A valley darker than the grim reaper's ghost stories greeted them. Even Gabriel's advanced night vision couldn't help him see through the dusk.

The trees swayed and rustled in the wind. After a couple of startled breaths, the Captains felt around and linked arms while Gabriel used his sensors to make out what lay in store in the valley. At the base of the hill, stood a fortified complex about 30 acres in size. High fences ran the perimeter, with guard towers placed at even intervals, and spotlights danced across the open yard between the fence and the building.

Those were just the visible defenses.

“Ideas?” Rey said.

Crocodile growled. “Simple, we break down a door. Let’s set these charges and escape.”

Rey shook his head. “We can’t do that. Our orders are to get in undetected. Charging in is sure to get us noticed. Come on, Crocodile! Even if we’re going get spotted eventually, that doesn’t mean we can ignore orders.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll tunnel us in. Like the warehouse.” Mystery said.

“Sounds good,” Rey answered.

“Wait.” Said Gabe. “We don’t know what kind of technological defenses they have yet. Let me run a diagnostic first?”

Rey gave a thumbs up. “Of course. Good practice.”

Gabriel nudged Alfred, and the AI sent data through the wireless transmitters installed in the suit. He connected to the complex’s network and began to rummage through the servers. There! The defense mainframe. Gabriel couldn’t just deactivate it; that would sound the alarm, so he merely checked what kind of technology they were up against.

He found a plethora of protection.

Thermal scanners had every inch of the area monitored. The sensors went close to a hundred meters out from the fence. The complex’s floor was lined with seismic sensors designed to prevent the very idea they had planned, and turrets hung from the ceiling at intersections.

Gabe hacked the security cameras and saw that warbots guarded the facility. Real Ruchin warbots, not the training variety. These robots were bigger - much bulkier. They could take a beating and keep fighting - at a Class four standard. He noted they were armed with gauss rifles, Plasma Lances, and one other weapon.

This simulation must be from the past, all the models were outdated now and the third was not produced in the Human Republic.

The weapon in question was an Electron Gun. It could emit electricity strong enough to fry most Supers alive.

The Human Republic had discontinued the weapon because it was useless against properly designed power suits like the kind used by the MechaBlitz. That would imply that these warbots weren’t carrying the guns for the aliens - they were programmed to kill humans.

Gabriel went over the mission parameters in his head. Getting in unnoticed was one thing, but staying that way would require a bit more work. He would have Alfred DOS the network, ensuring the destruction of the floor would go noticed. The motion sensors he would fool the same way, and the turrets and cameras he would handle by overlaying a false image of each hallway onto their data signals as the team passed.

They would have to avoid the roving patrols as well, which seemed to be made up of groups of three warbots, each with a different weapon. There was a higher concentration of them towards the interior of the structure. He even found a room that housed at least thirty more charging robots.

“I’ve finished,” Gabriel said, moments after having started his investigation. “We are going to need to tunnel in from the very base of the hill and tunnel deep to avoid sensors - at least 30 feet under. Once we’re inside, we need to stay together. The plans I have on my wrist pad show that each major support pillar is spaced about four hundred feet from the last.”

He pointed at the south end of the building. “We can tunnel in there and take them all in a straight line. Moving fast, we can get it done in ten minutes. They have about ten teams of three patrolling. Once things go south, we are going to have a lot of warbots on our trail.”

Rey nodded in agreement; his face was grim. “That sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the heads up.” He looked around at the assembled team. “I don’t look forward to being compromised, but if that’s enough info for everyone, let’s go.”

The team left the cover of the tree line and slowly marched down the hill. It was a dark night, but Gabriel could see well enough with his sensors. The landscape around them was lush, and animal trails snaked around them. Gabe took note of the stars and temperature; he guessed they were somewhere in the Rockies.

Mystery raised her wand as they neared the bottom of the hill, and an opening formed in the ground with the rustle of a thousand pine needles. Gabe activated his suit’s exterior lights once they were inside, and they began their trek deeper into the earth. He calculated their position underground relative to the complex.

Rey sighed. “It’s not as spooky the second time around. I almost feel… safe.”

Crocodile grumbled. “Hell of a lot safer down here than it is up there. You scared Captain Purple?”

Mystery bristled at the verbal jab, but Rey kept his cool. “Very funny, Crocodile.”

They walked a minute more when Gabriel stopped and said. “Here.”

“Right here?” Mystery asked, pointing at the ceiling of the tunnel.

“No, there.” Gabriel corrected, indicating a spot a couple of feet to the side of where Mystery pointed.

“Alright, I’m ready when you are, Captain.” She said, looking at Rey.

Rey crossed his arms and thought for a moment before saying, “Gabriel do you have access to the camera feeds?”

“Of course.”

“Good, make sure the coast is clear for us to surface. Do you have the patrol routes?”

Gabe nodded. “I do, but they change every two minutes. The only way I could keep track of them would be to monitor them manually.”

Rey shook his head. “Not necessary.” He extended his hand towards Mystery in the same sign he had made on their previous mission - she plugged her ears.

“I SENSE THEIR ROUTES.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “Two more rules, you guys, FYI.”

Crocodile snickered. “Still out of gas at three rules, Rey? That’s exactly why I would never pick you for my squads in the academy.”

Rey glanced at the reptile coldly. “We aren’t in the academy anymore, Crocodile. Adapt or fall behind.”

Crocodile snapped his jaws in response.

Rey moved over to Gabe and asked to see the building plans. He stood in thought for a moment.

“Okay, team, this is what we are going to do. If any patrols get close to an intersection, I’ll raise my hand, and we all duck into a side room.

Gabe, we won’t know which rooms are unoccupied, so I’ll need you to find a good hiding place for us each time. I will give you a fifteen-second warning, I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can do.”

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Gabriel inclined his head. “That’s plenty, don’t worry about it.”

Rey smiled. “Great. When we get in there, I want Crocodile in front, Mystery and myself will follow with Gabe in the back. I know you’re on Offense, Gabe, but until we’re compromised, I’d like you to watch our backs. Don’t want to get shot in the spine. Gabriel, before we go in, can you describe the support pillars we need to destroy?”

“Certainly. The hallway will fork into two hallways periodically for a few meters. The dividing walls in these areas are the support pillars. There are six pillars in all. Three charges on each side should do the trick. Once we get discovered, we won’t have time for finesse - we need a good system planned out.”

Mystery held out her bag of explosives. “I can take one side and hand them out as we reach the pillars. Once we are spotted, though, it will be harder to dole them out.”

Rey spoke up then, signaling he was about to make a rule. “I’ll take half. I have telekinesis.” He frowned a moment later and squinted his eyes. “Ugh. I hate giving myself psychic power. They always give me a killer headache. One more rule, people.”

He finished by raising a hand towards the bag in Mystery’s hands, and eighteen small explosives floated out. They floated behind Rey and under his cape.

Crocodile huffed. “Are we ready yet? This is taking too long.”

Rey answered, unhurried. “Patience. I’ll go with Gabriel when we split up, Crocodile you stay with Mystery.”

“That should work.” Mystery said.

He gave Crocodile a smirk, “Now we’re ready.”

Mystery said, “Let me know when. Stay close.”

The team huddled closer to Mystery, and Rey counted down from five. Once he hit zero, the earth split above them as the floor beneath their feet rose with jarring speed. Gabe invaded the network and blocked the correct sensors as quickly as he could. No alarms, so far so good.

Standing on a circular platform of slate in the middle of a tile hallway, the team quickly gained their bearings. They stood in pale lighting - it seemed the complex was kept dark. This was accented by maroon walls.

Gabriel spoke in a low voice. “We are in a side hall. That’s the main.”

Rey replied as softly. “The patrols won’t be nearing us for a bit; let’s get going.”

They walked briskly to the main hall and headed for the first pillar, Gabriel taking care of the cameras and turrets they passed. About a hundred feet from their first target, Rey raised a closed fist.

Gabe started a mental countdown from fifteen and began to rifle through the security feeds around them. Many of the rooms were filled with crates, but a few held orange uniformed workers - typing away on consoles.

Five seconds into the countdown, he found a vacant storage room with enough space to hide them all. “Three doors down on the left, hurry!” He said, hustling towards the room.

The team stuffed themselves in. Gabriel could hear the sound of metal feet striking the tile as the door slid closed softly.

Rey coughed. “A few seconds off, my bad.”

“Crocodile, your tail is poking me; please move.” Mystery said.

The big man shifted around, crushing Gabe against the wall. He chose not to say anything. There really wasn’t that much space in the storage room.

Rey whispered, “In about a minute, we can keep moving. We’ll have a clear shot at the first and second pillars.”

After fifty-three seconds, Rey opened the door and walked out smoothly. They reached the first pillar and split up, placing the explosives and meeting after the fork in the hallway.

The trip to the second pillar was quiet, so quiet that Gabriel was unnerved, but he chose to trust Rey’s judgment. As promised, they made it safely and placed the bombs without a hitch.

The third and fourth pillars were a bit trickier. The team had to hide twice between the second and third targets, then three times to reach the fourth unnoticed.

By the time they were on their way to the fifth pillar, ten minutes had passed. Rey raised his fist once again, stopping the Supers in their tracks. Gabriel urged them into a vacant room.

Once inside, Rey turned around with a worried expression on his face. “I don’t know where the security teams went; it’s like they vanished!”

Crocodile laughed softly. “They out of range King Purple? Run out of steam?”

Rey shot an angry look at him. “You don’t get it. My rules don’t stop unless I will them to. There is no way they could be out of range.”

Gabriel interjected. “What could it mean.”

Rey frowned. “If I had to guess, my rule was that I would know their patrol routes. If I don’t know where they, then they must not be on patrol anymore. In other words, they know we’re here.”

“We need to move.” Mystery said.

“Yes, we do. Everyone stay alert. They’re searching rooms now - no more hiding. If we are spotted, we attack - but keep moving. Gabriel, watch our backs - take out any warbots following us. Crocodile act as our spearhead.”

They left the room tenser than they had entered it, moving at a faster pace down the hall. They made much better time this way and were a few feet from the fifth pillar when Crocodile shouted. “TWO PATROLS 12 O’CLOCK.”

One patrol in each fork of the hall.

Gabriel activated his flight generator and shot ahead of the group. Crocodile followed suit and broke into an earth-shattering run heading for the left side.

Mystery ran after Crocodile, and Rey ran behind Gabriel to place the bombs. Even under fire, they couldn’t afford to let more warbots reach them now. They needed to finish the mission.

The three warbots in front of Gabriel opened fire. He raised his antimatter hands and continued forward at a measured pace. He didn’t t want to leave Rey vulnerable. Once Rey had placed the second explosive, Gabe moved his hands out of the way to peak at the robots.

They were charging like they assumed his antimatter constructs to be purely for defense. It was a mistake the software never recognized. The middle warbot was disintegrated from the waist up when the hands clapped together. The other two kept running, dodging against the wall like spiders.

Gabriel shot each one with a Hard Laser to knock them off balance before taking off down the hall, slicing them apart with his wrist-mounted Scissors.

At the end of the fork, the Strike Force reconvened. Crocodile a sight to behold. He was breathing hard and was covered in blood. Several wounds were visible on his torso, but they were quickly closing.

His entire chest was charred, although that too was healing more rapidly than Gabriel had ever seen.

Gabe reached out and touched Crocodile’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Crocodile roughly shook off the hand and grunted. “I’m fine. Just those fucking Electron Guns.”

That explained the charring. Crocodile used his incredible healing to simply absorb attacks. The Electron Guns would wreak havoc with his nervous system, causing his muscles to seize as he burnt. Electron Guns were fatal to most Supers.

“Mystery, can you make electric barriers?” Gabe asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“Those Electron Guns mess with Crocodile’s regeneration. I suggest you place a barrier around him to prevent the electrons from reaching his skin.” He replied.

Mystery nodded. “Give me a few seconds.”

Rey responded. “A few seconds is all we have. We need to move.”

Mystery placed her hand on Crocodile’s back and concentrated while he held still. Soon a trickle of blue sparked around Mystery’s hand and began to cover Crocodile’s body.

“Hey! That feels weird!” He yelped.

“Quiet down, you pansy.” Mystery scolded.

The process took about ten seconds to complete. When Mystery removed her hand, Crocodile flexed his arms.

“Heh.” He grunted. “This might work.”

The team then began to jog down the hallway to their final target. They didn’t sprint to avoid being caught by surprise, but that didn’t stop a burst of gauss fire slamming into Gabe’s wings and generator.

Generator integrity at 80%

He grunted. “Start running, I’ll shield!”

Gabriel activated his Gauntlets to form a vast rectangular wall, just big enough to fit in the hallway. The team sprinted ahead as he floated with the shield in place. The mechs kept up a steady stream of fire.

Ahead, he saw his team stopped at the end of the hallway. It was apparent why Rey was hesitant to proceed - the large room before them was not on the plans. No longer were they staring at storage space and branching hallways. This place looked important. A raised platform took up the end of the space, large terminals hung on the walls in front of a mass of consoles. It almost looked like a sinister version of the Shield’s meeting room.

Their target - the long pillar - was still where they expected it to be. It stood alone - stark white in the middle of the room.

Rey smiled at his team. “That’s the last one. Remember what Dr. Atomic said; this is where we get overwhelmed. Stay alert and don’t die. Orders are to escape when things get tricky. Let’s plant these bombs.”

Rey and Mystery ran towards the pillar, with Gabe staying in the doorway with his shield in place. Crocodile took position next to Gabriel.

“Why aren’t you going with them? They might need your protection.”

“From what? The way I see it, that door’s the only way in here. So when your little black wall falls, I’ll be here to stem the tide for you.” Crocodile’s tone irked Gabriel, but he chose to take one from Rey’s playbook and ignore it.

Just as the others were reaching the pillar, Gabriel felt his shield weaken.

The antimatter has taken in too much matter to remain stable. Your shield will fall shortly, Gabriel.

Right on queue, the shield wavered and dissipated. Immediately, Gabriel and Crocodile were forced into close combat as four warbots came at them. Gabe could see more behind them in the hallway, but they were bottlenecked at the doorway.

Crocodile spread his arms and snatched the two robots on his side - he snapped them in two. Gabriel engaged his Scissors and did the same, albeit with a little more dodging.

More fire came at them from the door. Plasma, gauss bullets, and electrons flew with deadly intent, but Crocodile calmly stepped into them, shielding Gabriel with his body.

The big man clenched his teeth in pain but managed a horizontal swing that ended two more warbots. Gabriel fired an unshaped blast of antimatter into the hall, cleaving five or six mechs - the ones that didn’t fall flat to the ground fast enough. Their enemies fired again - Crocodile didn’t even make a noise.

Gabriel engaged another construct to block the entrance when an ear-splitting crash drew his attention.

The stars peeked in through a fresh tear in the ceiling, rubble covered the ground leading up to the pillar - where a small woman in a red jacket held Rey up by the neck.

The snap of his neck was louder than her arrival.