5th Column Comics: Wind Duster #35

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TommytheHitman

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Dervish: Part 2 of 5.

Indigo City

One of the countless character flaws I have is how bored I get when I have nothing to do. For whatever reason... after the 'incident' simply sitting around and watching TV like other, ordinary people simply doesn't entertain me anymore. Nowadays I'm only entertained when I feel the sound of someone's bones crunching under my hands.

It's time for action.

I pull my mask down over my face, shielding my facial features from any onlookers and replacing them with the smooth blue and yellow fabric that seems to define me. Nobody cares about Mark Brooks. All they care about is... 'Wind Duster'? Yes. That's my name.

"Mark!" A loud, irritating voice bellows in my ear as I bear witness to my reflection in the mirror. A slim, skintight costume covers my body, designed to protect me from scrapes, cuts and radiation. It's not bad. A bit too blue for my liking, not as advanced as others I've seen, a bit too colourful... and a bit too... what's the word?

Ah. Yes. Optimistic.

That's something I've found recently. Events transpiring around me seem to be a tad more hopeful and cheerful then what I'm used to.

"Mark? Are you there?!"

"Of course I am, Pfeifer." I snap, placing my finger on the metal stud in my ear. "What do you want?!"

A stunned silence fills my eardrums for a moment as the director of the CBTF regains his words.

"We've got trouble downtown Mark." He says, completely serious as I throw open my window, letting the cold, freezing air rush into my room. "I need you there ASAP!"

Incompetence seems to be another reoccuring feature I've encountered recently.

"I'll be right there." I mutter before leaping out into the skyline, cape fluttering behind me, a golden symbol giving off my location to the citizens below. For a moment a sickening sensation ripples through my stomach as I begin to plummet towards the ground, however I quickly regain my sense and burst off towards the flashes of red and orange in the distance, the force of my take off shattering the windows of the surrounding buildings.

I may have to work on that.

"Bow before me!" An idiot dressed in a red, flaming costume yells as he stands in the smouldering, flickering wreckage he's created, surrounded by twisted, molten metal and black, smoking ash. "Fear my power!" He giggles as he conjures blazing fire into the palms of his hands and chucks it towards me as I soar in his general direction. "YOU!" He snaps upon seeing me effortlessly swirl out of the way and continue my path. "You DARE challenge Firestarter?!" He throws back his right arm, charging up his power for a focused blast of heat and brimstone. "I know who you are!"

"I don't care."

The beam of orange fire bursts towards me, sheer flame and power crackling the very air around it. I flick my fingers, crafting a shield of transparent wind around my body, easily blocking the heat wave and carving right through it.

"I've always wanted to fight you!" Firestarter yells as I drop to the ground before him, sending bits of concretes shooting up into the air. Flames flicker on the ground by his feet as he steps foward.

"I'll do more then fight you." I mutter. The idiot's eyes flash white with anger as he thrusts his arms back and shoots another blast in my direction. With utter ease I duck beneath the flame beam and quickly dash towards him, closing the gap between us in a matter of seconds.

In surprise at my sheer speed and agility he throws a punch towards me.

A simple punch.

I almost burst out laughing as I grab his arm and snap the middle of the bone in two, filling the air with an oddily pleasant snapping sound.

"GAH!!" He screams, flames bursting up around him, forcing me to retreat to a safer distance in order to avoid getting burned. "You piece of sh!t!" His arm dangles limp by his side, the Carrier's face bright red with pain and his eyes black with fury. "You're not at all who I was expecting!" He snaps while flinging a couple of fireballs my way which I scramble quickly to avoid. "Quiet. Stoic!" He points out. "Where are all your jokes?!"

"No joke is funnier then you." I reply before leaping through the air and kicking Firestarter in his skull, knocking out several of his teeth and sending him crashing to the ground. His body twitches slightly and I immediately decide to make sure he stays down, not willing to risk him possibly getting back up. My fist flies down faster then the human eye can perceive. Blood splatters onto my mask as I land blow after blow on the pathetic supervillain's skull and torso.

"Wind Duster!" A strong, wide hand grips my wrist a milisecond before I can land the final blow. I turn around like a wild animal to see my teammates Freight Train and Dark Arrow of the Response staring at me in shock. Ambulances and CBTF Trucks behind them. A crowd of civillians have gathered around the Police barrier surrounding my battle with Firestarter... and all of them are staring at me in stunned silence. "What the hell are you doing?!" Freight Train snaps as I pull my arm from his grasp, blood and teeth covering my knuckles.

"Well done, Mark." Dark Arrow says as I step away from the two superheroes, a bloody pulp lying by my feet, barely breathing. "Didn't know you had it in you."

Firestarter lets out a loud, long groan... like some poor animal that's woken up in the middle of surgery.

"Don't touch me again." I growl before teleporting away from the two imbeciles I'm ashamed to call my allies.

_______________________________-

Freezing cold water pours over my head as I wipe away blood and dirt. My bathroom sink gets covered in dark red liquid as the remenants of my morning entertainment washes slowly down the drain.

I look at the mirror. Cold, tired eyes stare at me, unkept stubble decorates my chin, tangled brown hair dangles over my eyes... and a thick scar runs down across my cheek.

"Oh my gosh! Dad! What happened?!"

A shiver runs down my spine. I look over my shoulder and see my daughter, Daisy stood in the doorway, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Daisy." I sink to my knees, hot tears streaking down my cheeks as I hold out my arms, waiting for my baby girl to give me a long, warm hug. I embrace her, wrapping my arms around her back and bury my face in her long, black hair.

"I've missed you so much..." I mutter.

___________________________________

I walk through darkness, dressed completely in black with nothing but the silver moon to light my way through a cramped, filthy alleyway, infested completely with rats. A plastic shopping bag hangs loosely by my side as I step through the side exit of an old, condemned apartment building that everyone forgot about after the Great Impact ruined everything.

"Eat up." The man I've bound to the building's main staircase glares up at me with hatred as I empty the bag of its contents, dropping a packet of potato chips and a bottle of clear spring water onto his lap. "It's not much." I admit, crouching down next to the man I despise. "But it's more then you deserve."

"Why don't you just kill me?" He asks, a large bloody gash on his face, along with several other bruises I gave him the other day.

"Even I'm not that evil, Mark."

Mark Brooks stares at me, clad in tattered rags I stole from a nearby homeless man. He's my exact opposite, his features seeming younger, happier and more heroic. We're nothing alike... and yet we're exactly the same.

"What makes you think I won't just teleport out of here and kick your ass?" Brooks asks. I smile slightly, impressed by my counterpart's bravado and confidence.

"Because, Mark... if you do. I'll kill everyone and everything you love." Wind Duster's eyes widen in terror as I pat him on the shoulder and slowly stand to my full height, glaring down at him, the moonlight shining onto my face.

"And I'll make you watch."

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TommytheHitman

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ImpurestCheese

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@tommythehitman: Wow Windy has changed a lot...Wonder who this nrw 'Blowhard' is and what he's doing with Mark's mind and body

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TommytheHitman

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ImpurestCheese

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@tommythehitman: Yeah I read quickly, it's sinful really. We all read at different paces though and have different styles when it comes to comments

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knightofthechronicle

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@tommythehitman: Holy Crap! Is it Wind Duster from the 5th Column Reborn universe? Or another universe entirely? Or what about a future Mark? I've got to know!

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Alexander_Wolffe

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#8  Edited By Alexander_Wolffe

@tommythehitman: So somehow I never read this, but read everything before and after it.... Uh, wow, my bad. Don't know how that happened. This is the next 5CC item on my list, so I'll comment soon as I finish reading.

EDIT: I finished reading and CV keeps eating my comments so just going to edit my thoughts into this comment.

This definitely cleared a lot, not all, but a lot about the Dervish arc that I wasn't aware of before. Pretty cool issue, Dervish is awesome. Him seeing Daisy after thinking her dead was one of my favorite parts.

Question: Was Dervish's beat down of Firestarter caught on camera where it could slightly ruin Wind Duster's reputation?

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TommytheHitman

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@alexander_wolffe: It was probably caught on Security cameras and stuff, that's the reason why Wolffe showed up at Mark's later on. He saw him beating a man half to death and noticed something was wrong.

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#10  Edited By Alexander_Wolffe
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Alexander_Wolffe

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#12  Edited By Alexander_Wolffe

@tommythehitman: Who the bloody hell you calling animalistic, ya cheeky, off yer rocker, bugger?