RED Base
For the first time in a while, the RED mercenaries were calm and relaxed. Even though the last war game left them all tense (what with the rampancy of three super-powered Freaks tearing up the place), the REDs finally took the time to kick back and rest up before they were called back into active duty. Sniper and Heavy were busy cleaning/field-stripping their weapons, Demoman was winning a game of poker against a luckless Scout and Pyro, Spy stood in the corner smoking as usual, while Engineer and Medic overlooked various papers. Aside from the somewhat rambunctious activity, the RED Base was oddly quiet. That is, until Spy took notice of something and gathered everyone's attention.
"Has anyone seen Intelligent Heavy anywhere?" He asked. While everyone shrugged, most were internally nervous about a Freak gone missing, even if he appeared docile. With all these Freaks now being integrated as part of their lives, most of which being unbelievably dangerous, the mercenaries felt uneasy around the pot-wearing Freak. The doors to the base slammed open, entering was the aforementioned Freak, breathing heavily and sweating bullets.
"Heavy is here!" Intelligent Heavy announced between gasps. "Sorry I am late! Freak emergency." As Intelligent Heavy trod over to the minibar, pulling out a glass, he earned a few looks from some of the less occupied mercenaries.
"Freak emergency?" Engineer asked. "What, did somethin' bad happen?"
"Very bad for everyone in Facilities." Intelligent Heavy sadly said, pouring himself a glass of water. "One very dangerous Freak broke free."
"Ain't all of you technically dangerous?" Scout called out, laying his cards out. "Two pair."
"No, only most Freaks." Intelligent Heavy said. "But this Freak is bad for all Freaks and Mann Co."
"How so, laddie?" Demoman said, barely containing his smirk as he revealed his cards. "Flush!" Ignoring the sound of Scout pounding his head against the table and Pyro softly moaning to him/her/itself, Intelligent Heavy took a deep breath before continuing.
"Evil Spy Freak known as Doppelganger escaped." Intelligent Heavy explained. "He is Freak that copies other Freak powers, becoming stronger until he turns into unstoppable force." He shuddered at the notion of that power-mad lunatic gaining his powers. "Little Doppelganger once copied the powers of six strong Freaks and causing mass chaos. He wanted to destroy Mann Co. and take over world, but he was defeated, and imprisoned."
"And ze Administrator authorized ze creation of such a Freak?" Spy asked, strolling over to Intelligent Heavy.
"Many Freaks are dangerous enough to be super-villains," Intelligent Heavy explained. "I don't know why leetle devil woman wanted Doppelganger made, but Heavy will not feel safe until Doppelganger is either dead or back in prison." His mood slightly perked up, glancing at his friends in arms. "But Heavy feels they will do well. I wonder where he is now."
The Factory
Streets
To answer that thought, Doppelganger was currently slammed into the hood of a black Sedan driving at eighty miles per hour, screaming loudly alongside the drivers, Ninja Spy and Ninja Heavy, as they raced down the corridors of the Factory, pursued by the Freak Posse.
"HOW MUCH FURTHER UNTIL WE GET TO THE BORDER?!" Ninja Spy shouted, trying to shake Doppelganger off the hood of his precious car. Ninja Heavy reached into the glove compartment, and pulled out the map, giving it a quick look over.
"TURN LEFT!" Ninja Heavy directed, pointing in the aforementioned direction. Quickly turning the wheel, the car banked left and turned down another side road. "LEFT AGAIN!" Once again, Ninja Spy turned left, driving full speed down another street, the white suited Spy Freak clinging to the hood for dear life.
"SLOW DOWN, YOU IDIOTS!" Doppelganger shouted, clinging onto the hood-ornament of a miniature Saxxy Award. Just as the car made a hard right turn, something obstructed the road. And that something was Robot Engie. His response: Scream.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The RED Robot screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Ninja Heavy screamed, accidentally ripping the map.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ninja Spy exclaimed, failing to hit the brakes in time.
"Oh, merde." Doppelganger muttered.
*BAM!*
"Howdy." Robot Engie cheekily greeted, bent backwards over the hood of the Sedan, next to Doppelganger. The white-suited Spy only groaned as the car continued driving onwards, the driver and passenger panicked, not realizing they were heading towards the worst destination ever: a wall.
"HIT THE BRAKES, YOU IMBECILE!" Doppelganger shouted, a furious and panicked look on his face.
"TOO LATE!" Robot Engie exclaimed. The four unfortunate Freaks hadn't the time to prepare for the crash, as they drove right through the wall, smashing through a foot of concrete and still somehow driving. That is, until they hit a tree. The car came to an abrupt halt, sending Doppelganger and Robot Engie flying off the hood and down a grassy hill. Ninja Heavy tumbled out the side of the car, also rolling down the hill. Slowly rising to his feet, he gazed at the car, which still held a catatonic Ninja Spy within, and wondered one thing.
"Why didn't airbag go off?" He asked.
*BOOF!*
The airbag went off, sending Ninja Spy flying out of his car and into the direction of his apprentice, who lazily stuck out his arm and caught his boss. Before thanking his associate, Ninja Spy picked up the crumpled up map, unfurled it, and then glanced about the lush, serene scenery.
"Heavy," He said, slowly. "Do you know where we are?" Ninja Heady glanced about, taking in the rolling green hills and the dotted trees often seen in a picnic area.
"Crazed Countryside, I think." The small-suited Heavy responded.
"And, do you know, where in relation," Ninja Spy said, steadily staring at his partner in crime. "The Crazed Countryside is to ze Factory?" Ninja Heavy had to think long and hard to get the rusted gears that made up his brain to move.
"West, boss." Ninja Heavy happily responded.
"Ah, good, so you know." Ninja Spy calmly said, handing the map to his larger ally. "So, where is the Eye in Ze Sky in relation to ze Factory, then?" Carefully, the dim-witted Freak examined the map, and realized the obvious truth.
"The east."
"Zat's right, ze east." Ninja Spy said, reaching aroung Ninja Heavy's shoulder. Violently, he grabbed his apprentice's collar, and let out a barrage of slaps accompanied by a loud scream of rage. "WE WENT IN ZE WRONG DIRECTION FOR FIFTEEN MILES! WE NEED TO GET TO ZE EYE BEFORE NIGTFALL AND YOU SCREWED UP, IDIOT!" As the two continued the one-sided berating, Doppelganger dragged himself away from the hill, bleeding profusely from the open wound Christian Brutal Sniper delivered. A trail of blood betrayed his location at a flat stone, the formerly white-suited Spy heaved as he tried to keep himself alive. He couldn't die again, or else he'd return to that tiny cell with nary a power to copy.
"Is there a regenerative Freak about?" He called out to no one in particular. Glancing to the side, he saw the mangled form of Robot Engie off to the side, dead from the crash, yet no doubt respawning elsewhere. He contemplated stealing the robotic Freak's powers, but realized that was stupid, mainly due to the RED Robot being absolutely weak and not worth the hassle. All he could do was lay down and rest his strength, letting the grass rest against his back as the warm autumn breeze blew across his chest.
"Oooh..." Droned the voice of a Soldier. Cracking one eye open, Doppelganger came to see the rather idiotic BLU Freak, Soljah, standing over him with a stupid grin on his face. "I found a maggot." Doppelganger groaned to himself, already feeling his brain cells slowly committing suicide around this Freak. Just as he was about to yell the Freak away, he realized something: Soljah is a reality-bending Freak, much like Stu Pidface. And reality-benders can do whatever they want, including survive injury. With a wicked smirk, Doppelganger grabbed Soljah's chest and began to copy his powers. Soljah quickly realized what was going on, and leapt away with a frightened look on his goofy face. "BAD TOUCH!" But it was too late, as Doppelganger quickly healed his wounds, stood his full height before the sputtering Soldier Freak, and smirked.
"I feel tingly from zis new power." Doppelganger chuckled with an all too gleeful smile. "In fact, it makes me feel... overly joyful." A sadistic fit of giggles began to leave the copycat's mouth as he drew a pair of scimitars, one frozen with ice and the other lit ablaze. "And I'm going to have a ball tearing this place to ribbons!" Soljah could only look onward in fear as Doppelganger stalked forward, weapons falling down in a vicious strike.
The Factory
Necroborg roared viciously at his four foes, charging up a powerful attack. Recognizing this lethal attack, Soldine, Scombine, and Christian Brutal Sniper barreled out of the way as a massive beam of energy shot from Necroborg's mouth, decimating the ground before them and knocking Pyrogun into a nearby wall, temporarily rendering the living sentry out of commission. Snarling as his attack only took out one fourth of the enemy forces, Necroborg leapt up off the frozen block where he once was imprisoned, and brought his fists down towards Soldine. The robotic Soldier quickly brought his arm up and blocked Necroborg's attack, countering with a punch to the gut, sending the cybernetic zombie flying.
"Critical hit." Soldine boasted, shifting his arm into a Gatling gun. "Target locked." Bullets erupted from Soldine's gun, encircling Necroborg in a hail fire of hot lead and forcing him onto a wall. Using his cybernetic arm to shield himself from the attacks, Necroborg pushed his feet against the concrete building and kicked off, hoping up towards the rooftops. Christian Brutal snarled, twirling a pickaxe tied to a rope.
"That zombie wanker's getting away!" He shouted, swinging the digging tool upwards. The head of the pickaxe wedged itself atop the roof's railing, allowing the butcher Freak to scale the wall and pursue his prey. Soldine followed in pursuit, engaging in a steam export placed on his (ahem) rear and taking off to the skies. Scombine was about to follow, but saw Pyrogun in a serious state of disrepair, circuits exposed and head bent at an uncomfortable angle. Against his better programing, Scombine hoisted the RED Pyro robotic Freak onto his back, gave one last look at the direction his allies continued their hunt, and silently trekked to the nearest repair station.
Once Soldine and Christian Brutal Sniper reached the rooftop, they saw Necroborg waiting for them, cracking his non-robotic knuckles. Irked by the taunting, Soldine raised his Black Box arm, but before he could fire, Christian Brutal quickly loaded the barrel with burning arrows and covered his ears. Realizing the plan, Soldine fired the rocket, in addition to the burning ammunition, and gave Necroborg nowhere to run. Quickly avoiding the rocket, Necroborg was quickly struck by seven of the twenty-eight arrows in the arsenal, a majority of them in his chest while another struck him in the eye, blinding him. Screaming in pain as portions of his body burned, Necroborg charged at the two with vicious intention. The two Freaks quickly side-stepped, and Christian Brutal jammed a hatchet in the zombie's shoulder as he made his round about.
"Trapa lla'y nac hA os llits dloh!" Necroborg demanded, turning around as he yanked the arrow out of his eye. Deeply inhaling, the cyborg let out a Hyper Scream, catching Soldine off guard and knocking him over the edge of the building while Christian Brutal dug a pair of hunting knives into the floor below. The former Mastermind let out a throaty cackle, watching as Christian Brutal steadily rose to his feet and Soldine dangle for dear life on the edge of the building. Viciously stalking towards his opponent, Necroborg barely waited for the black wearing Aussie to stand when he punched him in the face. Christian Brutal spat out blood as Necroborg barraged him with punches and kicks, until finally grabbing him by the throat and hoisting him off the ground. "Nimrev elttil diputs uoy. Em ekil retsnom a gnitaeb fo ecnahc on dah lla'y. Deviecer ev'uoy rewop eht rvresed t'nod dna, kaew era uoy. Ti rof reffus annog era lla'y, won dna." With a quick squeeze of his mechanical hand, Necroborg snapped Christian Brutal's neck, dropping the body onto the ground with an unceremonious thud. Soldine heard the sound, and continued to attempt to climb up. Cackling cruelly, Necroborg strode towards Soldine, his tongue slithering about his grotesque mouth, as he pressed a boot on the cyborg's hand. Just as Soldine was about to give way, he saw something happen to his temporary partner's body.
Christian Brutal Sniper stood upwards, his neck snapped back in place, and blood red eyes shining on his pale face.
Soldine's gaze was averted as one of his hands gave way, and Necroborg moved to the other hand. Seconds before he could bring his foot down, a sickening squish echoed across the area. Necroborg glanced downwards, looking for the source of pain, and found a bloodied fist punch clean through.
"You know what happened to the first Vagineer that thought they could kill me?" Christian Brutal Sniper hissed into Necroborg's ear, his voice unnaturally demonic. Soldine noticed other differences about the butcher Freak, like his teeth forming into fine sharp fangs, claws on his hands, and a dark red energy radiating off his body like an unclean stench. With lightning fast reflexes, the demonic Sniper Freak yanked his arm out of Necroborg's chest, and flung him onto the ground. Frightened beyond all belief, Necroborg attempted to crawl away from Christian Brutal Sniper, only to be dragged back towards the violent foe. Planting a black boot on the zombie Vagineer's chest, Christian Brutal let off a demonic laughter, shaking the foundations of the building, holding a hand above his hand. Red lightening surged through his hand, taking the form of a weapon-like object. In a flash of light, a sword appeared in the demented Sniper's hand, a blade with a black handle made from a jagged stone, a blade colored deeply red with blood, and at the center of the sword, glancing back and forth was a demonic yellow eye, completely bloodshot. Soldine attempted to scan the weapon with his cybernetics, but all he could get were off-the-charts readings of dark energy.
Make-up of the weapon matches that of... Soldine thought to himself, attempting to analyze the situation. His eye widened when his programing came to a conclusion. A Demonic Freak. Christian Brutal Sniper lifted the demonic sword above his head, while Necroborg began screaming for his life.
"I ripped him from the inside out." Christian Brutal Sniper said. With a loud, almost inhuman roar, he plunged the blade into Necroborg's head, a pillar of flame erupting over the two of them. For a full minute, the top of the Factory lit up like the sun, all inside exiting the buildings to gaze at the spectacle. After a while, the flames subsided, and Soldine managed to return his gaze to the site. Christian Brutal Sniper stood in almost a trance, looking back as he used to, the sword gone, and standing over the charred skeleton of a Vagineer. Slightly turning his head back to Soldine, Christian Brutal gave a short chuckle, and collapsed on the ground. As Soldine rushed to help the psychotic Sniper, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell just happened.
The Pentagram
The Dutchman
Onboard the ghostly ship in the Pentagram, where a crew of zombies shuffled about, the ever-so-evil Lord DeGroot sat at the helm of the marooned vessel, resting in a comfy chair, feet propped up against the wheel of the ship and idly sipping a bottle of grog. As he was relaxing, he felt an unusual disturbance in the flow of good and evil. A sudden explosion of dark energy erupted from within the Facilities, startling him. No doubt Nightmare Medic felt it, too, but only he could truly recognize it. It was a power he gifted to one who sold his soul for more power. With a wicked chuckle, Lord DeGroot's eye flashed red as he gazed onward into the volcanic grounds.
"It seems he has awoken..."
Freak-Lopedia
Christian Brutal Sniper (Addendum)
Having sold his soul to the evil Lord DeGroot for more power, Christian Brutal Sniper was secretly granted the innate ability to trigger a demonic form whenever a certain peak of rage is reached. Becoming more vicious and horrific-looking, Demonic Christian Brutal's true strength comes from his ability to summon Hell-Spawn Weapons, tools of conquest forged by the demons of Hell capable of killing foes with pure hellfire. The only other Freak to use these weapons is Nightmare Medic, who possesses more experience to wield these tools. Demonic Christian Brutal burns up a great deal of his power, and causes him to fall into exhaustion after the power drains, rendering him completely vulnerable.
