Supplying Supers - Ch. 19 - Blood Trace Pt. 1 - Beta (Patreon)

Saturday June 17th, 2025 Mazuma City, Mazuma Amerika

Yokai

OSDB Hero Rank: 5X - Supervillain

OSDB Threat Rating: 100+

There was no chance to catch up. Yokai wanted a moment to speak with Gunner. They had to make up for so much lost time. But given the urgency, she bit her tongue and hid her disappointment as he jumped right into their preparation.

The mission parameters were straightforward. Gunner would lead team one, comprising Flux, Velocity, and MartyrDOM. While Yokai would command Blast Wave, Hailstorm, and Whisper. Both teams were sent out to analyze the various murder scenes to gather clues about what had happened. Her team’s target was the old Burgermeister’s Meat Processing plant, Cleaver’s base of operations.

While Yokai didn’t show it, seeing Gunner coordinate the plan and issue everyone’s orders, lit a fire inside her that had been smothered for so many years. Keeping apart made it easy. However, seeing her former lover in the flesh caused all of their previous emotions to rush back and forth.

Ever since she’d met the man, he’d been an enigma. From her accidental rescue, to then turning around and immediately damning him, she never would have thought he’d become the man that he was today. She’d watched him rise and fall. Only to rise again as something new. And while she didn’t quite approve of his current position, feeling it beneath him, she respected his decision.

That is why when he called out to her across the cosmos, she answered. He was the only person left who truly knew her. To the world, she was an abhorrent monster. To him, it was clear there was still something there. She’d heard it in his voice when he asked her to come to Mazuma City.

Her ultimatum wasn’t like the others in the room. It was much more personal. Since the first time they spent together, they shared a bond. A supernatural link that allowed them both to become more connected. His demands were clear, help him put down the threat, or he’d sever the connection. She never knew Gunner to tell a lie, and he was much too important to her as an asset to lose.

Since they’d separated, they hadn’t spoken but a few words since then. However, they’d always maintained that link. Over the years, they connected through raw emotions. It was enough to know that they both still had feelings for each other.

But after the Bostom Cataclysm, she’d watched him change. Gunner blamed himself for the cataclysm. Yokai blamed Clavus Ad Cor. And the United States government blamed her. He became obsessed with picking up the pieces of the broken wasteland and vowed to protect the people that redeveloped it. While she was branded a terrorist and aggressively pursued anyone with the obsession of the Gale.

From that day forward, she became a huntress, stalking anyone who stumbled upon the Gale. Governments, billionaires, and hidden agencies all drew her ire if they dug where they shouldn’t. In her mind, she was protecting them from forces they didn’t understand. To them, she was a monster. And that suited her just fine.

That is why, when Gunner reached out to her, she wasn’t surprised. She was already on her way to Mazuma City. She’d been tracking leads of cultists involvement in Gale activity. It always seemed to lead back to the place where they’d last seen each other.

The Gale’s connections to the mortal plane were like a spider web, and she was its black widow. When someone manipulated it, she felt its vibrations. Her recent interpretation left little doubt. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Upon receiving their orders and gear, Yokai and her team walked outside to find a black SUV waiting for them.

“I’ll drive, if there’re no objections,” Blast Wave said, not waiting for a response as he walked toward the driver’s side door.

Yokai didn’t mind. His size didn’t afford him a lot of options. She tossed him the keys.

“That’s fine with me, too,” Hailstorm said before climbing into the front passenger. When Yokai sat behind her, Hailstorm said, “Actually, why don’t you take the front seat, Whisper? There’s more leg room for you.”

Yokai smirked, knowing full well that it was a lie. Hailstorm hadn’t stopped glaring at her since she’d arrived. She knew the ice-wielding super didn’t want Yokai sitting behind her should she need to defend herself. It was a smart call.

It took them almost an hour to make it to Cleaver’s hideout. The car ride was silent except for the night wind blowing through the cracked windows. Each of the glances Yokai caught through each of the mirrors was telling enough. They were all afraid of her, and rightly so.

Gunner designated Yokai, the team’s leader. It was expected given her experience with the Gale. But the team was completely new. None of them had worked together. She knew it was important for them to build as much trust as they could. If things got bad, and it always tended to do so when it came to the Gale, they’d need to be able to rely on each other.

“We’re here,” Blast Wave announced, as he slowed the vehicle.

The Burgermeister facility was built on its own acreage, causing it to stand out from the urban density nearby. Ten-foot concrete walls surrounded the complex, topped with spools of barbed wire. Old ammonia tanks were converted to sniper nests, circled with sandbags and wooden roofs. The white metal walls of the massive warehouses were chipped away and rusted brown from the lack of upkeep. Pockets of thick grass protruded from cracks in the wide parking lot.

“If it wasn’t for the spray-painted walls reading KEEP OUT and Cleaver’s gang signs, this place would make for a perfect post-apocalyptic set for a movie,” Blast Wave snorted.

“Is there any way to get in?” Hailstorm asked.

The SUV crept forward until they reached a shut steel bar gate with sheet metal hastily welded to the front of it. Police tape was strewn across it. A chain and lock added a second level of security to keep it shut.

“Stop here,” Yokai commanded.

The SUV’s brakes squealed to a halt. Yokai opened the door and got out. The distinct smell of the Gale lingered in the air. It smelled of skunk. That wasn’t a good sign and hinted at Gale activity.

Or worse.

Thunder roared from the thick clouds above the complex, pulling Yokai’s gaze. The subsequent sound of slamming doors pulled her attention back to the car. The others approached from behind while Blast Wave left the car running.

“I didn’t see that it was supposed to rain today,” Hailstorm said.

“It’s not supposed to,” Yokai interjected, staring up at the sky. “That’s not a good sign. We need to get in there.”

“Could the murderers be inside?”

“I don’t know. This is a place strong in death. It could be used as a good anchor point.”

“Anchor for what?”

Yokai realized she’d over spoken. Gunner made no declarations of the Gale. Meaning he didn’t trust them enough to convey what they were going up against. A necessity because of the Gale’s confidentiality. However, it wouldn’t help her building trust from her team.

Ignoring the previous question, Yokai ordered her team, “Let’s get inside.”

“Do you want me to break the gate down?” Blast Wave asked.

“No. Let’s not announce our presence unless we have to. Go park the car and we’ll go over the wall.”

“On it.”

Everyone waited next to the gate until Blast Wave returned. When her team gathered, Yokai turned and addressed them. “Since we didn’t get a chance for introductions, it’s best that we all know what we are capable of. My focus for this mission is the investigation. I hope there are concerns with me leading.”

“He should have chosen someone with actual leadership experience,” Hailstorm chided. “Not some lone wolf.”

“He chose me because of my expertise in the matter.”

“What matters? Murder?”

“Not just murder, but the type of murder we’re dealing with,” Yokai said, ignoring the comment. The lack of acknowledgement was enough to cause the others to glare at her. The shame did more harm to her ego than any quip Yokai could have said. Just as she’d calculated. “My sorcery provides me with an arsenal of abilities ranging from necromancy, blood magic, elemental attacks and more.”

“I’m considered a bruiser,” Blast Wave said, cracking his knuckles. “I’ve got all the physical traits like super strength and stamina, but no super speed. My durability is much more hardened than most. I can also build up my stamina to launch waves of energy from my strikes.”

Whisper pulled out his etch-a-sketch and scribbled on it. When he finished, he turned it over, allowing everyone to read, Force, fire, frost, compulsion, echolocation, life leech, and a few other secrets. He pulled down his mask from his smiling mouth, revealing Maori tattoos covering his lips down his neck.

“How’s your physical attributes?” Yokai asked. “Are you enhanced in that regard?”

Whisper waved his flat hand side-to-side that did not fill her with confidence.

When everyone looked at Hailstorm, she crossed her arms and looked away. “Pretty much anything involving ice and water I can handle. I’ve also got good stamina and some durability, but I mainly use my ice for shielding.”

“Good,” Yokai said. “That gives us some options. Once we’re over the wall, we’ll assume a T-formation. Blast Wave and Hailstorm up front. Whisper in the middle, and I’ll cover the rear.”

“You covering all our backs?” Hailstorm scoffed. “Like hell you are.”

“Do I scare you?” Yokai asked, taking a step toward the ice queen.

Hailstorm raised her hands in a defensive position as she shouted, “Of course you do! I’d be stupid not to take you as a serious threat.”

“If you follow my orders, then you have nothing to fear. If we fail, we fail together. We’re all here because Mr. Webb has leverage over us, correct?”

“Yeah but—”

“Then we must put aside our reservations and work as a team.”

“She’s right,” Blast Wave added. “We can’t worry about one of us stabbing the other while we’re on the job. We all have to trust one another.”

Yokai rested her hands on her hips. “If it bothers you so much then, I shall lead with Blast Wave.”

Hailstorm hesitated before nodding. “That’s amicable. I’ll cover the rear.”

“Now that’s taken care of, let’s proceed.” Yokai placed her hand on her chest and said an incantation, giving herself flight. She flew over the cement wall and waited for the others.

Blast Wave leapt over. Hailstorm shot snow flurries from her hands and feet, creating a sort of boost that allowed her to float over. Whisper was the last one over, blowing a bit of air to send him over the edge before rolling into a standing position.

Realizing Whisper’s limited mobility, she kept them on the ground. Yokai extended her hand and used her keen sense of the Gale to lead them to where she felt its pull the strongest. It took them to an exterior door of the largest structure.

Once they gathered in front of the door, Yokai reached out and pulled the handle. It didn’t open. Before she could cast her own spell, the voice-based hero stepped in front of her and whispered, “Open.”

When the door clicked and cracked ajar, Yokai gave him a sly smile and said, “Looks like you have more utility than I’d assumed.”

Whisper raised his eyebrows in quick succession, and the group funneled in through the door. The interior of the warehouse was pitch black. Only a sliver of the moon’s light shined through the broken side windows. With a flick of her hands, Yokai conjured a ball of light and pushed it into the ceiling.

When they stepped further in, every footstep echoed in the massive chamber. The warehouse was a sprawling factory of broken conveyor belts, spiraling three stories high. Stacks of plastic transport containers sat by the dozens in wheeled carts. Plastic gloves and aprons hung on a nearby wall, stained black from their last kill.

The stench of rotted meat and blood fought the Gale for control over the air. An iron tinge clung to the group’s tongues like an abhorrent aftertaste. A thick layer of dust and dirt covered everything that wasn’t well traveled.

“This way,” Yokai whispered as she pulled the light above her and led them deeper into the facility.

“This place smells horrible,” Blast Wave whispered back.

“No kidding,” Hailstorm added.

“How many people were killed here?”

“Gunner said it was a crim named Cleaver and her gang. Maybe a dozen or so?”

“Quiet,” Yokai commanded. “Stay vigilant. We’re getting close.”

After passing through the bulk of the facility, Yokai held up her hand, causing everyone to halt behind her. She pushed her light forward and saw several trails of blackened blood, all funneling into a shut industrial freezer door. Inside was the source of the Gale’s presence. Where they’d find what they sought.

Yokai looked back at her allies and asked, “Ready?” When they all nodded in agreement, she pulled the freezer door handle and sprinted inside.

The freezer was larger than she expected. White walls soared almost two stories tall. Cream tile coated the floor, with the black smears painting their own ritualistic art. Over a dozen metal tracks hung from the ceiling, dangling hundreds of meat hooks.

Yokai couldn’t see it, but she knew there was something there. She placed her hand on to her chest and felt her eyes shift. When she blinked, there was an orange globe floating in the center of the room.

It was as she expected. An anchor between realities. An orb morphing like a mutated cell, yearning to become something greater than itself. With her new vision, the room was now fully lit, with thousands of glowing runes covering every surface. They fulfilled their purpose of stabilizing the anchor, awaiting its activation.

Yokai did a quick sweep of the room before rushing underneath the sphere. The runes she recognized immediately. They were a lead she’d been chasing since she’d been labeled a villain. Concentrating on Gunner, she closed her eyes and reached across the void to touch his mind. “Gunner, are you at your site?”

“We just arrived at the second one,” Gunner said, his voice echoing in her head. “The first site left little for us in terms of investigation. However, the Gale’s taint was present. Whoever did this knows what they are doing. I discovered Gale runes inside the bedroom, but I’ve never seen them before. I can’t read them.”

“It’s a new script that I’ve only seen in the last few years. They are Gale runes written in code. You have to know the cipher to be able to translate it.”

“So someone is covering their tracks from people like us.”

“Exactly. I’ve only seen it once before, and you’re not going to like who uses it.”

“Let me guess? Clavus Ad Cor?”

“Yes. But it’s a new sect of them called Sanguis Praeconis.”

“Blood of the Herald?”

“Yes.”

“Who’s the herald?”

“I’m not completely certain. I hesitate to say who I believe—”

Gunner sighed. “Just tell me what you know.”

“I believe it’s Mellicent” The conversation went silent to where Yokai believed the link was severed. “Gunner?”

“I’m here. So, she didn’t die when we fell into the Gale.”

“I don’t think so. Originally, I thought she was dead. I thought you’d both be. But then you survived. We haven’t heard from her for centuries. It wasn’t until recently that I’d heard whispers among the winds that she was still alive. I’ve spent the last year taking trips into the Gale to search for any sign of her. But the vastness of the Gale is eternal.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you were done with all this. After the Boston Cataclysm and our separation, you were consumed with rebuilding what was lost. While you built Mazuma City, I continued our work alone.”

When he responded, Yokai felt like he’d punched her in the gut at his lack of acknowledging her confession. “She could have been using all this time to build up power to finish what she started.”

Not to sound wounded, she centered herself and said, “Perhaps. We’d need to find those responsible to interrogate them about her plans. However, most cultists would rather die than be taken alive.”

“True.”

“I’m standing underneath a rift anchor. My assumption is that she’s somehow communicating across the Gale, and is using Sanguis Praeconis to reap enough power to bring her back. She’s probably promised them exactly what Clavus Ad Cor tried to do in Boston: to merge the Gale with our reality.”

“So this is personal. That makes sense why they’ve been targeting clients of mine. It’s just odd that they would know who my clients are… I must have a leak somewhere. But I’ll table that for now. We need to stop this. If your assumptions are true, and Mellicent returns even stronger, she’ll destroy this world under the intent of merging realities or not.”

“I know. If you’re already moving on to the second site, I’m assuming the first didn’t have an anchor?”

“No, it did not, but you said yours did. Is it active?”

Yokai opened her eyes and looked up. The chaos of the sphere’s motions were not as erratic enough for her to believe it was active. There was also no visible thread which would outline the portal it was bound to create. They still had time.

“No. But if we can find a second anchor, we can trace the third point. That would have to be where they’re preparing the final ritual.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let me take the team inside and see if there’s one here. I’ll reach back out shortly.”

When Yokai finished her conversation, Blast Wave stepped in front of her, waving his hand “Uh, Yokai, you with us?”

Yokai scanned the room, seeing the others gathered around her, staring as if she’d been unconscious. “Did I miss something?”

“You were just standing there like you were in your own little world. What are we doing here? There’s no one here.”

Yokai looked up at the anchor once more, ensuring nothing had changed. “You can’t see what I see. There’s an anchor here.”

“What’s an anchor?” Hailstorm asked.

Yokai frowned, realizing she’d let it slip again. She’d been alone so long, talking out loud felt natural to her. She glanced back down and spoke a loose truth. “It’s a method of us tracking the enemy. Right now we’re waiting on Mr. Webb’s team to see if there’s one at their site.”

“You spoke to him? We didn’t hear anything.”

“I spoke to him via a telepathic link.”

“You’re a telepath?”

“I’m a sorceress,” Yokai said with a mischievous grin. “But ignore that. If you wish to see what I see, I need to cast a spell on you all. You’ll need it for what comes next.”

“No, not happening,” Hailstorm said, crossing her arms.

“Yeah… I’m kind of in agreement with Hailstorm,” Blast Wave said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not sure how I feel about that.”

Yokai tapped the side of her cheek as she thought while she said, “How do I put this so you all will understand… If Mr. Webb finds an anchor at his location, we’ll be able to trace the two we know of to a third. The assumption being that the third is where our target is. However, when we start the process, the magic involved will attract… things.”

“Things?” Blast Wave asked. “Can you be a little more descriptive?”

“You also never told us what an anchor is,” Hailstorm huffed.

“It’s much easier to show you if you’d let me—”

“We’re not letting you cast spells on us. So. Stop. Asking.”

“Stop being so childish!” Yokai hissed. “This isn’t some sort of ruse. If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead. I need you to watch my back once I begin the ritual. And that means seeing where the threat is going to be coming from.”

Whisper waved his hands up in the air and stepped in between everyone. He waved his hands in a pattern that made her assume he was speaking in sign language. When he finished, he tapped on his chest again.

“Do you want me to cast it on you?” Yokai asked. When Whisper nodded, she smiled and said, “Okay, you have to be ready to accept it. It will feel like someone’s prodding your mind. Don’t resist it, otherwise it’s going to fail.”

“Couldn’t you just force it onto us?” Blast Wave asked.

“Yes,” Yokai said while casting the spell. “But I’m not trying to hurt you. If I force it, I also have to concentrate to maintain it. Whereas if you just accept it, it will last about a day.”

When she finished, Whisper’s eyes widened. He scanned the entire room before settling his gaze on the anchor above him. His slack jawed expression faded until he looked down at the others and waved his pointed fingers.

The frantic display convinced his muscle-bound peer. Blast wave pointed his thumb to his chest and said, “Okay, do me next.”

“Are you both insane?” Hailstorm shrilled, throwing her hands in the air. “There’s no telling what other magic she could weave inside this spell that she could cast. For all you know, she could be using it to plant a bomb in your head or a kill switch.”

“It’s as she said,” Blast Wave began, waving her off. “If she wanted to kill us, she could. Why would she go through the trouble of doing that now? She needs us and we need her. The sooner we get this done, the better.”

“Well, you’re both idiots. I’m not letting her stick her fingers in my mind.”

Yokai ignored Hailstorms needless declarations as she cast the same spell on Blast Wave. She watched his head jerk around the room as he took everything in. When he looked up at the sphere, his body straightened and his fists tightened. It was clear he was both in aw and afraid.

“What the hell is that thing?” Blast Wave asked, pointing a finger in the air.

“That’s the anchor,” Yokai said.

“What does it look like?” Hailstorm asked.

Blast Wave swallowed hard before he responded. “It’s like a bubble of moving water, but there’s something on the other side.”

“A place,” Yokai declared.

“What place?”

Before Yokai could think of how to respond, Gunner’s words scratched at the back of her mind. “Yokai, there’s an anchor point here at Diamond Dust’s house.”

“Think you remember enough to activate a trace?” Yokai chided.

“I may have been out of the game for a while, but I didn’t forget the basics,” Gunner said, his grin clear in his voice. “Ready your team and I’ll ready mine.”

“Just give me the signal of when to start.”

“Will do.”

Yokai turned to Hailstorm one last time. “Mr. Webb is in position. Are you sure you don’t want the spell?”

Hailstorm glanced at her other compatriots, chewing on the side of her cheek. She rolled her eyes and said, “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

Yokai nodded and cast the spell on the ice-wearing super. She gasped when she opened her eyes. As she twirled in space, her eyes darted between each rune before settling on the anchor. “What is that?”

“It’s about to be the source of all our problems,” Yokai said. She extended a long fingernail and cut a slice of space, creating a circular hole. After reaching a hand inside, she pulled out a ceremonial knife with a curved blade and red jeweled hilt. With a swipe of her hand, the black void vanished.

“Everyone take a position throughout the room,” Yokai ordered. “Once we trace the third anchor, we’ll attract predators from the other side. They’ll see the hole and try to punch through.”

“Predators from the other side?” Blast Wave asked, his voice reaching a few pitches higher. “Why does this sound like some kind of alien movie?”

“What do they look like?” Hailstorm asked.

“We won’t know until they come,” Yokai said, readying the knife against her opposing hand. “But you’ll know once you see them.”

“Great… that’s super helpful.”

“The place you see in that reflection is the embodiment of chaos. I don’t know because it could be anything. The winds of change are ever blowing. It could be a twenty-foot tall tree of blackened tentacles or a dog with heads for legs for all I know.”

“Uh… excuse me… did you just say dog with heads for legs?” Blast Wave asked.

Gunner’s voice boomed into her head, speaking with renewed vigor. “Yokai, I’m in position. My team’s ready. What about you?”

Yokai took one long glance at each of her team members. They were as ready as they were going to be. No one was ready for their first time dealing with the Gale. “We’re ready.”

“On my count.”

“Three.”

Yokai cut her hand.

“Two.”

She squeezed her fist. The blood dripped to the floor.

“One.”

She slammed her hand to the ground. Spilling a pattern in the shape of a Gale rune.

“Now!”