Glass Houses - S1:E6
Early Summer, 2020
Parkside, Freedom City
Dark Archer's investigation leads him to a confrontation with a new dangerous foe and learns more about the illegal street drug, Meta, which has been transforming people into metahumans with random metapowers.
Wanikiya Beltron, CEO of Beltron Enterprises, spent the next few weeks investigating Kyle Harrison's connection to the street drug, Meta. Wanikiya recently followed a tip that led him to a warehouse in the Greenbank district. Further investigations led him to discover the warehouse's owner, Grant Conglomerates or GrantCo, an international company with assets all over the world. GrantCo’s primary purpose was in scientific research, including the work that pioneered the DNAscent process, an experimental process that goes back to Nazi Germany during WW II under what the Nazis dubbed, Operation Overlord. It seemed GrantCo's DNAscent process temporarily “unlocks” certain genetic potential in the user. According to several reports Wanikiya uncovered, the DNAscent process granted some users feelings of invincibility, and sometimes gives them the metahuman strength and durability to back it up! The U.S. military was testing the process began by the Nazis to develop super-soldiers for fighting the ongoing war against global terrorism and develop super-soldiers to combat enemy metahumans. Wanikiya had learned about Meta from his personal secretary whose boyfriend was hospitalized weeks ago in critical condition after injecting himself with Meta. Unfortunately, he died due to complications from the drug. Wanikiya vowed he would find out all he could about the deadly drug which was costing too many lives across Freedom City and perhaps even beyond the city's boundaries. And when the time came to deal with those responsible for mass-producing Meta, Dark Archer would take matters into his hands...and bow. First, Wanikiya discovered that Kyle Harrison, CEO of GrantCo, owned an upscale apartment in Parkview Tower in an expensive area known as Parkside. The 30-story highrise stood two blocks from Liberty Park. Highrise condos and apartments in Parkside easily went for 2 - 4 million dollars. Although Wanikiya, himself a man of means, was leasing a small condo a few blocks from 58th Avenue, he felt it was time to buy in Parkside. After meeting a real estate agent named Jan Dusl, a strikingly beautiful Australian woman in her 20s, Wanikya was able to purchase a 16th-floor apartment in Parkside Towers, one of three towers just completed in early 2020. The apartment cost him a cool, 2.7 million dollars. But Wanikiya felt it was money well spent. He figured with the ongoing success of Beltron Enterprises, he could recoup the money he spent on a lavish Parkside property in less than half-a-year. From his balcony, Wanikiya had a clear view of Kyle Harrison's apartment across the street. Kyle's apartment was on the 14th floor of a 30-story building. During the next two weeks, Wanikiya tried to follow Kyle Harrison's moves and determine a pattern to his daily routine. Kyle Harrison turned out to be a man who didn't follow a routine. He would come home from work driving into Parkview Towers in his expensive 2020 Maserati Ghibli S Q4 GranSport but didn't always do the same thing once he got home. Sometimes, Kyle would get a latte from the local Starbase Coffee shop. Sometimes, he would immediately go to the Planet Workout gym a few blocks away. While sometimes, he would meet with a woman--never the same woman twice--for dinner at many of the fancy restaurants in the immediate area. Eventually, Wanikiya decided he would just have to act or more people would die from Meta. It was a warm early summer evening. In the street far below, people enjoying an early warm evening were too busy going about their business to notice a costumed figure zipping along a cable over a hundred feet above them. Winikiya Beltron, now as Dark Archer, landed on Kyle Harrison's balcony after he had shot a cable line from his own apartment balcony across the street. He had watched Kyle Harrison earlier in the evening. Kyle was on the balcony talking to someone on his cell phone. He seemed to be alone. Wanikiya waited until it was dark enough before making his move. The glass doors leading into the apartment from the balcony were closed. Dark Archer couldn't see inside Kyle's apartment. Just like his apartment building, the windows and balcony doors were made of electrochromic glass, or "smart" glass, which changes from light to dark--clear to opaque--and back again, at the push of a button or a command word. He tested the door and found the door was halfway locked. Kyle Harrison had forgotten to turn the lock all the way. Dark Archer took out a toolset and opened the door. He waited breathlessly for an alarm to go off. He didn't hear any. He stepped inside. He was in a living room. It was spartan for someone with a lot of money, Dark Archer thought. A couch and chair sat at one side of the room. Both faced a 75-inch 4K UHD TV mounted on the wall. From behind the wall where the TV was mounted, Dark Archer heard the thumping sound of loud music being blasted in an adjoining room. It sounded like Carrie Underwood's song, "Blown Away". A nearby kitchen with its ceiling light dimmed offered the only illumination to see by in the otherwise dark apartment. Dark Archer carefully moved towards an open hallway that would lead towards the room where the music was coming from. Dark Archer considered what he would do when he got his hands on Kyle Harrison. He figured he could easily intimidate the man into confessing which he would record. He would then call the police and have Kyle Harrison arrested. The plan was simple enough. However, it seemed there was someone else in the apartment who was going to throw a wrench into his well-oiled plan. A figure dressed in a dark costume stepped out into the narrow hallway just past the kitchen. The figure was holding a knocked bow in his hands. A quiver of arrows hung from the man's back. It seems I'm not the only bow guy in town, Dark Archer thought. Dark Archer watched as the man crept stealthily towards the same hallway Dark Archer was heading to. He wasn't sure what the other bowman was going to do, but he wasn't going to wait to find out. Dark Archer took aim and fire an arrow. Before it reached his target, the tip opened and released a thin net that spread outward. However, the other bowman was quick! He jumped back just enough to avoid being caught in the net that struck the nearby wall then slid uselessly to the floor. The other bowman then turned and took aim at Dark Archer. "Not sure who you are," he said. "But I'm not letting you get this kill. He's worth a lot of money dead to those who paid me. And Black Bow always gets the job done!" Black Bow let loose an arrow. Dark Archer jumped over the couch to avoid being struck. The arrow never came close enough. The arrow exploded when it came to within a foot of where Dark Archer stood seconds earlier. Luckily Dark Archer's momentum kept him going. He landed behind the couch. He was slightly singed but otherwise unhurt. The same couldn't be said for the couch. The couch's stuffing was drifting down all around Dark Archer. Dark Archer drew another arrow and was about to shoot Black Bow when Kyle Harrison stepped out into the middle of a fight between two weapon masters. Kyle Harrison was shirtless. He was only wearing a pair of black sweats. He was also holding something in one hand. "Not sure who sent you both to kill me," Kyle Harrison said, his voice barely loud enough to be heard above music blasting behind him. "But I'm not going easily. If I'm going to die, I'm taking you both with me!" Kyle Harrison suddenly injected himself with a small glass syringe. The contents were glowing a fiery red like it was on fire. He struck his arm with the syringe. The Meta flowed into Kyle's veins, carrying its DNA-altering contents into every part of his body within seconds. The effect was instantaneous. Kyle Harrison's skin began to undulate in waves like he was standing in a powerful wind tunnel. He screamed as the Meta took full effect. "Nooooo!" Black Bow yelled. Dark Archer knew that the effect of Meta on any individual was random. He had learned that for some, it was like feeling the effects of drinking an entire case of energy drink all at once. But for others, the effect was extraordinary. The drug immediately altered the individual's DNA makeup, boosting body cells with pure meta energy. Sometimes, an individual experienced a short period of having gained a single metapower or an array of it. Most of the time, the metapowers would last no more than a few hours at most. However, on rare occasions, the metapowers became permanent. Kyle Harrison's undulating skin seemed to have reached a climax as his metapower evolved. His skin suddenly stopped moving for a brief second...just before Kyle Harrison's body exploded! A shock wave burst out of Kyle Harrison's body. His body was torn to pieces as if a powerful concussive explosive had detonated inside of him. The energy released from Kyle's body was powerful. It spread outward in a blast radius that destroyed nearly one entire corner of Parkview Tower. Dark Archer and Black Bow felt the concussive force of the explosion strike them like a runaway train, lifting them both off their feet... ...to send them hurtling out of the 14-story apartment to the street below.
Wanikiya Beltron, CEO of Beltron Enterprises, spent the next few weeks investigating Kyle Harrison's connection to the street drug, Meta. Wanikiya recently followed a tip that led him to a warehouse in the Greenbank district. Further investigations led him to discover the warehouse's owner, Grant Conglomerates or GrantCo, an international company with assets all over the world. GrantCo’s primary purpose was in scientific research, including the work that pioneered the DNAscent process, an experimental process that goes back to Nazi Germany during WW II under what the Nazis dubbed, Operation Overlord. It seemed GrantCo's DNAscent process temporarily “unlocks” certain genetic potential in the user. According to several reports Wanikiya uncovered, the DNAscent process granted some users feelings of invincibility, and sometimes gives them the metahuman strength and durability to back it up! The U.S. military was testing the process began by the Nazis to develop super-soldiers for fighting the ongoing war against global terrorism and develop super-soldiers to combat enemy metahumans. Wanikiya had learned about Meta from his personal secretary whose boyfriend was hospitalized weeks ago in critical condition after injecting himself with Meta. Unfortunately, he died due to complications from the drug. Wanikiya vowed he would find out all he could about the deadly drug which was costing too many lives across Freedom City and perhaps even beyond the city's boundaries. And when the time came to deal with those responsible for mass-producing Meta, Dark Archer would take matters into his hands...and bow. First, Wanikiya discovered that Kyle Harrison, CEO of GrantCo, owned an upscale apartment in Parkview Tower in an expensive area known as Parkside. The 30-story highrise stood two blocks from Liberty Park. Highrise condos and apartments in Parkside easily went for 2 - 4 million dollars. Although Wanikiya, himself a man of means, was leasing a small condo a few blocks from 58th Avenue, he felt it was time to buy in Parkside. After meeting a real estate agent named Jan Dusl, a strikingly beautiful Australian woman in her 20s, Wanikya was able to purchase a 16th-floor apartment in Parkside Towers, one of three towers just completed in early 2020. The apartment cost him a cool, 2.7 million dollars. But Wanikiya felt it was money well spent. He figured with the ongoing success of Beltron Enterprises, he could recoup the money he spent on a lavish Parkside property in less than half-a-year. From his balcony, Wanikiya had a clear view of Kyle Harrison's apartment across the street. Kyle's apartment was on the 14th floor of a 30-story building. During the next two weeks, Wanikiya tried to follow Kyle Harrison's moves and determine a pattern to his daily routine. Kyle Harrison turned out to be a man who didn't follow a routine. He would come home from work driving into Parkview Towers in his expensive 2020 Maserati Ghibli S Q4 GranSport but didn't always do the same thing once he got home. Sometimes, Kyle would get a latte from the local Starbase Coffee shop. Sometimes, he would immediately go to the Planet Workout gym a few blocks away. While sometimes, he would meet with a woman--never the same woman twice--for dinner at many of the fancy restaurants in the immediate area. Eventually, Wanikiya decided he would just have to act or more people would die from Meta. It was a warm early summer evening. In the street far below, people enjoying an early warm evening were too busy going about their business to notice a costumed figure zipping along a cable over a hundred feet above them. Winikiya Beltron, now as Dark Archer, landed on Kyle Harrison's balcony after he had shot a cable line from his own apartment balcony across the street. He had watched Kyle Harrison earlier in the evening. Kyle was on the balcony talking to someone on his cell phone. He seemed to be alone. Wanikiya waited until it was dark enough before making his move. The glass doors leading into the apartment from the balcony were closed. Dark Archer couldn't see inside Kyle's apartment. Just like his apartment building, the windows and balcony doors were made of electrochromic glass, or "smart" glass, which changes from light to dark--clear to opaque--and back again, at the push of a button or a command word. He tested the door and found the door was halfway locked. Kyle Harrison had forgotten to turn the lock all the way. Dark Archer took out a toolset and opened the door. He waited breathlessly for an alarm to go off. He didn't hear any. He stepped inside. He was in a living room. It was spartan for someone with a lot of money, Dark Archer thought. A couch and chair sat at one side of the room. Both faced a 75-inch 4K UHD TV mounted on the wall. From behind the wall where the TV was mounted, Dark Archer heard the thumping sound of loud music being blasted in an adjoining room. It sounded like Carrie Underwood's song, "Blown Away". A nearby kitchen with its ceiling light dimmed offered the only illumination to see by in the otherwise dark apartment. Dark Archer carefully moved towards an open hallway that would lead towards the room where the music was coming from. Dark Archer considered what he would do when he got his hands on Kyle Harrison. He figured he could easily intimidate the man into confessing which he would record. He would then call the police and have Kyle Harrison arrested. The plan was simple enough. However, it seemed there was someone else in the apartment who was going to throw a wrench into his well-oiled plan. A figure dressed in a dark costume stepped out into the narrow hallway just past the kitchen. The figure was holding a knocked bow in his hands. A quiver of arrows hung from the man's back. It seems I'm not the only bow guy in town, Dark Archer thought. Dark Archer watched as the man crept stealthily towards the same hallway Dark Archer was heading to. He wasn't sure what the other bowman was going to do, but he wasn't going to wait to find out. Dark Archer took aim and fire an arrow. Before it reached his target, the tip opened and released a thin net that spread outward. However, the other bowman was quick! He jumped back just enough to avoid being caught in the net that struck the nearby wall then slid uselessly to the floor. The other bowman then turned and took aim at Dark Archer. "Not sure who you are," he said. "But I'm not letting you get this kill. He's worth a lot of money dead to those who paid me. And Black Bow always gets the job done!" Black Bow let loose an arrow. Dark Archer jumped over the couch to avoid being struck. The arrow never came close enough. The arrow exploded when it came to within a foot of where Dark Archer stood seconds earlier. Luckily Dark Archer's momentum kept him going. He landed behind the couch. He was slightly singed but otherwise unhurt. The same couldn't be said for the couch. The couch's stuffing was drifting down all around Dark Archer. Dark Archer drew another arrow and was about to shoot Black Bow when Kyle Harrison stepped out into the middle of a fight between two weapon masters. Kyle Harrison was shirtless. He was only wearing a pair of black sweats. He was also holding something in one hand. "Not sure who sent you both to kill me," Kyle Harrison said, his voice barely loud enough to be heard above music blasting behind him. "But I'm not going easily. If I'm going to die, I'm taking you both with me!" Kyle Harrison suddenly injected himself with a small glass syringe. The contents were glowing a fiery red like it was on fire. He struck his arm with the syringe. The Meta flowed into Kyle's veins, carrying its DNA-altering contents into every part of his body within seconds. The effect was instantaneous. Kyle Harrison's skin began to undulate in waves like he was standing in a powerful wind tunnel. He screamed as the Meta took full effect. "Nooooo!" Black Bow yelled. Dark Archer knew that the effect of Meta on any individual was random. He had learned that for some, it was like feeling the effects of drinking an entire case of energy drink all at once. But for others, the effect was extraordinary. The drug immediately altered the individual's DNA makeup, boosting body cells with pure meta energy. Sometimes, an individual experienced a short period of having gained a single metapower or an array of it. Most of the time, the metapowers would last no more than a few hours at most. However, on rare occasions, the metapowers became permanent. Kyle Harrison's undulating skin seemed to have reached a climax as his metapower evolved. His skin suddenly stopped moving for a brief second...just before Kyle Harrison's body exploded! A shock wave burst out of Kyle Harrison's body. His body was torn to pieces as if a powerful concussive explosive had detonated inside of him. The energy released from Kyle's body was powerful. It spread outward in a blast radius that destroyed nearly one entire corner of Parkview Tower. Dark Archer and Black Bow felt the concussive force of the explosion strike them like a runaway train, lifting them both off their feet... ...to send them hurtling out of the 14-story apartment to the street below.
Session played on February 23, 2021
Black Bow
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