[center][img]http://s21.postimg.org/6viu3prpz/Umbraxis.jpg[/img][/center]

	You will be beaten.

	These were the words that Umbraxis the Destroyer heard on televisions across town as it slithered through the shadows.  A challenge.  A threat.  A rally to come together and challenge the invading darkness that was Umbraxis.  This was the message spread across down in these four words, spoken by the chief of police, and backed by two young humans in spandex.

	An intriguing gambit, the entity thought, one that deserves investigation.  It had figured its messages had gone unheard amidst the chaos of the riots, among the so-called ‘gods’ of this planet fighting among each other in the streets.  But they were listening, and their response came with brash and confident taunts.  Funny, most respond in terror and panic from the planets it consumed before, but few would respond with such arrogance.

	Maybe they had something to back up their claims, and Umbraxis could not be sure unless it saw for itself.

	With the few officers it had consumed in the back alleys during the last few days, it had deciphered the location of the Lost Haven Police Department, a building on the upper east side of Sherman Square.  A fitting place for it, in honesty, the center of the city gave its enforcement ample access to any danger that would plague the city.  A shame it was overwhelmed with the recent riots.

	Nevertheless, that was not its point or purpose in coming here.  No, it was here to answer the open challenge made by none other than Police Chief Jessica Valdez.  Another monumental position for such a city, one filled with metahumans and demi-gods parading around, yet a mortal human still holds control of the police.  

	Perhaps she has something up her sleeve.  Unlikely, but still all the more interesting for the shadowy figure.

	It was mid-day when the endless darkness came across the department, a noticeably bigger establishment than the building it had infiltrated in Augusta.  Several stories tall, at least 20,000 square feet in length.  From its hiding spot nearby, it scanned the building, its vast shadows grasping and scrutinizing the building before it entered.  It could sense the people inside, hundreds of people, scurrying about, busy with the city’s affairs.  The poor fools, they work tirelessly to keep afloat this city, unaware that their world was merely on borrowed time.  At least, until Umbraxis got bored of this small-scale attacks.

	Nevertheless, it was time to give them an answer, they deserved that much for the effort they took to get its attention.  Slinking from its position, it glided along the ground, silently traversing unnoticed across the street from shadow to shadow, passersby not even stopping to look down as it maneuvered around their feet, flat against the ground.  Such strange creatures, these humans.  Self-absorbed meatbags with only their immediate surroundings being their primary concern.  Most never think about the consequences of their actions, and even fewer bother to do anything to improve their society.  It could hear them, complaining about their day-to-day lives.  Their coffee is too hot, their boyfriend has not returned their messages in ten minutes, their boss is asking for some arbitrary report as if it is the most important thing in their lives.  How inconsequential, but for these fleshbags, it means something.

	It did not matter, of course, once Umbraxis became bored with this planet, these complaints would be as empty as the space this planet holds in the system.  The void slid underneath the doorstep, swiftly darting through the hallways of the police station.  The station was busier than ever, the location swarming with officers, off-duty officers, and local thugs and ruffians being roped in with connections to the riots.

	It was here that the killing would begin.

	The shadowy humanoid rose up in the center of the room, forming almost instantaneously from the floor to the shock of those in the room.  At first, there was silence, faces drowned in color as the being advanced on the front desk, approaching one terrified receptionist with a silent, smoky step.  The silence could be broken by the click of a pen, the tension so thick one could taste the fear in every man’s sweat as the being leaned over the mahogany wood, the white orbs locking with the desk clerk’s widening eyes.

	[color=92278f]“Excuse me,"[/color] The being began, its formless hands bracing itself on the desk. [color=92278f]“But I believe your chief, Miss Jessica Valdez, is expecting me.  Something about a challenge.  Is there any way you could arrange a meeting?  Perhaps schedule an appointment?  Or am I already written in?”[/color]

	The man did not respond in words, but barely audible squeaks.  Apparently nobody thought it would show up directly at the police station to answer her, or at least not walk through the front door.

	[color=92278f]“Well, if you aren’t going to answer me, I’ll just have to go and see her myself.”[/color]  It stated, glancing at the nearby doors. [color=92278f]“Would you mind directing me to her office?”[/color]

	The response was a unanimous ringing of gunfire, every officer in the room had snapped out of their collective awe and gone straight into their duty.  Clips from countless 9mm pistols were unloaded at Umbraxis, the splashes of bullets disrupting the wispy form as they entered its body.  The sounds of empty shells smashed against the floor, officers reloading as fast as they could to keep the pressure on.  To most, this would be considered overkill, more bullets went into Umbraxis now then had probably been fired over the course of the rioting.

	But to the Endless Void, this was barely even a tickle.

	As the gunfire died out, the force found to their horror that not only was the Destroyer still standing, but it had barely even noticed that it had been shot at.  Their attempt had failed, and now only their slaughter remained.

	A slaughter Umbraxis was happy to deliver.

	All at once, the room once more erupted into a sea of dark matter constructs, bladed tendrils lashed out from the walls and floors to pierce, tear, and rip at the flesh of its attackers.  Cuffed delinquents could only look on as the police force was bisected, limbs being torn and sliced from their respective bodies, the screams becoming audible to those nearby.  However, these were not just ordinary screams of men being torn asunder, impaled and crushed under masses of Dark Matter.  No, as the crunching of bones and splatter of blood began to echo and resonate through the hallways, a message was sent to all in the vicinity.

	The challenge had been answered, Umbraxis the Destroyer had arrived.

	As the bodies fell to the floor, they were not met with tile, but with puddles of darkness, catching the splatter and materials in a void, sinking into the floor, disappearing into nothingness as their forms were assimilated by the dark figure that stood among them, motionless since it had arrived at the office.  

	As the room once again became silent, the creature dared to utter another passive statement as it glanced at the disappearing carnage it had created.

	[color=92278f]“Well alright.  I suppose if nobody is going to point the way.  I suppose I’ll have to find her myself.”[/color]  It said, turning on a heel to head to the next room. [color=92278f]“It’s more fun that way.”[/color]