Chapter 2: A Deal is Struck
Location: Urbania, Lookout Watch
Within each of the major areas in the Ultimate Arena, there is always a tall building, standing slightly taller than the others. Designed to look like a gigantic silo (if it were made out of bricks and steel), the Lookout Watch serves the purpose of not only being a great viewpoint of the area, it has the designated purpose of being neutral ground for shopkeepers, merchants, repairmen, and other mercantile workers. In addition, if certain users have registered themselves at two different Lookouts, they can enter a magical portal to travel to and from. Sure, you get dizzy from walking through a portal, and there is a hefty fee, but hey, at least there's no traffic!
At the base of Lookout Watch, completely surrounded by elevators to the different floors, four different individuals arrived from the cardinal directions, all arriving at their intended destination. Casually walking from the west, Travis Touchdown whistled a tune he picked up in his travels, gawking at the size of the building.
"I wonder if the architect was compensating for something when he made this." Travis jokingly muttered to himself. He looked towards the doors, and saw a certain someone was waiting for him, a woman. She was a gorgeous, sandy blonde haired woman, wearing a tan jacket, a really short black skirt, and black high heels. The woman saw Travis, and with a smile on her ruby-red lips, waved the assassin over.
"Nice to see you actually showed up, Travis!" Cheerfully greeted the woman, in a light French accent.
"Got sidetracked," Travis said, holding his arms out. "Blue Suns and the Saints, gunfight, killed a whole bunch." He flashed the woman a smile. "Just another day at work, Sylvia." Sylvia giggled, and gave Travis a light peck on the cheek.
"I know, who do you think used to sign your paychecks?" Sylvia said, walking towards the elevator. "Come on, we've got work to do, and there's a map at the top." The two former UAA members entered the elevator, the glass doors closing in front of them with a soft ding as they sped to the top. On the east, the double axe-wielding Eddie Riggs walked up to the building, marveling at the sight and size.
"Man, I need to see if I can make the merch booths bigger than that." Eddie remarked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his radio. "Hey, Magnus, I'm here, where are you?"
"Waiting by the east door, Eddie." Magnus replied. Eddie looked, and there he stood, a tall, lanky man wearing a sleeveless black Ironheade t-shirt, a sleeveless leather jacket, and a headset. His hair was done up in long dreadlocks, and he was stroking his Manchurian mustache as he saw Eddie arrive. "Glad you could make it." Eddie chuckled and joined his Road Crew Manager (in Eddie's terms, at least) by the door.
"Had to take a slight detour." Eddie admitted. "Kinda saved a bunch of Saints from a few Fiends, so it all worked out."
"Fiends? Dude, you know how nasty those guys get." Magnus warned. "And they've got numbers. Last thing I want is to see you get eaten by Bonehead's dogs because you wanted to help that gang out."
"It's called being a good guy, Magnus." Eddie said, patting his longtime friend on the back. "C'mon, I wanna get a feel for the area." And thus, the two entered the elevator, and steadily began rising to the top. On the southern entrance, the Overlord lumbered out of the alley he stalked, glancing upwards at the massive building, but said nothing about it. His attention was truly at the hunched over figure by the entrance. He was a greyish imp creature, a Minion, with grey tufts of hair sticking out his ears. On his back was a large pauldron, a silky red cape covering his body, and a lantern stuck to the back piece dangled over his head. The old Minion gave a sharp-toothed smile and bowed before his Master.
"Dark tidings to you, Master." Greeted the Minion Master. "I am pleased to see you are alive."
"Spare me the pleasantries, Gnarl." Boomed the Overlord, waving his hand. "I have found a new foe to crush, the one known as the Joker, and a potential ally in the Saints." Gnarl looked as though he were about to vomit at mention of the Saints.
"The street gang? Master, those peasants aren't worth trifling," Gnarl said, tapping the ground with his wooden cane. "They'll just be mere stepping stones on the path to evil glory! Now, we must map out the Arena so to locate the Minions." The two entered the elevator, the Overlord glaring at the futuristic machinery as it closed in front of them. To him, it was witchcraft. And finally, on the north entrance, riding on his incredibly cool looking motorcycle was Jack Cayman, pulling up to a halt in front of the tall building. Locking it to a bike rack, Jack reached into his pocket and opened up a small note that had been delivered to him upon entering the Tournament.
"'Head to the Urbania Lookout Watch, then meet us at the map room upon commencing the Ultimate Tournament.'" Jack read. "'We have an offer for you that you won't refuse. Signed, C.' Well, better not keep them waiting…" Jack entered the elevator, lighting a cigarette as the glass doors shut in front of him. The box shot up into the air, the glass door displaying almost all of Urbania to Jack as he steadily rose to the top, old buildings and sights of fires and explosions of the conflict below, to even the sights of a few skirmishes on the streets between competitors. To Jack, it looked like just another DeathWatch. The elevator finally reached the top, opening up into a rather large circular room, surrounded by elevator entrances. In the center of the room is an electronic map, featuring a fully holographic map of Urbania and a few of the surrounding areas of the Ultimate Arena. As soon as Jack stepped off his elevator, three others opened up, revealing Travis, Sylvia, Eddie, Magnus, the Overlord, and Gnarl, all of whom, Jack included, looking surprised. Almost by instinct, the heavily armed competitors drew their weapons and moved their companions aside.
"Oh look, company." Travis said, his beam katana humming faintly. "Sylvia, hold back while I see what the hell is going on."
"Travis, nice to see you again you smug prick." Jack growled, his fists raised in front of him. "Haven't seen you since Nipton, when you abandoned me when the Legion surrounded us."
"How many times do I have to explain it," Travis snarled, reaching to his belt to unclip the other beam katana. "The building was going up in flames and we completed the mission anyway. Not my fault you didn't wise up and jump out when the fires started."
"Whatever personal issues you two have doesn't matter," Eddie said, holding the Separator in his hands. "Especially with tall, dark, and ugly over there."
"It's a black knight, so what?" Travis said.
"Foolish humans!" Gnarl shouted, slamming his cane on the ground. "Before your pitiful selves stands the Overlord, he who has conquered armies, nations, and empires, and rules over legions of Minions with but the wave of his hand!"
"And I am not pleased at this commotion, to say the least." The Overlord boomed, his grip on his mace tightening.
"All I'm here for is to meet someone, and then I'll be gone." Jack said, not taking his eyes of Travis.
"Wait, Travis," Sylvia said, placing a hand on Travis' shoulder. "We were told to meet someone here, remember? We got that note."
"Woah, we were told me meet someone here," Magnus added. "Right Eddie? Someone named 'C'."
"My Master received a request to meet someone also named 'C', as well." Gnarl said, looking surprised. Jack quirked an eyebrow, suddenly noticing a connection. Someone had called forth some of the IDA's greatest Agents together, but for what reason.
"Well, whoever this 'C' is," Jack said, relaxing his guard. "The guy's probably waiting right here."
"And you're right, Mr. Cayman." Said a newcomer's voice, a young man's. Everyone turned towards the shadows, where someone was standing. Stepping out from the shadows, a man wearing a bright orange suit, sunglasses, and fiery red hair, bowed slightly, a cigarette lit in his mouth. "Agent Luke Cinder, IDA Representative of the Chasers."
"Chasers?" Eddie asked, looking at the brightly dressed man with confusion.
"The Government Agency I worked for," Jack clarified. "Who ticked off the IDA because they tried to keep vital information to themselves, resulting in them getting on the Hit List."
"And we apologized for that." Cinder said, tapping his cigarette. "Frequently. Now, as you all know, I was the one who called you here to the Urbania Lookout Watch. Yet, I know you're all wondering the simple question of why."
"I'm thinking of something more along the lines of 'how'." Travis said, glaring at Cinder. "Like, how hard am I going to throw you until you break the safety glass and end up outside the Zone?"
"Hard enough," Jack said. "But let's just cut to the chase, Cinder. Why did you call us?"
Cinder placed his hands together and chuckled. "Simple, I know you four want to win this, and individually, you are among some of the IDA's strongest fighters." He paused, taking a breath from his cigarette. "Which is why you could never win."
"What are you talking about?" Eddie asked, putting his axe away.
"The Rank One Fighter is too powerful to take on alone." Cinder clarified. "In fact, he's so powerful, he openly advertises his location so no matter where anyone is, they can still see and fear him."
"Oh yeah?" Magnus asked, stepping in front of Eddie. "Then where is he? 'Cuz I haven't seen any sign of whoever Number One is." Cinder walked over to the northern-most window and pointed at a large, towering structure.
"He's over there." Travis and Sylvia walked over to the window, seeing Cinder point at a gigantic building, taller than even the Lookout Watch, looming off in the distance.
"What? In that tower?" Travis asked. Cinder laughed, pointing again.
"Look again." Travis obliged, and took a second glance. Now, it appeared to look less like a building, and more like a gigantic seated statue.
"It's a statue?" Travis thought.
"That's him sitting on a throne made from a volcanic rock." Cinder said, a smug grin on his face. Everyone crowded over to the window, and, sure to his description, the statue was actually a fully armored gigantic human being, a massive greatsword between its hands. "What you are looking at is none other than a Kaos, a creation of one of three Gods to overthrow gigantic menaces from its own home universe. No single individual could slay one." Needless to say, everyone, even the Overlord, was speechless, especially when said Kaos lifted its arm up, and with hand the size of house, proceeded to scratch its mammoth-sized head. It would be a miracle to cut that thing, let alone kill it!
"That's impossible." Gnarl softly said. "I've read about the Kaos, their skin is thicker than obsidian, their bones twice as hard. Their weapons are forged by Gods, and they have immense magical power. I apologize, my lord, but the Kaos is even above you in terms of power."
"I fear that you are right, Gnarl." The Overlord said. "This is truly a Herculean task none can complete."
"Alone." Cinder said, receiving everyone's attention. "It's impossible to complete alone."
"So you keep saying." Jack said in an annoyed tone. "And do you have a point to this aside from taunting us?"
"I do." Cinder said, pacing about the room. "In case you haven't noticed, you are among some of the most talented leaders in the IDA, even if you only serve the title of Agent." He stood before the Overlord, the tall armored man glaring red eyes down at the orange suited man. "You command armies of fearsome Minions, destroyed the Glorious Empire with a harem of four beautiful women, and have the strength to rival that of your father."
"The Minion Hives are no longer in my lord's control." Gnarl objected.
"They can be reclaimed," Cinder said. "If you know where to look." He walked in front of Eddie Riggs, a grin appearing on his face. "Despite your claim in being just a Roadie, you put together a successful army of head bangers, hog riders, metal beasts, bouncers, and what have you to conquer two ancient armies of evil!"
"He's got a point there, Eddie." Magnus said. "You did, kind of, do more stuff than Lars and Lita really did."
"It's called taking a backseat, Magnus." Eddie said with a grunt. "It's what Roadies do, make others look good."
"And while it is a good quality," Cinder interjected. "There's a fine line between humbleness and insecurity." Cinder paused to take a smoke, standing before Jack. "You've done it all, Jack Cayman. Every branch of military, government, freelance, and blood-sport there is, you've always come out on top. Despite you're loner attitude, you have the makings of gathering a great army of people under your command."
"Huh, whatever." Jack said as he lit his own cigarette. Cinder narrowed his eyes, bemused by the reaction.
"Always the quiet type…" Cinder muttered, before finally reaching Travis. "And you, No More Hero, Crownless King. Even though you are an assassin, and often killed those closest to you, there are many who respect your power. A great man once said 'the makings of a true leader aren't when he chooses to fight, but when he knows not to'. You have a following, Mr. Touchdown, and with the lovely Sylvia by your side, you have the makings of your own UAA." Travis smirked, rubbing his chin with his thumb.
"Kinda like my own fan club for killers…" Travis mused. "So long as they aren't like Kimmy Howell, I'm bought." He glanced down at Sylvia. "Where is she anyway?"
"Last I heard, she's formed a duo team with Shinobu." Sylvia admitted.
"Focus, people," Cinder said, snapping his fingers. "I gathered you all together because you four, with your combined powers and might, you could actually form an army to defeat the Kaos and win the Ultimate Tournament!" He left the idea to hang about in the air a bit, watching everyone's reactions. Travis and Jack kept on shooting each other glances, the former of intrigue and the latter of contempt. It would be a miracle to get those two to work together, but it could be done. The Overlord's expression was unreadable, concealed by his shadowy helm, but Cinder could tell he was considering the prospect. Eddie and Magnus kept merely stood there, arms folded as they thought, while Sylvia and Gnarl remained expressionless. Finally, Travis spoke up.
"If Jack's willing to let bygones be bygones," Travis said. "Then you can count Sylvia and me in."
"I am very good at procuring information on higher ranked competitors," Sylvia said, leaning over the map. "Consider me a bit of an info broker."
"Hell, sign me up!" Eddie said, putting out his cigarette. "Once we deal with whatever here in Urbania, I'm sure I can convince Ironheade to join up with us in the Metalworks. And Magnus could work as our eye in the sky."
"No problem, Eddie." Magnus said, putting his hands to his side and putting his chest out with a stupid grin on his face. "I've got your back, man."
"An alliance could prove to be beneficial." The Overlord mused, looking down at Gnarl. "Once we acquire the rest of the Minions, Gnarl can send as many as I need to succeed. Not to mention it's risky to adventure alone."
"Your word is my command, my lord." Gnarl said with a slight bow.
"… Better than doing nothing and getting killed doing something stupid." Jack said with a grunt.
"Perfect! I knew you'd all be on board!" Cinder cheerfully said, clapping his hands together. "With your combined strengths, talents, and abilities, you four can accomplish anything! Now, all that's left is to decide a team name…"
"Headhunters!" Travis announced.
"The Road Crew?" Eddie suggested as Magnus shrugged his shoulders.
"Men of Menace." The Overlord said, ignoring the single woman in the group.
"The Champions!" Travis egged, prodding Sylvia in the shoulder.
"Badass Band?" Eddie continued.
"How about 'Heart of Steel'?" Jack finally suggested. Everyone glanced towards the DeathWatcher, who grumbled as he puffed his cigarette. "Think about it, we're all pretty valiant, and most of us use some form of metal in one way or another. Some figurative," He glanced to Eddie. "Others more literal." He hefted his metal arm. "Just a thought."
"I like it." Cinder said, a giddy smile on his face. "It's got both a metaphorical and literal meaning to it, not to mention it'll sound good on radio." Everyone almost immediately began looking around for one of the Security Cameras, just waiting to be bombarded by the two Official Show Hosts for scoops. "Anyway, henceforth, you seven are hereby known as the Heart of Steel, the IDA's best team of badasses!" The room erupted into cheers from almost all in the room, all conjoined in union at the prospect of winning. "Now," Cinder waved everyone over to the map. "Let's get things planned out."
"First things first," Gnarl said, hopping to try and view the holographic table. "We must located the Minions."
"Exactly, Gnat." Cinder said, tapping on the table's controls.
"Gnarl…" The old Minion growled. A display lit up on the table, displaying the entirety of Urbania, marked in various colors and listing who controls what area, a majority being in a familiar purple.
"Now, one of the first issues is building some force." Cinder said, waving a hand to the display. "By yourselves, you could stand a chance against a bunch of mooks with guns and swords and whatnot, but when a goddamn army comes down on your heads it won't be easy to fight them off."
"So what?" Travis scoffed. "We've all fought armies before and came out fine."
"But did you have backup with you?" Cinder asked, raising an eyebrow. Travis shut up, realizing his point. "Now, lucky for us, especially the Overlord, I have succeeded in locating your Brown Minion Hive."
"Where?" Gnarl exclaimed, dangling from the table's edge. "The Tower Heart hasn't been able to find it, how could you?"
"Never underestimate resources, Gnash." Cinder said, eliciting a growl from the Minion Master. With a gloved hand, Cinder pointed to a large factory building, marking it with a brown circle. "This here is one of the IDA's robotics factories, and my sources have pointed that the Brown Minions are located here. Bad news is that it's under Fiend control, and the Minions are being used as slave labor by one of their leaders, a Chaos Agent named Joe the Render." Cinder pushed several buttons and brought up an image of a dirty, bulky man wearing little to no armor on his battle-scarred chest, hefting a Shisekebab flame blade in one hand.
"I've heard about this guy," Jack said, examining the picture. "Used to be on the IDA's hit list because of how much trouble he was causing, but ended up helping them when the Order of Purity tried to drop a bomb on the Mojave Desert in one of their Cleansing Runs. Signed on as a Chaos Agent and comes around just to kill people."
"And he's one of the Ranked Fighters in the Tournament." Cinder continued. "Killing him would open doors for you guys, both literally and figuratively." Looking at the confused faces around him, Cinder frowned. "This guy leads all the Fiends in Urbania, one of the largest forces in the Tournament. You guys take him down, you can either get the Fiends on your side or stop them all together. Not to mention we'd get the Brown Minions."
"I don't like the idea of working with Fiends." Eddie grumbled. "Those homicidal addicts don't listen to anyone except the guy hitting them up. Not to mention they're heartless monsters that butcher innocents."
"Yeah, I'm with Eddie on this." Travis said, folding his arms. "Raiders in general aren't worth working with. Take their head off and they'll be reduced to nothing. We try and work with them, those psychopaths will try and stab us in the back, just like most Chaos Agents would." He looked to the Overlord with a cheeky grin. "No offense, big guy."
"It matters not to me," The Overlord said. "So long as the Brown Minions are under my control once more, I could care less with what happens to the Fiends."
"I say take all the help we can get." Jack said, placing his hands on the table. "If we're ever going to take down the Champion Kaos, we're going to need everyone. I know the Fiends aren't the best of guys, but they're a start."
"Put it to a vote later." Cinder said, waving them off. "You're going to need to hurry before the Brown Minions get worked to death, plus there's the issue of the Saints encroaching on their territory. Here," Cinder reached into his pocket and produced four cybernetic ear-pieces. "I managed to procure these ECHO Communicators, plus some for your plus ones. They'll allow for long range communication, have built-in mapping, plus a chance to listen in on radio broadcasts. Use them well." The four fighters took the ECHO devices and inserted them into their ears (except the Overlord, who simply stuck his to the side of his helmet), as their cohorts did the same. "You know the job: get to the factory, retrieve the Brown Minion Hive, defeat Joe the Render, figure out what to do about the Fiends, come back for cocoa and biscuits."
"Cocoa and biscuits!" Travis exclaimed, throwing his arms up into the air. Once he realized he saw everyone giving him looks, the assassin calmed himself down and regained his calm composure.
"So we're all clear then?" Cinder asked. No response as the Chaser's Agent back towards an open window. "No? Well, I've marked the location of the Fiend's Base on your ECHOs, it's within walking distance due east. Good luck, and win!" Without a word, he dove out of the window, surprising everyone as they ran towards the window.
"I never knew he was suicidal." Jack said, tossing his cigarette to the floor. "No wait, he's fine." As Jack pointed out, Cinder was just fine, and apparently had a jetpack, flying off into the sunset like an orange flying… person thing. With the goal set, the four heavily armed men embarked to an elevator, leaving their aids behind, and set off to face the Fiends. Meanwhile, hiding out the window, a certain robotic camera was witnessing the whole thing.
"Folks, I hope you caught that right here," Rick's voice said. "Because this might be a deciding factor in the entire Tournament."
"The fact that we've got a Chaser amongst us," Slick's voice asked. "Or that four badasses just teamed up and formed a badass team of badassitude?"
"Both!" Rick exclaimed. "With those four working together, they might actually be able to slay the Champion Kaos!"
"Well, best of hope to the newly formed Heart of Steel." Slick said. "We'll be tracking their progress as much as everyone else, and we'll see who will win the IDA Ultimate Tournament. In the meantime, I'm going to have about five stogies, and we'll leave you with some smooth jazz… Rick, will you do the honors?"
"With pleasure." Rick chuckled. "Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby?"
"Didn't they cover the same song?" Slick asked.
"Then we do that one. This is Rick and Slick, bringing you beats and bloodshed."
'Blue moon… You saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own…'
Author's Note: The quest begins! And for the record, Agent Cinder is in no way related to the Agent Cinder in Project FREAK…. OR IS HE?! Stay tuned for more.