Fool me Once... (Closed to Zell Atterrius and Thorgron the Destroyer)

After a whirlwind of maddening events, Thorgron found himself pinned to the ground in the lab of the man he had come here to kill. Apparently he was not only the head of this company but also a superhero, parading around the city protecting citizens with Gene-Tech tech. And now he was playing the 1-up game. Every word from his mouth cranked the heat up in Thorgron's veins. He spoke of loss of regret and he lived in total luxury. What did he know of real pain? Of years of suffering with on end in site. Then he sat, hooking himself up to a machine which took in his blood. His hand was black and changing. Something really was wrong with him. However much he tried to hide the feeling on his face Thorgron saw it. For a split second his expression changed. It was so subtle, so unspoken and fast that he almost missed it. But like looking straight into a mirror he saw that look of undying rage, pain and suffering. Zell could try to hide it but Thorgron had felt the same emotions he was feeling now and was all too familiar with them. He struggled in his mind over what to do. On one hand, this man had disrespected him, cast him aside like garbage and gloated over him like he had meant nothing. On the other hand, this man had been put through the same suffering that he had, maybe not the exact same but the effect was identical. There was a beast in Zell just like the monster of Thorgron. One test was all he would need, all he had to do was get out from under this damn sword.

With all his might he struggled against the massive weight. Not only was he beneath this heavy object but Zell's lackeys as well held him down. It was massive pressure, crushing down on even his super durable body. His muscles tensed and his eyes widened as all of his strength was pressed up against the blade. He could feel his veins bulging as his face filled with hot blood. Then a shift, he felt it, something had moved and he was going to continue until he was up and able to look Zell straight in the face. With one last massive thrust he crashed his arms against the weight of the unnatural weapon. All of the sudden he was falling, rubble and steel tumbling around him. The sword had not pushed off him. Instead the floor had given way under the strain and he was now falling to the floor below. This was his chance he was free and he was going to confront Zell. He shot forth tendrils of blood from his back and caught the ledges of the new hole in the floor of the lab. Hoisting himself back in to the room he stared straight at Zell, he eyes locked to his. Not bothering to reabsorb the tendril, he let them sway over him as he approached the now vulnerable man. Heavily his steps worked towards Zell, waiting to catch a second glimpse of that look of quiet and furious desperation. Now upon the man he hovered over him, his large hands gripping the cold metal of the chair Zell sat in. His tendrils of T-Alpha blood swirled above him, arching over the chair and aiming their now razor pointed edges at the man's throat. If he or anyone else in the room made any movement he didn't like, he would pierce straight through him and the back of the chair. Slowly he lowered his head to Zell's, they were now inches away. With complete seriousness and a look of pure rage on his face he spoke. "How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know you aren't waiting for me to be vulnerable?" A puff of hot air escaped Thorgron's nostrils like a raging bull. "Prove to me, that you mean what you say. Prove to me that you want to keep things like me from ever being created again."

Zell hadn’t figured that he was safe. He was just hoping to keep his opponent down for a few minute while at least SOME of his blood was cleaned out. Of course, some freak accident of fate turned the table in the favor of his foe, and the floor beneath Lourishna, S.T.A.R.K and the sword crumbled. Lourishna took to the air quickly, S.T.A.R.K was not so swift and had to actually step off to the side. Tendrils of that loathsome T-alpha blood substance shot around the hole, and within a second this man had already hoisted himself back through the hole. Lourishna went to swoop down on him, but was knocked away as the tendrils shot out towards Zell. Now there was a tendril on either side of Zell’s head and a pointed blade-like formation at his throat.
”Do it.” Zell said. The man just ignored him and walked up and he was furious. Zell regarded this situation as win-win in his case. He would either defeat this guy, or he’d die. Living was highly overrated, especially when you’ve got very little left to live for. The only thing Zell even had anymore was his little brother. While anyone in the world would say that he has it all, Zell would beg to differ. He would trade everything in the world he had just to have his mom back, even if it was only for a second to tell her he was sorry, and to tell her goodbye.
”How do I know you’re telling the truth? How do I know you aren’t waiting for me to be vulnerable?” The brute huffed. His breaths were forceful, like just about everything else this guy did. Let’s put it this way, when this guy walks over the railroad tracks, the posts magically switch directions and lower to warn the trains. ”Prove to me, that you mean what you say. Prove to me that you want to keep things like me from ever being created again.” He demanded.
Zell cringed. He was hooked up to a massive machine that currently was cleaning his blood. It’s not like Zell could prove it by his words, he’d need to actually move around. He looked into the eyes of the brutish man. He just narrowed his eyes to a glare. He had an idea, but that would require Zell to actually be able to TAKE this freak back to the lab where he was created. Zell suddenly became sickened with himself after calling this man a freak, who was he to pass judgment on this guy? Zell was just angry that he’d been caught off guard.
”You think that death scares me?” Zell asked. He wasn’t asking in a tone that was condescending, or even sarcastic. Zell wasn’t being threatening, no, he was honestly imploring. ”I’m more a monster than you’ll ever be. I was wrong earlier. When I said ‘This company’ ruined my life…Gene-Tech didn’t ruin my life. The man running it did.”
”Just give the word!” Niall called from his S.T.A.R.K platform. The brute looked over his shoulder a second to see that The Dragon had a massive cannon protruding from its mouth, aimed right at him. Lourishna flew over head looking down at the brute menacingly. He also saw the Golden God suit approaching, closing in on him.
”I don’t WANT to do this.” Zell pleaded. He could tell that this brute, this PERSON, was hurting almost as bad as he was. Zell didn’t want to do it, but he could kill this man. The orders were input, the only thing that the AI was waiting on was for the condition for execution. ”I want you to make a choice. You can kill me, but you WILL die, and when we meet our maker, you can hear it from him that I’m innocent. OR. You can trust me for an hour. In ten minutes I should be back in safe limits of Ethereal toxicity, and I can prove it.” Zell didn’t know what else to say. Then he thought of it. ”I plan on showing you everything. I’m willing to let YOU play judge, jury and potentially executioner. Let me show you what I’ve gone through. Let me show you what my step-father did, let me show you what I’ve done. Then YOU can choose. These guys won’t be here to save me. Just you and me. Mono e Mono.” Zell offered. It seemed to pique his interest.
”Zell, your brother’s been kidnapped!” The S.T.A.R.K platform informed Zell. Zell’s hear sank. He didn’t have time to piss around anymore, and he didn’t much care for trying to talk this man down anymore.
”This needs to end, NOW.” Zell barked at the brute. ”I don’t want to kill you, but I promised I would protect my brother. I’M responsible for my mom dying, I’M responsible for my dad’s murder, I killed Kurt Summers. I’M the one who defends this city. I would trade ALL of this, just for one more second, just to tell my mom and dad I’m sorry I failed them, I’m sorry that I’M a monster, I’m sorry that I’M the one who’s still alive.” Zell said. He was border lining crying and full out assaulting the brute. He didn’t care anymore. His life looked like a palace, but it was only a prison. A prison of gold bars and ruined memories, a prison that turned everything he touched into gold, but then forced him to watch as it was turned to ash. ”Tell me, do you know what it’s like when you’re scared to see yourself, or you wish you could be someone else? Do you every wish you weren’t a monster? Here’s the difference between you and me. I have direction. I WANT to make things right. I didn’t even commit the sins, but yet I reach out selflessly and endanger myself every day for people who don’t even know it’s me. You? You just want revenge. What happens when you kill me? What will you do then? Our goals aren’t so different. We want to make things right. I hope you can forgive me…” Zell said. The entire time the neck piece of the Golden God suit levitated off and slowly began to hover into position. Niall was aiming it to fire off the suit’s neck piece and attach it to Zell’s neck
”Blood cleansing completed.” The voice chirped.
Suddenly the neck piece flew off and attached, ready to meet the blade-like formation. With his neck safe, the next piece to go on was the boots. With a shot off of the boots Zell attempted to boost off of the brute. As he boosted off, he took out the IV connection and shot across the room, landing right on the Docking station. The pieces of the suit unattached and Zell’s armor was shed.
”I plan to make good on my offer. But first I’m going to save my brother. After that, you can look over the evidence and judge for yourself. Live or die doesn’t matter to me, either way…I win.” he said sadly as he began to walk out the door. S.T.A.R.K and Lourishna both cut off any avenue to pursue Zell.
”Another step and you’re gonna eat a fully loaded Protonic-shredder ballistic round that could tear through a damn heli-carrier!” S.T.A.R.K roared. ”It’s bad enough that a good man like him is already hunted for something he didn’t do, but NOW he’s even leaving his fate to you. I won’t let you stop him from rescuing his brother. I’d just as soon see this entire company fall to the ground in my wake!” Suddenly Lourishna flew over and turned on the television with his claws, and he let out a loud caw. Zell was on the television.
The press absolutely flooded Zell. He had quickly thrown on a suit jacket, and threw a gauze pad on the cut on his head. Other than the cut he didn’t look very damaged, in fact he looked like something collapsed on him. He was dirty and covered in splintered wood chips, but otherwise he looked like his normal self.
”Mr.Atterrius, Chelsie Smith, ECP News, is it true that an unnamed meta-human has assaulted you!?” The woman asked him. It was times like this he was glad for his A.V.A.T.A.R’s special ‘tech-NO-see’ feature. He simply smiled at the fact that the reporters wouldn’t be able to get any pictures of him without him being ‘deleted’ from it. He decided to allow video camera access, but he still filtered out any digital photography. ”Is it true that the Ancestor Dragon was first to arrive!?” She pleaded.
”QUIET!” Zell called out. The reporters all around him grew silent ”Look Lois Lane.” and chuckled when he called her Lois Lane. ”Your superhero boyfriend is already gone, Ancestor is gone, I repeat Elvis has left the building!” The reporters all laughed, the younger reporter woman just blushed a little, obviously embarrassed.
”Sir, will you answer a couple questions?” ”Many people are wondering who this meta-human is! ”Zell, Zell over here!”
”Mr.Atterrius, Mr.Atterrius!”
“Look!” Zell called out over the rush. They were all quiet so their cameramen could capture the footage with the best of audio. ”At Four o clock this evening, I was assaulted in my own home. The ‘perpetrator’ was a man not much older than me. Young enough to have been my brother. He came into the building and demanded entrance to my room. He overpowered all security measures, and severally wounded multiple guards in my employ. But today something was brought to my attention. Today I learned that Gene-Tech isn’t all it appears. Ladies and gentlemen, Gene-Tech has not had the most morally ‘upright’ leaders. The man charged in saying that I must pay for the sins of my father. He came in a declared how Gene-Tech had ruined his life, how it had turned him into a monster. Zell had to fight so hard not to lose his composure. He bit his lower lip and thought out his next words carefully. He wasn’t about to risk his identity going public by explaining his own story. He once again laughed to himself. He was a time bomb…when the fuse was gone then he’d turn into something terrible. Something so dark and twisted that not even a meta-human had a chance. He shook it off. He knew what he had to do. He had to do the right thing. ”I’ve done the research, and He’s right. Kurt Summers had been performing experimental research on unwilling people, and having them killed if they didn’t yield the correct effects. Kurt Summers was a monster, and his crimes should not go unrecognized. I confess that while the crimes used Gene-Tech equipment, no employed staff of Gene-Tech were involved, it was an under-the-table sort of employment. I will say Gene-Tech should not be completely absolved of all guilt. Therefore I would publically make it known, that I have contacted the correct government officials, and a thorough exploratory investigation shall take place in any and all Gene-Tech facilities globally. I would make it known that no charges will be pressed on my attacker. While he attacked out of anger, and a desire for revenge, In his heart all he wanted was justice. I hope you can all recognize not only the Innocence that is in Gene-Tech, but the innocence in my attacker, and in myself.”
”Zell, Zell!” All the voices all called out. Zell held up his hands and he desperately attempted to answer questions flung left and right. He simply dodged all questions about his exo suit, and attempted to ‘stay in character’ as it were to avoid any Freudian slips. Eventually Zell called out again and they were all silent.
”That’s enough questions. But I’ve got something else to say. Ms.Smith, where are you?” Zell asked. He saw Chelsie and walked down to her camera and looked right in it. ”Today my brother was kidnapped. This is a message to The King of Fools. I will find you, make no mistake. I’m not sure if you’re also one of the people my step-father has hurt, and if that’s the case I hope you’ll return my brother and allow us to make amends. But if you aren’t one of the men my step-father hurt, and you’ve just decided that kidnapping my brother was a good idea, then I want you to know that you need to run. You need to run and hide. Once I find you, you’ll WISH it was Kurt Summers who had you. This isn’t a threat, it’s a promise. I’m sending out the S.T.A.R.K operatives, and Ancestor Dragon has already left to try and uncover your location. I.Will.Find you. Zell said sternly into the camera. With that he walked off and got into a limo. The reporters all followed after him. There was a camera in a helicopter that was getting footage of the CEO suite. S.T.A.R.K could keep the room ‘tech-NO-see’ covered, but he couldn’t keep it from acting as an avenue of escape, should the situation escalate to that.

Well shit, the bastard had gotten away. AS he bolted off from the chair Thorgron's tendrils pierced through the table, ripped it apart and flung it across the room at STARK. "This in't over! You'd better keep an eye out Zell. If you don't go through with this I'll rip you apart!!" And just like that he was gone, his big pets blocking the way. The big metal dragon opened its mouth to reveal a large canon. "Photonic what? Look you'd better stop making threats you can't hold up on. I want Zell, not you two bastards." As he spoke the big bird flew over to a nearby TV and flicked it on with a talon. It was a smart little thing. On the screen now before Thorgron was the man he had come to kill and had now had mixed feelings about. His on-air speech didn't help that at all. Guilt came across in his voice and admittance of Gene-Tech's role in killing innocents. In all the reports and interviews he had seen, Thorgron had never heard this man be so open and honest. Zell was telling the truth, he knew it. But then his tone became somber, angry. During their brawl the man's brother had been kidnapped by a man known as the King of Fools. Thorgron's heart dropped into his stomach as he watched Zell storm off. Regardless of Zell's blame and fault in the matter the child was innocent. And now he was in danger because of Thorgron's actions. He dropped to his knees, the floor beneath him cracking from the impact. His little act of revenge had caused someone as innocent as he had been to be put into a perilous situation. He screamed out in frustration, crashing his heavy fist into the ground. What was he to do, he still needed to see for certain whether or not Zell was blameless but at the same time, had Thorgron never showed up to harm Zell, the boy would not have been kidnapped. Another frustrated roar escaped him as he rose to his feet. His gaze quickly turned back to the sentinels standing guard over the lab. "Tell Zell I'll be watching for him...but in the mean time, I've got a kid to save. I won't be the monster that let someone innocent get hurt." And with his final message given Thorgron marched over to the large hole he had created earlier to the outside. Toes clung to the edge as he looked down on the tiny people below, then he dropped, letting his body weight fall limp towards the quickly approaching concrete below. Quickly he corrected himself before colliding with the pavement. Car alarms began to scream at him as they slid into the small crater he had created. The teams of reporters will still at the front of the building along with the authorities. Seeing this Thorgron collected himself and took off in the direction of the woods he called home. He'd make his move on this "King of Fools" from there.

(Thread end)