Lies, damn lies and secret origins

For one of the few times in his life, Supremeus was afraid.

All his plans, all he had worked towards, all he had done was in ruins. His base of operations was destroyed, his supposedly loyal followers had fled and his master plan, the single stroke of genius that would reshape this world, had failed. No, that was not true; it had never had a chance to succeed, sabotaged from within by one of those who supposedly had followed his dream.

And now he was running, fleeing from those that had come to stop him. He had assumed that his armour, with all its abilities, would be enough to stop them. He was wrong. Its superior abilities had not even given them pause; instead they had merely grown more emboldened, supposedly unconcerned about their own lives. On his homeworld, none would have been so foolish. Everyone knew of his power and what he was capable of.

With his suit’s systems failing, he had been forced to disgrace himself, he had fled, rather then accept the inevitable. While it was a shameful act, he knew that there was always the possibility of rebuilding. So long as he was free, he would have his chance.

The teleport had dropped him in the middle of a jungle in a remote part of the world. Wherever it was, he knew that those so-called heroes would be unable to find him. It had been a calculated risk; the teleport had drained his suit’s already depleted reserves, but he was safe – for now.

Rain beat down mercilessly on him, the endless plink plink of the drops bouncing off his armour. Unconcerned about the weather and with not need for shelter, he instead concentrated on getting his bearings, patiently awaiting his navigation system synching up and informing him where on this blighted, backwards world he was.

He didn’t hear his attacker until it was too late. A pair of shots rang out, the non-existent rounds tearing into his suit’s already damaged systems. With its actuators damaged, it slumped forwards, crashing down on its knees.

He was not surprised. He had expected this.

“Krimzon” he began, hearing the squelch of mud underfoot as his attacker approached. “Somehow, I knew that you would be here.”

They stopped, now right behind him. “You know why I am here, Supremeus.” She replied, her tone flat.

“You hunted me across two worlds.” He stated. “I knew that you would not stop now. I was hoping that the precautions I took against you would have worked.”

“Close enough.” The reply was almost dismissive. “You made the right move in hiring that furball. But, for now, he’s out of the picture.”

“Leaving me at your mercy.”

“I’ve seen your homeworld, Supremeus.” She commented. “And I know what you had planned for it. I’m not going to let you do it to this world too.”

“How very noble of you, Soviet.” He sneered.

“Those days are behind me now.” She snapped back. “I know all your secrets, Supremeus. I know about how you sold your world to V’Han, about how she gave you the technology to conquer your world. And I know what you were going to do with that world – or, rather, what she would.”

He said nothing, simply knowing the truth of her words. “Did she try to contact you once you arrived here?” Krimzon continued. “Or are you surplus to requirements now that she has the Gadroon?”

“It does not matter.” He replied. “I do what I have to.”

“Don’t even try to be noble with me, Supremeus.” She snapped. “We know how you ended up here. You were betrayed by one within your own organisation, which seems to be a common trend for you.”

“How dare you.”

“You know what I mean.” She stated. “Your beloved daughter, horrified by the truth of her father’s ‘better world’, leading you into the trap that saw you exiled here. I know all your secrets, Supremeus”

Rage and anger was building up inside him. However, he simply paused, breathing deeply as his mind assessed the situation and found a way to turn it to his advantage. “As I know yours, Alexa Volkova.”

He could hear her gasp of surprise; it gave him a degree of confidence. “I know everything about you.” He continued. “Your past, your origin, the true source of your abilities. I know about Larisgrad, about Black-17 and I set Ocelote on you for a reason, Volkova; I knew that he and he alone could stop you.”

He could imagine her now, her eyes narrowed in anger, her hair plastered down by the rain leaving her delicately pointed ears very visible. “So you have a choice, Volkova.” His tone was confident now, knowing that he had a weapon against her. “You can bring me in and subject me to this world’s justice. You can reveal all my secrets, but at the same time, know that I will reveal all of yours.”

“Unless I kill you here.”

“Yes, you could do that.” He stated. “And, in doing such, you would be releasing me from this terrible world. It wouldn’t be hard for you, either; it’s something you have had no problems with doing in past.”

He couldn’t feel a thing through his armour, but knew that the muzzles of her guns would be pressed against the back of his head.

“You leave me with no choice, Supremeus.”

There were a pair of shots; however, rather then the sweet oblivion he expected, he instead heard the sound of tearing metal, followed by his suit pitching forward, squelching into the mud.

“That’ll stop you from gwetting away.” She finished. “I’ll let the Lolcats know where you are, Supremeus.”

“Amusing. You would risk exposure of all your secrets, just to stop me?”

“Why not?” She finished. “It’s not like anyone would believe them anyway.”