The Wrong Man for The Right Job
A/N: It's good to be back into this story. I'm not sure how long this arc will run on for, but I guarantee that it'll continue for longer than six chapter. Also, just so you guys know, that contest I mentioned earlier about guessing who each of the respective members of Team MSTT are based off is still up – I guess you guys aren't very enthusiastic about collecting that reward. Anyway, best of luck guessing!
Same Time…
"You're full of shit, Cinder!" Raiden shouted at the top of his lungs as the trails of darkness receded into the long shadow he cast behind him.
Smiling broadly, Cinder merely relaxed at the sight of the man as she responded. "Raiden Alexander, I was wondering when you were going to get back to me with-"
"Hey! I'm not done yet!" the black-haired teen interrupted as he transformed his sword into its shotgun mode, the barrel of the gun becoming more prominent while the blade retracted. "You don't get to fucking ask me how I'm doing!" Lowering the weapon somewhat, Raiden continued. "Now I run off to do your dirty work, only to find out like…" he paused to look at the wristwatch on his arm. "…Three hours ago, that you were going to kill me! Now, the way I see it, I've got a choice here, and you've got a choice to make. Say I were to blab about your little operations here to the Mistrali Government, and let's say that you'd have to pay me…I don't know, triple the original price for me to shut up."
"Really?" Cinder breathed out, already annoyed at how this was playing out. "And what are the other options?"
"Well, funny that you ask." Raiden said with a chuckle. "See, I still feel pretty crossed about the metaphorical dagger you've put to my back, and all those guys out there didn't put up any challenge at all." He said as he thumbed the open doorway behind him. "Not to mention, I like myself a good fight to the death as much as the last guy, so I'm willing to compromise here. You get one of your lackeys to fight me and if you win, well, I guess that means I have to leave the rest of you alone – for good. If I win, I'll still leave you guys alone, so either way, I get out of your hair!"
I expected as much from him… Cinder thought before groaning, feeling her blood pressure rise. "I really don't have time for this, Alexander." Pinching the bridge of her nose, she waved a hand. "Roman?"
Eyes wide, Raiden quickly scanned the room in front of him in search of the criminal, and realised too late where he was when he had Melodic Cudgel hooked over his neck.
"Nice try, kid." Torchwick grunted into his ear as he pulled harder on his cane, squeezing the air out of Raiden's throat. "Maybe next time, you shouldn't try to force a deal while everyone in the room has a gun in their-" Roman's gloating quickly turned into a surprised yelp as he was pulled to the floor by his own shadow. The black form on the ground reached up in the form of two claws and pulled Torchwick to the ground.
"Nice try, old man." The ebony-haired teen said as he bent down to pick up his shotgun-longsword. "Now, as I was saying, you have a choice to make, Fall. You can either-" his words choked in his throat as the ginger-haired crimelord fired a Dust round at the ground under him and broke away from the shadowy hand, sending him flying and slamming right into Raiden.
Both men skid across the concrete ground along with their weapons for a moment before they regained their bearings around the same time. Their gaze met for a moment before flicking to their respective weapon, making a dash for them before clashing once more.
"Maybe one of you twerps can help me…deal with this twerp." Roman spoke while glancing every so often at one of the three teenagers on Cinder's sides, unable to take his eyes away from the teen in front of him for long.
"I think you're handling it well enough." Mercury said with a shrug, right before Raiden stepped back to pull a black chain with two weights on either end of it out of his shadow.
Before Roman had a chance to fight back, Raiden hurled the chain at him, which wound itself around his body until he couldn't move a single limb. Gingerly, the Shadowcaster walked up to Torchwick with a smug grin as he kicked the crimelord to the ground.
"Ok, I'll admit." Roman said with an obnoxious eye-roll. "You've got some pretty slick tricks, kiddo. What say we call it a tie?"
Flipping the longsword in his grip as its blade extended forward, the black-haired teen braced one of his feet on top of Roman's neck as he prepared to drive the shiny-black blade through the man's neck. "Why not?"
However, just as he raised the sword to strike, a bolt of orange energy struck Raiden in the side and blew him and his sword across the warehouse, slamming into the wall. All eyes fell on Cinder, who looked just as shocked at the extended hand that seemed to have been controlled by the bolt instead of the other way around. It was gone in a split second as she grabbed and lowered the hand using her free hand. "Enough." She spoke firmly. "We don't have time for you boys to tear each other apart."
Sliding off the wall and falling unsteadily to his feet, Raiden reached for his sword again. This time though, he hesitated before sliding it into the magnetic sheath on his back. "So I assume you're going to make me a deal or-" before he was able to finish the sentence, Raiden was put on the defensive by a low war cry from the direction of the broken entrance to the warehouse.
Turning around, the teen was almost bisected along his waist by a crimson katana blade. Out of his own shadow, Raiden quickly pulled out a pair of pitch-black daggers after ducking under the slash.
He was quick to parry the strike and leap backwards, putting some distance between him and the Faunus.
"You'll pay for what you did to my men!" Adam shouted, lost in a blinding fury.
"Piss off, you horned-devil!" Raiden retorted as he combined the daggers to make a spear made out of his shadow.
"I said, enough!" Cinder shrieked, sending out an unexpected shockwave of orange energy and knocking everyone in the warehouse over. Again, Cinder's eyes widened at the sudden burst of power that she didn't know she possessed. Making a mental note to maintain a better control over her emotions, the ash-haired woman decided, instead, to capitalise on the current situation as best she could. "I can't afford for you to waste my time killing each other! Now, you will do as I say or you will join the dead outside."
For a few moments, everyone lay sprawled on the floor. Some were still trying to shake off the concussion that came with being knocked to the floor by a shockwave, while others were in shock of the power Cinder had at her disposal. Even Torchwick, who was finally able to wriggle free of his black chains as they deteriorated after a second, didn't feel any less vulnerable under Cinder's scrutinizing leer.
Getting back up slowly, Adam was the first to respond. "I'll…reorganise the able-bodied men." He said, leaving without another word.
The fury in Cinder's vision was still clearing as a slow clap came from one end of the room, where Raiden Alexander was picking himself off the floor. "That was an impressive display, Miss Fall. Alright, I'll listen to your offer."
Letting out a sigh, Cinder guessed that she might as well take what she could get from the obnoxious boy before she accidentally killed him. "Roman, leave us and see if you can contact some of your 'friends' within the Mistral Police Department."
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Torchwick muttered as he followed Adam's lead out the open doorway.
Turning back to Raiden, she quickly blinked away the last of the fury before speaking again. "Follow me." She said as she gestured for the trio around her to get back up. "The rest of you get packing – we move out once I've briefed Raiden."
"Ok, let me guess. You've got a loose end you want me to tie up in exchange for something." Raiden asked as he sent a wink Emerald's way, receiving an eye-roll in response.
"Something like that." Cinder explained, not bothering to hold the door to her make-shift office open. Still, Raiden pushed forward as Cinder picked up a photograph off the table and showed it to the Shadowcaster. "Look familiar?"
Raiden took a moment to stare at the man in the picture before tossing it back onto Cinder's desk with the flick of a wrist, eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "No, why? Some big-shot I should know about?"
Opening up her Scroll, Cinder also attempted to access some of the corrupted files over the server link, only to find the familiar flickering symbol appear. "How about this?" she asked, handing Raiden her Scroll.
"This is…the symbol that came with the message I got." The teen thought out loud.
"The person that sent you the message and the boy in the picture are the same person." The ash-haired woman explained. "The mission I have for you is simple: I want that boy dead. In exchange I'll just forget that you ever existed."
With a sarcastic huff, Raiden passed the Scroll back to Cinder. "You expect me to track down this guy, risk my life killing him and not get paid?"
"I don't think you were listening to me, Mr. Alexander." Cinder hissed dangerously. "I said that I wanted the boy dead. That means you are to bring him to me alive."
"Oh, that's great! Would you like me to bring you a unicorn as well while I'm at it? Or how about the crown jewels of the Mistral monarchy and a piece of the moon, since I'm headed in that direction?" Raiden yelled bitterly.
"Do not test my patience, Raiden!" Cinder yelled back. "You should be grateful I am willing to give you such mercy in the first place."
"Don't forget, Fall. I may not be an old, seasoned hag – like yourself," As Raiden spoke, his shadow grew longer and deeper. "But I have powers you could never imagine in your worst nightmare."
"Would you like to prove that? Right here, right now?" Cinder hissed out through gritted teeth as a flame seemed to light up in her one visible eye. There was a moment where neither figure would budge as tension began to rise and either figure prepared to strike the other down first.
However, just as it had started, the tension abruptly ended with Raiden bursting into restrained laughter. Though Cinder hardly found the situation amusing, it was a good sign and she relaxed somewhat. "Oh, Cinder. You still know how to make a grown man shit himself with fear." He said in between chuckles. "Like, really. You should've seen your face."
"I try." Cinder simply replied, causing Raiden to break down into an even stronger fit of laughter.
"Alright, alright. So, how do I find this guy?" he finally asked after composing himself.
As if on cue, Cinder's Scroll flashed with an alert. Checking it quickly, she took a moment to smile at what she saw before showing it to Raiden. On the Scroll was a simple text message which read, 'YOU_WANT_M3? IM_R1GHT_HERE' below it was an address to what seemed like an apartment block further in the Kingdom of Mistral itself. "I believe he's just told us where to find him."
"Us?" Raiden asked while sending Cinder a quizzical look.
"I doubt you would understand, but I need to make sure that this boy doesn't slip from my grasps again because I sent some incompetent lackey to do my job." Cinder retorted, a hint of bite to her tone.
"Fine, whatever." Raiden replied before pausing for a moment to think about the situation. "You do realise that this is probably a trap, right?"
The half-Maiden scoffed before replying. "I wouldn't have it any other way." She said with a cold smile. "Now get ready. We're moving out in five minutes." With that, she turned her back on the teen and pushed open the door to her office. "If you wouldn't mind stepping out for a moment?"
Raiden complied just as he felt a familiar vibration in his pocket. Pulling out his Scroll, his eyebrows knitted in confusion of the unfamiliar contact number. Opening the message, he could swear that the blood in the back of his neck chilled somewhat at what was written.
'YOU_M4DE_Y0UR5ELF_A_TARG3T'
The shadowcaster almost dropped his Scroll when he jumped at the sound of Cinder's door slamming shut.
Three hours ago…
With the flick of a switch, Overwatch's engines shut off and began to cool while T took the time to relax back into his custom-made leather pilot seat, having had to replace the one that had been ejected with one of the better chairs he kept in the storage compartment of the airship.
The flight back to his base of operations had been unnerving enough with the thunderstorm that suddenly rolled in and how one engine would sometimes shut off by itself, but now he was faced with the long task of preparing for the next phase in operations.
Quickly running his thumb over the worn piece of paper that he kept in his pocket for reassurance, he quickly rose out of his seat and turned to face each of the men sitting in their own corner of the Bullhead – his team.
The hacker barely gave them any indication of acknowledgement before he opened the hatches to the airship, which released smoothly with a hiss.
No, not smoothly. The starboard hatch door shuddered when it opened. Damage sustained from the firefight could have affected the internal hydraulics. He thought as his cybernetic eye began running schematic comparisons to the damaged components that he could detect. Overwatch will require an overhaul.
"This is our stop." T simply said before jumping out to assess the damage done to the faulty engine. They had landed on the landing pad provided by the apartment building, the ground made slick by the constant rainfall.
It only took a quick scan for T to recognize that he would need to make some major repairs before Overwatch would be fit to fly into combat anytime soon. The primary fuel line is cracked and the electrical combustion mechanism is shot…it'll be easier to replace the whole internal combustion mechanism.
"H-hey!" SK shouted as he jumped off the airship, pulling his brown cowl over his head as he did. "I s-still have more questions."
"Later. I have to begin with Overwatch's repairs immediately." T replied without turning away from his Scroll as he pulled out a manifest of the parts that he needed, comparing it with an inventory check that he made yesterday.
"W-why, what's the rush?"
"I'll explain later." T had to raise his voice over the distant thunder as he turned to face the rogue this time. "Vermillion," he spoke up, turning to Tanner as he hopped off the airship while cradling his injured side. "-take them up to the safe-house and don't stop for anything."
"You still haven't given me-"
"I just did." T cut off the swordsman, who had to pause to check his Scroll. Upon seeing the access codes to the digital lock on the safe house, he made a gesture for SK to follow him as Mason finally got out of the Bullhead, happily munching on what looked to be freshly cooked beef jerky, but was absolutely not beef jerky.
"I have to say T-man," he said with his mouth full of not-beef jerky. "-you're airstrike machine handles like it's MLG."
Tapping a command on his Scroll, a hexagonal shape within the landing pad separated to take the Bullhead into its designated storage lot beneath the landing pad, along with the other airships owned by residents of the apartment.
As T and the airship began to descend, T shouted over the sound of the machinery. "Touch Overwatch's flight controls again and it'll be the last thing you ever use those hands for."
"Y'know, that's kinda funny!" Mason shouted back. "I can't remember how many times I've heard that line."
As the hatch to the storage lots slowly closed, T was able to show Mason his middle finger just before they sealed shut with a hiss.
Inside the apartment, where it was warm and dry, Tanner and SK waited patiently inside an elevator as it slowly took them to their designated floor. An awkward silence hung over the two until the Desert Raider brought a topic on his mind up.
"Shouldn't we have waited for that c-cannibal before coming up here? I mean, he's down there by himself, and if his track r-record is any indication he's probably going to go looking for trouble."
"Don't get your poncho twisted." Tanner said with a knowing smirk. "The redhead left his nuclear-powered dirty bomb up in the apartment, and he said there was no way he would leave without it." There was a pause where Tanner considered what he had said before he spoke again. "That sounded better in my head."
"Yeah," SK squeaked while bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet. "It probably did. Y-you wouldn't mind pointing out the bomb to me so I could…I don't know, disarm i-it?"
"I think it'd be pretty hard to miss. It's the one with all the biohazard and stickers of drugs and some weird leaf smoking a cigare-yeah, it's impossible to miss." The brunette concluded as they reached their floor.
"Ok…I don't suppose y-you've been working with T long either?" SK asked as they walked up to the front double door, which seemed to be an expensive mahogany.
"Not unless you consider two and a half weeks 'long'." The swordsman said as he pressed his Scroll to a built-in scanner, which made a lock click and allowed him to push open the door with ease.
"Right, so it'd be a little presumptuous of me to ask you if you k-know what T's planning to do next." SK said as he slowly took in the apartment suite. "Cause I n-need answers and all I got were vague – wow, this place is a lot nicer than I thought it was going to be."
"I know, and I have no idea what 'presumptuous' means, so I'm just going to have to answer with, 'No'." Tanner said as he unslung his sash of Dust and threw it on the marble table to the right.
"Am I supposed to take off my s-shoes or something?" the black-haired teen asked while dropping his knapsack behind the pristine-white couch that had been positioned in front of a television set.
"Nah, just don't touch T's equipment and he won't try to choke you to death." Tanner said while walking through an open doorway into what looked to be a kitchen. "You want a soda?" he said while rummaging through a refrigerator.
"Later, just tell me w-where the bomb is – I'll feel better knowing it won't go off." SK said while he removed his poncho and hung it up on a coat hanger. "I don't care what the guy from Atlas said; this poncho is really irritating." He muttered under his breath.
"If you're going to buy a poncho, take my advice and don't buy one from Atlas. Vale or Vacuo would be better – they actually use some form of natural fabric." The brunette said as his bright-orange eyes spotted what he was looking for at the back of the fridge.
"Yeah, I s-should've bought one before I left." The rogue muttered under his breath, his tone taking a sullen turn.
"Well, can't you just go back and buy another one?" Tanner asked as he pulled out his sabre to remove the bottle-cap for his soda.
SK froze at the mention of going back to Vacuo for a moment before he tried to cover it up with whatever confidence he could muster. "I-I…don't want to talk about it."
Tanner looked like he was about to continue inquiring about the stutter, but stuck the end of the glass bottle into his mouth before any words could escape. "The bomb's on the floor behind the table." He said after finding the voice in his throat again.
The change of topic brought out SK's more resolute side as he quickly went about peeling back the panel held together by old chewing gum before disabling the trigger mechanism. He was finally able to breathe out a sigh of relief before he jumped to his feet in shock as the door to the apartment block slammed open.
"I'm home!" Mason hollered at the top of his lungs before shaking his head back and forth, trying to get the rain-water out of his afro.
Both swordsmen recoiled in disgust as droplets of the oily water hit them. "Ugh, that's disgusting! I'm going to catch some kind of skin infection because of you!" Tanner practically shrieked – in a manly way.
"Where's the bleach?" SK shouted as if he were being burnt alive as he ran towards the bathroom.
"Trust me, bro." Mason said as he dropped his weapons on the smooth marble floor, cracking a few tiles. "If you've been around me this long, you've probably already contracted some kind of flesh-eating parasite."
The Atlas-born swordsman had to actually pause his train of thought to consciously consider what the redhead cannibal just said before responding. "Why do you have flesh-eating parasites in you?"
"It's called passive effects, duh!" Mason said with an eye roll. "If the parasites pass on to whoever I'm fighting, the rate at which they devour their flesh will slow their fighting prowess tremendously."
"That doesn't make any fucking sense!" Tanner was close to snapping at this point, his passionate fury only quelled by T entering the room, drenched from head to toe.
He left a trail of rainwater on the floor as he walked over to the glossy marble table and left the box of tools he had in his hand on it.
"I didn't say you could take a soda." T said, directing the words to Tanner in his rough voice as he pulled out his Scroll to check something.
"…So can I have this soda?" Tanner asked after taking another swig of the cherry-red liquid.
"Yes." He breathed out while turning to face the three of them once SK stepped out of the bathroom, wiping bleach off his cheek and outfit with a rag he kept with him. "Get some rest – we'll need to move out again soon." He pointed down one hallway in the apartment block. "Guest rooms are that way."
"Hey, I still w-want answers!" the rogue raised his voice as T walked the other way and sat down into a swivel chair before kicking himself over to his nest of computer monitors and processors. "Why are you going against Cinder? What's the next move in this operation? How did you get such a nice apartment block?"
The hacker spun around in his chair to face SK before speaking. "You'll know what you need when you need to know it, Desert Raider. But know this; I am not your enemy – Cinder is. And she will never leave you in peace, which is why we need to strike her first."
SK was at a loss for words as he wondered why the hacker sounded so familiar. Before he had a chance to respond, T swivelled back to face his monitors while still speaking over his shoulder. "Get some rest; crossing through three Kingdoms in a month can be very tiring – especially when you're always on the move." Leaving SK to wonder whether or not he was speaking from experience, or from some factor that he wasn't aware of.
Resigning to take what little information he could get out of the hacker, SK breathed out a tired sigh as he walked backwards for a few steps.
Before tripping in the puddles of water brought into the apartment. He hit the marble floor with a loud thud, but shakily got back up and tried to pretend like he wasn't in any pain when everybody stared at him.
"Don't feel so bad," Tanner said when the rogue walked past him. "-that's more than I can usually get out of him." downing the last of the soda in his glass bottle.
SK let out a huff of annoyance at that. "Some t-team player he must be." He muttered under his breath while holding onto his bruised side. It was only now that he was given this chance to rest did the rogue realise how heavy his light clothes felt and how tired his muscles were. "Whatever, I'm going to get some rest." He didn't even feel like taking a shower after having gone so long without properly cleaning himself, deciding once he locked the door to the bedroom behind him that he could take care of it tomorrow.
"…Hey, who defused my bomb?"