Chapter 18 - The Hunt

Roth and Kort pull into the parking lot of Quartz Maximum Security Penitentiary, and look up at the shining, splendid building. If there were no signs here, no one would have known this was even a prison. It was erected through the help of a hero speedster who upon completion voluntarily de-powered, and spun directly out of the incident.

At first it was designed to be a place to hold The Man on Fire, but when the siege of Quartz Town took place, it became the final destination of so many of the villains that once lived freely within the city.

"What are we doing here man? Aren't we on the clock?"

"This is a part of it Kort. I have an old friend in here. And he knows a hell of a lot about Sheerforce."

"Whatever, just hurry. We need to get on the road."

"Aren't you coming in, the information could be important."

Kort just raises his robotic hand, and shakes his head. "Nah not this time. It's hell taking this thing off, not worth it just for a chat, I'll wait out here."

Roth walks through the building security, and the guards don't even check him. This is just a routine visit for Roth at this point. Ever since his friend was incarcerated, he had visited this prison once a week, whether he was on assignment or not, he always made time. It's been 12 years after all since he lost his best friend, and 6 years since he found him again. Sort of.

He walks into the visiting room, and is met by a man, similar in age to Roth, but looks far older.

"Hello Older Brother. It is so good to see you."

"Hey Keith. Good to see you too."

There was no hostility here anymore, no time had seen to that. They had been given a second chance to be brothers again following the incident. But that doesn't stop who he was before. You see Keith is one of a few people in Aincar to be known as both a hero and a villain. He like many other people in this world had become disillusioned with the power dynamics of this world, and one day just snapped. He killed the people he was supposed to be protecting, and somehow managed to fight off The Defenders of Aincar, and later becoming one of Sheerforce's greatest enemies. But when the hunters came knocking, he handed himself over willingly citing that his work was complete. The world was back in the hands of it's citizens and not their Gods.

"This must be something important Daniel. You've already come to see me twice this week."

"I've told you. That's not my name anymore brother. You have to call me Roth now."

"Ahh the big bad Roth is here to see me. As serious as the day he was born. Why use that name they forced upon you when you're just with me. We're family. I knew you before you became Roth the hunter." He chuckles to himself for a minute, before continuing. "Seriously though, what's up?"

"It's not good Keith. We bungled a mission. Kort and I. We've got a month to find the target, or goodbye powers."

"Oh shit. Again, you only just saved yourself last time. What are you going to do?"

"That's actually why I'm here Keith. If it feels like it's going to break all this good you've done to bring yourself back from the dark, then don't answer but please. I'm dropping the serious persona that you love to mock. Please tell me about your old enemy."

"Waiiit..... Who was your target?"

"There were two targets. A man and his daughter. He was a former "Super"."

"No please Dan. Don't say his name. Please." Keith was starting to shrivel back in his chair. You see Sheerforce wasn't only Keith's greatest enemy. He was Keith's idol. They had never met, until the dark times, but he was his ideal. The person he wished he could be.

"I'm sorry brother. Please tell me about Sheerforce."

Keith falls out of his chair, and into a ball on the floor. Despite everything he did, betraying his idol is the one thing he could never forgive himself for. He had dedicated his "Super" life to following in his example, but he lost everything in an instant.

Roth walks over to him, and holds him until he comes back to reality. For any other prisoner the guards would have stepped in by now. But even they knew that the only way to help him when he got like this was through his brother.

"I'm sorry Keith. It's OK, I'm here, and I need you. Please help me. The Hunt is on, and I don't know where to start."

Somehow Keith manages to compose himself, and sit back up at the table. Roth seats himself opposite him, and they share a look of intensity.

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

------------

Kort is leaning against the hood of Roth's cruiser reading the tablet when his partner finally reappears. The soft and loving persona he had adopted with his brother had regressed back inside himself, and the stern and serious Roth had returned.

"Did you get what you were after partner?"

"I got something, my contact had a lot of information on our man. Nothing on the daughter, but it's a safe bet to assume they're traveling together."

"Nice! I learned a lot too. Obviously we know a fair bit about Sheerforce's personality, but the daughter has no online presence. Other than an internal social media page just for her school. Luckily we were already permitted access to it before we were sent on a hunt, so we have a positive ID on her."

Roth looks at the screen, and sees a familiar face. "Damn. It really was her. That's the girl posing as the doorman from the other night."

"Well her names Claire Walker. She's 17, in her final year of school, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5 foot 6 inches. On the whole pretty unremarkable. Average student, but according to her profile she was popular with a lot of the boys, although it looked like they weren't as popular with her. Nothing to indicate she has any powers, but it's reasonable to assume that she has a similar power set to her father."

"Good work man, I mean it. Now we have a name and a face for both of them. All we have to do is go."

"Go where Roth?"

"To one of his hideouts, my contact told me he got into one of them once, and discovered a room outside of time. It's reasonable to assume that if he has tech like that, he's employing it in all of them." Roth sits down in the car, and starts the engine gesturing to Kort to sit down.

"Strap up. We're going to Mineral City"