The Red Hand

Chapter 48 – It’s Not About Sending A Message.

"It's time." Herlex flew over to his two teammates who were standing on a nearby rooftop. They'd been planning to attack for several weeks, and with their mysterious benefactor's assistance, they were about to make their debut to the world.

"Why does Zappy's team get to take out the Governor?" Armalthy complained. "That sounds much better than attacking City Hall!"

"What? Didn't you say you wanted your pretty face plastered all over the news?" Elna commented. "Our attack on City Hall will be much flashier, and you'll get to battle the cops, so I think that's the better target." Elna's smile turned into a grin as she looked down at the building. It was almost the end of the workday, but the streets and the offices were still bustling with activity.

"Enough chitchat," Herlex interjected. "Armalthy, how about you do the honors and knock on the front door." Hearing this, the blue-haired boy gave twisted smile.

"With pleasure." Armalthy smacked his hands together and began channeling energy between them. After a few seconds, he slowly pulled them apart, revealing a flow of electricity arching back and forth between his palms. "Alright, let's go!" he put his hands above his head, and the electricity formed a large ball above them. "Lightning Bomb!" he screamed as he threw the electrical explosive towards the massive front door of City Hall.

A split second later, the energy blast struck the front of the building and detonated. The resulting explosion blew a massive hole in the front of the building, blew out windows for several blocks, and even vaporized several pedestrians who were walking on the sidewalk. Seeing the devastation, the three let out a laugh as they descended onto the street below. Their eyes told you what was about to happen.

Several people were knocked down within the crumbling interior, and with the smoke and dust kicked up by the blast it became hard to see. Confusion and panic spread as people began to run for their lives. An older man who was working as an office worker within City Hall opened the door into the smoke-filled hallway, he couldn't see much but he caught a glimpse of a silhouette walking towards him through the smoke.

"Is someone there?" He called out. "What's going on!" the silhouette didn't respond as it got closer. The man rubbed his eyes to see if he was imagining things, but once he put his glasses back on, he was greeted by the sight of a boy with angel wings standing in front of him.

{An- an angel!} The man attempted to say something, but before he could even get one word out, his entire body was impaled by dozens of small white feathers. He fell to the floor and began to bleed out as the boy let out a laugh. "Ha, what a joke. You guys die so easily." he shook his head. "I have no idea why we were so worried." Herlex walked past the dying man. "This is going to be so much fun." He sent his feathers up and down the hallway killing anyone he came across, and the sounds of terrified screams could be heard throughout the building. This wasn't an attack to send a message, it was an extermination and they would kill everyone they could.

Armalthy entered through the ground floor and was stopped by some of the security guards. They trained their pistols on him and threatened to shoot him if he didn't leave.

"Go right ahead." He laughed as he continued approaching the two officers. The two men exchanged glances and opened fire, but were shocked when their bullets not only didn't affect him, but ricocheted back and struck them. The two men dropped to the floor, injured but still alive. Seeing this, Armalthy walked over to the two men and used his electrical powers to rip the guns from their hands and pulled them to his.

"Quite weak aren't they." He crushed one of them in his hand. "I think I'll keep this one, might have some fun with it." He bent down and touched one man with his free hand. "Now, let's see if I can manipulate bioelectricity, I wonder what happens if I start messing with it." The blue-haired man gave a sadistic grin as he channeled his power into the officer causing him to convulse before exploding into a bloody paste.

"Oh, man! He fucking exploded." He looked at the other officer. "Wasn't that neat? I mean. I knew he would die, but to just pop like a water balloon was beyond my wildest expectations! Now let's see if it happens if I do the same to you." Armalthy continued his experiments as he traveled the lower halls. He was quite the twisted man, and even in-game his sadistic tendencies made other players uncomfortable. But now, freed from oversight, he was completely unrestrained and was enjoying himself to the fullest.

Elna headed straight for the central chamber where the councilors were meeting at this time of day. She had a bone to pick with one in particular and was enjoying slaughtering any poor soul unfortunate enough to come across her. Upon reaching the door which lead to the main conference chamber, she channeled her energy into a kick and knocked down the doors. The five city council members stood around a table and were guarded by several members of security.

"Halt! Hands in the air!" One of them screamed. Elna laughed and decided to oblige.

"Is this good enough?" She asked as she looked over at one of the council members. "Hello mother, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Elna's mother, Kikuo was a longstanding member of the Tokyo City council and was the one that expelled her from her family after she returned from FWO.

"I have no monster as a daughter!" She yelled. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing barging in like this?"

"What? Can't I come see my mom at her work?" Elna laughed. "I even brought a few friends, and were having a little fun." The blood on her face and clothing was indicative of the kind of fun she was referring to.

"I knew you were a monster from the moment I saw you lying in that Hospital bed. My real daughter would never do something so heinous!" Her mother was disgusted by her. "Shoot her!" she looked at the guards. "Take her down, now I'll handle the repercussions, just put that monster down."

The officers looked at her and shrugged their shoulders. If the council chairmen told them to do so, then it should be fine. Simultaneously the eight armed officers opened fire on Elna. Kikuo closed her eyes, part of her didn't want to watch her daughter die, and when she opened them, she was shocked. Not only was Elna not dead, but she was completely unharmed.

"Come on now, you can do better than that right?" Elna laughed. "Those bullets merely tickled compared to the Ratch monsters we fought on a daily basis!" She stepped forward, and in a flash, she was in front of one of the officers. "Now let's see what happens when I hit you!" Elna was a martial artist, and her kit relied on martial attacks and Ki. She punched the officer square in the stomach which caused blood to discharge from his mouth and eyes. She stepped to the side allowing him to fall in front of her. "Well darn, he died." Elna looked dejected. She hoped they would take a little more effort than this to kill. Seeing this, the other officers opened fire again, but Elna dodged out of the way and began to zip between the officers, taking each out with one single punch. When there was just one remaining, she placed herself directly in front of him and moved her right hand to just one inch above his heart before punching him causing his heart to explode.

"Well, your guards are very much dead." She turned her blood-stained face towards the council members. "So what say we move on to the main event." The council chamber was filled with a sadistic laugh as she took pleasure in slowly killing each and every member of the city council. Her mother pleaded for mercy, but Elna was in no mood. Being thrown away by her own family was too much for her to bear, and she didn't even hesitate as she ripped her mother's head from her torso. Holding the decapitated head of her mother, she smiled. "Ah, man! I haven't felt this good in so long!" She let out a whistle as she twirled it around by the hair as she walked down the hallway. Everything was going according to plan.

The three met up in front of City Hall in the collapsed ruins of the main stairway. There were dozens of officers waiting for them outside, but they weren't phased in the slightest.

"Armalthy, you want this one?" She gestured toward the armed officers.

Not one to say no to slaughter, he jumped forward and landed on one of the patrol cars, causing the officers nearby to flinch.

"How's everyone doing today!" He smiled, only to get hit by several bullets. "Good, good, nice to see you've got energy.You just love to see it!." he raised his left hand and caused the nearby car to levitate. He let out a chuckle as the threw it at another car, causing it to explode in a fireball.

"Oops," he said sarcastically. "I should be more careful with my toys, huh?" He hopped down off the car he was standing on and kicked it into a group of officers in front of it, killing them instantly. "Damn, I really am bad at playing with others." he laughed. "I always get carried away." His eyes showed just how much fun he was having. A few explosions later, all the officers were dead and the street was covered in blood and flames. A news helicopter was flying overhead, so Elna decided to launch her mother's head at it; it smacked into the windshield and slid off falling to the ground.

Herlex laughed. "No respect for the dead, I see."

"Oh, I'm sorry; shouldn't the angel be taking care of all that?" Elna replied sarcastically.

"I'm an angel of death, not one that takes care of lost souls." He smirked.

"At least your not a cherub." Armalthy returned to their side. "Though seeing Herlex as a small fat baby would be kinda funny." The three burst out laughing at his comment, only to be interrupted by another voice.

"What the hell do you bastards think you're doing!" Minazawa appeared in the middle of the carnage. She was wearing her full battle gear, and the look in her eyes showed she was pissed.