Part 1 -- Betrayal
Thunder rolled through the dark skies as the Eliminator crept along the musty warehouse corridor. He tread carefully, aware that agents of the Insane Genius would be guarding the building.
He stopped at a corner and saw a torch beam on the floor grow brighter, listening he could hear footsteps approach. The Eliminator prepared himself and waited to strike.
The two guards stood no chance. By the time the second guard could register that his colleague was crumpling to the floor, the Eliminator had already administered a powerful kick to his stomach before a mighty punch blasted the guard into unconsciousness. The Eliminator was satisfied with his work and continued.
Although he was quietly making his way through this unknown building, time was not on the Eliminator's side. The Insane Genius had kidnapped a wealthy banker's daughter and was holding her to ransom.
There was no telling what this madman could be planning and if negotiations went badly, it could be bad for the girl. Best to get to her before the lunatic prankster got bored.
It had been surprisingly easy to follow the trail of clues left behind by the kidnappers. The Eliminator was suspicious. Could this be a trap or just overconfidence?
He could have done with the assistance of a few of his team mates from Justice 7 for extra security. The Eliminator knew his nemesis too well but he couldn't afford to wait for assistance, as much as he regretted it.
Justice 7 was a group of lawful superheroes set up to oppose the combined operations of TYRANT, a collective of chaotic supercriminals intent on mayhem, destruction and overpowering legal, democratic authority.
Justice 7 was where he had met Purity who was now his girlfriend and they were known as a couple to the public and media.
He would preferred to have had her with him now along with his other friends but there was a woman who needed to be rescued and no telling how long was left to save her. Perhaps there would be a welcome party of henchmen waiting for him but he would have to deal with that problem at the time.
The Eliminator opened a door to find himself staring at a cubicle. A woman with a cloth sack over her head was tied to a chair, her back to him. He couldn't see any signs that she had been beaten but her head was down, the body language looked frightened and weak.
Surveying the cubicle and the surrounding corridor, there were no signs of cameras or motion sensors. The only thing preventing him from getting to this woman was a solitary guard. His back turned to the Eliminator.
Something was unusual about this guard however. He wasn't wearing the standard combat fatigues, he was dressed in a long red cloak with a hood pulled over his head and he held a long staff.
The Eliminator tore into action. Sprinting towards his opponent The Eliminator leapt and delivered a ferocious flying kick, lashing the back of the guard's head and knocking him clean out.
The guard crashed against a wall and then onto the floor causing the woman to scream and ask what it was. The Eliminator enjoyed the feeling of overwhelming his adversary, of using force to protect the weak.
He stood over his vanquished foe and was puzzled to see that the guard was wearing some rather peculiar looking glasses. The glasses were of a light red colour but had very thick lenses that were broken up into segments, rather like a diamond.
They looked as though they would distort a user's vision, not aid it. The Eliminator had not seen anything like it before but this was a minor detail, a distraction.
He entered the cubicle. The woman was now in a state of agitation. Kidnapped, alone, in the dark and now the sounds of violence surrounded her. She was vulnerable but the Eliminator would help her now.
'Please don't panic. My name is the Eliminator and I'm here to rescue you. What is your name?'
'Me? My name is Melody Mesmeria. The Eliminator? I've seen you on TV. Thank god you're here, I'm so frightened.'
He looked around as she spoke, there wasn't any signs of traps that he could detect. He continued to talk but wondered what the Insane Genius was planning. It was all going too easily.
'I'll get you out of here in no time but first we'd better get his sack off you. Is it safe to remove?'
'Yes it is but there is something you need to know. There is a bomb around my neck.' The Eliminator's blood ran cold, this was the trap!
'The fiend! Do you know anything about the bomb or how it works?'
'This crazy man, he said; "They'll never be able to save you. Only I, the Insane Genius know the code that will allow this bomb to be removed and unless your father pays up, the bomb will detonate in 5 hours time".'
'How is the bomb set up? Can I remove the sack?' Melody nodded and The Eliminator took the sack off her. Melody shook her head and long red hair fell to its normal length around her shoulders.
The Eliminator looked at her face to see that she was blinking slightly as she adjusted to the light in the room, then she turned to look at him.
Thoughts of bombs, the Insane Genius and anything else poured out of his mind for a few seconds as he stared at a woman with a beautiful face, scarlet lips and the most piercing green eyes he had ever seen. All he could do was stare back at them.
'The bomb. Its around my neck.' The Eliminator snapped back into focus and moved behind Melody to be confronted by what appeared to be a choker design necklace that was tight to her neck.
At the back of the choker were four numbers running from one to four and next to them a small cube that was built into the choker itself.
The Eliminator guessed this was the bomb and if it was plastic explosives, it was enough to kill not just Melody but anyone close to her as well. 'There are four numbers here and I guess there is only one chance to enter the code to release you.' This was classic Insane Genius. This was the trap.
'This mad genius person, he made a mistake. I overheard him talking to one of his guards. He said that the code was stored on the gem at the front of the choker.'
'He made that horrible laughing noise and said the gem was a powerful stone that could control the will of anyone who looked into it.
It came from South America and to master the stone you have to keep staring into it until you knew the whole code. If you looked away you had to restart with the first number again. The stone was a test of strength and when he thought of any superhero trying to master the stone, he went into hysterics.'
The Eliminator chafed to hear his kind derided. It was well known that he had good mental strength, he would enjoy proving his adversary wrong. He untied the bonds restraining the hostage and walked in front of her.