Chapter 5: The Takeover

Betrayal, murder, new enemies, and all that fun stuff.

Phantom Paranoia

We all ran from the room, nearly running into Vertigo's freaky, purple father who had apparently planned on unlocking the door for us. We filed down the hallway silently, following the large purple man.  Vertigo gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head and kept walking.

As we headed toward the cafeteria, I wondered if the takeover was just a drill, but then I realized that if it were, they would have left us in isolation.  This was unprecedented.  In fact, it was supposed to be impossible.  How could someone gain control of a facility that had taken so many security precautions and housed so many of the world’s greatest superheroes and villains?  I wondered what the League’s founder and CEO, Eugene Erickson, was going to do about this.

Though he played such an important role in the League, we knew little about Erickson.  From the small balcony outside his office, he often gave powerful speeches about the balance between good and evil.  It was gibberish, yes, but eloquent gibberish.  Other than that, the only reason he ever left his office was for Taco Tuesdays in the cafeteria, when he would come down and eat with a random table of League members.  Every time we saw him, his white hair was messy and he was wearing baggy clothes, almost as if he were trying to look gangster.  We also knew that he was filthy rich, since he had constructed this whole place with his own money.

Since facts about Erickson were scarce, rumors were abundant.  Some said that he had a relative who struck it rich in the Gold Rush, which would explain the shape he chose for the facility and where he got his money.  Others claimed that his superpower was counterfeiting money, but that conflicts with the rumor that Erickson had no power and created S.H.O.V.E.L. because the ultimate supremacy was to manipulate those who had superpowers.  Whether any of these tales were true, I didn’t really care as long as I got my paycheck.

I snapped out of my reverie as we arrived in the cafeteria, where most of the League was already waiting in an unnerving silence.  I looked around for answers in the faces of the other members, but found little more than confusion, tension, and, in some of the younger ones, fear. 

Suddenly, Nessa gasped.  As the crowd began to murmur, I followed her gaze to the CEO’s balcony on the wall to our left.  Emerging from his office door and onto the balcony outside it, Erickson was being escorted by a tall man in a suit and sunglasses.  They were followed out by a little girl in pigtails and a pink sundress.

Then I noticed the disturbing part: the thing behind them.  It was clinging to the wall, upside-down, with a black cape hanging from its neck.  Its head was facing the opposite direction of its body, so that it stared out at the crowd.  There were insects crawling around in its tuft of blonde hair.  After a moment, I realized that this horrible creature was a human baby.

Repulsed, I forced myself to look away from it as Erickson began to speak.  Unlike his usual speeches, this message was short, simple, and delivered emotionlessly.

“I, Eugene Erickson, hereby relinquish all control of S.H.O.V.E.L. to Super Demon Baby.”  This created an uproar in the crowd.  Why would he surrender to an FBI wannabe, a small child, and a baby?

“SHUT UP!” bellowed a deep, powerful voice, and everyone fell silent.  I should have been prepared for that voice; it had spoken over the loud speaker earlier.  But now that I was looking at the body from which it came, I was flabbergasted.

“As your new leader, I must inform you of a few changes that will be taking place,” Super Demon Baby continued. “First, there will be no more heroes or villains.  There will only be servants, who will obey my every command or die.”

“What makes you think you can do this?!” shouted a man from the crowd.  He sounded both outraged and amused.  I spotted him shoving his way to the front and recognized him as one of the League’s top heroes.

“Ah, yes.  You have not yet met the crew.  Meet The Proliferator.  He’s one in a million.  Or should I say one of a million?”  The smiling infant turned to that man in the suit.  “Take out the one who interrupts.”

In the next instant, The Proliferator had multiplied himself about forty times and surrounded the hero.  A few seconds later, these copies went to guard the exits, which a few people had been moving toward.  As they walked away, I saw the body of the man, lying on the ground, neck broken.

I had seen enough.  I concentrated on sending sadness Super Demon Baby’s way, but nothing happened.  I tried so hard I got a headache.  But from the looks of frustration and confusion on those around me, I could tell that I was not the only one having problems.

“I’m sure you are all wondering why your powers are not working.  That would be the work of my dear friend, The Nullifier.  She is gifted with the unique ability to cancel out all of your powers, while leaving ours untouched,” the baby said, gesturing to the girl, who smiled and gave us a curtsey. 

“But alas, there is one more member of my team without whom this would not have been possible.  But you already know him.  Frank, come on out here, buddy!”

A dark purple figure appeared in the doorway of Erickson’s office.  The crowd began to murmur again.  It couldn’t be him.  Of all the members of S.H.O.V.E.L., he had been one of the must trustworthy.  Or so I’d thought.  I wondered when he had left us and gone up to Erickson’s office.  But more importantly, I wondered how long he had been a traitor.  Everyone in our vicinity was staring at Vertigo.  As her adoptive father stepped out onto the balcony, I turned, open-mouthed, to look at her.  She was horrified.

She glared murderously at the father who had betrayed her and exclaimed, “That dirty piece of palimpsest!”

Author's Note

Any review is a great review! And I just have to express my happiness that Randi used my insult at the end! It's wonderful, I've always wanted to say that to someone :P Oh, she posted this early since she's going out of state through the weekend.

Reviews

[SomeTypeOfArtist]

What a twist! I'm even more interested to see where the relationship between Vertigo and her father goes, and now there's even more characters with potential. I don't know how long or deep you plan on going with this story, but it's shaping up to be a really interesting concept. Looking forward to the next part!

[words a la carte]

Can I just say that I absolutely love this story? It's fantastic. Plus the insult at the end pretty much makes it.

[Mr.Cardigan]

its good i like it