Airson's Story Part Two (17)

Around this time the First Order was looking for a S-Ranked criminal who went by the name Carnage.

Carnage was a ruthless killer who killed simply for the sake of it. Eyewitnesses who have seen him in action reported that his energy is a dark red color, similar to that of dried blood.

It was noticed that Carnage only killed in groups of no more than eight. The exact reason for this at this time was unknown, but it was thought to have been because he might've wanted to avoid suspicion.

Under normal circumstances, Asnoth would have been sent out to track down Carnage, but he was already away in the Jade Islands on another mission.

Airson, Nigel, and Niwea were instead sent out in his place to find and capture the killer, dead or alive.

Back in Arbok City, the royal capital, random civilians were losing control of themselves and began attacking one another. They were acting like zombies, only they were perfectly alive and healthy. Their minds were being controlled.

Katie, Reesus, and Miraka were investigating this crisis and had their mind set on stopping it.

Ahsan, the top ranked Knight in the Omega Squadron, also joined in on this investigation throughout Arbok City. He directed the others to round up all affected citizens into a confined area and evacuate the unaffected people. That way no more people could become controlled from direct contact.

Reesus used his smoke abilities to quickly get to all of the affected citizens. He rounded up roughly one hundred and fifty people in total.

Katie used her power to trap all the controlled people inside an ice dome they couldn't break out of.

They all thought it was over, but not minutes later, a scream was heard from a few meters north.

A seemingly completely random person became infected with this mind controlling disease.

For a moment Ahsan and the others were confused; how can a person fall under this disease without making contact with the affected civilians? It couldn't be a virus, the infection rate was random, a virus would've spread by contact.

Then Reesus had an idea. "What if it isn't a disease?"

Ahsan looked. "What do you mean by that?"

Reesus pointed to the area where the last person went crazy. "What if it wasn't a virus, but a person infecting the people with some sort of ability?"

Ahsan started thinking. "That would make sense... If a person had a power that could infect people, or rather, control minds, it would work."

Katie was alarmed. "Controlling minds? Wouldn't that mean we're at risk too?"

"I doubt it." Ahsan replied. "Mind control should only be able to work by pouring one's energy into another. Average civilians don't have the capacity to resist a power like that."

Reesus let off a smirk. "So you're saying that all we need to do is find the bad guy. Easy enough."

Reesus then dispersed his body into a large smoke cloud and spread the smoke around the area where the last person fell under control. It didn't take long for him to find the suspect.

It was in a back alley, a man was standing with his back to the wall. He wore a black suit and a white mask that had large, pitch black eyes, and a comically wide-toothed grin.

Reesus began pulling his smoke back in.

"Over there!" Katie yelled.

Ahsan and Miraka followed the smoke trail.

Katie stayed back to watch over the affected civilians.

The masked man noticed the smoke getting thicker and thicker around him. He noticed the trap too late. With a strong gust of wind, Reesus knocked the man into the wall.

Ahsan and Miraka arrived shortly after.

"So you're the one causing all this trouble?" Ahsan questioned.

"So what if I am?" the masked man replied.

Ahsan grabbed a hold of his neck and thrust him further into the wall. The man let out a pained grunt. "Undo it. Now."

"Sure my friend. But before that, I have conditions."

Ahsan seemed extremely pissed off at this point. "You think you're in a position to make demands?"

"I do actually." the man said. His masked grin seemed to grow wider. "I'm the only one who can undo the mind control. If you kill me, or fail to meet my demands, they will all die shortly."

Ahsan gritted his teeth. He balled up his fist, preparing to deliver a dangerous blow, but hesitated.

"We have to save everyone!" Miraka pleaded.

Reesus chimed in; "We can at least hear him out first."

Ahsan released the man from his grasp.

He fell to the ground, catching his breath. "Better. Now, for the conditions to release the civilians." The man stood up, he held up three fingers, holding one down as he went through his demands. "First, you all must let me go. My mind control ability lasts for one hour until the victim dies. If anyone arrests or attacks me within that time frame after I free them, I can put them right back under the control within that hour. Second, I expect that the First Order has already sent out some Knights to hunt down Carnage."

Ahsan, Miraka, and Reesus couldn't believe what they were hearing.

The masked man continued. "Don't worry. I want them to find him. His next attack will be at the base of Mount Vulcan at a nearby town, though I can't tell you the exact location. Send your Knights after him immediately. Third, I want this entire story to go public, don't leave out a single detail, including our conversation right now."

Ahsan grew angry once more, grabbing the man's collar. "Are you crazy?! You masked freak!! Not only do you want us to let you go, but you want us to send our comrades to their deaths?!"

The man spoke again, dusting off his shoulder. "Oh yeah, also, you can address me as Mastermind. Masked freak doesn't work for me."

Fire lit Ahsan's fists. Mastermind kept going, "Time's ticking...what will you do?"

Ahsan's fire went out. Letting Mastermind go, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Miraka, Reesus, you two go to the media sources and report to them of today's events. I'll do the rest."

Reesus seemed to be taken aback. "You sure about this? We're actually doing what he said?"

"If it means saving the lives of those people, then yes. As a Knight of the First Order, that's our number one priority. To protect the people." Ahsan looked directly at Mastermind with steely eyes of conviction. "And you. Leave my sight before I rethink my morals."

Mastermind hopped onto the roof above the alleyway. "Oh don't be so brash, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

Ahsan yelled after Mastermind. "And if you think my pupils will lose to a mindless killer like Carnage you're wrong!!!"

Mastermind replied by looking back at him over his shoulder as he ran away on the rooftops. "I never did say that they would lose now did I?" He turned his head back and left.

Ahsan was irritated immensely. "What does he mean by that? No, I can't dwell on him, he's probably crazy anyway." He went to tell Airson's squad their new objective.

Back at HQ, Ahsan was in the Omega's mission control center. Here the Omegas could check up on the other Knights' missions. It was transmitted through a small earpiece in the Knight's ears. He can pick and choose who and who not to transmit information to.

"Hey! Airson! Can you hear me?"

Airson tapped his earpiece. "Yeah, loud and clear!"

"Alright, look, a lot has happened today, but we ran into a man connected to Carnage."

"Connected? What do you mean?"

Ahsan continued. "I mean he knows Carnage's approximate location. His next hit is supposed to be at a town somewhere near the base of Mount Vulcan. Your squad's new mission is to go there, and apprehend the criminal."

Airson was enthusiastic. "Got it! We'll head there straight away!"

End of transmission.

Ahsan purposefully left out the fact that Mastermind set all this up so that they would have to meet Carnage regardless. It was likely a trap. But for the sake of the civilians, Ahsan had to make this choice. He just hoped that he made the right one.