Chapter 71

Chapter 71

The Fastest Man Alive

By: BigToFu

Beta: Mink

 

 

Susan Blake

Queen Mother of Pandora

Leading Expert on bio-organic compounds

Letting out a sigh, Sue shook her head at the brutal display being carried out in one of the Royal chambers. Turning away from the display, a mental push sent the command to turn it off. She was tired of seeing traitors die, even if she knew that if they had won, she would have had to raise her child without his father.

A hand went down to rub over her stomach to feel the life growing inside of her even if she wasn’t showing yet. Already, she knew what the gender of her child would be even if nothing was mentioned to Ben. Smiling from the information that tingled at her fingertips, Sue turned around to look over the symbiote that she was sent a few days ago.

She had plans to look over the final changes to the Primarchs once this was complete, but before she could share her input with that project, the symbiote would have to be first, since there were plans in the works to distribute one to every citizen of the Empire.

The upside of it was that everyone would not only gain an enhanced general fitness level but also standard rapid healing. The downside of it was making sure that the symbiotes weren’t sold to those not citizens of the Empire and to ensure they did not gain sentience. If they did, we had to make sure that no one freaked out and didn’t create some sort of bio-chaotic entity due to the whole soul question. So here she was, in her lab, ensuring that such things did not come to pass.

With a hum upon her lips, Sue pulled her chair underneath her work table as one of the lab’s robotic arms deposited a cylinder upon the table for her.

“Thank you, Athena,” Sue idly said as she slid the cylinder over to the examination table. Looking up and around, Sue rolled her eyes at the fact she forgot to activate the holo-suite to her table. Sparkles sprang to life before her over the table as the crystals activate, producing a beautifully crafted hologram of a double helix.

Humming a note her mother used to sing her to sleep, Sue removed the top that held the symbiote within its container. The hologram above the table shifted to show not only the genetic structure but also the outcomes that they were correlated to within the substance.

So far, her Ben had been able to incorporate not only high-speed healing but also boosted strength and agility. So that left it to her to improve the muscular incorporation, blood flow, lactic acid removal, and so much more.

Shaking her head to get rid of distracting thoughts, Sue made sure to double-check her safety procedures while also checking to see if a lab aid was on call. Of course, that wasn’t needed when she noticed her guards hovering in their own little corners, acting as if they were ghosts.

Smiling and sending her guards a wave of appreciation, she got to work.

“Athena, can you please project the schematics for the crystal processors,” Sue called out with a spark of an idea. The hologram spun to life over her desk, allowing her to give it a critical eye. Humming as her thoughts buzzed around a truly magnificent idea, Sue called out once more, “Athena, let’s start with one ounce of nutritional fluid.”

With a hand up the symbiote, Sue started to construct crystalline microprocessors on the macro scale that would not only work alongside the nervous system but would also boost the host’s synaptic response times, while also giving full control over the symbiote. With a few minor changes to the symbiote, just a minor thought would allow a person to not only change the color but choose how they would like the symbiote to interact with the world.

Honestly, Sue could see this being kept underneath the armors of the Astartes with them only using it to boost their combat efficiency. Yet, that was only one side of it, as she could also see the public using this to enhance their lives.

With how things were set, a normal citizen with fire powers would be able to use a symbiote to breathe underwater, as it would enable them to nullify that weakness, while also working as a rebreather for them underneath the waves.

Smiling at the symbiotes accepting her changes, Sue made a few more improvements before looking up from her lab station. Smiling at what she would call the mark two symbiote, Sue looked over to the hologram display as it crunched the numerous genetic sequences.

Leaning back in her seat, she reached out with an errant hand to pick up the tea offered while her other hand slowly rubbed her stomach. Giving James a smile, Sue turned back to her center council as it released a double beep.

Pausing with her cup at her lips, Sue peered at the golden all-clear hovering over her workstation. Sipping a little of her tea she then placed the cup down before doing a little tappy clap in excitement, “James, can you call my Primarch to the lab, please? And thanks.”

Things progressed swiftly after that as Sue vocalized notes to her lab and had Athena sort the data before sending it to her Omni. As all of that was going on, Sue had worked her magic with the symbiote, producing five more. These were based on the one that she had completed but they weren’t created by her hands, they were created from the nutrient paste that filled the little work basin upon her work table.

The symbiotes grew out of the nutrient fluid as if they were grapes. Ben had given her the idea a while back, but it was only now that she had put it to work. Placing a finger upon the symbiote blob, Sue smiled as the biological feedback that she received came back clear with no deviations.

Shutting off the nutrient supply, Sue left the main symbiote to use up the rest of the raw genetic material to produce more symbiotes to her specifications. With that finished, she then turned around with one of the already completed symbiote grapes within her hands.

Turning around, Sue’s timing was perfect as her spartan came in with her Primarch, Douglas. The man was a powerhouse that stood eight feet tall, lightly tanned skin with golden blonde curls. Since he was assigned to her protection detail, Ben had set him in charge of her fleet of ships while also aligning his powerset to complement her own.

Well, that wasn’t just Douglas, but all of the Primarchs were like that, well, that was only for those on protection details. The others that were in charge of protecting the Empire came with different types of power manipulations, ranging from kinetic energy to the elements and beyond.

The large Primarch smiled down at her before giving a bow of his head, “I have come, as you have summoned.”

“Oh don’t be like that, Douglas,” Sue said with a chuckle.

Taking the seat offered, Douglas shook his head before speaking with a voice that rumbled from his chest. “My Queen, I was on a video call with the other Primarchs, discussing the defense of the new planet with the General and other military leaders.”

“Well, alright, I guess I won’t keep you then,” Sue replied before tossing the golden grape the size of her fist towards him…

Catching the golden object in his hand, Sue watched as he removed his gloves before running a finger over its smooth surface. Sue watched as his eyes went wide before she nodded her head at him. “It’s safe, but I want a full report after a week’s usage and any notable ideas you might come up with for improvements.”

“Of, of course, my Queen,” Douglas replied swiftly before squeezing down on the symbiote. Sue watched with a smile as the symbiote vanished beneath the surface of the Primarchs skin.

Holding out a hand, she made a motion, and Sue’s eyes lit up when he placed his hands upon hers and she discovered his usages of the symbiote. Instead of keeping a layer around his ribcage like Ben had done, Douglas had spread the symbiote through his body and coated his bones with it.

“This… this is amazing, my Queen,” Douglas breathed and Sue could clearly hear the reverent tones in his voice.

The smirk on her lips could be heard clearly within her voice, “I try, but this is only the second of the first interactions made. Your brothers and sisters will get theirs soon enough. Oh, and don’t spoil the surprise.”

“Of course, my Queen.”

“Good, now run along and go play with your big guns,” Sue replied with a wave of the hand. “Ohh and don’t forget, we will be going to Titan soon.”

“Of course, my Queen.”

With a smile, Sue turned back around to examine the twenty-four finished symbiotes that sat within the nutrient basin.

=]*[=

Undisclosed Location…

Undisclosed Prisoner…

Something was going on and he could feel it. Someone was coming, but with all that they used to obscure his knowledge of the location, he could not be certain. Sighing to himself, he leaned back against the wall and waited. Would this be the time that they killed him or would he be able to see the sun once more?

The stars were one thing that he was used to, he thought with a sigh as a hand rubbed at the scarred X upon the back of his neck. All it took was getting caught once, all they needed to do was catch him once. They had been very clear in their demonstration about the bomb at the back of his neck.

Letting out a sigh, he leaned against the wall: he allowed his fingers to tap against the wall as he waited for what had awakened him. He had lived his life on the feelings that came from his gut. The same way his father did and the same way he taught his daughter as well.

The reason why he woke made itself known as the prison shook ever so slightly. He would never have felt it if the dust hadn’t fallen from the ceiling.

Bringing a hand to his face, he made a few motions with his hand as he twisted his prized mustache, even if it was a little more than he was used to. This time, the sound of the conflict was a lot closer he noted as a hand idly twisted the end of his ‘stache’.

Letting out a sigh, he slowly rose to his feet before stepping away from his bed. There was another boom that fiercely shook his isolation cell.

Standing back up from where he had fallen, he twisted out of the way on gut instinct as the door to his cell was blasted off its hinges. Eyes wide, he couldn’t help but take in the massive armored figure standing in the entryway to his isolated cell.

He heard no words as light illuminated his cell, that could only mean that they were using internal communications. Fixing his prison clothes, he held his head high as he took a step toward and spoke.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, you wouldn’t happen to be looking for little ole me?” He asked with a clear bravado that he did not feel at all.

He watched as the one in the lead tilted his head before speaking. “Are you Walter Hardy?”

His breath hitched but he steeled his nerves before answering in the positive. Those behind the one in his prison cell moved out of the way as the one in the doorway pulled something from behind his back.

“We are here on orders of his majesty to extract you and deliver you to her majesty,” The one within his prison cell spoke as he took a step closer. Knitting his brows, Walter had to think of who this royalty was, since the last he checked, he was positive that there were no royals in his back pocket. Yet, those thoughts were shuffled to the side as he watched the man before him activate some strange device.

The device unfolded itself before turning into what appeared to be a flak jacket, but Walter had to ask. “Who is her majesty?”

The man before him brought his arm up before an image sprang forth, “Her Majesty Felicia Hardy, Queen to Pandora.”

“Ohh, Kitten, how you have grown,” Walter softly spoke as he looked at the image of his daughter clearly in the middle of a heist of some sort. The image then shifted to Felicia sitting on the lap of a redhead, then to that of her kissing a very large well-built man who was holding her up with one hand.

Instantly his fatherly instincts reared its head as a growl; deep, dark, and angry came from somewhere within him. More images scrolled across the floating screen with some information but his mind was already made. Straightening his back, Walter took the offered flak jacket and put it on.

The soldier that was standing there in clearly advanced armor gave him a nod before turning to stand in the doorway. With the flak jacket on, Walter cleared his throat to catch the attention of the people who were clearly here to extract him from his prison.

The one protecting the door to his cell turned around before pressing something upon his wrist. Walter then heard a hum before a blue shimmer rolled over his form. He raised an eyebrow and got a quick one-word answer, ‘shield’.

“Understandable, but may I get your name, young man? You do know my own, after all,” Walter spoke with a smile that charmed thousands of people over the years.

The guard shrugged, “For now, Spartan Davis will do,” Was the reply before he did an about-face. “Now, come along, we are on a timetable to surprise her majesty.”

That put a smile on his face more than the prospect of actually getting out of this god-forsaken hellhole. No words were shared as Walter walked forward at an even, sedate pace that was oddly deceptive to the eye. This was something he had perfected and it would not only take him out of here, but it came with a certain level of speed that was just under a jog but also above that of a fast stride.

The gait of the walk that he used made it seem as if he was gliding across the floor, unfortunately, he almost paused in his walk as he got out of his cell and saw the carnage of the prison.

Clearing his throat, Walter turned around to ask a question, but was interrupted as the team that was guarding his cell was suddenly guarding his person. Then before he could ask anything, a fast pace was set as they made their way to the elevators at the end of the hall. As they moved, Walter made sure not to examine the bodies that were everywhere too closely.

Now that he had time to think about it, maybe he should have asked to talk with his daughter. Then again, he could also do that later if they didn’t turn out to be who they said they were. It really was no issue for him to escape them once they were out. The only reason why he hadn’t escaped his own prison cell was due to there only being one way in and one way out. Hell, he had examined it and even the air reconstitution units couldn’t be used as an escape route since they pumped air in through pipelines, not vents.

As they arrived at the end of the prison block, Walter noticed the utterly ruined nature of the elevator, yet his companions never stopped. They all piled onto a platform that was clearly placed upon the destroyed elevator.

Before he got a chance to look around and examine anything, Walter felt a yank underneath his armpits as he was pulled upwards. Before he cleared the top of the elevator, Walter caught a glimpse of his prison cell exploding, then as he got out at the fiftieth level, the whole prison rocked once more as dust came from down below.

No one said anything, no one stopped as he walked past more bodies riddled with bullet holes while some sections of the wall showed clear signs of explosives. Walter felt it strange that they had to walk to the far end of the west side to the prison before they could take another set of odd floating transportation upwards. When they did it a third time was when things clicked for him.

Those uncultured swines had set the stairs in a staggered formation leading upwards. This meant that if you wanted to get to the top, you would have to work your way all the way to the end of a wing to the opposite side before you were able to truly get out.

They performed the tedious task of going from one end of a prison block to the other three more times before they finally arrived at the surface. As they arrived topside, Walter was greeted with the sight of an entire wall blown inwards. He could tell that the explosive force that had made such a thing possible came from the outside due to debris being blown inwards.

This was ignored also as he was bustled forward with some other prisoners that were milling around with a light contingent of guards. Funnily enough, he actually knew a few of them, all here because they were placed in a hole and had the keys thrown away.

Lights illuminated the night sky as a flying craft of some sort settled down as Walter got a small push in the back. Taking it for what it was, he upped his pace to a light jog as those around him also picked up the pace. The other prisoners got onto the flying craft before vanishing while he was stopped upon the back ramp.

He felt nothing as the craft lifted off, but that changed when they gave him a device with a big red button. Ohh, that warmed his heart in a way that no heist ever could and Walter wasted not a moment in pressing that button.

=]*[=

Freshly cleaned and shaved, Walter looked over the spandex crap they called an unstable molecular suit. Face scrunched up in disdain at the thing, he brought up the Omni like he was taught before inputting the command.

The spandex upon the bed shimmered before shifting into his signature three-piece suit. It might be a little vain of him, but he wanted to look his best if he was going to see his baby girl. So much to do, and yet, he had such little time.

As he dressed himself, Walter felt his wrist vibrate with the five-minute warning. Letting out a sigh, it was time to face the music. They had accommodated him by taking the long way, which not only allowed him to take a nap but also allowed him to shower and finish his ablutions. Once his tie was proper, he walked out of the personal cabin given to him, finding Davis standing ramrod straight on the outside, waiting upon his arrival.

“Davis, my boy,” Walter called with great cheer as he clapped a hand upon the shoulder of his semi-silent sentinel.

“Mr. Hardy, it will be early morning upon our arrival within New York, breakfast will be an English special where tea or coffee will be served,” Davis answered succinctly.

Feeling the low rumble of his own stomach, Walter nodded in confirmation before tossing an arm over the Spartan’s shoulders. “I understand that, but come on, when will an old man be able to see his daughter?”

“Upon arrival, we were told by the house’s AI that under no uncertain circumstance are we to disturb their time unless the world is ending,” Davis replied smoothly. “The punishment for that would be to offer up yourself to the sacrifice that is known as sparring with his majesty.”

Walter shook his head, “Ooh, a little exercise can’t be all that bad.”

Walter heard Davis let out a small sigh but he paid it no mind as he retracted his arm and walked alongside the man. Walking past the cockpit, Walter noticed the skyline to the city as it struck at his heart with nostalgia. He stood there and watched for a time until the scene changed to that of a penthouse with an obvious landing pad on the roof.

Things move rapidly after that as Walter found himself within a penthouse, but he didn’t even give a passing glance to the things around as he noticed a picture frame upon the mantlepiece. Within the picture, he saw the smiling face of his daughter. Ohh how she reminded him of her mother.

Just that thought made him pause in his actions as he realized that he would have to figure out a way to contact Lydia. Yet, before he could get very far into planning that set of actions, the walls thumped. Turning to check that he wasn’t the only one that felt and heard the bump, Walter was surprised when most, if not all of the guards turned the other way.

It wasn’t until the third bump that he made up his mind to go and investigate what might be the cause. Turning around, Walter noticed the guards slowly taking steps back, with a raised eyebrow he waited.

It was Davis who spoke as he stood at the far door in parade rest, “Sir, I would suggest not disrupting her majesty and his highness during their activities.”

His other eyebrow raised before he let out a huff, shrugging, Walther then made his way over to the kitchen, wondering if his little kitten still liked her eggs sunny side up. Things didn’t take very long once the food started to be cooked and the aroma from the meal made itself known within the penthouse.

As Walter cooked, the news played, which caused him to stop to take a look. The reporter from ABC-News was going on and on about footage from Nasa about a new planet suddenly appearing within the solar system. Of course, good taxpayer’s dollars were going to be wasted as they put together a probe and sent it over to check the situation. Shaking his head at it all, his attention shifted as a very audible click could be heard coming from one of the back rooms.

With a flourish, Walter removed the apron from around his person before giving it one hard shake and folding it over. What he saw was different, not what he was expecting, since what came out of the back rooms was a very buff man in boxer shorts holding up a scantily clad female in only what could be described as her undergarments.

Then their eyes met and Walter found himself gripped by the neck and forced up against the kitchen cabinets.

“Who the fuck are you?” Growled the very large black man holding him by the throat. Darkness crept along the edges of his vision as his mind threatened to shut down. Then it all came rushing back as air filled his lungs and he was released allowing him to drop down yet he was caught before he could really kiss the floor below. Then he was pulled out of his brief anguish by sweet sweet words. “Ohh shit, Walter? You should really sue them for a refund.”

Walter chuckled as he dusted himself off, standing up. He took that que and made his own comment to smooth over the moment, “Ohh I believe I still look dashing enough, CIA blacksites did wonders for my tan.”

“Dad, what in the hell?” Felica yelled more than a little excitedly as she then tried to cover herself to show some modesty.

“Ohh, hey kitten, thanks for stopping the brute,” Walter replied with a chuckle, “It’s nice to see you too, so glad you have your mother’s looks, but ahh, can you please cover up.”

“Ohh my god, eww,” Felica shook as she went beat red and ran out of the kitchen. The big large brute that was with her just shook his head at the situation before following behind. Letting out a sigh, Walter fixed his collar before sitting at the table. The brute was obviously with his baby girl and was of the mind to attack first , ask questions later.

Letting out a sigh, Walter ate his eggs and ignored the chuckles of the guards.

=]*[=

Benjamin Blake

Father, Husband, Emperor

BBQ God!

Whistling a tune, I stood over the barbeque pit in my patented dad sandals, swim trunks, and a kiss the Emperor apron on. In the background, the music was thumping, but it was all good since we scaled the noise dampers up. This not only brought the music to a nice level at the party but it allowed those at the concert to enjoy the thrill of the bass trying to be their second heartbeat.

Shaking my head at the sick beats coming out of the gigantic portal to the Dazzler concert, I flipped a steak before shifting my head to the side as I heard one of my girls yelling…

“DYNAMIC ENTRY!” Maya screamed as her leg shot past my head.

With a tsk, I snatched her by the ankle before tossing her upwards.

“BENJAMIN!” Someone screamed, making me flinch a little. Turning, I found Ororo glaring daggers at me right alongside Emma.

“What?” I asked, clearly not expecting this.

“This is why Maya acts like a hooligan,” Emma huffed looking upwards.

“HAHA, El Macho approves of such discipline. Keeps the young ones on their toes,” A massive Lucha Libre-type looking man said with much gusto. I noticed the red spandex with the chest hairs and Lucha mask. Then it clicked that he was calling himself El Macho.

Ororo shook her head at me, “Ben, sweetheart, you will not treat our daughter as if she is some sack of potatoes.”

I looked at Emma but the look on her face said that she clearly wasn’t going to have my back. So I of course put my foot inside my mouth, “I barely tossed her up fifty feet.”

Ororo stilled in her sensual walk, Emma froze, Raven appeared out of nowhere, and even my mother appeared as if from stealth, ohh shit.

“I didn’t say that, nope,” I popped before turning back around.

“AHHHH!”

My hand whipped out, snatching Maya from the air before she hit the ground and I could only shake my head at the troublemaker. Being able to fly or not didn’t matter to the ladies who had a gaze that felt like death hanging over my neck.

“Do it again, again!” Maya squealed clear enthusiasm and excitement coming from her.

There was a flare of red and gold as Jean appeared with Gwen and her parents, “Do what sweety?”

“Daddy tossed me waaaaayyyy up!” Maya stated, excitedly pointing upwards.

Ignoring the gaze of Captain Stacey, I flipped a few burgers before putting the cheese on top. If I let out a cough and if it sounded like ‘snitch,’ that was purely coincidental. The other troublemaker decided to make herself known as she came flying out of some portal to latch onto my back like a koala bear.

Quickly putting a burger together, I hit it with some ketchup before passing it over my shoulder. Like the little gremlin that she was, the burger was snatched out of my hand before my back became a whole lot lighter.

Since little Illyana had gotten her powers, the girl had been nothing but teleporting trouble. Lucky for her, I was making sure to keep an eye out so assholes like Belasco from the comics wouldn’t be able to get their grubby mitts upon her. If all things went well, then I would be able to strike first against him once the new year rolled around. I had to impress upon Selene the importance of taking things slow to get us into Limbo with only minor time dilations. And with the new Primarchs to assist her in her magical endeavors, things should perform far smoother than if she was the only lynchpin to the plan.

The name of the game when playing inside different dimensions was to have multiple lanes to protect against failure. This allowed more than two stable points, which is what happens across all lines of fiction. Yet, those were plots and plans for a later time.

=]*[=

With a chuckle, I took the steaks that Captain America had brought with him as I vanished from my location with a burst of speed. Arriving back at the BBQ pit, I found Tony standing over my prized possession.

“Oye, don’t you dare touch that,” I squawked before smacking his hand away. The look he gave me was one of pure effrontery.

“Did you just smack me with a spatula?” Tony asked, clearly confused. “Yeah, I think you just did.”

“Yeah, I did,” I replied while giving him the stink eye, “You don’t touch another man’s grill.”