27
After scattering the Super Mutants in the initial attack, Vincent and the other members of the team from the Brotherhood of Steel now had to contend with a vicious counter-attack. They found themselves pushed back and many of the Wastelanders had followed instructions, falling back and retreating as the Super Mutants pressed forward.
In one way, Vincent felt glad that the additional humans had followed the orders given them, over the radio, by Three Dog. On the other hand, he knew that without their help, he and his fellow Brotherhood Knights would find it next to impossible to press forward towards the bunker and help Patience, Valrie and Gia. Right now, they were on their own.
"We have to fall back!" Knight Captain Hazel called as several bullets from Super Mutant guns pinged off her armour. Their power armour had taken too many hits. Before long, the bullets would begin penetrating their metal suits.
"Not yet!" Vincent crouched down to swap out the belt feed for the mini-gun, tossing the empty pack aside. "We have to give them more time."
He stood back up and pressed the fire button in the mini-gun, sending flashing, intermittent fire down into the trenches. The mini-gun barrel glowed a deep orange as it re-heated from overuse. To his left, Vincent saw Knight Kowalski take several hits of concentrated fire and soon his armour became pock marked, strained grinding and mechanical wheezing indicating the armour's usefulness reaching its end.
Vincent moved in front of Kowalski, to give his Knight Brother time to evacuate the suit, and poured fire towards the Super Mutants ahead. The strategy failed. Kowalski pulled himself from the armour only to find himself cut down by gunfire from another direction. He hadn't even managed to pick up his weapon.
"Brother Vincent! I am not willing to sacrifice any more of my people for a diversionary tactic!" Hazel poured gunfire ahead. "Knight Brothers! Fall back!"
The Brotherhood of Steel members began a leapfrog defensive retreat and Vincent cursed them. He cursed them and Patience, but most of all he cursed himself. He couldn't retreat. He'd failed Patience, Valrie and Gia once and that was once too many.
He kneeled down once more, hidden by the bodies of several Super Mutants, cut to shreds by his mini-gun and the other weaponry. The mini-gun needed time to cool down and he needed time to think. Time, in the tightest of situations, that he did not have. There were no more options. He heard a couple of straggling explosions to the right. The last grenades. And then the gunfire from that side silenced.
As his eyes turned, within the helmet of his armour, he caught sight of something. Dropped by a Super Mutant early in the battle, without even being fired. He popped his head above the wall of bodies. The approaching Super Mutants congregated at the mouth of a nearby trench, preparing for their final assault.
He ticked off the seconds that his indecision lost him. Every second he hesitated was a second closer to the Super Mutants overrunning him. He rocked the power armour back and forth, readying it to move. It would be too slow, he knew it. He wouldn't make it and he would get cut down by the bullets of over a dozen weapons. He had no choice.
He threw himself forwards and the onslaught of gunfire began almost immediately. He could almost feel the bullets ricochetting off the armour, like a million stones bouncing on a metal barrel. The power armour was not built to withstand this. Nor was it built for what he did next.
With all the power he could muster to the armour's legs, he threw himself and the armour forward, tucking and rolling, ending almost in the exact spot he wanted. They never taught that in basic. Reaching down, he grabbed the missile launcher, almost thanking a god he didn't believe in when he found a missile inserted, ready to fire. He threw the launcher over his shoulder, aimed towards the trench entrance, and the approaching horde of Super Mutants, and fired.
He didn't wait for the missile to hit, he bent down and rummaged through the belongings of the Super Mutant the missile launcher had belonged to, finding what he needed. Two more missiles. The smoke from the first launch lingered in the air and he hadn't even noticed that the missile had hit and exploded.
He looked up. The entrance to the trench was now a carpet of blood and Super Mutant body parts and still the Super Mutants came, stomping through the gore, the legs, the heads, the arms and the organs of their fallen comrades. Vincent almost dropped the next missile, inserting it into the launcher, preparing it to fire.
One Super Mutant ran faster than the others, too close for Vincent to fire at. He turned the launcher back towards the trench, fired towards the swarming Super Mutants there and dropped the launcher, preparing to receive the attacking Super Mutant.
The missile hit at the same time as the Super Mutant barrelled into him, great yellow fists pounding and battering at the armour. They rolled several times, falling into a ditch a little more shallow than a trench, and Vincent felt one of his legs land underneath the weight of him and the Super Mutant. He roared in pain as he felt bone and tendons stretch and break.
The Super Mutant didn't give Vincent any time, returning to kneel on the power armour's chest and pounding and pounding upon the chest and the helmet that Vincent wore, both protective coverings buckling. As the creature reached down to grasp both sides of the helmet, Vincent scrambled to reach his faithful .45, attached to the armour's hip.
The Super Mutant squeezed with both hands upon the helmet and Vincent could feel the pressure rising, the sides buckling in closer to his skull. He couldn't bring the .45 to bear on the creature's head. A few .45 bullets to the gut wouldn't kill it. And then he remembered what he still held in his other hand, the power armour's gauntlet not opening unless commanded.
"Stupid human die!" The Super Mutant's gurgling voice rang through the speakers in Vincent's helmet.
"Go to hell, you ugly mother fucker." Vincent pointed the .45 at the missile still held in his other hand and fired.
The Super Mutant slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood, brain and fragments of skull embedded in the concrete. She looked at her hand, covered in the gore that had once been the Super Mutant's face. Growling, she clenched her fist again and turned towards the Super Mutant holding Gia. It bared its teeth, tossing the ex-raider aside, sending her flying against the opposite wall. Patience, the thing that used to be Patience, launched herself forward.
And found herself stopped. The hand of the King against her chest.
"Good! That instinct, to kill, that's what you are now. You killed the wrong target, but we'll work on that." With a flex of a powerful arm, the King pushed her backwards. "Now, kill the woman. Do as you're told."
"No." It had taken a few minutes, but she felt her mind clearing. "I'm not yours to order around."
The King turned its back on her. So confident in its strength, its power. It strode to its huge sword, picking it up as easy as picking up a pen. It spun the sword in its hand, in the enclosed space it whizzed past the face of Gia before the King controlled it to point at Gia's neck.
"I'm not going to threaten your friends to make you comply, I'm going to kill them anyway, but I can make their deaths very slow and very painful." The King bounced the tip of the sword in front of Gia's terrified eyes. "One way or another, I will bring you to heel."
"I'll make a counter-offer. Let them go and I'll do as you say. Their freedom for my obedience." She almost felt normal, now. Bigger, more powerful, angrier, but her mind was her own.
She looked down at Valrie with new eyes. Her friend seemed so small, so fragile. The older woman's eyes almost screamed 'no' to her, glancing down at a hand to her side. In the hand, she held the long dagger the Super Mutant had worn in its belt. Ever the opportunist. Patience made no sign that she saw it, unsure her new face would be able to express her thoughts with any subtlety.
"Interesting. You actually believe you have something to bargain with." The tip of the sword dropped, the King leaning upon the grip. "No. I think I'll kill them and beat the obedience into you instead."
The drop of the sword tip gave Patience the opening she needed. She held out her hand to Valrie and felt the handle of the dagger slapped into her huge palm. Once again, she launched herself forward. This time, however, she anticipated the King's move. It swept the sword upwards in an attempt to slice into her oncoming attack, but she slipped to the side, already finding herself adapting to her new body.
She slammed her shoulder into the chest of the King, a sound like thunder emanating from between them. They careened into the wall and she swung her elbow into the King's face, following that up with two more, backwards elbows, cracking into its mouth. The other Super Mutant lumbered into view and a backhand swipe connected with its jaw, a sickening snap sounding as the jaw fell loose, wobbling.
The King overcame its initial shock, lifting Patience by the throat, slamming her head into the ceiling, and then again. Concrete cascaded from the hole Patience's head made and she scrambled her fingers towards the King's face. Still holding her by the throat, the King lifted its sword, pointing it at Patience's stomach.
"You wanted to share our blood together? Well share it!" Pushing against the King's face with one hand, she brought the dagger up and brought it down, through the back of her own hand, driving it into the King's eye.
The King roared in pain, throwing Patience, with immense strength, to the other side of the room, ripping her hand in two as it tore away from the dagger. The King reached up and pulled the dagger from the remains of its eye, dropping it to the floor, and sprinted for the door, dragging its sword along with it.
Patience wanted to chase after the King, felt the anger and the bloodlust roll in her stomach, but she stopped herself. She may look like a monster but, for now, Patience remained in control. She crouched down before Gia, clutching her damaged hand to her chest. Gia flinched, at first, but then reached out, touching Patience's cheek, pity in her eyes.
"Patience." Valrie stood beside Patience, now, pulling a roll of bandage from one of her pockets and beginning to tie the ripped hand together. "You can't stay here. You have to stop the King."
"I need to protect you and Gia. Get you safe." Patience could hear how strange and rumbling her new voice sounded.
"No. If you don't stop it, it'll just start making new Super Mutants again." Valrie jerked the ends of the bandage tight, but Patience didn't feel any pain. "You catch that fucker and you kick the living shit out of it. You hear me? You kill that fucker!"
Patience took one last look at her friends, Gia mouthing 'go' to her. She hesitated, picked up the bloody dagger from the floor and then stood up to her full height. As she turned to leave, she saw the other Super Mutant, with the broken jaw, stirring. She stomped on its head as she passed. She didn't have time for small fry.
She could hear the Super Mutant King as it ran up the stairs, the sound of its great feet stomping on each step, and then the creak of the blast damaged door as the creature forced its way out into the trenches. She took the stairs, three at a time, gaining more and more control of her new, powerful body every second that passed, gripping the long dagger tight in her undamaged hand.
Reaching the bunker door, she jinked to the side in anticipation of a surprise attack. The only surprise that awaited her was, however, the sight of the King, stood, leaning against its sword, tip down in the dirt floor of the trench. It appeared to be laughing.
She remained cautious, circling the King, surveying the surround trench and the tops, expecting other Super Mutants to appear and attack her. She saw nothing. Only the King and its sword.
"I knew you wouldn't be far behind." The King held one hand against its damaged eye and then, slow, dramatic, lowered the hand to reveal the wound healing. Knitting together. "Surprise! One of the benefits of our modified Forced Evolution Virus. Our healing is incredibly fast. Check your hand. You'll see."
Without removing the bandage Valrie had tied around her hand, she pushed the edge upwards and saw the two ragged sides of the injury almost reaching towards each other, knitting together, forming new skin, even as she watched. This new ability came as a welcome surprise for her, but made killing the King that more difficult. She hoped the healing wouldn't stop her finding that final blow.
"We'll see just how fast it is when I tear out your heart." She knew the King had resorted to a stalling tactic. She presumed so that its eye could heal. She wasn't about to let that happen.
She jumped forward, a testing thrust with the dagger, aiming at the King's chest. With a sweep of its sword, the King swatted the dagger aside and followed up with a blow towards Patience's neck. The King's great strength meant the sword moved fast, but it was still awkward compared to the shorter dagger of Patience.
Closing the gap, she remained inside the reach of the sword, once again thrusting towards the King's chest. The King matched her speed, grabbing her wrist with its free hand, twisting it to the side. Before it could bring its sword to bear, Patience tensed her enlarged neck muscles and head butted the King where the bridge of its nose should be. It may not have hurt it, but it fell back, stunned.
This took Patience out from within the reach of the sword, however, and the King launched the blade around in a blind arc, slicing a gash in Patience's chest. She knew, now, that the wound would heal fast, but she couldn't afford to allow the King too many hits. She had to take the sword out of the equation.
From the few moves the King made, Patience could tell that, although their brute strengths matched, she had far better skills. She needed to use that advantage. She stepped forward, faking a slash towards the King's face. The King dodged, but, as Patience predicted, in a linear fashion, trying to slice its sword upwards as it moved back.
With a sweep of her leg, she circled to the outside of the swinging sword and jammed her dagger deep into the King's shoulder, twisting it as she trust it in. That had the effect she needed. The King's hand opened, a reflex action, and the sword dropped to the ground even as the King's arm flopped, useless, against its side.
She didn't count for the King's enhanced speed and caught a blow to her face, bones cracking. She reeled away and the King followed, roaring like some ancient beast. Another punch slammed into her face and then another. She stumbled, bringing her hands up in a guard, deflecting the next couple of blows, but she couldn't stop the King barrelling into her, taking them both down to the ground.
The King took the mounted position above her and began raining blows down upon her. Patience covered up, instinct and training guiding her. She took the blows, rocking them to the side when she could, glancing between her forearms, every so often, biding her time, letting the King wear itself out.
Something strange began to happen. Even when the King's other arm healed enough to join in the punching, the blows hitting Patience didn't have the same impact anymore. She didn't believe the King had tired itself out, a Super Mutant's body should give much greater endurance. No. This seemed different.
She took another glance. The King had become smaller, less well defined. It began to breathe more heavy. Taking advantage, Patience grabbed one of the King's arms, tugging it across her body. She hooked a leg over the leg of the same side and pushed upwards with the opposing hip, twisting and forcing the King to roll to the side.
Now she had the top position. Her blows, however, were not weakening. She punched in a more tactical way than the King. A punch to the head, then one to the body. An elbow point dropped down, another as a swipe, trying to knock the King's hands away. All the time, the King continued to shrink, grow smaller. Soon, he seemed smaller than even a normal Super Mutant.
Even the King could tell something was wrong. Its eyes grew wider, full of panic. It knew it was losing and then Patience caught an opening, sending a powerful strike through the gap in the King's hands, landing on the creature's nose and sending gouts of blood spattering down its chest. She grabbed its throat and punched it several more times, leaving the King's face a bloody mess.
Pushing herself up, she stood above the dwindling form of the King, transforming before her very eyes.
"How?" The voice higher now, the King gurgled through the blood in its mouth. "It should have been the same virus as mine. They never made the retro-virus. They couldn't. How?"
"I told everybody I was a weapon, but I wasn't. I was a cure." Patience looked at her bloodied hands and saw that she too now showed signs of her transformation reversing. "Not for every Super Mutant, though. Just for you. To erase a mistake. To stop a war."
The King no longer looked like a Super Mutant. Still larger than a human, the King looked like a man. An old man.
"But we could have ruled the Wasteland. I can't go back to what I was! I can't!" The old man snuffled, wiping his bloody nose with the back of his hand. "Kill me! I'm better off dead. Please! You have to. Don't make me live like this."
"Shut the fuck up." With the Super Mutant strength diminishing inside her, she hit the old man, the once and nevermore King, smashing her fist into his jaw, knocking him cold.
She felt tired, now. Again, she lifted her hands, noticing for the first time that she no longer had the Pip-Boy on her arm. Her expanding musculature must have torn it from her down in the bunker. She felt dizzy. Her stomach rolled and she bent over, retching, reaching out for the trench wall. She emptied the contents of her stomach against the wall and saw the blood mixed with the vomit.
The trench spun as she tried to look around, everything moving out of focus. Wondering if this was the price of saving the Wasteland.
Worth it, she thought as she collapsed to the trench floor.