The quake-wagon shifted gears automatically as it rocketed down the road toward the city. My hand gripped at the steering wheel tighter, far too many thoughts circling my mind like a whirlwind.
Roxy had wanted to go. That was only natural, but she didn’t have the strength to even do her usual leaps. Despite her knowing this, she had still scowled at me. Some understandable frustration, both at not being able to help, and knowing that she put herself in this situation. Without the defenses set up, I needed her there to maintain the fort.
After a manic rush, Clara had helped me get all suited up. Backpack and all. She even had the time to affix my new grappling attachment, albeit hastily. Two caveats to its usage - it would start to retract as soon as the foam had adhered to something, and I was still limited to three uses in the current rappel head.
She had given me a refill of the necessary juices to reload it, but since it was on the back of my only hand, there wasn’t much chance of me being physically capable of doing the deed. Once I had loaded up with whatever mags I could easily grab without too much fuss, I had gotten in my vehicle and left them clambering around in the workshop so that they could watch me. Teeba had no clue what was going on, but had become a part of the active audience, nonetheless.
And all that to say, we didn’t exactly know what was going on.
The charm Belle had given me had remained warm, and repeated the same phrase through my head. Help, it requested, followed by a shorthand address in the city. With the information coming via this necklace rather than our STAR chat, I jumped to the assumption that there was something preventing Belle from accessing the normal technology we all used.
We had briefly debated involving the League. It would be practical. The sensible option. Part of the reason we decided not to get them on the case was they might mess things up, or take a dim view of another one of our struggling team getting into trouble.
The other reason was just my selfish ego.
I wanted to be the one who saved the day. To crush those foolish enough to put my friends in danger. I ached to sharpen my true craft. Killing. Without the League breathing down our necks, I was free to step into whatever trouble had befallen Belle and eradicate everyone. There was a drum full of solid metal balls on my hip, just eager for their test run against soft targets.
//Clara: Three more blocks and you’ll be approaching the building.
//Clara: Stay safe. I will switch to tight comms once you arrive.
//Dubs: Understood.
We had also discussed asking Roy or Ren for help. While I wanted the team to come together, it again circled back to the fact that this was off the record. Roy wasn’t quite reinstated yet, and I didn’t know enough about what Ren was capable of. If we turned up together and got in over our heads with villains or bad publicity, it could fuck the team for good.
I slowed the vehicle and parked up a little way off from the target location. It wasn’t somewhere any of us recognized. Not the place of Belle’s church, financier, or her home. A three story building that looked like a museum or private college. Modern architecture that didn’t quite scream manor, but was clearly a place of wealth. Plenty of windows aglow with light. Enough hints that told me what might have happened here.
With my gear secured, I stepped out of the quake-wagon and immediately sunk into the shadows of a nearby alleyway. Old habits died hard. The drone unclipped from the backpack and started to hover up beside me.
//Clara: Online. At your command.
//Dubs: Scout the rooftop when we are close.
//Clara: Affirmative.
If they had enough power to lock Belle down, then I doubted I’d be able to waltz in through the front door. That said, it depended on what sort of setup was going on - why they had contained her and with what. Given that she was our support hero, I had some doubts that they had managed to hurt her, but the thought still drove rods of anger through my core.
//Clara: Map shows a route down this alley and to the left. You’ll come out behind target.
//Dubs: Understood.
Drum mag in. I turned on my boots and went further into the darkness. The alleys were just a blur of gray brickwork and debris left to rot. I knew that Belle would realize I was there when I was close enough due to my aura, and I intended to give her that reassurance as soon as possible.
I paused at the corner of whatever building was the target's immediate neighbor, and looked out to the yard behind the manor. There was a back door, but the small windows were dark, and it looked as though it was locked up. I watched as the drone buzzed and rose vertically up above me.
//Clara: Visuals on targets. Armed humanoids. Unknown number.
//Clara: No eyes on Belle.
//Clara: Rooftop has a penthouse type room, small, two figures within.
//Dubs: Enough room for me to ascend unseen?
//Clara: Affirmative.
Good enough for me. While the roof was probably the second most likely direction that a savior could appear from, jumping into one of the middle floors was a good way to get into hot water. If there were multiple targets with firearms, then it might be a gang. There was a chance it was a villain and their goons as well—and in that instance I wanted a more methodical approach.
I strode out into the wide area of the back alley and aimed my gauntlet into the air. With a hum and then short twang, the rappel head fired out from the discreet mechanism. The buzz of the wire extending almost overrode the familiar hiss of expending V-Force. Smart. To aid in the grapple working efficiently, the head would activate automatically when it struck a hard surface - another consequence of having to rush into using it.
Although I was worried slightly that I had missed the mark, after a couple of seconds of just the zip of the wire extending, there was a short clink. Then the line tensed up, pulling me toward the building. I stepped forward and hopped up to the wall, placing my boots against it. There was the chance that I might just fall down and break my legs.
//Clara: Grapple is secure.
That’d have to do as far as confidence went. I started to pace up the side of the wall as the mechanism on my arm wound the grapple wire in. It was… uncomfortable. As I was being pulled up by my arm alone, it was effort to try to maintain a neutral body position and my balance—not to mention the strain that pulled at my tense muscles. I tried to not look down. Just as I thought my shoulder might dislocate, I made it to the edge of the roof.
Vertigo had me waver in place, as I had to wait for the tension to pull me up over the edge without either of my arms able to pull me over. I wouldn’t say I was especially afraid of heights, but knew enough to give gravity the respect it deserved. Already sweating, I took two steps over to the wall of the penthouse and allowed the foam to dissolve away.
//Clara: You are on the west side wall, the north side is entirely glass windows and door.
//Dubs: Understood.
I lowered myself and crept nearer to the corner. The flat part of the roof ahead of me was bathed in the light from the smaller room, but was devoid of any interesting details. I took a few moments to calm my breathing and heart rate. My legs were safe for now. Now it was just the easy, murdering part of the rescue.
Before I stepped out, I paused to feel at the charm. It was cool again and there was no message coming through in my head. I chose to believe that it was because the hero knew I was here.
//Clara: Hold. Two targets, contact.
I heard muffled footsteps and voices not long after the message came through. A metal ball clicked into the chamber of my gun-arm. Tazer or Nerve might have been the correct call, but I had no mercy for those that crossed the squad. The team. I held my breath as I could hear the pair move closer, up to the door of the glass side of the penthouse. Had they heard me climb up?
My legs burned for me to power out and end them, but I held steady.
“-should be thankful we even get smoke breaks,” the first male voice said.
“You used to work for Hellaxe, right?” The second, much deeper, replied.
“He was a fuckin’ slave driver. Literally, if he had his way. Was almost thankful when the League picked him up.”
The pair had paused a few steps out onto the roof and were lighting up cigarettes. I waited for a good opportunity, not willing to give myself away by having a peek just yet. Besides, I had eyes in the sky, anyway.
//Clara: One human, one orc. Both male. Light tactical gear and small firearms. Stowed.
“What do you think of this gig, then?” The orc grunted, before taking an audible drag of his smoke.
“Eh.” The man shuffled his feet on the texture of the roof. “Risky business fucking with a hero. I doubt the ransom idea is going to work out any better than his attempt to kill her off.”
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“Remember what happened the last time a hero was murdered?”
“Fuck. The League is like a sleeping dragon, man. I’m not keen to be on the receiving end of their bad mood if this goes tits up.”
The orc grunted. “Well, try not to suck them off too much. If the others hear you, they’ll rat you out. I’m sure you don’t want to be the one ending up murdered tonight.”
“Hah. Not me. You don’t last this long around villains without a bit of-”
I stepped out and blew a metal ball straight through the back of his head. The orc, now painted with the face of his former comrade, stumbled back in shock. Dropping his cigarette, he fumbled blindly at his belt. Too slow. I was there. Synapses went into overdrive with whatever bullshit name I gave my quick punch-ability, and my barrel broke through his teeth and punctured out the back of his throat.
He dropped down, twitching and gurgling, before the shock had him pass out.
Chamber snapped back and forth with murderous intent, another ball loaded.
They had wanted to kill Belle. No… a villain had wanted to kill Belle. The unlucky pair hadn’t given me the name or powers of the one in charge, but had just signed the death warrants of everyone else in the building.
With a calm now radiating through me, I looked back as the drone hovered down to meet me.
//Clara: Running metal scan.
//Clara: There are a lot of erroneous data points, but I can estimate targets.
//Clara: The floor below… between eight and fifteen.
I didn’t have it in me to say ‘understood’ again, partly because those two seconds could be better spent erasing some enemies.
After wiping my barrel off on one of the corpses, I took a pistol for my left hand, and entered the penthouse. It was reasonably small - a single room with a double bed and some decorations on the left. Counters and a small fridge on the right, right beside a downward stairway. The fact that nobody had come to investigate the two bodies I had just left outside meant they didn’t have very good tech.
Then again, henchmen often didn’t. At the squad level, you either needed some synced STAR or similar tech to notify you of any damage the group had sustained—or ideally you’d have another party present that was watching the proceedings, like Clara, or… or…
I paused at the top of the stairs, with a thought that was escaping my grasp. Eventually I gave up on it, unsure what it was trying to say. Something I wasn't quite in the right place to remember. At the bottom of the stairs, a doorway on the left that no doubt led to a corridor for the next floor. I hadn’t bothered to use my lens ability to see power levels recently, just because everything from goons to mutants didn’t really have a number worth worrying about. Anything less than ten… or even twenty, these days, didn’t really threaten me.
Against a villain, however, I’d need to be more careful. One of the reasons I was interested in having Belle help protect me in a fight against Roxy was in hopes of seeing what the tech thought about the strength super’s new power. I knew at the end of the day it was arbitrary, but if I was going to help train the whole team, it would be a way of watching them improve.
I stopped again at this door. The drone remained near the top of the stairs to keep out of my way.
//Clara: In five seconds, cross the corridor. Three targets in the opposite room.
It was a surprise that I lasted as long as I had without this kind of help. Then again, I got a lot less injured lately. With all my tech and personal advancement, I still won. Just without getting so close to death.
Five seconds were up, so I pushed through, moving across a carpeted corridor. Deep blue and gold pattern. The wallpaper wall was a soft gray, illuminated every so often by ornamental wall hangings. Down the far left, a shadow sunk past a corner. Just as I was told to, I continued on through to the door opposite.
It swung inward to reveal a trio sitting around a table. Two playing cards while one read a book. Their eyes turned to me in surprise, not expecting my arrival. Gun-arm blew a metal ball through the chest of the closest while I stepped forward. My boot lashed out, and I kicked the table into the furthest one who was trying to get up, knocking him backward instead. Left hand grabbed the arm of the other going for his gun, and I caught him in time. We briefly strained against each other before I turned and struck his head with my metal elbow.
As he slumped from his chair, I turned my arm to the pinned third and fired a selectloaded High Explosive shot, blowing wooden shards from the table away as his throat shredded apart.
That was surely enough ruckus to grab the attention of the rest of the bad guys.
//Clara: Two approaching, then a group of three.
Music to my ears.
It was never going to be a stealth mission, and rushing toward knocking the head off the leader was the quickest way of ending this. Would be nice if they had been the first person I’d come across… but that was in part the reason why villains surrounded themselves with henchmen. Meat shields.
The first of the next two rushed into the room, calling out the name of one of the ones I’d already pulped. A little too eager, as my rappel struck him in the face before he could raise his gun. The foam bloomed out, covering his eyes and mouth before solidifying. As the mechanism drew him toward my more stable footing, the stolen pistol in my left fired a trio of shots into him as my gun-arm launched a metal ball through the goon behind him. I dropped the pistol after putting a shot in the one I had knocked out with my elbow.
“We’re under attack, radio in!” A voice yelled from down the corridor. The game was up.
//Clara: They are holding position, getting into cover.
As the foam melted away and my rappel wound itself back in, I rolled my neck out. It was about time they started using tactics. You could always get a handful in the initial surprise and shock of an assault, and often hope to break their morale and have them running. They probably still had the numbers and threat of the villain keeping them in line, but it was only a matter of time before they realized they had no chance.
Selectloader popped in a Smoke shot and I filled the corridor with a dense gray fog. I remained standing in place in the room while the hunkered-down henchmen peppered the empty space with loose handgun fire.
I missed having grenades. We had been waiting for the League to accept me so that they could furnish our stockpile, but it seemed danger came for us first. It was only a day since the assassin at our home… and I wondered if this was connected to any of the loose threads I had dangling.
Once the one-sided firefight died down, I stepped out into the smoke and fired a Quake shot downrange. As soon as it struck, I ran forward, bursting out of the dense fog to find the trio clasping at their heads or the nearby walls. The very structure of the building vibrated. Furniture shifted as a painting fell from the wall, and no doubt some dread sunk through those left standing below us.
Reflex twisted its way through my synapses, and I jettisoned three metal balls in quick succession. Each of the stunned henchmen cored through as the ammunition damaged the brickwork behind the wallpaper even after passing through the bodies of my targets.
//Clara: Majority seem to be on the floor below.
//Clara: More targets moving. Anticipate fortified position.
//Clara: It is likely both villain and Belle are below.
//Dubs: But they could move now that they know I’m here?
//Clara: Insufficient data. It depends on the manner of entrapment.
//Dubs: Understood.
If they had a magical cage or the villain’s ability was keeping her locked down, then it might be a struggle to move her. With me here, they might realize the ransom idea was off the table. In that case, they would-
I rolled across the floor just as something burst up through the carpet. Overcharge humming with energy, I turned to see what looked like a slim sword of dark energy slide back down into the floor below.
No doubt that was the villain. A little rude to try to end me before we’d properly met.
//Clara: Contact stairs.
They were probably trying to pin me down. Flush me out with handgun fire while their leader stabbed me through the floor. Not an entirely terrible plan, and I would play along for a bit. Usually I would seek a shortcut via destroying the building beneath me, but with Belle down there, I didn’t want to bury her under rubble. Everything was too busy here for me to focus and detect if there was any magic to give me a hint as to where she was.
I leaped into another roll, switching my drum for a Smoke mag as the sharp prong broke through again. More energy vibrated through my V-Force drive as I loaded a Triple shot. Replaced the mag with the drum again and aimed down the hallway. As soon as a shadow edged around the corner, I fired—and moved.
Now the corridor and stairway around the corner were completely flooded. Enough gray fog to have a few of the now very disorientated henchmen cough. My lens could pick them out, however. Darker outlines trying to find where I was amongst the dense fog, but even my footfalls were silent now. I put four of them down, the chamber on my arm clacking back and forth to load a new ball in each time, even if no shell was there to eject. There were more enemies, but they had retreated to some cover outside of my smoke.
I thumbed in more shells into my selectloader, waiting for the villain to make an appearance again. In my current position it might be difficult for them. I tapped the side of my neck - a fresh canister would be nice. Didn’t get a chance to put one in with the rush.
Instead of moving down the stairs into an inevitable gunfight, I turned and went to the room behind me. With a little effort, I dragged a table out from within and into the fog. Over by the stairs, I flipped it over onto the flat side and jumped aboard. Half expecting to hit immediate friction and jettison off right away, I was briefly amused that it worked completely as intended.
That was until I emerged through the fog into a wide lobby where a group of henchmen had set up their own furniture barricades. My table hit the ground, and I flew off into a dive as they opened fire. Rappel shot forward into the long overturned table ahead and dragged it out of position towards me. My first shot went nowhere near the gathered enemies, but struck the large light overhead.
It burst into sparks, and the lobby became dimmer—the sprinklers also activating and spraying the area. Stims washed through me as I took damage, but I was too focused to worry about the details. Gunshots broke the edges and cracked the wood of the stolen cover, but my eyes went over to the right, where a wider doorway seemed to lead to a large hall. That’s where they must be.
Smoke shot on my position. Empty shell bounced across the floor. Tazer shot flickered between a group of damp henchmen. Up to aching legs, I powered toward the door. One, two, three steps, and then—I slid to the floor abruptly. Just as I was about to commit to shoulder-barging it, the long blade of black slid through.
Overcharge crackled as I put a HE shell through the door instead. I was going a little hard on the V-Force, and would need to either tone it down or end this quickly. Despite the blast shredding a large hole through the entryway, it didn’t appear like I had killed the villain.
I rolled forward as a few shots still came my way, before diving through the door. Ball ejected out into the first goon standing ready. Patches of carpet tore up as I continued to roll to avoid gunshots until I found cover. This was indeed a bigger hall, like a large dining room perhaps—without the long table in the middle. There weren’t many people in here, although my vision was currently occupied with not having my head shot off.
My eyes went to the side, expecting to see some of the prior goons regroup to push back through the door.
Instead, my gaze went up above the opening.
Across the wall, something that shouldn't be there.
There was a large… spider. Well, half-man, half-spider. Dark fur covered his oddly proportioned body, four extra arms that ended in sharp sword-like points gripped at the wooden walls. Eight bright red eyes glared down at me, saliva running from a mandible-laden mouth. Grinning.
Further over to the right, pinned to the ceiling in thick webbing, was Belle.