Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

powers, we wouldn’t last long against Shub’s forces. But we’re not alone. We stand with Humanity, and together we can do anything we put our minds to. Shub is nothing more than a bunch of adding machines with delusions of grandeur.” “I wish I could believe that,”
    said Ruby. “But they’re so big…” “Size isn’t everything,” said Jack, smiling, and after a moment Ruby
    smiled back. “Lionstone’s Empire was big,” he said. “But we helped bring it down.” “Yes,” said Ruby.
    “We did, didn’t we?” She grinned suddenly. “What the hell.
    Let’s go kick some metal ass.”
    “Sounds good to me,” said Jack. “But before we go, there’s something I’d better bring you up to date on. It seems Parliament had a rather special visitor after we left. A very unexpected visitor.”
    “The look on your face tells me this isn’t going to be good news,” said Ruby. “But then, when is it ever?
    All right, I’ll bite. Who was it? Young Jack Random, back from the scrapyard? Valentine Wolfe?
    Lionstone?” “Half A Man,” said Jack. “Or, to be exact, the other human side of Half A Man. The right-hand side of the body, complete with supporting energy half, just like his predecessor.”
    Ruby looked at him. “You’re kidding,” she said finally.
    “I wish I was.”
    “Now, that really is going to complicate things.” “You have no idea,” said Jack. “Luckily Toby and Flynn were there to catch it all on camera, and the recording’s been running on one news show or another ever since. See it for yourself.”
    Ruby activated the holoscreen and had it search for the recording. It took a second or two to find a station that was just starting the tape, and then the screen cleared to show Parliament, not long after most of the main power brokers had left. An MP was in the middle of a long, boring speech of no interest to anyone but himself. Hardly anyone was paying attention. Most were waiting impatiently for their turn to get up and bore everyone else rigid, some were chatting quietly among themselves, and a half dozen had started a poker game. And then there was a sudden flash of light, a blinding glare so bright it overloaded the camera lens, and when the glare faded away, Half A Man was standing in the middle of the floor before the House. There was an immediate babble of surprise and outrage from the MPs, dying quickly away as they recognized who it was. There was then an extended silence as they realized the figure wasn’t exactly who they thought it was, being rather a mirror image of the Half A Man they knew, this figure’s right half being flesh and blood, while its left was a shimmering, spitting energy construct in human shape. Everyone knew the terrible history of Captain Fast who’d become Half A Man. Abducted by unknown aliens from the bridge of his own starship, experimented on and tortured for years, and finally returned, half human, half something else. He lived for centuries, guiding the Empire in its dealings with aliens, for who knew better than he the risks and threats involved? Named Half A Man by the tabloid press of the day, he founded and trained the Investigators, represented the strong arm of the Empire, implacable and unforgiving. Finally killed by Owen Deathstalker during the rebellion.
    Or at least, his left side had been. Now his other human half was back, taking in the startled faces on all sides of the House. With only half a face, it was hard to tell whether he was smiling, but he might have been. “I am Half A Man,” he said finally, his cold voice carrying loud and clear on the quiet. “The real Half A Man. The real Captain Fast. The creature you previously knew and harbored with that name was a fake and a deceiver. I am the real thing, finally escaped from inhuman captors to bring you vital news and a terrible warning.”
    There was a long pause after that, as everybody waited for someone else to work out what to say.
    Finally Toby Shreck stepped cautiously forward, Flynn right there beside him, his camera hovering above their heads to get the best shot. Toby stopped what he hoped was a safe distance away, and gave the partly shimmering figure his best professional smile.
    “Welcome back, Captain Fast, from wherever you’ve been. I’m sure you’ll understand if we’re all a little confused. Perhaps you’d be so good as to fill us in on… the true story of Half A Man.”
    The human half of the face regarded him coldly. “I am aware