Protectors- Wrath of The Stranger

Chapter Three: Return

The flight to Perth airport was perfectly on time, and as Zachary stepped off the plane, he felt nothing but nostalgia, for the place that he had almost left behind forever,

"Didn't think I'd see again,"

He turned to see the source of the voice but was bowled over by something fluffy and very energetic,

"Hey Cap, I've missed you," Zachary laughed, oblivious to the stares of the onlookers, "who's a good boy,"

Amongst the slobbery kisses from Captain, Zachary made out the shape of Shaine. He gently hoisted Cap off of himself, placing the dog firmly on the ground,

"How've you been?" He asked, "glad to see that you're doing alright,"

Although looking slightly shaken by the news of Noctum being alive, Shaine was doing well. Having purchased the casino that she had loved to play at, she was now one of the richest people in Perth,

"It's been a long few years," She said, somewhat coldly, "since you just ran out on us,"

Zachary paused for a moment. When he had gone to Uluru to search for Adam's body, he hadn't thought about how his absence would have affected his friends. The rest of the walk from the airport was silent, but for the thumping of Captain's tail against the pillars of the main lobby,

"Remember when we were here last?" Shaine asked, 

Zachary could vividly remember the night. That night, Noctum had come back from Egypt, and their final encounter with Jones Blakk, a villain had occurred,

"The time before that was a lot better,"

Now the memory of the trip to the site of the ancient Egyptian artefact swam to the surface. The salty flavours of his Big Mac, the strange conversation with Adam,

"Except that Riley was with us," Shaine replied, "he turned out to be really bad, in the end,"

Riley, also known as Johnathan Stone, masqueraded as the evil speedster Kinetic, before Spirit had removed his powers, permanently ending the agony that the serial killer had inflicted across the city. The silence stretched longer until Zachary saw something uncanny. A figure, clothed in white and red robes, tiny crimson droplets forming a trail in his wake. Nobody would mess with a man like that. Standing at over two meters, he was broad shouldered and muscular. Zachary looked closely at the man, and felt the shivers running down his spine as he saw the wicked claws that ended his fingertips,

"That guy has claws," Shaine whispered, startling Zachary, "just like the guys you got deported for killing,"

"You can see them too?" Zachary asked, bewilderment in his eyes, "I'm not bloody insane then?"

"Let's follow him," Shaine said, walking fast to keep up with the man's pace,

"No, he's obviously not human," Zachary said, jogging, "we don't know what he's capable of,"

"You killed the other ones, how's this one different?" Shaine asked, 

"I don't have my gun this time," Zachary answered,

"It would do you no good," The man said, his back still to the two,

He had led them outside. The back alley was full of cardboard boxes and used syringes. This place was obviously a haven for addicts,

"Why do you have claws?" Zachary asked, embracing a fighting stance as Captain began to growl, teeth bared,

"My mistress has the ability to... transform people," The man said, his deep voice somehow containing the coldness of an iceberg, "this is the easiest for her to utilise,"