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Evil Ghost Note
mickilennial
The Dreadnaughts, Sulfur, the Agents of NEST, and Lihua Vuhong
by @Spoopy Scary and @Mr Allen J"Alright, just give it up already, Sulfur," The NEST interrogator, a middle-aged Caucasian man clad in a black pinstripe suit, and a had on a slicked back head of hair. "Just tell us where Khan and the rest of your Fiends are, you're already looking at a lifetime in prison."
Sulfur just kept her mouth shut. Her head firmly turned away from the man - which was rather uncomfortable with the power suppressant collar on her neck.
"... Just fuck off already. I told ya', I'm not telling you NEST fucks shit." Sulfur just dismissively said to the NEST Agent. It ain't like telling them anything would help her. Just like this fool said, a lifetime of prison... and there's no way in hell that Khan would let her stay in here. So she had little reason to tell them what little she knew.
It went back and fourth from there with little progress.
It wasn't a long trip to the NEST Headquarters from the Sunny Delights Cafe. It took Lihua, factoring out the traffic, around ten minutes to get there. She stepped through the front doors of the building with Baron trailing behind... and immediately wished that she had time to head back and put on a suit. This dress ruined her professional visage! Hopefully, anyone at NEST wouldn't notice. Now, the first thing in Lihua's path was the metal detector (which doubles as a Metahuman detector). This was simple; she reached into her purse, and put her NEST ID into the machine, and a green light appeared that allowed her to simply walk in (despite the fact that she had a firearm in her purse). Baron watched her throughout the process, and determined it was wisest to stick closely to her following the green light, as to prevent causing a ruckus himself.
"Looks like you're finally here." Washe grumbled. He was already sitting comfortably on one the chairs in the lobby, though Grit was nowhere in sight.
"There was traffic, but we made good time all things considered." Baron answered.
[i]'Now, if they had captured a high profile target, the first place they'd take me is the interrogation room - while the capturing Agents should be filing out processing paperwork.' Lihua thought. That's where she needs to be. She hasn't personally participated in any interrogations (There was no need up until now), but that doesn't mean she'll miss out on any vital information that Sulfur may blurt out. Lihua started making her way to the interrogation room. Though, she felt that she should change into a suit first... she wondered if there was any time.
"You might wanna get in there yourself," Washe added, "the dumb ass there now ain't getting shit. Hope he di'n't tighten the lid for ya too much."
"Loud and clear." Baron responded, then began to follow Lihua through the building, hoping for her to lead him straight to the Fiend that Washe and Grit had apprehended. 'Sulfur, was it? Let's hope, indeed...'
When the pair had finally reached the room and faced the tinted windows, he saw Sulfur sitting indignantly in her chair, and the interrogater was standing up with his hands on the table, hunched over, and getting right in his victim's face. Baron sighed and prepared two cups of coffee. 'Ideally, I might prepare baba ganoush to share, but we're a little short on time.'
He turned around to face Lihua with an odd mixture of a smile and irritability. "Alright, get that man out of there. I'll be taking over."
"Gladly," Lihua said. She doubt this fool would make any real progress anytime soon, so how about they try something... different? Lihua simply pulled out her communicator from her purse, and slid it into her ear. Hm... NEST's interrogator for today is Agent Roberts, right? Well, doesn't matter if she's wrong.
"Agent Roberts," Lihua started, putting her fingers to her communicator, "Your services are no longer necessary, someone else will be taking over."
Agent Roberts, the interrogator, nodded his head, saying a few passing words to Sulfur before walking out.
"Hmph, I hope she knows something...." Lihua muttered under her breath. She wished they didn't kill Long Dragon now. They could have gotten something out of him alive at least. If she gets something that pertains to her investigation; that would be great - but unlikely, because she's a god damn meth head.
"Your turn, Baron." Lihua said.
Baron smirked at Lihua as she muttered to herself. "I know what you're thinking. You wished we had someone more useful than her? Dragon wasn't too bright a fellow, from what I could get. Doubt he'd have been much better. Sulfur's our best bet. She at least seems... more sober."
"I guess you're right..." Lihua replied. "I doubt that we'll be able to get another lieutenant after they catch word of this, so I guess we'll have to make due." She quietly mused.
He nodded to the interrogator who walked out of the room - noting the alarming similarity in their dressware and hairstyle. He faced her again with a reassuring smile, "If all goes according to Caesar's gamble, we won't need another lieutenant. Anyways... wish me luck!"
Oh God.... Lihua thought to herself. What is that man up to?
Without further ado, Baron hobbled off and pushed against the door with his back, having both his hands occupied with the cups of coffee. He turned around, meeting Sulfur's bitter expression with a friendly smile. "Don't you worry, we might look similar, but that guy is just trying to copy my style." He joked. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery though, eh?"
"Go fuck off." Sulfur immediately said. "You think you'll get something out of me where he fucked up? Good fucking luck."
"Hey, if nothing else, even your respect would be enough for me." Baron admitted. He set the cups of coffee down on the table. One on his end, and one on Sulfur's. "Like I insinuated before, pay no heed to, uh... agent... Roberts, was it? I'm the real deal."
He looked at the collar on Sulfur's neck for a brief moment, his arms crossed and one hand pinching the skin on the bottom of his chin. His eyes were narrowed on her in thought.
"Good God, that looks uncomfortable." Baron remarked. He turned around to face the windows. "Excuse me, does anyone here have a key for this thing? It's a real eyesore. Let's get her out of there."
Immediately Lihua's fingers went to her earpiece. "Are you insane? She'll gas the whole building!" Maybe she was underreacting, or this was apart of Baron's plan. Even the bitterness in Sulfur's face was replaced with surprise.
"If you're going to bring dangerous metahumans into your headquarters, I suspect this place will be made of some kind of meta-proof material and be locked down tighter than a nun's chastity belt. If you're worried about me, don't! I'll be fine, I promise."
A joke that crass was usually beneath Baron. It was more for Sulfur's entertainment than anything else.
This could easily end badly. Baron was correct (It was more of Lihua's shock at the insanity of Baron's request). Yet, she was more worried about him than the rest of the base. Far as she could tell, he didn't have an immunity to poisonous gas. All that'd happen is that he'd choke to death, and Lihua would be sadden by his loss... then realize that she's stuck with the other two.
Though, it was against all logic, Lihua was going to give Baron the benefit of the doubt. The room was concrete, and she'd make sure that Sulfur doesn't get out.
With a nod of her head, she reached into a desk, and pulled out the key to Sulfur's collar. She, hesitantly, walked over to the door, and held the key out for Baron to grab (because like hell if she's going to stick around in the room when he unlocks it). Hopefully, this won't backfire on her. She handed it to him, and said,
"Here you go." Lihua pulled her way back into the room, and closed it behind her. Quickly skipping back into the room behind the mirror. Just waiting to see what Baron has planned.
Baron gladly took the key from Lihua with a wink of his eye. He turned back around and smiled at Sulfur. He paced over, not making any effort to hide his bad leg, and grabbed his coffee. Then he moved at the same pace to move behind Sulfur. He took a sip of his coffee - "ugh, damn, I never did like office coffee" - and calmly inserted the key into the keyhole of Sulfur's collar and turned it until he heard the click.
"Now--"
"... You FUCKING IDIOT!" Sulfur triumphantly shouted, as she immediately created her sludge, and started tossing it all over the room. The first thing to get dissolved was the metal of the table in front of her, and her cuffs. Quickly filling the room with yellow gas, and laughing like a maniac as it did. Because she was immune to it's effects, Baron, was not.
"Baron! Baron!" Lihua shouted into the comms as the room filled with the toxic gas. She knew it was a bad idea! Baron would certainly die in there. Before the room became fully engulfed, Lihua slammed her foot onto the ground, and pulled her arms back as if she was grabbing something. Spikes of concrete were summoned to make the door all but unexitable, as a effort to keep Sulfur in (She was sure that Baron was dead by now). Her skin died, and formed small, superficial cuts, that bled.
Baron clutched his face and squeezed his eyes as he tried to avert himself from the gas, doing all that he can to keep himself from breathing the gas - until he remembered a very crucial fact about himself. 'Old habits die hard...' He mused, though honestly surprised that he wasn't dead by now. He hesitantly let go of his face, and slowly took in a deep breath of air into his lungs.
"You know..." He started saying. He waved his hand through the air, the yellow gas dissipating and deconstructing when it came within a couple inches of his body. "I'm still not used to this. This, uh... power of mine. It's still quite new to me."
The air around him began to clear. He and even his suit appeared perfectly intact without a mark - save for his trousers, with a couple drops of coffee stains. The mug he held was melted away, except for the handle that he was still holding with his two fingers and thumb.
".... Huh?" Lihua was, equally, surprised to see that Baron was still alive, without a scratch on him. What was more surprising was that he has a power.
"... The fuck?!" Sulfur said to herself, raising an eyebrow. How the fuck did this fucknugget survive?! No one survived Sulfur's gas! "How the- Know what, fuck you, I'm out!"
Sulfur shouted, before turning to the door, and running towards it, only to be stopped when she realized that it was blocked off by concrete spikes. There was no way to get through without breaking every bone in her body.
"Fuck." She hissed to herself.
"... You planned this all along, didn't you, Baron?" Lihua slyly asked. A clever plan, she figured that he wanted to unnerve her. Make her face an opponent her tricks would do nothing to. With someone who relies on their power, and their power alone, this would be hell. Personally, Lihua would show her that, even with Sulfur power, she's hopeless against her.
Baron frowned at the table, which had most of it melted away. He faced Sulfur again with a similar look. "Look, I only wanted to talk to you. You didn't have to go and ruin the coffee I gave you."
He looked at his own cup, completely devastated. Looking down around him, he noticed drops of coffee had landed on his trousers, and he frowned once more.
"Damn it. If it's any consolation, you did inadvertently ruin my pants."
"I..." Sulfur was taking steps back, until all that was behind her was the concrete walls of the interrogation room. She had her back against the wall, figuratively. Trapped in a room with this bastard, and even if she does get out, she'll have to fight her way through hundreds of Agents.
"It's okay, you don't have to say anything." Baron assured calmly. "Call me Lucifer, if you will. Lucy is fine, if you'd prefer that."
"... I'd rather call you bastard." She was quick to spit out.
"Oh, I should try that call-sign some time!" Baron laughed. "I might be able to get a couple of laughs among the crew. Lighten the mood a bit on those dreary missions. Go ahead if you want to."
Sulfur stayed silent. Something was off here. Maybe that last bastard was here to make her cocky. "What the fuck do you want, already? Stop trying to play games."
Baron smiled. Sulfur was getting to the point. Now he could finally get to business with her. "If this is gonna take a while, we might as well have a seat."
Baron leaned his back against the wall perpendicular with the wall Sulfur was leaning against, and slid down until his butt touched the ground. He'd have more difficulty with this than Sulfur would. Right about now, he really wished that the Fiend hadn't melted down the chairs. He did nothing but stare at her until she would finally follow suit.
Well, this sucks. Not only is she trapped in here with this creepy bastard, but now he keeps trying to play friendly with her. It's a trick, she knew it. No one in this world wants to be her friend other than Khan. However, all she did was quietly sit down, and kept her eyes forward.
"We both know why I'm here." Baron started. "So I'm not gonna waste time asking you things like what your favorite color is, or what kind of food you like... though I was thinking of introducing you to baba ganoush earlier, if you're interested in that sort of thing. I wasn't gonna wait for Roberts to ruin your mood any more than it already is.
"To the point, then... what's your motivation?" Baron finally asked.
"For what? I got a lot of fucking reasons for doing what I do," Sulfur started off. "Like, I only murked those cops because you fucks killed Long Dragon." When she said "you fucks", she meant the law enforcement in general.
"For being a Fiend. Following Khan. And allow me to apologize on behalf of the VPD's twitchy trigger finger."
"Ptttttf...." Sulfur moaned, "'Cause I ain't got nobody else. I was just a random fucking druggie before I met her, and we tore up Union-Point until we assembled the Fiends. Does that answer your question?"
"Until you met her - Khan, right? What were you then? What changed?"
"Someone to fear. This city finally started paying attention - they knew that I wasn't just some drug addict they could forget about, I was one that'd kick their teeth in, and let the rest of the boys tear apart their homes and families."
Baron sighed. "I asked that because a little while ago I remembered one client I had some time ago. A boy named Justin, he came looking for therapy, or someone to listen to him. You see, this boy - he just became an adult - he was a child of two divorcees. A hyper-relaxed mother and a strict, micromanaging father. He was juggled between the two for a while. He had the option of choosing who would be his primary caretaker. Imagine the turmoil of that decision, choosing between your parents.
"Although his mother gave him zero support in any of his decisions, ideas, or thoughts, he still chose her. Her over his strict father, who still tried his best to help Justin. It's because of how human nature works. He could have lived with his father and have a secure life, but have every inch of it being controlled by him. Or with his mother, where he could have freedom, but free-fall through life. The idea of suffering through freedom is more appealing than a life in a cage. For us to choose inversely requires an immense measure of motivation, to bear all that weight just to find what we're looking for."
Baron scratched his head. "I can't believe I forgot where I was going with this. Anyway, do you connect with any of this? Any memories?"
Sulfur groaned... because he did have a bit of a point, he certainly knows exactly what to say. "... Yes." She begrudgingly said.
Baron's eyes lit up as he caught himself back on track, and met Sulfur with a soft expression. "Khan doesn't seem like the type of woman that keeps her people on a long leash. What motivation is it that keeps you working under Khan?"
"'Cause," Sulfur started, looking away from Baron. "I belong in the Fiends, there's no where else for me. Because, after all the shit I did, they aren't going to welcome me with open arms."
"Khan is like the mother to your family."
"... You could say that." Sulfur said.
'That's good. Then perhaps Isaiah's gamble might pay off.' Baron thought. "So the notorious Fiends had humble beginnings. A little family. That's pretty endearing. What happened that it evolved from the little family it was before... to the Fiends that attacked the festival? You mentioned you became something to fear, was it because of anger?"
"I don't know much... you're better off asking Travis, or Long Dragon if you hadn't killed him," Sulfur was quick to remind Baron of her displeasure. "But, there's these people... I don't know who the hell they are, but they give us the mutagen. They gave us lots of drugs, and weapons, too, if we kept using the Mutagen. That's how we kept getting bigger and bigger, more people got hooked on our drugs until we had ourselves a little empire."
She started off her story. "Out of nowhere, they told us that we'd get a big reward if we sent some men to attack the Festival while they did business. I wasn't at the festival, they made us pick up the reward at the docks."
The sound of big, heavy footsteps came from behind Lihua as she faced the glass. Washe's familiar gruff voice spoke up, "So? How's he doin' in there?"
Washe certainly broke her focus - as before she intently watching the scene, letting Baron do his job. A hand on her chin. Now, she can understand why they sent him. Lihua kept her eyes on the scene - not even turning to face Ceasar.
"He's getting her to talk. She's telling him some useful information." She said, focused on watching.
What she wanted to know was, who are these people? Well, Sulfur said that she didn't know, but she did say that Big Dong would. She doubted if she could hunt down Big Dong (if he hasn't left the city altogether).
There was a question she had. Lihua put her fingers on her earpiece yet again, and asked, "Baron, can you ask her if there's a place where they pick up what she just mentioned?"
Fifty-fifty that "she didn't know", but it never hurts to ask.
"Don't bother." Washe commented. "He ain't the type of guy to take suggestions. He might get to that eventually, but he has his own way of askin' questions... besides, a blatant interrogation question would probably give him away jus' like that." Washe snapped his fingers.
"Hmph." Lihua only offhandedly said, before going back to the scene.
Baron continued. "A reward?" He asked. "How big of a reward would that have to be? Attacking the festival is an awfully bold move."
"... A lot of power-granting serum." Sulfur just said. "Don't know what Khan's going to do with it, but she has a lot." Before going quiet.
"... Wait, what." Lihua said off the comms, her eyes were wide, and she put her hands on her desk in front of her, resisting the urge to ask Baron a bunch of - ultimately stupid - questions to ask. The Fiends, of all people, just get the ability to give people powers just like that? Who in God's name are they friends with?
Baron shared a look of surprise very similar to Lihua's. "Power-granting serums? Just how big of an organization do you need to be to develop that sort of drug?"
"Yeah, you just drink it, and you get a power," Sulfur started off. "We've been buying it from them for years now, selling them to rich fucks in Turtle-Creek, and whoever the hell else has the money to buy them. Now, we got the motherload."
She took in a sigh. "And before you get the idea, we don't make them. The fuckers Khan knows do."
"Have you ever met any of those people? The ones who give you the mutagen, that is."
"No," Sulfur was quick to say. "They mostly just talk to Khan by phone, and when they do meet in person, we're not allowed to come anywhere near them."
"So the shipments that do come in, not even the dock workers and shipmates know what they're carrying or who they come from?"
"They're either on their payroll, or have no idea." Sulfur shrugged. "Look, I don't know all the stupid details like this. I just follow Khan's orders and shut up." She told him. "I do know they come from some part of China or something... lots of those fucks on the last boat were Chinese."
Washed chuckled from behind the glass. "I wonder if she remembers we're watching. That bastard's got a habit of suckering you into a conversation."
Lihua didn't pay Washe any mind, she was thinking very hard about what Sulfur just told them. A Chinese shipping company? Back in the day, she knew everything that went in and out of China, but things must have changed if there's another organization in the mix.
"I doubt she even remembers she's in custody," Lihua turned to Washe, crossing her arms. "This might be some therapy session to her now where she confesses all her misdeeds to clear her conscious."
"If I wanted to get a hold of this serum, who should I talk to?" Baron asked.
"Khan, or Big Dong, usually handles that." Sulfur said. "I don't know where they are now."
"Wouldn't that make it hard for other potential buyers to pay the Fiends? Who sells this stuff?"
"Big Dong, usually," Sulfur said, "He's closer to these people than the others, I guess."
"And this Chinese shipping company..." Baron pondered aloud. "By Eurkea Harbor, right? Which pier should I go to meet with them?"
"Pier 12." Sulfur replied.
Baron just smiled. He pushed his hand against the floor and struggled to pull himself to his feet with his bad leg. A minor groan escaped his mouth, then stabilized himself by leaning his hand on the wall. "...You know, you sure did a number on those chairs. Can't remember the last time I had to sit on the floor."
Sulfur groaned. "Yeah, yeah..." She said, looking off to the side. If she knew her power didn't work on this fuck, she wouldn't have melted them in the first place.
Baron's pace was slower than usual, and he calmly hobbled over toward the side of the room where Sulfur was. "How old were you when Khan first found you?"
"Like... twenty-two. My parents kicked me out of college and left me on the street that year, so... it's hard to forget it."
Baron sighed. His each slow, careful footstep brought him closer to her. "It sounds like you were forced to grow up early-on. I can barely imagine how hard that year must have been for you. Your old family abandoned you and Khan was there to pick up what was left."
'Bullshit', Washe thought, 'we all remember the hell you had to suffer through.'
"... Y-yeah..." She mumbled, making sure to look away from Baron. "... It was tough until she came... but she made it easier."
"What's your real name, Sulfur?" Baron asked. His steps brought him closer to her until she was a mere two feet away from his feet.
"Ashley Murphy."
"Ashley Murphy..." Baron repeated. "That's a pretty name."
With some difficulty, he managed to kneel down in front of Ashley, an arm's length away. "Ashley," he said as he gently set his hand on her shoulder, "keep your head up. You're not alone anymore."
The intensity of the situation and welling inside her chest, in conjunction with the gravity of the situation she's in became too much for her. Ashley tried her best hold everything back by holding her breathe and squeezing her eyes shut, with every urge in her body telling her to let it all out had her chest erratically kick out. It eventually became too much.
All that came out at first was a little whimper; a little noise that escaped her. However, with whimper after whimper, more noise leaked out until she fell apart into sobbing, her hands covering her face and tears streaming between her fingers.
"You understand that you've caused a lot of trouble, don't you? You're going to have to spend a lot of time to make up for everything."
"I know... I know..." She moaned between heavy breaths sobs. She could feel her throat swell and become sore.
"Whatever happens from here on out, you won't be alone." Baron assured. "You won't be alone anymore. I'll do what I can to make sure of that myself."
Sulfur only answered with one loud moan of grief and despair within her sobbing, completely giving herself in to her miserable state.