Blood Sisters

A black Cadillac DTS with tinted windows waited alone on the top of a parking garage that had been 'closed for repairs'. The spring night was cool in the city, and the air was clear, though you could not see many stars through the haze of lights from a thousand streetlamps and a million windows. A spooky man with perfectly groomed short black hair, in a black suit and sunglasses looked down over the city. Behind each of those windows was a story, a life. Hopes and dreams, love and hate, triumph and tragedy. The view from each of those lives as limited as the view from each of their windows.

To people like the spooky guy, only they could see the big picture, the whole city, the whole sky. They moved in the darkness with the monsters that those behind the windows shut their curtains against, hoping that the things crawling in the night would pass them by.

Behind him, in the Caddy, spooky guy could hear the radio broadcast that his fellow agent, the big man, was listening to. An early season baseball game. He could hear the mind-numbing cheers of the crowd, and practically smell the beer and the peanuts. Athletic clowns distracting the masses from the emptiness of their mundane lives. Which was especially true of baseball fans.

“What is it with you and sports, anyway.” “You don't like sports?” “Not really.” “What are you, a communist? All real Americans like sports.” “That's close to the line big man.” “There's a line?” “Yes, there's a line.” “The reason your such a pale and skinny nerd is because your mama didn't want you to get hurt so she made you stay in and read. You don't like sports, 'cause you aren't any good at it... did that cross the line yet? Cause I got more.” “Yeah, that pretty much crossed the line.” “All-right. Touchdown!” “Hey, you know how I get paid more then you, have my own office, a nice big house... all that?” “Mmhmm” “Its because I stayed inside and read, did you even learn how to read big man?” “That, is hilarious. Really.”

The low chop of a helicopter interrupted them, cutting into the night sky. They could see its running lights approaching. He gestured over to his agent to cut the radio and join him outside the car. When the man stepped out of the car, it raised up several inches. The agent's muscles strained to free themselves from under his suit coat as he buttoned it. Standing up straight, the man fished out his sunglasses, darker then his black skin, and put them on. Then, reaching back into the car, he produced an AR-15 which he slung over his shoulder. The big agent came over to stand next to spooky guy. At 6'8” he towered over his boss. The two glanced at each other and nodded, each was ready. Spooky guy tapped his earpiece “They're here.”

***

North Star and Titan were in the Special Marshal's UH-60M Black Hawk, nicknamed The Henry Dearborn. North Star was stewing, she muttered to Titan “They never let me pilot the Dearborn, never. I can fly a helicopter just fine”. Titan nodded blandly, he had been down this road before. She punched him in the arm “Don't give me that, Todd. How about some team solidarity?”. Titan sighed “What'cha want me to say Winter? They don't ask me” he shrugged at her innocently. North Star groused “next time we'll just tie up the pilot and...” A laugh came over their Black Hawk helmets “I can hear you guys, you know that right?” the pilot chuckled “and Winter, a little gal like you can't handle a big boy like the Henry D”. North Star growled and started to make a snowball in her hand to throw at him... then she saw his coffee thermos. She smirked as she reached for it, drawing out its heat with a touch. The pilot felt the chill and looked over as the moisture in the air covered his now frozen thermos with frost. “Hey! ...well, now, that's just COLD, lady. That's just cold.” he said with a grin. Titan groaned at the pun “no more, no more, please!” Todd looked over at Winter. “Are you always so warm Winter? I guess I um... never sat so close to you, your kinda...warm.” Winter smirked. Yeah well, I'm a dehumidifier right? I'm always absorbing water from the air... plus” she pointed at the now frosty thermos “that heat has to go somewhere” she smirked “I've learned some tricks to manage the heat, but I have to let it go eventually” Titan grinned “That could come in handy”. Winter elbowed him.

The USSM Henry Dearborn circled in for a landing. Titan pointed out the window “Suits”. Winter glanced over his arm. “Ah crap, I hate Suits”. “Who is it this time?” she wondered aloud. The pilot clenched a fist over his mike and yelled back into the cabin “You didn't hear it from me, but I hear these guys are from that Joint Meta-Human Task Force that Homeland Security organized a few months back”. Titan looked over to the man at the controls “How would you know that?” he yelled. The pilot grinned at him, and winked at Winter. “You guys think you're the only people I fly around?”. He laughed and looked back front, muttering some pilot-speak into his mike.

Titan and North Star disembarked the Black Hawk, the wind from its rotors whipping around them and the agents standing a few yards away. Spooky guy signaled the pilot and the Henry Dearborn took off back into the night. In its wake, the city around them now seemed silent. Spooky guy and his driver walked calmly towards the two heroes. Winter pulled her silver-white hair from out of her face, and looked over at them. Despite the gale-force winds, neither agent seemed to have even a hair out of place. She smirked. Wonder if that hair-gel is bullet-proof.

“Marshal North Star, Marshal Titan” spooky guy broke the silence. “That's right” Todd said, who are you?”. Spooky guy didn't blink an eye as he said flatly “I'm David, and this is Goliath”. Winter started to protest, but Agent David cut her off “Our names don't matter” he had an authoritarian manner about him that was unsettling, and the two marshals held their tongue while he continued. “You are government employees sworn to the Marshals Service. I am the government. I am also who is in charge of you for this mission”.

David reached a hand over to Goliath, who handed him a USB memory drive. The agent then produced an unusual looking PDA from his jacket and plugged the USB in. The PDA opened up a split screen, one towards Agent David, and one towards the marshals. The big agent held out two pairs of sunglasses to them as David said “put these on, otherwise you wont be able to make sense of the screen. Pay attention, we're only going through this once. Also, I am now patching in to your comm system, once we start the briefing, say nothing except through your earpiece”. Titan nodded. Winter was just mad.

At first the PDA screen just looked like colored static, then suddenly there was a mild buzz as the sunglasses activated and at once the screen came into focus. Against a black background the marshals could read in red letters: PROJECT BLOODSISTER, TOP SECRET. They heard Agent David talking into their ear. “Alright folks, you don't have the clearance needed to see this whole file, so I am only showing you what you need to know”. He paused. A picture of a young blonde girl with corpse like pale skin and vacant blue eyes came up on the screen. Winter gasped and said “What the... that's my niece! That's Jenny!” she took a step towards David. Agent Goliath took a step towards her.

David spoke calmly “Oh yes, that is true. We had to terminate one of the team for that. Seems the pervert had a thing for your teenage relative.” Winter just stood there, appalled and open mouthed. Agent David did not miss a beat “It is not, obviously, your niece. It is not even, in the strictest sense, anyone. It is, to put it colloquially, an artificially created government asset. It looks like your niece, but that is only because one of our geneticists wanted it too.”

Titan looked a bit ill. Winter spoke much louder then needed to be heard into the comm system

“What the hell are you people up too?!” “Quiet down marshal” came the deep voice of Goliath. Winter just glared at the two Suits, her sapphire eyes glinting. The air around them started to chill as Winter became more upset, and faint vapor rose out of her shoulders. David seemed completely indifferent. “Listen. First of all, it is not you people marshal, you are one of us, you gave an oath to that effect in fact. Second of all, when you apprehend the asset, It is going to tell you a pretty horrible story, and the more she remembers, the worse it is going to sound” Agent David paused to let that sink in, then continued in his dry tone “Now, most of what the asset is likely to say, is true, and your likely going to hate it. The fact that the asset has apparently broke its conditioning and developed a personality is irrelevant to our mission.”

Winter continued to glare at David “and I thought my heart was cold, you make me sick”. “Marshal North Star, I don't care about who your sister is, or that you got New-Hum superpowers from a street hack. The people you killed as Frostbite, or the people you've saved as North Star. I don't care that you fuck women, that you once had an abortion that you think no one knows about, or that you haven't been to church since you were 19. All that matters is that you are a US Marshal, and this is your job” Agent David matched her glare with a even calm that was unsettling.

Winter looked stung as her anger washed away leaving shame behind. Titan put an arm around her and fired back “And you are an ass-kissing government lapdog that would rape his own mother for a nickle if whatever slimy agency you crawled out of told you too.” David gave a thin smile, the only show of emotion so far “Actually, I would do it for free. Now that we understand each other, lets continue.” Titan had nothing, he just stared at the guy in disbelief.

“Now, if you are thinking that I am the boogeyman, you are absolutely correct. Our government has boogeymen and we all pay for them with our taxes”. He paused “Speaking of which, Mr. Scott, your late to file, you should get on that.” Titan couldn't believe this guy.

Agent David continued smoothly “The only reason that people are scared of the boogeyman, is that we boogeymen stop the things that are worse, and one of those things is Bloodsister 187. Who now refers to itself by the charming epithet of Cricket. 1-8-7 has already killed a federal agent ...who leaves behind a wife and two young kids... and injured many others. It tore up that police station over there, wounding many officers” he pointed at the station as he continued “I have witnessed all this destructive behavior personally, and I assure you that It will continue to become more unstable, and unless it is stopped, a lot more people are going to die, and a lot more property is going to get destroyed. Not to mention the political cost if all this dirty laundry spilling everywhere is connected back to us by the Liberal media, we must prevent them from needlessly undermining our government.

“I vote Democrat” Winter and Todd said, annoyed, almost in unison. They glanced at each other. Agent David said “Those aren't the Liberals I'm talking about.” He continued as a picture of a big tattooed old biker came on the screen “This man is Jake Harris, he has a rap sheet littered with larceny, drunk and disorderly, assault, weapons and drug charges. However, he has been clean for almost 20 years, and is now a small business owner with a reputation for looking after the kids in his neighborhood, trying to keep them in school, off of drugs and out of gangs, that sort of thing. He also now votes and pays his taxes.” Winter rolled her eyes. “We don't care about this man, in fact I support his responsible citizenship. His association with the asset has apparently overcome his better judgment and he is currently a suspect wanted for questioning with a warrant out for his arrest” the agent paused. “For our purposes, this man is bait for the asset. It thinks that it cares about this man.” Winter Ashton decided that this man thoroughly disgusted her, and the respectable face that he put on all this barbarism was even more horrifying in that there must be people in power that were in charge of this man that thought the same as him. The North Star shivered.

Next came a series of pictures, names and backgrounds as Agent David went over Jake's known associates. Then a map showing the various abandoned buildings that Cricket had been seen at.

Lastly the man-in-charge handed over a PDA to each of them. “Make sure you hold on to these, they contain all the classified information that we just went over, and they are the way I will contact you, and you will contact me. Don't mess with them, or lose them. They have small explosive charges to prevent them from becoming compromised.” Then, like it was just an afterthought, he said “Oh, and as you have most likely guessed, the asset is incredibly strong and nearly indestructible” somehow he seemed pleased at that. Agent David then said dismissively “Well, that's it for now Marshals. Go retrieve the asset, it is unlikely that you could destroy it, but that would be fine as well.”

Winter replied “Just so were clear, I hate you.” David gave a thin smile and looked back at the two marshals “Just do your job. That is all your country requires of you.” Titan nodded stiffly “We will. David” Todd looked over at the big agent “you know, David killed Goliath.” The big man smiled, all teeth as Agent David said dryly “Well, everyone needs a retirement plan” he waved his chin at Titan and North Star “Were done here.” The two agents turned and walked calmly back to their Cadillac. The two marshals staring daggers into their backs every step of the way.

Goliath started the car, turned the radio back on and started to drive down the garage's ramps. Agent David said “I think that went rather well, don't you?” “mmhmm.” “You ever met Allison Ashton, big guy?” “Nope.” “I like her music, most of it. She seems nicer then her sister. What about you?” “Do I like her sister?” “No, her music.” “Nah. Don't care for country.” “What's wrong with you agent? All real Americans like country music.” “Nope.” “You know what? Were done talking.” David activated the partition between the front and back seats. Goliath turned up the radio. He smiled.