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Description
"Join Longbow!" the posters said.

"Save the world!" the brochures said.

What they should have said was, "Join Longbow! Clean up after super-hero battles and pull endless hours of sentry duty". THAT'S what they should have said.

Phoebe sighed and gazed out from atop the wall of Freedom Base. There was no mist tonight and she could clearly see the lights of Bloody Bay across the narrow strait. She could even see the eerie green glow marking the spots were the Shivan meteors lay. On a night like this with the stars twinkling in the sky and the water shimmering silver in the moonlight it was easy to forget that Bloody Bay was a lawless, god-forsaken hellhole. How many heroes had she seen fly, leap or teleport across the water in the six months she had been stationed here? How many had come back bruised, bleeding and close to death? How many had not come back at all? More than she wanted to remember.

A chilly breeze blew in from across the water and Phoebe was glad for the insulation lining her tight uniform. She looked down at the figure hugging garment she wore. It didn't leave a heck of a lot to the imagination. Not for the first time, she winced and thought;

"Oh God. If the guys back at the Bureau could see me now. I would NEVER hear the end of it."

Phoebe heard the faint sound of snapping wood from the trees beyond the base of the wall. Her pulse-rifle leapt to her shoulder and she scanned the surrounding area with her night-scope. Nothing stirred.

"Damn, woman! What HAS got you so jumpy tonight?"

Phoebe turned to face her partner. Matt had been a SWAT team member in the LAPD before being accepted into Longbow at the same time as she. They had supported each other through long months of gruelling training designed to turn recruits into a team capable not only of supporting the country's meta-human operatives but to even hold their own against the Rikti and super-villain threat. Fat chance. Six months into their first posting and they hadn't even seen a 'blackhat' as the super-villains were affectionately called.

"I'm not being jumpy", she said "I'm just on my toes is all. And so should you be."

Matt grinned. His teeth a dazzling white in contrast to his coffee-coloured skin.

"No need to snap, Phoebs. I'm on the ball. You can't tell me you're not excited though. C'mon. Once the psychics are through with our guest downstairs we are gonna be on the front lines of the biggest operation in years".

Phoebe nodded. She remembered the hero in the battered and smoking power-suit leaping over the wall that afternoon with an unconscious figure in black body-armor slung over his shoulder.

"I know and that's what worries me" she said "They are saying that captured archon has the codes to the entire security system surrounding the Arachnos base. If we crack him we could kick their asses out of the Bay for good."

Still grinning, Matt shook his head.

"And the downside to that is…?" he replied.

"Matt do you honestly think that Recluse will accept losing his foothold in the Bay?" said Phoebe. "Believe me he wants that archon on a slab and he wants it yesterday. That means that someone or something is coming to try and make that happen. Now. Why do think Command doubled the sentries tonight?"

Phoebe gazed down the length of the wall to the next pair of guards a hundred yards away. Between them the winking blue and red lights of a police drone soothed her apprehension a little. Even if a group of villains somehow managed to get past the gauntlet of heavy artillery surrounding the base the drones would zap away any individual who didn't possess one of Longbow's subcutaneous identity chips. Matt spoke up again.

"We all know that the dice are rollin', Phoebe. That storm front down the coast means we can't chopper Mr Big out to Paragon which paints a great big old target on us. But you're not just nervous. I swear to God that you are downright spooked about something. What is it? Tell me."

Phoebe turned away from Matt and leaned on the ramparts. She gazed out again at the water.

"What if…" she paused and then started speaking again, "What if they send HIM?"

"HIM" Matt replied, "Him, who?"

A chill ran down the length of Phoebe's spine as she said the name.

"Bludd"

To her annoyance Matt started to laugh.

"Bludd? Cyrus Bludd?" he chuckled, "Oh come on Phoebs you don't believe those rumours do you? Look, Ray-Ray down in comms says that Bludd is just a story the old-guard use to try to freak out the newbies like us. I mean, please. A vampire?"

"A genetically engineered vampire", Phoebe countered, "I'm not saying he's Bela freaking Lugosi ok. But you've seen the reports on the Council's genetic experimentation. You've seen the vid footage of their test subjects."

"I've seen vid footage of some pale-ass steroid freaks with bad dental work, yeah." said Matt, "Doesn't mean they can turn invisible and suck out your damn life-energy or whatever."

Now it was Phoebe's turn to chuckle. Although it held little humor.

"Riiiiight. So you have no problem at all with Statesman bench-pressing a Mack-semi but you don't believe those Council freaks can control shadows and drain your life-force? Makes perfect sense."

Phoebe knew she had overdone the sarcasm on that last comment but she didn't give a damn wether Matt took offence. The stories about Cyrus Bludd she had heard over the last six months HAD freaked her out. He was like the ultimate bogeyman. A ruthless assassin responsible for literally hundreds of deaths whose image had never once been captured on camera or video. The stories about Ghost Widow were disturbing enough but at least there was a file on her. They knew what she looked like and what she was capable of. Trying to pin down solid facts on Bludd was like trying to pin down smoke. Phoebe was relieved to have her train of thought broken when her com-link crackled to life inside her ear.

"Post three this is Control. Status report."

She tapped the mike-control at her wrist and responded.

"Control this is post three. Situation normal" she said.

Phoebe again leaned forward and placed her folded arms on the rampart. She gazed up at the moon that had almost risen to it's full height. A voice spoke up from behind her.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

The words made Phoebe feel as if ice-cubes were sliding down the back of her neck. It was not Matt's voice. She swiftly spun around and raised her rifle. Matt was lying face down in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. For the briefest of moments her eyes met those of the figure standing over Matt's motionless body. And a moment was all it took.

Contact.

Bizarre and horrifying images flooded Phoebe's head. Terrifying apparitions of blood and death swam before her eyes. The shrieking of tortured souls shredded her ears. Her flesh felt as if a multitude of insects crawled beneath her skin. She wanted to scream. Scream until her throat ruptured, but no sound issued from her throat. It was like re-living every nightmare she had ever had all at once and a thousand times more potent. Her gun clattered to the floor as Phoebe fell to her knees, shaking uncontrollably. Bile rose in her throat and she clenched her teeth in an effort to keep herself from vomiting. With a supreme effort of will she forced herself to look at Matt's killer.

His skin was as pale as death and almost luminescent in the moonlight. Not one strand of hair grew on his head and she could see that his ears were pointed. His pupils were scarlet and the corner of his mouth was turned up in a slight sneer. In one hand he held a short, straight sword that was sheathed in Matt's blood.

Phoebe hugged herself tightly but could not quell her trembling. Cold sweat broke out on her face as she glanced sideways. One hundred yards away she could just make out two figures lying motionless on the catwalk. She looked in desperation at the police drone which had so far failed to react to the killer's presence.

The pale man saw her eyes move. His sneer became a vicious grin that revealed two sharp, elongated canine teeth.

"Ah. No doubt you are wondering?" he said. His voice was like frigid water being poured into her ears.

He opened his black overcoat. The inside lining was a deep red fabric. With a long white finger he pointed to a small box attached to his belt. Phoebe could see circuitry and several small blinking lights on its surface.

"Lord Recluse was kind enough to provide me with this prototype field-disrupter. It plays havoc with those little toys of yours", he said gesturing to the police drone. "Of course it isn't perfected yet so the effect doesn't last very long. I will have to be about my business in a moment. You've captured a little bird who Lord Recluse really doesn't want to sing so he asked me to pay him a visit."

Phoebe groped for her rifle but could not tear her eyes away from the baleful red gaze of the stranger.

"But I believe we were just discussing the moon, yes?" he said as he gazed up at the silvery orb. "So very beautiful. So, cold and aloof. So red."

Phoebe summoned all her willpower. If she could not defend herself she could at least be defiant in the face of this murderer's ramblings. She used every ounce of strength in her body to force three words out from between her clenched teeth.

"Moon.....not.....red", she hissed.

Cyrus Bludd looked down at her again and fixed her with his vicious grin.

"Oh really?" he said.

He took her by the shoulders and hauled her to her feet. Even through her clothing, Phoebe's flesh shrieked in protest at his touch. Bludd spun her around so that he stood behind her. With one hand he forced the young woman's head up so that she looked into the sky.

"Not red?" he asked. "Look again my dear."

Powerless, Phoebe stared at the glowing moon. It was luminescent silver as it always had been. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in her back and she felt as if an icicle had been rammed through her heart. In a daze she looked down and saw several inches of razor-sharp steel jutting from her chest. Slowly she turned her face to the sky again. A red mist began to cloud her vision. The stars became scarlet pinpricks in a red velvet sky. And watching over them all was a crimson moon.

The red mist turned to darkness and swallowed her.

Description
"Join Longbow!" the posters said.

"Save the world!" the brochures said.

What they should have said was, "Join Longbow! Clean up after super-hero battles and pull endless hours of sentry duty". THAT'S what they should have said.

Phoebe sighed and gazed out from atop the wall of Freedom Base. There was no mist tonight and she could clearly see the lights of Bloody Bay across the narrow strait. She could even see the eerie green glow marking the spots were the Shivan meteors lay. On a night like this with the stars twinkling in the sky and the water shimmering silver in the moonlight it was easy to forget that Bloody Bay was a lawless, god-forsaken hellhole. How many heroes had she seen fly, leap or teleport across the water in the six months she had been stationed here? How many had come back bruised, bleeding and close to death? How many had not come back at all? More than she wanted to remember.

A chilly breeze blew in from across the water and Phoebe was glad for the insulation lining her tight uniform. She looked down at the figure hugging garment she wore. It didn't leave a heck of a lot to the imagination. Not for the first time, she winced and thought;

"Oh God. If the guys back at the Bureau could see me now. I would NEVER hear the end of it."

Phoebe heard the faint sound of snapping wood from the trees beyond the base of the wall. Her pulse-rifle leapt to her shoulder and she scanned the surrounding area with her night-scope. Nothing stirred.

"Damn, woman! What HAS got you so jumpy tonight?"

Phoebe turned to face her partner. Matt had been a SWAT team member in the LAPD before being accepted into Longbow at the same time as she. They had supported each other through long months of gruelling training designed to turn recruits into a team capable not only of supporting the country's meta-human operatives but to even hold their own against the Rikti and super-villain threat. Fat chance. Six months into their first posting and they hadn't even seen a 'blackhat' as the super-villains were affectionately called.

"I'm not being jumpy", she said "I'm just on my toes is all. And so should you be."

Matt grinned. His teeth a dazzling white in contrast to his coffee-coloured skin.

"No need to snap, Phoebs. I'm on the ball. You can't tell me you're not excited though. C'mon. Once the psychics are through with our guest downstairs we are gonna be on the front lines of the biggest operation in years".

Phoebe nodded. She remembered the hero in the battered and smoking power-suit leaping over the wall that afternoon with an unconscious figure in black body-armor slung over his shoulder.

"I know and that's what worries me" she said "They are saying that captured archon has the codes to the entire security system surrounding the Arachnos base. If we crack him we could kick their asses out of the Bay for good."

Still grinning, Matt shook his head.

"And the downside to that is…?" he replied.

"Matt do you honestly think that Recluse will accept losing his foothold in the Bay?" said Phoebe. "Believe me he wants that archon on a slab and he wants it yesterday. That means that someone or something is coming to try and make that happen. Now. Why do think Command doubled the sentries tonight?"

Phoebe gazed down the length of the wall to the next pair of guards a hundred yards away. Between them the winking blue and red lights of a police drone soothed her apprehension a little. Even if a group of villains somehow managed to get past the gauntlet of heavy artillery surrounding the base the drones would zap away any individual who didn't possess one of Longbow's subcutaneous identity chips. Matt spoke up again.

"We all know that the dice are rollin', Phoebe. That storm front down the coast means we can't chopper Mr Big out to Paragon which paints a great big old target on us. But you're not just nervous. I swear to God that you are downright spooked about something. What is it? Tell me."

Phoebe turned away from Matt and leaned on the ramparts. She gazed out again at the water.

"What if…" she paused and then started speaking again, "What if they send HIM?"

"HIM" Matt replied, "Him, who?"

A chill ran down the length of Phoebe's spine as she said the name.

"Bludd"

To her annoyance Matt started to laugh.

"Bludd? Cyrus Bludd?" he chuckled, "Oh come on Phoebs you don't believe those rumours do you? Look, Ray-Ray down in comms says that Bludd is just a story the old-guard use to try to freak out the newbies like us. I mean, please. A vampire?"

"A genetically engineered vampire", Phoebe countered, "I'm not saying he's Bela freaking Lugosi ok. But you've seen the reports on the Council's genetic experimentation. You've seen the vid footage of their test subjects."

"I've seen vid footage of some pale-ass steroid freaks with bad dental work, yeah." said Matt, "Doesn't mean they can turn invisible and suck out your damn life-energy or whatever."

Now it was Phoebe's turn to chuckle. Although it held little humor.

"Riiiiight. So you have no problem at all with Statesman bench-pressing a Mack-semi but you don't believe those Council freaks can control shadows and drain your life-force? Makes perfect sense."

Phoebe knew she had overdone the sarcasm on that last comment but she didn't give a damn wether Matt took offence. The stories about Cyrus Bludd she had heard over the last six months HAD freaked her out. He was like the ultimate bogeyman. A ruthless assassin responsible for literally hundreds of deaths whose image had never once been captured on camera or video. The stories about Ghost Widow were disturbing enough but at least there was a file on her. They knew what she looked like and what she was capable of. Trying to pin down solid facts on Bludd was like trying to pin down smoke. Phoebe was relieved to have her train of thought broken when her com-link crackled to life inside her ear.

"Post three this is Control. Status report."

She tapped the mike-control at her wrist and responded.

"Control this is post three. Situation normal" she said.

Phoebe again leaned forward and placed her folded arms on the rampart. She gazed up at the moon that had almost risen to it's full height. A voice spoke up from behind her.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

The words made Phoebe feel as if ice-cubes were sliding down the back of her neck. It was not Matt's voice. She swiftly spun around and raised her rifle. Matt was lying face down in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. For the briefest of moments her eyes met those of the figure standing over Matt's motionless body. And a moment was all it took.

Contact.

Bizarre and horrifying images flooded Phoebe's head. Terrifying apparitions of blood and death swam before her eyes. The shrieking of tortured souls shredded her ears. Her flesh felt as if a multitude of insects crawled beneath her skin. She wanted to scream. Scream until her throat ruptured, but no sound issued from her throat. It was like re-living every nightmare she had ever had all at once and a thousand times more potent. Her gun clattered to the floor as Phoebe fell to her knees, shaking uncontrollably. Bile rose in her throat and she clenched her teeth in an effort to keep herself from vomiting. With a supreme effort of will she forced herself to look at Matt's killer.

His skin was as pale as death and almost luminescent in the moonlight. Not one strand of hair grew on his head and she could see that his ears were pointed. His pupils were scarlet and the corner of his mouth was turned up in a slight sneer. In one hand he held a short, straight sword that was sheathed in Matt's blood.

Phoebe hugged herself tightly but could not quell her trembling. Cold sweat broke out on her face as she glanced sideways. One hundred yards away she could just make out two figures lying motionless on the catwalk. She looked in desperation at the police drone which had so far failed to react to the killer's presence.

The pale man saw her eyes move. His sneer became a vicious grin that revealed two sharp, elongated canine teeth.

"Ah. No doubt you are wondering?" he said. His voice was like frigid water being poured into her ears.

He opened his black overcoat. The inside lining was a deep red fabric. With a long white finger he pointed to a small box attached to his belt. Phoebe could see circuitry and several small blinking lights on its surface.

"Lord Recluse was kind enough to provide me with this prototype field-disrupter. It plays havoc with those little toys of yours", he said gesturing to the police drone. "Of course it isn't perfected yet so the effect doesn't last very long. I will have to be about my business in a moment. You've captured a little bird who Lord Recluse really doesn't want to sing so he asked me to pay him a visit."

Phoebe groped for her rifle but could not tear her eyes away from the baleful red gaze of the stranger.

"But I believe we were just discussing the moon, yes?" he said as he gazed up at the silvery orb. "So very beautiful. So, cold and aloof. So red."

Phoebe summoned all her willpower. If she could not defend herself she could at least be defiant in the face of this murderer's ramblings. She used every ounce of strength in her body to force three words out from between her clenched teeth.

"Moon.....not.....red", she hissed.

Cyrus Bludd looked down at her again and fixed her with his vicious grin.

"Oh really?" he said.

He took her by the shoulders and hauled her to her feet. Even through her clothing, Phoebe's flesh shrieked in protest at his touch. Bludd spun her around so that he stood behind her. With one hand he forced the young woman's head up so that she looked into the sky.

"Not red?" he asked. "Look again my dear."

Powerless, Phoebe stared at the glowing moon. It was luminescent silver as it always had been. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in her back and she felt as if an icicle had been rammed through her heart. In a daze she looked down and saw several inches of razor-sharp steel jutting from her chest. Slowly she turned her face to the sky again. A red mist began to cloud her vision. The stars became scarlet pinpricks in a red velvet sky. And watching over them all was a crimson moon.

The red mist turned to darkness and swallowed her.