Cyberspace; The Ultimus Collection

Chapter 15, First Encounter

Daniel began to walk over to the masked man. He waded through the officers and ambulances away from the crime scene. Derick and Lilly noticed his abrupt disappearance, and while Lilly didn't think much of it, Derick knew it had to be for some unseen reason. Unfortunately for the heroes and up keepers of justice, the masked man also noticed Daniel. Not his disappearance, but his approach, leading him to retreat into the darkness of the alley for which he resided. Daniel picked up the pace of his walking, not wanting to run and cause even further of a commotion. He reached the entrance of the alley, now it was just him, a killer, and fate. 

"Hey! Stop right there... you?" The man in all black stopped in his tracks. "Great, good. Now, uh, turn yourself in for questioning!" Daniel approached the man slowly. He sighed, and let Daniel get closer, and closer. "You know this actually going a lot better than I thought-" Suddenly the man whipped around, and a cut streaked perfectly across Daniel's neck. Daniel put his hand against the cut and felt a little bit of blood trickle out of the wound. 

"That will be your first, and final warning." The man stared down Daniel, a mask vaguely resembling the iconic Guy Fawkes mask covering his face. His arm was outstretched towards his side, and Daniel watched as a blade made up entirely of the black and red corrupted data dissolved, as if it were retracted into the man's black hoodie sleeve. Daniel stumbled back. 

"Wha- wai- Are you?" He was at a loss of words. He knew corrupted data had to be involved, but this level of control? Daniel already felt in way over his head. 

"I suggest you run and keep your mouth shut. No point in being a hero if you're just going to end up as a body bag later."

"I can't do that. I'm not backing down." Daniel readied himself for yet another fight, although this time he was much more frightened. 

"I see your mind has left you as well as your confidence." The man raised his hand to just in front of his mouth, fingers relaxed. "Very well, if you insist." The man waved out his hand towards Daniel. Red sparks flew out from the surrounding walls, and large black spikes shot out and pierced Daniel. 

"More corrupted data? Can he make it out of nothing?" Daniel broke himself off of the spikes, and ripped the ends out if his flesh. 

"Hm? Odd?" Daniel charged up his legs and lunged at the man. In one swift motion, the man grabbed Daniel's back and pulled him in closer as he stabbed his gut with a newly reforged corrupted blade. "Enjoy rotting into nothing!" The man looked down at where he stabbed Daniel, expecting his body to corrode and break down, and yet nothing happened. "How are you-?" He was interrupted by Daniel's grunts of pain and effort, as he raised his arm and swung a fresh sword at the murderer's head. A loud metal clang echoed throughout the alley, as the sword clashed with two intersecting corrupted spikes, perfectly angled and created to catch the blade.

"Damnit!"

"I get it now, you're a guardian!" The man pushed Daniel onto the ground away from him. "I know all about your type!" The man outstretched his arms, while Daniel picked himself up. 

"I don't think you know enough about me yet."

"I know your power revolves around some form of creation, and I know you have some trait or ability that makes you impervious to my corrupted data."

"Wow, you're good. Can I get to know a little bit about you? Maybe your name per se? Only seems fair since you already know a lot about me." 

"If you were born here then you should know my name."

"Unfortunately, I wasn't so..." The man chuckled. 

"And that's the explanation I was looking for. Alright kid, I'll indulge you. Although with your obvious connections, giving out my real name wouldn't be ideal. So just call me, Anonymous." Anonymous finally brought together his hands. Giant waves of corrupted data came surging and cascading out from the ground. The whole time, he was just charging up his attack. Daniel quickly brought up a shield to block the incoming attack. All of the jagged spires, spines, and spikes knocked full force into Daniel. They were slowly pushing him back, so Daniel used his power to dig his heels deep into the ground. But it proved to be too much. Soon Daniel's shield gave way and shattered into little bits of ethereal code. Each point dug deep into Daniel's skin. He coughed up blood as he was strung up into the air by the twisted conglomerate of corruption. Anonymous swiped his hand, and all of the corrupted data disappeared into a cloud of red lightning. Daniel fell to the ground, beaten and broken, and Anonymous stood over top of him. He stepped onto Daniel's chest and began to press down. The sound of crackling ribs was almost muffled by the sound of Daniel's own anguished screams. Anonymous hushed Daniel, as two corrupted vines propped up from the earth and wrapped around Daniel's mouth. "I think you should keep quiet. I don't want you to blow my cover now." He knelt down over Daniel, still crushing his chest beneath his feet. "Here's what's going to happen. You're gonna take my advice and stay out of my way. And here's how I'm going to make sure you're gonna take my advice." Anonymous once more created his signature corrupted blade from his arm. "I obviously can't have you running around while I try to bring justice and order to this world. So, this will be farewell, guardian." Anonymous raised his blade, ready to pierce Daniel's throat and strike him down. But right as he was going to plunge the blade, he heard shouting and stopped.

"I think the sounds were coming from over here!" It was the police.

"Shit." Anonymous stood up. He walked over to a wall and placed his hand upon it. Suddenly individual blocks of corrupted data shot out from the brick, almost like steps to a set of stairs. "You may be able to keep your life, but trust me, next time we meet I won't be so merciful." Anonymous snapped his fingers, and the corrupted vines disappeared. "That is, if you don't die later in the hospital." Anonymous began to climb the steps towards the rooftops and away from Daniel and the alley, out of sight and back into the darkness once more. It was only then that Derick, Lilly, and the rest of the police force caught up to Daniel. When they saw him, Lilly put her hands over her mouth. 

"Oh my god!" She screamed. 

"Daniel? Daniel?!" Derick shouted. They all ran over to his body, life draining, pouring out. To Daniel, this was all just a haze. Loss of blood and a loss of oxygen. He was fading in and out. All of the screams and cries were slowly being tuned out by a sharp ring. Soon all went dark, and Daniel couldn't see or hear anything anymore, but he could swear he could feel something watching him.