One Punch Man: Attitude Adjustment
Chapter 20: Crisis in City T
"We got everyone out of the barracks?" Spade asked, entering the door to his compound with his Lieutenants.
"They're on the way." Rose answered.
"You want us to lead the charge boss?" Simian asked with both hands in his back pockets.
"No, most of you are gonna stay back and guard our assets." Spade said, turning around to face his employees. "Simian, you take the vault. Bella, you get the main generator. Tommy's gonna guard the armory and Jackson gets the security mainframe. That leaves Candy going out to make sure the troops do their jobs."
"What?" Jackson asked, clearly unimpressed.
"S-Seriously? I gotta fight an army of Heroes?" Candy asked nervously.
"Don't get scared on me love, it's the perfect time to show-off what you can do." Spade replied with a casual grin.
"But I'm keeping a few of my boys to help out, right?" Tommy remarked.
"Nope, they're all going topside. But I'll tell Nova to let out that cat you've had your eye on." Spade said.
"Works for me." Tommy said with a malicious smile.
"Good, then hop to it people. No time to spare." Spade said before turning and walking away with Rose.
After a handful of steps, Spade stopped when he heard a metallic sound that caught his ear and noticed a faint blue glow on his back. The other Lieutenants backed away as Jackson seemed ready to fire at their boss.
"Not the time for this Jacky Boy..." Spade said, only giving Jackson a glance over the shoulder.
"I don't care, this was supposed to be about taking the fight to the Heroes. Now you're telling us to sit back and guard everything we've been hoarding for you." Jackson stated bitterly.
"We've got plenty of men and monsters for a fight, but we'll need the important stuff to..." Spade tried to explain with disinterest
"Shut up!" Jackson yelled, his eyes glowing blue again. "You're treating all of this like a stupid game, don't expect me to play along any...!"
"Switch...off." Spade said, making sure he was loud and clear.
Jackson's arm went limp, the glow and electrical charge faded. His entire body slumped to the floor. No matter how hard he tried, Jackson could not move. His eyes stayed open, but now he could not even blink. He was left staring at a wall, until Spade's boot stepped in front of his view. The other Lieutenant's had reactions that ranged from shocked to genuine horror.
"It's a shame. You're probably the best set of hands I got, but you're also obsessed with doing things by the book." Spade said while squatting next to Jackson. "That's why I asked Nova and the other eggheads to put something special in those upgrades you asked for. Never can be too careful after all. So let's not have anymore tantrums, or I'm gonna make you spend a decade or two rusting in a dusty broom closet."
"Ha! That's why you'll never see this body swapped for parts!" Tommy said to mock Spade usual right-hand man.
"Don't think he's the only one in this position." Spade stated with a very callous tone, looking each of his Lieutenants in the eyes to make sure they understood. "You don't even want to know what I had them do." He said to Simian with a devious smirk.
"Umm...you're joking, right?" Simian asked with a nervous smile.
"If you don't want to find out, I suggest you all get going." Spade said before standing again.
Spade's demeanor was enough to make the others go their separate ways, each of them heading to their assigned post without looking back at the fellow Lieutenant on the floor. Rose was the only one remaining, waiting for Spade as he apathetically examined the cyborg.
"You were hired to be a good soldier, and good soldiers know how to follow orders." Spade remarked as he started walking to one of the elevators with Rose. "Try to keep that in mind from now on." He said as the two stepped through the doors.
"Umm...Spade?" Rose said, noticing Spade was about to close the doors.
"Oh, right. Switch on." Spade said as the doors shut.
Like a defibrillator restarting his heart, Jackson's whole body convulsed for a moment before suddenly being able to move again. He stayed on the ground, kneeling and panting as he felt completely horrified. He punched the floor in frustration, leaving a small crater around his fist. After so much time and sacrifice in order to make sure the mission was always accomplished, he was made totally powerless by just two simple words.
As The Crime Association prepared for an attack, Randal and the others slowly moved through the treeline to find where Kathy parked The Bulldog. Even though he wanted to say something, Randal gestured to the others to go ahead so he could watch their backs. Now was not the time to be careless, and just being allowed to leave still seemed too good to be true. After getting through the trees, he found the Bulldog in a clearing close to the highway with the others standing in front of it.
"Welcome back." Kathy said without any enthusiasm.
"Hey..." Randal replied awkwardly.
"You look like crap." Kathy said, noticing the rips and tears in his dirt covered cloths.
"Yeah..." Randal said after looking down. "Look, I..." Randal tried to say, until he was interrupted by Mia hugging him.
"I'm so sorry about what happened!" Mia cried, her eyes forming tears. "Especially my father..."
"Don't be." Randal said firmly, stepping back from Mia so he could look down and see her eye to eye. "It wasn't your fault, and I probably could've handled a few things better.'
"That's a pretty big understatement." Kathy said as she stepped up to Randal with a stoned faced expression. "Trying to fight Spade by yourself is probably even more insane then stupid. But you did lead us to the power plant and managed to make it back in one piece, so I think we can call it even." She said with a coy grin.
"Great, I hate owing...whoa!" Randal said, happy to see still be on Kathy and Mia's good side he turned to look at Jeremy. "You uh, you okay kid?"
"You ruined...my paint job..." Jeremy said, his voice trembling with pure rage as a visible vane formed on his forehead.
Jeremy pointed at The Bulldog to help make his point. On the side of the armored vehicle was a message hastily written with yellow spray-paint. The message was simple, but it was apparently enough to get Randal's point across; "Get the tracker".
"Oh for the love of..." Randal muttered. "I'll wash it off later!"
"Damn right you will!" Jeremy said, stepping up to Randal before being stopped by Kathy.
"Anyways..." Kathy said while pushing Jeremy back. "I managed to convince the executive who showed up today your plan was legit. Backup should be here any minute."
"Good, I was counting on that." Randal said with an impressed smirk. "Spade won't be so cocky against a full army of Heroes."
"Yeah...about that." Kathy replied with a sigh. "Turns out there's a Dragon Level threat tearing through City-B. It's apparently bad enough to make the Association order most of the Heroes to go there. That means we get people who happened to be nearby and Heroes from the injury reserve list."
"Of course there is..." Randal groaned. "Whatever, let's just hope we got some people who fight."
"Speaking of which.' Jeremy said while pointing.
A 1960's Aston Martin DB5 in ocean blue parked next to The Bulldog, the car looked like it had been washed and waxed that day. Randal and the others recognized the man who stepped out of the driver's side. It was John Burns, the Class-B Hero who fought Candy and the Peacock Griffin. His tuxedo was black this time and there was an extravagant golden watch on his left wrist.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen." John said politely, trying to hide the limp in his right leg as he approached. "I have not had the chance to properly thank you all for coming to my rescue."
"You sure you're okay Slick?" Randal asked, remembering the state John was in last time they met.
"Not 100%; but time, rest and plenty of painkillers should be enough to keep me on my toes." John replied.
"Hi everybody!" Tennis Tammy said enthusiastically as she stepped out of the passengers seat. "Hey...don't I know you from somewhere?" She asked while looking at Randal.
'Yup...hi Tammy." Randal said with a lazy wave.
"So, do you two always team up like this?" Kathy asked, curious about their relationship.
"Nope, my car broke down the other day so I asked the Association for a ride. John was so nice enough to pick me up right away." Tammy replied happily.
"Oh my...how sweet." Kathy replied as she noticed John's subtle grin.
Another vehicle pulled into the clearing, this time it was an ambulance. As two people stepped out, Randal could not believe what he was seeing. Nordic stood by the ambulance with a brand new shield and a cast on his right forearm. Bushwhacker stood beside him, wearing a different ghillie suit with a darker shade that was able to hide his taped up chest. As the sidekick smiled in an unnerving way, it showed off all his newly replaced teeth.
"Alright, who's ready to win some glory?!" Nordic shouted while holding up his hammer. "Any villain foolish enough to face us will be forced to feel my wrath!"
"Well...at least he's eager." Mia said in the nicest way she could.
"Umm, hey guys!" A mans voice called out from inside the ambulance. "The back doors are locked!"
Nordic rolled his eyes before making Bushwhacker go to the back of the ambulance to open the back. Mr. Olympian stumbled out to greet everyone, he looked fine except for an unusually red nose.
"Oh, look who it is." Kathy said with an amused smirk. "All thawed out cutie?'
"That's right, just have to get over ahh...ahh...ahh...ahhhchooo!" Mr. Olympian said, ending with a loud sneeze. "A cold." He said with a sniffle.
"Tell me, where are the other Heroes?" Nordic asked while looking around. "We can't storm an enemy stronghold with just eight of us."
"Eight?" John remarked, doing a quick count in his head. "I think you're off by one my good man."
"Oh yeah?" Bushwhacker asked with a sneer. "Then tell me fancy pants, where's the...the..." He said with as a haunting feeling came over him.
Nordic was too busy making a big entrance to notice Randal moving out of their line of sight. Even though he was always an up front type of person, multiple burglaries over the years taught him to be quiet when it would really count. This made Nordic and Bushwhacker completely oblivious until they felt a familiar presence standing right behind them.
"Hey fellas." Randal said, putting his hands on their shoulders. "Long time no see."
"Oh no..." Bushwhacker whimpered, too scared to move.
"Wait, what?!" Nordic asked, trying to keep a straight face. "B-But you should be...'
"Out of a job?' Randal replied with a raised brow. "Yeah, I heard about the little chat you had with The Association. Now is it just me...or did you get some of the facts wrong?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Kathy stated, recalling the list of Randal's offenses.
"I-I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding..." Nordic said.
"Stop talking." Randal said in a low, threatening tone. "We've got a lot of crap to deal with tonight, so I think everyone should get along and not act like morons who want to hog all the glory for themselves. Think you can do that?"
"Uh-huh, sure, absolutely." Bushwhacker said while frantically nodding.
"Agreed..." Nordic grumbled.
"Great." Randal said, smiling as he stepped away from them.
The Heroes could hear something else galloping towards them. A chariot that looked like it belonged in ancient Rome emerged from the trees, drawn by two snow-white horses. A tall, athletically built woman with light brown skin held the reins. She appeared to be in her mid to late thirties. A silver breastplate covered her torso and shoulders, the forearms were covered by metal bracelets. A metallic shirt along with a pair of silver boots and greaves was worn on her lower half. A Spartan styled helmet topped with a black plume made her armor stick out even more. It mostly covered her hair, expect for a the part flowing past her neckline. A bronze, hoplon shield covered her back and a gladius sword holstered on her right side.
"Hello fellow Heroes." The woman said in a very dramatic fashion after stepping off the chariot. "I, the Class A Rank 18 Hero Amazoa have come to lend you my strength!"
"Well hello there." Randal said with a pleasantly surprised smile.
"Please forgive the tardiness of my partner and I. My steeds were in need of water." Amazoa said, petting the horses under their chins.
"Partner?" Randal asked with a confused look.
Suddenly, Randal heard an unfamiliar voice behind him. He turned around and was surprised to find a new Hero standing in the middle of the group. The man was tall, had a freckled face and appeared to be around the same age as Amazoa. He wore typical looking superhero spandex that had the same shade of orange painted on most safety cones. His shin guards, elbow guards, gloves and belt were red like a stoplight. The cape on his back had the same black and yellow striped pattern as emergency tape. His hockey helmet was bright green and had the word "Safety" on the forehead, the helmet also had a clear visor that covered down to the nose. In his right hand appeared to be a poleaxe, but the head the blade was shaped and painted to resemble a stop sign.
"Crossing Guardian, nice to meet you." The man said, quickly moving from one Hero to another to shake their hands. "Crossing Guardian, nice to meet you. Crossing Guardian, nice to meet you."
"Yeah...you to pal." Randal said after being greeted last, not sure what to say about the man standing if front of him. "I'm guessing you're the partner."
"Correct." Crossing Guardian said with an abnormally wide smile. "After seeing the dynamic duo Golden Ball and Spring Mustacio in action we decided to do the same. This let's us be twice as effective when it comes to fighting evil and upholding the sacred rules of traffic safety." He said with a hand on his hip, taking up an inspiring pose.
"So does that mean you're Class A to?" Jeremy asked despite being unconvinced.
"Also correct, Rank 23 to be exact." Crossing Guardian replied proudly.
"It always good to meet fellow women of battle." Amazoa said as she bowed her head to the other female Heroes. "I'm sure all of you will fight like true amazons."
"Umm...thanks?" Tammy said, not knowing what Amazoa was talking about.
"It's an honor, miss Amazoa." Mia replied, putting her hands together as she bowed in return.
"So, is this everyone?" Kathy call out to the group she examined what they had to work with.
"Not quite.' The Bespectacled Worker said, walking down the path that connected the clearing to the highway. "One more will be joining you." He said while walking next Master Wing.
Most could feel the tension in the air as Master Wing approached. He locked eyes with Randal, both showing no joy to see the other. He turned to the rest of the Heroes after stopping to stand in front of them.
"Hello, I hope my skills will prove useful." Master Wing said with a hushed tone with a light bow of the head.
"Wow, I'm surprised you talked him into this." Kathy told The Bespectacled Worker.
"He did no such thing, I offered my work after walking through the gardens and stumbling upon this one writing his message." Master Wing said, barely raising a finger to point at Randal.
"And what exactly made you earn the title of Master?" Nordic asked.
"Years of training that would make men like you weep after five minutes." Master Wing stated, not even looking at Nordic while approaching his daughter.
"What was that?!" Nordic said as he scowled.
"Mia..." Master Wing, trying to find the right words until his daughter softly held his hand.
"It's okay...I'm sorry to." Mia replied with a gentle smile.
"Alright everyone..." The Bespectacled Worker said, raising his voice to get everyone's attention. "With all of you here, it's time to go over the plan of attack."
"Hang on." Randal said as he stepped forward. "You're seriously telling me this is all we got?"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Mr. Olympic asked defensively.
"A dozen of us can't storm the place. I'm guessing the forty or fifty guys that tried to kill me were just the welcoming party." Randal explained, turning back to The Bespectacled Worker. "You guys told us there was Class S Heroes on this case, so where the hell are they?"
"I understand the concern, but this new monster attack is far more dangerous than originally..." The Bespectacled Worker said.
"Yeah, well I'm calling bull on that. You got a direct line to HQ, right?" Randal asked.
"Of course." The Bespectacled Worker answered with a nod.
"Phone, now." Randal said with no-nonsense, holding his hand out.
Hero Association Headquarters was buzzing with people frantically taking in emergency calls and relaying one report after another. The sound of multiple phones ringing was consent and interns almost tripped over each-other to bring their superiors important updates on the situation. At the center of it all was The Bearded Worker, who was placed in charge of coordinating their attempts to stop the terrible monster.
"Do we have any updates on Tanktop Master?" The Bearded Worker said to the surrounding staff.
"No response so far, same goes for the entire Tanktop Army." A very stressed worker sitting in front of a security monitor said.
"Dammit!" The Bearded Worker said with gritting teeth. "What about Demon Cyborg? Have we finally gotten through?"
'Yes sir, he's on the way. But he was in City Z while responding so it may take some time." Another worker said.
"Uuugghh...of all the times to roam the ghost town!' The Bearded Worker, caught up in his own frustrations until his phone started to ring and he saw The Bespectacled Worker on his caller ID. "Look, I'm sorry but I can't talk right..."
"Then just shut up and listen!" Randal yelled without restraint, making The Bearded Worker pull the phone a few feet away from his head. "You make a big deal about fighting Spade but only give us seven people to do it?! What kind of stupid, backwards logic is that?!"
"Is he always this angry?" Tammy whispered to Kathy, both of them quietly watching the phone-call.
"Nah...just half the time." Kathy answered with a small giggle.
"Who is this?!" The Bearded Worker asked.
"Savage Senior, thanks for the pink slip by the way." Randal replied.
"Right...I was informed about your plan." The Bearded Worker said, rubbing his forehead to ease a migraine. "Like I told Outback Girl before, we just can't send anyone else. City B is on the verge of total collapse because of this Dragon Level threat."
"Oh come on, one monsters needs pretty much everyone to kill it? You tell me right now; what big, nasty, King Kong sized thing are you dealing with?" Randal asked skeptically.
"I don't have time for this and I doubt you'll want..." The Bearded Worker tried to say.
"Stop making excuses and tell me!" Randal yelled into the phone.
"It's the Unicorn King, alright?! Are you happy now?!" The Bearded Worker shouted back, getting the attention of all the other staff members around him.
There was an awkward silence that made The Bearded Worker wonder if the call was disconnected. The other Heroes around Randal noticed become stiff as a statue with a frozen look of pure bewilderment.
"Come again?' Randal asked to check if he heard correctly.
"There's been a recent phenomenon of monster with the title of King emerging. Ancient King, Deep Sea King and the King of the Underworld, Pluton. This Unicorn King seems to be the latest in the trend." The Bearded Worker explained. trying to make it sound serious.
"So you're telling me all those Heroes are struggling with a freaking horse with wings?!" Randal asked loudly.
"It's not that simple! The Unicorn is estimated to be over forty feet tall, it also attacked City B with a legion of Tiger Level threats called...Ponies of Persecution." The Bearded Working said with an embarrassed sigh.
"Okay, what about the guys in S Class?" Randal said, holding back an urge to crush the phone. "A few of them should be enough to...'
"We've already lost contact with three S Class Heroes." The Bearded Worker said somberly. "Tanktop Master, Metal Bat and Drive Knight have all more then likely been incapacitated. It's not only strong, but apparently durable enough to survive massive bombardments from Metal Knight and Child Emperor's arsenals."
"Then send the psychic twelve year-old, let her crush that thing into glue!" Randal yelled.
'If you mean Tornado of Terror, she's actually in her late twenties." The Bearded Worker said to correct Randal. "And she already tried to fight, but even with her psychic shield the monster was able to blast her away to another city with the raw power of the...umm...Atomic Rainbow Sparkle Cannon.' He did not even try to make that last part sound dignified. "The monster came up with the name...hello?"
Randal's arm went limp, the phone dangling by his side as he stared off into the distance. His nostrils flared while he contemplated everything The Bearded Worker before he decided to slowly hand the phone back to the other executive and step away from the group.
"Feeling alright old chap?" John asked, watching Randal smack himself in the face with his palm.
"Oh yeah, great. Just...trying to keep my brain from snapping like a twig..." Randal replied, only half-joking. "So, anybody have a game plan?" He said after composing himself.
"We should find out what our opponents have in store, I volunteer myself as scout.' Amazoa declared.
"Excellent idea, but I brought something that could save all of us the trouble." John remarked.
John Burns went to his car, reaching behind the driver's seat to pull out a grey suitcase. He placed the case on the hood of the car before opening it. The top half had monitor set up inside and the other had a slim controller next to a softball sized drone that hovered into the air after being activated. Once it was turned on, the monitor in the briefcase showed the point of view from the drone's built-in camera.
"That's quite a handy gadget." Crossing Guardsmen said as he looked over John's shoulder.
"Oh my..." John said as the droned showed him the power plant.
While the Heroes came together to work out a plan, Spade had already deployed his men. Hundreds of henchmen from all of the gangs Spade controlled were in place on the other side of the perimeter fence. Four military Humvee's with heavy machine-gun turrets mounted on the roof were parked in a line between the army of henchmen and the fence. The gunners appeared ready to open fire on anything that emerged from the treeline.
"Looks like their not playing around." Crossing Guardian remarked.
"Hmm...The Bulldog might be able to get through." Kathy suggested.
"No need for that Outback Girl, the drone had far more use than mere surveillance." John said as he touched six spots on the briefcase screen, making the same number of red target appear.
After setting the coordinates, the trunk of the Aston Martin slid into the rest of the car so a missile launcher with six rounds could emerge. Once it was finished rising, the launcher turned towards the targets pointed out by John and fired the missiles simultaneously. Everyone crowded around the briefcase to see the results. A few henchmen had only enough time to warn the others about seeing something before the missiles struck. Six large explosions combined with the Humvee's combusting in a chain of smoldering fire blew a apart a massive chunk of the perimeter fence and caught a few dozen henchmen in the blast. Even without a direct camera view, the Heroes could see the fiery light of the explosions over the treetops.
"Whoa!" Jeremy said, feeling an equal mix of shock and awe. "This car is awesome, does it have ejector seats?"
"Of course. It's standard issue." John replied playfully.
"Atta boy Slick!' Randal exclaimed, giving John a hard pat on the back.
"Oh god! Please don't do that again..." John groaned with pain running all over his body.
"Okay everyone, only two things left to do!" Kathy shouted, smiling wide as everyone turned to look at her. "Gear up and take these lowlifes down!"