Chapter 14 – Avenger: Some Assembly Required
Valla, Demon Hunter, felt disappointment bordering on sadness. Even her doctor failed to fully condemn the use of mind-altering substances.
"Then again, that's what a lot of prescriptions are…" she thought. Maybe Dr. Grimes didn't deserve the hospital wing after all. Too late for second thoughts! Besides, it wasn't like she'd actually seriously injured the woman—only a couple contusions and being knocked unconscious.
When the Heroes first arrived, they'd been taken on a short tour of what had been called "Down Under," or the main operations center of the Strategic Prevention, Extraction, and Ablation Regiment. Thus, Valla knew where most of the Functional Supernatural Phenomena were stored—in a mazelike series of corridors with rooms that had only numbers and letters on their doors. She made a guess as to which room her belongings could be found in, assuming unauthorized access would be met with an alarm.
Her eyes fell.
"Well, that's terrible."
One of her crossbows had been completely disassembled down to its components. Of course, the correct room had been down the "Hero Corridor" in alphabetical order, so at least Valla got that part right.
She moved quickly, operating under the belief a silent alarm would have security coming in moments.
Valla recited a mnemonic drilled into her by Josen as she reassembled her weapon. She didn't need it to remember which part went where, of course, being a veteran Demon Hunter with more kills in a year than some would rack up during their entire lives in the order, but did so out of habit.
Had she known exactly why security was for all intents and purposes ignoring her intrusion, she might have been concerned. Instead, Valla was grateful that nobody else got in her way.
Her unique abilities permitted rapid movement that would be hard to catch with conventional film. AEON's base hardly used ordinary cameras for security footage, and any viewing of relevant data-drives would show a hospital-garbed woman dashing about with crossbows. She'd been unable to locate either her preferred red garments or her plate armor, but she'd dodged gunfire before so she wasn't too concerned with where she was going.
"Low Security Confinement" she read. "How deliciously coincidental that someone who caused so much damage would be dubbed a 'no-risk' prisoner…"
Still, she chose deception over a frontal assault. She wanted her target to experience fear, to understand what was coming for him rather than just being wiped from existence in one stroke as she imagined his victims were. Chakrams sought out sources of illumination, plunging the entire area into eerie, red-hued twilight.
"So, I'm sure you're wondering what's going on."
Two guards, only issued basic nightsticks and stun guns due to the nature of their section, cast about frantically trying to find the source of the sultry words.
"When was the last time you enjoyed a woman's company?"
They still couldn't figure out where the speaker was. Each turned to the other, having been the recipient of whispered entreaties that had, certain side effects.
"Oh, I'm sure you'd like that" she taunted, snickering to herself as they groped about in the dark trying to find her. "But unfortunately for you, I like to get a little rough!"
One guard dropped to the floor from an elbow followed by the butt of a crossbow being driven into the back of his neck. His companion spun about, just in time to get caught in a classic Figure Four Headscissors move as Valla landed on top of him. It took only a few seconds to render him unconscious.
She toggled her crossbows to "grapple" mode and sat down behind the guard computer. Quickly, she accessed records available since "L. Bailey's" keycard was still in the reader and thus kept the workstation unlocked.
"Cell A-113. Sulu, George."
She salivated at the thought of finding him. She didn't have to wait long.
THUNK. BAM!
George Sulu jerked awake, unsure why his cell door had swung inward. In the low light, he could barely make out something that seemed to have destroyed the locking mechanism.
"Expanding grappling cable. Imagine what it would do if it was inside your chest cavity."
No. Nonononono…
The throaty, slow delivery of the last line had him quaking. The door, broken latch and all, slammed closed, leaving only a sliver or red emergency lighting through its barred window (if a tiny patch smaller than the side of a tissue box could be called a window).
THUNK. THUNK. BAM!
"Now, we won't be disturbed."
He spoke for the first time. "Why are you here?"
She laughed, the casualness of which scared him still further.
"To have a spot of tea and discuss the latest developments in mind-altering substances…"
The resulting data-files from recordings of Sulu's death were marked "Restricted." Counseling was ordered for those who cleaned up Cell A-113, and many were placed on medical leaves of absence. It was only half-jokingly suggested that Faustus Serum be employed on people who'd suffered the greatest trauma dealing with what was left of George Sulu, which also would have fit in a tissue box.
Though the confinement area did have proper low-light-capable surveillance, Valla had apparently decided to destroy most of it with chakrams after completing her vicious task.
"Lock down this whole facility. Do not let her escape into the outside world!"
A/N: How's that for out-of-control?