Pacific Station Vigilante (Book 2): The Negative Man [Stormfall] (3 page)

Project Jericho 8 –

20 Years Old

“Much like you hunted me and Dr. Staley down, I’ve hunted you down, Cooper.”  I enjoyed watching the man struggle against the rope binding him in place.  He tried to muffle out a few words, but the rag stuffed in his mouth kept it shut.  “I’ve got no reasons to listen to your lies.”

It was night over Capital City.  I enjoyed the night more than the day as the sun was too harsh and bright for my eyes.  This was the perfect setting for the end of this saga.  “I’ve judged you guilty, Cooper, guilty for the murder of my father Ellison Staley.”  I gave him a punch to the gut.  “Guilty for turning me into this monster, full of rage and hate.”  Another punch to the gut.

This close I could see how the years of trying to kill me had taken their toll.  This was a man who looked at least ten years older than what he probably was.  I hope he enjoyed every single year he lived; this was his last.

“Got a letter today, saying I’ve been accepted to the Master’s program at National University.  Pretty cool huh?”  I pulled the letter of acceptance out and zapped it into ash.  “What I realized is I need some me time, to really get to know what I’m capable of.”

He struggled against the rag in his mouth, trying to speak.  It sounded like some gibberish, ‘warm ball’ or whatever.  I stuffed it back in even further.  “Guilty people get no final words.  Nope, the last thing you’ll remember is the rebirth of poor Jericho Staley into the man I was destined to become.”

The fear in his eyes powered me.  I brought my hands up, all the negative energy inside me filling them with blue-white electricity.  “Goodbye Cooper.  Where you’re going, you won’t be able to apologize to Ellison.”  I brought my hands up to his temple and fried the man.  My anger raged on until his head exploded, leaving no doubt that Dr. Leonard Cooper was no longer a threat to me.  His lifeless body hung there like a first place trophy.

I walked over and picked up my bags.  I had a train early in the morning to catch to head out west.  It was time to start a new beginning.

End of Transcription

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Chapter 1 –

Monday Night; St. James Cathedral

“Forgive me father, for I have sinned.”

I was sitting in the confessional, the smell of the wood filling my senses.  A year ago, this would’ve been the last place on Earth you would’ve found me, but times change.  People change.  Pacific Station was on the verge of a rebirth – so why was I in a confessional?  That’s a good question.

I looked over at the slot; still unopened.  I knew Father Reigart was on the other side, making me wait patiently.  He was the reason I was here.  He came to the city just after the death of The Dark Lion and took over this old parish.  Originally I was investigating rumors that he might be a super.  Apparently in his last city, he picked up a car to save a little boy and that got people talking.

Upon further investigation, he was just an ordinary human; a very large and powerful one.  Easily six foot four and probably close to two hundred and eighty pounds, Father Reigart was a moving mountain.  Some claimed he may have been a descendant of the old Norse berserkers but he was also a gentle soul.  So no, he was no super, just a person who over time I came to trust.

The sound of wood scraping against wood told me he was ready to talk.  “Jericho my son, what brings you here tonight?”

I cut through the small talk and right to the heart of the matter.  “Did you hear about Robert Mozenberg?”

“The land developer who just died in a home fire?”  There was no shock in his voice.  “I figured ‘he’ might’ve had something to do with it.”

Oh yeah, he knows I’m The Negative Man.  He’s very intuitive, which works both for and against him.  When he put two and two together, I was tempted to kill him to keep him silent.  However, there was something about the guy that just struck me as an ally.  So here we are today.  “The man was a pervert.  He kidnapped under aged girls and did horrible things.”

There was a pause, followed by a sigh.  “I know you think by using him, you think you’re doing good for this city.”  I felt an admonishment coming.  “Jericho, you could do so much good without resorting to violence and murder.”

For the first time this session I made eye contact with the man on the other side.  His gentle brown eyes and full beard were visible.  “John thought the same way you did, at first.  He thought we could restore Pacific Station by staying on the right side of the line.”  I didn’t like talking about my old enemy, friend, and mentor much.  “Then it became too much for him.  He fell too, as you know.”

“Maybe he wasn’t the one who was destined to be the hero?  Have you ever thought that if you let The Negative Man fade into obscurity and re-invented yourself that you might become the hero of the tale?”

Chuckling, “It’s too late for that, but thanks for thinking the best of me.”

I leaned back against the wall, knowing our session was almost to an end.  “How’s Heather doing?  Have her
tendencies
started to fade?”

Over the past year, one of the biggest changes had been to Heather.  She still was the sweet caring girl I fell for hard as John Wonderton’s sidekick, but a dark side was rearing its ugly head.  “She’s doing okay.  I think her sporadic visits with you have helped.”

“I worry for her, because unlike you, she was not born with this gift.  It came as a shock to her system and the fallouts could be very severe.”  At first I didn’t believe his warnings, but over time I saw it firsthand.  “I hope we can keep her on the right track before something terrible happens.”

“You and I both, Father.”  With that, I left the confessional and the church.

****

I walked out of the church and on to the dimly lit street.  I had no fear, for this was my city.  Crime was at an all-time low in Pacific Station and not because of our police department.  The Negative Man punished those who stepped out of line and the fear amongst the criminal underworld was thick.

My main problem these days was that lunatic Chief Grimes and the ‘crack’ squad he enlisted to eliminate my alter-ego.  The SVIS, how their antics both amused me and made me sick to my stomach.  Those stupid masked vigilantes, all they did was cause mayhem and panic where ever they went.  The city would be better off without them, that’s for sure.

I just haven’t been able to bring myself to do that yet.  As unlike me as it sounds, I’m just not motivated to wipe them out.  None of them can challenge me the way he did.  They aren’t worth my time or my effort.  So for now, they are like lizards in the garden – an annoyance.

I loved walking at night, with the cool breeze coming off the ocean.  The peaceful quiet of my city was a stark contrast to my hectic days.  Wonder-Tech was still riding high and with my recent acquisition of gl-O-bal, I would soon become the industry leader in all things tech related.  And with that distinction, the final part of my grand plan for making this country great again could come to fruition.

“Hey Mister, that’s a nice watch.  I think I should take it from you before it attracts trouble.”

Was I seriously being mugged?  The guy interested in my watch stepped out of the side alley and faced me.  He looked like a goof.  “It is a nice watch, but I think I can take care of it myself.”

His face twitched a bit at my reply.  No taller than me with perfectly combed hair, I wondered what threat he could pose me.  “That’s a damn shame, because trouble’s a lot closer than you think.”

I looked around, pretending to care what he said.  “The only person I see is you and I doubt you would pose much of a problem to me.”

He reached behind him and grabbed on to something, maybe?  His hand was holding empty air as far as I could tell.  As he lifted it up, something came into view, a sledgehammer.  “My friends call me Hammerspace because I have this awesome trick where I can pull my friend here outta nowhere.”

Fascinating – what an incredible gift!  “I see, like in a video game where the hero’s always pull their weapon from nowhere.”

“You’re up on games, I like it.”  He took a step closer.  “Unfortunately for you, I like that watch a bit more.  Hand it over and we won’t have any issues.”

The fool had no idea who he was mugging.  Not that it mattered; The Negative Man would be seeing him again soon.  Unclipping the watch, “Fine, take it.  You earned it.”

He reached over and swiped the watch out of my hand, looking at me a bit confused by what I said.  “Yeah, I did earn it, didn’t I?”  He slipped the watch into one of his invisible pockets.  “Well, nice doing business with ya, but I gotta-”

Four figures dropped in around us – the SVIS.  They’d upgraded their suits, they seemed to be wearing tactical police uniforms, the only difference was the animal masks they were wearing.  Oh what a joy, to be saved by such heroes!  The one in the elephant mask yelled out first.  “Freeze Hammerspace, you’re ours this time!”

Before he could even respond, the large oaf codenamed Rhino charged at him.  Now in flight or fight mode, Hammerspace did the only logical thing, he grabbed me.  “I’d stop what you’re doing right now!”  All four of the idiots froze in place.  “I know who my target is and I know what he’s worth to this city.  So the two of us are going to walk into that alley over there while the four of you wait here patiently, got it?”

Elephant responded for the group.  “If you harm a non-super, you know what the punishment is, life at Black Lagoon.”

“You morons stay here and nothing will go wrong.”  He pushed me towards his exit.  “C’mon Mr. Staley, we’re going to take a walk.”

Hammerspace had one more little surprise for the SVIS.  He reached behind him back and pulled out a grenade from his interdimensional pocket.  Without a second thought, he lobbed it at the masked freaks, who had to rush to take cover.  He pulled me into the side alley as the grenade went off.  The sound of the explosion set off car alarms down the street.  In the pandemonium that ensued, I knew the SVIS wouldn’t be able to pursue.

“Sorry about the noise.  Those damn idiots always make things so much harder than they need to be.”

I gave a quick laugh.  “I can’t blame you.  They didn’t even assess the situation correctly.”

He let me go when we were far enough away.  “Even so, I bet their day’s coming.  It’s only a matter of time before The Negative Man puts them down.  Honestly, I’m surprised he hasn’t already.”

Under my breath, “Oh, I’ve come close.”

“Did you say something?”

Looking up, “No, just being thankful that no one got hurt tonight.”

He reached into another invisible pocket and pulled something out.  “For being a good sport tonight, this is for you.”  Whatever it was, he tossed in the air towards me.

I caught it and gave it the once over.  “Is this supposed to be a joke?”

“At least you got another watch out of the deal.  Not as nice as yours, but you’re a cool guy.”  He gave me one last cheesy grin before ducking off.

Knowing the wild herd was anxiously awaiting my safe return; I took a deep breath and returned to the street.  I glanced at my new watch one more time.  “Well, it’s not that bad.”

Chapter 2 –

Monday Night; Ocean View Drive

“I don’t get it.  Why do you insist on walking home?”

Heather was watching the nightly news; no matter which channel she settled on, they’d be talking about The Negative Man.  Tonight was no exception.  “It gives me a chance to clear my head.  Besides, I enjoy being out there, learning and observing.”

Her attention left the television and came fully to me.  “I take it something happened this evening?”  She looked me up and then back down.  “That’s not your watch.”

I was wearing the ‘gift’ with pride.  “A mugger named Hammerspace actually robbed me tonight.  I would’ve learned much more about him, but those idiot SVIS supers interrupted us.”

In the world of crime fighters, those clowns were the sideshow.  Even against The Aces, the animal weirdos were seriously outgunned.  There used to be five of them, but one discovered my secret.  Tiger, or Mike Blackfield, was a friend.  Yet when he figured it all out, he became a liability and I had to tie that up.  Heather seemed to enjoy his demise more than I did.

As for the remaining four, that blubbering blowhard Chief Grimes used them as his special op’s task force.  As tonight had proven, they were not at all competent and provided little to the city.  “I think the time has come for The Negative Man to put an end to their insufferable ways.”

“Why should you get all the fun?”  In her hand was the latest Wonder-Tech phone, the Predator.  Much like the name I came up for it, the phone was taking over the country, eating up the competition.  All part of the plan mind you.  “With this, I can easily eliminate any target we want.”

Heather’s power was very unique.  When I attacked Wonder-Tech Tower as The Negative Man last year, I accidently hit her with a full blast of my power.  By some reaction in her body and the fact my negative energy burst through a phone she was on, she gained the ability to make phones explode.  Without her talent, I may have lost my fight against The Dark Lion.

Once we knew those morons identity, “Yes, you can blow them up if you choose to.  I’ll make it my top priority in finding out who they are.”

An evil grin formed under those beautiful eyes.  “You know how to sweet talk a girl Mr. Staley.”

I was about to take advantage of the situation when something from the news caught both of our attention.  Brandon Howard, the featured news anchor, was talking about an armored vigilante.  “In a story we saved until we could verify the source, it appears a new hero is taking the place of the fallen Dark Lion.”

The screen flashed away and in Brandon’s place was a full shot of this newest hero.  Him, or her – no way to tell, was covered head to toe in a high tech, dark metal suit.  From the shot, the hero could be seen floating off the ground thanks to rocket boosters in the legs.  I wasn’t prepared for this – how did I not know?

The screen faded out and Brandon reappeared.  “So far we have limited news about this hi-tech hero, but our source has told us they go by the name Titan.  As we know more…”

I needed to find out who this source is.  I walked over to the television, Heather looking on with curiosity.  “What are you planning to do?”

“The city’s far too comfortable.  It’s time I did what I do best.”  I reached out and grabbed the cable line running into our house.  I embraced my power and reached out across the city, finding the path that would bring me to my target.

I found him and I took over.  “Brandon Howard, who is your source?”

I knew my distorted image was broadcasting live everywhere.  It felt good to be in control once again.  Brandon, for his part, pretty much shelled up as soon as I appeared on camera.  “It’s him!”

“My patience is wearing thin.  For every minute you don’t tell me who your source is, a random family will suffer.”  This was no bluff.  It would be easy to send arcs of electricity into televisions everywhere.  The results from the attack would be severe.  “Thirty seconds – do you want their blood on your hands?”

His skin turned ashen colored, his face breaking out in sweat.  “I can’t tell you…”  His voice was so low, it was barely audible.

He would, he was about to break.  “Ten seconds and you become a murderer Mr. Howard.”

At the sound of that, he cracked under the pressure.  “Chief Grimes!  All of our information on Titan has come from Grimes!”

I reigned back in all my power.  “Now was that so hard?  You’ve done well Mr. Howard.  I return everyone to their regular programming.”

As quickly as I took over, I was back in our house out on Ocean View.  Our place was nice, but modest in comparison to what John Wonderton called a home.  The kitchen had nice upgrades for Heather and I insisted on a wood burning fire place.  Plus I needed space to create a state of the art workshop for my alter-ego to use.  Other than that, it was just a typical three bedroom, two bathroom home by the ocean.

So Grimes was up to something huh?  How I would so enjoy having a heart to heart with him as The Negative Man.  When I looked up from the cable line I’d just poured myself into, Heather was smiling and clapping.  “Well done, that was played beautifully.”

“Men like Brandon Howard aren’t cut out for the front lines.  You tell them their actions will cause death or destruction, they will fall.”

The doorbell rang, which I wasn’t prepared for.  “That’s our pizza dear.  I bet you’re very hungry now.”

The rest of the evening went as normal as a regular couple.  We ate, we laughed, and we talked about work.  We didn’t even bring up Grimes name again, yet it was in the back of my mind.  After Heather went to bed, I found my way into my workshop.  I could foresee this Titan becoming a problem rather quickly.

I looked over all of my equipment.  I had my mask, which was my trademark.  Along with it I used very simple grey body armor and rubber soled boots.  I remember how intricate The Dark Lion’s suit was and I couldn’t help but be a bit jealous.  After all, I created a good deal of it.

The one thing I wanted to do was create a better way to channel my energy.  Sometimes, in the heat of battle, I would get so pumped that I’d end up using too much at one time.  Against most opposition, this wasn’t a problem.  What I learned in my fight against The Dark Lion was an equally skilled combatant might use that against me.

On my table was my newest project, the fusion gauntlet.  This was near and dear to my heart because it used technology my mother discovered before I was born.  She was a scientist and an engineer, working on an electron generator.  From what little I was ever told, it blew up when she was pregnant with me and the energy released was absorbed into the womb.  After years of digging, I finally found the notes that Dr. Staley kept – the notes that would be the key to unlocking my powers even further.

Ellison Staley was a great man, killed well before his time.  Without his intervention in my younger years, who knows what may have happened to me.  I flipped his notebook to one of the middle pages, on his theory of how the electron generator affected my cellular make up.  The great thing about him was his attention to detail.  With his theories and my mother’s research, my fusion gauntlet would make me the most powerful super the world’s ever seen.

I still had my Red Wolf tools that Owen Walker bought me when I took a job at gl-O-bal Labs.  I really missed the crazy maniac.  His plan to kill The Dark Lion and become the hero that saved the city from The Aces was rather brilliant, but unfortunately, there was a wild card.  He was not fit for the leadership mantle Pacific Station needed.  That role was destined for me.

With both Wonder-Tech and gl-O-bal under my control, I had access to the most brilliant minds on the west coast.  With my cell phones being distributed all over the country and Heather’s powers becoming even more precise, no one would stand in my way.

I looked over my latest circuitry work leading into the gauntlet.  By hardwiring these into my arm for a pure connection, my hope was to have pinpoint control of the flow of energy leaving my hands.  I put it on my right hand, pushing the sharp electrode into my forearm.  A small static charge escaped; I may’ve needed a new grounding wire.

Even so, it was time to run the test.  I reached my hand towards one of the homemade targets I had stationed around the room.  I focused on the picture of the elephant and funneled my energy towards my hand.  As it left me and entered the gauntlet, I felt the circuits hold off a majority of the power and a small concentrated blast of electricity escaped from the mechanism on the palm.

The picture of the elephant fell to the ground, burning up as it went.  The gauntlet was smoking, but the test was a success.  “Get ready world, Pacific Station is just the first to fall.”