Adventures in the MirrorVerse

Part 4 - Sellsword

I had bugs crawling all over Lung when the vehicle arrived. It was a tricked-out midnight-black Humvee with the classic S-with-crossed-broadsword-and-assault-rifle in blood-red, on the door. I gulped despite myself; I knew that emblem. I was about to meet one of the most famous - or infamous - members of the Protection Syndicate.

A moment later, I was proved correct, as the door opened and Sellsword got out. He wore a black helmet with a glowing red V-shaped visor; the lower half was open, showing his lower jaw and his goatee. The rest of his costume consisted of urban-camo gear over what I strongly suspected to be low-profile body armour; his gloves and boots were of the same glossy black as the helmet.

As he got out, he withdrew from the interior of the vehicle a sword as long as I was tall; the blade consisted of some sort of glossy black metal, shot through with pulsing red lines of power. A steady sullen red glow emanated from some sort of gem set into the pommel of the sword.

I had no idea how much a thing like that weighed, but he handled it easily with one hand. Despite myself, I was impressed.

But only a little bit. I mean, come on, I'm the Hive Queen. It takes serious shit to impress me.

"The fuck are you?" growled Sellsword, pointing the blade of his claymore at me. I'd read around on the net; that sword was apparently packed with more holy-shit Tinker tech than the entire fucking Humvee he rode around in. If he wanted to, he could could electrocute me, blast me with fire, short out all the electronics I was carrying around … or, you know, stab me. And I had a sneaking feeling that my black widow spider web costume wasn't going to protect me against that sword.

"Hive Queen," I told him defiantly, surrounding myself with bugs. "And I fucking took Lung down."

"Huh," he responded, looking down at the fallen hero. Lung wore a costume reminiscent of a dragon, complete with wings coming out of the back. But he had a reputation for never going over the top, never hurting anyone who didn't deserve it, and never, ever, breaking the law.

"So what happens now? I get the bounty, right?"

He smiled, or at least showed his teeth. "Nope. I load him in my vehicle, and I go and collect the bounty."

"Hey, wait just a fucking second!" I yelled. "I fucking took him down!"

"And those heroes who just left had nothing to do with it?" he asked. "Oh yeah, I know they were here. I've been looking to get a crack at them for weeks now. Especially the Thinker they've got with them. Little bitch keeps second-guessing me."

Going by the ugly tone in his voice, I guessed Insight was in for a bad time if he ever captured her alive.

"He was about done when they got here," I blustered. "My defeat, fair and square."

"Fair and square?" He laughed, loud and long. "Sweetcakes, you're still in fucking diapers. What are you, thirteen?"

"Fifteen," I gritted.

"Fuck me, they're starting them young these days. Well, fifteen year old Hive Queen, what the fuck made you think that villains would act fair with each other? You get what you can, and if someone fucks you over, you either fuck them over in return, or you say thank you sir, can I have some more. You don't go bleating about 'fair'. For fuck's sake."

He bent over Lung and injected him with something; the groaning hero immediately quieted. Then he hefted him with one arm and walked him toward the rear of the Humvee.

"Okay then, why don't you just, I dunno, cut his head off and take that in for the bounty?" I asked. "Why leave him alive?"

"Because some heroes saw him alive after he was defeated, dummy," he informed me bluntly. "If he turns up dead, they start killing ours, and pretty soon it's an all-out war. There are rules for a reason."

The rear of the Humvee opened, and he dumped the unconscious hero inside, then fastened him down to ring-bolts. As he closed it down again, he turned to me. "I'll pass the word that you're looking for work, if you want. We can always do with more kids in the Minions."

"Fuck off and die in a fire," I snarled. "I beat him fair and square."

He chuckled, vastly amused. "Well, the offer's there. Take it, or not. I don't give a shit."

Stowing the sword back in the front of the Humvee, he climbed back in, closed the door, and drove off.

I swore and ranted and raved a bit, but nothing would change the fact that Sellsword had stole my defeat – and my bounty – from under me.

Fuck.

End of Part 4