I LIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVEEEEE! Here's ANOTHER ONE. News at the bottom (as usual). ENJOY!
Chapter Seventeen: The Chase
* Heatwave's P.O.V *
We had our target one minute and we lost it the next. It wasn't technically anyone's fault, but I knew no matter what, people were going to want to point fingers. And they were all going to want to point their fingers at Ricochet.
It had been my mission to watch over her. The mission was given to me by a frantic Sky at 2:35 in the morning. And although I was annoyed by her insistence, I still understood (and then saw) why. The constant overreactions during our missions earlier today, the look of absolute exhaustion, and worried (and almost scared) looks at Cody all made me see what had Sky so worried. I knew she wasn't going to be 100% herself today...and I knew that could be dangerous.
Once the dance had started, I thought I was doing a good job. I had gotten her to calm down after Mayor Lusky wouldn't stop talking to her about his new car, I had gotten her to stop worrying so much about the worst-case scenario, and I had gotten her to smile...and even joke a little bit.
But that all changed when we found the bug.
On.
Off.
On.
Off.
Blue.
Black.
Blue.
Black.
Red.
The bot bolted towards the other server bots on the other side of the plaza. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask) Ricochet was already in its way.
The robots were not that heavy since they were almost hollow, but they still had enough weight that running into them head-on was not a smart idea. And since Ricochet was smart, she grabbed the robot from the side, using both its arms and its momentum against him and throwing it back. The sound of shattering glass, splintering wood, and groaning metal, erupted from the wreckage the robot left.
It was definitely damaged, but not completely offline.
There was only one problem with her little plan...it got attention. And a lot of it.
"Scrap," Siren said before the entire crowd went silent and the music stopped. Questions like 'Why does it have red eyes?', 'who are they?', and 'why is that thing in the punch?' rippled through the tension-filled quiet. Chief, who had been on the other side of the plaza checking on the other Burns, rushed from the crowd and explained that we were on his team and that there was nothing to worry about.
The other robots were all over on the other side of the plaza, still getting and dishing out food and drinks. Or...at least they were before they suddenly stopped. Just dead in their tracks. The tension in the air continued to rise.
Everyone was looking at their flickering optics.
On.
Off.
On.
Off.
Blue.
Black.
Blue.
Black.
Red.
Before people could even react, the bots started to buzz around the place, bumping into people left and right, tripping people, pushing people into very dangerous places and positions, and grabbing people and throwing people onto the floor.
People were screaming, some people were yelling obscenities, and others were crying out as the robots continued to assault them. A flood of people dashed for the exit, some people running full speed ahead without any regard to who or what they hit and some people being picked up and carried along without meaning to be.
I knew there were going to be people more hurt because of the panic than the actual robots. It was a stampede. It was absolute chaos.
A minute later, the dancefloor was cleared.
"Graham, activate the EMP fence," Chief commanded. And he did. Three bots that were chasing the crowd immediately started to seize, electricity spewing out everywhere.
The others stopped abruptly. If it was possible for "friendly" robots to looked ticked, they did. The robots that still had victims continued their assault.
The one closest to me was holding a little girl by the arm and repeatedly making her hit herself. Then, after two or three times would grab her by the hair and pull her to the ground. Then it would hit her head against the floor.
I ran to its side and waited for it to let go of her before I began my assault.
Just before it grabbed her to do it again, I ran and crashed into it, pushing it a few yards away. Bright pain flew throughout my shoulder and arm. I didn't know much about bodies or medicine, but I knew that repeated blows to the head were much more serious than repeated blows to the shoulder, so I kept pushing it back.
It tried to go back to the little girl, but I stayed in its way. It was almost like it didn't know I was there.
Then, when I was far enough from the girl, I started to just hit the thing. The body was only made out of thin material, definitely not metal, so it was easy to crack and break.
Finally, I had exposed enough wiring and I just started to grasp at it, ripping whatever I could. After about five swipes at it, I finally got an important wire, and it just stopped and shut down. Nighty night.
I turned around and found the girl had tried to flee, but she hadn't gotten far. I ran to her side and saw that she had a nasty gash on her head. Her entire face and dress were covered in blood, snot, and tears. She looked like she was just a teen.
"Come on, lets get you out of here." I tried to pick her up, but (between choked sobs) she told me she could run. I helped her onto her feet and she immediately collapsed onto me, looking dizzy. When she had gotten her bearings, we both sprinted to the nearest exit, but it wasn't long until we heard the whining of a motor getting louder and louder by the second.
I grabbed her and carried her, not thinking she would be fast enough. The perimeter was just out of reach, but I knew we weren't going to make it.
"I'm sorry about this," I said before I stopped, and with all my might, threw her out of the plaza. She rolled into the clear just before the bot rammed into my back. I spun through the air and hit my head on the ground. I was on the grass, but spots still taunted my vision.
Thankfully, I was heavy enough that the ricochet of the bot was enough to send him through the perimeter as well. He sizzled and seized just like the first three did.
I mentally scolded myself for not counting how many there were, but knowing that at least five were down was enough for me. I pulled myself up and an immediate veil of exhaustion and pain hit me.
Then another sprinting waiter knocked the wind out of me.
I went down again. The waiter started to kick the scrap out of me, ramming into my ribs, pulling me up, slamming me down...the spots in my vision started to get bigger. The little girl screamed.
Then it all stopped and two sets of servos caught me and dragged me back.
I felt a tingling pain on the base of my neck and I went out like a light.
* Ricochet's P.O.V *
When the crowd erupted, I immediately tackled the closest bot to me and tried to analyze it for a weak spot. After a few minutes of struggling to keep it pinned, I found one right were the tailbone would be on a human. It was an exposed wire that clipped its wings...or rather, its wheels.
I don't know how a wrench ended up in my hand (or where it came from), but I used anyway to sever the line.
When the robot stopped moving, I stood there momentarily, assessing the situation...and the battlefield. The server I had thrown into the punch was rolling after Heatwave, who had a teenager running at his side. Sky was beating one server up with its own trey, smiling like an idiot as she did. Star and Siren had done the exact thing I did and were attacking its back with a hedge trimmer and a pizza cutter. Kade, Chief, Cody, Frankie, Doc Green, Dani, and Graham were all herding people out of the plaza. And Boulder, Blades, and Chase were all trying to beat up a group of servers.
There were only five or six civilians left to go, and the majority of the servers were dead or dying.
The last robot came bolting towards me and I dodged it and struck its back with all of my might. I aimed a little to low though, so all I did was make noise. It spun around and struck me in the face. I went down, but before I could get up to defend myself or strike it again, Sky and Blades hit it and made it topple over and Star made it stop squirming.
"Another wrench huh?" Star chuckled and helped me up. We didn't look too bad all things considered. I took a quick glance at the plaza and it was still. There were heaps of trash everywhere, the robot's bodies littered the place, and food and drinks were spilled everywhere the eye could see.
I looked back at my team and saw the Burnses walking up to us. They all had this sad look in their eyes...especially Dani.
"Where's Heatwave?" Kade asked, looking around. Boulder and Chase came running up from behind him, but Heatwave wasn't with them. Kade started to call out to him, making jokes at both of our expenses.
"Come on dude! You ditching your girl on the first date? Not cool. Where are you...you big red oaf?!"
"I swear I just saw him right over-" I pointed at the spot I saw him at last. He wasn't there, but the girl he was with was. Blood covered her face, her eye looked like it was swelling shut, and it looked like she fractured her nose.
I ran over to her and asked her where the man she was with was. She just looked at me confused and dazed. I looked a little bit further at her injuries and saw they were consistent with multiple strikes to the head. Blunt force trauma. Concussion. I told Dani to get ready to fly her to the hospital and help them set up a triage system. Worst injuries dealt with first.
I slowed down my speech and calmly and quietly described Heatwave to her, hoping that would help. She started to sob.
"Stand in the way of the light, she-" I was trying to explain to my team how sensitive she was to stimuli, but she cut me off.
"They took him! They took him!" She sobbed.
The young girl's face was replaced momentarily with the face of the sobbing mom. Pain, sorrow, and anger all rolled up into one indescribable emotion and expression. I knew that this must have been overwhelming for her and her memory might have been faulty, but that sinking feeling in my gut told me I needed to get to him. Quick.
I kept my voice quiet and calm as I said "Where?"
And when she pointed outside of the perimeter, it felt my heart sink into my feet.
I looked back at the plaza and counted how many bodies there were. 16.
The cries of my team got further and further as I ran. I had one mission now the island was out of danger: save the Hothead who was going to help me keep it that way.
Things are about to get dark. Hopefully not to the point you don't want to read though!
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has commented on this story (and all my previous attempts at this story). I really appreciate it.
*In Thanos voice* "Comments aren't something one considers when writing a universe, but they do put a smile on my face."
I also wanted to say this story has like three chapters left, but a whole nother story is coming up. I just wanted all of the people who have been here since the beginning know that it isn't going to be Payback. I hope to make it a Chase/Siren story (which will probably be a crime fiction/thriller story) and then after that a Star/Boulder story (most likely a survival story) and Sky/Blades story (still thinking). Then Payback.
If you have any questions ask me. I think that is it...but if not, I guess I'll just have to add it in the next update. Have a great day/night! Don't get sick.
