Chapter 11: Isn't There A Law Against That?
It was the dead of night when Officer Keyes and other law enforcement received a high priority alert from dispatch. Several calls had come in from one of the corner districts of Blüdhaven. All of them citing the same thing in manic and screaming voices: Transfusers were rampaging in the streets.
By now, the police had arrested many of the artificially made Metas and analyzed the substance that gave them their powers. They found that Transfuse, in addition to its enhancements, was highly addictive. Those that went without the drug for only a few days, exhibited severe withdrawal symptoms and committed any measure of violent acts to attain more.
It got to the point where the Red Kross gang, who originally provided the Transfuse, begun being attacked by the very people they distributed the drug to. There were growing instances of Transfusers fighting each other every day. Some addicts even resorted to raiding heavily armed Red Kross facilities they could find in desperation.
And that was exactly what was happening when the police received the string of 911 calls tonight. Law enforcement vehicles streamed to the locations where Transfusers attacked the Red Kross gang, blocking off streets in an attempt to contain the situation. All the while, giant, twisted mutations fought each other either to receive their drug fix as paid protection or to steal it from the distributors.
Keyes and other police officers arrived on scene and parked their cars, adding to the street's barricade. The neighborhood was full of rundown apartment buildings and foreclosed homes that hobos took to squatting in. It was hard to imagine a Red Kross storage house located here, but the ensuing battle proved otherwise.
As the police advanced on the chaos, the innocent residents of the neighborhood ran in the opposite direction. Fires and loud crashing could be heard in the distance. Monstrous, guttural yells echoed through the night and put everyone on edge.
When the officers drew nearer to the noise, there were no longer any running civilians. At that point, the police had their guns drawn at the ready. Slowly, but cautiously, they moved forward with a low stance.
The officers paused at hearing a resounding boom from around the corner of a building. A second later, an object like a meteor, flew into view and crashed into the concrete. Dust floated from the crater—and there, a gangly muscled body rose from the impact.
Right then, another Transfuser pounced on him. This one much bulkier and healthier it seemed than the first one. The two super humans resumed their brawl, paying no attention to the police watching them. Keyes and her fellow officers were at a loss as to what to do.
They thought about letting them continue fighting each other. They thought about coordinating some sort of suppression tactic. The idea of yelling at them to freeze and surrender even came to mind.
But while they tried to think of their next course of action, the decision was made for them. It may have been the most terrible choice given the situation.
One of the officers cracked under the fear and pressure. He opened fire at the sight of the two battling behemoths. Bullets penetrated their bodies and sunk into their dense muscle, but seemed to do little harm. The policeman shot wildly to no effect until he emptied his clip.
Only then did the Transfusers take notice of the law enforcement. With so many guns trained on them, the two metas never registered them as a significant threat, only looking at them as if they were minor hindrances. The two stopped brawling with each other, seemingly agreeing to take care of the police before continuing their fight.
The Transfusers each grabbed a car parked on the side of the street and lifted them overhead with ease. Meanwhile the police watched the inhumane feat like deer caught in a headlight. Only one of them kept their wits.
"HIT THE DECK!" Keyes yelled.
All the officers' snapped out of their daze as their training kicked in. They dove down on their bellies, scraping their hands and knees. Just when they positioned themselves flat on the floor, two vehicles soared overhead, flipping in midair, missing some of their heads only by a few crucial inches.
"It's not over yet! Take cover!"
Keyes was right.
Before the officers could fully take in their death defying escapes, they were quickly forced to make another one. The Transfusers chucked a second volley of cars their way, causing them to scatter to the sides of the street. The officers took refuge behind the surrounding buildings as they were bombarded with more vehicles.
The cars and trucks exploded like giant sized napalm shells upon landing. Fire and shrapnel burst all around the neighborhood. It was overwhelming destruction.
As Keyes leaned her back against one of the buildings, she struggled to produce an idea to counteract the situation. Much less get a clear shot, the corner she took cover behind was repeatedly being chipped away by the makeshift mortars. In all the deafening destruction, the detective cursed for no one to hear.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS REDHOOD?!"
At that moment, Keyes heard something massive fly overhead. She looked to the sky and could barely make out the shape of a black aircraft hovering in the night sky. A pair of slots opened under the plane's undercarriage and two steel rods fired from them with a sharp whistle.
The silver harpoons struck the Transfusers in the arm and pinned them to the ground. Although the projectiles were large, it seemed the wounds would not be fatal. The two tacked down targets bellowed and writhed in pain, thoroughly restrained.
Keyes and the other police officers moved out from their cover and stared up at the dark hovercraft.
Part 2
"ABOUT FUCKING TIME!" I heard over the audio pick up.
Is that Keyes? Can't blame her for being pissed. Vacation might have lasted too long. I'm also the reason Bludhaven needs to deal with these Transfusers in the first place.
They originally made these metas to deal with me. It's not my fault they didn't control the distribution as well as they should've, but I was still the cause at its roots. I wonder if I made this city worse than when I first arrived.
I can guilt trip later.
Blüdhaven's on fire and I need to put it out.
I zoom in on the two Metas I staked. Looks like the skinnier one is coming down, but the healthier one isn't. The bolts I fired at them have the anti-serum for the Transfuse. Problem is, it takes a while to take effect. This is going to be a tough night.
First things first, I need to make sure the police don't get in my way.
I punch in commands into the Batjet's computer. A fake signal to all law enforcement to fall back is now being broadcasted. Really useful when you need some breathing room.
…And I'm going to need A LOT of breathing room for this.
The blues are all moving out of the streets and hopping into their cars. Well, not all of them. Don't know what I expected. Suppose I shouldn't keep her waiting any longer than I already have.
I drop down from the Batjet and onto the street below.
"Detective Keyes."
"Red Hood. About damn time you showed up."
"You really shouldn't be out here. Heard police dispatch give the order to fall back."
"Fat chance of that."
"You're disobeying orders. They'll have your badge."
"Not when they find out the signal was a fake."
I shouldn't be impressed. She's a detective, after all.
"…Leave this to me and clear out."
"Not happening."
"This is out of your league."
"You can't take them all out on your own."
"Yes. I can."
Keyes folds her arms and glares at me. Why does everyone always do that?
"I can, really. Even if I did need help, what makes you think you could do something?"
She looks at me like she's trying to read my face. Which makes absolutely no sense seeing as I'm wearing my helmet. I don't have time for—
"You must have some sort of anti-meta weapon. If you're anything like the Bat, you probably have five. Lend me one."
In addition to fixing my helmet, I did ask Drake to develop a few weapons for the Transfusers…
…
This is a bad idea. I shouldn't. Bruce would never consider it.
"Fine, why not," I shrug.
Then again, I'm not Bruce.
"Wait, isn't there some sort of law against helping vigilantes?"
"Wait, isn't there a law that shut the fuck up and help me save my city?"
"…Okay, point taken, Keyes. Let's save our city."