The German Front

The next day, Johnny was up and about at the crack of dawn. Excitement filled him at the prospects of such a case. This is what he lived for when it came to being a detective, finding clues and having a satisfied client.

Placing the fedora on his head, he quickly ran down the stairs as if he had no time to waste.

"Ok Lenny, I'm heading out! Take care of everything while I'm gone, ok!" He shouted as he ran downstairs.

"Are you sure that you don't want breakfast?" Lenny poked his head out from the kitchen.

"Thanks, but I've got to strike while the iron is hot!"

"Then take the bag that I've already made for you!"

Johnny noticed a large sack already prepared for him. Inside it had several premade lunches, along with money and Crests.

"Lenny, what would I ever do without you?"

The man scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Good luck, Master. Come back safely."

"I will, don't worry." He waved as he opened the door with the morning sun in his face.

He took a deep breath of the fresh morning air and thought about his course of action.

"Ok, the first thing to do is find a ship. Being as there is a war going on in Europe. My best bet is a merchant ship. Guess I'll start heading for the bay area."

He stretched his arms over his head and stretched his legs a bit. His first big case keeping his energy high that he could barely settle down.

"But a morning jog wouldn't be so bad."

Several men were watching the young man from across the street as he took off at a steady pace down the street. Each dressed in straight black business suits and black fedoras.

"Captain. Iz he one of zem?" The man asked, his voice carried a thick German accent.

"Yes, the General mentioned that he could be a big problem for the Fuhrer if he gets involved with our plans." Another man replied with the same heavy accent.

"What of the woman? She is our primary target." Asked another.

"In due time, Lieutenant. For now if we can take care of zis target. That is less for the Wehrmacht to worry about."

XXXXX

After about 10 minutes of jogging, Johnny felt like it was enough and decided to start on his first lead and head to Great Britain.

He started to wave down a taxi when he heard someone clearing their throat beside him.

"Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to be Mr. Garland, per chance?" The man asked politely, taking off his hat and placing it on his chest in a gentlemanly fashion.

Johnny instantly felt a strong intent to kill from this man. Being a detective, knowing how to read people can be a life-saving skill.

"Who wants to know?" He asked bluntly, a cocky New York accent peeked briefly as his posture changed defensively.

The man's solemn expression turned into a sinister grin as two men leaped over his shoulders from behind. Each brandishing a large combat knife.

Johnny reacted instantly and took off into an alley, narrowly dodging their attacks.

The young man kept running down it until there was only a large brick wall in his path.

"So waz zis your strategy, Mr. Garland?" The man in charge said, his generic American accent replaced with German. "I can see that you are familiar in combat. This narrow alley prevents you from being attacked from all sides, but I zink zat you misjudged the obstruction. No." He pulled out a large cigar and lit it, its strong fragrance filling the air.

"You think so?" Johnny took off his fedora and sack, placing them on the ground. "I just wanted a private conversation with the soon-to-be-deceased." He said as he cracked his knuckles.

"For starters, who are you and what do you want? You're obviously not from around here. Based on your accent and choice of weapons. German Storm Troopers would be the best guess."

"You are correct, Mr. Garland. Your deductive skills are quite impressive and so as a courtesy to your impending demise, I will tell you." The man took a puff of his cigar before explaining.

"I am Captain Adalwulf and zese are my two best men. Lt. Rainer and Sgt. Ivon. We are a part of a select few who are under orders to destroy all who pose a threat to the Fuhrer's rise in power. We were in pursuit of a traitor who made contact with you recently. Knowing zat, you are under the contract as a viable threat. Had you two never met, we might have overlooked your meager practice and never bothered you. However, according to our sources, you are not one to be defeated so eazily so zat is why I came myself to ensure zat ze job was finished properly."

"So you know about me. Guess this saves time on the introductions." Johnny brandished his trustworthy Bowie knife, which was easily twice the size of the mens' combat knives.

Ivon and Rainer approached him cautiously, the narrowness making it hard for a good attack. Adalwulf stayed in the back, smoking casually.

Johnny readied himself, seeing how experienced the two were based on their movements and teamwork as they shifted back and forth without any signals. This meant they've spent a lot of time fighting together.

In the blink of an eye, Ivon leaped into the air and Rainer charged low, creating a simultaneous attack.

Johnny needed to time it right or else he'd be severely wounded, if not killed by such an orchestrated attack.

He decided to gamble and parried Rainer's thrust and sidestepped Ivon who slashed at his throat. He brought out his other hand, which sparked with energy that he had been preparing from the start. Rearing back his fist, he sent a powerful punch that collided with Ivon's face, sending him into the wall with a powerful explosion.

His arm lit up with pain as he looked down to see a long cut made by Rainer, who attacked without hesitation.

Garland saw that these guys were true professionals. Not even flinching when one of their members fall. But was strange was that the man that he had punched get up with little trouble at all, dusting off his tattered suit like he had merely tripped.

"Very impressive. Your power over Malice is remarkable, but don't think that you are the only one who can wield it." Adalwulf explained. "Of course, very few humans can actually use it with their own bodies, so our scientists developed ways to channel it by artificial means."

Ivon's torn suit was revealed to have something underneath it, like a kind of armor of some sort.

"But seeing that this fight could involve the public, and we don't want to be noticed by your government. I will have to take care of this."

The two retreated behind the Captain as he stepped forward, taking off his jacket. Underneath was a German Saber that was rather beautiful with its decorations, which one would believe was just for show.

"Consider it an honor, Mr. Garland. Had you continued fighting them, your death would be rather long and painful, but I will make it quick and painless for you." He unsheathed the saber and brandished it with expert handling. His stance resembling that of a fencing style, the tip lowered and his other hand behind his back.

Johnny could already sense that he was a greater threat than the other two, much greater.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to die right now. You'll just have to try another time!" He charged, his knife edge extending into a sword of solid energy.

Adalwulf grinned as he blocked the attack, stopping Johnny's blade cold. Red energy flashing upon impact.

Johnny didn't waste time and continued to pressure the German, but it did little good as his foe parried and blocked each strike with ease, not even budging from his position.

"I don't understand, how can I not get passed his sword and why doesn't he attack if he is this confident in his defensive skills."

"You've have amazing strength and talent. Had this been a normal sword, it would have easily been cut in two on your first strike. But like I said, we've incorporated Malice so that ordinary soldiers may wield it."

He knocked Johnny off balance as he lowered himself, his other hand that he had behind his back was crackling with BLACK energy.

He placed it on Johnny's stomach, who had no time to move before he was consumed by the blast and launched into the far wall before he exploded.

"You see, my sword is not for attacking. It is merely a defense and diversion for my true ability."

The bricks were burned to ash by the intensity of the attack, leaving a smoke cloud in its wake.

Johnny stumbled from the smoke, his body having taken heavy damage from that attack. Enough that if he hadn't transformed, he would have turned into ash just like the brick wall.

Adalwulf's smirk only seemed to grow when he saw that Johnny was still alive.

"You are just full of surprises. You're the first to ever survive my 'Greeting'. It makes me wonder what else you might have in store for me should this fight continue."

"Just what is that power? That can't be Malice." Johnny exclaimed.

"As a matter of fact, it is. You see, for every single thing in nature there sometimes occurs a phenomenon when something transcends its peers, be it living or otherwise. Like when a rock becomes a diamond or apes become humans. Even energy can transcend what it once was. As we are the Pure Race, it is possible for us to achieve this and I am the first and only to have this new power. CHAOS!"

Johnny could see the powerful aura that radiated from him. Never had he felt such a power before. Fighting him, even at full strength, the chance at victory would be too small considering that Adalwulf only seemed to reveal a fraction of his power with that "Greeting".

"Ok then, I guess I got a real fight on my hands." He said as he now brandished his dual bladed sword.

Adalwulf prepared himself as he raised his saber.

"Come, I would like to see how strong you really are."

Johnny's aura engulfed him in radiant red as he charged again, spinning his weapon around his body as he did.

At the last instant, he stopped, swinging his blade upwards from the ground, tossing up a giant wave of earth and rock in their faces.

The dustcloud and rocks pelted the building across the street, punching through walls and overturning cars like a hurricane.

The men were left confused and dazed as they coughed until the dust clouds disburse.

"I underestimated him." Adalwulf murmured as he saw that the man was long gone.

"Captain, if we hurry, we might be able to catch him." Said Ivon, but Adalwulf stopped him.

"Not necessary, I admire his tactfulness and intelligence at facing a superior opponent. It iz how the Americanz zay, 'Live to fight another day'. He knew that retreating waz ze best option and did so with the best chance of success. Also his knowledge of this area is greater than ourz zo he could eazily get away even if we ran after him."

"So what now?" Asked Rainer.

"The woman is the priority as this one has escaped. We will continue on her trail until we meet again." The Captain replied.

"How can you so sure about that?" Rainer asked.

Adalwulf simply grinned as he took out another cigar.

"The fate of a wolf and this prey are destined to meet again. I'm just glad that this hunt won't be a boring one."