Natural Forces #0

“Cripes are they here yet?”

Jin looked to his impatient partner and put a finger to his lips. Jin was himself a patient man by nature, but Raul’s mood could be infectious. Raul just sighed with exasperation, rather loudly at that, and tried his best to sit still. Jin peeked through the hole in the wall and resumed watching the darkened parking lot almost a block away. This area of town was pretty well abandoned this time of night, many of the old warehouses and shops condemned after a monster rampage a few months back nearly leveled the whole area. It had taken this long just to clear the rubble, and the city had simply condemned the area and not gotten around to fixing it up. Such was unfortunate, but what could one do with resources spread so thin? The city had other areas that needed fixing, after all.

Five minutes later, Jin was almost relieved to see the cargo truck pulling into the darkened lot. Raul’s sniffing about had apparently been accurate. Some sort of deal was going down tonight.

“This is it,” said Jin.

Raul grinned and said, “Finally!” His fist was already flaring up with flames.

“Not yet!” said Jin. Raul, however, was already gone. Jin turned. He saw the men in the truck step out just before a streak of fire tore out the entire engine block. The now half-slagged piece of metal smashed to the ground a few dozen feet away, and the streak of fire had halted, now standing menacingly in front of the men. The flames writhed around the form of Raul, burning a bright orange.

Jin joined him in a flash, covering the five hundred feet between their hiding place and the parking lot in two seconds. “Why are you so damned reckless?” said Jin, as he appeared next to Raul.


“Oh, quit whining,” said Raul. “What, we were seriously going to just wait here while they did the exchange? We know they’re doing illegal shit. Let’s just do what we came here to do.”

“The hell?” said one of the thugs. Aside form the two in the front, four more men had exited the back. All had drawn their guns by now.

“Shit,” said another. “I think its two of them!”

“Yeah, kinda figured what with the one wearing a bonfire for a coat,” said a third thug. This one stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. “Alright, gentlemen. You should know we went through a lot of trouble to arrange this meeting, and we have no desire to be delayed. Walk away, and we can all go home in one piece tonight.”

“Sorry,” said Jin. “No can do. The city has enough problems already. Your kind of business just makes things worse.”

The man leaned in closer. He grit his teeth and hissed through them, in a voice surprisingly less intimidating. “Look, you bozos, you’re gunna screw everything up!”

“That’s the plan!” said Raul, no longer able to contain himself. A burning fist rocketed up and struck the man’s chest, sending him reeling into the torn open front of the truck. Raul dashed forward, and the thug’s guns blazed. None of them landed a shot. Instead, they found themselves almost simultaneously flying through the air, the guns ripped from their hands with inhuman speed followed by a rib-cracking strike to the chest. They landed on the ground gasping in pain, their shirts now sporting smoking burn marks. “Come on!” shouted Raul. “Just try me!” The men scrambled to their feet, two of them supported by their fellows. They began to run for it.

Jin pulled several zip ties out of his back pockets and with superhuman speed, caught the men, hauled them over to a busted lamppost several yards away, and cuffed them together, before zooming back to the truck.

“Damn it!” The thug who had landed on the truck’s torn front pulled himself to his feet, and whirled to face Raul. Dust was swirling around his fists. “I was trying to take a shot at the man they were going to meet. But now, they’re going to see this mess and turn tail before they set foot in the lot.”

“What?” said Jin. He readied himself for a fight, tensing himself to spring into action at a moments notice. “You were working under cover?”

The other man nodded. “Well, you may have blown it for me, but if you’re intending to take the goods and sell them yourself, then you have another thing coming.”

“What goods?” said Raul. “These goods?” Raul disappeared behind the truck, the flames dying down around him. He reappeared on the other side half a second later. He held a black briefcase up in the air, shaking it. “Mind if I take a look?”

“Actually, yes,” said the man. He shifted his foot with a quick snapping motion, and suddenly, Raul found himself neck deep in a sandpit which had suddenly open up beneath his feet. The briefcase clattered to the ground beside him. “The hell?!” Raul immediately began wriggling out of the hole.

The man tried the same move with Jin, but Jin was already prepared and leaped out of the way. The man then thrust his fists forward, and Jin found himself dodging a flurry of sharp pebbles, winging by him fast as bullets.

“Quick bastard, aren’t you?” said the man, clearly a geokinetic. “Well, you can’t dodge forever.” With a flick of his wrists, he rose another batch of pebbles and broken pieces of asphalt from the ground, causing it to whirl around his hands. He tensed, ready to fire off another volley.

Suddenly, the whole area went black as pitch, and a booming voice called out “ENOUGH!” This gave the three men pause. The darkness slowly faded, and from the fading shadows stepped a darkly cloaked figure. His face was masked by a featureless cowl. “Let’s dispense with the needless head butting. I believe we’re all on the same side here.” The figure walked over to the restrained thugs, checking them over, ignoring their protests. “I suppose they’ll live, though those burns are going to leave scars.”

“Serves ‘em right,” said Raul, who hauled himself out of the pit as he got his arms free. One he was on solid ground again, he snatched up the briefcase. “Who the hell are you anyway?”

“You can call me Dusk Man,” said the cloaked figure. He motioned to the geokinetic “thug.” “Andreas the Mighty, I take it? Bit out of your region, hmmm?” He motioned to the other two. “And you two must be the new vigilantes trying to trim down the gangs in the North sector.”

Jin frowned. “We heard a deal was going down,” he said. “We decided to check it out, see if we could cut off some of the drug traffic before it hit our streets.” Dusk Man said nothing, but the mask shifted slightly, as if he might be smiling.

Andreas laughed a bit. “So… we all somehow decided to bust the same operation? Ha! That’s too funny. I mean, no drug deal should be taken lightly, but what overkill, huh?”

Dusk Man held out his hand to Raul. “May I see the case?”

Raul gave him a cool look, glancing him up and down. A flicker of flames still crackled on his shoulders and hair, indicating he hadn’t fully powered down yet. “I dunno, man. Guy here kind of makes a point.” He motioned to Andreas. “All four of us trying to bust the same deal? We came here as a pair, but you two? You really mean to tell me you two just happened to be here to do the right thing?”

“Hey, man, I really was working undercover,” said Andreas, putting his hands up defensively. “Scout’s honor. See the guy they were supposed to sell it to is supposed to be a higher up in that new gang, the whatdayacallem, the Dethrydrz? I thought maybe I could see what that group is all about. The higher ups are all supposed to be superhumans.”

Jin scowled. “Yeah, we’ve had a few run ins with them before.”

Dusk Man still held out his hand towards the case. “I don’t quite think its drugs they’re after. May I?”

“Okay, so the dirt chucker was trying to get the jump on one of the guys,” said Raul, cocking a thumb at Andreas. “Me and my partner here are trying to keep this crap off the streets.”

“Well, I was trying to keep it off the streets, too,” cut in Andreas.

Raul kept going, “And then you show up, all dark and mysterious. And this gang is supposed to have superhumans in its ranks. So. What exactly were you doing here?”

“You’ve never heard of this guy?” said Andreas. “He’s the Dusk Man. He’s one of us, but like, he’s professional about it. Costume and everything. Am I right?”

Dusk Man let out a short grunt of amusement. He dropped his hand. “I am the one they were supposed to meet tonight. I set up this deal.”

Andreas’s eyes went wide, and Raul’s flames began to blaze hotter and brighter. Jin shifted slightly, ready to block or attack as needed. Dusk Man held up a hand. “But it isn’t what you think. We’re dealing with something bigger than some recreational narcotics.” Suddenly, a surge of darkness enveloped the area.

“The fuck?!” yelled Raul. His whole body became wreathed in fire, and the flames burning brightly. However, it seemed the darkness was total. His flames could not illuminate anything within the all-encompassing shadow. “Where are you?” He felt something tug at his arm, and then suddenly, the briefcase was missing from his hand. Raul lashed out, only to hear an “ow!” in the familiar voice of Jin. “Damnit!” Raul cranked down his flames. “Jin! You okay?!”

The darkness faded, and Dusk Man was now a few feet further away, the briefcase now open in his arms. He held the case up with one arm and studiously tapped his chin with his free hand. “Yep. This is the stuff.”

Jin hissed and rubbed his shoulder. Raul had struck it when he lashed out, and while he’d managed to turn with the blow, the strength of it still formed a solid bruise, and the heat had still scorched the material of his jacket, nearly burning his skin.

Raul scowled as he saw the damage. “Shit! Sorry, man. You okay?”

Jin frowned. “Yes, I’ll live.” He turned to Dusk Man.

“The heck was that?” said Andreas, looking warily at Dusk Man as well. “Was that you’re power?”

Dusk Man nodded. “Let us continue to dispense with the needless head butting. This briefcase confirms my suspicions and raises my fears.” He plucked something out of the case, and held up what looked like a small dart, perhaps something one would load into a tranquilizer gun. “THEA.”

“Thea?” said Andreas, taking a step closer to better see the item. Dusk Man tossed it to him. Andreas caught it with one hand and held it up to the dim light. The cartridge was transparent and a translucent green liquid could be seen inside. “Never heard of it before.”

“T-H-E-A,” said Dusk Man. “Temporary Human Enhancement Agent. During the Infestation, these were mass produced for the sake beefing up human soldiers to better handle conflicts with the monsters. However, they were discontinued immediately afterwards, as they proved to be too stressful on the body.”

“Wow,” said Andreas, handing the vial off to Jin. “I remember Pop telling me about those. Gives a normal person five times the strength and speed of an Olympic athlete and super senses to boot, but it burns up the body’s energy reserves like nothing else. When the stuff wore off, you were starving. Use it more than once every few days, and you could seriously jack up your body beyond repair.”

“Had to be used sparingly,” Jin tossed the vial to Dusk Man, Raul not showing much interest when offered. “And now the Dethrydrz have somehow found a way to acquire this stuff.”

“Like they need any more muscle,” muttered Raul, his flames finally dying down.

“They’re probably just hoping to make a profit,” said Jin. “Stuff like this could be in high demand.”

“I surmise they are actually trying to keep it out of enemy hands, more like,” said Dusk Man, replacing the cartridge and closing the case. “Other gangs have been trying to acquire the THEA in order to combat the Dethrydrz more effectively. It seems all the superhuman thugs and crooks have been banding under the Dethrydrz banner, and the other gangs are pretty powerless to stop them. However, someone managed to find a lost cache of this stuff, and is now selling it to the gangs who wish to give themselves the muscle to fight back against the Dethrydrz.”

“Uh huh,” said Raul, eyes narrowing. “And you know this how?”

“I’ve been keeping tabs,” said Dusk Man. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard about this yourselves, considering.” He turned to leave.

“Woah, there, pal,” said Raul. Flames leaped up in his fist again. “Nice story. But just where do you think you’re taking that briefcase?”

“To dispose of it safely,” said Dusk Man.

“Yeah, right,” said Raul. In the blink of an eye, he zoomed forward, grabbing Dusk Man by the shoulder and pinned him to the truck, knocking the wind out of him. Raul pressed his arm to Dusk Man’s neck. “A superhuman who set up a deal pretending to be a Dethrydrz member, to acquire something the Dethrydrz want? You’re story’s just a bit too convenient. And like I said, I could see maybe two busts happening to the same group by accident, maybe, but three?”

“Hey, come on, let’s not get carried away here,” said Andreas, taking a step towards them. “If we’re all here for the same basic reasons, maybe we should try to work together or something.”

Jin took a step to intercept Andreas. “All due respect, you’re not quite off the hook, either.” He made no attempt to posture, but his face showed a firm determination. “You showed up here with the thugs. If you are indeed the Andreas we’ve heard about, how come they didn’t recognize you? You’re as much an enemy of the gangs as we are.”

“I usually wear a helmet,” said Andreas.

Catching his breath, Dusk Man said, “This is what I was hoping to avoid.” The veil of darkness once again swallowed the area, but Raul was prepared. Or thought he was. As he began to put pressure on Dusk Man’s neck, he felt something stab into his arm, and suddenly a massive jolt threw him back. He’d been hit with a stun gun. When the darkness faded, Dusk Man was crouched atop the roof of the truck, holding the briefcase again. “What, pray tell, do you propose we do? None of us is any position to trust the others. How do we know, for example, that you two aren’t part of some rival gang yourself, or that you aren’t Dethrydrz who caught wind of this false deal and decided to capitalize on it?”

The four men stayed where they were, none of them moving, until Andreas let out a frustrated sigh. “Cripes, how’d this become such a cluster fuck? I mean, this is downright embarrassing.”

Dusk Man let out a breath as he glanced back and forth between the other three men. “Alright,” he said. He dropped to the ground, set the briefcase down and opened it facing away from himself, and ensuring his hands did not pass over the contents. He then backed away. “I wanted to do this in a safer area, but if we are truly after the same general goals, then let this to be a sign of our sincerity. Andreas, you could easily snatch that briefcase with your powers. You two could take it with your incredible speed. And I could take it by my own means.” Dusk Man withdrew a small silver disk from his belt, half an inch thick and three inches wide. “This is a small yield explosive, set for ten seconds, during which I advise you to step back, or snatch the briefcase if that is your desire.” Dusk Man pressed the disk and tossed it into the open briefcase, then stepped back. Raul, Jin, and Andreas did likewise, and a few seconds later, the disk burst in a concentrated blast of fire, shattering the needle cartridges and setting the inside of the briefcase ablaze. The chemicals flared brilliantly with a greenish flame and a thick oily smoke. Jin whirled his arms to cause a breeze which blew the smoke high into the air and away from them and the thugs still tied to the lamppost. They watched the chemicals burn for a few more minutes, then when the flames died out, they stepped forward. Raul picked up one of the crook’s broken guns and pushed the material around. All the needles and cartridges were destroyed, and the chemicals burned away, leaving only a black residue.

“Alright then,” said Dusk Man. “This has been a fairly successful case.”

“So now what?” said Andreas.

“Now we call the cops and go home,” said Jin, motioning back to the thugs.

“I’ve already sent an alert,” said Dusk Man.

“And… and that’s it?” said Andreas.

“Well yeah,” said Raul. “We’re done here, aren’t we?”

“It’s just… come on guys… think about it.” Andreas’s tone was earnest. “We’ve all been fighting to keep down the gangs that have been running rampant in the city. And, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hearing some nasty things about this Dethrydrz group that’s starting to build up. I mean, if there’s superhuman criminals starting to band together, well, how good are our odds, really, if we keep chipping away at them separately?”

“You’re proposing we join forces?” said Jin.

“Why not?” said Andreas. He motioned to Jin and Raul. “I mean, you two are already working together.” Jin and Raul shared a glance, while Dusk Man seemed to be in thought, as Andreas looked at them all hopefully.

“I dunno, kid,” said Raul. “I mean, me and him go way back. You two I just met.”

“Andreas has a point, though,” said Dusk Man. “One I’ve been considering myself as of late. If we continue on this path, we will have to face the Dethrydrz, and we would be foolish to do so individually, or even in pairs. Still, this suggestion isn’t something we can just do on whim. The Dethrydrz recruit with the promise of money and power, but thug mentality is still thug mentality. What you propose would require us becoming a genuine team, and that doesn’t just happen.”

“Maybe we could work something out with practice?” said Jin.

“I ain’t comfortable with it,” said Raul. “As it is, we’ve been each cleaning out our own areas of the city. Better to hit them from multiple fronts so they got no where to run from us.”

“But if we work together, we can take them out that much faster,” said Andreas.

The sounds of police sirens could finally be heard. Dusk Man addressed the others. “We should rendezvous to discuss this further.”

“When and where?” said Andreas.

“There’s a coffee shop on Lincoln and Third,” said Dusk Man. “Meet me there tomorrow evening at seven.” With that, the darkness flared up again, and he was gone.

Andreas looked to the others. “Uh… so… later, I guess? I can stay and talk to the cops, or do you want to?”

“You better do it,” said Jin. “I think you have a better reputation than we do.” Raul made a bemused grunt. With that the two took off in a flash, leaving Andreas to keep an eye on the thugs as the cops approached.

END

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: So, Natural Forces was an attempt to get back to doing a superhero series, closer to the style I used to make comic books of as a kid, though hopefully with better writing. This was mostly an experiment to see if I could make a decent series opener; not quite a “pilot”, but more of a prologue.

While I’ve attempted expanding from this scene a few times, the Natural Forces concept went into a limbo of sorts as I tried to figure out how to tweak it to make it more interesting. As the years go by, I find writing superhero stories that actually retain my interest is pretty difficult; while I’m not worried about being super-unique by any stretch, it’s hard to find that special spark that makes an idea stand out in my mind from the long over-saturated world of superhero fiction that already exists.