The Kiss of Death (Part III) [Michael Gideon, trying to track down the metahuman copkiller that tried to kill him and Cindy Cornoe, has come at last to Richard Navarone, the Mafia Don in charge of Manhattan. At Navarone's Brooklyn townhouse, the lights go out and bullets start to fly, and Gideon realizes that Cindy Cornoe has come to him.] [GM] You arrive in the back alley as you hear heavy, hard wood smashing inwards. You get a glimpse of Cindy, who pauses for a split second, and looks directly at you when you yell her name. Eye contact...and for a moment, you can't pull the trigger. The moment is long enough for Cindy to dart inside...through the back door that she just kicked in. And as you sprint to follow, you see that, not surprisingly, Navarone had a locked iron grate external to the heavily bolted door. Cindy tore it off. You hear more gunfire inside. <><><><><> Gideon: He saw her shimmering blonde hair and his finger froze. The angelic glow around her made him want her more. He shook off the effect and chased her into the house. She was much stronger if the door was any indication. Gideon never hesitated as he entered the house. She would standout in the darkness. He could use that to his advantage. He swept the pistol in front of him, quickly turning corners and looking for his quarry. *No hesitation this time,* he thought. *You see her, you shoot her.* Now if he could only make his hand pull the trigger. <><><><><> [GM] One of the men you were speaking to only minutes ago lies dead on the kitchen floor, in Cindy's wake. There's a trail of blood...apparently at least one bullet must have clipped her. But it doesn't seem to have slowed her down. "Why are you siding with *them* against me, Michael?" her voice echoes from another room. A strobe flash of light accompanies another burst of automatic gunfire. Her voice still sends shivers up and down your spine. She's relying on her preternatural speed, and perhaps her flaring sexuality, which you can feel even from the next room, to give her an edge over Navarone's men. So far, it's worked. But you're better at moving in a firefight (not that you've been in *that* many of them), and you're doing your damnedest to steel yourself against her siren-like lure. You also have the confidence of knowing the bullets won't hurt you. Much. Cindy fires wildly, chewing up Navarone's expensive bannister with a full clip of Ingram rounds, keeping the men upstairs from storming down after her. With the superhuman strength she also seems to have acquired, she can hold it steady even on full auto. But she has no training with weapons, which is why she just expended yet another entire clip and probably didn't hit anything. She's relying on volume to keep her targets' heads down until she closes in. You move swiftly to the doorway, and raise your pistol. Cindy is hurriedly slapping another clip into the gun, glowing like a beacon in the middle of the dark room. Her head comes up, and you make eye contact again. Her expression is shock, anger, fear, hurt, fury- something more and less than human. The body of an angel, the soul of, if not a devil, certainly something that has been corrupted by her metahuman abilities. You want her. You need her. She disgusts you. You want to protect her. You want to save her. You want to destroy her. You see the face of a murderer in a subway, and remember what it felt like to kill. Your finger tightens on the trigger. The shadows of the living room move as if alive, the dark background behind Cindy suddenly animated, ominously converging on her. Solid blackness wraps around Cindy, and you see her huge, luminescent eyes go wide in shock and fear, for just an instant. Then there is some sort of solid figure behind her, which grabs her head and twists it around with a sickening **crack!**, all in the space of the same second in which you pull the trigger. The bullet doesn't hit Cindy; if it hits the shadow, you can't tell. Cindy's body drops to the ground like a discarded rag doll, leaving a dark figure which is almost indistinguishable from the shadows, even with your night vision, standing in her place. "One down," says a cheerful masculine voice. <><><><><> Gideon: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" *She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!She's dead!* At that moment, Michael Gideon lost all rational thought. Rage coursed through him like a living thing. If he could have struck this abomination dead with his gaze he would have. He was moving towards the Shadowman, knowing that he was probably advancing towards his death. He didn't care. "You bastard! You cowardly son of a b*****! I hope your man enough to take me face to face, cause I'm gonna send you straight to hell!" <><><><><> [GM] "Why so upset? Looks to me like you were about to punch her ticket yourself." The shadow wavers slightly, then resumes the human silhouette, in a slightly different pose. "Come on then, if you think you're man enough!" <><><><><> Gideon: He kept the gun pointed at the Shadowman as he took another step towards him. >>Why so upset? Looks to me like you were about to punch her ticket yourself.<< He was right. He had pulled the trigger even as the Shadowman was twisting Cindy's neck. What he was going to do had been accomplished. He started to slow his breathing and pull himself together. Gideon took his left hand off the gun and with his right, tossed the firearm aside. He didn't think the weapon could stop this man anyway. "I presume with her death, your job is done? I have to know one thing. Why did you kill the policemen? They had nothing to do with this." <><><><><> [GM] "Not quite," the Shadowman says. In an inky black blur, he merges with the shadows of the room, seems to roll along the wall, and out the door of the living room. <><><><><> Gideon: *Navarone!* Gideon bolted for the stairway. "Anyone with a flashlight turn it on now! Protect Mr. Navarone!" He knew he was running the risk of being shot but he had to get uo to Navarones study fast. If only he knew where the fusebox was located. <><><><><> [GM] You see one flashlight beam flick on, then more light is cast about the upper floor by the strobe-like muzzle flashes of automatic weapons. The gunfire is intense but brief. By the time you arrive in the study, Shadowman has killed everyone- including Navarone, who is sprawled in his chair with his head twisted completely around. A couple of the soldiers look *slashed* open. "Confused?" a voice asks from the shadows. "Good....stay that way!" His voice is smug and condescending. You can see no movement...aren't even sure where the superhuman killer is now. <><><><><> Gideon: Confused doesn't do the situation justice. "Why kill your employer?" He wasn't expecting to get an answer. This was the worst possible scenario. Everyone dead and he is the only person left standing. To say that he was in trouble would be a huge understatement. Running wouldn't solve anything. That would only add more fuel to the fire. He had no doubt that the police were on their way. Michael decided to sit on the front stoop and wait for their arrival. All he could do was tell the truth. Whether or not they believed it was up to them. Someone was playing a deadly game and he was right in the middle of it. He had no idea what to do next. <><><><><> [GM] You don't get an answer, except a faint chuckle. No one hinders you as you head downstairs, and out the front door. The night seems still and peaceful as you sit there, with an indeterminate number of dead bodies inside. Just as you hear the first siren in the distance, an even more ominous sound drifts from within. Cindy's voice, weak but unmistakable. "michael....." <><><><><> Gideon: The sound of his name sends chills down his spine. *She can't be alive!* He turns around and slowly walks back to where Cindy fell. He doesn't know what to expect when he arrives at her body. Her neck was snapped. He knows that she should be dead. A large part of him is happy that she is still alive, even for a few moments. He knows that he shouldn't even touch her body. Her power to siphon life energy could lash out at him in order to repair the damage to her body. He doesn't care. Michael kneels down next to Cindy and takes her hand. "I'm here, baby. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't stop him." <><><><><> [GM] Cindy is lying with her head still at a grotesque angle...yet somehow, she's alive. "michael..." she whispers, as you hold her hand. "You....were going to shoot me....why?" <><><><><> Gideon: All of the reasons eluded him at this moment. Touching her hand, feeling her soft skin, brought back all of the vivid images of the times they had shared. This woman had him dazed and confused. She would probably always have him this way, if she lived. He could only shake his head in response to her question. Seeing her in this condition and knowing that it was his fault was almost unbearable. He had to do something to make this right. Michael thought back to the incident in the hotel. She had drained three men in order to heal a less severe wound. He had been in contact with her and she wasn't trying to siphon his energy. Cindy cared enough not to take without him offering. He leaned over and whispered one word to her. "Live." Then he kissed her. <><><><><> [GM] A spark crackles between you as your lips meet...then the spark becomes a surge of energy. You can actually SEE a crackling electric blue spiderweb rippling over your skin, and all that energy is being drawn straight into Cindy. There is little physical passion in the kiss- you're almost in shock, and Cindy is still almost inert- yet it sends you into hormonal orbit all over again. Your pulse races and your heart pounds until you're afraid it will explode, as her lips, soft and still warm and impossibly sweet, stay locked to yours. You're becoming lightheaded, your heartbeat is STILL increasing, heading for overload, and you can literally feel your lifeforce being drained out of you, but you have no desire to break contact. Her kiss....like the best night of sex you've ever had (with a mere mortal, not Cindy)....like being strangled to death and enjoying it.....like knowing that you're totally out of control and about to collide with your own mortality, and looking forward to it, the abyss yawns in front of you and if Cindy beckons, you'll jump right in, you're completely aware of what's happening and you just can't make yourself care..... "oh, yes...." Cindy moans, as your lips part, just for one agonizing second, then meet again, and your life continues to flow into her, electrical flashes that illuminate the room in a flickering display of eerie ghost-light singe your clothes and burn your skin on the way out, do nothing to mar the perfection of Cindy's as she absorbs it all, takes everything you give her and more....like someone drawing your blood....and drawing, and drawing and drawing until you can feel yourself nearly drained empty still trying to force more out because it feels so GOOD... She sucks your life out of you, and when she rises from the floor, you feel like a sponge that's been squeezed through a metal press, and you'd do it all again, for Cindy..... "My God, you have so much...." Cindy gasps. She staggers to her feet, glowing brightly, like her skin was painted flourescent white, and for a moment she looks like an angel. You lie on the floor, burned out, spent, barely able to move, not sure if you can still even breathe. Sirens are loud now, red and blue flashing lights shine through the shattered front windows and splash against the walls. "I have to get out of here," Cindy whispers. And she reaches for a gun. <><><><><> Gideon: He can't believe that he's still alive. He feels pain in places he didn't know he had. "Don't....don't take the gun....they'll kill you. I don't...think..I can do..this again." he mutters in a hoarse voice. He barely manages to point at his left coat pocket. "Keys....my apartment...wait...for me." He knows that his life is completely entwined with hers. He isn't sure if she'll trust him, but he has to try. <><><><><> [GM] "Michael, you don't get it," Cindy murmurs. "That shadow creature, he'll just come after me again. Or the mob. Or the cops." Her voice chokes as she cocks the gun, then reaches for another, bigger one, clutched in the hand of one of the dead men. "No matter where I go, I'm going to be hunted. So f*** them." She begins moving towards the door. <><><><><> Gideon: He understands her feelings. He had to be sure that she understood his. "I...know..but two against ten are better odds. I'm coming with you. No..turning back now." Michael is desperately trying to gather his strength. Cindy took almost everything he had. "You said it yourself...I have a great deal of power. Let me help you." he pleaded. He was in love with this mad demon of a woman. He couldn't deny that anymore. She may not love him but it wouldn't be the first time that his feelings weren't returned. "I'm in love with you. This has nothing to do with your power. I've been in love with you from the moment I saw your picture in Richard's yearbook. If you leave, I swear I'll find you. I don't care how you feel about me. I KNOW how feel about you." Michael says this with a strength that belies his current condition. "LET ME HELP YOU!" <><><><><> [GM] Cindy stands above you, and looks out the window. In a distant voice, she says "Richard was in love with me too. All men fall in love with me. It's not about *me*, it's about what I am. You're in love with me, the way bees are in love with flowers." She looks down at you, her expression a mixture of anger, pity, and despair. She kneels, quickly, and her expression softens. "Besides," she whispers, "you're the shining knight, remember? Right now, your hormones are telling you to love me and protect me. When I'm gone, I'll become the evil bitch you wanted to kill again. No, Michael. You don't really want to shoot cops for me, do you?" She kisses you, a kiss to die for. It's far too brief, then she's rising, and moving towards the door. The soft, vulnerable Cindy is gone, just like that, replaced with the predatory killer. "Trust me," she says. "I'll be fine." In a blur, she spins and runs towards the *back* door, and you hear her exit. A few moments after that, you hear gunshots. <><><><><> Gideon: He can only lay there and savor the moment as they kiss. He doesn't have the strength to even speak. >>You don't really want to shoot cops for me, do you?<< Michael wasn't really sure about his answer to that question. *How the hell do those guys in the books do it.* he thought. Then he remebered, *Force of will.* Michael closed his eyes and concentrated on one thing. *Gather my strength.* He heard the gunshots and his need to get up and help her became imperative. Anything was worth a try. <><><><><> [GM] Surprisingly, you do seem to have some strength...at least enough to stand. Which is about ten times more strength than you thought you had a moment ago. But the spinning of the room, and extraordinary heaviness of your limbs, keeps you from feeling too rejuvenated. For someone that's bounced bullets and thrown beds across the room, you feel like a vigorous slap from a third-grader would probably put you down for the count. <><><><><> Gideon: He leans up against a nearby wall to gather more strength. *Not as bad as I thought it would be.* After a few seconds, he wills his legs into motion. He has no coordination as he approaches the door and stumbles into it, one arm crashing through a section of glass. Michael concentrates on getting through the door in a more conventional manner and finally makes it to the front stoop. His vision is blurred and the flashing lights from the police cars don't help. His need to know what has happened to Cindy is the only thing driving him now. <><><><><> [GM] As you woozily stagger through the door, you see a sight that's becoming far too familiar- a bunch of men pointing guns at you. These are all policemen, of course. "FREEZE RIGHT NOW!!!" screams one, followed immediately (and contradictorily) by another who yells "GET FACEDOWN I MEAN NOW!!!" <><><><><> Gideon: "This is about all the freezing I can do right now. I would love nothing better then to be facedown in my pillow right now. I just don't have that luxury. I'm unarmed and I have a badguy or rather, a badgirl to catch. If your going to shoot me, shoot me." Michael gathers what strength he has left and leaps for the hood of one of the police cars. With his luck, he'll probably land right in the middle of the cops. <><><><><> [GM] They do shoot. Bullets bounce off you as you make an impressive leap onto the hood of the nearest car, then nearly fall over from the lightheadedness that the sudden exertion brings about. They shoot at least five more rounds into you, as you sway, then stop firing while you shake off the dizziness. "S***", says the nearest cop. All of them are staring at you. <><><><><> Gideon: The bullet impacts hurt more then usual. Each one fuels his anger and strengthens his resolve. He is impressed with his own abilites in completing the leap. As he staggers to remain standing he looks at the assembled officers. "Everyone in there...is dead. She didn't do it. I didn't do it." He realizes that he must look delirious to these people. He can only issue them a warning. "Watch the shadows." Gideon begins to move towards the path of Cindy's escape. <><><><><> [GM] The cops yell "Freeze!" again, followed by "I said freeze! Hold it right there goddamit...." It must sound pretty feeble even in their own ears. And they don't bother firing their weapons again. Cindy exited through the back alley....and took out two more cops on the way. You now notice another telltale sign of her passing....you can hear dogs barking wildly in one particular direction. You step over the body of a dead patrolman who was trying to cover Navarone's back door, and begin sprinting after Cindy. Every step a labor, very conscious that you're probably about as strong as a normal man right now...which is only a fraction as strong as you should be. The Shadowman couldn't have gotten very far before Cindy made her dramatic escape. If he heard the commotion, he may be back on her trail as well. <><><><><> Gideon: He keeps his feet moving, oblivious of the poor condition that he's in. He knows that he can't keep up with her. He can only hope to follow and be there when she needs him. He was certain that she would. He was certain that he was using up whatever reserves he had. He was certain that he loved her. Despite what she said, he knew what he felt. If the only way he could prove that was to pursue her and protect her, he would do it. The Shadowman be damned. Michael Gideon continued to drive himself forward. <><><><><> [GM] You follow Cindy's trail more by instinct than anything else...a beacon highlights your profile from behind, it's the police, catching up to you in their cars, as you run down the street, but apparently they're following without trying to actually catch up, because they stay behind you. All sound is condensed to a distant roar, and you stay lightheaded and barely cognizant of where you're going...it's as if you're running in a dream. Cindy must be running pretty fast, to stay ahead of you. But finally you catch a glimpse of a fleeting, glowing figure, still sprinting down the street, and now you suspect you know where she's headed....only a block away is the subway station. <><><><><> Gideon: Right now he feels like he's working on his fourth wind. She was headed for the subway. He had to reach her before she could lose herself in the tunnels. Michael made every effort to quicken his pace. He knew that if the world would just stop spinning, he could make some real headway. <><><><><> [GM] The world lurches at you....not only are you making headway, but perhaps too much, as the scenery rushes past you in a blur. The dreamlike quality of your flight through the streets increases. Sounds, people, even the light from the streetlamps, seem to be held in suspension as you desperately try to reach Cindy. She's a frozen statue, a glowing, warm and living Venus, her face a mask of fear and shock. No, she's not quite frozen, she IS moving, but very slowly. You brake to a halt in front of her, with the stairs down to the subway just across the street. Sound returns, catching up to you, sirens mostly. Cindy blinks. "Michael, what- ?" You didn't think you could feel *more* tired and exhausted than before, and still be conscious, but you are. You stagger to your knees, panting, fighting the urge to go to sleep right here on the asphalt in the middle of Brooklyn. "Michael..." Cindy moans. She's still holding the weapon she took from Navarone's house. Without another word, she spins and keeps running, towards the subway entrance. <><><><><> Gideon: "What...a time....to discover..I could do that." he says before collapsing to his knees. He sees her running towards the subway, unable to stop her. "I'll find you! No matter where you go, I'll find you! My life will never be complete without you!" The world begins to darken around Gideon. His last thoughts are of his parents and Alicia and the world he is about to leave behind. When he finally surrendered to the darkness, the Life of Michael Kevin Gideon, came to a close. <><><><><> [GM] Surrender to the darkness.... an apt choice of words. It would be easy to do, lie down and sleep. As Cindy disappears into the subway entrance... you see darkness flow in after her. <><><><><> Gideon: He thought that his eyes were just deceiving him. He knew in his gut that Shadowman was again pursuing Cindy. The darkness was closing in fast. Gideon fought it with everything he had. He rolled himself onto his stomach and pushed himself to his knees. "Faster," he said between gritted teeth. He managed to get himself into a crouch and braced against the side of a car. "Move your butt, Gideon." he said to himself. To his own disbelief, Gideon was soon standing. He didn't wait for anything else. He stumbled across the street and grabbed the rail to the subway stairs. He grabbed hold of the rage in his gut and used the powerful emotion to drive himself down the stairs. "Alright, Shadowman. I'm gonna blast you to hell." he grunted. <><><><><> [GM] You lurch to your feet, and stagger down the steps. There aren't many people in the station this time of night, just a few vagrants and some late-night workers, and a few people who might be the sort that prey on them, but they don't look in the mood to start something right now. They're staring at the tableau in front of them. On the edge of the platform, Cindy, still glowing, is holding her submachine gun level, and fires a burst at a moving pool of black shadow that's closing the distance to her. The Shadowman laughs, as the bullets neither seem to affect him, nor come out the other side. Utterly dark tendrils reach towards her. And in desperation, Cindy leaps onto the tracks, and begins running down the tunnel. <><><><><> Gideon: He and Cindy needed time to regroup. It was time for a tactical retreat. Gideon summoned up whatever power he had left and turned on the afterburners. He intended to scoop Cindy up and run through the tunnel with her. The Shadowman was fast, but Gideon would dare to bet that he was faster. The tunnels shouldn't present a problem visually. The small lights coupled with his night vision should be enough for him to see with. <><><><><> [GM] The Shadowman is pretty damned fast too....tendrils whip through the air towards you at speeds you couldn't possibly dodge if you were a mere human. But you're not, and you duck under them, and grab Cindy, slamming into her painfully and making her gasp in shock as you begin zooming down the tunnel. Her voice sounds like a distant, echoing sigh..... "m...i...c...h...a...e...l...?" The tunnel blurs, and you feel in danger of tripping, which at your current speed, could be fatal, for Cindy if not for you. You slow to a halt, and almost drop Cindy on her rear as your knees begin to buckle. "...what...what are you doing?" Cindy finishes. <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon places her on the platform edge and sags to his knees. "We...can't..fight him here. You need...to get out of here." He gasps. Even Cindy can see that his very life is bleeding away every time he uses his powers. "Run as far...and as fast...as you can. I'll.....try to hold him here." Gideon's whole body is shaking with fatigue. "I don't think.....I'll survive this. You have to go now. Always remember, I love you." Gideon attempts to tear up a section of track. His plan is lodge the piece into the electrified third rail and connect iit with the Shadowman's form. <><><><><> [GM] Cindy stares at you, opens her mouth and stammers wordlessly for a moment...then turns and runs. Her glowing form retreats into the darkness. You strain to pull up a section of the track. It groans and creaks, but as sweat pours from you, it refuses to come up. Perhaps if you weren't so weakened, you could do it, but you just don't have the strength. The approach of the shadowy metahuman is marked by an intensifying of the darkness in the direction from which you came. Before you can even be sure that your mind isn't playing tricks on you, you hear his ever-smug voice echoing up at you. "Planning to make a stand here, huh? Why bother, I'm just going to kill you then your little whore. Should've stayed back where I left you...alive." <><><><><> Gideon: "I think I deserve a few answers before you kill me. A sort of, fill in the blanks if you will. I know that Navarone hired you to kill the woman. What I don't understand is, why kill the man that hired you? I don't see that event benefiting you in the least. A mercenary that kills his employer isn't going to get many jobs." Gideon has moved a little closer to the third rail. He realizes that the bullets entered the dark form and never exited. The Shadowman might be able to shift his form, or maybe his body is a conduit of some kind. Gideon cleared his rambling thoughts caused by the fatigue he was experiencing. The Shadowman had to be solid when he broke Navarone's neck. Gideon was prepared to contact the third rail when the Shadowman's inevitable attack took place. He hoped that he would take this bastard with him. <><><><><> [GM] "Very pat...get the villain to reveal all his secrets before you make your surprise move, huh?" The Shadowman laughs. You didn't even see him moving towards you, but a long black projection comes knifing at you from the darkness, impales your left shoulder and thrusts you back against the tunnel wall, pinning you with a as darkmatter or whatever he's made of sinks into stone behind you. Just a long, thin spear of his own substance, on which you hang painfully, brilliant pain flaring in your shoulder. "Guess you're not so invulnerable after all, huh?" He laughs. "Navarone only thought I worked for him. You don't have much imagination. With powers like these, why should I settle for being a mercenary? You have no idea what's going down, what's about to go down." The tracks begin humming, signaling that a train is approaching, though still a ways off, you can't even see a glimmer of light yet. <><><><><> Gideon: The sudden shock is like a splash of cold water in his face. All his fatigue seems to drain away as the trauma sends a burst of adrenalin into his system. "If I had a surprise move I think I would have used it before you skewered me." he said, with a confidence that he shouldn't have had. Gideon notices the vibration of the tracks and glances down the tunnel with his eyes. He knows he can't reach the third rail from his position on the wall. Maybe he doesn't have to reach it. Cindy said that his body contained so much....what? Power? Energy? If I could channel it through my body somehow, it might have an effect on him. Gideon stared at the black mass that was before him and grabbed hold of the stiletto impaling him. "Something big is about to go down, eh. I think I'd like to be around to see it. What say we call it even and I won't kill you." He was lucky that the Shadowman had a torturous streak in him. He could have easily sent the first strike through his head. Gideon prayed to whatever god had seen fit to give him these abilities. He was running out of options. <><><><><> [GM] You grab the pure black shaft; it feels perfectly smooth, and neither warm nor cold, like flawlessly polished room-temperature obsidian, yet you sense an intangible pulse of energy within....it is very definitely part of HIM, alive.... "Tough luck-" Shadowman says- Gunfire explodes from down the tunnel. Bullets whiz past you, and sink soundlessly into the Shadowman. He laughs at the glowing figure standing just where the tunnel bends. "Gee, don't tell me she's actually grown fond of you?" The tendril pinning you to the wall thickens around your shoulder on both sides, as it disengages from the brick behind you, and he lifts you, like a speared fish, letting you hang for a split second, in agony, before he flings you, HARD, against the opposite wall. You smack into the wall and land on the dirty floor of the tunnel with a muffled thump, head spinning and breath coming in short gasps. Another shaft spears out and impales your knee, causing new pain to burst like a nova in your overloaded senses, as Cindy unloads another useless volley into him. "Tell you what....I'll let you live long enough to see me finish off your girlfriend. Maybe I should impale her through the heart, then tear off her head and stuff her mouth with garlic, just to be sure. By the way, did you know SHE tipped off Luciano about that hotel you and she were holed up in?" The shapeless black mass passes you and moves down the tunnel towards Cindy. You hear tiny clink-clink-clink sounds, and realize they're bullet rounds, dropping from the Shadowman and rolling around on the ground in his wake. <><><><><> Gideon: *She came back!* he thought, looking at Cindy's glowing figure. He lands hard when Shadowman flings him into the wall. "You...son..of a b****. Leave her alone!" He is too exhausted to react to the shaft that springs towards him. Gideon lets loose an agonizing scream when his knee is pierced. Down on the floor, he can feel the vibrations of the train intensifying. *Getting closer.* Gideon absorbs the new bit of information. The thought that she had set him up was something he had entertained early in this fiasco. It didn't have quite the impact that Shadowman had hoped it would. He managed to prop himself up on one shoulder and watch Shadowman advance on Cindy. His attention is drawn to the sound of coins dropping. Looking in the direction of the noise, he sees the trail of bullets falling from the Shadowman's form. "What the hell?" he says, taking a bullet to examine it. *Why would he have to release the bullets? Unless he can only hold a certain amount of mass within his form." Gideon listens to the rumble of the approaching train and forms a plan. *Have to get him to absorb the train...or me.* <><><><><> [GM] "Leave her alone!" the Shadowman echoes, mimicking you with a mocking falsetto voice. Cindy turns to run, but black tendrils whip out and snare her legs. She goes face-forward to the ground, but actually manages to kick free of his grasp, spinning to face him as he flows towards her. <><><><><> Gideon: Retreat was not an option. He decided, he would go forward. His knee was badly injured but the pain was almost secondary to his desperation. If he did nothing, he was dead. He remembered a saying that his father had taught him. 'Thou shalt not pass without offering.' Better to die trying. He stood up on one leg, held his breath, and flung himself headlong into the mass of the Shadowman. <><><><><> [GM] Amazing what you can do when you're scared and desperate and should already be dead several times over, and you've had much of your life force sucked out of you and you're gushing blood from your shoulder and knee.... You still manage to launch yourself at the Shadowman with the force of an entire offensive line. Every time you think you've got nothing left, you have to dig deeper, and you find something. And wrench more out of your body, exacting a price that will be paid later, if you survive that long. Surprisingly, the Shadowman is solid enough for you to have an impact. He doesn't grunt or make any other noise when you hit, but you still collide with something solid, and your face is enveloped in cold black nothing that presses against you with perfect smoothness. "Bitch!" Shadowman says, and when you pull your face from his "back" (if he has any kind of facing, being the insubstantial blob he is), clenching fists into his substance and not really sure you're actually grabbing anything, just that your fists are connecting with something besides empty air, you see a flickering green halo surrounding him. On the ground, Cindy is glowing, teeth clenched in a savage expression, and if you can be said to "inhale" something that isn't air, but whatever force it is that Cindy extracts from people, she is sucking the Shadowman for all she's worth, drawing energy into herself in a fiery green swirl. The villain isn't slowing down, and you can't tell if he's weakening, but he's definitely not happy about it. But the colors shimmering around Cindy are....wrong. Not a bright healthy glow, like when she drained the mob thugs, and you. Her skin shimmers pale yellow and green. "Hope I give you indigestion, bitch!" the metahuman snarls. "Maybe this'll help!" A shaft of pure black spears Cindy through the stomach, sending blood spurting out of her like a sprinkler jet. Another impales her chest, then another through the shoulder. <><><><><> Gideon: What would it take to stop this monster? Cindy was draining him of his diseased essence to no effect. He had gored her several times and she was hurt bad. Something had to stop him. Gideon's first plan seemed like his only alternative. He had his fist buried in the Shadowman. The electrified rail was a footstep away. "I don't know if you can hear me Cindy, but this is for you." Gideon stepped on the rail. <><><><><> [GM] Your foot touches the third rail, and for a moment, it seems that your veins are carrying electric current rather than blood, as lightning impales every cell in your body and you jerk spastically, still clutching the dark malleable form of the Shadowman. Then his mass moves under you and hurls you away, probably saving your life more than it did his. You slam into the wall for about the third time tonight, sinking to the floor with blood still flowing from your wounds and wisps of smoke curling around your hair, and from the charred remains of your shoe. "That's it," Cindy gasps. "Power..." And SHE reaches out and grabs the third rail. Lightning explodes around her, illuminating her like a ghost flickering with Saint Elmo's fire. But this fire is real, and deadly. Electricity arcs all around the tunnel, and most of all around Cindy and the Shadowman. Cindy is trying to absorb the raw current from the subway rail, the way she absorbs energy from living things. She can't absorb more than a fraction of it, and the rest runs wild through her body, burning her from the inside out. But some of it is also flowing through the Shadowman, and Cindy is doing her best to channel the excess into him as well. Her hair smolders and her eyes glow as if on fire, and you see patches of skin igniting and curling, turning black. The Shadowman, reeling under the electrical storm unleashed upon him, withdraws all the extensions of himself and rolls back, away from Cindy, trying to escape the lightning she's called forth from the metal rail and bathed them both in. You don't hear a scream, and it's impossible to tell whether it's doing nearly as much damage to him as it is to Cindy, but there isn't a lot you can do about it; you can barely move, and every part of your body that you can feel, hurts. You can, however, see the cyclopean eye of the subway train shining brightly down the tunnel as it approaches. There is no squeal of brakes; the conductor may see a flickering of light and be wondering what it is right now, but you realize that the Shadowman is filling much of the tunnel, and his lightless form will be blocking the sight of Cindy, glowing on the tracks and spewing electricity in all directions. It will also be blocking the sight of you, who *might*, if you scrunch very tightly against the wall, be able to let the train pass without running over your legs and smashing you against the wall. <><><><><> Gideon: The edges of his vision became hazy. He didn't know how much longer he could stay conscious. *One thing left to do before I sleep.* The train is almost on top him when he starts to move towards the track well. The only truly safe place in a subway tunnel was the sunken well between the train tracks. He crawled into the well with his remaining strength and lay face down in it. He could do no more for Cindy but warn her. "Cindy! Lay flat in the center track well!" He was completely out of breath as he ducked his head down to avoid the approaching train. <><><><><> [GM] Shadowman should easily be able to squeeze himself into that same depression between the rails, from what you've seen of his malleable form. But he doesn't. Instead, he absorbs the total kinetic energy of the train as it slams into him. Maybe he was stunned by the electricity Cindy pumped into him, or maybe he thought he could turn insubstantial, and couldn't. There is an audible impact, soft but solid enough to be heard over the roaring of the train and the horn that the conductor blew at the last moment, finally realizing that something was in his path. Then the train is rolling over you, and you think you hear Cindy screaming but you can't be sure. <><><><><> Gideon: It seemed like an eternity passed while the train rumbled overhead. He could only hope that the Shadowman had been disabled by the train's impact. Once the train passed, Gideon began to crawl in Cindy's direction. Every fiber of his being prayed that she had heard his message. Though parts of his body that he just discovered ached with every move, he continued to drag himself forward. <><><><><> [GM] You drag yourself about two feet, and then black out. When you wake up, it's to a flashlight shining in your face. You hear and feel the thrum of power beneath you, and the dripping moisture of the subway tunnel...you're still lying on your back. But there are men moving all around you. "Gideon?" the voice behind the flashlight asks. "Michael Gideon?" <><><><><> Gideon: The light hurts worse then anything. He barely hears the question through the pain that seems to be everywhere. "Yeah...what's left of him." he says, hoarsely. "Get that flashlight out of my face." <><><><><> [GM] "Get it out of his face, man," a familiar voice says, behind the man questioning you. The light moves obligingly. You see Detective Santago standing next to another cop. "Mike, you look like s***," Randy says. There are cops all over the place. "I don't know which you need more, an ambulance or a lawyer." <><><><><> Gideon: "The ambulance would do just fine. I didn't do anything wrong. Your boys shot at me when I was in pursuit of a dangerous criminal." Gideon goes into a fit of racking coughs. "Sorry, Randy. I'm not having the best of evenings as you can tell. Did you find the woman and that murdering bastard? I know the train hit him but I blacked out after that." <><><><><> [GM] "We found the woman, all right," Santago says. "Rather, the poor schmuck of a conductor did. He ran back to see who or what he ran over." Randy's voice is harsh. "She drained him, Mike. She sucked his life out of him. Then did the same to two transit authority workers unlucky enough to be the next ones to find her. I don't think she's killed anyone else yet; maybe three more corpses was enough to recharge her batteries. We're sealing off the entire subway system, every single station, every access tunnel. Hopefully we still have her trapped in the tunnels." "So tell me who's the murdering bastard, Mike?" <><><><><> Gideon: She was alive. He couldn't believe that she was still alive. For that matter, he couldn't believe that he was still alive. He had to convince Randy to drop the dragnet without giving away his true intentions. "Damn her! Randy, this woman is dangerous. She is unlike anything you have been trained to handle. We all are. Remember a few days ago at the airport? Those metahumans were having a battle out there. That's what happened here in this tunnel. The man responsible for killing the two officers and that massacre at Navarone's, was down here with us. He is composed of some kind of dark matter. He can change his shape and density at will. The wounds in my shoulder and leg were caused by him." Gideon pauses to catch his breath. "Navarone had hired this man to take care of the woman. The assassin double-crossed him and the carnage at the brownstone was the result. The woman tried to kill me and would have if the officers hadn't arrived on the scene. When I began pursuit of the assassin, the officers opened fire. They were justified. Hell, I would have shot me. Anyway, to make a long story short, we fought down here in the tunnel. I was wounded and unable to continue. The woman fought the assassin off until he was hit by the train. I blacked out after that." Gideon holds onto Randy's arm. "I know every instinct is telling you to pursue this, Randy. I'm asking you not to. This is too dangerous for the department to handle." He pulls Randy close to whisper his next statement. "She will kill anyone that gets in the way. Your officers have no means to combat the likes of her. Leave a small gap in your net. Let her slip out. Once I'm better I can try to bring her in under more controlled circumstances. This is your friend talking, not the maverick PI with an attitude problem." <><><><><> [GM] Randy sighs. "I can't do that, even if I want to, Mike...." Another man steps from around Randy, a tall sandy-haired, square- jawed fellow that looks like he was once a football linebacker. Now he's wearing a dark suit that says either "mob" or "fed." By the grudging deference Detective Santago shows him, it's obviously the latter. He greets you with a flat, professional delivery. "Mister Gideon, I'm Special Agent Jeff Keene, Justice Department. Special metahuman task force. Pleased to meet you." He holds out his hand. <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon notices Randy's attitude towards Keene. He extends his hand to shake that of the agent's. "I'm sure you are, agent Keene. What can I do for you this fine evening?" <><><><><> [GM] The agent says, "You can help me catch one, possibly two metahuman killers. I know you've already told much of your story to the NYPD, but would you mind filling me in quickly on what happened here, and what you know about the metahumans involved? I know a bit about the Cornoe woman, and we have reports about this person with darkness powers, but you've got the only surviving first person account." He puts a slight stress on the word 'surviving'. <><><><><> Gideon: "The only surviving first person account, eh. I'll tell you as long as I can keep the movie rights." Gideon sees that his joke was note appreciated by the agent. "These guys really don't have a sense of humor." He whispers. "Okay, here's how it happened." Gideon goes on to recount the events that led him to his present situation. He tells agent Keene about every detail he remembers of the Shadowman. He does not go into detail about the types of damage that Cindy seemed vulnerable to. He describes anything that happens to her as an injury or damage. He does not describe his sexual activities or his relationship with her. "That's about all I can tell you. Now if you wouldn't mind, I think these particular EMS persons are here for me. Randy, you be careful." <><><><><> [GM] The medics begin bandaging your wounds and hooking you up to an IV. They seem frankly amazed that you are still conscious, much less walking around. The police are obviously not going to take your advice; the cordon is in place, and the search through the tunnels begins heading out. And you see men accompanying Special Agent Keene armed with kevlar vests and really big guns, with enough scopes and electronic gadgets mounted on them that they could be props for a sci-fi movie. With Cindy Cornoe in the role of the Alien. <><><><><> Gideon: Every part of him wanted to tear these idiots to shreds. They were hunting Cindy down like some kind of animal. She only did what she had to do, to survive. As the EMS techs bandaged his wounds he was surprised to see that the IV unit had penetrated his skin. He knew that he was still too weak to do any real good. He had to be ready when Cindy needed him. He was sure that she would contact him. She came back for him. She cared on some level. That was a start. They wouldn't catch her. She was better then they were. She was a survivor. He would bide his time and wait for the call. <><><><><> [GM] In fact, the needle does not penetrate your skin on the first, second, or seventh attempt. "S***," the medic says, breaking yet another one. "I don't suppose you can turn this invulnerability off? Otherwise, we'll just have to hope you don't go into shock from blood loss before we get you to the hospital." <><><><><> Gideon: "I can't and wouldn't. I'll be fine. Just get me the hell out of the subway." he says, irritably. He tried to relax and let his body heal itself. His invulnerability had returned and he was hoping that he would regain some of his strength. Before they placed him on a stretcher, he examined his shoulder to see how much damage had healed. ..... Log Entry: Scribbled on a hospital notepad I have learned the error of my ways in believing that I could live a normal life. Nothing was normal when you were a metahuman. The government, or at least a part of it, had formed a special unit to deal with the 'Metahuman Problem'. Everything that they couldn't control was deemed a problem. I could almost bet that most metas were like me. We just wanted to be left alone. My recent 'adventure' (I hate using that term) has done many things for me. It has shown me that I have limits. I may be invulnerable and very strong, but the Shadowman very nearly killed me. I can't ever become comfortable and complacent. I am a target and I am vulnerable. He said to me that I had no idea about what was coming. He was right. My recent history is a small part of a very large picture. A picture that I don't particularly like. Metas are changing the world. They are giving the common man a rallying point, which to some might seem good. In truth, it is a battle cry of the worst kind, for it comes at the expense of our personal freedoms. I have no doubt that men like agent Keene would like to have us poked and prodded until they could learn our secrets. Others would just like to have us sent away to distant camps like the lepers of biblical indite. I will not go peacefully into that dark night. A short while ago, I fought for my life in the tunnels of a Brooklyn subway station. I was bludgeoned, stabbed, and maimed. Each injury, burning away a part me. When the crucible was over I found myself left with one truly burning desire. JUSTICE! With Navarone dead, this city will be up for grabs. Someone other then the petty mobsters want it. I'm not going to give it to them. I am no longer about the law, fairness, or rights. That isn't how these people work. That can't be how I work. JUSTICE is all that matters. I will meet violence with violence and rage with rage. I don't want to break even, I want to win. All that I am, is Gideon.