Chapter 37: Grand Marshal's Message!
Kayn's eyes locked onto the distant figure that was moving toward him at a steady, deliberate pace. The clone's aura was dark and eerie, malevolent and demonic, precise yet overbearing.
The figure stepped into the warehouse's broken entrance, and for a moment, silence reigned. Kayn stood amidst the fallen enemies, his mana still radiating in a steady pulse, but his attention was fully on the new arrival.
The man standing before Kayn exuded an aura of malevolence and evil that seemed to darken the very air around him. He was unnaturally tall, around 7'1, with a lean but powerful frame. His skin was totally dark green, with black veins running through his skin.
He had a commanding presence, enhanced by his eyes that were bottomless pits of pure darkness, devoid of humanity, gleaming with malice as it looked towards Kayn calmly.
It was an Alien, of an unknown race, with an unmistakable connection to dark, ancient, twisted demonic magic, yet, despite the malevolence, his expression remained cool, almost detached, as if the horrors he commanded were beneath him.
"Harbinger," the clone spoke, its voice unnervingly monotone, yet possessing an edge that was unmistakably Alien. Its eyes locked onto Kayn like a predator sizing up its prey. "You are as powerful as they say. But I am not here to fight. Not yet."
"Judging from your looks. You're an Alien. Probably escaped from Fort Rozz right? If Krypton can contain you, what makes you think I cannot? I've already taken care of your friends here." Kayn asked, his eyes narrowed as he kept his guard up.
Although this was but a clone, one with little power, one can never be too sure.
The clone let out a dark laugh, an eerie smile appearing on its face as it looked towards Kayn, "It took all of Krypton's armies to merely seal me away when I was at my weakest. Over the thousands of years I have been imprisoned, I have only grown more powerful, refined my skill, enhanced my knowledge. I am not the same person as I was back then."
"I am but a clone of my superior. My true self is still training, improving, learning. I was just sent here by the Grand Marshal to observe, to gauge your abilities." The clone spoke.
The mention of the Grand Marshal made Kayn's blood run cold. Whoever this Marshal was, they had been behind the necromancer's confidence and had engineered this attack.
But sending a clone of himself to 'observe' was a clear sign that this was only the beginning.
"Tell your Grand Marshal they're wasting their time," Kayn replied, his voice low but full of power. "If they want to test me, they'll need more than pathetically weak subordinates, and useless clones of themselves."
The clone tilted its head slightly, as if considering his words. Its cold, analytical gaze never wavered, "The Grand Marshal anticipated this response. That is why I was sent. To bring you a message… and a warning."
Kayn raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued despite the tension in the air. He made no move, but mentally, he was chuckling. This was the first time someone challenged him like this since his reincarnation.
It made Kayn's blood boil, not from anger, but from excitement, finally a potential opponent, someone who he can test some of his true power against. Most fights he had to massively limit himself, but maybe this so called Grand Marshal can make Kayn actually try.
"Speak," he said, his voice was more of an order than a request.
The clone spoke again, its voice heavy with an almost eerie finality, "The Grand Marshal wants you to know that your interference has been noted. National City, from here on out, is his territory. The next time we meet, it will not be as observers. It will be as your executioners."
Kayn's lips curled into a smirk, "Is that supposed to scare me?"
The clone's expression remained impassive. "It is not fear we seek. It is inevitability. "You will fall, Harbinger. The Grand Marshal always gets what he wants, ORION is inevitable."
But Kayn, his eyes gleaming with the light of a thousand suns, merely smirked in return.
"We'll see about that."
Kayn said, waving his hand and re-opening the portal to the AEGIS Prison, telekinetically taking the various defeated enemies and stepping through the portal with them, taking one last look behind, to see that the clone had already vanished into the wind.
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Kayn stood with his arms folded, his eyes sharp as he watched the last of the prisoners being loaded into the AEGIS Super-Prison's Isolation Cells.
The warehouse battle had left him with more questions than answers, but for now, he had ensured that the enemies were secured. His mind was elsewhere, running through the details of the encounter with the necromancer and the mysterious clone sent by the Grand Marshal.
Standing next to Kayn was John Jones, the Martian Manhunter in his human guise, quietly admiring the efficiency of Kayn's work. John didn't expect that Kayn would grow so much over the 4 years he had known him, it was truly admirable.
Back then Kayn was just a boy who escaped from APEX, on the run and hiding away constantly, only occasionally going on the offensive. Now Kayn is a hero, completely capable of making his own city safe from danger.
It was a remarkable improvement, and Kayn obviously also worked on the creation of the AEGIS Super-Prison, with security measures far beyond the capabilities of even the D.E.O.
"Impressive work as always," John said, his deep voice filled with respect. "Yet you still seem to be contemplating something."
Kayn nodded but said nothing, his attention still fixed on the prisoners. The necromancer, now stripped of his power and still seething from his loss, was dragged into his cell, kicking and roaring angrily due to his loss of power. He was now even weaker than a regular Human, a true cursed existence.
The other MetaHumans and enemies were similarly subdued, each placed in Isolation Cells.
"I've already briefed you on what happened," Kayn finally said, his voice calm yet thoughtful, "This Grand Marshal isn't just some new threat. He's calculated, and his resources are vast. Plus, he said that it took a massive amount of Kryptonian warriors to defeat him."
John gave a slight nod, his brow furrowing. "I received your report and cross-referenced the data with everything the D.E.O. had on record. I even searched through what we recovered from Fort Rozz... but nothing. Absolutely nothing on anyone named ORION or this so-called Grand Marshal."
Kayn looked at him, his interest piqued, "Fort Rozz? Are you saying there's no trace of them at all in Krypton's archives?"
"Exactly," John replied, his expression darkening. "Fort Rozz held some of the most dangerous criminals in the universe, and we've combed through those records since its fall. We've cross-referenced it with every known database. The fact that there's no record, no mention of ORION or the Grand Marshal suggests something far more troubling. They may have been erased from the history of Krypton entirely."
Kayn raised an eyebrow, "Erased?"
John nodded grimly. "For something—or someone—to be wiped from Kryptonian records means they were considered too dangerous to even exist. Either they were so powerful that Krypton chose to erase them from history, or they were buried so deep in secrecy that no one below a certain Rank was supposed to know they existed. Either way, it tells us that whoever this Grand Marshal is, he's no ordinary threat."
Kayn processed the information quietly, his mind racing. Erased from Kryptonian records? That level of secrecy pointed to a danger far greater than he had initially anticipated.
Before Kayn could speak, Gabriella approached them from behind, her expression serious. She carried a data tablet, her brow furrowed with frustration.
"Harbinger, John," Gabriella began, her voice steady but filled with concern. "I've been in contact with Kayle. She's been searching through every digital source she could find, scouring the internet and classified databases, but there's barely any information on ORION or the Grand Marshal. They seem to work completely isolated from technology, probably to avoid detection."
John crossed his arms, his face impassive but thoughtful. "If even Kayle can't dig up anything, then we're dealing with something truly hidden. It seems like whoever this enemy is, they've gone to great lengths to cover their tracks."
Gabriella nodded. "We'll need to find another way. Attacking an enemy without information is reckless, we'll need to learn about this Grand Marshal, and ORION, somehow."
Kayn's gaze remained fixed ahead, his mind calculating possibilities. He had encountered enemies who had buried their existence before, but this was something more.
Kayn wasn't scared of this so called Grand Marshal, quite the opposite, Kayn was eager for a battle, eager for more opponents to test his ever-increasing power on.
But he needed to find this enemy, and make sure they didn't cause too much ruckus in his city.
"I have an idea," Kayn said finally, his voice calm as he looked towards John, who was looking at him curiously.
"What's the plan?" John asked, Gabriella also eagerly looking towards Kayn, awaiting his response.
"Obviously, this Grand Marshal is so dangerous that just records from Krypton aren't able to have information about him. That leaves only one way, we need to ask a Kryptonian themselves."
Kayn said, his words like a spark that ignited John and Gabriella, who both exchanged glances and nodded, understanding what Kayn was alluding to.
"Metropolis, here I come!"
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