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Chapter 11: Dr. X Will Build A Creature “Just how stupid can you be?!” Hannibal inadvertently flinched as Hangman railed at Shroud. The leader of the Night Shift sat in his high back, leather armchair with hands folded. Hangman paced back and forth as the rest of the Night Shift looked on. “You are supposed to be the leader of this group! And you run off to fight some other freaks on your own. You force Dansen to drag Moth and Digger to follow you, and now we’re down two people!” Digger’s grip tightened on his shovel. “Oh give it a rest already, rope boy,” he muttered. “Oh shut up, Digger!” Hangman snapped. He turned his attention back to Shroud, who remained motionless. “First those kung fu rejects jump Moth at that party. Then that bee man and that French guy! Are they all working for this Elvira looking lady you were fighting?” Shroud stayed silent. “Answer me, damn it!” Hangman hurled his noose only for Shroud to catch it in midair. He yanked the rope, pulling Hangman across the room before landing a strike to his throat. Shroud rose from his seat to stand over the gasping Hangman. He looked up with his sightless across around the rest of the room. “I had hoped it wouldn’t have come to this. But, yes, it is time I reveal to you just who we are fighting.” Shroud walked over to the window that overlooked the long drive to Tower of Shadows. “Many years ago, long before I was the Shroud, I had another name. I was Maximillian Coleridge. I’m sure Detective King can give you the details of the case that name recalls.” “Vaguely,” Hannibal said. “There was some talk about it when I joined LAPD. The Coleridge’s were a wealthy family. They were killed in a drive by shooting, weren’t they?” Shroud nodded, still facing the window. “Leaving their son an orphan. As I grew up, I attempted to move forward with my life. I tried to throw myself into my father’s business, but it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t get the sight of my parent’s bodies out of my mind.” “What’s this have to do with these new players?” Percy Grimm asked. Shroud sighed and turned back to his chair. “I wanted to do more to stop crime then just donate to charities and open youth centers in my parents’ names. I started searching for ways that I could fight back against criminals myself. And in my travels, I heard tales of a group known as the Children of Kali. They were a reclusive order, but were willing to let outsiders join them if they cut off all ties with their lives before joining. Once there, they would be trained in art of combat. And those who pleased the goddess the most would received her blessing. Power beyond imagining.” Tatterdemalion nodded. “That’s where you met Dansen? That’s how she got her hands on all those manuscripts.” “I began to see that the followers of Kali were not as beneficent as I thought. People would disappear from the grounds, presumably to receive a ‘blessing’. In reality, Kali was transforming them into the creatures you have faced.” Hannibal gave a nervous cough. “Now, Shroud. You really mean to tell us that these creatures were created by some Hindu goddess?” “Is it so hard to believe, detective?” Shroud crossed the room to Hannibal. “We have already seen the all too real power of the Norse God of Thunder. Is the idea of an Indian Goddess of Death all that implausible? When I realized what was going on, I offered Dansen a chance to escape. But she refused, too frightened of reprisal from Nekra, the woman I fought tonight. I tried anyway and was caught. But instead of being executed, they dragged me to the altar of Kali to be ‘blessed’.” Shroud ripped off the hood to reveal the scars on his face. Even though he had seen them during the mission to save Shroud from the Headmen, Hannibal still couldn’t help but look away. “This is what they did to me,” Shroud went on coldly. “I gained strength and control over darkness, but my sight was gone forever. Upon learning of what had happened to me, Dansen used her powers to help us escape from the temple.” “Wow. Great deadtime story, boss,” said Digger. Misfit slapped him on the back of the head. “Stow it, corpse breath!” Jack raised his hand awkwardly. “Um, I have a question?” Shroud turned towards Jack as he cleared his throat. “You were saying that Kali was blessing people and giving them these powers, like yours. But is that where Dansen got her powers too?” Shroud looked around the room at the attentive Night Shift. “No. Dansen had already received her powers before coming to the temple. The temple would be where acolytes would be trained to fight. Kali is able to grant her ‘blessings’ on anyone anywhere. And I among my main powers, I seem to have acquired a sense detecting where these chosen ones are.” “What are you talking about?” Misfit said annoyed. Tick Tock rose from the couch. “He’s saying that we’re like him. All of us. All of our powers weren’t from random chance. We have all been… blessed.” Hangman scrambled to his feet enraged. “You knew all this, and you told us nothing?!” “This was never about running this city!” Barton Grimm shouted. “You were just using us!” “I wanted to be able to help you,” Shroud said. “Give you all a common goal. Help you control your abilities. But with Nekra and her followers in Los Angeles, we need to be ready for anything. There is no telling what they are planning. We need to find where they have taken Dansen and Moth.” Hangman stormed out of the study towards the stairs. “To hell with you! If you want me, I’ll be upstairs! No one makes a patsy out of the Hangman!” Misfit followed after him. “Yeah. I didn’t sign up to be no wussy super hero! You go fight your own battles!” The echoing footsteps up the stairs were the only sound that rang through the Tower of Shadows. In the Headmen’s lair, alarms and sirens blared. Men in yellow hazmat suits ran down the halls with guns drawn, shouting orders to scientists. Under the cover of Dansen’s spell, Moth and Dansen carefully walked through the bustle unobserved. Dansen had been in constant motion, twirling and dodging past the guards to keep them invisible. A side door slid open, and some more techs hurried out. “In there!” Moth whispered. Dansen made a graceful leap through the door and Moth ran in after. The door slid shut, and Moth turned to see they were on an observation deck, overlooking several test chambers. Moth gave a quick glance around the platform. “I think we’re clear. No cameras, or bad guys.” Dansen allowed herself to drop to metal grate floor. She panted for breath as Moth ran over to her. “Take it easy. You good to keep going?” “I’m fine,” Dansen said shakily. She tried to rise to her feet, only to fall against the railing. Moth took a hold of her arms to steady her. Dansen nodded at Moth. “Thank you. I had never used my power on so many people for so long. I am somewhat… drained.” Moth extended her wings and took to the air. “Then maybe let me do the driving for a while.” Threads began to spring loose from the sleeves on Dansen’s outfit, then tied themselves together to lift Dansen up off the ground like aerial silks. They flew along the observation deck, getting glimpses from above of what was inside the chambers below. In one, scientists were hurrying around a tank of green liquid, with a young man inside screaming in agony. In another were two women in jumpsuits unconscious and restrained on metal tables. In between them was a glowing orb that was filled with spiders. “What kind of weird crap are these people up to?” Moth said. A voice rang out over the PA. “Dr. Nagan! Dr. Thursday! Please report to MODOK! Dr. Nagan! Dr. Thursday! Please report to MODOK!” Moth glanced down at Dansen. “And who the hell is MO…” Dansen raised a finger to her lips and motioned Moth to come in for a landing. Moth lowered them both back to the platform, and looked over the railing at the next chamber. There were the Headmen, gathered around a giant robot laying on a table. “Activate it, Dr. Morgan!” commanded Nagan. Morgan pressed an unseen switch under the android’s right arm, and it started to whirr to life. The rectangular head turned back and forth, scanning the room. It moved to a sitting position on the table as the Headmen backed away. “Excellent!” said Nagan. “Android! Verify! I am Dr. Arthur Nagan! You will obey my instructions! Stand!” The android rose from the table, it’s head just barely missing the edge of the platform Dansen and Moth were crouched on. “Dr. Nagan! Dr. Thursday!” the PA blared out again. “MODOK requires your presence! This is a direct order from MODOK!” Morgan nervously looked to the door. “Maybe you should go, Nagan. MODOK might be…” “Blast MODOK!” Nagan snarled. “I am the true leader of the Headmen! Not that freak accident!” Nagan took a deep breath to collect himself. “Besides, we need to test our friend’s other abilities. Android! Scan Dr. Thursday. Begin duplication protocol.” The android looked down on Ruby Thursday for a moment, then it’s head began to twist and reform until it was a perfect sphere like hers. “Most impressive,” Ruby said. “With this android, MODOK doesn’t stand a chance!” The door of the chamber slid open, and MODOK floated in, followed by Wyndham. “Dr. Nagan!” MODOK’s voice boomed. “Why didn’t you respond to your orders? You were ordered to meet with MODOK.” Nagan sneered defiantly. “I don’t take orders from you, creature! You were merely an experiment that went wrong! Your orders have failed us over and over! Choosing the Dodson woman and that imbecile for test subjects! Letting the Night Shift run loose in our base! MY base!” Wyndham stepped forward. “You dare speak that way to MODOK?” “Oh, shut up, Wyndham, you traitor!” Nagan barked. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you live long enough to be thrown into one of your own test chambers!” “This is an unwise course of action, Dr. Nagan,” MODOK intoned. “Be warned that this unit is more than capable of protecting itself.” Nagan turned to face the android. “And I am now capable of destroying you! Android! Eliminate MODOK!” “Sheesh,” Moth muttered. “It’s a nerd civil war.” Who shall gain control of the Headmen? Stay Tuned and Find Out! Game On!