My back clicked as I stretched it out. Hopefully not a portent of what injury I was bound to sustain today. I don’t think anyone of us would be happy if I broke my back. Unless Clara had more tricks up her sleeve than I had anticipated. Or a new cyborg body she had been building for me.

I looked up at the intended battleground. Most of the fixtures had been stripped from the building already, leaving a five-story structure full of bare rooms and little else. A decent distance from anything important, so collateral wasn’t a worry.

Clara stepped out of the van and over to me. “Everything okay, Gunquake? You’ve been quiet this morning.”

With a glance over at the super also doing stretches, I nodded.

[I’m fine. This is going to be a very rough morning.]

“Anything I can do to make you feel better? Last-minute gear changes or advice?” She raised her hand to her chin. “Maybe I should take masseuse lessons.”

“Heck, I’d pay for that.” Roxy smiled, but the apprehension was clear on her face. “Can I get my gear now as well?”

The techie nodded and gestured to the back of the van. There had been a few cases back there with me, but I usually paid them little heed. For today, I expected some emergency medical things to put me back together, but perhaps I was wrong there. Maybe this was my end.

“I’ll take the course if I don’t have to do exercise anymore.” Clara crossed her arms. She had spent a good deal of the morning complaining about aching from yesterday still, which unfortunately fell on deaf ears.

“No chance.” Roxy pulled a long case from the back of the van. “You don’t have to get combat-fit, but being more than a skeleton padded with bread would be good for you.”

She gave the super a scowl. “But what does Gunquake think of my figure?”

[I agree with Roxy. If you’re going to be my sidekick, then being healthy and active is important.]

“Although I feel somewhat betrayed that you didn’t take my side, I forgive you, Gunquake.” She shot me a smile. “Sidekick, though? Perhaps we’ll arrange some more beneficial terms later on?”

The super huffed as she undid the clips on the case. “If you don’t stop buttering up my opponent, I’ll be breaking this in on you instead.”

She flipped the lid back and drew something out of it.

A large hammer. One side of the head was flat, and the other pointed. It looked heavy enough that it would be unwieldy for an average man to use. But for the super…

[You’re going to feel really guilty if you kill me with that thing.]

“Eh.” She hoisted it over her shoulder with ease. “You’re going to feel real silly if I’m able to kill you with it.”

Clara didn’t seem best pleased, and narrowed her eyes at Roxy. “No killing, please. There’s still so much Gunquake and I are yet to experience together.”

She glared back. “I’m getting sick of your needling, witch. This is not the day for it. I’ll fight you next, if it’ll get you to back off.”

“If you think this is all bluster, sister, then you’re more a fool than you look. Why don’t we up the stakes a little, then?”

“What are you suggesting?”

Clara ran her tongue across her lips and smiled. “If you win, I will no longer flirt with Gunquake.”

“And if he wins?”

“Then I get Gunquake all to myself for the night. All to myself.”

There was almost steam coming out of Roxy’s ears as she bared her teeth at the techie. “You little bitch. Fine, I’ll take that bet because I’m going to fucking win.” She then pointed a finger at me. “You’re going to wake up in the morning not knowing the past five years of your life either, asshole.”

“One way or another,” Clara murmured.

With a growl that bordered on bestial, the super leaped away from us - heading to the opposite side of the building as previously agreed.

[Well. I’m much more likely to die now.]

“Don’t worry, Gunquake. It's mostly just more bluster, as I know you want to fight her at her peak.”

[Still, neither outcome seems particularly viable.]

She nodded and walked over to the van. “True. I doubt I could stop flirting fully, even with the best of intentions. And if you won, well, any such liaison between us would sour not only your working relationship with Rockslide, but drive a wedge between our odd family unit.”

[Yet you still said it was mostly bluster.]

“Let’s not be coy, Gunquake.” She kneeled down to clip the case closed. “It is clear I hold some adoration for you. It’s definitely something more shallow and basic than how Rockslide feels for you, and giving into primal desires would just be that. Mindless rutting to satisfy the urges until clarity draws us apart again.”

[I’m not sure I was prepared for this kind of conversation this morning.]

“What I'm saying, Gunquake, is that I want both of you to go do your best out there, but ultimately, I want my sister to win." She picked the case up and pushed it back into the van. "I don't often see this kind of emotion in her, and if you two have something special going on, then I'm going to push that with everything I have.”

[She truly is lucky to have a sister like you.]

“And you're lucky I have a moral conscience. Now go and get beaten to death by a super hero so I don't have to be a home-wrecker later.”

[You know you could choose not to follow through?]

She rolled her eyes. "Then what is the point of stakes if they aren't real? A level-headed Rockslide would know how unlikely it is my words held weight, but she is stressed and in fight mode."

[I just feel maybe I should have had a little more say in what was on the line.]

Clara shrugged and brought out her drone. "Honesty, I prefer it being a mystery as to whether you'd agree the nasty things I'm imagining or not. Makes it seem more of a playful joke if it's vague, rather than something real and dangerous."

I sighed and rubbed at my forehead through my balaclava. There was a chance this was equally something she was filling my mind with to sway the potential bout. In fact - I was sure of it. The techie was running her own game behind the scene, and something told me it was more than just playing matchmaker for a change. Still, I couldn’t-

“Oh, and because I got Rockslide the hammer that you suggested, I also got you a gift, Gunquake.” The drone buzzed into life and started to hover in the air as Clara went back into the van. “I would have given it to you sooner, but... I didn’t want to.”

[Is it more Sanguine stakes?]

“No?” She stuck her head back around the door to frown at me. “I don’t want you to murder my sister, Gunquake.” The techie stepped back out and brought over a case.

[And isn’t she waiting for us right now? I can’t imagine that is helping her mood.]

Clara smiled as she popped open the case. “You have to trust the process, Gunquake. I realize I have given you a whole headful of thoughts that you didn’t expect or need. I promise I only have the best interests of you both in mind, and when you actually understand… well, I just hope that you do.”

I nodded slowly. Now there was a certainty that something was afoot, but she didn’t want to clue me in exactly. Inside the presented case was something like my sideloader, but bulkier and longer.

[A sideloader with shell select?]

“Good eye, Gunquake. Six capacity and your synapse control can pick out specific shells within the loader - assuming you memorize what you load where it should allow you to pull an ace from your sleeve more often.”

[Thank you, Clara. That feels like a missing piece of the puzzle.]

She gave me a brief curtsy and went to work on my arm to affix it. I was glad she had thought of this technology, as otherwise my effectiveness would always be stilted by having to load individual shells or magazines ahead of time to prepare for certain eventualities. With the ability to pluck the needed shell in the middle of combat - assuming it was one of the six in the machine - my work would be a lot more fluid and competent.

“There you are, Gunquake. Practice with it as you head to the third floor. Message once there and I’ll give the signal to start. I’ll be watching in with my drone… try not to destroy it please - you don’t have the funds to keep buying me stuff.”

[Not when I have a whole workshop to outfit.]

Clara bit her lip. “Go now, otherwise you’ll ruin the vibe I have put a lot of effort in to maintaining.”

Only half understanding what she was getting at, I gave her a nod and set off. Away from the van as she got the controls and other tech ready to pilot the drone. The abandoned building slated for demolition looked just like the sort of place I’d go to enact violence… only it was too bright, being in the daylight.

Still, all the better to see who we truly were, I supposed.

Worked the prongs of the new selectloader as I stepped inside the shade of the building. There was a soft clack as it made the movements of moving a shell from the static storage part up to the loading part. Chamber clacked back and forth in tandem to mimic the full process. I wondered if the tech could hold up to my Reflex speed.

Found a staircase to the right, nothing but plain concrete in a blocky spiral around a central gray pillar. Thumbed through my magazines on the ascent to choose which lucky shells would be making their debut through my new technology. Allowed me to keep a ten-mag of Nerve in the main shotgun, while having six of the more exotic ones at the ready.

For all her efforts, Clara had managed to make two of the Foam shots, but no more of the Napalm. Even with Roxy being resistant to fire, I didn’t particularly want to hit her with something like that, anyway. Might have been useful if I’d asked her if she had decent healing capabilities, as I didn’t want to wound her permanently, either. Perhaps letting my ego build this fight up was a mistake.

Reached the third floor and stepped through what must have been some manner of lobby. Some of the doors remaining, but others were just wide openings. All the paint, wallpaper, carpet, and furnishings had been fully removed, leaving the base construction remaining. Gray concrete, occasionally dotted by parts where pipes or electrical fittings had been cut off or taped over.

My boots dug into the light amount of dust as I shuffled into place, somewhat grounding myself.

//Gunquake: In position.

//Clara: Confirmed. Checking with Rockslide.

My heart rate had increased. There was a weight to the fight that had more importance to it than the brief scuffle we had before. More at stake, and I didn’t mean Clara’s attempt to shift us both off-balance. I didn’t really mean the potential relationship with the super either.

This was a test of how serious she could become, and how well I could stand up to a superhero.

Whirr of the dragonfly drone came up behind me, poking into the window before moving back out. She wouldn’t stay too close, otherwise the sound would give away my position. But she was eager to watch.

//Clara: Go in five seconds. Best of luck.

I took one last deep breath and counted to five.

It began.

Moved myself up to the edge of the doorway ahead, putting my back against the wall. If she was on the same floor, then it wouldn’t take her long to get to me. Given her strength, we were likely to fall down a couple of times, so maybe going up a floor would give me some advantage.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Decision made, I jogged back over to the stairs and climbed up to the next layer. Just as I reached the lobby up here, a burst of force vibrated from below. A wall collapsed.

“Where are you, Dubs?”

While normally I wouldn’t advise making yourself known in such an overt manner, it did feel like we were in a predator-prey situation, given the tone in her voice. Aggravated, and serious.

I withdrew something from my belt and placed it at the top of the stairs. Pulled a Smoke grenade from my chest plate and lobbed it onto the stairwell as I stepped away. The metallic clang as it bounced twice reverberated through the area, right before it burst into a dark green cloud. How fitting.

All I had to do was wait for-

Twenty feet behind me, in one of the next rooms, the floor erupted with a plume of gray dust as the super broke through to land up here. Hammer spun in her grip as she locked eyes on me. Not good. I had to keep my distance.

Turned and fired a Nerve shot, but she dodged to the side, out of view behind the wall. Gun-arm trained on the opening, but that was never her intention. A couple of heavy footsteps and then she burst through the concrete with her fist - straight into a flashbang grenade I had tossed.

Bright white painted the rooms, and as she recovered, I was already gone.

Boots took me through several open rooms, but there wasn’t a lot of cover when she could blow through everything like cardboard. Still, I should be thankful we weren’t in an open field. Short of unloading everything I had immediately, there wasn’t much that could stop her from beating me to a pulp… other than her own morals.

Footsteps behind, so I took a left. Clicked the trigger in my hand to set off the plastic explosives on the doorframe a few rooms back. Might not harm or delay her, but it would mask my movements. I knew I was slightly slower than her in just a foot race, so I had to keep wearing her down.

Another left, so I’d turned a complete one-eighty. Dried out wooden doors blocked any visuals to the other side where she might be. I slid across the floor as I reached the hole she had made, and dropped down onto the third floor again, rolling over the debris to absorb the shock.

Only had one plastic explosive left and although the hole would be a good place to trap, she was just as likely to make another instead.

Pulled a round ball from my belt and threw it off to the right by the staircase, while I ran diagonally to the left. It hit the concrete and emitted a high-pitched beep. I continued moving as it repeated the noise every two seconds. Just as the sound started to dull due to the distance, there was a blast of stone and a thud from back that way.

“Stop running scared, Dubs. You’re pissing me off.”

I stopped moving, but not because she asked. Pressed myself into a corner and started to slow my breathing. The gears were spinning, but the teeth weren’t connecting in the way Clara wanted them to. I’d stick to the current plan.

Heartbeat started up as footsteps came toward me. Not quite directly for me, but she had a good read on how I was moving. Time to kill a super.

Reflex kicked in as I stepped out, Roxy turning toward me a good twenty feet off.

Unloaded a full mag of Nerve shot in quick succession, my synapses in overdrive and operating my weapon as if it was fully auto. She spun the hammer around to try to block some of the projectiles, but I had aimed all the shrapnel at her left leg. Empty cartridges clattered to the floor. As soon as the mag clicked empty, selectloader stuck in a Smoke shot. Fired at my feet as Reflex wore off.

The hammer lashed through the smoke, almost catching me as I made my escape. I rolled into the next room as she followed up with a full spin of the weapon, clearing a portion of the obscuring cloud. Maybe my Nerve shot hadn’t landed?

Roxy stepped through the filtering mist, eyes ablaze with an orange glow. No - she was dragging her left foot, even though there was nothing physically wrong with it.

Empty mag dropped from the gun-arm. Didn’t have as much time to run as I’d hoped. The fury on her face almost unlike her. My left hand grabbed at the next magazine as she lifted the hammer over her head with both hands.

“Time to say goodnight, fucker!”

Foam shot came out and struck the head of the hammer, the expanding substance encompassing the end and latching onto the ceiling.

She paused, briefly confused at the resistance and unable to pull the weapon from the sticky substance. My mag clicked into place.

With a growl, she strained, her muscles bulging as cracks spread out like vines across the gray ceiling above us. My legs tensed, but I couldn’t move in time. Her hammer tore a chunk of the concrete away with it, the foam just extending the reach of the weapon. Air displaced around me before the impromptu addition to her swing struck the floor just ahead, narrowly missing caving in my skull.

And then the floor burst from the impact.

We dropped, and I fired out another Smoke on landing, rolling away from the debris. Thumbed another one into the selectloader as I moved into another room. Heard the super growl and swing out in the wrong direction, caving in another wall.

Stims rolled through me, but they definitely felt weaker than what I was used to. Knee wasn’t broken, but I’d landed uncomfortably and it was stiff and aching. Was sweating. Despite the open windows, the building was feeling warmer than it should.

Eyes went over to the side. Looked like there was another staircase over that way. Wouldn’t want to get penned in on the bottom floor, so ascending might be a smart idea. Unclipped a flat circle of wire from my belt as well as the other flash grenade.

“Is this how you always fight? Chicken shit!”

I had unclipped my vocalizer as soon as I’d stepped into the building. Been a while since choosing to be intentionally mute, but there was nothing to be said here. If she was a villain, then I would be a bit more aggressive, but I didn’t want to risk either of us dying.

Leg hated me going up the stairs, but we managed.

“Really?” Her voice came from the bottom. “You didn’t think I’d see a damn tripwire?”

I watched her step over it carefully before she looked up the stairs to where I was sitting and waiting.

Tazer shot struck her, causing her to wince, but not strong enough to fully stun her. It did, however, arc down to the flashbang and tripwire, the thin thread of metal curling up at from the electrical pulse - pulling the pin from the grenade.

Stairwell was illuminated in bright white as a loud pop rang throughout my ears. Before the super had a chance to shout out further expletives, I leaped from my position and brought down my metal elbow on her. A connection and I fell into her, our bodies colliding with the wall.

With a short grunt, she pushed me away, and I fell into the prior room, skidding across the dust floor before I could roll up to my feet.

Roxy blinked away the lighting adjustment in her eyes and turned to me, a gash of crimson along the side of her head. Not nearly enough to knock her out.

We both moved at the same time, except my knee didn’t cooperate. I stumbled, and she caught up, a kick striking me in the stomach. Air before the hard ground hit me as I landed a good dozen feet away. Rolled into a crouch and fired into the ceiling just above her with a High Explosive shot, bursting a cloud of gray dust to obscure her vision.

She stepped through, and I was no longer there.

Analyze kicked in. She was being very deliberate with her strikes, trying to knock me out or hobble me. Slowed slightly from my Nerve shot, but she was powering through it as she knew it was fake. Part of her also knew that most of my ammunition types would do nothing to her. With us playing cat and mouse, it was just frustrating her further, as she couldn’t go for the quick knock-out like she wanted.

But… maybe annoying her was the point.

Time clicked back into normal speed as my synapses finished information-dumping the fight roundup so far through my brain.

A risk, but I was willing to play into what my subconscious mind had decided.

Stepped out from behind the doorway and fired my last Foam shot. She raised her arms to protect her face, but it struck her in the knee. Just enough for the expanding foam to move and grasp at her other leg, but not stick to the floor.

Roxy lowered her arms and glared at me. “You think I didn’t come prepared, asshole?” Her hand went to her belt and withdrew a small syringe.

I ran.

Agony for my disruptive knee, but I had to buy time while I could. After getting stuck against the mutants and knowing what I was capable of, she must have sourced the disabling agent. If it wasn’t such a foil to my plans, I would heartily commend her for it. Always a good idea to cover your weaknesses when-

Her footsteps stomped toward me already as I hit the original staircase. Hand palmed for my grenades, but I only had one left. Circled up to the third floor again, and continued toward the fourth. She was gaining on me. Her injured leg was less of a detriment than my own.

Fourth floor. Threw a magazine up to the stairs up to the fifth to see if that could fool her. Trigger out, and I clicked the plastic explosives from below. The blast shifted dust from the ceiling as I ruined the staircase downward. No going back.

Thumbed my selectloader to full as I shuffled myself round into one of the rooms. A brief moment of silence as I got my breath back. Was slightly cooler up here. Hmm.

A vibration shook through my boots, a little way off. Left hand tensed up. Then another shake, but this time from the other direction. I pushed myself away from the wall and took a step.

Third vibration and a wave of heat, right below me. The building groaned out in pain and vertigo took me, as she collapsed a wide section of this floor. I slid down a solid part of concrete briefly before it cracked and split. My rolling body struck a flat part of the opposite wall, right before a hand grabbed me by the back of the coat and lifted me up.

“Knock-knock!”

A punch sent me across the room to collide with a still-standing wall. Couple of broken ribs. Even now, she was still holding back. Turned to raise my gun-arm up, and she was there already, the shotgun knocked to the side as she pinned it to the wall - my shot off somewhere else and ineffective.

“I have you, bastard. Give up.”

I shook my head as the selectloader clicked. As her other hand wound back for a punch, I fired my Quake shot.

It struck the edge of the wall, narrowly avoiding completely missing by going up into the open space she had created. Some of the heat was pulsed away by the first reverberation from my signature skill.

She winced and clutched at her ears, stepping away from the thrumming V-Force. Walls cracked and debris shifted, creating small clouds of dust around us. Oddly, it didn’t seem to affect me half as bad.

I stepped forward and head-butted her in the face, drawing my sidearm into my left hand as my gun-arm repositioned. Fired the low caliber ammunition into her as her defenses were shaken by the Quake. Against a normal opponent, that would have been the finishing act, but this did little but scratch her. Tazer shot into her as I emptied the pistol mag.

Her hand went out and grabbed the gun, twisting it from my grip before she crushed it. Discarded it to the ground as her other arm grabbed and lifted me - an effortless throw sending me back up to an open room in part of floor four that hadn’t collapsed.

Stims weren’t keeping up very well. My re-breather wheezed as the air sunk from my lungs and I tried to roll back up to my feet. Roxy landed beside me with a short leap and picked me up, an overbearing heat pulsing through even my tactical gear, before she spun me around and launched me off.

Cooling air, then I burst through a wooden door, bounced on the concrete of a large room. Slid along on back on my boots, hunched over with my gun-arm sparking and creating a shallow groove from the movements.

I righted myself as Overcharge hummed into life, and the super stepped in through the doorway.

“Running out of tricks. Call it while you still can.”

My head shook again, and Reflex drove me into action. HE Shot powered by Overcharge, followed by the rest of the mag of Tazer. Roxy stumbled back from the blast, before shaking and covering herself as electricity arced around her. Mag out and new one in.

She turned back to me, waves of bright energy following her eyes. Shoulder wounded and running with blood where I had struck her.

Current room was a good forty feet square. A single small exit to my far left, and double doors that the super was standing in. No further points of interest. Terrible positioning for me, so short of going up or down a floor, this might be the end point.

I’d never seen so much anger and disdain in her face. A rage had overtaken her. The culmination of all the prodding and gentle frustrations we had been building up. Finally, she had found a release and a way to… oh.

Any delight in having the gears click into the rightful place was erased as she ran toward me. My left hand pulled the last grenade from my vest, but I didn’t have time to arm it.

Rolled to the side to avoid her first punch and to stop myself being pressed to the wall. Up and blocked her follow-up with my gun-arm. Stumbled back from the force and she leaped into a kick. Deflected, but I caught the elbow that followed after. Spun as my eyes fuzzed over, stims barely keeping me awake.

Arms crossed just in time for a push to send me across the room and into the wall.

“If that’s another flash, I’ll rip your fucking eyes out.”

She charged, and I pulled the pin.

Flash blinded her as I fired off a Rubber shot. Struck her in the knee and she stumbled forward. Both blinded, I stepped toward her and lashed out with my elbow. The resounding thunk told me I had connected.

While our eyes cleared, I fired off Nerve shots to where I believe she had fallen. Turns out I was a little off.

Just to my left, her limp arm didn’t stop her foot lashing out, catching me in my own knee and shattering the bone.

As I dropped, she grabbed me again and tossed me at the wall from before, this time the concrete collapsing from the impact. I had escaped that room, at least. The pain flaring around my body wasn’t too pleased with the outcome.

She was kind enough to help me to my feet as well- or at least, my foot.

“Submit already.”

Could feel myself practically melting from being this close to her. Roxy’s eyes were ablaze. So close, I couldn’t give up now and let Clara down.

She realized my vocalizer was unplugged and shook me roughly before clipping it back herself

My hand went up to unplug it again, and she stopped me.

“Fucking give up.”

I stared her down, still trying to grasp at the pesky tech before I blurted out something I’d regret. She was practically boiling over, her expression bubbling past the point of due care as she pulled and twisted my arm away from doing the task I sought to accomplish.

My shoulder cracked and popped as she dislocated it.

“Now.”

Overdrive flipped to max, and I blew Quake into the floor.

Roxy dropped her hold of me and grasped at her face again, pure ferocity burning in her pained expression. I stumbled back across the debris and started firing off more Nerve shots into her.

Too tired for Reflex again so soon, but I hoped that there would be enough imagined damage to wear her out. Oh, not really wear her out… not for what needed to be done.

Vibrations were giving me a headache. Looked to be exhausting for the super, too. Blood ran down the side of her face and down her right arm. Some minor cuts around her exposed skin, with her suit charred and sliced in places.

Mag ran dry, and I dropped it to the floor. Left hand… oh, it was fucked.

With a growl, Roxy had recovered and launched forward. Fist struck my chest and for a moment I blacked out. Burst through one concrete wall that woke me back up, before another which was just painful, my body sliding limply across the next wide room. She sure knew how to pick them.

Gun-arm shook as I tried to prop myself up. A thick trail of blood dripped to the floor from my re-breather, clogging up the filter. I growled as I forced my muscles to comply and I made it to a roughly standing position.

Ignored the dozens of warning notifications running through my lense. The numb sensation in my chest and the constant stream of blood from my gasmask was enough of a clue. Wasn’t in the mood for words.

Roxy came in through the hole I had made, her fists already balled. A wave of warmth followed in with her, and she bared her teeth at seeing me persist.

Gun-arm tried to raise and faltered, but I could maybe shoot her in the leg if she got within three-to-five feet of me. That would have to do unless she gave me a handy off-switch.

“You’re going to die. Why can’t you just lose?”

Ah, there it was.

I raised myself up straighter, so that I could look her in the face. This was over one way or another now, and I hoped that I had read the situation correctly.

[You were always too weak to win, Roxy. Accept you’ll never amount to anything, so I can go back to your house and fuck Clara all night.]

A brief flicker of something ran through her eyes before she growled out in indignation. Her fists shook as she raised them up.

And then, before she could pulp my head in, they started to glow. Deep red at first, but quickly a bright orange. Thick globs of the bright viscous liquid ran down them and splashed to the floor as the ambient temperature spiked. Her feet now illuminated in the same thick amber, the concrete around her was charring and bubbling from the intense heat.

Her burning eyes held nothing but contempt for me. An anger that went beyond any rationality or sense of normality. My body ran with sweat and blood as the air wavered around her, blurring her form.

With one final roar, her head burst into flame and she launched towards me.