The group froze for a moment, letting Grim close the distance with several quick steps. The lead thug was the first to react, swinging the pipe he held at his head. Another quick step sideways brought him out of the path of the weapon. Snapping out a quick punch to his throat, the man went down with a crushed larynx.
Stunned at the abrupt escalation, the rest of the thugs charged Grim together. Everyone except for Joe and one other man who simply stepped back and watched.
Grim grabbed the first thug and, using his raw physical strength, crushed his skull flat between his palms. It was far easier than he thought it would be, honestly. The human skull could take immense trauma prior to being breached. To crush one like he did took superhuman force, immediately identifying him as one to the attack group.
Two of the thugs stepped back and, to Grim’s utter surprise, summoned fire and lighting to their arms. The two energies coalesced in their palms before they threw them at him. He threw himself into a roll, not trusting that his skimpy armor would protect him fully. He certainly didn’t have the energy reserves to heal from anything that got through.
As he came up a thug with super strength struck him in the side, staggering him sideways. Annoyed, Grim used the momentum to turn rapidly, coming up off the ground and delivering an ariel kick to the side of his chest. The strike flung the man sideways and through the metal fence into the courtyard of the odd-looking building he had been examining earlier.
He landed on the ground and scooped up a large piece of brick masonry. Rolling to his side to avoid the elemental blasts of the two ranged thugs, he regained his feet. Taking aim, he threw the brick piece at the lightning wielder, striking her in the chest with a sickening crunch of bone and sinew.
Grim could hear the appealing sound from where he was.
He counted eight remaining attackers. Although they seemed to be having second thoughts after his dispatch of three of their number so quickly. The ones who were armed edged forward, doubtful looks on their faces. They weren’t entirely certain they could stop him. They couldn’t, not with their level of firepower, but he wasn’t about to dissuade them through words.
Grim launched himself forward, blurring with the speed that he was employing. Everyone, including himself, was surprised at that. He even heard the mental equivalent of Bag’s jaw dropping. This was far and above his established physical abilities.
Above his level of control.
He slammed into a thug bodily, the two cartwheeling down the broken road as Grim lost control of his movement. He recovered his feet quickly, but the thug was down for the count. He tilted his head, seeing that his arms and at least one leg were at awkward angles. Barring some kind of super self-healing he wasn’t getting back up. Just to be sure he stomped on the mans throat, severing his spine.
Grim felt the influx of energy from the dead man. He grabbed the soul and stuffed into into the gauntlet container he had created. That would come in handy later.
Brushing himself off, Grim took note he had traveled a dozen feet to the far side of the group. A group that was rapidly disappearing in the distance. Minus Joe and one other, extremely nervous, looking man. Deciding they weren’t likely to fight, much less be a threat, Grim walked over to the muscular man and his friend. Along the way he gathered the energy from his other kills, annoyed that he hadn’t figured out how to automatically gather the souls and energy yet.
Manually doing this was beneath him.
“I… don’t know how to respond to that,” admitted Grim over their link.
He stopped in front of the two remaining thugs. Joe and the other, very nervous, looking guy. The nervous fella couldn’t have been much taller than five foot five and was definitely not built for fighting. Grim examined them for a few moments before speaking.
“So. You two sat out that fun little scrum. That makes me even more curious. And as they like to say, ‘A curious demon is a dangerous demon’,” Grim started.
Joe looked him up and down. “You look more like a homeless guy than a demon to be honest,” he said prompting a laugh from Grim. “Besides, I didn’t want to fight you in the first place. My power gives me the ability to gauge supers’ levels. Yours is… well we were all fucked from the get-go.”
“Yeah. Yeah fucked from the get-go is an apt description,” agreed Grim. “I like it. So, tell me why I shouldn’t just kill you and convert you into something useful? Apparently converting people in demons here ups your power level considerably.”
Joe held up his hands placatingly. “No thanks. I’m happy with what I’ve got. I can give you a good reason not to kill me though. I’m a plant,” he said.
“I may look homeless, but I’m not stupid. You are definitely a person. There aren’t any other races on this planet,” Grim responded, eyeballing him warily. If the man did happen to be some kind of Dryad in disguise… things could get rough.
“No, not a plant, like a flower or something. An informant plant. I work for the country of Reichan and am here on surveillance. We think that the Republic is going to start a war. If you help me help my home country… I can help you,” Joe said. “I saw that fight when you, uh, got here. Your roughed up, low on resources, and need information and a guide. I can provide all that if you agree to help me gather information.”
Grim considered that for a few moments. A war would be a completely different level of violence and suffering. While a good opportunity to get the energy and souls he needed… it would inhibit his abilities to build the infrastructure he needed to get back and continue his campaign against his brother.
“So you’re a spy? Cool. I’ve known a few. Mostly good people… until they stab you in the back. Yeah. I can agree to that. I need some things though. Money, whatever currency is in use here, supplies, and of course that information trade and a guide would be a necessity as well,” he said, agreeing to the proposal. “What information do you need?”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Joe nodded towards the man next to him. “This is Trevor. He is, or was, a scientist with the Republic. He was working on some project to increase supers power levels… along with mind control and a few other very, very illegal things under international treatises.”
“Y… yeah,” said the man, practically shaking in his boots.
Grim stared at him for a few long seconds, then turned back to Joe. “Again. What information do you need?”
“What experiments they are doing, if possible, any research data, troop locations and any plans for expansions or invasions, dates and times, and people involved,” the large spy rattled off.
He snorted, “What, you want me to get their parents address and their fourth-grade report cards too? This is to be an equivalent trade of resources and services. You’re asking for a lot, I am not.”
Joe grimaced. “It’s just a list, not an equal trade for what you asked for. Look, I’m going to be straight with you here. I was compromised. I am on the run. Trevor is the only material thing I have left proving the Republic is up to something big and very bad. I need help. You help me, and I give you my word I will do everything I can to make it worth your time. I have access to money right now, and that’s about it. Well… what remains of the money I have.”
Grim got a mental image of Bag eating some popcorn.
“Shut up Bag. I’m certainly no hero. I don’t consider myself a villain, but by the time I’m done here I will certainly be remembered as one. Look through what you can access, try and dig up some information I can trade. In the meantime,… I suppose these two morons get to live.” Thought Grim. Then he snapped his mental fingers, “Ah, what did the energy gain off of those thugs?”
“The fucking memories. Yeah. Do it, I will deal with it later. And I’m glad one of us is understanding this shit. This universe is fucking weird. I need to figure out what I’m capable of now. That burst of speed… yeah ding that against competent enemies will see the end of us,” he replied.
“Remind me to never let you out of the armor without a seriously iron clad contract,” Grim responded.
The laughter followed him back into reality where Joe was speaking, “- can certainly do that,” the large man finished.
“Right. Yeah. Sure,” Grim ballparked, not having caught most of the conversation. “You two get to come with me. Bring the cash too,” he said, walking over to the dead thugs. He compared some of the clothing and ended up removing a pair of tan cargo pants and a grey hoodie from the lead thug. They weren’t too badly damaged, even if they were covered in a bit of gore. Still usable. He had certainly worn worse.
He put the clothing on over his ruined armor, never removing the helmet that contained Bag. All too soon he looked more like some cosplayer to Joe and Trevor, rather than a terrifying super that operated along lines no one knew. And more than likely couldn’t understand.
“Ah, clothing. This feels nice,” Grim said with a smile. Then he sniffed the clothing, noting it stank of blood, bodies, and probably various drugs. “Don’t you people know that bathing regularly is a good thing?” he muttered.
“Water and resources in this district are at a premium. You won’t find showers here, and most people bathe in the ocean. If they can get close to it that is,” said Joe. “Elysium is not kind to the poor, the weak, or the infirm.”
Grim grunted. Bag was spot on with the discrepancies of tech, but he was beginning to think it was more than that. While technology itself was in wide use he was now forming the impression that most advanced technology such as medicine, weapons, and architecture, were relegated more to higher tiers of society rather than regions. He wouldn’t be surprised if he visited some of those farms he noticed on the outskirts of the city only to find tractors plowing the fields rather than drones.
“Right. Well, we need to opt ourselves right the fuck out of that category then,” Grim responded. “I am going to head back. I’m in the old steel mill… industrial building thing that way,” he said pointing down the street. “Can’t miss me.”
Joe nodded and began dragging Trevor away. “Got it. We will come find you as soon as we get our things. I doubt the Hounds will bother us now that you’ve wiped out a good portion of them.”
“Thanks, but that was kind of obvious,” he quipped back.
He quickly made his way back to the steel mill, walking in through the double doors only to stop in his tracks. Inside, examining the still kneeling imps, were three supers. Their spandex and armored costumes gave them away as obvious heroes.
“Can I fucking help you?” he said loudly, causing the trio to jolt away from the muscled demons.
Bag was roaring with laughter,
“Shut it,” he grunted back mentally. He didn’t see the newly born succubus.
“This is private property criminal, owned and operated by a company who has asked us to remove you. Come with us quietly and we can get you a nice warm cell at the Max,” said the male super in the center. He was dressed in green with a quiver on his back with tight… tights. Tights that were far too tight.
“You know I can see your nuts, right? Man, how do you get in and out of those pants?” grim complained, gesturing at the man’s crotch.
The man next to him started to snicker, only to go silent at a glare from the wanna be archer. The woman on the other side, however, had no inhibitions about knocking the moron down a peg or two.
“I told you that your costume was stupid. The designers told you it was stupid. You need to listen,” she snapped as the man turned beat red.
“Damn, I bet you would get on a list or two just walking down the street,” Grim said, provoking him further. “I would stay away from parks and schools if I were you.”
The jolly green archer, who wasn’t so jolly at this point, drew an arrow and knocked it. He released it just as the woman started forward with wide eyes while screaming, “He is resisting arrest!”
Grim caught it several inches from his face.
“That wasn’t very fucking polite,” he growled as the three stared at him in shock. “Come into a man’s home and shoot arrows at his face? You’re a prick. So here, consider this option two. Return to sender.”
Turning it around in his hand and gripping the center of a shaft like a paper airplane, he threw the arrow back at the archer. Who didn’t dodge. It took him in the center of his forehead and sunk all the way to the feathers on the shaft. The arrowhead and a full inch of the arrow itself erupted out of the back of his skull in a shower of bone and brain matter.
The woman’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed. The man, however, sprang into action. He was fast. Way, way faster than Grim was. He blurred around the dead and crumbling archer, grabbed the woman, and sped out the front doors faster than he could even begin to formulate a response.
“Well shit. That’s not good,” he muttered, wondering if they should leave or stay. His gaze went from the dead super to the two imps. An evil, malicious idea began forming in his mind. Oh yeah, they would stay. This place was too good to give up to mere visitors.
And everyone who stopped by to visit would die.