Erich walks in breathless silence beside Austin. Battle outside rings through his ears like he stood there with them; their shrieks, cries and roars coalesced with the constant shot of bullets and blasters and with each step their horrid sounds only seem to grow closer. Steadying his grip around his BlastKnuckles, Erich watches the backs of the goons ahead of him, their arms, legs and expression tell what lies at each turn more than his ears do. The two ahead of him and Austin are equipped with an edged axe and a BoltPistol, efficient weapons capable of scouring through any enemies before they become a problem for either he or Austin to resolve. A single goon watches their backs, cross-checking rooms they’ve passed by and reserving his Sweeper Shotgun for any lucky Beastard that makes it past Austin’s Blaster.

Linear fluorescent lights hum as they prowl the last corridor before the stairs. The goons ahead kick doors open, poke around closets and call them clear before moving on, Austin makes sure to have a second opinion before following at a cautious pace down the stairs.

“Neil should be ahead of us.” He says to no one in particular.

Neil should be. They searched only one side of the building and left the other to Neil’s crew, whether he’s still up on the top floor searching for Lynx members or far ahead of them it didn’t make much of a difference either way— as it stood neither group reports contact with the enemy and the gunshots have stayed outside the factory. The lack of encounters made Erich as tense as he’d been coming face to face with the Lynx himself even though the meta-human is securely locked up at Hielo, the expectation of an enemy skirting across his line of sight, roaring bared fangs at him with full intent to kill and devour sent his heart beating paces faster than usual. Although, that might be the residual Vie left in his bloodstream acting up again.

The goons ahead of Austin come to a halt and Erich lingers his thumb on his BlastKnuckles, readying jolts of electricity for a skirmish. It’s premature as not a Beastard comes in sight but the goons crinkle their noses at the wafting stench of primal beings. The combine of urine and manure damp earth slaps Erich in the face soon after, the thick musk of ammonia and growing mold was impossible to miss or withstand without flinching or gagging.

“Ugh, fuck, she must be close.” Austin says, nodding at the goons to lead the way, reluctant as they might be. The echoes and explosions from outside subdued the chorus of barks and hoots coming from the floor below. In the cacophony of sounds Erich can only look ahead and pray he doesn’t go deaf.

At the end of the steps the factory opens up, a corridor splits it in two from where the stairs end. On either side of the corridor is an open space revealing the floor below it and the mess of cages, pens and all round zoo-like arrangement for animals and monsters of their targets mutations. Dogs overgrown to the size of wolves, bursting with bones their flesh can’t withstand, cats with longer bodies than they should and fur crackling with electricity, monkeys with claws at the end of their three tails and arms thickened with muscles fitting of a gorilla.

Erich shudders at the thought of having any one of these creatures loose on them, though that’s exactly what’s been happening since Vertigo invaded Lynx territory. And now they’re here, searching for the one meta-human responsible for fending them off with her crude mutations as much as Lynx’s presence would.

Tareh, the strongest Genomancer in Xoxia. The Question had a segment on her and her abilities, she isn’t the typical villain and her position as Lynx right-hand is said to be informal, nothing as stringent as Vertigo is with TV. She singlehandedly takes on capers against zoos, veterinarian clinics and anyone she deemed abusive of animals— ironic considering the horrors of genetic modification she forces upon so many of them. Her double standards make her unreasonable to deal with when it comes to taking proper care of an animal or even owning one. Needless to say, Tareh the Genomancer is crazy and dangerous.

Austin nudges Erich’s attention back to the front, pointing at the goons creeping up on the first door on the side of the hallway. He juts upwards, revealing the shadows of Lynx members pacing back and forth in their work, oblivious to the presence lurking behind the door. Erich nods, grips his BlastKnuckles and prepares for the chaos about to ensue— it could be anyone in there, a simple lackey or Tareh herself, no matter who it was, they were here to kill.

The lead goons bust the door open and charge in without a second thought, axe and BoltPistol raised and aimed at the figures working in the chemical room. Austin charges in as well, priming his weapon to its most lethal setting as he ducks in, leading Erich and the last goon into the struggle as the first shots are fired, shattering a window beside the door.

A tendril of snakes lashes out at Erich as he enters. The axe wielding goons chops it off at the source, his axe blaring a hot edge that instantly cauterizes the offending arm of the Lynx member pinning a goon to the wall on the other side of the room. Austin takes aim at the serpentine meta hissing and biting the poor goon only to get body slammed by another. Waking himself up, Erich charges at the bulk of a man pummelling Austin into the wall, charging up his BlastKnuckles he strikes at his abdomen, sending jolts coursing through him. The brute smacks Erich aside, knocking him across the room where a third Lynx member frantically gathers chemicals and bottles of Vie into a duffle bag. Locking eyes with the pin-cushion of a man Erich gasps as he points, ready to riddle him with every single one of the spikes on his hand.

Another shot thunders through the room, blood and chunks finds splatter across Erich’s face as the pin-cushion meta drops dead, head blown off by the goons BoltPistol. Another shot, near deafening this time shatters utensils, cracks parts of the wall and blows out abdomen of the brute pinning Austin to the wall, sending him flying across the room in a spray of blood and guts. Austin wastes no time carving a hole in his chest with his Blaster once free. He turns his attention to the last and most persistent meta left, having paralysed or poisoned both the axe-wielder and BoltPistol user the serpentine meta hisses defiantly, dropping their bodies and flailing his arm of snakes defensively.

“Erich,” Austin orders without looking away from the meta on the end of his barrel, “Do it.”

By his tone Erich knows there’s no negotiating out of this. Austin’s Blaster is entirely capable of blasting through the regenerated snake limbs of the meta hissing at them but that was beyond the point. Picking himself up Erich takes a selfish gulp of air and commands, “Pause.”

At the word his powers activate, seizing the world within the room in an eerie stillness. Not a pant from Austin or a tremble from the remaining goon left with them. The barks and caws of animals still meld with the thunderous explosions and shots outside the factory, but here, in this room nothing asides Erich moves, nothing thinks or even sees. To Austin what happens next will happen in a blink of an eye but for Erich, he has ten seconds.

One. Erich steps over the pin-cushion meta. Two. Retrieves the BoltPistol from the snake bitten goon. Three. Presses the muzzle against the scaly meta-human, his chopped off arm of snakes regenerated rapidly in the few seconds between then and now, though a few remained cauterized. Four. The strain of maintaining his powers starts to kick in, a dull hum in the back of his mind where there would usually be a pounding ache— the Vie works. Five. Erich shuts his eyes and pulls the trigger, boring a hole into the meta’s head with the thunderous bullet. Once the bullet leaves the gun and by extension, Erich’s hands his powers force it to a stop, leaving him to watch the ignited bullet slowly burn and burrow into the meta’s skull before he steps to the side and releases his hold on time.

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The meta melts to the ground after a second of unpaused time, as though only registering his death and the splatter of brain matter against the wall behind him in short delay. As the meta crumples at Austin’s feet, he searches around for Erich only to find him standing right beside him with the BoltPistol hanging loose in his hand.

Austin takes an assured breath and nods, “Keep that, it’s yours now.”

“I don’t want it.”

“I know but you could have saved the one who did if only you did this at the start.” Austin says, strapping his Blaster in its holster as Erich stumbles back against another bloodied wall, “Two of us dead already and you could have ended it all before it started, Erich. I don’t understand you, why wouldn’t you use your powers? Why do so many have to die before you put a stop to it?”

Sneering as he slides down to a crouch, Erich bites back, “Just because I have power doesn’t mean I’m saddled with responsibility, least of all responsibility to a gang of killers. I’m not a murderer and I’m no meta-human villain either. I thought you of all people would understand that.”

“Understand what? That you’re better than us?”

“What? No, I-”

“Then what? You choose to sell Vie but not pick up a gun and end the threats to the family that’s kept you alive and well? No one forced you to come to us, no one forced you to stop Lynx either but you did, why? Why then when you refused every other time you could’ve helped? Why at the last moment?”

“Because it hurts! I told your father that it hurt and he listened then, it hurts now too and if I’m not careful I’ll die fighting some fight that has nothing to do with me and I’ll never get to see my mother.”

Austin stares down at Erich with some measure of anger and disgust, “Your mother is gone, Erich, we’re all you have left.”

“I don’t believe that.” Erich says, turning away from him and the scene of gore splayed around the lab.

“Uh, boss?” the last standing goon interrupts whatever response Austin had.

He turns over to the shotgun wielding man and sneers, “What?”

“They’ve got all this Vie, think we should take it?” the goon says, gleefully wrapping his hands around the duffle bag the spiked meta was packing.

“Of course we should but now…you know what? Just take it, get to the roof and stay alive as long as you can. Help TV with some vantage shots if you can, Erich and I will wrap things up here.”

“You sure boss? I can-”

“Go!”

Not needing to be told a third time the goon straps the bag over and hustles his way out, saluting his fallen comrades with a selfish grin as he does. Erich scoffs and picks himself off the ground, the room was beginning to stink more of blood than the foul stench of Tareh’s beasts or the chemicals used to cook up the Vie.

“Where to now, boss?”

“Where else? We find Tareh and kill her, if you can manage that you’ve got your way out of Xoxia to continue this wild goose chase of yours. Wish you luck.” Austin pulls his Blaster and brushes past Erich on the way out, searching the hall and open space for something before wordlessly marching out towards the set of stairs at the end.

Wiping the splatter of blood from his face, Erich tries not to gag as he follows after Austin. Xoxia news, the Question’s podcast and just living in his neighbourhood has exposed him to enough gore to be desensitized, but being responsible for it is another ball game entirely. Austin seems to abandon all pretence of stealth as the rounds of gunshot outside lessen and the explosions become infrequent— TV must be rounding up or he’s being pushed back, hard to say without checking up on the meta. He stalks his way down the stairs and halts just before the bottom, turning to ensure Erich is shushed as he strains to listen in on someone in the room beside them, a tasks that’s made ridiculously difficult by the incensed barking and yapping of the mutated animals banging and thrashing against their cages and chains.

“What are you listening for?” Erich whispers, “I thought we were here to murder not spy.”

“Shush! Now’s not the time to be snarky.” He snaps and as he turns his face ahead he catches glimpse of two figures creeping down the stairs on the other side of the factory, “Neil’s here, lost a few of his men too, shit.”

Erich looks over and true enough, behind the cage of some rhinoceros looking creature, Neil and one goon stick to the walls, blood smeared all over his gauntlets.

At least he let out his anger. Austin oscillates his watch over at Neil, it glimmers a light that catches his attention enough to see Austin shooing him away. Something Erich finds confusing until the feral screams of animals all fall silent in unison.

“Just a minute, please, I need to see what’s going on out there.” A soft voice says as a door slides open.

Austin shoves Erich back up the stairs, tip toeing all over to the middle where they can’t be spotted all the while cursing Neil’s name under his breath. Erich, curious bee sneaks a glimpse of the short woman in a lab coat standing on the edge of the field of manure, dung and scattered feathers. She has a short cursory look over her animals who sit in utter silence before two more figures step out of the room Austin was pressed to eavesdrop on.

“We’ve given Lynx all the backup you asked for and more, Tareh.” One of the figures cloaked in dark shawls says and both Erich and Austin share a look; it’s too quiet. Austin whispers into his watch, straining for TV to pick up as he eyes grow large with panic.

Erich gulps as the two flanking Tareh press their hand on her shoulders, “Are you ready to join-!” The figure on the left waves a hand over the three of them, summoning a green blue stratified shield just as the walls cave into the trailer ploughing through the factory at full speed.

Austin grabs a hold of Erich and skips up the stairs as it shatters beneath their feet, snow, blood and debris ricochets throughout the factory, shattering cages and crushing animals within indiscriminately. Thrown to safety, Erich picks himself up with the help of twisted rail bars, head pounding, ears ringing and blood rushed with adrenaline he searches for Austin and finds him stuck under slanting debris, his leg trapped underneath three slabs of concrete and half of a lab desk where the stairwell used to be— he couldn’t make it out in time.

“Austin!” Erich scrambles over and instantly loses his footing as his feet sinks into a hole in the cracked floor, rebar slices his leg open. Hissing at the wound Erich looks back at Austin, his head bloodied, nearly smashed in by the offensive rock rolled to the side of him. Cursing as he limps, Erich plops beside him and shoves, “Austin, Austin wake up. Please!”

Austin’s watch shimmers with message after message from TV and Neil, vibrating away as his head pours out blood. A round of gunshots and whimpers are the first sounds to return as his ears stop ringing, Erich spares a look over the railing to find armoured men equipped with rifles stronger than anything he’s seen gangs wield putting down the growling and loose mutations. Several of them are torn up already though, arms and legs strewn about as a beast of teeth and claws roars and smites the enforcers down.

“Find her! She’s the one controlling- Ah! Ahck!” A four armed monkey leaps onto the enforcer, stabbing his crotch with a clawed tail and ripping his head off his shoulder with all four arms before being torn apart by bullets and blasters bolts.

How long…it just happened! Erich puts aside the thought of how long he’s been knockout and sizes up the weight of concrete and granite crushing Austin’s legs. There’s no way he can lift it even with his basic meta-human strength it’s far too much, but he tries anyway. Fitting his fingers underneath the slab he pulls with all his might an immediately finds consequence as blood gushes out from the wound on his leg.

He stops and snatches Austin’s watch to speak into it, “Call TV! Call Neil!” The damned thing refuses to respond to his command, “Fucking speech recognition! Austin, wake up, I need you to call for help, please!” He never thought he’d regret never picking either of their contacts, they weren’t friends and he only cared enough to respect Austin for vouching for him. Cursing and pulling at his hair Erich wishes his powers could take him back in time a few minutes, just a few.

Shoving Austin does nothing but toss droplets of blood from his head and his face seems to grow pale with each passing second. Erich glances over the rail where the enforcer continue to engage Tareh’s creatures. They might be my only hope.

They’d arrest Austin for sure, toss him in some other messed up penitentiary because he doesn’t have powers and charge him with life for just being at the scene but he’ll live.

He’ll live!

Decided, Erich threads over to the rail, searching for someone not wrapped up in the fight to ask for help but there’s none. Each and every one of them either cower at the raging ape-rhino combination or angrily fire at its nigh impenetrable bone skewered skin. Dread pits his stomach as a thought, a name and contact comes to mind.

Erich lifts his watch and commands, “Call Steve.”

“Erich!” A familiar voice calls out on the other side of the broken hallways, rebar stretches limply between the gaps. Garbed in the same tactical attire of the M.C.U is none other than Cynthia, the Frost Bitch.