by Chewy Walrus and GoozX
The year 2083:
Charles Elias Walker, President of the United States of America, led a confused group of what he considered to be renegades through the bowels of his nigh-impenetrable fortress.
"What's going on here?" Marv Velo demanded, following closely behind Walker.
At his words, the eternally young Walker spun on his heels, jamming an index finger into the man's face. "Listen to me," Walker said, his salt-and-pepper hair the only evidence of his having aged at all in the last eighty-one years. "I know your real name. I'm the man that killed you, okay? Don't get smart with me, young man, because I assure you, I am much, much smarter."
"Right," Velo said, rolling his eyes. "And how, pray tell, did I die?"
"Right after that one," Walker said, pointing to Lance Lorenzo. "And right before that one," he said, pointing to Pete Glover. All three men looked quizzically at one another.
"I ask you again, how did I die?" Velo asked indignantly.
"I killed you with my bare hands," Walker said. "After the ghastly way I killed Mr. Lorenzo, you begged for a fair fight. No weapons. No tricks. Skill against skill."
"And you beat me?" Velo said, almost laughing. "Bullshit."
"Not really," said Walker. "Most every fighter slips into a pattern -- even the great Marv Velo. Finding the pattern proved difficult, granted, but not impossible." Walker smiled and kept walking as Velo stopped cold, the rest of the Revolution halting, blocked by his standing.
"Well?" Walker said, turning back to them. "Do you want to get home, or should I kill you all again?"
"Kill me."
Marv Velo's words seemed to stop reality in its place. Everyone held their positions, not getting between the two titans.
"You say you can kill me. Show me."
Marv Velo slammed his wrists together, a spark of energy crackling through his armor. Walker was silent, only smiling. Within seconds, claws formed from his fingernails, red energy crackled from his eyes, and he disappeared into thin air.
"What the f--?"
Before Velo could manage to cuss, an invisible boot slammed into his rib cage, sending him to one knee.
"The metagene is a very funny thing."
Another boot to the stomach knocked him off his knee and onto his back. Velo rolled with it, getting back onto his feet, rage filling his eyes.
"Once extracted from a holder's DNA strain, it can be combined with another."
A set of claws ripped through the back of Velo's armor, sparks flying everywhere.
"You have no way to even contemplate what I have become."
Velo was lifted off the ground by his neck, and Walker reappeared.
"You are a monster."
"That might be true, Mr. Velo, but I am also your only hope to get home."
Velo sent a surge of energy through his armor, shocking Walker, giving him the split second needed to get loose. He followed with a series of kicks. The first connected, but Walker easily blocked the other blows. Punching also had no effect.
"Raw energy only makes me stronger, lets me counter your attacks."
Walker followed with a series of blows at superspeed, sending Velo flying through the air, landing hard on the ground. Blood dripped down the side of his cheek.
"You have such a narrow mind. You stubborn fool. If you only opened your mind to the improbable, you could have been a threat. Even now, you doubt if you are in the future."
"If you..." Velo spit up a little blood. "If you manage to send us back from this 'future,' then this place will have never existed. You will not exist, the future will not exist. Hence, we were never here."
"Very impressive. Maybe now your future will be different. You will not fail when the time comes. Maybe, just maybe, the body count that plagued your conscience will never form. Or maybe you'll screw up again."
Velo opened his mouth but said nothing.
"You are not always right," Walker continued. "But you shall learn that for yourself."
No one else knew how to respond, whether to interfere or to let them be. Walker was directly in Velo's face, claws at his neck.
"Excuse me, but are you done?" Tobias asked. "Or do you want to be a fucking fortune cookie that bites all of us? If you can send us back, do it. If not, let's see how many of us you can take out before we get you back."
"Mr. Christopher, the unstable child, indeed. Rage the only thing faster than your speed."
"Send us back, or die--"
Walker appeared in front of Tobias within two hundredths of a second. Walker turned intangible and placed his hand into Tobias' chest, grabbing his heart.
"Don't tempt me, boy."
The shock on Tobias' face could not be written with words.
"Now, does anyone else want to challenge me?"
Everyone was silent, knowing how far out of their league they were.
"Very good. Then follow me."
Lance Lorenzo helped Velo back to his feet, and Sonja rubbed Tobias' arm, as he was still in shock. They all followed Walker without a sound.