[Fiction] Turning the Tables

[Typhoon]

Typhoon stepped out of the cold, almost iced over waters of the Mississippi into a park of East St. Louis. The large titanium man walked passed several people dressed warmly who were either jogging along the river or just simply walking through the park admiring the signs of the changing seasons. Not a one of them ever so much as gave him a second look.

He walked almost due east as the sun now sat low in the sky behind him, not that it mattered as he cast no shadow at the moment. Not even the squirrels digging around for nuts in the park seemed to notice him.

He purposefully walked through a intersection, paying no heed to a car as it sped right through him, the driver seemingly oblivious. Finally there he saw the sight he had been anticipating since he started this journey over 3 days ago... an old movie theatre.

[z-The Morrigan]

The Morrigan was having trouble sleeping. Ford was moving around in his room nearby, and he was disturbing her. Not with his moving and stirring; no, with his mere presence. They were both on the second floor; he was in the room that had held an old fridge, and she was in the room that looked over the room with chairs and the silver wall.

He had named her. Madeline. It was all he had given her, though; he had little more for her than the news that Vyse had convinced the world she was dead. And now she was torn.

She had been someone before. She hadn't always been the raging, screaming monster from nightmares; she had once been someone else. Someone who had been called Madeline. Someone who had once... what? What else was there?

She would find more tomorrow, she vowed to herself. There were pieces of herself missing, but she would find them. With that promise, she allowed herself to drift into sleep.

[Typhoon]

Typhoon's intelligence reports placed the creature who had created all that chaos in the Amsterdam sewers all those weeks ago was hold up on the second floor of this Theatre.

He had orders to incapacitate the creature and turn it over to to local military controlled holding area for novas. After that it wasn't his problem anymore.

He had radioed ahead telling the Marines stationed there that He'd be bringing in what he referred to as 'The Catylyst' to the cell within the hour.

Gain access to the theatre was easy enough with full density control. He walked passed an old run-down concession stand. The residue of old popcorn and butter assaulted his senses.

He scanned the ceiling of the first floor, his vision penetrated the layers of plaster, steel, wood, and insulation, and as he did so he estimated the maximum weight that the floor could handle; finally he looked into the second floor.

He scanned from room to room eventually stumbling across man working at a wooden desk. Not the target, but she had a possible hostage. He continued to scan and in the next room saw a prone female form, she was obviously at rest.

He had her.

Once he began he would have to act quickly, he knew some of what she was capable of. He had to get her away from the baseline as fast as possible. Somewhere deep down he regretted ambushing her like this, he would have liked to test himself against her, but given that she could simply and effectively cow him into submission, he couldn't chance it.

This would require exact timing on his part. Oddly the flood didn't so mcuh as squeak beneith this feet as he leapt upwards. He passed through the ceiling and just as he finished passing through the floor of the second story he solidified.

The floor creaked only slightly as he grabbed the sleeping form of the Catylyst by the throat in a vise-like grip and tossed her out the nearest window with his full strength.

She was bewildered as she slowly recovered on the street about a block away. Something hit the street with the force of a wrecking ball about a yard from her. The street cracked and rubbled in a spiderweb pattern from two focal points.

The air filled with dust but her assailant was simply nowhere to be seen. A booming voice seemed to emanate from all around. "Stay Down and Surrender!"

[z-The Morrigan]

The hand on her throat awoke her, but she was off-guard, with no time to react. The Morrigan wasn't able to forestall her graceless fall as she smacked into the concrete and asphalt. She rolled down the street, her ill-fitting clothes flapping around her body. She barely managed to control the last few seconds of her roll, coming to rest on her feet and hands, bewildered.

That wore off the second her opponent landed in front of her. His order was unheard as her feral nature surged forward.

This wasn't the calm fighter who had faced White Rat; this wasn't the woman who occasionally whispered, "Madeline," to herself, to see if it felt right yet. This was the enraged monster that had torn through Amsterdam and several novas. In a few seconds, all the tenious progress toward civilization that the Morrigan had made was ripped away.

Her speed kicked in, and her clothes rippled and flapped again, but this time from the force of her zipping into full speed. She called the blood to her hands and formed the Fragarach. With a snarl, she slashed the air above the two craters. The sword cut air, but the backstroke sunk into something a little firmer.

[Typhoon]

The Blood-sword struck Typhoon's shoulder and shattered like so much red-colored glass. Not that the creature saw what she had hit.

Typhoon watched the target carefully, It's glowing red eyes told of a creature that was more monster than nova, she looked just as feral as she did in the sewers, he needed to take her out before she began harming innocent baselines.

He sidestepped, stepping slightly to the right of her, and gave her a left-hook. The force from the blow sent the creature flailing into a nearby parked car, caving in the passenger-side doors.

She quickly shook off the effects of the attack and jumped out of the car. The creature ran quite fast away from Typhoon, much faster than he could follow.

He dropped his density to almost nothing as he heard a man yelling. "Madaline!" Typhoon looked back to see a man standing in the window he had sent the catalyst through. Is he yelling for the creature? Typhoon couldn't take that chance. He gave chase.

[z-The Morrigan]

The animal cunning knew it needed to see him to have a chance to fight him, and it needed some way to see its distortions. Water, she knew, not realizing that this was the worst possible element in which to fight Typhoon.

Ford screamed her name, the one he said was hers, but she ignored him. He would be safer left behind and so she did, leading her attacker on a chase. She wasn't sure how fast he could run, so she had to guess, cutting her speed until she felt like she was crawling forward.

She ran to the river, picking a section where the water was fairly shallow; she didn't want her speed affected too much. Standing in the calf-deep water, she waited for him to approach her. Now, she could see him, if he dared to follow her.

[Typhoon]

It became obvious that as he got closer to the feral nova that she had chosen the spot of her last stand was in the Mississippi. She had instinctively chosen to fight 'The Living Submarine' in almost knee deep water.

The creature must've thought that she could detect his water-displacement. She was using logic. He briefly considered stopping to talk to her banking that she might be reasoned with. The recollection of what had happened in the Amsterdam sewers dissuaded him of that thought.

Without sound or disturbing the water in the slightest Typhoon positioned himself right behind the creature as she awaited him to confront her. She was completely oblivious to him. He could now hear the sounds of many people walking in their direction, they sounded somewhat angry. Typhoon had to finish her before they arrived.

He actually felt shame in this, but there was no other option. The river behind her seemed to grow two empty holes. The water simply parted all the way to the riverbed. The mud at the bottom sunk down in the shape of boots.

He now weighed in the area of a ton, he almost immediately began to sink within the mud, he quickly wound up and delivered an uppercut to the back of her head.

It sounded like she had been hit by a train, and probably felt similarly.

The Morrigan flew onto the rocky shoals of the riverbank and was slow to rise. Typhoon felt very much the bully as he invisibly and silently drifted out the water and stood over her.

The Morrigan looked around, scenting the air attempting to guess where he was, as he pulled back to deliver another blow.

[z-The Morrigan]

She was shaking, panting as she tried to figure out how to fight. She couldn't fight; all she could do is run. Running was the only way to survive, and survival was winning.

Instinct rose, as hard as ever, pushing her to flee. She even set her feet in the rocky shoals and got ready to run. But the noises behind her stopped her, catching her short. These were her people; if she left, they would be defenseless before this threat. And they were more important than herself.

The strong defend the weak. And The Morrigan choose to lose.

She stood and faced the water, unknowningly putting her side to Typhoon. "Go away!" she roared angrily. "This place mine!" She produced another spear as she struggled to speak clearly. Finally, she just snarled, "Mine!" as she spun in a circle, trying to sense him.

Every neuron screamed at her to run, but she stayed, backing closer toward the people she called her own.

[Typhoon]

He surveyed the scene. She couldn't sense him, and he could plainly see that another hit like his last would put her down for the duration. The crowd from the city formed a semi-circle around her, keeping well back, but she watched with morbid curiosity as much as anything. One man's eyes caught Typhoon's attention. He looked sad for some reason.

Typhoon couldn't allow them to remain in danger any longer. He pulled back as he maximized his density. He swung his fist with everything he had, putting his full body into the motion. It was as though a wrecking ball caught her in the face. The Morrigan twisted completely around, falling to her knees and then collapsed onto her back. Her blood-sword splattered onto the ground like so much red paint.

The crowd all gasped in unison, some even moved forward slight as though to check on her, but something stopped them.

Typhoon dropped his invisibility as the crowd, every one of them stepped back from his sudden presence, they were rather stunned that they had been so unaware of him given his size. All they had seen were the results of his actions. "Sorry folks, shows over. This one won't bother you anymore." He said with his usual booming bass voice.

He knelt down and pulled manacles from a pouch in his eufiber; he began to cuff the creature who had terrorized Amsterdam all those months ago.

"Leave Madeline alone!" came a voice from the crowd.

[z-The Morrigan]

Ford couldn't believe he was doing this. It felt like someone else was holding the pipe he had grabbed; someone else was holding it before him like a weapon. His body pushed to the front of crowd, and he heard himself shout, "Leave Madeline alone!"

The massive metallic nova looked at him, and Ford felt himself shrink despite himself. His resolve was washed away by fear, and he almost failed Madeline again. But a child, a little girl, stepped forward, throwing a lump of dirt. "Get away from Red-Eyes!" The dirt missed completely, but that action, combined with the child's shout, vitalized the entire crowd.

"Let her go!"

"She's our nova!"

"No. And not just no, hell no!"

"Stop it!"

"Why you gotta take the one good thing we have?"

The shouts rang out, and the crowd surged forward. They didn't get close enough to threaten Typhoon, nor could they have hurt him, but they demonstrated their clear devotion to the red-eyed nova .

[Typhoon]

Typhoon was beside himself.

He watched as this crowd of baselines quickly became an unruly mob toward him. He responded the only way he could. "Hold it! This creature endangered the city of Amsterdam only months ago." He did not move from his position over the Morrigan. "Your 'Madeline' tore through baseline and nova alike."

The man leading the group, the man from the theatre said, "That wasn't her fault. She was under mind-altering drugs that her employer administered to her." The man's words rang true. "Her... 'employer'?" Typhoon looked from the man and back down to the fallen creature. "What are you talking about, sir?"

[z-The Morrigan]

Ford was aware of the eyes on him; he wanted to shrink again, but he forced himself to stop. "Vyse Contracting was a sham," he said, forcing the words out. "Madeline was the only nova permenently on-board with them, and they kept her there by drugging her into a coma. The drugs ate away her higher brain functions for years. She's slowly recovering - she didn't even remember her own name before I showed up."

Don't fail her again. Not again. Ford dropped the pipe with a clang and stepped forward, hands empty. "Yes, she tore into people in Amsterdam," he said, "but she woke up strapped to a table, drugged out of her mind. Can you imagine?"

"And it doesn't matter what she was like in Amsterdam," a black woman said, stepping forward. "My name is Saada Walker, and my son Denzel was attacked by gang members. Red-eyes, or Madeline, The Morrigan or whatever you call her, saved him, for no reason."

Other people in the audience spoke up; each had another story about what the nova at Typhoon's feet had done for them. She had rescued them from one peril after another, and had never asked for anything in return.

Finally, the last man to speak stepped forward. "Sir, there is one thing you need to understand about our nova," he said, spreading his hands wide. There was a fierce pride in his voice when he said our nova. "This is East St. Louis. No one gives us anything. They take. They use. Even Project Utopia blew in for a week, cleaned things up, and left again.

"She's the first one to stay," he continued. "She's the only one that's ever stayed. Don't take her away. She's all we've got."

[Typhoon]

It all made sense now, she had been attempting to draw him away from innocent baselines, as though he had been the threat. This... Madeline had attempted to defend these people from me.

Typhoon studied the faces of everyone who stood here adamant against him taking their only protector. He considered himself lucky that they hadn't tried to stop him with force. The last thing he wanted was to harm a baseline.

Typhoon's head sunk slightly and he gave a deep sigh. "Okay, I was wrong." He gently scooped her up into his arms. He could see with his enchanced eyes that she was already rapidly healing. "Please allow me to return her to where I found her." Very few of the people here trusted anyone wearing a uniform be it eufiber or otherwise, but quite simply if the metallic nova had chosen to take her or worse, to kill her. They couldn't have hoped to stop him.

The crowd parted for him as he walked back the few blocks back to the theatre. Typhoon seemed to drift weightlessly more than walk. The man who defended Madeline the most vehemently walked next to him. "Sir, you came to her aid, you led the crowd to protect her from me. please tell me, who is she to you?"

[z-The Morrigan]

The crowds' attitude had changed, becoming more jovial. Typhoon was being given nods and smiles now, even from the man who had led this crowd. But when he posed his question to the man, it wiped away all smiles. "I'm..." his voice trailed off as he fidgeted with his hands.

"I love her," he said, his voice pitched low enough that only Typhoon heard him clearly. His face and voice were twisted with pain, perhaps of unrequited love. "And... I have hurt her so much. I used to work for Vyse, too. I could have stopped her torment, but I didn't. I was a weak, selfish idiot, and I don't know if I can ever make it up to her."

There was a long moment of silence, and the man said, "Can you clear her name? I can help. My name is Harrison Forshiem; you should find records with my name on them all over Amsterdam. Apartment, bank account, taxes - all of that. I can tell the whole story, and why you guys shouldn't hold her time in Amsterdam against her."

[Typhoon]

"Well, her heart seems to be in the right place. It's important she gets a fair shake." Typhoon smiled out of the corner of his mouth at Harrison. Madeline as he called her was quite attractive. Typhoon had never noticed it before.

It struck Typhoon how quickly she went from threat to damsel in distress. "It's probably best that I'm gone by the time she recovers. She shouldn't have any serious injuries. Let her know that I'll do my best to make sure no one else comes after her for Amsterdam, I owe her that much... after this."

He noted how one of her eyes was swollen shut and she had multiple contusions on her face. He regretted following her here to ambush her. There was much blood splattered on both of them; all of it was her's. "Tell her if she ever needs anything, I can be almost anywhere in the world in twenty-four hours. Tell her that I'm not her enemy anymore." Typhoon didn't take his eyes off her unconscience form as they entered the main floor of the theatre. He was oblivious to the crowd following them up to the door cheering and laughing.

Mentally Typhoon was still beating her half to death and wincing with each blow as they walked up the stairs. "I'm sorry." He said only loudly enough for The Morrigan to hear were she listening. He placed her gently on her down on the pile of old pillows and blankets he found her on.

He rose and turned to Harrison. "I don't know what will stop the corporation from attempting to reacquire her, but I was wrong about her; I'll attempt to clear her name with the international community." He produced a card from within his eufiber and handed it to Ford. "You can reach me through DeVries should either of you need anything." He offered a blood splattered titanium hand to Ford.

[z-The Morrigan]

Madeline was safe in bed - no, she was in Richard's arms. He always made her feel so small; his big arms cradled her securely. And for the first time, it all felt right - her name, this house, loving this man-

First time since when?

The thought brought her awake, shoving away the last whispers of sleep. Still, she sat up saying, "Richard?" even as she realized that she was looking at Ford and an unfamiliar nova, in her bed in the theatre.

"Amsterdam," she growled as the identity of the nova became clear. "You there." She hopped to her feet, back to the wall, ready for anything. The half-dream she had seen faded away into mists.

"Madeline," Ford said soothingly, stepping forward with his hand outstretched appeasingly. "It's ok, Madeline, this is Typhoon, he's a friend."

Glowing red eyes fixed back onto the titanium man, noting the blood. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled the scents in the room. "You... carry me," she said. "Thai-fone." And he had not attacked her in Amsterdam, either.

"Yeah, he carried you here," Ford said, his tone the classic sounds of a man talking the crazy lady down. "He's a friend." Obviously Ford relied heavily on repetition.

[Typhoon]

As Madeline regained consciousness Typhoon put his arms up in a defensive, yet non-threatening posture. He had kept his density low as to not damage anything more than he had already. It was a small matter for him to drop his density completely.

He knew that she could easily cow him into submission again at anytime. It was important to him that he seem non-threatening, yet not submissive to the creature he had just beat near to death. "Yes, Thai-fone;" He almost smiled as he placed a titanium hand to his titanium chest, surprisingly it made no sound at the contact. "I'm a friend." He spoke in tones that were as friendly as possible given what his metallic vocal cords allowed for. Now, I am at least. He thought remorsefully.

He found himself wishing he could shed the blood which still stained his form, He took a experimental step closer to The Morrigan to see how she would respond.

[z-The Morrigan]

Ford said he was ok, and the Morrigan found herself accepting the excuse, even if she wasn't sure he was. Her body ached bitterly; she was slowly healing, but too slowly for her agonized nerve endings.

She fell painfully against the wall and started to slide down it, but concern filled her eyes. "The intruder! Where is it?" she growled.

"Eh, Typhoon, he chased it off," Ford said quickly. The Morrigan's eyes settled on him, and the baseline quailed under that gaze. "Kinda. He took care of the problem and you won't see it again."

Now those searing eyes turned on Typhoon; the titanium nova was startled to see the woman's noble face creased with uncertainity. "You helped drive off the intruder," she said, musing over something carefully. After a long silence, she asked in a small voice, "The city is yours, then. You save me, I will not fight you."

[Typhoon]

"Uhh, That's not nessicary." Typhoon gave Madeline a worried look after shooting a glare at Ford for making the lie worse.

"This is your city, my place is at sea." Typhoon rather hated dishonesty in others and made an effort to be as honest as possible with others. Which was part of the reason he and Timeslip would never see eye-to-eye.

He desperatly thought about a way to talk his way out of this. "Besides, in Amsterdam, you defeated me without so much as raising a finger." Typhoon hated admitting it. "Why don't we just call it even." He even worked up the courage to step forward offering his hand in friendship.

[z-The Morrigan]

Glowing red eyes watched Typhoon wearliy, but the extended hand was taken. Most people's hand were rough compared to Typhoon's smooth metal skin, but her hands were calloused, as if she used them daily. And he certainly didn't see any hand lotion around here.

"Even," Morrigan said softly, shaking the hand firmly. A bruise on her wrist faded before Typhoon's eyes as she added a nod to her handshake. There was an awkward pause before she said, "You leaving now?" She sounded a bit hopeful.

[Typhoon]

Typhoon for some reason expected something more from her, but it was just as well she didn't look more deeply into the lie. "I'm glad I was there to... help." He gave her a weak smile and turned to Harrison with a look that was only slightly warmer than the river was. Typhoon realized that if Harrison hadn't lied he would have likely been on the receiving end of The Morrigan's wrath.

"Thank you, sir." Typhoon said as he produced a card which had his contact information on it and handed it to Harrison. "My offer still stands." He said with a side-long glance in Morrigan's direction. He felt slightly as if he was exchanging auto and insurance information after a serious accident. "Let me know if you need any help repairing this window." He smiled at the two of them as he turned to walk back down the stairs.

He knew that eventually Madeline would find out what had really happened, all she need do was be within earshot if any of the people who came to her defense ever spoke of the incident again. About the cowardly giant metal man who had been invisible as he beat the living hell out of her. Typhoon winced at the thought of it.