With things heating up, things will become apparently clear that the temporary safety of the group has now long gone. Now that the mercenaries have struck and have begun their first attack, how will the group be able to handle this unexpected variable? Better yet, how will it change the course of their second chance?
Aztec 13: I know you're expecting a wholesale beatdown wrought upon the mercenaries, but this isn't that kind of story. I also like the idea of yellow rose pins, but I feel it wouldn't work. I have a different use for that motif.
"Guys! Are you there?! We need your help!" Zoey was seen banging at the door to Gwen's apartment.
"What, what is it?" Duncan opens the door to see her and Mike currently at the door.
"We were out walking in the city, when we were attacked out of nowhere." Mike explained the situation. "Gwen and Emma are currently fighting, but there are already some of us injured."
"Whoa whoa whoa, attacked?!" Duncan asked. "How bad is it?"
"Quite a bit of us have taken the fall. We need to get them out of there while we let the mutants handle this." Zoey stated. "We're gonna need some help to get them out of there."
"I got it." Duncan says as he turns to the inside of the apartment. "Guys, we got a situation, we need to go somewhere."
A couple minutes later, the group outside the Paradise Lounge were relieved to see Gwen's group already headed down the apartment, now donning jackets for the cold of the night.
"Guys, when did this happen?" Courtney asked.
"Just thirty minutes ago. The dude that attacked us was too damn strong." Zoey explained.
"Does anyone know any nearby places we can take them?" Owen asked the group.
"I don't know. But we have to take them somewhere." Duncan stated.
Suddenly, a void portal appears next to the group, and Wraith, Mirage, Pathfinder and Rampart exit to come face to face with the group. The two groups share awkward stares at each other, before Mirage decides to speak up.
"Okay, it's already past the closing hour at the Lounge. If you want, you can come back tomorrow." Mirage stated.
"Wait a minute." Wraith says as she notices a bit of commotion from the group. "What's going on?"
"Well, we were just walking around the city when-" Brody was then interrupted during his explanation.
"Don't talk out loud, man. We don't even know who she is." Devin stated.
"No, it's okay, she's friends with Gwen's employer." Junior told the others. "What he was saying was we were attacked on our walk by someone. We don't know what he wants, but he took down most of us pretty quickly, and we had to get help from Gwen."
"Yikes. This sounds bad." Rampart stated. "What would someone even want with them?"
"I believe I have an idea." Wraith stated. "Where did this happen?"
"Just a couple blocks that way. You can't miss it." Brody stated.
"Come on, we have to hurry." Duncan stated.
Wraith and Mirage then follow the group as they sprint towards the scene of the attack.
Chapter 8: Dark Determination
"What do you want from us?" Gwen asked the man in front of her.
The man just silently stared at her, currently smirking because of her strength that was shown with her previous attack. He then assumes a fighting stance, still not wishing to get into conversation with his enemy.
"Fine, you want a good fight? Step the fuck up then!" Gwen yelled before gritting her teeth.
The man charges at Gwen and delivers a powerful punch to her head. It hits straight on, but she doesn't budge an inch. In fact, she was using the hard part of her forehead to block the strike, with the blue glow from her skin indicating the force spreading throughout her body.
"Whoa!" Sky exclaimed from seeing this powerful show of durability.
Gwen knocks away the arm and attempts to strike back, but the man manages to dodge back.
However, Gwen quickly follows up with a sidekick that forces the man to block, causing him to skid down the walkway due to the force.
"That ought to hold him back." Gwen says before turning to Kitty, who was still limping to the side. "Are you okay?"
"...no. No, you shouldn't have come here!" Kitty yells out in complete worry.
"W-What? What are you talking about?" Gwen was baffled by what she was say.
"This is a trap… a trap to lure you guys here." Kitty says as she pointed upwards. "And that's who set it up."
Gwen followed where Kitty was pointing at where she finally saw him. She locks eyes with a familiar face; Gus, one of the mercenaries from the base attack back on Earth. Noticing what was going on, Gus immediately reaches for a weapon on his belt.
But Gwen was not going to let this slide, she immediately jumps at the mercenary, finally putting the pieces together of why this attack happened in the first place. She gets a swing ready for Gus, ready to end something disastrous before it even begins.
Suddenly, the other man quickly follows behind and tries to grab her before she can land an attack.
"Gwen! Watch out!" Kitty yelled out.
Gwen realized what was happening, as the man reached out to grab her leg. In front of her, Gus had already taken out a revolver, and began aiming to barrel towards her. She was surrounded, and she didn't have enough time to make a decision.
"I'm on it!" Emma says as she aims a lightning bolt at Gus.
A large spark of electricity shoots out of Emma's fingertips, and shoots through the air towards the man behind Gwen. But suddenly, someone else pops out of nowhere and takes the hit on purpose.
"What the?!" Emma exclaimed.
"Whoa!" Kitty gasped.
But it didn't end there. The electricity warped around the body of the sudden figure and began to focus on a single point on their left arm, and it began to disappear, almost as if they were absorbing the electricity, akin to Emma's own abilities. The light caused by this distracted Gwen, Gus and the man, enough so that they stopped what they were doing to cover their eyes.
Once this was said and done, the new figure revealed themselves to be Sonya, and she had something new up her sleeve; literally. She was currently wearing new equipment on her back that extended to both her arms, and the electricity absorbed was seen moving up her left arm and into the device on her back.
"Shit, didn't think this thing would have to do field testing this early. But luckily I came prepared, the absorption worked so effectively." Sonya smirked in seeing the operation of her equipment.
As the electricity moved into the main circular device on the back of the mercenary, it began to glow a deep thermal red as it processed the energy it was taking in.
"What is this?" Emma was taken aback by this.
Seeing this distraction, Gwen immediately went to strike Gus. But he manages to dodge it and jump to another rooftop.
"Face me, asshole!" Gwen yelled out.
"Boris! Deal with her!" Gus ordered.
The other man that initially ignited this confrontation, now named Boris, moves to attack the girl. He swiftly kicks her feet, causing her to fall down back into the walkway on her back.
"Agh… man." Gwen groaned from the impact.
Boris jumps off the roof for an aerial attack, which Gwen quickly dudges during her recovery. Now the two mutants come face to face with their own mercenary, each with something that makes them well equipped to face them in battle.
"So, mind telling me your plan in all this?" Gwen asked Gus as he watched from afar.
"Hmm. It wouldn't be hard to believe that you are unaware about the dangers of the Outlands. Especially considering your… background?" Gus says. "More specifically, the reason you're here, so far from your original time."
This caused Gwen and Emma to gasp at the realization. These guys knew of their circumstance and how they got here in the first place… but to what extent?
"Alright… you know about our time displacement. But why are you after us?" Emma asked. "Is it about our mutations?"
"Precisely so. Even in this day and age, mutant research is still something people pour tons of money into. And in a place such as the Outlands, you're gonna need all the leverage you can get." Gus says. "Keep in mind, this is nothing personal."
"Oh, you better fucking believe this shit got personal." Gwen growled. "Emma, we have to end this quickly."
"Alright!" Emma complied with this.
As Gwen went on to fight Boris, Emma charged at Sonya to initiate an attack.
"I'll just take the absorbed electricity right back to me!" Emma yelled.
Emma swiftly dodges an attack from Sonya, before reaching her arm towards the device on her back. She tries to absorb the electricity, but nothing seems to happen.
"What?!" Emma exclaimed.
"I knew you'd do that, so I took a different approach to energy absorption." Sonya turned to the girl. "Your electricity turned into pure thermal energy. No stray electrostasis, no charged ions. Nothing for you to absorb."
Emma quickly went into the offensive, and tried to strike with an electrical punch. But Sonya blocks it with her left hand, the hand where the absorption apparatus is located.
"Left-hand rule!" Sonya says as more energy is being collected into her device.
Then suddenly, the thermal energy makes its way towards the apparatus on Sonya's right arm, collecting and building up pressure as she opens her palm.
Sonya forces an open palm strike at Emma, releasing the thermal energy. But luckily, she narrowly manages to dodge the blast, causing the thermal energy to hit a nearby trash can and blasting awake a fire.
"Gah!" Emma yelped in worry if the damage were to be put onto her.
"Whoa-ho. Did ya really have to release all the built up energy?" Gus slightly chuckled at the sight.
"It's a prototype, I have to find out how far I can push this thing." Sonya commented.
Gwen and Emma shield themselves from the heat of the blast, and continue to fight the mercenaries. This is where Gus realizes something was wrong, as the fire caused by the blast was beginning to spread throughout the walkway, yet they were still focused on fighting rather than saving their friends.
Actually, scratch that. Gus finally noticed why this was the case. The injured group members from the initial attack were gone, all of them. They were so focused on the fight that they didn't realize that the people the two mutants were protecting were already out of danger.
We then see Eva dragging both Jo and Lighting to a safe place out of the fight, and dropping them off where Sky, Dave and Beardo were resting. She then turns to see Kitty limping her way there.
"Hey, thanks for showing up when you needed to." Eva seemingly told Kitty.
That's when Shawn revealed himself out of nowhere, helping Kitty walk as she was still in pain due to her broken arm.
"Yeah, thanks for sneaking in and helping us." Kitty says. "When did you know to come here?"
"Your sister contacted me as she was on her way to save you. She says she had a feeling that something might go wrong, and asked me to help get you guys out just in case it does." Shawn explained.
"Well, I guess it did. Did you guys see who was watching from above?" Kitty asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately. It was one of those bastards that attacked us back on Earth." Eva stated.
"But what do they want from us?" Dave asked, causing Beardo to mimic the Vsauce theme.
"I don't know. But we have to get you guys help, especially you, Kitty." Shawn stated.
As they figure put their next move, they saw another group approaching them, consisting of Duncan, Courtney and Alejandro. There was also Wraith and Mirage tagging along with them.
"Guys! Over here!" Shawn called out to them.
"Oh, guys. Thank goodness, you're okay." Duncan says as they helped them move the injured.
"What are the injuries?" Wraith asked.
"I think the three of us have broken ribs…" Sky groaned. "And Kitty has a broken forearm."
"And where's the attack?" Wraith asked.
Another thermal blast was heard in the distance, giving the two Legends the directions to where it is.
"I see." Wraith says before charging a device on her wrist.
Wraith then summons a void portal for the group. They look strangely at it, and wonder what they're gonna do.
"This portal heads to the Paradise Lounge. We're gonna call someone and see if they can help you." Wraith told the group.
"Um… are you sure about this?" Dave asked.
"It's safe. Now quickly, I'll help your friend." Wraith says.
Wraith and Mirage sprint towards the scene of the attack, while the rest of the group lead the injured into the portal.
Shawn turns to the direction of the attack, and sighs.
"I hope you two are gonna be okay." Shawn sighed, before heading into the portal.
We turn back to the fight, and it was already getting chaotic. The fire had spread throughout the area, and the two groups of fighters were already getting tired.
"You know what? We better withdraw. This fire's gonna bring us unwanted attention." Gus told his comrades.
"Yeah, I guessed as much." Boris spoke while glaring at Sonya.
"What?!" Gwen exclaimed.
Boris and Sonya jump to the roof with their own jump packs, which means Gwen and Emma can finally get out of there.
"Come on, let's go." Emma told Gwen.
"No… no… I can't!" Gwen growled angrily as she turned to her.
Somehow, despite being taken aback by this response, Emma recognized the emotion in Gwen's eyes. The same expression she felt when she was forced to kill the Goliath back in the facility. A mixture of anguish and desperation.
"I'll tell you this. This won't be the only time we'll meet." Gus says. "You may have gotten out of this today, but you will not win against us. Expect us once again in the future."
Gwen clenched her fist angrily at what this meant. The mercenaries then left the scene, leaving the two within the growing inferno.
"Come on, we made it out alive. And now, we have to see if everyone's okay." Emma tries to get Gwen to calm down.
After taking a few deep breaths, Gwen managed to swallow the anger that had been brewing for the past couple of minutes. Emma also finally noticed the bloodied pencil that was shaking inside her fist.
"What is that?" Emma asked.
"...let's just go." Gwen groaned, trying to avoid the question.
A void portal appeared in front of them, and Wraith sticks her head out of it to meet them.
"Over here." Wraith called out. "Are you guys okay?"
"Yeah, we're okay." Emma sighed.
"What even happened here?" Wraith asked.
"...we'll tell you when we get back." Gwen sighed.
The two walk into the portal and out of the inferno, as sounds of a response from the fire department draw closer and closer to the area.
The portal appears within a now crowded Paradise Lounge, with the injured now resting on some of the tables, and with Pathfinder and Rampart watching from the sides.
There was now a new face that was associated with Mirage and his group. It was a young brown-skinned female with the red hair in buns, and has an outfit fit for a combat medic; this is Lifeline, the combat medic of the Apex Games.
And next to her was a hovering robot drone that was helping the medic tending the injured, known as the Drone Of Compassion, or D.O.C.
"Alright, hold still." Lifeline says as she helps Kitty with her broken arm.
Lifeline takes out an apparatus from D.O.C and attaches it next to where Kitty's arm was snapped. Then, slowly but surely, the injured girl's arm began to slowly reform, almost like the damage was being reversed.
"Wow. That was quick. Thanks, doc." Kitty exclaimed.
"Just be careful with it. This is only one of the few times I used D.O.C to heal broken bones. So I believe it's still fragile for the time being." Lifeline told her.
"Aye aye." Kitty complied with this.
After this, Lifeline turned to see the new arrivals from Wraith's portal.
"I thought you guys actually had a brush with Hammond after our stunt we did with Revenant. Who are these guys anyway?" Lifeline was feeling bitter about the situation.
"Oh, your friend Mirage recently employed me here. These are my friends." Gwen says.
"And what exactly happened there? What kind of attack with that ferocity would want to have people like you involved?" Lifeline asked.
"Alright. I believe it's now time for an explanation." Gwen sighed. "We're… currently hunted by mercenaries."
This caused the other people of the group to gasp, including some of the Legends that were assisting them.
"Wait, what?" Junior asked. "What do you mean?"
"It means we are being hunted. Because of our…" Gwen then turns to the Legends. "...mutant abilities."
"Wait what?! What are you talking about?!" Courtney asked. "How could they possibly know about us?!"
"Well… they were the same mercenaries that attacked the base back on Earth." Gwen stated. "I recognized two of them so vividly that it felt like I was back at the base attack."
"Hold on. What's this about a base attack?" Mirage asked.
"Well… I believe we can't keep this secret any longer. After all, you did help us with the injured back there" Shawn sighed. "This may sound crazy, but we're from the twenty-first century."
"Wow, this just took a turn." Rampart commented.
"Exciting." Pathfinder says. "Tell us more, friends."
"Yeah. I want to hear your story." Wraith says.
"So… as we said, we come from the twenty-first century. We were all kidnapped by someone, and placed inside a facility on Earth for experimentation. A group of eighty-six." Emma explained their situation to the Legends.
"Eighty-six, huh? Quite the family." Wraith commented.
"Look, how we know each other isn't important at the moment. Just know that we know each other, and we were all kidnapped for experimentation." Shawn stated. "But somehow, we were stuck inside the facility. For more than seven hundred years."
"Yikes. That's going into my list of things I've never heard of." Rampart commented.
"Keep in mind, that was before the colonization of the Frontier, or the Outlands, or whatever the fuck you call it." Duncan stated. "So waking up, that fact hit us like a damn truck."
"Well, this is interesting." Mirage stated.
"And the experiments we were kidnapped for? They're the reason for our… mutant abilities." Gwen added.
Then the three mutants showcased their abilities. Gwen had her fist glow blue, Emma engulfed electricity into her hand, and Shawn went invisible for a brief second.
"Don't worry, friends. Even if you're mutants, you still have the strength and heart of a human." Pathfinder added.
"Thanks for the affirmation… robot guy…?" Shawn wasn't sure about the response. "There are only three of us in the entire group that have been mutated, so I guess that's lucky."
"But what about the unlucky part? How did these mercenaries get on your tail?" Mirage asked.
"Well… we have to go a bit farther back than the outpost attack for context." Gwen sighed. "We were awoken in the facility by some battalion or something. Apparently, the facility was unearthed, so they moved in to investigate. I believe the name of the commander was Kuben Blisk."
"Wait, did you just say Kuben Blisk?" Rampart asked.
"Yes? Why do you ask?" Gwen asked back in confusion.
"Hah, he's the guy that set up the Apex Games. An infamous man from the Syndicate." Rampart explained. "I remember hearing him heading to Earth for something. Didn't know he was gonna stumble into you plonkers, that's for sure."
"Wow. A new connection, huh? This just got interesting." Duncan stated.
"Alright, so you somehow were awoken by Blisk, what happens after that?" Wraith asked.
"We were then transported somewhere, but we had to stop by one of their outposts." Shawn recalled. "The place was ransacked for data, that's when we came across the mercenaries."
"Ugh… I just remembered using my powers to protect the group… but they must've seen it." Gwen groans with the realization. "I remember looking straight into the eyes of one of them before they fled the scene."
"So. That's what's gotten us in this mess?" Heather asked.
"Yes. I guess so." Gwen nodded.
"Then what do we do about this?" Owen asked. "It may not be long until they strike again. And there are other people from the group who have no idea what's going on."
"Well. One thing's for sure. They won't be coming after them." Kitty stated.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked.
"You saw how they were mainly focusing on you two? They know who has mutant powers and who doesn't." Kitty explained. "That trap was specifically for Gwen first, and they had a prototype device that they now know can work on Emma."
"So despite both Emma and Shawn being there at the right time, they still know who the mutants are." Mike stated. "That means targeting the rest of the group would be unnecessary. They're only gunning for the mutants."
"At least we'll be worrying less. Guess that's helpful." Duncan shrugged. "But what will be our next move?"
"I feel like I have an idea in my processors." Pathfinder spoke up.
"Hmm? What is it, buddy?" Mirage asked.
"You said they have attacked Blisk's base before. If that's the case, then Blisk might be looking for them at the moment." Pathfinder suggested.
"Hmm. Guess that's the case. He seemed a bit more fidgetty than normal." Rampart stated.
"So we're gonna ask him for help? I don't know if someone like him would have enough time to hear us out." Emma asked.
"That depends. Do you have something of the mercenaries' that may interest him?" Wraith asked.
"Oh, right." Gwen says as she reaches into her pocket.
Gwen turns to the table and takes something out of her pocket. It was the necklace of two bullets colliding, the one she found moments after the outpost attack concluded.
"I believe this fell out of their jet before they escaped. I kept it because I thought it looked neat." Gwen explained. "And I believe there is some verification on here."
Gwen turns the design of the necklace, which shows an etching of the initials L.S. This was enough to intrigue the group.
"I guess this is enough." Wraith sighed.
"But wait, how are we supposed to find Blisk? The guy could be anywhere." Junior asked.
"Well, glad you asked that. The Syndicate is currently hosting an anniversary of the Apex Games. It will take place on an island of Solace used for the Apex Games, King's Canyon." Mirage stated. "Maybe we can take you there. Though I guess it would be better for the mutants themselves to come."
"So, this is like a ceremony?" Emma asked.
"Yup. And Blisk is sure to be there. We can take you to Kings Canyon for the anniversary and request an audience with the man himself." Rampart stated.
"Hmm. I guess it's worth a shot." Shawn stated.
"Yeah, it's currently better than anything I can think of." Courtney stated.
"So. We'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon." Mirage stated. "I think it may be best if the other two mutants stay here, if you don't mind."
"Oh, what's the harm of letting them head home? Them mercenaries should be smart enough to lay low after the damage they caused, guessing by that plume of smoke rising above the city." Rampart says.
"I guess. And we have to explain all this to the others as well." Emma stated. "We need a break."
"I agree. Head home if you need to. Take the time to rest after what happened back there." Wraith suggested. "We'll be heading to Kings Canyon at noon, so keep that in mind."
"Alright." Gwen says before her smile begins to weaken. "I'll just freshen up a bit. I'll help you guys get home in a moment."
Gwen went out of the busy bar as discreetly as she could, trying not to draw attention to herself as her expression grew more and more frustrated. Emma was the one who noticed this change in her mood as she left the Paradise Lounge, and she was reminded of the bloodied pencil the goth was gripping after the mercenaries left the scene.
"Hey. Is something wrong with her?" Emma whispered to Duncan as he saw the girl leave.
"I don't know exactly. She seems to be harboring some deep frustration in this situation." Duncan shrugged. "It's understandable though. She may have a feeling of carrying the burden due to her being the most capable fighter out of… well, all of us."
"I remember seeing a bloodied pencil in her hand. Does it have something to do with that?" Emma asked.
"Oh, that? I couldn't tell you about that if I could. She told me it was something from her past, but she is insistent on not talking about it." Duncan stated.
"Do you think we should do something about it?" Emma asked.
"Well, I know one thing for sure. She has determination in her. I've never seen that inside her when we competed in the show." Duncan stated. "I know she wants to protect the group, but it seems that determination could be in conflict with something from her past."
"So are we going to talk to her?" Emma asked.
"I would… but it's definitely getting late. I don't have the energy to. Plus we've got somewhere to go with Witt." Duncan stated.
"I understand." Emma nodded. "I just hope she's okay."
"Yeah. Me too." Duncan sighed.
Another shorter than usual chapter. With the mercenaries now an obvious obstacle for the survival of the group, the Legends decide to help them by requesting an audience with the man himself, Kuben Blisk. How will this play out? And when will the mercenaries strike back? Find out next time.
