As the first gunshots sounded outside the compound, Penelope surged to her feed in a blur of motion, prepared to start butchering the Cartel people one by one until she was out. While she wore an actual suit and tie over her friction-resistant 'Villainess' uniform for this meeting, it would tear apart in moments and leave her free for the killing that was to come.
Just before she reached the new Salt Lord and removed his head from his body, however, she noticed that... the man was surprised. All of his men were. None of them were expecting this. She stepped back. For her, the drawn-out seconds between gunshots gave her plenty of time to think.
This meeting had been called to arrange a truce between the Cartels and the Family. Between fear of Eyeball, the Family's control of reflex, and their existing domination of the americas and canada, the Cartel's operations had been bleeding money like mad for the past few months; and if things went to plan, they'd be restarting operations now... only with the Family taking a cut, and no more quiet backroom murders.
Well, less backroom murders. A girl had to keep up appearances, after all.
From their response; and how terribly this was set if it were a trap; it likely wasn't. Which meant someone else was taking on the cartels. She turned to the nearest window, casually smashing it open with a thrown chair; whoever was standing on the other end of that wasn't going to have a pleasant day; and hopped through, gently sliding down the sheet-metal roof of the pre-fab building that had been setup next to the ruins of the old Salt Lord's fortress; a stark reminder of what would happen to the other cartels if they crossed the Family again, and the reason this had been chosen as the meeting site.
As she dropped to the ground; incredibly slowly from her perspective, simply floating downward; she saw what at first appeared to be a police raid. Several armed gunmen in police uniforms firing on the complex, cartel men dropping behind cover... but this was wrong.
The police all had dull, vacant expressions. All of them were visibly wounded and bleeding; some had obvious gunshot wounds to the head even; but still coming. One of them had a missing arm... and she could see silvery wires dangling down from this missing limb.
And behind the group.... a single dull red, skeletal robot. Armor plating around the chest, a swiveling, box-like head with cameras mounted on it... and it was tracking her movement. As she reached down, grabbing a rock off the ground, the lens was just moments behind her. This shouldn't be possible. Whoever was controlling the robot, the signal would have to bounce to them, bounce back, the lag... the machine started moving forward.
Hmm. This thing wasn't as fast as her. Not even close. But it could actually react to her. Couldn't be a drone. Had to be an actual AI. Damnit, one of those stupid russian things Eyeball had been talking about. She sprinted forward a few steps, hurled the rock; a sudden loud whistling sound, a brief sonic boom as it passed through the air.. and slammed into the lens assembly of the machine, crumpling the head.
He'd sent out a diagram of the one they were testing out; the Family was going to have its own servitor robots someday, apparently; most of the sensors were in the head, but some were in the torso, by the CPU. She kept going; running past it, to see... a series of police cars, and the mexican version of a SWAT van. They'd all arrived after her, it seemed, to take out the cartel... again.
How many times could this location be crushed and a new Salt Lord keep popping up? Well. Should she stop this one? The cartel had lost two of its best speedsters when Eyeball showed up. Did they have anyone else at that level?
Blah. Daddy wanted her to negotiate a truce with these cartel dipshits. So she'd negotiate a truce. She ran from cop to cop; taking pebbles, rocks, their own guns; and destroying the metal boxes that seemed to be animating them. Unlike the primary robot, these lessers seemed to be running on a delay; either just slower, or remote controlled.
When she returned to the first bot, the one she'd decapitated, she found it rising back up, gun lifted. She headed back into the compound, to get another good-sized rock, and turned back towards the machine... and just like last time, she sprinted forward a few steps, released the rock...
A blinding flash. For just a moment, the entire world seemed to be on fire... then it all went dark.
***
Victor watched the federal agents leave thoughtfully; standing in his office, looking out the window, they didn't seem too big of a threat... but he'd need to handle this carefully. Best get started relocating his operations again. Maybe into some unclaimed land in the mountains... or even Canada. Or overseas?
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Suddenly, his door slammed open. Eveline was outside, looking in; Emerald had just pressed in; a bit disheveled; her dress partially off, an armored vest strapped on; clearly she'd been getting ready for their next date when something had interrupted. "J... Victor! Emergency!" She glanced behind her... and then stepped in, shutting the door.
Victor looked at her outfit for a moment. "Well, this must be an exciting date you have planned. Should I wear a suit or body armor?"
She slid to a stop inside the office. "The machines. Dark Ascension. Its started, down in mexico."
"Oh. Well, that sucks. Glad I stockpiled EMPs, but even more glad he didn't start in Vegas. Whats the emergency?"
She pulled out her cell phone, and laid it out on his desk. After a moment, Nicky's voice emerged. "I got your message about the feds. We'll discuss that later. For now... I need your help. Penelope was down in Mexico, negotiating with the Cartels; the new Salt Lord. The machines... thousands of them... hit every cartel at once, all of the police departments in the capital, and all of the military bases. I haven't heard from her since the attack. She was right there at the construction site arranging our deal... and I haven't heard from her since."
Eyeball gave a nod, and cracked his knuckles. "Got it. I'll be gearing up, gathering a team, and departing immediately. If you've got any assets in the area that can track her, call them in." He thought for a moment. "I'm leaving Emerald in charge up here. If Valkyrie will loan out Butcher, I'll grab him en route."
Emerald grabbed Jason by the arm as he hung up, leaving Emerald's phone on the desk. Her claws dug into his arm as she gave a low hiss. "What the hell!? Why am I staying back?"
Jason shook his head. "Do you remember what Clone told us about these things? Wires running through your flesh? Worst pain he'd ever felt, and this is a man who's been tortured by both the KGB and the CIA until death? No. I can dodge them. I'm bringing Cobalt along, and Butcher if he's available. Thing won't be able to do that to them. Hell, I wouldn't turn down Valkyrie if she were willing."
Emerald glowered at Jason for a moment... and then backed away. "...Fine."
"While I'm gone, I want you to get everybody back on making EMPs again. Grenades, bullets, whole nine yards. I also want you, personally, to think of ways to keep one of those.. Pale Ones? From breaking through your scales. I'm about a thousand percent sure we're gonna be dealing with these things again, and when we do, I want you at my side. Got me?"
Her glower turned less angry... more thoughtful. And she nodded. "Got it. Tell Cobalt if he doesn't bring you back alive, I'll make him wish he could die fast." She gave him a kiss; pressing her wings around him for just a moment; before kicking him out of his own office, heading to his desk to start making calls.
Eyeball shook himself a moment... and glanced at Eveline. "Evey, order a truckload of copper wire for me. Say... hundred grand worth. And a few hundred K in lithium batteries, whatever sizes you can get. Handheld, truck, all of it. Give Emerald whatever you find. I'm... going on a hunting trip."
***
Cobalt was one of the various villains who'd flocked to the Titanslayer banner on learning he was hiring; and quite possibly the toughest. When Eyeball called him up, he came running; only to look with disbelief at the van Eyeball was driving. "Seriously, boss? You've got some kick-ass, custom shit, and you're driving us to the airport in an antique panel van?" The bald, dark-blue skinned man seemed vaguely translucent; you could almost make out his brain through his flesh, and his simple grey tank-top and shorts seemed inappropriate for someone running into a fight; but then, Eyeball was still wearing his suit, minus the jacket.
Eyeball laughed. "We'll need the space. We're picking up a passenger on the way to the airport. If these machines can handle a speedster like Swiftblade, we need people who are tough to handle them, and we need big guns." As soon as Cobalt was inside, Eyeball stomped on the gas; Cobalt pressed back against the seat by the surprising acceleration.
One of the local cops; effectively an employee of Prosperity Incorporated; waved at the van as it drove by, at least ninety past the speed limit, before turning back to his coffee.
Cobalt had ridden in the van with Eyeball before; but the way he dodged traffic and always just barely scraped through at the highest speed the vehicle could take was still scary as hell.
When he stopped outside Spring Hill gulch, Butch was standing there, waiting, an enormous duffel bag on his back; and hopped in the back of the van, slamming it shut from the inside, slouching over, head still scraping the roof.
Eyeball glanced behind him. "Goddamn, kid! I just went to your 13th birthday party and you're already what... seven feet tall?"
Butch gripped the bar on the ceiling tightly as a few bags of gear bumped against him; glancing down at one labeled 'The Butcher' with interest. "Six foot ten. Mom said she wouldn't be surprised if I hit nine feet at this rate."
Eyeball grinned at the mental image of a 9-foot tall 14-year-old. "Alright, kid. Once we're in the air, we'll get geared up."
Butch nodded. "Oh, by the way. The government called mom. Asked her if she'd help with the robots. She told em if they crossed the border, she'd form up a posse and fuck em up... for a bounty for each one she killed, and a pardon for anybody that joined her crew. They said yes. And.... she extended an invitation. If the bots cross the border, she'll make you an honorary member til the bots are cleared out."
Eyeball laughed. "Could you imagine Spike's face if I just walked right up to him in the DMA and he had to let me go? Damn. You know what, I'm in, if it happens."
"She also said if you gave me any more guns she'd tear your balls off and feed em to you."
He blinked. "... Can you pretend like you told me that -after- I gave you the stuff in the bag? I.. kinda made you a new toy while you were at your mom's."