The Undying Man - Heroic Vol.1

Issue 4 - The Shadows and Strings

The darkened room was neither hot, nor cold. Bare, metallic walls and state-of-the-art ventilation made sure of that. The only saviour from the darkness itself came from the soft glow of the many monitors which adorned the far wall. Opposite, was a large, sturdy desk, almost as wide as the room.

Behind the desk was a man. He sat impeccably straight with his arms folded, his posture presenting his firm, broad shoulders and displaying the fine craftsmanship of his tailor-made suit. Indeed, one might have mistaken him for a professional model of designer clothing - if not for the golden mask which hid his face and hair from sight. Flawlessly smoothed, and made from the highest quality of gold, the curved surface was broken up only by three blackened eye-pieces and a myriad of engraved patterns covering the mouth region. Two of the dark, glass eye pieces were placed as per an ordinary human face, and the third sat just above, in the centre of the forehead. There were no notable holes around the mouth, but the engraved etches somehow conducted a flow of air in and out of the golden mask. At the eyes, the light glimmered over the ovals of black glass, the darkness inside betraying nothing of their master’s emotions.

On the wall, the monitors displayed video feeds depicting several different angles of a train’s interior. One gave a close frontal view of a brown-haired man wielding a samurai sword. Another gave quite a pleasant view of a blond girl’s backside. She shaked and quivered in the cold.

The intricate engravings on the mask began to shift across the smooth, golden surface, leaving no sign of their previous placement behind. They stopped when they had formed the rough shape of what might be considered a smile. The man unfolded his arms. On his right hand he wore a thick, leather glove that reached up to his elbow; it glowed with coloured lines, blinking softly in several places. With his free hand he pressed on one of the blinking lights, causing a luminous set of controls to appear out of thin air, in front of him. His fingers pressed lightly over the controls. One of the video feeds changed; now displaying a dark-haired man lying in a hospital-like bed, his eyes were open - and empty.

The gloved hand traced over the projected controls again.

A clicking sounded from the flat-paneled wall to his right. A rectangular line formed across the previously solid panel, revealing a smaller, door-sized plate which retracted and slid away into the wall itself. From the opening came a man dressed from head to toe in gear remarkably similar to that worn by Skyview S.W.A.T. teams - gas mask and all. As the one piece face-goggle was tinted, not even the eyes could be seen. The henchman stood to attention, holding his combat rifle close to his waist, the sling resting gently over his shoulder.

“Sir?” said the henchman.

A calm voice echoed from behind the golden engraving. “Tell me, has Mr.Deviantis recalled anything more about his encounter with The Undying Man?”

“No, sir. Not, yet. The paralysis of his muscles seems to have worn off, but he appears to have sustained an injury in the blast. His condition appears stable, but he refuses to speak further until he has seen his family,” the henchman replied in a near-monotonous voice.

“To be expected,” said the man in the golden mask. “So then, what of the woman and their children? Are there problems to address?”

“No, sir. Everything is under control. Their children are confined, and Master of Arms will be collecting the woman personally, from The Animals, within the week.”

The burnished engravings contracted into a tight, straight line.

“And what, precisely, is she doing in the custody of The Animals to begin with?”

“I..” The henchman hesitated. “Master of Arms initiated the action under authority.”

“His authority?”