Wrong

Ai swam back to consciousness with a groan. Every single piece of her hurt. She had been-

Wait.

Ai went utterly still, not daring to move. She had died! Ai had known going into the mission that she would be a priority target for the Cult's mad scientists. Female humans were always prioritized by the nutjobs because they always needed more toys for their sick experiments. The fates of any Cobra operatives taken by the Cult were horrific in the extreme and only two Cobra females had been taken alive. What had happened to them turned Ai's stomach in so many ways. The teams had gone after them, of course but they had been too late. The girls had been 'altered' in far too many ways to recover from even with all of the medical wizardry Cobra had at its disposal. Neither had lived long after being rescued. Ai had hated the Cult before that, but the efficient, surgical brutality that the Cult had perpetrated on those poor girls (and any other luckless females they managed to capture) had fanned the rage in Ai's heart into a bonfire. She wasn't alone in that and Cobra had taken steps to keep it from happening again. The girls on her team had all booby trapped themselves and she had volunteered to carry the Matron's Gift. No matter how tough the Cult built its cyborg monsters, the Matron's Gift melted them. The Vipers as a race were gone out of the world long before Ai came out of her clone tank, but the memory of them still existed. Ai hadn't wanted to die, but she knew her duty. She had done her duty.

So, if the Gift had activated, which it had… How was she alive? She shouldn't be.

Ai cracked her eyes and went utterly still as oddities registered. She wasn't in the hallway anymore. Indeed, she seemed to be lying in some kind of metal box. Without moving her head, she swept her slitted eyes from side to side and stilled anew as she saw horrors. A number of woman lay beside her, all seeming asleep. Or drugged. None of them seemed to be over the age of twenty, few wore anything remotely presentable as clothing and all seemed restrained. Ai checked herself and she too was bound, but oddly. The restraints were flimsy. Some kind of rope? The Nightstalker shook her head, just a little, focused herself as she had been taught and then twisted her wrists savagely. She didn't break free though. She stared at her wrists and the ropes should have parted! Hemp rope, like this seemed, was strong in some ways, but far less so than the plastic flexi cuffs she preferred for restraining prisoners. She had a bit of flexibility. Whoever had bound her hadn't done a good job of it. She twisted her wrists back and forth and the hemp squeaked a little. Yes, definitely hemp, not plastic or metal. So, she should be able to break this, but it might take time. A small movement of her legs showed her ankles bound as well, probably with the same odd stuff. She felt cloth on her body, but it too felt odd. Not her fatigues or armor. She couldn't see herself from this angle, but-

Sudden noise had Ai going still and light slammed into her eyes even as she shut them hastily. She made sure to stay still as one end of the box she lay in opened and bright light poured in. She fought hard not to react as a dark form appeared and stepped over the still females that surrounded the recumbent Nightstalker. Her blood ran cold as the dark form resolved into a rough looking human male with a small, still form in his hands. The girl looked odd, but lay still in his hands. She made no sound even as he dropped her to the metal floor. Then he eyed the girl with lust in his eyes and Ai felt her blood start to heat as he bent down to fondle the sleeping girl's chest.

"No one will know." The man muttered as he caressed the girl and then he smiled evilly. He reached for his belt and Ai had seen enough.

Nightstalkers were trained in all kinds of combat. They were infiltration and sabotage specialists, generally, but they did a lot of jobs. Almost all of their jobs involved hurting and/or killing. The Cult of Sirius' monster cyborgs were the worst foe she had faced, but hardly the only threat. Some of the gangs had been brutal in the extreme and she had seen things like this box of horror from the other side, coming in with her team to rescue people being trafficked. Some of their stories had hurt Ai just hearing them, so she wasn't about to let this girl, whoever she was, be abused without fighting. The man had discounted Ai as a threat, being bound and all. Mistake. Ai was in perfect balance as she threw herself at the man even as he bent down over the girl, her bound wrists sliding over his head even as her knees found the precise spot on his back that covered his right kidney. She had been kidney punched herself, so Ai knew exactly how much it hurt. His startled scream choked off as her wrists pulled back and clamped the air in his throat. If she hadn't taken him by surprise, she would have been in trouble, but as it was, his pants fell down around his ankles as she yanked his head back. She had no leverage to break his neck, but he clearly wasn't a trained fighter. A trained fighter would have used his elbows to drive her back and away. Instead, he grabbed for her hands, which did nothing as they were locked around his neck. Held in place both by her rage and by the rope that bound her wrists. She slammed her knees into the man's back again and his breath left him in a whoosh as she connected to his kidneys again. He gasped and then fell. She absorbed the impact as she had been taught even as he collapsed in a heap. She kneed him again and pulled back with all of her trained strength. He was clearly begging, trying to plead for his life through a throat that was constricted, but she wasn't about to let up. She held him as he writhed, choked and died. Only after he finally lay still and she felt no pulse under her fingers did she release him and sit back to survey her prey.

Human. Male. Dead. He had a fixed blade Bowie style knife sheathed on his belt and Ai took it in careful fingers, spinning it to slice the bonds around her wrists. She wasn't 'quite' careful enough and cut herself, but it was a flesh wound that she ignored. A quick stab made sure that the man would never wake and then another quick slash freed her legs as well, this time with no blood. Ai rose to her feet, every sense on hyperalert, but nothing else happened. What was she wearing? She stared down at herself and dismissed the tiny skirt and flimsy blouse that seemed just plain wrong to her after a moment. She had no idea where she was, what was happening or how she had gotten here. What she did know was that decent people did not bind females, drug them and leave them lying on the floor of a metal box. Ai reversed the blade in her hand and moved carefully to the open door of the… Cargo container? She stared out at lots of cargo containers. At the door, she could hear engine noises, loud and regular. This wasn't anything she knew, but it might be a ship. She had heard about such, but had never been on any water going vessels. Mega-Primus hadn't been a coastal city. That said? The floor under the container was metal. The walls and ceiling she could see nearby were also metal. So, metal plus engine noises meant a vehicle of some kind. Probably a crew, who might or might not be involved in whatever was going on.

Some sense warned Ai and she flattened to the side of the container as two men with odd looking sub-machine guns ran into view. There was no cover though and both saw her at the same time. Neither spoke and both took aim even as Ai threw herself forward. She was too far away though and knew she was dead.

Then an object that Ai's stunned mind screamed 'flashbang' landed between the men and they stared at it even as Ai hit the metal deck and covered her head with her arms. Even through her shut eyes, the flash was intense, but not debilitating. The bang was insanely loud in these close confines, and she was probably temporarily deaf but she was in motion again. She ran full tilt into the closest guy and spun him even as he pawed at his eyes with a free hand. She had control of his weapon and clenched her hand over the trigger assembly when his weapon was in the right place. A burst of bullets tore from the weapon into his companion was gaping and shaking his head, trying to focus after the flashbang. That man fell to lie still and Ai slashed out with her purloined blade. It was a very bad strike and her hand to hand instructor would have beaten her black and blue if she tried it in any kind of ring, but she connected! The sharp blade tore into the wrist that held his weapon and it fell into Ai's other hand. Just touching it, the firearm was filthy! The man, realizing his peril and pain, bashed at Ai with his free hand, but Ai slashed out again, this time better aimed and the man screamed as her blade bit deep into his neck. Not a clean strike, but it would kill him. Not fast, though, so Ai retreated a step and juggled the sub-machine gun until her hand found its proper place. She didn't fire, she retreated again as the man clutched his spurting neck with his good hand, his eyes holding shock with rising fear. Ai shook her head.

"Pointing guns at me is a bad idea." Ai said far more loudly than she had planned. She was still a bit deaf. That wasn't just to the dying man who was now falling to his knees. Whoever had thrown the flashbang had to be watching. "I don't know how many rounds I have left, but if anyone else tries to touch these girls, I will kill them." Not a threat, a promise!

Ai went utterly still as a piece of the darkness slithered out of the shadows to eye her. The Viper was small, gray and blue. Not colors that Ai knew. This wasn't possible! All the Vipers were gone! Even the Matron was gone, but here one was coiled, regarding her coldly.

"You got ovaries the size of a mountain, girl." The Viper utterly ignored the man who fell to the ground, still trying to close his horrific wound and failing. She cared that he was dying almost as much as Ai did. Not at all. The snake woman was carrying sub-machine gun just like the one that Ai now held, but hers was cleaner. It was rock steady, aimed at Ai. "Who are you?"

"I am Ai. Who are you?" Ai retorted, her aim not shifting even though she knew this was a very different proposition from a thug. The Viper was wearing a vest that held some kind of badge, so Ai shifted her aim to the Viper's head even though doing such hurt her inside. She loved the matron dearly, but this wasn't Alley. Police? No. This strange Viper wasn't acting like a cop. Or at least, not any cop Ai had ever seen. Ai took a slow step back but did not shift her aim. From how the Viper was not moving? She was a professional. The question was a professional 'what'. Cop, soldier or something worse?

"Name's Torque." The Viper said flatly. "You just blew my sting. Give me one good reason I shouldn't shoot you here and now."

"Because even as fast as Vipers are, I would get a burst off. Neither of us are likely to miss and I don't think you want to die any more than I do." Ai said slowly. The Viper just looked at her and Ai sighed. "I just woke up here and the guy in the container was going to rape a girl in there. Sorry if I screwed your op, but if I have any choice? I don't stand for such."

"You are dressed like a civilian, but with how you move and fight? You are not one." Torque said slowly. "Are you with Reclamation?"

"I don't know what you mean." Ai replied, not moving now. "I have never heard of 'Reclamation'." She could swear she had startled the Viper with that, but Torque recovered fast. Ai shook her head. "Are there more hostiles?" She asked, trying to keep from being snide, but it came out anyway.

"Only three crew on this piece of shit barge." Torque shook her head a little. "That is why HQ let me run this solo. The day I cannot take three humans, I expect to die." Ai stilled. That wasn't arrogance. A confidence that bordered on arrogance, but not quite the same.

"You threw the flashbang." Ai said slowly. Torque nodded and Ai sighed. "Neither of us know the other. Neither of us can trust." Torque was just watching now and Ai continued. "I don't know how I got here or even where here is. I saw a threat to a girl. I acted. I saw a threat to myself. I acted."

"That you did." Toque slowly shook her hood. Her aim still did not waver.

"Are you a threat to them?" Ai inquired. Toque scoffed but Ai didn't move. "Are you?" She demanded.

"No." Toque lowered her sub-machine gun. It was still in hand and ready, but not aimed. Still a threat. Vipers defined the word 'fast'. "I was trying to track the pricks who took them. Find their bosses and take them down. These were just goons." Ai stared at her and then she took lowered her weapon.

"Then I apologize." Ai said with a small sigh. "I didn't mean to screw your op. I woke up here, bound and then saw a guy about to rape a girl." She gave a shrug. "I took offense."

"The girl he just took in there?" Torque asked, her tone odd. Was that shame or fear that crossed her snout for a moment?

"Yeah." Ai was confused as Torque seemed to wilt. "Why?"

"Is she okay?" Torque demanded. That was fear!

"As far as I can tell." Ai retorted. "I am no medic." She backed up a step as Torque slithered forward. "What?"

"I need to check." Torque said quickly. "If she is hurt, I am in deep shit."

"Are you a medic?" Ai demanded, blocking the Viper's path and Torque paused even in her worry.

"No, but I have a nanomedikit." The Viper patted her belt. "I need to check Valere! If she is hurt, all kinds of hell will land on us. Well, on me." She corrected when Ai bristled. "This op was my idea and I promised she would be safe." For a long moment, the Nightstalker just stared at the Viper and then Torque made a soft noise of disgruntlement. When she spoke again, it sounded almost as if she was pulling teeth. It was that strained. "Please?"

"I am not a medic either." Ai replied and stepped aside to let the Viper past her. "I will secure the area." Torque jerked up short again and Ai shrugged. "I have NO idea what is going on, but those girls are not soldiers."

"You are." Torque nodded slowly. "Not sure for who, but you are a soldier."

"You are not." Ai countered and Torque snickered a bit. "Tell me I lie."

"I was. Once." Torque slithered into the container, her face blank. "Now? I work for a group called 'Chimera' who work for Reclamation." Ai didn't react and neither did Torque. "Neither of which mean anything to you." A statement, not a question.

"Doesn't matter right now." Ai replied. "Right now, we seem to be on the same side, but trust won't happen. That said? We have noncombatants in harm's way and need to get them out. I hope you have backup on the way."

"I do." Torque was in the container now and Ai focused on her surroundings.

"Good." Ai moved to check the fallen, but neither would move again. It was a bit messy, but she had seen worse. Done worse. She swept the area and there was one exit from the room. Or cargo bay. Or whatever this was. A scream came from the container and Ai was in motion even as the girl she had seen came hurtling out, her face a mask of fear.

"Valere!" Torque shot out of the container in pursuit even as Ai intercepted the terrified girl. She dropped her weapon and grabbed the girl bodily even as the girl tried to run for the door. "Don't hurt her!"

"I won't." Ai promised as the girl beat at her with impotent fists. Ai had dealt with such before though and knew what to do. She hugged the girl tight and spoke urgently. "Girl! Girl! Valere? Easy. It is okay. You are okay!" She said quickly even as Torque slid up next to to the pair, the Viper's face desolate. "Girl, it is okay! You are safe!" Ai kicked her sub-machine gun to Torque who took it with an odd look. "Easy. Easy." Ai crooned as the girl sobbed in her arms. "It is okay, you are safe!"

"I am not safe!" Valere was still trying to get out of Ai's grip, but the girl was far weaker than the Nightstalker. Strong, for a human her apparent age, but not nearly as well trained as Ai was. "They want me! They will take me and use me! Make me one of their monsters!" She buried her face in Ai's shoulder and wept. "I saw what they want me to be in my dreams! I don't wanna be a Joe!"

She screamed the last into Ai's shoulder and Ai felt every piece of her breath leave her lungs.

"You won't." Ai said firmly enough that Torque hissed. Valere stiffened at the rock hard tone and then stared up at the Nightstalker's face, tears streaming from huge, pure black eyes. She was a mutant? It didn't matter. Ai hugged the girl tight. She smiled at Valere, but her smile held dreadful promise. "If you saw them, you might have seen us too."

"Who… Who are you?" Valere was trying to control herself, but she was clearly still terrified.

"I am Nightstalker Ai." Ai said with a nod to the stunned Viper who was gawking at her now as she rocked Valere in her arms. "I do not know where I am or why I am here, but one thing I do know. I know my enemies." She met Torque's disbelieving eyes over the sobbing girl's head and smiled wider. Then the human gave her own battlecry. "Cobra!"