Chapter 27

Ben’s head snapped back as a punch hit him in the face.

He saw stars.

Before he could even react, another punch hit him in his stomach and his breath exploded out of him. Then he was suddenly pushed and fell as the ground disappeared from under him. Panic and pain filled him, but then the world shifted around him again and he felt himself flip over as gravity seemed to shift.

His back hit something hard then the world shifted again. He heard the sound of things breaking. Was it him or something else? He couldn’t tell as the world shifted once more and he could barely find his bearings.

The world kept shifting around him and he kept getting hit into things and things kept breaking.

Again and again, it went, his head too dizzy to focus on anything as everything seemed to spin. Gravity seemed to keep shifting from one moment to the next. First, he would feel like he was flying, and then he would hit something, and then next he was falling and smashing into things.

It happened over and over again and Ben might have puked at one point but he was too disoriented to be sure.

Occasionally his mind was clear enough to get glimpses of his surroundings but it was only glimpses.

A broken light pole. A smashed warehouse window. A dumpster. A smashed park bench coming straight at his face. And just a whole bunch of other images and things he could barely process.

After what felt like an eternity Ben slammed hard into the ground. For some reason, it felt so much worse than the rest and pain wracked his body again.

The world continued to spin around him, and closing his eyes didn’t help the feeling.

And then it started to slow. Bit by bit the swirling world around him stopped spinning and he realized he’d stopped moving. The spinning feeling was just him regaining his equilibrium.

Ben almost sighed in relief but he was afraid to move. His body ached, but nothing felt broken. Yet with all the smashing that happened that couldn’t be true. The adrenaline must have been keeping him from feeling the worst of it and if he moved then he might start to really feel what happened to him.

So Ben laid still on his front, trying to steady his breathing as he braced for the pain. He tried hard to crush the panic and fear that welled up in him now that he could actually think.

Then the pain came when a foot kicked him and rolled him over onto his back.

However, instead of the searing pain he expected, it just felt like someone kicked him somewhere sore. Just what was happening?

“So…” A deep male voice said as a figure leaned over Ben’s prone form. The world was still spinning a bit but he could make them out, even in the dim light of… wherever they were. The black and yellow cowl mask was quite familiar and matched the picture in the file on Warp Master. “What have we learned?”

As the world stopped spinning, Ben’s fear gave way to confusion as the A-Rank Villain waited for a response. When the silence continued, Ben opened his mouth to speak. And a second later he was on all-fours vomiting. For what might have been the second time of the day. He still wasn’t sure if he actually vomited during… whatever all that was.

When Ben's stomach was empty and all that came out was stomach acid, he wiped his mouth on his black sleeve. He took deep lungfuls of air, and it was only the pain in his shoulder that made him realize the rest of him still didn’t hurt that much in comparison.

He definitely was still hurt. His face in particular. He was probably gonna get a black eye tomorrow and his stomach felt pretty bad too. Though he wasn’t sure if that was from the punch or the nausea. Yet despite all that, he felt far better than he thought he’d feel.

He’d honestly expected to have broken half the bones in his body after that.

“Well?” Warp Master asked, breaking Ben from his thoughts.

It also reminded him that he wasn’t alone. He was with an A-Rank Villain that just kinda kicked the shit out of him… But also didn’t?

Just what happened? And where were Katie and Resolve?

That last thought made Ben panic again and he looked around in hopes of finding them. But they were nowhere to be found. It was just him and Warp Master in what looked like an actually abandoned warehouse. There were no lights except for what came from the broken windows farther away from the shadowy corner Warp Master had dumped him.

“Okay, seriously,” Warp Master said, holding out his hand in front of Ben and making him flinch. Instead of attacking though, the man snapped his fingers three times. “I know I didn’t hit you that hard. Even an E-Rank should be able to walk it off and I punched your face once. You’re not simple are you?“

Ben shook his head and refocused on the man. And his question.

“Ugh…” Ben said, not really knowing what to say before just blurting something out. “I learned you're a lot stronger than me.”

Warp Master sighed theatrically and shook his head. “That should have been obvious. But no, that’s not the lesson to take away from this.” Then he poked Ben on the forehead and pushed him back and onto his butt. “What you learned from this, is you don’t fuck with the Warp Brigade.”

Ben blinked in confusion at that. “Who?”

Warp sighed again. “Okay, now you're gonna learn another thing. Don’t fuck with Villains if you don’t even know who they are. That’s my gang. Warp Brigade. Don’t forget it or forget you don’t fuck with us.”

“But Bounce said you guys didn’t have a name yet,” Ben said before he could stop himself. He probably shouldn’t be mouthing off to the A-Rank Villain but the whole situation was so strange he couldn’t help himself. What remained of his panic and fear was ebbing away due to just how casual Warp was being.

“Bounce is in denial,” Warp Master said, shaking his head. “Now, have you learned your lesson? Or do I need to beat you some more? Make a bit more of a spectacle outside? Because if I do, maybe I’ll actually hurt you this time.”

Ben held up his hands in surrender. “No… I’ve learned it. Don’t mess with the Warp Brigade. Got it… But…”

Ben trailed off, not knowing if he should ask the question on his mind. After all, this didn’t seem the kind of reaction a Villain should have to all this. The possibly broken shoulder he got from Bounce was still worse than everything Warp Master had done to him.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Why am I letting you off so light?” Warp Master said, voicing Ben’s question for him and earning him a nod from Ben. “Well, it’s cause I’m not psychotic. I don’t need to hurt you to make my point so I won’t bother. Anyone who caught that fight probably thinks you're dead or in traction. You know I could have done that to you but didn’t. And, assuming you're not an idiot, you know not to let anyone know I let you go without hurting you.“

Warp Master’s demeanor changed as he said that last sentence and he loomed over Ben. His casual attitude disappeared and his gaze bore into Ben. A chill ran up Ben’s spine at the sudden shift.

“Because if you do let anyone know, then I’ll have to make an example out of you. Publicly. I won’t like it but I will have to for my rep. And the Heroes probably won’t chase us too hard if I cripple you, cause it'd be your own fault for being a moron and not taking the out when given the chance. Understand?”

Ben nodded rapidly at that, not wanting to offend the now suddenly much more intimidating Villain.

“Good,” Warp said, straightening up and his fearsome demeanor disappearing as he clapped his hands. It was like he hadn’t just threatened to cripple Ben and they were just two friendly strangers again. “Glad we both understand each other. Also if this didn’t scare you out of trying to be a vigilante or Hero, get a new costume. As far as anyone else is concerned, this identity of yours is out of the game. Got it?”

“Ugh, yeah,” Ben said, nodding. Though he couldn’t help but frown. It was just a turn of phrase but… “But do you really think of this as just a game?”

Warp Master scoffed. “It’s a figure of speech kid. Though there are some rules to all this. Unwritten rules you pick up if you get into the whole Hero and Villain thing and not focus on Monster slaying duty. The basics of it are you don’t escalate and we won’t either. It is why people avoid fighting out of costume, attacking people in their homes, or even avoid trying to kill for the most part.”

“Of course, not everyone plays by those rules,” Warp Master said, shaking his head. “I can be lenient cause of my unique power and cause I’m strong. The next Villain you face probably won’t be so nice. And there is a lot of stuff that can be done to you that doesn’t involve killing. Especially since Super healing can do a lot more than normal medicine. So maybe level a bit before you try this stuff again. There’s a reason the Cascade League has a B+ Requirement. Anyway, enough of this. I need to go and see what kind of damage you and your friends cause. Remember, don’t fuck with the Warp Brigade. Or next time I won’t hold back nearly as much.“

“Wait, that's it?” Ben said as Warp Master turned away from him. Even as he said it he cursed himself for being stupid. Why was he stopping the Villain from leaving? Stupid. Don’t bring up Blitz!

Warp Master turned back around and frowned. “What? Is there something I’m forgetting?”

The way Warp Master said it was both threatening and warning. As if he was warning Ben from bringing up the obvious that still hadn’t been resolved. Another chill went up Ben’s spine at the tone.

Not a complete moron, Ben shook his head. “I guess not…”

Warp Master's demeanor shifted again and he grinned. “Good. Now I’m going. You're far enough away from where we ‘fought’ that you should be fine just leaving. But remember that costume is dead now. Also don’t forget that USB drive you dropped. Don’t want to leave it just lying around in some random warehouse.”

USB drive? Ben looked around him and found a pristine-looking USB on the floor. He looked back up with a question on his lips but Warp Master was already gone.

Ben looked back down at the USB drive. Then, hesitantly, he picked it up and pocketed it. He had no idea what was inside and maybe it was a virus or something. But something made him think it wasn’t so simple. He’d give it to Katie and let her handle it.

“Shock! Shock! Can you hear me?”

Katie’s voice came from Ben’s earpiece making him jolt up in surprise. He’d forgotten about the thing after his ordeal. It had managed to stay on his ear. Though why was he only hearing Katie now?

“Ugh, yeah I can,” Ben said, getting to his feet. His stomach and eye still hurt, and his shoulder was even worse, but he could still move about just fine. “I’m fine now. Where are you? Are you guys okay? And do you know where I am? You said your b—drones had tracking right?”

“Yeah, they do. And we’re fine,” Katie said, her voice exasperated but also filled with relief. That same relief filled Ben too as he now knew his friends were fine. “But you dropped off the grid after Warp got you. Are you really okay? Where is Warp?”

“Um… That’s kinda hard to explain,” Ben said as he walked towards the exit to the building. At the same time, he tried to activate his anti-grav pack. ”But he’s gone. And I’m fine. I'm just in some warehouse. I’ll meet you outside or on the roof or something… Ah, shit. Actually, I’ll just meet you outside.”

“What is it?” Katie asked, causing Ben to sigh.

“Ugh, well. I think my pack is kinda broken. It’s not activating.”

Katie sighed through their comms. “That’s fine. We’ll deal with that later and I’ll fix it. But you're fine? And Warps gone?”

“Yeah to both,” Ben said, pushing way past garbage and rotting wooden boards used to close up the warehouse. “Just meet me outside, we’ll get somewhere safe and I’ll explain. It’s a bit complicated and I don’t want to be overheard.”

Katie agreed and Ben managed to get himself outside. According to her, they were about ten minutes away. And as they made their way toward him, she continued to talk to him. Mainly it was just her making sure he was okay.

As he continued to reassure her, Ben still kept a wary eye around himself. Despite that, and despite everything that had just happened, he started to relax just a bit.

A lot had gone wrong today and they only accomplished one of their goals. But at least they were all alright now.

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“I still can’t believe he just let you go,” Resolve said as she paced around the small room.

They were currently ten feet under the ground somewhere in the south of East Cascade in a park with a lot of trees. Apparently, Katie had thought ahead and built the place sometime in the last two weeks with her bots. Probably using the same method she used to build her underground training area and secret passageways.

It was composed of a hidden entrance inside of a boulder hidden among trees, leading down into the room they were waiting in. The other room connected to all this was a holding cell where Blitz was being held. They were waiting for the man to wake up so Resolve could question him.

Ben was resting on a chair that was fused to the floor, letting the healing solution he’d injected himself with do its work. The pain was already gone thanks to the pain-killer aspect of it and hopefully, his shoulder and black eye would be healed soon. Though with his possibly broken shoulder, he might have to go find a hospital that treats Supers and double-check there are no complications.

“Well, he did,” Ben said, leaning back in his chair.

“And he didn’t even consider using you to get Blitz back?” Resolve asked, stopping her pacing and looking at Ben with a hand on her hip.

Ben shrugged with his right shoulder. A part of him felt annoyed at Resolve going on about this as if he had any answers. And an even greater part of him was even more annoyed by the lack of apology from Resolve for blowing up their plans. But he pushed those two parts away for the moment and kept those feelings off his face.

He was too tired to have any arguments. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t understand why she did what she did. If he’d been in the same situation, he liked to think he would have kept his cool. But it wouldn’t have been impossible for him to flip out about it either. Hearing Blitz brag about what he’d done… It would be enough to infuriate anyone.

And maybe Resolve would apologize after she finally got her answers.

“I almost asked him about it cause I guess I was still a bit loopy,” Ben said after Resolve continued to look at him expectantly. “But he pretty much warned me off about asking about it. And honestly, when we were retreating from Mononoke, she didn’t really try too hard to stop us either. Seems we were right and they didn’t really care for Blitz.”

“Then why let him join in the first place,” Resolve said, throwing her hands up in the air.

At the same time, Katie came down into their little bunker thing from outside. She’d had enough of Resolve’s pacing and questions and had gone out to get some fresh air.

“Probably because of Flamelium,” Katie said while holding up the USB Ben had given her. “And I think this fully answers the question of why they just let us go.”

Ben perked up at that in curiosity. “What is it?”

“Evidence,” Katie said, wagging it at Ben and Resolve. “Lots of evidence. Verifiable stuff too. Enough evidence to make sure that when we give Blitz over to the authorities, he’s not gonna get off easy. No penal monster hunting. No short sentences. If we give this to them, they're gonna throw him into a deep dark hole and he’s never gonna see the light of day again.”