Sky High After Dark: Siren's song

"The Allies at the time were getting reports that Germany was preparing for an invasion on France. You were sent in to verify if those reports were true or not. The SSM, the metahuman team that worked for the SS division of the Nazi party, were starting to soften up the major installations in France for their big invasion. At the time, no one truly knew of the existence of this team. Reports were scattered about, too circumstantial to give any credence to. Yet they did exist. You faced them on the field of battle. Granted not at first, you watched; you waited until you were prepared to make your move against them."

"Why?"

"As my maker put it, they seemed unnatural."

"How so?" Aron asked, intrigued.

"At least to you, it felt like they weren't born with the powers they possessed. The way you hypothesized from your observations of the team was that they were given their powers with the way they handled them. It wasn't like watching Isabel use her flame mutation. Where she moves fluidly with her powers. These five acted reserved, controlled, unsure how the powers given to them would act." He's never once heard of giving a non-metahuman metahuman powers. Yes, there have been government experiments with gene therapy that would produce metahuman powers that were dormant in their own DNA. Not this, not what Veil was telling him; it seemed so... inhuman. "One by one, you picked them off. Seeing how their powers were unnatural, they tended to fail as often as they worked. So you made quick work of them. You tried to interrogate the first four when you had them dead to rights, but they opted for suicide instead of answering your questions. Luckily the last one you knocked out long enough to remove the false tooth, so when you started your interrogation on the man, he couldn't get out of it like the other four.

During that time, you learned a great deal about the Nazi's secret project. One of many they had going on, more so at the beginning of the war than towards the end. Where you learned the Nazis, the SS, in particular, were rounding up people with orders to send the metahumans in their custody or those suspected with metahuman traits to a secret base in Northern Germany. A base lead by no other than Dr. Sikke Hahn."

"I don't see him on the list during the Nuremberg trials," Aron muttered, checking the net for any information on the name.

"And you won't; he escaped before you could capture him."

"Well, that just pisses me off," Aron grumbled.

"As it did, my maker," Veil informed him.

"So continue..." Holding up a hand when he heard his name being called out. "We will continue to discuss this later."

"Of course, father," Veil nodded, following him out of the room and resealing it.

Chapter Seven

"Thank you for coming in, Void." General Hastings spoke as Aron and Sara stood in the SCIF when Sara had contacted Aron that they had a mission.

"Not a problem; who is the target?" Aron asked, getting down to business.

"You're mission is to take out the world's second most wanted woman on the planet. As you see here," gesturing to the left side of the screen, "her crimes are numerous not just in the States but in fifty other countries we could verify. So far, she has elluded authorities, and those working for her fear her more than they do us. She has a habit of killing those that have turned informants while in custody. Some time ago, our people picked up chatter about a meeting taking place - Where? - we couldn't find out in time to move on the place," noting how Aron looked to Sara, who nodded that it was true, "in that chatter, our target's name was spoken."

Aron watched the footage they had; however, limited it was on the person as it played on the left side of the screen. Arching an eyebrow as Veil was putting up warnings all over his HUD. Knowing he would have to talk to her about that once he was out of that room.

"The name she goes by is Banshee, and she isn't a person to take lightly. She has at least two hundred kills to her name that we can verify. Her age is unknown. As you can see, she has lived for a very long time." Displaying all the reports on her that went back to the early fifties. Which he knew had to be impossible. "We have no idea if this is the same person, a look-alike, clone, robot, or a descendant of the woman we have from the fifties. All we know is she uses the same powers and the monikers as the one from years ago. We know she is just as deadly as the woman from the fifties. Given her powers and where we have tracked her to." Watching as a satellite image appeared on the screen showing a very well guarded and highly fortified compound in what is now the last stronghold of the Chazr kingdom of their once-great empire that had stretched all across Eurasia that was formed after the war that they had conquered from the Germans. Now all that remained of that vast empire was the dying embers of their kingdom that had shrank back to the borders it once held before the industrial age. A place that wasn't too friendly with the western world and very suspicious of outsiders. Aron knew it would be a perfect place to hide if one was trying to keep out of sight of the global powers since the Chazrians had an isolation policy that kept out all foreigners - at least the non-villainous kind.

"Given how the Chazr kingdom has vast radar stations all long their border to keep track of who enters their air space and surface to air missiles that are prepared to shoot down any who doesn't have their transponder codes. We'll be inserting you at ninety thousand feet, so their radar won't be able to pick you up. I know you like to use your own transportation. I would too if I had that kind of tech at my fingertips," General Hastings said, smirking at Aron. "Yet we can't take the chance that you or your vehicle could be picked up by their radar and have the Chazrians alerting the compound before your arrival, and she flees to ground. This is the best chance we have at taking her out in over five years. I know this mission will be dangerous on your own. Can we count on you to see that Banshee's days are at an end?"

"Consider it done?!" Aron stated with a firm nod.

"Excellent! I'm glad to hear it. Agent Honeybell will brief you on what we know as limited as that is to what you'll be likely to face down there and how you will egress from their kingdom. Your flight will be ready in an hour; Agent Honeybell will escort you to the military airport where your transport is waiting for your arrival. I wish you Godspeed and luck on this mission, Void, and pray you to come back in one piece."

Once the screen was off, no one could see inside the SCIF due to the closed blinds. Sara couldn't help herself as she leapt into Aron's arms. While she knew he was invulnerable to harm. She knew; they all knew about the person Aron was going after; even his mutation wouldn't be able to protect him from that woman's powers. Pouring everything she had, her love, her wants, her desires, into that one kiss, knowing they couldn't be like this once they left the SCIF. How it was going to pain her having to wait and watch from the sidelines. Yet she knew going in there without any powers of her own would only hinder Aron in his mission. Pressing her forehead against his, rubbing her lips together just to imprint the sensation to her mind in case something went terribly wrong.

"I'm going to be okay; you know this, right?" Aron said, seeing the worry in Sara's eyes.

"You can't know that, not when you're going up against her," Sara whispered; her fear was etched onto her words. "Heroes and villains with greater powers than you have fallen to her; scores of agents have been cut down because of her. I fear you'll be the same as all the rest," she said, hugging him tightly once again.

"We won't know that until I face her," Aron said, lightly rubbing her back, trying not to demean her worry. "We best get going," he uttered softly into her ear. Pulling down his mask when Sara backed away. Seeing how she wiped her tears away and put all her emotions behind a mask as she steeled herself for her part in this mission.

"Let's go; we have a car waiting to take us to the airport," Sara said, getting into her agent mentality. All was silent as the two of them walked out of the SCIF. All knew if Aron was there alone, something was about to happen that required his skills. "I want you all to be prepared to lend Void assistance at 1000 Zulu hours. We are taking Banshee down. So I want only the best you all can provide. That means I want detailed reports on what's on the ground and air, any chatter you pick up, sent to the German base outside of Berlin," seeing the shock playing along her agent's faces as they walked through the center of the command room towards the secret elevator that leads down to where they stored their vehicles, "we don't have a lot of time, so get to work people," Sara commanded as she and Aron stood in the cab, nodding to her people as she pressed the button as the doors rolled closed.

"Okay, Veil, what's the problem?" Aron asked once he had turned his voice dampeners on.

"Banshee."

"What about her?" Aron inquired curiously.

"She is one of Dr. Sikke Hahn's experiments," Veil stated, piping in the film footage when his counterpart had raided the man's base. Then the only fight his past self had with her before his death. Arching an eyebrow when he watched himself decapitate her with his original laser pistols.

"Then how is she alive still after that?" Aron asked as he slid into the rear of the tinted-out SUV.

"She steals life. I have extrapolated that with it; she is essentially immortal. Whatever Dr. Sikke Hahn did to her, we could never find out before the base exploded due to the doctor setting the base's self-destruct in the event of it being raided."

"Well... damn," Aron muttered beneath his breath. How was he to kill a villain that was basically immortal? Dropping his chin into his hand as he began to ponder on the problem.

"Please be careful, father; she is extremely dangerous even for you."

"Yeah, I got that," Aron muttered, noting how Sara was slyly glancing at him when she knew he was speaking, yet no sound was coming from him.

"I will try to formulate a plan on dealing with her with the armaments you have on you."

"Is something wrong, Void?" Sara asked in a whisper as she reached over and lightly laid her hand on his forearm.

"No," Aron replied, yet he could see Sara didn't believe it. Seeing the look in her eyes, telling they would talk later once they got onboard the supersonic aircraft that would have them in Germany in five hours. Then Aron would enter a converted fuel pod that the U3 plane would drop once they were over the target to make anyone watching think the aircraft had a mechanical failure. Where the fuel pod would break apart when it reached an altitude where Aron could breathe without the aid of an oxygen mask.

"What are you doing?" Sara asked, noting the driver's eyesglancing back at them.

"Having equipment I need sent to me," Aron answered as his fingers moved over the holographic display that appeared over the sleeve of his left forearm. He had a hunch that Banshee's powers worked on sound vibrations. Which meant if he couldn't hear it, or if it was negated, her life-stealing powers wouldn't affect him. Plus, he would need far more firepower than he had on him to take on that kind of compound on his own. He just hoped the augments he had created for his suit wouldn't drain it too quickly. "Pull over here," he directed when the beacon for his wing appeared on his screen, indicating it was close. Aron was smirking when their voices were speaking over each other as he ensured that Veil had sent the right equipment he needed. "Relax, I'll be back in a few days," Aron said calmly.

"Relax! Relax! You had Veil send you enough weapons to take on an army! How can you tell me to relax!" Vera shouted in worry over his com line.

"Well, you wouldn't like the truth, so... best you don't know about it."

"Dad, who are you fighting?!" Aron was touched by Jill's concerned tone.

"Banshee."

"Oh, God, no. Not her; please tell me you aren't fighting her?!"

"Afraid so," Aron admitted as he checked over the high-powered laser rifle and bazooka that he would need to take out the sentry towers.

"You can't, Dad! She nearly killed you once!" Hearing the gasps of his family members coming over the line.

"Aron, you come home right now!" Aminah stated heatedly. "I forbid you to fight this woman."

"Sorry, but she has to die; she's already taken far too many innocent lives to stay among the living. This is going to happen, whether or not you all like it. This isn't up for debate," Aron said as the shoulder strap for the bag that contained his sound nullifiers, plasma grenades, four bundles of pin missiles, along with his counterpart's original laser pistols in case his new ones got damaged during the battle.

"You listen here, Aron, you will listen to us, or so help me, you will never leave this house again!" Tazia's stern voice filled his ears.

"Well, I guess I just won't come home then," Aron said, cutting off the link as he plucked the two cases off the wing and sent it back to his base. Nodding to Sara as he laid the two cases and his bag of ammo into the back of the SUV.

"So, what did you bring me?" Sara asked, flashing Aron a coy smile to lower the tension she felt in the air.

"Oh, just some party favors, is all," Aron mused beneath his mask as his door closed.

******

"God! I hate it when he does that?!" Jill spoke in a very controlled, if you count holding it in by a hair's breadth, controlled, voice as the line went dead.

"You're not the only one," Vera grumbled with her sisters nodding along.

"Jill, you said, this Banshee, whoever that is, nearly killed him once; what happened?" Aminah asked, turning to look at her aunt. So she could learn more about this villain her husband was sent off to face all so she could lend aid to him should Aron need it.

"She did until Dad figured out her trick..."

"I know," Veil spoke up, interrupting Jill. "That is why I offered my advice on the matter and why Aron requested the sound dampeners. With some modifications to the overall design of them."

"Oh?!" Jill brightened up at that. "Then, he'll be alright then." A weight lifted off her heart at that moment.

"Would you care to enlighten us, please?" Vera asked again, getting nodding support from her sisters.

"This happened when I was twelve. The Collector wasn't even on the scene. Dad was still working for the OSS at the time."

"Okay, I have to ask, why was he working for them in the first place?" Tazia cut in, noting how Jill's eyes weren't on her but Vera instead when she asked that question.

"Because they had pictures of Henry masked and unmasked," Jill answered, wondering why it appeared to her that Vera knew the answer to that question. "And one or two times of Dad wearing his original suit, checking in on Henry. Given Dad's height and build, they hypothesized that they were related, or that is what he told me when he came home the night he was recruited into the OSS. So they sent him off on missions in Europe during the war. They mostly used him to hunt down the Nazi's super-teams they were trying to make after he had dismantled the SSM in '39."

"The who?" Everyone but Vera and Noah spoke as they asked as one.

"This team they were using at the time to soften France for the invasion they were planning at the time. Dad only delayed it. Still, he did bring to light the people they were using. Given what they did to the SSM members," Jill spoke, remembering like it was yesterday. "Back then, we didn't have these jet cars; heroes were pretty much in the shadows back in those days, at least for those that wore a mask. The citizens at the time thought if you were good and righteous, you had to show your face to prove that you were. You don't want to know what the villains back then did to those who did reveal their faces'. Anyway, so when Dad was gone on his first mission, it was weeks before he came home. So you can imagine how elated Mom was when he came home. Then Dad told us something very disturbing. The truth about what one doctor did to them."

"Jill, don't be a tease like your father," Aminah huffed, crossing her arms, seeing that smile of hers lifting at that.

"What this man did was take the powers of those like us, who were just peaceful people, and implant them into voluntary non-super soldiers of theirs. Mom and Henry had the same look you do when Dad told us that. I don't know for sure if Banshee was one of his experiments or if she was already born with her powers; given Dad's first encounter with her, she was floating in a tube filled with some substance before the base he raided exploded when the man tripped the bases self-destruct. The next time they met was after the Nazis surrendered, yet the secret projects that the Nazis commissioned were still going. So on one of them, he was sent into China when we were Allies when Japan invaded their homeland. When hints of a unit in their country were conducting similar experiments. However, upon arriving at Unit 731 base, he did learn they were running experiments. She was there in the good doctor's stead," Jill said sarcastically in a spat. "Since no one knew what her power was until that moment, Dad was pretty outgunned given the range of her power. For you see, in that fight, Dad figured out how her power worked, but he nearly died doing so."

They looked oddly at Neil, saying he had to look in on something upstairs. Soon after, it was just Jill, Chery, and Carl standing by the mainframe. Jill slyly watched Vera from out the corner of her eye. The few expressions she had seen when she was telling that story had her curious. Tazia had gone off to entertain the kids to keep her mind off of Aron being on his own. Aminah had left ten minutes ago, recounting how she appeared to be thinking behind her eyes like her father did when he was brainstorming. Excusing herself, once she had noticed where Vera and Noah were going. Stepping out of the elevator just in time to catch them slipping around a corner. Arching an eyebrow, wondering why they were in that section of the first floor. Then recognition set in; she knew why they were there when she could walk on her own after being awakened; she had come down here looking for that display only to find it sealed up. Veil wouldn't open it for her, she had to have the key, something she didn't have at the time. Her heart began to race as she followed after them. Her mind raced about why her father had closed it up when she knew that wasn't how it was.

"You sure this was Aron's suit?" Noah's question stopped her in her tracks. Wondering why... shaking her head, she knew this was her father... her husband after all. She didn't have to ask the reason; she already knew for who it was hidden away for.

"I know?! To imagine Aron in a suit like this makes me think... somewhere out there, in this multiverse, Aron explained to me, there is an Aron that is a hero, I kind of think this is what they would look like."

"You know Dad once told me, when I knew the truth about him, that the two of you from his timeline weren't all that dissimilar to one another. So when I got into that pod, I knew there would be some disparages between my father and the Aron of this time when Dad brought me out of it. I'll tell you now, this Aron is him. But I know the man I called father is gone..."

"Knew you would show up." The prerecorded words Aron had left behind startled them all. "You do take after me, you know."