One Punch Man: Attitude Adjustment
Ch.5 Pawns and Kings
There was a quiet tension in the air as the elevator descended through the underground complex, the corny music playing through the elevators speakers did not make it better. Candy had her arms crossed and a very nervous look on her face. Her foot tapped impatiently, which was getting on Rose's nerves. Candy's baggy eyes and messy cloths showed that she had been through a tough night while. Rose looked like she slept quite well, and as always made sure to look like a proffesional.
"So...did he look like he was a good mood?" Candy asked Rose, whose eyes were focused on her tablet.
"No more then usual, but he did seem very eager to talk to you." Rose said as she kept looking at her work with a deadpan expression.
"But did he say anything about the job or the um...you know..." Candy said with a skittish look in her eye.
"From what I remember...no." Rose said, acting like she had to take a moment to recall what she heard.
"Oh come on Rose, help a girl out. At least tell me how I can make him happy again if he's pissed." Candy pleaded while holding her own hands together.
"I wouldn't know, I'm smart enough to stay on his good side." Rose said while turning to look at Candy with complete indifference, just as the elevator came to a stop and opened.
After scowling at Rose for not being helpful, Candy looked down the hallway to see metal doors with silver skulls at the end of it. She tried to stay calm as she walked towards the door, but her felt like it was beating faster with every step. After a deep breath, Candy opened the doors and walked inside to find the man simply known as Spade sitting at his desk. As always, he was dressed like someone ready to step on stage and put on a show. He had his feet resting on the desk while he leaned back in his chair, making it look like he was relaxed. Candy was relieved at first, but then she stepped closer and saw the look of a man waiting to hear an explanation.
"Uh...hey boss." Candy said with a fake, cheery smile. "I umm...really like the boots, are they new?" Candy waited to hear an answer, but Spade's face didn't even flinch. "They really do tie the whole outfit..."
"Sit down love." Spade said, cutting her off as he pointed at a bar stool in front of the desk.
Candy tried not to show how scared she was, but a nervous bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face as she slowly took a seat. Spade opened a drawer in his desk to take out a small glass and a bottle of expensive whiskey. The fingers on Candy's right hand tapped her leg nervously as she watched for Spade to take his time pouring a drink.
"Well...go on." Spade said after he finished pouring and picked up the glass.
"Ok...well, we took out the guards and started the job like you wanted..." Candy said, hoping the entire time that Spade would accept he side of the story. "But then a Hero came by that turned out to be pretty good...so I let the monster out." Her voice was starting to tremble as Spade still showed no sign of reaction. "B-But then another Hero showed up...and I was worried about all that money I grabbed for you...s-so I...I..." Candy said as Spade raised the glass to his lips form a drink. "Please, please don't get rid of me like Fat Tony!" Candy pleaded as he composure broke down, her shoulders were on the desk as she held her hands together in a begging way. "I didn't want to lose it, but the other Hero looked tough and I wasn't sure who else would show up and...and..."
"And you used my pet to cover your ass?" Spade said with a raised eyebrow.
Candy's eyes widened, Spade still didn't look angry but that response did not sound like someone who was pleased. Every muscle in her body became tense as Spade got up from his chair and walked around the desk towards her.
"Candy, Candy, Candy..." Spade said as he moved, placing a hand on Candy's shoulder while he stared down at her intensely. " You...did exactly what I hoped for, good on you love." He said with a grin.
"W-wait..?" Candy replied, looking up at Spade with complete confusion and tears still in the corners of her eyes. "I-I did?"
"Of course, and don't ever compare yourself to that twat Tony. For one thing, you're much easier on the eyes." Spade said as he walked back to his seat in a what seemed to be a better mood.
"B-But you said that monster was really important." Candy said, still very confused.
"No, I said testing it was important." Spade said as he looked at his computer, opening a file before he turned the monitor so Candy could see it. "And I must say, I like what I'm seeing so far." He said as he picked up the bottle to pour another drink.
The computer screen showed two videos at the same time. Both of them were footage from the fight with the Peacock Griffin but each one showed a different part of it. One of them showed Jack Burn's coming very close to death, the other was a close up of Randal's face as he and the monster fought in mid-air.
"Is it a shame you couldn't bring the bird back? I suppose. It was one of the stronger beasts we had." Spade said as he shrugged his shoulders in a relaxed manner. "But that's the beauty of our world love. If we don't find new pets out in the wild we can just wait for some daft bloke to love fish too much and start growing gills." He said while smiling at his own joke.
"So...I'm not in trouble?" Candy asked.
"No, but you are staying here for a while. Most of the others are off running errands and Jackson's getting ready to make a deal for me. That means you and your boys are gonna help hold down the fort." Spade explained before taking another drink.
"Oh, I can do that boss. No need to worry. I promise, if anyone even thinks about coming near you me and my Daddy-O's will..." Candy said as she tried to suck up to the boss.
"That's plenty love, get going." Spade replied, not caring about her reassurance as he gestured towards the door.
Candy immediately stood up and walked out the door, sighing in relief as she left. Rose was waiting on the other side of the door, so Candy gave her one more sour look before going into the elevator again.
"Is the doc ready for me?" Spade asked Rose after Candy was gone.
"She's eagerly waiting for you." Rose answered with a nod of her head.
"This better be worth all the fuss." Spade said before finishing his drink and getting up to follow Rose.
The two of them entered another elevator that took them up to the seventh level. It was the primary research and development sector, which is why dozens of scientists were waiting to greet Spade when he arrived. In the center of the crowd was a middle-aged woman wearing a white lab coat like everyone else around her. Her white hair was short and messy and a pair of goggles were hanging around her neck. As soon as Spade and Rose walked out of the elevator she walked towards them were her arms open and a very excited look on her face.
"There you are, I was starting to think you'd make me wait all day!" The woman said with plenty of enthusiasm.
"Good morning Dr. Nova." Rose said politely.
"Got something to show doc?" Spade asked, hoping the trip in the elevator was worth it.
"Oh yes, progress has been extraordinary. Once you see for yourself, I'm sure you'll see how worthwhile my research truly is." Dr. Nova said with a self-satisfied smile. "Please, follow me."
The doctor lead Spade and Rose through the large and very expensive laboratory. The rest of the scientists went back to their assigned stations; where they worked on things like weapon modifications, high quality drug production and experiments with D.N.A samples taken from various monsters.
"So how's the collection coming along?" Spade asked as he looked around, carefully watching to make sure everyone was doing their job.
"Rather well, but it's a shame we lost that lovely griffin specimen." Dr. Nova said, pouting as she thought about the monster.
"Have we managed to capture anything beyond a Demon Level threat?" Rose inquired.
"Sadly no, It's proven to be much harder then we thought. One of our teams did find a very impressive creature that resembled a giant ape but it also appears that the creature knew it was being observed. Their last recording was of a man begging for help as they were all being slaughtered." Dr. Nova said nonchalantly.
"Did we send another team in?" Spade asked casually.
"Yes, and they found what was left of the others. Oddly enough, they also found the bottom half of the monsters corpse as well. We checked every news source, but we found nothing about a Hero or anyone else being the one to kill it." Dr. Nova explained.
"Maybe it was fighting another monster in some kind of primal turf war." Rose suggested.
"Perhaps, but I can't help but wonder if it was something else." Dr. Nova said, stroking her chin as she thought about the situation. "One thing my work has shown me is that there are many powerful people who don't exist in the public eye. But enough of that, here we are!" The doctor said as her faced gleamed with pride and joy.
They stood in front of a giant, high-tech glass vat that was connected to the floor and the ceiling with metal bases. The vat was filled with a glowing green fluid with what looked like a naked person floating in the middle of it. The body looked like it belonged to a young man. He was tall, slim and seemed to have zero body fat because of how defined the muscles on his body were. Long, vibrant white flowed down his back and spread out in all direction as it was floating in the fluid. The face was covered by a metal mask, with two tubes that extended out of it and up towards the top of the vat.
"Isn't he just...beautiful?" Dr Nova asked, her voice hushed as she was caught up in the moment.
"I'll admit, it is coming along nicely." Rose said, tilting her glasses down for a moment as she looked at the mans body.
"I couldn't care less about how good pretty it is. You really think this will do the trick?" Spade asked, not looking convinced.
"Of course, like I said he's turned out to be exceptional." Dr. Nova said as she stepped closer to the vat, reaching up to put her hand on the glass as she stared longingly at the man floating inside. "He's managed to exceed all of our physical expectations, it won't be long before we're ready to start the education process. Once that's done, he will be more then prepared to eliminate all of the Heroes and anyone else who might get in our way."
"Right..." Spade said, still showing his skepticism. "You're not going to get creepy with that thing once it's let out, right?" He asked to imply just how much Dr. Nova seemed to love her creation.
"Don't be ridiculous Spade. I'm a scientist, not a deviant. I'll leave that kind of behavior to someone like you." Dr. Nova replied as she looked at Spade, clearly insulted by the question. "All I want is the same thing any mother does, to see their child reach their full potential." She said, looked at the vat again. "And when you do...It's going to be magnificent."
While Spade was overlooking the progress of his work, Randal was waiting outside his apartment. He did not have to wait long before the Bulldog pulled up in front of him. Kathy, Mia and Jeremy all came out of the armored vehicle with Kathy carrying a present tucked under her arm.
"Good Morning teammate. Ready to go?" Kathy said with exaggerated enthusiasm.
"Depends, you got the first part of my pay?" Randal asked as he eyed the box Kathy was carrying.
"Sure do." Kathy said as she opened the present and pulled out a brand new, black leather jacket. "Fresh off the rack and made with high quality monster leather."
"Nice." Randal said with a smirk as he took the jacket. "Fits like a glove." He said after putting it on.
"Glad you like it, now it's time to get to work." Kathy said as she grinned.
"Or we could wait until after lunch." Jeremy suggested, still looking tired even after a full nights sleep.
"If we let you decide the time, nothing would ever get done." Kathy replied as a playful tease. "If we want to save the day and beat the bad guys we need to start searching the city for clues."
"No we don't." Randal said bluntly. "I know a guy, he should be able to help us out."
"Is he another Hero?" Mia asked out of curiosity.
"Not even close." Randal said, laughing at the thought as he entered the Bulldog.
It was a short drive to the street where the Quick Cash Pawnshop could be found. As the Heroes left their vehicle, the owner of the pawnshop in the middle of handling some very important merchandise. Ted stood in the backroom of his store, talking with two middle-aged men as they all stood beside a van with a tacky 70's style paint-job.
"Are you sure this things gonna make it to the deal?" Ted asked as he looked at the run down looking van.
"No doubt about it man, this baby's gotten me around since college." The taller and skinnier of the two men said.
"Didn't you drop out?" The shorter man with a prominent beer gut asked.
"Well yeah...but I got the van before that, and had plenty of fun in the back over the years." The taller man replied with a smirk.
"Yeah yeah, I'm sure you and your right hand had a great time." Ted said as he rolled his eyes. "But we need to focus fellas, if this goes well then we can all live the easy life for a while." Ted was going to say more, but then heard a bell ding that meant someone was at the front desk. "Should've put up the closed sign..." Ted mumbled to himself as he walked to the front desk. "Alright, what do do you...Oh what the hell?!" Ted shouted as he saw who rang for him.
"Hey Ted, long time no see." Randy said with Kathy, Mia and Jeremy standing around him.
"No way Randy, get out! We already talked about this!" Ted replied, looking at their outfits was all he needed to know.
"This ought to end well..." Jeremy mumbled to Mia sarcastically.
"Come on Ted, just hear me out. All we want is some more infor..." Randy tried to say until he was cut off.
"Don't care, helping you is one thing but I'm not gonna end up being the Association's snitch." Ted said firmly with his arms crossed.
The two starred each other down for a little while. Randal knew that Ted wasn't the type of person that could have their mind changed easily. But with that said, he also knew one surefire way to get around that problem.
"Alright Ted, you win. I'm not gonna try to convince you." Randal said, pretending to put his hands in defeat. "But something tells me she can." Randal said as he gestured towards Kathy, who stepped up to the front of the desk.
"Nice try Randy, but no dice." Ted said before looking at Kathy. "Don't get me wrong, you're a looker for sure. But there is no way I am going to...to...to" Ted said, his mind going blank as he looked completely mesmerized.
Ted's eyes were fixed to the counter as soon as Kathy reached into her duster coat to pull out a very fat stack of bills wrapped together with rubber bands. He was almost drooling as he estimated how much money was sitting right in front of him.
"Feel like talking now?" Kathy asked in her usual, perky way.
"Uhh...yeah." Ted said, snapping out of his daze with his eyes still on the cash. "Just gonna...put this away first."
After taking the money, Ted walked into the door to the back room and slammed it shut. Kathy looked concerned, Mia looked confused and Jeremy just looked bored. Randal let out a long, aggravated sigh once the door closed. He knew Ted long enough to guess what was about to happen next.
"So...should we just wait?" Mia asked.
"Nope." Randal said as he grabbed the security gate and ripped it off the hinges.
Mia jumped back from shock and Jeremy's eyes were more than half open. Kathy was actually pleasantly surprised with Randal's no-nonsense approach. After hopping over the desk, Randal leaned his head towards the door to listen. The sounds were muffled, but he could still hear multiple people moving and shouting at each-other.
"Come on man, put your back into it!" Ted shouted angrily with his head poking out of the vans passenger side window.
"Some help would be nice!" The shorter one of Ted's two friends shouted as he was busy pulling on the chain that opens a steel garage door because Ted was too cheap to buy one that was automatic.
Ted's tall friend was sitting in the driver's seat, the engine was running and his foot was hovering over the gas pedal; ready to slam on it at any moment. At that moment, the door to the front of the shop was kicked in and Randal was the one who walked through it.
"Get in!" Ted shouted as his shorter friend scrambled to climb into the passenger seat. "Go!"
The driver hit the gas, but the car only moved a few feet before coming to an abrupt stop. Ted looked down and saw that his friend was still holding the gas, but before he could wonder what was wrong he felt the back of the van being lifted off the ground. Ted tried to see what was going on with the rear view mirror, but couldn't see anything. He climbed over the driver to stick his head out the window, which is what let him see the Randy's foot behind the van and realize what was going on.
"God dammit..." Ted mumbled, his head hanging low until a finger tapped on the driver-side window.
"Mind getting out?" Kathy asked with Jeremy and Mia beside her.
Since their escape failed, Ted and his accomplices turned off the engine and left the vehicle. Randal let go of the van and walked around it to see Ted and two other men that he knew all too well. The taller one was dressed like a man stuck in the 60's. His shirt was tie-dyed, the shorts were beige and the sandals on his feet were black. He also had long, scraggly grey hair and wore glasses.
The shorter one wore a dirty pair of black sweat pants and a red Tee-shirt that had multiple food stains on it. He had a beanie on his head that matched the color of his pants and did a fairly good job of covering his bald head, the same could not be said for his very noticeable beer gut. Standing together with Ted, the three of them looked like a very shabby bunch.
"Hey Chuck." Randal said to the taller one, his face showing how annoyed he was. "Horace, nice to see you boys." He said while looking at the shorter one.
"H-hey man, always good to catch up." Chuck said as he waved nervously.
"Randy, I know what you're thinking..." Ted anxiously said as he stepped forward. "But if you just give me the chance to explain..."
"Explain what? You taking my money and trying to run?" Randal asked, towering over Ted as he stood right in front of him.
"Your money?" Kathy asked with an amused smirk.
"Look pal, you know how it is. Bills to pay, debts to settle..." Ted replied, still trying to talk his way out.
"Cut the crap!" Randal shouted, which was enough to make all three men being interrogated even more afraid. "We both know you wouldn't do something this stupid unless you had a reason. So before I get that info you're gonna tell just me one thing." Randal said before tapping his hand on the side of the van with his eyes still fixed on Ted. "It felt like there was a lot of weight in the back when I picked this up, what's in the van Ted?
"Come on Randy, just give me a break. Please!" Ted answered after looking at the van, his voice sounding much more desperate.
"What's...in...the van?" Randal said, intentionally drawing his words to make sure Ted understood.
After a few moments of thinking it over, Ted reluctantly walked to the back of the van and open the doors. The back seats were taken out to make room for the large, thick wooden crate. Randal noticed what looked like air holes drilled into the top along with with multiple industrial strength chains wrapped around it. This made Randal cautious as he climbed into the van so he could try to see what was inside through one of the air holes. Before he even had the chance to look, the crate shook as something moved inside of it. Looking through the hole, Randal could see a pair of bright yellow eyes staring up at him. It was dark inside the crate, but Randal could see just enough to get a vague idea of what he was looking at. It seemed to walk on four legs and looked it was about the same size as a Bullmastiff. It also had shaggy looking fur on its legs and covering it's head but the torso appeared to be surround by some kind of shell.
"What is it?" Said Mia.
"Some kind of dog...turtle...thing?" Randal answered.
"I call it a Shellhound." Horace said with a grin.
"I still like my name better..." Chuck complained.
"We are not calling him Snappy!" Horace replied coldly.
"Huh...looks pretty cool." Jeremy said after looking over Randal's shoulder to see inside the crate.
"What the hell are you even doing with this?" Randal asked as he looked at Ted, Chuck and Horace again.
"It was supposed to be our big payoff..." Horace said with a sour look at Ted.
"Let me do the talking!" Ted replied, looking even more nervous than before.
"Sounds like someone had a little deal set up." Kathy implied as she listened closely.
"Yeah, it does..." Randal said, looking serious again as he realized what all this could mean. "Guys, I need you to be straight with me. Are you supplying the people we're looking for?"
"W-What?! Of course not man, you know us better than..." Ted replied, visibly sweating as he tried to be convincing.
"Ted, stop!" Randal shouted as he climbed out of the van to get in Ted's face. "You need to start talking, because if I found out you three really are involved I'll have to do my job and bring you idiots in! I don't want to be an asshole guys, but if you we don't get answers right now then I will drag you to into the Association and let them have a shot!" Randal shouted, his face starting to go red with anger.
"For Christ sake Ted, just tell him or I will!" Horace shouted.
"Fine..." Ted said reluctantly. "A while back, I got word about someone who was trying to get their hands on some monsters. No one new their name or even saw the guys face, but a friend of mine sold a few "toys" to their middlemen and swore he heard one of them say something about making Spade happy."
"Let me guess, you couldn't resist going after the money?" Randy asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"I wasn't going to get involved at first, but then I heard about an opportunity. You remember Carlos?" Ted asked.
"Yeah, used to see him all the time at Rusty's place." Randal said.
"Well Carlos still does sewer jobs for this part of town and he told me that his crew had to evacuate because a monster showed up. He said it didn't look too big but he didn't want to risk anybody getting mauled, so that made me think we might be able to catch it." Ted explained.
"How did you pull it off?" Kathy asked.
"Carlos told me which part of the sewer it was in, so I got my hands on a stun gun that can bring down an elephant and called these two to help pull it to the street. It took a while, but it eventually sniffed out the bait and came right to us." Ted said with a small grin of pride at a job well done.
"Did you just leave it a steak or two?" Jeremy asked.
"Nope, we used Chuck's cat." Horace said casually.
"Without asking!" Chuck added angrily.
"Oh stop whining, Buster was fine." Ted replied.
"That's terrible..." Mia said, her hand covering her mouth as she thought of that poor cat in danger.
"Well either way it worked, and now we got a deal set up with guys who really don't seem like the types that let you back out last minute. Do you get the position we're in now Randy?" Ted asked in frustration.
"Yeah, sounds like you've really outdone yourself pal." Randy replied. "So when's the meeting?"
"Tonight..." Ted replied reluctantly.
"Really? Well isn't that handy. Hope you're ready to make a deal Ted." Randy said with a smile as an idea popped into his head.
"You're gonna let us do it?" Chuck asked, completely confused.
"That's right, and just before the deal goes off a group of Heroes are gonna swoop in and take the bad guys down." Randal answered.
"And we slip away while you save the day." Ted said with an understanding smirk.
"Hmm...I like it." Kathy said, sounding very pleased. "Just tell us where and I'll set up the perfect ambush."
"Umm...are we sure about this?" Chuck said. "I mean, what if we get caught in the fight?"
"That might be a good point." Mia said, trying to sound nice even though she thought these men wouldn't last a second against some of the monsters she's fought.
"I get if you're worried Chuck, but I promise that nothing's gonna happen to you guys while I'm around." Randal said with sincerity. "And if that's not enough, you got the kids to watch your back."
"We're not kids..." Jeremy said while rolling his eyes.
"Hmm...I got one rule if we're gonna do this." Ted commented.
"And what's that?" Randy asked.
"You don't move in until after we get the money." Ted replied, holding his hand out to be shaken. "We got a deal pal?"
Randy couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. Over the years, he saw Ted talk his way in and out of just about everything. He also knew that when Ted had a new scheme Chuck and Horace were the first two he called, it was nice to know that some things really do never change.
"Deal." Randy said as he shook his friend's hand.