It hadn’t been easy to find something to do on the bank, it was quite interesting to find out that, Ale had thought that it would be a matter of exiting and finding herself in a combat situation, as she had destroyed the cameras before exiting. This should have raised some degree of alarm...
It did not, Ale exited into the hallway and found it deserted. The only thing that she found different was a weird red light on the ceiling.
“[Notice, there may have been a silent alarm system in place. Also it is possible that other Minions have started combat.]”
Well, that simplified things, Main Core had mentioned that there were some places that were supposed to have combat, so for now Ale decided to move towards those locations. It would do her good to test her new Nuzzler Armor.
So she ran, Ale ran and ran, checking the data that Main Core was sending her, she decided to take a route that would take her to the behind of the bank, there was supposed to be a fight there as some of the Minions were supposed to make sure the [Heroes] didn’t do a pincer attack on those working within the bank.
Also some of those that had managed to get the targets were supposed to evacuate from that side, Ale was also supposed to leave from that side after all.
“Keep moving people! Anyone that is suspected to be under the Core Power of [The Theater Master] will be fired!” Ale heard while running past one corridor, if her map was to be believed, that one led to a [Bunker], some defensive construct that they were supposed to ignore unless one of their targets went that way, and even then, they were supposed to report first. “A minion! Move it people! If that one comes this way before we close the door, we are toast!”
The same one screamed and ran past the mass of people.
Ale was half a mind of letting go and just butchering…
“[Notice, too many evidence would be left, it is adviced to not proceed with that line of thought at the time.]”
Right… She could do that later, maybe if some of them tried to run into the sewers? Could she egg them to move that way? It was something to think later, maybe she could even herd a few toward Sam?
Would he even enjoy human flesh?
She would need to speak with Alexandra later about that, she doubted the top side would like it, but perhaps the lower side?
Alexandra could keep the yucky side, but Ale wanted to pat the lower half. Those beady eyes were Justice.
“[Host?]”
What?
Did she stand there just thinking about that? People may start thinking she was weird, only Alexa was weird, Ale on the other hand was the pretiestest, she couldn’t be weird, being weird wasn’t pretty behaviour.
For now she marked this place on her mental map and continued running towards her destination, she didn’t find more of those bunkers, but did found a couple [Humans] trying to hide within their offices.
“Bunker that way,” Ale would say occasionally to some people who nodded profusely at her while running away. One of them even said that she looked cute in the outfit, “Not cute, I am pretty.”
She would of course correct those people, the difference was important, if she was called Cute, then Alexa may take the compliment for herself, these were of Ale. Alexa got most of the compliments since she was around the most, Ale also wanted some compliments dang it!
*Crash*
Either way, while coming in this direction, Ale finally heard the sound of combat and the evidence of the same. As she found a group of Minions with domino-like masks being hurdled against the interior of the bank.
“Really? Only this? [The Theater Master] underestimates us a little too much, don’t you think?” A voice that Ale recognized sounded from the door as it was opened, a man wearing a full body armor with blue colors and sleek design walked forward.
“[Hero Designation: V-8].” Ale said as she recognized the man.
“Hoh? A fan? Sorry but I don’t sign anything from minions at work, you may join the line in the next convention, I will be signing merch at GalaxyCon on the second day in aisle A-1.” V-8 said dismissively as he looked down at her, “Here a freebie, you tell me where is that bitch Aqua and I’ll give you a free VIP pass.”
On his hand was a golden-like ticket and some of the minions on the floor turned to look at her, they seemed to be…guarded.
“[Notice, hidden communication detected, intercepting…Decyphering…It’s a warning that host may turn hostile and they are asking about implementing a countermesure against host… Analyzing gear provided to host…found countermeasure, destroying countermeasures….done, host may proceed as she wishes.]”
…She wasn’t going to betray her employer tho.
That was an Alexa thing, or maybe a P4 thing? Either way, she had no interest in that GalaxyCon thing besides a means to acquire free [Blueprints].
“I refuse,” So Ale answered.
“Tch…well, don’t think bad about me for hitting a fan, you are wearing a minion’s mask while on a bank that called for help after all.” V-8 then shone in blue lightning as he blurred.
“[Warning, Mana burst detected, high speed object detected. Speedster protocol enabled. 300% energy burn, perception accelerated.]”
Ale then saw the world crawl to a stop; within this frozen world, she could see V-8 releasing occasional lightning into the air as he walked, not running or even attempting to move fast; he merely walked.
She saw him kick a few of the minions that were on his way and these seemed to move while being in contact with him, only for them to freeze as soon as they stopped contact with him. Not a single one of them seemed able to react to him either.
“Main Core? How much Energy will it require for us to react at this speed?” Ale asked inwardly as she saw him move closer and closer to her.
“[Impossible, the cost of energy and biomass is too prohibitive to achieve.]” Main Core answered, well that sucked.
“Then?” Ale asked, if there was no way to react, then doing this was pointless. Why waste energy only to be able to perceive how someone kicked her?
“[Speedster Protocols enabled, releasing a burst of Biomass into the form of ultra-thin feelers surrounding host, connecting them to body synopsis to react at the touch. Host, brace for automated Reaction.]” Main Core answered back, Ale felt the drop in both her Mana and her Biomass count.
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She also felt the [Feelers] as Main Core called expand around her. The previous time she had used tendrils to make him fall, so was that why Main Core was using Tendrils connected to her nerve endings?
Either way, V-8 continued sauntering her way, happy and nonchalantly kicking Minions.
“Hmm….you look….from up close you have this same vibe that the Minion Chrysalis messed up, but that can’t be right? You are missing some assets on the chest and rear area.” V-8 said as he took the first step into her tendril-laced area.
“[Reaction confirmed, presence of Mana Wavelength confirmed, the host is under the effect of a weird energy field. Body seems to be under effects that allow moving at higher speeds than possible, no effect on the Consciousness Stream, proceeding with second part.]”
And just as fast as that message came, Ale felt the muscles on her right leg compress and lash out.
*Crack*
She also felt several of the bones on her leg break as they moved against the body of V-8 and sent him flying against one of the walls, the perception of time lasted but a second. And as soon as her leg stopped being in contact with him, she felt herself being frozen once again.
Then again…
“[Target incapacitated, ending energy burn…]”
That also meant that she had her perception returned to normal only to find herself with a broken leg raised on the air, of course her leg remained normal looking, as her muscles were keeping her in form.
“[Starting regeneration of muscles, bones and blood vessels.]”
Of course, no one knew of her plig, besides maybe V-8? He may have felt her leg break on contact, but she wasn’t sure if he was even awake at the moment, since Ale could only see his legs dangling from the wall…
Did she kick him that hard?
“[Answer, unable to control strenght of host on speedster protocol, the body should be sturdier since it must endure the friction of the air and the breaking of the sound barrier.]”
Ale turned to look at the wall that now had V-8 embedded, no signs of life…
“Everyone all right?” Ale said aloud, turning to look at the minions that had just hit against the walls.
“We are okay…didn’t know you were also a speedster, so that was why [The Theater Master] wanted you on the job, huh.” One of the minions that had been thrown against one of the walls said as he stood up. “Did you have too much trouble defeating him? I never get used to fights between speedsters.”
But she was not a speedster?
“I am not a Speed [Core User],” Ale said walking towards V-8, she needed to make sure if he was alive or not, maybe they would let her keep him if he was dead?
“Then how did you fight him?” The domino-masked minion question said while limping to her side and walking with her. Did he get hit that hard?
“I just kicked him when he walked near me; when he touches you, you get momentarily affected by his [Core Power], so I just set up a reflex kick set up and when I got under the effects of his [Core Power] just kicked him,” Ale answered poking at V-8’s leg.
She heard him groan between the rubble of the wall, so he was still alive huh…
“[Drilling into armor…collecting samples….]”
Notice:
Blueprint acquired, [Speed Core], [Accel Core], [Burst Core].
Mythril Armor blueprint Acquired.
Blueprint acquired, [Modified Human Blueprint]
Speedster Armor:
Mythril reinforced high-power power suit. Subpar design. Works by leeching off energy from the kinetic energy generated while moving at high speeds when Core Power is activated. Works as a limiter in case of emergency.
Nice.
Ale was quite happy with this haul, now if only she could keep the body…
“What are the protocols to deal with this type of situation?” Ale said, turning to the Domino-masked Minion, who limped to her side.
“Usually we just entertain the Heroes while a Villain comes and deal with them, then we restraint them and shove to the side, V-8 hasn’t been restrained like so before since he usually just limps away at super speed or straight up runs away…” The domino-masked minion said, whistling and pointing behind him to other Minions. “To be honest, he will probably run away either way, since the super speed thing lets him have enough time to think of a way of releasing himself from the restraints, but might as well…”
Unless…
“I can maybe manage to restrain him if you provide me with the material,” Ale said turning to look at the domino-masked minion at her side, she had been holding V-8 by the leg since Main Core required contact to take the sample, and she wanted to see if she could get hold of a live [Core].
“How so?” The domino-masked minion at her side asked as other minions came with several cases with what seemed to be multiple restraining devices.
“I am a [Molecular Shifter],” Ale said eyeing the devices, so many possible blueprints…
“And—Oh….ooooh, Everyone!” The domino-mask domino-masked minion that she had been talking sounded like he was suddenly happier, “Get us the heavier set of chains and the ultrasonic radar!”
What was the second one for?
“Move it!” The domino-mask domino-masked minion screamed and the others left the cases there and ran outside once more, “So, how far can you manipulate things? Usually, you shifters are finicky with what you do, and I assume that a Molecular one is more finicky, anyway. Can you fuse the chains we will get you to one of the pillars?”
That was…doable…
“Yeah, so long the material is simple enough and my [Core Powers] can affect them, I may need some [Biomass] or [Energy] depending on the degree of complexity,” Ale answered with a shrug, to be honest she doubted it would take that much Biomass, Energy was something she was sure it would consume though.
“Hmm….Biomass? Energy? Explain.” The domino-mask domino-masked minion said as a heavier case was placed near them, and other domino-mask Minion started using a weird [Gun] like object against the pillars surrounding the exit.
“[Biomass] would be anything I can eat or [Consume], preferible [Meat], but most [Food] qualifies for that. As for [Energy], I mostly depend on [Dextrose] or [Sugar] to achieve my means, I am partial to [Mango] flavored things though.” Ale answered poking with her finger one of the chains, they felt…sturdy.
“Oh, that is easy enough then. Here.” The domino-mask Minion said giving her a MRE bar, “They are the normal ones, but every member of The Theater Troupe gets a few in case we trigger and need the energy, you never know if you will turn into a Beast Core or an Insect Core after all.”
…that misinformation again.
It annoyed Ale too much, but alas, she wasn’t who to correct people; she didn’t want to deal with the consequences of annoying the powers that decided to keep this misinformation going.
“That will suffice yes,” So instead she opened the MRE package and eat the thing, “I assume you want me to encase him in these and tie him to a pillar?”
That sounded like what they wanted her to do at least, her original plan was to shift the ground and encase him there, but this was doable too.
“This one is one of the support pillars boss,” The Domino-mask minion with the weird [Gun] said pointing to a pillar near the center of the hallway, just where the hallway divided into four sections.
“Thank you, and yes. We will chain him to that one and leave a sign of what we did, also. If possible make some seams that look like they are keeping the whole thing in one piece, that way they will waste more time.” The Domino-mask minion sounded like he really was having fun.
Did he hold a grudge about being kicked?
Not like Ale cared to be honest, “Right…well…might as well get over with.” Ale said, pulling V-8 by the leg and throwing him against the pillar.
*Thud* *Crack*
Ale felt as if she had heard something break, but surely he wouldn’t be that…weak, right?
“...Are you sure he is still alive?” The domino-mask Minion asked.
Ale shrugged and walked there grabbing the chains on the way, placing a hand on his torso she pulled him into place (And bore some tendrils into him to make sure she wasn’t missing anything).
She found vital signs, a very accelerated heart and oil-like blood.
“Yeah, he is still alive,” Ale said while deconstructing part of the chains and making them fit into his right hand, she made the rest of the chains behave as one of her tentacles and snake around his body, making the respective parts fuse with his armor as the chain hugged the pillar.
“Does he need first aid? I would hate having to deal with a vendetta just because this asshole died after we left him tied to a pillar.” The domino mask minion said.
“His vitals are stable, and his wounds are closing as we speak, he should wake up within the next two minutes,” Ale said as her tendrils continued checking his body.
If she was honest, he could wake up sooner if she stopped draining the O2 from his bloodstream as much as she was doing, she wanted to keep him unconscious for a few more minutes after all, just enough so-
Modified Human Blueprint:
Human body modified to survive high acceleration and movements at high speed, the skeleton system has been optimized to react and move as needed. The composition of the bone has morphed from a solid form to a more jelly-like structure.
The other muscles had turned more solid and closer to a form similar to chitin, the external muscles remain the normal texture while the hypodermis is stronger. This allows the body to sustain hard accelerations from going at normal speed to high speeds.
The blood is thicker and closer to an oil composition, it is designed to carry a higher amount of O2 than normal blood.
That, she wanted that.
“And that is that,” Ale said as the chains finished fusing with his armor and sticking him to the pillar, he had just enough range of movement to struggle, but not nearly enough to free himself.
Well, Ale may be able to do it anyway, but she had a body that was way more manageable than V-8’s body. While his body was quite interesting to study, it was also incredibly stiff in some weird ways; his legs were quite a marvel, but his upper body?
It was weird how stiff her shoulders and arms were, almost as if he didn’t use them that often compared with the rest of his body.
“Well, someone get me a printed letter, we will need to stick it into a wall so this asshole can see it when he wakes up.” The domino-masked Minion said turning to Alexa, “Glad the big boss got you into the gig, so, were you going to retreat with the goodies?”
…No, she was not.
“My mission ended as a bust,” Ale said as she remembered what they told her when she spoke about the contents she was willing to disclose of her mission, “Did the others got what we wanted?”
That made the domino-mask Minion stop for a few seconds, “Only one hit, the other two were a bust.” He sighed at that, “I would usually not comment on it, but you saved our asses and our targets, so you get some leeway.”
She did?
“Those two you see there getting first aid?” The domino-masked Minion said pointing at a couple of minions, these were some of the ones that got kicked first into the bank. “They got the data we wanted, but got kicked badly since they needed to protect the intel, I would usually go to deliver it, but my mission requires me to stay…say….do you think you could deliver it for us? You proved yourself to be a trustworthy minion after all.”
The domino-masked Minion offered her a pair of [Data Banks], no extra folders?
“Sure…” Ale said taking on the [Data Banks], she wanted to check the contents, to make sure she wasn’t compromised..
“Good, follow the normal evac route, we will radio your approach.” The domino-masked Minion said turning his back to Ale as he was about to pull his [Radio] to report.
“Nothing else?” Ale couldn’t help but ask, “My target had some [Folders] among the [Data Banks] on the site, but the client said they didn’t want those things…”
“...There were some folders, yes, but they didn’t have anything worth our time, some promotion for a weapon showcase and some invitations for a project on the Atlantic.” The domino-masked Minion said, then walking closer to Ale, he added in a low voice, “Also, if you know what is best, you will do best not to ask too much about these things, I will report the interaction as you worry for the mission; but if they don’t tell you about some things, it’s better if you don’t ask.”
“...okay.” Ale only said that as she took the [Data Banks] and placed them in one of her pouches, the domino-mask Minion nodded at that and started speaking into the [Radio].
“[Starting analysis of new data banks.]”
Ale hoped these didn’t have info about her if they did….What was she even supposed to do then?
Stupid Alexa, why had she let P4 say their name….