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Posts: 855
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Outside the Pentagon…
“It feels good to be on my feet again” John thinks aloud as he gets himself into position.
He was grateful to be suited up once more. It took him months to get the prosthetic exoskeleton leg armor working correctly. John silently thanked his dead friend for leaving behind his technological creations. Utilizing the power supply from the Cyber Hawk suit gave the exoskeleton the energy input it required to work at peak efficiency.
Even he had to admit though being wheelchair bound as John Dark helped ensure his secret identity as a crime fighter would remain intact. For whom would think a crippled man could be running around and scaling buildings as he beat down the criminal underbelly?
The armored legs weren’t the only part of his suit that he had upgraded though. His torso now contained armor as well to better protect his spine and ribs from any other major trauma. Though he did have to lose a few gadgets to make up for the extra power needed. His mask now only retained night-vision capability and a built in communications device. The other vision modes had to go along with his hawk-star launchers and grappler guns located in his gauntlets. Only the blades remained here but he compensated by adding longer blades that were now almost katana like.
The suit was now also capable of bending the light around him causing him to blend into his surroundings, virtually invisible to the naked eye and the prosthetics enhanced his speed, reflexes, and agility making him the perfect weapon. Stealth was now his best ally in the war on crime.
The world had grown dark in the last few months while he sat around in his wheelchair watching BNN (Broadcast News Network). Every country seemed to be building up a nuclear stockpile. Reminded John of the Cold War except this time he feared nuclear missiles would be launched. Just last week the United Nations and NATO were dissolved as the disagreements between countries soared higher than it had in decades.
“That’s why this mission is so important” John thought solemnly “that’s why Captain Midnight has put this new team together.”
Midnight Avenger Corps H.Q. the USS Avenger…
“Can it be?” Tabitha Utterson cried out at the television.
This was the first footage she had seen of the creature called Hyde since the rumors of his existence had surfaced. It brought back her childhood memories and the notes that she had found in her Uncle Tom’s cellar after his death. Her village was ransacked by the militia forces taking the only family she had left.
That’s when she found the formula and the notes. Most of the notes were written by a Dr. Henry Jekyll. But some were from her ancestor Gabriel John Utterson a lawyer and friend to the doctor and were labeled “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” All in all the notes made up a pretty vivid picture of the happenings and explained in detail that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were one in the same.
After going through Dr. Jekyll’s notes at length she discovered that the vial of formula that she had found was the last remaining sample of his formula. This intrigued her for she had vowed revenge upon the woman who murdered her uncle and hoped to use Jekyll’s formula to increase her own strength.
As Tabitha grew into womanhood she became a world renowned chemist. Using her knowledge she not only duplicated Jekyll’s formula but perfected it. Instead of turning herself into a vile disgusting creature she instead was able to retain her own mind and morals as well as gain the hidden strength of her other self.
No one suspected that the nerdy glasses wearing girl with brown pigtails was the same as the beautiful buxom blonde woman with super strength that the formula had since turned her into. The only flaw in her plan was that the change had been permanent. Unlike Jekyll’s formula which would reverse the process hers did not. Without the ability to change back she had to leave the world of science behind and become a permanent heroine.
But now she had a chance, if Jekyll really had survived all these years and if this Hyde creature was really him she may have a chance to create another formula allowing her to shift back and forth between forms. The last reports said his location was that of Sun City where he had been doing battle with a vampire lord. So that is where she would go.
Meanwhile, in the skies over Arlington, Virginia.
A V-22 Osprey comes into position readying to make the drop. Captain Midnight, Wraith, and Raptor prepare to disembark from the tiltrotor aircraft. Wraith and Raptor both strap on parachutes as the rear hatch begins to lower. Captain Midnight jumps out of the plane first and takes flight as the other two follow and freefall for a few seconds before opening their chutes.
It was odd for the team to be using conventional means of travel especially during a covert ops mission but there was no help for it because Arcanum was currently in the Himalayas seeking out a strange aura that he had detected recently. The cybernetic magician was very mysterious in his last message but stressed the urgency that he find out what the energy reading meant.
With any luck Shadowblade would already be inside the building. The rest of the team was just supposed to keep watch and secure the perimeter to keep out any authorities who may become alerted to his presence inside. Interesting choice of codename Captain Midnight couldn’t help but muse over the new name that John Dark had taken since his recovery. But then again he supposed it matched the new suit John now wore.
The Pentagon…
Shadowblade activates his suits stealth mode and disappears from sight just as a security guard comes around the corner. He waits until the guard has passed him by and then he clamps one hand around the guard’s mouth and the other around his neck. He performs the stranglehold flawlessly and waits until the man’s breathing slows before releasing him. John searches the man’s pockets quickly and finds what he’s looking for. A level 6 security keycard, using the card he unlocks the nearby maintenance entrance and slips inside.
The corridor was damp and unlit plunging him into darkness. His night-vision flared to life throwing everything around him into varying shades of green. Large steam pipes ran overhead presumably carrying heat down the 17.5 miles of corridors and into the offices beyond. He could hear leaking water somewhere up ahead probably from the piping of one of the restrooms.
He made his way down this underground corridor and kept his ears open for signs of life. Shadowblade didn’t expect to run into anyone on this part of his journey but he could never be too careful. The plan was a pretty simple one. He only had to make it to the office of the SecDef and retrieve the level 9 security keycard that is supposed to be locked in the safe.
“Should be a piece of cake” John muttered to himself as he ran the length of the corridor as fast as his exoskeleton would allow.
Then he pried open the service elevator shaft doors with one of his wrist blades and peered inside. Looking up he saw that the elevator itself was at least three floors above. Shadowblade jumped into the shaft catching the cables in his gauntleted hands. Then he leapt again and again straight up until he was within reach of the fifth floor doors. Prizing these open as well he made his way into the hallway.
Here he found himself in ring C. He should have paid more attention to the blueprints he thought trying to remember the fastest route to the outer ring. Ring A is where all the head honchos kept their offices because it was the only hallway with a view to the outside. He was sure that’s where the office would be. From a security viewpoint this made no sense to John because the outer ring was more open to attack. If he had been a bad guy he’d just have plowed through the outer wall instead of taking the long way round himself. But this was an espionage mission and not an outright assault.
Eventually Shadowblade found his way around the maze of corridors and found the outer ring, now to find office 5A600. He took a glance at the nearest office door and saw that it was labeled 5A491.
“Not too bad” he mumbled as he ran along the corridor searching for the correct office.
Voices could be heard and Shadowblade stopped in his tracks and flattened himself against the wall. Even in the dead of night this place seemed to be inhabited. A couple of men in Navy dress uniforms rounded the corner and continued past him carrying on their conversation about last night’s football game. He breathed a sigh of relief as they turned the corner out of sight.
But this small sound caught the attention of a security guard who just stepped out of one of the office doors closest to him. The man paused and peered around the seemingly empty space drawing his radio in one hand and his baton in the other as he did so. The guard was a mere six inches from Shadowblade. He would have to act quickly.
John struck out with a right hook and connected to the man’s nose cracking the cartilage beneath his armored fist. The man cried out in surprise and dropped both the radio and stick in order to cup his bleeding broken nose in his hands. John hit him again this time hard enough to knock him out and then drug the man back into the office he just exited. Luckily it was empty and so he sat the man in a chair and slumped him over the desk as if he were sleeping.
Then he found the SecDef’s office and swore under his breath. There was a panel beside the door containing a keypad and a camera directly above that. He wasn’t expecting this. Somehow he needed to bypass this security system. Activating the communicator in his mask he radioed the rest of the team.
“I’m at the door but there is a numerical code and facial recognition software in place.”
“Damn, it must’ve been upgraded within the last three days” Captain Midnight replied “abort the mission we’ll find another way to obtain the card.”
“But I’m already here. What about Wraith can’t he just phase through the walls?”
“If it were that easy don’t you think we’d of sent him in instead of you? The Pentagon is heavily shielded against that sort of intrusion. There is some sort of interference that disables his abilities.”
“What if I find the source and shut it down?”
“Just stand by I have an idea” Captain Midnight replied.
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Duo attack. Lolz
okay so I'm not really that upset but I would like to know what you think so far?
sorry Midnight! Its good so far I've been a little pre occupied with some ideas i've been trying to get on paper. My heads a little over crowded right now 
Good story so far, keep it coming.