Step 5.6
Building a program to map out a collapsed structure and analyze the best way to rescue anyone inside shouldn't be done on the spot. Probably. I didn't have any better ideas, so program I did.
"Red. Move a little to your right."
Red stepped to the side on his feet, eyes firmly pointed at our "shelter." All the Haros' sonic cameras penetrated the collapsed building, though the fidelity could be better.
"You're breathing a little hard up there," Lafter noted.
"Sorry," I whispered. "Too familiar for me."
The situation brought back some unpleasant feelings. Being trapped in a confined space doesn't get any better the second time around. At least the locker had the slits in the front that let some light in.
And what a wonderful thought that was.
"Yeah. Collapsing buildings aren't doing me any favors either."
Right, Behemoth.
"You're not going to freak out, right?" Lafter asked. "Pretty sure you're the only thing keeping me from getting crushed right now."
"I'm okay. Just not particularly happy. And no. Pretty sure your power kept us both from getting crushed."
Lafter's head twitched to one side. "Explain?"
"There are two steel beams on either side of us at perfect ninety-degree angles holding up another beam that's keeping the building off us."
"Huh. Go me?"
"Yeah. I might have survived in my armor, but my armor might have crushed you, so…"
"Well, at least I'd die in a cool explosion."
I frowned. "Really?"
"We all gotta go sometime. When I go, I want it to be awesome."
Right…I returned to my work. I needed it, and not just to stay alive. Veda ran the simulations, and we adjusted the Haros for each point of failure. It was, comparatively speaking, tedious work.
My mind wandered.
Why didn't I just hit him with some grenades, or hold him down? Am I that cocky already? Did Lafter's presence throw me off?
No. My mistake was more basic, and less esoteric.
I rushed into a confrontation. Nothing ended well when I rushed into things. When I went after Victor and Alabaster I played the fight out to hell and back. Whenever I raided the gangs I planned everything in detail.
Every time I didn't, things like this happened.
One thing for me to risk my life, but I'd dragged Lafter into my life. Did she hate me?
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"Hmm?"
"This is my fault?"
"Your fault? Did you blow up a building as part of some elaborate plan to trap us here—"
"No, I—"
"Well, I'm not sure how exactly this is your fault. Although, I am thinking today would have been a great day to sleep in."
And I didn't know how to parse that. Maybe Dad had a point about seeing a therapist.
"We'll be out soon," I promised.
I found him in thirteen hours.
Part of me couldn't help but feel like if I took any longer this might have been worse. Someone doesn't just rig an empty building to blow for shits and giggles. Especially not with some kind of teleporter to get him out of it.
He didn't set that up in my brief moments of hesitation. He planned it. He expected to be found. A planning thinker, maybe. Something like Accord up in Boston. He prepared for, if not me, someone to show up.
And I walked right into it.
I understood a bit what it meant to be on the receiving end of me for a few moments, right after the rubble settled around us.
"So, plan for getting out of here?"
"I'm going to blast some of the debris away and get what's on top of us to slide off," I explained. "Hopefully."
"Hopefully?"
"We're not going to be any worse off if it doesn't work." I think.
How much time we had concerned me more than the question of whether or not we'd get out. No, we'd survive alright. Lafter's power was bullshit. Those beams weren't budging, even when I accidentally hit them.
My real concern lay in who might show up before we got out.
A building doesn't explode in Brockton Bay without attracting a lot of attention.
"Ramius is calling," Veda said.
"Of course she is," I sighed. I switched the line on. "Hello, Newtype speaking."
"What did you do?"
She didn't sound amused. "You just assume I did something?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Tell them I said hi," Lafter offered.
"And," Ramius continued, "there's a video of you running into a building, followed by said building exploding."
Of course there is. "I didn't do it."
"Are you alright?"
I glanced around my little prison. "In a manner of speaking." I thought she'd be angrier. "We're not hurt. Much."
Lafter raised her voice, shouting, "But we are kind of buried so if someone could come dig us out!"
"We are kind of buried," I admitted.
Ramius sighed. "You went after the assassin didn't you?"
"May—"
"I'm staring at the video, Taylor!" And there's the anger. "What were you thinking?! You can't just insert yourself into an international incident with someone who has already killed people!"
"For the record," I replied, "I insert myself into things all the time." Just saying. "So, making it international isn't that much of an escalation for me."
And I wanted to know how anyone managed to have a video out already. The whole area looked pretty abandoned when we ran through it.
With a video already online the Merchants probably knew what happened.
I really wanted more time.
Ramius asked, "You realize how deep into Merchant territory you are, don't you?"
"I do."
"Are you in any immediate danger?"
"Immediate? Not at the moment." Pretty sure we were getting enough oxygen.
"Why didn't you call me?" Ramius asked.
"I—" Why didn't I call her? "I can get scolded later. Right now, I'm more worried about the Merchants dropping by."
Ramius sighed again. I heard chatter behind her suddenly, like she'd entered a busy room.
"Miss Militia and Triumph are rerouting to you," she said. "But it's going to take them a bit. How buried are you?"
"Two feet or so. Pretty sure I can get us out."
I didn't have time to act like a scolded child.
I directed Orange and Pink to set some modified grenades in the debris.
"Militia and Triumph will arrive in twenty-five minutes," Ramius said. "Velocity is further away. Even with his speed, he'll need longer to reach you."
Too long.
"I just need to get us out of this tras—"
The ground started shaking.
"Are we getting out?" Lafter asked.
"Yes, but it's not me."
The Haros took to the air, save for Red. Red rolled away as fast as his ball could go.
The debris started lifting off the pile of rubble, flowing over the sidewalk and across the road. I saw something moving across the ground. Thin vines, or something like that. Something lifted the pieces and pulled them.
The writhing mass of rock, tin, and glass emerged from an alley down the road.
Mush
"I don't suppose Miss Militia and Triumph can go any faster?" I asked.
"Why?" Ramius asked back.
"Because Mush is on my list of capes I elect to fly away from."
"Mush is there?"
"And I can't fly."
"Taylor!"
"Yelling later!"
Lafter spoke up, asking, "Isn't Mush the"—the rubble behind her pulled away, light shining into our little prison—"trash guy?"
Lafter's head snapped around, looking up at the swirling mass. Well, partially swirling. Some of the smaller pieces swung back and forth, but the bulk of it clung together at the center, taking on the shape of a giant. Some of the really large pieces of steel and concrete got pulled off the ground around us, only to fall back to the ground while smaller chucks moved toward the giant.
A weight limit?
The black vines. I struggled to see them with the light, but they moved differently than the rubble. I thought Mush's power worked by limited telekinesis, like Parian or Rune.
Apparently not.
From the chest of the giant, a face looked down at us with a bored expression. Mush it turns out is not a handsome man. If I didn't know he used too many drugs, I'd suspect he had some kind of skin disease. Big pointed nose, only a few stray strands of hair, bloodshot eyes, and this dopey expression.
He looked like Gollum.
"Why you smashing?" he asked.
Lafter raised her hand. "We didn't do it."
Lafte—
His hair turned upside down. "Really?"
Huh?
"Yeah." Lafter rose up and patted some dust off her legs. "We didn't do it. Have you seen a guy with red hair running around? Shit-eater grin, likes shooting people in the head."
"No."
You cannot be serious,—I noticed the milky glaze in his eyes—He's high?!
"Oh." Lafter glanced left and then right. "Well…Thanks? I'd rather die in the explosion than buried. Much quicker. But if the asshole we're looking for isn't here, we'll just be going."
"No," Mush rumbled. "Skid says I smash if I see"—he raised his giant debris arm—"so…"
Lafter shrugged, beam saber flipping on. "I tried."
I pushed on the pedals, my right leg's thrusters throwing me forward. The arm slammed me into the ground, but at least I landed on my feet. I threw the arm back and aimed for Mush's face.
His face vanished under a pile of dust and pebbles because of course, it did.
"Retreat!" I shouted.
"No," a deep voice rumbled.
I held an arm out to Lafter. "Grab on!"
Ramius shouted, "Taylor?!"
Oh, right. "Running at the moment!"
As soon as I felt Lafter's weight on my suit I shot into the air again.
I promptly learned exactly why I shouldn't be trying to fly without half my thrusters and no flywheel.
My suit spun. Not entirely sure which way, but Mush ended up under us at some point and above us at another. I saw a rooftop on my rear camera and threw my legs forward, throwing us both backward.
Lafter shouted something and let go. I hit the roof with my back. O Gundam slid along the surface before I threw my hand into the ground and stopped myself.
This is bad.
"Taylor?" Dinah asked. "Are you okay?"
Dinah's watching. Fuck.
"Fine." I rolled onto my side and forced myself up. "Lafter?"
"Over here," she groaned from about ten feet away. "Let's not do that again."
Think of a way out of this.
"Veda, where's the Van?"
Lafter sat up. "Veda?"
Don't have time to worry about that. "Veda!"
"East one-hundred twenty-fourth street," StarGazer answered.
"Oh. You're Veda."
Groups massed in the surrounding streets. Mostly men in dirty clothes with bats, pipes, and guns. Orange and Purple went high enough to spot them. Red hid from a group passing by him in the block behind Mush. Just thugs from what I saw, but a lot of thugs.
How long till the other Merchant capes showed up?
Veda wouldn't reach us in time. She was too far away. Mush would—
I threw myself into a short jump as a giant arm of rock and steel slammed onto the roof. Lafter scrambled, leaping to her feet and running away as the structure collapsed behind her. She leaped at the end of the roof, vaulting the gap and landing on the next building just after I did.
"And he's getting bigger," I mumbled. "Just wonderful."
Mush looked about twice the size he'd been before. He rose up, the "head" of his body rising just over roof level. The rubble head didn't quite have features, but I saw two little indents that could be eyes. Not sure he needed them to see.
Actually how does he see?
His head withdrew into his body, so how did he see us?
Question for lat—
Withdrew his head into his body.
I stepped back, mirroring Lafter's movements.
"What happened to those modified grenades?" I asked.
Veda highlighted them on my visor.
Mush rose up slightly higher, taking a step toward us.
His leg ruptured, the sound of the explosion muffled as trash, rubble, and black vines tore apart. His arm followed, and the giant stumbled back.
"Time to go," I said.
"Go where?" Lafter glanced over her shoulder at the alley below. A group of men ran through the narrow corridor. "I think we're surrounded."
"I know. Grab on."
I crouched and rose as soon as Lafter got a hold of my suit.
I looked at my timer.
Twenty-three minutes.
I needed to get us out in twenty-three minutes, and if I didn't make that…Just be out in twenty-three minutes.
I fired what thrusters remained and threw us both back into the air. My sense of balance didn't work right, but I managed to keep us right side up before landing in a street a block over.
"Veda, where are Miss Militia and Triumph." Veda highlighted their position and gave their speed and direction. "We can make that."
Lafter pointed, "Can he make it?"
I looked up and cursed.
Mush rose up, his body apparently able to take more than just straight human shapes. Multiple debris arms pulled him over the rooftops, one lifting itself over our heads. I ran to the side. Lafter ran the other way. The hand came down, cratering the street and a car on cinder blocks.
"I was hoping that would last longer," I mumbled. Although…
I stepped back, avoiding another trash arm as it came down. Mush's form pulled itself off the rooftop and crashed into the street, swirling for a moment before resuming its shape.
Kind of looked like an octopus.
Lafter ran past me, and I quickly followed.
"We're going the opposite direction," I said, watching as Miss Militia and Triumph's approach slowed.
"Well, we can't go that way!"
"We can go that way!" I pointed and we both turned toward the alley. Maybe Mush wouldn't be able to move so well if we kept ourselves in narrow spaces.
Mush rose up down the street, three arms lifting and surging toward us. Mush's body exploded again, and I saw Purple and Pink fly overhead.
Good robots.
Lafter and I slipped into the alley, Navy taking a position directly above us.
"Left!" I shouted.
Lafter turned, and I fired three shots at the band of Merchants approaching from the right. Two fumbled for the guns in their belts while a third hit the ground screaming. I turned and ran after Lafter, directing her right to avoid another group on the street up ahead.
"And there's more of them this way," I said.
Lafter switched her beam saber on.
"Taylor," Ramius shouted, "what's happening?"
"Still running!"
We came out of the alley, and Lafter rolled over her shoulder. The Merchants bat went over her head and into my stomach. It didn't hurt obviously. I grabbed the guy with my free hand and threw him into the wall. Lafter punched the guy behind him between the legs—she does that a lot—and kicked the third Merchant in the knee.
I shot over her head, knocking the next two down, only to find another group ahead.
Bullets pinged against my back, but I ignored them. Another series of explosions rocked the air. Mush flailed about out of my sight. Just a little further and he'd struggle to catch us.
"Just a little longer," I said to Orange, Pink, Navy, and Purple.
"Boom, boom," Purple chirped.
I put an arm around Lafter's waist and shot into the air again. We landed on a rooftop above the approaching Merchants. They fired a few shots, but not one hit. One of their guns exploded. That guy collapsed forward clutching his hand.
"Big trouble," Lafter groaned.
Mush lunged over a building, crossing a block in a single leap and crashing into the ground. He reformed quickly, slowed by a single grenade as Orange passed him.
And the Merchants just kept coming.
Even with the Haros above, and Red on the ground, tracking them and even taking a few out there were too many.
Did that guy set up in Merchant central?
And everywhere I looked for a place to escape I saw more Merchants. It wasn't an escape if they swarmed all of Shanty Town and kept chasing us.
sys.v/ calculating
"Calculating?" I asked.
I raised my carbine and fired across the street. The Merchants avoided the shots but hit the ground all the same. The roof door behind us threw itself open, only for the frame to snap and strike the first guy through in the face. Lafter charged the second, shoving him back through the threshold with her shoulder.
Bullets started pinging off my armor, and I found my attention split between looking for an escape and trying to keep the number of bullets coming our way down.
Though, not sure I needed to.
The bullets spilling from surrounding rooftops didn't hurt me. They all seemed to bend around Lafter, striking the ground or knocking her hair about. She occasionally jerked, or twitched, just barely avoiding a shot.
My fears that too many bullets might overwhelm her power apparently didn't stand up to reality.
Why didn't her power mess with the assassin? Just one little…just one…File away for later.
"Route determined," Veda said. "Highlighting."
I blinked for a moment as the line appeared. It changed every few seconds, routes shifting left or right as the Merchants moved around us.
Oh.
"Good job, Veda!"
sys.v/ a mere reapplication of my driving suite
"Lafter!"
She twisted the gun out of a Merchant's hand and smacked him across the face with her saber. She backed away from the door frame, covering her head with one arm and grabbing my suit with the other.
I shot into the air again, following Veda's guide right over and past Mush. Purple and Orange flanked us, the last two grenades exploding and collapsing Mush's debris arms.
We landed on the other side of the street, Mush's body between us and most of the Merchants who knew exactly where we were.
"This way!"
I ran, my armored feet cracking the ground beneath me.
"Where are we going?" Lafter asked.
"Away from here!"
I followed the line, Lafter fast on my heels.
"Left," Veda said aloud. "Straight. Left. One Merchant group ahead. Three nine millimeter, one forty-five."
Lafter picked up her pace, jumping up onto a closed dumpster and leaping ahead of me as we came to the corner. The men stumbled as we appeared, fumbling with their weapons like the first group.
This will work.
Lafter threw her elbow into one's stomach and struck another with her saber. I barreled through the other two, knocking them aside and to the ground.
Veda's endpoint shifted, following Miss Militia and Triumph as they drove.
Just another five hundred meters.
We just needed to get away before any more Merchant capes showed up.
Mush thrashed about in the streets behind us, but the Haros did their jobs. He stayed on our tail, but he kept going the wrong way. Or rather, Veda kept shifting her directions.
A group of men crossed a street ahead of us, vanishing behind the corner right as we exited an alley and crossed ourselves. The Merchants chasing us emerged a second too late to know exactly which way we'd gone and picked the wrong one.
The net got thinner the further from Mush we got, and I realized the Merchants were going to him, not us.
"Right," Veda continued. "Then straight."
Lafter and I ran out onto the street, passing under a line of broken traffic lights.
"Ramius," I called. "We're going to cross paths with Miss Militia and Triumph in about two minutes. I think we got away from Mush."
Nothing.
"Ramius?"
"Testing," Veda said. "The line is being jammed by interference. Rerouting through my servers."
Dead? "Why is it—"
I glanced at the traffic light that didn't have any light. On a good look, it didn't seem broken.
"Oh, no."
"Oh no, what?" Lafter asked.
"Squealer brought the tank out."
Lafter jerked her head around. "Squealer has a tank?"
"Assuming she hasn't built extras," I mumbled.
If lights were out, then she couldn't be far off. And I hoped she didn't have more than one.
"Detection," Veda announced.
I turned, cursing as the vehicle turned a corner five blocks down the road behind us.
"Who's wreck'n mah shit!?"
And they put megaphones on it, wonderful.
Among other things.
The tank lurched forward on its four limbs, the wheels at the tips squealing as it turned toward us. It looked a lot like I remembered, with a beetle body and a giant turret mounted on the "abdomen." A guy in a quilt like costume on top completed the ensemble…Though I didn't remember all the handlebars being there before.
"Get'n real sick of you wreck'n stuff up bitch!"
"Did he just call you a bitch?" Lafter asked.
"Not my primary concern," I admitted.
How do I beat a tank? One of my breacher shells could do it, but I only had two. Both were at the workshop. My carbine might work on full power, assuming Squealer didn't have any fancy protective systems.
The turret turned our way, and Skidmark ran his hands along the barrel—
"Dodge!" I shouted. I fired my thrusters and Lafter ran. The barrel slid back, the air squealing—seriously taking that name too seriously—and the street exploded.
"That's that good shit!" Skidmark screamed, dancing atop the tank.
The lines along the barrel continued to glow, their color deepening as Skidmark ran his hands along the barrel again.
The gun turned, not towards me but Lafter. I cursed, taking aim and turning the power on my carbine all the way up.
I didn't expect it to be so bright.
Or explode.
My carbine that is.
My hand recoiled, the heat traveling up my arm as the weapon tore itself apart. The beam shot though, a big pink line that cut through the air and did absolutely nothing what the fuck?
Skidmark's laughter continued, the beam bending as it approached the tank hull and splitting along the leg. The paint peeled, and the armor melted, but the tank kept moving fine.
Lafter made it to her feet at least, but the moment I hit the ground the tank turned its turret toward me.
I started to move, heart pounding in my ears.
"Hey, asshole!"
A white streak shot out of the sky and slammed into the tank. The air rippled, the ground cracking under the tank's wheeled feet and giving way. The street caved in, the tank falling into the hole despite the wheels spinning black smoke into the air.
And I never imagined myself thinking, thank you Victoria Dallon.
"There are laws against noise pollution you know!" Glory Girl rose up in the air, holding Skidmark by the neck and scowling. "And Jesus when was the last time you took a bath? With soap?"
"Someone forget to tell me it's women's liberation day?" Skidmark asked. "Damn broads are all over my junk!"
He dangled in her grasp, hands moving—"Vicky!"
"Huh?"
She looked down at me, noticing Skidmark's hand a second too late. He patted her sides, the lines forming on her costume.
"Asshole!"
"Suck it, bitch!"
The air rushed, Victoria going one way and Skidmark slipping from her grip. She smashed into a wall but righted herself quickly. Odd, the lines vanished from her costume the moment she hit the wall. Skidmark fell to the ground and rolled.
The tank shifted, two legs rising and pushing the vehicle out of the tiny crater Victoria smashed it into.
A gunshot rang in my ear, and I glanced back as the Merchant hordes caught up with us.
"I got it!"
Lafter ran away from the tank and towards the thugs. I wanted to tell her to stop, but if her power acted up more the more happened around her…
"You know, I always wanted to smash a tank." Victoria lowered to my side, cracking her knuckles. "Why aren't you flying by the way?"
"It hasn't been my best day," I mumbled. And this is apparently happening…Eh, better than being pasted by whatever Squealer's loading in that cannon. "Mush probably knows where we are."
Victoria shrugged. "So, smash fast."
"We can—"
She shot forward, the tank spinning smoke back into the air as it pushed back. The turret turned, but the cannon couldn't angle down enough to aim.
"Or not," I mumbled.
I turned to Skidmark. Ideally, I could be running, but with Lafter handling the rank and file, and Victoria smashing the tank…This works. At least I had a plan for dealing with Skidmark, more or less.
I pulled a beam saber from my back. Just me and Skidmark. I can do that.
We didn't standoff for long.
Skidmark slapped his hands on the ground, and I threw myself into the air. Lines formed in the shape of crescents in front of him. I went right over the barriers–they repelled anything that crossed them—to land on the other side behind him and Skidmark jumped into the lines. His body launched forward, racing away.
We merely traded places.
"Dumbass!"
I felt my feet pull forward and glanced down at another series of lines.
I wasn't prepared for today.
I flew forward, my body slamming into and through a wall. The lines threw me a lot faster than they did Victoria. Weight? Size? No. They worked better with layers, like when he ran a series of lines along the tank's cannon.
I turned, looking back at Skidmark.
This would be harder than I thou—
I raised my brow. Skidmark tossed a rock in his hand, a huge grin on his face. Two lines ran parallel in front of him, a series of smaller lines crossing them. It looked like railroad tracks, but why did he arrange them like that?
Skidmark spat into his hand, the empty one, and threw the rock. A cloud of dust swirled in the air, and—
I heard the warning alarm before I felt the chest plate impact. The armor bent inward against my chest, stabbing at my ribs and knocking the air from my lungs.
sys.g-000 / armor[ ] compromised WARN
My eyes widened.
With a rock?!
Skidmark used his power to build a rail gun. A rail gun that could nearly break my armor with a rock. Something like that could kill me…and he just used it while laughing like a maniac.
My heart stopped for a second. Strange. Last time I felt like I might die, I panicked. The second time, I almost felt elated.
If we're playing for keeps…
"Something wrong?" Skidmark chuckled.
"Me? No." I reached for my hip and pulled a second saber. "You picked the rules."
"Bitch I'm gon—"
I burst forward, both sabers flicking on in my hands. Skidmark started to throw and I threw one foot into the ground and turned out of the way.
"Orange!"
My Haro came straight down, knocking Skidmark in the back and pushing him forward.
"Shit!" His foot crossed onto his line. They vanished in a flash, but not fast enough to stop him from being propelled forward. "Fuck!"
I threw my arm out, catching Skidmark in the chest. The thud resounded through my arm, but I didn't feel it. Too distracted by the look of pain on Skidmark's face. As soon as he hit the ground I swung a saber down, striking him in the arm.
And I kept swinging.
I heard the bone snap, Skidmark's arm twisting in a way not anatomically correct. I ignored his scream and swung the other saber into his chest and knocked the wind out of him.
He screamed louder.
I shut off the warning on my visor. Never expected Skidmark to be the one to break my armor, or come close I suppose. I still felt the armor pressing into my ribs, painfully. Nothing broken, I thought but definitely uncomfortable.
"You know what Skidmark, thank you." I flipped a saber off and grabbed him by the quilted cape. "I needed that."
Maybe this wasn't such a total loss after all.
And I finally broke someone's arms. Well, say it often enough and it's bound to happen sooner or later.
Victoria, apparently tired of trying to punch the tank, planted her legs on the hull. Her hands gripped one of the legs and pulled, the sound of creaking metal preceding a resounding crack.
"Hah! I got your leg!" She lifted the torn limb and swung it back down.
Okay, the tank is handled.
"Lafter?"
"I'm okay!" She called.
She threw one Merchant through a window, and planted her knee into the stomach of another. A dozen or so bruised thugs lay on the street. Purple and Red tied them up, Pink and Navy running interference while Lafter fought her way through them.
"Tie him up!" I kept Skidmark up while Orange drifted behind the man and started binding his hands. "Don't let him touch the ground, or you. I think his power only works on things he can touch with his hands and feet."
"Fuck you," the villain groaned.
"Say hi to Victor and Alabaster!"
"Did you catch Skidmark?" Lafter asked with a shout.
"Yes."
"Neat!"
Now we just needed to hang on to him. Did the Merchants even work without Skidmark? Mush didn't seem particularly bright. Squealer was either a complete addict or an abused girlfriend. Trainwreck and Whirlygig? Hadn't seen either of them.
Wait. "Where is Mush?"
"One hundred fourteen meters southeast," Veda said.
"Crap. Vicky!"
She lifted both tank legs over her head and froze. "What?"
"Mush!"
She turned, watching as a mass of rolling debris poured into the street.
"Oh."
I readier my sabers again. "Orange, get him in the sky and keep him"—I pointed as Skidmaark—"there!"
"Okay, okay!"
I turned to face the rolling wave of trash. Victoria gave the tank another good smack before doing the same. She whacked one leg down onto the turret, bending the gun and snapping the armor.
So it can break itself?
The vehicle kept rumbling, two legs moving against the ground. The wheels turned, but nothing came of their peeling. I didn't see any other weapons.
So, tank dealt with for the moment. Lafter kept the thugs to a minimum with help, and I had Skidmark hanging from a thread.
Not bad considering I couldn't fly. Kind of lucky Victoria showed u—
"Let Skidmark go," a voice grumbled.
Yeah, no. "How about you let us go."
Mush's face reappeared. "Did you say something?"
"I sai—Wait. Didn't you just…"
Oh come on.
I stepped back and checked my cameras. Finding nothing, I turned my head.
A metal man marched toward us, steam chugging from vents all along his arms and back. The metal creaked and groaned as he moved, the visage of a face glaring at me from the chest. The steel looked rusted and worn, a whole grill forged across the chest like a dozer blade.
"Trainwreck." Wonderful
What is it with Merchant villains and emerging from alleyways?
A small girl followed behind him, her hair falling like a curtain over her face. One way to hide your identity, I guess.
"And Whirlygig," Victoria added. "Huh, we have the whole Merchant gang here."
"Squealer ain't here," Whirlygig said. "Yet."
I watched the tank on my rear camera. Great. Squealer either had another tank, or something worse.
"I hate today."
"Really?" Glory Girl smiled. "I'm having fun!"
"Me too!" Lafter called, her foot kicking a guy on the ground in his side. "Just saying!"
"Besides," Vicky continued. "We caught Skidmark. Catch them too and we almost have the full set." Glory Girl raised her tank leg. "And I like the sound of that."
I would too, until the gang war between the ABB and the Empire tore the city apart. Catching Skidmark was one thing. Crippling the Merchants left them standing, at least for a little while. Easier to manage a slow removal of all three gangs than the sudden elimination of one.
We needed to just take Skidmark and go. I didn't have enough time to fight any longer.
Trainwreck charged. I jumped back on my one good leg.
"We need to take Skidmark and go," I determined.
Vicky swung her tank leg at Trainwreck. He caught it with his side, arms wrapping around the limb.
"Why?" she asked. "Let's finish this! Isn't knocking these assholes into the ground what you're all about?"
"I'm about doing it intelligently!"
I turned, but not fast enough. Mush's trash limb rolling over me, throwing me back and into the ground. Another smashed into Victoria, and Trainwreck pulled the tank leg free and swung it at her.
Victoria hit the ground and flew back.
"Watch out!" Lafter shouted.
Mush's arm came down again, pinning Victoria to the street.
Fuck.
Trainwreck approached me, while Whirlygig turned toward Lafter. The dirty looking girl's hair started to pick up, a whirlwind picking up around her.
Lafter could handle the rank and file, but another cape? Had she ever fought another cape? Whirlygig might not be Oni Lee, but cape fights never went the way I expected them…except for the one time I meticulously planned it.
Mush's other arm turned toward me and I swung my saber as it came down. The limb severed, falling free of Mush's grip and…started moving right back toward him.
I have nothing that can stop Mush.
Trainwreck swung the tank leg at me, but I easily dodged it. His armor might be big and strong, but it moved far too slow.
I shot my thrusters, grabbing Victoria's cape as I went back. I threw a saber at Whirlygig, watching the girl freak and start flailing around as the weapon spun in her whirlwind.
"Let's go!"
"Okay!" Lafter said as I ran past her.
"We can't run!" Victoria protested. "We can win!"
"No, we—"
A wall of rock and garbage crashed in front of us, Mush's face poking out and staring at us.
"Give back Skid—"
And then the wall exploded.
Mush surged back, turning to face Miss Militia as the bazooka in her hands burst into shimmering mist and then reformed.
She fired again. Triumph opened his mouth and shouted at her side. Mush raised an arm, Militia's rocket slamming into the shield and exploding. Triumphs' roar rolled through the debris, the artificial giant rippling and stumbling back as the pieces that made it up shook violently.
"There, see?" Victoria pulled free of my grasp and floated up into the air. "Easy!"
A loud bang pierced the air, followed by a second.
"Sniper!" Miss Militia shouted.
In the Merchants?
"Calculating trajectory," Veda announced.
I didn't feel anything. I glanced at Lafter, and she seemed okay. Who—Victoria twitched, glancing down at herself. The red spot expanded quickly.
"Fuck."
"Isn't she invincible?" Lafter asked.
Fuck.
