Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it.
A/N: this chapter is un-beta'd because Kushin (my usual beta) has been very busy with school and a Kendo tournament. He'll be back at the end of the weekend and check the chapter then, until then… sorry for any mistakes. I'll upload the beta'd version as soon as I have it.
For hours now, Johnson had been sitting on a basic stool, his eyes locked on Sharpener and the other hostages. Every once in a while, the green-haired man would look at Erasa and keep staring at her, lust obvious in his eyes, but every time he managed to restrain himself.
The looks made Sharpener feel very, very uneasy. He still remembered how Johnson had remarked, last time he had held them hostage, that Erasa was just his type and he'd be all over her if he could. There was nothing Sharpener could do to keep the former CCDD Captain off his friend, should he try anything of the sort.
"W-w-w-will y-y-you p-p-please stop staring at m-m-m-me l-l-l-like that?" Erasa finally asked, now sitting as far away from Johnson as he bonds allowed. Somewhere in between the two blondes, Marron and Bra were both sound asleep, thanks to the drugs Johnson had given them. If they were lucky, they wouldn't remember anything of this.
Unfortunately, luck wasn't really with any of the captives, it seemed.
"No, I don't think I will." Johnson said, his eyes now locked onto Erasa's. Sharpener tried to move to the side, standing between the two, but he couldn't step forward. the iron chain was stretched as far as it could, thanks to Erasa. The four of them had been handcuffed and then chained on a single, large iron chain, which was in turn fastened to a metal ring on the ground.
"I'm too busy enjoying the view."
'Damn, if this keeps up, it'll really go to hell.' Sharpener realized as Johnson's expression changed. He was seeing something more, something he wanted. 'I've got to distract him, fast!'
"Hey Johnson, what the hell happened to you?" Sharpener heard the words leave his mouth before he had really given them any thought. Johnson immediately turned his attention away from Erasa, so it was a good question, but Sharpener wished he had placed some more thought into it.
"The fuck you talking 'bout kid?" He rose from his chair, glaring down at Sharpener.
"I mean, what happened to you?" Sharpener repeated. Damn, but this guy was creepy when he was glaring down like that. "You're different from when you took over Orange Star High."
"Yeah well kid, here's a lesson of life for you; people change. Get fucking used to it."
He turned his back on Sharpener, but the teen didn't stop there.
"I know that. but you changed a lot in a short time. What did they do to you to make you like this?" Johnson froze in place, tension visible in his shoulders. "Back when you took us hostage at Orange Star, you tried to make us all relax, keep us cool. You didn't let anything get to you, until the Commander arrived and kicked the shit out of you. Before that, you were as cool as can be. Hell, if you hadn't taken us hostage, I'd say you were a cool guy. But this… this isn't like you were last time. What happened to you?"
In one swift, dangerous, movement Johnson turned over and appeared next to Sharpener, giving the blond a good close look of his face again. Like before, Sharpener felt squeamish when he saw the mechanical replacement of Johnson's eye, but this time he didn't back down.
"You hoping to hear some overly dramatic, life-changing, emotional story about how I developed a personal philosophy that dictates I destroy the world or something?" He started, "'cause isn't that pretty much how any decent bad guy works according to you Japs? Well, I've got some news for you; I don't give a rats ass what happens to the world. I just want to stay alive, enjoy my life while I can and get back at the people that fucked me over."
"So, revenge then?" Sharpener asked. "Someone hurt you and you want revenge on them? is that why you told Videl and the Commander to come? Because they defeated you la-"
The sound of the backhand silencing Sharpener was hard enough to almost wake up the kids. Fortunately, Sharpener had seen the blow coming and moved his head with it, reducing most of it's damage. Even so, it hurt like hell.
"Don't think you can play smart with me kiddo." The older man said as he stood up. Walking over to his stool, he sat down and reached for something at his side. "Oh fuck, I forgot. I don't have my smokes anymore. Goddamnit."
With an effort, Sharpener managed to get back into a sitting position, but his vision still swam for a moment. 'Damn, that one hurt.'
"But if you want to hear it so badly… We've got some time to kill before our guests arrive, so why the fuck not? As you know, after my little skirmish with the Commander, I was send to prison. But I wasn't send to just any old prison. Oh, fuck no. The judge was a big fan of Videl's, as is almost everyone on this entire fucking planet, and that stuck-up son-of-a-bitch decided that I had to be send to a maximum security prison for life. Kinda unreasonable, since I only killed one guy and only scared some of the others. But anyway, there it is, I was send to prison."
Again Johnson reached near his side, but again his hands came up empty.
"Ah, fuck this. I need something in my mouth." Looking sour for a moment, he picked up a metal pin from the ground and stuck that in his mouth instead. "Now, I'm pretty sure you must have seen a prison in a movie or something right?"
Sharpener nodded. He'd seen plenty of shows on TV that portrayed prison as a hell on earth.
"The real thing is nothing like it. And this place was one of the worst; the criminal being held by the corrupt. Every single one of the guards had some arrangement with the prisons, taking money or favors or something else in return for turning a blind eye or giving privileges. So, you can imagine what it's like when you get in there. But it gets even better; every one of the guards in that shithole – no exceptions, every single fucking one of them – spends hours a day jacking off to the posters of international superhero Videl Satan. So, when I arrived, they were really happy to see me."
Johnson took a breath, in which time Sharpener wondered… how much of Johnson's story was factual truth? And how much of it had been warped by his own visions?
"See, I was send there right after the Commander was finished with me. Didn't even take them two fucking days. So, when I arrived at the prison, I was still pretty beat up and weak, not to mention missing an eye and a hand. The prisoners all jumped me like I was a pile of gold. The guards did nothing to stop it, until I managed to knock three of the shit-bags out. then they pulled us apart and started beating on me. Motherfuckers! It continued on every single fucking day. Hell, most of the inmates themselves were big fans of your crime fighting friend. The guards allowed the prisoners to beat me up, only stopping them so they could enjoy the pleasure themselves. I was only given the most basic of medical care to stay alive."
"Wow, that must have been horrible." Sharpener heard Erasa gasp from behind him, but she seemed to have calmed down.
"You think that's horrible? I haven't even reached the best part yet." Johnson made a laugh, but it was devoid of any humor. It was a cold, hard sound. "You have to understand, kiddies, that prison is full of bastards that will never, ever, in their entire fucking lives see, touch, or fuck a woman again. So, they take what they can get. And when you're beat up every day without fail, you quickly become to weak to fight back. Before long, I was the personal bitch of the entire goddamn prison. I spend months in there, constantly beaten, humiliated, abused and what-not. So yes, I may have changed a little. I'm fucking sorry if I did. But, hey, let's just say prisons fucks you up. In ALL senses of the word!"
Again Johnson let out a booming laughter, but like before, it was humorless. Sharpener didn't know what to say after that and apparently, neither did Erasa. Johnson, who was now shaking with suppressed anger, stood up as he continued talking.
"But then they appeared. As I was lying in my cell, beat up and abused for the day, my wall was suddenly torn down. My mysterious savior pulled me out of there, but not before laying death and destruction to half the place. But that wasn't all; I was brought here, tended to by medics and made stronger. Now, no-one can dare to stand against me. Just let them try me. With my new toys, I'll tear them all down."
As he made the last exclamation, he raised his left hand – which was made entirely out of strange metals, and pointed at his mechanical left eye.
Just then, one of the monitors gave a beep before springing to life, showing the outside of the factory. It was a wasteland, no civilization visible for miles around, other then one lone jetcopter.
Videl had found them.
XxX
As Videl followed her two escorts through the hallways of the old metal-working factory, Videl had to admit that Johnson had been right. The place was a maze! Every couple of meters they walked past hallways or rooms that led somewhere. On her own, Videl could have probably spend days in here and still not find them. Neither of the CCDD Soldiers said a word to Videl as they led her deeper and deeper into the complex, descending multiple stairs until they must have been at least ten meters underground.
Finally, though, they entered through a final doorway and Videl was dumbstruck for a few seconds as she looked at the massive chamber. This must once have been the metal-melting room, because there were several large, thick cauldrons on chains scattered throughout the room. The room itself was incredible large, at least twenty meters high – it must be above the ground, as well as below, Videl realized – and almost two hundred meters wide.
Videl took the time she was literally gawking at the room to make a strategic analyses as well. The room was massive, yes, but the floor was littered with metal boxes, storages or old pipes and the like. There would be no shortage of cover there, except for the cleared area where Johnson was keeping Erasa and the others. Higher up, metal walkways crisscrossed each other on six or seven different levels, giving the Soldiers stationed there a clear view of the area and a perfect sniper's position.
'Expertly set up, of course. This is going to be tough to handle.' Fortunately, Videl already had a basic plan in mind for how she would deal with this situation.
"Videl Satan!" Johnson's voice echoed throughout the massive room as the muscular man stood up and greeted her. "Well, I just lost fifty bucks, thanks to you showing up on time. I guess I should say congratu-fucking-lations for finding us."
He was standing right besides Erasa, so Videl couldn't just attack from a distance either. Videl's escort followed her as she walked forward. What she needed now, was time. Time to create an opportunity.
"Why did you want me?" She asked, her eyes darting to find other CCDD Soldiers scattered across the floor. She could see five of them, including her escort, so that left eight others to be found. "Why call me over? You got some vendetta with me all of a sudden?"
"Me? Oh hell no girl, don't get all high-and-mighty. I don't give a shit about you, but this isn't my call. You see, I'm a mercenary; a hired gun, paid to do someone else's dirty work. And my employer wants your head on a pike. Oh and speaking of my employer."
Johnson reached behind him and pushed a few buttons on a large computer behind him. A screen, almost as large as the one Gohan had used in Capsule Corporation, flared to life, but it only showed static. A voice was clearly heard though, so Johnson's employer had purposely disabled the visual aspect. He didn't want to be found out.
"Welcome, miss Videl, I'm so glad to see you here. My congratulations on finding us, I must admit that I was beginning to fear your detective skills weren't as good as I had hoped they'd be."
'Yeah, like it was my detective skill that brought me here. I owe Gohan for that.' Videl was trying to identify the owner of the voice. The voice itself was easy to alter and therefore useless in identifying it's owner. What she was listening for, instead, was a familiar usage of words or tone.
"Unfortunately," the voice continued on, "you will die here today. My dear captain, if you would please."
Johnson raised a hand and opened his mouth, but before he could give his men the command to fire, Videl acted. Bringing both her hands forward at once, she fired a single, powerful ball of energy at Johnson and hit him straight in the chest. The attack send the tall American flying backwards, straight through the computer screen and the wall behind it.
With Johnson out of the game, only three other CCDD men were near enough to be a threat. The other two on the same floor were far away and a worry for Videl to deal with after her friends were safe.
Sharpener apparently caught on to Videl's idea, because he yanked on the chain holding him down, giving him some space to move, and launched himself forward. The Soldier with the mechanical-knee was just outside of the range of Sharpener's fists, but the boxer didn't even attempt to punch him. Instead, he slid onto the floor himself and kicked out, hitting mecha-knee's good knee and toppling the large man over.
In the same instant, Videl disappeared, moving faster then a normal eye could see, and appeared behind the scared woman, the second of her escort. With a quick punch combination of stomach-solar-plexus-rips-neck the woman was down on the floor and unable to get back up. Before she had fallen down, though, Videl had appeared behind the last Soldier, but he turned around in time to block her kick.
Still, Videl's kick hit with enough force to swipe away the man's block. Putting her feet on the ground, Videl caught the man's desperate haymaker, a last attempt at defending himself, and stepped in. with one arm most likely broken and the other held by her, Videl had clear access to the man's torso. Her fist hit made him cough up spit, the second hit had already lifted him from the ground, the third hit knocked the last bit of air out of his lungs and the fourth and final hit send the man flying an impressive distance.
"VIDEL!"
It was Sharpener's voice and as she turned around, she saw her friend had stood up again and held his bound wrists above his head, the chain in his hands.
XxX
From another room in the same factory, Styring was sitting next to the Doctor, both watching the various screens in front of them. Since this was one of the things Styring had made a part of their bargain, he was present to watch it. Cameras hung all around the room, allowing the two a perfect view of the events in the room.
Of course, when Videl suddenly pushed her hands forward and struck Johnson from over six meters distance, then moved almost too fast for the camera's to follow, had surprised the both of them immensely. In fact, neither said a word as Videl knocked out two of the cybernetic-enhanced Soldiers in seconds.
"My dear doctor," Styring said, faking amusement to hide his distress at Videl's sudden abilities, "I thought you said that no normal human could perform such feats?"
The Doctor, however, didn't answer, or even acknowledged Styring.
"Well," the billionaire continued, "I guess this just shows that humans are that much more incredible then you give them credit for. Impressive, since she has no enhancements, but nothing that the good captain can't take care of, I'm sure."
On the screen, Videl shot another of the yellow orbs, this one connecting with her friend Sharpener's chains. The orb disintegrated the bonds instantly, freeing the hostage.
"Damn, there goes our bargaining chip" Styring remarked with annoyance. With her friends, Videl could well just decide to escape, rather then stay and fight to the death.
XxX
The explosion of Videl's energy ball was small, perfect for destroying the chains and nothing else. Sharpener lowered his hands, punched the CCDD-er with the metal knee as he tried to get up to keep him down and then turned. Because he had held the iron chain, Erasa and the girls could now move freely as well, but the kids were still out cold.
Videl was bursting into movement again, but Sharpener didn't stay to look. He had other important things to do right now.
"Erasa!" For once the girl wasn't petrified in place by events, already getting up and freeing her hands from the chain. She was still scared, but at least she was moving and thinking. Sharpener bend down and picked up a girl in each hand. "Follow me!" He immediately dashed towards a load of steel boxes, iron pipes and other large junk that would make for good cover. This place would turn into a hail of bullets in seconds and he needed to get the girls to some safe place quickly.
Once they reached the storage, Sharpener kept his head low, glancing over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure Erasa was still following him. The boxes, pipes and all other kinds of metal made this part of the room into another maze and Sharpener made turns at random, hoping to find a good spot. The first dead end he found was far too low, it wouldn't hide Erasa from sight, so he continued on. The second was a good height, it would have Erasa facing in the direction where most snipers were. Again, not a good idea.
Finally, after five dead-ends, Sharpener found a hiding place that would do. it was covered by boxes that reached over twice Sharpener's length and the opening was facing a wall. It would hide them from sight perfectly.
"Stay here." Sharpener ordered, pushing Erasa into the hiding place and putting the girl on the ground. "Watch over these two. If they happen to wake up, just keep talking to them. Hold this and keep it with you." Sharpener quickly pulled of his leather jacket, freeing his arms and losing it's additional weight. With an expert twist, he pulled his hair into a ponytail before he turned around.
"Wait, Sharpener." Erasa's voice was weak, but something in it held him back. He turned around, looking at her. She was close to tears. "Don't die. Please, just tell me you won't die."
Immediately Sharpener bend down on one knee, wiping her tears away with his hands. "I won't die. I promise I won't do anything stupid like getting myself killed."
The lie tasted bitter in his own mouth, but Erasa needed to hear it. With that, Sharpener turned around and ran, using the multitudes of cover in the room to hide him from the gunfire and other kinds of attacks going on in the room.
XxX
Even as she fought, Videl was completely surprised by what she herself was doing. Ever since she had learned how to use her energy, she had only ever fought against Gohan while using it. Gohan was, of course, always just a bit faster and stronger then her, but now that she was seeing just how much stronger she had gotten.
Although the CCDD Soldiers were all shooting at her from various angles, Videl could easily see the bullets coming and evaded them all with ease. It was like the bullets were moving in slow-motion to her, but there were still enough of them to prevent Videl's effective advance. Coming from so many different angles, Videl couldn't predict the path of the bullets to escape them. It had happened before, when she saw the Commander fight with Johnson and when Gohan had gone berserk in the clothing shop, but now she knew why. Gohan explained it to her; in those times of stress, her body slightly activated her energy.
She had been using her energy for months, whenever she was in deep trouble, without ever realizing it. Now that it was under her conscious control, it made fighting against guns almost too easy.
Sharpener had let Erasa and the girls to a safe place a few minutes before – or was it seconds, now that time seemed to be so slow for her? – so Videl wouldn't have to worry about that. The CCDD Soldier with the metal knee that Sharpener had knocked down twice now was back up and he was spraying bullets at Videl, just like another Soldier – this one unfamiliar to Videl, but with red hair – on the ground level. There were at least six different Soldiers shooting at her from the upper levels.
'I'm in a shooting gallery with a bull's-eye painted on me.' Videl realized, cart wheeling to the side to evade another series of bullets. These CCDD guys were good! Even with her faster-then-humanly-possible movements, they kept readjusting their aim to try and hit her. 'Time for the bull to bite back.'
Instead of ducking to the side to evade mecha-knee's bullets, Videl charged forward underneath the spray, closing in on the large man quickly. He readjusted his aim as she came running at him, but Videl pushed off from the ground, used her energy to speed herself even further and spun around the stream of bullets and moved into a high spin-kick, perfectly striking mecha-knee on the temple with her heel. He crumbled like a cart house, but Videl was already moving towards his red-haired colleague.
Like mecha-knee, Redhead quickly adjusted his aim, but when Videl came close, he dropped the rifle he carried and instead charged back at her. Videl stepped aside from his fist – it was moving faster then the bullet had! – but her counter-knee was blocked by the man's other hand. Instead, Videl smashed her elbow into the man's back. A normal man would have screamed in pain by the impact, but obviously Redhead was made of tougher material.
He turned, trying to backhand Videl, but the raven-haired crime-fighter used an elbow-block to stop his arm, then held the muscular limb in place with one hand as she kicked the man in the stomach hard enough to lift him off the ground. Her other hand was viciously smashed into Redhead's open ribs, hard enough to shatter most of them on impact. Like Mecha-knee before him, he went down instantly, only he howled in pain.
The hail of bullets had stopped momentarily when she was engaging the other two in melee-combat, but as soon as the two had dropped the rain of bullets continued. Looking around the room for a second, Videl nearly froze in her tracks for a second. There was a third remaining Soldier on the ground level, but he wasn't holding a rifle or machine gun. Instead, he was holding a rocket launcher, aimed straight at her.
Bullets, Videl could dodge, but rockets? They didn't need to hit her to kill her…
Videl tried to dash towards the man, but the gunfire from higher levels kept her in place. Just as the Soldier was ready to pull the trigger, Sharpener appeared out of the junk at the man's side, his fist making contact with the man's throat.
Although the RPG-wielder was pushed back and stunned by the blow, Sharpener didn't stop there. He immediately rained down a hail of vicious punches, striking at rips, throat, temples and even one at the man's groin, before he finished with a full-swing, full-power uppercut to the man's chin. The way his head snapped back didn't give Videl much confidence that the man was still alive.
Realizing that four of their fellows were now out for the count, the remaining Soldiers intensified their gunfire, shooting full-spree instead of bursts now. Sharpener ducked behind the cover that that RPG-guy had been using. Videl rushed over to him, evading the bullets as she went.
XxX
The room was only dimly lit, all the light in the room was focused on the now empty table. Gohan stood next to the table, leaning on it. The room was, fortunately, empty. If it hadn't been, people would have probably been scared by Gohan's expression. For at least ten minutes now, ever since he had finished getting dressed, he had been standing there, thinking over his options.
Johnson's reappearance and his kidnapping of Marron and Bra, along with Erasa and Sharpener had nearly boiled his blood in pure, unadulterated rage. Thankfully, he had managed to stay calm and reasoned his way to Johnson's location, but now that he was alone he was quickly losing the fight to suppress his emotions.
Since he had entered the room to get changed, he had been in an internal debate. Logic fought reason and anger, all in a large clash that threatened to drown Gohan.
'I can't do this.' He told himself, still not moving. 'It's too risky. What if I have to react quickly?'
'No, I have too.' He answered himself almost immediately. 'If I don't, I'll ruin everything if I get careless even for a second. The plan is paramount, I can not risk it. Timing is everything. This is my best means of staying in control, I have to.'
Those same arguments had been going through his mind since he had arrived in the room. now, however, the final argument was finally starting to convince him. Logic was winning the internal battle after all.
'A warrior doesn't let fear rule him.' Gohan recited, one of the many sayings he had heard about warriors throughout his life. 'Fear exists, it is a constant, but the warrior is never ruled by it. I can not let my fear overcome me and jeopardize the plan.'
Having finally made his decision, Gohan turned around and walked out of the room, his face quickly assuming a more controlled expression. Yes, his anger and fear still existed, but he wasn't controlled by them. Now was a time for action, true, but for controlled action with a plan, not mindless bravado and rushing into enemy camps.
'Yes, the time for talking and thinking is over.' Gohan decided as he walked past the Supercycle. That project was nearly in a testing stage, but it would still require time. 'It's time for action.'
Pushing a button next to a door, Gohan was blinded for a second by the change in lighting, but he didn't let that stop him as he stepped forward. It was time he joined the battle.
XxX
"What the hell do you think you're doing you idiot?" Videl yelled over the gunfire as she crouched down next to Sharpener. Since the two had taken cover the gunfire had died down substantially, but the CCDD Soldiers were still keeping up a suppressive fire by shooting in bursts and steady intervals, one or two at a time.
"Helping you out." Sharpener yelled right back, his eyes scanning the area behind Videl. "I hid Erasa and the girls somewhere, so they should be save, but I figured you could use a hand. You're kinda outnumbered."
"Yeah, I know. We got your message, Gohan picked it right up. Nice work by the way." Videl reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell. Instead of calling, however, she only pushed two buttons, calling whoever she had called last, before hanging up after it had rung twice. Sharpener gave her a strange look. "I told Gohan I'd call him if I got the computer destroyed. He'll alert some backup he's got ready."
"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better." Sharpener admitted, though it might have come out a bit sarcastic. Gohan had told him what his friends were capable off. He was about to ask Videl what the plan was, but suddenly some of the bullets ripped right through their cover and shot in between the two of them. Sharpener threw himself down on the ground, next to the redhead he had knocked out earlier, but Videl's hand were flying through the air.
As she opened her hand, Sharpener saw that she was holding some of the bullets that had been shot at them. They looked weird, the tips twisted from a normal bullet.
"Shit, those are armor-piercing rounds." Sharpener realized. "They must have switched magazines; these'll go straight through anything, we're not safe here anymore. We have to deal with them now!"
"Good idea, got a plan for that?" Videl asked, raising a shield of energy around the two. That, at least, the bullets didn't manage to penetrate. Unfortunately, the shield was taking a great deal of effort on Videl's part. Sharpener looked around and immediately found his answer.
"We use this." He said as he picked up the RPG that the redhead had been about to use on Videl. "This should give us some time to escape and clean them up."
"You sure you know how to use that thing?" Videl asked, the strain in her voice obvious.
"Just point and shoot, it's a rocket launcher, not a fighter jet. Anyway, once I fire this, you go up to the higher levels and work your way down, I'll deal with the guys on the lower levels. Ready?"
Videl gave a nod, then dropped the shield as Sharpener pointed the RPG in the general direction where the bullets were coming from and squeezed the trigger. The rocket shot out of the weapon instantly and the explosion on the wall was almost as quick. The explosion itself seemed to stun the CCDD Soldiers for a second, which the two teens used to their advantage.
Sharpener saw Videl shoot up towards the ceiling, before he turned around and made a mad sprint to the stairway leading to higher levels. He was up the first stair and using some of the things stored on the metal stairways – damn, this place was a real mess, but it made for some great cover – to stay out of sight. A CCDD Soldier on the first floor turned around as Sharpener jumped at him, but Sharpener punched his weapon to the side and quickly lashed out at the man himself.
Although small, the Soldier was also fast, evading every one of Sharpener's punches, before returning with a flurry of his own. It took all of Sharpener's skill to stay clear of the punches, moving as fluently as he could but finding no opening for a counterattack. He was the more skilled boxer of the two, but the CCDD Soldier was the quicker fighter.
The Solder stepped back, then pulled out a knife from his belt, ready at his side.
"Die." As the Soldier lunged at Sharpener, the blond boxer did as Gohan had taught him over the past months, isolating all things that would distract him so he could focus on his opponent. As soon as the Soldier had opened his mouth, Sharpener had realized that he was actually a she, but it didn't matter. Not now. In a solid, powerful step, Sharpener knocked the hand holding the knife away and punched the Soldier on the throat with his full weight behind the punch.
There was a sickening sound of something snapping as the woman fell back and Sharpener felt a moment of sickness rising in him. Then he mastered himself as two more CCDD Soldiers gave screams from up above – one of them was the voice of a man, but screaming like a girl. The screaming Soldier actually fell down a moment later, again with a disgusting sound as he landed. Two sets of weapons fell after him.
Running up the stairs, Sharpener barely ducked aside in time as more bullets flew over his head. The Soldier on this level had spotted him and wasn't letting him get close. Peeking around the corner, Sharpener noticed that this Soldier was big, black and had an impressive beard. That was all Sharpener could notice, before the Soldier opened fire on him again.
'I need something to grab his attention.' For a second time Sharpener risked a peek and almost immediately he was shot at again. 'There. Metal pipes.'
Still leaning against his cover with his back, Sharpener extended his leg and used his foot to pull in two metal pipes. This entire corner was littered with iron pipes, thankfully, and Sharpener immediately tossed the two pipes around the corner. He heard two loud grunts, following on each other, and immediately dashed around the corner.
The bearded Soldier's feet had been struck by the pipes, explaining the temporary stun, but he was quick to recover, aiming his gun at Sharpener as he closed in. just as he wanted to pull the trigger, Sharpener was close enough and dived into him, pushing the man back into the wall and knocking the gun to the side.
Now that he was in his preferred range, Sharpener immediately struck towards the bearded man's face, but his fist was easily caught and intercepted. Attempting to strike with his other hand, it met the same fate. The larger man was holding Sharpener up by his arms, raising him to eye level and pulling hard.
"Foolish, foolish little boy." The man said. His voice was oddly light for such a big man, "I'm an enhanced superhuman. I've got implants to grant me superhuman speed, reflexes and strength. You're just a stupid kid who knows how to box. What can you possible hope to do?"
"Improvise!" Sharpener exclaimed as he headbutted the dark man in the face, then immediately kicked him in the groin. Shocked by the sudden pain, the man let Sharpener go and stayed hunched over for a second, giving Sharpener a perfect angle for his follow up; a full power, step-in uppercut to the man's throat.
"Damn, that guy has a hard head."
XxX
Johnson was still lying on his back, covered by some of the rubble from the wall and large-ass TV screen that he had been send flying through.
'Damn, nobody said she got stunts like that up her sleeve. Little bitch's learned to keep her tricks hidden.' For the past few weeks, his men had been working on gathering data on Videl, setting up fake robberies and hostage situations, just so they could see how she would react, but in none of those situations she had reacted anything like this. Johnson hated running into a fight without knowing what his opponents could do.
'Let's see here. It's got a decent range, obviously packs a big fucking punch and travels fast. Might be a pain in the ass to deal with.' Even so, the large former-Captain pushed the debris that was covering off of him and stood up. He was still unharmed from the attack, except for some minor burn marks on his abdomen and a now-ruined shirt. While outside the gunfire was almost deafening, Johnson simply brushed the dirt that was covering him off first.
A minute or so ago someone had fired a rocket and the explosion had woken him up. The little girl's attack had actually knocked him out! Damn, that attack must pack more of a punch then he'd have thought. Just as he was checking if he still had all his teeth, the Doctor and Behersk called in.
"What?" Johnson answered the call, glad it was hands free. While he was talking to them he could continue checking his teeth. Outside he heard one of his men scream like a little girl before he was silenced with a sickening crush.
'Oh, the little bitch's learned how to fight like a grown up. Whoop-die-fucking-doo.'
"Johnson, get back out there and deal with them!" Behersk ordered him. "Those two teens are killing your men. KILLING them! I've spent too much money on all of you to have you killed by some stupid teenagers on your first mission. Get back in and deal with them. NOW!"
"Oh, quit your fucking whining." Johnson snapped. All his teeth were still in place, thankfully, but he still wanted to make sure he was in one piece. "I'll check it out in a second."
"No, Mr. Johnson." The Doctor was now speaking, his voice odd from years of not usage. "You will go out there now and fight them, or I will activate an overwriting program that will paralyze you on the spot for the next forty or so years. Do I make myself clear? I have no desire to reveal my treasures against such trash."
"Fine, fine. Don't get your fucking knickers in a goddamn twist you whining assholes. I'll go out there and I'll fucking kill those fucking teens. Can I at least keep the blond bitch for myself?" 'Odd. I used to despise rapists.'
"Johnson, stop your whining and do your job!" Behersk was really feeling the pressure then. If he resorted to such crude language.
"I said I'd do it. Calm the fuck down."
Walking through the hole he had been blown through earlier, looking around the room almost casually. There, next to the dead body of Alpha-7, the now-deceased Enrique Jorges, lay two rifles that he could use. Checking up on them, Johnson saw they were already loaded with armor-piercing ammo. Stripping Enrique's body off another two magazines of bullets, Johnson held a rifle in each hand, looking up at the railing. Those kids were doing some excellent work indeed. No wonder his men were all having trouble.
'Well…' Johnson thought as he looked around the room, 'there are more ways then one to win a fight.'
Let me know what you think in a review.
