3 days later

To the average Joe, it was another not so peaceful night in Vermilion City.

Though the skies were clear, it was hard to make out the stars due to the ever persistent lights of the city.

There were gunshots, explosions and even a soul shaking roar off the distance, but those were the sounds that made this city famous.

What did not share the energetic city was the Vermilion City Scrapyard.

Normally it was as chaotic and blood thirsty as the rest of the city, but it has been deathly silent since yesterday.

Based on heat signatures, electric current and even motion sensors that were pointed at Theodore Lorne's facility for a week now, there was no sign of life.

This made the higher ups uneasy and made them send a 25 man infiltration team to see what's up.

And as the one who understood Theo the most in this group, Dorothy Boreal felt more unease than all of the higher ups combined.

She was chosen for this mission because of 3 factors.

1. There was a world ending event happening on Mars at the moment. Something about a high tech ancient looking facility (yes, confusing I know) suddenly appearing at the top of Olympus Mons.

Since the big guns were pointed elsewhere, the B team was sent to deal with the minor annoyance.

2. Dorothy was one of the few people who was trained in the same fighting style as Theo.

As such, they hoped that she could predict his movements.

Naturally, she stated outright that Theo's way of combat was vastly different from that of Crows. There's no way he'd fight in a manner she was familiar with.

3. Dorothy was once Theo's lover. Emphasis on the past tense.

Maybe they were hoping that their history together would make Theo hesitate when fighting against her.

Once again, the truth was significantly less rosy than that.

Speaking from experience, Theo would indeed hesitate to kill Dorothy. That much was certain.

However, he'd probably beat her within an inch of her life. Once he was done disabling her, he'd proceed to annihilate everyone else in the field.

In all honesty, she was terrified of how little she knew of the real Theo.

"Hey Shadow, you alright?" asked one of the guys via coms.

Based on the tone of his voice, it was clear that there was a hint of love in those words.

"I'm fine Wraith. No need to worry." replied Dorothy.

"Stop flirting in the coms you lovebirds." said Arsenal, an A Rank Superhero and Mechanicus' #2.

He was currently on top of a tall building about 3 kilometers away from the scrapyard. He was fully kitted out in his power armor and was ready to swoop in if the need arises.

""We're not flirting!""

A chorus of snickers filled the airwaves.

Dorothy Boreal was no longer known as Vulture since parting ways with Crow.

Mind you, their partnership did not end in a sour note. It was more like their priorities were different.

While Crow was more focused on the big picture, Dorothy desired to pursue something personal.

Now known as Shadow, her main goal was to chase after Sparrow whom she considered both as a best friend and elder sister.

Her wayward adopted sister has been in a murder spree since the whole breakup with Crow.

Last confirmed sighting of her was during the Eldorado Election Incident. Rumor has it that Theo has been secretly providing her weapons and other support.

This was the main reason why Dorothy volunteered for this mission.

As for who Wraith was, he was her new boyfriend. They've been going out for about 5 months now.

He was a fellow HAA student that trained in the arts of stealth and infiltration, but it was only she and Theo drifted apart that she noticed him as more than a colleague.

One thing led to another and here they were.

"A-anyways, what do you think Shadow? Is Lorne here?" asked Wraith in an attempt to shift the conversation.

"*ahem*... The science says he's not, but my gut is telling me he is." replied Dorothy.

"Explain." said Arsenal via coms.

"Theo loves to fight. Most of his misadventures as The Boss had thrill seeking at its core. There's no way he'd pass on potential toys such as us."

"Isnt he underestimating us a little too much?" asked Cyril, a pyromancer.

"Look at his record and ask yourself if you can match that list of insanity."

"Ugh."

If it wasn't obvious from the conversation, Crow has spilled the beans on Theo's alter ego.

This happened after the whole Zifang incident.

While his involvement with the drow and the kidnapping of Jade Empire princess was a big deal, it was the weapon used to destroy the Garden of Eden that made the HAA and the Commonwealth squeamish.

Anything with the same destructive power as a nuke was bound to attract attention.

Theo had become too dangerous, hence Crow's revelation.

"So as our resident Theo expert, what's our course of action." asked Wraith.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Don't call me that! .... Anyways, I think we're already in his sights. I'm not sure how much firepower is still left in that facility of his, but I'm sure it's more than enough to tear us apart. We should retreat and rethink our approach." replied Dorothy.

"What?! We've been staking this place out for 5 hours! And you're telling us to turn back now?!" roared Cyril.

"It's only been 5 hours you know? Professional snipers could track their opponent for days and- What are you doing Cyril! Get back to cover!" said Wraith.

"It's been 3 days since anything moved in that building and it's been 5 hours since we've started sneaking in! Being overly cautious is a waste of time!"

Cyril boldly left his hiding place and walked out in the open.

Dorothy expected him to get shot but such a thing did not happen.

The pyromancer boldly stood out in the open for 5 minutes to prove a point.

"See?! NO ONE'S HERE!" roared Cyril at the top of his voice.

Fortunately, he was merciful enough not to scream into the coms.

Confused of her own misreading of the situation, Dorothy joined Cyril out in the open.

One after another the rest of the team converged on Cyril's position.

"It seems that you were wrong Shadow." said the smug Cyril.

Dorothy could only bite her lips in embarrassment and frustration.

"Now now. She did say upfront that Theo was already beyond her understanding. This mishap was within the expected range of error." replied Arsenal via the coms. "Anyways, since Theodore Lorne isnt here, we better finish up our recon mission. The facility is 5 kilometers away. Start walking"

""Yes sir."" replied the 25 man team.

As commanded, the team began their trek through the dark scrapyard.

"But still.... Do you really think Theo would fight us with the intention to kill? He was a fellow HAA after all." asked Wraith.

"Of course he will. The HAA, the city and even the Commonwealth left him to die in the Valkyrie Incident after all." replied Dorothy.

"You know that's not true Shadow. The Superheroes and the country would have helped him if it wasn't for those stupid corrupt politicians. " said Arsenal

"The behind the scenes reason or the context doesn't matter. He still had to face off against opponents vastly superior to him and win by the skin of his teeth. The betrayal is real in his perspective. And there's a reason why the deepest parts of hell are reserved for traitors."

"I see.... We really did him dirty huh."

"Yes. And while Theo is more than willing to compromise, Juno Saiga will never forgive you. The superheroes and the Commonwealth has successfully made an enemy of the future #2 powerhouse."

Arsenal and the rest of the team went silent.

Juno Saiga was one of two main reasons why the big organizations could not touch Theo.

Rumor has it that the S Rankers once went to an alternate reality where the founding members of the Superhero Alliance turned evil and ruled over the world with an iron fist.

There were only 10 of them, yet the world buckled under their might.

While there was no way to confirm this rumor and the 10 S rankers vehemently denied it ever happened, the fear of even 1 S ranker would turn rouge was very real and policies were placed to prevent this from happening.

This was why the leaders of the HAA got axed when Juno was lost to them.

She and Mary Sue were suppose to be the future leaders of the Superhero Alliance.

And now, the only reason she wasn't openly hostile to the superheroes was because of Theo.

It was quite a predicament for the higher ups.

It was clear that Theodore Lorne and his group was extremely dangerous and was growing more terrifying by the day.

However, he could be reason with as long as no one stands in his way.

On the other hand, Juno was a nuclear bomb that would go off without warning.

The HAA tried to lure her back in secret, but all attempts failed. Some of their messengers were found in many pieces scattered in the sewers.

It was clear that Juno has already chosen which branch of power she would use, but her fierce loyalty to Theo was no benefit to both the Superheroes or the Villains.

And if you add Theo's open friendship with terrifying groups such as the Nosferatu vampire clans and the Ecclesiarchy, Theo became a world power on his own right.

There were 2 types of people that could gain so much power so quickly.

A Superhero and a Supervillain.

And it was clear which side Theo belonged in.

Approximately 3 kilometers from Theo's facility, Cyril decided to break the ice.

"Man this is a waste of time. I could have been fucking my girlfriends, instead I'm here in the stinkiest place in the city." said Cyril.

The team laughed at this sudden outburst.

"No need for such vulgarity in the coms you know?" replied Arsenal.

"Said the chad that fucked the vice president."

A louder chorus of laughter echoed through the scrapyard.

"Then coming here was the wrong choice." replied someone who had a voice changer via the coms.

Before anyone could react, Cyril and the 2 walking people behind him was blown apart by a single 20x100mm Hispano-Suiza bullet through the sternum.

Fun fact: Unlike in the movies, bullets in flight cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Even when fired at night time, the bullet does not glow.

Another Fun fact: While the 20x100mm was fired from the Denel NTW-20 anti material rifle, it was originally a bullet used by Hispano-Suiza HS.404 which served in world war 2 as an anti air autocannon.

"TAKE COVER!" roared Dorothy as she dove for the nearest scrap heap.

As expected from the team that was mostly composed of HAA alumni, it only took a second of shock before the rest scrambled for cover.

Unfortunately, it seemed that their enemy predicted was no slouch and was able to kill 2 more before everyone could hide.

Another demerit for the scout team was that the area they were hiding in was mostly flat and had very little places to take cover.

"Just so you know, stuff in that area are made by materials that cannot stop my bullets."

The moment the voice said this, a bullet punched through a scrapped car and killed the one hiding behind it.

"SWITCH FREQUENCY AND RUN FOR THE BUILDING! A small heat signature is coming from on top of the roof!" said Arsenal via coms.

The team performed as ordered and made a sprint towards Theo's facility.

However, they soon realized that this was also a trap.

A week ago, the 3 kilometers around the facility was turned into a parking lot with barely anything to hide behind.

5 of the remaining 19 tried to run back the way the way they came, but was shot and killed before they could get clear.

This allowed the 14 others to reach the facility unharmed.

"Shit! What happened?!" said the panicked Wraith.

"It's the oldest sniper trick in the book. Wear down the patience of your enemy until they do something stupid. Theo got us good... Damn it!" replied Arsenal.

"Don't be so hard on yourself Arsenal. I was starting to get patient myself." replied the mechanical voice.

"H-how-?!"

"This is my playground you know? It's only natural that I have counter measures for anything I deemed dangerous. Obviously, communication is the greatest weapon in the science based power branch. No way I wouldn't have means to counter it."

While Theo and Arsenal were talking, the team split up and broke into the building at different locations.

Almost immediately, a series of explosions rocked the building to its core.

2 died from an explosive trap wired to a window.

3 died when an explosion brought down the entire cafeteria ceiling.

1 was splattered onto the ceiling of a hall when she stepped on a land mine.

"Ah. I forgot to warn you but the building is trapped to high heavens. Be careful where you step. It may be your last. And I also suggest that you hurry up getting that approval to storm in Arsenal. There wont be any of your team left if you take too long."

"Damn you Lorne! These are HAA members you hear?! You think you'll get away squeaky clean from murdering them?!" roared Arsenal.

"Yes I can. Quite easily if I may add."

"Bullshit!"

"The Valkyries got away with attempted murder by bribing the politicians. I have the their weakness in the palm of my hands. I can instantly ruin their life by either pulling the trigger or pushing a button to release a scandal. They'll gladly let this team and you die to save their hide."

"My god! Do you hear yourself speak?! You sound like a-"

"Supervillain. I know. Can we skip the worthless morality policing? I have a bunch of trespassers to kill."

After witnessing the pitiful death of their comrades, the 8 survivors used their grappling guns to climb up the side of the building.

Much to their surprise, there were no traps on the outer walls.

Since it was only a 5 story building, it didn't take long before they reached the top.

However, they soon realized that this was also a trap of sorts.

While the building had only 5 floors, it was extremely wide and covered a 2 square kilometer area.

And in the middle of that area was a machine of unnatural shape.

It was a tank sized scorpion made of jet black steel used in Theo's spydrones. It was built specifically for stealth and allowed no signals, radiation or heat to escape from its body.

On where its head was suppose to be was a turret that had 4 NTW-20's sticking out of it.

Hidden on its pincers were powerful flamethrowers that rivaled that on the Terminator Armor.

On its tail was a 152 mm howitzer used on the ww2 KV-2 tank.

"Greetings friends. Time to die."