If you're not remembering the story details, remember that there is a recap in the last chapter. Enjoy!
Winger's staff wasn't nearly as effective on the General's armor as it had been on the foot soldiers and for every hit he landed, Sendak landed three. He wasn't going to get anywhere like this, his body was at its limits. Sendak threw a box at him forcing him to quickly roll away, he threw more daggers as a counter, but the General easily blocked them by raising his left arm. Winger narrowed his eyes, there was something strange about that arm. Sendak had only been using it for defense, but he didn't seem to feel anything that hit it. Winger couldn't see its appearance due to the mass of armor covering it, but he knew it had to be different than his offensive right arm.
Before Winger could think on the matter anymore the impossible happened, Sendak gave an evil smile and pointed his left arm directly at him. Winger didn't know what was about to happen, but it certainly wasn't that! Sendak launched his left arm at Winger. The vigilante jumped out of the way but with his attention diverted he was helpless to Sendak charging in and getting a clean hit in with his right arm.
What the hell was that?! How is that possible?! It's not possible! Arms can't just fly off a body!
Adam couldn't comprehend what had just occurred. His mind reeled, and his body ached, and his entire mindset changed. This was no longer a fight that he was going to try and win. He needed to get out. Previously he entertained the idea of maybe defeating Sendak, but now that he had revealed his newest weapon, the thought flew out of Adam's mind.
I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this.
Winger slammed his left wrist down onto the ground that he was still sprawled out on, effectively activating his emergency beacon. Turning his attention back to the fight at hand, his eyes cased the entire room once again, he had to find a way out.
Winger glanced at his wrist and saw the little flash of red that assured him that his signal was sent out. He barely managed to avoid the second shot of Sendak's arm as it screeched past him and ducked to avoid the fierce kick Sendak released at him.
Adam had made up his mind, the door that Sendak had entered from must have been a faster way to the surface than the long trek that Winger had made. The door was less guarded than the large double doors behind him that he had entered from, but it was up on a platform. Winger knew that if he went for it that he would leave himself vulnerable to any attacks from the surrounding soldiers. He needed a distraction.
Winger wasn't having much time to think before Sendak came at his swinging, the vigilante was quickly forced further and further back towards the wall. It was clear that Sendak had every intention of keeping him away from both sets of doors. The hiss of Sendak's missile arm drew his attention as he once again had to jump to avoid its path. The collision of Sendak's arm with the arm rang out in the larger room loud enough that Winger's ears started ringing. Winger couldn't find in him to care as he saw the massive cracks in the wall from the collision site.
That'll do it. He thought as he scanned the room again, his eyes landed on Odoroki, and he slid across the smooth floor to grab the tiny drone and allowed his momentum to carry him right past Sendak. Winger switched tactics and danced around the room as he was fully on the defensive. He let the angry general take all the swings he wanted at him and launch his arm freely as Winger changed the frequency of his staff. The new frequency didn't affect Sendak very much, but it certainly had a blinding affect every time Winger took a swing at the General or smacked the staff against the floor.
Come on, come on! Winger's mind yelled at him as he used the bright light of his staff to disorient the General and force him to not realize that every time he launched his arm he ended up hitting one of the support beams instead of his intended target. Dust fell from the ceiling as another beam was hit and the cracks began to spread up the walls. It wouldn't be long now.
One more hit was all it took for the cracks along the walls to finally reach the ceiling and cause large pieces of debris to start falling down on top of the unsuspecting Galra Gang members. Screams erupted as realization hit them and they all began rushing towards the exit not caring who they had to push out of their way. Winger took advantage to run towards the high platform that Sendak had used to enter the room and quickly dispatched of the two guards who were still near the door.
He heard Sendak roar behind him as he tried to wade through the mass of Galra soldiers. Winger gave him a two-finger wave before throwing a small explosive device at one of the only support beams still standing.
Matt knew in his heart that screaming at the monitors did not, in fact, help him to regain his eyes and ears, but it was the only thing he could do. His throat was finally allowed a reprieve as his scream was cut off as the picture on the monitor started to fritz back online and heavy panting filled the speakers.
"Winger! Are you okay?" He tried once the connection had stabilized.
"Get me…" Winger's voice was cut off as his panting was replaced with a cough racking through his body. The image showed that Winger had staggered and lost his pace for a moment, but he quickly got it under control again. "…out of here!"
"Okay, okay, hang on!" Matt took a deep breath to steady his shaking hands. Since all of his monitories came back online, Matt knew that Winger must have Odoroki with him, so he activated the scanners once again to find an exit path.
"Take the upcoming right!" Matt yelled into the comms. He was so focused on finding the best path that he didn't even bother to mute the blaring alarm of Winger's emergency beacon that had been sounding for the last several minutes. It took several turns and a lot of running, but Winger's cameras finally saw a door appear in front of him. Adam didn't hesitate as he bounded up the stairs and threw his body weight into it, squinting his eyes shut as the sunlight blinded him.
Detective Shiro was known for his work ethic but there came a time when even he needed a mental break. He decided that he would go for a walk to give his mind a break and allow his body to move once again.
"Keith, I'm going for a walk." The other detective gave a grunt of acknowledgment but otherwise didn't move. Keith had known Shiro long enough that he knew the man needed to clear his head, Keith's way involved another cup of coffee, but it would probably be best if he didn't try to get another cup right in front of the other. Shiro checked his pockets before making his way outside, he didn't really have a path in mind, so he allowed his legs to take him wherever they wanted. It was a nice day in Altea City with the sun shining brightly, cars rolling by, and everyone seemed to be moving at a leisurely pace. Shiro always enjoyed his walked, he loved to see the people out and about in their daily lives, after all, this is what he fought to protect.
He rounded a few more corners and was shocked out of his thoughts as what sounded like pounding footsteps seemed to be coming from underneath him. His mind raced with confusion as he tried to figure out what was happening. He whipped his head around, but no one else was in sight and the sound was getting further away. Shiro took off in the direction of the thumps and found himself struggling to keep up, whatever it was, it was moving fast. The detective used his senses to try and figure out any clues as he ran, the footsteps occasionally wavered or sharply turned which made it seem like it was coming from a frightened animal. He didn't remember any sewers or some other kinds of tunnels in this area so he wasn't sure exactly where this animal could be running.
Shiro had to dig his heels into the ground in order to stop himself in time as the creature run underneath a building. He was just about to swear his frustrations out when it sounded like the footsteps where suddenly getting louder. Shiro jumped to the side as the side of the building burst open from an inside force, the detective remembered that there wasn't a door there before, but when he looked up, thin pieces of wood had splintered as the broke from the wall and revealed what was very obviously a door in their place.
Shiro wasn't sure what to expect as he saw a form emerge from the door, but it certainly wasn't a person. His eye's widened when he saw that the body was encased in all black armor with a dark mask covering the lower half of the man's face. It was the vigilante Winger! Winger staggered as he stepped into the bright sun and started to hunch over as he held his side. The new angle of his head gave him a little shade and allowed him to open his eyes. Shiro saw his eyes blow wide as he took realized there was another person next to him.
"Wait!" Shiro yelled when Winger turned on his heel and took off down the alleyway. The detective wasn't sure what he wanted to say next- are you okay? Why did you come out the side of a building? Where does this lead? What happened to you? He hesitated for a moment but then took off down the alleyway to case after the vigilante. He heard a car screech past the street to his right and saw Winger turn towards the road. Shiro sprinted around the same corner but was only met with the sight of a black car speeding down the street and no sign of the vigilante.
Shiro stood there panting for what felt like hours to his mind before he pulled out his phone and started rattling off information. He needed to get a swat team here immediately and figure out why Winger just came out the side of a damn building and what the hell unregistered tunnels were beneath them.
Curtis raced around Altea City following Matt's instructions to keep him close to where Winger was underneath him. Matt saw Shiro through the suit cameras as Adam struggled to stand and was able to warn Winger in time to buy him a few seconds while the detective dealt with his shock.
Curtis barley slowed the car down as Matt shot around the corner of a building, he reached over and popped the door open to allow for Adam to dive into it. Adam was able to close the door but was then overtaken by a violent coughing fit that racked his entire body.
"Sit up, up, up!" Curtis urged, smacking the arm of the tired and bruised man. Adam wiggled up enough to get Curtis to stop hitting it and felt as the pressure on his chest was released enough for him to get his coughing under control.
"Are you okay?" Curtis shook him as he started to hunch over in his seat.
"Call the kid." Was all Adam wheezed out before dropping his head into his arms that were supported by the dash. Curtis kept one hand on Adam's back to provide him with at least a bit of comfort as he raced back to their HQ where they had a med bay set up. He heard the beep in his ears that indicated that Matt had muted himself. He assumed it was so he could call Lance.
"Hang on Adam, we got you." Curtis whispered as he gripped said man's shoulder.
Again, thank you guys so much for your patience and support of this story! I hope that this chapter was worth the wait! I'll get chapter 10 up as fast as I can. See you next time! ~Kiera540
