Chapter 9

Aerial surveillance of the area and the time of the victim's last known whereabouts before he turned up dead revealed a busy street next to a series of stores. Hundreds of people passed by; however, at some point, our guy received a package, took it inside, and then went missing sometime later. While our victim was an elite Hero, a lot of them maintained normal jobs. This one owned a store for chocolates.

After several minutes of watching, I spotted the guy who matched the description. "There, him," I said, pointing at a guy casually walking along the street. He'll go into our victim's store. Just watch."

I was right, and Olivia looked at me strangely. "How did you know?"

"The way his body moved, the way his eyes are set."

"You know what hunters look like? Have you ever gone hunting before?"

"Yes, a lot. Big game, too."

"Why am I not surprised? Anything you haven't done?" I thought about that. When Aria and I ran the kingdom raising our kids, we would take vacations to various Earth timelines, and we did a lot of dangerous stuff. We even traveled to the Moon and Mars. Magic kept us alive, of course.

"Not a whole lot that I can think of. I've been to space."

Olivia and the two techies stared at me wide-eyed. I just shrugged and changed the topic. "Anyway, we'll let the techies here figure out who this guy is. Any new updates on the Huntsman case?" I asked.

"The Huntsman is still staking out Mr. Douglas and putting together his entire organization. The last word he sent us was he thinks he figured out who the real killer is. Or at least what he is. It seems we have a shapeshifting Meta assassin. But even he is having trouble connecting the assassin to Mr. Douglas. And we need that in order to bring them all down. Or we need other evidence to bring them down separately."

"Makes sense. When I get some free time, I'll lean on my contacts as well. For now, I need to check in on my club. I haven't been there for a few nights now. Good night."

"Night. Boys," she turned to the techies, "let me know right away when you get an identity."

~~~

On the drive back to the club, I again felt that odd sensation of being watched. So, after arriving in my penthouse room, I changed into my vampire persona and used a gate to travel about a mile away, exiting into an empty alley. I ducked behind a dumpster just in time to avoid the drone passing by, leapt onto the roof, and headed back toward my club.

Using my best stealth skills and magic, I silently moved about the taller buildings until I spotted a figure hiding on a roof overlooking my club. Using telescopic vision, I zoomed in and… "No way, of course it is. So much for staking out Mr. Douglas," I said quietly to myself. So, the Huntsman is spying on me. He likely has everything he needs already to expose Mr. Douglas and his shapeshifting doppelganger. So, he is likely stalling to track me. Maybe it wasn't the best of ideas to go and tell people I was a vampire. I just thought it was funny seeing their faces, but now that certain Heroes know of a real vampire on the loose, well, hindsight is 20/20.

Hmm… I have an idea. I opened a small portal into my private room and then used illusion magic. Since I use illusions all the time for my disguises, I'm very adept at that form of magic. I made a copy of my club owner persona and had him walk over with a fake bottle of whiskey and glass and then settle in on the couch with a laptop. All of this is perfectly viewable from the balcony window. Only my bedroom is not visible since I always keep the curtains closed and warded.

I also put more magic into the illusion to simulate heat, just in case the Huntsman was using various tech in his mask to see on different spectrums. Now, I just need him to spot the vampire me at the same time. I put on my Oni-vamp mask, withdrew my wings, and took to the skies. I made sure my shadow would pass over my stalker to get his attention and look up.

I flew away from this area and then over to the docks by the river. I knew of at least one smuggling operation there by Mr. Douglas and needed to give a reason for my sudden appearance. So, I figured killing some bad guys would be a valid reason. I knew I had the Huntsman's attention when half the city's drones suddenly changed position and began to follow me. But I looked back and spotted him leaping from rooftop to rooftop in an effort to catch up. I also spotted in the street a white and blue blur. I see; he called in the cavalry. Comic Rush, oh, and now two more streaks in the sky. I guess that's a few of the new team members.

The question is, should I let them confront me now? What do I gain from it? I don't want to outright kill them. Technically they're heroes just doing their job. I began to hear lots of sirens as well. Geez seems I stirred the hornet's nest with that stunt. Perhaps I'll crash in on the bad guys, summon Jessica, we'll get started, and when the good guys show up, we'll make our departure into the shadows using my shadow powers. The heroes get the bad guys and save anybody being smuggled, and I get them to see us far away from Jacik, the club owner.

The first part of the plan went well. Jessica arrived through the portal, and I handed her a mask to hide her face. Then, just to be safe, I cast several powerful spells on her: one for protection and several for boosting her speed, agility, strength, and durability—essentially artificially enhancing her to close to my levels.

The second part of the plan didn't go well. For starters, my portal fizzled out on its own. That was when I felt a magical barrier go up that prevented certain forms of instantaneous travel. I couldn't even access my shadow powers. My other magic seemed to work fine as I tested a light spell, but my guess was either Radiant Jack threw something up or one of the former members of the Cosmic Trio did something. Whatever it was, it was powerful.

I quickly relayed the situation to Jessica, and the two of us got to work on killing the bad guys. We also found two shipping containers full of people. But then the Heroes arrived and we became surrounded by their entire team.

"Surrender now, vampires!" Titan commanded. "You're confined within this special barrier. There is no means for escape and nowhere to run!"

That rubbed me the wrong way. They're implying I'm a coward or something.

Jessica and I were standing on top of a shipping container, dressed in black, with cloaks billowing in the wind from the open hangar. Our hoods partially shrouded our masks. I laughed softly at first, more of a gentle chuckle, really. But slowly, the laugh grew louder and more maniacal, all the way to the point of being hysterical, before suddenly cutting off with a sigh.

"Run away? From you? Run where? WHY WOULD I RUN!" I shouted that last part with my lycerion-enhanced voice. The power of my voice was backed by considerable power, shaking the hangar and causing everyone to freeze in place for a few moments. I let the silence stand as raindrops began to fall from the sky, pelting the roof. My power caused the air temperature to drop by ten degrees. "I told you all to leave me alone. I even did your job for you. Saved these people, and yet, you still want to fight me? THEN BRING IT!"

It was about twenty minutes until sunset, and while most of my nighttime powers now work during the day thanks to my age, certain things like my durability and strength all increase at night. Even my skin, hair, and eyes change at night unless I disguise myself. As long as we hold out until then, then this fight will become winnable. Or at least, my power should be strong enough to break the barrier for an escape. Although, now, I didn't feel like fleeing.

I summoned Smog, and he took on his Lycerion form but kept his size small enough to remain on the shipping container. Then I smacked my hand on the roof of the container and cast a brute force spell to teleport the container and the one next to it, full of people, to the farthest place away from here and next to the barrier. We landed softly on the ground.

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"Did you just kill those people!" Captain Cosmo shouted, then turned to his teammates. We'll try and take them alive, but if that proves impossible, kill them." Then, at once, they all attacked in unison.

Why ask a question and then not let me answer? Rude. I threw up my barrier to intercept a blast from Captain Cosmo, Dark Matter, and Radiant Jack. The combined firepower overwhelmed my barrier, but it held long enough to absorb their entire attack. Then, five bullets appeared in front of me, and I reflexively snatched them out of the air, but then they exploded in my hands. While my bones were too strong to break, the flesh of my hand was shredded, and I had shrapnel stuck in my palms. It stung, too, huh… silver. This guy had vampire bullets. Too bad I wasn't a normal vampire as my healing power forced out the foreign objects and then healed the wounds.

I was on the move, along with Jessica, as Comet Rush made blitz attacks. It took everything we had to dodge, block, and avoid the other attacks simultaneously. I mentally signaled for Jessica to take the speedster on as they were both closer to the same speed. She whipped him in the face and got his attention. I faced off with the rest as both Titan and Captain Cosmo attacked from two sides. Then I noticed a fog spreading out beneath my feet and realized Nebula was up to something.

I shrank into the fog, just barely missing a strike from Titan, and reappeared behind Nebula. I struck her hard enough to knock her out but didn't have any time to pause as the Huntsman came in hot, firing his pistol while closing the gap. This time, I just batted the bullets away, and then my foe tossed his gun aside and switched to blades and claws.

The Huntsman threw more than a dozen slashes in just a few seconds, utilizing his body's enhanced agility and flexibility, but between the two of us, I had centuries more combat experience. Still, I was surprised when I grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back to see him leap and somersault over my head while racking my face with his free hand. He tore my mask off and sliced open my face from chin to scalp. I healed before he landed, but it sure pissed me off.

I saw Smog dodging in and out of the ground while Dark Matter fired off powerful blasts using his dark matter weapon. His black beams were powerful enough to hurt Smog, so my familiar was being extra cautious in his attacks.

I used my speed to catch the Huntsman in the chest as he landed and struck him hard enough to hear his rib crack before launching him through the hangar's metal walls. Then Titan was on me again, and this time, he struck with so much power that the concrete shattered beneath my feet as I blocked it with my forearms. Then, I was struck in the back by a silver-white light, and the cosmic energy scorched my flesh and muscles, causing a near-silent scream to escape my lips.

Titan caught me in a bear hug and squeezed for all he was worth. I actually felt my bones creak, but my healing factor kicked into overdrive, and I was finally able to resist. For long moments, I focused on trying to break his grip on me while he focused on trying to contain me. I heard a yelp off in the distance, and I felt Smog's injured form. He scored a critical hit on Dark Matter but took a blast up close. He was going to need to rest inside of me, and I mentally recalled him.

Then I took another powerful blow, but this time to the back of my head, as Captain Cosmo punched me hard with a cosmic-coated fist. My head spun, and I saw stars. Finally, I had enough and summoned a great deal of power, which caused a miniature explosion around my body. Enough to break Titan's grip. Then I unleashed point-blank, heat vision to Titan's chest. The strength of the twin beams shot him out of the hangar's open bay door and into a nearby crane, which promptly toppled over.

I spun just in time to see a powerful silver-white beam heading for me again. This time, I met the beam with heat vision. But my power wasn't enough, so I also pointed a finger and unleashed some magic. I may have gone a little overboard because my beam cut right through his attack and struck Captain Cosmo in the shoulder, which then went through the shoulder, taking his right arm with it. He fell to the floor in pain before passing out. I was about to toss out a heal when a green light enveloped him. That, I guessed, was Renovate's power. She was sweating from the overuse of her powers helping out the team.

Sundown finally came, and I felt my powers increase. My body shifted, growing black glossy scales. My hair became needle-like but still flowed like hair. Just a bit more pointy. My eyes glowed an eery green. However, I wasn't the only one who changed forms. The Huntsman came rushing in on all fours through the hole he created. He resembled more of a beast than a man now, and with it, his speed, strength, and savagery all increased tenfold. But so did his instincts, and when he got within twenty feet of me, he suddenly slid to a stop. Fear was evident in his gaze.

At that moment, the Huntsman knew he wasn't the predator but the prey. Titan didn't get that memo as he stomped back into the hangar. His uniform had a nice hole in the center of his chest, but his skin, although slightly red, was unscathed. He was beyond pissed.

Then, I felt another power descend onto me. A purple haze coated me, and suddenly, I felt immense pressure. Gravity was turned up far beyond what the mages on Earth 2 had done. These gravitational forces actually caused my legs to buckle, and I dropped to my hands and knees.

Behind me, a silver-white light suddenly flashed very brightly, and then Captain Cosmo floated off the ground, fully healed. I don't think it was Renovate that did that, but more of an aspect of his powers. Radiant Jack also appeared in view, and his hands glowed with the same purple energy of the gravity holding me down. This was bad.

Looking over, I saw Jessica wounded but holding her own against the speedster. They were moving too fast for anyone else to keep up, but it didn't matter; I had all the others' attention anyway.

I had magically boosted Jessica earlier, but now, I realized I should have boosted myself. However, when I went to attempt to use my magic, I found my access blocked. Whatever this field was, it was more than just increased gravity. I growled. Frustration is getting the better of me.

"Cosmo! I need you to boost my magic. I can't hold him for much longer," Radiant Jack called desperately. Cosmo flew over to him, and with a touch of his hand on Jack's back, he transferred tremendous power. The gravity started to rise, and I struggled to keep my face from smacking the floor.

I felt Smog inside of me push as much of his power as he could to boost my strength, and since he once took on dragons, that power wasn't minor. I slowly and defiantly rose to my feet. I mentally went through my list of supernatural powers. Like the laser vision, powers gained through drinking blood became supernatural. It wasn't Meta power or magic.

I could control blood and shadows, but that isn't working currently. I have laser vision, but aside from that, most of my abilities are physical. I had wings and changed skin, hair, and eyes, and the only other powers were visual enhancements, like dragon vision. Well, laser vision it is, then.

I unleashed a beam of energy toward Radiant Jack only to be intercepted by a magical barrier of his own. Fine. If I can't do that, then I'll just have to force my magical power out. His field-blocking access can only handle so much, I'm sure. I just need to exceed its capacity.

I summoned nearly all my mana reserves, but I didn't want to go full nuclear like last time. I just wanted to break this field and move freely again. So, with strain and control, I pushed out my energy until I felt the connection again. Then, I began to shape the magical power into an anti-gravity spell. Once the pressure eased off my body, I pushed off the shattered concrete and shot through the purple field, shattering it to pieces. The backlash struck Radiant Jack like a lightning rod, which then passed through him and into Captain Cosmo. Both cried out in pain before tumbling out of the air.

Before I could do anything, I took a Titan-sized fist to the face and felt my nose break. I spun around multiple times as I flew backward, making yet another person-sized hole in the hangar wall. I bounced off the concrete before coming to a halt on the side of another shipping container. By the time I pulled myself free, I found two more fists closing in on my chest.

"Not this time!" I shouted and sprung forward, grabbing both his wrists and pulling. I used his tremendous speed, weight, and my pull to introduce his face to my knee as I jumped forward. Since he broke my nose, it was only fair to break his. He landed on his feet but stumbled backward. I moved in and hit him with several body shots. He tried to fight back, but I dodged his blows and kept pummelling his chest, face, and stomach. He was taller than me, but that didn't stop me from lifting him off the ground and then tossing him into the barrier that surrounded the entire area.

~~~

Comet Rush finally knocked out Jessica, and while he was curious about what she looked like beneath the mask, his perception was so high that it took no time to realize his allies were in serious trouble. So, he rushed through the hole and desperately tried to close in on the vampire before he could switch his focus. He nearly caught him, too, right as he threw Titan, but a fist to his face faster than even he could see was all the confirmation he needed that he was too late.

As Comet Rush felt his body start the long journey of being punched away by superhuman strength, a hand caught his foot, and the next thing he knew, his face was crashing into the pavement. Blood and teeth erupted from his mouth, and then one of his legs was suddenly pulverized. He wasn't knocked unconscious, but he wished he had been. However, he now got to witness the rest of his allies get blitz-attacked, and in seconds, it was all over. The barrier above shattering meant Radiant Jack was either dead or unconscious.

All Comet Rush could think of was, what was that appearance? It wasn't anything like he'd ever seen before. It was almost alien. Truly monstrous and terrifying. They grossly underestimated their chances of winning.