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Silent Jury
Issue #7
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter 11
A Change of Power
With things calm for the moment, Robert decides to head back home. It has been
awhile since he was home and figured there were some tasks that needed to be
done. So he left the mountain fortress and drove his sports car down the
mountain. It was nice to just drive down this forgotten road and enjoy the
handling of the sports car. It made him remember why he bought the car in the
first place. He did let Connie and Vanessa know he was leaving and would be back
in a few days. He wanted them to tell Gadget he was leaving. The last thing he
wanted to do was have to have Gadget try and talk him out of leaving. So much
has gone on in the past few days that he needed to just get away from it all and
relax. The thought of watching television and eating some take out sounded very
good. He also needed to take some time to think about his future. He never
wanted to be in the super hero business, but now he has found himself stuck as
the captain of a team of super heroes. But with Daniel, should he really be the
leader? Daniel has more power and ability than he could ever dream of. Did the
team really even need him with a person of Daniel's power in the group? He
really felt out of place. At least Vanessa and Connie have trained for years and
are fully comfortable with their armor. He has only been at it a few weeks. And
he never expected to go from battling bank robbers to almost being killed by
Psyclone. Every single day he thinks about what would have happened if Daniel
was not there. The team would be dead now. Not just him, but both of the girls.
He gets so upset thinking about the girls being hurt or worse, killed. He knows
he has feelings for them, but how deep do these feelings go? And if he should
act on them, what would that do to the team. He tries not to think of Vanessa
and Connie as women. He wants to think of them only as teammates. But Vanessa
with her athletically fit body and flirtatious personality makes her very
appealing. Then there is Connie with her natural beauty and quiet and sweet
personality. Vanessa would make a better girlfriend, but Connie would be a
better wife. He hates himself for even thinking of them like that. For all he
knows, neither one of them likes him. He may be reading their signals wrong. It
may be that since his money finances most of this, they are just being nice to
him. And what kind of life could he have with a superhero wife?
A few hours later, he arrives home to find the house just like he left it. The
only major differences is his mailbox is overloaded with mail and there is a
stack of newspapers built up. He throws all the mail and papers in the car and
drives up the driveway. As he nears the house, he is glad to see that he
remembered to turn off the lights. He thinks it is funny how he could worry
about whether or not he left the lights on while he was flying into battle. He
wondered if Batman or Spiderman ever worried about stuff like that. When he gets
to the house, he opens the garage and pulls the car in. With all that has gone
on, he half expected to find the house destroyed or overrun with aliens. He is
glad that nothing happened and he is going into an quiet, empty house.
Justin Rage and the rest of his men stand in awe as they see Doctor Warlock and
some large demon behind him. A sense of dread overcomes Justin as he wonders if
this really was a good idea. How can he really control this man? Will he turn on
him once he finishes with the Silent Jury? It is too late to stop that now, they
are here and he will have to deal with that when the time comes. Doctor Warlock
walks over to Justin Rage and says "Is it you who summoned me?" The man's voice
is powerful and he shows no fear. For the first time, the tables are turned and
it is Justin that is scared. He fights the feeling and does his best to keep it
bottled up. He needs to put on a brave face for his men. His intimidating
personality is a big reason for his success and without it, he is just another
man. He looks Doctor Warlock right in the eyes and says "Yes, I did summon you.
But I only summoned you, who is that?" The large demon opens his large bat wings
and stretches them. His eyes begin to glow and he talks in a voice that sends
chills down everyone's spine. "I am The Fallen One and I came here to finish a
job." Justin looks at him and tries to keep eye contact. It is hard when The
Fallen One’s gaze feels like it is piercing his very soul. The Fallen One walks
over to Justin Rage and moves in front of Doctor Warlock. The huge beast moves
within a few inches of Justin Rage and lowers his head to fix his gaze right at
Justin Rage. His eyes glow like they are embers of coal in a fire. His eyes are
non blinking or at least they give that impression. He stares right at Justin
who fights every instinct to run away. Instead he stares back, looking deep into
those coal like eyes. He then feels his head tingle. It feels like little
fingers are running through his brain. It is not painful, but it is very
uncomfortable. But he fights the urge to itch his head, which he knows would not
help. After a good minute of staring, The Fallen One moves away and says "Your
will is strong and your heart and mind are as dark as mine." Justin is unsure
what to say, so he remains quiet. Is it a compliment and if it is, should he
thank him or is that a sign of weakness. The Fallen One then turns to Doctor
Warlock and says "This man can help us. We will allow him to live for now." This
upsets Justin Rage who raises his voice "What do you mean you will allow me to
live for now? I brought you here and I can send you back." The Fallen One turns
around and stares right at Justin Rage. He raises his hands above his head and
fire rises from his fingertips. Soon the fire grows until it engulfs his hands.
Within seconds, the flames rush over his body like molten lava spewing from a
volcano. Then a raging fire burns all over his body. The heat is
intense and even Doctor Warlock steps away from him. He then points his hand at
one of Justin's henchmen and flames shoot from his hand and smother the poor
man. He screams but they are quick as he dies within seconds. His body falls
over and within a minute, he is nothing but an outline of ashes. The Fallen One
then points his hand at Justin Rage and says "Speak to me like that again and
you too will be incinerated. Is that understood?" Justin knows that there is no
way to save face this time. He just nods yes as he tries not to soil himself. He
has looked into the eyes of evil and found one who far surpasses him in power
and viciousness.
As the confrontation is taking place between Justin Rage and The Fallen One, Mr.
Smith quietly sneaks out of the room. While he is not known for his
stealthliness, this time there is enough going on that no one pays much
attention to a foolish old man as he sneaks out. Once he is out of the room, he
begins to run as fast as his aged body will allow him. He curses himself for not
taking better care of his body and for putting on the extra weight. While he is not
obese, he does have weight that the doctor has told him to lose. And his
exercise routine is anything but. But he does find it in him to keep up a pace.
As he gets to the elevator, he is antsy as he waits for the door to open. Within
seconds, he is on the elevator and headed upwards. Once he reaches the lobby, he
runs past the receptionist and out the front door. He heads to the street with
sweat beading down his face and getting short of breath. He hails for a cab and
jumps into the first one to stop. He is so winded he cannot speak as the driver
asks his destination. "All he can mutter is "Just drive." and he points forward.
The driver turns on the meter and heads off.
Robert is soaking in the bathtub, reading a financial newspaper. While he does
not dabble in stocks like his father did, he still keeps abreast with the
market. He has allot of stock left by his father and it helps to know if his
holdings are rising or falling. As he relaxes, he hears a pounding on the door.
At first he ignores it. It probably is Vanessa and he is not interested in
seeing anyone right now. But the knocking becomes louder and more frantic. It is
not a typical knock, but sounds more like someone beating on the door. He
decides his bath is over, so he leans over and blows out his candle and gets out
of the tub. He is cursing himself for not having a butler. As he gets dressed,
the pounding continues. Good thing his doors are steel and in steel frames.
Nothing short of a battering ram is going to knock his doors in. He thought it
was overkill when he was growing up, but since he realized who his father is, he
realizes all the security is warranted. In fact, it makes him feel very safe in
his house. As he gets to the front door, he looks out and sees a strange man who
looks like he is out of breath. Robert slowly opens the door and says "What do
you want?" The man takes a few breaths to slow down and try to speak "I am Mr.
Smith and I come with very important information." Robert is skeptical and says
"You have a minute to make your point." The man puts his hands on his knees and
breaths in and out. He then looks up and says "I know you are part of the Silent
Jury. I was forced to work for Justin Rage and helped him unleash a great evil
upon this world." Robert is stunned that the man knows about his involvement in
the Silent Jury. Obviously, Justin Rage knows too and this makes him feel very
uncomfortable. He is worried about letting this man in, but looking at him, he
would have no problem with him in case it escalated into a confrontation. That
is assuming he is not hiding a gun in his coat. Against his better judgment,
Robert unlocks the door and lets the man in. He then shuts the door behind him
and locks it. Robert then looks down at the man with an upset look "How do you
know about my involvement with the Silent Jury?" The man goes over to his sink
and says "Can I have a glass for some water?" Robert reluctantly opens one of
the cupboards and hands him a glass. He turns the knobs of the fancy chrome
faucet and fills the glass with water. He drinks it down and then pours another
glass. After he downs the second glass, he wipes his face with his sleeve. "You
are down to thirty seconds." Robert says as he tries to hurry this man along.
There is just something about the man that disgusts Robert. It could be his
sloppy dress or his lack of manners. "As I told you, I worked for Justin Rage
and he knows about all of you." he says as he sits down at the Kitchen Table.
Robert then sits down on the other side of the table. He is feeling a bit
uncomfortable in his robe, but he was not expecting this kind of company. Mr.
Smith then continues "I was contracted by Justin Rage to bring Doctor Warlock
back to this world. He wanted someone who could defeat that magician you have in
your party." Robert has a stunned look on his face "But Doctor Warlock is dead.
Has been for decades." The man smiles and says "Not dead, but gone. He went to
another dimension, I know because I was the one who sent him there." Robert is
completely confused. Should he believe anything this guy is saying. It sounds so
unbelievable. But after seeing what Daniel can do, nothing is impossible. "And
how do you know I am part of the Silent Jury?" The man wipes his glasses, once
again using his sleeve "When I was forced to work for Mr. Rage, I took the
liberty of breaking into his computer system. I never expected him to pay me, so
I figured if I could get some incriminating information off his computer, I
could use it to blackmail him into paying me." Robert looks at him and says
"Continue." The man puts his feet up on the next chair and starts getting
comfortable "I was not able to find any financial records or anything, but I did
find all the information about The Silent Jury, including the members with
addresses and personal information as well as weaknesses in the armor and more.
I must say the armor is very sophisticated. I cannot wait to meet Mr. Winfield
and find out how he created the armor." Robert looks at him with a puzzled look
"Mr. Winfield?" The guy laughs "You must call him by his nickname, what was
that? Oh yeah, Gadget. Sounds like a sitcom character." Robert is upset with the
knowledge that Justin Rage knows all about The Silent Jury. How could he know
everything. Then he remembered how The One was a traitor and all of a sudden it
made sense. "If you work for Mr. Rage, why are you here?" Robert asks as he now
is interested in why this man is here. Mr. Smith now knows that he has Robert's
attention and there is no more fear of being thrown out. He does hate violence
and was in fear of Justin Rage's henchmen. "As I told you, Mr. Rage had me
summon Doctor Warlock. Well, I was successful in bringing him back to this world
but he did not come alone. He came with a huge demon named The Fallen One and he
is so evil, he even has Justin Rage scared." Robert starts to break out
laughing. The thought of Justin Rage being scared of anything is humorous. This
man is known for having ice water in his veins. "Justin Rage scared? You have to
be kidding." he says as he tries not to laugh. "Honest, this creature is huge
and very dangerous and I think he plans on taking over this world." Robert does
know if he should laugh or cry. Take over the world, that sounds like the plot
for a bad sci-fi movie. He figures that it is best if he lets this man talk with
the rest of the team, so he grabs his cell phone and calls Gadget. "Sorry to
bother you so late, but I have a man here named Mr. Smith who says that Justin
Rage just summoned from another world Doctor Warlock and The Fallen One." There
is a few moments of silence as he can tell that Gadget is muffling the phone and
talking to either Charlie or Daniel. When he comes back on the phone, there is a
very serious tone to his voice as he says "Bring him over immediately." Robert
hangs up and is stunned. He did not expect Gadget to tell him to bring this guy
to their secret headquarters. But he turns to him and says "We are going on a
car trip."
Back at Justin Rage's office building, he is in his office. Deacon is there
talking with him and asks "Both Doctor Warlock and The Fallen One are resting.
We should have a few hours, any plans?" Justin looks at him and says "We have no
idea where Mr. Smith went. Any luck at his house?" Deacon looks down and says
"He was there as there is some stuff missing, but we have no idea where he
went." Deacon continues looking down, knowing what he is going to say will upset
Justin Rage "We have no idea. As far as we can tell, he only took some computer
software and books." Justin thinks for a second and says "He is probably trying
to recreate the machine. I wish we knew where he went. With his other machine
destroyed by The Fallen One, we have no way to get rid of them." Deacon looks up
and says "Have you considered sending Psyclone?" Justin puts his hands together,
like he is getting ready to pray. "I have considered it, but he is my only ace.
If I lose him, there goes my bargaining tool with the rest of the mobs in the
area." Deacon looks at him and says "That is true, but as long as Doctor Warlock
and The Fallen One are here, we have much more to fear than other mobs." In the
past, Justin would have risen and yelled at something like this. But he has
changed from his encounter and is more subdued. He looks at Deacon and says "See
if we can get a picture of the two of them and let's send Psyclone." He then
puts his head down. Deacon leaves the room and starts working on getting a photo
of the two enemies.
Inside Justin Rage's house are two unwelcome guests. Lying in his bed is Doctor
Warlock. He is resting and building up his strength for the task ahead. In the
basement lies The Fallen One. He is sitting in a ball with his wings covering
him. Unknown to the Fallen One is a small camera on the wall that is watching
him. It takes a few snapshots of him and sends them back to Deacon, who is at
the office building. He then works on the camera in Justin Rage's bedroom. It
slowly moves and zooms in on Doctor Warlock as he sleeps. He makes a very faint
sound as it zooms in. He suddenly opens his eyes and looks for the source of the
sound. As he peers around the room, he notices the camera on the wall. He sits
up in the bed and looks at it. He then lifts his hand and shoots a magical
missile at it. The missile hits the camera and destroys it. He then looks around
the room and lays back down. Within a few minutes he is back to sleep. Deacon
jumps back when the camera is destroyed. He is happy that he did get a picture
before it was destroyed. He uses the computer to zoom in on the pictures and
enhances them. He then prints them off and rushes off.
Back at the headquarters, Robert arrives with Mr. Smith. As they enter the
fortress, he is amazed at the place. Once they are inside, they are greeted by
Gadget and Charlie. "You must be Mr. Smith" Gadget says as he offers his hand in
friendship. They shake hands and he says "You must be Gadget. Very impressive
place." Gadget smiles and says "Thanks and this is Mr. Kurasawa, but we call him
Charlie." They also shake hands. As they move into the control room, Mr. Smith
cannot stop looking around. He then spies the pile of weapons that they were
examining before. "Where did you get these?" he asks as he picks up one of the
power gloves and examines it. "We found them in the basement here." Gadget says
as he wonders about the interest in them. "I made these items, but that was a
long time ago." Mr. Smith says as he smiles at the item. "You made these?"
Charlie asks as his curiosity is piqued. "Yeah, I used to make all kinds of
weapons for Doctor Warlock. He would then sell them to other villains. It was
good money." Before they can go into any more discussion, Daniel rushes into the
room. Behind him is Vanessa and Connie. "The Fallen One, tell me he is not on
this world." he says as he rushes up to Mr. Smith. Stunned by the urgency of the
man's voice, Mr. Smith does not know what to say. "Tell me that you are
mistaken." he says as he gets inches from his face. Mr. Smith then says "I am
sorry but he is here. I saw him with my own eyes." Daniel is hoping that the man
is wrong as he asks "What did he look like? What did the Fallen One look like"
Not sure what to make of the questioning, Mr. Smith complies and answers his
question "He is huge with horns, giant bat wings and can shoot fire from his
hands." He gestures as he describes him to Daniel. With this answer, Daniel
turns away and says "All is lost. There is no force on this planet that can stop
him." Robert looks at him and says "Why can't we beat him? Is he that powerful?"
Daniel looks at him and says "It takes all five of the wizards on my planet to
stop him. But they are back there and I am the only one here." Gadget jumps in
"But if they were able to bring him here, why can't we bring the rest of the
wizards?" Mr. Smith then jumps in "The machine they used to bring him in was
built by me. But I am guessing it has been destroyed by now." Charlie then joins
the conversation "Can you build another one?" Mr. Smith lifts up the books he
has been carrying and says "I have the plans here but I will need some supplies
and it will take months." Gadget adds "What if you have some help? Charlie and I
can help you out." Mr. Smith smiles and says "Maybe with all our minds, we can
build one quicker." Daniel turns and says "And then maybe I can return to my
world as well." Mr. Smith replies "Let us hope."
Deacon back to Justin Rage's office and hands him the pictures "Here they are. I
hope this works." Justin grabs them and says "It has to work." He then gets up
and heads out the door and to the elevator. He takes the elevator down to
sub-basement and walks to the room where Psyclone is. He motions for the guards
to leave and takes a deep breath. He gets the creeps every time he does this. He
knows that one day Psyclone is going to turn on him. But right now, he needs to
think about his task at hand. He walks into the room and starts knocking over
all the buildings of legos. He smashes them like he never has. As Psyclone heads
over to see what is happening, Justin holds up the pictures of the Doctor
Warlock and The Fallen One and says "They destroyed your legos and they will
keep doing it if you don't stop them." Suddenly, Psyclone's eyes turn red with
anger. He is floating in the air and turns to the door and uses his mind to open
it. He then floats out of the room. As he leaves the guard watches him go and
sees him open the elevator and head out. As Justin Rage comes out of the room,
the guard looks at him and says "That man gives me the creeps." Justin just
looks at him as he crosses his fingers.
Above the city, Psyclone is floating. He has his eyes closed and is scanning the
area. He is projecting his mind's eye over the city and scanning for the men in
the picture. Like a computer, he views one after another person. They are a blur
of faces as he looks over each one. After a few minutes of searching, his eyes
open up and he flies off quickly. He heads out of the city and into the country.
Gone are the large buildings and crowded streets. They are replaced by large
houses on even larger tracts of land. Some have barns with horses and others
have private lakes. This is where the movers and shakers of the city live. As he
flies into a distant suburb full of large mansions, he stops before a large
house. It has a large wall surrounding it with barbed wire lining the top of the
wall. There are numerous guards walking around the grounds, all of the them
armed with machine guns and wearing bulletproof vests. One of the guards gets a
call and answers it. When he gets off the phone, he grabs his walkie talkie and
calls out to the other men to leave the grounds immediately. Suddenly, all the
guards are running away from the house. As they leave, Psyclone flies in front
of the house and scans the house with his mind. Sure enough, he finds both
targets and screams out "You smashed my legos!" Doctor Warlock rises from his
bed and looks out the window. He sees the man floating in the air and wonders
what is going on. In the basement, The Fallen One feels the mental scan of
Psyclone and awakens. He stands up and looks around. Outside, Psyclone closes
his eyes and pushes his hands forward to channel his mental energy. The power
inside him builds up like rising flood water. Soon he is so filled with energy
that small streams can be seen pouring out of his eye sockets. The color of his
face turns pale and his hair stands up on end. A look of pure rage comes over
his face as he grimaces in what looks painful. He then opens his eyes and shoots
what looks like a giant cyclone of pure mental power out of his fingertips and
right at the house. The force of the blast hits with the force of a category
five tornado. The house is smashed into pieces and debris is thrown for miles.
Pieces of wood and stone are crushed and sent flying in all directions. A
rainstorm of broken stone falls down upon the cars in the driveway, smashing
their windshields and denting the cars. Large pieces of stone and wood fall into
the pool and splash water out. Houses more than a mile away are pelted by the
rubble as are any cars on the roads. When the dust settles and the debris
settles on the ground, all that is left is the base of the house and a few pipes
that are sticking out. The rest of the house is gone. It truly looks like a
natural disaster hit with all its force and obliterated the house.
Silent Jury © Tom Zjaba 2006
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