The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (49 page)

Nine feet tall? Ten? It was hard to say from where he
stood, but the figure towered over his followers. He was dressed in
blue-black armor, and held a massive spear in his hand. He wore no
helmet and his thick black hair hung down below his shoulders.

“
Come
now. Come and greet your uncle, heir to my dear brother Cronus.”

The voice was deep and rich, and the tone was friendly.
Justin trusted him not at all.

He looked at Maria and Aaron. “You're right. It's
a trap. Once the Destroyers are healed, we can come back in force.”

“
I
think not,” a voice from behind them said and a massive blast
of light and sound smashed into Justin. He saw Aaron and Maria flung
from their feet and he lay there twitching, with no control over his
limbs. His body was numb.

Justin had fallen in such a way that he could see
several of the renegades racing toward them.

“
Bring
them to me,” the leader said with amusement. Justin was grabbed
and dragged roughly across the metal floor of the arena and dropped
in front of the huge man. Two thumps beside him told him that Aaron
and Maria were there as well.

“
Relax,
child,” the leader said. “Even Titans are vulnerable to
an electric jolt. You'll be able to move in a few moments. And as for
you, my loyal servant, well done I say.”

Justin was sprawled on his side. He could just see the
enormous man smiling down at someone beside him. It was Jason.

“
Just
as I promised, lord,” Jason said. He didn't sound happy though.
He sounded angry and frightened at the same time. “You said
that if I delivered the descendant of Cronus, you'd release my
brother.”

“
So
I did. So I did.” The leader said with a smile. “Have
patience, child. One thing at a time. Allow me to savor this moment.”
He sat down again, almost too big for the seat he was in, and rested
his chin on his hand, staring at Justin.

“
You
had a snake in your midst from the beginning and never even knew it,
eh Justin? Oh yes, I know your name. Justin McLeod. When my source
within Sanctuary informed me that you had left to find your darling
mother, I set my plans in motion. Jason here had already been
captured by the government. On purpose, I assure you. Just as my
servitor had already taken your mother's place and been scooped up by
those same forces. I had no idea that you would be as foolish as you
were. Imagine leaving the protection of Sanctuary to rescue your dear
mother. How valiant. How stupid.” His tone became mocking and
Justin could feel his blood pounding in his ears as the anger coursed
through him.

“
So
you destroyed my toy and escaped my people by Gating back to
Sanctuary. Or so you thought. But dear Jason here was in contact the
entire time. Show him how you did that, Jason.”

Reluctantly, Jason walked into Justin's line of sight
and pulled out a small round stone, no bigger than the end of his
pinky finger. Justin didn't have to see it up close to know that
there was probably a rune of communication on it. Jason put it back
in his pocket and moved out of view.

“
Just
because the comms in Sanctuary were down, didn't mean all
communication was disrupted. So Jason was able to keep me abreast of
your progress. I was quite pleased to hear that my dear brother
Prometheus was still alive. I'll happily deal with him soon enough.”
He smiled almost gently as Justin began to move his arms and legs
slightly. “Ah, good. The numbing is wearing off. You should be
mobile in no time. Now, where was I? Oh yes. I almost had you in the
desert, didn't I? I was amazed at how you and little Aaron there
managed to create a way off of that level. Impressive. And then to
lose Dominic to those savage gorgons.” He sighed theatrically,
then chuckled. “I really must get in touch with them. They
could prove useful to me, especially now that their leader has been
removed.”

He stood up and stretched as Justin was finally able to
sit up. He looked around and saw Aaron and Maria slowly regaining
control of their bodies as well. All of their weapons had been taken
away and thrown in a heap near the leader, who had barely glanced at
them.

“
But
the biggest surprise and the greatest irony of your entire journey,
Justin, was finding my sweet brother. The man who killed me. Or
rather, thought he killed me. And what does he do? He trains all of
you to use your powers. Imagine that! He gave dear Jason here the
means to attack you. There's some real irony for you.”

Justin finally managed to stagger to his feet. He helped
Maria up and they both gave Aaron a hand. All of them reeled a bit as
they stood there, but Justin was pleased that none of them fell over.

“
There
we go. All better? Good. And now that you are vertical again, allow
me to introduce myself.” The leader drew himself up to his full
height and the three friends had to crane their necks back to see his
face. “I am Hyperion, brother of Cronus and future ruler of
this world.” He gave them a mocking bow. “How do you do?”

“
Hyperion
is dead!” Aaron said loudly. “You're just some kind of
clone.”

The Titan laughed. “Is that what they told you?
Well, sorry to disappoint. You see, when my dear brother took my
head, he didn't quite finish the job. My servants found me
and...repaired me, let us say. They did indeed use a clone, to stand
in for my dead body. Prometheus never knew the difference.
Sentimental fool.”

“
But
if you're Hyperion, where have you been all these years?” Maria
asked. Justin was proud that her voice was steady and fearless.

“
Sleeping,”
the Titan answered. “When Atlantis began to crumble, thanks to
your ancestor, Justin, I retreated to a safe place that I had built
unbeknownst to my siblings. I entered a chamber within that suspended
me in time and kept me alive to the present day. I was well aware
that Titan genes had been introduced into the human gene pool and set
to activate in this time. So I made sure to awaken before that
happened. I wanted some of your fellow young Titans for my own, you
see. The rest of you are...disposable.”

“
Why
would you want any of us?” Justin finally spoke up. “Don't
you despise us as hybrids?”

“
Of
course, Justin. Of course. But even a mongrel has its uses. Look, see
for yourself.”

Hyperion pointed to one of his robed renegades. “You
there, whatever your name is. Remove your hood.”

The figure bowed and threw back his hood. It was a young
man who stared at them, expressionless. Justin gasped, as did his
friends. The teenager's eyes were bright red, as though they were
bleeding. As they watched, a red tear flowed down from the side of
his left eye and left a trail on his face.

“
Very
well. Cover yourself again.” Hyperion turned and looked at
Justin with a smile. “You see? They are now mine, body and
soul. My power is such that I can make servants who are absolutely
loyal and reliable. No worries about traitors in my camp, I assure
you. Oh and speaking of traitors.” He looked over at Jason who
had retreated some distance away from both the Titan and Justin and
his friends. He was staring at the floor and looked sad and dazed.

“
Don't
be too hard on poor Jason,” Hyperion said with mock concern.
“He loves his brother so. By the way, do you know what Jason's
last name is? No? It's Benson. Son of Richard Benson. Brother of
Richard Junior.”

Justin stared at Jason, who's face had reddened at the
Titan's revelation.

“
Benson?”
Aaron said angrily. “Figures. Your brother sold us out, Jason.
Of course, I'm sure you know that.”

Jason glared at Aaron, then lowered his eyes again. “My
brother is an idiot,” he said quietly. “And my father
made his fortune by selling arms that have killed thousands. I
despised him.” He looked at Justin. “But he is my
brother. Rick was rescued by a Guardian, but the one who tried to
save me was killed. One of the government guys worked for Hyperion
and he passed me the comm rune. I heard that Rick was going to find a
way for my father to enter Sanctuary.” He glanced at the Titan.
“Hyperion had already made a deal with Dad. Let him into
Sanctuary and the secrets to Titan weaponry would be his.” He
sighed and shook his head. “I always knew that his greed would
be my father's undoing. Guess I was right.”

“
What
happened?” Maria asked in a horrified voice.

“
Jason
is correct,” Hyperion said jovially. “His father wanted
too much and actually threatened to break our agreement. Imagine,
breaking your word to a Titan. Well, he paid for that little mistake,
I assure you.”

“
Then
one of Hyperion's people called me and told me that they had Rick.
Told me that he'd be safe as long as I did what they wanted. Bring
you to him however I could. I'm sorry, Justin, but what else could I
do?” Jason sounded defeated and went back to staring at the
ground.

“
You
could have told us, Jason,” Justin said in a quiet voice. He
felt more pity than anger. He knew what it was like to care about
family. “You could have trusted us to find a way to get your
brother out.” He pointed at Hyperion. “Instead, you
trusted that monster. And now look where you are.”

“
Here
now, Justin. There's no cause to be rude. I keep my promises. Jason's
brother is safe and sound. Here, let me prove it.” He watched
Jason with a lopsided grin. “Benson! Show yourself, my boy!”

Jason looked around frantically. Justin and the others
did as well. For a moment there was no reply. Then one of the
renegades stepped forward and pulled off his hood. It was Benson.

They all stared at his face in horror. His eyes blazed
blood red and the tracks of red tears crisscrossed his face. There
was a gash on one of his cheeks that was oozing fluids but he didn't
seem to notice. He just stood there, staring straight ahead,
unmoving.

“
My
God! Rick.” Jason stared at his brother in disbelief. Then he
looked at the Titan. “What have you done? You said he would be
unharmed, that he would be safe!”

“
But
he is safe, Jason. And reasonably unharmed. Oh, don't worry. He
doesn't feel that little cut. Truth be told, he doesn't really feel
anything anymore. But there you go. Promise kept.” Suddenly
Hyperion's expression hardened. “Now, step back and keep out of
the way, child. Or I will recruit you into my army as well.”

Jason stumbled back in horror and the Titan chuckled.

“
Now,
as for you, my dear nephew many times removed, I'd love to recruit
you as well. Unfortunately, my powers never did work on Cronus or his
blood. Pity really. You show real promise. I'm just happy there is
only one of you. Once you are out of the way, I can continue my plans
unchecked.”

“
What
exactly are your plans?” Justin asked. He refused to show the
Titan the fear that was threatening to overwhelm him. “If
you're going to kill me anyway, it can't hurt to tell me.”

Hyperion actually looked pleased. “Why, I'd be
happy to share with you, dear nephew.” He sat down and crossed
his legs. “You see, I've resurfaced at the perfect time in
human history. You have weapons of mass destruction that truly dwarf
the destructive power of Titan weaponry. And my power works very well
on machines, as you've already experienced with my servitor. It takes
some time to corrupt and control the systems that I wish to control,
but it is unstoppable once it begins.” He looked intently at
Justin. “Do you know how much I despise humans? They are a
blight on this world. A tide of pestilence. Imagine, seven billion
cockroaches swarming across this beautiful planet, thinking they're
the master race. Well, they will soon learn that the master race was
the Titans and I, as the last pure Titan, intend to educate them.”

“
What
will you do?” Maria asked fearfully. Hyperion didn't even look
at her.

“
It's
simple, really. All one needs to do to exterminate a cockroach is to
use the proper poison. And in humanity's case, that poison is
radiation. Are you aware that Titan physiology makes us immune to
radiation? Oh yes, totally unaffected by it. Your human governments
have made it easy for me to put my plan in motion with their
suspicious natures. All it will take is one, perhaps two nuclear
weapon strikes from one country on another and every player with
nuclear capabilities will launch at their enemies, sure that if they
don't, their rivals will strike first. By the time it is over, the
world will be irradiated. It may take decades or centuries for the
Earth to purify itself of the nuclear fallout, but I have time. I am
patient. And when it is blooming again, I shall create a new race of
Titans and this planet shall be ours again. Just as it was meant to
be.”