He looked at the shot glass in front of him, poured another shot, ignored it, and took a drink from the bottle instead. He wanted to get himself stone cold drunk and despite its reputation, the Jack wasn’t quite working.

“Isn’t this one sorry son of a bitch in front of me?”

He hadn’t even heard the door open behind him. Ray wondered if he was a little more drunk than he had thought.

The new arrival was a man in his early thirties. Short brown hair, non-descript gray suit, solid black tie. Ray recognized a spook a mile away.

He walked over to Ray’s position at the bar. His hand went in to his coat and Ray immediately went for his blaster. The new arrival stepped back and threw up his free hand. Very slowly he withdrew a business card from his pocket. He placed it in front of Ray.

“My name is Conrad Thierry, Mister Ray. I have a business proposition for you that can help us both in the long run.”

Ray looked at the card. It gave only Thierry’s name and a phone number. Ray sat up, reached behind the bar, and grabbed a pad of paper. He scribbled a few quick words on it. Who do you work for?

“Certain interests that wish to protect themselves from any undo trouble in the Divide.”

Ray nodded.

“I assume you know of the artifacts known as Norn Stones?”

Ray knew well enough. Every metahuman in the Divide knew of the Norn Stones. Hell, half of them came here in the first place in hopes of finding them. No one quite knew where they came from, only that they first appeared after the Disaster. Each one could dramatically increase a metahuman’s abilities when absorbed through the skin. Mister Mayor owned one, as did Double Cross. Some folks thought that the city’s current ruler, the Antagonist held at least three. All Ray knew is they were dangerous in the wrong hands, and potential weapons of mass destruction for even the wisest user.

He nodded.

“Well, it seems that the attack by Ms. De Milo last night had nothing to do with you or your partner. She actually was after an informant at the club and wanted to buy a map to a supposed stash of over half a dozen of the Norn Stones, all located somewhere in the north of the city. We think it is in De Milo’s own sector of the city. Not far from where she holds your partner.”

Ray scribbled on the paper. So you want me to go in to a deathtrap to save my partner and find your magic rocks?

“We want you to go in, but not alone. You’ll have backup.”

The door jingled behind him and Death Ray watched a vision of beauty enter the office. Her mocha colored skin was covered by a skintight pair of black leather pants, a matching pair of boots, and a chainmail bikini. A sheathe on her back held a katana of some kind, although the hilt was strangely designed for such a weapon. It looked almost like a fencing sword, with a series of gold filigreed flowers around the hilt and base. Her shoulder length black hair fell across her face and partially hid features that Ray guessed were half-Asian. She gave him a sadistic grin.

“This is KaTanya. She will work with you to regain the Stones and your partner.”

Ray wrote another message. What can she do?

She reached back and yanked the blade from the sheathe. Before Ray could even react, the blade cut down in a sparkle of indigo energy. It sliced the bar easily in two with only a wisp of smoke left in its wake.

Thierry reached in to a pocket and removed another packet. He opened it and threw it on the table in front of Ray. Ray reached inside and pulled out several folded printer pages and a wad of twenty dollar bills.

“Those are satellite readouts of several energy hotspots in the Venus’ Pisa region. One of those has to be the cache of Norn Stones. I’ve also marked known locations of Venus and that robot of hers. We suspect you should be able to find your friend somewhere around those spots. Consider the cash a down payment for services rendered.”

Ray pocketed the money and nodded. You got a deal.

He grabbed the folded paperwork, rose from his seat, and walked past both Thierry and KaTanya and on to the street. KaTanya hustled after him.

*****

“You got it?”

The fur-coat, platform-shoe, and aviator glasses wearing metahuman known only as Gigolo chuckled at the question. “You got the money?”

Conundrum hissed through his ever-distorting features. The degen’s skin constantly shifted around his body coupled with the elasticity of the bones beneath made him a constantly-changing mass of skin. Most people would find the result utterly sickening. Gigolo had seen much worse in his years.

They stood in a blasted out wasteland. Very near the epicenter on the Day of Devastation, not even foundations stood here. A few shabby huts stood scattered over the broken dirt, but no one inside them made any motion. They knew better than to do so in the presence of the Great Question’s leadership.

“I harassed Mayor and his damn Cabinet for months,” Gigolo said. “I made them pay for every victory, every move they made in this goddamn city. And I got nothing for it. You and your pack run in and steal it right from under me. So I’m willing to deal. But I want my damn money!”

Conundrum signaled to one of the two midgets that stood several feet behind him. Both wore full bodysuits, one in blue with an “S” on his chest, the other in red with an “A” on his chest. Shock and Awe scurried to Conundrum. Each carried a knapsack. They dropped them between Conundrum and Gigolo.

“There you are,” Conundrum said. “Five million US in each bag. Everything you might need to make your life outside of the Divide. Now give me the disc.”

Gigolo smiled, showing a mouthful of gold. He reached in to his large chinchilla-fur coat. He produced the DVD-ROM he acquired by Skull Solo and put it in Conundrum’s hands. “That’s the only complete copy of the disc, so be careful with it. You don’t want to have to pay me ten million more for another copy.”

Conundrum took the disc from Gigolo and examined it. He handed it to Awe. “Verify the authenticity please.” Awe scurried away to their jeep, where the final member of their party sat at a laptop. The scrawny young man couldn’t be out of his teens, but he quickly took the disc, inserted it in to the computer, and scanned it. He gave Conundrum a thumbs-up.

Conundrum’s face suddenly contorted. A moment later he looked exactly like Gigolo. “Thank you for your efforts, sir.”

The sniper’s bullet caught Gigolo in the back of the head, near the top of his skull. His face exploded outwards before the bullet lodged in the ground only inches from Conundrum’s foot. Blood and brains splattered across Conundrum’s new face. He slowly grinned as he wiped it away.

“Get the coat and the cane, boys. Then burn the body.” Shock and Awe ran to retrieve it. Conundrum bent down to look at the blank eyes of his victim. It was times like this he enjoyed his work.

He raised a closed fist in the air. It was the prearranged sign. Just over a hundred yards away, an empty patch of land atop a large hill shimmered. When the shimmer faded, Kimono stood in its place. The gorgeous Asian assassin was naked except for the high-powered rifle in her hand.

“Hurry to the jeep,” Conundrum said. “We must return to Antagonist and show him our success.”

*****

Tee didn’t much care for Ay’s attitude of late. The red-headed woman couldn’t quite figure why her partner was always angry, but she couldn’t argue with that attitude today. She could feel the Norn Stone somewhere farther north, in De Milo’s territory. The duo wanted to get there as quick as they could which meant traveling straight through F4A.

F4A was short for Free-For-All, and the zone lived up to its name. Just north of Downtown, F4A bordered almost every other district and all constantly vied for supremacy in its limits. In addition, several gangs were in a state of constant war in F4A. All in all it was the most dangerous area of a town where life already had very little meaning.

Tee sat in the passenger seat while Ay drove their heavily modified Toureg. The import was now equipped with armor plating, a more aerodynamic frame, and a turbo engine. But as they made their way down the “Low-way”, the remnants of the massive interstate that once cut through old Detroit, Tee doubted it would be much of a defense in case of an attack. Cars littered the sides of the road, remnants of years’ worth of attacks from less than friendly locals.

“How do I let you talk me in to this stuff?” Tee said from the passenger’s seat. Her usual shorts and tank top were replaced by leather pants and a flak jacket (although her ample chest still peeked through). Her dyed red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and threaded through a camouflage baseball cap. She didn’t plan on taking any chances in F4A.

Ay glanced over at her friend. “You know it’s as fun for you as it is for me. Don’t pretend.”

Tee rolled her eyes at Ay. “You seriously think I’m that damn stupid? I don’t even know if a Norn Stone is worth this shit.”

“You and I both know you want that shit. I want that shit. So we’re going to go take that shit. Don’t fucking play like you think any other damn way.”

“Yeah, yeah, what—”

Tee only had a moment to react to seeing the massive tractor trailer emerge from the entry ramp before it crashed in to the rear of their car. Ay struggled to keep the car from spinning out of control. The flat-faced red semi’s engines revved and they both knew another attack was imminent. Ay reached down under the glove compartment. She yanked the automatic rifle free from the tape holding it in place.

“Pop the roof!”

Ay flicked a switch on the steering wheel and the sun roof popped up and slid back on the Toureg. Tee rose to her feet, up and out the new hole. She raised her AR-15 and opened fire on the truck.

The AP loads she stocked for the trip did what they were supposed to do: shred through everything they hit. The short burst tore through the front window of the semi. Tee could see the blood explode from the driver’s head with her hit.

The truck began to veer wildly. Tee dropped back down to her seat. She turned to Ay. “Gun it!”

Ay pushed the gas pedal to the floor. The Toureg’s engine growled as the speedometer shot higher.

Tee turned to watch the semi veer off to the left and crash in to the meridian railings. The cab crumpled as the trailer began to careen around it. The trailer toppled to one side and sparks exploded everywhere. Tee thought about grabbing the rocket launcher and making sure no one was alive inside, but decided against it. She might need the weapon later on.

She turned to Ay. “What the hell was that?”

“Nothing good. You see the mother fucking colors?”

“Red. Fuck!”

“Fuck is fucking right! We’re going to have the goddamn Crimson on our ass. And lord knows those crazy sons of bitches aren’t going to let up until we’re dead or they’re dead.”

Tee dropped her head back in to the seat. She silently cursed herself, Ay, the Divide, its residents, the world, and herself again. The stories of the red-hooded Crimson were few and far between, but they were never good. Stories of mass slaughter, brutal deaths, utter destruction. Things ended poorly for all who met them.

“We’re fucked anyway you want to lay it out,” Ay said. “The way I see it we need that Norn Stone now more than ever.”

Tee only nodded. Her thoughts were elsewhere, in another time and place. Back in the Black Forest, back as a child, back before everything changed.

Ay was right, they needed the Norn Stones. But she didn’t know it was already too late, for her and for every living soul in the Divide.

*****

The Seat of Power sat in the midst of Downtown. Blanketed in security systems and flanked by nearly a hundred guards, the sixteen story building served as both home and base of operations for Mister Mayor and his Cabinet. Able found himself inside a palatial palace in the midst of this cesspool of a city. Running water kept fountains in constant motion. Dozens of young women worked as servants and were clearly ready to fulfill every need. The food was fresh and untarnished by the usual blights of the local fare.

He could learn to like this if he didn’t have a mission to complete. He needed to find the artifact. Although this lifestyle was wonderful, with the artifact in hand, he could live this way anywhere he liked.

So after a meal served to him by an attractive brunette dressed in something out of a Robert E. Howard story, Able left his quarters and went in search of answers to his questions.

When he first moved in to the Seat, his guide made it quite clear what parts of the building were on and off limits. But he also suspected that one of those off limit areas, the so-called Control Center, was where he could find the answers he needed. He had no desire to burn any bridges with the Cabinet, but he needed answers now rather than later.

He kept his sixth sense active as he made his way towards the Control Center. He detected neither the dull hole of normal humans nor the glowing fire of a meta. Even so, he looked around cautiously before he slipped down the hall and opened the door.

“Designate: Able, my computations show that you would show up.”

The half-man, half-machine known as Matrix stared from across the room at him. Able raised his chin and stared back.

“I need information. I don’t have time to wait for it.”

Matrix’s bionic eye whirred and spun in place. The cyborg said nothing as it studied him. “What knowledge do you seek?”

“I’m looking for an artifact. It is a staff, seemingly unbreakable, that was found in the center of the blast zone after the Day of Devastation.”

Matrix’s head ticked slightly to the side. “It was relocated for study to an area research facility for study just before the decision was made to close down the city. It was reported stolen during the ensuing riots.”

“Anything else? Any information on its whereabouts now?”

Matrix’s head continued to make sharp, sudden movements as he searched his databanks. “The last known sighting of the staff took place thirteen months, twelve days, and fourteen hours ago in the Pisa region. Agent One Seven Dash Four K reported seeing it among the survivors of a culling by designate: Wargod. No known sightings have occurred since.”

“Pisa? That’s north of here, right?”

“Designate: Able is correct. Pisa is north-north east to current location.”

“Why are you helping me with this? I thought you Chamber folks were far too insular to just hand out this kind of information.”

“Designate: Mister Mayor placed no limit on my knowledge base for you, designate: Able. Power level computations show you prove little to no risk for designate: Mister Mayor. Psychological profiling shows you to be trustworthy if disloyal. My readings state that the Cabinet should not fear you.”

Able’s scowl rose in to a broad grin. “And you never will. Thank you for your information, Matrix. You will never know how much you have helped me.”

The lighting faded momentarily. When it rose back up, several red lights flashed around the room. A moment later, the alarm siren started to blare.

“Intruder alert detected,” Matrix said. “Designate: Able, our attackers are approaching the Control Center as we speak. Three hostiles detected at fifty meters from current location. Forty meters. Thirty meters. Twenty meters. Ten—”

Able could no longer hear Matrix over the sound of tearing metal. The door behind him collapsed in its center as finger tip shaped indentions appeared in the solid steel frame. A moment later, the door tore free and flew back in to the hallway.

Three bodies, all dressed from the neck down in solid black, stood in the hallway. The one in the lead was nearly seven feet in height, a massive Amazon with a shaved head. Behind her stood an Asian man with glowing green skin and a mulatto woman with long blonde hair and some kind of energy weapon in each hand.

“It’s a damn hit!” Able flamed on and shot in to the air above them. He hurled blasts of flame towards each as they flew past. The glowing green assailant raised a hand and unleashed three bolts of energy from his hand. The bolts engulfed the fire, consumed it, and fell back down to float around the man.

Able ignored his failed attack. Matrix had been right about one thing. He held no ill will against the Cabinet. He would not harass them, nor cause them harm. But that didn’t mean he would stay to save them. They were on their own. Let them handle their own battles.

He flew the rest of the way down the hall, turned the corner towards the main doors, and flew through the blasted opening where the doors stood only moments before.

Moments later, he was on his way to Pisa.