The lights below moved as a blur as Penny raced towards the edge of the city. All she wanted was to race back to the hotel room and return to Jaune's embrace. He was right, they had if nothing else made progress. He had liked the underwear and had even called her hot. It was an improvement of simply being cute in his eyes. She shuddered remembering his eyes, the lust he had looking at her clad in little bits of lace. She was now glad that Neon had insisted she get them, she had once again been right. It was almost annoying how often she was right about these kinds of things, she could write a book. She wished she had a book for something like this when she first realized she had feelings for Jaune.
It was supposed to be a long night. Securing a perimeter for the Atlas engineers to help manage the defense malfunction shouldn't take too long, an hour or two at most, three if they were late getting there. She would be back soon enough, she would return to his arms and continue counting and mentally cataloguing his scars, each one was unique and she wanted to find more, it was like a game that she was eager to continue playing.
Her danger senses flashed red and pulled her sharply away from her thoughts. Something was approaching fast, she turned spotting a missile trailing behind her tracking her heat signature. A missile?
She banked hard to the left and deployed Floating Array targeting the missile with her laser detonating the warhead with a single precise blast. Where had that come from?
Another missile launched, streaking across the sky like a shooting star trailing smoke. Her optics zoomed onto a rooftop where an automated launcher sat atop the tube raised to the sky. Floating Array fired twice once disabling the launcher and destroying the missile it launched. Someone had hacked the automated air defence system designed to destroy airborne grimm and any other form of aerial enemies.
A burst of gunfire erupted from another roof, tracer rounds streaking across the sky towards her as multiple anti-air turrets opened up on her and more missiles fired from the ground. She moved to evade the fire, the fired shells detonated when they got close to her showering her with shrapnel. She targeted the surface to air missiles first using her lasers for point defense before targeting the turrets that launched them. The hail of ground fire kept her on her toes as she jetted through the sky trying to outmaneuver them before firing back destroying several with laser blasts.
Every time she destroyed one threat it seemed that two others were prepared to take its place. She had flown straight into a kill zone with presighted guns ready to tear her into pieces. A hail of gunfire came from above, electricity infused dust striking her. Her aura could only partially shield her from the electrical discharge that coursed through her circuits, static blurred her audio and visual functions. She turned and looked above her to see an aerial drone diving down straight at her it's nose mounted minigun releasing a torrent of dust infused munitions.
This had to be Vasily's work. It had his modus operandi written all over it. She fired at the drone only for a hardlight shield to deploy blocking her shot. This wasn't good, she was taking fire from multiple directions.
Blasting away another missile before it could get in range to detonate. She pulled up climbing high into the sky working to evade the ground fire as she climbed higher and higher into the sky above the limited range of the anti air guns. From out of the clouds two more of the large flying drones appeared opening fire with their nose mounted guns firing bursts at her.
She sped away as fast as she could to evade as she charged up the laser in Floating Array, she wasn't going to waste her time, she couldn't afford too. The closest drone released a missile towards her and she stopped taking aim on the drone as it raced closer, she targeted the drone and fired.
The hardlight shield flared up and shattered as her charged shot broke through the defense and blasted a hole straight through the drone. The missile it launched continued to race straight for her and she shot out one of Floating Array's blades intercepting the guided rocket and slicing it.
It exploded detonating the electricity dust inside sending out a greater blast than she expected. It was like being struck with lighting, everything blurred for a moment as her circuits when haywire, she optics lost focus and her own mind went blank for a moment and she lost track of the other two drones until one fired a burst of machine gun fire upon her.
She reactivated her jet boots after a short free fall. She charged the drone rocketing straight for it, she twisted in the air to avoid the gunfire and rebooted Floating Array and shot two of her blades out attacking the sides only for the hardlight projectors to activate blocking them. With she fired a single weak blast from her laster directly at one of the missiles secured to its wing. The hardlight shield tried activating to block it but it was slow and the projectors delayed from blocking her swords. The blast detonated the missile, flame and electrical arcs shattering the drone into countless pieces falling to earth and being whipped away by the high winds.
From below more surface to air missiles pierced the clouds homing in on her. She turned letting them pass her by as the third drone came around. As the missile whipped around she took aim and fired detonating the warhead with a single shot. The drone flipped and sparked as it was caught in the explosion being carried away by wind and gravity as it's engines failed and it fell away like a broken toy plane.
She tried calling for assistance only to find herself being bombarded with interference. Another stream of tracer fire cut a glowing line across the sky as three more of the fast moving drones appeared from the clouds.
She couldn't call for help, and more threats surrounded her. Ice clung to her body weighing her down and below was a storm of missiles and anti aircraft fire. What could she do?
Something felt off.
Jaune couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly felt strange for him as he kissed his girlfriend. She didn't seem responsive like she used too, almost like he was kissing a robot.
Well he was in fact kissing a robot, he reminded himself. But it didn't quite change that fact that kissing her didn't feel right, her movements seemed mechanical, artificial. It wasn't like when he usually kissed her, he wasn't aware of her being an android when he kissed her. She felt warm and human when he kissed her. This felt cold and rigid to him.
"Are you alright?" he asked her, pulling away from the kiss keeping his hands on her shoulders.
She blinked at him, "of course Jaune," she told him, "is something wrong?"
He shook his head, "uh no," he said shaking his head to purge himself of his apprehension, "I guess I'm still a little nervous," he admitted assuming that his excitement was making him imagine something.
"If you are feeling unwell then perhaps we can go for a walk," she suggested to him.
Jaune chuckled, she was so considerate. "No, I'm fine," he told her, rubbing her shoulder. "I really think I'm ready to pick up where we left off," he told her, giving her a lustful grin, "what about you?" he asked, "I bet you were pretty excited to rush back like this."
"Yes," she said, giving him a nod, "I was quite excited to get back here to you Jaune," she assured him.
Even the way she spoke sounded a little off to him. He couldn't think of how exactly it seemed different to him but he banished the thought. She was probably nervous too, separating for a little bit after making out of the couch had certainly cooled him off. Getting back into it after being interrupted was certainly difficult.
"I'm really happy you're back," he told her, running a finger through her hair.
"I am too," she answered him.
He pulled her into a kiss, deeper than before, stronger as he tried to return the passion they had shared before. He ran his hands from her shoulders and down her arms to clutch her waist. He tugged at her clothes teasing her with light touches to her suspenders and her skirt.
He reached down touching her thigh and creeping his hand up past the hem of her skirt. He cupped one of the cheeks in his hand and squeezed. She did nothing to acknowledge his daring touch, but as he touched he found it did not feel right. His hand touched simple cotton instead of the intricate lace he had become somewhat familiar with. He broke the kiss and removed his hand, she just looked at him blankly.
Red flags started to go up in his mind. This wasn't right, this wasn't Penny.
"You know I think maybe a walk would be nice," he said, taking a step back from whoever this was. "Let me just get my things."
She nodded, "Alright."
He turned to the couch where his jacket and armor was. He tried not to show any alarm or panic as he walked away. Was this some kind of illusion semblance? Something like Emerald? He didn't know but he was certain this wasn't his Penny standing behind him.
He didn't go for his armor, he wasn't sure he had time. Instead he grabbed Crocea Mors as it rested against the arm of the couch and drew the blade and deployed the shield. He rolled and turned, taking a defensive stance against her.
"Who are you!?" he demanded holding his blade at the ready for her glaring at the imposter. "You're not Penny?"
She blinked again at him, "my disguise did not fool you?" She asked almost innocently.
"No," he said holding his stance ready for a fight.
"I see," she said simply. Her green eyes glowed suddenly brighter as twin lasers lashed out blasting him. He raised his shield in time to accept the blow but it knocked him back, he stumbled against the window bouncing off the reinforced glass.
"Shit!" he cursed seeing her eyes glowing with a greater intensity once more. He as two more bright green blasts shot over him burning a destructive path melting it and shattering it. He lunged for her thrusting his sword out for her. A hardlight shield bloomed to life and the tip of Crocea Mors clanged harmlessly against it, as soon as it appeared the shield dissipated the imposter Penny sent a fist his direction. He raised his shield in time but the force was far mightier than he had anticipated. It sent him flying back and crashing against the wall. The drywall shattered and his semblance activated shielding him for any great damage.
Another blast from her laser eyes struck his shield and sended him stumbling through the wall into the suit's bedroom. Blades popped out of the imposter's back separating into seven swords just like Floating Array. This wasn't Penny, but this clearly wasn't some illusion either.
"Who are you?" he asked just as much hoping to stall her as to figure out just who was facing her.
"I am Penelope," she answered him stepping in through the hole she had knocked in the wall. The frankness of her answer and the cold mechanical stare she gave him sent a chill up his spine. He held his shield up ready for an attack, it felt like an iron it was so hot from the blasts of her laser.
"Why are you here?" he asked her trying to think of a strategy to fight her, to escape.
"My master wants you," she said, "alive, come with me and I will not have to harm you," she explained to him.
"Your master?" he asked her.
The windows and walls shattered suddenly ending what little of a conversation they were having. Penelope's hardlight shield flared to life blocking the intense barrage of bullets that came in from outside. Jaune looked out to see an Atlas bullhead hovering outside, it's nose gun flashing as it fired upon her. The wall behind him abruptly shattered and knocked him to the floor as a deafening boom filled the air along with smoke and floating debris. He stood up and turned, coming face to face an Atlas soldier, his face concealed by a helmet.
"Get him out of here," the soldier said, pulling him out of the room through the wall they had just breached through as more soldiers filed in carrying strange weapons Jaune had never seen before.
He turned back looking as he watched the soldiers raise their weapons unleashing a torrent of lighting upon her.
Penelope activated her hardlight shield blocking the electric arcs that emitted from the soldier's weapons. She had never seen such devices and she could not help but think that they were designed to be used against androids such as her.
Iron Array flashed out striking the first soldier. She expected the blade to cleave the soldier in half with a single strike but instead it merely knocked him away and against the wall. These were not ordinary Atlas soldiers, they had aura.
The blades swept around slashing the other soldier with quick multiple blows that quickly smashed his aura and sheared him into bloody ribbons. She turned to the one she had knocked against the wall and finished him with a blast from her eyes, his aura shattered and the twin beams burned straight through his helmet and skull.
The other soldiers retreated back through the firing more arcs from their unique weapons covering their retreat as one tried pulling Arc away. Another long sustained burst came from outside and she reactivated the shields blocking the storm of bullets.
As simple as it was for her to block the incoming fire it was draining on her hardlight dust projectors. She jumped away and out the shattered window holding her shield as she activated her jet boots soaring around the building away from the bullheads line of fire.
"Penelope!" Vasily hissed in her head, "you were supposed to get Arc away from the hotel without alerting the team shadowing him."
"Arc saw through the disguise," she explained to him, "he drew his blade and attacked me," she explained rising over the building.
"Very well," he said, "move to plan B, do whatever you must to get Arc streetside and I will finish him."
"I can finish Arc on my own," she told him, "let me end this quickly."
"NO!" Vasily roared, "you know he is mine to kill and mine alone! Get him within my sights as ordered!"
"Yes master," she relented. Why was it so important that he be the one that pulled the trigger to kill him? She was a weapon, was she not an extension of his will? What difference did it make if the fatal blow to Arc came from her or from his rifle? It did not seem logical to her. Vasily had spoken about him as some great warrior, a huntsman without equal who had bested him.
She did not see what was special about him. In the short little bit she had fought him he had displayed no serious combat skills other than a mildly impressive talent to accept punishment and keep fighting. His semblance and high aura levels had kept her from making it a quick battle.
As she flew over the roof she bounded over and dived down the other side spotting the bullhead as it searched for her. She rocketed downward like a falcone to strike it's prey. She swept down right past the bullhead, Iron Array slashed at the wings cleaving through the steel separating the engines from the rest of the craft. She pulled up as the fuselage fell to earth tumbling like a stone.
It crashed into the corner of the building smashing it into pieces before it tumbled back down into the street shattering into a thousand steel pieces. With the bullhead out of the way she raced back towards the hotel back to the floor she had encountered Arc on wanting to catch his trail once more.
Iron Array's blades stabbed into the reenforced glass and cut a perfect entrance for her. A woman screamed from the bed of her hotel room. The air was smokey and the building's fire alarm blared. She looked terrified as she stepped onto the carpet, she was standing next to her bed with a set of luggage but seeing she only cowared.
A single sword from Iron Array slashed right through her cutting her down. She smirked looking at the corpse, it was amazing to her just how fragile humans could be. She walked towards the door and grabbed the handle pulling it open, splintering it with her strength.
Shouts of surprise echoed through the hallway as the shattered door surprised the hallway full of hotel guests trying to move towards the stairway exiting. She shoved past several moving through the hallway, the civilians parted away from her.
She turned a corner and spotted an Atlas soldier down the hallways. He turned and spotted her, he raised his weapon but didn't fire through the packed crowd of civilians. Penelope didn't hesitate, her eyes fired their twin beams cutting right through the crowd burning through anyone that got in her way. Several of the civilians dropped their bodies cut and burned, the beam had cut the soldier in half.
She activated her jet boots and raced down the hallway charging the rest of the soldiers.
The other soldiers didn't hesitate this time, they raised their guns and fired, electricity crackled as it sent blue arcs in her direction. Her hardlight shield projectors activated and shielded her from the electric blasts.
Turning around the corner she spotted Arc being led towards the stairwell by the soldiers who backed away slowly. Their electrical guns continued to blast her with crackling arcs of lighting, others emptied the magazines of their more conventional rifles, others racked the pumps on their shotguns sending slug shells filled with electricity dust her direction.
Her hardlight projectors maintained the shield blocking each and every shot, through the translucent defense she spotted Arc who turned to look at her. Iron Array shot forward the blades making short work of the soldiers and their weapons as she commanded the projector to open a gap in her hardlight shield and firing her laser eyes right at Arc.
Jaune once more raised his shield to block the attack, the twin beams cut a swath through the hallway cutting down the remaining soldiers.
The blonde knight disappeared towards the stairwell as the remaining forces continued to retreat from her with the only ones firing upon her the few trying to cover their teammates as they retreated. They soon turned tail and fled from her, she was just about to give chase when the hallway exploded around her.
Heavy explosive shells rained in through the walls cutting a path right through the exterior of the hotel and their rooms blowing chunks of concrete and drywall and wood away. She shield protected her from the assault. Looking through the destroyed walls her mechanical eyes magnified revealing another bullhead in the distance.
This wasn't a mere armed transport like the last one. This was a gunship fully armed and loaded for extreme combat. Another nuisance to her, a potentially dangerous nuisance but a nuisance all the same.
Fire bloomed from the rocket pods mounted on the pylons streaking across the sky like meteors. Iron Array shifted turning each of the blades into their laser gun forms firing at each of the unguided rockets at her, detonating them with perfect precision.
She fired up her jet boots flying out the destroyed side of the building straight for the gunship. It released a missile towards turning to track her through the air towards her. She fell into a dive straight for the street letting the guided projectile follow her before she smashed through the window of another building. The missile was unable to track her accurately through the building and struck its side, detonating and blowing off a chunk of the structure.
She stopped and waited trying to track the gunship as it lowered itself to track her. It did not fire upon her as she suspected, likely trying to keep her in sight and only engaging when no civilians were in immediate danger. She had no such reservations. Iron Array's lasers gathered and she charged up sending a supercharged blast straight through the ceiling towards the gunship. It blasted one of the engines away. It spun away trailing flames and she flew up straight through the hole she had burned watching as the bullhead slammed into the low side of the hotel and exploded. It was like breaking a toy for her, some of the world's finest military technology was like breaking a toy to her.
Looking up towards the top of the hotel she watched another transport bullhead landing on the roof presumably to extract Arc. She had no time to play around with these toys, her target was trying to escape.
She flew up climbing to reach the roof of the hotel. The minute she rose over the roof gunfire and lighting acrs assaulted her as more of Ironwood's soldiers fired upon her. She fired upon them with her eyes sweeping across the lot of them and turning the edge of the roof into rubble and molten slag.
The bullhead pulled away from the roof trying to race away from her. It was a futile attempt at escape, even as it activated it's afterburners to race away from her. She fired her laser once more striking one of the engines. She did not destroy it completely like she did with the gunship, it was only to disable it letting it burst into flames and spin out falling for the street.
"Arc will be on the street for you soon master," Penelope told him, "be ready for him."
This was a particularly fun chapter to write. Treating Penelope as a completely unrestrained Penny has been a fun challenge imagining just how powerful she could be if she was very blunt with her use of force and with a complete disregard for human life. I hope you feel like I captured just how destructive and terrifying this could be. I also hope this long awaited fight is meeting your expectations so far, this has indeed been a long time coming and I want to do it justice. Needless to say the action has only begun. To be honest I was originally planning on having more action throughout the story but focusing more on the romance was the important part. I hope you all enjoyed this week's chapter, as usual please review and leave me with your thoughts and opnions. And as always I would like to thank MidKnightMoonglow99, Firefly25, MajorBrony95 and DrknssRules1 for all their help and suggestions on this fic and the next. See you all next week.