"This is a terrible idea" Sean said as they walked along. Aya, Maxim, Pyro, Stacy and Roman with him. They were walking through an ADVENT city, to pick up a VIP from inside. He was in too deep for a normal extraction, they needed to walk in normally.
"Nah, I got this" Maxim assured him, seeing a purple glow surrounding each of them as he worked his psionic magic. "Commander told you, I found a trick"
"What exactly are you doing?" Stacy asked
"Not sure. it all went Science science science, light, big word, science science, when Alex explained it. Basically, I think, I alter the flow of light, making us look different. So we have different faces, and are not wearing around, or carrying weapons"
"That is certainly helpful" Aya said
"Yeah, but I can't keep it up during combat, it takes too much focus, bending light and all that"
"Convenient" Roman replied
"I know right. It's like that thing in games where it gives you this awesome ability, then takes it away in the next scene. I hate that"
"Not everything is a video game" Stacy replied
"No, but my psionics work like a video game, why do you think I'm so good at them"
"I don't know, and frankly I don't care" Stacy said
"Fair enough" Maxim replied. "But I bet you after this mission, we'll never see this power again... Who's the guy we're grabbing again?"
Stacy face palmed "His name is Raquel Sanchez, and he has information to another facility we can hit"
Maxim took in a breath to say something
"And he can't just send it to us because it could be intercepted" Stacy interrupted
"Fair enough"
"I do love these new guns though" Maxim said, motioning towards the new Plasma-variant of the rifle on his back
"It's too bad they're still working on the variants" Aya said, motioning towards her shotgun.
"Ah, I still remember my sniper rifle, that thing was amazing-" Maxim said, but was interrupted by Stacy
"Enough, you can discuss this once we're back at the Avenger"
"Yes mam" Maxim said begrudgingly.
As they approached the building Stacy turned to the rest. "You guys get to the roof, I'll pick up the VIP and meet you up there"
Maxim looked up at the building "I wish I had my grapple suit"
"They have elevators" Aya said as she walked in
"Really? I wish we had elevators"
"You've said that a lot"
"We had elevators at the old X-COM base"
"Come on" Roman said "Let's get up there, you can argue about this on the roof"
They went in to the elevator, and hit the button for the top floor, Stacy joined them, but hit a button about 2/3 of the way up. The elevator reached the floor and Stacy stepped out. "Just a warning, we might have to go loud once I get up there" the door slid shut, and Stacy jogged over to the room the VIP was awaiting inside. She brought out her pistol, and checked the magazine. She got to the door, cocked the gun, held it up and ready, and tried to open the door, it was locked, like she'd expected. She took a few steps back, and ran at the door, kicking it as she ran forwards, driving her foot just below the handle, where physics would help with the opening. She drove her foot, and the door burst inwards, she spun with the momentum of the kick, so she wouldn't be overbalanced, and her combat-trained senses picked up exactly what she'd thought she'd see. 3 Soldiers advancing towards Sanchez, their rifles up, but they weren't expecting an attack from being, and Stacy pumped a shot straight into the back of the head of one of them before they could even turn around. She fired again as she moved towards another door leading to the side, flinging it open to give herself some cover, her shot struck the soldier in the chest, and he dropped. As the final soldier brought up his rifle to fire, there was a loud crack of electricity, and the soldier twitching uncontrollably, dropped to the ground. Sanchez was behind the soldier, Stun Gun in hand. Stacy approached, kicked the soldiers helmet off, and stomped down hard on it's head, twice, the first stomp fracturing the skill, the second stomp breaking it completely, and making it's head resemble a broken watermelon.
She turned to Sanchez. "Raquel Sanchez?"
"Y-yes, that'd be m-me. You're the X-COM P-people?"
"Yes, follow me, the rest of the squad are awaiting us on the roof. Keep that Stun gun handy. Extraction may take a few minutes"
"Oh, o-of course" he attempted to wipe some orange blood from his cheek, but only succeeded in smudging it further across his face
"Let's go" Stacy said, reloading her pistol, putting it back in it's holster, and bringing out her rifle. It was strangely warm in her hands, and there was a slight humming to it, as the generators in the rifle kept the super-heated plasma generated and contained safely, ready for discharge.
"There's patrol's down there" Sean said
Maxim jumped backwards from the edge "Holy crap Legs. I forgot you were there"
Sean smiled
"Did nobody else forget he was there?"
Silence
"I hate you guys"
Suddenly there was a weird sound, a kind of bang an a whoosh together, like a flamethrower and a rifle were fired at the same time, and they all looked over at the roof entrance, to see a dark skinned man with long brown hair and a neat beard come running through the door, followed closely behind by Stacy, another one of those Whoosh bangs as she fired her Plasma rifle back down the stairway, there was a shriek and the sound of a body falling down stairs, then she got out the door, closed it, grabbed a pipe along the wall, pulled out a small section of it, and put the length of pipe between through the handle. She looked at them. "Extraction is on the building across" she said, pointing towards it. "Let's go. We're loud"
Maxim looked down over the railing, and saw 2 Vipers, and an Archon running towards the buildings entrance. The legless things that are apparently a more fancy version of the Floaters. He looked to one of the Viper's, then at the other's taking aim.
"1 second guys. I wanna try something" he took out the psionics focusing thingy from his back, he could never remember all the sciencey names they gave his stuff. He focused, reached into the purple ball, and thrust his hand towards the Viper. "Domination time" he whispered as he felt the power take effect, and the strange sensation as his consciousness slightly merged with that of the Viper. He could see a slight overlay of what the Viper could see. He communicated to the viper to hold up her arm in a stop motion, the other 2 stopped and looked at the Viper. "Don't shoot the one that just stopped them" Maxim said.
Pyro nodded, stood up completely, levelling his LMG towards the Archon, and, bracing it against the railing, began unleashing an ungodly hell of bolts into it. It was thrown backwards a few feet by the hail of shots, and as she hail lessened, it pointed its sceptre towards the group on the roof in time to see the bolt of plasma fly towards it's head. As the Archon's head dissolved under the heat of the plasma, the non-controlled Viper began slithering to cover, as it reached the cover of a bench facing the statue behind it, it realized too late that something else had beaten it there. Aya stood there, her shotgun levelled at the Vipers head, before the Viper could pull away, it's head and neck evaporated in a blast. She turned to the side to see an Officer and one of the Shieldbearers come running in from around the statue in front of her. She sprinted over, and reached the lamp post just as the Shieldbearer reached it, and, doing a quick spin to build up momentum, and using the Shieldbearers own movement, to thrust her sword straight into it's neck. The blade went clean through the weaker armour at the neck, and there was a gurgling as the alien choked on it's blood. She wrenched the blade back out, and felt a familiar surge of energy, her sight enhanced for a moment, and she spotted the Officer getting into cover behind the statue, raising it's rifle. She dashed over to it, and, even suprising herself, reached it before it had even brought it's rifle halfway into position. She brought the blade down, and severed the Officer's arms from the mid-forarm, making it's rifle, and hands fall to the ground, she spun with it, and brought the blade around to take the officers head clean from it's shoulders. As the head was separated, the was a thud behind her. It was the Shieldbearers corpse hitting the ground.
As Aya destroyed the new group, the XCOM soldiers moved up, getting off the roof, back to ground level, and heading towards the building.
"I see why you like her" Roman whispered to Maxim as they moved.
Maxim blushed, and sent the Viper, which he was now calling Vipey, up forwards to scout. As she got around the statue, she saw 2 Stunlancer's and a Viper running out of the building. The Archon and a Stunny were standing in perfect position, and she spat a poison cloud at the group, engulfing them in poison.
"Stunny's and Fancy Floater ahead" Maxim said, just as the Archon came into view, and he fired off a burst into it, as it was moving towards Vipey with it's staff, sceptre thing at the ready, but it was thrown backwards with a plasma bolt directly to the face. "Don't hurt Vipey" Maxim said as the Archon dissolved.
Suddenly a Stun Lancer sprinted past the Archon's corpse, dodging shots from the rest of the group, and jabbing Roman with it's stun-sword, but it's victory was shot lived, as a pistol shot from Roman knocked it back, and Roman took the advantage to fire a plasma bolt into it's chest.
As the other's fought that part Aya was in her own battle. The other Stun Lancer ran at her as the Officer's head struck the ground, and it attempted to stab at her with it's stun blade. But Aya remembered a move she'd pulled against Harold, and leaped up, using the Stun Lancer's sword as a stepping stone, flipped over it's head slashing off it's left arm with her sword, and destroying it's back with her shotgun and landing deftly on her feet behind it. She got behind a lamppost, and waited for the others to catch up.
Aya heard movement inside, and with a quick nod towards the rest, sprinted towards the door. Out of pure instinct, she went into a slide to get through the door, and it turned out to be the perfect thing to do, as a hail of fist-sized bullets flew through the area she'd just been standing it. She got out of the slide, into cover behind a staircase, and turned, pumping a shell into the Officer that had been behind a box by the door. destroying it's torso. She heard a hissing, as 'Vipey' slithered past through the area the MEC's hail had been going though a second ago, reared back her head, and thrust forwards, shooting out her tongue. The tongue follow quickly by a hail of shots that badly damaged the chest plate of the Shieldbearer, but it's armour saved it until a bolt of plasma burst through the weakened metal, burning through it's torso before it could recover from the burst. The MEC took a step forwards, and reactionary fired another burst towards Aya as she sprinted towards it, sliding beneath it's legs, and firing a shotgun blast into it's crotch section, before another bolt of plasma struck it in the head section, dissolving the plate, and frying the electronics within. They waited for a moment after the robot hit the ground, but didn't hear any reinforcements incoming. They went up to the roof as Firebrand flew in low, and dropped the ropes to them. The rest all clipped themselves in, and were drawn up, but Maxim stayed down, looking at Vipey. "Don't even think about it Vampire" Stacy called from above "Kill it and let's go"
Maxim was close to tears as he approached the Viper, he brought Vipey into a hug, and could feel tears about to spring forth as he focused his psionic abilities, and Soulfired the Viper. Normally a Viper could haver resisted it, but because it was dominated, it was a lot more powerful through his open conduit to it's mind, and the Viper died immediately. Maxim lowered the now dead Vipey to the floor, and, tears beginning to leak from his eyes, he clipped himself to the final rope, as firebrand began taking off. He pulled himself over the lip into the ship, wiping tears from his eyes.
The others looked at his strangely.
"What's got you all upset?" Sean asked
Maxim sniffed as he got into his seat "It's just... We were kind of like 1 person for a time. It's such an intimate connection, it was like we were family"
The rest looked at his strangely again.
"You just don't understand" Maxim said, wiping the last of the tears away
"Well" Aya said "At least we know that ability works now"
Maxim looked over at her, and it took him a moment to recall the conversation they'd had "Oh yeah"
"Kinky" Stacy smirked as the ship flew towards the Avenger.
Again, sorry about the delay, but I'm getting back into it now. Hopefully I'll get them more regular, but, again, no promises. And if anyone is confused about the fact that I never mentioned the Commander-Roman chat, that's on purpose, a nice surprise for later. And if anyone's been confused by the fact that Aya has, several times in the earlier parts, used ADVENT equipment, that is on purpose as well. Nobody else has mentioned it because at first she was alone, and then they were more surprised at the random woman running out of the woods and wrecking shit. If you don't know, it mentions in the game that the reason they haven't just taken ADVENT weaponry is that it detonates if a Non-ADVENT tries to use it. Harold used a gun as well, but I can just tell you here that it's because the stim's make his stuff difficult to read, and the DNA scanners got confused, and there was a delay of a minute or 2 before it realized what happened and detonated, but by then he'd dropped it. The Commander-Roman chat, and Aya's thing will be explain later. I know I said in the notes earlier that Aya's 'Just fast'... I may have lied (Actually it was because I had Aya use XCOM equipment, then saw that note in the game and was like 'shit... Ooh, I can go with this). I also love my Videogame comparisons from Maxim, they just let me break the fourth wall a bit, and it's fun.
Oh, and Happy New Year.