The Return of the Universal Tamer Chapter 8-The Night Owl

The drizzle and over cast had changed the mood at the unit Z7 seaport. It was an industrial area, the by-product of an indentured labour pact between an affluent Tamerian in the east federation and the heads of Sky Colossus, the Monopolists. This port had a number of cargo, containing weapons of biological warfare and high tech hydrogen bombs. The weather, which had given it a gloomy and overcast feel, having intermittent violent bursts of thunder, was now reinforced with fall winds. The guards patrolling the area were already having a hard time with the rigorous hours put into safe guarding the facility, the breeze was now just overkill. The orographic nature of Tameria never ceased to implore its inhabitants to move to warmer regions that were graced by exotic weather, but these people were a stubborn lot, the kind that would find any means possible to become compatible with their environment. The elements' appeal would just be empty words, deflected by the industrial nation of Tameria, which had proven since the beginning of time that they were the chosen ones, G.o.d's beloved children.

"Castle indigo to base. Castle indigo to base. How's the night s.h.i.+ft tonight?" said Takura, the man appointed to the task of managing the cargo deck. He was in a tower like structure, which had a conical shape. It had a mounted tower light; a beam of intense light that scanned the whole area, twirling as it did its rounds. Takura's room was an iron fortress, the kind that would require anti-tank piercing rounds just to scratch the surface. It was a control room filled with several touch screen dashboards, randomly placed b.u.t.tons and plastic encapsulated handles that were meant to be pulled to initiate something. Takura was all alone in the tower that had incandescent light bulbs, casting a dark shadow on his front frame, the kind that scared children. He was a mid-forties mercenary with brown skin, a deep scar on his lip and forehead, complemented by a rigid brawny jaw, firm chin, and semi-wrinkled face. He had a stylish mullet hair style with fades on the sides of his head. His hair was a combination of a withered black colour and whitish grey hair, something that always gave away his numbered days on Reverie. The old fas.h.i.+oned camouflage of the Reverie army that had black and faded yellow was worn with pride by this old brute, decorated with a lieutenant major insignia on the shoulder pads of his uniform. He was out of form due to his age, having a noticeable b.u.mp on his tummy, the sign of a true alcoholic, but regardless of the plump tummy, his arms, shoulders and the lower regions of his body were all still in their prime. He was not yet out of the game and his presence in the control room was living proof that you can't pin down an old dog with a menacing bite.

"The night s.h.i.+ft is s.h.i.+t Takura, why don't you come here and join us you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" said the voice which was coming from the radio he was holding. The radio was oval shaped with two b.u.t.tons on it and a dial on the side, the kind found on private planes. Takura grasped the radio with his right hand and his cigar in the left hand and spouted out, "You will just have to deal with the weather, you're still several ranks below me maggot!"
"You still are a cheeky b.a.s.t.a.r.d Takura. It's cosy up there in the tower right? Well when this s.h.i.+ft is over, our men need a raise!"
"You can take that up with the man himself, Alexis Norton; um pretty sure he will entertain his investment!"
"You should be the one reporting to him dammit!"
"You seem to forget that human relations isn't my forte," he said grabbing a hold of a bottle of whiskey with his left hand and sipping before uttering, "just do your jobs right and you will get a raise, stop complaining!"
"Catching feelings aren't you old chap, well fine. Hopefully that b.a.s.t.a.r.d will show up and we will nail him to the ground!"
"Why wish for conflict? Lack of excitement isn't necessarily a bad thing, the Night Owl invading this place wouldn't exactly be a good thing for your team"
"Well without them coming, there are gonna be more s.h.i.+fts like this and you will be warm and cosy up there on your a.s.s you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
"Well kill a whale man, a hydra and a mammoth beast in your life time and then you can earn yourself a place on my seat, just work harder son and you will enjoy being a d.i.c.k like me!"
"You're an a.s.s Takura!"
"I just do my job well maggot!"

Takura turned off the radio and then put it back in its glove compartment. He gazed at the port below whilst drinking his whiskey. In the past years when he was deployed to the lower levels of Tameria, close to the boarders of the Animorphs land, he had a sense of excitement similar to that of a child. He yearned for those days, but now he was just a seaport lookout, managing men whose everyday complaints were beyond his scope of empathy. The mercenary sat on his couch, smoked his cigar, and then snapped the fingers of his right hand, which initiated the music in the room. He was playing conscious reggae music which had lyrics that touched on hope, despair and being one with Jaja. Takura began to nod his head to the melodic sounds whilst exhaling ring clouds of smoke. He closed his eyes to fully take in the rhythm of what was being played, humming to the tune of the song. As he basked in his chair something peculiar happened, the power in the room left. It was like an unsuspected blackout that took him by surprise. He quickly rose and waited for the back-up generators to kick in. The generators began to burn fuel, illuminating his fortress once again. Takura took the initiative of opening the glove compartment, taking hold of the radio and began to contact Castle indigo. The receiving end soon replied, "Takura! They are here, those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are h..." The communication was cut off immediately, which gave Takura the impression that all h.e.l.l had broken loose on unit Z7. Takura moved to a metal closet that was just after the control panel. He nudged it and took a step back, waiting for something to happen as he heard miscellaneous sounds beyond the walls of the tower fortress. What came out of the closet was a gallery of weapons: handguns, futuristic sub machine guns, automatic weapons, RPGs, stingers, shotguns and many more. As he grabbed hold of the shotgun and submachine gun, the generator switched off. The sea port was now not only devastated by fall winds, but was now completely deprived of light. Takura then realised something that made him excited inside. The generator, which automatically activated, upon the power dissipating, had been destroyed outside. The fact that this mechanically done process was stopped regardless of there being a failsafe meant that whoever caused this was a tamer who was well versed in technological taming. Takura smirked and then dropped the submachine gun on the ground. He then took the RPG and old fas.h.i.+oned weapons that didn't come with electronic fitted parts. He had armed himself fully, adding an additional hand grenade to his pocket. He opened the tower door and felt the cold breeze rush into the fortress, the very act of diffusion. Takura glanced at the number of cargo on the ground and the hazy looking buildings in the background. The rain began to wet his frame and body, but in the back of his head, his excitement gave him an exothermic aura, which negated the adverse effects of the weather. Takura was about to unleash his inner beast and this time he was going to do it guns blazing.

A masked figure with a latex espionage suit landed precariously in the middle of the cargo area. Upon landing, he quickly began to eliminate the guards patrolling the area, knocking them out one by one without giving away his presence. The intruder had clearly mastered the art of stealth and was applying it on the hapless guards. Castle who had noticed that one of his men had gone missing had become suspicious of foul play. The power cut had confirmed his suspicions, but soon after contacting Takura, he was shot by a Sniper who was 3km away from him. The sniper who had stun bullets was clearly on a high platform for them to be able to execute the shot perfectly. The marksman was concealed somewhere in the city outskirts, but delving further into the whereabouts of the shooter would be pointless for the now incapacitated Castle. Castle was knocked out and the port had been infiltrated. The masked figure, who also had a small bag, began to off load the contents of the satchel. It contained chameleon C4s: a viscous plastic and technical explosive that injected or diffused gaseous chemicals into an object or living organism, causing it to implode. It was clear that the weapons and explosives inside the cargo holders were the primary target, but blowing them up would also result in a catastrophic explosion. The blast radius would not only level the entire facility but everything nearby. The masked man was playing a dangerous gamble, one that would easily blow up in his face if he made the wrong move. However, his brisk and nimble execution of applying these explosives on each cargo was impeccable, an act that would end disbelief on any doubting man. He simultaneously took out the men patrolling and placed his explosives on the elongated cargo containers. The C4 stuck onto these receptacles of deadly weapons, merged with their alloy and became one with it. It was no different from how a chameleon blended with its environment, earning these explosives the t.i.tle of chameleon C4. Upon clearing the whole area, the masked man pressed his middle finger and forefinger on his ear and began to whisper words as if he was communicating via radio.

"Emilia, I intercepted and cleared the base, are there any other guards I missed?" said the masked man who whispered calmly.
"You're all clear, get this done quickly like the last time." replied Emilia

The intruder began to use his tamer abilities. He manipulated the gravity around each crater containing the weapons and made them rise above the ground. The very levitation of these objects happened so effortlessly even though the cargo inside had a lofty weight. The masked man lifted the cargo 6meters above ground level and began to deploy each one of these 42 vessels into the vast sea. He flung them 5km away, using a velocity that defied logic. The open sea beyond the industrial port was his trajectory, making each container sink into the depths. No one with normal hearing capabilities could have heard each splash from that far, but the masked man could. His dexterity in tossing such heavy loads showed that he was a formidable force to reckon with, one that Takura would surely contest upon his arrival at the scene. The last container was about to be deployed into the sea until he heard a grating scream from his com link.

"There is someone to your right, look out!" shouted Emilia who had just spotted Takura approaching her partner in crime. Takura, who had climbed down the tower, finding most of his subordinates pinned down, was on the verge of purging this unsolicitated guest. He had been concealed by an AGV construction vehicle when the masked man had begun to levitate the cargo. As soon as the last container was about to be ejected into oblivion, Takura opened fire on the intruder, giving him a taste of his semi-automatic berretta and Heckler & Koch G36K with a calibration of 5.56x45mm NATO. The masked man saw the incoming pellets of steel and dodged them easily, an agility that impressed Takura who had murdering him on his mind. The masked man who was taken by surprise did three back flips to evade the bullets and then landed close to the hull brim of the port, which was further west from his initial position. He gazed at his unexpected threat who was still firing and then grinned. Though his expressions could not be seen under the veil of his mask, his actions would soon speak louder than his poker face. He stopped the bullets in mid-air. All the bullets coming his way were all stopped on one spot like flies entangled in a fly trap. Takura who was enthusiastic before soon lost his itchy trigger finger. He saw this exposition of power as spite and uttered indignantly, "The b.a.s.t.a.r.d thinks a few parlour tricks will phase me? Hardly, I also have my own circus tricks." Takura threw down his weapons, leaving only his RPG that was strapped to his back. He stood in a stance, as if attempting to grab something with some form of hesitation and stretched out his hand. He had his eyes drawn and then flickered his stretched hand's fingers. The bullets that were stationary, as if lodged onto the air like hammered nails on a wall, began to regain animation. They began to pursue the masked man, and this time, he was evading them for his life.

Though the last container, which had been levitated by the man, was still in mid-air, waiting to follow the rest of its comrades into submersion, the fact that it did not fall to the ground once the masked man was disrupted proved that he had commendable skill. He was still levitating the cargo and at the same time dodging the bullets that had been locked on to him. He was sprinting on the moist and slippery surface of the port deck as if each step he made was similar to that of suction boots with V12 engines. His running left after images which began to disturb Takura who was beginning to think that his upper hand before might just be short lived. He then took his RPG in hand, focused on the man and fired multiple shots. The grenade bullets were coming fast, closing in on the man, but they were also stopped mid-air, but this time, instead of being inanimate, they were redirected at Takura with even greater momentum. Takura realising how screwed he was quickly compressed the air around him and created an air s.h.i.+eld to soften the impact of the explosion coming his way. The grenades blew up and flung him away into the ocean. He fell into the water, immersed by the refrigerated water, which was a vice of the morbid weather and began to swim up to the surface. The bullets that had been chasing the masked man had ceased their pursuit and fallen to the ground, the result of Takura's focus on manipulating them being disrupted upon blocking the explosion. The masked man had finally out cla.s.sed him, and he was now looking from afar, greatly mortified by his misstep. The reason was simply due to under estimation and over confidence in his own abilities. The tamer system of controlling the elements had a rule of first come first serve. This meant that whoever affixed his taming will on an element first had total control of it and no one else could obstruct it unless they used another element to counter it or different medium. For instance, if a gravity tamer used bullets as his medium another could use water, air or another object to strike the bullets. Another aspect of taming in this context was WCS (Will Capacity Strain), the mental strain that one could endure from taming multiple elements, animals, flora, and objects. Concentration and focus was required to handle such a task and an additional level of egotism and confidence. Takura upon blocking his own launched grenades lost sight of his bullets and thus could not terrorise the masked man anymore. This was the brief summation to why he had encountered defeat.

"Hey stop! Stop d.a.m.n it! I know you can hear me a.s.shole!" shouted Takura in his stentorian voice. The masked man was about to deploy the last container, something that Takura as the one who was in charge of the port's cargo protection did not desire. This was going to tarnish his reputation for he was a man who thrived on his own merits, a slave to his ego. His voice began to sound more guttural and strident as he mustered the strength to shout, trying to get the masked man's attention.  
"I said stop! What do you think will happen once those things go kaboom in the sea? Are you planning on destroying Sky Colossus' marine life you darn terrorist?"
"No!" said the masked man who had a modulated voice, "I intend to end your terrorism of the Animorphs!"
"Heresy! Heresy! Such words are treason. You're going to blow up the ocean and poison this trade route, you must be one of those Animorphtarian radicals!" said Takura with a now taut voice. The adverse effects of blocking the blast without having developed a strong air s.h.i.+eld in time were now showing as he began to nose bleed.
"I a.s.sure you lieutenant major Takura Hondo that I am not here to poison the sea," he said, looking at the distressed Takura, "but I will detonate these deadly weapons of the Tamerian army, the ones you intended to s.h.i.+p off to Animorphia!"
"You crazy son of a b.i.t.c.h, do you know what the h.e.l.l you are doing? You radicals are all the same confused s.h.i.+ts who don't believe in the state!" he said, shocked by how audacious the masked man was. The 42 containers had bombs that if all blown together packed a whooping 70megatons of explosive power. Such a blast could level an entire city and life 60km away from the initial blast site if it was detonated on land. However, the blast in water would have a different result. The water could act as a means of energy consumption, mitigating the power of the blast if it had been within the 8megaton explosive range. The sad truth was that the explosive power of all these bombs collectively was 70megatons plus and such power would not only go beyond tidal waves tsunami territory, but could cause a severe fissure that would instigate a fault line disruption. A convergent or divergent s.h.i.+fting of the tectonic plates due to enormous pressure mounted onto the seabed would result in a Reverie earthquake. Takura had every reason to worry, but yet what he marvelled at or at least was puzzled by was the fact that the masked man on the contrary believed that he was not going to poison the sea. This infuriated him and made him go from being motivated by personal bride to a more n.o.ble form of nationalism. He had to stop this insane man who he came to believe to be known as the Night Owl. An alias known for its exploits in sabotaging arms and weapons production facilities and stealing any cargo related with being deployed to Animorphia, but this time, the infamous name was about to detonate a terrifying bomb. Takura had to stop this man and hopefully, find some way of diffusing or nullifying the chameleon C4s, which from previous cases were stated to be the Night Owl's primary choice for blowing up things. His rise to infamy as a thorn to the clandestine Tameria military campaign was what gave the intelligence department a headache, whom also had to constantly, filter the press, making them tell a story that was far from the truth. This was Sky Colossus' way of keeping the truth from its citizens, but neither of that mattered to Takura, to him whatever the state wanted was best.

 He used his tamer abilities, grabbed onto the fluctuating ripples and got himself out of the water, but instead stood on top of it with a posture of defiance. He glared at the masked man who had just tossed the last container into the sea. Only beings of their magnitude could hear the splash of heavy cargo that had just dived into the ocean, 5km away. All that was left was now detonation, but Takura had one thing in mind, killing this danger to the state. Takura began to bulge his muscles, releasing his tamer brute strength, ripping the sewn thread of his uniform, leaving it in tatters. The now determined Takura began to run with every intention of harming his enemy once he reached him. The masked man's body language showed lack of interest, ignoring his charging opponent. He instead glanced at the sea and what came out was a giant vertical wave of water in the shape of a gargantuan hand. The hand had been carved out by the masked man, which ended up grabbing Takura, wasting away all that exerted effort Takura had put into charging. He was clenched into a watery fist, which then evolved into a spiral silhouette. The silhouette began to spin and spin, taking the shape of a tornado fused with a whirl pool. The revolution made Takura dizzy, making him pa.s.s out as he was spun in the 100km/hr vortex of H2O. The spiral form suddenly retracted like a spring coil ring and ejected Takura far away into the distance. His body was propelled farther than 40km, exiting the masked man's view in a flash. The water eventually receded and flowed back into its normal base form, the result of that man calming the sea with his will alone. Upon completing his task, he heard a girly scream, the one that fan girls of boy bands would make, on his com link.

"Oh my gosh Tendai, that was so awesome!" screamed Emilia who had witnessed all the events that occurred at the port with her sniper rifle scope. She was gleaming underneath her own black latex body suit, which was covering her curvaceous body, an erotic pleasure that would cause weak souls to break down upon seeing it. She had long orange reddish hair and night vision goggles on and was deafening her partner with her fan rant.
"Tendai you have got to teach me how to do that, you really handed that guy's a.s.s to him!"
"Emilia stop screaming jeez!" he replied, imploring her to stop.
"Um sorry... did I hurt your ears?" she apologised, asking earnestly like a child who wanted to go through positive and redemptive contrition.
"You think?" he said, annoyed by the girl's response.
"Um sorry, I got carried away."
"Never mind about that, get your nuclear yield EMT bracelet out and begin to observe it. Like the simulation we did at Tub, tell me how the blast energy is gonna be flowing."
"Okay, um taking it out," she said, taking a belt like device which had a LCD surface and already equipped touch screen. What appeared on the dashboard was an EMT (Equivalent MegaTonage) real time graph indicator. The pulse at the moment was weak, but soon after Tendai detonating the 42cargo, containing weapons of ma.s.s destruction; it would glisten with thermal colour variances. As Emilia set up the device, Tendai began to levitate, flying at will and heading towards where he had disembarked his containers. The air to him was a non-existent obstacle; he flew in the sky at the speed of that of a rocket s.h.i.+p, defying all that impeded the possibility of such in a matter of seconds. He arrived at the very sea level submersion spot he had dropped his containers without wasting any time. He breathed in deeply and levitated upwards, going 30m above sea level. Emilia knowing what was coming next took this chance to utter a few heartfelt words.

"Tendai be careful, always keep in mind that you are the chosen hope of Reverie and also my hope."
"Emilia...," he paused, upon hearing her beautiful words of encouragement and replied with a grin, "you always said out of character things in the heat of the moment, but I will do my part. This act will be symbolic to greater things to come."

Emilia instinctively nodes, and agrees with him, respecting his resolve. She is filled with euphoria, but at the same time dread for what's to come. Tendai who has now stopped in mid-air begins to separate sea water from its harbouring resonance, making it rise to form an encompa.s.sing spherical water dome. The scale of such was like that of an epic tsunami only that it was one that he was controlling. Tendai had already tamed all the neighbouring fish and commanded them to flee the blast site. All that was left for him was to suppress the impact of the 70megatons blast in a sea of great depth. He looked down below, getting a worm's eye view of his lower body and saw a flash. In that moment he uttered, "It has begun."