Spirals of Fate is a serialized work of fiction centering on the intellectual property of City of Heroes and City of Villains. Chapter One centered on two villains, Vincent and Mara, and their breakout from the Zigg, a prison used to house those with super powers. They met another villain named Mosaic and the three headed for Arachnos flyers and freedom. Chapter 2 explored the perspective of the young heroes called to defend their city from the rising tide of crime. In Chapter 3 Part 1, Mosaic, Vincent and Mara arrive at an Arachnos-held area only to encounter violence from other prisoners. In Chapter 3 Vincent, Mara and Mosaic arrive at the Arachnos base and are drawn into the web of villainy. In Chapter 4 Part 1, Snowman and Charger “discuss” a recent arrest and the tactics involved in being heroes.

Spirals of Fate: Chapter Four (Shadows of the Future) - Part Two
By Michael Lafferty and Matthew Eberle

The van slowed to a halt, the occupants in the back preoccupied with individual thoughts. Mosaic glanced over at the leather-clad man sitting with his eyes closed. He wondered, for the hundredth time since they began moving toward the bank if what the Seer had told him was true. Vincent was the symbiotic host for something very old and very powerful. The only manifestations, so far, of that other being’s powers were the dark cloak it wrapped around its host and perhaps some of the power that allowed Vincent to suck power and energy out of other objects, including people.

The Seer had warned Mosaic that Vincent might be beyond control, in time, and that they may consider cutting him loose as soon as possible. But for Mosaic that was not a consideration at this time. He needed Vincent for this job, and without Vincent he wouldn’t get Mara, and as loathe as he was to admit it, the girl might be the final cog in his plans to renew his rise to power within the Arachnos organization. But while Vincent was somber and skeptical, Mara was seemingly coming to grips with her new-found abilities. In several training sessions, she had let her powers run loose and decimated multiple foes sent against her. Then she discovered how to work her powers in concert with her invisibility skills. The result was surprise and devastation. She would make the perfect assassin, or perhaps the perfect stealth weapon. Mosaic had yet to determine how best to use her, but he also knew that she was the key to controlling Vincent. Keep Mara happy and Vincent would tag along. He allowed himself a small chuckle because he knew that Mara seemed oblivious to the affection that Vincent held for her. He was the protector, the big brother, the guardian, and all Mosaic had to do was put Vincent in that role – for Mosaic’s ends, of course – and all would fall in line.

While Mosaic was busy calculating, Mara was a bundle of nerves. They were after something important in the bank, that much she knew, but she was also told they could “help themselves” to whatever else was in there. For Mara, that posed a problem. The artifact was one thing. They had shown her that it had been stolen from Arachnos by an executive of Crey Industries, and it was being kept in his security drawer inside the vault and used as the central piece in an extortion plot. That was wrong. He has something that didn’t belong to him and they were there to take it back. But the other stuff … sure, it was insured, but it belonged to someone else. The argument had been put to her to consider all the times she was denied that which should have been hers, and now was the opportunity, the first opportunity, to take back and avenge herself on the same sort that had put her down and had been behind sending her to the Zigg. It made sense, on a certain level, but her heart decried the idea anyway. Silently she was making a deal with herself – the artifact, but nothing else. Sure, there was the prospect of actually using her powers for real, to see what she could do, and so she focused on that, trying to quiet the tiny voice inside warning her that she was about to tread a very slippery path.

The voice was strong inside Vincent. It reverberated inside him, clearer than it had been in sometime. “They are weak … they have no idea who we are … protect the girl, yes, but let them know we do not serve them … their time is ending and we are beginning to grow” It droned on but Vincent started to tune it out. There were other things to think on, like Mosaic’s true motives and how they seemed to rope both he and Mara into this mess. It was a mess, it had to be. He never hurt anyone who didn’t first come to him looking for it. And now … now he was being asked to strike the first blow, in a manner of speaking. Mara was to enter first, invisible, and take out the main alarm, then he would enter and begin to clear the security. It was a vicious plan – violent and vicious. He thought back to various incidents throughout his life. Even when he discovered The Voice he was not initiating fights, but rather defending himself. The Voice taught him how to harness his violence and make it work for him. It asked him to destroy but seemed to understand that only when pushed to a certain limit would he release its power. It seemed to understand, but Vincent was not naïve enough to believe that he controlled it. It allowed him space to be himself, to hold to his own morality, and, in turn, when the time came, he gave it the space to reveal some of its power. “They have no idea who we are,” it said again. Vincent smiled inwardly. A plan formed and he threw a suggestion to the voice. ‘Mosaic is the focal point of whatever is trying to control us. Perhaps, after this job is over, we show him who you are?’ There was a pause in the mantra, then a warmth akin to joy, followed by haunting laughter.

The van stopped and the three piled out of the rear doors. Vincent looked around and saw that they had indeed been dropped off at a small parking lot just down the street from the bank they were going to hit. He sighed briefly in frustration as he pulled the headset out of his jacket’s inner breast pocket and clipped it onto his left ear.

“You don’t want to do this?” Mara asked quietly from beside him. Vincent glanced up and shook his head. “We have to, Vincent.”

“Do we really?” he asked quietly.

“They could have left us in the Zigg, or turned us back in after that brawl in the Islands. We don’t have a lot of choices here,” Mara said fearfully. “Where else can we go?”

“Nowhere,” Mosaic said loudly. When they turned to look at him he smiled and shrugged. “I could not help but overhearing – your microphone is on, Vincent.”

Vincent’s eyes narrowed as he considered the other man. Mosaic was relieved when he was able to meet those eyes squarely. None of the fear he had felt previously was surging through his veins. The younger man adjusted the headset, a small earpiece with a tiny microphone that trailed along the jawbone. The cord disappeared into his open jacket. From a distance it would look like nothing more than a young man listening to an MP3 player. Without another word Vincent turned and began walking up the street. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket as far as they would go.

Mara hurried to catch up with her friend. She dug into his right pocket until she was able to pull his fist out. Vincent looked over and gave her hand a light squeeze. “We need to enter separately,” he said softly. “Don’t want to give them too much warning.” She looked a little disappointed but slipped away from him several feet. He turned sharply and took the steps into the bank two at a time.

Mosaic stepped up next to Mara. “Give him just a few minutes …“ Mosaic began. The shrieking of an alarm cut him off.

…

The bank manager was hurrying up to Vincent as he stood between the two plastic frames just inside the door. He had assumed they were simple metal detectors, but that was obviously incorrect. “I’m so sorry, sir,” the middle-aged man said. “We just got those installed last week and we’re still having issues. For some reason they aren’t accurately scanning the hero identification cards of our patrons.”

“Really,” Vincent said dryly.

“I know that using scanners to identify meta-humans is restricted legally, but the sensors are set for extremely high energy patterns. It takes an active hero or villain to set those off, usually. If I could just see your card, please,” the manager said apologetically.

“Well, about that,” Vincent said as he eyed the two guards approaching him, their hands on their guns. “You might want to step away.”

“Excuse me, sir?” the manager said.

Vincent just grinned. “I don’t have an I.D. card.” Since the manager was standing right next to him and showed no sign of moving, Vincent took a long step to the left. His aura flowed easily out of his skin, wrapping him in a protective barrier. The guards whipped out their pistols and began firing as soon as the manager was clear. Vincent grunted slightly as the projectiles bounced off his chest. He was prepared for those. The two energy cannons that popped up out of hidden compartments in the floor were another matter. “We might need to move to phase two a little quicker than expected,” he muttered into the microphone as he dodged the first volley.

… to be continued
In Chapter 4, Part 3 trouble erupts at the bank and the trio of new Hero Corps members respond

This is a fictional story is based on the intellectual property of City of Heroes and City of Villains. That property was used as a backdrop for this story with the permission of both Ncsoft and Cryptic Studios. While this story uses that world as a backdrop, it is not meant to reflect either gameplay or storylines with the massively multiplayer online world. Some of the images used with Spirals of Fate have been taken from the game and modified to suit the illustrative purposes of this story. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only.

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