Feedback, criticism and thoughts are more than welcome. Enjoy!
Next couple of chapters will be a bit on the slower side updating due to upcoming finals at my school.
The S.H.I.V hovered near noiselessly in the air. In the dim lighting of the secured area, X-Com had acquired the glow of the anti-grav engines shined brightly casting long shadows across the concrete floor. Sandbags and metal and concrete walls had been set up as cover which the squad present made use of. The barriers and fortifications made an oval around the hover S.H.I.V and the device. Guns were trained on the portal as the S.H.I.V slowly made its way to the device. The silence of the room was interrupted only but the quiet whirs of MEC and S.H.I.V's machinery and guns being repositioned. Outside of the heavily defended room was a small bunker filled with scientists watching from cameras placed within. The area outside was heavily wooded and a bomber was standing by to firebomb the area should worst come to worst and the portal turned out to be a trap.
Annette checked her sniper rifle once more. She knew the safety was off but it couldn't hurt to check again. She was itching to fire the rifle on an alien and though it shamed her she hoped that the portal lead to a hostile environment with plenty of aliens to shoot. Of course, she'd prefer that Hebert was fine and that the portal made by the device was just the alien's storage closet or something but still nothing compared to ending another alien's life.
Certain that the safety was off she put her finger around the trigger gently waiting for the S.H.I.V to enter and the portal to be opened. She was focused but damn if she wasn't starting to get bored. Her arms ached from having to hold the sniper rifle and it wasn't worth the headache to use her powers to help lift it. They had been in position for nearly two hours and there was only so long a person could stare at a floating robot before the excitement wore off. Zhang hadn't moved an inch but he hardly counted. He had so many extra organs in him that he was closer to a... a... something not very human. Annette was never great at analogies and she really wasn't in the mood to come up with a better one at the moment.
Stone was directly beneath her tower and had his railgun loaded and ready. Tariq was opposite her and had her rifle stuffed with shells. Glancing through the scope Annette realized no one else had their fingers on the trigger and assumed Stone didn't as well. Gingerly she removed hers and peered back in the scope. Van Doorn was at the closest point to the portal maker and had his sword and shotgun ready. The squad may have mocked him often and regularly about bringing a sword to a laser fight but he'd killed enough aliens with it that the mocking was in good humor.
"Beginning start-up sequence." Came the voice of Ivanov a Russian scientist X-Com had recruited in exchange for future funding for his research. Annette brought her rifle to the now shimmering area in front of the portal device. The portal itself had received some modifications from X-Com. Not much it still retained it's "found-in-a-junk-pit" look but the power core, a diamond duct-taped to a car battery, had been replaced with elerium as the power source had failed early in testing. There had been concerns that the device would need the original power source but no one had been able to tell how the car battery and diamond powered it in the first place. Elerium seemed to do the trick however and the device was running smoothly. The portal had lost the shimmer appearance and was now mirror-like.
Annette was idly curious as to why the mirror effect hadn't been mentioned earlier but chalked it up to the new power source. A Crack was heard and the portal's mirror seemingly melted upwards as a smooth halo of violet light replaced it. The empty space in the halo was soon replaced as the portal connected to the other side. Loose papers and leaking sand from the sandbags began to fly into the portal.
Van Doorn began to back up slowly to avoid the chance of being sucked in. The drone on the other hand made its merry way to the floating halo. "All signs stable. Preparing for breach in 10...9...8..."
Half listening to Ivanov count down Annette looked through the portal with her scope and was relieved to see Herbert below. She appeared to a soldier with an American flag on their face. Some form of law enforcement was nearby as well watching the portal. At least combat was off the table for now. The soldier and law enforcement seemed non-hostile based on them just talking to Hebert instead of firing at one another.
3...2...1...breaching!" Ivanov finished right as the drone went through the portal.
Miss Militia looked up at the armored woman as she described the details of the earlier fight. Armor was a misnomer. A tank in the shape of a person fit better. Though she did wonder how the pilot was sitting in the suit. It looked extremely cramped in the lower torso section. Perhaps the pilot was kneeling or sitting inside the armor? For the life of her, Miss Militia couldn't really tell much about the woman. Her head was covered completely by her helmet and her voice disguised by the robotic tone the suit gave it.
How had this parahuman, Talos, gone under the radar for so long? Her armor wasn't something a new tinker just threw together it looked well made. Her gun was also well crafted and both the suit and gun looked to be made of high-quality materials. The only signs of damage on the suit were a few thin scratches on the paint from where Hookwolf had attacked her and a spot near Talos' head that looked melted of all things. Tinker's are notorious for needing supplies and being detected easily due to their budget requirements and need for supplies.
So either this parahuman was filthy rich and had money to burn, was a known cape rebranding themselves, had been working on this for a long time, or was part of an organization. Miss Militia was willing to bet on the first and last ones but there were too many unknowns right now.
"-And then I threw the car at him and Armsmaster dropped a foam grenade on his chest." Talos finished having gone into limited detail over the events of the fight.
Miss Militia gave a nod and finished writing on the pad of paper and placed it in her pocket.
"Thank you, Talos. Is this your first time in combat or have you fought before?" Miss Militia probed.
"Not my first time no. Is that all you need ma'am?" Talos asked in a quick and precise manner answering the question so vaguely it barely answered anything.
"Well, technically but I can't help but notice that you're very well equipped. Do you have a group helping you or have you done this before?" Miss Militia asked trying to be more direct.
"If that's all then I'd like to have these vans moved from the area while I work to get my device to function to open again." Came Talos' answer not even bothering to address the second part of the sentence.
"I can't do that. They stay until you bring the portal back online and leave through it. It's just to make sure that no one in the area is harmed and that you can get back to your home safely."
"...Fine. But no other parahuman enters the area and no recording devices stay here." Talos said glancing up at the shimmer. Miss Militia wondered what was going on in the cape's head. Was she eager to return home, worried the portal wouldn't work, or afraid of losing her tech to someone else? She made a note to ask Armsmaster about his thoughts and to compare notes on the tinker later.
"I can't guarantee that but I can try. It would help if you could give us details on the portal. Could you give me just a moment to call in your request?" Miss Milita asked and was given a nod in return as she walked a small distance to get out of earshot.
CRACK!
Miss Militia turned and looked up. Above her, the previously shimmering outline of the portal was dispelling in favor of a mirror-like look as it reflected the surrounding area.
Talos shifted and Miss Millita could hear the metal fingers tighten on the massive gun. "Clear the area now." The woman said in a tone that seemed used to being listened to.
"Talos what is your portal doing?" Miss Militia asked concerned.
"Leave now. I'll take care of it. The situation is under control." The robotic voice did little to ease Miss Millita's fears.
The mirror-like effect seemingly shattered inward and in its place was a portal ringed by a violet halo. Through the portal came a flying robot that flew downwards toward the pair.
Talos tilted her head and Miss Militia could hear the woman whispering under her helmet. Talos turned toward the drone and gave it a thumbs up before turning back to her. "Thank you for your assistance but I have this under control. The drone is a repair bot I made. It's repaired the portal and is confirming that I am not under duress. Thank you for your time but it's time for you to leave ma'am." Talos said looking down at Miss Militia.
"Possible situation at Port and Townsend Street. Tinkertech is active." Came the voice of one of the PRT troopers speaking into the comm.
From the portal, thick ropes were thrown down with one end hanging from the portal edge and leading farther back within. Looking up Miss Militia could see people dressed in military fatigues watching with guns trained on the portal and by extension Miss Millita and the PRT Troopers.
Instinctively she changed her weapon from a knife to an assault rifle with rubber bullets. She didn't aim it at Talos but clicked the safety off.
"Miss Millta do you copy?" Came the voice of Armsmaster over the comm and the sound of tires squealing. "I copy are you nearby?" She asked keeping an eye on Talos and the soldiers.
"Two minutes out. Dragon is reporting massive amounts of background radiation in the area. It's centered around your location. Is that portal active?" He asked and she could hear horns being honked through the comms.
Talos ignored her and the PRT and backed up to the portal's base and the ropes. How she expected to get up to the portal with ropes considering she was in a giant mech eluded Miss Millita.
"-uck. Shut it down if you can. Blow it up or disable it but don't let it stay on." He said leaving the thought that had crossed both of their minds unsaid. Was this a portal to a tinker's base or a way to move a bomb?
Miss Millita snapped her rifle up to Talos. "Shut the device down. Radiation is spiking in the area. People could get hurt if you don't." She said eyes narrowing. The armor looked though but if she hit the joints on the shoulders or wrists she could disarm the parahuman.
"This is under control. No one is in danger." Talos tried to assure raising her gun as well. Though Miss Militia was not calmed in the slightest. Her finger moved slowly toward the trigger to disable the parahuman when a blast of red flashed between her and the parahuman. Looking up she saw a sniper armed with a tinker tech rifle reloading their gun. The message was clear.
"Move aside or you will be placed under arrest." Miss Militia said as the troopers moved in with confoam sprayers.
"Not happening," Talos said with a growl. The drone rose to an equal height to Talos and a compartment on top opened revealing some kind of weapon.
Both sides looked at one another. Neither made a move. The air was palpable with tension.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Something large was moving above in the portal. Miss Militia risked a glance. Above her, a mech identical to Talos' other than the paint job came leaping through the portal. Diving out of the way Miss Millita went to one knee changing her weapon to a grenade launcher.
The ropes went taut as four people in fatigues slide down them and raised their weapons to the PRT.
"I suggest you stand down ma'am." Came Talos' voice. Miss Millita considered her odds. None of the troopers had lethal weapons and confoam may not be enough if these people struck quickly enough.
Behind Miss Millita a van swerved and Armsmaster jumped out joined by two PRT Troopers.
"Stand down now and deactivate your portal at once." Armsmaster barked drawing his halberd and moving to Miss Millita's side.
"More hero's are on the way. Stand down and surrender your weapons or you will be arrested. This doesn't have to end in conflict but that portal needs to be deactivated and you all need to be questioned" He yelled at them. The sniper in the back looked confused judging by her body language as did the woman wielding a shotgun. The others didn't react other than pointing their weapons at him as well.
"Not happening. Move aside. We don't want to hurt you but we will if needed." Said the lead soldier with a sword strapped to his back.
The groups stood facing one another with guns ready.