5th Column Comics: Peacekeeper #28
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If anybody in law enforcement tells you that there are harmless suspects out there, then you can be sure that they are lying. No enemy is harmless no matter how peculiar they are, or how easily they are captured. Nate Lime is a particular example, the Response and CBTF underestimated him because a woman with no powers took him down. It is that attitude that has led to the bombings over the last few days, and is what will probably be the end of me, I muse as I smash threw the wooden door to 'Julius Gold's ' Office.
"There's no help coming for you this time Peacekeeper!" Nate Lime sneers as he steps through the wreckage of the office door, alarms blaring at the brief moment I'd burnt him out of the body he had been animating. "No sudden temperature drop to save you."
"Oh I won't need that!" I hiss through gritted teeth, as Nate sharpens one of his fists and thrusts it towards me, the tip stabbing into the wall as I duck under the blow, before slashing the appendage with my tonfas. "In a few seconds the CBTF will be swarming all over this corridor." I state, as the sliced off piece of liquid metal slithers round my arm and detonates, the sheer force incinerating the armour plating.
"On any other day maybe." Nate announces before spitting a salvo of burning liquid metal darts at me, each one burning a hole in my breastplate, as I scramble to get to my feet. "But you sent almost all the agents to play bomb squad on the other side of town." He adds, his fist reforming as I start to back away from him.
"Help will come. And as much as CBTF logistics interest me, I'm more interested in how you escaped custody." I sigh as Nate's body collapses and surges towards me like a metallic tidal wave, sharpened points forming in the liquid body of my foe. Removing my taser I don't wait for an answer and open fire, a surge of electricity darting through my foe's body and vaporising him, seconds before the weapon caught on fire.
"I left a slither of myself in the armour of one of the agents who arrested me." Nate's voice announces, the air vibrating as drops of living caesium drip to the floor. "From there I assimilated all the caesium in the CBTF suits and computers I could find. As protected as they were against external assault they couldn't beat an attacker within their own defences." He hisses, as my armour catches on fire, purple flames flickering before the reinforced plating explodes with me inside. "Kind of like you." He adds as the smoke fades to reveal my bruised body.
"Is that all you've got?" I ask, hoping to stall me as I take stock of what is left of my equipment.
"I don't need to prove anything to you." Nate Lime sneers, as his body reforms into its usual humanoid form. "You were the only one who took me seriously. You know that I can do a lot more." He adds, as his body slithers forwards and engulfs me in liquid metal. Seconds later a CBTF fire team comes running through the door at the end of the corridor, their weapons pointed at me.
"Carrier intruder, you are trespassing on CBTF property. Surrender or we will..."
"...you'll what? Shoot me?" Nate Lime hisses in a voice that sounds disturbingly like mine. "Go ahead!" He cackles, as purple flames run up and down his body. Not even hesitating the speaker takes a shot, the bullet whizzing towards me just as Nate Lime slithers off my body, the round stabbing into my skull just left of my eye.
"See you..." Nate Lime hisses, as I crash to the floor with a thud.
**
I can't hear, can't see, can't even feel anything besides the dull pain in my head. Desperately I try to open my eyes but can't as a wave of pressure washes over my body. I know I'm alive, I must be, my pain is still there. Straining against the pain, I hear a popping sound, followed by voices and the steady beep of machinery. I'm in a hospital, I must be!
"Get ready for body disposal." A male voice states. "We can't let anyone know we shot an unarmed hostage."
"What about our body cameras and the shot registering software in our guns Nelson?" A second voice asks.
"Body camera footage can be destroyed, as for us opening fire. Well I was shooting a Carrier, whst were you shooting Jimmy?" The first body announces.
"A Carrier." The second parrots."Still feels wrong to sell the body to this nut-job though. What if someone like Windduster or Peacekeeper finds us out here?"
"Peacekeeper is easy to deal with, if she intervenes Kern will put a sniper round through her skull, killing her would be a favour to this city anyway?" 'Nelson' states, as the dull pain suddenly increases exponentially.
"How is that a favour?" The second man asks.
"Please she gets in the way of our work. Peifer even came up with a kill plan for her the day she caught Nate Lime." A third voice states. "He never finalised it though, something about not wanting a war with the ICPD, not that it would be a long one."
"ICPD is a joke Doyle." 'Nelson' grunts. "This city belongs to us. People do whatever we want them to do because they are too stupid to do anything for themselves."
"Speaking of stupid shut up, our contact is here." 'Doyle' orders as I hear a van pull up, and two people get out. "Which one of you is in charge?" He asks, as an almost thundering vibration rocks whatever I'm lying on.
"I am." A female voice announces. "May I see the body quickly to assess the damage?" She asks, her words drowned out by a rustling sound of plastic.
"How much do you want for disposal?" 'Nelson asks, as I let out a grunt of pain. "Oh c**p the anaesthetic is wearing off, come on lady we need to make this quick before Peacekeeper finds us."
"Not a problem, she will never walk again," The woman muses as I hear more rustling, "this is Peacekeeper, and as such I think our agreement needs to change." The woman states. "Antaeus, bring the case." She ordered as the rumbling moved away for a brief period.
"Hold on doctor we agreed to pay you to get rid of her!" 'Nelson' yells, as I hear the sound of rifles being cocked ready for an attack.
"The money boss." A new voice, possibly the figure called Antaeus booms. That name is curious, something about it is important but I can't figure it out as more pain darts through my body.
"Wait you're paying us?" 'Doyle' splutters, as I'm lifted off of whatever I was resting on, the bag covering my rustling in concert with the booming footfalls of Antaeus.
"It's best you don't ask questions." The woman whispers, as I'm slid into a vehicle. "You'll have enough of those when you get back to base I'm sure." She adds, as the doors of the vehicle shuts and the engine starts. "As for you..." She purrs, as something sharp stabs into my arm, the pain receding within seconds of the injection, "...I've been waiting to find you for a while...Terra."
At the mention of my name, my real name the knowledge about Antaeus rushes into my head, how he was a giant of a man, how in mythology he was crushed to death by Hercules, how he was the son of..." My thoughts are terminated with a stabbing pain as my eye is forced open, revealing the bin bag the CBTF agents had wrapped me in, the portable ventilator keeping me breathing, the interior of some kind of van or truck and the young woman staring down at me, long red hair framing green eyes and a wicked smile.
"You thought you'd destroyed me, banished your inconvenient past to the back of your mind, but instead you freed me." The woman purrs. "I've been meaning to thank you for that, my mother, my 'Gaia figure'." She adds, as she releases my eye, the world plunging into darkness once again. "We have so much to catch up on sister, it'll be just like old times."
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Peacekeeper will return after the six part Peacekeepers Mini Series
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