Post by The Circle Television Network on Aug 8, 2017 17:20:49 GMT -5
CHAPTER XXV: THE QUESTION OF ANGELS
27,000 FEET
Over Empire City
The last thing Agent Sloan saw as she looked up into the sky was the ‘angel’ they had been chasing; Hexx, carrying a man with a staff. Why were they chasing them? What did it have to do with any of this? She didn’t have the answer to that question…and it was pretty apparent that she never would.
The wind buffeted Agent Sloan’s face as she tried to scream and her voice was drowned out completely, her body hurdling down towards the earth below. Moments ago, she had jumped from a helo-transport full of meta-humans who had just killed her partner and probably would have done the same to her. She’d snatched their prize, a band…a ring…whatever the hell it was, then opened the emergency door and jumped.
In retrospect…just tossing the band out might have hurt less. They would have killed her anyway, but seeing the looks on their stupid faces…well, not even Grace Sloan could put a damn price on that. The thought comforted her as she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the ground as it rushed up to meet her.
She thought to herself ‘This is really going to hur…’
HIGH OVER...
Empire City
Inside the slowly stalling helo-transport, Daria Knight could barely hear herself think. The wind from the open emergency door was drowning out everything and the warning sirens were blaring. She made her way to the cockpit and screamed at the pilot.
“TAKE US DOWN!! TAKE US DOWN TO THE GROUND RIGHT NOW!!”
The pilot was already angling the ship back down, it was unable to match the speed of 'The Angel of Empire City' they were in pursuit of. Daria grimaced at the thought of losing out on catching Hexx and discovering why the band had been attracted to her... "...or was it..." she said to herself as she thought about the man holding the staff that she was carrying.
Either way, she knew that it was connected to one of them...and she would find out, just as soon as they found Agent Sloan's body and the band she had jumped out of the transport with. At this she could take some small comfort in the fact that the bitch died screaming as she crashed into the ground at terminal velocity.
This brought a smile to her face...if nothing else...
HIGHER, STILL…
Over Empire City
Hexx strained to carry herself and Staff Master as she finally stopped her steep ascent. Still, her wings beat furiously as she held them both up. She looked down at the man as she held on to collar of his vest. “Tell me this hero… why should I not drop you to your death… even as you sought to do the same to me?”
Staff Master grimaced. She had fallen from the rooftop during their struggle, but he hadn’t intentionally made her fall. “I wasn’t trying to knock you off the building or kill you… I was looking to bring you in for your crimes!”
Hexx laughed, despite herself. “Crimes? I have done nothing against the laws of man, not that I am bound by them! You’re as hypocritical as that fool Superius! Violating the very ideals you purport to protect, while you do more harm to the innocent than you know! Tell me that I’m wrong hero… tell me that it isn’t so!”
Staff Master was silent for a long while before he finally answered her. “You’re wrong… I have the right to make a citizen’s arrest, and why shouldn’t I when there is a murderer on the loose? Speaking of which…it’s not too late for you to turn yourself in…I think I see a police station right down below us!!”
Hexx laughed. “Perhaps I should let you go… so that you can take a closer look for yourself!” With that, Hexx dove down, rocketing at an incredible speed. They seemed certain to impact the ground, but while the man tensed, he did not scream. She pulled up from her dive to look him in his eyes again, but he remained steadfast. She glared at him, "You weren't afraid I'd drop you?"
He shook out his hair and caught his breath before he spoke again, “If you did that… then you wouldn’t be as innocent as you profess yourself to be… now would you?”
Hexx was angry when next she spoke. “PROFESS? With each word you utter… you loosen my grip further… pray that you don’t make an ACTUAL murderer out of me before this day is done!”
Staff Master tightened his grip on his quarterstaff. The feel of it in his hand was reassuring to him, even as he made up his mind about a course of action. “You swear up and down that you aren’t a murder… so why don’t I give you a chance to prove it?”
“Wha…”
Before Hexx could ask the question, she was smacked in the face by his staff. The pain was blinding and instant as an explosion of white light filled her vision. Her hands went instinctively to her face and suddenly Staff Master was in the midst of a deadly fall through the cloud cover and to the ground below. It only took a second for Hexx to regain her composure, but even as she did, she saw the man plummeting towards the ground…and certain death. She swept her wings back and angled for the man even as he fell, holding his staff close to himself. Her wings pushed at the air, driving her faster, until she caught his foot in her hands. Her wings deployed like a drag chute at first, slowing them, then beating at the air, even as the ground was rushing up to meet them. She turned from a direct dive to a rapid, but angled approach. The two of them hit the ground and tumbled wildly. Staff Master continued to roll, slamming into the side of a parked car, severely denting the door and shattering the windows…
ARRRRRH!!!
He recovered slowly, more bruised and battered from the tumbling than anything else. He looked up as he saw Hexx come to a less graceful stop in the middle of the street. He watched as she struggled to get up, then fell back down to a knee. Staff Master’s eyes grew large as he saw what she apparently didn’t.
“LOOK OUT!!!”
A large semi-truck was bearing down on her and showing no signs of slowing down. Staff Master ignored the ache in his body as he made a beeline for the street. He never looked at the speeding truck… even as he dove, grabbing the dazed woman and dragging her out of the path of the vehicle at the last instant. He rolled, finally coming to rest on top of her at the side of the street. “Are you okay?!! I wa…”
She planted both of her feet against his midsection and kicked him up and over, even as she rolled with him, gaining the dominant position… wrapping one hand around his neck as she threatened him with the other. “YOU F*CKING IDIOT!! YOU ALMOST KILLED YOURSELF!!”
Staff Master arched his brow as he grinned, his teeth stained red with blood. “Awwwwe! I wasn’t in danger of dying, but I had to see if you were as innocent as you claimed to be…”
Hexx narrowed her eyes at him. “So… did I pass?”
“You may not be a killer… but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re wanted… and it’s my duty to bring you in to answer the charges. If you keep running… I’m just going to keep chasing you… so… what do you say?”
She seemed lost in thought for a moment, then a slow smile traced its way across her supple lips. “I’ll turn myself in… but only to the butcher of Rome…”
Staff Master was completely confused and taken off guard. “The who of the what?!!”
She elaborated. “The man who slaughtered my people...the man the idiots of this city worship as a god...Superius…”
KINGSTON FOREST
Edge of Empire City
The helo-transport hovered over the heavily forested area as search beams knifed between the branches. From the open emergency door, Vixxxen peered out and shook her head. “I still don’t see anything! If that bitch hit the ground out here we might never find her!”
Vixxxen flinched as Reaver drug the lifeless crushed body of Agent Maya over and pitched out like garbage. The vicious woman grinned as she watched the body plummet down and hit the ground with a satisfying thud. “Good riddance to bad bloody rubbish, aye?!”
Vixxxen rolled her eyes and walked back inside. She posted her hands on her hips, looking at Daria as she knelt beside the still unconscious Gaia, her head wrapped in bloody gauze, a parting gift from Agent Sloan before she took her swan dive with the band. Vixxxen chimed in, “ “Do you think she can find it?”
Daria gave a hard sigh, “ “Maybe…if she lives. It’s probably our only chance at getting it back.” She swore under her breath, “…shit…” Daria had no intention of keeping Gaia alive, but now she had to if she had any chance of finding what was basically a needle in a haystack. She turned and yelled to the pilot, “GET US BACK TO BASE!”
Reever walked over, peering down at the wounded meta, and then to her employer, “What are you gonna to tell those wankers back at the base? They’ll be wondering bout their little agent friends?”
Daria laced her fingers, as she calmly settled back. “I have already messed them, I told them that Sloan and Maya tried to sabotage the mission and kill Gaia. They were killed by my guards instead. Nice and neat…nothing to worry about.”
Daria stared out the window as she wondered if they would ever find that band. The transport lingered for just a few moments more before its engines spun up and it headed off back towards base...
MOMENTS LATER…
Agent Sloan stumbled out of the underbrush and fell on the ground. Her clothes were torn to shreds and her body was mangled and broken, but she was alive…by some miracle. She didn’t know how and she didn’t know why, but she could feel her body knitting itself back together. Her twisted hand, which was already healing itself, opened and the gold band glinted in the rapidly fading light…
CAST (In order of appearance)
Agent Sloan ... Amy Jo Smyth
Anka … Kenzi Grey
Staff-Master … Justin Spirit
Daria Knight ... Missy
Vixxxen ... Katie Anderson
Reaver ... Melissa Reeves
Agent Maya … Maria Salvatore
Gaia ... Kate Steele
Directed by … DubbleFC
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … CTN Television Studios
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
27,000 FEET
Over Empire City
The last thing Agent Sloan saw as she looked up into the sky was the ‘angel’ they had been chasing; Hexx, carrying a man with a staff. Why were they chasing them? What did it have to do with any of this? She didn’t have the answer to that question…and it was pretty apparent that she never would.
The wind buffeted Agent Sloan’s face as she tried to scream and her voice was drowned out completely, her body hurdling down towards the earth below. Moments ago, she had jumped from a helo-transport full of meta-humans who had just killed her partner and probably would have done the same to her. She’d snatched their prize, a band…a ring…whatever the hell it was, then opened the emergency door and jumped.
In retrospect…just tossing the band out might have hurt less. They would have killed her anyway, but seeing the looks on their stupid faces…well, not even Grace Sloan could put a damn price on that. The thought comforted her as she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the ground as it rushed up to meet her.
She thought to herself ‘This is really going to hur…’
HIGH OVER...
Empire City
Inside the slowly stalling helo-transport, Daria Knight could barely hear herself think. The wind from the open emergency door was drowning out everything and the warning sirens were blaring. She made her way to the cockpit and screamed at the pilot.
“TAKE US DOWN!! TAKE US DOWN TO THE GROUND RIGHT NOW!!”
The pilot was already angling the ship back down, it was unable to match the speed of 'The Angel of Empire City' they were in pursuit of. Daria grimaced at the thought of losing out on catching Hexx and discovering why the band had been attracted to her... "...or was it..." she said to herself as she thought about the man holding the staff that she was carrying.
Either way, she knew that it was connected to one of them...and she would find out, just as soon as they found Agent Sloan's body and the band she had jumped out of the transport with. At this she could take some small comfort in the fact that the bitch died screaming as she crashed into the ground at terminal velocity.
This brought a smile to her face...if nothing else...
HIGHER, STILL…
Over Empire City
Hexx strained to carry herself and Staff Master as she finally stopped her steep ascent. Still, her wings beat furiously as she held them both up. She looked down at the man as she held on to collar of his vest. “Tell me this hero… why should I not drop you to your death… even as you sought to do the same to me?”
Staff Master grimaced. She had fallen from the rooftop during their struggle, but he hadn’t intentionally made her fall. “I wasn’t trying to knock you off the building or kill you… I was looking to bring you in for your crimes!”
Hexx laughed, despite herself. “Crimes? I have done nothing against the laws of man, not that I am bound by them! You’re as hypocritical as that fool Superius! Violating the very ideals you purport to protect, while you do more harm to the innocent than you know! Tell me that I’m wrong hero… tell me that it isn’t so!”
Staff Master was silent for a long while before he finally answered her. “You’re wrong… I have the right to make a citizen’s arrest, and why shouldn’t I when there is a murderer on the loose? Speaking of which…it’s not too late for you to turn yourself in…I think I see a police station right down below us!!”
Hexx laughed. “Perhaps I should let you go… so that you can take a closer look for yourself!” With that, Hexx dove down, rocketing at an incredible speed. They seemed certain to impact the ground, but while the man tensed, he did not scream. She pulled up from her dive to look him in his eyes again, but he remained steadfast. She glared at him, "You weren't afraid I'd drop you?"
He shook out his hair and caught his breath before he spoke again, “If you did that… then you wouldn’t be as innocent as you profess yourself to be… now would you?”
Hexx was angry when next she spoke. “PROFESS? With each word you utter… you loosen my grip further… pray that you don’t make an ACTUAL murderer out of me before this day is done!”
Staff Master tightened his grip on his quarterstaff. The feel of it in his hand was reassuring to him, even as he made up his mind about a course of action. “You swear up and down that you aren’t a murder… so why don’t I give you a chance to prove it?”
“Wha…”
Before Hexx could ask the question, she was smacked in the face by his staff. The pain was blinding and instant as an explosion of white light filled her vision. Her hands went instinctively to her face and suddenly Staff Master was in the midst of a deadly fall through the cloud cover and to the ground below. It only took a second for Hexx to regain her composure, but even as she did, she saw the man plummeting towards the ground…and certain death. She swept her wings back and angled for the man even as he fell, holding his staff close to himself. Her wings pushed at the air, driving her faster, until she caught his foot in her hands. Her wings deployed like a drag chute at first, slowing them, then beating at the air, even as the ground was rushing up to meet them. She turned from a direct dive to a rapid, but angled approach. The two of them hit the ground and tumbled wildly. Staff Master continued to roll, slamming into the side of a parked car, severely denting the door and shattering the windows…
ARRRRRH!!!
He recovered slowly, more bruised and battered from the tumbling than anything else. He looked up as he saw Hexx come to a less graceful stop in the middle of the street. He watched as she struggled to get up, then fell back down to a knee. Staff Master’s eyes grew large as he saw what she apparently didn’t.
“LOOK OUT!!!”
A large semi-truck was bearing down on her and showing no signs of slowing down. Staff Master ignored the ache in his body as he made a beeline for the street. He never looked at the speeding truck… even as he dove, grabbing the dazed woman and dragging her out of the path of the vehicle at the last instant. He rolled, finally coming to rest on top of her at the side of the street. “Are you okay?!! I wa…”
She planted both of her feet against his midsection and kicked him up and over, even as she rolled with him, gaining the dominant position… wrapping one hand around his neck as she threatened him with the other. “YOU F*CKING IDIOT!! YOU ALMOST KILLED YOURSELF!!”
Staff Master arched his brow as he grinned, his teeth stained red with blood. “Awwwwe! I wasn’t in danger of dying, but I had to see if you were as innocent as you claimed to be…”
Hexx narrowed her eyes at him. “So… did I pass?”
“You may not be a killer… but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re wanted… and it’s my duty to bring you in to answer the charges. If you keep running… I’m just going to keep chasing you… so… what do you say?”
She seemed lost in thought for a moment, then a slow smile traced its way across her supple lips. “I’ll turn myself in… but only to the butcher of Rome…”
Staff Master was completely confused and taken off guard. “The who of the what?!!”
She elaborated. “The man who slaughtered my people...the man the idiots of this city worship as a god...Superius…”
KINGSTON FOREST
Edge of Empire City
The helo-transport hovered over the heavily forested area as search beams knifed between the branches. From the open emergency door, Vixxxen peered out and shook her head. “I still don’t see anything! If that bitch hit the ground out here we might never find her!”
Vixxxen flinched as Reaver drug the lifeless crushed body of Agent Maya over and pitched out like garbage. The vicious woman grinned as she watched the body plummet down and hit the ground with a satisfying thud. “Good riddance to bad bloody rubbish, aye?!”
Vixxxen rolled her eyes and walked back inside. She posted her hands on her hips, looking at Daria as she knelt beside the still unconscious Gaia, her head wrapped in bloody gauze, a parting gift from Agent Sloan before she took her swan dive with the band. Vixxxen chimed in, “ “Do you think she can find it?”
Daria gave a hard sigh, “ “Maybe…if she lives. It’s probably our only chance at getting it back.” She swore under her breath, “…shit…” Daria had no intention of keeping Gaia alive, but now she had to if she had any chance of finding what was basically a needle in a haystack. She turned and yelled to the pilot, “GET US BACK TO BASE!”
Reever walked over, peering down at the wounded meta, and then to her employer, “What are you gonna to tell those wankers back at the base? They’ll be wondering bout their little agent friends?”
Daria laced her fingers, as she calmly settled back. “I have already messed them, I told them that Sloan and Maya tried to sabotage the mission and kill Gaia. They were killed by my guards instead. Nice and neat…nothing to worry about.”
Daria stared out the window as she wondered if they would ever find that band. The transport lingered for just a few moments more before its engines spun up and it headed off back towards base...
MOMENTS LATER…
Agent Sloan stumbled out of the underbrush and fell on the ground. Her clothes were torn to shreds and her body was mangled and broken, but she was alive…by some miracle. She didn’t know how and she didn’t know why, but she could feel her body knitting itself back together. Her twisted hand, which was already healing itself, opened and the gold band glinted in the rapidly fading light…
CAST (In order of appearance)
Agent Sloan ... Amy Jo Smyth
Anka … Kenzi Grey
Staff-Master … Justin Spirit
Daria Knight ... Missy
Vixxxen ... Katie Anderson
Reaver ... Melissa Reeves
Agent Maya … Maria Salvatore
Gaia ... Kate Steele
Directed by … DubbleFC
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … CTN Television Studios
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure