The Title of Man
Chapter Three: Hard choice, even harder
task.
The days had withered into weeks and Rey Tormentor was no where
near the place that he knew and loved. Instead he was stuck in the
artic with a man that hated his guts and frost bite on the tips of
his fingers.
“You’ve passed, Kumdarey…ha seems as though fate has
smiled on you with this task,” Mako, the man who hated Rey so, said
in his native tong while he walked up to the blood-soaked hero.
“Good
job, Kumdarey, now there is one last task you must complete, then
you’ll be a man of great stature and responsibility,” the voice of
the mighty shaman Kuna thundered throughout the valley of snow and
frozen lakes.
“And what task…is that…Kuna?” Rey responded as he tried
to catch his breath.
“It is the hardest task that you will ever choose
to do. If you choose not to do it that means that you are of evil
soul and Mako will have no choice but to rid you of that evil.”
**************
Paragon City
“Two weeks,” Big Puerto Rico said as he sat on top of
the Portal Corps statue in Peregrine Island.
“What did you say, Rico?”
a young heroine by the name of Venty Sol asked.
“Oh nothing, Sol,
I was just thinking out loud. It has been two weeks since Rey was
seen leaving the hospital with some guy in weird clothing,” Big PR
replied.
“I think he’ll be ok. Besides he is a tough son of a bitch.”
“Ha, ya I know he can take care of himself, but hey he is one of my
best friends, so I have to worry. I feel like calling it a night,
I’ll see ya tomorrow,” Big PR yelled back as he flew away toward the
island’s ferry.
Big PR had arrived to his suburban home just out side
of the city. He always stayed out side when coming home from work
to look up at the sky and just think.
“What’s up, Cris?” asked the
voice of Big PR’s deceased little cousin.
“Nothing much, how is life
over there on the other side?” Big PR spoke out loud as he looked
up at the stars.
“Ha! Always the joker, I basically have no life.
Thanks to me following you around and making sure you don’t get into
any trouble.”
“Ha, ha, ha, I never asked you to be my guardian. Wait
a minute you sound different.”
“That’s because I’m older now. I decided
that I wanted to be eighteen. Don’t ask why, just felt like it…Cris,”
Tony said interrupting himself.
“What?” Big PR responded.
“Rey is
back, I can sense him, and he is about to ram you. LOOK OUT!” Tony
shouted.
As Tony shouted Big PR ripped his eyes away from the stars
fast enough to see that a huge figure was approaching him, and approaching
him fast.
“What the-” Big PR managed to spit out before the big figure
rammed him through his own garage door.
“Sorry, Big,” Rey’s voice
said as he rammed his robotic arm’s fist into Big PR’s head, smashing
it through the concrete floor.
“Well, I’m glad that I have my damn
car in the shop today. Why the hell are you attacking me, Rey?” Big
PR questioned as he dodged his friend’s second attack and nipped up
quickly.
“Just shut up and fight!” Rey grabbed Big PR and threw him
out of the garage and into an on coming car.
The impact of Big PR
hitting the car destroyed the whole front window and passenger side
of the car.
“Holy hell! Are you okay, man?” The driver asked as he
got out of his car.
“Get outta here, buddy. You…can get hurt.” Big
PR warned as he stood up from the imprint that his body made on the
car. “RUN DAMNIT!”
The man saw Rey approach and didn’t look back as
he ran as fast as he could. Big PR turned behind him and grabbed the
mangled hood from the old car and tore it off.
“I don’t know what
the hell your problem is, Rey, but I’m not taking it any more,” Big
PR said as he contorted the hood to fit his arm like a big shield.
“What the hell do you need that for, you already hit hard enough?”
Rey asked as he charged toward Big PR.
“It’s not for more power, Rey;
it’s more of a shield from that big robotic arm of yours. It stings
like a bitch.”
Rey threw a hook with his right arm, his robotic arm,
and Big PR blocked it with the shield as he intended to do. Big PR
swiped his arm to the left which caused Rey’s arm to fling away and
forced Rey to go off balance; leaving his mid section open. Big PR
had quickly thrown an energy punch to the ribs. The crack of three
ribs filled the head of Rey and he fell to one knee.
“I’m sorry, Rey,
but I have to stop you here and now.” Big PR said lowly. He threw
and two-handed blow that sent Rey flying into the front room of Big
PR’s house.
The loud bang of Rey’s body flying through the wall and
the window had wakened everyone in the neighborhood. As Big PR’s neighbors
appeared on their porch to see what the commotion was all about, Big
PR quickly ran into his home and changed into his costume to conceal
his identity. Big PR made his way to the living room and came upon
a scene of destruction but with out the thing that made it all.
“Sorry,
Big, but I ain’t that easy to take out,” Rey whispered in Big PR’s
ear as he sent electricity through the tanker’s body.
Big PR had fallen
to one knee and quickly swept for Rey’s legs, the attack sent Rey
into the air. Big PR spun quickly striking Rey with the shielded arm
before he could have touched the ground. The blow forced Rey back
into the street. Big PR ripped off the hunk of metal on his arm and
flew to Rey and stood over him. Rey grabbed Big PR’s leg and sent
electricity through it; paralyzing the hero for and instant. Rey jumped
up and flipped Big PR, which forced Big PR to the ground. Rey mounted
the fallen hero and grabbed the tank’s throat.
Rey raised his right
arm and formed a fist. “I’m sorry, Cris, but I have to do this to
complete my life’s journey…I must.”
Rey’s fist started to come down,
but was stopped by Big PR. Big PR grabbed the throat of Rey and applied
the same pressure as Rey had. Rey put more pressure and so did Big
PR. Darkness was starting to consume the vision of Big PR, but it
did not completely consume it.
The stand off lasted for a few seconds
before Tony had enough. “NO, Rey don’t do it!”
The voice was heard
by Rey, which averted his attention. Rey managed to look to side where
he thought the voice had come from as the breath was being choked
out of him. The astro projection of Tony charged for his head. Tony
rammed through one side and came out the other. The pain of the attack
had forced Rey’s grip to loosen, and Big PR had quickly performed
a double kick; which he had ready before Tony intervened. The kick
landed on the chin of Rey and sent him on his back. Rey quickly jumped
up.
Big PR jumped into the air, clasping his fist together and came
down with a strike on Rey that sent him face first into the asphalt.
Rey rose slightly and let the blood drip from his face. Big PR held
Rey down by his neck.
“You ain’t getting up, buddy, the fights over.
Look at you your almost dead, no matter what, I will not kill my best
friend.” Big PR said as he held Rey down to the street.
Sirens blared
from down the street as some low ranked heroes and Longbows from the
Freedom Phalanx made their way to the scene of the fight.
“I don’t
think we want to be here when they get to us. Let’s go, Rey.” Big
PR grabbed Rey and put him over his shoulder and flew away from the
scene.
Big PR finally landed in the hills that were located northwest
of the neighborhood. It was quite and out of the way. Big PR knew
it was safe to let Rey recover here.
“You are a failure, Kumdarey.
Ha, ha, I knew that this was going to happen. It’s now time for you
to die.” Mako said to himself as he landed right next to Big PR and
Rey. “Yes! You have failed, Kumdarey, you will now die by my hand!”
“Who the hell are you?” Big PR asked as he faced the mysterious Mako.
“What do you mean ‘you will now die by my hand’? you aren’t going
to do anything to Rey and I’ll make sure of that.”
“Stop this nonsense,
Mako!” the Shaman Kuna’s voice rumbled the surrounding area causing
the trees to shake and Mako as well.
“But, Kuna, he didn’t complete
his journey, he failed. He must die. He is evil! Just like the men
said he was.” Mako replied as he regained his composure.
“Silence,
Mako. You are a fool…those ‘men’ don’t belong to our tribe. Who are
they to say what is good and evil. They know nothing. And I never
said that Kumdarey had to defeat his best friend I just said that
he had to engage him. It was a test to see if he had the courage to
face such an opponent. He is not evil, but you I am not so certain.”
“I’m sure as hell glad I never had to do anything like this,” Big
PR said to himself out loud. “So, Kuna, do you want my opinion on
this Mako guy here.”
“Well, even though you are not of my tribe, I
think I can trust you.”
“He isn’t a good guy. Look at him, you can
tell he has a lust for death.”
“Shut your mouth you insignificant…”
Mako shouted but was cut off by a punch in the mouth by Big PR. Mako’s
head snapped back and he cupped his mouth as blood flowed with ease.
“I think you are right, hero. Mako you are no longer welcome back
home, I shall banish you to…”
“Here,” Big PR interrupted the Shaman.
“This is the best place for punishing a villain. There are heroes
all over this place. He’ll get his ass kicked everyday.”
“Ha. Sounds
like a fitting punishment. Mako I banish you to this place called
Paragon City, the city of heroes.”
“Good, decision. And guess what,
Mako, I’m the welcoming wagon.” Big PR said as he knocked the unsuspecting
Mako out on his feet.
Prologue: The next day
The doors to the jail
facility opened up and Mako stumbled his way out. A man with a suit
approached him and extended his hand.
“Mako, if I remember correctly,”
the man said as he shook Mako’s hand.
“Yes, that’s my name,” Mako
replied as he still held his jaw.
“Good. Welcome to the Crey family.”
THE END