Red Skies At Night

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"I bet you didn't expect me to show up!" Fundy said with a huge smile. He was wearing a white skin-tight suit with red bracers and boots. He had nine fox tails spread out behind his back, and his face was covered with a red mask. His fox ears moved around as he helped Tempest to his feet. "I was out on patrol when I saw you fighting these guys! But, I thought you were out of commission?"

"If you fucking tell anyone what happened, I will murder your furry ass," Tempest threatened while holding a knife towards Fundy. The hero raised his hands in up to show that he meant no harm to Tempest.

"I won't tell anyone," Fundy promised with a serious expression. He turned around to inspect the figures that were lying on the ground. Fundy pushed Bad to the side with his toes, testing if the man was conscious. "Who are these people? Why were you fighting them?"

"These are members of the Cult of Red. They decided that they wanted a piece of Tempest, and they got what they asked for," Tempest said with a glare at Fundy even though the fox wouldn't be able to see it. Tempest looked at his arm. The skin around the stab wound was coated in a red cracks. When Tempest applied pressure to or around the wound, he could feel parts of the vine brushing against his internal body parts.

"Why were you getting attacked by Cultists? Why were you investigating them when you're on probation? You must have an important reason to defy direct orders," Fundy said with an eyebrow raised. Tempest looked at Bad with a sorrowful expression.

"I have... personal reasons for being involved. The past never stays behind us, even when we want it to," Tempest sighed. He had figured out exactly what was going on, and that was what scared him more than anything. "Give me your communication device."

Fundy stared at Tempest in confusion before pulling out his earpiece that connected him to the Heroes Association. Tempest tapped against it while putting it in his own ear. "This is Tempest. Scott, I need you to locate one Hannah Rose and bring her to the Tnret apartment complex."

"Wait- Tempest?" Major Scott said from the other side of the communication earpiece. Tempest rolled his eyes as he heard Scott shuffling around in his office. Tempest told Scott the message one more time before Scott said, "Yeah, yeah, I'll do that. May I ask why?"

"No," Tempest said before hanging up. Tempest handed the device back to Fundy. "Let's go, Furry, we have a meeting to hold."

——

Tempest, Purpled, Drista, Hannah, Fundy, and Scott were piled into Tempest's apartment in the living room. Hannah was using her powers to extract what she could of the vine from Tempest's arm while the others discussed information. They idea was to combine all they knew to come up with a suitable plan of action.

"The Cult of Red is a triumvirate. The leaders are Bad, Skeppy, and an unknown third person. Bad was a member of the Muffinteers who dealt with paranormal incidents. Skeppy once owned a small demolition company, but that disbanded once he was brainwashed. Bad wants to spread the influence of the Egg while Skeppy is content with being in the Egg's presence all the time. Other notable members include Ant and Punz. There is another member, Ponk, but I don't know much about him other than he's missing an arm," Drista explained what she knew about the Cult. "Everyone else under their influence is just nameless faces. The Cult fights by the laws of quantity over quality."

"The Syndicate is a close-knit group who is about quality. The leader is the Angel of Death, whose ability allows him to operate and manipulate a large set of wings. The Blood God is the most powerful fighter while having a regeneration and healing power to rival the Heavens. The Siren can manipulate people using their voice, and is naturally charismatic enough to act as a spy. They have an assassin on their side with unknown powers, and the Warden, who on top of being physically competent, as the ability to create toxins from his body like poisons, hallucinogenics, and airborne illnesses," Purpled explain the opposing group.

"There's another Syndicate member. All I know is that they have the power to adapt to any conditioning. Their skin can become fire resistant or immune to the cold. They can breathe in poisons, underwater, sand, all of that without being effected," Fundy shared. Tempest gave him a hard look as Fundy looked down at his feet in shame.

"Last is Pato Sueño. He is a drug dealer associated with the Warden and a woman the police records call Mamacita. He is taking the blood of children from the far west, and selling them to the Cult for a hefty price," Scott finished for the group instead of letting Fundy fester in embarrassment and regret. "That leaves us with why this is all happening."

"I think I can shed some light on this matter. It's time to share my angsty backstory, I guess," Tempest said before his arms went to behind his head. Hannah made a disgruntled noise as his arm moved away from her area of effect. Tempest pulled down his hood to reveal messy blonde hair. Tempest unlatched the clips that kept his mask on. The metal face with two slits illuminated with turquoise lights fell into Tempest's lap. He heard Scott gasp at his young age, and Fundy exhaled sharply. "This is the story of Theseus, a boy with no last name."

———

Wilbur was a difficult person to understand. He was charismatic and was able to weed his way into people's lives. No one knew anything about him, but he could find out everything about them. It was Wilbur's fatal flaw: obsession. When someone got his attention, they got all of his attention. Wilbur would become infatuated, and somewhere along the line, he'd make the other person dependent on him. Wilbur had experienced this with a few people.

Tommy was one of these people. The blonde from the coffee shop who looked as lonely as Wilbur felt. The person that brought Wilbur out of his mental cage and self isolation. Tommy who had the mouth of a sailor, the hands of a killer, and the heart of a Valkyrie, the warrior's angel. Wilbur had tried to understand the way Tommy thought. He attempted to become an integral part of Tommy's life.

Except, Tommy wasn't like everyone else. Tommy had his own dependency problems, and he had a past as mysterious as the origins of Prime. Tommy acted one way, but Wilbur knew his thoughts ran in a different direction. Tommy had a strong mortality. He had an easy confidence with weaponry. He could be easily manipulated despite his stubborn nature.

This made Wilbur all the more curious and addicted. Tommy was his little gremlin, the anteater imposter. Wilbur learned the day he saw Tommy's body in the water that Tommy was also a younger brother to him. Wilbur might only know Tommy's present, but that was enough for Wilbur to satisfy him. He could wait to prod Tommy's mind for answers whenever he could guarantee that the boy was emotional invested enough that he wouldn't leave Wilbur. The brunette needed a failsafe.

Wilbur decided that he would visit Tommy to check up on him. Wilbur reached for his doorknob, but he bumped into his dresser. A few papers flew off the top. Wilbur wouldn't care about that, but he saw a flash drive sitting on the wood. Wilbur picked it up with curiosity. He didn't remember where it came from.

Wilbur turned towards his computer. He plugged the flash drive into the side. A file was brought up on the screen. It had been last updated about two months prior by Dream, the number one hero and leader of the Muffinteers. Wilbur looked at the title with a raised eyebrow.

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