The Starlight wrote:-snip-
Craig Thomsen/Silverwing
A Good Man Goes to War - Do Not Go Gentle
A year had passed, since his capture. He had attempted escape 67 times, always without success, though at the latest try he had made it to the 5th floor before being taken down. Waller had instituted more security on the floors. Some of his attempted escapes were test runs, and others were used to determine the weaknesses of his torturers and the base. He also had complete control over everything even remotely related to technology, the clocks, the doors, the computers, everything. And finally, this time he would escape.
A bloody smile emerged. It didn't matter that he had constant headaches from thwarting nightmares, nightmares. It didn't matter that he had broken bones and scars on his back that would never heal, that his wrists were nearly chafed to the bone, or that he had a dislocated shoulder that a bullet had gone through. They had broken him, but he had risen from those ashes of despair, stronger than ever. And though he knew that the scars would never fully heal, he would be free soon, and that was all that mattered.
The smile disappeared as Vicky, Leonard and Maya strolled in, less-than-happy expressions on their faces.
Craig had thwarted their best efforts, and the one time he 'let something slip' was a design that exploded when Waller's engineers had tried to put it together. To say that Waller had been furious was an understatement.
Everything would have to go to plan, every detail, every step.
For a successful deception, first, you show them what they guessed might have been coming. And then... you show them what they didn't.And so, it began. As they unchained him,
Craig threw an elbow behind him at Leonard, knowing that he would see it coming. Then, he turned to Maya, throwing a punch, which she didn't evade,
Craig grabbing her and utilized a pressure point to knock her out. Over the year, he had learned that Maya possessed no physical prowess, whatsoever, making her an easy target. Leonard, growling, headed to the door, expecting to receive the torture materials for the day, Vicky meanwhile subduing him with a touch. But, the giant instead was greeted by
Craig's Silverwing armor. While he had bought time, the suit had busted itself out,
Craig now instructing it to keep Leonard busy. He had expected to see Waller's goons handing him the torture tools, for that event had happened everyday in the entire year. So, he didn't bother using his powers, and that was where
Craig pounced, seeing the pattern and implementing his own designs on it. While Leonard was occupied fighting a suit of armor,
Craig slowly picked himself up, groaning because of his multiple injuries and turned to Vicky, who frowned and placed her hand on his chest, expecting him to scream in pain.
Instead,
Craig glared at her, resisting the pain, a smirk growing on her shoulder. "What? How!" she shrieked, placing both hands on him, to no avail. "This year," he began, "you've only strengthened my will. Oh it hurts, I'll give you that, but pain is simply
a means to an end. Because, Vicky, there is something stronger than pain:
willpower." With that, he threw an haymaker, knocking her out as well.
He slowly made his way to Leonard, who growled at him once again, doing everything in his power to keep
Craig's pain. "And I bet you're wondering how I beat your power. It took me awhile, I'll admit, but I eventually got. There's been a pattern, a constant this year, and that's you opening the door to receive the tools to torture me. At first, you used your power, but you grew lax and lazy, and eventually just opened the door. I fed you a vision, a loop of what you expected to happen, and you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. And you're probably thinking that there's nothing I can do to stop you, even if you're outnumbered now. Because, you see, now, I don't have to feed your power a lie, I just have to present a situation that's impossible to evade. Like this."
Craig, his armor lending him a glove, threw a punch at Leonard's face, the giant's eyes widening, and turning to face
Craig. Two seconds later,
Craig's armor threw a punch to a stomach with its other arm. Both
Craig's punch and the belated punch connected, Leonard seeing both, but unable to evade either, received a concussion from
Craig's metal fist, and blinding pain in his stomach.
The young inventor spread his arms, letting his suit envelop him. "Goodbye, Leonard." And he stepped through the door, locking it electronically. As for the camera in the room, he had fed it a loop of himself being tortured, so that they wouldn't see anything wrong. Stepping over the prone bodies of 5 soldiers which his Silverwing armor had knocked out while coming to him, he headed up to the 24th floor, having a relatively easy time there, feeding the cameras another loop. And then, he stopped the loops that he had sent. He wanted them to know he was coming, he wanted them to know that they could do nothing to stop them, he wanted that inkling of fear to creep into them. Stepping out, he was met by 10 soldiers. "Halt! Take off the suit and get on the ground! Now!" their leader barked. "You're surrounded, now, Mr. Thomsen. There is no way out."
Craig raised an unseen eyebrow. "Oh really?" He turned off the lights, and chaos ensued. Soldiers fired shots blindly, hoping to hit something, but he was already among them, discs humming with electricity. The shots that did connect pinged off his armor. In truth, he was only a passenger in the suit right now, because of his injuries. Thanks to his psionic link, he controlled the suit's actions. He disengaged his helmet once he was sure all the soldiers were out, and looked up at the camera and smiled. "I'm coming for you, Waller." And, picking up one of the guns, he shot into it, proceeding up to the 22nd floor.
In the control room, "The Wall" was furious. "Damn him." She yelled to one of the soldiers, Send everyone, we've got, now!" The soldier saluted and rushed off,
Craig, in the elevator, smiling, having heard everything. He had Waller angry now, and angry people make mistakes. But he had control over the entire facility now. Waller would be hearing of the sprinklers engaging, doors closing on her soldiers, doorknobs being electrically charged. He felt them try and regain control over the elevator, but
Craig's defenses were solid.
And so, the soldiers came at him, wave after wave.
Craig defeated them all, stepping over their unconscious bodies, and proceeding to the next floor. They tried smoke grenades, real grenades, bazookas, but
Craig continued his slow, but steady rise from underground. An EMP Grenade? It would have worked on anyone else, but technology was his domain. Waller grew more frustrated, sending everything she had at him. But today, he would not, could be stopped, and he stormed his way to the 3rd floor, stopping his mad charge for a moment, walking slowly towards a group of shoulders shooting at him. "Why won't you die?!" he yelled, frustrated, firing his last shots. "Why won't you die?" he asked, softer this time, his empty gun clicking, the soldier tossing it to the side.
He paused for a moment, considering that question."Because beneath this armor, there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask, soldier, is a love, an idea, a dream,
and dreams are bulletproof."
Craig finished emphatically, throwing his discs to knock them out. Heading up the elevator, he made his way to the control room, where Waller was, alone, pointing a pistol at him. "Put that aside, Waller, you know that won't penetrate my armor." The Wall, grumbling tossed it aside, and
Craig began his putdown speech that he had fashioned for a year now. "You have no one to blame but yourself, Waller. You are so filled with fear. There is a saying, Waller. Men fear what they can't see. Another variation of it is that men fear what they can't understand. But as for you, Waller, you fear what you can't control. For once in your life you found something, someone you couldn't control or manipulate. And so, you tried to break it. And you broke it, but didn't anticipate that it would come back stronger."
"I've seen the files of what your department does, and it disgusts me. And yet, you proudly declare that you are the good guys, that you're trying to protect the world. My inventions wouldn't have given you control, you would've used them to destroy this world."
"And now, Waller, the curtain's going to come down. I have the recordings of everything you did, and they are going public. The world will know the name Amanda Waller, and they will hate you for it. You did what you did seemingly in the name of peace and and sanity. But not in the name of
freedom, liberty and justice. Not in the name of happiness, and certainly not in the name of the next generation."
"You made it seem as though superheroes were the monsters, and you claimed to be the person who fought the monster. But in the end,
you are the monster, Amanda
Blake" the woman gasping at the use of her real name, "And your children would be very, very disappointed in you. So goodbye, Amanda. I hope I never see your face again."
And
Craig, turning, walked out, leaving the Wall to stare blankly into the wall, as a phone rang. As he went up the elevator, he spoke aloud, to himself, repeating a poem that he had recited in his head in his darkest moments in the year, when he had thought that he wasn't going to make it.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And he came to it at last, the door to his freedom, on the 1st floor. And he reached for it, but hesitated, feeling that there was something not right. He stepped back just in time, for the Red Hulk leaped from the rafters onto where he had just been standing. "I admit, Ross, this was one thing I almost forgot to equate for. The age-old struggle between brains and brawn. I know that I can't defeat you, not in my current state. But, unlike the first time we met, Ross, I am not the one alone, this time.
You are. Because this time, I brought some friends." And he crossed his arms, smirking, for right now there was one very, very angry Rainborn coming for him. And her name was
Etla.