Nothing I Wouldn't Do For You (Book Five of The Unmatched Records)

Prologue

Introducing the main villain and Earth of the hour . . . er, story. *smacks self in the forehead* Also, call me crazy . . . but I really think the first thirty seconds or so of the piece up there could really be the Kariver/SuperArrow theme.

Enjoy the prologue!

***

Thunder cracked in the pitch black sky, hazy red light peeking through the clouds. The occasional lightning strike lit up the black skyscrapers and barrage balloons of the city, some scrapers draped with red banners showing black swastikas.

Outside a warehouse, a man in a lab coat walked out, holding a cup of coffee. "Hey, doc," one of the guards looked over. "You really think you can make that thing work?"

"We need to make it work if we're ever gonna bring hope back to this darkened world," he answered.

He had barely finished speaking before a black arrow shot through his cup and into him, followed by the guard. The other patrol guards nearby ran forward to see who had shot them, but they were shot down one after another.

From the dark came an archer clad in a black hooded suit with red piping, the swastika symbol on his upper arm, a black mask shielding his face. He fired off two more arrows, killing the next two guards that tried to approach. He jumped over one of the downed guards, kicking one down, smacking his bow into another. The guards went down with ease, and he fired one arrow into an approaching guard, using another arrow to take out one of the guards with a spotlight. Satisfied the guards were handled, he turned and walked towards the warehouse.

He nearly made it to the entrance when he heard a thud behind him. He slowly raised his head, then asked in a distorted voice, "You're the best they could send?"

"Funny," another distorted voice behind him said. "I was gonna say the same thing."

The archer turned and shot an arrow, but the vigilante behind him raised his arm, a shield forming and deflecting the arrow. The vigilante cracked his neck, then rushed the archer. The archer never gave him the chance to go completely on the offense. He mixed between swinging with his bow and kicking and punching, the vigilante blocking when he could. He got one lucky shot and knocked the archer to the ground, but he nimbly rolled out of the way, jumping back on his feet and delivering a series of blows to the vigilante, backing him up against a truck.

He thrust his bow into the vigilante's neck, pinning him there, then drew a knife and thrusted. The vigilante's hand shot out and grabbed the archer's wrist, stopping him just before he drove it into his stomach. The archer grunted, fighting against the vigilante's strength, then switched where he was aiming and drove the knife into the vigilante's thigh.

He tossed the vigilante to the ground, then gave him a kick for good measure, knocking his helmet off. He stomped hard on the vigilante's chest, making him gurgle. "There are more like me," he hissed. "And one day, they will free this world."

"That day may come, but you won't be here to see it," the vigilante said, then eyed the paint on his shield. "That flag died a long time ago."

"Well, it still means something," the vigilante said.

The archer drew another arrow, aiming at him. "Yeah. It's a bull's-eye."

He fired, killing the vigilante in a quick shot to the heart. As the man choked on his own blood, the archer walked into the warehouse, past the guards he had murdered. He laid eyes on the glowing device in the center of the room, then nodded. "With this, our reign will last for eternity."

No one in any universe would be able to fight against the rule of Earth-X.

***

Well, bye bye, James. You were heroic when we saw you.

Next up, there's a bit of a problem with the wedding invites.