Awakened (Dominus Agents Only [For the time being])

It was a niceish day outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The sky was gray like it would begin to rain any second, but no rain did fall. One of those days where it was light out, but you couldn't tell where the sun was. A nice breeze weaved through the remains of New York. Cars and people milled about, doing their best to get around and do daily tasks. Some people, looking for a semblance of normality, visited the many museums New York has to offer. On this particular day, the Metropolitan Museum was receiving a new arrival: a rare 17th century angel statue unearthed in Austria. Museums in Austria had been studying it for a year and they were satisfied with their work enough to let the statue out on loan to other museums. The Metropolitan Museum staff hoped that such a beautifully crafted and detailed angel statue would help bring hope and joy to the people of New York. In a way, they were right.

Two men got out of the truck near the museum loading dock and opened the back of the truck. There were a few deliveries addressed for this museum, so they decided to unload largest to smallest. That put the big man-sized crate up first. One of them got into the back and began to push it towards the end, enough so the other man could lift one end from the ground. Once the other man had his end ready, the man inside the truck began to lift. He lifted the crate up an inch or two from the ground when his grip slipped, dropping his end on the floor of the truck. There was a sound of rock hitting wood.

"Shit." the man in the truck uttered, hoping whatever was inside was not broken. "Nice going. Now hurry up, we gotta get a move on." the other man replied.

~

The Guardian's eyes shot open. He was in blackness. Pure blackness. His first thought would be that he was blind, but he could feel the cold stone encasing him. Where was he? What was going on? He had to escape from this tomb. He moved his arms, his legs, his entire body. The sound of rock rubbing against rock was loud, seasoned with the constant sound of stone cracking and crumbling. Doing a sit-up like maunever, Guardian could feel himself propelled forward, and he was completely free of his prison.

~

The two men struggled to hold the box as it began to move and shake in their hands. Sounds of stone breaking and cracking emanated from the box. With each second, the moving became stronger and more constant, with the sound dying down. The cracks in the crate began to emit bright light, and the two men dropped the box as it threw itself forward. Splinters of wood and chunks of rock littered the rock as a glowing form began to pick itself up from the sidewalk. The two men did not hesitate to run. They had been in New York for the attack, and they were not about to die for a minimum wage job.

~

Light finally hit The Guardian's eyes. Filtered through stormless rain clouds, but it was light nonetheless.He looked around himself. Giant building's all around him, made from stone, metal and enough glass for a thousand churches! But where was he? How long had he been entombed? His mind felt stuffed and foggy. He knew what he was, and what he had done last. One moment he was blinding combatants to prevent war, and the next he was here, surrounded by constructs so high they pierced the clouds. He could feel and see himself begin to glow, light coming off him as if he was the sun. He heard the screams of men and saw them run away. His ears focused on the sounds around him, the sounds besides the screaming. He heard rushing wind, honking horns, the drone of many voices. Wherever he was, there was no quiet. He started to realize it was so loud here, too loud. He covered his ears. How could he concentrate and clear his mind with all this noise? He looked around and saw that close by to him was a building with an opening. He ran inside and closed a door behind him. It was much quieter in here. He breathed a sigh of relief and began to walk throughout the building. He was beginning to regain his clarity, but he still could do nothing about the light emitting from him. He began to walk throughout the building, when he picked up on the sound of many people talking and began to follow it. It was quieter than the drone outside. He walked down a few hallways until the voices were right next to him. He turned a corner and suddenly he was in a big room with art pieces practically covering any wall space there was. People walked around, admiring the works of art, but their gaze was quickly brought towards the dazed Guardian.

"I am...The Guardian..." he began, his mind working slow and spacing the words. As he spoke, his glow glowed brighter.

"Who are you, Where am I?" He hurriedly blurted out. The light coming off him began to get so bright, people had to avert their eyes. The crowd stood in silent awe. Their silence served only to anger the out of place Guardian.

"I will ask again, Where am I!" His voice echoed through the room. This burst of anger, combined with his light show, did well to frighten the crowd and cause people to run out of the museum yelling about a "Crazy metahuman blinding people". It did not do well to get an answer. The Guardian exited the now empty room out the same exit the crowd had run out of. Most pedestrians had ran clear of the museum, still weary from their experiences with superhuman activities. He wandered out of the museum, his mind clearing more and more quickly by the moment. We walked forward, hoping to find someone who would answer his questions. Unbeknownst to him, he had walked into the middle of the street. He turned towards the sound of a blaring horn and saw a metal construct speeding towards him. His raised his arm in the direction of the metal thing and a barrier made of light appeared to rise out of the ground. The car hit the barrier, and the Guardian had the barrier dissipate. The metal thing was obviously damaged in the front, metal crunched together and stripped of it's coloring. More similar metal things had been damaged behind the one that had hit is barrier, all seeming to have been damaged by the one in front. The Guardian was about to continue on, until he noticed that there were people in the metal constructs. His mind cleared itself of fog and began to fill with guilt and duty. He had to fix his mess, regardless of his unanswered questions. He went from car to car, ripping the doors off and bending the cars in whatever way was needed to get whoever was inside, out. His light barrier had caused a five car pile up, and of the five drivers, three were unconscious.

The Guardian's awakening and the ensuing panic it caused did not go unnoticed by the people most interested in quelling metahuman threats.

A large group of men apparated behind The Guardian. They told him to step away and asked if he was the cause of this. Respectfully, The Guardian backed away from the injured drivers and turned to face the newly arrived people. He saw they were armored and what could be perceived as, with a good imagination, weapons alike to crossbows. Guardian deduced these people were likely here to help the injured drivers, and he would not hinder them. He had done enough damage already.

"I was dazed from my recent awakening, and so it is in fact my fault that these people are hurt. Their cars were also damaged as a result of my actions. But you are here to help their wounds and I will make it up to them as soon as I am more capable and familiar with where and...when I am. Thank you for your hasty arrival. Hopefully these people can all be fully healed.

The Guardian bowed his head and turned to walk away after a last glance at the ten men on either side of the one. His mind was clear and he could start to make sense of things. Hopefully soon he could get reacquainted with the world and its' affairs. And the light coming from his body began to fade as he regained control and clarity of his mind and body.

New York City? The only New York he had ever heard of was a Dutch colony across the sea. And only moments ago (in his mind) he was in the middle of the 17th century. Somehow, over the course of four hundred years, Guardian had traveled across the ocean. No wonder so much had changed. The last time he resurfaced, the world was not too different from when he had last left, but now, thing were vastly dissimilar. And now, the group of men wanted him to go with them.

"Do pardon me, but it sounds as if you would not allow me to go on my way. I have confessed to my actions and apologized, as well as promised to repay any debt I owe. I see no reason you would want me here any longer. I have duties to perform and those duties make it so I cannot go with you, and I will not, not willingly. And if it is your wish for me to go with you, and I will not go willingly, the only course of action you can pursue is a violent one. Now I do not wish to fight, no. I would rather have a world absent of war and conquest. And so to deter you further I will give you warning: I am The Guardian."

Guardian turned his head towards the group of men, the glow fading from his entire body except his hands, where the light began to concentrate and grow brighter. With only his hands emitting light, the rest of his celestial body would be visible, allowing the men to see the moving space and stars that made up his form.

"If after all I have now said you still wish me to leave here with you and your men, then I say: Make me."

A frown came upon The Guardian's face. Why did man always need to fight? Did they not know of his powers, did they not care? No matter. They wanted violence and would not leave unless The Guardian went with them. So he would need to be forceful with them.

"So be it. Hold it in your mind that you wished for what is to follow, and I gave you ample opportunities to avoid conflict."

The Guardian quickly whipped around, bring both his palms to face the group of men, blasting a beam of light into the group of ten on either side of the man in charge. He then retracted his arms, brought his hands together, and quickly pushed forward with them, causing a large ball of light to hurtle towards the man in charge. he then retracted his arms again and followed his attack with a series of three scissor kicks that launched three more large balls of light; one at the ten on the left, one at the man in the center, and one at the ten on the right.

"Do they think that they or their weaponry can best me? They are mere men with the weak weapons of men, or at least so they appear. Much has changed though, and I cannot risk my defeat, not when the world needs my aid. I cannot be bested, no yet."

Half of those who opposed him fell within his first volley of attacks. The Guardian had expected this. Men would attack him either from cockiness or ignorance, but those who attacked him were always easily felled. The Guardian began to step closer to the group, even as the man in charge aimed his crossbow-like weapon at him. He smiled with confidence as he heard the weapon fire, a smile lost when he felt the impact of the weapon's projectile. Not only did he feel the impact, but it hurt. Nothing he could not handle, but it was an injury nonetheless. What hit him harder than the weapon was the surprise of the fact that the man's weapon actually could harm him. Thinking quickly, he created a weak shield of light less than an inch in front of him that shattered as the second projectile collided with it. Then the group of men began to charge at him.

Guardian did a roll and stood up between two of the cars he had wrecked. He crouched, put his arms underneath the cars' chassis and picked both cars up before hurling them as hard as he could at the oncoming group of enemies. Following close behind the two cars was an eight foot by eight foot wall of light. The Guardian then punched the road beneath him and ripped two 100 pound chunks out of it, holding them at the ready to throw at any of the group that made it past the cars and light.

"I gave you chance enough to let me go free so I may do as I must, but you pursued violence. Every second I am here, fighting you and your followers, there is war and despicable acts being carried out all over this world that I am not preventing. I will not go with you by any circumstance. No honey word by any worldly authority could call me away from my purpose. Now will you continue your attacks, or will you stand down and let me go?"

The Guardian bent down and thrust his hands into the ground below him. He grasped and pulled with all his strength, tearing out a chunk of rock so large is weighed 10 tons easily. The Guardian held this large boulder-like chunk of street over his head, ready to toss it with all his might.

"If I were you, I would choose the option you did not choose the first time I posed this decision to you."

Ever since the city was laid waste to by the actions of rogue metahumans, New York had become a shell of its former glory. The rebuilding efforts housed various people still left without a place to call home. The city's ravaged landscape primarily housed those who worked to restore this city to its proper state. That and the various criminals who dared to loot it. This city had been through enough. It deserved better. Is was for that reason that Pierre Guesta had come here that day. On behalf of Dominus, Agent Ruptor was helping to restore the city and the people's hope.

A serving line was being set up for providing supplies to the local occupants. The shelves were being stocked, tables put up and the necessary equipment brought in. Pierre was leading the efforts to make sure the supplies were brought in safely. A job he would wind up doing. Some thieves attempted to intercept one of the vehicles as it entered into the city. He took action immediately. Stepping in the way of these two would be robbers attempts he defeated them both by simply pulling out a firearm and pointing it at them. They were not armed well enough to present him a threat. Firearms were hard to come by even for those willing to obtain them illegally. As he was detaining them for the local law enforcement to come in and arrest he got a call in.

"Agent Ruptor reporting. Isn't Agent Deceiver supposed to be addressing that disturbance? If Deceiver is having to call in for backup then whatever is going on must be a major situation. Right, I'm heading over there now. Inform him that reinforcements are on the way. Over and out." he said into the communicator as he thanked the police officers for all their hard work and walked away. He then called in to his own special ops team to gather some information about what was going on at the location he was heading to.

He arrived, but did not make his presence known just yet. He kept hidden for now. Ruptor was viewing the action from a safe distance. An unidentified metahuman was causing a disturbance by the wrecked museum. He seemed to be showing himself off as quite the adversary for his fellow agent. Seeing what backup Deceiver had brought along he found this to be unusual. This unknown threat may have to be dealt with permanently. As a chunk of ground were lifted into the air, Ruptor aimed his special assault rifle. He was out of sight from the unknown metahuman. From this vantage point he fired the rifle directly at him.

As if it were a reflex, Guardian surrounded himself in thick layer of light to shield himself from the man-in-charge and his weaponry. The sting of the last projectile was fading already, but he wasn't about to take the chance that the weapon could kill him. He had only just been awakened; he wasn't going to wait another 500 years to return.

"Your weapon does not intimi-" Guardian began, before he was interrupted by something colliding with the light barrier around him. Cracks began to spider throughout the entirety of the shield, small parts of the shield beginning to dissipate into nothingness from the force of the blow. Reacting quickly, Guardian tossed the 10-ton boulder-like chunk of rock towards the men in front of him and rolled backwards, distancing himself from the street and shortening the distance between him and the museum. The broken remnants of his light-shield still surrounded him, and he began to repair it. It took almost no time for his body to be completely surrounded by a full-strength shield again. 

"The man in charge and the men under him did not fire their weapons, yet I was still attacked. It would seem there are more people in the world converging to annihilate me. But I will not let them, not when it would seem the world needs me most." he thought.

So he decided to call out. A taunt. A simple tactic, which would soon prove to be either effective or pointless.

"Another chooses to try his best against the Guardian. But in his attempts, I have yet to see his face or know his presence. Attacker! You fight from afar, hiding like a children's game. If you would attempt to do me in, then do so in a manner which reveals yourself to me. I have died before, I will die again, and I have no qualms over this. But I refuse to and will not die to a coward such as yourself."

The Guardian stood ready, his durable body protected by his light. Whether the man in charge or the third party chose to engage him, he'd stand ready. No more surprises, no more holding back, no more offering alternatives. These people had chosen their path and had already begun down it. Guardian was ready for the world around him. Hopefully, the world would be ready for him.

Nobody had any good reason to be in New York city anymore. Not unless they were here to restore it. Everybody else should get out and stay out. Not unless they were prepared for the consequences that would come of disgracing this fair place. Pierre Guesta was now enacting some of those consequences. Some metahuman had come here to cause trouble in it. It did not need such events occurring. He had been called in when Deceiver had called for backup. He was disappointed. He expected more from an agent who had a pretty large task force accompanying them. Agent Ruptor's teams rarely ever consisted of more than a handful or so of backup and had never failed in their mission. As soon as this shameful individual was dealt with he intended to discuss what had happened with Deceiver. 

Agent Ruptor and his team had joined the fray. They were all well hidden in strategic locations. They were armed with weapons nearly as powerful as his own. They would be suitable. Agent Ruptor knew how to position his task forces very well. His rifle had pierced through the metahuman's energy barrier, but had failed to actually reach him. A relatively powerful barrier, but not much of a problem to deal with. Especially with what he had planned. A plan he immediately put into action. "Agent Deceiver, do not indicate any response. Just carry out the following and act like it's your own plan. Get your group ready to attack again. Fire your best weapon at him. Make sure your aim is proper. Act immediately. Over and out." 

He waited for the shots to start firing at the metahuman. It would regain the focus of the intruder. That would allow Ruptor another opportunity to strike. This time he was prepared for another barrier of whatever energy this guy used. Once the plan was enacted there would be no chance for the target to emerge from this. He would be either captured or killed. Whichever it would be would happen very shortly. 

His plan was pretty simple. Once the shots started firing from Deceiver's rail gun he would fire once more upon the metahuman. That energy of his would not hold up against the assault. They were sure to hit. He also had a backup option available. A pair of snipers steadily located ready to fire as well just in case the first part did not provide enough.