{"sf1_id":941564,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Harmonious Combination","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":14580,"posted_at":"2015-12-06T18:47:00.000Z","tags":["Colmation Universe","Ghost of Toronto","Volume","caribou","gremlin","superhero","warp"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/941564-harmonious-combination","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/941564","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=941564\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\n-Toronto,\nNight Time-\n30\nOctober, 2015\n            Finally\nfinding time to begin the training that he and Daniel had arranged over two\nweeks ago, Han arrived in the city of Toronto on the back of his motorcycle; an\nimported West Coast American Chopper bike -fast, loud and beautiful. He loved\nthat motorcycle, loved to feel the wind racing around his head and between his\nantlers as he rode down the street to where he was supposed to meet his cousin\nto begin their first night of training. Daniel had also promised him his own\nuniform for when the training was finished.\n            Han\nhad been looking forward to this ever since Daniel had agreed to teach him; to\nhelp him master his powers and to make him into a superhero, just like himself.\nHan had been born with a special gift; the power to control and amplify sound.\nOver the years he'd practiced with it, and knew the limits of what he was\ncapable of using it for. He could single out one sound and suppress another, he\ncould clap his hands to create a concentrated sonic blast to knock people off\nof their feet, and he could even amplify the sound waves of the very bike he\nwas riding on to shatter windows in the vicinity...\n            Though\nthat one he actively avoided doing, for obvious reasons.\n            He\nwas ready. All he needed now was just a little tempering of his superpowers, to\nlearn how best to use them, and the best one to teach him that was someone who\nhad been practicing with his own powers for almost a decade and a half.\n            Parking\nhis bike in a hidden place designated by Daniel, Han stepped off and walked\nback out to the street, looking around for any sign of his cousin. He stood\nthere for only moment before he heard a hoof-step. \"You're early.\"\n            Han turned to face the voice,\nseeing a white and red clad caribou stepping out of the shadows, approaching\nhim on the street with a long red cape flowing behind him with each step. The\nyounger caribou chuckled as the Warp approached him, crossing his arms. \"For a\nguy who dresses like the national flag, you sure are good at hiding.\"\n            \"No\none sees what they aren't looking for,\" replied Warp. \"Are you ready?\"\n            Han\nnodded to him. \"I am,\" he said. \"Which way to home base?\"\n            \"It's\ncalled The Bunker,\" replied Warp, holding out his hand. \"And I never use the\ndoor,\" he added with a smirk.\n            Han\ntook his hand with only a second of thought, and then felt a rush of weightless\nas a flash of light enveloped the two bucks, carrying them to places unknown to\nHan. He felt gravity return to him in a span of a second, along with a brief\nlight-headedness that had him struggling to regain his balance, nearly falling\nonto his side. He found a table to lean on for support, shaking his head to\nclear it.\n            \"Whoa...\nthat was a buzz,\" he said. \"Felt like we flew through space.\"\n            \"You\nget used to it,\" replied Warp as he reached up with one hand and lifted the\ncorner of his mask, the whiteness of his fur seemingly retreating into the\nmask, replaced by a shade of brown slightly lighter than that of Han's, before he\npulled off his mask fully and uncovered his green eyes.\n            \"Hey,\nyou're not wearing contacts anymore,\" said Han.\n            \"Nope,\"\nhe replied. \"After accidentally sleeping in them I needed to make sure I didn't\ndo that again, so I replaced them with a pliable lens over the eye sockets.\"\n            Han\ncringed. \"Oh that must've hurt... how'd you get them out without going to an\neye doctor and giving up your big secret?\"\n            \"My\nsupport crew,\" replied Daniel, pointing past Han.\n            The\ncaribou turned to look over his shoulder, and saw a smiling Japanese Weasel\nseated in the chair at the desk, who proceeded to wave to him. \"Kon'nichiwa, Hania,\" he said in\ngreeting. \"I am Akechi Akio, it is an honor to meet you.\"\n            \"Ah,\nso you're Akio,\" returned Han, stepping forward and reaching over the desk to\nshake hands with the weasel, who accepted graciously. \"Good to finally meet you\nin person.\"\n            \"Agreed,\"\nreplied Akio. \"I am eager to see how your training goes; I even have something\nfor you to get started.\" He rolled his chair back and stood up, walking over to\na nearby workbench.\n            \"A\npresent for me? You shouldn't have,\" jested Han.\n            \"After\nlearning what your powers are and how they worked, I had Akio begin working on\na set of tools for you,\" explained Daniel. \"Your costume is still being worked\non but the weapons I had him customize for you should be ready.\"\n            \"You\nhad all that done in three weeks?\" Han asked, surprised.\n            \"I\nhave a lot of free time during the day!\" Akio called.\n            \"At\nleast until tomorrow,\" remarked Daniel.\n            \"Tomorrow?\nWhat about tomorrow?\" Han asked.\n            \"It's\nHalloween,\" replied Daniel. \"All of\nthe crazies come out on Halloween.\"\n            \"What,\nlike vampires, zombies and werewolves?\" Han asked with an incredulous look and\na wry grin as he met Daniel's gaze.\n            \"Among\nother things,\" replied Daniel.\n            Han's\nexpression fell flat.\n            \"Kidding,\"\nassured Daniel. \"But I mean it; Halloween does bring out the craziest people; I\nguarantee you the police scanner will be buzzing all night long.\"\n            Han\nrolled his eyes. \"Swell... \"\n            At\nthat moment, Akio returned, and handed a pair of metal rods over to Han,\nrubber-coated handles first. Han took the metal batons, examining them\ncarefully; each one was approximately thirty inches long, with an\never-so-slight flare at the tips of them. They were light in his hands, with a\nfairly good balance as he gave them a few test swings. He then noticed\nsomething about the knobbed heads of the barons, and held them up to examine it\nclosely.\n            On\nthe backs of each baton was an accessory; metal plates that were not attached\nto the weapons themselves, but by tiny, coiled springs from top to bottom. The\nlittle, round plates themselves were short and cone shaped, thin and hollowed\nout in the centers, and had a different coloration from the rest of the metal,\nwhich he recognized as brass due to their brighter luster and slightly more\nyellow hue that made them stand out from the titanium exteriors of the batons.\n            Curiously,\nhe looked at Akio. \"What are these little 'disks' on the rods?\" He asked.\n            \"Bang\nthem together,\" Akio replied. \"But don't use your powers on them in here..\"\n            He\nturned to Daniel, who nodded in reply, before he turned away from both he and\nAkio to have plenty of room, holding out the two rods and flipping them around\nso that the small disks faced each other, lightly tapping them together before\nhe spread his arms out wide, and slammed them together harshly, not sure what\nwould happen. He was rewarded with a satisfying clang that left a resounding\necho through the bunker, so harsh it actually made both Daniel and Akio blink\ntheir eyes and fold their ears until it abated.\n            \"Oh,\nnice,\" said Han.\n            \"I\nused miniature versions of cymbals for those,\" Akio explained. \"Just like with\nthe real thing, you clang them together and you can create a miniature sonic\nboom that can irritate sensitive ears. Combining it with your powers...\" He let\nHan finish.\n            \"You\nget a sonic blast,\" he replied,\nholding up the batons again. \"I like these. What're they made of? They're oddly\nlight.\"\n            Akio\ntook one of the rods from Han and traced his finger along the rod as he gave Han\nthe rundown. \"Now, inside of these batons is an aluminum rod -the rest of the\nitem is built around that, like an endo-skeleton,\" he explained. \"The rod\nitself is about one inch thick. The high-density rubber that form up the\nhandles add another half an inch to the density, and absorb impact reducing the\nstrain on both your hands and the rod itself, so it is unlike to break unless\nto somehow catch a .50 bullet with it -though I wouldn't recommend trying it.\n            \"From\nthe handles up to the heads,\" he carried on. \"You have an exoskeleton of\nlightweight titanium, adding another half-inch density for the stems, until you\nget to the head here, which is about three inches thick front-to-back. Thanks\nto this design the rods weigh only a two pounds each -less than even a katana,\nbut are as sturdy as the external plating of a tank. They'll do just as well at\nblocking weapons as being used for them.\"\n            \"These\nthings are made with titanium?\" Han asked.\n            \"Yes,\"\nreplied Akio. \"So are the bracers and greaves in Daniel's suit, as well as his\ncollapsible staff. Strongest metal known to fur-kind; it seemed like the best\noption.\"\n            \"How\ndid you guys afford so much of it? That stuff is pricey,\" inquired Han before\nlooking around. \"On that note how did you make this whole hideout?\"\n            Daniel\ngave a weak smile at that. \"My... parents made sure I would live comfortably,\"\nhe replied in a melancholic tone.\n            Han\nsulked, feeling suddenly guilty for asking. \"Ah... sorry, cousin.\"\n            Daniel\nwaved it off. \"It's fine,\" he said in assurance, and quickly changed the\nsubject. \"So, ready for some practice?\" He asked. \n            \"You\nbet; we doing that here or somewhere else?\"\n            \"The\nBunker's too small for training; as good as it is, it's still a little too\nconfined for anything beyond mission dispatch and being somewhere to catch your\nbreath,\" replied Daniel. \"We'll have to go somewhere a little more spacious but\nno less private for our training.\"\n            Han\nnodded. \"Alright; where were you thinking?\"\n            \"I\nalready took the liberty of setting up a place,\" replied Daniel. \"It's a couple\nof teleports away, but it's not too far.\"\n            Han\nswallowed as he realized that meant teleporting a couple of more times, worried\nhis stomach might turn in a bad way if they teleported twice in a row. \"Okay...\nsure we can't just drive?\" He asked.\n            \"The\nplace we're going is inaccessible by car,\" replied Daniel. \"I also don't have a car.\"\n            'Crap,' thought Han, before he nervously\nnodded and, tucking his new batons under his arm, he watched as Daniel replaced\nhis mask, once more turning his fur white as he lay the red mask over his eyes,\nand when he reopened them the lenses had turned them gray, giving him his\nreputed, 'ghostly' appearance. With that, Daniel held out his hand; Han grasped\nit, and prepared himself for another rush.\n            \"I\nshould make the finishing touches on Han's uniform when you guys get back,\"\nAkio informed.\n            \"Thanks,\nAkio; we'll be back in a few hours,\" said Daniel before he triggered his\npowers, and the two disappeared from the Bunker.\n            Han\nnearly vomited as the effects of the second teleportation abated, falling onto\nhis backside and dropping his batons as his head swooned, holding his head in\nhis hands in a vain attempt to make it stop spinning. He felt cold grass\nunderneath him, and could smell the familiar scent of the Great Lake Ontario as\nhis head finally cleared up enough that his senses were back, and he looked\naround, seeing the lake surrounding them on all sides, through a few trees that\nringed the clearing they were in.\n            The\nclearing was not empty. There were straw dummies covering the western side of\nthe clearing, four arranged in a row, six in a staggered formation, each one\nwith cartoonish angry faces drawn on pieces of leather wrapped around their\nheads, each one standing at various heights and sizes. In the very center of\nthe clearing near where they were was a final dummy, made of foam with many\nindents and marks that could have only been left by excessive use.\n            \"Where\nare we?\" Han asked. \"What is this place?\"\n            \"A\nlittle island in the lake,\" replied Daniel. \"Sitting right on the U.S./Canada\nborder; tiny and ringed with trees. Very isolated, perfect place for training.\"\n            \"Damn,\ncousin; is there anything you don't have?\" Han asked asked he surveyed the\nclearing.\n            \"I\nwould still like a sports car someday, if I ever get my driver's license,\"\nreplied Daniel.\n            Han\nscoffed. \"What about a girlfriend or something?\" He asked.\n            Warp\nappeared in front of Han in a flash of light, looking him right in the eye.\n\"Don't push your luck, 'cuz,\" he said, but still had a small smile on his face\nto show he was only kidding again. \"The training I'm going to give you will\npush you far. You're a Park Ranger -a good one.\" He began to pace slightly as\nhe continued. \"Four years you trained in Policing, Wilderness Survival,\nBiology; you can identify edible herbs from toxic ones, you can identify\nfootprints and recognize animals by the sound of their voice.\n            \"But\nyou can also,\" he continued. \"Amplify sound, can't you? That's how you knocked\ndown Ohanzee with a clap of your hands.\"\n            Han\nshrugged. \"Guilty as charged.\"\n            \"How\nfar have you tested your limits?\" Daniel asked.\n            \"Considering\nsound has a nasty way of drawing attention I've kept it under wraps,\" replied\nHan. \"But, I did learn one trick I can do.\"\n            \"What's\nthat?\" Daniel asked.\n            \"Listen,\"\nHan instructed.\n            Warp's\nears flicked out, eyes wandering slightly as he listened. \"I don't hear...\" He\npaused. \"Anything at all.\"\n            There\nwas no sound at all, except for his voice, and that of Han, as he tried to pick\nup sound from anywhere. The wind was blowing, and he should have heard water\nsplashing on the shores of the islet, or the leaves rustling in the breeze. But\nthere was nothing; to test it further, he tapped his hooves together, excepting\nto hear the resounding click, but he never heard it no matter how hard he\ntapped. He looked at Han, longing for an explanation.\n            \"All\nsound is vibration,\" replied Han, and it was then Daniel noticed a slight echo\nas he spoke. \"I don't just amplify them, I can suppress them -quite selectively\ntoo, like adjusting the volume on a stereo.\"\n            \"There's\na brisk wind today; how are you suppressing the rustling of the leaves without\naffecting the trees in some way?\" Daniel asked.\n            \"I'm\nonly suppressing about four feet around us; we're in a sort of invisible\nbubble,\" replied Han. \"All other soundwaves are locked out, while I'm only\nallowing our voices to be heard. We'd actually be a lot louder in this space\nbut I'm keeping our voices controlled too.\"\n            \"How\nmany sounds can you control at once?\" Daniel asked.\n            \"I\ndon't know the exact limit,\" Han admitted. \"But, let's just say I am probably\nthe only man alive who could make a Rock concert boring.\"\n            At\nthat, not even The Warp could hold back a laugh. \"Oh god, I can almost picture\nthat...\"\n            Han\nlaughed with him, and soon the two found themselves laughing heartily, until\neventually they stopped, and went back to the matter at hand; Han cancelled his\nblock on the other sounds, making everything almost deafeningly loud to Daniel\nas all sound returned to him all at the same time. He shuddered slightly,\nlooking at Han. \"That doesn't unnerve you at all?\" He asked.\n            \"Well\nsure; total silence would unnerve anybody,\" replied Han. \"That's why I don't\nusually do it.\"\n            \"It\nappears we both have an issue with the other's powers,\" Daniel remarked.\n            Han\nchuckled. \"Ironic,\" he said, before clearing his throat. \"So... what's with all\nthe dummies? You're not here to teach me archery are you?\"\n            Daniel\nchuckled. \"Ah... no, I'm not an archer,\" replied the white-clad caribou. \"Those\ndummies are actually part of my demonstration, and for practice later.\"\n            \"Okay,\"\nreturned Han, crossing his arms and waiting.\n            \"I\nbelieve,\" began Daniel. \"That a hero's best weapon is neither his or her powers\nor martial skills, but a harmonic synchronization of both.\" He held out his\nhands. \"A combined power, unique only to them; that is what I created for\nmyself, and what I made for Whiptail. I call it the Harmonious Combination.\"\n            Han\nscoffed. \"Sounds like a dance duet.\"\n            \"Whiptail\naced the entrance exam test for agility when he joined the Bureau,\" Daniel\nstated. \"He is the only new recruit in the entire B.O.S to get a perfect score\non the first try, and they have more than a hundred heroes.\"\n            Han\narched an eyebrow. \"Your training helped him do that?\"\n            \"My\ntraining taught him to combine his mastery of acrobatics and his astounding\nagility with his powers,\" replied Daniel. \"And I did the same for myself,\nfusing my Teleportation...\" He wound up a punch, before vanishing from sight\nand appearing next to the foam dummy, which he punched hard enough that the\nstomach gained a new, deep indentation in the foam torso; not even a half of\nsecond after Daniel reappeared did he land that punch, and the dummy, despite\nits supports being staked into the ground, nearly keeled over from the force of\nhis punch. \"With my Martial prowess.\"\n            \"Whoa,\"\nHan said, eyes wide. \"You can actually wind up a punch, teleport, and then\nfinish it when you reappear?\"\n            \"Transferred\nmomentum; that's about the only thing I can call it,\" replied Daniel. \"I can\nhave my arm almost completely outstretched before teleporting, and the momentum\nmy limb has gathered is still there when I reappear; when I teleport into a\nstrike, my target's down before they even realized someone is attacking them.\nWhiptail's strength was his agility, mine is ambush. I use that for when I'm against\na crowd of targets.\"\n            \"Like...\nthese dummies,\" Han replied, wiggling his finger at the straw targets.\n            \"Yes.\"\n                \"Is\nthis how you trained originally, before you took on those gangs?\"\n            \"Yes.\nAlthough this little islet is a new touch; before converting the bathroom at\nthe bunker into... well, a bathroom, it was the monitor area, while the main\nroom was for training, using targets like these ones.\"\n            \"Why\ndid you change it?\"\n            \"Because\nAkio lives there now.\"\n            Han\ngawked. \"Wait, Akio lives in The Bunker, It's not just his day job\nor something?\"\n            Daniel\nlooked at his cousin with seriousness on his face. \"Akio is in hiding from the\nYakuza, Han,\" he stated. \"I may have stopped their operations here in the city\nbut some of their loyalist groups are still around -if they ever found out\nwhere Akio was, he'd be in danger. He chose to live in the Bunker, as my\nsupport; he'll still come out sometimes to go for a meal or something but he\ndoesn't feel safe outside of there anymore.\" \nDaniel's\nexpression turned to one of sadness and guilt. \"I often wonder if I'm not\ntaking advantage of him... he's a workaholic to be sure, and good at what he\ndoes, but he deserves his own life. I'd send him home to Japan if I thought he\ncould be safe, but if did that, I might as well be releasing a honeybee into a\nnest of yellow jackets.\"\nHan\ngrimaced at that, seeing the solemnity on his cousin's face even behind his red\nmask. \"Okay uh, so what are we practicing first?\" Han asked, quickly changing\nthe subject.\nDaniel\nblinked at the question before shaking his head, clearing it and getting his\nfocus back on the task at hand. \"Ah, right; sorry. Let's continue,\" he replied,\nbefore clearing his throat. \"First thing we should do is teach you to use those\nbatons.\"\n\"I\nalready have police baton training,\" Han reminded him.\n\"True,\nbut how often have you actually needed to use your telescopic baton?\"\nHan\nfrowned. \"Point taken,\" he replied.\n\"Furthermore,\nbaton training from cops only focuses on using your dominant hand,\" Daniel\ncontinued. \"You have two of them, which means to start, you need to learn to\nfight as well with both hands. Which are you; a right or a left?\"\n\"Right.\"\n\"Okay,\nwe'll start with going over your technique, to see what you can do,\" began\nDaniel, reaching behind him and pulling a two foot metal rod from the back of\nhis belt. At the touch of a button, the rod expanded on both ends, forming into\na staff almost three times as large as its base form. \"Just use one for now, and\nwe'll use this round to warm up while I also get a better idea of what your\ntraining has taught you.\"\nHan\nnodded, and set down one of his new batons, taking the other in his right hand\nand following Daniel over to the safety mats at the corner of their training\nsite; Daniel removed his cape and hung it over one of the dummies to prevent it\nfrom interfering while he sparred with Han, before standing across from him,\nwhere they both stood in wide-legged stances and were quick to engage each\nother, with Daniel acting as the aggressor.\n They went over several techniques Han had been\ntaught in his training, starting with a defensive technique for an opponent who\nwas pressuring a baton-wielding cop; Daniel struck at Han repeatedly with his\nstaff, while the younger caribou strategically positioned his arm not only to\nblock the staff with each swing, but when the time was right, he turned the\nforce of Daniel's own blow against him, using the momentum to bring his arm\ndown quickly to strike Daniel in the leg with the butt of his weapon, following\nit up with a belly-tackle that knocked Daniel onto his back.\nThe\nsecond technique was a recovery move for when the baton-user was pinned down on\nhis back by his opponent. Han laid on his back and let Daniel climb onto him,\nstraddling him in a position that an assailant might take, with the fist raised\nready to strike if he made a mistake, but Han had a good physical memory.\nDrawing his baton from the holster on his belt, he adjusted his legs and bucked\nhis hips forward in one motion to throw Daniel off balance, him to fall\nforward, where Han brought the baton back, grasping is head with his other hand\nand pulling it against the back of Daniel's ribs -an extremely tender area, or\nto the back of the neck to pull his head down and bump his muzzle against the\nground. Both times allowed Han to roll them both over, and their positions were\nswitched; now Han was on top, and still had his weapon -a perfect position to\nland a knockout strike or force a surrender.\nThese\nwere basic but effective techniques; there was parrying, striking, an upper-cut\nmotion where the wielder could catch the opponent from below. Daniel gave an\napproving nod to every technique they practiced, and was glad to know his\ncousin remembered his training so well knowing it would make it that much\neasier to refine it.\nThe\nsecond step was in hand-to-hand, where Han demonstrated how he would handle\nbeing without a weapon; if his opponent attacked with a knife, a baseball bat,\nor even just his fists, giving Daniel a demonstration of takedown maneuvers and\npins. However, onto the second round of the practice, suddenly things took a\nturn; Daniel went in fighting as he usually did -minus teleporting. With his staff,\nhe did not just attack with one-end to pressure Han like an angry thug might,\nbut when Han blocked the first strike, Daniel spun the weapon and landed a\nstrike with the opposite end of his staff, showing the flaws in the technique.\n\"You\nsee, the police are trained mostly for dealing with thugs who might carry a\nknife, a bat, a wrench or even a sword, all of which they could handle with\nthat technique,\" said Daniel. \"However a longer weapon like mine isn't so\neasily blocked; take up your other baton, and try using that to block the other\nend of my staff when I do that again.\"\nOn\nthe first few tries, Han was too slow to stop Daniel's under-handed strike, but\neventually he managed to block the staff a few times, each time where he\nmanaged to perform the tackle to bring Daniel down. They practiced this a few\ntimes before moving back on to the unarmed combat, where this time Daniel also\nwent unarmed, and it became a contest of martial prowess. The advanced\ntechniques of Daniel's Muai Thai training won out over the police techniques\nemployed by Han, leaving the younger caribou lying on the mat, feeling sore.\n\"Damn,\ncousin; good thing you're not a bad guy,\" remarked Han. \"Cops wouldn't stand a\nchance against you.\"\n\"Which\nis why people like us need to exist,\" stated Daniel as he helped Han back to\nhis feet. \"When there are villains the police can't handle, it's up to us to\ntake them down. I've trained hard, but even I have faced opponents who pushed\nme to my limit -the foremost being Masaru Kameyama, better known as J?sh?, a\nwhile back. I fought him in two separate rounds, and in a straight-up fight, he\nbeat me.\"\n\"How'd\nyou take him down?\" Han asked.\n\"When\nI fought him the first time I fought him as an equal and didn't use my powers\nagainst him,\" replied Daniel. \"But the second time, I forced him to fight on my\nterms, making full use of my powers and my skills, as I should have been.\" He\nclapped Han on the shoulder. \"People like J?sh? force us to fight somewhat\ndirty to beat them; he didn't have any sort of superpowers as I did and yet he\nwas more than capable of killing me if he got the chance. Having powers doesn't\nmean we're unbeatable, so if your life is on the line, anything goes, even\nmortally wounding your opponent in order to survive; always remember that.\"\nHan\nnodded. \"Don't have to tell me twice; just because I'm doing this doesn't\nnecessarily mean I want to die.\"\n\"Agreed,\"\nreturned Daniel. \"Alright; let's take a quick break and catch our breath, and\nthen we'll get to testing your powers.\"\n            The\ntwo caribou males spent the next few hours training, until eventually Daniel\nreceived a call from Akio about a situation in the city, forcing them to return\n-he couldn't very well leave Han on the island with no way back in case he was\ninjured in the field, so they both returned to the Bunker, where Daniel went on\nto insist that Han stay there while he dealt with what was going on, much to\nthe dismay of the younger caribou. It wasn't like Han couldn't handle himself\nagainst a few street punks.\n            But,\nDaniel insisted that they at least wait until Han's costume was finished; Akio\nwas working on just that when they appeared back in the Bunker -with Han once\nmore on the verge of losing his lunch when the after-effects reached him, and\nDaniel left the Bunker immediately after with another teleport. Finding a chair\nand sitting down until his head stopped spinning. \n\"How\nthe hell did he ever get used to that?\" Han asked the weasel.\n\"I\nasked him that myself once,\" Akio replied while he worked, placing something\nonto the center chest of the suit lain out before him. \"We both still wonder\nwhy he doesn't get the sense of vertigo and light-headedness from the\nteleportation; it only seems to happen to people he teleports with him.\"\n\"And\nhow do they handle it?\"\n\"Usually\nwhen he does it they're too afraid to notice,\" replied Akio.\n\"...What?\"\nHan asked, not understanding.\n\"When\nhe saves someone from catastrophes; they're usually too afraid to notice the side-effects,\"\nAkio explained in more detail. \"Maybe adrenaline lessens the effects.\"\n\"Oh.\nI guess that makes sense,\" Han replied, nodding.\nFor\na short moment, Han simply sat in the chair wordlessly before he asked. \"Do you\nthink Daniel didn't take me with him because he thinks I can't handle some\nthugs?\"\n\"No,\"\nAkio replied plainly. \"He didn't take you along because your uniform is not yet\ndone; gun violence is rare in Canada, but you never know what a street punk\nmight be hiding in their pocket.\" He pulled back from the workbench, turning\nhis chair to face Han. \"Safety first I think is the term Canadians use?\"\n\"Something\nlike that,\" replied Han.\n\"Well\nthen; this should suffice,\" said Akio, standing up from the chair and gesturing\nto the bench. \"Your new uniform is ready.\"\nHan's\nears stood out as he heard those words, and in seconds he was rising to his\nfeet from the chair, slowly crossing the room to the bench where his new\nuniform lay splayed out on the metal surface. A full-body suit almost exactly\nlike Warp's in overall design, baring the cape, and gray instead of white, with\nblack gloves and calf sleeves, a dark gray mask, and a lighter gray emblem on\nthe chest. The suit was full-coverage from the neck down, with long sleeves\nleading into the gloves, and leggings all the way down to the ankles. The\ncalf-sleeves stopped just below the knee, a tap of Han's finger revealing the\npresence of metal plates in the calf-sleeves and the gloves -titanium greaves\nand bracers, Akio clarified.\nAt\nfirst Han wondered what the emblem was supposed to be, but after looking at the\nmany over-lapping threads, he realized that the design looked like a stereo\nspeaker, the realization of which actually brought a laugh to his lips. The\nentire suit was composed of kevlar, including the emblem, which made the chest\nof the suit the densest part of the armour besides the gloves. Showing him more\nof the suit Akio turned over the upper body piece, showing holsters for his\nbatons were actually knitted into the fabric, where he could easily reach them.\n\"Go\nahead; try on the mask,\" said Akio. \"I made it just like Daniel's.\"\nHan\nreached for the mask, picking it up and examining it with skepticism, suddenly\nfeeling his mind retreating from the thought of what putting on that mask would\nmean. When he adorned that mask, he would still be Hania Tonraq, but he would\nbe something much more as well; a symbol, and a servant of justice beyond even\nhis current position. He would be associated with vigilantism, but he would be\nbound only by whatever rules he made for himself, with his every action\npainting his image in the minds of Canadians who heard of him.\nIs\nthis truly what he wanted, he wondered as he wandered over to a mirror, staring\nat his reflection. A young, male caribou buck, early twenties with brown eyes\nand chestnut brown fur -quite handsome if he dared say so himself, stood there\nwith the mask held between his hands, hesitant to proceed as if afraid of what\nhe would find when that nanite-infused fabric was placed over his eyes. Would\nhe even recognize himself?\nHis\nbrow furrowed, and he closed his eyes as he turned the mask inside out and\npulled it over his face, adjusting it to fit around his skull, feeling it stop\nat his antlers. Fumbling around with the mask he found velcro straps on the\nback to fasten together, pressing them with his fingers to flatten them out and\nsecure it. He heard a light buzzing noise from the mask, followed by a tickling\nsensation in his fur that went over his entire body in the span of seconds.\nWhen the sensation abated, he opened his eyes, and stared ahead to a dark face\nhe barely even recognized as his own. \nHis\neyes had turned gray, just like Daniel's when he wore his own mask, but\nDaniel's was not designed like Han's. Han had a full mask, covering his whole\nface, dark gray in colour with a lighter gray around the mouth that, like the\nemblem on the torso piece, looked like a speaker. His fur had become a dark\ngray nearly matching the uniform. He held up his hands, seeing the colour\ncoating had travelled all the way to his fingers, stopping at the hoof-like\nfingertips of his hands. Despite the colour change, he felt no different; after\nthe tingling left by the nanites that had recoloured his fur, he still felt\njust like himself, even if he no longer looked so when he checked himself in\nthe mirror again, scarcely believing it.\n\"H-Holy...\nshit,\" he said.\n\"What\ndo you think?\" Akio asked.\n\"I...\nthink I'm looking at a rare gray caribou,\" replied Han, looking at Akio. \"This\nis just... I don't know how to even describe it; strange, if nothing else.\" He\nsnarked as it suddenly dawned on him why Daniel had been The Warp for going on\ntwo years without any concern to anyone finding out who he was. \"So this is how\nhe's done it; why no one has ever made the connection of The Warp being Daniel\nTonraq.\"\n\"And\nwhat gave him the nickname 'the Ghost of Toronto',\" added Akio.\nHan\nsnarked again. \"Yeah, that part's extremely clear here,\" he said before turning\nto Akio. \"So how about I try on that uniform now?\"\nMoments\nlater, Han had adorned his new costume, and returned to the mirror to see\nhimself, posing with his batons in hand and seeing his new look with a sudden\nrush of glee, feeling powerful as he studied the way he filled the suit,\nhugging his body with mild snugness though without any restriction to his\nmovement. He changed his pose several times, seeing himself from various\nangles, and even did a few practice swings with his batons, all the while\ngrinning at the new look.\n\"Ho-ho-ho\nI look badass!\" He exclaimed, excitedly. \"This is freakin' awesome!\"\nAkio\nwas almost laughing at the childish glee Han felt as he saw himself in costume\nfor the first time, before he cleared his throat. \"The suit is made of a Kevlar\ntri-weave; can stop any small-arms bullet -though watch out for rifles; it'll\nprotect you pretty well but a straight shot could still get through,\" he\nexplained.\n\"What\nabout knives?\" Han asked, looking away from the mirror at the weasel.\n\"It'll\nstop everything from a stiletto to a butcher knife, but stay mobile if you're\nup against a someone using a bowie or a KABAR,\" explained Akio. \"Your mask also\ndoesn't offer any protection so watch your face or you could lose an eyeball.\"\nHan\ncringed. \"Nasty thought; thanks.\"\n\"You're\nwelcome,\" Akio returned with a smug grin. \"Lastly, you remember those disks on\nthe back of your clubs; the ones for emitting sound?\" Han nodded. \"I put\nsimilar ones on the anklets, so that if you're knocked down, you can smack them\ntogether to emit soundwaves to protect yourself.\"\n\"Like\nsomething out of Wizard of Oz,\" said Han.\n\"Never\nthought of it like that, but I guess so.\"\nHan\nreturned to looking at himself in the mirror, and suddenly saw the smiling,\nred-masked face of his cousin standing behind him. Han started and let out a\nyelp before he slowly turned to face Warp with a blank expression -though his\nmask hid most of it, leaving only his eyes to be read. \"How long you been\nstanding there?\" He asked.\n\"Since\nAkio began the knife explanation,\" replied Warp, peeling off of his own mask\nand removing his recoloured disguise.\n\"You\nsure were back sooner than I expected,\" Han pointed out.\nDaniel\nshrugged. \"Just a local gang; nobody dangerous,\" he replied. \"Half of them ran,\nthe other half attacked with their eyes closed. A Karate yellow-belt could've\nbeaten them.\" \nHan\nchuckled. \"Wow, sad,\" he said. \"Now I don't feel so bad about missing out.\"\n\"Yeah;\nyou didn't miss much,\" replied Daniel.\n\"Well\nnevertheless, can I go on the next one?\" Han asked.\n\"Depending\non the severity?\" Daniel returned. \"I'll think about it.\"\nAkio\npatted Daniel on the shoulder as he walked past. \"Come now, Dan; I'm sure he\ncould handle a few street punks.\"\n                \"I\nonly just started his training, Akio,\" Daniel reminded\n            \"He's\nbeen a Park Ranger for a year,\" Akio countered. \"He's a professional.\"\n            Daniel\ncrossed his arms. \"And what about if we run into someone as dangerous as J?sh?,\nor one of the major crime factions?\"\n            Han\nstepped in between them. \"Don't I get a say in this?\" He asked. \"I know I'm a\nrookie, but I can handle myself; I've got superpowers after all.\"\n                \"So\ndo I,\" Daniel reminded. \"And I can still get disemboweled like anyone else.\"\n            \"You\nteleport; I create sonic booms by clapping my hands,\" Han retorted. \"I think\nthere's a big difference between our powers.\"\n            \"Yes;\nI've mastered mine,\" Daniel replied. \"You are still a work in progress.\"\n            \"The\nway we were talking back on the island you sounded like you had absolute faith\nin my powers,\" Han stated.\n            \"I\ndo have faith in your powers, Han, but we still don't know the extent of your\nabilities,\" Daniel reasoned. \"Your fighting skills are not what I question; you\nproved you can fight, but using powers isn't the same -for all we know you\ncould blow over a skyscraper by yelling\nat it.\"\n            Han\nscowled. \"Daniel, if I were really capable of that much power...\"\n            \"Not.\nThe. Point.\" The elder caribou said with such firmness he actually made Han\nfeel small. \"Until we are sure you've mastered your powers and can fully\ncontrol them, there's risk of collateral. I offered to train you and you\naccepted; when you chose to undergo my training, you also agreed to follow my\nlead. I know you're eager to make a difference -when I found Whiptail he was\nthe same way, and he almost got himself killed in his recklessness.\" He put a\nhand on Han's shoulder. \"So I am asking you, be patient, and trust me.\"\n            Han\nlistened to Daniel's words carefully until he was finished, blinking at him\nuntil he let out a long, drawn-out sigh. \"Okay, okay; I get it. Another of\nthose cliche 'patience' lectures like in a certain sci-fi classic,\" he said.\n\"Alright, I'll wait until we've trained for a while.\"\n            Daniel\nnodded. \"Don't worry, Han; you will get your chance, I promise.\"\n            Han\nnodded back. \"Okay,\" he said.\n            Daniel\nlooked at Akio briefly, and then back at Han again. \"Let's call it a night for\nnow,\" he said. \"It's a slow evening; I think we can retire early.\"\n            \"Agreed,\"\nstated Akio.\n            \"Anyone\nfor coffee?\" Han offered. \"New guy's treat.\"\n            \"I'm\nall for that,\" replied Daniel. \"But, let's get into something that won't grab\nso much attention.\"\n            Han\nlaughed gingerly. \"Yeah.\"\n~~~~~\n31st\nOctober, 2015\n            Han\nmoved slowly as he mimicked Daniel's movements, following them to the best of\nhis ability as the two masked caribou practiced routines for the second night\nin a row. In response to Han having shown Daniel some of his police training\ntechniques, Daniel had offered to teach him some skills better suited for\noffensive combat rather than defensive, and that meant passing on some of his\nMuai Thai training to his cousin. Han could already throw a decent punch to\nhurt a man, but now Daniel would teach him how to throw a punch that could put\na man on the floor.\n            They\nstood side-by-side, with Han trying to follow Daniel's movements to the best of\nhis abilities. Daniel was practical, teaching Han how to do the moves by\nguiding him step by step, but Han was nowhere near as fast or precise as his\ncousin yet -that would take time. Daniel could teach him the moves, but it\nwould be up to Han to practice them until, as Daniel put it, every muscle in\nhis body knew them. Han was allowed to use the training dummy when Daniel\nthought he had the grasp of the attacks.\n            As\nHan performed a straight punch though, Daniel told him to stop. \"Try putting\nboth your shoulder and your hips into the punch; all those muscles working\ntogether will amplify the force of the hit.\" Concluding the explanation, he\ngestured to the training dummy, and allowed Han to resume.\n            Han\nturned to the foam dummy, putting up his fists and standing as Daniel had\ninstructed him to -left shoulder forward, right shoulder back, since Han\ndominantly used his right-hand for attacking even though he was ambidextrous.\nHe sucked in a breath, and then tried the punch again. Failed. He tried again\nand again, until on the sixth punch, he heard Daniel chime with approval, and\nthe dummy nearly fell back from the force of his fist.\n            \"Now\nyou're getting it,\" said Daniel. \"Now, I know most of the time you will likely\nbe using your clubs in battle, but keep practicing these fist techniques when\nyou can; just in case you are ever disarmed.\"\n            Han\npanted for breath as he listened to his cousin's explanation attentively,\nbefore asking a question of his own. \"I'm just wondering, and I know this is\nodd for a law enforcement officer to ask,\" he bean, \"but when dealing with\nespecially dangerous criminals, the kind that would probably never be taken by\nthe cops alive, what's our policy for that?\"\n            \"Same\nas the police, but without limitations on how much force we can apply,\" replied\nDaniel. \"Depending on how dangerous the criminal we are is, we limit ourselves\nonly to what it takes to bring them down. As with the police, killing is a last\nresort -one we need to make sure we follow to the letter. Unless they are\nholding a switch that'll cause a bomb to go off in a high populated area, or\nsomething just as severe, we only incapacitate them.\"\n            Han\nnodded in understanding. \"Right,\" he said, before a thought crossed his mind.\n\"In this 'Muai Thai' you're teaching me, are there any kicks or something I\ncould use?\"\n            Daniel\nnodded. \"Yes. You remember me telling you about the Flying Knee?\" He asked.\n\"That's one of them, and a personal favorite of mine.\"\n            \"Since\nmy legs are free more often than my hands, can you teach me some of those?\"\n            Daniel\nlooked uncertain as he answered that question. \"I can try... but to be honest I\nwas never very good at the kicks.\"\n            \"You\ndon't know them?\" Han asked, surprised. \"I thought you were a blackbelt?\"\n            \"Sash,\"\ncorrected Daniel. \"And I'm at red, which states I've mastered the techniques\nand am one rank below teacher. Though don't mistake that for me being unable to\nteach.\"\n            \"Okay,\"\nbegan Han, \"so you aren't very good at the kicks; why?\"\n            \"I\ndon't know; was always just better with my arms,\" replied Daniel. \"I can do the\nknee strikes fine and I can still teach you the kicks. Showing them to you will\nbe a little harder for me, but to properly perform them we'll need to develop\nyour flexibility a little, so we'll do that while we continue working on the\nrest.\"\n            Han\nnodded back, and their practice resumed as before...\n            Later,\nthe two were having a weapons practice session, staff against twin clubs as\nbefore, when Daniel's cell phone began to ring. The two caribou bucks were\nannoyed; the second night in a row their practice had been interrupted, but\nDaniel answered the call diligently, retrieving his phone from the nearby\nfolding table, over which his cape was draped, checking to see who the caller\nwas.\n            \"It's\nAkio; must be something going on in the city,\" he said to Han before he\nanswered. \"Yeah?\"\n            Han\nwaited, gathering up his belongings as Daniel spoke to Akio, certain that this\nwas probably an emergency back in town that Daniel would have to respond to. He\nhad his clubs tucked under his arm and was dabbing his face with a towel when\nDaniel hung up the phone and turned to him. \"Problems?\" He asked.\n            \"There's\na standoff at the docks,\" replied Daniel. \"The Desert Moon brought something in\nat the docks, and the Yakuza have engaged them -apparently they've claimed that\narea as their territory now.\"\n            \"I\nthought you chased off the Yakuza?\" Han asked.\n            \"I\nthought so too but it seems there's still a splinter group in town -probably\nsome guys J?sh? brought with him when he came to Canada,\" replied Daniel as he\nraised a hand to run his fingers over his mask. \"Well, tonight I finish what I\nstarted, then,\" he said. \"Let's take you back to the Bunker.\"\n            Han\nwanted to offer to help but he knew Daniel would refuse him if he did, and\nsimply waited until Daniel put his cape back on and collected his staff before\nhe took his hand and they teleported back to the Bunker. As usual, Han was left\ntipsy and with his head swimming from the act when they reappeared in the Bunker,\nand Daniel went to collect some additional gear for the objective.\n            Akio\nwas typing furiously away at the terminal, the police scanner and radio buzzing\nbehind him, with rampant chatter about gunshots and even an officer demanding\nwhere their SWAT backup was. \"I'm trying to hack into some cameras at the\ndocks, so I can advise you when you get there,\" stated Akio. \"Looks like you\nwere right, Daniel; Halloween is a crazy time around here.\"\n            \"This\nwasn't exactly what I had in mind,\" remarked Daniel, putting his microphone\nreceiver into his ear. \"I'm on my way there now.\"\n            \"Be\ncareful, cousin,\" said Han.\n            When\nDaniel turned to him, he smiled gingerly. \"Don't worry; I'll be back soon,\" he\npromised before vanishing in a flash of light.\"\n            Han\nlet out another sigh, disappointed. Akio looked up at him when he heard the\nsigh, arching an eyebrow. \"I'm surprised you did not offer to accompany him,\"\nhe remarked.\n            \"Why\nbother? He'd have just said no,\" Han returned.\n            \"Hai, most likely,\" returned the weasel.\n\"But you can at least watch his progress with me; I've just about got the dock\ncamera feed.\"\n            Han\nnodded, and walked around the desk to stand at Akio's side, watching over his\nshoulder as images of the docks from multiple views came up, and his eyes\nwidened as he saw what he soon recognized as one of the docks for the ferry\nterminal, seeing the Yakuza gunmen onboard what appeared to be one of the said\nferries, apparently hijacked, and on the pier were men in turbans,\nloose-fitting clothes and veils -the Desert Moon gangsters. The two sides were\ntrading shots, sub-machine guns and AK47's trading a storm of bullets as the\ngangs fought over something unknown. Han narrowed his eyes as he studied the\nlayout of the area, feeling a pang of worry.\n            \"Not\na lot of cover there,\" he said. \"If those guys turn their guns on Daniel he may\nbe in trouble.\"\n            \"Not\nto worry; Daniel has battled there many times,\" he said. \"He knows all of the\nbest locations to set an ambush.\" Akio pointed at a spot on the screen. \"And\nlook; here comes a police boat. They'll be able to pincer the two gangs from\nthere, especially if Daniel thins the herd a little.\"\n            Han\nnarrowed his eyes in suspicion, and turned his attention to the police scanner,\nadjusting the news radio's volume to listen in on the broadcast, his ears\nflicking as he heard a report.\n            \"Dispatch, dispatch; this is Alpha 1-0-9! We\nare still unable to get close to the scene; the firefight is too wild! Where is\nour Code 11?!\"\n            \"Alpha 1-0-9, Code 11 is fifteen\nminutes away. Do not engage, repeat; do not engage. Keep back until they\narrive.\"\n            \"Dispatch this is Charlie 2-2-4; we\nhave sighted a police water vehicle approaching the dock; can you confirm\nbackup on the water?\"\n            \"Charlie 2-2-4, repeat; you have\nsighted a Lake Unit?.\"\n            \"Affirmative, dispatch.\"\n            \"Standby for update.\"\n            Han stiffened\nas he heard that last report, and hesitating only a second he turned to Akio.\n\"Zoom in on that police boat,\" he said.\n            Akio\nlooked at him oddly before he did as requested, using a secondary software to\ncapture an image of the boat and zero in on it; the image was distorted as he\nenlarged the image, but it a little retexturing he managed to clear it up\nslightly, giving them a view of the boat.\n            \"Lights\nare off,\" Han remarked.\n            \"Maybe\nthey're trying to sneak up on them?\" Akio suggested.\n            \"Then\nwhy does the dispatch not know of them?\" Han asked. \"Something's not right\nhere; I think that boat is hijacked.\"\n            \"By\nwho?\"\n            \"Who\ncares? Warn Daniel; if it's not cops on that boat he won't know they're\ncoming,\" replied Han. \"Where is he anyway?\"\n            \"There,\"\nAkio pointed at the screen, or more specifically, at the hijacked ferry, where\nThe Warp had engaged the Yakuza, going for the gunmen first. He appeared and\ndisappeared at seemingly random parts of the boat, when in fact it was a\nstrategic attack, targeting men at one end before going for men at the other\nwhile their backs were turned. To Han, it was aweing to see his cousin in\naction, seeing how he flawlessly transferred between targets -even one that\nwere twenty feet away, and struck them down in seconds.\n            But\nhe shook himself out of his entrancement as Akio tried to call his cousin.\n\"Warp? Warp, do you hear me?\" Akio tried again and again, but the white-clad\ncaribou one the screen never reacted or replied even when he had ample moments\nto do so. \"I don't think he can hear me...\"\n            \"Why\nnot?\" Han asked, worried now.\n            \"I\ndon't know; his commlink's not receiving,\" replied Akio.\n            As\nif to confirm Han's worst fears, the police radio suddenly fizzed again, and\nthe voice of the dispatcher was once more heard. \"Charlie 2-2-4; there are no Lake Patrol units in your vicinity, repeat;\nwe have no backup on the water. The boat is not one of ours.\"\n            The\neyes of the caribou and the weasel met, gazes filled with horror.\n            \"Dammit,\nhe's going to get caught in crossfire!\" Han exclaimed as it became clear that\nhis cousin was in danger. Suddenly, at that moment, he knew just what he needed\nto do. \"I'm going down there!\"\n            \"Han,\nwait...!\" Akio began, but Han silenced him with a hand.\n            \"If\nI don't do something, Daniel might be killed!\" He protested.\n            Akio\nreached across his desk and picked up something, handing it to Han. \"At least\ntake this with you.\" He said.\n            Han\nlooked at the item, seeing a little microphone device that seemed suited to fit\ninto his ear. \"Another receiver?\"\n            \"Yes;\nso I can keep in contact and advise you,\" replied Akio. \"Just don't go\noverboard; you've never faced these kinds of odds before.\"\n            \"If\nI don't, Toronto will be missing its favorite superhero,\" said Han.\n            Akio\nnodded, and motioned for Han to get moving. \"You'll find your bike right where\nyou left it six doors to your left when you get out to the street,\" he said.\n            Han\nthanked Akio before he put on his mask, and as it coloured his fur he grabbed\nhis batons and slipped them into the holsters on his back, and ran for the\ndoor, which opened as he approached it -compliments of Akio. He'd never\nactually been in the building that The Bunker was beneath, so he had no idea\nwhat to expect when he ran out into the hall, spotting the stairs easily and\nstriding up the steps to the main floor, where he found himself in what\nappeared to have once been a store.\n            He\ndidn't wait to look around though; he went out the front door, sharply turning\nleft and striding down the street until he found his motorcycle. He jumped on\nhurriedly, starting it and gunning the engine, practically flying out onto the\nstreet again and riding as fast as he could for the docks, feeling the wind\nrushing around him faster and harder with every shift of the gears to increase\nhis speed.\n            \"Please\nlet me get there in time!\" He said, urgently.\n~~~~~\n            The\nsound of Warp's fist striking the face of the Japanese fox marked the last of\nthe Yakuza gunmen for him to be concerned with. With that, he turned his\nattention to the men on the pier, taking advantage of their brief pause to\nteleport over to them as well and appear at the back, where he struck the first\nof them on the back of the head, knocking off his turban while simultaneously\nrendering him unconscious.\n            The\nothers quickly turned to react; Warp grabbed the two closest and smacked their\nheads together, before he teleported directly into the face of the next one and\nstruck him with his elbow, aiming the strike perfectly. Three remained, and two\nof them were still reloading their weapons. Warp targeted the one with the\nloaded weapon first, narrowly dodging a spray of bullets as he teleported\nbehind the man, elbowing him in the back of the head before spinning around,\nseizing him by his clothes and hurling him at one of the remaining two men. \nThey\nwere down for the moment, giving Warp the chance to knock out the last male, a\njackal, by leaping towards him, teleporting, and using the carried momentum to\nram his knee into the male jackals's face, sending him the ground howling in\npain as his nose was crushed by the force of Warp's knee. The other two\nscurried back to their feet, but knew they had no time to seize their guns.\nBoth of them brandished wicked Jambiya knives, and the one on the left, a male\ncat, charged him. \nDaniel\nblocked the slash with his gauntlet, the steel dagger meeting his concealed\nTitanium bracer harmlessly, before he seized the man by the wrist with that\nsame arm, yanked him forward and knee-bombed him in the solar plexus, sending\nthe cat to the ground gasping for air. The second male, another jackal, rushed\nin and swung at Warp repeatedly with his knife, every swing missing as Warp\nexpertly dodged every slash, catching the fifth swing with his hand before\nstriking the jackal in the nose. He dropped the knife, stumbling back, but as\nhe lunged forward, Warp delivered a powerful uppercut to his face that sent the\njackal dropping to the ground with a heavy thud, knocked senseless by the\npunch.\nLooking\naround, Warp confirmed that he had finished off the last of the hostiles, he\nturned his attention back to the boat; he had taken out the gunmen on the top\ndeck but there were still some Yakuza mobsters on board. Teleporting back to\nthe deck, he looked around for them, but saw they had ducked for cover for some\nreason, as if expecting a shot from somewhere...\nBefore\nhe could ponder this, more gunfire erupted from the water; Warp ducked down as\nbullets hit the ceiling above him, and he quickly rolled to the side, keeping\nlow. The shots were coming from the police boat he had vaguely noticed while\nfighting the gunmen on the boat, but if it was a police vehicle why were they\nshooting already? The Yakuza were no longer firing back and they had given no\nwarning...\nTaking\na second to listen, he realized quickly that the guns sounded like more AK's.\n\"Shit!\"\nHe cursed, realizing that the police boat must've been hijacked, and was now\noccupied by more Desert Moon thugs. \nWithout\nbeing able to safely look at the boat, he couldn't teleport to it, but just as\nhe thought he could do just that, a louder gun was being fired, and a storm of\nbullets tore into the boat, one of them striking the wall dangerously close to\nhim. He saw a Yakuza canine stand up and take aim with his gun only to be torn\napart by the storm of bullets when it swept his way. The men on the boat\nclearly had something bigger than another AK, and now Warp was in the\nsuppressive fire; he couldn't focus his thoughts right away because of the hail\nof rounds, and was sure he'd be hit before he could teleport.\n            Out\non the street, the line of police cars could only watch in horror at the\nseemingly endless spray of gunfire from the boat, whittling away at the\nhijacked ferry. They recognized that it could not be a rifle firing emitting those\nbarrel flashes -the suspects were in possession of a prohibited light machine\ngun; they were not equipped to face such a heavy weapon alone, and they felt\nhelpless. \n            But\nthen, the revving of a motorcycle caught the attention of a few officers; they\nturned around, and just barely saw an American Chopper come barreling up the\nstreet, avoiding the barricade and speeding along the slope leading down to the\npier, following it before making a sharp right onto the wooden wharf.\n            \"Who's\nthat?\" A male officer asked.\n            A\nfemale officer standing next to him took note that it was another caribou, but\nin darker colours; she knew it couldn't be The Warp -especially since she knew\nhe was out on the hijacked boat already. \"I... have no idea,\" she replied. \n            Han\nsped down the pier, dodging the six unconscious middle-eastern males -no doubt\nthe work of his cousin, and skidded to a stop at the edge, seeing the gunfire\naimed at the boat. He could only guess that Warp was on board and was the\ntarget of the bullet storm. Pulling his clubs from their holster he stepped off\nof his motorbike, letting it drop to its side -limiting himself only to a\ncringe as he mentally apologized to his motorcycle- and stepped to the edge.\n            \"Now\nor never,\" he said as he turned the clubs around to the proper alignment before\nopening his arms, holding his clubs outward and aiming carefully before he\nslammed them together, the golf ball-sized disks of brass rebounding and\nemitting a powerful sonic blast that, using his powers, he amplified and aimed towards\nthe boat.\n            The\nwater split as the invisible wave of force travelled across, closing the\ndistance in an instant and sending the stolen police boat teetering ominously;\nthe gunfire stopped, and Han was pretty sure that even out on the dark waters,\nhe'd seen one of the men aboard the boat fall over the side though he could not\nhear the sound of the splash over the sonic blast he had just sent at the boat,\nreverberating across the water and creating plumes that seemed to go on forever\ninto the night. \nThe\nsound emitted by the blast was like the shattering of glass in an endless loop,\nbut Han's ears felt no pain. More than could be said for the men on the boat\nminus the one who had fallen off; they had released their weapons, throwing\nhands over their ears and spouting curses as those standing lost their balance\nand fell to the deck. Warp, still on the ferry and miraculously having evaded\nharm so far, seized the opportunity and teleported to the stolen boat,\nappearing above it just as the machine gunner was standing back up, only to\nfall victim to a falling elbow strike.\nHan\ncouldn't see it, but he knew his cousin was clobbering the thugs; they were\nyelling in terror, spouting curses in their native tongues that were quickly\ndrowned out by stray gunfire or the resounding noise of bone -or maybe metal\n-meeting bone. Soon, an eerie silence fell across the docks. Han didn't like\nthe quiet, and soon he focused on the sound of Daniel's voice, commanding all\nother sounds -the splashing of the waves, the sirens of approaching police\nvehicles arriving as backup, and any other chattering nearby.\n\"HAN.\"\nIt\nwasn't a yell, but because it was the only sound he was allowing to be heard it\nwas much louder than was intended, the younger caribou almost jumped out of his\nskin as he suddenly heard his cousin's voice behind him, his heart racing as he\nwhirled around to face him.\n\"God\nDAMN it, don't do that!\"\n\"Sorry,\"\nreturned Warp. \"I did try to wave to you but then I realized you probably\ncouldn't see me.\"\n\"Well\ndoi; it's night time. I'm not an owl, cousin,\" returned Han.\nWarp\nactually chuckled at that. \"Right,\" he said, and then beamed as he addressed\nhis cousin again. \"Thank you.\"\nHan\nfelt the adrenaline from his earlier spook -as well as what was left from his\nfear for Daniel's safety, wane away as he heard his costumed cousin thank him.\nHe stood dumbfounded for a moment before he smiled back, and nodded to Daniel.\n\"No problem,\" he said. \"We're family, after all, and we take care of each\nother.\"\nWarp\nnodded back to him. \"That's right,\" he said, in an almost melancholic tone,\nbefore turning his gaze over to the ferry as more gunshots were heard; the cops\nhad come onto the pier, and some of the recovered Yakuza mobsters were back up\nand were taking shots at them, driving them back to cover. He turned his gaze\nback to Han again. \"Shall we?\"\nHan\ngrinned, though it was only vaguely visible through his mask, before holding\nout his hand. \"As a team,\" he said.\nWarp\nnodded. \"A team.\"\nThey\ngrasped hands, and then Warp teleported them both onto the ferry.\nThey\nappeared behind the Yakuza gangsters, two of them -a hare and a wolf. A single\nsmack to the back of the heads sent them reeling, and the two bucks kicked the\nguns away, disarming them of their firearms, but not of their backups. The\ngangsters sprang back to their feet; one drew a pair of sai and confronted\nWarp, while the other drew a katana from the scabbard at his waist, brandishing\nit as he glared at Han.\nWarp\nand Han stood back to back, their own weapons readied as they faced their\nrespective opponents. Han steeled himself for what was to come; this wasn't\nsome ordinary street punk he was facing now, but a dangerous felon with combat\ntraining of his own. He had only trained shortly with his cousin, so he would be\nrelying entirely on his police training for this fight. That, and of course his\nnew tools of the trade.\n\"Keep\nyour guard up,\" warned Warp. \"These guys are quick; don't give them an inch.\nWait for an opening and power on through.\"\n\"Got\nit,\" replied Han.\nThe\nsword-wielding hare rushed at Han, bringing his blade up in an overhead slash,\nwhich Han parried with a club, a metal ringing filling the air as the two\nhandheld weapons met. Warp teleported into the face of the sai-wielding wolf,\nelbowing him and sending him stumbling, giving Han more room to work and less\nworry about his cousin getting caught by the blade if Han ducked or parried.\nThe hare rushed at him again, and he watched his movements carefully, blocking\nand parrying with his clubs until he found an opportunity to swing at the hare,\nnarrowly missing him, and bringing his clubs back around to cross-guard against\na horizontal slash, entering a deadlock with the rabbit.\n\"The\nWarp is our enemy,\" the hare stated, \"but we have not seen you before, dark one.\nWho are you?\"\n\"Oh,\nyou know,\" replied Han with a sly grin. \"I'm just here to add a little more VOLUME!\" At the word 'volume', Han\namplified his voice, sending it out as a powerful kinetic blast that staggered\nthe hare and had him clenching his eyes as his ears rang from the shout.\nHaving\nbought himself a second, Han swiftly holstered his clubs, charged forward and\nseized the hare by his sword arm, twisting it roughly and forcing him to drop\nthe blade, before he widened his legs, and twisted as he fell into a rotating\ncrouch, using centrifugal force to send the rabbit falling to the deck, from\nwhich he climbed onto his back and pinned him down, one arm pulled behind him\nand rendering the hare immobile.\nHan\nlooked up and saw that Warp had already dispatched his opponent and as rubbing\nthe soreness from his knuckles, having finished his target with an uppercut\nrather than with his staff, which he pushed back to the collapsed position of a\nthree foot metal rod and returned it to the holster hidden beneath his cape\nbefore he stepped over to Han. \n\"Well\ndone,\" the white-clad caribou complimented.\n\"Well\ndone yourself; you knocked him clean out,\" remarked Han.\n\"I've\nhad lots of practice,\" returned Warp, slyly, before he stomped his hoof in\nfront of the hare's face. \"Now, you,\" he said to the downed lapine. \"What were\nyou transporting on this ferry that could have caught the attention of the\nDesert Moon in such a way?\"\n\"I\nwill say nothing to you!\" The hare shouted back.\nWHAM!\nWarp's\nfist hitting the deck just a millimeter from the hare's nose had the eyes of\nthe Yakuza gangster as round as dinner plates, followed by a glowering stare\nfrom him, those dead-gray eyes enough to send shivers down the hare's back.\n\"I\ndon't. Ask. Twice,\" Warp threatened as he pulled back his fist again...\n\"Hai! Alright!\" The lapine cried out. \"I\ndon't know what was in it, but we were transporting some sort of\nmetal-reinforced box! I think it contains a wild animal or something; it's been\nsedated since we received it! Our orders were to bring it here to Toronto; it\nwas to be picked up once we docked. But the Desert Moon were here already,\nwaiting for us.\"\n\"And\nwhere was it going?\" Han asked.\n\"They\nnever told me; they didn't want us to be able to give up the information if we\nwere captured!\"\nWarp\nfrowned. \"Like now,\" he said, before looking at Han and nodding to him.\nHan\nreleased the rabbits arm, fell forward and put his arm around his throat,\npushing the front of it into the pit of his elbow; the hare gagged and\nstruggled to break free, with Han whispering 'go to sleep' repeatedly until\nfinally the hare's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limp back to the\ndeck.\n\"I\nwould have hit him, but that works too,\" remarked Warp.\n\"He\ncooperated; I decided to be gentle,\" returned Han. \"Although maybe we should\nhave asked him where the crate was.\"\n\"I\nwould assume,\" began Warp, pointing down, \"on the deck below.\"\n\"...Right.\nLet's check there. And we better be quick before the cops get down here.\"\n            They\nleft the unconscious Yakuza gangsters to lie on the deck as the two of them\nproceeded to the stairs leading down to the deck below, descending one at a\ntime with Warp in the lead, in case anymore gangsters remained, waiting in\nambush for when they came down, but all was quiet.\n            Until\nthey heard the bang, not a gunshot, but the sound of something heavy hitting\nmetal. The two bucks glanced at each other warily before both redrew their\nweapons and proceeded cautiously into the lower deck. This area had been hit by\nthe firefight as well, with countless bullets imbedded in various parts of the\ndeck, with a few dead. In the center of the room was a large box, almost as\nlarge as a compact car, dented visibly from bullets hitting the sides but the\nreinforced siding had held up, protecting whatever was in the crate.\n            And\nthat 'whatever' struck the door again, rattling the box and making both Warp\nand Han jump, staring at the box in wonder. \"What the hell is that?\" Han asked.\n            \"I\ndon't know, but it sounds big,\" replied Warp.\n            \"What'd\nthe Yakuza bring, a freaking rhino?\" Han asked.\n            BANG!\n            The\ncreature in the crate hit the door again, and this time there was an angry,\nchittering growl inside of the crate. A sound that made Warp's ears flick\noutward and his eyes widen in horrid realization.\n            \"Oh\nshit.\" He said. \"I know that growl!\"\n            CRASH!\n            The\ndoor broke open as the padlock gave way to the strikes, and out of the crate\nburst a huge, hairy creature with eyes shining yellow as it turned to face the\ntwo, grinning a mouthful of fangs before it let out a shriek and held out its\narms in fury, displaying long, razor-sharp claws at the end of\ndisproportionately long limbs.\n            \"What\nin the hell...?!\" Han began.\n            \"The\nGremlin!\" Warp exclaimed before he spun around, seized Han by his arm and\nteleported away in the nick of time as the creature pounced at them, missing\nthem only to go flying over the railing of the boat. \nThe\ntwo reappeared on the pier just as the creature fell into the water, and Warp\nturned to look in horror as he heard that splash. \"Oh no... this just got\nworse.\"\n\"You\nwant to tell me what the heck THAT was, cousin?\" Han asked.\n\"A\ncreature a fought a few months ago, and that's all I've got time to say.\" He\nheld his staff in both hands. \"Things are about to get even worse.\"\n\"A\nbig hairy monster is on that boat; what could be worse than that?\" Han asked.\n\"Try\nseveral of them,\" replied Warp.\nHan\narched an eyebrow. \"Eh?\" He asked.\nAs\nif cued, there was a splash, and a hand reached over the end of the pier,\nlifting the body it belonged to over the side as the Gremlin climbed out of the\nwater. Two more hands appeared, however, and were followed quickly by two more\nGremlins, all of them as big and ugly as the first, baring mouthfuls of fangs\nas they rose from the waves of Lake Ontario, standing on the pier and dripping\nwet. As they watched, the center one began to twitch randomly, sputtering as\nhalf of its body seemed to melt and pull away from it. Han felt his stomach\nlurch as he watched that half become a glob of goo, splattering to the pier and\nbreaking away from the half that remained solid, only for that missing half to\nreform faster right before his very eyes, leaving the Gremlin whole and\nunharmed...\nAnd\nfrom the glob of goo, which rose up to the height of the other three Gremlins,\na fourth one formed, growing skin, fur, eyeballs and limbs faster than Han\ncould count to five on one hand, identical to the first in appearance. Now,\nfour Gremlins stood at the end of the pier, each one as big as the first one,\nand leaving onlookers -including the police at the opposite end- bewildered and\ndisgusted by what they had just seen.\n\"Oh...\"\nHan said, his ears falling. \"This is a problem.\"\n\"Bunker,\ndid you see that?\" Warp asked.\n\"I did, Warp; your camera feed is clear. I must say,\nthat was the most amazing -and grotesque- thing I have ever witnessed.\"\n\"That\nmakes two of us,\" Han remarked. \"How do we beat these things?\"\n\"The clones are unstable; they don't last long. But\nwhatever you do, do not let the original fall back into the water again or he'll multiply\nfurther.\"\n\"How\ndo we tell the original?\" Han asked further.\n\"The\none on the left there,\" Warp pointed ahead, at one among the Gremlins that\nappeared to be panting for breath. \"Cloning tires him, so whichever one seems\nfatigued, and probably still a little sedated, is the original. Watch out for\ntheir claws; those things are sharp.\"\n\"Duly\nnoted.\"\nThe\nGremlins shrieked, and dropped to all fours as they charged, faster than Han\nbelieved that creatures of such size should have been capable of moving. Out of\ninstinct, he held out his batons and smacked them together, directing a sonic\nblast towards the Gremlins, the boards of the pier shuddering as the unseen\nblast travelled towards them. But when it hit, that is when the two bucks found\nanother surprise.\nThe\nclone that took the hit suddenly seemed to melt as the sound struck it,\nbecoming its gooey state again and spraying all over its comrades and the pier.\nThe unexpectedness of what happened distracted them for a moment, until the\nthree Gremlins finished closing the distance and pounced. Warp seized Han\nagain, teleporting once more, back to the shoreline where there was more open\nground.\n\"Bunker,\ndid you see that?!\" Warp asked.\n\"I did! What did you do?\"\n\"Han\nhit them with a soundwave attack and it just... splattered!\" Warp replied.\n\"Sound... Sound! The instability; soundwaves\nmust affect the clones at a molecular level, causing them to destabilize! Han's\nthe key to beating the Gremlin clones!\"\n\"Huh.\nGo figure,\" remarked Han.\n\"Do\nit again!\" Warp exclaimed.\nHan\nlooked ahead, seeing the Gremlins were charging at them again. Reacting\nquickly, Han once more struck his clubs together again, aiming for one of the\ntriplets; as with the first, this one turned back to a liquid state and melted\nto the ground with a sickening slop. However, Han didn't have time to smack his\nclubs together again before the other two were upon them; Warp teleported above\nthe first Gremlin that charged for him, striking it from overhead as he landed\non its back, but Han was too slow, and was tackled to the ground by the fourth\none.\nLosing\nhis clubs as he fell, Han pushed against The Gremlin's face as it tried to bite\nhim, the horrid, reeking stench of its breath making him want to vomit as it\nshrieked in his face. Remembering everything Akio had told him about his suit,\nHan struck his ankles together, mentally commanding the soundwaves to emit as a\npulse. He braced himself as he expected the Gremlin on top of him to melt as\nthe other two had, but it didn't; it was sent flying over his head by the\nsoundwaves, tumbling through the air before hitting the ground, dazed.\nHan\nrolled over onto his stomach, quickly noting the lack of destabilization and\nrealizing it could only mean one thing. \"Dan!\" Han called out to his cousin,\nwho was still fighting his target, battering it with his staff as it tried to\nclaw him. \"That one's another clone; the original is over here!\"\nRetrieving\nhis clubs, Han waited until his cousin had teleported away before he sprang to\nhis feet, and struck his clubs together again to deliver the final soundwave\nattack to destabilize the last clone. As with the other two, it melted into a\nliquid state, splashing to the ground wetly, and leaving the two caribou with\nonly one to worry about. Warp was already on that one, dodging, ducking and\nteleporting out of the path of his claw swipes. It was time for Han to make\nlike a hero and join him.\nHan\ncharged, running towards the Gremlin as Warp battered it in the head with his\nstaff, staggering it, and not a second later, Han leapt towards it and\nbludgeoned the Gremlin with his baton. Staff, baton, staff, baton; the Gremlin\nwas caught in the middle of a two-sided beatdown, the cousins standing at its\nsides and striking it on the back and front, making him tense up as it tried to\nresist the pain. It shrieked, swiping its claws at Han, who ducked under the swipe.\nTurning his back to Warp proved to be a mistake as he teleported over him again\nand struck him on the top of the head with his staff again, and the battering\nonslaught of bludgeons continued.\nThis\ntime, the Gremlin swung its claws at Warp, who teleported backward to escape\nfrom the swipe, and Han rolled out in front of the creature, acting as his\ninstincts drove him and striking his batons together again, not hard enough to\nsend the Gremlin flying, else it might go into the lake once more, but enough to\ndisorient it and make it grab its ears in pain. Warp appeared behind it and\nlanded on its back, throwing his staff to stick in the sand before performing a\npincer punch to both sides of its head, striking the Gremlin behind the ears.\nIts mouth hung open in a silent shriek, until the creature's eyes fell\nhalf-lidded and its body became limp, teetering side-to-side before it finally\nfell over, throwing Warp off of its head before it struck the ground with a\nlong groan.\nWarp\nrolled after striking the ground, and after returning to an upright position,\nhe stared at the Gremlin for a long moment until he was certain it wasn't\ngetting back up, and allowed himself to relax. \"Happy fucking Halloween,\" he\ngrumbled.\nHan\nlet out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding, and looked at his\ncousin, clearly desperate for answers. \"Is life always this fun for you?\" He\nasked.\n\"Nope.\nActually, some days are actually busy,\" Warp sarcastically replied while\nflashing a smirk at his cousin. \"Now, let's leave the rest to the police.\" He\nretrieved his staff from where he had thrown it into the sand, looking up at\nthe cops finally began moving in, SWAT units making a beeline for the ferry\nwhile other officers apprehended the downed Desert Moon members, and the rest\nwere approaching the Gremlin. \nWarp\nquickly placed his hand on his cousin's shoulder, teleporting back to where Han\nhad left his motorcycle, where Han lifted it back to its upright position,\nclimbing on with Daniel sitting on the back, and teleporting again after Han\nkick-started the bike. They reappeared on the street ignoring the shouting\nofficers as Han shifted to first gear and popped a wheelie as they took off,\nWarp's cape trailing behind the moving bike as they rode and fled the scene to\nreturn to home base...\n~~~~\n            Akio\nwas on his feet the moment Warp and Han reappeared in the Bunker, practically\napplauding the two as he gleefully stood up and exclaimed. \"That was amazing;\nyou beat the Gremlin!\" He said. \"And you took on two criminal gangs at the same\ntime!\"\n            The\ntwo caribou males smiled at Akio's optimism before collapsing into a pair of\nchairs to catch their breath; with the adrenaline of their earlier fights, the\naftermath fatigue was starting to set in, leaving the two exhausted and not\nwanting to stand up to celebrate with the weasel. Han was the first to reach\nbehind his head to unfasten the velcro of his mask, pulling it away as his fur\nand eyes returned to their normal colours, with Warp not far behind him, his\nface returning to that of Daniel Tonraq.\n            \"Hell\nof a first night on the job,\" Han remarked.\n            Daniel\nlaughed lightly. \"Yes,\" he said. \"But you did very good.\" He looked at his\ncousin. \"You made good use of both your powers and your martial talents, just\nas I aimed to teach you. You've already learned the basics of the Harmonious\nCombination.\"\n            \"Really?\nYou've only been training me for a day,\" replied Han.\n            \"Mastering\nboth your skill and your powers are the first step,\" replied Daniel, sitting up\nslightly as he regarded his cousin. \"Using them in absolute sync, like you saw\nme do, is the second. Third is creating technique specific to yourself; your\ntraining is already past step one. More development will be needed but you may\nlearn this stuff even quicker than Whiptail did when I taught him. If I didn't\nknow better, Han,\" he smiled. \"I'd think you were meant for this.\"\n            Han\nfelt honoured by his cousin's words, and a little amazed at himself. His\ntraining had barely begun, and already he was on his way. He raised one of his\nhands, looking at it for a moment before turning his gaze to the other, which\nheld his mask. He looked it in the eye as if the mask were another face,\nstaring back at him. \"I'm going to need a name,\" he said. \"Something that works\nfor me.\"\n            \"What'd\nyou have in mind?\" Daniel asked.\n            \"Vibration?\nNo, that could made to something lewd,\" remarked Akio. \"Pulse? Echo?\nSoundwave?\"\n            Han\nperked up, and felt a smile cross his features as the answer seemed to just\ndawn on him. \"I got it,\" he said. \"I said it before when I was fighting that\nsword-swinging bunny. When I told him I was there to turn up the 'volume'.\"\n            Daniel\nnodded. \"I remember seeing it,\" he said, and then his gaze trailed off as he\nthought back. \"Volume...\" He smiled. \"That's perfect; Volume.\"\n            \"The\nman who controls sound,\" Akio added, nodding in approval. \"Volume is the perfect name!\"\n            Han\nnodded in agreement, looking between the two. \"Volume it is, then.\"\n            \"Well\nthen, Volume,\" said Daniel, standing up from the chair. \"You're now on the\npath, and the road only gets bumpier from here. You ready for that?\"\n            Han\ngrinned widely as he too stood up. \"Damn rights I am. I've got the power, and\nit's time I make use of it.\"\n            \"Then\ntomorrow, we resume our training as before,\" said Daniel. \"Warp and Volume, the\ndefenders of Toronto.\"\n            \"Team\nGhost,\" added Akio.\n            Han\nchuckled. \"Not so sure about 'Ghost', but team, definitely.\"\n            Han\nfelt his heart swelling with pride as he stood with Daniel and Akio -his new\nteam, and the ones who would guide him to becoming the hero he hoped he could\nbe. As Daniel had said, he was now on the path, and there was no turning back.\nNot that he even considered doing so; he had waited all of his life for this\nmoment to arrive and he wasn't about to turn it away, not when it was in his\nhand. He would see this through, and he would become Volume.\n~~~~~\nUnknown location, Cairo\nEgypt, four days later...\n            Etheram\nwas practically thrown into the chambers of the master as the doors opened; he\nstumbled, falling onto his stomach and having the wind knocked out of him as he\nhit the floor. He coughed, and looked back at the doors as they slammed shut,\ntrapping him in the room. He stood up, and took a step towards them, but\nstopped; he knew they would not open for him until he was permitted to leave...\nassuming he lived long enough to leave.\n            The\nAfghani Leopard felt his heart racing as he realized his situation. Of course,\nhe'd known what awaited him when he was summoned back from the west by the\nmaster; commanded to return to face punishment for his failures. But he had\nthought he'd be taken to the torturer, not directly to the master himself! And\nnow he was trapped there, trapped in that room... trapped with him...\n            \"Etheram,\"\na deep, terrifying voice called from the shadows across the room, cast by the\nlack of light coming through the windows above where an armoured figure sat.\n\"You know why you are here, do you not?\"\n            Etheram\nstood frozen for a moment before he felt his knees turn to jelly. He dropped\nonto his knees, falling to his belly and grovelling towards the figure in the\nshadows, feeling his heart thundering in his chest upon hearing him talk to him. \"Y-Yes my lord!\" He\nreplied. \"I know that I have failed you...!\"\n            \"You\nhave more than failed me, Etheram,\"\nreturned the master. Etheram heard his master rising from his seat, and merely\nknowing that he was approaching had his heart beating even faster, certain that\nhis death was imminent. \"You have cost our cause much with your failures; we\nhave lost resources, members and valuable assets that could aid in our\nobjectives, all because you cannot handle a worthless infidel from the west.\nYou even failed to capture the beast like I told you; we could have used that\ncreature to topple any who oppose me.\"\n            \"Master,\nplease!\" Ethan begged, rising up to look at his master, only to nearly shriek\nas he saw the armoured figure was standing right in front of him, looming over\nhim like a giant, and staring down at him through the empty eyeholes of his\nmask-helm that covered his entire face, leaving him impossible to identify.\n\"I-I-I have tried everything to stop him! But, this caribou -this 'Ghost of\nToronto', he is no mere mortal! He is like you; he...!\"\n            A\nblade appeared from the master's arm, stopping just millimeters from Etheram's\nthroat and silencing him. Though he could only barely see the eyes of his\nmaster, he knew that he was glaring down at him, and froze, becoming deathly\nstill.\n            \"No\nliving being... on this wretched\nearth... is like me,\" he stated in a warning tone as Etheram trembled, certain\nthat he was about to die at that very moment. \"None possess my perception.\" The\nblade pressed against Etheran's chin as if to confirm his fears, and he shut\nhis eyes, waiting to feel the sting of his master's blade  as he knew he soon would. \"However...\" the\nmaster stated before he pulled the blade back. \"I hear your heart, and I know\nit beats only from the terror of what I will do to you for your failure... it\nseems that this one is indeed more than my servants can handle.\"\n            \"Y-Yes\nmy lord,\" returned Etheram. \"He appears from flashes of light, and strikes us\ndown before we even realize he is there. He is like a specter; untouchable.\"\n            The\narmoured figure hummed in thought for a few seconds, before he suddenly raised\nhis arm, and Etheram once more felt certain he was about to be run through,\nuntil the master struck the round with his fist, forcing the extended blade\nback to its metallic scabbard, mounted upon the wrist of its wielder. There he\nstood, half crouched and completely still until he returned to an upright\nposition, no longer even looking at Etheram.\n            \"This\n'ghost',\" he began, \"will oppose my rule no longer.\" He took a step forward;\nEtheram tensed, becoming perfectly still, watching with wide orbs as his master\nwalked around him. \"Order my ship to prepare for departure,\" he commanded as he\nstepped towards the door, a metallic clink marking his every footfall, along\nwith slight rattles from his armour as his arms swayed following every step, \"I\nwill go to Canada, and I will banish this ghost, myself.\"\n            To be continued...\n"}