The Vespidian
Arc 7, Healthy Green Glow, Chapter 17
“You are leaving?” asked the woman, growing eyes all over.
“Yes, we are,” I replied.
“Take me with you. Don’t leave me here.”
She seemed very distressed. It was understandable considering her circumstances. She had been kidnapped and mutated. No doubt they were trying to brainwash her with their wacko religion. Well, having been in a similar situation myself, I could relate. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth to just leave people. However, she would slow us down, and besides, the hero league was coming so she would be saved. Then, I remembered exactly why I was in such a rush to get out of here. All of these people were going to be shipped to the Institute. Unless I had been lied to, that was not a happy place. Could I, in good conscious leave these people here? No. Damn this bleeding heart. I didn’t have time for this.
“Alright, who wants to come with us? This is your last chance, so speak up.”
Naturally, Eyegirl wobbled her way over. None of the others moved though, except the puddle of human flesh. I diverted my eyes. Don’t look at it, don’t make eye contact. Surely that thing is not sentient and it just twitched, right? Oh god, it is gurgling at us. Unless that is a plea of kill me, I will do my best to ignore it. I mean fuck. If I was like that just kill me and get it over with. So, I guess no takers. Well, I did try. With that, we left those poor souls to some fate which may or may not have been worse than death. I don’t really know how bad it is so I will just ham it up here. Gotta look out for number one.
“Sucker lead us out of the enclave and then we will follow Dr. Crypto,” I said.
He nodded, leading us out of the ramshackle building. We certainly were a strange group. Two wasp monsters, a giant talking roach, a crazed fanatic with tentacles and a woman growing eyes from just about everywhere. Truly a strange group indeed.
This place was oddly calm. There wasn’t any fighting between the freaks and they seemed to be getting along rather well. If their cult wasn’t so violent to outsiders, they probably could have lived in peace down here undisturbed. That being said, from what I have pieced together they are likely plotting to nuke the city. Like a rabid dog, you just gotta put these sorts of things down before they can hurt people.
Just when we were making our way to the exit my old pal Whiskers decided to make an appearance. Well, well, well. If it isn’t the traitor. What brings you here? Ready to stab me in the back again? You little rat bastard! He squeaked and happily chattered. I ain’t falling for that shit again. Low and behold a rat man appeared. He was a mangy sort. Scraps of fur missing and scars. He was an unclean creature and I could smell him from a distance.
“Packrat!” Declared Sucker undulating his tendrils menacingly.
Uh oh. What are you doing, you idiot? We are trying to sneak out of here. Not cause a scene. Packrat looked between us, “Where are you taking them?”
Sucker faltered. I should have figured. He was a pushover to begin with. I sighed. It is just a rat man, I can take that should things reach that point. I glanced up at Astrea who looked annoyed. It seemed that she was taking her cues from me. She loomed, reeking of aggression. Whiskers got the hint, growling back. If things continued this way, then this would only end in violence.
“Packrat we are just going to meet Dr. Arbor. You know who that is right?”
“I do. What business do you have with her?”
“Eyegirl here is not doing well, so we were going to get her checked out.”
He gave her a glance and her face hardened under the scrutiny. “No can do. Nuclear Knight said nobody can leave right now.”
“Nuclear Knight is a false prophet! His words are lies!” yelled Sucker. Ah fuck. Now you grow a backbone? Just long enough to screw us over.
His words echoed out into the room drawing all the gazes from varied entities. I can’t exactly call them humans and calling them something else just seemed insulting. At any rate, our cover was blown, thanks to Sucker. Yeah, he is definitely not getting any of my Waifu after this shit. There was only one logical thing to do, run. However, this was an illogical situation and they would be expecting that. Fortunately, it seems that Nuclear Knight is not here at the moment. So I had to do the unexpected. Double down on the crazy. These people are nut jobs if I can convince them that Dr. Arbor’s lab is akin to the holy land, then I am in business.
“What are you-” started Packrat before I cut him off, raising my hands and shouting, “Rejoice, followers of the false prophet, for salvation has come! Cast down your idols and heretical god for the one true god has come!”
“One true god?” the gathered mutants looked at each other.
I wiggled all my head-tendrils, “Lord Helix has come to lead you to the light! Only his tentacles can clutch our souls from the darkest pits of sin! What sort of god lets his people live in squalor and cower below the surface of the earth, where not even the sun shines? Lord Pluton is an evil being who has ensnared you and your fellows with his honeyed words and empty promises. He wishes destruction upon the world and is deceiving you into furthering his goals. Cast down this vile being who imprisons you!”
“The Everglow is our salvation!” cried out several of them.
Hmm, I thought so. “Tell me, what must you do to earn your place in this Everglow?”
“We must do the Lord’s bidding! Through our deeds of faith, we shall be saved!”
“And how do you know what his bidding is?”
“The Reverend tells us! He knows the will of the Lord.”
I cast my hands out, “His words are filled with ill intent. This Lord, he speaks to is evil! What compassionate god would allow his followers to suffer in this dank place?”
“This is a trial to prove our Faith!” cried out several of them, “Hold fast, Pluton shall deliver us from this pretender!”
I declared, “Lies! Open your eyes. There is no Everglow. The only thing awaiting you is death and despair in this rotten hell hole! Join me in the exodus to the holy land where the earth is fertile and no one shall judge you based on your outer appearances. It is your souls that shall be judged. We shall live in peace and prosperity rather than famine and war.”
Several of them started crying, while others grew angry but dared not attack due to the mass behind me known as Astrea. It seems I am swaying the more skeptical of the flock. They must see that living down here is terrible. Packrat had backed off. He wasn’t really disturbed by my claims, in fact, he didn’t seem to really care what I was saying. Was he not a religious crazy? That could put a wrench in my gear or it could help me.
“You shall not sully Lord Pluton’s name!” cried out several of them.
“Your god is weak! If he were truly real and watching over you then he would strike me down now. He would smite me into oblivion for that is his way, is it not? Yet he does nothing while I slander his name and call him false. You have all been deceived, your good faith has been used against you for evil.”
“What is going on here?” asked a deep voice from our side. My blood ran cold when I saw Nuclear Knight returning from where ever he had been. Shit, shit. Oh fuck.
I was already in deep, time to double down again. “The False Prophet returns to whisper is lies into your innocent ears. Listen not to this wolf in Shepard’s clothes. He has led all of you astray and onto a dark path where only damnation awaits!”
“What nonsense do you speak?” He roared back, getting closer. “The holy glow is all around us. Pluton is with us, my brothers and sisters. Listen not to this seductress leading you from the path of the righteous!”
“The only path you tread is to damnation and eternal torment! Lord Pluton is a vile and twisted abomination who uses you for his gains! The only ones who will burn in nuclear hellfire are those who would spread it!”
“The Lord gave us light, the Lord is our light in the darkness! His holy glow encompasses us and strengthens us! The Everglow awaits the faithful and the deep dark awaits those who fall from his path! Repent now and be saved!”
I screeched, “Your souls will be forfeit and the lake of hellfire shall consume you if you continue this path. Turn back now or forever be lost! Save yourselves from this man’s lies. If he truly cared for you then why must you hide in the sewers and scrounge for scraps, while everyone else walks the earth and bathe in the light of the sun?!”
Nuclear Knight seemed to be fuming, the mist plumed out from around him, “I have had enough of you and your lies little one. By Pluton be purged!”
“See! He resorts to violence when his words fail! He is an agent of evil!” I screamed, retreating from the encroaching wall of green.
Eyegirl cried, “What are you doing? We are all going to die!”
She kinda had a point. Looks like my plan backfired a bit. We are going to need a miracle or something to get out of this. My antennae twitched, hearing something. It was faint under the hissing and ranting. A banging sound? I peered where it was coming from, over to the side of where Nuclear Knight and his flock of crazies were. I saw a familiar face, Sheila? She was waving and making hand gestures. I couldn’t really tell what she was trying to get across. It almost looked like she was shooing me away. Is she telling me to run?
Before I had long to ponder her coded message I noticed movement from the entrance behind Nuclear Knight. Fire Chief! And he wasn’t alone. I am saved! That sure is a lot of guns though, hey, hey, where are you guys pointing those things? It is me, Mecha Fairy, you know, your friend? I am here. I waved and that was when they fired. Something hit my hand and I looked down.
All my elation turned instantly to dread as I stared at the frozen hand. Ow, you twat! Watch your fire! Why are they shooting me? If we stick around then we are going to get iced. My thoughts scattered as another bullet clipped off the tip of one of my antenna. I screamed. Time to blow this pop stand! I mounted Astrea, leaping onto the back of her head and grappling the tentacles like reigns. She shivered when I did and they coiled around me. Oops, sorry. I know they are sensitive. I reached down, snagging Dr. Crypto before he could escape and secured him between me and her. I directed her and we turned heel to the opposite entrance from where Nuclear Knight and the hail of bullets were coming from.
She lunged forward on all sixes, surging across the empty space, bullets ricocheting off her thick carapace. I could see a couple spots where frost had started to form. She bulldozed through a hut. It reminded me of Godzilla taking out Tokyo. The thing might as well have been made of paper with the way she manhandled it. She put her shoulder into it and knocked down the barrier to the tunnel outside. Wordlessly, I shook our guide and he managed to point to our left. We ran. We ran as fast as we could away from the screams and yells. It was not exactly what I had in mind for a distraction, but it would work. The echoing gunfire did not seem to be growing any further away. I glanced over my shoulder and saw why.
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I had not seen when, but Sucker had managed to grapple onto one of Astrea’s back legs, getting dragged with us. People had taken our cue and ran like hell. Packrat and that weird lady with an arm sticking out of her back were running as fast as they could after us. The only one able to keep up was Packrat, the others were trailing behind. A little farther back from the lady, Nuclear Knight led a smaller group. He… he was covering our escape. He laid down a wall of radiation cutting off the tunnel behind us. That would buy us some time. Flaming bullets still penetrated through, cutting down some of the stragglers. He lifted them up, carrying those that he could on his back.
Well, I guess he does look out for his followers. Thanks to his efforts the Hero League couldn’t follow us. That seriously feels weird to say. Something must have happened after I got abducted and they changed the plan. I wonder why they were using inferno and cryo rounds? Could it be they figured out that Nuclear Knight was weak to fire and ice respectively?
“Why are you following us?!” I yelled back at them.
“You seem to know where you are going!” Yelled back Packrat.
“Fuck you, get your own getaway plan!”
“What happened to that great exodus you were talking about?”
“What, now you believe me?”
“Not really, I am just trusting your survival instincts.”
I scowled at him. “We are just running blindly, stop following us.”
“Bullshit. You knew they were coming and were ready to run.”
“I am being tracked so if you stay with us they will find you no matter what so leave us alone!”
“You are being tracked? Wait, then-”
“Yes. They found your base cause you took me in, against my will I might add.”
“You bitch!”
“Hey, fuck off you rat bastard! I never wanted to stay in your funny farm, to begin with. It is your own damned fault for forcing me to stay.”
He had a sour look on his face, but didn’t have anything to say. I guess he realizes it is their fault. Better late than never. We rounded a corner to find a split. I held up Dr. Crypto like a divining rod and he pointed to the left. We bolted ahead, trying to lose our unwanted company. The rat was persistent, speaking of rats, Whiskers was doggedly following us. Get lost you filthy animal! I shook my fist at him, glaring as harshly as I could. He wouldn’t make eye contact. Ah ha. So he knows he did wrong. You traitorous swine how dare you follow me when the going gets tough.
Astrea skidded to a stop and I looked forward to see why. We had come to a dead end. I looked around, but it didn’t appear that there was anywhere to go. Oh, fuck me. Did we take a wrong turn?
“What the hell? I thought this was the right way?” I glared at Dr. Crypto.
Packrat stopped just behind us, “You, you led us into a trap!”
“Don’t like it, then beat it! You mangy animal.”
He didn’t take kindly to that. Packrat and Whiskers entered what I could only assume were attack stances. Showing your true colors yet again, eh rat? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I knew better than to trust vermin like you! I guess words can only go so far. I glanced at Sucker.
“Hey, you wanna take out Packrat?”
He looked a little winded from being rag-dolled around, but Sucker nodded with determination. Oh, then that means it is just you and me, Whiskers. I am going to get you this time! He squealed retreating. He could sense my killing intent. You better run, you little shit. I stomped after him and the rat took off, scurrying into a sewage pipe to the side. A coward as always. I got down there looking in the hole. It was actually rather small. I couldn’t fit. You little… I scowled. He got away.
I glanced over at the fight between former brothers. It wasn’t really my concern, even if Sucker lost, then Astrea or I could deal with that rat man. My eyes narrowed on the roach, he retreated to the corner with his back to the wall and I lifted him up.
“You sold us out didn’t you?!” I yelled, shaking him.
“I didn’t, it is here!”
“I don’t see it!” I smashed him against the wall, grinding his carapace into it. I could hear it cracking under the pressure.
Whoa, whoa, hey. I think you should just calm down. We are being really weird right now.
‘Fuck off, Sub. I don’t wanna hear it right now. We need to escape or else Astrea will be taken from us!’
I think Astrea is doing something to us. It is like she is controlling us or something.
‘What the fuck are you talking about? How could that innocent little love bug who just wants to cuddle us with tentacles be controlling us?’
Maybe she is not doing it on purpose?
‘Eh? How?”
Well, what is the first thing that crosses your mind when you think of her?
I stopped and thought on it, ‘I, I love her. I want her babies.’
Yeah, I know. See isn’t that weird?
‘How is that weird? We are the same species for fuck sake.’
Sub seemed to be mulling it over. She came to a conclusion. I think her pheromones are getting to us more than we first thought. Think about it, we are way more aggressive than usual and are obsessed with her.
‘Pheromones? This is love!’
You are being irrational. We have known her for a day.
‘It was love at first sight! Love is irrational. It is wild and wet and hot and… son of a bitch you’re right.’
Just think clearly, you don’t wanna kill somebody right?
I nodded to myself. Sub is right. Seriously, what is going on with me? Is Astrea using me? I don’t want to doubt her intentions. How can I be sure of what she wants or if she is even as simple-minded as I perceive her to be? For all I know, she is a master manipulator and I am dancing in her palm. I stared at her alluring form. I, I can hardly bring myself to distrust her. Surely she is the same way towards me? I mean she follows my orders. For now, we just have each other to rely on. I can sort this out later.
I eased up on the roach and set him down, taking a deep breath. Astrea just stood there, watching Sucker fight Packrat. She was watching rather intently. His tentacles lashed out, bashing into the ground, narrowly missing the agile ratman. Packrat swiped with his dirty paws, clawing at the discolored flesh of the tentacles. The two seemed evenly matched, Sucker was stronger and his skin was tougher, but Packrat was much faster and he easily avoided any significant attacks. It seemed that whoever made the first mistake would lose.
Sucker whipped his arms out and rolled them back in almost instantly, it caught Packrat off guard and one of the suckers latched onto his skin, boring into it. Now that I looked at it, his arms are basically octopus tentacles, complete with barbed suckers. I can assume that was where his name came from. They were rather effective as his arm coiled around the rat man, tightening his grip to ensure the prey did not escape. The other arm wrapped around him and started flexing to crush his bones.
“Alright, alright, that is enough,” I said, trying to break it up.
“You want me to stop? But he attacked us and sullied Lord Helix’s name.”
“Hey now, don’t kill in Lord Helix’s name that is not how he works.”
Sucker was debating it. Jeez, just how much does he hate Packrat? What the hell did you do to him? I mean depending on the answer it might be well warranted for him to snuff out that rat. Neither of us came to a definitive answer when a green glow washed over the corridor, Nuclear Knight had arrived with his followers in tow. He took one look at the scene before raising his hand and blasting Sucker with a gust of radiation. He fell back reeling and letting Packrat go.
He shook his head, “This is truly the end of days. When Brother fights Brother and demons roam the land freely. The blood of the world shall flow and all will know Lord Pluton’s wrath.”
“Who you calling a demon?”
“You and that,” He said, pointing at Astrea. Oh hell no. Don’t you point at her, it is not nice to point at others.
“Hey, you guys followed us. I don’t wanna hear your preaching.”
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, stop quoting overused verses and take your rat and scram. We want none of whatever the hell you are peddling.”
“You think I am going to simply let a demon like you walk away and corrupt the minds of others? You are a dark apostle and must be purged with the wrath of Pluton!”
“You are fucking nuts you know that? Look, I don’t wanna fight you, so just go your own way.”
“You seek to deceive me? I will not fall for your games wretch.”
“I am telling you-” I started before he shot out a lump of radioactive goop.
I blocked it with my lower left arm. The carapace warped and bubbled melting where it touched. Holy fuck, it hurts! I screamed, clutching it and Astrea bristled with killing intent. We need to run. This guy is too much. Damn it, she seems pretty intent on fighting him. It also doesn’t help that he is blocking our only exit. It is him or us. Packrat was still recovering after getting hit in the crossfire. I grabbed him up as a human shield. Astrea moved first, come to think of it, this is the first time I had seen her actually attack something seriously.
She lunged forward, even faster than Packrat had been moving. Her claws dug into the armor, tearing it wide open. Nuclear Knight… he was a withered mummy in that thing. The glowing green fog erupted out sizzling at her and she reeled back, covering her face to keep it from getting burned. This didn’t look good. We couldn’t get near him. The corrosive substance had already filled the area around him and was closing us in. Surely there was something in the environment to help us here… nothing. There was nothing here.
Fuck. Fuck. Think, damn it, think! He is a villain, but he cares about his followers, right? I stared down at Packrat, who struggled meekly in my grasp. Oh, I have a plan. It is not going to be pretty though. My antennae twitched, catching Astrea’s attention. “We go in together.”
She seemed to understand, but at the same time, I could not be sure if she really understood. It was a gamble, but at this point, we didn’t have a choice. I hurled Packrat at Nuclear Knight and he pulled back the mist, trying to not kill his friend. Astrea and I moved at the same moment, darting into the breach left by the mist. Our claws tore through the desiccated body, sending a scream radiating out from him. We crushed and mangled and ripped apart the suit and body, scattering pieces all over. Without his acid mist he was nothing.
We, we did it. We actually beat him! I mean, how the fuck could he have survived that? I turned to Astrea smiling, but it scrunched up when I realized something was wrong. The radiation had not dissipated. If anything, it had become more concentrated. Oh shit, I forgot that he could turn himself into a gas! Dear Helix, he has ascended beyond physical constraints! That is not fair! That is cheating, how the fuck are we supposed to beat that!? We were fucked from the start.
We retreated to the dead end, cornered as the wall of corrosive vapor edged forward. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. My eyes swam over the surroundings as my options ran short. Dr. Crypto had backed himself away near the center of the wall. I grabbed him up.
“Where is the entrance?!”
“It is right here!”
“There is nothing here.”
“Of course, there is nothing, did you think it would be out in the open?”
“Then how do we get in?!”
“Only Dr. Arbor can open it.”
“You say this now? Holy fuck, Astrea break down that wall!” I screamed, punching the brick.
It didn’t feel right, too hard to be concrete. It was like metal. Could this be camouflage? She understood, bringing back her muscular arms and slamming them into the concrete. Bits and pieces shattered away as her claws got purchase and she ripped a hole in the metal. It really was a metal door, I guess that means we were on the right track. She flexed with all her might and tore the illusionary wall down. Within lay stainless steel walls going down a corridor.
I didn’t have to be told twice and scuttled in followed by Astrea and Dr. Crypto. The green glow crept in as well, Nuclear Knight had not given up yet. At the end of the hallway, a pair of doors opened to our approach. We hurried in finding a moderately sized chamber with another set of thick doors on the other side. They were closed and would not open. There didn’t appear to be any way to open them. No handle, keypad, lever, or buttons. We were trapped yet again. Why can’t things just go my way?
If he is mist, then wouldn’t he be vulnerable to wind? I mean clouds get blown around all the time and shit. I flapped my wings and it created a small gust, pushing back the encroaching green wall. Astrea stared in amazement at my wings… you have some too you know? Oh, she has been down here in the sewers so she likely doesn’t even know how to use her wings. They are mangy and ripped in places, holes, and tears where she had gotten into fights with things. I don’t think Astrea has regeneration. If she did then those would have been healed already instead of scarred over.
Well, this is bad. I was banking on her bigger wings being able to help hold Nuclear Knight at bay. I thrummed my wings creating a steady flow of air. It was working, forcing him out. He had somewhat condensed into a humanoid form and grasped the sides of the entrance to keep from being blown away. This was tiring. The muscles ached and burned from the exertion. If I was just flying then it would be easy, but purposefully creating a draft took a lot more energy. My wings cramped up and froze up. Ah shit.
Nuclear Knight bolstered his form filling the other half of the room. Trapped like rats, yet again. I fucking hate the sewers. A sound echoed and the door behind him closed shut sealing. Now why the fuck couldn’t that have happened when he was outside!? I looked around, why did that just close? I noticed that the ceiling and floor were lined with vents. I could fit in there, Astrea could not though, she was much too big. I bit my lip, I could live if I abandoned her. No, I won’t do that. The vents emitted a gas, blue in color and thick enough to cut with a knife. I guess it is a good thing that I did not go in there. Nuclear Knight washed over us like a wave of agony.
The mist covered us and everywhere that it touched seared, melting and oozing. Her carapace was holding up better than mine. I reached for her and the arm turned to mush, falling off. Oh… oh fuck. I can’t regenerate that. Every breath burned, my lungs on fire from the corroding chemicals filling them. I, I am going to die. I don’t wanna die! What the hell is this bullshit! It hurts, it hurts so much. I won’t, I won’t die down here. Have to escape. My legs gave out and I crumpled to the wet ground. Astrea huddled over me, trying to shield me. It won’t help, but I know she truly cares. She should have run, should have left me. She could have saved herself, instead we will both die together. I don’t feel good about this, but at the least this time I am not melting all alone.
You haven’t been alone for a long time now. Keep it together. I don’t know how much more I can take.
I felt so sleepy and warm. Everything started getting dark, going in and out. How long has passed? Strangely, I was not hurting so much now. Could it be that all my nerve endings have been seared off? My eyes stuttered, blinking. For some reason, the green mist was now blue. Did the stuff coming out of the vents overpower Nuclear Knight? Are my eyes so fucked that the colors are changing?
A figure loomed over me. Astrea? No, it was Neon Nurse? Astrea lay to my side unmoving and there was somebody else there too. I squinted trying to see through the haze and darkening world, I know those chromatic eyes anywhere. Dr. Arbor. Better late than never.