Johnson said it had to do with the j.a.panese man and continued his pursuit to Resnik's holding cell only to find it deserted. The chief ordered Mia and Bryce to head toward one of the nearest exits while Felton and Murdock sped off in separate directions to rally backup. Johnson tried to radio for help as well, but discovered his device was nonresponsive.

11:40 PM.

London, England Jason stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, fully clad in his complete costume. It's fantastic. Absolutely astounding. Audrey, I can hardly believe you created this. The outfit consisted of black milliskin fabric that clung tightly to his body from his claves to his neck. The fabric was texturized with millions of small circles which were only marred by the seam work. Audrey made matching gauntlets and boots, as well as a large, lightweight cape. Audrey decorated the costume with two deep crimson bands around each of his biceps. To complete the ensemble, she fitted a flexible plastic mold of a sunburst to the center of his chest, as a sort of emblem for him to wear. The sunburst was hollow in the center and had two rays of light longer than the rest at two opposite ends at a diagonal.

He admired himself once more before he walked out of the bathroom and, with a smile, presented his wife her completed work. Audrey not only beamed but jumped off their bed to meet her husband. "Jason, you look amazing! Does it fit well? Did the belt help at all? It's not too constricting, is it?"

"It's fine Audrey," he a.s.sured her. "I feel as if this were my second skin," he joked.

"Good, perfect." She smiled and told him again how wonderful he looked. "And what about the cape? Do you like it?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"I wasn't sure you would is all."

I may as well have one if I'm going to prance about as a costumed crusader. It's all a load of b.o.l.l.o.c.ks, but as the saying goes, all or nothing, right? He told her he loved it. "It really looks stunning dear. It's positively spectacular."

"I'm thrilled that you find it perfect my love," she wrapped her arms around his neck and quickly kissed him. "Do you know when you'll take this out for a test run?"

Jason shrugged and said, "I could go out tonight, if you are quite alright with that."

"Of course, of course," she told him. "I made this for a reason."

Jason thanked her once more and told her he would try to only stay out for a short while. "I'm not even sure of what I'm going to do while I'm out there. I guess I just need to patrol until I find something amiss."

Just as he finished his sentence, he heard a familiar voice from afar whispering, "Jason? Jason it's Suzy, can you hear me? I need you to come find me at my school; there's been another kidnapping."

"Jason, what is it?"

He told his wife to be quiet for a moment while he concentrated on Suzy's words. "The girl's name is Lily Meyers," Suzy continued, "And-and I know her Jason. She's in my theater course, she's actually in the play I'm in Jason and I-I don't know what the h.e.l.l's going on. I need your help. He can't be too far off by now. She's been missing for about an hour and" she broke off into sobs and begged him to come find her.

Now? I don't know who this guy is. I don't know who I'm searching for. How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to help her? I can't. I can't. I'm not ready for this. I am not ready. I'm going to fail. She's going to die. Jason felt his whole body pulse along with the beat of his own heart for a moment before he saw the worry in Audrey's eyes. Breathe d.a.m.n it! Just breathe and get out there. You are going to fail if you don't try you fool. Now go!

"I'm sorry Audrey," he started, "But there's been another kidnapping and I'm needed."

She watched her husband head toward the window and just as he opened it wide and readied for his departure she raced over to him and threw her arms around him. "Please, please be careful Jason."

"Of course."

"And," she paused while she tightened her grasp on him, "I love you."

"I love you too."

Suzy stood outside her apartment and smoked cigarette after cigarette. Her hands trembled violently and she paced stiffly with scattered cigarette b.u.t.ts at her feet. She kept her eyes on the sky and expected to see her brother-in-law descend and meet her. The night was cold, as winter approached, and she felt the biting cold amid the heat of her smokes. She wanted to scream and dart back to the imagined safety of her bedroom and forget about all of the maddening events she encircled herself with. As she found her final cigarette in the crumpled carton, Jason, rather, Ilion descended from the darkened sky to meet her.

His feet touched down to the ground and he swiftly walked with her out of plain sight. "Suzy, I don't know where to begin," he started. "You said you know this girl, what does she look like?" This is all I can go off of. Maybe if I see her or can visualize her I can find her in a crowd, or in a car or something.

Suzy fished a worn and folded picture out of the pocket she stored the trash of her crushed carton of smokes and gave it to him. "I circled her in that photo," she said before she took a long drag. "She was on her way to our rehearsal when she vanished. One of the girls tried to call her and someone else found her phone discarded in a few shrubs midway between her dormitory and the theater."

"Do you know where exactly Suzy?"

She nodded and quietly led him near the edge of a long and narrow road. Jason and Suzy hid as there were police about the area. No doubt investigating the disappearance too. Jason examined the area as best he could given the parameters but ultimately drew nothing.

"She was abducted around here, right?" Jason began.

"From what I know."

"Then where on earth would he have taken her?" Jason peered through the night and recalled that particular road. There's nothing here though. It's relatively open too so anyone nearby or anyone in a car would have been able to see the kidnapping. What happened? How did he manage to take her? Jason stopped and rubbed his eyes for a brief moment. You idiot. Listen to what they're saying.

Jason focused in on the few police officers and listened to their conversation. "Nothing beyond that cell phone really," one of them began. "There are obvious signs of struggle, but there's no trail." The officer indicated to the other where the resistance took place before he added, "The attacker seems to have dragged his victim into the street, but that's where the trail ends. We thought the trail would pick up across the road or down the road a ways, but there's nothing."

"Well what do you think happened?" the other asked.

The first officer shrugged and suggested they flew off. "It sounds nuts but with all of the super heroes out there now, it doesn't seem too farfetched anymore."

"But don't you think someone would have seen two people flying around? Especially with one of them possibly resisting?"

"I said it was a guess, not the honest truth. It's more likely that they got into a car and drove off."

Jason returned to Suzy and relayed what he heard from the officers. "Do you think that's a possibility? Could this murderer have some kind of ability?"

Suzy told him it was possible. "It would explain the insanity behind the disappearances and how he could discard a corpse so easily, but what if there's more to his powers Jason?"

More? Stop stop stop Jason. You're getting ahead of yourself. There's no guarantee this killer even has an ability. This could be simpler than we think. And what if it is? Maybe al of the super heroes are throwing things off. Skewing matters. Facts...Criminals will be able to leave deceptive evidence to suggest that someone super powered could be behind the mess, when in reality it could be a ruse. d.a.m.n it. Why did this have to happen? Too many factors, too many loose ends. How am I supposed to stop him? How am I supposed to save her? He's throwing me off, toying with me. d.a.m.n it where the h.e.l.l could he be?

Jason scanned their surroundings once more before he asked Suzy, "What do you know about this area?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if the vanishing act is a trick," Jason purposed. "What are some other possibilities other than super powers? Is there anywhere he could hide? Somewhere he could stay hidden and out of sight while he tortures and kills his victim? Or at least until the police are out of the area and he could make an easier escape?"

Be delicate Jason. He saw her countenance wane before she answered, "I'm not sure. There are plenty of buildings all around but all of them are inhabited, and I doubt he could move her too far." Suzy's brow furrowed as she added, "There's the sewers though."

"The sewers? What about them?"

She told Jason about the labyrinthine of corridors and tunnels beneath the heart of London and briefly mentioned their past uses for organized crime and theft. "It's possible he could take someone down there, though I don't know if he would likely use the sewers for much more than travel."

"Why is that?"

"They echo," she told him. "If any of the girls woke and screamed out, there's a chance someone could overhear it and investigate."

"Alright. How far do these tunnels span?"

Suzy said she didn't know. "It could be from here to Greenwich for all I know, or farther."

Jason looked around for any manhole covers the a.s.sailant might have utilized before he spied one a little ways down the road. Could it be that simple? Crawling about the sewers with his prey? Is it worth investigating? Is this misleading too? But it is something, progress. But how am I going to get down there? I can't race past and remove and close the manhole without causing some ma.s.sive damage to the street or drawing attention to myself. What if I lose my grip on the cover and send it hurdling into the sky and down into London? I could easily kill someone. But what do I do?

"Alright Suzy," he began. "I need you to go and ask those officers a few questions."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just ask them about the girl, say you were her friend and you're scared and worried about her," Jason told her. "Please, just distract them. I need to sneak into the sewers using that opening," he indicated to the manhole cover in the distance. "Keep their eyes on you and away from it for a minute and then head back home, alright?"

Suzy nodded and quickly made her way toward the officers. Jason rushed past her and stopped nearby the intended point of entry. He waited for his sister-in-law to draw attention before he lifted the cover and slipped into the hole without as much as a sound.

The cover wasn't locked. That might mean something, a.s.suming all of the other coverings are locked. I've never taken the time to notice. But at the very least it wasn't locked, meaning someone could have come down here.

Jason's initial encounter with the subterranean corridors caused his bowls to wrench. d.a.m.n, I guess it really is a sewer. I should have known it would reek, but this feels like a bit much. He stood in calf-high sewage, something he silently apologized to Audrey for. There was enveloping darkness in every direction and though Jason's first thought was to light a torch he reprimanded himself. There's most likely a fair amount of methane in these tunnels and I can't imagine an explosion would be all too productive. Not only would I give myself away, but I could possibly damage these tunnels and maybe even cripple the city or some of the buildings above. Jason tried his best to peer through the absolute darkness and found light from the surface crept through some of the storm drains. It isn't much but I'll have to work with it for now.

He walked as softly as he could manage through the oval pa.s.sageways, though each step forced a change in the current and echoed throughout the labyrinth. Patience Jason. Take your time. You don't know where you're headed or if anyone's lurking about waiting for you. You'll be safe either way.

A light pierced the shadows afar off down the tunnel. Jason stopped and listened for a moment before he concluded that he was truly alone. There's no one there. Nothing aside from mice, rats, but that's normal, right? It must be. He crept along until he met the light and found the pathway open up to a large underground room. It split into a dozen lanes in each direction, two of which supported what seemed to be a river of sewage.

He could have gone anywhere. He might not even be here anymore. Jason followed the stream of waste until it emptied into the river of sewage and climbed onto a dry platform. Where would he go? Out of all of these trails which one houses him? d.a.m.n it. He knows these tunnels and I'm struggling to simply keep track of where I came in from. He studied the walkways one by one but failed to determine which his target took. Another dead end.

Jason swore under his breath and took another glance around. He noticed a few of the rats that pa.s.sed by all run down one corridor. He paused and listened to the scratches of their footsteps down the stone tunnel until he heard their scurried pace slow to a stop. What did they find? After a moment Jason realized they were all gnawing on something. What is that?

The dimly lit room kept a small pile of human remains consisting of what Jason believed was an ear, a hand, and excess skin. It all lay clumped together near a corner, with a large amount of blood spread across the stone floor and walls. This is...horrible. Am I already too late? No, this... He examined the remains again. This wouldn't be from her...but possibly the last few victims?

Some of the rats scampered off when Jason neared while others remained undeterred as they nibbled off morsels of the decaying flesh. These are different though. Older, possibly. One of the rats dashed away and took Jason's attention with it momentarily. The vermin followed a trail of blood down another tunnel. Too much blood for a few rodents. What's down there? More remains or something worse?

Jason followed the trail until he reached a dead end. He looked up and found another manhole cover. Another dead end? With as much care as he could afford, Jason lifted the steel plate from underneath and peered out into the street. It was deserted and in front of a condemned building with a chain link fence around its perimeter. Jason returned to the surface and flew over the fence before he crept into the building.

It was dark in the building but with the ambient light from outside he could see remains of old condoms, a worn and stained mattress, some dirty and torn clothes, empty beer bottles, hundreds of cigarette b.u.t.ts, and other discarded trash. Although the building was silent Jason did hear someone above him. Two people. One pacing and the other...struggling, bound? Trapped? Could this be it Jason? You have to hurry! Jason raced upstairs and burst through the door to discover the two individuals he heard from a flight below. The missing girl, Lily Meyers, sat bound and gagged in a chair in a corner away from Jason. The man who paced in the center of the room came to an abrupt halt.

Jason quickly scanned the room and found two cots made up opposite the captive young woman, one of which was piled with various medical tools Jason didn't recognize. A long table stood before the unknown man which was nearly free of clutter, aside from a lamp, a few tools, and some worn leather bound books. Emptied syringes, medical waste bags, and soiled bandages littered the floor near the poor girl. This is it, now, how to handle this...

"Is that you Jason?"

Jason stopped cold and immediately felt his pulse throbbing once more. No, no no no, no it can't be.

The man walked toward a bit of light in the room and revealed himself. "You don't remember me, do you? It was so long ago and-and you, and we, we have been busy, haven't we Jason? You've become something else, something wonderful, frightful even. But I, I have been about my Lord's work, his bidding."

The killer started toward the girl when Jason barked, "Who the h.e.l.l are you?"

He stopped. "Jason..." the shadowed figure turned to face him, "You don't remember me at all?"

It can't be. It can't...it, why? Why the h.e.l.l, what in the h.e.l.l, why why why d.a.m.n it why?

Jason cleared his throat and whispered, "Joshua."

The elderly man stepped forward and revealed his distorted form. Joshua Todd stood hunched over and although Jason couldn't make out his features completely, but he saw the pale gray face of his opponent. Todd's face and arms were covered in surgical scars and between those marks were areas of skin from the various victims he'd captured and killed. His head held no hair beyond the occasional patches of whatever hair remained from whoever he once scalped.

Todd grinned and showed crooked yellow and blackened teeth through his parched lips. "I've waited for you for some time my boy." He struggled to breathe for a moment before he continued, "I found you in the hospital and heard about your recovery and thought about the benefits it could have for someone like me, but you proved too difficult to kill then. And I tried as you may recall, but I didn't know what I needed to possess to kill you then Jason." The killer wheezed for a breath before he pressed on, "Jason, I'm dying, as you can tell. And I believe you can help me, in one way or another."

"What are you...why the h.e.l.l would I ever help you Todd?" Jason barked.

Todd stuck his hand in his pocket and retrieved a small notepad. "You will help me because that is what we must do, what we are called to do, my boy."

"What?"

"We were called," he repeated. "Chosen to do the Lord's work."

Jason studied him and asked what he meant. "Do you think you have some sort of link to G.o.d, Joshua?"

Todd nodded his head slowly and told Jason he had a task to complete. "One of the Lord's angels came to me Jason. His name was..." the man paused for a moment, in thought, desperately trying to recall the forgotten name, "Oh what was it? Ramiel? No...Raphael? Or was it Remliel? In any case, the angel came and told me to punish the wicked, but when he came I was aged, I was dying and I didn't know how to follow his commandment. So I searched and searched for a cure, for an answer, and I found, or rather, I discovered my purpose in life. A purpose beyond medicine, past saving mortal lives...saving eternal beings."

He's unstable. I need to save her, but he's...he's...

"How do you save them Joshua?"

The elderly man waved a finger in the air and told Jason to have patience. "I was a far younger man when I was called, yet I was dying. Age had over taken me and my body, it decayed and found corruption. I needed to serve the Lord though, and I knew if he called me there was some way to do as he asked of me. I was a doctor Jason, a very good one too, but I was...I was seduced by dark, frightening things. I was almost lost until He sent one of his servants, his angels to me. I was instructed to usher the d.a.m.ned to another life, one where they might begin again and learn to be peaceful, better people.

"It was a cold night in early autumn when I found my enlightenment," Todd continued. "I happened upon a young inebriated man who spent his evening at a pub with some of his friends. As I walked past, he caught my attention. There stood a young, hulking individual who squandered his health, wellness, and life, and I was envious. And at that moment Jason," he looked Jason in the eye to ensure he heard him clearly, "At that moment a thought arrived. What should stop me from taking what was his, or anyone else's for that that matter? The youth waste their strength and vigor and supply little purpose to the world. So selfish and self-centered," he sighed. "It was that very moment when I grew to understand everything all at once.

"It was long past midnight when my prey left his party. He stumbled home on his own through the lamp lit streets. Most of the townspeople were long since asleep and left the roads wide open and vacant. I kept close to my subject, studying him, dissecting him. The brute stood two heads taller than I and appeared to weigh twice as much too. I remember keeping my hands deep in my pockets, but not to battle the cold. I gripped tight to a steel knife I purchased to perform my Lord's work, though I trembled greatly at the prospect of making my first sacrifice.

"The subject wandered far from the main part of town and onto worn dirt roads. The light from the city faded soon too and then not only my task but the shadows and sounds of the night frightened me. I found myself fingering the blade, memorizing how it opened, how long it was, how it felt, how heavy it was..." he paused. Joshua slowly reached into his pocket and continued, "It must have been a half an hour before I summoned the courage to creep up behind him. I looked all around, through the fields of tall gra.s.s and up and down the road. My heart slammed into my chest over and over and I could hear it from within me. I stared at my prey, knowing he could hear me, knowing he could hear my ill heart too.

"The man stopped and struggled to wheel around and face me. He asked what I wanted, but I could not bring myself to utter a single word. There before me stood a giant of a man, someone who could with little effort stop my feeble hand from performing its necessary duties. But without warning came a sign. A crow cried out from the brush beside us and though fright overtook us both, I reacted in terror and plunged the knife into his wretched heart."

Joshua stopped there as he pulled out a worn and rusty knife. He held it in the palm of his flat hand. "He screamed as I drove the blade into his chest over and over and over again until his cries died out in the night. I'd completed my master's wishes for the first time. It felt exhilarating. But fear seeped back in as I dreaded that someone, some pa.s.serby might have heard the commotion.

"It took all of what little strength I had left but I hid the body deep in the tall gra.s.s, far from the road. I waited for the s.p.a.ce of an hour, listening to the chirps of insects, the occasional footstep of a woodland creature, and my own thunderous heart. My eyes remained open wide, piercing the veil of night in search of any possible attackers or villagers who might have come after me for my prize." Todd took a moment to collect his thoughts before he resumed his tale, "I needed time to think about how I was to steal the man's youth, his life, something I worried I had already carelessly discarded. But enlightenment continued to pour into my soul and I knew all I needed to. Using the blade I started from the underside of the man's left arm and sliced deep, thick cuts of his flesh and muscle. I collected as much as I believed I could carry without attracting attention and stole away to my home. His remains were discovered early that morning and the brutality of the event led to a manhunt, though they never found the right man, as you can see.

"I spent the next day in hiding, receiving no patients or visitors. I obsessed over how to use what I'd stolen before it fell away into waste. It began to worry me, as the flesh and meat sat in a b.l.o.o.d.y heap on a stool in the deepest room in my home. It ate at my mind and heart and I could not bear to be away from it, even for a moment, in fear that someone could uncover my act and accuse me of the slaying. I remained in the complete darkness of my home all that next night, sitting quietly on the floor beside my bounty. Sleep pestered me as did my desire for food and water, but all I could think of was the need, the craving for an answer, for a way to keep this stolen power for myself. So I pressed onward and remained there, beside my prize.

"But I was taken by sleep. I only awoke at the sound of my son when he entered my front door. My heart raced as I collected myself and rushed to meet him, to shepherd him away from my precious secret. My boy, a man then, married with a child even, still tended to me on a regular basis. It was Wednesday then and he invited me to the store with his wife and child to purchase provisions for the week. I was so worried he would notice something I may have left out of place, a b.l.o.o.d.y handprint or the knife even, though I knew it was with me in my pocket. But my mind, racked with worry, with panic, managed to convince my boy that I was too weak then, too tired for what we had planned. He promised me he would return later in the week, as he often did.

"Once my son left, I returned to my trophy and I speedily began my experimentations. Over the course of that day I came to find a rudimentary perfection and managed to summon strength enough to begin my procedure. I had to use stolen medication to numb the pain and elevate myself to another level to operate. When it was over I slept for nearly three days. Famished, I joined my boy for a meal with his family. The operation succeeded and so long as I could hide the scars and the great difference in my flesh and that of the man I had killed, no one would ever learn of my actions. I burnt the remains of my own accursed age in a hearth.

"But my procedure was imperfect. My body began to reject the addition and I grew terrified that I had made a fatal error. I grew ill and knew I needed another specimen so I could discard the rejected flesh in favor of something compatible with my own body. And I knew my Lord needed another brought unto him. Yet because of my condition I was frail and I shuddered to think I would fail at my task. Friends and family came one after another to care for me, none of them ever seeing my wounds though. I refused to see a doctor as well, which brought suspicion, I fear. None could uncover my plot though, instead believing my mind had begun to wander. Word spread throughout the town that I might even be on my deathbed. People came with flowers and meals one after another, and I found myself fixated on each one as I sorted through each of their inherent qualities and benefits.

"And yet, one thing troubled me most of all. Even if I found replacement parts, I knew there wasn't any guarantee my body would accept them. I couldn't understand why the idea was placed into my mind if I was d.a.m.ned to fail. It was maddening until I found a reasonable hypothesis. I knew it was but a temporary solution to my overall designs, but it would at the very least undo the mishap of the decaying meat attached to me then. I outlined my plan and waited until the time was right.

"One night my son came to check on me. He came to ensure my condition hadn't worsened and to spend the evening with me. We talked about recent events, how his child was, and about medicine, which was something my boy was fascinated by. During the evening he made a supper consisting of a stew, bread, boiled potatoes, and some ale. We ate and reminisced as the night deepened. Then, after my boy consumed enough of our ale, he began to tell me of the strangeness he suspected of me. He didn't know anything concrete or defined, but he told me he resented my lies. My child a.s.sumed I was dying, or ailed with some unalterable disease, or even that I plotted to abandon my practice altogether for another life, one filled with shadow and occult. I remember his smile as we sat across from one another late that night. He smiled and whispered to me his great notion that I knew about the details of the other man's death. About the man he did not know I killed. I denied it of course, as casually as I could. I was calm though my heart was not. I watched as my boy slowly closed his eyes and collapsed from his chair. A poison I had planted in his drink earlier in the evening had worked.

"My son's wife suspected something after he failed to return home the next day from my quarters. She went to the authorities but by the time she arrived all that remained were the ragged and bloodied remains of my son. I performed my next operation far from home and after a similar experience as the first procedure I came out healthy again. The transplant was a success, the first of many. And all I needed afterwards was to perfect my art, to slowly remove the remainder of my decaying body, and to harvest the souls to my master while I kept the bodies for myself."

Jason felt ill. He took a slight step away from the man and tried to maintain his composure. The girl, Lily, sat paler than ever. This isn't helping her. I need to think, what do I do?

"I need you to help me Jason," Joshua reminded him. "As you can see, it is very difficult for me to find subjects for my Lord. Since I find and can take few subjects I run the risk of encountering my own demise at the hands of simple rejections from my own body. I learned that there are specific people"

"Blood types," Jason filled in.