Aftershock, Part I

03.16.25 Somewhere in Tokyo “What do you mean, they’re gone!?” It is the morning after Manhunt, and the wear and tear from the match lingers over Kenny Freeman like a hangover as he sits in the hotel room. To make the headache even worse, he can hear Alexei Ruslan in the hallway, speaking rather gruffly with someone on his phone. The topic of that conversation--and the recipient of the stern inquiry--was not quite clear until the agent ended his call, giving a slight glare at Freeman and his pal, Randall Schwartz, upon entering the room. “Gentlemen, there’s been a…situation, back at the base. It would appear that the recent visitors have just, how would you say…up and left?” Kenny and Randall look at each other with a bit of confusion, before Kenny turns his attention back to Ruslan. “I, uh…” Freeman trails off, his gaze slowly rising up toward the sky before finally coming back around to finish his response. “I dunno what to tell ya, Alexei. Sounds like security at the base has gotten lax these da--” “They’re telling me a whole group of men looking like you arrived at the base,” Ruslan snaps, staring Kenny down with a furrowed brow. “Something about a Council of Concerned Kennys, whatever that means. What exactly do you know about this Council, Kenny?” “Tell him to spell out the initials,” Randall mutters as he leans over, which prompts a smack on the head from his comrade before Kenny responds any further to the inquiry. “Long story short, it’s in the name,” he states with a rather nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. “My buddy Aeon gave me a whole speech about them one time, but truth be told I haven’t interacted with them--or him--much in a while. That said, whatever reason they have to be banging on our door must be a good one, surely?” “That’s where it gets…interesting,” Ruslan remarks, as we fade to… - 03.03.25 Red Army Base Moscow, Russia We find ourselves smack dab in the middle of a cosmic conflict, as the Council brings out a megaphone to address the Red Army guards standing by. The tallest of the group is the main one to speak on behalf of their collective thinking. “We are here to retrieve Kenneth Freeman, Esquire and Kitty Freeman. They are not meant to be in this corner of the Multiverse, and must be released into our custody immediately.” Off in the distance, we can just about hear an “ah, shit” from Kitty, and a “oh, dear” from Kenneth as they realize the gravity of the situation. The feral Randall, for his part, grunts with a sense of disappointment that the Council didn’t bring him up by name. Before the groups at the entrance can reach any sort of agreement, however, we see the Red-Eye Kenny (or, if one would really prefer, the Freemanator) finally arriving at his destination. This gets a gasp from the Council, as the cybernetic Kenny shifts his focus between the two companies before finally locking in on the quarters where the trio reside. “They’re coming with me,” he states flatly in a vaguely European-esque accent, pointing at his targets. Inside the quarters, Kenneth lets in a gulp of air when the wall surrounding the window suddenly crumbles away, just as quickly revealing the robotic Freeman. He extends his arms around the trio, before they disappear in a flash of bright light. The sight stuns both the Council and the guards, as we fade to black with a dreaded title card… TO BE CONTINUED