Protectors- Wrath of The Stranger

Chapter Four: Plan B

Zavant strode into the testing facility, ignoring the guards who told him to get back. A few times, a guard would pull a gun or taser on Noctum Prime, who would disarm and knock out the offending official with ease before continuing his journey. He reached the deepest depths of the facility, where the cast iron walls were laced with alien alloy in order to keep the upper facility from being destroyed,

"Glad to see that you're here," Agent O greeted, opening the door to Zavant, "the artificial Chrysalis is just in here,"

Zavant walked into the cavernous room, taking note of how the orb that was suspended midair at the centre was blue, not red,

"Why do you need this, sir?" Agent O asked,

"There was a point, before the battle with Apis," Zavant replied, "where Zachary tried to use the Chrysalis to give us more powers, but instead burned his arm off,"

"It didn't work, did it?" Agent O asked again,

"No, although he did get a little bit stronger, from memory," Zavant answered,

"Are you telling me that this thing enhances the powers of superhumans?" O inquired,

"That's the working hypothesis, and if it is true, it explains a lot,"  Zavant began, "The Stranger never believed that a normal superhuman could defeat him, he only came back out of fear of what someone with the Chrysalis could do,"

"So, you are going to use this to give someone powers and have them grow stronger?"

"No, I could never trust anyone else to do this for me,"

Zavant pulled a knife from his pocket, striking his arm. The knife shattered on the indestructible skin,

"The blueprints of this Chrysalis was modelled on the one from my universe, the one that I draw my power from. I can retain my old abilities while I am nearby," Zavant explained,

"You are planning on going after Apis!" Agent O exclaimed,

Just as he spoke, the facility's alarms went off, filling the area with flashing red lights and screaming noise. Zavant pushed O into a cupboard, locking the door as he did,

"Stay there, it's found me," Zavant said, "It will not hurt you if you are not in its way,"

"Please, boss," O said, "I can help!"

"No," Zavant answered, "nobody can help against Wraith,"

He turned to leave, pulling his mask over his face to complete his suit. Zavant crept through the hallways, the smell of disinfectant mixing with the stench of the gunpowder that accompanied the people who shot at Wraith. The screams of the falling agents reached Zavant's ears as the crack of gunfire echoed through the walls. Wraith tossed an agent aside, the bloody hole in his chest signalling the death he had suffered. It did not wish to hurt the agents, and therefore killed them in the most painless ways possible, but Zavant was a different story. The vigilante had resisted for too long, even faking his own death to avoid the multiversal police,

"You've been busy, Wraith," Noctum Prime said calmly, as if talking to an old friend, "looking for me, I presume?"

"Let's get this over with," Wraith answered, "there are other multiversal problems for me to deal with,"

"You will find that I do not go down so easily," Zavant replied, bracing himself for the battle,

Noctum Prime had been aware of Wraith's existence after they met in the alleyway in Egypt. He had researched multiversal laws and powers, figuring out exactly how to deal with Wraith. Unfortunately, there was no apparent way to defeat such a powerful being, so Zavant had faked his own death. Wraith executed a perfect somersault, landing behind Zavant and avoiding the punch that he threw with acrobatic precision. It grabbed into Adam's arm and twisted, the shadowy blackness that covered its face twisting with glee as its weight and momentum twisted Zavant's arm cleanly off,