Chapter 0:
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA
The Dreamcatcher
SOMEWHERE IN LITTLE CHINA, PRECINCT 3, NEO TOKYO, SOL III.
“HRRMPH!!!”
The deft uppercut to the titanium-plated abdomen sent a shock wave across the courtyard.
The staggering punch lifted the armoured assailant up into the air and flung him across the courtyard.
The hand of the bloodied man in white jumpsuit and a red cape snapped from the impact.
The bloodied man slumped to his knees and cursed, "Shit..."
He glanced towards the armoured assailant, who remained motionless on the ground.
He sighed. While inspecting his bloodied and mangled hands, a conflicted expression dawned upon his face; one of agony and triumph.
He had never had such a tough, drawn-out battle in a very long time; not ever since the day that he became revered as Captain Dynamite, one of the legendary Elites.
The Elites are the protectors of Super 8; an organization built on the foundation of true justice and world peace, governed by a group of mysterious beings said to be unaffiliated with and unaffected by any political powerhouses on Sol III.
The Elites were said to wield a certain level of influence in the hierarchy of the organization. Legend had it that Captain Dynamite was recruited into the Super 8 after his heroic deed in the Battle for the Fourth Reich; where he single-handedly turned the tide of the battle.
At the time, a battalion sent by the government was pinned down in a deathtrap valley. The terrain was difficult to access and the military was not willing to expend any personnel for a rescue mission with a low survival rate.
Upon learning of the military's incompetence, Captain Dynamite, known as Captain Richard Maximilian at the time, decided to disobey direct orders and went rogue.
Sneaking behind enemy lines, he eventually found the trapped soldiers at a deathtrap valley called Valle de la Sol.
It was a sight to behold; the gruesome valley was raining with hellfire that day. People were dropping like flies, with nowhere to hide.
Witnessing such a huge tragedy transpiring right before his very eyes, Captain Dynamite inadvertently shed a tear.
Anger raged inside of him.
"What is the purpose of my gifts?" Captain Dynamite questioned himself.
He was immersed in his own thoughts for while before coming to his senses.
"Yes, I have inhuman strength and unbreakable skin. I should be able to stop this," Captain Dynamite thought to himself.
With determination glimmering in his eyes, Captain Dynamite decided to perform a feat so absurd that it will go down in history as one of the greatest heroic deed ever performed.
His heroic deed was still discussed to these days; it was both a subject of wonder and dread.
The melodic chirping of the field crickets were suddenly disrupted when the armoured assailant rose from ground, seemingly staggered but otherwise unscathed.
Patting on his dented breastplate, the armoured assailant smirked in a distorted voice as he strutted towards the fallen hero, “It seemed the legendary Herculean strength of yours is nothing but a myth after all.”
“How is he still alive? That's impossible! " Captain Dynamite panicked.
As the armoured assailant closed the distance, Captain Dynamite decidedly launch a surprise attack in response. However, his body was no longer in his control. The damaged were just too severe; the body would no longer listening to his biddings.
The armoured assailant stopped just a few steps away from Captain Dynamite, looking down at him with a set of menacing eyes.
"It seemed like you could no longer move. Well, well, well... It's time for some payback," the armoured assailant smirked.
"POUND! POUND! POUND! "
The sound of soft flesh being savagely pounded by titanium gloves echoed into the night.
The brutal punches dropped Captain Dynamite head first onto the rugged ground of the abandoned courtyard.
He could no longer resist. He felt so numb. His mind is so blank.
Gazing at the magnificent night sky up above, he realized that it was probably the last thing that he will ever see in his life.
The stars were twinkling ever so brightly...
He tried to hold back his tears, but one eventually rolled out of his right eye.
"POUND! POUND! POUND!"
As blood sputtered out of his mouth, his vision slowly dimmed.
Before his world faded into the eternal darkness, he heard a breathy little voice laughing in the background, "My, my, my. Don’t worry. I will put your body to good use.”
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NATIONAL FORENSICS LAB, PRECINCT 1, NEO TOKYO, SOL III
“These are the remains, Inspector Moreno,” a decidedly quirky forensic scientist in hazmat suit elucidated by lifting the body sheet off of the transparent bio-hazard containment box.
Inspector Moreno frowned upon the remains of Captain Dynamite reticently.
Even for someone as decorated as Inspector Moreno, who have seen the world more than anyone at this point in life, the sight of Captain Dynamite’s horribly mangled body made his flesh crawled under his hazmat suit.
Captain Dynamite died a violent death. His head was bashed in, and separated from his mangled torso. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that some parts of his body parts were missing or mangled beyond recognition. There were clear signs of his body had been dissected prior or after his death.
“I just hope that he was not alive when they dissected him,” Inspector Moreno thought to himself.
"The once proud and mighty defender of justice was reduced to nothing but a pile of dead meat before our very eyes; only by the grace of science were the authorities able to identify the remains."
“We have tried our best to preserve the brain… But...” the decidedly quirky forensic scientist sighed as she walked towards her desk, “But I don’t think that it will be of much help to the Dreamcatchers. Looks like another cold case here.”
THIS IS BAD. WITHOUT AN INTACT BRAIN, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR THE DREAMCATCHERS TO UNRAVEL THE MYSTERIES BEHIND HIS VIOLENT DEATH. UNLESS… YES…
Something clicked in the mind of Inspector Moreno. All of a sudden, his serious, sombre eyes glistened up.
“There is someone that we can use…” Inspector Moreno murmured.
“What were you saying, Inspector?” the decidedly quirky forensic scientist questioned.
Inspector Moreno scurried out of the forensic lab without answering the question.
“Inspector? Inspector?!”
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