Chapter 5-5

I leapt down from the rooftop, keeping an ear out for whatever was running around the lab. My mind ran through dozens of scenarios of how this was going to end. Many of them didn't end well, either for us, or for the experiment. Then again, this wasn't my call. I'd only have to follow orders and try not to get myself killed.

Armsmaster saw me coming down and scowled. "Are you injured?"

I looked myself over. Yes, I was injured. The rifle the Boxheads used was powerful enough to cut through my shields and into my armor. It stung, but I still had full range of movement. "I'm fine for now. I'll see a doctor after we're done."

The hero didn't seem satisfied. "You're bleeding."

Bleeding? But I was…I was covered in Boxhead giblets because the guy I was holding hostage got shot to pieces. How the hell did I miss that? "Umm…It's not mine…"

"Not helping." He said, almost apologetically.

"It's from a Boxhead I was hiding behind. Apparently human shields only work if your enemy cares if they live or die…"

Velocity paled. I guess the Boxheads' callousness is pretty horrible.

"Not helping either." Armsmaster sighed, looking unusually concerned. "I assume you have a good explanation for all this? Taking human shields is…frowned upon. As is using unauthorized Tinker weaponry."

"It was the only thing I could think of. I needed to stop them from shooting our people, so it was either that or killing them. As for the gun: those robots shot to kill. That didn't leave me with much of a choice. For the record, though: I didn't use it on anything human."

"Fair enough." Armsmaster grumbled as Battery came running in. She was about to say something when our superior held up his hand. "Long story. Now that you're here, we can put an end to this. The PRT has this place surrounded, so it'll be up to us to subdue the creature within. Banshee, can you tell us what's inside?"

"Apart from the lab, the building's empty." I answered. "The Boxheads are gone. As for the lab, the…subject is still there, tearing up what I think are three more robots." I was interrupted by another scream and a crashing sound coming from the lab. Judging from Velocity's and Battery's shudder, I guess they heard it too. "Make that two."

"We're running out of time. Can you tell us anything about the experiment itself?"

"No, just that it's tearing the bots apart with its bare hands, I think. It doesn't sound like it's using weapons."

Armsmaster nodded. "Very well. I'll go in first. Battery, Velocity, you're right behind me. Banshee, stay close, but don't jump in. If things go bad, kill the specimen."

"And if it's human?" I asked. "The screams sound kind of human…"

"Then it'll probably be dangerously unstable if not completely insane. I'll expect you to use your judgment."

I nodded. It was fair enough, I guess.

Velocity didn't seem to agree. "You're letting her come with us? With all due respect, sir, she's a Ward."

"Banshee is also the best early warning system we have at the moment and she can take care of herself." The boss simply replied.

"Sir, we don't know what we're up against. If we run into a death-trap…"

"Then we'll need all the help we can get to make it out alive." Armsmaster's tone made it abundantly clear that he wasn't in the mood for a discussion. "Unless Banshee herself wants to stay behind, she's coming with us. Do you understand?"

Velocity scowled, but backed down. "Yes sir."

"I'll be fine." I whispered to him. "I'm tougher than I look. Besides, I've got you to hide behind."

"Human shields only work if your enemy cares if they live or die." Velocity replied morosely. "Just be careful, alright?"

If he could see my face, he'd see my eyes make cartwheels in my skull. I guess this is why Vista hates being treated like a child.

We slowly made our way through the facility. It was almost completely empty, save for a few stray cameras. The interior rooms were covered in metal plates and divided by automatic doors that looked more like airlocks in a submarine than regular doors. That said, the hallways were surprisingly spacious with more than enough room for the four of us to walk side-by-side. The Boxheads had strange taste in buildings, if you asked me. Equipment was strewn all over the place, as were things that looked like weapons lockers. I opened a few of them, and the stuff inside (some polymer cables, datapads, a gold little thing that looked like a metal potato, and a small device that I felt was another magazine for my rifle) all but fell into my face. Poor design if you ask me.

"Banshee, keep up. We'll salvage everything later. " Armsmaster grumbled. Right, we had an experiment to take care off. Now's not the time to go on a looting spree.

We arrived at the lab shortly after. I could hear the animalistic panting and snorting coming from the other side. If I had to guess, I could hear a stifled sob too. "Stop. It's on the other side of that door."

"Robots?" Battery asked.

"Destroyed. Specimen's on the far side of the lab."

Armsmaster nodded. "Good. We're going in."

I let the three adult heroes pass and tried to find some sort of vantage point. My position was somewhat inconvenient. Being indoors, I couldn't take advantage of elevation. The entrance to the lab was reasonably wide, but not so much that I'd have a clear shot of the specimen without hitting one of my own people. Unlike the Boxheads, I do care about their safety.

Armsmaster barged through the door and I got my first glimpse at the creature that had everyone running scared. It was tall, humanoid, and covered in something that looked like black and red artificial muscle. Part of me wondered if this is what I'd look like if someone tried to peel my armor off. There was a device of some sort attached to both of its arms and around its neck. If it was human, and my gut told me it was at some point, I should probably be calling it 'she'. Yeah, let's do that. It sound wrong not to. She's probably a person too.

The heroes stepped towards her, but the woman-thing didn't move. She just stood there, lost in her own little world. Not that I could blame her for that. If she had been experimented upon, I could only imagine what she'd been through. Was there any shred of sanity left? Then, Armsmaster raised the butt end of his halberd towards her.

"Armsmaster, don't!" Velocity cried out, but it was too late.

A grappling hook shot out of the bottom and wrapped itself around her. The woman reacted, no, panicked, rapidly looking around her, trying to shake it off. Eventually, she turned around and locked eyes with the offending hero. I saw something snap inside her. I have no idea how, but even without normal human facial features, the absolute hate pouring out of her was terrifyingly clear.

Then, she screamed.

The grappling hook snapped like a twig. Massive claws tore their way out of her hands, and the woman charged. Velocity was the first to recover, trying to move in the way and use his speed to avoid getting ripped in half. He threw punches faster than my brain could keep track off, but the woman all but ignored them. She was dead-set on Armsmaster, screaming like a madwoman. The Tinker raised his halberd in defense as the woman furiously beat down on him. Several shots from the halberd's built-in taser didn't even faze her. Battery interceded, pulling the crazed fighter off her boss before ramming her aside and spraying her with containment foam. Not seconds later, the woman tore herself free.

Three of our best were ramming away at her, and she no worse for wear. Brute rating? Insanely high pain tolerance? Whatever it was, I could tell that things had gone awry already. Velocity couldn't even scratch her. Battery could, but if I remember correctly, her invulnerability power only worked for a short time before she needed to recharge it. Armsmaster was good, but I didn't know how long his equipment would last. The way he was getting beaten on, it's only a matter of time until either his halberd split in two or his power armor failed.

As for the woman…I looked through my scope. I could probably shoot her, but…but I couldn't. If I pulled that trigger, I'd be killing someone whose only crime was being scared. Yes, she attacked us, but not after Armsmaster made the first move. Did that make her a villain? Did she deserve to die because of this?

No, she didn't.

Besides, what if me shooting her only pissed her off even further? What if I missed and shot one of them? I needed a non-lethal solution.

The woman charged, going for Armsmaster again. When she forced him to the ground, I knew I had to act. I holstered my rifle, ran towards the melee, and grabbed the woman's hand before it could come down.

"Stop." I said, as calm and firm as I could manage. Jesus, what was I thinking? I didn't even know if she understood English.

The woman's malformed gaze shot towards me, but to my relief, she didn't attack. Probably too stunned to act. At least, I hope so. Her face was as unreadable as mine.

"Stop. We're not going to hurt you." I didn't get a response out of her, but her grip loosened somewhat and the claws slowly receded back into her hands.

Armsmaster got up, but I shooed him away. I wasn't sure if he wanted to attack again, but I couldn't risk it. Not when I was making progress. Not when she was finally starting to calm down.

"Hey, it's okay." I said, softly. I pulled the woman towards me. She recoiled at my touch, but she didn't fight it. "You're safe now. They can't hurt you anymore."

Suddenly, she grabbed hold of me and began to sob. I felt her grip slacken and she collapsed in my arms. Exhaustion, I guess. After a few minutes, she was soundly asleep. Battery and Velocity visibly relaxed and nodded in approval. Armsmaster stood up, but he was still wary. Not that I could blame him, considering the beat-down he just went through.

"So, that happened." Velocity muttered, nursing his knuckles. "Next time, let's try talking to the crazy woman first before we stick her with the grappling hook. For all our sakes." Armsmaster scowled, but didn't respond.

Battery looked around the lab and asked: "Armsmaster, what are these things?"

Before the Tinker responded, I made sure the woman wouldn't hear it. I wasn't sure if she could, but it's better to not risk it. He inspected the room, before saying: "Surgical equipment. Scalpels, saws, a few drills…a few things I don't recognize." He picked up a scalpel and inspected it. "These are…very large and sturdy for medical equipment. They're the kind of things I'd use if I wanted to cut into something like…" He looked at the woman in my arms. "Something like her."

Battery paled. "That is…disturbing." Velocity and I agreed wholeheartedly.

"Agreed. This is exactly the sort of thing that gets Tinkers put in the Birdcage, and for good reason." Funny. I think this was the first time I've seen Armsmaster be actively disgusted by something.

"So, what happens now?" I asked.

Armsmaster stroke his beard. "Normally, we'd have to put her to a cell. She did attack us, after all." Before any of us could respond, he held up his hand and said: "However, considering the circumstances, I think we can look past that. Right now, we need to take her to a doctor before we can figure out what to do with her. Banshee, you seem to have a calming effect on her. Can you stay the night?"

I shrugged. I told my father that I'd be gone anyway, so I guess that's not an issue. "I'm not sure if I can help her, but I'll try." Fixing a broken soul was well outside my real of expertise. Not to say that I wasn't going to try. At least there's one thing I could do: track down this 'Alad' person and his band of gun-happy lunatics before throwing each and every single one of them in the Birdcage.

Assuming they'd live long enough to get there.

"Good." Armsmaster replied. "Let's go home. I've had enough of this place."