SUPER HERO CHRONICLES - CITADEL: RISE OF THE HEROES (PART 7)

RECAP: After an argument with her fiancée, Courtney Maize went back home to the rural town of Wheatfield to find answers about her powers from her brother and sister. Padrick Panthia III was reunited with his son, Paton, and is now looking to recruit Atilla and The Axemen - as long as they can pass his test. Panthia also set his eyes on Jennifer Hans, who carries the legendary Talisman of Sekhmet, however she showed no interest in joining his group; so the businessman has had to resort to other means to draw her in.

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Eight Years Ago…

The Elliott Residence,

Wheatfield, VIC Australia

5th November 10:27pm EST

“What are you doing here, Sebastian?” Ethan questioned, as he stood at the half-open front door peering through the security screen.

“I need to talk to April. It’s urgent,” Sebastian stated forcefully, attempting to open the security door, but it did not budge.

“It’s ten-thirty at night. This couldn’t wait until the morning?” Ethan asserted, before noticing Courtney standing behind Sebastian. “Is that the woman from the perfume ads?”

Sebastian glanced at Courtney, before turning back to Ethan who was unlocking the security door. “Look I need to see April now – this can’t wait until morning!”

“Ethan, what’s going on?”

Hearing his sister’s voice, Sebastian pulled open the door and pushed past Ethan. “April, we need to talk. Courtney’s here – it’s happened!”

April stood in the hallway in her robe for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what her brother was saying. When she saw Courtney come through the doorway, she did not hesitate and rushed over to give her sister a hug.

“Courtney, how are you, love?” April said, finally releasing her from the hug. “What’s with the costume?”

Courtney was busy taking in the situation, as she was led into the lounge room by her sister and urged to sit down on the couch.

“We’re not here for a reunion, April. We really need to talk to Courtney,” Sebastian stressed, while taking a seat in one of the armchairs.

Ethan walked in, appearing somewhat bothered by the intrusion. “I’d offer you a coffee or a tea, but we were in the middle of watching the fifth Raynor McDeth movie – Death Pays All Debts.”

“Don’t be so rude, Ethan,” April scolded as she took a seat next to her sister and used the TV controller to turn off the paused movie, “Go and put the kettle on and then you can finish watching the movie on my E-Tab. It’s charging by the coffee machine.”

“We’re not actually here for a social visit," Sebastian reaffirmed, “It’s more about the thing with Mum and Dad.”

Ethan shrugged and said, “Then I’ll leave you all to it.” He looked at Courtney, “It’s nice to have finally met you, even if it was only briefly in the middle of the night.”

Courtney smiled uncomfortably, as April scowled at her husband.

“Don’t mind him; he just gets grumpy when he gets interrupted during a show he likes.” April apologised.

“Courtney has changed,” Sebastian interrupted, “It’s happened.”

“What is the ‘it’?” Courtney asked, impatiently as her voice crackled, making April jump in surprise. “Did you both know this would happen?”

“Courtney… your voice… it’s…” April gasped.

“I know… it’s changed… I’ve changed!” Courtney stressed, “I just want to know what’s happened to me – I think Mum and Dad are the key.”

Recovering from her sister’s distorted voice, April put a reassuring hand on Courtney’s lap, “Um… How do I say this?” She paused to find the right words for a moment and then continued, “Mum and Dad were caught up in that dreadful battle between the Legion and Madame Mystic...”

“Yes, you’ve already told me that…”

“Okay… Well there’s a bit more to it.” April said hesitantly, “Mum and Dad… um…”

“Mum and Dad were part of the Citadel Legion!” Sebastian blurted out.

Courtney’s face turned ghostly, as April reached across and whacked Sebastian on the arm. “We needed to break it to her slowly.”

Sebastian rubbed his arm. “Any slower and you would have chickened out. We promised to break this news together, April – she knows now, at least there’re no more secrets.”

Courtney tried to say something, but no words could explain the betrayal that she felt.

“We were going to tell you earlier, love…” April began to say, before looking away, “But when nothing happened on your sixteenth birthday, we thought it would be best to…”

“Lie?” Courtney finished, as the lounge room lights began to flicker.

“Courtney, calm down!” Sebastian asserted, “We were trying to protect you. The less you knew, the better off you were!”

Courtney pushed aside April’s reassuring arm and stood up. “I’m better off, am I? I just found out that my family are a bunch of freaks with superpowers, only after I spent months wondering why I get blasted by lightning each night and have to wear this hideous costume. Tell me, Bastian, am I really better off?”

Sebastian was unsure of how to respond.

“You’re not a freak, Courtney,” April said, while attempting to clutch her sister’s hand, “Dad was Mr. Lightning and Mum was Miss Flightpath. Dad had the ability to absorb electricity and fire it at will. Mum, on the other hand, could fly at super speeds. They accepted their powers and became heroes.”

“And this is meant to make it all better?” Courtney questioned, still trying to come to terms with the revelation, “Dad and Mum were heroes with powers, so that means that since I’ve inherited both their powers, I should accept it? Do you know what this has done to my life?”

April and Sebastian sat in silence.

“You both lied to me!” Courtney pointed out, “For thirteen years I’ve lived with the fact that my parents died because of a fight between heroes and villains. For thirteen years you have been lying to me about their deaths…”

“Thirteen years? You haven’t even tried to keep contact since you left Wheatfield at sixteen!” Sebastian stated, without any real thought. “You didn’t meet Ethan until tonight – you missed April’s wedding because you wanted to move out and leave us behind!”

Courtney scowled at her brother. “I moved out because you were always complaining about how hard it was to look after me when April went off to uni. I did it to make your life easier.”

“Hah!” Sebastian scoffed, “You went off to get rich and famous by modelling! Don’t think I don’t see the magazines and TV commercials.”

April whacked Sebastian again. “Don’t start bringing up your own problems. Courtney’s got enough to deal with.” She turned her attention to her younger sister once more, “We’re sorry, Court; we made the wrong choice and we hope that you can forgive us. Is there anything that we can do to make it right?”

In her head, Courtney knew why her siblings did what they did, but that did not make it any easier to accept the lie. “Everything’s a mess, April!” She yelled, making her voice so distorted that nobody really understood what she had said. “I just need time to think.” Courtney raced out the front door and took to the skies.

A Warehouse on Phoenix Street,

Citadel, VIC Australia

5th November 11:00pm EST

“This is creepy, man,” Chico said as he walked towards the roller door of the warehouse. “I feel like we’re in some sorta mobster flick. Don’t they, like, get people into these warehouses and shoot’em down, before throwing them in a river or something?”

“You watch too much TV,” Attila stated, as he put down his guitar case to inspect the roller door.

“So do we knock?” Tripp asked, not really knowing how to feel about the whole situation.

Just then, a black limousine pulled up on the roadside.

Chico automatically raised his right arm, ready to use his powers. “I told you that the mobsters would come for us, didn’t I?”

“Calm down, Chop-Chop,” Attila ordered, as he noticed a familiar face appear through the window of the limousine. “Mister Panthia, we were worried that we came to the wrong place.”

Panthia ignored Attila’s remark. “You boys are on time – that’s what I like to see.”

The roller door began to open, startling Attila and his Axemen.

“We’ll see you inside,” Panthia stated, as the window wound up and the limousine rolled slowly into the warehouse.

“I don’t know about this, ‘Tila,” Tripp said apprehensively.

“Relax,” Attila patted his friend on the back, before following the limousine inside, “Mister Panthia just wants to make us an offer. We’ll see what he wants and work out what we do from there.”

“Sorry, Tila, I’m with Chop-Chop on this one – nobody makes record deals in warehouses on shady streets at eleven o’clock at night, unless it’s something dangerous.” Josh expressed his concerns, while picking up Attila’s guitar case.

“Come on, guys, it’ll be fine,” Attila stressed as he stood in the driveway of the warehouse, “This could be the chance to show people that we aren’t pretenders… we could be famous with Mister Panthia’s backing.”

Chico and the Tripp brothers could not argue with that fact and decided to follow their friend into the warehouse, while the roller door began closing ominously behind them. As they made their way to the centre of the warehouse, the limousine driver opened the back door of the vehicle to allow Padrick Panthia III to get out.

“Thank you, Ms Brodie,” the old man said to his driver, before turning his attention to the band. “Come and follow me, boys.” They began walking towards the back of the warehouse, where a doorway lay open. “You may be wondering why this place at this time of night,” Panthia began, “You may be wondering why you of all the people in Citadel… Why would the city’s most powerful man want to deal with four wannabe musicians?”

“Hey, that’s a little harsh!” Chico rebuked, without thinking, “We’re on our way, man – ever since we started playing gigs at the Terminal, Attila and the Axemen have really taken off! We make about $800 a gig!”

Panthia grinned at the loud-mouths declaration. “Well, Mister Lobos, if you pass this test, you could be making a whole lot more to help your mother out.”

Chico looked surprised, “What the hell do you know about my mum?”

“I know a lot about all of you,” Panthia stated, as he stopped at the doorway. “As I was saying, none of your meteoric rise has been due to your ability to negotiate deals with people. If I recall, you were invited to play at the Terminal by Mister Martin… at my request.” Panthia looked at the boys who were coming to terms with what they had just heard. “Think about it – two years ago, Atworth, you were being beaten up by your dad while trying to forge a career in the music industry from your father’s shed. Chico, you were doing overtime at Winston’s Supermarket, just to help your mother pay the bills. Joshua… well, at twenty-three, you were doing nothing of importance, other than going out at night and frivolously wasting away your government allowance. And Jayden, you were trying to pay the rent while completing an Arts degree you never wanted in the first place. All of you were losers.”

Chico looked at Attila, hoping to get a signal that would allow him to use his powers on the arrogant man in front of them. Attila put an arm out to indicate that Chico should stand down, so he could take control of the conversation. “So you’re telling us that all of the ‘luck’ we’ve had this year was all your doing?”

Panthia nodded. “My people have been keeping a close eye on you since you had your little accident. You have manifested some interesting abilities, which could prove valuable to my organisation.”

“You mean the light stuff?”

Panthia chuckled, “I know you can do more than just make pretty lights, Mister Hackett. You’re here now because I want to see just what you and Mister Lobos are capable of.” He gestured for the boys to walk through the doorway. They did so, hesitantly before the heavy door was closed behind them.

“What’s going on, man?” Chico shouted angrily, as he charged his fist ready to smash through the door.

“Hey – who the hell’re you?” A voice alerted them.

“We’re nobody…” Tripp uttered, noticing other figures sitting in the back of a faded-yellow pick-up truck in the closed off carpark at the back of the warehouse.

“Tila, we’ve gotta get out of here,” Josh stressed, as two more solidly built thugs appeared beside to the large brute. “Chico, smash the door open!”

“I told you that they bring people here to kill them,” Chico declared.

Attila patted his best friend on the shoulder. “Mister Panthia said that we could make a lot more money if we play our cards right… this is a test.”

“You nobodies have a reason for being here?” the apparent leader asked, as the two thugs that flanked him picked up some steel pipes that lay nearby.

Attila gulped, but found his courage, “Uh… Mister Panthia told us to come here to… uh…”

The bearded leader gave a malicious grin. “Mister Panthia, huh?”

“Yeah,” Attila nodded, feeling that he was making some headway, “He wanted us to… uh…” Josh slowly opened the guitar case and pulled out the guitar, handing it to Attila. “Um… maybe you wanna hear some of our music?”

This issued a round of guffaws from the men, especially once Attlia strapped the guitar over his shoulder.

“Do you think we’re bloody morons, kid?” the bearded brute questioned, stopping the laughter. “Mister Panthia told us ta come down ta the warehouse carpark and be on the lookout for four losers who think their gonna be something because they have powers. He told me ta bring the whole crew, because the four losers might be a handful…” He laughed aloud. “But it looks like ol’ Panthia was wrong – doesn’t it boys?”

“Maybe we should talk to Mister Panthia and he’ll help us figure this out,” Tripp suggested, as he backed away, when six more armed thugs hoped off the tray of the pick-up and made their way to their leader. Tripp turned, pushed past Chico and banged furiously on the door. “Mister Pantha – open up! There’s been a mistake!”

“Relax kid,” the leader said fixing some knuckle-dusters to his fist, “Mister Panthia already told us how we should sort this out…”

Attila finally took notice of his friends’ fears and irradiated his guitar with kinetic energy.

“We can’t back out of this, man – It’s kill or be killed!” Chico shouted, as he revved himself up for a fight.

“Panthia told us to beat the crap out of you losers,” the leader sneered, before signalling to his gang, “Lunar Ticks – get ‘em!”

Chico roared as his kinetically charged fist made contact with one of the pipe-wielding thugs. The impact shattered bones and the thug fell instantly, making some of the other gang members rethink their attack.

Attila strummed out a note, which fired an irradiated soundwave towards his attackers. The blast sent two knife-wielding men flying backwards. As the men rose from the blast, Attila charged his guitar more heavily, hoping that the next shot would keep the men down.

Tripp held up the guitar case to defend himself from another blow of a steel pipe. A sudden blast knocked the thug onto the ground, allowing Tripp to bring the guitar case down on the fallen man. “We need to rethink this whole deal with Panthia!”

“You can say that again,” Josh called, as he landed several kicks into the stomach of a fallen attacker, before collecting an iron pipe off the ground.

The Hans Residence,

Citadel, VIC Australia

5th November 11:03pm EST

The taxi pulled up to the curb and Jennifer stepped out after paying the driver. She walked down the driveway and fumbled with her keys, as she made her way to the front door. A strange scent filled her nostrils, but she did not know what to make of it. Unlocking the door as quietly as she could, she crept through the hallway towards her room, surprised that she was not stopped by her parents and their ‘I know better’ ways. The talisman around her neck glistened in the darkness, but Jennifer did not notice this, although she began to feel a little wary of the silence.

The talisman allowed her to see clearly in the darkness, so she decided to investigate the anomaly that was her parents’ absence, along with the scent that was now making her feel ill. Sneaking across into her parents’ room, she was completely aware that she could not hear her father snoring, as he always did when he was sleeping. A quick scan of the room and it was obvious the bed had not been used, which sent a panic through Jennifer’s body.

“Mum?” She called, not worried about disturbing them, “Dad?”

The feeling of dread overcame her, as she checked the rest of the house and found it empty; although the kitchen did have two unwashed plates and cutlery sitting in the sink. Running outside, Jennifer continued to call out to her parents, but the response was the same. Then she opened the garage and stood in stunned silence.

“Why is the car gone?” Jennifer’s worrying thoughts screamed at her. She knew her parents well enough to know that they would never be driving this late at night. They had their strict beliefs about only driving with enough daylight and always being home before dusk. Her mother had always said to her that the evil spirits come out at dusk and turn people crazy, which was why so many people died on the roads at night.

Why would they suddenly change their ways after decades of sticking to their beliefs?

A Warehouse on Phoenix Street,

Citadel, VIC Australia

5th November 11:36pm EST

A kinetically charged punch sent the final thug flying into the side of the pick-up truck, leaving a dent as though it had been hit by a motorbike at high speed.

“Is that all of them?” Tripp heaved, as he held his pipe up ready for another blow from an imaginary opponent. “Is it over?”

“I think so,” Chico responded, kicking at one of the lifeless bodies at his feet.

“Shit!” Josh exclaimed, “We’re murderers! We killed some of these guys…”

“Shut it, Josh!” Attila commanded, “We were defending ourselves! It had to be done.”

Suddenly a creak from the pick-up truck alerted them to two more Lunar Ticks coming out of the vehicle. “You freaks killed our brothers – there’s no coming back from that!” A wild-eyed brute with shaggy hair shouted, as he produced a machine gun. His sidekick did the same. “This is for the Lunar Ticks!”

Before he started firing, the Tripp brothers had leapt behind some discarded refuse and Lunar Tick bodies. Chico had his arms charged, but had nowhere to run. Attila had his guitar charged and fired.

“Tila! Chico!” Tripp yelled in fear, as the bullets left the machine guns.

Chico raised his arms up to uselessly protect himself from certain death. Attila’s beam struck the pick-up truck, as he fell from a bullet to the shoulder. The vehicle, struck by the fully-charged kinetic beam sent the truck toppling backward, crushing the final two gang members beneath it.

Looking up from their cover, the Tripp brothers gaped in amazement.

“The… the truck killed them!” Josh gasped.

“And Chop-Chop’s still standing!” Tripp pointed out.

“Tila – you good?” Chico called out, as he noticed his best friend squirming on the ground.

“He’s fine,” a voice stated behind them, “You have done well, boys.”

The Hans Residence,

Citadel, VIC Australia

5th November 11:36pm EST

“No – I don’t know where they’ve gone, that’s why I rang you!” Jennifer cried over the phone. “I’m sorry… it’s just that… It’s not like them to go out at night…”

The voice on the other end tried to reassure her, but Jennifer did not believe them. She thanked them, wiped at her tears and pocketed her phone. Just then there was a knock at the door.

From her vantage point in the hallway, Jennifer could make out two shadowy figures through the blurred glass panels. “Yes?” she called.

“Jennifer Hans?” a female voice replied, “This is Constable Morgan of the Victoria Police. Can you please open the door so that we can talk to you?”

Jennifer found herself doing as instructed. She wiped her face once again and took notice of the two police officers standing on the front porch. Their demeanour made Jennifer feel more nervous and scared than she already felt.

“Are you Jennifer Hans?” The policewoman asked again.

“Yes.”

“We’re sorry to inform you,” the concerned policewoman said, “but there’s been an accident…”

Jennifer burst into tears.

A Warehouse on Phoenix Street,

Citadel, VIC Australia

5th November 11:37pm EST

“You’ve got a hell of a nerve showing your face here again,” Chico snarled at the businessman, as he powered up his arms.

“Now, now, Mister Lobos, we don’t need resort to violence once more.” Panthia stated in a calm manner, as Tripp assisted Attila to his feet, while his brother collected the front-man’s guitar.

“What was that all about, man?” Attila questioned angrily, wincing with the pain of his wound. “You said to come down here to discuss some sort of deal, but instead you had us fight off a gang of bikers! I got shot!”

“Yes, that’s the unfortunate consequence of going up against bullets,” Panthia muttered. He thought on this for a second and then responded. “As for the Lunar Ticks – they were barely a biker gang… but they did prove useful on occasion… especially tonight – because their demise demonstrates that you have what it takes to do what is necessary.”

“We had to kill people, man!” Attila exclaimed.

“Well, technically – you didn’t,” Panthia said, shrugging the comment away. “You all could have stood there while they killed you… it was a choice.” The old man opened the door to the warehouse and gestured for Attila and his Axemen to follow. Tripp looked at the carnage behind them before closing the door.

“What are we going to tell the police?” He asked Panthia, as they walked to the limousine where the driver was waiting.

Panthia’s eyebrows rose, as he turned to the bass player. “You can tell them whatever you like, I am sure they would love to hear your confessions as you explain why you took on a gang of known felons.” He turned towards his driver, but then swung back around fast. “Or you could not say a thing and let me deal with the bodies… it’s your choice.”

“Or maybe I just deal with this right now!” Chico proclaimed, as he rushed at Panthia, ready to throw one of his deadly punches. However, a ghostly streak flew out of the limousine and knocked the big man aside. As Chico turned to see who had attacked him, he found himself staring into a three-pronged claw. “Who the hell are you?”

“Enough!” Panthia commanded. “Boys, I would like you to meet my son, Paton Panthia… he has taken the name ‘Pantha’ – you can see why.”

Pantha thrust Chico back and walked towards the driver.

“You’re lucky that your dad called it off!” Chico shouted, trying to convince everybody that he was in control.

“Shut up, Chop-Chop,” Tripp whispered loudly, “We’re in enough trouble as it is.”

“Trouble?” Chico questioned his friend, before turning in the direction of Pantha, “He hasn’t seen trouble yet!”

“Chop-Chop,” Attila said, holding his shoulder, “Leave it.”

“Gentlemen, please,” Padrick Panthia III interrupted, “We came here to make a deal… so, I have a proposition for you…”

There was a pause and then Attila responded, “Better make it quick – because I need to go to a hospital.”

Panthia nodded in acknowledgment and then explained, “You join the Panthian Corporation and use your talents as I see fit – that means no questions asked. You do as you’re told and you will reap the benefits.”

“The benefits being that you let us play gigs in Citadel?” Tripp inquired, before noticing a glint in the businessman’s eye. “So if we don’t take up the deal, you make sure we’re never playing in this city again?”

“Now, would I do that?” Panthia feigned innocence. “I assure you, Mister Tripp, the benefits are a lot more than just playing a few gigs. If you take up this opportunity, you’ll be set up for life. My corporation takes care of its employees. For example…” Panthia signalled his limousine driver.

The driver rushed over to the limousine and opened the passenger side door. She emerged with what appeared to be a medical kit and rushed across to Attila.

“Mister Hackett, my driver, Ms Brodie, is a trained paramedic – let her see to your arm, so the hospital does not report your accident to the police.” The businessman stated, as the driver began readying herself to inspect Attila’s shoulder.

“Thanks.” Attila responded, as he pulled back his shirt to reveal a graze where the bullet had only clipped the musician’s shoulder. “Especially since you’re the reason I was shot in the first place.”

“It’s superficial…” Ms Brodie uttered, as she began cleaning it. “No bullet lodged in there… just needs a few stitches.”

“And this is a little incentive,” Panthia said, handing an envelope to Attila, only to have Chico grab it.

“Whoa, man!” Chico exclaimed; his face lighting up. “There’s like a whole lot of hundies in here!”

“One hundred to be exact,” Panthia pointed out.

“That’s like $100,000!” Josh cried out.

Attila winced as he snatched the envelope from Chico, while the driver went about her business. “Look, Mister Panthia, it’s great that you’re looking to pay us and all, but... I mean, we can’t just join your corporation without knowing the types of things that we’ll have to do. I mean… you had us kill some dudes, man.” He looked at the other band members and sighed. “So at this point, we can’t accept your offer.”

Chico slapped Attila across the back, making him cry out in pain. Not even realising what he had done, the big man argued, “Are you crazy, ‘Tila? The man’s giving us cash… no questions… How many gigs would we have to do to get that sort of cash?”

“No, no, Mister Hackett is right.” Panthia said, as his driver finished up and returned the medical kit to the limousine. “I cannot expect you all to commit to anything on the spur of the moment. You have until tomorrow night to give me an answer. Meet me at the Terminal at ten. Do not be late.” He turned to his son, as he began backing away into the passenger door left open by Ms Brodie. “Paton, make sure the bodies are disposed of and meet me back home. We have things to organise.” The driver then closed the door and walked promptly to the driver’s side door and got in.

With that, the limousine engine started and the roller door opened. Attila and the Axemen watched the vehicle roll out of the warehouse and onto the street.

“You join the Panthian Corporation – you’re in it for good,” Pantha declared, surprising the Axemen. “So when you’re making your choice… just remember the bodies lying around out there… they could have been innocent.”

Chico’s ire was raised at the sound of Pantha’s voice. “Are you telling us this because you don’t want us in the corporation?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“No, I’m not saying that at all,” Pantha stated matter of factly, “You just need to know what you’re getting yourself in for.”

Attila looked at the envelope in his hand and then at Pantha. “We got till tomorrow, right?”

Pantha nodded. “Make the right choice.”

Federation Apartments,

Citadel, VIC Australia

5th November 11:42pm EST

The door swung open and Mister Martin looked surprised to see a tearful Jennifer Hans standing at his door.

“Can I stay here tonight? I didn’t know where else to go,” she cried, “My parents… they’re… they’re dead.”

Martin led the distraught woman into the lounge room and sat her down on the couch. “Of course you can stay here – sit down, my dear girl…” He attempted to comfort her, “You’re safe here. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Jennifer sobbed, “I think they were murdered… It’s not like them to go out driving that late at night! The police say it was a car crash and… and speed was involved… my Dad never sped… he hasn’t ever received a speeding ticket in his life!” She broke down once more.

“Oh… Jennifer, I’m so sorry,” Martin said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He looked at his watch and rose from the couch. “You must be so tired, my girl. Wait here. I’ll have the spare bedroom made up for you. You need to try and get some sleep.” Upon leaving her crying on the couch, Martin walked up the stairs and pulled out his phone.

He dialled a number and waited for someone to pick up. “Hello, this is Martin… When will he be back? …Okay, tell him that everything has worked out according to plan… yes… thank you, Alexander.”