Issue Four of Eight

Episode 4:
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Black, Purple, Pink and Green
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Late January, 2112
The building stands at the corner of Abad and Mellington Avenues, quiet and dark. Some windows remain lit. Others darkened with shutters. The rest, black as shadows, relish the lightless chambers. The streets are a bit damp with the slight drizzle. The benches nearby are empty. The buildings are all silhouetted by the brighter lights of the road.

On the top of the building is the caped figure of the Enigma.

On the bottom of the building, with the engine shutting off, is the car of the Brendans.

And inside, to be brutally unleashed, is the Truth.

But not just yet...

Early February, 2112
"So you're telling me that you both drove all the way from Shaver's Lake only to get to the shrink's office and find the whole building bloody and dead. I don't get it. I don't get it at all," the policeman remarked as he scratched his ear with his finger. Sweat beads had begun to form on Gabe's forehead. And chin. And upper lip. The bright spotlight that glared above him reminded him of those numerous lights that focused on them when the helicopters and hoverpads of the Fresno police district arrived. Kirsten screamed in shock as the personnel dragged the two of them out of the building, told them to remain on the ground with their hands on her heads, and shut up. "So, you're being in the area was all just a plain ole coincidence?"

Gabe merely grunted a yes, being tired and sleepy and hungry. The police have been asking him the same question for the past two days now. Why, he never even noticed January come to pass. But he would never forget the harrowing experience he went through while inside the dreaded building at the corner of Abad and Mellington Avenue.

"What about the blood all over your clothes and hands?"

"Officer," Kirsten explained to the policewoman in her side of the interview room, who practically had been asking the same question, "Like I have told you, we were there for an appointment and didn't notice anything amiss until we entered the building. That's the Truth."

Kirsten shruddered upon hearing her own lips mutter that word. It was a word that would haunt Kirsten much longer than she'd ever expect. For not too long ago, she was face to face with-

Late January, 2112
The Truth.

Kirsten wanted to know the Truth and she learned it when Gabe finally exposed a secret held deep in his past. It was nothing deadly. Nor was it in any remote or minute way horrific. Merely shocking at first glance, then humorous when recounted.

But now as she is running up the stairs, gasping for her life and holding ever so tightly onto Gabe's sweat moist fingers, the Truth is the last thing she'd want to see.

It was behind them. Its insane transparency so bare, it was painful to look at directly. Delirious eyes peered from behind the mask which was not really a mask, but a lens that focused the Truth and made it visible for all to see.

Faster and faster, up the steps the two ran; their breath competing against their hearts in keeping a proper beat. When they reached the third floor, the Truth suddenly vanished, hiding somewhere in the shadows. Kirsten sees a car drive by and breaks the window open with a window, hoping it would catch the driver's attention. Rather, it made the driver think he was being assaulted and made him simply drive off faster.

The Truth was out there...
but Kirsten did not want to see it.

Early February, 2112
"Okay, now how did you get into the apartment if neither of you live there?" the Officer posed the question to Gabe as a challenge. Gabe merely shook his head for what seemed to be the hundredth time and replied, "Dr. Isthet gave us a copy of her key to be able to pay a visit no matter how late in the evening it was without having to wake up the land lady, Ms. Turin..."

"Who's also dead--"

"Yes, who is also dead."

The Officer gave a smile, as if having noticed a loop hole in the story and immediately followed the question up, "Where is Ms. Isthet now?"

Late January, 2112
Somewhere in the building.

Gabe knew for sure that the murderer was somewhere in the building. Kirsten turned a corner and yelled at Gabe to follow her. "We have to check on Ruth!" she yelled as her shoes clickity-clacked on the steps. But Gabe remained still on the steps, neither following nor leaving Kirsten's path. Instead, he watched her climb the steps then turned to look back at the corridor he had just run through.

The murderer was there somewhere in the room.

He knew it as a fact.

But deep inside, he felt that there was someone else in the room. Or if not the room, at least the building. Gabe's eyes rolled to the side, sensing movement in the darkness. All he caught was a glimpse of a hand coated in crimson before his cry was muffled by a blow to the chin.

Early February, 2112
"Gabe ran off somewhere while I headed for Dr. Isthet's office, hoping to find her still alright," Kirsten's voice cracked. The trauma of being chased up and down an apartment just a few days ago does leave a stigma that fades only after a long amount of time.

"And these are what happened last week, yes?"

"Two days ago. Just the end of January."

The policewoman noted the date down on the pad, then sat on the table nearby. Her face showed no hint of concern. "Okay, so what happened when you got to the doctor's office?"

"Ruth wasn't there-"

"The doctor?"

"Yes- Doctor Isthet wasn't there in the office."

"And where did you think she was?"

Late January, 2112
Standing beside Gabriel, the Truth threw another punch; her translucent glove reflecting the dim light as new sweaty blood coated the skin. A moan emitted as an elbow this time connected on Gabe's stomach to be followed by a push, toppling the now bloody Gabriel on to the floor.

"Fact: You are Gabriel Brendan."

"She knows my-" Gabriel's thoughts scream before getting cut off as another limb strikes squarely on his chest.

"Fact: You have been married to Kirsten Bergham and you love her dearly."

"At least she-" Another blow, this time to the kidneys. Gabriel crumples to the ground now, silently crying in pain.

"Fact: She has yet to tell you the Truth."

Whatever the Truth meant by this statement, Gabriel would probably never find out. But it was at this moment that he assumed that everything became a moot point. He felt delirious and sick. A cold shrudder was slowly creeping to him. With closed eyes, he embraced oblivion only to find it ignoring his outstretched arms.

The silence was unbearable.

The tension, deafening.

And when he risked peeking between blood-glazed eye-lids, he found himself away from the Truth that hurts, and instead before the Enigma of his dreams.

Early February, 2112
"She wasn't in her office. In fact, what puzzled me was the fact that there were no signs of a struggle in her office?"

The policewoman looked at her with a pout, "No signs of struggle? What are you, some sort of a private eye?"

Kirsten shook her head weakly, "I'm a writer."

"Ain't that a hoot!" came the sarcastic reply, "Why don't you join the force, Mrs. Brendan. We could use a smart cop lady like you."

Remaining silent, Kirsten simply closed her eyes and waited. She wanted to go home. She wanted to sleep and just forget about everything. But she knew she couldn't. Not after what the Truth had told her.

Was it the truth she heard?

Or was the Truth telling a lie?

Late January, 2112
The pink wallpaper had, for some reason, enraptured Kirsten. She could not help but stare at the design: Spirals and Curves. They seem to haunt her. To feed on her. To fester on her fears.

"Fact: Kirsten Bergham has not been totally honest... brutally honest with Gabriel Brendan."

She whirls to the side to see the Truth emerging from the corner,

"Fact: Kirsten Bergham does not hate Gabriel because he had done actions which might seem unnatural for a heterosexual male..."

Kirsten begins to run, her heels striking the carpeted floor with a muffled clatter. Sweat beads her forehead and trickles down her neck. She gasps once more when she feels a cold and rough hand grab hold of her ankle and yank her to the ground.

"Fact: Kirsten Bergham hides an interesting past. A memory which she would rather forget..."

Gabriel closes his eyes once more as the Enigma's shadow descends on him. He feels faint. Dizzy. Sick. The blows to his body must have done a mean amount of damage. "At least I don't feel the pain that much anymore..." Gabe mumbles as he watches the Enigma bend down and reach for him.

His touch is warm. Not the warmth one feels from typical pepped up body heat. Nor the heat one generates to remind the other that one is alive. Rather, His warmth was different. A warmth that one shares. A warmth that one desires.

The hand rests on his nape.

Concentric circles begin to form in mid-air. Little colorful swirls, and tiny whirlpools of refracted light appear. The tiny chimera dance and spin and descend into Gabriel's sorry state of a body.

Gabriel feels his body begin to repair the damage it had received. He feels the bruises settle and smoothen. The cuts, sealing and stopping in their bleeding. He feels his breathing go steady. His eyesight clears. His stomach ceases its churning.

Another hand rests on his stomach.

Gabriel suddenly pulls back as the hand cups threateningly close to his groin. He looks straight at the Enigma and screams, "What are you? What are you doing?"

The Engima remains silent.

The hand moves lower. More wriggly lines. More flashes of light. Gabe feels his blood rush. His temperature shift. His body rise in heat.

"Listen I appreciate the help and all-"

Early February, 2112
"But what Mr. Brendan," asked the police officer, "What?"

Gabriel closed his eyes and reminded himself that these people were merely doing their job. Two days of reminding himself, Gabriel muses, Maybe its time to tell them straight off.

A smile crosses his face.

"But now isn't really a good time to have SEX."

She had been calm for quite some time now. She had told them the truth but until now, they persisted to find some error in her statements. She was nearly at the end of her patience.

"So, this figure known as the Enigma. It was Him who helped you."

"Like I said earlier... Yes and No."

A pen whirled on the air, caught, then capped. "Tell me again, why?"

"The Enigma was the one who saved me in the end... but before that, I had to save myself. It was me to turned to face that bloody stocking-covered psycho. It was me to slammed my now broken Armani heels into its face. It was me who struggled to reach the staircase, only to have the psycho reach me and fling me over the railing. And yes, it was me who remembered the small can of mace I kept in my purse as a prop for the role I was assimilating for my next book. (see issue 1). Se yes, I guess to a certainly good extent, you can say I did save myself."

"And the Enigma?"

"Well, that gets a LOT more complicated-"

"-if not personal?" the police officer concluded for Kirsten, having heard the same excuse before. "Tell me all about it, Mrs. Brendan. Tell me all about it."

Late January, 2112
Gabe knelt before the Enigma like a frightened little girl. His hands were covering his crotch. His body was naked in the hallway. His clothes neatly piled in the corner. And the Enigma, standing before him: His cape, a blanket covering the floor. His clothes, resting on the ground. His eyes, closed as if in prayer. His mask, hiding his face.

Offering fantasy.

Offering the hidden to be anyone one would desire.

"Who are you?" Gabriel asked.

The Enigma remained still.

"What do you want from- Well, I guess that question is clear now. But why me?"

His eyes fluttered open, gazing into Gabe's. A subtle hint of a smile seemingly appeared on His face. Gabriel blinked and checked again. Nothing. "I don't want to do this... I'm not-"

"You are what you want to be," He spoke for the first time.

Gabriel stared in disbelief. The voice was unlike anything he would have ever dreamed. Worse still was the way his body had begun to react to His voice. He felt himself blush. He felt his knees weaken while other parts of him did the opposite. "I... I don't... I'm not into..."

The Enigma smiled, then reached for Gabe's face. Gabriel closed his eyes, a bit due to fear but a bit also due to anxiety which he wished not to reveal. Yes, he was as straight as a doorknob. And yes, he knew he was never into any sort of gender bending stuff. But for some reason... some unnatural reason...

You're doing this. You're making me want to-" Gabe's voice was cut off as the Enigma suddenly stared back at him in horror. The voice, melodious and encompassing as it was, returned, but this time, it was coated with fear. "Stop! What are you saying!"

"I'm not... like this..." Gabriel began to mutter, "I'm not... aaaarghhh.." His hands found strength. They pushed against the masked fantasy and reached instead for dirty, sweaty reality. The hands found his clothes and soon enough, his clothers found his body. He was dressed in the fastest amount of time in his life.

"Please... stay..." the voice again, but pleading this time, "I'll even lift away the effect."

"Oh FUCK! Kirsten!!!" Gabe suddenly recalled as some sort of cloud rose from his mind. Everything began to get clearer. He stood, looked frantically around, then faced the masked man. "Are you here to help me?"

The Enigma remained silent. His clothes began to circle around him, like sentries protecting the wounded.

"You have powers! You're some sort of super freak, aren't you?"

The cape fluttered, pulling itself from beneath Gabe (nearly tripping him) then began to tie itself to the Enigma. The cloth descended on his body, covering his naked vulnerability.

"Where is she! You can tell. I know you can."

"Yes," came his last reply in words.

"WHERE IS SHE?"

His hand rose and pointed towards the staircase. Almost instantly, Gabe was runnning faster and faster towards that area. But just before he could reach the railing, a blur passed the bars and Kirsten's voice was heard screaming past.

"No!"

He caught her in mid-air. Gabe never even had time to close his mouth and reach, no matter how fruitless it would have been, for her. But there He was, fully dressed and caped, hovering high above the ground with the weak Kirsten in His hands. Gabe immediately looked up to see the murderer rush for the window and crash through the glass, leaving. The sounds of hoverpads were in the air. So too, were the beatings of helicopter rotors. The police had arrived.

Early February, 2112
"So the murderer, you say wears this thin-"

"Actually, I'd say transparent, officer."

"Ahem... transparent body stocking with this T-shaped design opening on the face area. Did she," in a sarcastic tone, "by any chance mention her code name?"

Laughter bounced around the room among the officers as Kirsten shook her head in annoyance. The police officers did not believe a word she had said. In fact, that was why Gabe and herself have not been allowed to leave for two days now. They were the suspects!

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Well, missy," the officer remarked, "as a matter of fact, I don't."

"Well its true," Kirsten replied, her eyes staring deep into his. He gazed back indifference then lit a cigar, puffing the smoke towards her way. She kept herself from flinching.

"Oh? And what proof might you have of these words? As far as I can see it, you and your hubby must have been seeing this shrink, whatwashername... Ruth? Isthet? That pronounced East-Eth? Or Ees-Theet?"

"Ees Theet."

"Isthet, and when she mentioned that you both were wacko and needed to be placed in an asylum, well, you both just freaked out like hell."

Kirsten rose from her stead angry as hell. The other officers merely held her down and grunted in annoyance. Kirsten felt the pain on her back and shoulders and rather than entice the offciers to do more, she relaxed so that so will they. "We have no reason to kill them!"

"None?"

"None."

"Alright, since you both are sticking with your story, as unreal and as crappy it may seem, I have no choice but to let you two go for now."

"About time.."

"Sorry for any inconveniences..." the officer half-heartedly said. Kirsten merely responed to him with the finger.

"So, how did your go?" Gabriel asked Kirsten as she was walking down the steps. It seemed, since Gabriel finished a few minutes earlier than her, as if he been waiting in the sun for quite some time. Sweat marks were evident in his clothes. But it was nearly nine and the sun was definitely nowhere in sight.

"Did they?" she asked, pointing discreetly at the marks.

"Naah," Gabriel replied as he pulled her close to her, then in a weaker voice, nearly a whisper, "Let's get the fuck outta here. They think we did it and I wouldn't be surprised if we're gonna be followed here and there."

"Oh fuck.. why us. Why did it have to happen to us?" Kirsten muttered, thinking about this problem that rose from nowhere. Were people just destined to sooner or later become the playthings of destiny? The toys of Fate? Or was there some great Mystery that would answer all these existentialist questions... or perhaps merely an Enigma behind it all. "Let's just go home. Maybe if we're lucky, they'll discover the truth."

But as the car drove away, high in the sky, the Enigma watches as Kirsten's words seem prophetic. And although before He would have gone down to help, today a more pressing concern strikes Him. He flies off, following the car of the couple while the wicked female figure of the Truth begins to approach the unknowing police station. The police officers of Fresno do learn of the Truth. Although not in a way they had expected.

The city streets turn red tonight.

And the enigma grows.

End Issue Four

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Enigma was originally published by Vertigo,a trademark of DC Comics. Others, if any, are not mentioned as a challenge to the said owners nor as an insult. The author of this fanfiction assumes NO ownership over the comic character ENIGMA. All other characters are created by Tobie Abad. This page is not intended to challenge or claim ownership of the character ENIGMA which is copyright of DC Comics.

Written by Tobie Abad [email protected]
Comment and reactions are welcome! In fact, appreciated!

Read the next issues of The Engima Grows .