They came as Heroes

Guy had a very pressing matter on his hands. One that could threaten his way of life it not addressed soon. In fact, it could threaten his very LIFE if he didn't do something about it soon.

What was he going to eat?

This question would sound trivial to many, he was sure. It would to him, were he not himself and in this particular predicament. Guy had used all his money to get to this place that used to be called a city, and it was far too late for him to do any street performing. Add this to the fact that he didn't remember the last time he had eaten, and there was a rather large problem.

He gave a breathy sigh, and sat down on the ground as his stomach cried. He frowned at it as he heard another cry, this one not from his stomach. Curiosity piqued, Guy stood up and looked around.

It wasn't long until he found what he was looking for. There was a little girl, hiding in a dark alley between two large but crumbling buildings, sobbing quietly. The wanderer walked over to her, crouching down and tapping her should. The child gasped, and looked at him with eyes that reminded him of a rabbit. She seemed to calm down when she noticed it was him and not something else.

“Who are you?” she asked in a tiny voice.

Guy pulled out a notepad from his jacket pocket, as well as a pen and a lighter. He jotted something down and lit the lighter, holding it a safe distance away, but close enough so that there would be enough light to read.

The child frowned, a sad one. “I'm sorry, I can't read.” She paused and then added. “The squiggles look pretty though.”

Ah. This would be a tad difficult then.

Guy reached to touch the girl's face, tracing under her eyes and tilting his head. It wasn't hard to make his expression look curious.

“...Why am I crying?” The girl asked, and her questioner nodded. She paused, as if debating something, but then began speaking in a hushed rush. “Mama was picking flowers with me, and I was having fun, but then Geistlings came and she told me to run and I did, but Mama ran the other way and now I can find her and I'm so scared!”

She had started crying again somewhere in the story, and Guy pulled the child close in a one-armed hug. The girl didn't mind, both barely noticing and desperately needing the contact.

The wanderer mentally debated something while she cried. He doubted she would realize anything, just think it luck if anything, so it probably wouldn't hurt. And he wanted to help her.

He took a deep breath.

“Do you...have a wish?” He asked in a low, breathy voice.

The girl nodded, still absorbed in her tears. “I wish Mama is safe. I wish Mama would come and find me. I wish that Mama and I would never be hurt by those monsters ever!”

Guy took another deep breath. “...I wish so too.”

He stayed there holding the little girl for a while, before a voice rang out in the darkness. “Louise, Louise!”

The girl's head snapped up, her eyes wide.

“Louise! Louise, where are you?”

“Mama...” she whispered before scrambling to her feet. Guy stood up as well, letting go as to not interfere with the girl. “Mama! Mama, I'm here! I'm here!”

Guy smiled as the girl ran down the alley, almost tackling a woman. He walked towards the other end, and the tears of joy and the laughter echoed throughout.

Suddenly food didn't seem so important any more.

The was a rattling in the debris in the distance. Pebbles fell from a broken down piece of building, stumbling over a smashed car hood. A figure climbed to the top of the heap. It appeared human, but only in physical shape. Blue streaks of neon ranged through it's body, shining through the tattered lose and gray skin. It slumped over, then looked down at the three with burning blue eyes. It gave a shriek of something not entirely of the human, or mechanical world, but a combination of both. Soon to follow were more, former men and women climbing voer everything in their path. They had their orders from their hive mind, from geist. Kill, maim, enslave. They surrounded the three, closing in slowly.

A second scream soon followed, but this was very human but amplified to a great degree. Sonic waves slammed into a side of the geistlings, tossing them like ragdolls through the air. A women in a black spandex suit soared past in the air, golden hair waving in the wind. She turned, her face masked, an emblem of a sonic ripple across her chest in the same colors.

More Geistlings flew, tossed physically with great force. A large man tore through them, his skin composed of a deep metal alloy, wearing only torn black shorts. The two continued to fight off the attackers, but the numbers grew. The geistling moved as a unit, as a pack. The temperature dropped, breaths growing visible. A spike of sheer ice jutted from the ground, impaling some, launching others. A third member joined the fray. He wore long black leather coat, a hood up over his face and the sleeves removed. His arms appeared to be composed of sheer ice. He walked next to the three, turning over to them and speaking in a low voice, his words as icy as his power.

"You're safe. We're friends."

The three, not surprisingly, were scared stiff and all equally scared out of their minds, though perhaps the unnamed mother a little more so, understandably. She had just escaped from these very same creatures, after all.

Louise, calmed down hearing the word 'friends', but then got the look that she was thinking of something.

Guy stood as if he were stone, resisting the urge to bolt like a rabbit, and stared at the scene with wide eyes.

The geistlings had been scattered, some killed, but this did nothing but irritate them. Their calls to each other were like nails on a chalkboard, growing closer and closer. They charged head on, walking into another sonic blast and a wall of ice, the survivors crawling over and around them, still only focused on their target. Only able to focus on their target. The three heroes charged at them, ready to clash. ready to protect these three people, as was their job. The rules may have been thrown out of the window but that didn't mean they couldn't enforce them. The steel behemoth slammed into them, throwing robo-human hybrids left and right, the flying women letting out sonic screams to part the crowd. The hooded man of icy proportions composed three more pillars of ice, but was soon overcome by the large numbers, buried by geistling, each on kicking and punching and pounding and biting him. The flying woman was taken down by four geistling who lept into the air with amazing strength, dragging her down the same. the final to go down was the metallic man, the geistling showing that they weren't just mindless animals, groups piling on each of his limbs, then dragging him to the ground. They had fought with valor, but this fight had ended in tragedy.

Or did it?

The ground shook with a fury. The very buildings around the chaos seemed to bend, bow to the sheer power at display. The fists, the kicks, the teeth of the geistling began to stop, frozen in the air. The air densed, focusing around the attackers, a number larger than one could comprehend being affected by any power, but the proof was there. They slowly rose into the air, now kicking and slashing at open space, some flipping from the force, pebbles and debris following them up. The three heroes stood back up on their feet, turning back. A fourth new face arrived on the scene. His brown hair shook infront of his face, his eyes now glowing a bright white. Gloved hands jutted out infront of him, a black and white leather jacket flapping in the force of the occurance, as was his necklace formed of multiple metal orbs. His hands rose as the large group of enemies did. This was all him? His eyes suddenly widened, another pulse launching through the air, pushing the heroes back a step. It raged through the mass of geistlings, each one it touched exploding into a simple cloud of metallic dust until a cloud of gray, shining in certain locations, swam in the air overhead. He then closed his fists, the cloud coming together at a high speed, fusing into a solid mass of metal. He let his hands go as the mass slammed into the ground, forming a small crater around it. The man's eyes lost their glow, now stern brown eyes starring at the others.

"Zero, Banshee, Titan, good work out there, just be careful next time. We can't lose you."

The heroes all nodded in unison. This man must have been the leader. He turned to the three others.

"Are you alright?"

The older two of the group just nodded once, one still being in a state of shock and the other mostly being unable to speak anyway. The girl, on the other hand, nodded her head fervently, any fear that she had replaced by childish wonder.

"That was amazing!" Louise said in an awed tone. How did you all do that? It was like magic!" She turned to her mother. "How did they do that Mama?"

Hearing her daughter's amazed voice drew the women out of whatever trance she was in, and she giggled and picked up the small girl before lovingly placing a kiss on the child's forehead. "I don't know sweetie. Maybe they're magicians?"

Louise stared at the groups of 'magicians' with renewed awe.

Guy made a gesture of thanks and shuffled his feet awkwardly, unsure of what to do. What do you say...well, how do you react in his case...to people who just saved your life?

"Well whatever you were doing out here, you're coming with us. It's not safe here."

The man in the leather jacket motioned to the three others behind him.

"These three are Banshee, Titan, and Zero. I'm Ragnarok, we're with the resistance in this part of the country. We'll take you to the headquarters, get you among safe company."

The man now identified as Ragnarok turned to the three behind him.

"Zero, rear gaurd, Titan and Banshee take the sides. No one follows us. No one. Understood?"

The three spoke as one.

"Yes sir."

The (mostly) powerless trio nodded. Though still largely confused, they could see that this was most likely the best option for their safety.

And Louise was just curious about the magicians.

Guy thought it was rather interesting that the wish had come true like this though. He had simply expected the Geistlings to no longer pay any attention to the girl and her mom, and even subconsciously avoid them. The wanderer certainly hadn't been expecting four people with powers that he had heard of in stories.

Well, that was what he got for not being specific. Be careful what you wish for, as they say. But they would be safe, and that was what mattered.

Still, Guy couldn't help but wonder what would happen to him.

The party trailed over crumbling streets, walking through the maze of destroyed buildings and civilization in the exact order Ragnarok had placed out before hand. Every creeking sound, every falling pebble eyes shot out, surveying the area. Anything could be the sign of an oncoming strike. Nothing was sacred in this world.

"Should be just a ways longer. Keep it up."

They had been walking for an hour it seemed. Fatigue was kicking in....except for the heroes. Ragnarok stood ahead of the crowd, his hands in his pockets as if he were going to a stroll in the park.

Guy was actually doing fine, with all the walking. He was a wanderer and a traveler, after all. He was rather used to things like this for hours on end. It came with the territory, so to speak. The mother, on the other hand, was getting rather tired from following while carrying a sleeping Louise. She had nodded off at some point.

The man tapped her on the shoulder and made a gesture offering to carry the girl. She looked a bit confused, but mostly grateful. "Thank you." She said as she handed over her child. "My name's Alana. You?"

Guy was able to hold the child with one arm (she was very small) and pull out his notepad at the same time. He flipped to a page that he hadn't bothered to ever tear out, as it was asked on several occasions. It simply read 'I am called Guy' in surprisingly neat handwriting.

Alana looked confused. "Bit of an odd name...can you not talk?" She blinked. "Sorry, that was a bit rude."

Guy shrugged the shoulder that Louise wasn't resting on and shook his head, indicating that it was fine while he put the notepad away. Guy wasn't really his name anyway, it was what he was called. He worded it that way for a reason. And the mute thing was a common curiosity.

He used the hand not holding the girl to touch his lips, and then pointed at his neck, making a pained face when he did the latter. Then he seemed to make a point in the air and trace a line, before holding his thumb and his pointer finger close together.

"...Speaking hurts your throat, therefore you do it very little?" Alana guessed. Guy nodded. The mother looked curious as to why, but didn't ask anymore questions.

The group came to a stop right behind Ragnarok as he looked straight ahead.

"Welcome....to HQ."

He began walking again, closer and closer to a massive wall that stood gaurd over the area beyond. It was composed of every bit of scrap metal one could believe, very makeshift in appearance yet sturdy. Along the top, gaurds stood watch. They wore armor similar to the wall, as in made from very random pieces of metal and cloth. They carried guns, but were some of the only able to do so. They aimed at the approaching group, only for Ragnarok to hold his hand up.

"State the code word."

Ragnarok sighed. His own methods had come back to haunt him, but this was to make sure they were secure.

"Mjolnir."

"Welcome back, sir."

The gate before them slid up, the party moving through. Men and women dressed in similar garb walked through the space to their posts, making sure everything was addressed to. There was close to no power, yet they had computers up, trying to keep up with the actions of their enemy. A few small children about the same age as Louise ran by playing. They stopped before Ragnarok, tugging on his pants.

"Jacob, Jacob, welcome back!"

Ragnarok crouched down, rubbing the girl of the two on her head.

"Thanks Samantha."

Both of the people awake smiled, looking at the children. Alana was reminded of her own daughter, and was thinking of how much fun she would probably have with the other kids. There weren't really any children that she could play with where they had lived before.

Guy simply remembered how a childhood friend of his used to play with him in the same manner.

How was she, he wondered?

Ragnarok sent the girl on her way, her brother following her as they began playing in another area. He stood up straight, looking at the group. He motioned to the three other "magicians".

"Jennifer, they'll need you in patrol."

The one called Banshee nodded to him and flew off, literally, into a smaller building to their right.

"Kevin, Charles, you know what you have to do."

The hooded cryomancer said nothing, his breath a visible cloud, even though the summer sun was up in the sky. He slowly walked into another building, gliding as if he had not moved his feet from under his leather coat. The other, metallic juggernaut stood there as his metal skin began to retract, now showing a caucasian male with black hair.

"I'll report back with the results in fifty."

Ragnarok nodded to him, sending him off.

"You're welcome to find housing that fits your needs. We don't have much but it's enough to get by."

He said nothing more, walking off himself in a random direction without the slightest bit of a goodbye.

Guy gave the sleeping Louise back to her mother, and waved goodbye to her as she walked off. Hopefully the two of them would be happy here.

Himself? He wasn't sure.

While he would probably (almost definitely) be safer here, he was a wanderer. He liked running and traveling and seeing new places and staying in one place for too long would drive him metaphorically insane. Sure, Guy knew that he would probably starve or die or get killed or a combination at the three at some point. And he didn't particularly look forward to it.

But home is where the heart is, and his heart was under the sky.

With that thought in mind, Guy ran up to the leader of the 'magicians' and tapped him twice on the shoulder.

Ragnarok stopped, turning slowly at the reaction from his shoulder being tapped. Not many made contact with him out of the fear of results, so he had to dignify the act with a response. He turned to find the silent of the trio he had saved earlier. Such an odd character, he thought. Never had he met someone peaceful and quiet like he was, especially now.

"Yeah....you. Need something?"

Guy nodded once before pulling the notepad out of his pocket again, as well as his pen. The traveler jotted something down on it, pausing at times, and eventually turned it so that it could be read.

I'm not sure how to say this so it won't be offensive, sir (there was an ink blot there, as if he wasn't sure how to address him), with you just saving my life and all. So I'm just going to say write it straight out. Can I leave?

He waited for a response. This would be so much easier if the man knew sign language...

Ragnarok raised an eyebrow at the paper, then at the man who was writing on it. Leave? Right now, after being nearly torn apart? What kind of a hero would let an innocent man do that? What kind of hero would send a man out to his almost certain death?

"Whatever."

Ragnarok shrugged.

"Your funeral."

He turned to leave, only to have his movements ceased by a distant sound, then growing louder and louder as it reached them. A siren. The call stopped every for a second.

"Oh no."

Ragnarok turned his attention to his other rebels, yelling out orders that seemed to bring them back alive.

"BATTLE STATIONS, PEOPLE! THIS ISN'T A DRILL! THEY FOUND US, GET READY!"

He then turned back to Guy.

"I guess you can't leave after all. Can you fight?"

It took every ounce of Guy's willpower not to bolt right then and there.

He shook his head a few times before writing down something else. Not really. It read. But I can run very fast and make rather large distractions. Would that be of any help? If not, I might make decent cannon fodder. Or something.

He was pretty sure, no, positive, that he could out run Geistlings. And a distraction would be easy. After that it was simply a matter of running far enough away...what would happen after that he didn't know. But he wasn't known for being brilliant, and he wasn't in charge, so he'd let the man in front of him call the shots.

...But oh, how Guy wanted to just run!

Ragnarok simply stared at Guy like he was from another world, and in this case he may as well have been. He shook his head, shoving Guy aside as he marched to the fortress walls, hearing the sounds of gunfire ahead. This was going to ruin everything for his resistence. How did they find them? They made sure they weren't followed but for some reason, in some way, the must have.

He looked up to the high platform where his gaurds stood, and instead of waiting or climbing up the series of ladders that lead to the top, he simply rose his hands, and his body soon followed, literally flying up to the top of the wall in a brief burst.

He looked upon a wave rushing toward his fortress. A wave of flesh now turned mechanic, now cybernetic. Geistlings. He had never seen so many before. he could handle a small chunk of them, but this was a near war-level battle about to ensue, he couldn't contain it.

Then he heard the mocking cackle from off in the distance, the fur garbs. He rode on a chariot-like structure pulled by two creatures not of this world, a hybrid of tiger and rhino it seemed, but even larger.

Tyrant, the Beast Master, and a member of The syndicate.

"We got a big one ahead of us, get the defenseless out of here and to the next camp if we can't get through this! Everyone, we will not lose this!"

His words were followed by a loud war cry.

Guy, completely unsure of what to do and not at all sure of what the look he was given was supposed to mean, eventually decided to follow the man who saved his life. Granted he climbed the ladders, but that was a minor detail.

When he reached an area that was high enough to see the enemies, his eyes widened. There were so many! He had never seen so many Geistlings in his life! Granted this was only the third time that he had ever seen Geistlings in his life, but that was also a minor detail.

The traveler just sorta waited there, not sure what to do.