Edwin Jones' Agent Dragon Fly

Agent Dragon Fly – Beginning Story

Prologue.
The lights of fire and police vehicles are dwarfed by the light of the settling fire.  The smoldering remains of several commercial buildings, smokes like cigarettes in the wind.  There was an epic battle here and it shows.  Blast remnants, from unknown origins, scars what remains of the buildings. At the center of the destruction is a crater of immense size dwarfing what lies in the center. The Sun rises slowly, as if fighting the darkness of the night, shedding light upon the crater little by little to reveal the figure of a man grasping what appears to be another human body.  He holds the body dearly to his own, silently mourning.  As the Sun light reveals more of the two figures, it shows that the limp body the man is holding is that of a woman.  Her eyes are closed and her face scarred from burns.  Her clothes are tattered and torn. She shows no sign of life and the hope of any is the same.  The Sun finally is high over head when the man finally looks up…very angry, like a demon possessed!

6 months earlier.

A solitary man sits in a garden among flowering plants and trees while the sound of a bubbling fountain is in the background.  All of this is lost on the man who sits and meditates among the splendor.  His name is Scott Sadarta.  He is a meta-human.  Meta-humans exist, they are super powered and highly trained beings that walk among ordinary men.  Most meta-humans are content to live a simple life and not utilize their powers at all, while others…
A military helicopter approaches the serene garden of Scott Sadarta.  Long before he hears the whirling blades of the machine, he feels the disturbance of the spliced air.  A look of disgust appears over his face as he barely opens his eyes.  The helicopter lands in a nearby clearing and even before the motor can fully stop a suited man with two armed military escorts get out of the helicopter and walks towards Sadarta.  Sadarta eyes rolls as they approach, he has lost his deeper consciousness.  The man in the suit is Assistant Director Edmond Stroller.  Mr. Stroller is accustomed to dealing with meta-humans, which is why his agency was created; to keep the uncontrollable meta-humans under control.  To accomplish that directive, Mr. Stroller’s agency recruits other meta-humans.  Scott Sadarta is one of their recruits; in fact he is one of their best. A.D. Stroller steps towards Sadarta and asks rhetorically, “Scott, are you busy?”  Sadarta rises to his feet; his impressive build makes the armed guards grip their weapons tighter.  This small action does not go unnoticed by Sadarta who looks at them and deadpans “Really?”  A.D. Stroller tells the men, “You men fall back and watch the perimeter.  I want to speak with Sadarta alone”.  The guards slowly comply, but stay within eye view of the A.D. and this meta-human.  Before the A.D. can say anything else, Sadarta looks at him and says, “No, I’m not coming back”.  A.D. Stroller takes a heavy breath and begins, “Look I know there is a lot of things you don’t like about the agency…” He is quickly cut off by Sadarta who quips, “Everything about the agency”.  Stroller shakes his head in affirmation, “Okay, okay.  But, can you get over that to deal with our latest problem?”  Sadarta puts on a dress robe and replies, “Look Stroller, you have others working for you.  Some are damn good agents! You don’t need me”.  “Is it because she is still with us?” Stroller asks.  Sadarta looks at him coldly and replies, “We’re finished here”.  He turns to walk into his house when the A.D. yells out, “He’s back, and he has friends!”  Sadarta stops in his tracks, but, doesn’t look back.  Stroller continues, “I know you are probably thinking ‘Can she handle him? Which one got stronger over the years? Would she survive another confrontation when she barely survived the last one?”  Sadarta turns to A.D. Stroller and very stoically says, “It was nice to see you.  Have a safe trip back”.  Sadarta then turns and goes into his home and locks the door, leaving the A.D. just staring dumbfounded for a moment before calling his men in and returning to the helicopter.  Inside his home, Scott Sadarta enters a specially prepared room for his meditation.  The room is void of any extravagance and extras.  It could only boast of white walls and glass ceiling top with a view to the sky.  As Sadarta gets into his lotus position, he sees, not hear, the departing helicopter.  He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.  He lets his mind go inward and his concentration is the same.  He sees himself meditating and then he sees himself dressed in Buddhist robes surrounded by an orb of light.  He peers into the orb to gaze upon himself, peaceful and yet seemingly powerful.  He presses against the orb to find it resists his outer self.  The more he pushes, the stronger the orb’s resistance.  His ‘self’ that is in the orb, remains peaceful with eyes closed and back straight.  His ‘inner self’ seems to be emitting the power for the glowing orb.  Suddenly another vision enters his mind, that of a demon behind a mirror.  Before he can investigate the mirror a powerful hand grabs him and hurdles him across the sky.  His body, in reality, responds to the visions he sees in his mind and he thrashes in response.  Within his mind he sees the assailant; it’s the meta-human known as Ragnorak!  Ragnorak snarls at him as Sadarta is flung backwards.  Sadarta can only watch as he sees Ragnorak turn to an unidentified female and grabbing her in two hands, snaps her in two!  Sadarta can only watch helplessly as the distance becomes greater.  He sees himself within the orb disappear and cries out without a sound leaving his throat.  Scott Sadarta emerges from his meditation covered in sweat and a look of angst upon his face.

Midwest Federal Building.

A tense time as several armed men has taken federal employees hostages.  The hostage takers’ cause and demands have not been made as yet.  Police have several city blocks corded off, keeping a tight and secure perimeter.  S.W.A.T. moves into position; as various law enforcement descends upon the area.  News media gather to report a minute by minute detail of the growing situation.  At the lead of the law enforcement team is Captain Sebastian Rizza. Highly decorated, totally competent, no nonsense and completely honest. Officers in his command have great respect for him, while outside of his precinct other cops have heard of this tough as nails cop who worked his way up the ranks.  Captain Rizza looks around for a moment and views all the cops standing ready.  He then puts on his bullet resistant vest.  His blue eyes grow gray and his face loses all forms of trepidation, he is ready to deal with this crisis.  Captain Rizza approaches the first person to call this ‘hostage situation’ in; a building security guard who was struck with the ‘polite’ end of a rifle by the men who took over the building and hostages.  Captain Rizza asks, “How are you son?” “Physically, I’ll be alright. Mentally and emotionally I’m pissed off”, the young guard responds.  “How many of those ass holes are we dealing with?” the Captain asks. “Seven.  I believe there are seven of them”, the guard replies.  “You believe that or you know that as fact?” the Captain pushes.  The guard thinks it through for a moment, and then he nods slowly as he responds, “I know I saw seven of them.  They let me go to alert city officials”.  Captain Rizza pauses a moment, then starts yelling everyone within the sound of his voice, “Pull back, Pull back!”  The warning comes just moments before a window in the captured build is shot out and a rocket launcher inhabits the glass space.  Police and emergency response teams flee as fast as they can.  A sudden streak of combustion tears through the air and impacts several police cruisers.  Three officers are caught in the assault and several more emergency respondents are injured, this lets the law enforcement realize they are the intended targets!  A subsequent barrage of bullets flies at the police who are forced to take shelter behind their vehicles.  In an instant the tense hostage situation has escalated into a battle zone. 
Two blocks away a familiar helicopter lands and a lone figure gets out.  The helicopter quickly leaves the area as the lone figure makes its way toward the ensuing battle area by way of the rooftops.  As the figure enters the police perimeter, it encounters two S.W.A.T. officers on the rooftop.  The cops spin in the direction of the incoming figure.  They have no time to either warn others or discharge firearms before they are rendered unconscious.  The figure leaves them knocked out, but, otherwise unharmed.  The figure makes its way to the top of the hostage building unaware or uncaring, that television news cameras in the sky are trying to follow in helicopters of their own.  The figure makes it to the captured building as television news crews catch a glimpse of the figure before it enters the building.  A news reporter in the helicopter blurts out, “Who the hell was that?”  The helicopter pilot can only respond, “I don’t know.  It didn’t look like a cop”.  Reporter,”Can we get any closer?” The pilot responds, “No, the Feds have a strict ‘no fly zone’ and orders to take down anyone getting close”.  The frustrated news reporter thinks for a moment then speaks out loud, “Alright then, I’ll look at the footage we have of that person on the roof and see if it can be made clearer”.  The reporter engages a laptop computer and downloads the digital footage just shot with the cameras.  The reporter then starts reviewing the footage and enlarges the only view of the rooftop figure.  As the picture becomes larger and larger, the figure is somewhat blurry but can still be identified.  The reporter exclaims, “Good lord, it’s a woman!”
Inside the building the lone woman stealthily makes her way towards the hostages.  She stops and feels the walls of the building.  She can sense the tiniest of vibration and can determine their source.  She is a meta-human.  Her name is Steffany Hsu, code name; Damsel Fly.  Damsel Fly makes her way to where the hostages are grouped at.  She has determined that there are seven assailants.  She’ll have to be efficient in their removal if she doesn’t want to risk the lives of the hostages.  Damsel Fly finds a corresponding air duct, which would take her straight to the room where hostages are being held.  She slides her lithe, tight form into the duct work and proceeds to crawl to her destination.  Her movements are quiet and deliberate.  She only stops to feel the vibration as only she can.  She peers into the room in which the hostages are held through a grated opening of the duct.  There are twenty three people in the room, twenty two seem physically shaken.  She scans the area for armed assailants and sees none.  Sensing a good opportunity to descend, Damsel Fly opens the duct vent and drops to the floor, startling the hostages.  She motions them to be quiet as she whispers, “Where are they now?”  An older man dressed in white shirt and tie approaches and asks, “Are you with the police?”  She responds, “No, better. Now, where are they?”  The older man tells her, “They keep us locked in here.  Where they go, we don’t know”.  Damsel Fly thinks a moment then demands, “You women in here; give me your extra clothes.  I’m going to fit in until your captors return”.  The women all contribute something until Damsel Fly is disguised.  Then she sits among the hostages and waits.
Outside the police captain is trying to figure out how to bring this crisis to an end without any further loss of life.  With the police perimeter pulled way back, the solution just seem impossible without waging a metropolitan war.  Inside of the building, three of the seven assailants returns to the hostages leaving the remaining four to guard an access corridor in.  The corridor guards stand tense with fingers on the trigger, when one of them realizes they are not alone in the corridor.  The first triggerman demands “Who the hell are you?”  His question echoes through the corridor alerting the other triggermen with him.  A black blur moves towards the first man knocking him down with a strike to the chin.  The second man gets his feet swept out from underneath him and before he lands hard on the ground, the third and fourth man are knocked out; almost simultaneously.  As the men all lay on the floor, Scott Sadarta walks in the direction of the room where the hostages are kept and the last three men.  While their comrades’ fates are unknown to the remaining three triggermen, they unlock doors and step inside the room to check on hostages.  With guns aimed they tell the people there, “We are going to move you to a different part of the building”. A woman’s voice is heard yelling “Wait!”  The puzzled gunmen stop their activities and watch as; one of the female hostages points to a disguised Damsel Fly and says, “She is under cover”.  The men aim their weapons at Damsel Fly and order her, “You, come here!”  Realizing she cannot act without jeopardizing the innocent hostages, Damsel Fly submits.  The woman who gave away her position walks to one of the men and takes a handgun from him.  She is the eighth gunman!  She walks up to Damsel Fly and smiles viciously, “We had alternate plan just in case”. Damsel Fly looks coldly at the woman and the other gun men, then as if on cue, a smile appears on her face as she says, “Some plans are not planned”. As the gunmen turn to see Scott Sadarta standing behind them. He moves quickly, taking out the three men. He then disarms the woman who pleads with him, “Do you hit women? Scott answers “Me? No, but she will”. To that Damsel Fly spins around the woman and gives her right cross on the jaw, knocking her out. Damsel Fly walks up to Sadarta and says “I could have handled it.”  Sadarta doesn’t respond. He secures the gunmen and starts to walk out. One of the hostages asks Damsel Fly, “Who was that?” Damsel Fly responds, “Agent Dragon Fly.”