Holy Leviathan
#5 of Etheral City
Penny followed him for about an hour before her legs started to get heavy. She was panting in the heat of summer and for some reason Splitter was not. She couldn't understand why, then he said, "... humans don't pant... sweat..." Penny looked at him with disgust (Looks like quiet boy is back)
They stopped in front of a diner and Penny waited for him to make his move. When he didn't talk or move, she felt that she needed to ask, "What are we doing here?"
Splitter still had his eyes closed, but said, "... go inside... get Rendika... meet behind diner... by dumpster..." he walked away. Penny was a little uncertain, but she went inside anyway. She found it cozy, and it was pretty crowded. A lizard waitress walked up to her.
"Hello, how many?"
Penny was still shaken from the day so far, but she was able to gather her courage and say, "I'm looking for someone. Name is Rendika. Do you know her?" The waitress smiled and said it was her, "Okay, do you think you could come with me? I have someone that wants to meet you." Rendika yelled to the back that she was taking the evening shift off and followed Penny.
About the time they were on the side of the diner, Rendika noticed something, "Wait... you're that hero groupie, aren't you? Uh uh, I ain't doin' no interviews with you. Last thing I need is to get fired from this job too."
Penny said, "Listen, I know you may not like me, but... the heroes aren't who they said they are. I was kidnapped and almost tortured twice today. Who knows what's going to happen next?" Rendika continued to follow her then stopped at the dumpster. Splitter as standing there, eyes shut and headphones on. The lizard flipped out and hopped into a defensive position.
"So this's yer game, huh? Lure me where no one can see me then ambush me. You get yer story and He gets fame." She was strangely defensive in Penny's eyes. She looked over at Splitter, who acted like he knew her.
He turned to face the girls, eyes shut, "I need your help, Spitting Lizard. Or whatever the hell you wanna call yourself. I have no intention of hurting you, nor have I ever. Come with us, we're going to need some more help." Rendika asked him what he was planning on, and Penny listened in closely. He simply said, "We are going to take down the Holy Leviathan." Penny looked at Rendika, and all traces of protest were gone.
Along the trio went, traveling in an almost random pattern. After another thirty minutes, they arrived at a residential area just outside of the city. Splitter walked up to an average looking house and knocked on the door. A troubled voice screamed through the door, "Get away! Get out! I'm tired of cleaning up your messes!"
Splitter leaned towards the door, "Oh, but I haven't even started. Would you like to join me?"
The voice was confused now, "Wait, you're not that kid who keeps messing with my equipment. And that voice... who is it?"
Splitter didn't even announce himself before the door swung open. The weasel on the other side was lost in awe. He saw a hero at the door, but before he could shut it, Splitter put his foot out, "We need your help, Smokebomb. Or whatever you feel like having for a name." The weasel seemed skeptical, "We are going to take down the Holy Leviathan." Smokebomb wasted no time in hurrying inside and grabbing a few bags of all shapes and sizes. They were filled to the point of breaking.
Another trip, this one was about to put Penny past her breaking point. They stopped at a shack, and Splitter knocked on the makeshift door, "Open up, I need to speak with you." A scrambling could be heard on the inside, then the "door" was removed from the entrance. Inside stood the Purple Mouse, dressed in torn and dirty clothing. He was frightened, but after seeing the others he quickly calmed down. "We're taking down the Holy Leviathan, you want in?" The mouse's face lit up like it was Christmas morning.
The process continued, until they had a who's who of evil super villains. Penny would've complained, but was too exhausted. Shortly after arriving back into the heart of the city, they entered an abandoned warehouse. Splitter stopped in the center, Penny grabbing his arm. "I've gathered you all here today because of a danger that none of you are aware of. Project Extermination was created by the Holy Leviathan. According to what I was able to read, a large group of superheroes plans to get together in a few days and... well... exterminate you all." An uproar burst from the group of villains.
"So what?! You gather us all in one place to make it easier for them?!" Squeaked the Purple Mouse.
Splitter laughed, "On the contrary, This is going to make my job a lot easier. I have no intention of letting any of you die. I have been planning this for a while. Sorry for dragging you in to this, but if I let my powers get out of hand, I have no clue what would happen. That's what these headphones are for. They block all external sound, and keep my powers chained up. Last thing I want is to have a thousand heads explode. We are going to take the real criminals down, starting with the Paladin."
Another uproar, "If we could've taken down the Paladin, we would of. We're just the misfits that get picked on. They're heroes because they have noble abilities and crowd appeal. We're the villains because we don't have those things. Sure, most of us have committed a crime in our lives, but we paid our dues. Listen, paper girl, we robbed people because we needed to in order to survive. They took everything from us. They locked our accounts, stole our money, and burned our homes."
Penny was shocked at what she was hearing. She was just about ready to believe anything, but they seemed like they were telling the truth. After the short speech, they quieted down and looked like they were reflecting on their pasts. Splitter stepped towards them, "I know. That's why I have a plan. All I need, is a camera, Smokebomb here to hack into every screen in the city, and a path to the top floor." The weasel nodded. The others did so as well. In a short time, Splitter went from their top enemy to their general. Penny was amazed.
Smokebomb spoke up, "I can do all of that, easy. I'll even give you the tv and radio stations if it'll clear our names. But, what are you gonna do? Paladin won't just let you film him.
"Well, I suppose I could tell you my plan. Ego operor non intentio dimitto per meus vita, or something like that. Latin's a little rusty." Everyone in the room was confused, but Splitter had a wicked smile on his face, and a hidden sorrow in his expression. Latin was a completely dead language, only a few select scholars bothered to learn it in these modern times. "So, tomorrow morning then. Meet in front of Paladin Industries wearing some type of concealing cloaks, beat up preferably. We are going to be a family of orchard workers, we'll get inside with a lame story like he saved one of our lives and we want to thank him. He won't be able to resist."
Everyone was smiling, even Penny as she soon realized. It was a good plan, he never missed an opportunity to get praise from the people. The villains all went their separate ways and Splitter left behind them. Penny ran up to him, "Um, do you have a place to stay tonight? It'll be best if you're well rested tomorrow. So, you can stay at my place, if you want..." She was unsure of what she was saying. However, his face seemed to imply a favorable response.
It was a long sleepless night for Penny. She couldn't quite process all of the past few day's strange events. First a human appears out of nowhere and becomes a hero over night. Then, she gets kidnapped and threatened with torture multiple times, even though she knew very little about Splitter. Then, it turns out that the villains were actually just normal people with powers rather than diabolical geniuses. Splitter has turned Etheral City inside out, and Penny thought it was exciting. "A new world, new heroes, new everything. Maybe this city isn't so boring."
She awoke to the sounds of rustling in her living room. She noticed that the sun was just peaking over the towers and knew what she had to do. She slipped on some comfortable jeans and a shirt, both of which would let her move easily and flexibly. She had bought a new pair of running shoes a week earlier, but hadn't had time to use them. (No better time like the present...) she thought to herself, trying to justify wearing a $200 pair of shoes to a battlefield.
She exited her room and saw Splitter holding two worn cloaks. He tossed one to her, then put his own on. She could still see the shape of the headphones and laughed inside, the only indication a smile on her face. It wasn't a long walk, but it was stressful. She had noticed that Splitter hadn't opened his eyes in a long time. Out in front of the building stood a gathering of some of the poorest people. She smiled and keep her face hidden. (No one would recognize them, especially not a "hero") she concentrated then walked towards the entrance with the group.