The Spirit of De Soth, Part 2


    Beth Zemo frowned as she pointed her special remote at her wall-sized television.  She had it switched to security monitoring mode, where it would divide into squares representing various cameras around her mansion.  A moment ago, a motion sensor was tripped, alerting her on-screen to take a look.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s that pest, Lara something-or-other,”  she growled at Franz.  She then shrugged and admitted, “I suppose I envy her a little.  Power over energy, the inherent ability to materialize anywhere--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Shall I obliterate her?”  Franz asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, you idiot, weren’t you listening?”  Beth rolled her eyes angrily.  “Besides, she’s kind of interesting.  Not sappy and fun to torture like Hatman...she actually has a clever mind in that blonde head of hers.  Let’s go have a chat with her.”

    Another click on the remote, and a door slid open, revealing an elevator that was normally hidden from her lounge.  It bypassed all the complex hallways and staircases down to the entrance level.

    She put down the remote and entered the elevator - Franz followed silently, and the doors closed.  A few seconds later, they opened again into a dimly lit great hall.

    The blonde super-hero Beth meant to intercept was waiting for her, arms crossed, when the Baroness stepped out of the elevator.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Marv’s spirit is on the loose.”  Lara summarized.  She knew Beth liked people to get to the point quickly.

    Beth scoffed.  “There are creatures far more frightening than him in this place,”  she said.  “Not to mention plenty of wardings.  Which didn’t seem to keep you out, I see.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Lara agreed.  “And if I can get in...”

    The Baroness nodded, and curtly replied,  “Thanks for the warning.  I hope you didn’t expect anything in return.”

    Lara smirked, and half shrugged.  “You know hero types like me, we help out just to make sure someone doesn’t die.  That’s what I get in return.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Or I could have planned for your inevitable arrival, and set up a trap, so you’ll regret ever setting foot in my home.”

    Lara stared, stood perfectly still, but didn’t flinch.  If the Baroness was bluffing, she just called it.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“There’s no profit in that, though.”  Beth finally admitted with a shrug.  “Maybe you’re friends with the Lair Legion, but the fact is...you’re nobody here.  Besides, Marv doesn’t want to kill anyone.  Except you, maybe.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Me?  Why?”

    Beth rolled her eyes and shrugged.  “He’s obsessed with the idea that only you can stop him, and if he gets rid of you, he’ll be unstoppable.  Something ludicrous like that.  Anyway, he wants to torture the people who have gotten in his way...ruin their lives, not kill them.  I have to admire his tenacity, though he’s completely insane.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I kind of guessed most of that.”  Lara noted.  “But I think you’re wrong about one person...you.  I think he wants to kill you, because you’ve taken away what he wanted most.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And you’ll what, offer me safe haven in the Lair Mansion?”  Beth scoffed.  “No offense, but I’m a lot safer here.”

    The blonde shrugged.  “You have a point.  Even so, if he does come here and you need help...Maybe the Lair Legion won’t offer it, but I will.”

    The Baroness let out an exasperated sigh.  “You’re such a hero, Lara.  One of these days it’s going to get you killed.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ll take that as a yes.”  Lara said with a sly smile.  Then she vanished in a flash of light.

    Beth Zemo looked behind her at Franz.  “Why don’t you ever volunteer to fight for me?”  She didn’t wait for an answer as she pushed past him and headed back into the elevator.  The doors closed before he reached them.


---


    Yuki Shiro entered the penthouse apartment in an uncharacteristically conventional manner.  She stole the emergency key that Chiaki gave Jay long ago from his quarters, and used the front door.

    Being a detective by trade and interest, she figured that if she didn’t think of that, Marv surely would.  Now if he visted the Lair Mansion to find the key, it would be gone.

    She walked over to the couch where Jay was in a stress-exhausted sleep.  He was so far out of consciousness, Yuki could have driven into the apartment on a bulldozer and he wouldn’t have heard it.  Then she looked up abruptly at a feminine shadow in the hallway off the living room, and caught a glimpse of a sword.

    The shadow seemed to recognize her then, and turned around and headed back to the bedroom quietly.  Yuki knew why - Chiaki seemed to realize that the purple-haired Legionnaire wanted some time with Jay, and she didn’t want to interfere.

    Yuki sat gently on the edge of the couch, careful not to jostle Jay too much.  She looked down at him worriedly - she knew Marv’s spirit was going to try to hurt him somehow.  A few minutes ago, Lara informed her that Marv would probably do something to harm his life, make him miserable, but not kill him.

    After that, Yuki speculated on just what kind of thing could happen.  She knew that Marv could create dreams, and alternate then with conscious thoughts.  He could easily have Jay marry or impregnate Chiaki, or even murder her, and force him to live with the consequences.  It didn’t even have to be Chiaki, it could be Lara Night, or Fashion Accessory.

    That was when Yuki made a decision.  She would be more difficult to be stuck in a murder or impregnating scheme.  Anything Marv would do to Jay using her would either be reversible or relatively benign.  If she stuck close to him, he’d be relatively safe.

    And besides, somewhere in the back of her mind, Yuki felt that Marv had it in for her, too.  She hated feeling afraid of something she couldn’t fight, and she wanted some company, as reluctant or asleep as it may be.  And though it was hard for Yuki to admit, the trio of herself, Chiaki, and Jay felt very safe indeed.

    She quietly slipped her short boots off of her feet, threw her socks and belt on top of them, and slid under the blanket with Jay.  She smiled in a bittersweet way, and kissed him on the forehead.  He was too far asleep to respond, but the sound of his heart still beating was enough to soothe her fears.

    Before she closed her eyes, she thought she saw Chiaki looking in on them and smiling.


---


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Where do you think he is?”  Anna asked Hallie.  The android realized it was late at night, and she needed sleep too, though far less than real humans did.  Hallie was busy multitasking, and manifested herself as a disembodied voice in the control center.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Marv?”  Hallie asked the currently pajama wearing android.  The A.I. was slightly amused at Anna entering her control center dressed like that, but she didn’t say so.  “I don’t know, there are zero situation reports about him.  Either he needs something, or he’s waiting for something.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s what I was thinking.”  Anna replied.  She shook her head and whispered, “I wish I could figure this out.  You and I are the only ones completely safe from Marv.  It would be ideal if we found and stopped him.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...can’t really perform the magical wards to stop a spirit, Anna.”  Hallie pointed out.  “It’s the one thing that requires a real physical body.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“But I can.”  Anna noted.  “If...someone teaches me how, that is.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“We’re getting ahead of ourselves, Anna.”  Hallie corrected her.  “Remember, he’s scheming at the same time we are.  It would be smarter to figure out what he’s doing and head him off.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Right.”  Anna agreed.  “But you’re far smarter than I am.  I’m more suited to being your hands and eyes in the field--”

    Hallie interrupted her with a correction.  “You have something valuable too, Anna.  I have access to more data, and more processing power, maybe.  But with that abstract brain of yours, you can do something I can’t.”

    The sentient A.I. appeared suddenly as a holographic wireform, and then filled into a green-skinned glowing human shape.  “You can answer this question:  If you were Marv, what would you do?”

    Anna thought for a moment.  She tried to imagine what it would be like to lose her physical form, and be able to roam anywhere in the world.  But that’s not where she would want to go...she would be confused, angry, afraid, and try to stay with the familiar until she understood what to do.  And she would also want to know how she managed to end up in her current situation.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The Mayor’s Mansion.”  the android blurted out.  “It’s where everything he needs is.  Somewhere safe to hole up while he figures out what happened...and it’s the place he can get an answer to that question.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Also a good place to lay a trap.”  Hallie guessed.  “So you’re not going there alone.  Get some sleep, Anna.  I’ll keep scanning the security cameras at the Mayor’s Mansion for anything.”

    As she watched Anna quietly leave the control room, and she dimmed the lights, Hallie planned.  Truthfully, she already thought she found Marv, as the source of some odd movement on cameras at the Mayor’s Mansion, while she was still talking to Anna.  

    But she also remembered that Marv’s greatest weapon was sleep and dreams.  She spent hours that night watching the spirit of Marv, weighing whether it was smarter to wake the Lair Legion and send them in, or make sure they’re rested enough to resist sleep first.

    She was heartbroken hours later when it turned out she made the wrong decision.  As artificial as she was, she was no more perfect in that regard than humans.

    Though Marv’s spirit had been wandering the halls of the Mayor’s Mansion for hours, giving no sign of preparing to leave, it suddenly disappeared.  And then Hallie once again had no idea where he was.

    That question was answered almost as soon as morning came.  There was a scream from somewhere in the mansion.


TO BE CONTINUED


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2009 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin