Subject Interview BS Session 1 (Introduction Story)

I smile softly, its the response that's expected right now.  I look out at them with an old mind hidden behind fresh eyes.  I know what they expect me to do, they want to ask me questions about what i am, where i come from.  That story is an incredibly long, bloody tale of sex and violence.  I'm literally made of magic, and it scares most of them.  They're a reaction to an alien material entering our atmosphere during the crash landing, they're not even supposed to be here.  Not me, I was born this way, Something like me has always been here.

"Lex, I'm eternally grateful you elected to give us some of your time today, thank you again."  Molly smiles at me, and i feel the blood rush to my cheeks.  Molly's an angel, not literally, but she's the nicest person in the universe, and she always puts me off my game.  I think she knows it, and i think she kind of likes it.

"Any time, Molly, I like questions."  I lie gently to her, and i know she knows that i'm lying, but she turns the microphone out to the crowd of students.  She knows this is thing i like to do least.  Let me kick in doors, and chase down bad guys.  Let me put this thing to use helping people.  It's not what i was made for, but i decided that i was going to make it mine anyway.

"What's your name, for the record?"  One of the kids asks.  This question again, i should have known.
"I chose the name Blood Speaker as my 'hero identity,'  but operationally the higher ups usually refer to me as Red, or Agent Red."

"But what about your real name?"

"For the official record, my real name is Lexington Massachusetts, it's a name i took from the place i was found as a child."

"Could you explain that?"

"I sprang into existence as an eight year old child, and i was found wandering the outskirts of Lexington."

"Sprang into existence?"

"I wasn't born in the conventional sense, i don't have a mother or a father, i was built this way."  I lift the shirt, because i know they've heard the rumors.  Yep, no belly button, no umbilical attachment  to another living creature.  I hear the murmurs run through the crowd.  I'm not like them at all, and now they're starting to grasp that.

"Haven't you tried to figure out where you come from, who your genetics tell you you are?"

"My blood isn't anything normal, and it doesn't like to be analyzed.  It changes from moment to moment, and i simultaneously carry infectious vectors for every blood born pathogen in existence, and their antibodies."  I let that one drop for a moment, just to give them a scare.

"What are you made of?"

"Blood."  I smile at the teenager that asked the question.  When you get down to it, humans are made up of a lot of different things.  "If you were able to get my cells to sit still long enough to take a look at them, they're putting on a hell of a show.  Bone, brain matter, musculature, they're all blood cells that have assumed the form and roles of other biological material."

"So you're a blood avatar?"

"Not exactly, but it's a close enough metaphor."

"So what exactly do you do?"

"Aside from being made of living blood?"

"Yes?"  The girl doesn't seem impressed by it, it's a shame, but i'm used to it.  They understand how their own powers work, and it gives them a connection to each other, a family.  They call each other brother and sister, even call the old man Father.  They don't know what to call me, they don't have a place for me in their little wall of mail boxes.  Day's honest about it, but he's the only one.  He's fucking nuts, but he's honest.  He respects the differences between us, and humors me by calling me 'cousin' with the familiarity they address each other with.

"I can control the blood, and form it into shapes and objects."

"All the blood?"

"Just the stuff in my veins."

"Isn't that gross?"

"The clothes i'm wearing right now, the sidearm i usually carry in the field, even my badge are all made of my blood."  The quiet echoes through the crowd, they're still completely baffled by me.

"But they're not red?"  one of the boys asks.

"I can shape every aspect of it, down to the color and the smell.  I can also dissolve it with a thought."
Molly's seen that trick, she's a fan of it.

Subject Interview JD Session 2 (Origin Story Continued)

The door flew open, a flash bang following it with the greatest of ease.  The first two goons otuside teh vault were down, grabbing their heads and hoping for the pain to stop.  The other two goons opened fire, spraying the door with hot lead.  I took one to the tactical vest i was wearing, and i felt the sharp pinch of the one that caught me across the shoulder.  Didn't make full contact, grazed across the top of my shoulder and went whizzing into the hallway.  

Two more incredibly loud blasts from the shotgun i was carrying ended them.  The other two goons who were rolling around on the floor died ugly, their throats opened and blood everywhere.  I planted the charge on the door and took cover, i didn't have a lot of time, and i knew that this was the last opportunity i was going to have to get back what was taken from me.  

The vault door blasted clear of its hinges, opening the darkened room.  I checked the fiber optic cam i'd set in the hallway, and i saw the trouble coming down.  There were 8 of them, plus Marsden.  Full tactical gear, assault rifles, the works.  This was going to get ugly fast.  I slipped into the vault, and hoped to god this entire thing hadn't been a wild goose chase.  

She put her hands up, covering her face.  She was alive, my heart started beating again.  

"Please don't hurt me, i don't know why you're doing this, i don't know anything, i'm not special!" she screamed at me, her chest heaving with sobs as she tried to cover herself up.  "Please let me go!"  

"Fiona, you're going to be fine, you're almost out of trouble, but i need you to pull yourself together."  My voice wasn't my own, the synthesizer wasn't the best, so i sounded like the tin man gargling buckshot, but it was necessary in my line of work.  

"Who are you, why are you doing this?"  She looked up at me with abject horror.  I couldn't blame her for that, I would have run the other direction if i had seen me coming into a room that i'd just blown a hole in.  The mask hid my face, and the synthesizer stole my voice, and i was hoping that now we could move.  

"I owe a debt, a debt that i don't think i'll ever be able to pay back, but that's not here and now, here and now is getting you out of here before the bad guys get here."

"You're not the bad guys?"

The laugh caught in my throat, and i know the sound startled her, i could see it in her eyes.  "Fiona, I'm the worst guy, but today, I have the privilege of being your worst guy.  Stay behind me, and do exactly what i tell you to."  

Two goons tried to enter the room behind me, between the way out for her.  The shotgun quickly stifled their ambitions and served its purpose in warning off the rest.  I heard them come to a quick halt outside the door.  

"Hammer, you're a dead man."  

"We all are, act accordingly."  I tossed back at him.  I loved that movie.  The shotgun was stowed with its tactical sling, and i pulled the heavy revolvers out of the holsters.  12 bullets, 7 bad guys.  These were heavy slugs, custom made, something in the .50 caliber range.  "I would have left you alone if you hadn't taken her."  

"And if you hadn't decided to do something stupid, i would have left her alone."  

"So we're both assholes, and both equally deserving of death."  

"That's about the long and the short of it, see you in hell."  

I saw the grenades bounce into the room, i knew the situation had gone from bad to worse.  Then i heard the noise of thunder, and the angels spoke to me 

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WE'RE TRYING TO REPAIR OUR VESSEL, PLEASE STOP SHOOTING AT US.  WE AREN'T HOSTILE, PLEASE STOP."  

It hit me like a thunderbolt, a voice from beyond, and i knew that if it was the last thing i could do, she'd be safe.  My pulse quickened again, and i knew that i had to move.  My head was pounding, but i crossed the room and managed to snag both grenades before they went off.  I tossed them back into the hallway and it felt so strange.  The grenades should have gone off, but they didn't forever.  Finally, i took a breath and the room exploded. 

"How did you do that?"  Fiona asked me, her voice quaking with terror.

"Do what?"  

"Move so fast?"  

"What?"  

I didn't have time to think, Marsden had to go down.  I was through the door in a flash, my pistols in Marsden's face.  "You should have known better, you don't touch a man's family, especially when it's the last of his family."  

"Fuck you, you're a tool, not a person, you don't get to have a normal life, henchman."  

The hammers dropped, and the bullets flew.  Something happened that i couldn't explain, i could see the smoke from the end of the barrels, and i saw the tiny projectiles screaming out of them at faster than the speed of sound.  I saw the way the air displaced around them, and i tracked them right up until they made contact with Marsden's stupid looking face.  

The first bullet struck him in the cheek, under his right eye.  I watched the bullet penetrate his skin, opening up the bones and the musculature.  It was the most amazing thing i'd ever seen, at least up to that point.  The other bullet struck through his eye, and they shattered his skull, spraying tiny bone chips and bits of white and grey brain matter out the other end.  Marsden wouldn't threaten Fiona again.  

She was free, but not secure yet, we had to get out of this house...

Subject Interview JD Session 1 (Origin Story)

This is a recording, taken by persons unknown, to be shown to all students entering the Mayday Facility during their mandatory Ethics course

The camera light blinks to life, and the technician fiddles with it for just a moment before giving the thumbs up to the man who's going to be asking me the questions.  He's nervous, I can read the micro expressions in his face well enough to know that whatever else he's done in his life, he hasn't prepared for this, not for me.  Who could blame him, I'm a fucking monster to people like him, The boogie man crossed with the Predator crossed with the an avenging angel.  I can feel his expression harden, he's ready to start asking the questions.  I give him the easy smile, clinking the cuffs on my wrists together, might as well ring the bell and get the day started.

"State your name for the record."  He's all business, all professional.  It's a good start.

"My birth name?"

"Yes."

"I was born Mitchell Reed, in a little suburb of St. Louis.  My parents are both deceased, and i have one living sibling that i haven't seen since the visitors arrived."

"And your other name?"

"The name my Father gave me?"

"Yes, that name."

"My Father named me Judgment Day."  I let the words hang in the air.  His breath catches in his throat, he didn't expect it to be this easy.  I don't know why, it's not like i go out of my way to make life difficult for the Law.  They're just trying to do their jobs, most of them anyway.

"You are aware that you have active warrants across most of the planet?"

"If i accepted that your laws had merit to people like me, I would care."

"So you don't recognize the legal authority of sovereign countries?"

"I believe the funniest joke i had ever heard was a judge telling me i'd be sentenced by a jury of my peers."

"Why's that funny to you."

"Look at me, i have no peers."  I catch his eyes with mine, and stare into him.  He's lost in the green of my eyes, the tell tale flickers of the lightning running through my veins.  "Even among my own kind, i am unique."

"So you're not a criminal because our laws don't apply to you?"

"Never something so gauche.  I am a criminal you can't prosecute because your jurisdiction is insufficient to reach me."

"Tell me about April 1st, 1997."

"The day the visitors arrived?"

"Yes, what were you doing that day."

"Running an errand for a friend of a friend."

"Who were you killing, and how much money were you getting paid?"

"I was doing a pro bono job, someone had stolen something important to me."

The building was a fortress.  Marsden had done his research, and spent a fortune to make sure that this place was a deathtrap.  I was flattered, really.  This kind of thoughtfulness on the part of another human being was touching in an odd way.  He cared enough to try to kill me with the very best henchmen and equipment.  

I was starting my approach.  The longer i could keep things quiet, the higher the chances of this going off without me getting anyone important killed.  That was the mission, recover the package, no matter the cost.  Marsden had to have known what kind of hellfire this would bring down on him.  He couldn't be stupid enough to think that this would keep from my appointed rounds.  

The car had been stolen the night before and hidden out of sight.  It was a simple matter to rig it with enough explosives to cause a great smoking distraction.  The guards moved off their spots to check the car, which opened the gap in the security that i needed to slip in.  By the numbers, i had less than a minute to get from the exterior wall to the house before security moved back to their positions.  

I felt the shock wave as the car exploded.  I knew if i was going to have a chance, i'd need to cause a ruckus, especially one that would that draw the cops and fire fighters and some EMTs if i were lucky.  That poor Taurus, it deserved a better funeral than that, but i knew it had to be done.  I'd make sure the poor bastards i borrowed it from would have a new one by the close of business tomorrow, i'd all ready had that taken care of.  

If i were lucky, four of the security were down, and a rain of flaming debris was coating the street.  I slipped through the kitchen door as quietly as i could, letting out a low sigh.  I'd gotten this far, and the cook had just seen me.  The knife left my hand in a blur, and the cook was face down in a mixing bowl...looks like a German chocolate cake.  

I knew this place was wired with cameras, sensors and a pile of other electronic devices.  I tapped the remote twice, and tossed the device into the hallway.  I hope the money i paid for this thing was worth it.  I heard the low popping noises, and the lights went out.  Three pounds of plastic explosive, distributed across 12 power lines and two transformers had done their work.  The other effect was the one i was counting on.  The emergency lights kicked on for just a second, and then the power went completely out.  Electromagnetic pulses were a beautiful thing.  

Two guards burst into the room, pistols leveled.  I nodded at the two of them, raising the AA-12 from its resting position.  I see the flash of realization in their eyes.  The entire room sees the flash from the shotgun.  Two very loud bangs later, and they're both smears on the wall.  No time for quiet or subtlety anymore.  Time to get loud and proud. 

I toss a flash bang through every door way i have access to before pushing through to the staircase.  Two more loud bangs drop two more ugly guards on the way.  These guys have an idea of what's coming, and i hear the pull back order over their radios.  They're splitting up, one team heading to protect the vault, where i made the assumption that Marsden would be keeping the thing i came to recover, and the other team was moving to protect Marsden himself, on the upper floor.  

I know Marsden, he's not going to sit still while his house is being treated like a Bosnian suburb during a raid.  He's going to try and find me himself.  I can't help it, i smile to myself as i bound the stairs down, heading into the bowels of this building to find the vault.  That's why i'm here, I want back what he's taken from me.