Step 3.5
sys.t/ anything else?
sys.d/ hw will be there
sys.d/ I think
sys.v/ st and ckt are rarely not in company
sys.d/ what she said
sys.d/ I see them a lot too
sys.t/ alright then
sys.t/ get some sleep d
sys.t/ I'll see you tomorrow after school
sys.d/ and don't forget to fly
sys.t/ what?
sys.d/ you'll be okay
sys.d/ mostly
sys.d/ - offline
Odd way of saying be careful, Dinah.
I flipped the com off, and took another glance at the stars. Still beautiful and another idea.
"Veda. Add windows to the cylinder project. I'll hash it out when I get back."
"Adding."
Bright side of feeling threatened by every villain in sight? You start getting all kinds of ideas. I hadn't been so productive since the first month of my powers. Might even need to start building another suit. Something modular maybe. Easier to test new equipment that way than trying to build it all on or into O Gundam.
Then again why worry about that at all? Whoever said I could only have one suit?
Well, other than my bank account…
Problems for later.
"Target approaching," Veda identified.
I averted my gaze from the sky. Perfect timing honestly. Didn't even plan for it, but I'm not going to complain.
"Time to see how good the directional microphones are," I said. Pulling on the controls, I lifted an arm and pointed a finger down.
The boat looked pretty ratty, even in the dark. If not for the night vision cameras I'd never see it though. The bay sat pitch black at night, the lights of the Rig the only thing illuminating the rolling Atlantic waves. The boat gave those lights a wide berth, almost using the rising waves to hide itself further.
They seemed pretty nonchalant about gun running.
"Look. You love her right?"
"Well, yeah?"
"Then tell her."
"It's not that easy."
"Uh, yes. It is."
I raised my brow at the comparatively mundane conversation. Never expected a pair of hardcore Empire smugglers to be so absorbed in such high school discussion.
The red and blue lights got them more appropriately focused.
"Cops."
"What cops?"
"Those cops!"
Nameless thug one pointed. No name thug number two watched over his shoulder with a scowl. The boat started to slow.
"We paid off the harbor patrol!"
The flashing red-blue lights grew closer regardless, rolling with the waves in a mimicry of the smuggler's own route.
"So what? It's a hustle?"
As the boat slowed and the lights came up alongside the hull, both men stared.
"There's no way that's a cop!"
Orange stared back. The lights on his cradle continued flashing, and the Haro declared, "life preservers, please. Life preservers, please. Right now now!"
One of the idiots pulled a gun.
And that's my cue.
I took aim and fired, the first rocket from my magazine whistling through the air and piercing the bottom of the boat. Both nitwits glanced down
Beep.
"Fifteen," Orange announced.
Beep.
"Fourteen."
"Is that a bomb?"
"Thirteen."
"It's a bluff. Newtype doesn't use bombs!"
"Twelve."
"What do you mean she doesn't use bombs?"
"Eleven."
"She just melts everything."
"Ten."
"With bombs!"
"Nine."
"They're not bombs!"
"Eight."
"How do you know?"
"Seven."
"JP said so!"
"Six."
"He's a fucking groupie what does he know!?"
And now I'm agreeing with the Nazis, great.
"Five."
"He was there!"
"Four."
"Fuck it. I'm out!"
Well, at least one of them came with brain cells. No name thug number two grabbed a life jacket and jumped over the side. One hesitated for a moment, but quickly followed. Had to stall the countdown for a whole seven seconds to give them enough time to clear the blast radius.
They swam pretty fast, actually.
"Have a nice day, nice day!"
Orange bolted back, flying away from the boat moments before I hit the detonator. The rocket snapped like a crushed soda can. The boat followed suit, crunching into itself for a second before blowing outward and opening like a sardine can. The explosion threw fire and smoke into the night sky, adding another source of light to the bay. The boat sank into the black water, taking the Empire's new guns along with it.
Shame. Sea water can be so corrosive.
On the side of my HUD thousands of message started flying. Veda picked some, highlighting them and dragging them out of the stream. As a cape, you need to learn to take joy in the small things. Things like managing to snag some ABB phones on my second night out, and get Veda's worm into their network.
Not that it made things automatically easier.
9596743421 set off the chain of calls in the ABB after 9593241133 called. One of those numbers was probably Lung. Hard to tell. The ABB managed a much smoother operation than I expected. I only imagined that everyone knew who to call and what about, given the complete lack of names used in their text messages.
The Merchants evaded understanding. For now. Their numbers just kept calling back and forth with no apparent pattern. Druggies, it turns out, aren't big on organization, who knew?
At least the Empire kept things simple.
Valkyria: again
Walkure: third time this week
ReleasetheHounds: where?
LayonHands: over water
JackofTrades: the gun shipment?
Lt: probably
Yeah. Unbreakable code that one. No way anyone would ever put together who was who. I mean sure, texting in German put a little security on it, but Falkner they were not. A run through Google translate nixed the obstacle.
Lt: Ill inform HM.
ReleasetheHounds: send the runt up
SttN: stop calling me that
LayonHands: shes not fast enough
JackofTrades: Doesnt need to be
JackofTrades: get her in the air
JackofTrades: ward her off
JackofTrades: the hero is avoiding capes
LayonHands: I see
LayonHands: guard the vault?
Lt: but don't fly over it
SttN: w/e I get it
The ever elusive Vault, huh?
"Begin operation," I ordered.
The waters reflected my light, a green wave spreading over the restless bay.
"Haros in position," Veda announced.
I pressed on the pedals and spun around. A warehouse along the shore was highlighted, Red and Navy about three hundred feet above it. Small outlines illuminated in and around the structure, each guard marked by the Haros. With only a few seconds before reaching the building, I picked a wall and dove toward the ground.
The new inertia neutralizers worked wonders. I barely felt the jarring stop, or the sudden acceleration forward. Smashing through the wall registered as a light push.
"We're not paid enough for this shit," someone groaned.
Emerging from the dust, I offered, "Form a Union?"
Huh, I really am Danny Hebert's daughter.
The bullets flew, biting into the ground by my feet and rattling against my shield. I found the pings and pongs kind of amusing. Took more than shotguns and pistols to pierce my armor.
I took aim and fired. One rocket into an office space to the side, and another into the cluster of men guarding the front doors.
The magazine ejected and I promptly replaced it. Little harder to get to the spares with the tubes strapped parallel to the inside of my shield, but I managed.
Surveying the layout of the interior, I spotted the "lab."
"By the way," I warned. "You have fifteen seconds to vacate your meth lab before I light it on fire."
Releasing the handle of my bazooka, I pulled a beam saber free. I smacked one guy on the side of his head and shoved my shoulder into his chest. He hit the ground hard, dragging the Merchant behind him to the ground with his weight.
The ground flew past my feet, the blade zapping to full power. The RV rested by the back doors, and I went through a pair of makeshift walls to reach it. Two men scrambled out the side door. The first fell flat on his face, and the other ran over him. I slowed just enough to let the guy get back to his feet and clear the danger zone.
A quick scan with the sonic camera confirmed the trailer otherwise devoid of human life.
Slamming a foot into the ground my suit spun, blade cutting through the walls of the RV. Glass and fire exploded around me, the rush of air and force barely affecting me inside my suit.
Once the smoke and flames cleared my vision I stepped away from the burning wreck. Figured the Merchants probably kept the raw materials nearby, but the sonic camera isn't great for making out what boxes contain chemicals and what boxes are just boxes.
I ignored the two or three remaining guards. Red rolled around unnoticed, collecting phones and zip tying anyone on the ground. The one guy who saw him actually raised his hands and just gave up.
"Think that's it?" I focused on the corner to my left. The Merchants built a lean-too of sorts against the wall. Inside I saw shelves, lots of small boxes standing on them from floor to ceiling. Looked about the right size for pharmacy stuff. Good source of basic meth ingredients.
"Unknown," Veda determined.
No one in the blast radius.
"We'll call it a live fire test."
I lifted my shield arm, the tubes under my shield pointing right at the corner. I flicked my thumb up.
One of the cylinders popped, a missile flying out and exploding. Green particles vented through the air, the boxes and metal wall shredding from this ethereal plane. And the wall…and the ceiling…and two cars parked on the street…
The creaking of metal followed.
Oops.
"We might need to adjust payload on the GN missiles."
The roof above me shook, a ceiling's worth of dust crashing down. The weight splashed over my shoulders, but I remained standing. It knocked the remaining guards to their asses and sent Red spiraling for a few feet.
"That was a bit much…"
"Suggest reducing compression by forty-two percent."
I glanced back. The ceiling bowed, but didn't collapse.
"Let's do that…" I tilted my head, and my hand slightly. Microphones picked up the noise, but it still felt pretty distant. "Are those sirens?"
"PRT en route, nine minutes," Veda announced.
Looking over the warehouse from the destroyed corner to the burning RV, I shrugged. "They can clean this up then."
Drawing my carbine I jumped into the air. My body zipped back and forth as I shot the still conscious guards one by one. Most seemed pretty disoriented, but I didn't want anyone accusing me of getting PRT troopers killed when they arrived to take everyone away.
"Finish up and get back in the sky Red!"
The Haro gave me a mock salute and rolled off.
I wish I felt a bit more accomplishment at taking out a meth lab. Sadly, burning them amounted mostly to catharsis. Too many abandoned spaces in Brockton Bay. Not enough cops. Materials weren't that hard to get. They'd have new ones up soon enough. Really I needed to hit their drug banks, but they moved those like their guns.
Oh well. Made a good smoke screen. Didn't want the Empire to figure out where my cross hair currently sat.
I flew out through the hole my missile made. The PRT vans pulled in around a corner three blocks away. Imagine the drivers saw me spin around and shoot off into the sky.
I scanned my mini-map and asked, "Progress?"
Three small screens appeared on my HUD for a moment. Two of black SUVs, one marked "HW/ST/Ckt" and the other "Kg/Al." The videos played at a fast speed, rolling from the moment the Haros pin pointed them to the present. About four minutes.
"What about Rune?"
Another image showed a figure rising into the air on a flying car.
Lead me right there little miss Nazi.
It almost felt too easy. No idea what it was, but the "Vault" sounded important. Somewhere the Empire might put things they couldn't replace, or maybe the corner they tucked Othala in. She made appearances in cape fights, but not as often as the rest of the Empire roster. Why should she? Keep the healer in the back, basic party logic.
"Keep tracking," I said.
"Confirmed," Veda answered.
The SUV's kept driving, Purple, and Green following while Orange moved to keep an eye on Rune.
Maybe it's just the sound barrier shattering at my fingertips, but I found the idea of Rune being a deterrent kind of funny. If I needed to pick a fight with a cape, I'd probably pick Rune before some others. Certainly rather fight her than the likes of Hookwolf, or Oni Lee. I flew faster, hit harder, and withstood more beating.
Well, my suit could.
Case and point.
Slamming into the ground, I brought my shield down. The Truck tried to swerve, but everything happened too fast for the driver to make it more than a few inches.
The entire engine block pancaked against me, my arm taking a Sophia-strength shoulder check as the vehicle groaned to a stop. My feet dug into the asphalt, and a quick stomp halted all momentum. The back half of the vehicle slammed back to the ground with a thud.
Looking up, the drivers both stared in stunned silence. One weakly raised his hands over his head.
"You guys should surrender more often," I suggested. "Less shooting on my part." I pulled my shield from the crushed hood. "Get out."
They got out.
Walking around the side of the truck, I stabbed a beam saber into the side and cut myself a circle. Two cars sat on either side of me, the drivers motionless as I pulled my sword free and tossed another inside.
Fortunately, cocaine isn't explosive. It just burns.
"Navy, cordon off the area and direct traffic until the fire department shows up."
"Okay okay!"
The Haro descended from the sky, ear flaps open and little robot hands flashing.
The Empire were going to wonder how I figured out this one. Hope no one noticed Jerry's not remotely subtle Facebook message to his girlfriend about taking a trip to Boston. I imagine his bosses might kill him if they put two and two and three together.
"This way this way."
Navy started directing the two cars around the burning truck, and warned the gathering crowd of looki-loos to keep a safe distance. I left him to it, lifting off and glancing to the feeds tracking the Empire capes.
One of the SUV's made a sharp U-turn, and then turned at the end of the block.
Coming right towards me.
"Alright, Veda." I shot into the sky. "Show time."
Veda highlighted the location. I gripped the controls tight. Nervousness set in naturally, but the plan was solid. I'd set up everything I needed to get away, and Dinah confirmed it usually worked.
Sure would be nice if she could manage more certainty, but you live with what you have.
The first rocket fired before I even hit the ground, and the second came right after. A wave of air enveloped the gate house, throwing three guards in nice security uniforms to the ground. The second smacked into a roof across the street. Even if that guy woke up, his rifle went over the side and fell to the ground.
Cracking the pavement with my landing actually improved the place a bit. I'd seen run down all over Brockton Bay, but this particular parking lot took the cake. Pot holes deep enough for me to fall into. Buses older than the Endbringers. Only the chain link fence surrounding the lot looked new, and the nice Empire gangsters dressed up like security guards.
"Empire capes en route, seven minutes," Veda announced.
"Understood."
A loud clang rattled my ears.
"Three oh eight, nine o'clock."
I spun, firing the bazooka as soon as the reticule lined up with the other roof. I missed, but the rocket detonated and knocked the sniper to his back. Floating back and around a short yellow bus, I swung out the other side and fired the last rocket in my magazine. Three more guards fell to the ground and I ejected the casing.
I flipped my weapon on its hinge and reloaded, ignoring the two remaining guards and their hand guns.
The buses filled the lot on either side of me in rows. Why didn't the Empire go mobile with their guns like the Merchants? No clue. Personally, not much of a jump between "put the guns on an old bus" and "hide the guns in an old bus lot." Let no one ever say Nazis are smart.
A few bullets here and there continued pinging off my armor, the first black SUV growing closer each passing second. They sped through a red light, making a line right for me. I took my time, taking pot shots at the remaining guards with my carbine. Didn't want to look too lazy, but I couldn't finish up before the special guests arrived either.
Felt lightning coursing through my limbs. The hairs along my neck and arms rose as the time went by.
Here we go, Taylor.
With less than a minute left, I smashed through the walls of a shed marked "maintenance." A quick scan caught all the guns inside, and I left a saber before pulling back. The explosion shattered most of the broken windows on the surrounding buses, the flame back dropping my form as I turned.
The SUV plowed right through the chain link fence. The vehicle didn't make a full stop before the doors swung open…and there he was.
Hookwolf.
Stormtiger and Cricket followed.
I lifted into the sky slowly, being sure that I managed to make it out of reach before they reached me.
Hookwolf, Stormtiger, and Cricket…and wow I've never been this close to villains before, have I? Did Lung and Squealer's tank even count?
I recognized the three instantly by their costumes. Well, if you can call a wife beater, ratty jeans, and a piece of scrap metal in the shape of a wolf head a costume. Stormtiger wasn't much better with the baggy pants and chains thing. Cricket wore what I called "work out clothes" and a metal cage as a mask.
I couldn't stop thinking the lot of them looked like a bunch of WWF rejects. Mocking their choice of attire didn't ease the tension in my own limbs, but it made the gun barrel less scary while I stared down it.
Can he jump this high? What's the range on Stormtiger's power anyway?
Scary they were. Hookwolf already owned a one way ticket to the Birdcage. Stormtiger and Cricket, both standing at his sides, seemed able to kill.
Swore I saw Hookwolf's face despite the mask. Lips twisted into a snarl, eyes narrowed…It fit. Strange. He reminded me of Sophia. Not in appearance obviously, but the way he carried himself. Tensed, pissed, and ready to strike like an angry wombat.
"Running away?"
And he's talking— Hookwolf is talking to me.
"Flying actually."
Dam— Hmm. That one wasn't bad.
I let the moment linger for just a second.
"Enjoy the burnt AR15 smell."
And I spun around and exploded back into the sky.
I just taunted Hookwolf and got away with it. Not going to lie. Felt pretty great slash terrifying.
"Well…that went." Just another casual day taunting a murderer. "Did we get what we needed?"
"Yes."
Veda showed me the video of Green rolling out from under the SUV back into his cradle. The tracker pinged on my mini-map, and I smiled. Purple hovered above, her tiny cradle invisible in the night sky. I waited with bated breath while Green took off and flew away.
My heart skipped a beat when Stormtiger turned around. Aerokinesis, right. He probably felt the vibrations in the air as the rotors spun up.
"What is that?" He pointed, Hookwolf and Cricket following his finger. "One of the robots?"
Cricket made a noise. Not words. More like a guttural hiss.
Hookwolf snarled. "The Heeb has been spying on us."
Heeb? They think I'm Jewish?
Not the first time. Plenty of Empire kids at Winslow called me "heeb" from time to time. Most people assumed it because of my last name. What on Earth about Newtype screamed Jewish?
Only after leaving the range of my mic did it occur to install the equipment on the cradles. I filled that idea away for later.
"What's next? Need to keep up appearances."
"ABB drug house," Veda revealed. She highlighted the building, and I checked the timer on the GN Field.
My hands tensed slightly. "On my way."
Pulling a sharp turn around a sky scrapper, I set myself toward the Docks.
I tried to shake the tension in my hands, but…a threat feels more real once you've been thrown around by it. Every time I went after the ABB now, I got a nervous feeling. Couldn't shake it, no matter how silly it seemed.
Those guys got me good.
From what little I knew of the ABB's structure, the various levels of the gang all ran their own operations. The ABB didn't really run things with borders or zones or anything. The street level crooks gave kickbacks to their lieutenants so they could operate, the lieutenants to their captains, and the captains to Lung. Kind of like a Yakuza family.
Not running into whoever those guys were basically amounted to luck. At least until I managed to map out in detail who ran what and where.
Not that I intended to let them get the drop on me again. Can't taunt Hookwolf and be scared of unpowered crooks.
I dived into the narrow streets, sweeping between a pair of parked cars to glide down an alley. No wall smashing walls time. The drug den operated out the back of a grocery store. The owners might not be willing in the arrangement. No sense in trashing their store for a situation outside their control.
I used the back door.
Snapped it right out of the frame.
"Fuck!"
The bullet pinged right off my eye. The faceplate pushed back, momentarily stabbing my nose up into my skull. I cursed, firing my bazooka blind. The men hit the ground screaming.
"That hurt," I grumbled.
Shaking my head to clear the residual pain, I felt confident nothing broke. Well, not on my end.
"Veda, call an ambulance for the jackass in the corner."
No idea how he managed to twist his arm that way, but I'm pretty sure elbows prevent the arm from going ninety degrees backwards.
Scanning the room, it looked quite nice, if a little tacky. Lots of Asian decorations—yes that is a Koi pond—and a whole lot of smoke. A few men didn't seem bothered by the effect of my stun rocket at all.
They also looked incredibly high.
Pink swooped in on her carriage between my legs and got to work. I momentarily glancing to the camera feeds from Purple, Orange, and Green.
Hookwolf stood at the center of the lot, watching the burning shed and speaking into a phone. Stormtiger and Cricket gathered the injured. Meanwhile the tracker continued to ping, ready to tell me everywhere that SUV went.
Took five days worth of questioning Dinah, three nights of attacks, and a couple dozen simulations, but we got it. Both vehicles followed the routes we'd narrowed down. A wide arc through ABB territory, going from stash to front to stash to front.
The rate the Empire kept making this easy, I'd know everything within two or three more raids.
"This might be easier than I thought," I mumbled.
"We are well prepared," Veda offered.
"I do enjoy seeing plans come together." Glancing to a different feed, I asked, "what's Rune circling anyway?"
Veda ran a quick check. Rune flew in a loose circle around the towers, loose because she turned back and swerved a few time here and there. Still. She seemed to stay in the same general area.
"Her flight pattern suggests she is protecting this building."
I blinked. "That can't be right."
"It is the center point of her current pattern."
"But—Veda. That's the Medhall building."
"It is."
They said Rune was protecting a Vault. The Vault is Medhall?
"Could it be one of the surrounding buildings?"
"Possible. They are not the center, however."
I shook my head. Impossible. Medhall was one of the only real employers left in the B—
"Medhall is one of the only real employers left in Brockton Bay…"
It made complete sense when you think about it. Why would anyone keep a multi-million—billion even—drug company in Brockton Bay of all places? Why stay here when every other business couldn't get out fast enough?
Simple question with a disturbingly easy answer.
Because the Nazi's run Medhall.
"This is bad."
If the Empire ran, or got support from, Medhall, no amount of attacking their drugs and guns would do more than inconvenience them.
They held legitimate funds, and legitimate businesses to pull resources from. They could even use Medhall to come after me legally if I made the wrong move, and proving I blew up some company property came way easier than proving Medhall were a bunch of neo-Nazis…which isn't even a crime.
"This is really bad."
I checked the timer on my suit and shook my head. I found the drugs stored in a side room. The one guard went down easily, and I dragged him clear before throwing a saber inside.
"Forget the fifth target," I decided. "I'm heading to the rendezvous."
"Retrieval is en route."
I floated backwards out of the door and shot into the sky.
Removing Othala from the ranks still made sense, but with Medhall involved—
The sound of explosions broke me from my thoughts. I stopped and came about. Fire and smoke rose from the Docks, and not that far away from the grocery store I just hit. The ABB lines exploded, texts and calls going out left and right at a rapid pace.
I turned the mini-map on my HUD, pulling it away from my suit's location to look at the area of the explosion.
"Is that Lung's casino?"
"Yes," Veda answered.
"Who the hell is stupid enough to attack Lung's casino?"
Even I hadn't tried that yet.
Red and Navy moved towards the smoke, their cameras zooming in on the building that was definitely Lung's casino, sporting a big new hole in the side. They arrived just in time to see two hulking figures of bone and flesh emerge from the smoke, each carrying people in costume.
I needed a moment to recognize them, mostly by process of elimination. Too clean for the Merchants, and I knew where everyone in the Empire was for the most part. Circus worked alone, Uber and Leet still hadn't turned up since their prison break, and really that just left, "The Undersiders?"
"Specifically Grue, Tattletale, and Sovereign," Veda identified.
"Which one of them can blow things up?"
"None."
Another explosion. A black mist spilled into the street, blocking Red's view completely. From Navy's angle however I spotted a dark clothed figure with an ornate mask.
Oni Lee.
The Undersiders were fighting Oni Lee, after attacking Lung's casino? Didn't fit with anything I knew about them. The Undersiders kept a low profile, mostly hitting small operations and fronts. Why wouldn't they? Someone running around blowing up everything they could get their hands on was asking for trouble. I'd know.
Why would they suddenly hit Lung's casino, and at a time like this?
The black mist moved through the streets, the figure of the giant monster things barely visible. Grue, right. I tried having the Haros cycle through camera modes, but none managed to penetrate the veil of Grue's power.
Pretty impressive.
I spotted the third monster on Purple's aft cameras, a single figuring riding on top. Must be Hellhound, one of Brockton Bay's other resident murderers. She emerged from the other side of the Casino, her mount running and vaulting from one roof to the next. She regrouped with the rest of her team three blocks from the casino.
A line of explosions nipped at their heels.
I'd read about Oni Lee's power, and how he used it. Seeing it though cast a new reality on the situation. It almost seemed mundane in a world with Lungs and Legends. Watching the explosions tear into the city, I decided that even a mundane power like duplicate-teleportation was scary as fuck when applied properly.
The craters became visible as Grue's power faded, holes and debris littering the street and a path south through the Docks. Why not use Grue's mist to break off and split up? Lee couldn't follow all of them.
The Haros followed the retreat, Purple managing to get me a good look at an Oni Lee right before he fell into the mist and exploded. Another fell a second later, a third Oni Lee already in the air and…texting?
"Oni Lee is texting." I glanced to the message stream. "Veda, can you pinpoint which number is his?"
"Here."
Veda highlighted a number. Guess her worm managed to make it into Lee's phone. Good to know, especially since the ABB didn't use cute little nicknames to make identifying them easy.
"So if Lee is…then 676-4311 is Lung?"
I followed along as Lee sent the number a series of messages. A play by play of events. Undersiders hit the casino as soon as some of the guards left to protect other businesses, left the house high and dry, disabled the guard, and Lee circled back to intercept after 676-4311 ordered him to.
"Might be Lung," I offered.
"Probable," Veda agreed.
Well. At least now I know Oni Lee and Lung's phone numbers. Maybe I can prank call them, later.
"Does the Protectorate know about this?"
"I have informed them. PRT squads are en route, along with heroes Dauntless, Stratos, and Miss Militia."
I confirmed the location of the heroes on my map and checked my timer.
Eight minutes left.
The debate didn't last long. Let the villains fight the villains. Not like they were setting the city ablaze as they went. Whatever kind of charge Oni Lee carried didn't seem flammable. The Protectorate could break it up when they arrived.
"Alright." I started to turn. "I'll see you soo—"
9596764311: just kill them
Lee responded in less than a second with one word.
9596762934: hai
I didn't speak Japanese, but I knew enough immigrants around the Docks to know what "yes" meant.
Lee's explosions picked up, and they started coming from every direction. Damn he could work his power fast. Within a matter of seconds he'd hemmed the Undersiders in on all sides, clones dropping like bombs all around them.
I groaned. "Why does this shit keep getting more complicated!"
I pushed on the pedals and sped toward the fight.
"Taylor?"
"Just going to break up the fight before anyone dies."
Not turning my back. Not even thinking about it.
I was thinking about it, but determination counts for something, right?
I tried to track the "original" Oni Lee, but the clones appeared so fast. Keeping track of the one…even if I managed that how would I ever hit him? So, can't track one—I glanced to my shield—why not blow them all up at the same time?
My fingers quickly tapped out the message and hit send. No idea if Lee would take the time to read it, but snap judgments.
I fired.
The missile shot out, gliding through the air and right into the mass of falling Oni Lee clones. One of them jerked his head toward me right before the blast turned everything into a swirling vortex and green and ash.
The explosions stopped.
I hovered overhead, light from the GN drive illuminating the street and Grue's roiling mass of smoky darkness. I glanced around for any sign Oni Lee got away. I'm not sure what shocked me more. That I might have killed someone, or that I didn't seem as bothered by it as I expected. I mean, it was Oni Lee. He'd killed plenty of people over the years. Those victims seemed to deserve more pity than their killer.
Grue's power faded fast. One of the monster dog things emerged from the veil, two riders waving at me as they looked up.
The front rider wore a black and lavender suit, her blond hair tied back into a pony tail, and a domino mask hiding a good bit of her face. Behind her a dark-haired girl wore an elaborate Victorian gowned, and a plain white porcelain mask depicting that smiling face you see on the drama club fliers.
Their costumes looked a little ragged and dirty, but no blood that I saw.
Turning to the two Undersiders I did see. Tattletale grinned, and Sovereign seemed, uninterested? Hard to tell with her entire face covered by a mask. Completely different vibe from them than from Hookwolf. Hookwolf wanted to attack.
The Undersiders seemed…happy?
"Are you two okay?"
"Oh yeah. We're fine now." Tattletale gave me a massive vulpine grin. "Was starting to wonder if you'd ever show up!"
The dark-haired girl chuckled.
"Our hero."
"Yup! Let it never be said Newtype will let a girl down!"
I stared at the girls, more than a little reminded of Emma's smugness. Villains are still villains, even if they weren't very good at it.
"Right…What possessed you to rob Lung's casino?"
Tattletale shrugged. "I looked up my horoscope. It's a lucky night."
I raised my brow. "What—"
"You."
I raised my head.
Oni Lee stood at the top of an adjacent building, staring right at me. I dared a glance at the message feed.
9596764311: eliminate her
The pieces fell together pretty quick.
The Undersiders suddenly getting bolder, their "let's just run this way" escape plan, and me. Their lucky night indeed. If I weren't right in the middle of it, I'd call it brilliant.
Since I was in the middle of it?
You'll be okay, mostly.
Damnit Dinah, we need to talk.
Tattletale laughed. "And that's our cue!"
Sovereign piped in with, "Good luck hero! I'm rooting for you!"
I glanced back to find them already a few hundred feet away as their monster-dog-thing ran far faster than before.
"Tata!"
Oni Lee dropped in front of me and pulled the cord on his chest.
