Blue Nexus #53 - Two and a Half Ninjas

            Capital Industries used to house three major skyscrapers in Pacific City. One was to the far east, where a tiny demographic of regular civilians lived, and the other two were twenty blocks away from one another in main heart of the city. Four years ago the Sentinel was exposed to the world at large and Capital Industries was discovered to be little more than a front for a rogue military based off of the martial law of Renza, an island city in the Mediterranean.

            Kyle stood atop the tallest of the buildings, nicknamed the Sentinel Tower. He was a major figure in Pacific City, and Kyle understood why. Without him there might not be any push for costumed vigilantes in the city, or even the world. Prior to him, as Kyle understood it, there were vigilantes that were too dumb or reckless to act wisely. The Sentinel and Phoenix were the first two normal humans to show the world how it could be done, and Riko showed the world what real power was. Kyle liked to think he was a nice mix between the two styles.

            Though, that combined style was definitely butting heads with the Sentinel’s. Kyle hadn’t seen him since last night and he even only saw Maya as she was walking out the door to go meet with someone in the morning. He fended for himself with what money he had and texted Luke and Kip to let them know where he was. The only thing he found he was missing was his Zanderia communicator. No doubt Maya and the Sentinel wanted this mission off their records for some reason. As if it really mattered, though. Kyle regularly flew up to the Moon base to see if he could help with maintenance up there.

            As such, it wasn’t really daunting for him to be sitting atop the tallest building in the city. In his Nexus form he could see down below much better, as if looking through a magnifying glass. Nobody could see him, but he could see them and make sure nobody was in direct trouble. It was even easier to see them under their street lights.

            The clouds hid the sky around him. Night had fallen, finally, which meant Kyle would be getting word soon of the next part of their mission. He wasn’t entirely sure how, especially considering he didn’t have any system of communication with Maya or the Sentinel. He was mostly waiting for another twinge of magic energy to burst forth from the great normalcy of humanity below. Chances were decent that his two allies would be there as well.

            Kyle stood up, keeping his gaze locked on the city below. The Sentinel liked to work fast and take advantage of all the nighttime he could get. That meant Kyle had to beat him to the punch—literally. Nobody died tonight. That had to be a rule.

            He dropped off the building, plummeting down in a straight path toward the ground. He flipped once, gaining control of his body and flight mechanics, then spread his arms with his cape and curved to the right, still high enough for nobody to notice. He ducked down, dropping several dozen feet, before performing the stunt again. He soared through buildings at a breakneck pace, rushing toward the heart of downtown, where the action could start.

            Kyle tucked in and then spread his legs out when he approached a lower building. He sprinted onto it, then stopped himself, leaving small blue energy tracks behind him. A quick swipe of his fingers over the bracelet dispatched the Blue Nexus. Kyle held out his right hand, flexing it. The Demon mark quivered on his arm.

            “Alright, let’s play some hide-and-seek,” Kyle said. He held his arm out like a metal detector and approached the edge of the building.

            Normally he worried that just being a mage, an untrained one at that, wouldn’t be enough for him to sense other magic in the area. But, it was so concentrated, and it seemed to come in several different forms. He would have to be able to notice it, and hopefully even track it down to the source(s).  

            The city seemed to come to live all around him while he waited. Music blared from the buildings below him, people jeered and shouted at one another. Car horns blared like normal. The running of the cars also echoed on the buildings around him, filling his eardrums with the sound of the tire rolling along the uneven pavement.

            Kyle closed his eyes and let the Demon mark take over his arm. He felt the magic rolling down his arm as if it were a sleeve. The black magic touched his fingertips softly, though he knew that there was poison in the touch if he let it persist for too long.

            A similar sense touched his back and he shivered. Kyle opened his eyes, clamping his open hand shut and swiping his finger over the Nexus bracelet. It took a second longer for him to transform in order for the Demon mark to go away, but Kyle had them pinged. Just a mile ahead, maybe, somewhat close to where they were last night.

            He took off, leaping off the wall. He stopped himself from flying, realizing how he quickly he would expose himself. Instead he used super-speed, running as fast as he could in the Blue Nexus form. He vaulted over a wall and sprinted alongside it for a few feet before pushing himself off, and then bouncing off of a fire escape to leap through the night’s sky. He tucked in and rolled along another rooftop, picking up the pace when he bounced back onto his feet.

            Kyle dove down, landing on a metal rooftop. He was just about there. He leapt again to keep his feet from echoing on the inside and alerting anyone, then slid down the side of the building and dropped down to his knees. He braced himself against the wall of the nearby structure, waiting to hear anyone’s presence. He checked his immediate surroundings to make sure he wasn’t going to spring any sort of trap, then walked around the corner.

            He was in an industrial district, different from the one last night. He could see that area just fine a few hundred yards away. No doubt this was the more laborious area whereas that one was meant for storage.

            Voices filled the building. It was a factory, though Kyle couldn’t tell what it was for. Most of the machines and parts were rusted or really out of shape, so it was no doubt abandoned for quite some time. The doors were closed. Kyle jogged around to the other side, halting when he saw a guard walking his way.

            The guard turned the corner right into Kyle’s fist. He dropped immediately. Kyle searched him and found nothing more than some weapons and a pack of cigarettes. He sighed and sauntered over to the other end of the building, peering around that corner. Still no open door.

            The voices were still there—even louder, now—but were muffled and tough to make out. Kyle floated over to the other end, landing softly. There were no windows for him to look through that wouldn’t make his appearance obvious, and there was no way of busting in without drawing the attention right to him, either.

            Then again, he could just make them talk if he were to find them in there. There was only one mage that he’d sensed in there and he could probably handle it rather well. Any others would just be grunts that would easily be defeated.

            Kyle shrugged, then reared back a blue fits and punched a great hole in the wall. He leapt through, walking through dust and debris from fallen structures and parts. Clapping filled the silence, and then a laugh.

            “A super being in Pacific City?”

            Kyle looked up to a balcony hanging above the rest of the factory. A man stood there, with a silver mark tattooed onto his face. The mage. Kyle wasn’t sure what type of mage a silver mark symbolized—well, he ruled out Combat, Shield, Demon, and Reality, since he knew those markings. That left Deception or Power mage, and he was hoping for Power.

            “Yeah, decided to check things out over here,” Kyle said.

            The mage nodded. He was indeed all alone. Kyle looked around the room, making sure nobody was hiding from him. The mage had just been talking to someone, or multiple people, but there wasn’t a sign of anyone else in here.

            “Strange, I thought the Sentinel was going to be the biggest pain in my ass,” the mage said. “But that’s fine. It’s all over, anyone. Now we just have to work with the clock, and you superheroes are pretty bad at beating it.”

            “I’m pretty sure you’re wrong, but whatever,” Kyle said. “Where are the others that were in here? I heard voices.”

            “You should see a psychiatrist about that,” the mage said. “After all, I’m leaving now, and wouldn’t want to leave you all alone to party by yourself. It’s going to be a blast!”

            The mage waved his hand and silvery dust poured over him. Kyle took another step toward him, but the mage stomped down and dropped down a chute. Kyle leapt up to the balcony, and stomped on it, but there was no chute there.

            “Damn it,” Kyle said.

            The factory fell silent…save for a strange simmering noise. Kyle smelled something funny, and almost took another step.

            Before the party started.

            The building was immediately in flames, and the explosions were crushing the parts and machines all over the factory. Kyle was blasted through the wall, landing on the now-crushed concrete below. He heard a roar of laughter over the explosion before the factory started to collapse on itself.

            Kyle swiped his hand over the bracelet and let the Demon magic back in. There! The mage was making a break for it, headed west toward the abandoned warehouse area. Kyle took off, not bothering to transform. This was a Deception mage, meaning he would pull all kinds of tricks to make Kyle lose track of him.

            Kyle vaulted over some crates and dodged some stable cars. The Deception mage laughed while he ran, though Kyle heard him panting. He was tired, and Kyle would catch up to him.

            He had the mage in his sights now. Kyle pushed forward, trying to avoid using more Demon magic. It was best to not let it consume him. The mage turned a corner, and ran up some steps toward the heart of the city. Kyle tried to follow, cutting a diagonal path away from the warehouse area.

            The ground shook around him and he heard two sets of heavy footsteps running at him from either side. Kyle stopped and leapt back, letting two hulking pieces of man cross in front of him. Kyle grunted. The blue marks on their shoulders signified them as Power mages, no doubt. The one on the left was holding a thick, glowing crowbar while the other had a bat, also glowing.

            “Move please,” Kyle said.

            “You’re interfering,” Crowbar said.

            “Yeah, I know, I’d like to keep it that way,” Kyle said.

            “Sucks for you,” Bat said.

            Crowbar and Bat dove at Kyle simultaneously. Kyle jumped back again, and was fast enough to dodge the reach of Crowbar’s swing. Kyle rolled in and punched Crowbar in the gut with his Demon fist. He did damage, not a lot, and didn’t have time to attack again. Bat almost took off Kyle’s head. Kyle got up and attacked Bat, then feinted the punch at him and punched Crowbar right in the nose.

            Blood gushed from his nose. Kyle followed up with a knee straight to the ribs, then punched him across the face again. He ripped the crowbar away from the falling mage, but it lost its power immediately. Kyle tried using it to block Bat’s attack but the bar split in two. Kyle grunted, and dodged the next attack. He flung one half of the bar into Bat’s head. It bounced off but jarred him. The next bar hit him in the side of the head as well, and he went limp but remained standing. Kyle ran up and shouldered him, knocking him into a forklift. Bat’s was out.

            Kyle sighed and held out his arm, looking for a signal of the Deception mage.

            “Nothing, damn it,” he muttered.

            “That was some good moves, kid,” the Sentinel said from above.

            Kyle looked up, and atop the nearest building the Sentinel stood against the skyline, holding a pistol in his right hand and a bo-staff in the other. He put both away and vaulted down to Kyle, looking at the two big unconscious bodies.

            “You magic people are really something,” the Sentinel said. “That black stuff on your arm is the same stuff Alucard was using?”

            “Um, sort of,” Kyle said. “How long were you standing there?”

            “How long were you fighting?”

            Kyle rolled his eyes and got down to one knee. He took in a deep breath, then exhaled. Maya joined them shortly. The Sentinel watched the two Power mages keenly, but made nothing of them until Maya arrived.

            “If they get up they’ll talk,” the Sentinel said.

            “You can’t be serious,” Kyle muttered. He stood up, facing the Sentinel. “We’re not going to kill them.”

            “We’re not,” the Sentinel said. “But I will. These two are too strong to be bound up and brought to the police. They’ll kill everyone at the station. And if we just leave them here they’ll talk about us and we won’t be any closer. Just like last night.”

            “Except we found them tonight,” Kyle said. “They can’t go anywhere in the city as long as I’m here.”

            “We aren’t making this job any easier for us if we let them live, either,” the Sentinel said. “If we thin their numbers then they won’t be able to hit us as hard as they might usually.”

            “Are you trying to start a war?” Kyle asked.

            “If these two are dead then I can get on the path of preventing one,” the Sentinel said. He took his gun out of the holster.

            Kyle swung and knocked the gun free. The Sentinel’s bo-staff was out in a flash. Kyle punched at the Sentinel, who dodged it and jabbed Kyle in the gut. Kyle went to swipe his hands over the Nexus bracelet, but found his right arm contorted on his back. Kyle grunted and the Demon magic returned in his arm. He flung his arm free and attacked.

            The Sentinel dodged both moves with ease, and swatted Kyle across the head twice with the staff. Kyle felt it, but kept pushing. He tried to leap up and take down the Sentinel, but he was just too fast. He almost had Kyle in a headlock, but Kyle elbowed him away. The Sentinel pounced just as fast, punching Kyle across the face and with his left hand covering up the Nexus bracelet. Kyle swung a Demon fist at him and it almost tore into his face.

            The Sentinel ducked under the attack and rammed Kyle into the ground, holding a knife to his eye. Kyle tried to push away but the Sentinel didn’t budge. Kyle gave it more force, knocking the Sentinel’s hand toward him. The knife skimmed across his forehead, but thankfully didn’t go into his eye. Kyle and the Sentinel stood up together, and it took Kyle just a second to realize there was a sharp pain in his foot. He looked and saw a throwing dart lodged into his ankle. That second was all the Sentinel needed.

            He leapt through the sky and grabbed Kyle’s head, then slammed it into his knee. The Sentinel spun and elbowed Kyle across the face, then slammed the wannabe mage into the dirt. Kyle gripped the Sentinel’s arm and tried to twist it, but the Sentinel drove his head into Kyle’s. Kyle went limp for just a second, then recovered and punched the Sentinel in the chest and into the air.

            Both recovered again, except this time it was Maya that leapt in between them. She had her guns raised to both of them, and had the fiercest of looks in her eye.

            “You’re both children,” Maya said. “Sentinel, Blue Nexus, calm down. We’re not supposed to be enemies. Our real enemy is probably running away making more plans and you two idiots look like kids fighting in the sandbox. Grow up.”

            She lowered her guns. The Sentinel stomped on the ground and his bo-staff popped into his hand. Kyle swiped his hand over the bracelet and entered the Nexus powers. Maya nodded.

            “Blue Nexus, we need you,” she said. “Even if some of us hate to admit it. If you can track the source of the power then we should be able to take down this mage. We don’t have the time to wait for these two to wake up. If we can find him then we can get him to talk and the two of us will handle things from there.”

            “How do I trust that you won’t kill more people on your way to finding the answers?” asked Kyle.

            “Bring us with you on your search,” the Sentinel said.

            Kyle and the Sentinel met their gazes. He wanted to keep going, and Kyle did as well. Kyle clenched a fist, but let it go. The Sentinel pulled up the staff and shortened it, placing it on his side.

            “Then let’s go,” Kyle said.

            He tracked the mage down to a large pad downtown. Several clubs and restaurants surrounded it, and the place looked like something of a mansion right smack in the middle of town. Oddly enough it hardly looked ransacked.

            “Pacific Castle,” the Sentinel said. He approached Kyle. They were standing on a rooftop a block away, overlooking the place. “It’s basically a summertime hotel for a bunch of celebrities, though right now the owner’s kid lives there and throws parties every other night. Somehow our guy got in there.”

            “Or somehow our guy knows the owner’s kid,” Kyle said.

            “Wouldn’t surprise me,” the Sentinel said. “They were huge investors with Capital Industries before it fell. They took most of the company’s money and ran with it, putting it all toward their own funds and companies, and probably toward the son’s lifestyle. They never run out of money, and therefore it’s always time to party. How the mage knows them is the best question, but I guess that’s what interrogations are for.”

            “How do we get it?” asked Kyle. He gestured at the two large bouncers at the front, as well as the guards that took up much of the exterior balconies. “Security’s tight for just a normal party.”

            The Sentinel took out a pair of binoculars and scanned over the building. He smiled, and handed the binoculars to Kyle. He looked through them as well, and his heart sunk when noticed the finer details of the guards.

            “Mages,” Kyle muttered. “Their marks are small so they’re all noticeably weak, but even a weak mage will notice my Nexus powers if I try going in like that.”

            “You and I need to get in there and find that mage,” the Sentinel said. “Maya’s already going to be our tech gal. I need you in there to find the mage, and I need to be in there to make sure things go smoothly. How are you with parties?”

            “I’ve been to my high school homecomings.”

            “Ever mingled with people you don’t know at those?”

            “No.”

            The Sentinel patted Kyle’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m taking point. Get out of the Blue Nexus and we’ll get you in the right way.”

            Kyle followed the Sentinel down the building. As they progressed, he was getting out of his more noticeable attire as well, dropping the cape into a garbage can and pulling down his mask and then pulling it back up so it looked like a headband. He rolled down his sleeves and adjusted his pants and shoes. Kyle followed him.

            The Sentinel touched his ear when they were on the ground. He didn’t even bother looking on the street for traffic, instead just walked right across toward the other side.

            “Maya, we’re on our way,” the Sentinel said. “You got us a way in yet or not?”

            “Working on it,” Maya said.

            Kyle looked down at his normal clothes. They were sweaty and incredibly average. Would he blend in well enough? Oh jeez…

            The Sentinel looked back at Kyle and flashed a grin. Kyle winced. It was so weird to see him without his mask—or regular attire—on. He was a handsome guy, very well built and most of his muscles revealing themselves through his clothing. Kyle could tell he was kind of uncomfortable.

            They approached the bouncers that stood in front of the main gate. People were running around on the front lawn spraying liquids and shouting profanities all over the place. The Sentinel ignored them and walked right up to the bouncer that was well-built, as if to challenge him.

            “Who the hell are you?” asked the bouncer.

            “Name’s on the bottom,” the Sentinel said. “He’s with me. Check it.”

            Kyle heard some static come from the Sentinel’s earpiece, and tried not to look worried in the slightest. The Sentinel didn’t waver.

            The bouncer looked at the two images, then back to the boys, and back to the images. He laughed and showed them their pictures. It was of them in costume, although they were making goofy poses. Kyle’s face was recognizable and the Sentinel’s was just enough. Kyle’s face turned red. People could see his face under his costume?

            “Nice pictures, come on in,” the bouncer said. “Man you couldn’t have picked anything better?”

            “What, you don’t think the Sentinel and I look alike?” asked the Sentinel. “Come on, now. I just wanna be like him sometimes.”

            “Man that guy’s a punk,” the bouncer said.

            “Shut up, he’s a hero,” the other bouncer said.

            The Sentinel gripped Kyle’s arm and almost flung him into the house of neon lights. He said something but Kyle couldn’t hear him. When Kyle went to ask him what that was, the Sentinel was already gone. Kyle could barely see in front of him. Two women almost tripped over him, but ignored him and kept going.

            Kyle edged along the wall, trying to find some free space. The stairs were barren, thankfully. Kyle pushed his way through the crowd, dodging the insults and sweaty people in nice attire. The Demon mark brushed up against everyone and Kyle was getting nowhere fast. He reached the steps and jogged up them, but when someone yelled “MOVE!” he knew he was in a bit of trouble. He vaulted over the edge as two people rode mattresses down the steps, riding and crashing into the people at the bottom.

            Kyle landed right by a speaker, blowing out his eardrums. He tried to ignore it and rushed passed it, into a thin hallway where two people were making out rather passionately. He walked right by them, feeling the bass along the walls as it seemed to shake the house. Kyle rubbed his arm, feeling his Demon mark twitch.

            Someone walked right out of the room he was in. Kyle followed them, but they were gone into the mass of people. Kyle looked around and saw silver dust on the floor right by the wall to his right. The Deception mage.

            Kyle felt around the wall for a door but found nothing. He looked around again, checking to see if anyone were nearby. Everyone was screaming or laughing and music was incredibly loud anyway. Kyle tucked his shoulder and ran toward the wall, falling right through the drywall and dropping down ten feet onto a metal platform.

            He pushed himself up and looked around. He was in another hallway of the house, though this one was incredibly closed in. There were five doors running along both walls, each of them locked by a padlock. Kyle checked one and then pressed his ear against the wall. The Demon mark twinged when he got closed. Kyle punched through the door, shaking it, and then kicked it down.

            The room was pitch black, like the mark on his arm. Light flooded in front the hallway but it was barely enough. He stared into what looked like some sort of office, although it was old and had dust and cobwebs covering everything. Lights flashed into the room from above, too, as someone must’ve been screwing around with a strobe light.

            Kyle looked away from the room and to the end of the hallway, which seemed so far away for some reason. Kyle sprinted down and hit a dead end. He turned around, back toward where he came…and it was the same image. He looked over his head and even saw the party up above.

            Reality magic.

            Kyle let the Demon mark roll down his arm and he closed his eyes, then opened them again. He reached back and touched a mirror. Kyle laughed, then elbowed the mirror. It shattered, and the sound bounced off the walls. All of the doors fell down and the walls collapsed in opposite directions. The entire room fell apart until it reformed into a large, open office area. A logo for Capital Industries was stamped on the back wall just below where Kyle fell through.

            Another door to the right signaled the way out. A green exit sign was lit very faintly above it. Kyle followed, letting the Demon magic guide him. There was another source of magic that he was coming up on, and it was familiar in more ways than just one. Deception magic, yeah, but…there was more. Could there be more mages in this room? Kyle wondered if they’d hit the jackpot and found their headquarters.

            He entered into another hallway, this time it was only wide enough for just him. When he placed his foot on the ground, dark version of the six mage colors appeared on the ground, like its own rainbow. The light splashed up onto Kyle’s face, and appeared as a straight line headed for a golden door in the back. Kyle lowered his arm and walked down, the stopped when he heard footsteps behind him. He whirled around, fisticuffs raised.

            Kyle sighed when his eyes adjusted to the silver hoodie walking toward him. The Sentinel pulled his mask up and let his pistol fall into its holster. He signaled for Kyle to stay quiet and Kyle agreed, following the dark rainbow path some more.

            They reached the doorway. Kyle’s arm was now more than just throbbing, it was ready to go numb. He placed a hand on the door and the door shocked him. Kyle reeled back and the Sentinel took his turn, kicking at the golden door. The gold faded and a basic brown door gave way to a large open room. Low lighting kicked in.

            A large rectangular box awaited them. Kyle and the Sentinel approached it together. The Demon magic naturally sunk back into Kyle’s arm, and Kyle hesitated before approaching it again. The Sentinel took out his staff and a saxe and approached the box again. He placed the saxe into the box and then in the gap did the same with his bo-staff. Kyle braced himself behind the Sentinel, checking their surroundings once again. Nobody.

            The Sentinel heaved and the box gave way, opening up on all four sides. Dust plumed out of it. The two of them shielded their eyes. The Sentinel retracted his weapons and Kyle swiped his hands through the dust.

            The Sentinel gestured at the contents to Kyle, who was just as confused.

            “Is that a mummy?” he asked. 

Next time: The Sentinel and Kyle have stumbled onto something...strange. Have they finally uncovered what the mage has been following...or something far more sinister? Find out in "Blue Nexus #54 - Awakening"!