Since they were already near the entrance to the subway system, Hiro headed back down, Bianca following behind him. “Are you serious?” she asked. “Down there?”
“You haven’t been in the subway system?”
“God, no.”
“It will be faster than heading through the streets and safer, trust me.”
“Who wants safe?” Bianca asked in a playful tone. “Ugh, fine,” she said as Hiro pressed on. “At least tell me about these Hunters.”
“There are three, as I already said. Valeria and I—”
“Who’s Valeria again?”
“She’s…” Hiro was about to say that she was a friend, but he didn’t know if this was the case. “Valeria and her girlfriend, Rena, plus a guy named Juan and an Australian named Samuel will join us at the gate.”
“And you tried to fight the bunnies with her?”
“Bunny Triplets, and yes, we did. Valeria injured the boy. Also, be aware.”
“Aware of what?”
“The teenage girl one speaks.” Hiro heard Bianca’s sneakers scrape as she came to a stop. He turned to her. “You good?”
“That’s creepy as fuck.”
“She speaks, yes, and you’re right, it is creepy as fuck.”
“Did she tell you her name?”
“I didn’t ask,” Hiro said as he followed signs for the 1 Line. “As for how we should go about this, I say we hit them with everything we have.” He silenced another thought that came immediately after that. Maybe we’re doing this too soon…
“Everything we have, right.
I don’t have much, but I do have a magic hammer, my shield, and projectile vomit.”
“Your shield will be critical. You need to protect yourself. Their ears can go much further than they seem.”
“And you? You’re the one with all the stuff.”
“I’ll try {Kiss or Slap} and {Edging}.”
She snickered. “That sounds so weird.”
“Actually, I don’t know about {Edging}. It could help us, or it could royally screw us.”
She gave Hiro a funny look. “What does—I can’t believe I’m asking this—edging do?”
“It allows me to bring my opponent to what the Doom System calls the brink of insanity. But it can also produce new traits. It’s dependent on my MIND stat.”
“Which is?”
“2.4 because of Roulette Boost.”
“Ooo, such a smarty. Mine is only at 1.2. But my Stamina is at a 3.9. Badass, right?”
Hiro’s stats came to him just by thinking about them.
STR: 1.8 [+1 Roulette Boost]
STA: 2.7 [+2 Roulette Boost]
DEX: 1.6 [+1 Roulette Boost]
REG: 1.7 [+1 Roulette Boost]
MIND: 2.4 [+2 Roulette Boost)
Soul Essence (SE): 173 [137 SE to next level.]
Stolen Valor: 3
He spoke again: “Dang. You’re more than a point higher than me in Stamina. That could be an advantage. You distract them, I hit them with everything I have. Another question.”
“I’ll allow it.”
“What’s your Title? Mine is Wolf Ronin of Wall Street.”
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
“Mine is The Upper West Side’s Answer to Hammer Time. It’s stupid. I think it was an early attempt for the Doom System to try to be quirky. You know how the descriptions have gotten crazier?”
“Well aware.”
“I think it was trying that out or something and has quickly evolved. Dunno. Back to the Bunny Triplets, because I’m guessing we should keep our voices down soon,” she said as they reached the subway platform. Bianca curled her nose. “It reeks in here.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“Hey, that trick you used against the underground monster. What did you call it? A One Hit Wonder?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you have any more?”
“I have a different One Hit Wonder called {Trucks Volta}. I was planning on saving it for the Statue of Liberty—”
“Come again?”
“You haven’t been downtown?”
“No, I’ve kept to the Central Park area.”
“Actually, put a pin in that,” Hiro said, recalling the enormous skeletal beast that had created the hole in Central Park that had led to the catacombs where he met Bianca. “I was in Battery Park. The Statue of Liberty was alive. She attacked Valeria and me from a distance.”
“Shit.”
“So I was saving {Trucks Volta} for her.”
“Which allows you to…?”
“Summon an eighteen wheeler to hit an opponent. But I don’t think it would take the Statue out anyway. I wish I knew what we are able to use, and what would happen once the gates open. That would be helpful.”
“I assumed it was everything.”
“Let’s ask and see if we get the same answer.” Hiro retrieved his phone. “Can I use my current Roulette loadout once the gate opens?”
The text flashed across the screen:
He showed the answer to Bianca.
“I really need more,” Bianca lamented.
“The only way to do that is go out on your own to get more, or do a Doom Sample Sale.”
“A what now?”
“You’ll know it when you see it.” He hopped down onto the track and looked up at her. “Need help?”
“Please.” Bianca jumped down as well. “And fine, fine, Big Brother Hiro, I’ll go out on my own after we deal with your little rabbit problem. It’s just…”
“Terrifying?”
“Yeah, that. But also I’ve made it this far by teaming up with people. I mean, before the Doom System killed all the superfucks and gave us a system, I was still teaming up with people. I wasn’t a loner like you. So it’s new for me.”
I wasn’t always a loner, Hiro thought, thinking of Monica. “You could take my Buster Kunai with you,” he offered.
“The knife that becomes a sword? You’d let me borrow it?”
“It’s a Roulette Weapon anyway.”
“I don’t know. You seem to like it.”
“I just use what the system gives me to survive.”
“Big Brother Hiro, the Ultimate Survivor.”
“Something like that.”
“What’s your reason for surviving anyway? Some people I was with earlier, they just gave up. They got tired of it.” Bianca bit her lip. “One exploded himself—he had a spontaneous combustion power which turned him into some sort of suicide bomber because his guts melted most of the area—and another threw herself in front of this giant crow, which lifted her into the air and dropped her. Talk about splat. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that sound.”
“Sorry you had to see that.”
“I’m beyond the point that this stuff is bothering me. Or maybe, I’m just holding it all inside.” She shrugged in an exaggerated way. “I’d love to see what my therapist would say, but that bitch is dead. She was one of the first to take a power. Nowadays, I cope through violence. And these bunnies sound like they need fucking up.”
Hiro couldn’t really believe it but he was actually motivated by her desire to pursue the Bunny Triplets. Yet her confidence was inspiring, and he’d seen the kind of work she could do underground, even if she was ensnared by the monstrous tax collector for most of that fight.
The pair grew quiet as they moved deeper into the subway system. It was only when a rat scurried away that Bianca tensed. “This is so freaky,” she whispered.
“We’re safe,” Hiro said, “unless the dark can attack us.”
He instantly regretted saying this. Hiro didn’t know how the Doom System got its ideas or powers. If like Valeria had hinted, it was mirroring the behavior of hallucinating AI, then anything could happen. I could even be attacked by Ronald McDonald, he thought, which brought a dark smirk to his face.
They reached the Times Square - 42nd Street exit. Hiro glanced up at the stairs, aware that they would soon be in Bryant Park and likely witness to something potentially horrifying. “Just give me a sec,” he told Bianca as he put his Hyottoko mask in his backpack. He produced a Munster energy drink. “Drink half.”
“What does it—?” Bianca’s question was answered by a prompt after she took the can from him. “Nice.” She drank it and licked her lips. “Not bad. Not great, but not bad.”
Hiro finished the can and got out the Pink Bull. “This is for Stamina. We’ll need even more. The Bunny Triplets don’t have a Sphere of Influence. If shit gets bad, run. And don’t run into here. Get out of the area. We can meet at Columbus Square.”
“Okay,” she said, a hint of hesitation in her voice. Bianca drank the energy drink and gave Hiro the rest. She placed a hand over her heart. “That feels wild.”
Hiro finished the drink and noticed his heart flutter. “Wasn’t expecting that, but it makes sense. Finally.” He popped a Bleed cartridge in his vape pen. “This will make them Bleed more. You distract them, I’ll start hitting them after I use this. The cats will help, I’ll try everything else I have, and I might have to call in an eighteen-wheeler. I still have other cartridges, but we’ll try this first. Plus there’s my {Lupine Shift} power. My Roulette Skill.”
“If you become Jacob Black, get out of the way?”
“Who?”
“The wolf dude in Twilight.”
“Sure. Get out of the way at that point. Columbus Square.”
“Got it,” Bianca said with a firm nod, the teenage girl a bit jittery now. “I think I’m ready, you?”
“Let’s do this.”
“Bunnies, here we come.”