Today my world was quite literally blasted apart.
These chapters are the account of the action which led to me losing the most important person in my life. I am broken, and even now, I have no idea how I can continue.
Saturday, October 15th, 2016
The preparations that afternoon had started just like any other.
Although, there had seemed to be a higher purpose to the evening. That purpose had buried the underlying fear which everybody felt when they pulled on their combat suits and prepared their weapons. For the veterans, it was just another night and their brains automatically filed away the fear. Not so, for the newer members. For those who had only been a Fusion vigilante for a few months, gearing up was daunting enough without worrying about what might be going on beyond the safety of the Safehouses. People were actively out to get them, that night, and that thought was in everybody's minds – just pushed back in some.
Naturally, the nutcase Predators were looking forward to the night's action. To a small extent, the 'normal' youngsters enjoyed gently teasing the 'weird' youngsters who appeared to get off on all the action. Secretly, though, some of the youngsters were pleased to have the Predators with them as it made them feel safe. All the training. All the preparation. It had all come to a head and they would all sink or swim together.
Anne-Marie had cringed as her big sister had undressed. She saw the scars on Stephanie's right shoulder, not to mention the other scars on her body. The short hair was also weird. But Stephanie was smiling and joking with Saoirse as they both pulled on their dark grey undersuits. Everybody joked – it was their way of ignoring the imminent danger that they might be about to face. As far as Anne-Marie was concerned, if Stephanie wasn't worried, then there was no reason that she should be.
As Mindy looked around at all the smiling, laughing faces, that afternoon, the thought that by midnight – just five short hours away – one of the team would be fighting for their life, and that by dawn, another would be dead, with others injured, was non-existent.
Emerald Alpha Team: Kick-Ass, Splinter, Torment
Grant Park, beside Lake Michigan was surprisingly empty for thirty minutes past six in the evening.
The reason behind the emptiness soon became apparent as a group of fourteen Russians appeared out of the trees to the north of the fountain. They appeared to be enjoying themselves, like it was just a night out on the town. Each was armed with some form of melee weapon, but firearms were also in evidence and the heavily built men wore obvious body armour on their torsos.
They were most definitely out for a fight.
Less than a mile to the southwest
Emerald Bravo Team: Petra, Stormtide, Relentless
Ruby Alpha Team: Shadow, Hellcat, Fortune
Ruby Bravo Team: Mist, Piranha, Trojan
The intelligence information had been right on the money.
As Emerald Bravo emerged from beneath West Roosevelt Road, they saw a large group of Corsairs gathered beside some tall undergrowth. Beyond them, a group of Marauders were arguing amongst themselves. There were upwards of forty Corsairs with a round dozen Marauders, but Petra was not worried about the numbers; she had help coming from the south where Shadow and Mist were moving north with their teams.
The battle was about to be joined.
The Battle Bunker: Battle Guy, Hal, Ember
The calls were coming in back to back.
"Bunker, Emerald Alpha – contact, contact, contact – we have Russians!"
"Bunker, Emerald Bravo – contact, contact, contact – Corsairs and fucked up Predators!"
Ember and Hal moved to update the status displays to show where and what each team were doing.
"Bunker, Ruby Alpha – moving to support Emerald Bravo!"
"Bunker, Ruby Bravo – moving with Ruby Alpha!"
"And it begins!" Battle Guy mused.
Diamond Alpha Team: Hit Girl, Discord, Bane, Tigercat, Eisenhower
Intelligence information had placed FEAR near McKinley park, so that was where Hit Girl had placed herself, with a backup team located less than a mile away.
They moved slowly across the grass at the east side of the boating lake, checking out the trees which in the fading light were creating perfect ambush points. As they closed on the north end of the lake, Eisenhower began to growl, and Hit Girl halted the approach. Eisenhower moved forwards into the looming darkness, sniffing out the threat.
Beneath a small grouping of trees, the dog found a juicy threat.
..._...
Six men were hiding in amongst the trees.
They knew that Hit Girl and her team were out there, only they did not want to tip their hand until the trap was set. Their boss, Joseph Valachi, would not be very pleased if Hit Girl slipped away - again. The men never heard Eisenhower approach, but they heard the menacing, blood-curdling growl as the veteran hound loomed out of the darkness. The men were all of Sicilian ancestry and they all deemed themselves to be beyond manly. They had each killed, maimed, and tortured aplenty during their lives – and been rewarded well for it – but while men were easy to kill and none of them feared man, like all men, they had a deep-seated fear of being torn apart or eaten while still alive. To a man, the men raised their weapons and aimed at the menacing form before them. Eisenhower ignored the weapons, and she stood her ground, growling at the six men.
"It's just one wild mutt – who gives a fucking shit?"
"Err – you might wanna reconsider that, Jake."
From out of the darkness behind Eisenhower, came seven very similar dark shapes all clad in body armour and with protective masks over their faces. They were identical apart from the coloured markings on their armour. Four of the animals moved to Eisenhower's left, the remaining three formed up to her right. All of them were growling in a decidedly unnerving way and saliva dripped from the bared fangs.
"Holy fuck!" one man almost whimpered at the sight of eight sets of very sharp teeth.
Slowly the seven new dogs began to encircle the men. Eisenhower was in her usual navy-blue armour and mask while her kin wore an updated version of her armour. Each dog wore a custom-made combat vest, based on the Special Forces Aerial Insertion Vest. The vest provided Threat Level IIIA ballistics protection, as well as protection against single and double-edged blades. It protected each animal's chest, sides, and back. There was also a mask which protected their faces and heads from injury. The combat vest had a GPS tracker, so it would be possible to keep an eye on where each dog went should they be pursuing somebody. The only differences between each dog were the markings on the back and sides of each vest.
Sampson bore blue markings, Loki was purple, Kes had pink markings, Blade bore light brown, Ardent had grey markings, which left Siren with yellow markings, and Dart with orange.
..._...
One of the men drew his pistol and he sent a bullet towards Eisenhower.
That was a very bad move – despite the bullet missing completely. He never saw Siren, nor the look of feral anger in her eyes as she attacked the man. Her fangs sunk deep into his right arm and he dropped the pistol as he fought for his very existence. Siren dragged the unfortunate man to the ground and then she went for his throat.
"Siren!"
The dog instantly released the man and jumped back. However, she stared intently at the wounded man, eager to finish the job. Another shape emerged from the darkness. This armoured individual wore purple and the remaining five men made a decision – one which ended their lives. Before any man could bring their own weapons to bear on the vigilantes, they each received a single bullet in the head from Hit Girl, Discord, Bane, and Tigercat – Bane dropped two. The remaining man living glared up at Hit Girl with furtive glances at Siren who was drooling over sinking her teeth into a chunk of very rare Sicilian steak.
"Go tell your boss that you have failed," Hit Girl growled down at the man.
"No way; he'll fucking kill me."
"Siren!"
The man saw death approaching in the form of some very sharp teeth and his courage left him – being shot dead by Joseph Valachi suddenly seemed much more appealing to the man than having his throat ripped out by a dog.
..._...
Hit Girl spun around as she heard gunfire rip out across the darkening park.
"Leave him!" she growled as the team headed southwest around the southern tip of the boating lake.
"Diamond Alpha, Bunker, Large group of fighters, three hundred yards to the west of you – we believe FEAR is amongst them."
"Copy that – send in Diamond Bravo," Hit Girl ordered as she ran.
Diamond Bravo Team: Foxtail, Venom, Rage, Fury
"Diamond Bravo, Bunker – move to support Diamond Alpha."
"Moving now," Foxtail responded.
The four vigilantes had been hiding on some wasteland just to the south of the park. They each sprung up and then ran forwards, across West Pershing Road and into the park, attacking FEAR's group from a flanking position. There appeared to be some consternation amongst FEAR's fighters as they found themselves attacked from the right flank by four armour-clad vigilantes, then from the left flank by Hit Girl and three more armour-clad vigilantes. To make things even worse, eight armour-clad canines suddenly dove amongst them, attacking anything which moved.
It did not take long for the grass to start turning red.
Opal Alpha Team: Jackal, Tempest, Cut-Throat
Five and a half miles to the north of Hit Girl's attack, her trusted Lieutenant was not happy. He was miles away, literally, from all the action.
Humboldt Park was large and not what Jackal would see as much of a target, however, those were his orders, along with those of Opal Bravo Team, half a mile to the north at the opposite end of the park. Jackal knew that there were valid reasons for him being stuck so far away from his partner and the main teams. He also knew that Hit Girl trusted him out on a limb, so to speak. He was also very aware that his daughter was stationed much nearer the dangerous fighting than he was . . . and that scared him.
"You got your ears on, Jackal?" Raven called over the communications.
"I try not to take them off," Jackal responded dryly.
"We have nothing to report in the north – you got anything down there?"
"Not even a cockroach fucking."
"Jackal, Bunker – you have incoming west entrance to the park . . . break . . . Raven, Bunker – you have incoming from your north."
The voice was new – Jackal assumed it to be Ember. They were out of position, so they scrambled aboard Sentinel and Jackal floored the accelerator.
Opal Bravo Team: Raven, Wildcat, Nightmare
They came across Luis Munoz Martin Drive like a flood.
"Stay together!" Raven ordered as the three vigilantes faced down better than twenty large Russians and a round-dozen Sicilians.
'Ten to one was fair,' Wildcat thought to herself but only for the first few minutes as she found herself being overwhelmed.
"Opal Bravo, Bunker – SWAT has been diverted to your location; they're less than a minute out," Hal called.
"They better fucking hurry!" Nightmare growled as she fought off men twice her size with her Jungle Sword.
Raven was in her element, as was Wildcat – both vigilantes enjoyed a big fight, only, their experience was beginning to tell them it was time to extract themselves from the fight and get to safety. The three girls had never moved further than a few feet from one another, so as to provide mutual support. Buried as they were, deep within the throng of Russians, they almost missed the roar of diesel engines as a pair of SWAT vehicles roared onto the grass and each vehicle mowed down several of the enemy before stopping and deploying the SWAT teams.
The fight was back on, Wildcat was very pleased to see.
18:53
Emerald Alpha Team: Kick-Ass, Splinter, Torment
Grant Park
It had only taken about twenty minutes to put down all fourteen Russians.
For Torment, it had been the biggest fight of her young life and she had been very worried at one point that she was going to struggle, but she followed her training and where necessary, she called for help from her fellow team members. Kick-ass had waded in with relish, assisting the younger members where necessary. However, Splinter had no problem laying waste to the Russians. The boy had a deep-seated hatred for Russians in general, and any opportunity for revenge in return for his kidnapping and conditioning was welcome.
Splinter fought dirty and he fought hard which surprised some of the hardened Russian fighters. Even Kick-Ass was a little surprised, but otherwise her was very impressed by the youngster's forceful attacks.
The Battle Bunker
Battle Guy was not happy.
"None of this makes any sense," he said. "FEAR's plan is running like clockwork – only she doesn't seem to be putting much into the fight – yes, people are going down but FEAR herself is not engaging . . . see?"
Ember followed Battle Guy's finger as he pointed to where FEAR was believed to be, behind a cordon of her best Corsairs.
"She's holding back her best fighters and allowing the skirmishes . . . no, she couldn't be."
"What?" Ember asked.
"FEAR isn't this stupid – she's up to something," Hal agreed.
"She's trying to wear Fusion down ready for something big?" Ember ventured.
"I hate to say it, Ember, but you've got it in one. We're spread way the hell out and everybody will be tired by now."
"What are you going to do?" Ember asked, aghast at the idea of Fusion failing.
"Hit Girl plans for everything," Battle Guy grinned. "Hal – execute Plan Charlie."
Chicago PD, District 21
Communications Room
Captain Marcus Williams had been awaiting the order but had hoped that it would not be needed.
"Chicago PD, Chicago PD, this is Fusion – execute Plan Charlie, repeat, execute Plan Charlie."
The captain nodded towards the senior watch officer who proceeded to pass orders to his radio operators. All over the city, Chicago PD units began to move from their hitherto concealed locations. Each unit was manned by four volunteer officers, all equipped with body armour, AR-15 rifles and automatic shotguns. Their role was to provide close battlefield support for Fusion and allow the Fusion fighters to withdraw and regroup. It had been expected that FEAR's plan was to wear Fusion down, so a contingency plan had been put into place and the CPD would take over the fight until FEAR could be manipulated into a final battle.
"I'm outta here – keep me informed of what's happening," Marcus ordered as headed out onto the streets with a very pissed off Sergeant Sam Fellowes.
The Sergeant was determined to get payback for his injured partner who was even then at death's door.
The Battle Bunker
"Fusion!" Battle Guy announced over the communications circuits. "Prepare to disengage. Break off all actions. CPD will intercede on your behalf. FEAR is trying to wear us out – break – Wildcat, that applies to you, too!"
The response from Wildcat would have had the FCC going to war, had it not been an encrypted channel. Nobody liked retreating, or breaking off an action, however, the reasoning was sound. Battle Guy, Hal, and Ember watched their screens as each of the twenty-plus engaged operators expertly disengaged and pulled back. There were many unhappy rumblings over the radio, but venting was allowed.
The CPD put themselves between Fusion and the enemy, pushing FEAR's people back, surprisingly easily, and confirming their hypothesis. FEAR had no desire to waste her forces on police officers.
Emerald Bravo Team: Petra, Stormtide, Relentless
Ruby Alpha Team: Shadow, Hellcat, Fortune
Ruby Bravo Team: Mist, Piranha, Trojan
Piranha and Stormtide exchanged looks – they were pissed.
"Fucking yellow bastards!" came the bellow from the Marauders they were turning their backs on.
"Come back when you've grown some balls, bitches!"
It went on and on until they were out of earshot. What rankled more was that both of them would have loved nothing more than to turn and put a bullet in their heads.
However, they had received specific orders from somebody that both were scared of.
Earlier that evening
Safehouse F
Every Predator was gathered on the mat: Saoirse, Stephanie, Sarah, Chrissy, Sky, Jamie, Abigail, Shannon, Leo, Lucy, Marc, Hunter, Rebecca, and Rachel.
Mindy and Dave faced the fourteen youngsters. They were both very serious and the expression unnerved the kids arranged before them.
"You were brought up as Predators. We have the very first, Lucy, and the very last, Rebecca. While some see you all as cracked up nutcases. . ."
There was proud laughter from those assembled.
"There are times that I disagree. Despite some of you being bitter enemies and despite the fact that some of you went out of your way to try and kill one another, you have all put your past behind you and become firm friends – some of you have even managed to share the same bed without killing one another!"
There was more laughter – and some uneasy looks from Stephanie, Saoirse, and Abigail.
"We have recently taken onboard somebody who I know has still to build up some trust amongst her former Predator companions. She took the wrong road, but when the opportunity presented herself, she did the right thing and she saved the life of somebody close to many of us. I think some of you can see where I am going with this. Out there, under the control of FEAR, there are many more youngsters, just like yourselves – I know some will be like Willow while others will be like Rachel. I want you to think about that when you face off against a Marauder, tonight. Before you run them through, or put a bullet through their skulls, think about who they are. You may know some of them – they may be salvageable like Abigail and Rachel – hell, we even turned Chrissy and Sky around. They may be whacked-out nutcases and unsalvageable like Stephanie and Saoirse. . ."
"Hey!"
"Bitch!"
". . . But, seriously, I am determined to help each and every Marauder out there and I will do everything that I can to help them see things the way you guys have. I want each and every one of you to give them that chance – however . . . that does not mean that you put yourselves at any unnecessary risk. Several months ago, Shadow had to put down Bane and Venom – she had no choice as it was them or her. I backed her up in her decision, but she beat herself up about it."
"Err, Mindy. . ." Chrissy interrupted.
"Go ahead, Chrissy."
"My sister and me, we fought almost to the death to protect Urban Predator – we were fanatical about it . . . and very, very wrong. Chloe beat herself up about it for weeks and it took both of us to stop her blaming herself for our wounds. We were both very thankful that Chloe used her skills to put us down without killing us. We both wish that we had surrendered before we were put down, but we would not allow ourselves to do it. Those Marauders out there will be just the same. It goes against everything we were trained to do, to surrender. Some will see sense, but I know some won't . . . just like Willow."
There was general agreement amongst the Predators and they began to converse amongst themselves about options open to them.
Dave and Mindy left them to it.
Later that night
20:20
All was not going well.
Everybody had been able to rest for anywhere from half an hour to almost an hour, but then the call to arms had gone out again – why?
FEAR!
She had turned her attention away from attacking Fusion, to attacking the city infrastructure. Buildings and powerlines were her targets – she was even ignoring the CPD. First, a substation went offline – coincidentally one which fed Safehouse F. Battle Guy was notified by the computer systems and he began to receive calls from the CPD that FEAR was attacking substations and power distribution nodes within the city. Entire blocks were being plunged into darkness. City workers had deployed immediately under police escort to repair or bypass the damage caused by explosive devices placed by FERA's people. It did not help that the substations would have to be checked for more explosive devices before the city workers could start repairs. It was all a ploy to use up precious resources from within the CPD and the city. While city workers were being protected, the CPD could not assist Fusion – it was a very carefully laid plan on FEAR's part.
"The 48th Street substation is down," Battle Guy reported. "Secondary supply is still up; backup generators are on standby."
"We have reported Marauders on South McDowell Avenue at West 46th," Hal advised.
"Make that Corsairs, too," Ember added. "Just crossing West 49th on South Racine."
"Copy that," Hit Girl replied. "Show Diamond Alpha and Bravo in route."
"Acknowledged!" Battle Guy responded.
Diamond Alpha Team: Hit Girl, Discord, Bane, Tigercat, Eisenhower
Diamond Bravo Team: Foxtail, Venom, Rage, Fury
South Ashland Avenue and West 46th Street
Hound and Sentinel pulled up into the shadows of the street.
All the streetlights were out, providing a perfect cover for the black SUVs and their cargo of vigilantes.
"What are they doing?" Bane asked as she studied the assembled group of eight Marauders.
"Good question," Foxtail responded as she too studied the warped Predators.
"Shouldn't they be prancing around like dicks?" Tigercat asked.
"You saying we Predators are dicks?" Venom asked as Tigercat received glares from Discord, Bane, Rage, Fury, and Foxtail.
"They are Marauders – I thought they were different," Tigercat responded carefully.
"Only because Stormtide loves you, do you get to live," Fury advised the boy.
"Gee, thanks, Fury!"
"Focus!" Hit Girl growled dangerously.
The Marauders were standing in the middle of the cross-section where three streets crossed, talking animatedly. Their weapons were stowed, and they could have just been a group of normal teenagers, only they wore masks and body armour.
"It's a trap," Venom stated.
"I don't trust them," Bane added.
"Me, neither," Rage conceded.
"Let's lead them into a trap," Discord suggested.
"Not just a nice set of tits," Tigercat commented approvingly before he wisely hid behind Foxtail.
"Battle Guy – we have a plan," Hit Girl began.
..._...
The Marauder known as Hydra peered down West 46th Street and she frowned.
"You see what I'm seeing?" she asked the nearest Marauder.
"Hey, Hydra's found something," Savage called out to the others.
Less than forty or so yards away, a Fusion vigilante stood in the middle of the street alongside a pair of armour-clad animals. The vigilante looked surprised to have been caught out. Then one of the Marauders identified the vigilante.
"Foxtail!" Firebrand announced. "After her!"
All eight Marauders gave chase as Foxtail and her animals bolted down an alleyway which crossed over towards South McDowell Avenue. The Marauders were smart and four of them ran down McDowell while the rest remained in pursuit of their prey. Nobody considered for a moment that it might be a ruse – they all wanted blood and Foxtail was fair game in their book.
"Get the fuck back here, you fuckin' bitch!" Firebrand yelled.
..._...
Foxtail was not convinced that she had the easy part of the tasking.
The mutts were having the time of their young lives as they ran along on either side of Foxtail, crossing through a parking lot onto West 47th Street. But Foxtail did not have to run the full 750-yards to the ambush site. At South Ada Street, she took a right and dived behind some trees before she was relieved by Bane who bolted out and took her place with a pair of fresh canines.
"Fun?" Venom enquired.
"Not bad," the out of breath Foxtail growled.
Bane had longer legs and she relished the run along West 47th Street – as did her canine escorts. The pursuing Marauders did not appear to notice that their target had changed but that was their problem. At South Racine Avenue Bane slowed and she stopped in the centre of the street. Eighty yards south of her, about a dozen Corsairs loitered under the closest working streetlight.
"Hey!" one yelled and they all ran at Bane.
"Bet you can't catch me, you dumb fucks!" Bane yelled as she sent a half-dozen bullets in their direction just to piss them off.
"Predators, Marauders – God, I hate them all!" the leader of the Corsairs growled.
The man hated fighting alongside the obnoxious and often conceited teenaged little shits. He had joined FEAR when his prison transport aircraft had been brought down into Chicago. He and dozens of his kin had readily signed up to a new life as a mercenary – the pay was good. He ran up the avenue, chasing the young vigilante bitch who had dared to shoot at him and his men. It wasn't until they had crossed West 47th Street and turned off the avenue into a container yard that the man had hesitated. His team had been joined by the damn Marauders and they were baying for blood.
He had no choice but to go along with them – he wanted a cut of Fusion, too.
Chicago Harbor
VIGILANTE
It was very cold out on the water.
However, Psyche was in her element and she was enjoying the night as they raced across the waves at speed. While she was wearing her full armour with face mask, she imagined the cold air on her face along with the stinging spray. Her groin hurt each time the craft crashed down into the waves, but she tolerated the pain as vigilantes and Predators were conditioned to ignore pain. Mindy would give her hell for it, but it was worth a little just to be out with the rest of the teams.
At the helm, Neptune sat in the right seat with Athena as his navigator. Aft, Ares stood in the well-deck with his hands resting on the triggers of a mounted M6E4 general-purpose machine gun. The purple-hulled craft tore across the waves at twenty-five knots leaving a churning wake of white water behind. They had had a fairly peaceful evening – their main job to ensure that FEAR could not escape via the lake.
"Vigilante, Emerald Alpha, we have business for you, Chicago Harbor, over."
..._...
Kick-Ass, Splinter, and Torment were back near the Buckingham Fountain.
Splinter was struggling – he had been wounded before the night's action had even begun – but the boy did not know how to quit. They were faced with armour-clad Corsairs, and they were outnumbered. Normally that would not be an issue, but Kick-Ass knew that pushing his younger counterparts would not be a good idea. They had support from the CPD, but several CPD officers were pinned down behind their SUVs. With the roar of powerful marine diesel engines, a sleek-hulled watercraft emerged out of the darkness from the direction Lake Michigan. The roar of the engines was closely followed by the staccato chatter of the machine guns mounted fore and aft.
The Corsairs' body armour was no match for the 7.62-millimetre bullets which tore into them, shredding them. Gunfire was returned, bullets from the Corsairs' weapons ripping through the air and narrowly missing the wildly jinking watercraft. The distraction provided by Vigilante aided the CPD in extracting themselves from the death-trap in which they had found themselves. Kick-Ass and Torment escorted the officers out of harm's way while Splinter added to the Vigilante's gunfire. For a few, very brief, moments, Splinter thought it was over and he could rest, but then the youngster's eyes were drawn to a bright flash in the darkness, six hundred yards to the northwest, then a flaming streak as a missile zoomed the very short distance towards Vigilante.
Splinter had no time to say anything as two more streaks appeared in the darkness, heading for the jinking vessel.
Six miles to the southwest
South Normal Boulevard
Ruby Alpha: Shadow, Hellcat, Fortune
Ruby Bravo: Mist, Piranha, Trojan
Opal Alpha: Jackal, Tempest, Cut-Throat
Opal Bravo: Raven, Wildcat, Nightmare
"It's a fucking trap!" Wildcat repeated for the sixth time in as many minutes.
"Yeah, I think we've got that, thanks," Shadow growled as she led the combined teams deep into the abandoned neighbourhood immediately to the south of the giant Norfolk Southern intermodal container terminal on 47th Street.
The forty-five-acre neighbourhood within the railroad tracks consisted of only a dozen or so dwellings, with the rest of the space left to grass. Most of the streets were in semi-darkness, with limited street lighting. As for innocents and collateral damage, it was the perfect place for an ambush.
"Why are we even here?" Wildcat persisted.
"There are times that I wish I'd just ignored that little nine-year-old girl," Jackal muttered.
"No one can resist me," Wildcat responded as she looked up at her pal.
"Creepy," Jackal commented as he returned the twelve-year-old's look. "While Wildcat is generally as nutty as squirrel poo, I think she might have a point."
"Of course, I do!"
"Christ, talk about an ego!" Piranha commented.
"Get to fuck, fish girl!" Wildcat growled.
"Gobby, bitch."
"Cats eat fish," Wildcat pointed out.
"Lesbian, huh?" Piranha chuckled. "Not been eaten out by a cat before."
"You fucking. . ."
"Another word and I slap the fuck outta both of you!" Mist growled as she glared at both vigilantes. "We keep moving. Intel shows something here and we're going to find it."
Hellcat and Fortune moved forwards, side by side, their blades held out before them, ready for anything appearing out of the darkness. After another minute, there was a sound – Hellcat barely heard it, but it was definitely something that wasn't just background noise. Then her sixth sense told the young girl that something was wrong – very wrong. Instinctively, she brought up her Wakizashi to her right in readiness . . .
"I think I've found something," Hellcat whispered into her communications as her senses went wild.
The girl turned to where she believed there was danger just as a Katana emerged silently out of the darkness, aimed at her head.
..._...
Fortune had noticed Hellcat stiffening up she had braced her own blade ready for an attack.
Adrenalin surged through her body, heightening her senses and blocking out the fear which had come to the fore as they had entered the dark and foreboding area. The two girls were reasonably well matched in skill-level, but Hellcat had more combat experience than Fortune, so the older girl deferred to the younger. Fortune's senses were going wild, just as they were for Hellcat; she could feel something close by – she could feel the danger. Then she heard the blade sweeping through the air and she intercepted it, just as Hellcat's blade came into contact with a very similar blade.
Whomsoever was in control of the blade – they were good.
..._...
Mist caught the same vibe in the air.
Her four-foot long, seven-section chain whip coursed through the air, catching the neck of some unfortunate, causing the unseen person to yell out in pain as his neck was torn apart by the viciously sharp tip of the whip. His scream, which faded very quickly, woke everybody up to the threat which rapidly emerged out of the darkness.
It was something new – very new!
Emerald Bravo: Petra, Stormtide, Relentless
The night sky was lit up for a few seconds as the rumble of a loud explosion spread across the city.
The three vigilantes were about a mile from the explosion, but each turned to see what had exploded. They could not see the source of the explosion, of course, but they all felt that something was very badly wrong. For a moment, they faltered and the Sicilians whom they were fighting momentarily gained the upper hand, but the three vigilantes soon rallied, and they pushed back against the Mafiosos.
Then it came, the announcement that none had ever wanted to hear.
The Battle Bunker
Ember was hard at work maintaining the status boards when suddenly one of the ginormous wall-mounted screens began to flash in the bottom right corner.
Simultaneously, a klaxon sounded within the bunker. Hal raced over to the console and her face drained of all colour as she identified the source of the alert. Neither she, nor Battle Guy wanted to voice the beginning of a nightmare. But announced it had to be.
"Fusion, Vigilante is down hard . . . repeat, Vigilante is down hard!"
South Racine and West 47th Street
Diamond Alpha Team: Hit Girl, Discord, Bane, Tigercat, Eisenhower
Diamond Bravo Team: Foxtail, Venom, Rage, Fury
As the team fought amongst the containers, pursuing the marauding Marauders and fighting off the Corsairs, the announcement was a rude awakening to the seriousness of the night's activities.
Hit Girl and Foxtail exchange glances across the action, as did Rage and Fury. It was an unwelcome distraction in the middle of a difficult fight. All four of them now had the mental image of at least one person close to them in danger . . . or worse. However, they were all professionals, and they pushed their worries to the backs of their minds. The fight was difficult enough as Corsairs had to be put down while the Marauders had to be put down – but kept alive. Neither task was proving easy but there were already two unconscious Marauders littering the container storage site, with more to come.
From an outsider's point of view, the container site appeared to be out of control – armour-clad dogs dashed everywhere, along with armour-clad vigilantes, armour-clad Corsairs, and semi-armour-clad youths, otherwise known as Marauders. However, it was a major battle with many trying to kill the Fusion vigilantes from all sides. Yes, it was a Fusion trap, but it was also a perfect free for all.
Fusion, though, was winning.
Chicago Harbor
The decidedly soggy vigilante drifted in the water for a moment, her special-forces lifejacket fully inflated and keeping her afloat.
Then her mind snapped back to life and the noise, the cold, it came back to her. She could hear gunfire coming from her left, onshore. Ahead of her, the high-rise towers of Chicago towered above her. The waves lapped at her body as she floated, and she felt herself being pushed towards the shore. To her right, the fiercely burning hulk of what had once been a luxuriously appointed watercraft-turned-assault-vessel crackled and spat as the flames touched the cold waters of Lake Michigan. Psyche span around in the water as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She levelled her pistol at the man looming out of the darkness, but she quickly calmed down as she recognised Neptune. The naval officer was floating in his own lifejacket, with Ares and Athena beside him.
"You, okay, Psyche?"
"I'm fine – you?"
"We're all good. Let's get to shore."
..._...
A Corsair saw movement at the water's edge and he grinned at the sight of four people climbing out of the water.
Easy targets. . .
"Fucking bastard!" Psyche growled as she double-tapped the man in the head with her pistol.
She released her inflated lifejacket and abandoned it to fall to the ground, as did the rest of her team. On water, Neptune took charge, but on land, Psyche was the ranking vigilante. All three drew pistols and they followed Psyche up towards Highway 41. Four Corsairs saw them and they changed course to intercept. But before they could get off a round, one grew a blade out of his chest while another grew a blade through the front of his neck. The final pair? They both rose into the air before being smashed together and then thrown bodily to the stonework which covered the sidewalk. Each then had their skulls almost smashed in by a pair of green/yellow armoured gauntlets.
"Good to see you alive, pal," Kick-Ass called out as he ran his glowing yellow eyes over his daughter, looking for injuries.
"I'm fine – no injuries," Psyche offered quickly, assuaging her father's fears.
"Good to hear it – Neptune?"
"We're all fine, Kick-Ass," Neptune replied.
"Nothing like an invigorating swim," Ares commented.
"Shame about the boat – Hit Girl'll be pissed, I'll bet," Athena added.
"She'll get over it," Kick-Ass chuckled as he nonchalantly waved his gauntlet before turning to Psyche. "You'd better announce to everyone that you are alive," he suggested.
Psyche nodded, and she keyed her radio.
"Reports of my demise are very much exaggerated," Psyche announced over the Fusion communications channel.
"Damn!" Rage commented after a few seconds. "I thought I was going to get her room, too."
"Little shit!" Psyche responded tartly.
South Racine and West 47th Street
Diamond Alpha Team: Hit Girl, Discord, Bane, Tigercat, Eisenhower
Diamond Bravo Team: Foxtail, Venom, Rage, Fury
The fight was winding down.
The dogs were each paired off with a vigilante and the pairs searched the containers for any hidden stragglers. Three Marauders were unaccounted for, as were two Corsairs. Foxtail followed Blade as he followed a scent towards a small group of large containers stacked three high but with a narrow alleyway between two stacks. It was pitch dark, but Blade indicated that something, or somebody, was down there. Foxtail raised her P90 and pressed the button for the LED flashlight attached beside the muzzle. The dark alleyway was illuminated for twenty feet and Foxtail moved forwards, cautiously. After forty or so feet, Blade began to growl, and he slowed down, sniffing. Then a voice called out.
"I don't want to fight anymore . . . please, I give up."
It was the voice of a young girl and Foxtail turned to the right slightly and she illuminated a Marauder. The girl, who appeared to be very young, pulled off her mask and weapons, dropping them to the ground. Blade sniffed and growled as the weapons fell. Foxtail could see the fear in the young girl's eyes.
"I am Foxtail – get down on your knees."
The girl followed instructions and she allowed Foxtail to pat her down, looking for any hidden weapons.
"I am not a Marauder, I am, or was, a Predator like you, Foxtail. They forced me to fight and I hated it."
"We shall see. I will not kill you. Should your story be true, then you will survive this."
By the time Foxtail emerged from the alleyway between the container stacks with her prisoner and Blade, there was a row of kneeling Marauders, their hands on their heads, masks and weapons on the ground before them. Most looked pissed, but some appeared relieved. Their eighth compatriot was pushed down to her knees at the end of the line.
"You will all be restrained and taken somewhere safe – your status will be evaluated at a later time," Hit Girl announced as she paced before the Marauders. "You resist, then you will suffer. You do as you are told – and you have my word – you will live."
Tigercat, Bane, and Discord finished securing each Marauder's hands behind their backs with flexicuffs and Duct tape. Each was given a thorough pat down before being hauled to their feet and pushed into a pair of waiting CPD vans – four to a van. Hit Girl watched until the last of them were secured and placed in a van. The vans would go to a special location so that the kids could be screened and logged – Marcus would take care of that with Vicky. Hit Girl was feeling a little happier about events – her daughter was alive, as was the entire team, despite her having lost a valuable asset. But assets could be replaced, people could not. She was also very pleased that despite some injuries, the Marauders were all alive. The next problem was the new threat a couple of miles away.
Ninjas?
A little over a mile to the southeast
Ruby Alpha: Shadow, Hellcat, Fortune
Ruby Bravo: Mist, Piranha, Trojan
Opal Alpha: Jackal, Tempest, Cut-Throat
Opal Bravo: Raven, Wildcat, Nightmare
"They aren't ninjas," Shadow commented over her communications to Hit Girl as she fought.
"Why do you say that?" Hit Girl replied.
"They don't fight like the ninjas we've fought – they're just different; I can't explain it any better."
"Hit Girl?" Mist cut in. "You heard of Shinobi?"
"No – we have enough problems," Hit Girl growled in response.
"Suit yourself!" Mist replied as she battled against a sword-wielding man who wore conformal body armour.
"We need help, here!" Wildcat growled. "The fuckers are multiplying."
Indeed, they were. What had started as a mere dozen attackers had quickly doubled and then trebled in number. The dozen vigilantes were surrounded and despite their skills, they were becoming overwhelmed by the unknown attackers. Mist was worried, as was Shadow. They were seasoned fighters and very disciplined – nothing like FEAR's rabble of Corsairs and crazed Predators. They weren't anything like the Sicilian Mafia, nor the Russian heavies, they exuded skill and purpose, rather than just muscle.
"Reinforcements are less than two minutes out!" came the radio call.
South Wentworth Avenue
Diamond Alpha Team: Hit Girl, Discord, Bane, Tigercat, Eisenhower
Diamond Bravo Team: Foxtail, Venom, Rage, Fury
The avenue ran north-south above and along the edge of the Dan Ryan Expressway.
Hound and Sentinel flew down the avenue at speed. Fury looked behind her from the backseat in Sentinel. She could see Titan several yards behind, and beside the giant vehicle, as escort, came Foxtail on her motorcycle. Then, just as the gigantic vehicle and the diminutive motorcycle passed a large building to their left, there was a rumbling sound and as Fury stared transfixed, the building beside Titan began to disintegrate. Foxtail noticed, and she accelerated hard just as the façade of the building collapsed across the street.
Titan was buried under tons of masonry and the last the astounded and horrified girl saw of Foxtail was her motorcycle as it spun across the blacktop and smashed into a parked car. The sound of the collapsing building was deafening, and the convoy skidded to a halt as bricks and chunks of concrete bounced down the street and down onto the Dan Ryan Expressway.
"Titan, Hit Girl, over. . ."
"Titan, Hit Girl, over. . ."
"Titan, Hit Girl, over. . ."
There was no response from anybody in the fourteen-ton armoured vehicle that had completely vanished under the onslaught of collapsed building.