The Metahuman Agency: The Superhuman War

Grief

Jason followed Robertson down the passages, listening. He didn't hear any sounds of gunfire nor any other sounds. His stomach churned. That could be either because they had taken care of all the attckers on this floor or...everyone was dead. Including Audrey. Or, fuck, both.

Jason slapped himself in the head. He couldn't think like that! God...Jesus...Audrey wasn't dead. She could't be. No, no, no! Fuck no!" Jason squeezed the sides of his hair tighter, grinding his teeth. No. He sucked in his breath, slapping the sides of his head. Focus, right here, he had to focus. Get upstairs. Drop off Robertson with the Director. Get the others. Kick ass.

Yeah. He straightened up and exhaled. Yeah, sounded like a plan.

He noticed Robertson had halted. The doctor was looking at him, arms folded. "Are you alright?" Robertson asked. Jason couldn't tell if he was genuinly concerned or not. If only the guy would put in just a little emotion, just a flicker. What was he, allergic to non-monotone phrases? But Jason just nodded.

"Fine..." He chuckled humorlessly. "Just, you know, a bit stressed. I mean...this is crazy."

"Mmm," Robertson peeked around the hallway's corner. "Well, keep it under check. Having panic attacks will get you killed. Or me. And both those situations would be problematic." He waved his finger. "Coast is clear." He moved around the corner. Jason briefly glanced over his shoulder before following.

They move down the hallway, past other rooms. The two then reached the end of the hallway, where a glass door stood. Beyond the glass door was the elevators. A ID scanner was placed on the door, blinking red. No sign of any bad guys.

Robertson reached into his jacket and took out an ID card. He swiped it over the electronic lock. It blinked green and there was a loud click as it unlocked.

Robertson moved to push it open. But as he did, as Jason moved to follow, there suddenly came footsteps from behind them. Jason froze. He turned around, his hands tightening into fists.

Three figures came around the corner. They all stopped at the sight of Jason and Robertson. Two of them were the soldiers. Surprisingly, they didn't raise their guns but stayed where they were, just watching. Jason gritted his teeth, as he gazed went to the final figure, who stood between the two soldiers. The lead figure stepped forward.

She was a black woman, wearing a sleeveless tactical vest, her face covered in ghoulish skull makeup. Her hair was combed into dreadlocks. Her piercing eyes locked with Jason's own. Jason stared back and a brief shiver went through his body. He knew. She was a meta.

He snarled at Robertson, "Run!" But before either of them could move, the woman opened her mouth and began to scream.

The noise boomed through the hallway, assaulting Jason's ears. It was incredibly loud, sounding as loud as an explosion. Jason screamed, clapping his hands over his ears and collapsing to the floor. Robertson flopped next to her, also screaming in pure agony, practically clawing at his ears. The doctor's lenses shattered, glass spraying everywhere. Behind them, Jason caught a glimpse of the glass security door also shattering into tiny shards.

The woman kept screaming. Jason howled. He couldn't even hear himself over the noise. He felt something tickle his palm. Water? No, no...blood. His ears were bleeding. The noise kept up, continuing to smash into him, overwhelm him, like a mallet was being smashed into his skull. The floor rattled beneath him, seeming to almost vibrate.

Then, suddenly, mercifully, the noise stopped. The sudden silence felt defeaning. Jason gasped, unclenching his teeth. His head was throbbing. He could hear his pulse pounding in his ears. They hurt. They hurt really bad. Jason slowly peeled his hands off his ears. He saw spots of blood on one palm. As he pulled his hands away, he heard a slight, far off ringing noise.