The Hero Initiative (10/?) (f) Updated 12/12/2011

[Curiosity234]

Go ahead, take care of your business. We'll wait patiently Because this is worth waiting for.

[Chanel_no5]

Oh, I agree, this is definitely worth waiting for. Damn, this is good stuff!!

[Blah!?]

Hey everyone!

I had it in me to finish one more chapter before my break, so I'm going to torture you with a cliffhanger for a while. I'm still writing, and I'm definitely going to continue, so don't get worried if this is the last update for a little while. Which it will be. Fair warning.

Anyway, here we go...

---

Chapter 10: Nightingale

"This is quite the interesting assignment, kiddo," the operator said, her voice light and breathy. Isabel smiled a little to herself, counting off the number of times the operator had complained about her hay fever starting to act up in this conversation alone. "Though I suppose it's not totally unheard uhh… Huhhh… Haaahhh… HAAARRSCHHUUHH! Unheard of."

"Bless you, miss operator," Isabel said, knowing it would bother her.

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not 'Miss Operator'? You're making me feel oh... Huh… HAAASHHUUUHH! Old."

"Right. Sorry. You have a point, though."

"Of course I do," the operator snarked, her voice stuffy. Isabel ignored her and continued.

"This is probably the weirdest assignment I'd ever thought I'd get. Escorting an old super villain out of his lair and into Initiative custody? This is weird enough as it is, but why's it even happening?" Isabel asked. The operator replied by blowing her nose obnoxiously. Every time Isabel thought she was finished, she took a deep breath and started blowing again.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"Oh, sorry," the operator apologized, her voice still blocked up. "Well, how about I give you some background? The villain in question goes by the name 'Dead Zone,' and he's definitely one of the strange ones. Yeah, the name's a little cheesy, but it was the 80s. Hardly the strangest thing going on. Oh, the 80s, what a wonderfully strange time. I was just a little operette back then."

Isabel cleared her throat at the operator briefly fell silent. She then resumed with her explanation as if nothing had happened.

"Dead Zone has a fairly interesting power: he takes other powers away. Such a power doesn't lend itself to direct action, so he didn't commit most of his crimes himself. He would capture other super heroes, take away their powers and hold them hostage until they did what he wanted them to. As far as we can tell, he never… Nehhh… Hehh… HAAAARRSCHHUUUH! Never hurt anyone. Most of his crimes were high-stakes robberies as opposed to murders or anything. The main reason he was dangerous was that he had so many super heroes on his payroll. It wouldn't have been pretty if he suddenly decided to get violent."

"I guess that makes sense," Isabel said, resting her chin on one hand, leaning against a railing. She was high up on a hanging metal catwalk at the top of a huge chamber, Obsidian prowling the floor below her. The height wasn't exactly comfortable, so Isabel simply kept herself from looking down. Isabel pushed back from the railing and started to pace back and forth.

"How come he's turning himself in?" Isabel asked, interrupting more of the operator's nose blowing. She sniffed pitifully and continued with a stuffy voice.

"He's just had his fun, I suppose. This isn't actually the first time this has ever happened. Super villains will usually do whatever it is they do, then they go into hiding. By that point, they either fall off the map completely or they decide to come clehh.. Hehhh… HEH! HAAAARRSCHHUUUHH!"

"Wow, your hay fever sounds terrible," Isabel said, starting to get distracted herself. The assignment more or less made sense to her now, even if it was still rather strange, so her mind was at ease. The operator sniffed twice rapidly, barely able to draw any air through her blocked nostrils.

"Thanks. It runs in the family," she said, snuffling every other word. Isabel smiled a little. The operator never failed to lift her spirits, even when she was feeling terrible herself. "Hahh… Haah… HAAAASCHHHUUUHHH! Oh god, this is terrible. Unless you need me for something, I'll be back in a few minutes. I need my neti pot or else I'm going to die."

"I thought this assignment was of the utmost importance."

"Die."

"Alright, fine. Get out of here."

The operator laughed stuffily as she left her headset for a moment. Isabel smiled to herself again. She was very glad that she got along well with the operator. Isabel didn't have much to base this theory on, but she felt like the operator was probably a pretty frightening woman if angered. She looked back down toward the atrium floor to check on the situation, watching Obsidian leading someone out of a room on the far side. That must have been Dead Zone. He looked like a completely average guy, wearing a jacket and jeans. The only detail Isabel could make out was that his dark hair was starting to gray, but he was more or less inconspicuous. He appeared to be coming quietly, but Isabel kept an eye on him nonetheless. The last thing they wanted to do was take chances with a super villain.

Isabel proceeded along the catwalk, looking over the rest of the room. The enormous atrium appeared to be empty, but when Isabel reached the far end of the catwalk, it became very obvious to her that they were not alone. A dark figure stood in the shadows at the end of the platform, its features obscured by the darkness. Isabel stopped in her tracks and raised her hands into a fighting stance.

"Obsidian, we've got company," Hot Stuff said into her headset, alerting her partner to the newcomer.

"Roger. Who is it?"

"I'm not-"

Before Hot Stuff could reply, the shadowy figure rapidly stepped forward and swung one arm toward her. Hot Stuff stepped back just in time to avoid a large, black-bladed knife. Keeping the knife in mind, Hot Stuff turned her gaze back to her attacker to get a better view. Now that both of them were standing in the light, Hot Stuff could easily make out her opponent's features. It was a young woman, probably about the same age as Chase and Maria, clad in a suit of black and violet leather. A light cape hung over her shoulders, and a connected hood and mask obscured her face. The only skin Hot Stuff could see was the area around the woman's eyes, but it almost appeared to be the same violet color as her armor.

"Who the hell are you?" Hot Stuff asked, creating a ball of blue fire around each of her hands. She held her arms up, trying to reveal the woman's face with her light, but before she could, another knife swung toward her. Hot Stuff dodged the attack again and sent a ball of fire toward the woman, but she missed as well.

"I am a master of the arcane arts of killing. An assassin of the forgotten," the woman said as she and Hot Stuff exchanged attacks. Neither of them were able to connect with each other, but Hot Stuff felt that she was reaching her limit. It certainly didn't help that her attacker's voice was so unnerving. It was light and airy but it seemed to echo inside Hot Stuff's head, as if it was being whispered directly into her mind. Hot Stuff made a mental note to speak with Maria afterward. Sonique was an accomplished martial artist, and she would probably have floored this attacker already. Hot Stuff was considerably less so, relying almost entirely on her powers to fight. Unfortunately for her, Maria had taken the day off for her final exams, so Hot Stuff was on her own.

"You see me because I allow it, you live because I allow it." The woman continued, completely aware that her attacks were wearing Hot Stuff down. "And you will die because I demand it." She paused for a second too long, giving Hot Stuff to launch a large fireball directly at her. Not even a second before the fireball would have hit, Hot Stuff's attacker suddenly exploded into a cloud of black smoke, disappearing entirely.

"I am Nightingale." The airy words echoed in Hot Stuff's head as she started to choke on mouthfuls of the black smoke that hung in the air. Nightingale seemed to have vanished, so she dropped her guard and started to wave her hands through the smoke in an attempt to clear it. Hot Stuff backed away, but it seemed to follow her, engulfing her in suffocating darkness.

"HEH-CHHWW!" Hot Stuff sneezed, falling on her rear. Luckily, the fireball blown out of her nose quickly burned the black particles out of the air, allowing her to breathe freely again. She stood up and started to look for Nightingale, but after only a second, her attacker came to her. Hot Stuff heard rapid footsteps on the catwalk behind her and she quickly turned around, but she wasn't quick enough. A blade descended toward her, but just before it struck, and equally black hand caught it in midair.

Obsidian held the knife and stared at Nightingale, who silently stared back at him. He held up the pointer finger of his free hand and waggled it back and forth slowly. Nightingale tried to free her knife from his grasp, but Obsidian held it tight. He strengthened his grip and crushed the blade into metallic dust.

"This sucker will stop a knife," he said, his tone flat and serious. Nightingale remained silent, but a second later she exploded into another cloud of smoke. This time, she instantaneously reappeared in midair next to the catwalk, already in a falling position. Obsidian and Hot Stuff leaned over the railing to see Nightingale falling directly toward Dead Zone. The two Initiative members nodded and each other and jumped over the railing after her. The best conclusion they could come to was that Nightingale was there to assassinate Dead Zone before he could reveal any information to the Initiative.

Obsidian landed hard in a kneeling position and quickly stood up. Nightingale had already grabbed Dead Zone and was holding him tight with her remaining knife at his neck. Obsidian held up his hands mockingly and shook his head.

"You've trapped yourself. This close to him, you can't use your powers. And you're certainly not going to just walk past me," he said, starting to approach slowly. Nightingale backed away, matching his pace in reverse.

"That is exactly what I am going to do," Nightingale replied, quickening her pace. Hot Stuff silently landed behind her, and luckily she didn't seem to notice.

"And why is that?" Obsidian asked sarcastically.

"Because, unlike your partner," Nightingale began, starting to turn around. With her attention no longer on him, Dead Zone elbowed Nightingale in the chest, causing her to drop her knife. He started to squirm away, none too excited about being assassinated, but Nightingale didn't seem to care. Her stride was unbroken as she approached Hot Stuff, one arm at her side and the other raised slightly. Hot Stuff held up one hand and tried to create a fireball, but nothing happened. This close to Dead Zone, her powers were completely useless.

"I do not require my powers to kill." Nightingale tensed the muscles in her right forearm and a hidden blade shot out of her sleeve below her wrist. It all happened so fast that neither Initiative member had time to react. Nightingale took one last step forward and plunged the blade into Hot Stuff's stomach. Obsidian roared with rage and lunged toward Nightingale, but she leaped over Hot Stuff, sprinted out of Dead Zone's range and disappeared for good in another cloud of smoke.

"I-" Isabel breathed, her hands reflexively covering the hole in her stomach. "I'm gonna die." Her legs gave out under her and she collapsed into Obsidian's arms as he slid under her to catch her. A single terrified tear fell from her eye and ran down over her mask. Obsidian cradled her gently and she could tell he was trying to speak to her, but she didn't hear him. The only thing she heard was a sudden burst of static as the operator finally returned.

"Isabel! Isabel, you're fine!" she said, her voice clear but desperate. Isabel had never heard her this emotional, let alone this serious.

"N-no," Isabel stuttered, another tear falling from her other eye. "I'm dead." She tried to look down at the bleeding stab wound, but Obsidian held her head back, keeping her eyes away from it.

"You are not going to die!" the operator yelled, sounding like a simultaneously enraged and terrified mother. "You're going to grow up! You're going to save lives! And best of all, someday, you're going to become some lucky urchin's nerdy but loveable mom. That's right! You're going to get fat, wear an apron, and make lots of boxed lunches! But you can't do any of that if you die! So don't you dare!"

Isabel's lips slowly but surely curved into a smile. She felt herself losing touch with reality, but yet again, the operator never failed to put a smile on her face. Isabel started to chuckle despite the pain.

"H-hey," she began, barely able to speak. "You never told me. What's your real na…" Before she could finish, Isabel passed out.

---

Dun. Dun. Duuunnnnn...

And now I get to take a break for a while and you get to wait. Have fun, and I hope you enjoyed.

[Chanel_no5]

Raaah! You can't just... leave her bleeding! O_o

Seriously... this was really exciting..!! and oh, the poor operator. I love the exchange between them, it's fun and, ahem, hot as well...

The villain in question goes by the name 'Dead Zone,' and he's definitely one of the strange ones. Yeah, the name's a little cheesy, but it was the 80s. Hardly the strangest thing going on. Oh, the 80s, what a wonderfully strange time. I was just a little operette back then."

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Operator.

Awesome series.

[DogLover]

Love, love, love this series... WHY do all you talented writers have to end on cliffhangers?!?!?

[dude18323]

Love, love, love this series... WHY do all you talented writers have to end on cliffhangers?!?!?

Cliffhangers are so annoying...but also so enticing at the same time! Great story!

[Animeeze]

These are awesome, great job Blah!