“Go on through,” the guard said to the group of visitors who had already had their belongings checked and stored before going through the metal detector arch. For some of these visitors, they were used to this routine every time they came to visit their loved ones in jail.

But for one particular visitor, it was his first time. He gingerly followed the group as they were led to the visitor’s hall and once in the huge room, he looked around for who he was meeting.

His target.

And all he had to do, was get close.

All the prisoner knew, was that he had a visitor.

The visitor slid into the seat across the table from the prisoner. His overall had 2503 written on it. He had a shaved head and tattoos on his neck- but he must’ve had them before he was sent to jail because his enhancement blocking collar was not for removal at any time during his confinement.

“Do I know you?” 2503 asked gruffly.

The visitor just smiled sweetly. “No, you don’t. But I know you.”

“Who are you then?”

“It doesn’t matter for now. All you need to know is that I have a message for you. From Borislav Bakalowits. Ring on any bells?”

2503’s face dropped and reddened with anger, his eyes widening. “Is this some sick joke?!” he yelled, banging his fists down on the metal table top. “Tell me who you are!”

The guards whose attentions were caught by the outburst started to walk across.

The visitor gestured to show that he was ok. He looked back at 2503. “Calm it down will you? I won’t be able to get to my message if you ruin things.”

2503 eased on the anger a bit but began breathing faster and in a more exaggerated manner. “Who. Are. You?”

“Well, I don’t really have a message from Borislav, because he’s dead right? You killed him.”

“He was a Purist who threatened an innocent family!” 2503 seethed in response.

“I know, so sad,” the visitor said with obviously feigned empathy. “See, The Purists don’t appreciate it when one of theirs is killed. And I’d know, I’ve been working with them for some time and they aren’t crazy about it.”

“Well look around you. I’m here, right? I’m paying my dues,” 2503 said.

“I know, but it’s not enough. You have to suffer further.”

“I’m in jail, where every day I’m sufferin’! I’m stuck in here, while the town I swore to protect goes unprotected. That’s hell for me.”

“But that’s just a mental hell. They want you to really be suffering.”

2503 sat back exasperated. “So come on, what’s your message? What do they say? And then, you can kindly fuck off.”

The visitor started to chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” 2503 asked.

“No, it’s my mistake. I got it wrong, it wasn’t a message for you. It was a message for me. It said, ‘make Ohan Marshall pay’. You’re Ohan Marshall right?”

“You wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. And what do you think you can do to me here. You’ll have been searched and had your things taken,” Ohan, 2503, said smugly.

The visitor smiled. “I don’t need anything to give you what I’ve actually already given you…”

“G-given me? What are you on about?”

“I won’t bog you down with the science, but I’d just watch out for that left hand of yours…” The visitor got up.

“Is-is that it?” Ohan got up too.

The visitor looked down at Ohan’s left hand, causing Ohan to do the same. It was twitching. Two fingers at first, then the whole hand was moving, as if it was playing the piano. “Why’s it doing that?”

“Gee, it looks like it has a mind of its own!” the visitor marvelled. Ohan looked horrified and tried to control it with his right hand. “Oh relax. It’s just alien hand syndrome.”

“What?!” Ohan screamed. He jumped across the table at the visitor, punching him in the face with his good hand. The visitor hit the ground hard.

The guards ran over and there was a lot of commotion as Ohan looked down at the person who had come to visit him. They slowly got up, but it was too late.

The game was up.

The punch Ohan had given the prisoner had knocked whatever special effects face covering they had been wearing, revealing their real skin underneath.

Black. But not from this planet. Not human. A black as dark as squid ink, as deep as the night sky.

Ohan’s left hand was still out of control and it lunged straight for his own neck, beginning to strangle and choke himself.

Outbreak got up and looked around him. The guards had their guns raised and the other visitors hit the ground to protect themselves, whilst in the background was the sound of Ohan choking himself.

Outbreak raised a hand and the guards all stumbled back, shouting, “What’s happened?”, “I’m blind!” and “Why can’t I see?” as he walked past them towards the door to leave the visitor's room.

“Someone better let me out!” Outbreak sung out as he tried the locked door.

***

“I wish you would’ve taken me with you,” Kimona said. “There’s a few things I’d like to do to him for what he did.”

“Like I keep saying, it is not happening. You only just recovered from the water allergy he gave you. You are too vulnerable… too human.”

“I hate that you’re right, you know that don’t you?” She managed a laugh.

“People used to like that about me on Earthgrë.”

“Are you there yet?”

“Two minutes out,” he answered, as he flew his jet towards the jail under attack. He was suited in his Astral Armour and ready for anything.

He didn’t need to hang around when word came finally came through from the locked down jail that someone of another worldy appearance had breached it.

The Government had so far done a good job of keeping Outbreak’s presence on Earth as classified information, which is unfortunately why it took so long for the right people to pick up on what was happening and get the information back to Do’Lânqwa.

The same was for Do’Lânqwa’s appearance. He didn’t want people to know what he looked like, so he kept out of the lime light, appearing only when he had to and wearing his armour. All they knew about him was that he was from another planet.

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“Alright, I am here now. I need to go.”

“No problems! Be safe!” The Sheriff disconnected the call and came into hover over the jail yard which was so far empty.

The flood lights were on from inside the perimeter and the red and blue flashing lights of emergency services outside hypnotically flashed creating a strange atmosphere.

The Sheriff shone his own jet’s spotlight down below and circled round for a better view.

Double doors burst open onto the yard, as armed jail guards with machine guns and shot guns spilled out and took aim… at his jet.

“Well this is not good…” he muttered to himself as a hail of gunfire hit and ricocheted off The Astral Jet.

He climbed out of his seat and stomped off towards the exit hatch. The Sheriff descended, using his suit’s jets to slow him down, as the group of about twenty guards approached nearer and nearer.

Why are they shooting at me? he wondered as he touched down. The shooting paused momentarily.

“They’re scared of you!” a familiar voice said over the PA system.

“Scared? Why?” The Sheriff shouted back, using a microphone feature in his helmet to make his voice louder.

“Because they all now have progressive brain tumours causing them to hallucinate!”

The Sheriff scanned around the yard looking for heat signatures. He found one.

Outbreak. On top of a guard tower.

The Sheriff pretended he hadn’t seen him yet. He needed to deal with the guards first.

“Will they recover?” The Sheriff asked.

“Not likely.”

“Fine enough for me,” The Sheriff muttered to himself, advancing on the guards. They opened fire again but it was more of an annoyance than anything to The Sheriff. He grabbed the shotgun of the closest and punched him in the face. As he went down, The Sheriff used the shotgun like a baseball bat, whacking out with big swings to those unfortunate guards who were diseased with the belief that The Sheriff was a threat.

He carried on, fighting hand to hand, making his way through the group, being mindful to not kill them, but to do enough to knock them out.

As the last guard went down, The Sheriff looked up to the guard tower where Outbreak was still stood watching.

“Come down and face me, coward!” The Astral Sheriff shouted. “Let us end this!”

“I just can’t believe you’d attack innocent people who are close to dying. That’s heartless!” Outbreak chided.

“No one thinks that other than you. They would not have brain tumours if it was not for you! Now come down! I am dying to give you an antidote!”

The Sheriff blasted his Astral Beam at the base of the tower, lasering through its supports and bringing it toppling forward and crashing to a rest a few metres in front of him.

As the dust settled, Outbreak rolled from the wreckage and picked himself up. “You didn’t even give me the chance to come myself,” he complained, dusting himself off. “What do you want from me?”

Underneath his armour, The Sheriff had a look of complete disbelief. “What do I want from you?” I need you to stop all of this! You are hurting and killing innocent people everywhere in your wake! You are crippling infrastructure in place to support people so that they cannot support people! What even was this show about today?”

“I was just here to see Ohan Marshall. He was some masked vigilante who killed a Purist, so they just wanted him to have something to suffer with, or something. I don’t really pay attention to the particulars. I do what they tell me to do, and then I don’t get killed, is the gist of it.” Outbreak looked at him and sighed like he was bored. “But then today, it all went wrong here and there was a bit of collateral damage.”

“A bit? You are out of your mind you are!” The Sheriff snarled, approaching Outbreak. “I will take so much pleasure in taking you back to Earthgrë!”

“You can’t do that!” he cried out as The Sheriff grabbed him by the front of his jacket he was wearing. “You won’t do that!”

“And why the fuck would I not?!” The Sheriff slammed his head into Outbreak’s face, instantly breaking his nose. He cried out in agony as blood poured from his nostrils. The Sheriff threw him across the yard into a concrete external wall.

Outbreak squirmed in pain as he tried to roll onto his hands and knees. “Damn it, that hurt!”

“And I have only just got started. I am going to beat you to a pulp and then leave you on Earthgrë to nurse your own injuries.” The Sheriff stood over Outbreak and kicked up into his chest which made him fall back flat on his stomach.

The rotor blades of a helicopter thumped over the prison yard above them, circling the pair in a bright spotlight.

“About time,” spat Outbreak. “My ride’s here.”

“Well they have another thing coming,” The Sheriff said, turning to the helicopter. A Purist, dressed in their white uniform hung from the side door of the chopper aiming a gun down at him.

The Sheriff raised his hand, when on his HUD an incoming message from Blane came through.

“Fuck, what is it?” The Sheriff growled frustratedly.

“Er hi… The bear has just been in touch with Dylan. Tobias, Pan and Otto have gone missing from The Lodge. Balshén and Jabeetna have gone too. Did you see them leave?”

“I am… I am not there. I have been dealing with Outbreak! I am doing it right now!”

“Okay well sorry big guy. Dylan’s just said that a GRAB jet has gone missing from The Facility too. It’s tracker is in Thailand. Can you get there?”

The Sheriff wanted to scream. “Fine. I am on my way. I will catch up with you.”

He crouched down to Outbreak’s level. “I was this close to making you a permanent part of this wall, but I have to go. This is not over.”

Outbreak managed a little chuckle through his pain. “You’re right. It’s not over… We will do this again and we will have a grand time doing so. Leave the helicopter there or you I’ll give everyone within two miles Ebola.”

The Sheriff hesitated but didn’t want to risk bluffing his foe. He ascended up towards his jet so he could get to Thailand in time.

They had better not done anything stupid, he thought.