Chapter 22: 22. Battle On The Bridge I

Presently Zayn was flying through the air in the direction of Rockwall, Texas to intercept Zeff and his 'unnamed accomplice'. Yessica had already briefed everyone over the radio about Zeff's strength and his ability to seemingly induce weakness and fear and now everyone was mostly quiet. At least as far as one might hear. But Zayn could see that there wasn't a quiet mind in the whole helicopter.

Zayn did his best to ignore the 'loudest' thinker, the fool, Lieutenant Davian Storm, sitting across from him on the other side of the police helicopter, but it was a futile endeavor.

Storm was staring Zayn down with a strange blend of contempt and fear as images played through the officers mind of Zayn flying through the sky, of him shooting beams of light out of his eyes, of him with golden hair, screaming at the top of his lungs as the earth trembled around him.

Then there was S.A. Petticoat. Zayn had seen many, many brutal and gruesome images in his lifetime. But what played through Petticoat's head was unnaturally disturbing. Zayn could never tell someone's emotional state. But, based on their thoughts, he could guess with a certain amount of certainty how someone felt. Petticoat was thinking about a tall black man wearing army boots, ripped jeans, and a gray mandarin jacket with folded cuffs. He had strikingly blue eyes and short, pulled-back dreadlocks on the top of his head but cropped hair on the sides so that he looked like someone built for speed. He stood with his arms crossed in front of him and an emotionless, cold expression on his face. Behind him and all about him lay the lifeless and bloody bodies of countless soldiers. Suddenly something would hit Petticoat from his side sending a spray of blood into the air and the image would fade to black and then replay again and again.

Zayn smiled a devilish and cunning smile.

There was no one in this helicopter more terrified than S.A. Petticoat, though he did a great job of hiding it, and Zayn couldn't wait to see how he would crumble.

And then, sitting just to his left, there was Yessica who was constantly thinking about him, teetering between admiration and hatred. One second her thoughts were mild and even pleasant, the next they were violent and borderline insane. Zayn was no child, and he had had his gift for his entire life. He had used it more times then he could count to woo and please women, and he had learned a long time ago what the thoughts of a psycho looked like… And Yessica was certainly psychotic.

And 'Psycho' was Zayn's favorite flavor of woman…

They were on a mission to kill a boy against whom her powers apparently didn't work and an old man who could punch a whole through a panzer, while being disguised as cops, in a helicopter with 6 other people (one of which had fought a G.I. before and lived), and here Yessica was doing her best not to let on that she… was attracted to him… Though it didn't seem like even Yessica herself knew it yet.

It was a part of human nature to be complex, that was undeniable, but complexity and insanity, Zayn had realized long ago, are only separated by a very thin line. He had crossed that line ages ago, and now Yessica teetered on it, in danger of falling into insanity.

And Zayn would make sure she fell in his direction and he would be there to catch her when she did. He had already made up his mind.

"So I read your file!" Yelled Petticoat suddenly into his headset in an attempt to speak over the roar of the helicopter. "Enhanced reflexes and athleticism! That's impressive! We'll need your help if this goes south!" The images of the man with blue eyes never ceased playing through his mind.

'Coward.' Thought Zayn to himself. Then he added loudly with a concerned expression. "I'm sorry, sir! I don't know if I'll be able to be of any help, really! There's no way I could stand up to someone like Corad with my gift if our intel is correct. I'm just a low C class G.I." he lied. "Corad might be an S or X class."

A single cold bead of sweat formed on Petticoat's brow and the 'video' of the blue-eyed man replayed in his mind again, but this time, in the place of the the man, it was Zeff.

Zayn almost laugh out loud. However, as he looked at Yessica, he could see that she was not amused even a little by his act. But that didn't bother him one bit.

"And yet you seemed so confident earlier!" Petticoat laughed, but the laugh never touched his eyes.

"Sorry, sir! I was just talking big! I've never met another G.I. let alone fought one!" As he said that Davion at once seemed a bit smug and was about to comment, but Zayn went on, "I just happened to be the only combat type on the G.I. Registry within 25 kilometers."

"Hey!" Interrupted Lieutenant Davion screaming into his headset. "What's all this about classes and types?!"

Petticoat, with beads of cold sweat forming on his brow, commented, "Poopenheimer is referring to the classification system used to categorize G.I.s." He wiped his brow and recited, "Said simply: It's a letter system which starts at F and goes through D, C, B, and A, with F class being the weakest and A class being the strongest in terms of how deadly, complex, or useful the gift. After the A class, it divides itself into three, even stronger classes, all of which are on the same level: The 'deadly' S class. The complex or 'tricky' X class. And the useful or 'supportive' Z class. Beyond that, there is ZZ, SS, XX, and even XZ and XS though these are incredibly rare."

There was a moment of silence as the officers present took there time to process the information until, finally, another officer in the back who hadn't yet spoken raised his voice over the hum of the helicopter and asked, "What was the class of the G.I. you danced with, Special Agent Petticoat?"

Petticoat took in his breath and after a long pause he said, "He was an A class."

For the first time Petticoat allowed his fear to show on his face as deep shadows appeared under his eyes which were filled with despair. He almost instantly composed himself, but Zayn could see as clear as day that the damage had already been done as every man present began to envision Zeff ripping their arms off or cutting them in half with a blade of light.

Zayn almost laughed with glee and wished he had brought popcorn for when the fireworks started.

Next to him images shown through Yessica's mind of her first encounter with Zeff. Zayn couldn't be sure, but she seemed suddenly to be just as terrified as Petticoat.

'They're all cowards, the whole lot.' he thought with disgust.

The first person to break the silence was, of course, Lieutenant Davion Storm. "May I ask, Sir: Why are the police force and the FBI handling this? This sounds like a job for the Army?"

"Or the Avengers…" Added another officer.

No one laughed.

"The US government and many others are doing their best to make sure that the presence of G.I.s remains relatively secret. Many of you have heard the stories but very few have actually met a G.I. in person. And that's how Uncle Sam wants to keep it. As myth. What would happen if the citizenry knew that such people exist? And if the army rushed in here to take out a single person, even a person responsible for killing a cop, do you think the public wouldn't ask why their tax dollars were being used to apprehend a common street thug?"

"So they sent you, a man who has encountered a hostile G.I. before." Davion stated matter-of-factly.

S.A. Petticoat offered no response or confirmation, but his distant and cold expression said it all.

Suddenly over the radio a female voice could be heard, "Special Agent Petticoat, we have successfully redirected Corad towards the police blockade on I-30 West."

"And the spike strip?" inquired Petticoat into his headset.

"Deployed on the bridge west of exit 64 with the waters of Lake R. Hubbard to the north and east, sir. Corad should be hitting the strip in about two minutes or so."

"Excellent! Our ETA to the blockade is—?"

"About four minutes, sir." Came the voice of the helicopter pilot.

"You heard the man, ladies and gentlemen!" Petticoat called into his headset. "Let's get this crazy son of a b*tch behind bars!"

Zayn, smiled devilishly beneath his mask. He couldn't help but notice the images of the blue-eyed man still playing through Petticoat's head. "This is gonna be good." he whispered under his breath.

*****

"Where are we even going, Doc?" asked Zeff with a frustrated sigh as he drove the car down the virtually empty highway and over the bridge spanning Lake R. Hubbard. They had passed several exits already but were unable to take them because they were congested with cars."We coulda just stayed there in the woods! Nobody knew we were there! There's no way Leo or Meilo or whoever could've found us."

Next to Zeff, Sylvan was sitting with a worried look on his face his right arm hanging out of the open window. He hardly looked like the usual quirky and calm man that Zeff had come to know. "Zeff-boy." He began as though he hadn't heard Zeff at all. "You need to be mentally and emotionally prepared for what's about to happen."

Zeff scoffed. "What? Are we gonna—"

"Zephaniah." said Sylvan sharply.

Zeff turned his focus briefly from the road to Sylvan whose eyes were thoughtful and concerned, almost to the point of being pained. His brows were furrowed.

It was the first time that the doctor had used his full name since they had first met and Zeff immediately understood that the situation was more dire than he thought.

The doctor went on, faster than before, but his voice still low and even. "We are likely about to encounter a police blockade in a matter of minutes or even seconds."

Zeff didn't dare question the doctor now. He only asked, "What do we do?"

"No matter what, we can not be taken into custody. I thought we would have more time… So I hadn't prepared you for combat like I would've liked. But remember what I'm going to say next, and never forget it."

Zeff's heart was beating at a million miles per hour as the tension and suspense of the coming storm began to mount. His senses were heightened and his focus at it's uppermost limit as he listened intently to the doctor with bated breath.

"Rule number one, no matter how strong or how numerous your opponent, there's always a way to beat them. Stay calm and find it if you must. Two, if you can't find it, there is no shame in running and no glory in staying to fight. Survive. Three, there is no such thing as a fair fight when your life is on the line. Use everything at your disposal to win, from your words to even your very own spit.

"Rule number four, and maybe the most important at the moment, your emotions are one of your greatest weapons, but you have to use them not the other way around. Stay calm. Stay reasonable."

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Zeff swallowed hard and audibly. "Is that all?"

Sylvan smiled and said, "If we survive this I'll give you the last three when—"

*Pathump!-Krrrrrhk* came a terrible sound as the car jolted violently and Zeff struggled to keep control of it, turning the wheel in an attempt to keep the car on course.

His efforts were ultimately fruitless as the world suddenly turned upside-down, the car flipping on its side and entering into a barrel roll.

After what seemed like forever, the car, battered, broken, and barely usable, finally came to a sudden stop with a heavy *thoomp*, right-side up in the middle of the highway and perpendicular to it. Police lights and sirens at once turned on revealing their location about 50 meters away to Zeff's right in the direction they had been driving, forming a blockade with their police cars.

Zeff, his brain in complete disarray and doing everything in its power to regain its composure, said groggily, "What the heck just happened, Doc…?"

No answer.

"Doc? You alright?" Zeff called, the world slowing from its mad spinning.

No answer.

The passenger seat next to him was completely empty but it was covered in blood.

Zeff's barrel roll induced confusion, though growing lesser by the second, was still very much present. "Doc… Where are you…?"He said looking around, utterly disoriented. After a second or two his eyes finally caught a glimpse of the doctor laying outside of the car on the ground about 10 meters away. "Get up, Doc! W-we gotta run!" He called stumbling out of the car and practically crawling over to the doctor. "We gotta—"

*Squish*

Zeff's hand had fallen upon something solid, wet and warm. He looked down to see what it was, but through the fog of his mind it didn't quite register until, after a moment, Zeff's breath caught in his throat.

Under his hand was another man's right forearm.

"Doc…?" He said looking up, sobered by the disembodied arm. Only a few meters away lay the doctor in a pool of blood, his right arm missing. Zeff, as quickly as his battered body and foggy mind would allow, crawled to the doctors side. "Sylvan!"

The doctor didn't respond and Zeff couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. "Sylvan!!" He cried demanding an answer. Sylvan's left arm was bent at an inhuman angle and a broken bone had nearly pierced through the skin of his forearm from the inside. His whole body was in incredibly bad shape with bruises and cuts all over.

"Hands up, Corad!!" Screamed a commanding voice through a megaphone from behind.

Zeff hadn't notice but the blockade had already advanced toward him, stopping just in line with the totaled Pesla he had just been driving. From the east, the direction from which he had just driven, had come nearly a dozen police cars and they had stopped an equal distance away to Zeff's front as the blockade was from his back.

And he was certainly too befuddled to notice the police helicopter landing on the bridge just behind the police blockade.

"You're surrounded! Come quietly and no one else has to get hurt!"

A sudden sharp pain ran through Zeff's head as reality set in and he doubled over with a pained scream.

'Hath the apes no shame…?' Mused a deep, guttural voice from the depths of Zeff's mind. 'Poor little Zephaniah… Poor little ape. As long as thou hath foes, thou shall feel the bitterness of loss, unending.'

"W-what should I do, then…"

'Thou mustn't resign thyself to such a pitiable fate, being pulled to and fro by the whims of apes and insects. Simply rebel. Crush thine foes beneath thine feet… With mine help, of course…'

"I-I can't."

'With mine aid, thou shall be a deity among men. Merely give thyself to me… And I, *we*, will raze the earth to the ground. The apes will worship thee as a God.'

Suddenly crimson smoke began to rise from Zeff's body as he stood to his feet. "Yes." Zeff began, his dragon-like voice booming across the bridge, "They will bow. They will beg! And They will bleed!!" As the last word left his lips a monstrous roar, unbridled and loud, shook the entire bridge like a nuke had landed nearby, causing several cops to fall to the ground in fear and several more to double over, covering their ears.

At once, above every head on the bridge, small 'Fear' readouts began to appear with nearly half of the officers present being instantly promoted to Phobia I.

"Come apes!!" Zeff roared. "I shall end th—"

Zeff stopped suddenly as something tugged at his pants leg. He turned on his heels, poised to eviscerate the officer foolish enough to touch him in his rage. But instead of an officer, he found himself staring down into the glassy half-dead eyes of Sylvan.

"Rule number four, boy." reminded Sylvan with a half smile that made him look more dead than alive.

"Doctor!" Zeff fell to his knees as tears began to well up in his eyes and took Sylvan into his arms, the crimson smoke at once dissipating. "Doctor! You're alive!"

Sylvan didn't seem to hear, or if he did heard, he didn't seem interested in responding. Instead, he looked Sylvan directly into his eyes and said, "We must survive, boy."

And with that, the poor doctor fell still and silent, his breathing labored, but, much to Zeff's relief, he was still breathing.

'Rule number two.' Zeff remembered. 'There's no shame in running.'

Just when he was about to bend over and gather up the doctor, *bang-bang* boomed an officer's gun into the air accompanied by a thundering voice that rang across the bridge, "Zephaniah Corad!! You are under arrest for theft and murder, among various other crimes. Please, come quietly!"

The gunshots, which had been shot into the air as a warning, had stopped Zeff dead in his tracks upon simple reflex. But now he looked at the man who had spoken. Standing on one of the police cars was a tall, dark man, with intense eyes who was missing part of his left ear. Above his head floated '(158/122) Phobia 0'.

While Zeff's mind was racing, attempting to recall distant memories of the Phobia skill's description. He noticed a beautiful woman standing behind the officer with a familiar smile on her face with a Phobia reading that read, '(27/84)'. Zeff caught his breath. 'The cop from my apartment!' he thought in bewilderment. He noticed in the next instant that the female officer was pointing a finger in his direction in a way that seemed rather unnatural given the current situation.

Just then, there came a rustling from behind as Zeff, again, turned on his heels, expecting that a police officer had snuck up on him.

*Boom!*

Something hit Zeff with such force that he was nearly knocked off of his feet. He fell to the ground in a heap as Dr. Sylvan, his eyes still glassy, towered over him, his nearly broken left arm raised after just striking Zeff down.

"D-doc! W-Why?!" Zeff stuttered in disbelief.

"I do not want to make my crimes worse, Zephaniah Corad. I want to turn myself in." Sylvan said loud enough for most of the cops to hear. Though he spoke up loudly, his eyes were still blank and listless as though he was still unconscious. The next moment, however, he began limping in the direction of the tall man and the female cop, blood from what remained of his right arm dripping to the ground as he went.

Zeff at once knew something was wrong. Only minutes ago Sylvan had stressed that they shouldn't, under any circumstances, allow themselves to be taken into custody. As he searched his mind for an answer his eye fell again on the female cop.

She was smiling even wider than before, her finger still pointed directly at Sylvan! She was a G.I.!

"You! I'll—!" cried Zeff, lurching forward, off the ground in Sylvan's direction.

*Bang* came another warning shot that landed just in front of his feet. "Zephaniah Corad. If you do not turn yourself in, like your wise accomplice here, we will be forced to take you out…" At that exact moment, as the tall man finished his sentence, Sylvan reached the blockade and was gathered up and handcuffed by two sweaty, terrified-looking cops who took him away.

Zeff felt that strange pain at the back of his head again, as Dragon Rage attempted to activate, but he took a deep breath and banished the sensation.

'Fine!' Zeff thought, as more officers began to compose themselves, pointing their guns at him. 'If you want a villain, I'll give you a villain…'

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