The woman nodded agreeably. That was a fair request. "The stuntwoman driving the van is Rebecca, she manages our tech." A fairly enthused 'Sup' issued from the drivers seat. "The man beside her is-..." A reedy voice cut interrupted her sentence. "The bloody king of Europe and don't you forget it."
Grimacing, the woman continued; "Shaun, our tactical support. And my name is..." She hesitated for a moment, before continuing. "Lilah. I keep these two from stabbing each other."
For some odd reason she had an amused glint in her eyes as she said it.
"I can't answer that." She held up a hand, forestalling any angry objections about being lead around. "I mean, I don't know. I only know one thing, and that's where the next link in Lost Souls is. And that..."
There was a long pause in the van after that. Cautiously, Jen was about to ask if the amnestics had permanently wiped his long term memory, when a soft voice answered his question.
"Lost Souls are a group of really really frelled up folks, bad men and woman working for a good damn purpose. I was one of them, back when we were the Ninth Team. I gave their mission, and big bro broke them free of the chains that the Sonheidran had over them. And it was a damn good mission at that son. To save the whole world from the rotten parts inside of it the only way we know how..." A small smile formed over the man's lips, oddly mad, and oddly glad. "Kicking and screaming and tearing the whole thing down."
Jack Crichton leaned up under his own power, stretching stiff shoulders and giving Jen a wink. "Can't kill me. Contractual immortality."
Jack Crichton stood up in the crowded van, a feat of superhuman prowess itself, and proudly proclaimed to the universe. "I am Jack Crichton, and I dodged the bullet again."
~~~~
"Are you sure you can pull it off idoso. You've spent a lot of energy already." The Samurai asked, concern coloring his voice. Jerkass to most of the world he may be, but that didn't preclude the man that had brought the most important thing in the world back to him.
"What? Having second thoughts are we? It's not like, I don't know, you're the one that's doing any of the hard work." Came the sarcasm laced voice of the Assassin, taunting his irritating companion.
"Oh? And removing Armstrong? What do you call that?"
"Grunt work. Any one of us could have taken that mad dog out."
"I'd like to have seen you do it."
"Knock it off. Don't make me turn this entire project around." The Punished Man's voice cut in, stopping the other two's arguing. Sometimes, he swore the two were going to kill each other the simplest of stuff, like whether or not to get sausage or pepperoni. Of course, he would have killed both of them if they'd suggested anchovies, so maybe it would be best not to judge. "The Shield brought the last one. We can save them."
"All of this riding upon the two teams. They'll fail, you know that."
"Of course they'll fail. No one wins without losing." The man closed his eyes, embracing what lay inside of him. It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't good. It was the thing that said winning was losing, that to save a life you must take it.
"Now shut up. It's time."
Swirling winds began to flutter around the man as his eyes rolled back in his sockets. The air shifted around him, something ancient, and yet completely new shifting. Unaware of it's action, gravity cut out beneath the man, causing him to float among the stars and speak to them.
I am the Bane of my Reality
Eternity is truth, Destiny is Absolution
I am the limitation of a thousand failures and million victories
Reality is Resolution, and Mankind is crushed by the fate of a thousand unsung wishes
Cycles loop and all is lost
...
Contradiction is Absolution, and Eternity is Finite
A thousand failures are a million victories
Resolution is Reality, and a thousand unsung wishes are defeated by man
Contradiction is truth, and I reject Twin Destiny Incarnate
I am the Master of my Reality and I declare
Nothing is real, Everything is possible
And then the stars spoke back.
~~~~
Inside the van, chaos rained as Corrin, Camilla, Mukuro, Jenson, Two, Ludger, Lincoln, Haller and Crichton disappeared in a flash of bright light.
~~~~
The Punished Man suddenly flinched, looking up at the Brazilian as he knelt on the cold hard ground. That little stunt had taken a lot of energy, and it was only the start of things to come. He only prayed that he had enough power left in his old body to make it to the end. As he closed his eyes, the sight of where he'd accidentally sent half the team tortured him, filled him with a guilt that he'd live with for the rest of his life.
"I sent them to hell swordsman. I sent them to fucking hell."
~~~~
Corrin, Camilla, Mukuro, Jenson and Two suddenly found themselves in a mob of writhing people while Justin Bieber played onstage. He appeared to be onstage singing 'Baby', and was in the full swing of things.
Oh whoa
Oh whoa
Oh whoa
You know you love me, I know you care
Just shout whenever and I'll be there
You are my love, you are my heart
And we will never ever ever be apart
Are we an item? Girl, quit playing
We're just friends, what are you saying?
Said "There's another," and looked right in my eyes
My first love broke my heart for the first time and I was like
Baby, baby, baby oh
Like baby, baby, baby no
Like baby, baby, baby no oh
Thought you'd always be mine, mine
Baby, baby, baby oh
Like baby, baby, baby no
Like baby, baby, baby no oh
Thought you'd always be mine, mine
Oh, for you I would have done whatever
And I just can't believe we ain't together
And I wanna play it cool, but I'm losing you
I'll buy you anything, I'll buy you any ring
And I'm in pieces, baby, fix me
And just shake me 'til you wake me from this bad dream
I'm going down, down, down, down
And I just can't believe my first love won't be around and I'm like
Baby, baby, baby oh
Like baby, baby, baby no
Like baby, baby, baby no oh
Thought you'd always be mine, mine
Baby, baby, baby oh
Like baby, baby, baby no
Like baby, baby, baby no oh
Thought you'd always be mine, mine
(Luda)
When I was 13, I had my first love, there was nobody that compared to my baby
And nobody came between us, no one could ever come above
She had me going crazy, oh, I was star-struck
She woke me up daily, don't need no Starbucks
She made my heart pound, and skip a beat when I see her in the street and
At school on the playground, but I really want to see her on the weekend
She knows she's got me dazing, cause she was so amazing
And now my heart is breaking, but I just keep on saying
Baby, baby, baby oh
Like baby, baby, baby no
Like baby, baby, baby no oh
Thought you'd always be mine, mine
Baby, baby, baby oh
Like baby, baby, baby no
Like baby, baby, baby no oh
Thought you'd always be mine, mine
I'm gone, yeah yeah yeah
Now I'm all gone, yeah yeah yeah
Now I'm all gone, yeah yeah yeah
Now I'm all gone, gone, gone, I'm gone
This would be the time when they were obligated to let out a 'Damn you, damn you all to hell."
~~~~
Meanwhile, Ludger, Crichton, Lincoln and Haller found themselves on the ground with a man in front of them. His eyes were bloodshot, and madness surrounded him with an oppressive air. He was sitting dociley for the moment, but had the aura of a spooked dog that could pounce at any moment. And then, and then he began spouting something that can't be described, only heard.
"You see my dear doctors? I'm really not insane. I'm just waiting for my master, who will make me well again. I'm really not insane. There's nothing wrong inside my head. You only see a man in pain, waiting for the raising of the dead. The master is at hand. Mere mortals cannot understand, the precious gifts he can bestow, I demand you let me go. To do his bidding, to be his slave, an immortal such as he, can save his servant, from the grave, he has promised this to me."
"I feel the presence of the sweetest stranger, she has an angel's face beyond compare. I sense the pretty woman is in danger, her's is the fate I long to share. I'm really not insane. I kill these liars filled with spies so that my body will retain some spark of life by their demise. My lord will soon be here for I can feel him drawing near."
Jack Crichton stood, much less triumphantly, and not so proudly proclaimed to the universe, "I am Jack Crichton, and I spoke way too soon."
~~~~
Inside the suddenly much less crowded van, Jennifer snarled and grabbed Lilah by the collar, shoving her against the wall of the van. Jen's eyes were flashing green, a sure warning sign, as she snarled;
"What did you do with my team? If you've hurt them I'll kill you."