It All Comes Down To This

The rain continued it's downpour over the land of The United Kingdom, one of Vermillion's later proving grounds. Though now it was time to pay the country another visit. He never enjoyed cross continental fights, even in the comfort of a private jet. The time zones were still something he was not entirely used to, which he tended not to admit to considering his age and how long he has been alive. These zones of time had their start in the mid 1600's so Vermillion would have had plenty of time to get the hang of them being the seasoned traveler that he was.
Upon landing at the air strip, he was greeted with less security than he was perviously used to. Ever since the purge started he relinquished his senator position not agreeing with the views that were being implied. In all honestly he probably could care less, though this day and age was all about image which was something he needed to uphold. In the city he still carried his name "Vincent Smith" as that is was the social security numbers and his passport will tell. He was escorted from the air strip to a location that had not been tampered with for quite some time. An area of land in the fields of Ireland where a castle stood. Vacant for centuries. He did miss the ages of castles, he never had one constructed for himself however looking back he wished he had. They were timeless and still standing centuries after their completion. The only reason they may be overrun by nature would have been from neglect. The castle he was en route to was far from proper civilization and perfect for what Vermillion had planned.
Thrones. The organization which he was in partial control of seemed to be dwindling in the light of the Purge which had been initiated by the radicals know as Dominus. He was on a mission in order to restore their glory. The destruction and chaos of the Purge had not yet touched uninhabitied corners of this Earth such as this. The vehicle he drove in was followed by two other large SUV's which carried loads of explosives from the smallest firecracker to that of the power of the Tsar Bomb. He was going to gut the out the old castle and use it as a weapon against those who fought for the causes of the Purge. He was going to first turn the castle into a safe house away from all of the disaster. The members of Dominus should notice the increasing amount of activity in the are and send an appropriate sized army. Once they fight has begun and Vermillion has made it a safe distance away the castle will be set off, obliterating everything and everyone in the blast radius. It will make a sizable dent in the forces of Dominus allowing not only Thrones, but other sister powers to make a move to take down these power hungry fools.
Vermillion's crew started to get to work modifying every last inch of the castle. Making every explosive undetectable even to the most keen of technology. Vermillion cast a magical barrier around the 'weapon' so that not even those with abilities that surpassed that of technology could not even sense the danger of structure. The process of weaving so many high level explosives subtly into an old establishment such as this would take some time. Vermillion had most definitely overcompensated for the amount of explosions he needed. The contractor had been against it from the beginning, however it got to the point where no amount of money would make it okay in his mind. So the man had his free will stripped from his soul. Zarkovich was not one to tolerate uncertainty and wavering morals. Bribing was done on multiple governmental levels with Ireland. The public was told that the are was now off limits due to new renovations that will be taking place at the castle. More trucks with more workers were on their way with even more explosives. With the amount of power that was going to be woven into the structure, as calculations showed, would be enough to level all of Ireland. Vermillion also planned to have a nuclear generator created in the dungeon of the castle in order to create more power over time. If it sat for too long, it would simply go off on it's own once it was at it's maximum capacity. Though even Vermillion would not allow that to happen as the force from such a blast had the potential to knock the earth itself from orbit.
The final trucks arrived, and with them came Vermillion's loyal guard Alexander. He spoke not a word out of fear, he trusted the man with his life however such a project may be pushing the boundaries even for Zarkovich's sake. Security cameras were being installed, as well as running water and other homely amenities. A number of chefs were brought in and cooked Alex, Vermillion and the rest of the crew as they would be remaining at the castle until the project was completed. The first couple of days past and supplies were brought in order to keep everything properly stocked. Vermillion was called into one of the corridors as the workers had a concern about one of the paintings. They had been taking everything else into storage to be auctioned off later for profit, however this one caught the eye of Alexander who alerted Vermillion of it. It was an image of a knight with blonde hair and blew eyes. He stood with his helmet on his left under his arm while holding a sword, in his right it depicted him planting a flag into a hill proving victorious. Alex would have dismissed the painting if the man did not look so familiar. Be connected to Vermillion over the decades he sometimes shares the memories of him, and this image was bringing back memories.
When Zarkovich took a look at it, his eyes narrowed.
"Solomon..."
He knew of the warrior, and knew that the stories were true as the stories were as old as Vermillion himself. Though they may have been lost in time. Unfortunately a knight's life expectancy in the time could not have been more then a few weeks. He was sure the man was dead. The painting was only a faint echo of what once was.
"Burn this one and throw what remains into the sea..."
If there was one joy that Vermillion had left in this world was outliving things that had once seemed fact. Words, stories, and history itself had died out before his eyes. Aiding in the death of what may have been nothing more than a rumor was his idea of a favor to the world. A seven-hundred year story was nothing more than a story...
When addressing the workes, Vermillion kept on a mask with his general suit and tie ensemble. Secrecy was another key to his success, knowing someone's face meant everything.
It was a beautiful day and re-construction was running smoothly, ahead of schedule as a matter of fact. Vermillion made his way to the roof of the castle and sat on the ledge of the highest post that he could find and looked out into the fields. For a moment on the hilltop he saw a figure, however after a blink all that remained were a couple of grazing sheep. He dismissed the thought and looked on into the distance, occasionally looking back down on his workers creating the weapon to end this bitter war.

           The rain was Zell’s favorite weather. It was dark, depressing, and it made him remember that he wasn’t alone on the days like today. He was trapped in a board meeting, with several ther stuck up cooperate imbeciles who weren’t even intellectually on his level. These fool prattled on and on about attempting to reallocate human resources in order to place a new Gene-Tech Facility in the good old Ire. Zell was not opposed to this ‘reallocation’, but it was unnecessary to stress over such a trivial matter.
 
”Only fools complain about surpluses of resources.” He growled mentally as he looked out the window.  
 
      The man didn’t cease, and in a desperate attempt to gain his own sanity back, and not lash out at his valuable time being wasted, Zell simply walked out and got onto the nearest elevator, heading to the lobby. He tapped his A.V.A.T.A.R and commanded his car to meet him out front. More specifically he commanded Niall to take control of the car’s functions and meet him. The door opened automatically and Zell sat himself in the leather seat he had always sat in. Zell was angered easily when it came to wasting his time. The young genius was one of the most intellectual minds on the planet, he didn’t age, he had the love of his life always there for him, and he was a multi-billionaire who could afford to create exo suits and run around playing Hero. So with all of the amassed blessing many would scold him for his depressing demeanor, however only he knew the truth. The anger, the sorrow that grated away at him, and he was dying in a nature akin to cancer slaughtering a helpless baby after birth. Zell was dying, and it was only a matter of time.
 
 
   ”Niall, Toxicity?” Zell asked as he looked into the mirror, noting that his eyes were glowing a slight emerald in color, a sure sign that his toxicity was rising in correlation to his stress level. He looked down to the small device implanted into his wrist.
 
 
               Ethereal Toxicity: 39%.   Power cell capacity:100% FULL
 
 
 
         Zell sighed as he quickly opened the A.V.A.T.A.R and removed the fully charged power cell, placing in a new, empty one in its place. He was bound to need more of the ethereal-focused dialysis before the week was over, a thought he loathed. Zell began to wonder, what was the purpose of fighting it any longer? What if he simply threw in the towel and embraced what he was to become. What if he became the monster he was intended to be? Perfection…who needed it. As far as Zell was concerned, his life would only be perfect once he was rid of his curse. With a growing temper, Zell decided to turn on the television and observe the recent happenings. Talk shows, news stations, all of them going on and on about the latest series of events that had come to be known as ‘The Purge’. Zell scoffed, wondering how hard it must be to simply create a gene that countered the meta gene. There was more than likely a way, not that many humans would have had the knowledge to do so, even if it were possible. Zell had become accustom to despising meta humans, as they were destructive and selfish, many of them held no regard for the well being of society as a whole. The only purpose meta humans could serve him was in a lab, where he could dissect them. Zell growled and punched the television screen, shattering it. Zell took a moment to calm himself, unsure of his sudden hatred for the meta. Zell may not believe full on about the destruction of Meta humans, but he believed they needed to be monitored and taken down the second they got out of line.
 
             Zell watched as he drove out past an old castle on the back roads. There were several signs of construction, and Zell was quite surprised. Many older castles and structures such as this one were normally left untouched to add to the historical value of the great Ire. The issue here with Zell was his curiosity. So much so that he wondered why the land was ‘off limits’. As he approached he saw a sign that explained it was due to renovations being done to the castle. Zell was a professional business man, but he had always desired to live a teenaged boys life as normal as possible before he departed. And what would one expect a teenaged boy to do when authority said ‘don’t go there’. Zell was going there, and not a thing was stopping him.
 
 
    ”Niall, Ancestor suit.”
 
 
    ”Mmmhm.” the synthetic voice of the artificial intelligence hummed out as the seat next to me folded down, revealing an A.V.A.T.A.R access point. Zell held his arm over it, and the metallic back unfolded, and a compact torso cover was lifted up. Zell took it and shed his formal clothing in exchange for the cold exo suit. Zell also took the time to signal his faithful friend, Lourishna, to bring the blades to his location. The estimated time of arrival was relatively quick, only about four to ten minutes.

     Ancestor Dragon opened the door and walked out, a smirk on his face knowing he was invisible to satellite technology and just about anything else that was man made technology. He watched as a new truck pulled up. This was quite the project, and some of that equipment was a little…suspicious. Perhaps that was just the paranoia reaction as a side effect of Ethereal Toxicity. One way to be certain however, and that was to actually take a look. He thoroughly enjoyed looking into security cameras and dancing in front of them, knowing that they would be unable to spot him regardless his actions in front of them. ”ENOUGH!” A voice snarled in the back of his head, making his hair stand on end.  
 
 

     Zell had decided that there was nothing suspicious and simply let the matter drop. But that would not be the end of it. As he sat in his high class hotel, sipping from his bottled water and reading the news paper, he felt a churning in his stomach. There was something wrong. But what was it? ”The castle…” The little voice hissed, growling like a predator. He scoffed and went into the bathroom, filling the sink with cold water, then cupping the water into his hands and bringing it to his face for a crisp and refreshing blast of relief. Taking a towel he wiped his face off and noticed something most disturbing in the mirror. Hi hair was shifting colors at the roots. His roots were normally a beautiful brown but now it had become the color of a black belt. His blonde highlights had tinted as well, giving it an odd greenish appeal to it. His eyes had already changed to become even brighter. The allure was matched only by the ferocious calculating nature as they scanned the room.
 
 
       ”…I make this look goooood!” Zell said, his voice losing his normal chirp and innocence for a suave and more mischievously seductive tone. With a smile of the bright white teeth, Zell had now decided to follow his predatory instincts and give the castle a second look. It would be a few days later, but the new ‘Zell’ would find his reason to approach. Every day he would stalk the castle, observing it from a nearby field where the sheep grazed. The day he decided to act out on his intuitions was the day he was finally spotted. The one who spotted him was a man in a mask, as if he belonged in the ballrooms of the royal courts. His clothing was intriguing as well. This was peculiar, so very intriguing.  This man sat on the tallest post on the castle, and looked directly out to the fields where Zell had been hiding. Zell began chuckling like a mad man once he knew he had been spotted. Zell stealthily slipped away and began to crawl ever so quickly to the castle, still avoiding detection as much as possible.
 
      This…was unexplainable. Something was happening in Zell, something that he cried out to stop form the very bottom of his soul, but something he could do nothing about. His blood was racing, and he had the biggest grin on his face. What was happening to him? It finally made sense to him when he took a moment to think about it. Hunting is like playing hide and seek, once the prey spots the predator, he moves for the kill. This started out as simple curiosity…and now it would appear that there was something more to it.

        Lourishna now flew overhead, and Zell could hear the thoughts of concern his feathered friend was having through his A.V.A.T.A.R. The questions were along the lines of  Does he want them to kill him?
        ”I want them to try.” was all that echoed with a sinister chuckle and a hungry growl from within. A growl so twisted that the Lourishna cawed out.

Vermillion started his retreat from the top of the castle and began to make his way back to his office quarters putting Alexander in charge of supervision. Not twenty five minutes later he was being contacted again due to a disturbance. Apparently, the workers have been spotting a figure moving across the hills and closer to the castle. Very annoyed with this clearly falsified statement, he left his office and grabbed one of the employment consultants and asked exactly how many people were currently working on the job including himself and Alexander. After receiving the number, Vermillion griped tightly on the arm of the employment consultant as the man began to fall to his knees, upon regaining his strength Vermillion asked him exactly how many people were currently on the premises. Zarkovich had forced upon him abilities to sense how many living beings were in an area at any given time, and to Vermillion's distain there was exactly one more person than accounted for.
Zarkovich pushed the man to the floor and took off in a powerful stride needing to protect his unfinished project. He noticed on his hands that there were some age spots and wrinkles and pulled out a pair of gloves from his pocket in order to hide his aging because things were only going to get worse for him from here on end. The sensor he had created followed up behind him and said that whatever it was, was getting closer but had not reached the property yet. Grabbing a hold of another worker, he forced this one up against the wall by the chest and as more signs of aging began to plague Vermillion's body yet another MetaHuman was born. This one would be able to create large barriers that could be exited from, but not entered. This man began to make his way up the castle in order to cast a protective field around the establishment.

Vermillion met up with his bodyguard Alexander, who noticed the signs of aging on his body but said nothing just knowing that he would need to remain close as Vermillion would most likely be over exerting himself to protect the castle. The rest of the workers had been instructed to retreat to inside the castle while the intruder is dealt with. However, they made their way back inside in a calm manner making it appear as it was simply time for a group break. Another two workers were pulled aside, around the corner and out of view from the others by Vermillion. He placed his hand firmly over their mouths so that their screams could not be heard. A dull yellow light filled their eyes and mouth before they ran back around the corner and headed towards the door to meet the incoming guest. Vermillion however was not as energetic, he held him self up using the wall as granting these last two individuals abilities was significantly draining for him. They both had energy projection powers allowing them to fire off beams and bolts of highly concentrated Ki energy, if this guest proved to be hostile.
Vermillion slowly began to make his way back to his office with Alexander, who he signaled to grab another worker in case he needed another meat shield. He could see the forcefield coming down over the castle as he traveled up the stairs. Having aged himself so much so rapidly, he was already in danger of organ failure. Taking a seat in his office Alex stood guard at the door with the other worker standing around aimlessly. The sensor he had commissioned came to the door and informed them that he was now on the grounds and approaching the barrier. Vermillion put his hand to his mask-covered forehead and waited for the results, keeping the sensory type near by in order to tract the further movements of this person, whoever or whatever it was.

Zell stalked the grounds, ignoring subtlety figuring that he was already found. His first indication was the workers all entering the castle for what seemed to be an innocent little break. This was until Zell himself attempted to enter the castle parameter, and was kept out by an unusual force. The castle grounds were now as dead as disco. The second he realized that the workers weren’t roaming about, he assumed he had been spotted. He didn’t care that his presence was known. In fact deep inside some part of him loved it. Being feared simply for existing, or for simply showing up and being noticed. He began to wonder if this was how meta’s felt, and if this was why so many of them were abusing their powers.

      Zell began looking at the bricks, mortar and stones that were going into the design of the beautiful architecture. He didn’t notice anything unusual, however he was certain that something less than legal was going on. A small work force doesn’t exactly just disappear when everything was honky-dorri. Zell began making bigger strides, the mechanical exosuit making the annoying whirring nose as the mechanical joints moved and compressed. Zell had a feeling in his gut, a hunger that wasn’t easily controlled. He was feeling assertive, challenging, much unlike his non-confrontational self. He felt a need to assert himself and figure out what was going on, and make it as terrifying to watch as possible. With a sigh he closed his eyes and began counting his breaths, forcing himself into a calm state where he could think like a functional human being.

       He walked up as close as he could get and the A.V.A.T.A.R almost instantaneously calculated that there were five biosignatures giving off meta human energies on the other side. From this Zell knew that this was likely a stand-off moment. He had no idea what to do. This was the first time that he was actually doing the assaulting and not just intervening on some civilian’s behalf. Did proper etiquette matter here? Did he knock like a business man, or did he just blow the barrier down and go in guns blazing. Zell was slowly losing himself to this intoxication, even his own thoughts had become more hazardous. One lost temper could result him in blowing this place to kingdom come (without the help of the explosives), and that was not something Zell wanted to fill out the paperwork for.

   ”Excuse me, may I speak to whomever is in charge here?” Zell asked as loud as he could. His voice was well disguised, and he was composed enough to hide the lingering signs of bloodlust and volatile nature. What he really wanted to say, deep inside was ’Leader. Here now. Or I get violent.’

      Zell simply awaited the next move to be made. This would be just like chess. Five meta-human signatures versus Zell and Lourishna.It would prove to be quite a ‘chess match’ if nothing else, probably claw to claw, tooth to tooth the entire time…But for right now…King threatens Rook.

Vermillion couldn't help but laugh at this individual so politely asking to speak to 'whomever is in charge'. He figured that he would humor him and grace this fool with his presence. There was quite the pause in activity from the caste as Zarkovich made his way down the winding stair cases finding his way to the main entrance. Finally exiting the ancient structure Vermillion started in a slow clap.
"Well I must say, this is the first time I've been so politely asked to make an appearance. And because of your manners, I will introduce myself. I used to go by the alias 'Vincent Smith', U.S. senator, however I have since relinquished that title and now go by my proper name. Vermillion Zarkovich. I will note that you are one of maybe two or three people on this planet who know that name. However, I do plan on reducing that number back down by one in the next few moments."
Alexander followed out behind him and the barrier slowly began to lift up. Vermillion motioned to Alex, who was extremely skeptical at his request but proceeded back inside anyways. He trusted Vermillion with his life, and now was not going to be the day that he started doubting him. After a couple of moments, all of the workers began to flee out from the castle in all directions, some even falling from the window holes. Whatever had happened there was now an immediate need to get as far away form this place as humanly possible.
"I am an honest man, and I will tell you now that judging from the technology that you posses; it will not be possible for me to send you packing as I would like. So, in such a event I figure that I shall 'kill two birds with one stone' as the saying goes. You have seen what is going on here, and you know my name. I cannot let you leave alive with that information. Also, this project is gaining far too much unwanted attention as it is. It would be in my best interest to eliminate all traces of it." Vermillion paused for a minute as the shield that was previous around them began to fall again, this time encasing a larger area including the people who had been running and their technologically equipped guest.
"You seem like an intelligent individual. I'm sure you can see where this is going. I can only judge by your gear that you may, or may not, have any significant abilities. There are some interesting powers that have arisen in this MetaHuman uprising. I myself and the few surrounding me are even in this 'MetaHuman' subcategory. The men and women running for their lives, however, are not. They are normal human beings."
Their screams were beginning to increase as they realized that they would not be able to escape the inevitable. Vermillion was going to detonate the castle. And everyone within the blast radius was doomed.

"I have hidden a couple of 'borrowed' technologies within this castle in order to enhance this upcoming explosion. Unbeknownst to my co-workers this blast does have atomic and nuclear capabilities. So, I do hope you came prepared for the fireworks my friend."
Vermillion raised his arms parallel to the ground and lifted his head up, prepared and almost welcoming his death.
"Hahahaa! For my sake, I hope to see you again. I'm sure you can put up one hell of a fight."
And with that everything was drenched in an eye scorching light as the castle went of in an absolutely massive explosion. It expanded over miles in mere seconds launching a deadly fireball into the sky. the blast could be seen from hundreds of miles away and the shockwave could be felt throughout the entire country. There would be a devastatingly large crater left in its wake while the entire surrounding area will be reduced to a barren, uninhabitable wasteland. The barrier would have been lifted almost instantaneously after the blast due to the incineration of the individual casting it. Basically everything organic caught in the blast was either completely reduced to ash, burnt to death, or will die soon of extreme radiation poisoning.

The only thing that seemed to remain of Vermillion was the mask that he had worn. It was pretty badly burnt and most likely seeping with radiation. It could be found a few miles from ground zero. His body was nowhere to be found. It can be assumed that he was incinerated on point, however with the capabilities of someone such as Vermillion it was more than possible that he had survive some way, somehow. But for now, the world would have to do without their King.

"I cannot let you leave alive with that information." This Vermillion character said. Zell snickered, this poor man believed he had a choice in Zell's existance or not. Zell left him believe this, simply making a nodding gesture. In truth Zell had not anticipated the man blowing the establishment up. While the concept had crossed is intelligent mind, he had not exactly been prepared for it. He knew the secoedn the word 'eliminate all traces' of it that the explosion was going to happen. Zell just kept nodding interested by the man's mind. It was obvious to Zell that he was not intellectually inclined to hisd own level, but it was certainly enough to impress Zell, and make him cautious. This man was probably preparing to blow himself up as well.
  
       "Hm...well as you can see we obviously have a small issue because i much preffer living...but enough of my own rehtoric. Please continue Mister Zarkovich." Zell said. Deep inside he felt a respect for this man, it was apparently a well thought out trap. Zell counted himself lucky to be the one to spring it so soon. Most meta humans would have ended up dead, or even other meta human hunters such as himself.  This Vermillion Zarkovich was an interesting character, from trivial things such as his  posture to the things like his speech and his planning. Zell had seen and heard enough. The man was brilliant, unfortunately it just so happened that today they ended up on opposing sides. And that Mister Zarkovich here was completely murderous and Zell was a bit of a "hero" type.
 "Hahahaa! For my sake, I hope to see you again. I'm sure you can put up one hell of a fight." This Vermillion man said.
      
      "I'll be here..." Zell said smugly. The flash of light rand out and there was destruction everywhere. It probably looked like a goddamn Nagasaki on Ireland. Zell's pupil constricted to the size of a period and the heat already began to deteriorate the exo suit. The barrier behind him prevented his escape. There was nothing he could do. He went to do as he had planned and use his Anti-hero aegis, but that part of the exo tuit had already begun to melt away.
 
       "No. I wont die." Zell thoguht to himself as time seemed to slow. There were peices of stone comign at slow speeds. If Zell ever learned to paint this would be one of the first things hge'd do. It was morbidly beautiful. A heart of light coming from behind this man, turning into an orange and then a blood red. Against that heart was a man standing with arms open openly embracing death. Stones of every shape and size being propelled away. Zell loathed this. His brain was so far advanced, and his body was so slow in comparison. He blinked, memorizing this scene. The clothing of the man seemed to evaporate off along with the rest of him, nothing left but a skeleton, and even then it soon went to dust. Zell just kept cursing himself, he reacted too slow. HE was going to die. "I won't die... " His brain began to stop functioning. HE felt cold, dark and alone. He remembered Shara, the love of his life. He remembered the people he called his friends. Thorgron, Braden, the other Brayden...wherever he was at....Niall, and The rest of S.T.A.R.K.  Did he leave a mark on this world? At least Vermillion did...but did Zell? He clsoed his eyes one last time, his body producing a sungle tear, that evaporated to steam as half of his helmet had been removed. Zell could see only darkness...