Line in the Sand Chapter 15, an el tigre fanfic

The reviews I've been getting have been so incredibly cool. They fill me with such an unbelievable will to satisfy my readers. Of course, I must remember the plan. If my sole focus was to make you people happy, I would have stuck Manny and Frida together right away and skipped the rest. Now how fun would that be? That's right.

Just the same, I must finally bring you the storm. I present to you dear readers, the chapter which began it all in my head, version 1.

Chapter 15, the Battle of New Alamo

Military Command Center, Friday, 12:00 AM

"Lieutenant, that's an order!"

General Fitzgerald stopped and shouted at his second in command for the simple reason of questioning his authority. But Lieutenant Gutierre was not alone in his curiosity; every officer present on top of the police station wanted to know the same thing.

"Sir… all I ask is that you tell us the reason for you leaving."

"My presence was requested…"

"But sir, you have an attack to lead today."

"Gutierre, I need you to lead this attack in my stead," Fitzgerald responded, turning slowly. He gave the lieutenant a look that was both stern and fatherly. "Are you saying that after all your years of service, you aren't ready for this responsibility?"

"No sir." Gutierre stood tall and saluted his general, who returned the gesture. They turned and looked into the night sky when a helicopter came within landing distance of the station, and Fitzgerald backed away as the soldiers on the roof started waving it down. Once it landed, Gutierre accompanied Fitzgerald to the door, opening it for him. He yelled over the roar of the engine. "Give us a report when you land, sir!"

General Fitzgerald nodded before pulling the door shut and giving the woman in the pilot's seat the thumbs up. She nodded in return and the chopper lifted up off the roof. This left the lieutenant in command of the operation, who had no idea what he was getting himself into. As the helicopter flew high above the lights of Miracle City, Nikolai relaxed a bit, shedding off the unneeded details of the disguise. Letting his Russian accent back out, he sighed and turned to the pilot.

"I trust M is ready."

As she was dressed in military garb, it was difficult at first to tell that Voltura was the pilot. She only nodded to Nikolai as they made their way across the black sky. From that point on, the two remained quiet, listening to the radio transmissions of the military units stationed in the city and at key choke points. Once they were outside the city, it was impossible to see anything at all. The moonless sky made sure of that. But Nikolai and Voltura were not in the dark long. It seemed to be only a short time before Voltura checked the instruments and radioed in.

"New Alamo, this is LongRanger 11A5, requesting permission to land."

"Roger that LongRanger, you are cleared for landing. Proceed to the pad."

The helicopter passed overhead once, and with its lights one could see three or four individuals moving about, and a single one standing with his hands behind his back. Circling around for the final approach, the helicopter began lowering itself onto the landing pad, coming into contact with the earth with little more than a thud. The door opened and out came Nikolai, face replaced with the smooth, featureless plane that allowed him to do what he did best. Despite the absence of eyes, the shape shifter was more than able to find his way to Maxim. The two walked away from the pad.

"Nikolai, good to see you." Though he greeted his friend and long-time enforcer warmly, there was no return of the sentiment. "Is there something on your mind?"

"I'm concerned about today… the Riveras are strong."

Maxim smiled in the dark, letting the night hide his malice and the thrill of the upcoming battle. "Not that strong."

Edge of Miracle City, 7th Blockade, Friday, 5:40 AM

Lieutenant Gutierre got little sleep last night. He only rested after seeing the general off, and even then it was a light sleep. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch, waiting for the Riveras to arrive. He was not disappointed. They strolled down the walk to the edge of the blockade, looking out into the world, barely lit by the still rising sun. They said nothing to the soldiers. They didn't have to. Everybody knew what their job was, and that brought a strange peace to them all. But the Riveras talked amongst themselves, bracing their spirits for what seemed an epic conflict. White Pantera stepped forward first, looking out across the desert as though he could see the base from here. El Tigre took his place next to him, fists clenched, shoulders back, and face projecting his strong will. Grandpapi, though, had not joined them just yet, spending his extra time looking up at the sparse trees and commenting on the birds. It was only when his son had spoken up that he accepted the time was now. The soldiers at first wondered how this old man could really be the dreaded super villain Puma Loco. Puma Loco was always described as a fearsome behemoth of gold and glory, battling with such fervor and chaos that none dare stand before him. It wasn't until he withdrew into his previously innocuous sombrero and the suit emerged from its compressed state that they understood the full weight and power of the Golden Sombrero of Chaos. Puma Loco stomped his way to the line up and stopped next to his family.

"Okay. I'm ready."

"Me too."

"Alright. Let's go!"

Pantera sprinted down the highway, cleared of traffic two days ago to leave the attack unimpeded. El Tigre hopped aboard his grandfather's mech, patting the glass to signal the go ahead. Firing the jets, Puma Loco lifted into the air and sped off after White Pantera, catching up to the hero who had only just been dipping into the power of his boots. The soldiers watched in awe as the Riveras disappeared into the morning, and after they had gone, a faint wisp of sunlight stretched across the desert, lighting up where they had vanished from sight. After waiting for some time, about twenty minutes, Gutierre checked his watch and waved forward. The vehicles set aside for the attack began moving forward, filing onto the two lane highway leading in the direction of New Alamo. Things proceeded well enough… until the road beneath the first vehicles about a mile up the road were destroyed by powerful explosives. Every hundred feet of the mile, the pavement gave way to the blasts that erupted from beneath it, ruining anything that happened to be near the bomb. The explosions continued for what felt like forever, and when the dust settled and the ringing noise stopped, Gutierre emerged from his jeep and looked out across the highway. Not every unit was destroyed, but there was no way they were going anywhere. The furious lieutenant knew exactly what had happened. He grabbed the nearest soldier responsible for guarding the blockade.

"This road was supposed to be under your watch! What happened?"

"W-we don't know sir!"

"Yes you do, soldier! Tell me who did this! Who was here?"

"No one sir… just the road crews sent by the city."

"The city was under martial law! They couldn't have sent anybody!"

Growling in absolute anger, Gutierre pushed the soldier aside and returned to his jeep, trying to get a signal to the command center. He would need to talk to the general about this. Again his attention was captured by an explosion, this one inside the city. Gutierre stepped out of the jeep and looked up to see the plume of smoke rising from about where the command center stood. Or previously stood. Something else dawned on Lieutenant Gutierre about then, and he turned and looked out into the desert, face drained of all color.

"… The Riveras… are alone now."

New Alamo Facility, Maxim's Command Post, 6:00 AM

Maxim sat sipping his coffee, watching the golden sun rise above the shimmering horizon. Ah, how he loved sunrises. Far more peaceful than sunsets, and a much more refreshing color. Red made the villain unhappy for some reason, despite its constant association with traits that he held dear, such as revolution and power. No, he much preferred gold and blue. Drinking down what remained of his imported coffee, Maxim sighed and smiled, leaning forward to look at the flickering light on the console before him.

"Well, that's good. I was sure I was going to be disappointed."

He pushed a button and lifted a microphone to his mouth. How he loved playing general for these big sieges every country thought would work. It made him feel even stronger in the long run.

"Attention, attention. Our guests have arrived. Let's make them feel welcome before breaking them apart, shall we?"

Outside the Base, 6:00 AM

Tigre advanced first, using his smaller size to some advantage as he scouted around the perimeter. He didn't notice the sensors that tipped off his arrival, but the land mines long buried in the sand between the barb wire barricades were not beyond his sight. He disabled a few of them as he wove his way through the defenses, clearing a path so his father and grandfather could make it through. They remained a distance behind not wanting to alert the villains with Puma Loco's clunky armor. The alarm dispelled all hopes of that. El Tigre turned and looked to the base, the speakers resounding with an angry tone as the front gate began to open. He gasped when he was snatched up and brought along by Puma Loco, now flying to close the gap. Without the element of surprise, there was no reason to tip toe through the mine field. The Riveras landed in an empty space, and they all watched a small force of combat drones marched one after another out of the base. Grandpapi shook his head, feeling slightly angry by the enemy's underhanded tactics.

"Robots… what ever happened to the days when men didn't rely on machines to do all the work?" He fell silent after noticing his son and grandson staring at him, and closed his eyes while turning his head up. "Do not judge me."

"… Right. Come on, they're not gonna' break themselves!"

El Tigre charged ahead, not considering any of the possible side effects of rushing head first into battle. After all, M was playing with a stacked deck. Before either Puma Loco or White Pantera could join him in combating the machines, they were cut off by the appearance of a large, very nasty looking monster. It had leaped down in front of the elder Riveras from atop the base, and now crouched before them. With frightening pops its form grew before them, arms extending from a tucked position and legs lifting its body to full height. There stood before them the completion of M's biology experiment: the fully mutated Cactus Kid. No longer human by any measure, the Kid was a perfect cactus-themed killing machine. His legs resembled thick, spine covered trees, and his arms were covered in masses of thorny briar. His huge, three-clawed hands flexed as he smiled, twisting his green face into a grin of horrible evil and pain. The creature roared, and from the ground around Pantera and Puma emerged four foul cactus beasts, growling and gnashing their teeth at the family.

"Well, Papi, you always did like cacti…"

"Si, but where to put them all?"

As they made battle with the Cactus Beast and its minions, El Tigre sliced his way through the combat drones set against him. Their armor was hard, and the attacked quite aggressively. More than once he was pinned down by their constant fire. But once he sliced a few of them down the middle, the biggest of their weak spots, Tigre found the fight was rapidly going in his direction. If this was all that stood between Miracle City and peace, the day would be one no problem. But as Tigre cut his way through another robot, he jumped back when a bright flash erupted near his feet. Another flash and he rolled across the ground, though now he recognized the color. Growling with some combination of disgust and fury, El Tigre looked up and saw his one female nemesis.

"Black Cuervo."

"Hola Tigre," she replied coyly, slowly floating down and landing on a drone's head. All at once they stopped attacking, as though Cuervo was their commander.

"I hoped you'd be here…"

"You did?" Cuervo jumped down from the drone and laced her fingers together, hiding a look of endearment behind her visor. Tigre saw only a sardonic villainess who scoffed at the notion of her crimes.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did."

"Oh…" It wasn't an 'oh' of mild disappointment so much as one of pain. In living her day to day life, Black Cuervo had smothered the feelings of anguish her part in the assassination had brought her. And now the love of her life had reopened those wounds. Anger boiled in her. "Then I suppose this is how it must be."

Cuervo jumped into the air and hovered there, aiming her laser at Tigre and firing. He was quick; he always was. Once Cuervo was above the drones again, they began to attack the hero as he wove in and out of the blind spots of the mechanical soldiers. Many of them shot each other apart, a key part of El Tigre surviving this fight. Growing more and more furious, losing herself in the battle, Black Cuervo growled loudly with each shot of her weapon, trying to pin him down, and deep down trying to kill him. So great was her focus that Cuervo began to develop tunnel vision, leaving her vulnerable to his attack. The next thing she knew, she was pinned to the ground; El Tigre held her gunning arm down with his left hand, and had his claws to her throat with his right. It was about this time that Zoe Aves came back to the forefront of Cuervo's mind.

"N-no… El Tigre…"

But he did not respond; he wore a scowl as he held her fate in his hands. He wanted to hurt this person under his weight, who had time and time again threatened the security of his friends and family, and now might threaten the safety of his girlfriend. What delicious irony. The hatred wanted this, wanted satisfaction. But El Tigre as a whole did not. He stood again, letting Cuervo go.

"You're not worth it."

He was interrupted by a roar, generated by the fierce Cactus Beast as it reeled about with White Pantera holding tight to its head. Without another thought, El Tigre leaped forward; he was bashed to the ground unceremoniously, one sharp needle caught in his forearm. Sitting forward, Tigre pulled the spine from his flesh. It wasn't a bad wound, but it burned a little. Damned cactus.

"Wait… cactus?" Manny looked up in awe as it all became clear. This was the Cactus Kid, simply at an incredibly mutated level. This explained his advancement at the Carnival. He was interfered with. "Hmph, fine!"

Before Tigre could leap forward though he was knocked aside by his father's body, thrown down from the Beast's head in one final thrash. They both rolled about in the dust a bit, coming to a stop some distance from the beast. As the Riveras pulled themselves up from the dirt, Tigre had to stop and address something.

"… Where's Grandpapi?"

"He decided he would-." There was an explosion or two behind Tigre and Pantera, and following the boom was a wave of cactus goop. After being showered in the remains of the former monsters, the two grimaced as Puma Loco joined them once more. "Take care of the cactus beasts."

"And I did. But I don't hear a thank you…"

The Beast lurched forward and attacked its enemies as they talked amongst themselves, but skidded to a halt when the Riveras divided and ran around its hulking mass. For a moment the Cactus Beast entertained its confusion, but those thoughts were rapidly replaced with anger, and it reared back in a piercing roar. This in turn caused more minions to erupt from the soil, slashing at air with spines and claws. This was going to be endless.

"Manny," Pantera shouted, back up from the creatures, "we can't win this way! To defeat the pawns, we must topple the king!"

"What?"

"You go and get who's in charge!"

Puma Loco picked Tigre up by the waist and hoisted him into the air. Taking a running start, Grandpapi Rivera threw his grandson with incredible force, aiming for the still open door. Cuervo, seeing this, flew hard in an attempt to stop him, to follow her orders, perhaps even to spare him some pain. But Black Cuervo crashed into the earth where El Tigre had passed rather than where he was, and watched from a lying position as he bounced into the base. She jumped to her feet and started running forward, giving up several yards away as the door slammed down, blocking all access. The Riveras were grateful that their youngest had made it through more or less unharmed, but they soon had to deal with the fact that the Cactus Beast was looming over them, drooling with vile hunger. As they turned to face it, their faces communicated shock, which the Beast shared as it discovered it was itself being overshadowed. And before it could turn around, the Cactus Beast was knocked aside by a massive arm of green goo. The very distinctive maniacal laughter that filled the air received even Cuervo's attention, who turned and saw Dr. Chipotle Jr. riding atop a very large Guacamole monster. She growled loudly and clenched her fists so tight it began to hurt.

"Damn it Diego… not now!" Screaming in blind fury, Black Cuervo fired up her jets and flew head long toward the monster.

Inside the Base

El Tigre slid across the metal floor, grinding sand stuck to his clothing as he went. It was a most uncomfortable combination for him, and it all culminated in him hitting a wall. He rolled around dazed for a time, but finally decided he wasn't dead and climbed to his feet. Looking up and down the long hall way, Tigre was not at all sure how to go about finding whoever was in charge and busting them up. Backing up a few steps, he went about selecting the best path in the most effective possible way for those of us who are indecisive: eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Now, of course one could see the fault in picking a direction in this way when you have but two choices if you really cared. But Manny Rivera was not one to care. He started on the left, and ended with the right.

"That settles it. Right," he said with a nod, walking slowly down the path he had chosen. But something happened that he did not expect.

"Manny!"

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned slowly, looking down the other path. He knew that voice all too well…

"Zoe?!"

She sounded scared, or hurt, or both. That was all he needed. Breaking into a sprint, El Tigre charged his way down the other path. He cared little for the security cameras that followed him past monitored areas and ignored the flashing lights and howl of the intruder alarm. All he knew was that he had to find Zoe in this place. He came upon an open room, a very large one at that. It appeared to be some sort of storage room in the complex. At first El Tigre was content with looking around the room, his vision obscured by the low light and support beams blocking sight of his objective. Finally, he spoke.

"Zoe?"

"Manny!"

He turned and ran to the center of the room. Looking down either direction, he spotted Zoe, alone on the floor, bound to it. As he closed the gap to her, he found that she was indeed hurt, but not badly. Just the same, this got his blood to boil.

"Who did this to you?"

"I don't know," she replied, reaching to him. It was hard for her, as her arms were bound in heavy chains that appeared to be attached to the floor. "We have to get out of here before he comes back."

Tigre sliced the chains that held her to the floor and helped her up. Now his curiosity was piqued. "Who?"

The sound of the door closing at the front of the room caused Tigre to jump and spin about, searching out anybody who might be in the room. He was confused when the sound of chains moving came from behind, and panicked when those chains found their place around his neck, dragging him back into Zoe's embrace. One last sound caught El Tigre's attention, and it was eerily similar to the noise his claws made as he bore them in battle. He felt Zoe's lips close to his ear.

"You were too easy."

As Zoe pointed her claws at Tigre's belly, he felt in him the urge to survive, and he spun hard in an effort to secure his freedom. His would be assassin fell to the floor after letting go of the chains that had him gasping for air. Now Tigre had to assess something… what the hell was going on? He held his throat for comfort as Zoe rose again, indeed bearing a claw that looked much like his own… down to the red star on his gloves, in fact.

"Zoe… what? What is this?!"

Still using Zoe's voice and face, Nikolai smiled and responded coldly. "You were always a stupid one, Rivera… I'm really looking forward to this."

"N-no," he said, shuddering as he backed up. "This isn't right… you aren't Zoe."

"Of course I am… but I am also someone else." El Tigre backed up in shock as silver threads emerged from Nikolai's skin, pulling back a key spots and warping others. Eventually the writhing mass reformed itself, and Nikolai roared in dark triumph. "El Tigre!"

Now Rivera was truly in trouble, and he knew it. He was staring at himself, and he couldn't rightly tell if Zoe was truly at the heart of this evil or not. But he had little time to decide as the enemy was rapidly upon him, slashing and growling in an attempt to unmake Manny Rivera. Already a little tired from his efforts to infiltrate the base, El Tigre was unable to do much more than dodge the impostor's attacks. That is, until a flaring pain forced his mind into action. Yelling in pain and clutching his arm, Tigre fell back a few steps as Nikolai let blood drip from his claw. The impostor smiled and flexed the hand that caused the injury, and spoke in Manny's voice.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

After swallowing his pain, Tigre turned and charged, catching the assassin off guard. He sliced across Nikolai's chest, knocking his opponent back with a powerful single strike.

"You tell me!"

But his smile didn't last long. The mimic was injured, but only briefly, as indicated by Nikolai standing tall and smirking as the silver threads that altered his features bound together to close the wound. Little blood escaped the tight lattice the threads provided. As Tigre backed up, his eyes went wide as Nikolai changed shapes again. He leaped out of the way as the shape shifter swung down on him with the massive fists of El Oso.

Outside

Voltura and Lady Gobbler had strict orders: don't move until the Cactus Beast is down. And as the battle progressed, they found those orders to be harder and harder to follow. Voltura was pacing about, worried out of her mind. The arrival of Chipotle and his monster was entirely unexpected, even by M, who ordered them to stick to the plan. It was hard for the elder Aves' to watch their youngest get based around by a pile of dip, and they waited long for a change in orders. But none came. Having had enough, Voltura stepped to the edge of the roof on which they were perched.

"I can't let this continue! I'm helping her!"

"No," Gobbler replied, slowly stepping forward, using her scepter more as a cane than a weapon. She watched her granddaughter fly at the monster again and again, each time lasting a shorter time against it. "I'm going. You watch the Riveras."

Cuervo was indeed losing the battle, not because of a difference in skill level, but from the sheer brute power of the monster. She had managed to get Chipotle's attention away from the Cactus Beast and onto her, but from that point on it was improvised. After slamming into the ground a fifth time, Cuervo contemplated not getting up. Her body ached, and much of her suit stank of sun-baked guacamole. As the monster stomped closer, she pushed up onto her elbows and looked back, seeing Chipotle atop his beast with a grim look. He called down to her.

"It's over, Zoe. Come back to the city and you won't get hurt."

She just stared at him, eyes burning with hatred. He was trying to take something away from her… a sense of power, a desire for a better life, her identity as El Tigre's nemesis and unrequited love. She didn't want to accept that. That's why she stood again, aiming her nearly exhausted laser at him. Her arm wavered a bit, and for some reason her eyes grew cloudy. Tears began to well up in them, though Cuervo could not tell why. But before she could fire, Cuervo's attention was gained by the sound of a jet pack, and she turned to see Lady Gobbler swoop overhead and drop something. A bomb planted itself firmly in the monster as she passed over, and Cuervo looked at it with mild panic before jumping in the air and flying hard. Dr. Chipotle Jr. had to jump off his precious monster, barely hitting the ground before the bomb exploded, scattering his monster across the hot desert sand. Across the battlefield, White Pantera was under a great deal of pressure himself. He watched as his father was cast aside by the Beast, and he himself was being pinned by the creature's minions. Mustering up additional resolve, Pantera pushed forward and scattered the mass of cacti that lashed out at him, and he jumped high into the air. As he began to fall back to earth, he gathered energy from his Bronze Boots of Truth, and kicked toward the Beast below. As if understanding exactly what he was thinking, the power surged forward in the direction of Pantera's kick, and he struck the Beast like a bolt of lightning, crashing through its defenses and breaking its stance. He struck the ground hard after the kick, and wasn't able to see the impact of his attack; the Cactus Beast flailed about attempting to regain control. This was the opening Puma Loco needed, and he took advantage of that, flying toward his foe at full speed. Pointing his left arm at the Beast, the claw was replaced with a tear gas gun. As he flew forward, Puma fired three rounds at the monster, pummeling it with pellets that burst into clouds of gas. It reeled with each blow, not trying to escape the fumes that enshrouded it. After a few seconds of breathing the substance, the Beast stumbled about, coughing madly. It collapsed in defeat at about the time that Puma Loco landed near White Pantera.

"Good job, Papi! Thank goodness you have that sleeping gas!"

Grandpapi glanced at the writing on the arm, reading Weed Killer each time he checked it. "Uhm… yes, sleeping gas."

Without more than moment's rest, the Riveras were immediately under attack again, jerking to avoid being hit by the green and orange beams peppering them from above. White Pantera turned and looked to the sky, scowling as he saw the remaining members of the Flock of Fury.

"This is madness! Where is the military backup?! We can't do this alone!"

Inside

El Tigre spun and struck up, smashing Oso's chin with a powerful upper cut. Injured, Nikolai backed up several steps, letting the Oso form melt away. But rather than let himself be seen as he truly is, he shrunk down into a form that resembled Zoe Aves bearing some of Oso's fur, making it appear that she was indeed at the core of this creature. He remained huddled over, clutching his jaw, forcing out whimpers with her voice.

"M-Manny! How could you do this?!"

He stayed still, trying to fight this subterfuge. But it was hard. He cared for Zoe a great deal, and to see a villain that could look like her and sound like her was disillusioning.

"Zoe… I…"

Tigre jumped into a back flip when Nikolai came at him again, wearing Tigre's form once more. But where he was confident and in control before, the shape shifter was having difficulty maintaining the guise through his anger, and the false face began to ripple with the failing of the shape shifting. This difficulty was spread everywhere, making his attacks less and less threatening. Eventually El Tigre was given an opening, and he took advantage of that; he rushed forward and slashed at Nikolai, making contact and knocking the assassin off his feet. Once he was in the air and falling to the floor head first, Tigre crouched and rolled forward as though he was performing a somersault. But as the tumble broke, he pushed hard with his arms and sprang forward in a strong kick, smashing Nikolai in the spine and sending him bouncing across the floor. El Tigre stood and looked at his impostor, who struggled into a sitting position as the silver threads convulsed and started dragging his disguise away. Frowning in defeat, Nikolai pointed his fist up toward the ceiling and fired it toward a vent, puncturing the structure and dragging him up to his escape. Tigre watched as the shape shifter escaped, tired and angry. The sound of a door opening gained his attention, and thinking it was the exit, Tigre broke into a run toward it. He saw a hall way with flashing red lights through the door, and it was only once he was through it that he realized his mistake. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving only the long hall in front of him.

"What?! Hmph… fine. I'll play along."

Outside

Cuervo landed on the roof where her mother and grandmother were previously stationed, dropping to her knees to relieve the exhaustion. She didn't like the abuse she suffered today… this mission was incredibly hard on her in every possible way. But it soon became clear that there was more in store. She raised a hand to her ear as she overheard a radio exchange. The first voice she did not recognize, and the second was clearly M's.

"Maxim… I couldn't stop him…"

"Are you hurt?"

"Da… he's strong…"

"Don't worry about it. I'll take him," M said with confidence, causing Cuervo to shudder. She had no idea what he was capable of… but if he thought he could defeat Manny, could he? "Just get to the infirmary. I'll handle the rest."

"Da…"

Standing again, Black Cuervo gave into the will of Zoe Aves, and she rushed to the stairs leading to the roof. She had to get inside, had to do something. This all had to stop.

Final Chamber

The door separating this room from the hall closed with a hiss, and Tigre didn't even bother to turn as he heard a large mechanism slide into place behind him. He knew he was locked in here for the duration, and now he knew that whatever that thing in the previous room was, it wasn't in charge. Not if it could've had this kind of security working for it. As El Tigre walked through the large chamber, he surveyed the area. This room was very much like the last one: poorly lit, a few windows high up in the wall letting in sun, and a great many pillars to serve as a distraction. Nothing out of the ordinary. But something caught his attention, triggering one or more of his senses. Turning and drawing his claws, El Tigre stared into the dark, daring whoever lay in wait to emerge. Maxim stepped out of the shadow, smiling. His grey combat garb reflecting nothing about him… but the blue M stamped on the center of the buttoned up jacket certainly said a lot. Maxim's metal-shelled shoes clicked as he walked, generating the only sound in the huge room. He kept his hands behind his back for a time, but brought them forward so he could adjust the black, fingerless gloves he wore any time he fought. Now the two stared at each other from across the gap, neither daring to make the first move. It was Maxim who began, cutting through the air and tension with a grim command.

"Come and get me."