Manus Fortuna (Virtue)/Death of a Seer - Birth of a Hero
Death of a Seer...Birth of a Hero
Written By Garielle
The Plan
Seer Vance stood atop Fort Darwin, staring out over the water as if watching for something. He actually saw very little of what lay before him, his mind focused on what he must do. He has spent the past week trying to convince himself it was no big deal. Yes, he would need to kill someone, but it was not like that would be a first. Besides, he was a Praetorian, and even worse--a Praetorian version of himself. He was well aware of the atrocities such a man would be capable of. If Lucas didn't eliminate him, he would no doubt be part of Cole's invasion force. This was nearly a preemptive strike, and was the right thing to do.
Even as the thought went through his mind, he knew it wasn't true. He had done his homework in preparation for carrying out his plan. He knew that the Praetorian Lucas was a member of the Wardens, a group which appeared to oppose Cole. By all accounts, his counterpart had never crossed the line and taken an innocent life--which was more than he could say for himself. Seer Vance tried to push his current line of thought aside. What difference does it make? This was was not something he was doing by choice, this was necessary. Just this one last foul act, this one last black mark on his soul, and he could free himself from Arachnos and begin to make amends for the things he had done. He would just have to add this to the long list of things he must pay penance for.
A year ago, he had begun to develop the persona of Manus Fortuna. He used this persona to develop contacts in the Rogue Isles, as well as Paragon City. As Manus Fortuna, he was able to feed information to Longbow and other groups in Paragon City. He was always careful in the information he passed on. He didn't want to pass on anything which could be easily traced back to him. He didn't want either side to know his true identity--ever.
His end game plan had always been to somehow stage his own death, at the hands of Manus Fortuna. The one detail he was lacking was what to do about a body. Without one, Arachnos would continue to look for him. The whole point of creating the Manus Fortuna was so that the Archnos Seers would not know who they were looking for. This would make it much more difficult for them to track him. The recent flood of Praetorians into primal Earth presented him with the solution to his dilemma.
Laying a trap for his prey would be difficult. He knew that the Praetorian possessed psychic capabilities which were equal to his own. His physical prowess also seemed to match his own. The more intricate the plan, the more likely it would be that the Praetorian would see it coming, dooming it to failure. He had observed the Praetorian from afar, never getting close to him, never trying to probe him directly. He had, instead, gently poked the minds of those around his target to learn what he could. He had even been able to plant simple suggestions in some of their minds to get them to ask certain questions or be in certain places at the right time. As long as they did not know why they were asking or that they were asking the question for someone else, there would be nothing for the Praetorian to sense.
The plan had produced exactly the piece of information he needed. He learned that the Praetorian would be crossing to Primal Earth. He knew when. He knew where. He knew he would be alone. The time was at hand when he could complete the final phase of his plan and leave the Rogue Isles forever. There were still preparations to be made, but he was sure he could have them done in time. He would need to put a shroud in place to mask his psychic presence. He knew that it wouldn't work for an extended period of time, but he didn't need it to. He just needed to maintain it long enough for the Praetorian to carry through with their plan for coming to Primal Earth. Just an hour or two should do the trick.
The Final Confrontation
Seer Vance found a suitable hiding place in the shadows of the warehouse and waited. He knew the Praetorian would be arriving soon. His heart raced as the anticipation built. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel--see his work about to finally pay off. A cone of light fell across the dirty floor of the darkened room, as the door opened.
"You can come out Lucas," the Praetorian spoke as he switched on the lights, "I know you are here, and I know why."
"Do you also know that I don't take any pleasure in what must be done here tonight?", Seer Vance responded, stepping from the shadows.
"Then why do it? We can work together. Imagine what we could accomplish together. You with your knowledge of this world, and me with my knowledge of Cole and his followers. Both of us with our psychic talents. With a few other Praetorians and Primals at our side, we could crush Cole and his entire army."
"This is how it must be. I can never be free from Arachnos as long as they still believe I am alive.", a single tear ran down the Seer's face as he unleashed the burst of psychic energy towards his prey.
The Praetorian braced himself, sweat beading on his brow as he strained to keep the blast from penetrating his mind. Both the mens' heads began to ache from the strain.
"I won't fight you!", the Praetorian exclaimed, "We can go on like this for hours. You know it, as well as I do. We will both pass out before you manage to defeat me."
Tears now flooded down the cheeks of the Seer as he saw the true nature of what he was doing and realized what must happen.
"NO!", the Praetorian's eyes widened as the thought occurred to him as well, "I will not do it! I will not kill you!"
"You must!", replied the Seer still locked in mental combat with the Praetorian, "I can never really be a hero. Not as long as I am willing to take the life of an innocent man. That is never a heroic act, no matter how noble the cause."
"I can't! I must try to help you, if I can!"
"Perhaps your task will be made easier when you see, first hand, exactly who it is you are trying to help", and he sent mental images to the Praetorian, showing him all that he had done in service to Arachnos, "Look and see the true nature of the monster I am!"
The Praetorian wept as the images flooded his mind. Images of the men and the women and even the children that the Seer had been tasked with prying information from, using whatever means necessary. The rage within him built until he thought he may explode, until suddenly, without even realizing it, he drew his blade and delivered a single slash across the throat of the Seer.
"Thank you," the Seer whispered as the life left him, blood dripping from the smile on his face as he died knowing that his last act had been the one truly heroic act of his life--sacrificing himself so that a better man may live and help save Primal Earth from the Praetorian invasion to come.
Lucas Vance walked out of the warehouse and through the streets of Talos Island to the train station. He got off at the King's Row station, where he walked to a small apartment his Primal Earth counterpart had already arranged for himself. There, he found the clothing the seer had left behind, as well as the battle armor he had worn as Manus Fortuna. In that final moment in the warehouse, the seer had given him one other gift as well--the strength to do what will be needed in the battle ahead.
