Chapter 2: Road Queen's Rage
"Right where Double Trouble said it would be," Road Queen said as she surveyed the slave camp through her macro-oculars. "Security looks pretty light, but well armed." She handed the macro-oculars to Adora to let her get a look.
"They probably figure they don't need a lot of guards since the location's so well hidden. Plus with the mine run dry the only reason anyone would bother attacking is for a prisoner breakout."
"Doesn't seem like they're too worried about that either," Road Queen said. "They're starting to line everyone up in the main yard."
"Which means the transport should be arriving soon," Adora said in agreement.
"Okay then, time to move in," Road Queen said pulling out her gun and adjusting the setting. "We've got to get everyone out before that."
"And just how were you planning on doing that?" Adora scoffed.
"I figured either I could bomb the gate or you could knock it down as She-Ra. Between your strength and my quick shot we take out all the guards then we'll be on our way. Ten minutes tops."
Part of Adora wanted to laugh but the serious part of her won out. "It's not that simple Reina. We can't just charge in headlong with all those innocent people there. We have to treat this as a hostage situation."
"I thought you agreed to let me do this my way," Reina shot.
"Don't forget, one of those hostages may be your brother," Adora pointed out.
Road Queen sighed and holstered her gun. "How do you always know how to get to me? I'm going to have to start shaking up my routine a little."
"Don't worry," Adora smiled. "I've got an alternative plan that should suit you fine."
"I don't know. If it isn't 'beat up or kill anyone in my way' what makes you think I'll like it?"
Adora gave her an all-knowing grin. "Because it's sneaky."
Road Queen grinned back. "Sneaky is good. I can do sneaky."
The Horde Sergeant grumbled as he was shook awake by the sudden stopping of the vehicle.
"Are we there already," he yawned, anxious to get the job over with and get back to real Horde work. As far as he was concerned transporting slaves was a job that should be left to the robots.
"Not quite sir," the pilot answered, "There's a hover bike blocking the road."
The Sergeant sighed in annoyance as he opened the transport's canopy. Horde transports normally wouldn't stop to help a stranded traveler but when their vehicle is sitting in the middle of the road there's not much choice. Still assistance was not what he had in mind.
"You there, you're interfering with official Horde business. Move your vehicle now!"
So far so good, Road Queen thought. They don't recognize me. Just gotta stall another minute or two for this to work.
"If I could make it move do you think I'd still be sitting here?" she asked in a clam but smart-ass way.
"What are you even doing out here in the middle of nowhere anyway?" the Sergeant snapped with a clear sign of suspicion.
"What are you doing here?" Road Queen grinned.
"None of your concern! Out of the way!"
"No can do," Road Queen said, "Looks like neither of us are going anywhere."
"Do you have any idea how much damage this vehicle would suffer if I just let it run over you and your bike?" the Hordesman snarled. "None whatsoever!"
"Oh I don't think so," Road Queen laughed. "I know vehicles and you'd do some serious banging up to the undercarriage. Oh you may still be operational but I'd hardly call it undamaged."
"Enough of this," he bellowed, his temper run out. "Run her down!"
"I can't allow you do do that to my friend"
Before the startled Sergeant or pilot knew what was happening they were both hoisted from behind out of the transport.
"Take your time why don't you?" Road Queen snapped as She-Ra tossed the two Hordesmen to the ground. "Lucky I was able to keep him talking. I should've just blown them away from the start. The only real reason I didn't is I was afraid of messing up the uniforms. Hand them over!" she shouted to the Hordesmen holding a gun to each of their foreheads.
"You'd better do what she says," She-Ra told them. "Road Queen is real anxious to shoot someone and I don't know if I can hold off her blood lust much longer."
Shaking with fear they complied and stripped off their outer armor. Neither one had recognized Road Queen when they saw her, but knew the name by reputation and had no doubt she would take any excuse to kill them.
"Get changed and put my bike in the back," Road Queen said once they were finished. "I'll make sure these two can't cause any problems for us." She gestured for the Horde officers to move off the road and into the thick woods.
"You're not going to blow their heads off are you," She-Ra said suspiciously.
"That's up to them," Reina grinned picking a coil of rope off her bike. "I just want to get them out of sight and incapacitated so they can't mess up out plans, but if they resist..."
"We'll cooperate!" the pilot shouted quickly.
"I'm sure you will," Road Queen snickered.
"Reina, I don't like that look in your eye," She-Ra said warily.
"You can't even see my eyes!" she said pointing to her sunglasses.
"Reina..."
"I promise, as long as they cooperate, I won't shoot them," Reina said calmly. "Have I ever broken a promise to you?"
She-Ra had to admit that, crafty as she was, Road Queen had always kept her word so she finally agreed. Road Queen walked the two into the woods making them twist and turn a bit until they were well out of sight of the road. Even then though she kept them going.
"How far are you taking us?" the Sergeant said finally.
"This should be plenty," Road Queen said. Before the Hordesman knew what was happening she plunged a long knife through his back and into his heart. The pilot backed way in shock as his fellow officer fell dead and the young bounty hunter advanced on him.
"You... you promised you wouldn't kill us!"
"No, I promised I wouldn't shoot you," Reina snarled plunging the knife into his chest. "I kept my word it's not my fault no one questioned the exact wording."
Of course Road Queen knew fully well that She-Ra too had believed her promise meant she would not kill. Part of her felt guilty about deceiving her friend thusly, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. This was the real reason she had not wanted Adora to come with her on this mission. Adora always went out of her way to assure no one was seriously hurt on either side during battle, but Road Queen was in no mood to be merciful and wasn't going to hold back. This was a time for action.
Returning to where She-Ra was waiting with the slave transport Road Queen took off her coat and sunglasses, slipped the Horde officer's armor and helmet on, then re-donned her coat over the disguise.
"Uh, that's not exactly standard Horde dress code," She-Ra said.
Road Queen held open the sides of her coat showing off the various weapons stored in its pockets and lining. "Contingency plan. I want to be ready in case they don't buy it"
As luck would have it though the guards did buy it. Disguised as the transport officers the two rebels were granted entrance to the camp with no questions asked. The Horde Troopers obediently began loading the prisoners into the transport completely unaware that they were actually aiding in their escape.
"Admit it," She-Ra whispered to Road Queen, "This was a good idea."
"You got us in all right," Reina nodded, "but I'll reserve judgment until we're safely away."
"Relax. We're just a few steps away from success."
"That's usually when the ground disappears beneath your feet," she muttered. "Plus this armor is really uncomfortable!"
"I'm with you there," She-Ra said. "Just bear it a little longer, we're almost done."
"And still no sign of my brother," Road Queen snarled between clenched teeth.
"Well, you knew coming in that he might not be here,"She-Ra sighed.
"Maybe," Road Queen said looking around. "Stay with the prisoners, I'll be right back." Before She-Ra could stop her Road Queen slipped away and vanished from sight. Sneaking carefully across the compound, being careful not to draw attention to herself, Road Queen entered the main building and made her way through the winding corridors finally arriving at the institution's central computer chamber.
Without a word to the personal manning the computers Road Queen walked up to the console and began punching in commands. This naturally did not escape notice, nor did it sit well with anyone.
"Just what do you think you're doing Private?"
"Oh, what does it look like I'm doing?" Road Queen snapped, as though looking for a confrontation. "I'm plugging into the network and downloading all available information."
"This is a priority one classified network!" The Hordesman screamed. "Access is granted only to authorized Horde officers!"
"Do I look like I care?" Road Queen smirked, not stopping her work until a series of swords and laser pistols were pointed at her back. Oddly enough this made a satisfied grin spread over her face.
"Who are you," the Hordesman snapped. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm the Road Queen," she smiled. "And I've been looking for an excuse to slaughter you bastards!"
Outside She-Ra had just gotten the last prisoner of the slave mine aboard the transport when the sound of faint gunfire caught everyone's attention. It didn't take long for her to realize what was happening, but thinking quickly she also realized it might still be possible to salvage the situation.
"I'll check it out," she shouted to the Horde Troopers in the best evil voice she could muster. "You stay here and make sure none of the prisoners try to escape. Keep your weapons set on stun though, I want them all alive!"
Praying the Horde Troopers would obey her orders and, more importantly, that the prisoners would stay were they were and not try anything, She-Ra raced into the building and down to computer room. The sounds of the struggle had stopped almost as quickly as they had started and She-Ra was not looking forward to seeing the results no matter what the outcome had been.
Entering the room She-Ra's fears were confirmed as she fond every Hordesman lying sprawled out dead. Road Queen was hunched over the control panel tapping it impatiently as though it was not working fast enough for her. Considering her need for speed personality, that was undoubtedly the case. Sensing a presence behind her Road Queen spun around with her weapon drawn but recognized She-Ra before firing. A lucky thing since Road Queen had a reputation for never missing her target.
"You know better than to sneak up on me like that," She said turning back to the console.
"Damn it Reina," She-Ra said, pulling off her disguise's helmet and throwing it down in disgust. "I thought we were trying to avoid conflict!"
"First of all," Road Queen said, "Your trying to avoid conflict, I wanted to just blow them all away from the start. Second of all, they drew their weapons on me first. I just acted in self defense. If they had let me download what I needed nothing would have happened."
"Still you could have stunned them," She said snatching the gun out of Road Queen's hand. "You didn't need to kill them all!"
"You agreed to let me do this my way," she scoffed. "Besides they're not all dead."
"Who's still alive?" She-Ra asked looking around.
"The one right behind you," Road Queen said.
She-Ra spun around to see a Horde guard moving in with his sword raised for a killing blow. Before she could react however a flash of steel shot past her head. The knife flung by Road Queen flew straight into the Hordesman's neck, the blade emerging from the back and embedding itself in the wall, pinning the soldier in place as blood gushed from the wound. Death didn't take long to set in.
"Now they're all dead," Road Queen said taking her gun back. "That could've been you. Next time just let me do things my way!"
She-Ra found herself torn between gratitude to Road Queen for saving her life, and disgust at the brutal nature in which she accomplished it. She decided the best thing to do was just change the subject.
"What are you trying to get here anyway?"
"This mine is just one of a string of secret facilities the Horde has set up all over Etheria. They're on a separate network than the main ones in order to keep the information hidden. However, by accessing from here I can download all the information on them. Their locations, their personal and most importantly to my quest, the names of known prisoners kept there."
"Okay I'll admit that is something we can use," She-Ra nodded. "You should have just told me you'd be going after this too. No more secrets remember?"
"I don't feel like arguing," Road Queen said slipping the completed download disk into her coat. "Let's just go. We've got what we came for."
Before She-Ra could say anything the sound of laser fire again broke out, this time coming from the main yard she had just left. Both rebels exchanged a look of concern then raced back outside. She-Ra gasped in shock at what she saw. As she had feared, one of the prisoners had attempted to make an escape in her absence and the Trooper guards had not used only stun beams. The man was lying on the ground moaning in pain at his lower leg which had been reduced to a pile of ash by a disintegration ray.
"Let that be a lesson to you all," came a squawking voice. A haunting figure then swooped down from the sky and landed beside the injured man. He was tall yet bent with large feathered wings sprouting from his back, talon like feet and a misshapen bald gray skinned head.
"What's Vultak doing here?" Road Queen whispered. "Double Trouble failed to mention him."
Although he had not actually heard her, the hideous vulture man provided an answer to her question. "Pathetic scum. I used to be Hordak's top zoo keeper. I've dealt with the most vicious creatures on Etheria. Handling low life slaves like you is child's play by comparison. A waste of my talents."
Vultak hauled the injured man off the ground and laughed. "Pity. If you had just behaved yourself you would have lived, but now without your leg, you are no longer of any use to the Horde." With that he grabbed the man's neck and with a sickening crack bent his head backwards snapping his skull from his spine.
"No!" She-Ra shouted before she could stop herself.
Vultak turned to her is surprise. "Do you have a problem soldier..." He paused, blinked his large red eyes, did a double take and stared again. It was then that She-Ra realized that in her haste she had failed to put her helmet back on and was no longer properly disguised.
"It's She-Ra!" Vultak shouted taking to the air. "Get her you fools!"
Their cover blown, She-Ra took to the defensive but found she actually had little work to do thanks to Road Queen. The young biker had immediately taken to the full offensive and was fighting like a madman. She started off by hurling a bomb into the midst of a group of Horde Troopers that took care of them all in one move. She then began firing her gun at almost anything that moved.
"Get to the transport!" she shouted. "I can hold them off."
She-Ra didn't argue but made for the vehicle using her super strength to smash through the robot troopers who tired to block her. She did note to herself the tragic irony that they had now wound up doing things the way Road Queen had wanted to from the start.
Vultak had taken to the air when the fight broke out. He was perfectly content to torture those he knew to be weaker than himself, but he had encountered She-Ra before and knew better than to try and take her on. He did however see an opportunity once she had moved some distance from Road Queen.
Swooping down from the sky he grabbed the young biker from behind and soared back up lifting her off the ground. Exactly what he was planning never became apparent though as Reina quickly managed to shift herself enough to fire a shot that clipped off the tip of his wing. Loosing control Vultak flung her violently to the ground before crashing himself.
Road Queen lost her grip on her gun as she hit the ground and skidded a few feet. Though no permanent damage had been done, she found herself scarcely able to move or breathe as the wind had been knocked out of her. Vultak was upon her before she could react. Pinning her down he clamped his hands around her throat in a choke hold.
Road Queen found herself unable to draw a new weapon and her gun was lying just our of reach. She-Ra saw her friend's predicament but her path was blocked by several troopers and she would never reach her in time. Road Queen's hands felt about desperately trying to find anything she could use as a weapon. Finally her hand fell upon a large stone. So big and heavy that she needed both hands to lift it.
Vultak was so focused on strangling Road Queen that he failed to notice the stone in her hands until it slammed into his forehead. Instantly he lost his grip and swaggered from the concussion. He was still on top of Road Queen so she swung again this time hitting the side of his head. Vultak fell to the ground out cold and Reina sat up regaining her breath. It should have been over at that point but something in her mind snapped. Something simply wasn't satisfied and there was only one way to silence it.
Despite his being unable to defend himself, Road Queen took her stone and slammed it down on his head a third time. Then a fourth and a fifth. Over and over she struck paying no attention to the blood and brain matter that flew over her and into her face. She just kept hitting again and again.
By now She-Ra had worked her way past the troopers blocking her but then came to a stop and stated in shock and disbelief at what was happening. She wasn't alone either. All activity in the compound had come to a stop as everyone gaped at the spectacle of raw fury and savagery.
"What is she doing?"a Horde Trooper said in shock. "He's clearly dead already!"
"Do you want to try to stop her?" She-Ra asked.
Reina did not stop in her brutal assault until all that remained of Vultak's head was a pool of bloody mush. Even then she threw down the stone and took two knives out of her coat. Plunging them into his body she lifted it up upon the blades then hurled the lifeless corpse across the yard. Seething breaths through her teeth she looked around at the remaining Hordesmen before finally snarling, "Who's next?"
The answer was no one. Everyone immediately dropped their weapons, put their hands in the air and just for good measure took a few steps back. Even though they still outnumbered the rebels, it had become clear that there was no way they could win.
You see what I mean about graphic violence. I was hesitant to have Road Queen, my original character, kill an established character but I felt it was necessary in order to fully express the seriousness of her actions. (plus I remembered she had already done so back in Mark of the Serpent when she killed Cesspool) At the same time I didn't want to use a major character just one that the fans knew but wouldn't really miss so Vultak fit the bill. Apologies to anyone who particularly liked him.