The Title of Man
Chapter
1: Lies uncovered, questions answered.
The day was withering into
night, and the hero named Big Puerto Rico was on top of the Atlas
statue gazing into the distance, admiring the sun set after a hard
day in Paragon City. As he continued to wind down, his partner and
long time friend Rey Tormentor made his way to the top to join him.
“Hey, Big,” Rey said with great energy and zest.
“Hey, Rey, how’s
it hanging?” Big PR responded with less energy.
“A lil to the left,”
both men shared a laugh.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Rey.”
“I know.
Man, I haven’t sat down to watch the sun set ever since before I went
into the air force, like my dad.”
“Ha, ha, DR Tormentor never joined
the air force, Rey.”
“No, no I meant my real father. He fought in
WW I with the air force.”
Big Puerto Rico looked upon his companion
in silence, he knew full well that there wasn’t any real air force
back in world war one. “You’re joking right, Rey?”
“Ah, no my father
did fight with the air force for WW I.”
“Listen to me, Rey. There
was no air force in world war one. Who the hell told you that?”
Rey’s
face was hidden due to his high tech helmet, but Big PR could tell
in Rey’s posture that he was in shock. Rey fell to his knees in disbelief.
“What the hell?” was the only thing that was going through Rey’s head.
“You’re lying right, Cris? Please tell me that you’re lying.”
“Rey
I’m sorry to say but…I’m not lying. Didn’t they teach you anything
when you got into the army yourself?”
“…N…no, they didn’t. They just
taught me how to do things in the air plan and such.” A long pause
had fallen upon both heroes as they stood there in shock.
“Who told
you that your dad was in the air force in world war one?” Big PR questioned.
Rey looked up at Big PR and slowly rose to his feet, “DR Tormentor
did, Cris.”
“Well I don’t know if he was smoking something when he
told you, but we need to confront him with this. I went down that
road already; where you don’t know what your true past is, and I don’t
want you to go through it like I did.”
“Yah.”
That was all that Rey
could say. For him it felt like someone ripped a hole into his soul
and that hole was a big one.
-----
Africa
“Mako,” the very old, wise
and skinny shaman said in his native tong to a young athletic built
man sweating from the yard work that he had finished.
“Yes, Wise Kuna,
what do you want?”
“I have just checked in on Kumdarey,” The young
man had flinched with disgust when he had heard that name.
“And what
about him, Kuna?”
“He has not completed his right of passage. I have
given him many years and yet he has not done it.”
The young man smirked
in contentment. “I guess this means you will be sending out… the hunter?”
“Yes, but I can sense that something has happened. I don’t know what
has happened, since the spirits do not grant me that much strength
anymore these days to know, but I feel that the need for the hunter
is eminent. Now get ready my boy and help Kumdarey back onto the road
of righteousness.”
“Gladly, Kuna.”
“And before you go, I want you
to know that ridding his soul of the any evil by taking his life…is
an option, but it’s a last option.”
Mako didn’t show any reaction
to statement but the shaman knew that Mako knew how to do his job.
Mako went through the ceremony that a hunter must do to prepare himself
for the journey. He put on his skin tight sleeveless body suit, and
war paint to ward off any bad spirits that may attack him during his
journey.
“I bless you with the speed of ten cheetahs, and the ferocious
strike of the snakes. Now…Mako do not take unnecessary actions, I
know that you and Kumdarey did not see eye to eye, but that does not
give you the right to do anything rash.” The shaman said as he laid
his hands on the hunter’s head. “May the spirits be with you on this
journey to the United States.”
“Ah, so Kumdarey is in the place called
United States. We have many other Thgil there; this will be a pleasant
visit. Where in the US is he, Kuna?”
“He is in a place called Paragon
City. Fair warning, there are many strange ones there who have the
powers of our spirits but do not belong to our spirits, be wary.”
“I will, Kuna.”
The hunter nodded to the shaman and in an astonishing
speed he ran off into the distance.
----
“Hey, Big Puerto Rico, how
is life treating you?” DR Tormentor said as Big PR and Rey walked
into the home of the doctor.
“I’m sorry, doctor, but we are not here
to chit chat. I have a serious question for you and it involves Rey.”
Big PR said as he stepped up closer to the doctor.
DR Tormentor stood
still for a while as he was about to sit. After that period he stood
up straight and looked Big PR in the eyes and calmly said, “Really?
Why go a head and ask, young man.”
“There’s no need to treat me as
an inferior, DR Tormentor, I am older than you, show respect.” Big
PR said disgusted with every thought of the doctor lying to Rey that
was in his head. “Why did you lie to Rey?”
“I…I’m sorry but I don’t
know what you are talking about, Big.”
“Cut the BULLSHIT!” Big PR
was getting frustrated and had his hands clenched hard.
“Dad, please
stop. Just answer the question.” Rey said as he tried to calm Big
PR down by directing him to the couch on the right. “You’ll have to
forgive, Big, he’s been under some stress with finding out his past…and
speaking of the past, I need you to tell me why you lied to me about
my father. I don’t care if he just left me or what ever, just tell
me the truth.”
The doctor sits down on his chair next to the fire
place and motioned for Rey to sit as well. “Well…Rey, it’s bigger
than just lying to you about your dad. Your Whole history, your whole
childhood…I lied about those as well.”
Rey stood up in a shocked manner
forcing his chair to fly back. He stood standing over the man that
he called father for quite some time.
“W…I…I gotta go, I ain’t ready
for this shit.”
Rey stormed out of the sitting room and barged his
way out of the house in Skyway. Big Puerto Rico stood up and watched
as Rey took off. The doctor tried to move after Rey, but his fragile
old body slowed him down, as well as Big PR.
“He’s not ready to talk
to you old man,” Big PR said as he looked into the wrinkly, hallowed,
white face of the old doctor. “But I am. You’re going to tell me a
freaking good reason why you lied to your adopted son of many years.
And don’t you dare tell me that it’s complicated, or any of that other
bull crap.”
DR Tormentor sat back down and told everything to Big
PR. Every detail that he could relinquish from his memory he told
to Big PR, in the hopes that Big PR could tell Rey what the doctor
couldn’t tell him himself for so many years.
The day had withered
away and the light around the statues and certain buildings where
the only things that lit some of the dark corners of Atlas Park. Rey
stood at the very spot where he got his first arrest. That arrest
was something very special, for one it was the right thing to do and
another it was the first time he had meet his wife, who is now diseased.
He had saved her from a Hellion’s thug. It was dusk when Rey Tormentor
had first stepped foot on the soil of Atlas Park. He had met the usual
people; Ms. Liberty, the field trainers, etc. He was excited and decided
to go for a mission right then and there. He met his contact and quickly
rushed to bring the enemy to justice. If it wasn’t for him stalling
and taking in the scenery he wouldn’t have been at the alley at the
right time to stop the crime that was being done. His wife, whose
name was Alessandra, was also an aspiring heroine in the city, she
was a natural scrapper and she was good. The thug had trapped her
in the alley after she had fought a grueling fight with a gang of
Hellions. It wasn’t a fair fight, she was low on endurance and she
was just a couple of good hits away from getting knocked out. He came
to help her and the rest was history. Later she had died due to an
unknown factor, at least that was what the official report said, but
every hero, including Rey himself, knew that it was the family that
put a hit on her, for what reason is the true mystery.
Rey would return
to that alley and take out any thug who occupied it, no matter how
dangerous they were. This was the cleanest alley thanks to him and
it was the perfect place to sit and contemplate.
“Rey?” Big PR said
startling the blaster into an offensive stance.
“Oh, Big, it’s you.”
He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry I was just deep in thought.”
“I know,
Rey, this is the only place you really come to think. I have to say
that it has the worst view in this place. But I know that it has sentimental
value.” He said jokingly.
“Heh, ya.”
“Listen, Rey, I had the doctor
tell me everything that he withheld from you, are you ready to find
out what your real past is, my friend?”
“…Yes, Big, I am.”