[Locke]

Chapter 3 - The World's First Supervillain.

“You know, when I joined Section X, I still had no idea...this would happen.” Detective Drew Doe sighed into his hot chocolate, before scooping up another pastry crumb from his plate and into his mouth. Doe was in his early forties, he had skin like coal and a face creased with years of forced smiles.
“You just thought I was a crazy old man, past his prime, and this was an easy job?” Detective Czech Koenig growled, his voice was thick with an Eastern European accent that Doe could never properly place, the man was a native English speaker but between his impossibly heavy accent and even heavier smoking, most of what he said simply sounded like one long growl. Doe always wondered how a man who had only ever lived in this country, could have an accent that thick.

Koenig retired as a detective after surviving a gunshot wound to the face, Koenig wasn’t even angry about it, the guy who shot him had lost everything and had finally snapped, Koenig wore his scar as a reminder of just how unfair the world usually could be. He took the spiritual aspect of this very personally, his survival didn’t turn him to religion exactly but instead to simply take another look at all things that lacked any kind of proof. Any normal Detective would have been laughed at, but Koenig taking a bullet to the face and living made for a great centrepiece of police publicity stunts, so they were quite happy to satisfy whatever needs Koenig had, well the ones they could afford... What that ultimately culminated in, was Section X.

Doe had been the first member of the team and as of right now is the only other member of the team than Koenig himself. For five years it was just Koenig in an old, dusty basement chasing ghosts on conspiracy websites, now with all the reports of ‘Kamen Riders’ they had started to take Section X a little more seriously, or at least a fraction more seriously, about the size of the pastry crumb on the end of Doe’s finger. Koenig wanted a chance to use his powers as a Detective to explore the supernatural and he got what he wanted, Doe supposed.

“I joined Section X because I believe, just like you, but that doesn’t mean I expected to be chasing superheroes around.”
Koenig growled, Doe wasn’t sure if this was an actual growl, or he still hadn’t quite tuned into the man's voice.

Section X had no official offices, it had no official anything, so Doe and Koenig spent a majority of the day at a café called Margarine, it was a greasy spoon that made the best sausage rolls Doe had ever tasted, along with the only hot chocolate he ever tasted that actually tasted like chocolate.
“Read this, while I go out for a smoke.” Koenig growled, passing a manilla folder across the surface of the table, seemingly not caring about anything that was spilt on it. Doe wanted to jibe at him for smoking, but whenever he did he caught himself looking at the scar tissue that was once the man’s left eye and kept his mouth shut.

Doe watched his partner head out the door and flipped open the folder, he was greeted by a red skinned man who was as handsome as he was imposing.
“Samuel Monday, huh?” Doe said out loud as he read, the most interesting part of the file was that no one seemed to be able to catch this guy, his actual crimes were largely petty and uninteresting but then he flicked over to the last page where huge chunks of it had been marked over and classified but from the bits and pieces he was able to read, this guy finally got chucked behind bars after getting in a drunken brawl, only to don a high tech suit of armour and break his way back out again, “Kamen Rider...”

Koenig stepped out into the rain, it had been a near constant thunderstorm for almost a month now, luckily the fire escape provided the perfect cover to smoke under, however as he turned into the alley, a limousine pulled out of the rain beside him, to which the door swung open. Koenig growled to himself and stepped inside.

Beside him was the girl whose name was Lily, always hiding in her hoodie like a turtle in its shell and there at the far end was the Boss, who he wasn’t even sure he could see properly with two working eyes.
“Hello Czech.” The boss greeted.
“Hello.” Koenig said back.
Lily greeted him out of politeness, but didn’t care enough for the man to do anything more.
“So, what can you tell me about this new Kamen Rider?”
“Not a lot.” He admitted, “A lot of it has already been classified.”
“But I’m assuming not all?”
Koenig shook his head, “Small time crook, was good at getting away from cops before he made a rookie mistake, they said he fought with a whip, they also said some kind of gas came out of his armour, some kind of hallucinogenic, he killed them all while they were tripping out.”
“Brutal.” The boss purred.
Koenig nodded.
The limousine began to slow down, before the door swung open, “Thank you for your help.” The Boss said.
“Thank you for saving me.” Koenig replied, standing to get out.
“Oh, one other thing.” The Boss added, “In about a weeks time, I wouldn’t be in the city, if I were you.”

*

The Reaper made a sound that didn’t belong in this world and dive bombed from out of the clouds, right towards the Earth where Crack was waiting ready.
“You were right!” Sam said, “It’s coming right for us!”
“I can see that.”
“Let’s do this, HallucinoPunish!” The heavy armour around his legs, forearms and chest all began to split and slide open, as it did it unleashed a wall of gas, the Reaper flew right into it and for a moment the two of them were lost in the cloud, within the cloud a struggle could be heard when suddenly Crack went flying out of the gas cloud now pouring over the edge of the rooftop he was once standing on, a chunk of his chest armour had been torn away exposing flesh beneath which was bleeding profusely. For a moment Crack simply fell alongside the side of the building, but he used his whip to swing from the side of the building to the safety of a lower rooftop across from them.
“It didn’t work...” Sam said in horror.
“And now it is coming right for us...”
True enough, from the side of the cloud the Reaper burst free, making that horrible sound and gunned right for them, its jagged bill aimed right at their throat.
“No!” Crack screamed, “I will make it big time, I will be the world’s first super villain!”

And then, just as he was about to die, a voice screamed, “The hero has arrived! To knock you off the board!” a Red and Gold Rider dropped right onto the creatures bill, wildly swiping at it with some kind of spear whose blade never seemed to ever be the same size twice. Kwan Dao held their weapon aloft, feeling their energy pour into the weapon as the blade burns, before they span it round and drove it into the bill, which cracked under the power but didn’t yet pierce. The creature shook its head and suddenly Kwan Dao touched down on the rooftop beside Crack, skidding painfully across it, stopping just dead of falling off the edge.

“Who are you?” Crack asked.
“We could ask the same.” Kwan Dao said, standing, composing themselves.
“It must be the Reaper.” Crack said.
“It provided you the perfect cover.” Kwan Dao said, “Sneaky.”
“Unintentional, but useful.” Crack started, but then followed with, “I have no fucking idea what you guys are talking about!”
“It happens, don’t worry.” Kwan Dao replied.

Suddenly a bright light changed the colour of the world, the two Riders span to see a ball of light like rainbow coloured fire growing between the creatures bill.
Crack stood, frozen in fear, but Kwan Dao was a hero, so he went charging right at it.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Bison screamed.
“We’ve gotta attack, before that thing unleashes its attack.” Ichijou said, “A hero always thinks of the people all around him.”
“You’re an idiot.”

Just as it seemed the attack was to be unleashed Kwan Dao drove their burning weapon right into the heart of the energy, flooding it with their own, compressing the power, absorbing it, screaming with everything they had, “Superheroic Limit Break!” they roared as they fired the energy back down the creature’s throat, scattering it through the creatures exposed ribcage.

“Is it over?” Ichijou panted.
“I don’t know, I couldn’t feel it even when it was ‘alive’” Ichijou replied.
Then, as if in answer, the creatures bill slammed shut on top of them. Kwan Dao screamed in pure agony, before Ichijou rolled broken out of the creatures mouth onto the rooftop, the driver rolling away from him.

“Oh shit.” Crack said, “Hey kid, are you dead?!”
“No, he ain’t dead.” Bison said, taking his human form, “I took the brunt of that damage for him.”
“But as such, you’re going to need time to recover.” Crack said.
“You guys are fucking idiots, drawing the Reaper to you like this.” Bison spat.
“You were the one who jumped right into the creatures attack!”
“And it worked, didn’t it? We just overestimated just how powerful that attack was...”
“Well now what?!” Crack whimpered.
Bison shrugged and scooped Ichijou up, “You fight him.” And began to walk towards the edge of the building.
“You can’t leave us!”
“Watch me.” Bison growled, but then something gripped his arm.
“We are heroes, we don’t leave anyone behind.”
Bison looked down to see Ichijou beaming up at him, even as blood ran down his face.
Ichijou dropped to the ground and threw the Driver around his waist, “Let’s save the day.”
“I need time to recuperate, I took so much damage to avoid getting you killed.”
“Then rely on my power for once, Bison.” Ichijou smiled.
Bison crossed his arms, “You’re insane.”
Ichijou laughed, “I’m just a hero.”
“Fine, but if you die I’m gonna be so pissed!”

“Henshin!” Ichijou cried, swiping the card through the top of the Driver with a brilliant flash and surge of energy, as he did the card began to glow bright in his outstretched hands and shot out before him, Ichijou limped through it like a doorway, coming out the other side not looking too different than millions of others on their motorbikes. However as the leather wrapped around his body, it was like all his pain elevated, he straightened out and stood tall.
“Heh...” Bison said as he began to float up into the air and glow, soon all Bison was was a mass of crimson energy that slowly began to rebuild itself into an entirely new shape, a weapon.
“Engage, Contract!” Ichijou commanded as Bison flew into his outstretched hands. Ichijou gripped his hands around the staff and as he did red energy began to surge out from it, bleeding over his suit, “Kamen Rider, Kwan Dao!” Bison and Ichijou said at once, forming an entirely new voice. Together they twirled the Kwan Dao, resting it on their shoulder, “It’s time for round two! The hero is going to save the day!”

“These guys are nuts...” Sam said.
“But it is in our best interests to help them.”
“Agreed.”
“Hey!” Crack said, as Kwan Dao stood next to them, “Need some help?”
“Let’s do this!” They said.

Crack twirled his whip around Kwan Dao as Kwan Dao held their weapon out.
“This reminds me of an anime I watched once.” Crack said, before he yanked sending Kwan Dao twirling through the air at the creature, like the worlds most deadliest spinning top.