Chapter 5
Washington D.C.
Detective Shroud stood on Pennsylvania Avenue, as the small aircraft lowered. He had his hands in his pockets, while his long brown duster flapped in the wind. The hatch opened and Wily stepped out, buttoning his jacket, with his long blonde hair blowing in his face. He was joined by his newly appointed bodyguard, Gutsman.
"King Wily." Shroud said, "I trust your flight was well?"
Wily ignored the question, "What's the situation, in there?" He asked, nodding to the White House.
"The building itself appears to be clear, Sir. Mr. President and his security detail are holed up in the underground bunker, under the East Wing." He replied.
Wily turned to Guts, "Comm Burnerman, see how soon he can be here, then gear up."
"Yes Sir." Replied the android, stepping back into the ship.
Wily turned back to Shroud, "Where are the military prisoners?" He asked, skeptically.
"Reports are coming in, that a lot are being killed in combat, Sir. They are proving difficult, for the mercenaries, to take alive." Shroud began. "There are handfuls of units, here and there, that have gone into hiding. I'm going to organize a more capable team, and search them out, Sir."
Wily clenched his jaw, "You have had months, to organize your network. Now I show up, and you have nothing? I need to make a statement, to discourage the people from fighting. Do you understand that any kind of well-organized resistance, could very well dismantle my plan, at this stage?"
"Sir, I fully understand how this is supposed to work. Trust me, the weaker operatives are being weeded out, and I am personally following up on the rogue cells. You will get your message across, just give me time to do this right." Shroud responded.
Guts came back out, wearing his gauntlets and boots, holding his helmet. "Burner will be here, in ten, Sir."
"Excellent." Wily replied. "You," he continued, pointing to Shroud, "round up your best men, and bring me P.O.W.s, I don't want to see your fucking face again, until you do."
The detective got back into his vehicle, slamming the door and squalling tires, as he left.
Shortly after, Burnerman descended, in his finely-crafted, spartan-like armor, and the three made their way inside. They quietly traversed building, stepping around the collection of bodies, scattered about. As they walked, they were continuously joined by dozens of security droids.
Stepping into the East Wing, a group of Secret Servicemen tried to get the jump on them. They emerged from either side of the hallway's end, firing upon Wily and his men. Guts quickly grabbed the King, spinning his back to the hail of bolts, and ejecting his back armor. The droids took heavy casualties, as Burner stepped forward, bathing the humans with white-hot flames. "Tangos down." He said, grinning. "I've always wanted to say that."
Guts turned around, clapping Burner on the shoulder, "Well done." He said, smirking.
Burner cocked his head, unsure if the stone-cold Gutsman had just made a joke, or was simply complimenting him. When they rounded the corner, a straggler pounced them with a combat knife. Guts slapped his hand away, snapping the arm, followed by a severe headbutt that split the attacker's skull. Their advance continued, as Wily ordered the security droids to check the rooms.
Approaching the large steel doors, Burner melted them down, while Wily took cover. The task force on the other side was well-trained. EMP grenades greeted them immediately, as high velocity rounds struck Burner's armor, throwing him back.
Gutsman's sensors were going haywire, and his armor functions weren't responding. He grabbed his head, trying to focus on the EMP that continuously pulsed, on the floor. He staggered through the storm of fusion rounds, his clothes and artificial skin getting scorched and flayed. He brought the massive steel boot down, crushing it, causing him to regain his bearings.
"More EMPs!" One of the men inside screamed.
Guts looked up to see the orbs sailing through the air, as he deployed the armor, extending from his gloves, boots, and helmet. The indestructible plating covered his entire body, as his visor came down, over his face. Burner stood up, disintegrating the grenades, mid-flight, as Guts walked into the room.
They rushed the hulking figure, who was proficient with his hand to hand combat skills. The bolts bounced harmlessly off of him, while Guts grabbed the first attacker, kneeing him in the sternum, before knocking him out with a right cross. Small explosions went off at his feet, not slowing his advance at all. He hit three more with hard, back forearm blows, and straight kicked another square in the chest. The President fell back, behind the next line of defense, as Guts savagely beat them to a pulp, one by one.
The security team stood no chance against the armored android, even with his visor down, he decimated the humans. The steel armor retracted, once the team was scattered on the floor. He grabbed the President, dragging him to Wily and discarding him at his feet.
"President Midfield, I'm afraid your term has come to an early end." Wily said, looking down at him.
"This level of treason is atrocious, Curtis, even for you." The white haired man replied. "You won't get away with this, you have to know that!"
"That may be true Phillip, but you will not be around to see it." He said, pulling him up.
Chesapeake, Virginia
The Wraith house was lively, Helix and Ripple sat, playing cards in the living room, while Vapor continued to browse the FBI records on Detective "Dobbs". Scott was teaching Gina the basics of self defense in the gym. "You keep your hands up, like this." He instructed, raising his fists, in his yellow t-shirt and sweatpants.
She mirrored him, in her white tank top and pink sweatpants. "Okay, I get that, but you're too fast for me." She explained.
"You're gonna take some hits, that's part of the learning process. When you learn the small muscle twitches that come just before a certain blow, you'll be able to see the punches and kicks, before they even throw them." Scott told her. "Now, are you ready?"
She put her hands up, "Okay, go ahead." She said. The right hook came quickly, as she batted it back, with her forearm. Her ribs erupted, when left uppercut struck her. "Shit, Scott! That hurt!" She grunted.
"I barely tapped you." He said, dropping his stance. "Remember the pain, though. It'll be a reminder to focus completely on my body language. You know how to block the blows, so stop paying attention to that, your own reflexes have that covered. Focus. On. Me." He raised his hands again, as she nodded.
Danica and Glitch sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading various reports, from the network of survivors. "There's a unit out west, saying that Wily's people have highly advanced weapons and armor. That they're almost superhuman." Danica said, shaking her head.
"What d'ya think he was doin' all that time in Nova Scotia? He's been planning this for a while, I would venture to say." Glitch replied, as Robbie climbed up on the table, grabbing his coffee, and scurrying down the hall with it. "What the hell is dat li'l bugger's issue?" He asked.
"Want me to get you another one?" Danica asked.
"Nah. I'll be fine. Here's one from New York, saying there's guy lobbing explosive bombs from 'is bloody hands. We may be in deep shit." He said, looking over as Robbie came back, climbing onto the counter and grabbing the bowl of sugar, running back down the hall.
Tron sat at her desk, looking at the schematics of the large freighter ship. It was located in the Landing Bay, collecting dust. Robbie came back with a cup of coffee, sitting it to her right. "Holy crap! It worked! Good job little guy!" She said picking him up. "I can't believe I never thought to just adjust the frequency." She sat Robbie down and took a sip, "Uck, hey Robbie, grab me some sugar?"
The servbot ran back out, as she turned back to the three-dimensional holo. A few months ago Glitch had told her that if she could get the ship back in working condition, she could rename it. That was a good of incentive as any, to her. The thrusters were all completely crystallized with black carbon, but the only way to get to them, was to crawl into the engine shaft itself.
Robbie came back with the sugar, as she closed the holo. "That's gonna have to wait for now, I need to work on the guys' stuff." She said to him.
She thew Scott's red jacket onto the table, cutting it open, and grabbing her tools. She started to insert the tiny, octagonal, plates into the stitching, when she heard Vapor yell from the Control Room, "Guys, get in here now!" He said.
When they all gathered in the dark room, the glowing holo was up and the feed was shocking. Wily, two large men, and Shroud, stood in front of the White House. They had two Presidential guards, three Army soldiers, and the President himself, bound and on their knees. "People of Megatropolis," Wily began, his blonde hair flowing and sunglasses on, "we now have the White house. Those of you who have submitted willingly, will be given living quarters and assigned new jobs. Those of you who did not submit." He motioned to the two men in black combat gear, as Burner walked up, setting them on fire. "We do not take prisoners. You will be given until the end of the week to turn yourselves in. To any of you who may want to form a resistance." He motioned to the Army men in white t-shirts and fatigued pants.
"Hey, that's Charlie Weller, in the middle!" Helix yelled. The group all felt a sinking sensation, as Shroud stepped forward and slashed their friends' throats, on by one.
"We do not take prisoners." Wily continued. "Other countries have removed themselves from communication with us. That's fine by me, we won't need them. We are now self-sufficient. My Commanders and my network are linked throughout the country. You all work for me now." He finished, raising a pistol, and blowing President Midfield's brains out. "Hail to the King." He said, as the holo closed out.
The room was silent. Everyone was in a state of shock and anger. Glitch raised his head, with rage in his eyes. "Fellas, grab ya fuckin' gear. The Wraiths got work to do." He said.