A Bad Guy

When I called Nosferatu she asked how Mary and I were doing and was I eating well and when I wanted the replacement to my old hoodie, I swear she has a sixth sense when it comes to her clothing being destroyed. After a bit of chit chat She eventually asked me why I was calling her.

All I said was I had some problems going on involving my powers and she was the only person I could think of that might know what's going on with me or can at least give some advice.

She said she would be happy to help and asked for a meeting place for us to talk and the only place I could think of at the moment is that cafe where I first met Rachel.

Now here I am sitting in the middle of a cafe sitting at a table by myself drinking some coffee. Well I wasn’t really drinking the coffee, more of just staring at it. I wanted some coffee, I wasn’t tired, I wasn’t thirsty and I didn’t get it for the taste but I still bought it.

I guess I got it to feel normal, just someone waiting for a friend drinking a cup of coffee but I wasn’t normal. I was a vigilante who was the child of two famous heroes who got more powers from some weird experiment made by some mysterious group who is working for a secret crime lord and who is currently waiting for a real life vampire and all of that is just the cliff notes.

Well what did I expect when my hands turned to steel for the first time? Things were never gonna be normal so I might as well go with the flow and enjoy myself. So I downed the coffee, altering the taste to something much sweeter as I the paper cup and I bounced it off the ceiling into the trash. I lean back in my chair as I tap my bandaged hands together, I was still suffering the consequences from last night so I decided to bandage them up. Well at least my steel claws will get stronger, definitely gonna have to rename the power at some point maybe steel incarnation or something like that. I’m probably gonna be sitting here for a bit since Nosferatu gets side tracked so easily. So yeah I’m gonna be sitting here for a hot minute so I guess I’ll buy a couple pastries while I wait.

One hour, it has been an hour of me sitting in this cafe eating enough sugar to kill three hippos. Some people were giving me strange looks as I ate my sixth strawberry and downed it with a glass of lemonade . I hadn’t had sugar in a bit so as soon as I took a bite of that strawberry goodness I just couldn’t stop, this is what we call an addiction.

I tossed the paper plate in the nearby nearly full trash can as I looked as I heard the little ding of someone walking into the cafe and walking over to my table “Richard!”, Finally she’s here. I turn my head to see good old Nosferatu in all of her vampiric nature. She seemed to be in her early twenties and was around five ten with a slender frame. She had long straight night black hair and blood red eyes and her skin was a snow white color along with long bat ears and her nose was kinda like a bat. She wore a dark black sun dress and wore a dark purple jacket over it along with some black knee high boots and a pair of square glasses.

“Извините, что вам пришлось ждать так долго, что я ввязался в спор с сыном и его недавним выбором отношений” Now most people expect a literal vampire to be Romanian or something maybe even English but the thing is Nosferatu is from Russia.

“Oh sorry it’s been a bit since we talked” she immediately switched to English. I don't know why I could understand her just fine but I guess she just thinks it better.

“It’s fine I understood you” I guess she doesn't like her son taste in woman

“Ah ok” she took the seat across from me and after a couple seconds she reached across the table and gently grabbed my head and gave me a look.

“Hmmmmmm what happened to you? The bags under your eyes have disappeared, you have scars and you’ve gotten a lot muscular and even an inch taller” I feel like this is a preview for when I see mom again.

“Well it involves the reason I called you here” Don’t tell her anything.

“Well your favorite auntie is here to help you with any of your problems” She gave me a big smile showing off her gleaming fangs as she sat back in her seat.

“Hey can you do that geass thing so no one sees or hears what were doing”

“Ok one geass coming right up” She lifted one finger up as a small black and red sphere appeared on it and shot out surrounding us. A geass is one of many powers apparently it lets her mess with people's minds she usually uses it to make sure people don’t even know she's there it gets much stronger if you look her in the eyes.

“Thanks, now” don’t tell her anything.

“I guess it started a couple weeks ago” DON’T TELL HER ANYTHING!.

I smack myself in the head to clear my thoughts as Nosferatu gives me a worried look “You ok?”.

“Yeah just clearing my head” she just smiled at me, yeah she’s not buying it.

“Anyways it started when I was going out on a run and when I got to this old abandoned train track I always stop at and decided to run down it, push myself a little bit and well a train actually come down the tracks the one time and it look like it got attack and well crashed near me”

“Richard you идиот, Me, your mother and your father have all said that night is the time when criminals do most of their business and it’s much better to run during the day”

“I don’t like the daytime because I’m more likely to meet people and I’m more likely to end up in conversations and I don’t like that” most of the time at least.

“ты такой же, как твой отец” she muttered as she waves at me to continue.

“Well as I was saying earlier the train crashed and I got caught up in it and spoiler I survived I think this all could be a hallucination my brain is making as I’m bleeding out juries still up in the air” Nosferatu snorted at that last part.

“anyways as I trying to leave the remains of the train I found this silver cylinder that seemed to have have flown off the trains hen it crashed didn’t have a scratch on it”

“And you touch”

“And I touched it”

“Good curiosity only took one of the cats lives” More like it added a life.

“Well you're not far off as soon as I touch the thing it pops open and well I found Steel Drake in it” You shouldn't have told her.

“What” Her eyes were now wide with shock, confusion, worry and a deep curiosity as her hands slightly dug into the table cracking it.

“She was hooked up to all these medicines and it seemed like most of her body was gone, she died and as soon as she died these guys in modified swat gear started shooting at me and I ran home” There was also that weird mental flash that I still don’t understand.

She sat there just staring at me as it didn't take that long for the gears to turn in her head as she sighed. “Ok I knew something was wrong when we found Steel Drake's body in the injuries were not as precise as the ones Jack makes but I’m still a bit puzzled on who is behind this and what they wanted with Steel Drake”.

“They experimented on her” they tortured her.

“Figured but what were they after? Maybe They were trying to somehow steal her power or at least replicate that metal that makes up her body”

“Something like that”

Nosferatu gave me a questioning look “there’s more to this am I right?”

“Yep” and as soon as the word left my mouth I flexed my hand as it turned into a scaled claw.

“святое дерьмо” was the only thing she said as she stared at my hand. The only emotion running through her eyes was just confusion. She gently grabbed my hand as if seeing if it was real or just a figment of her imagination as she dragged her sharp nails across it.

“Yeah apparently I got a weaker version of her power but I keep getting new powers just randomly like blood tracking and some sort of pocket space hell I even became a developer” Nosferatu eyes never left never left my hand as she kept studying.

“Well this is definitely a surprising development, господи, это будет сложно” she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“But don’t worry auntie Nos is here to help with all your problems” she gave me a warm smile filled with compassion that lifted a weight off my shoulders as I relaxed a bit.

“Thanks really” I found myself smiling a bit once again.

“So, got any theories on what the hell is happening?”

She closed her eyes and held her chin as she looked deep in thought “well I got a few but the biggest one I have is that the group that captured steel Drake is trying to make an artificial mythic power”.

“What?” Now it was my turn to be confused.

“Well mythic types are some of the strongest out of all the different evolved types but the thing is they are extremely rare and highly resistant to alpha types or alpha type like tech so if you could learn how to make them and give them to people well you could be the richest and most powerful person on the planet”

“But why a mythic power in specific it just feels like a bunch of different powers mix to together”

“Well you're probably not wrong but that's the thing most mythic powers seem like that”

“Explain”

“Look at me and all my powers, super speed and strength, blood manipulation, shapeshifting, control over my own gravity, being able to control and summon animals, messing with people's minds and high speed regeneration. yes all these powers are strong but most of them fit in with each other just seem put in with each other but in reality they fit in with a theme” ok I see where this is going.

“The thing that all mythic types have in common is that their power follows the theme of the myth they are based on, no one knows why but all powers that a mythic has are all related to the myth they are based off. Best example, me with supernatural strength and speed, turning into a bat, summoning hordes of rats and wolves, hypnotizing people with glance, powered by blood and being seemingly immortal, all powers a vampire has but I’m not a vampire I don’t burn in sunlight, I love garlic and I can see my reflection just fine”.

“So you're saying all these powers I’m developing are following the theme of some myth?”

“Maybe, it’s only a theory but it seems like the most likely but don’t get ahead of yourself your not actually a mythic just similar to one”

“True”

Nosferatu smiled “well I am a mother and us mothers are always right”

“Are you sure about that?” she replies by flicking me in the nose.

“Shhh your wrong”

“Ow, but I do need some advice on something”

“Oh sure, what is it?”

“Ok so I have this blood tracking power that lets me track people down by consuming their blood and it seems the blood I consume the stronger it gets. It found out last night when I was fighting a duplicator that it could also amp steel drakes power but also makes me go into a………a blood craze” as I spoke Nosferatu gaze became sharper and serious.

“It just comes out of nowhere with no warning and It just feels like someone rewired my brain to just crave blood and make me go berserk until I get my fill” It’s fucking amazing!

“Well I uhm well” Nosferatu sighed “ok when I was younger I had a similar problem, I get stronger the more blood I drink and when I started out. I only drank blood when I needed just a small power boost. Over time I fought tougher and tougher villains and I relied more and more on the boost fresh blood gave me until I relied, I craved it, I was addicted to it and I Nearly killed one of my friends over it but over time I had to force myself to learn how to force ignore the cravings even when I had to drink blood when to get a boost. I don’t know if you can do that, this blood craze you go through might be related to the power. Maybe if you train with it enough you’ll get a better handle over it”.

“Thanks but the only way to really train that power is to get fresh blood and I don’t know if that duplicator will pop a couple clones or two to help me train”.

“Well I know a couple blood banks that can help with that just call me” ok I love this girl.

“Thanks I guess”.

“Yooouuuur welcome” She gave me a toothy smile.

“Heh so what now?”

“Well since we're done with all the boring stuff let’s talk about something more exciting but first I need something sweet” in a blur she already had several cookies, cakes and a donut as she started nibbling on a big cookie.

“That’s stealing you know?”

“don’t worry I put money in the register”

“Sure”

“So Richard got any plans after high school since when summer break ends it will be your final year”

“Don’t know” I shrugged

“Bah of course you know, you're eighteen you should have some idea of what you want to do” she got crumbs everywhere as she talked while eating.

“I just don’t know really haven’t put that much thought into it nothing really interest me”

“You are just like one of my old friends Aric. Both of you don’t talk that much and most things rarely interest you, будем надеяться, что это единственное сходство”

Aric…………why does that name sound so familiar? Remember, I think that weird creature that set that hospital on fire Remember. I think that called me Aric, Why though? who is Aric and why did it call me that and why was it so pissed? REMEMBER.

I felt everything quickly fade away as even Nosferatu's voice becomes silent as once again like when I touched steel drake thousands of flashes of different locations pop into my vision. Unlike last time though I wasn’t overloaded. Instead rapidly the flashes quickly shifted and became smaller and smaller until it focused on one particular scene but this scene it wasn’t a flash no it felt more like a memory?

It showed the view of what looked like a burning hospital as a burnt corpse laid in front of me as I quickly got up. I was wearing some sort of black plated armor as I started moving. I I I………………I needed to get out of here Mason already slowed me down enough fuck up my helmet too so there goes my way to know if the others are coming, yay.

I tried to take a step forward but I wince as I felt my side gush with blood, I need to take care of this first. With a thought I felt my side stop bleeding as I pat the crystal covering my side, well I got to finally add some red to the new armor. I quickly walked forward but stopped in front of Mason…………he should have just listened to me but he had to be stubborn and force my hand.

I grabbed the body and through It through one of the windows of the burning hospital, he always wanted a Viking funeral wonder if this counts? I look at my handy work as the hospital went from white to an ashy black as the flames remodeled it. I definitely should have tested that plasma blade before using it but like always I’ll just learn from my mistakes.

“Welp time to get going” and with that I feel an air rush around me as I land on some apartment building a couple hundred feet away from the hospital as I quickly look around the city block using x-ray vision to spot anyone coming. I see nothing and even the apartment I’m above seems completely empty. I guess I can relax here until Jack arrives, I pass right through the floor into some sort of living room pretty empty. Well there’s a couch that looks pretty comfy so that's good enough.

I plop onto the couch as for the first time in the last couple weeks, I finally let myself relax. A bear pops into my hand as I flick off the cap and take a nice cold sip. I was never a beer guy especially when I first became a hero but after everything that I’ve been through I got a taste for it.

“look at the bullshit you’ve gotten yourself into everyone knows who you really are and wants you dead, forced to leave your destroyed lab in your latest prototype armor and you had to kill your ex well cheers to still being alive” I clink the glass against the non-existent people around me as I down the cold beer.

It shouldn't take that long for Jack to find me unless they sent Stargazer to stop her. If that's the case I’ll have to head to Glacier town, Willson still owes me a couple favors. I wonder how Martin and Sarah are doing? I hope they don’t mind if I come visit to see their kids, I still need to tell that poor kid the truth when I get a chance. As I relaxed into the couch and I tried to close my eyes at least for a second but before I could, a series of flashes of me being attacked appeared before me. I sigh as I sit up, throw the bear out the window and walk to the other side of the room.

When I took my final step several scarlet spears stabbed through the couch as a bolt of lighting shot through one of the windows turning the once plush and soft couch to ash. The entrance to the room exploded open as several figures in black plated body suits and helmets with green visors ran in. They looked at where the couch was and quickly turned to me as I tapped my foot against the ground in anticipation. The first one to strike was the shortest one in the group as they started to charge at me and I turned a couple dials.

They stopped only a couple feet away from me as they immediately started punching the air and weaving said air as if they were fighting someone. I appeared next to them as I Hit them in the side of the head with a right hook as a shockwave shattered their helmet and launched them out of the building. I turned to see there were around three people left, each one posed to attack.

“I’m hurt really I thought they would think more highly of me well” I clasp my hands together “I’ll make sure to change their minds” I turned some more dials as two of the three figures started fighting the air and the third one floated up in the air as lighting sparked across there body ass thousands of little bolts of electricity shot out of their body and towards me. Ah Norton of course you came when will you ever learn.

The lighting slowed to a halt as everything in the room became still as I walked under the floating electricity boop one of the other attackers and walked over to Norton. I grabbed him by the ankle as I felt the raging aura surrounding him was kinda a grayish blue will. It was as with a thought it disappeared and everything went back to normal speed as I slammed him into the ground. I quickly lifted up my arm as the armor retracted as I quickly started to shift my arm. Felt it grow as the muscles and bones multiplied until it was a mass of bone and muscles shaped into a large mace. Nortan formed an air shield the second the arm was formed as I slammed it into him. The shield shattered as the fist slammed into him launching him to the basement.

As my arm returned back to its original state I cringed a bit as I fell the bone crack back into place, I will never get used to doing that. I turned and saw a metal fist about impact my face but the fist collided with my face and I barely moved an inch. “Did you punch me yet?” quickly they threw another strike but I simply just stepped to the right as they missed by an inch.

She started throwing a barrage of blows but I just kept stepping out of the way as I could see their attacks a mile away. She kept getting more frustrated as she kept missing and missing until I felt the wall hit against my back. Their arm turned to a platinum color as it grew in size and shined with a bright light as they went for a body shot.

I shot my arm forward as it passed through her strike and I gently touched her on the shoulder and pushed her. They shot back through several walls and kept going for a bit “now that's what I call a home run but what do you think?”. I turned to my last attacker as a blast of scarlet rushed towards me, and people say small talk isn’t dead.

I lifted up a finger as the blast stopped mid air and dropped to the ground. As soon it dropped to the floor my attacker was already readying to sink their razor sharp claws into my chest. “Oh no what am I going to do? Oh wait” With a flick of my wrist a pillar shot out of the ground and slammed into their jaw and propelled them into the ceiling “that”.

With another flick of my wrist the pillar turned to dust as they fell to the ground as I kneeled to the ground “do you feel it? The lack of strength and not being able to fight hundred percent well that's what happens when you get close to me”. I stood up and stepped back a couple feet “now get up you're already pathetic enough as it is”. They jumped onto their feet as several scarlet spears formed behind them as the spears started rotating at high speeds and catapulted towards me.

With a snap of my finger each spear splattered against the ground staining it red as my attacker moved towards. They moved so slowly it was as if they were in slow motion, it was boring so I swiped my hands out in front of me. Ten wind blades clashed into my attacker, spraying blood across the ground around them as I walked over and grabbed them before they could fall as I dug my finger into one of the open wounds.

“You know I can see why Nosferatu became addicted to this, the taste is out of this world” I dragged my tongue across my bloodied fingers and let the sweet taste feel my mouth. Quickly the memories flashed before me as I saw everything over the last 24 hours and well I was disappointed.

“Wow really you guys? You're really pulling the same shit you did with Roman again HA! Well sadly this time you're lacking a lot Of fire power” and with a kick they quickly impact the wall near the end of the room “and like always you underestimated me” they quickly got up as their injuries sealed themselves and they created a scarlet spear in their hands. I turned to see Norton floating up from the hole I punched him through as lightning started to spark near his heart and crackled around the room.

Finally the two brawlers shot through the back into the building as everyone quickly surrounded me. The metal one fully became a platinum color and grew in size by a foot as they stepped towards me. “Your monster is that simple because at least Roman had an excuse, Where's yours?”.

“Simple I don’t need one to purge this world of filth and I at least don’t kill children when they can’t be controlled” I felt the air rubble formed into my hands and become a pair gladius as they quickly become a deep white and burn with heat as several scarlet blades started to spin around me.

“And unlike Roman I still have something to lose” as I…………………I was left in shock as the vision slowly faded away. I had so many questions on what it meant and what this vision was. Was it a vision of the future, was it a vision of the past, was it just a hallucination or was it a memory? “Richard?”. my mind raced as I tried to figure out what the hell I just saw and if it was related to everything that was happening to me. “Richard” and was this Aric I saw in the vision though maybe it was “RICHARD!”. Nosferatu finally knocked me out of my train of thought as she held me by the head, her face riddled with worry.

“Richard, are you okay? You just kinda blank out and started clawing into the table” she was right as I looked down I saw my steel hand had ripped a chunk out of the table.

“I’m fine I just had thi” DON”T TELL HER.

“I just had a bad headache, it's fine now” I quickly turned my hand back to normal as I did have a bit of a headache.

“It doesn't seem like a headache, maybe we should take you to a hospital Richard” she grabbed my hand as I felt myself flinch and shoot back to get out of her grip as I felt my hand turn to steel for a couple seconds.

“I’m sorry I gotta go” Nosferatu had a shocked look on her face as I sat up and quickly walked towards the exit.

“Wait Richar” I left the cafe before she could finish speaking and I quickly started running.

I ran for a couple minutes as eventually I climbed onto a building and ran across the rooftops. For an hour straight I ran as I got my blood pumping and just let the wind rush past me. I ran across the entirety of the middle district as I simply didn’t think and just ran letting the adrenaline take me.

I was now sitting on top of a water tower. I wasn’t tired but my mind was at least clear. I went to the cafe to talk with Nosferatu to get some advice and maybe figure out some answers but I ended up even more confused than before. I looked up at the clouds trying to make out different shapes and I wondered if I ever did this when I was a kid maybe I did with Mary once or was it with Mom and Dad, no maybe it was with.

I heard several footsteps slowly approaching the water tower. I swear to god if I get attacked again when I’m trying to relax and think I’m going to kill someone, now I hope we get attacked. I stood up and turned around ready to get attacked but what I saw just made me confused. There stood a kid around my age with a nice athletic build, strong jawline and just skating being six foot. He had a light tan with silver white made into a buzzcut and whitish blue eyes. Finally he wore a blue shirt with a man with a sun for a head firing two guns firing mint stars with the words shooting stars just below it.

Just behind him was someone weaning a green hazmat suit and was a couple inches taller than him with a wiry build and was pretty thin. Wait a minute it's Spandex and Hazmat, great it’s dumb and dumber. Another thing is they probably wouldn’t just walk up to any random person so most likely they know who I am, so I leap down and walk towards spandex.

“Explain what you want from me and how you found me and it better be good since you contacted me in my civilian identity”

“I told you this was a dumb idea” Hazmat said as they leaned against a wall.

“Shut up, this is are only option” Spandex replied.

“Just start talking” Hazmat said as Spandex grumbled a bit as he turned back to me.

“First it wasn’t that hard to find you because you have a unique energy signature even for a evolved” figured most energy manipulators have some sort of energy sense guess his works on people.

“The hard part was trying to catch up to you”

“Do you have to sprint faster than a car? Seriously, it’s ridiculous” Hazmat complained.

“Ok that still doesn't explain why you two are here”.

“Well after you got us arrested” guess the police actually were coming huh.

“for no reason in my case” Hazmat muttered.

“Shut up you tried melting me with acid”.

“You tried hitting with LASERS!”.

“Because I thought you were a villain”.

“That's bullshit and you know it”.

“Please stop arguing and continue or I will throw one of you off this building” it was extremely tempting.

“Jeez, but yeah we got arrested and when we got to the police station the place was attacked by a group of villains and when we tried to escape they thought we were villains and took us with them”.

“It didn’t feel nice to be judged by your outfit” Hazmat commented.

“Quiet, anyways after a couple hours we tried to leave these guys but when we tried to leave they caught us and ask why we were leaving and when we said we weren’t villains and they weren’t happy”

“Figured”

“But instead of killing us they knocked us out and took out phones and found out everything about us, our identities, our friends and families everything they needed to make sure we would work with them” he had a much more serious expression in his eyes as he bald his hands so tightly that I thought they would start bleeding.

“And they said if we told anyone they kill our families and even if we told the police or heroes no one would believe us since they thought we broke out of jail and killed several guards your are only choice since your a vigilante and a pretty strong one at that so please help us”

I wanted to say no, I already had enough things going on and these guys got themselves into this mess and they could get themselves out of it but I would be a hypocrite if I said no. I was going through a very similar situation with Whale shark and I even threatened to kill someone's sister if they told anyone about what was going on to keep Mary safe so I’m no better then them and I did get them arrested so it is technically my fault.

“Fine, I’ll help”.