, and in the absence of any darkness or shadow (thanks to 'Shadow") John, Jasper and Fyedka were beginning to get a look at Oscuro's face.

There was nothing to get a look at, as the mask shredded and fell away, and the heavy goggles slipped from his head there was simply nothing. Without the mask to give it form, and the goggles to show where eyes were formerly situated there was just and empty void.

Oscuro clawed at his head and face, his black gloves were indeed connecting something but it remained invisible. beneath his mask, gloves and clothing Oscuro was the man who wasn't there. A modern day invisible man.

John eyes grew wide as Fyedka pulled Oscuro's mask away revealing...nothing.

John let his grip slip on the babbling man, Oscuro fell to his knees, still attempting to put his shredded mask back on.

"Don't look at me you bastards, I'll kill you, don't look at me!"

John took a half step closer to Oscuro just in case he made a move. The big man turned and looked out into the rows of cars near where Fyedka was most likely hidden.

"Ballsy move kid! You took this bum out with one shot!"

"I don't know about you Irish but ain't never seen anything like this before, and I've seen some freaky stuff before."
John said rubbing his chin.

"What the hell do we do with 'em? He looks like he needs a hug."

Jasper's brow furrowed at the display, none too impressed with the Oscuro's outbursts. He did not respond right away to John's question, instead his mind was still pondering some of what he masked man had said and he had never before considered the true nature of his abilities. Jasper had struggled all his life just to control the power surges and harness his output and had never really considered how it all really worked.

"I dunno, Mack." Answered Joy Buzzer, snapping back into the moment, "Apparently our young dark friend here can contain this slippery fella, so maybe we should take 'em with us."

Joy Buzzer looked down at the man as he scrambled to put his face together, his arms folded across his chest. "Stop your blubberin'! Now, you're gonna take us to what remains of that robotic monstrosity o' yours or this shadow-master o'er here is gonna tear you apart until there's nothin' left. You got that?"

Jasper looked over to John for approval. He wasn't sure if this was the most prudent move but he'd learned in his life that when you had the upper hand you best follow through on it.

Bug’s stay with Rusty and Ma’ had gone from one night to weeks. He was awake and waiting for Rusty every morning, no matter how early, and assisted him in his cattle and farming duties with no complaint, enjoying the country and absorbing this slow but hard working lifestyle. Rusty found the short man fascinating, but mostly he loved having a new set of ears to tell all his stories to.

Rusty and Bug set out early, they needed to check on about 400 head of cattle up in the Northern pasture and then get down to the alfalfa fields to irrigate before the sun came up. As the old red truck bounced along the road, Rusty only stopped chattering to take small sips of his piping hot coffee. They drove up over a rise and just inside the gate of Rusty’s large pasture land there was two semi-trucks, cattle gates hastily set up and several men moving around, prodding cattle through the make-shift maze and up into the trucks. He pulled over and clicked off the lights, the men kept working, not having seen the truck in their haste.

“Son of a bitch… Rustlers.” Bug turned and looked curiously at Rusty, and spoke in his tinny accent… “What’s a Rustler?” Rusty turned and looked at Bug, twisted his brow slightly and spoke, “Cattle stealers, people think they are a thing of the ‘old west’ but cattle thieves are just as big a problem in this modern world.” He looked back and grabbed his mobile phone, flicking it open but there was no signal out this far. “Damn, no signal, there’s really nothing we can do but wait until they load, follow them and get their license plate numbers…” As he turned to look at Bug again, the truck door was open and Bug was gone. “Kid wait!” but it was too late, Bug was in the side ditch of the road and moving up towards the trucks in the field. Rusty ducked and watched, the trucks were still a good three quarters of a mile off, but the youngster seemed to cross the distance in mere seconds.

Rusty watched as best he could in the darkness, there was suddenly a mass of commotion and dirt flew in every direction, and then Rusty saw a flash he knew what it was and closed his eyes, several seconds later he heard the tell tale report of a shot ringing out and Rusty’s heart sank, he knew that John didn’t have a firearm, and he feared the worst. He blazed the engine and stomped on the accelerator, speeding down the road and screeching to a halt, exiting the truck with his shotgun he leaned over the hood and yelled… “ALRIGHT!! COME OUT!!! THAT’S MY RANCH HAND YOU JUST SHOT!!!”

Rusty watched, wishing he had his young eyes, the darkness was getting harder and harder to see through. There was silence, not a sound except the moving of the cattle. He continued to wait in silence, his breath steaming slightly as he began to breath more rapidly. Suddenly, John walked around one of the trucks, but from what Rusty could tell it looked like there were snakes attached to his head…

“John?!?”

Bug twisted his head and looked over at Rusty, the long, sleek tendrils of hair waving gently, even though there was no breeze. Bug looked at Rusty, his face was slightly smudged with dirt, there was blood on his tee shirt and a big hole in his clothing jacket, exposing the skin but there was no injury. Rusty could tell that the hole was made by a shotgun blast at very close range due to the scorching all over the cloth. As he adjusted to the scene, Rusty could see five bodies scattered across the ground, and not a single one of them was breathing.

“John? What the hell is going on? What happened?” Bug looked at Rusty, walking over and standing in front of the elderly Rancher, letting his ‘hair’ really be seen now. “You … uh… ain’t from around here are you John? I mean, we knew you were a foreigner, but, you ain’t from Europe are you?” Bug smiled his crooked smile and spoke in his tinny accent, “Your cattle are safe.” He turned and looked at the trucks, then back to Rusty, “You need to call the Police, but I can’t be here when they arrive.” Rusty looked at Bug, knowing what Bug was saying, “I understand Son, I’ll tell Ma’ you said ‘Good-bye’”. Bug smiled and extended his hand to Rusty, “I appreciate that sir, I will never forget your kindness to a stranger, and thanks for understanding.”

Rusty’s eyes started to glass over slightly, he had taken to having Bug around, and he already missed the small fellow. He watched as Bug started making his way across the fields moving so fast the Rusty lost him over the horizon in only a matter of minutes.

Bug came to rest in a large groove of trees. He sat in the dirt, staring at the hole in his hoodie. He looked up and watched the late day sun, breaking the apex of the sky and beginning its long decent back into the horizon. Sighing heavily he leaned back against a massive Cotton Wood tree resting his head against the rough grain of the bark. He was completely unsure where to go from here, how was he going to find John. Hours passed as he played with some ants moving along the dirt, in so many ways they were just like him, going about their day, pursuing their purpose, but at least when they were done they got to go be with their fellows.

He leaned down and adjusted his belt, and then it hit him. He lifted his shirt and stared at the belt buckle that Cowboy had given him a year ago. Cowboy had given every one of them one, and when activated they would reveal the location of the team. He reached behind and tapped the power button, the buckle instantly came to life, revealing a small screen. He smiled and waited as the system acquired a satellite signal, and then a little red dot illuminated, John.

He smiled and looked at the directional compass, leaping into the air and heading in John’s direction, new hope in his heart. He didn’t care how far his friend was, he was determined to run the whole way.

John looked down at Oscuro, the man was having an 'episode', it would seem that in the light that Oscuro was like a ghost. The wiry villain was still trying to cover the void where his face would be, his sobbing was winding down and he seemed to be regaining his composure.

Oscuro took of his gloves and was feeling around his head and face.
"Get it together Vincent, you're not hurt, you're just naked. Calm down, they can't see you."
The man mumbled to himself. He began to wipe his forehead with the sleeve of his jump suit style fatigues.

Oscuro quickly pulled down the zipper of his fatigues and broke into a run down a row of crushed cars. Oscuro's body was the same as his face and hands, there but unseen. As Oscuro ran his fatigues slid down to his ankles, it appeared as if a pair of highly polished combat boots were dragging a set of gray and black urban fatigues.

"Catch me if you can fuckers!" He yelled as he shuffled away.

Folding his arms across his chest, Jasper shook his head and cast John an apprehensive look. "Maybe we should just get this guy ta the coppers, ya think?" He whispered and that's about when the maniacal villain began to strip down and make a run for it.

"Well now there's another thing y' dun see day ta day, eh Mack?" Remarked Joy Buzzer, then he quipped, "So, is a streaker with an invisible arse, still a streaker?" His face then twisted into a wry smile as he raised his cane above him and pointed toward a magnetic crane at the far side of the yard.

Joy Buzzer's cane began to vibrate and fizzle. The vibration moved through his arm and John could once more detect the smell of ozone, then a faint bolt of electricity lashed out like a spider web. It touched upon the distant cane and pulled the electrical mutant into the air with amazing speed. He sling-shotted over the pair of running combat boots and dragging pants, past the crane then pulled himself back like his cane were the end of a bungy cord. Flying through the air, he lightly landed before the fleeing villain and blasted a mass of bright bolts from his naked hand at the crushed cars he ran upon. They were immediately electrified, but since the criminal yet retained his boots he wasn't effected, but Jasper was not trying to electrocute the man. No. As Oscuro, bolted across the cars one of them right before him flipped up like a catapult.

Jasper watched as the combat pants which obviously had come off, lightly tumbled to the ground while the combat boots, the only thing of the man they could see flew high above the yard. They arched in the air and struck at McManus' feet, rolling across the ground, empty.

Joy Buzzer's triumphant smile faded and his jaw dropped. The rat had wiggled out of his boots! He could be anywhere!

Fyedka watched with a look of disgust crossing his exhausted face. As the villain stripped and the pair of pants went running through the yard, the last of Shadow's energy drained and he dropped to his knees, finally exposing himself in the light. The shadows in the yard sort of shifted as they released from the meager control he had still held and he knelt on the ground, panting, sweat dripping down his face as he watched the disembodied boots get flung into the air. For a split second, he felt a wave of relief as the boots landed in front of John and Joy Buzzer only to see that the invisible freak had somehow wriggled out of them and taken off somewhere. Fyedka's exhausted panting actually paused as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. Instinctively, Shadow pulled one foot forward and planted to the ground, prepared to run after the faint footprints that formed only to realize he would be useless even if he could catch him. He had utterly drained himself. His muscles felt like they'd been turned to jelly left to tremble and jiggle through his body. His black hair was matted to his face with sweat and only peeled away when he leaned on his bent knee and pulled himself arduously to his feet.

"I'm . . . sorry," panted Fyedka as he took a few steps toward them and bent forward again, leaning his hands on his thighs. "I . . . can't catch 'im . . . again."

John squinted into the darkness, Oscuro was gone, it mattered not finding an invisible asshole in this old dark scrapyard was easier said than done. Fyedka looked exhausted, the young meta had proved to be a great help at discovering Oscuro's weakness.

How strange it seemed that a man with no face was so terrified to show it, it made no sense, but neither did the things that Oscuro had done in this part of town, the villain was clearly a few sandwiches short of a pack lunch.

"I think he's gone JB, that psycho should be in a nut house, ya know the type of place where you take pills that make you feel sleepy and they don't let you eat with a fork." John said as he lit up his cigar.

"Fyedka, you alright? You done good kid, you had that mutt cryin for his mama, that put a smile on my face." John said as he put a beefy hand on Fyedka's shoulder.

Puffing on his cigar John looked around the scrapyard.
"Oscuro came here because the hardware was easy to steal and he wanted to test his machine, he knows now that the 'bot can kick ass so he will probably go somewhere different for more armor. This is an old scrapyard, he will probably hit a military base or research facility next, there's no telling which one."

John wondered how one would track down an invisible villain, especially one a slippery as Oscuro.

"When this nut pops his head up again I'm gonna put my boot in his ass." John said as smoked.

Dollonovich entered the scrapyard quietly, the agent had grabbed a pair of night vision goggles from his car and was now wearing them. As he crept through the rows of cars and trucks he could see around the area very well, the night vision goggles were FBI issue and top of the line.

With his Glock in hand the agent moved along the rows, suddenly a gust of wind pushed past him, something bumped him but his goggles revealed nothing. Dollonovich looked to see what it could be, the agent thought maybe it was a dog or a coyote but he could see nothing. The ground around him was being disturbed by something that he could not see. Dollonovich slid his goggles up above his eyes and blinked into the darkness. Holding his pistol up he spoke.

"Come on out, show yourself!" The seasoned agent said quietly but firmly.

"Maybe some other time cop." A voice said as it moved away from the agent.

Dollonovich could hear somebody moving away from him but could see nothing.

"What the fu..." Markus said as the sounds faded.

Sliping his night vision goggles back on he continued to prowl around the scrapyard.

Jasper was still revved up... literally. The electrical mutant was far more than just a battery that carried a charge he naturally channeled electromagnetism and in this day and age his cup overflowed. Now one might imagine this made, Jasper an unlimited supply electro-ass-kicking power but to keep his electrical level under control took an amazing amount of control. It had taken him most of his life just to be able walk around without blowing out light bulbs or worse. Naturally his body released the electrical energy just as it let out waste, it was just part of Jasper's biology but when he built up too much power, he had to rid of and fast, else he suffer the back lash. Even though, his cells were uniquely electrical and he suffered little damage from be exposed to a current, he could still over charge them and Jasper didn't even like to consider what could happen. The last time he over-worked his ability, he ended up in a coma for a month! Worst case scenario he could actually start a chain reaction, that a scientist friend of his had told him may possibly decimate a few city blocks, possibly more in an electrical burst the likes of which the world had never seen. He tried not to think of it, but whenever he built up too much energy the thought always crept into his mind.

Every time, Joy Buzzer used his amazing gift to its upmost potential there were consequences. The trick was maintaining the balance long enough so that he could keep on utilizing his talents, but he was getting close to the 'red'. He didn't know whether or not the invisible villain lurked about and he wanted to maintain his current just in case, but it was becoming difficult to control the power. Already, minute tendrils of electricity licked out and drew micro-arcs to the metal objects around him, including John's mechanical appendages. He had to hold just a little longer though, just to be sure, because once he dampened himself, it would take a while before he could charge up again. In such a state he could only direct electrical bursts and generate magnetic fields if he had a powerful enough source, like a transformer at his disposal that he could channel.

"Bloody coward!" Screamed Jasper into the night.

It was an uncharacteristic outburst for Jasper. Even though John and Fyedka had only known, Jasper for a short time it was quite evident to them that there was something up with their electrical friend. His eyes were actually glowing white with the residual energy within him.

"Show yourself!" He taunted again, but Oscuro was long gone.

Little did Joy Buzzer realize at the time that his loud cries had alerted the prowling agent of their presence. Even as John poked fun at the villains obvious compromised mental state, Markus Dollonovich closed in.

Unaware that they had inadvertently crossed paths with a federal agent, Joy Buzzer began to completely power down. Had, Oscuro remained, the discharge of his abilities during combat would have assisted in maintaining his balance, allowing him to hold the charge much longer, but it was pointless to tax himself by holding his control when it was unnecessary.

Joy Buzzer powered down. He touched his cane to one of the automobiles and allowed his energy to invisibly pass through it and into the ground. With his electrical levels lowered, he much calmer and the fatigue began to show. No longer hyped up with raw power surging through his veins, Jasper could feel the wear and tear on his body.

"Aye, John. Finding this nutter will not be easy." He replied slightly wavering as he walked back over to he and the shadow-meta.

Already he could feel his electrical levels normalizing in the few steps he took toward his new friends. He always had enough of a charge in him to perform less powerful effects; mere parlor tricks in comparison to what he was capable of. Still, while dampened he could barely light up a bulb.

Markus came within sight of John and Jasper, the agent had not seen Fyedka yet for the young meta was still in the cover of darkness. Agent Dollonovich could see John outlined in the little bit of light cast into the scrap yard from a streetlamp. The meta was bigger than he imagined, Markus had read his file but it did not do the big man any justice. He had heard Jasper call out to Oscuro and he could see the Irish meta now too, Markus watched in interest as he saw the Irishman release his power into the metal hulks around him.

As Markus observed the 'two' metas he assumed that he would be on the losing end of a fight so the agent holstered his weapon and slid his night vision goggles from his head and placed them on the ground. Markus was about to leave his safe position and approach the two men when he began to feel ill. His cell phone vibrated at his side and Markus plucked it from his belt and recognized the number. Kurtz was trying to get a hold of him. The message said that he too was at the scrapyard, more accurately Kurtz had tracked Markus' car and was parked next to it. Kurtz wanted him to retreat back to his car and brief him on why he was here on his own.

"Dammit..." Markus mumbled and began to retrace his steps back the way he came. When agent Dollonovich had exited the scrapyard and made it back to his nondescript F.B.I. sedan he found Kurtz waiting with a woman in a very short skirt and blood red hair.

"I warned you Markus, this was an unauthorized action and you are suspended..." Kurtz said angrily.
As Markus glared at the husky man his stomach was becoming more uneasy, the seasoned agent began to sweat just standing there near Kurtz and the woman.

"What about you sir, I know who this woman is, I have seen her picture..."

"This is Kristina Valyeev, she is aiding us in this investigation in exchange for leniency in connection with her many criminal convictions. Anything else is need to know Markus, now pack it up and go home. If you pull this lone wolf shit again I'll have your passport scrubbed and deport you as a Russian illegal, are we clear?" Kurtz was sweating too, the husky man seemed unnecessarily wound up as he chewed Markus out. It was only more infuriating since Kurtz was not even F.B.I. anymore he was C.I.A. or N.S.A. or so Markus thought.

The woman smiled as Kurtz yelled and cursed, her eyes were dark in color and Markus could swear he saw them glowing in the dark alley, not in their entirety just around the edges, a thin rim of glowing red. Nausea was gripping the agent's guts, Dollonvich felt as if he was going to be sick.

"Sir do you think it is best.." Markus sputtered as the woman interrupted him.

"Have you seen the big man or the Irish criminal here tonight?" She said in a thick Russian accent.

Dollonovich felt a little light headed as she spoke to him, he answered her straight away much to his surprise.
"Mcmanus is here, as is the Irishman, however I did not see Romanov." Markus blurted out quickly.

"Spasibo, Markus you are very good at your job why don't you go home and rest now." Kristina said, still smiling at him.

Markus heard her suggestion and it seemed like the path to take, he was suddenly weary and only wished to leave the scene and go home.

"Yeah, I think I will..." Markus said weakly as he walked to his car.

"I like you Markus, perhaps we will see each other again. Dasvidania, tovarishch." Kristina said, her bright white smile a stark contrast to her dark red hair.

Markus was starting his car as he watched the woman, he would be most of the way home before he felt like himself again.

"Come Colonel, walk with me and I will introduce you to the big man and his friends." Kurtz pulled an MP5 from his trunk and clicked a magazine into it and followed the Russian woman.

The two of them walked quickly through the rows, Kristina could sense the meta's and walked to them like she could smell them. The two made no effort to conceal their approach.

When they were within a few yards of John and Jasper Kristina calmly called out to John.

"Hello John, I am here with a friend and I need your help." The woman said with no sign of fear.

John was not expecting anyone else to pop up here in the rows of rusty junk. The big man was about to make his way back through the fencing they had passed through and back to the old Cadillac when a warm sensation washed over him, followed quickly by a mild souring in his stomach. Now the mechanic had not eaten much or very well since he busted out of R.A.I.D. custody but he was not prone to 'tummy aches", in fact the mechanic could live for weeks off of junk food and beer.

"Let's blow outta here fellas before someone steals our stolen car." John said as his stomach soured.

"It's late but we could hit a diner or sumpthin' I think i need to eat..." John said.

As Kurtz and the woman approached the others would experience the mild nausea as well, perhaps in different degrees but Jasper and Fyedka would feel a bit off, a bit flush.

When Kristina called out to John the mechanic stopped walking and turned in her direction.

"Oh shit." John mumbled and motioned to JB and Fyedka to book it in the other direction.

(It might be cool if Fyedka was familiar with Kristina, at the very least he may know of her..just a thought.)

The red haired woman used John's name personably and this put Jasper somewhat at ease, at least until Mac motioned for he and shadow-boy to get outta Dodge. The Slavic woman and her larger associate wreaked of government and it seemed they shared some history with the big meta, a past that had obviously left some bad-blood between them.

Now, Jasper wasn't one to abandon a friend but he had no doubt that McManus could take care of himself and in his present state he wasn't much use. Sure, Jasper still had his strength and agility to fall back on but that wasn't going to cut it against a gun and he knew the bigger man was packing.

Jasper nodded to John just as he became aware of a sickly feeling in his stomach.

"Sure thing." Whispered Joy Buzzer with a nauseous breath.

Before the two people were within accurate shooting range, the Irishman casually moved backwards through a narrow corridor between two scrap heaps. He then quickly turned around and made his way through the maze of old vehicles and surplus parts, back around to the stolen Caddy.

In his present state, Joy Buzzer's power was restricted to lighting up a bulb, but on his worst day he could always jump start a car. As he made his way the long way around, Jasper kept an eye out just in case he was being pursued and also tried to maintain a visual of John. He wasn't sure what Fyedka was up to, but the way the kid moved, Joy Buzzer had little doubt he could beat him to the car if he wanted.

John backed away slowly from the sound of Kristina's voice, but her influence was already beginning to take hold. The mechanic's stomach was cramping a little now, he knew well this feeling for Kristina and the mechanic had met before.

John felt that there was a good chance of escaping the dangerous woman's powers of influence. John knew that the longer you remained in close contact with Kristina the quicker and the longer you would do as she wished. John moved away from the woman and the beefy older man at her side. With each step John felt a little better, Kristina had not said much, John wondered why she was not turning up the heat, few could resist her words, it was the strongest element of her mysterious powers.

A burst of gunfire popped and pinged, striking the ground behind John as he moved backwards.
"That's far enough MacManus!..." Kurtz barked as the mechanic stopped moving.

"We don't want you John, we need to find Romanov. Tell us where he is and you can go."
Kurtz said, the MP5 was still at his shoulder.

Truth be told, John was unaware of exactly where the young Russian was, somewhere in the dark rows of the junkyard, but exactly where the big man did not know.

Kristina was moving at John, the mechanic could see her now, a fact that only worked to intensify her power.

"Hello, John I am happy to see you free, I saw your escape from R.A.I.D. custody on the TV news. Is Bug here? How about the strange man with wings?"

John stared at the red haired woman, she had not actually made any demands yet and thus far the mechanic was struggling against her subtle control.

John glared at the woman, he would never entertain the idea of striking a woman but for Kristina he would make an exception.

"You are being rude John, answer my questions big man." She said in her heavy accent, sounding slightly angry.

John licked his lips and tried to set his mind to not answer but he was already doing so.
"Bug is not here..." John said reluctantly.

"I don't know what happened to Gabriel, he has been missing for weeks."

The harder John fought Kristina's influence the more ill he felt. The worst part was coming soon if the mechanic did not make a move, it was probably only a matter of minutes until she had a full 'grip' on him and he would forget that she was the enemy and her control would be complete.

"Is the Romanov boy here John?" Kristina said, coming even closer now. She was only a few yards in front of John now.

"I don't know where he is..." John grunted as he struggled to tell her a version of the truth.

Kristina looked around her, her powers drifted all around her as she sought out any metas in hiding within a few yards of she and John.

She was getting no hits as she 'felt' around for any other of John's companions, Jasper was out of range and the young mister Romanov was well hidden.

Just because she could not sense anyone does not mean that they could not see or hear her. Kristina's power was many layered and she took full advantage of this.

"Fyedka darling are you here?" The woman yelled into the dark.

"If you can hear me come out and say hello, there is no reason to be afraid."

Her words seemed to hang in the air for a few seconds, if Fyedka was within 20 or 30 feet of Kristina he would feel compelled to reveal himself. If the young man was farther away he would experience the nausea but his mind would still be his own.

John was dealing with some wicked cramps in his gut now, the big man leaned forward and looked like he might go to his knees. This move was twofold on the mechanic's part, one - the cramps were very painful, two - the big man's mech leg was charging as he knelt, building up energy.

Jasper had the Caddy in sight when he heard gun shots being fired and instinctively ducked down behind the frame of an old Jeep. The shots echoed through the secluded junk yard followed by dead silence until the heavily accented voice of the Russian woman started calling out to Fyedka.

'The woman was definitely off her nut if she believed that the kid would just pop out of hiding because she asked him to', thought Jasper. What the hell was she playing at and why weren't the sounds of the gunfire followed by John destroying something?

Joy Buzzer peeked over the Jeep then looked back to the stolen car. Freedom was just over ten strides away and in the other direction (out of his sight) were two unknown adversaries, possibly three, if the invisible freak was still lurking around. What to do? For the moment, Jasper sat tight. His electrical levels were normalizing, but he needed a few more minutes.

"Fyedka, no games darling come out and say hello. I bring news of your brother. It is nice to know that your family is alive and well, come to me Fyedka and we will talk."
Kristina was looking into the darkness behind John as if the young Russian meta was there, but she could not sense Fyedka and she did not want to go looking and lose her grip on John.

Kristina waited a few seconds to see if her power had reached Fyedka but as yet the young man was no where to be found.

Kurtz was quiet, he pointed the gun at John and stood still. John wondered if the seasoned soldier and government agent was acting of his own free will or had Kristina put her hooks in him. John's leg clicked as it's motors and pistons charged, the over sized mech leg was ready for a good long jump now, John shifted his feet somewhat preparing for 'lift off'.

"Do not leave big man, as I said before I need your help. You do want to help me John don't you?" Kristina flashed that bright smile again, the edges of her eyes glowed a subtle red.

Fyedka was a few yards from the car into which Jasper was about to jump when he stopped. The sound of the woman's voice seemed to penetrate him, tugging at his insides. Even as he wanted to push forward, his body seemed to be frozen in a stalemate between his mind's will and his body's. At the mention of his family, he turned like a puppet on strings and stared in the direction of the voice. The young man didn't need to see her to know who it was and in those two little statements, she had triggered all of his worst fears. His heart pounded as he fought the awful desire to step into the light, to run towards her even, like a starving rat headed straight towards a hung of cheese he knows is attached to a trap.

At the mention of his family being alive and well, Fyedka's heart burned and he involuntarily ground his teeth together. She knew damn well what had happened to his family and that Mikhail considered him anything but. A searing heat brushed Fyedka's cheek and he involuntarily shook the away the awful memories that had begun to creep back into his mind. With a pulsing wave of anger and fear, the young Russian forced his body back around and began walking with stiff strides ignoring the grinding twist that begun in his stomach. He came into Jasper's view and glanced silently up at him before moving towards the passengers seat. His eyes were swimming with desperation and nightmares that begged Jasper to not ask, just drive.

Kristina was growing impatient with these call and response games, and moreover she was very upset that her hunt in the scrapyard had not yielded the Romanov boy. The red haired woman looked into the dark beyond John one last time and decided that she would then take her frustrations out on the mechanic.

"I know he was here big man, I do not enjoy it when people do not listen. You will listen to me now John, come here to me, come close so we can talk."
Kristina was pointing at her boots as if she was calling a dog to her. John grit his teeth, his mind was screaming to stay put but his feet were moving, one in front of the other. The mechanic's mech leg let it's built up energy loose as the big man stepped forward. John sprang into the air right at the Russian woman, there was nowhere for her to go as the big man crashed into her.

John crashed into the small woman knocking her to the ground, she tumbled into the darkness with a gasp.

"None of tricks big man! You stop right there and do not move!" She yelped as she got back up, she was close enough to touch John and she put her hand on his side. John stood there, once she touched the skin of his arm he was even more powerless to fight her commands. John's will was growing weaker, and now he found that he wanted to do as she said, he wanted to be close to her, to have her touch his skin.

Kurtz came to her and John quickly after the mechanic made his jump, he was unable to fire his weapon for fear of striking Kristina. He was huffing and puffing as he came into view.

"Get this under control Mrs. Valyeev, we cannot afford to go blow to blow with MacManus!" The man barked as he swung his gun at John.

Kristina's smile faded from her face at Kurtz's words, she had not known Kurtz very long but she was tired of being in his 'care'. Kristina did not desire to go back to the special prison facility where they had held her for the past year or so, it was much worse than a R.A.I.D. facility. They had kept her sedated in their facility, it was the only way to dull and numb her powers and she did not want to go back to that misery. Kristina had always been vulnerable to the brawn of others, she was no brawler and growing up back home she had always had her brother to protect her. Kristina shot Kurtz a quick glance and then set her eyes on John.

"Kurtz has not treated me kindly John, punish him for me..."
John turned around quickly and walked at Kurtz, the older agent was genuinely afraid as he pulled the trigger on his MP5. Bullets flew at John but the mechanic held his large mech hand in front of him defelcting many of the rounds. John was a breath away from Kurtz now, he grabbed the husky man's gun with his mech hand and bent it rendering it useless.

"MacManus, don't do this..." The man huffed as the mechanic bore down on him.

John grabbed Kurtz's arm and flung him into a stack of crushed cars. The tough older agent slammed into the wrecks and fell silently down into the darkness at the base of the old cars. John went to pound the man further but Kristina had different ideas.

"Is okay John, do not worry about him anymore, come to me John." John turned back around and walked slowly to her, she smiled as she stroked his sweaty arms. She looked at him as they walked away from Kurtz, they began to go back to Kurtz's car.

John's head was swimming, he was sweating a lot now and his stomach and head ached. The world around him was shrinking, at the center of it all stood Kristina, John blinked as he looked at her. The mechanic was taking it all in, her pretty smile, pouty lips, long red hair and her unique eyes and he liked what he saw.

"You like me don't you big man?" She said quietly.

"Yes." John stammered.

Jasper sat in the driver's seat of the Caddy and looked over at Romanov. The kid didn't look too good; he seemed sick with the same illness he had previously felt. What the hell was it and where in the hell was John? The electrical mutant wasn't sure what to do then Shadow brought everything in perspective with his simple statement, "just drive."

That was the answer. Jasper touched his index finger to the ignition and the car started, even in a weakened state he could always jump start an engine. He put the car in gear and started to drive away but as he headed down the road it became apparent that Joy Buzzer wasn't leaving, but looking for a way into the scrap yard and he found it. Round the other side of the fence he found the entrance and barreled right through the gate. There was a loud smash as the metal poles clanged off of the heavy chrome bumper, then Jasper floored it. Up ahead the headlights reflected off of John's large back. He could just make out the red headed woman behind his massive frame but the older man that had been with her was gone.

"Why in the hell is John just standing there like a statue?" Jasper asked Fyedka, wondering if he had any insights but there was hardly anytime for an answer.

Jasper was speeding toward John down the narrow lane. A few time's the wide car struck a piece of protruding metal and sparks lit up the darkness, but he didn't slow down.

"Com'on, Mack. Snap out of it." Whispered Jasper to himself.

He wasn't slowing down. Jasper could feel the sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach returning and he wasn't about to stop and fall victim to whatever the feeling was. All he knew is that John appeared to be immobilized and Joy Buzzer didn't know what to do, but hopefully a ton of American steel barreling toward him would inspire the mechanic to shake a metal leg.

John was grinning like a simp as Kristina held his arm, looking into her eyes he was giving over to her influence. In the back of his fuzzy mind John could hear the engine of the Cadillac as Jasper steered it right at the mechanic. John scooped up the Russian woman and jumped barely clearing the car as it blasted by beneath him. As big as John was he could be surprisingly quick when circumstances called for speed. His leg clicked as he and Kristina sprang straight up, the roof of the Cadillac scraped off of John's metal heel sparking as the car rocketed past.

John was still holding the woman as he landed.
"That's my car..." John mumbled as he watched the car heading away from him.

"Bring car here to me John." Kristina purred as John put her down.

Macmanus crouched again charging his leg and pounced at the speeding car. The mechanic landed short of the old car but managed to get a hold of the rear bumper with his mech hand. The wide fingers of the metal hand clamped down on the chrome rear bumper of the car, John's grip was like a vise as the Cadillac dragged the big man along the dirt road. John gripped the bumper with his other hand and got his feet underneath him and planted his big leg into the dirt road trying to slow the car Fred Flintstone style.

A shower of bright orange sparks burst into the dark as the Cadillac brushed along a row of vehicles. Jasper fought with the wheel and pulled the car back into the center of the narrow lane.

"I thought the big guy would'a reacted sooner, what's got in ta 'im?" Joy Buzzer said to Shadow as he glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see the big man flying through the air at them.

"Christ!" Shouted Jasper his voice going up a few octaves as he struggled to main control of the car's tail from John's heavy drag.

"What the HELL is he DOING?" He asked Fyedka, then throwing his head round over his shoulder screamed, "John! What the hell is with you?! Just climb in the bloody car already! You're slowin' us down!"

It was then that Jasper began to figure out what was going on. The sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach, the headache, it was all connected to that Russian woman. He'd heard of meta-humans who could control minds but he never met any. Didn't mean they didn't exist though and Jasper believed that red-headed witch was one of them.

"Jeezuz!" Exclaimed Joy Buzzer at his revelation, he then looked over at Fyedka, "I dun believe, Mack's himself. We either gotta shake him free o' the car or of that witch's control!"

The end of the road was coming up fast. If they turned left, they'd head deeper into the scrap yard, right looked like it would take them into an impassible pit of junk.

"Hang on!" Warned Jasper.

The road ended at the scrap yard's office, which was an old aluminum trailer attached to a dilapidated wooden structure. Jasper headed right for it.

As John's mech leg dug into the ground like an anchor, Jasper floored it. The big engine roared and they managed to maintain enough speed to smash through the wooden shack and out onto the street. They caught air, and without a seat belt, Joy Buzzer could feel his body rise and fall hard as the big car skidded along the pavement, shrouded by a mass of splintered lumber.

Jasper just kept on going. In his side mirror he could see a rooster tail of sparks being kicked up by John's leg as he held onto the back of the car with an in-human death grip. He didn't know what the hell they were going to do with him, but Jasper figured that the further they were away from the witch, the better off they'd be if it came down to a fight with the big man.

Fyedka turned and looked at the big man desperately holding on. The sparks flying from his legs were like a waving banner to the strength of the man's grip. Fyedka's eyes widened for a moment in marvel of John's strength before he turned to address Jasper's questions.

"It's that lady!" he told him, exclaiming desperately, "just drive! He doesn't look like he's going to fall off! Eventually, her effects will wear off but we gotta keep him away from 'er!" When Jasper glanced over at him, Fyedka averted his eyes, looking away into the side-view mirror at the man dragging behind them. He knew the questions were going to come eventually, but just then, he was praying the Irishman would keep them to himself. He was going to have to answer them eventually, to let his new friends know what they were up against hanging around him and protecting him . . . but not now . . . The young Russian meta was drained both physically and mentally-- the woman's very presence was enough to finish off his energy. Still, his heart pounded as he turned and watched out the back window to see if the woman or any of her lackeys were catching up to them. In this state, he was vulnerable and that was what he really couldn't stand. He'd used up everything and now couldn't so much as bend a shadow if he tried.

"Shit." Whispered Joy Buzzer under his breath as Shadow's weakened condition became all the more apparent. What the hell was he going to do with, John if this range thing didn't work, promise him a free overhaul for his mech's? His power was low and the kid was drained, basically they were screwed if the big guy didn't snap out of it.

Jasper just kept on driving, speeding down a residential street in the early hours of the morning. The time that cops were on the look out for trouble makers and sure enough they caught the attention of one on a routine patrol of the neighborhood.

"Dispatch, this is car 11, north bound on Mueller." Reported the officer in the passenger seat, "You're not going to believe this one. We've got a 505 in progress and possibly a 480. Late model caddy, convertible. We have a suspect armed with... some kind of mechanical arm and leg. Can't verify but he might be trying to stop the car. Suspect may be a meta, I repeat, we may have an unlicensed meta attempting to hijack a vehicle."

"#$%^!" Shouted Jasper when he saw the flashing red's and blue's in the rear view mirror. No doubt the cops were already reporting the incident and Jasper knew that it was only a matter of time before R.A.I.D. caught wind of them. With the big guy slowing them down though this chase was going to be over long before the boys in black even showed up.

"DAMN IT, MACK! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Yelled Joy Buzzer as he skidded round a corner and pulled onto a double lane thoroughfare.