Sentinel Park
Missy was looking around the park. She knew what she was looking for was here but the exact location was a mystery. She was carrying a package. It wasn't large but she didn't want to go too far out of the way with it.
Spotting her target she sped up. She rounded the restrooms to find 'Pop-pop' filling a water jug from the public fountain.
"Hey, there little Lady, I recognize you. You here to see JD?" The gangly old man asked.
"Yes sir. Do you mind if I borrow him for a bit?" She asked something about his mannerisms made her feel like she should be formal.
"He needs to look up from his work now and then. Go ahead" he replied, smiling at her and gesturing towards the truck.
Missy rounded the back and looked into the open back doors.
JD was looking through a magnifying glass at an open cell phone. Small components were laid out in a plastic tray.
"Hey?" Missy abruptly interrupted.
JD gave a start then looked up "Uhh Can I help you?"
"Yes you may, I got a deal on a family-size fried chicken and it's more than I can eat. You can help me eat all this."
JD frowned "Do you think just because I'm from the south I have to like fried chicken?"
"Well, don't you?" She asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. Ok, sure I'll bite. Did Vicky put you up to this or was it your idea?" He said securing the tray and phone to work on later.
"All mine," Missy said, backing up to let him out.
"Good, felt like she could be a bit pushy. I'd hate to think she'd guilted you into this."
"Nah I noticed you trying not to look at me when she was asking who you liked. How's your foot?"
"Foot? Fine, why do you ask?"
"I was under the impression you hurt it. Didn't you get it cut?"
He stomped his foot hard. "Seems fine to me."
"It was the other one"
He switched feet and did a couple of hops. "So other than being concerned about people's podiatric health, what sort of hobbies do you have?"
Missy had hoped he would be more forthcoming about his true identity. But if she was going to play normal she could play along for a while "Let's use those tables over there. Hobbies? Martial arts I guess. Parahuman trivia."
"Neat a girl who can take care of herself then. Thinking about being a cop or PRT agent? If you want to get in with a cop, that dude practicing guitar down there is engaged to a policewoman." JD said, indicating a long-haired guy in a Motörhead tee shirt.
"I guess that would dovetail with my hobbies pretty well." Missy mused
"Do something that you love and work will never feel like a chore" JD advised.
"So you like fixing electronics?" Missy asked while setting out the dishes.
"Hell no. I am good at it however and with Pop-pop unable to turn the truck into a Barbecue joint we're sort of stuck." JD explained sitting down and helping sort the space so they both could eat.
"That's a food truck, why can't you do that?" Miss inquired. As she started to serve out the side dishes.
"Because we're living in it. Breaks health code. Too bad, by Bailey's Law we should have been a hit."
"Bailey's Law?" Missy gestured for him to get what he wanted from the bucket of assorted deep-fried poultry portions.
"The quality of food at a Barbecue joint is inversely proportional to the expense of the facility" JD quoted between bites.
"What?"
"Fine building, fancy menus, ostentatious ornaments, and luxurious chairs? Shit Barbecue. If you're sitting on an upside-down bucket eating off newsprint spread over an old powerline spool in a rusty tin shack behind a cornfield? Five-star food, it will beat any meal you've ever had." JD replied, gesturing with a chicken bone
"Really?"
"Seldom seen Professor Bailey's theorem fail. Never seen it completely overturned." He explained while taking another piece
"So you came all the way from Tennessee to start a restaurant?"
"The small towns are safe from Endbringer attacks. They don't see a lot of Parahuman crime. On the other hand, the Fallen or Slaughterhouse Nine can stop by and the whole town is gone.
"When the big day comes, the big cities are where you will have to be to live."
"Big day?" Missy asked, passing him a soda.
"The Endbringers are killing the world. When someone decides to cut and run. They'll open Professor Haywire-like portals or something they aren't going to be herding people in from the boonies. They save the people in the cities and the hell with the rest. I feel like this conversation is depressing and I'm talking about myself too much. Tell me something about you."
Missy fumed a bit. She'd been hoping to gather useful intel he'd responded with interesting but shallow and useless information. "You're clever I can't argue with that but I didn't learn much about you. I mean the real you. But, I'll bite sure something real about me? I can't stand my parents.
"My Dad was sick and potentially fatal. My Mom had an affair with his brother. He sold my mom's dogs to get back at her. None of them thought about me.
"Mom didn't think what will this do to my daughter if I end up breaking up while she's grieving that her dad's dying.
"My dad didn't stop and ask 'Isn't Missy attached to these dogs.' They've been our pets her whole life.
"I'm just a pawn they can use in their game of hurting each other" Missy looked down that had taken more out of her to say than she'd thought it would.
JD gave Missy a sympathetic look. "You are pretty strong to keep it together when all of that is going on. I'll tell you a story. Maybe it will tell you something about me."
Missy looked up "Is it a true story?"
"Well, I'll let you decide for yourself. First picture a different world. One with parahumans but not earth Bet." He started
"Like Alpeth?"
"Sort of. Things happen sort of differently there. The Golden Age lasted longer rather than being scared of competing with parahumans corporations and investors were eager to invest and ride their coattails. Tech advanced at a fever pace. The world's problems started to vanish: pollution, hunger, deforestation, and even overpopulation.
Capes heroes and rogues alike are basically rockstars. Everyone wants a piece of the pie. Two problems start: there is a group of humans who resent the changes to them no matter how much Capes benefit humanity they claim Capes being treated special is wrong.
The other side is Capes who ask why do anything for an ungrateful humanity at all. They insisted Capes should be a power unto themself. Only answerable to each other."
"So self-centered jerks on both ends ruining things for everyone."
JD gave a nod and sipped his drink before continuing "Things degrade further the worst assholes among the Capes start a movement renouncing all morality. The governments order tighter control to use powers you have to do it how they say when they say it. The mandate gets tighter and tighter till it's basically just slavery they literally had people worked to death. Escapes and rebellions happened and bolstered the very side the government feared and so the spiral tightened.
"Took a long time but during all that, some Capes decided to vanish. They disappeared from public life and stopped openly using their powers. Pick a quiet little out-of-the-way place similar to Iron City. It had a similar fate too.
"One day some evil bastards showed up and no one had the resources to watch every out-of-the-way place. So those small communities became their hunting grounds."
"Sounds like the Slaughterhouse Nine more than Forsaken. Despite the occasional big hit that makes them famous they tend to attack and wipe out small places far more frequently." Missy speculated.
"Perhaps so but the people of town prove their mettle. They stand with the heroes among them to fight off the attack. Then they tell the family to run while they clam up and delay the investigation.
"The family gets the idea to find a town already depopulated. They move in with new IDs only, they also keep an eye out for other under-the-radar Capes."
"A hidden refuge?"
"Exactly. They pull other Capes and human families of such in. All past sins are granted amnesty. Keeping your nose clean and quiet is all they ask. It works beautifully. Till the day it doesn't."
"What happened?"
"Hard to say. Maybe it was a random chance, or someone was careless, or they had a Judas. Whatever happened they wake up one day and behold tanks on the perimeter, helicopters, and jets in the sky, all radio bands ordering them not to move or risk attack.
"Negotiations start but are cut off. The Capes detect incoming missiles. The first wave is shot down but as they break up Geiger counters sound out. They're not here to defeat anyone, they are here to annihilate. They are out a few missiles but they are going to use however many it takes.
"And that was the day the refuge died. The last free spot for Capes is gone. The last candle in the dark snuffed. The End." JD finished.
"That's horrible, didn't anyone get away?"
"They have to have fled to another world. That sort of tech was only just being researched. If there was a way out only a few would have made it running for whatever world they could get to. Refugees once again. But, this is Earth Bet, maybe our world can do better." JD said, staring off into the clouds.
Missy was looking at JD pondering the story she'd just heard. 'Was this the world Nova was from?' If the governments there forced parahumans into slavery the idea of child slave soldiers was quite possible.
Missy's Protectorate phone rang just as both teens heard the sound of helicopters. A group of them flew overhead in formation like a flight of geese.
"I got to go!" Both teens exclaimed then raised their eyebrows in surprise. Rather than acknowledge the simultaneous exclamation both ran in opposite directions.
On Route
Piggott was furious. A major operation had been launched in her city and she had been completely out of the loop.
She had ordered a plainclothes agent to prep a car and drive her to the center of this insult. As she rode she was busy calling and texting everyone that might have some knowledge of what was going on.
Now as she exited the car she threw a livid glare at the pavilions that were the command site for all this activity. In the midst of the storm there, he was Thomas Calvert. She hated that man. He had been with one of the other teams investigating Ellisburg. That was before it became the containment zone for the mad Parahuman Nilbog.
Piggott had survived her health shattered. Her body had to survive via dialysis and other medical interventions. A desk job consolation prize for her sacrifice was her only reward.
The other survivor Calvert made it intact by betraying his own. Cleared of criminal charges it should have been the end of his career but the man had more lives than a cat.
They were worlds apart in attitude and goals. They were equally different in physical appearance. Thomas was a tall African American who was thin to nearly being cadaverous. Pigott upon leaving the active part of the PRT had not kept up her physical regimen. As well as her body's damage had sent her weight climbing ever higher.
As she marched towards him the thought that they looked like a permanent marker set next to a boiled egg came to her. It did nothing to improve her sour mood.
"Calvert, what the hell are you doing in my city? I'm the regional director here for God's sake."
"A region that is compromised by leaks to the E88. We've taken a page from the old mob breakers. Practically no one local is in the loop. That way there are no leaks. Clean busts, no time to burn documents and erase data. Today the E88 falls" Calvert responded without even looking at her.
"You have NuWave doing your work for you. You could have let the local
Protectorate in on your operation. There is no way you acquired so many waivers to break standing protocol."
"I did let one know he arranged the schedule so that he'd have all hands on deck today. A moment ago I gave Armsmaster the go orders. He is assaulting the hardest target with overwhelming force."
"You mean he kept this from me! How dare he. And how do you know where the dangerous part is? How did you get warrants for all this!"
"The DEA got the warrants. I only expedited cross-department cooperation. We were able to acquire a nearly undetectable chemical tag that the processing stages wouldn't destroy. Shipments of chemicals to Medhall were spiked. When the same chemical showed up in narcotics sold by the E88, then we had plenty of evidence for warrants."
Piggott looked around "Then you put Medhall under surveillance. that churned up charges on the civilian identities of Brockton Capes. When the Parahumans learn you're breaking the unwritten rules you can kiss your alliances goodbye!"
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about. We found many employees of Medhall were involved in illicit activity. We have warrants based on that evidence. If any of them turn out to be Capes it would be a complete surprise. Perhaps a welcome one, but a surprise nonetheless. NuWave is contracted to bring several higher-placed Medhall associates. Their job is to safeguard these people from potential attack."
"Then who are you having Armsmaster sack?"
"It just so happened that we discovered Hookwolf's hideout. He is there with Storm Tiger Cricket and those twins Kaiser is so fond of." Calvert dispassionately revealed.
"Sir we have a response to the communications blackout around James Fleischer. Flash Bang and Shielder have captured Kreig it seems. Mister Fleischer revealed his true nature in an escape attempt."
"How sad." Calvert dryly commented.
"Who else do we have? I mean off the books, who do we have?" Pigott asked. Seething but in need of information to work with.
"Lady Photon and Brandish brought in the CEO Maxwell Anders, most likely Kaiser. I have people questioning his ex-wife. We have to take care of spousal privilege but the DA says she's being very helpful. The Dalton sisters have brought in Tammy Fleischer, no relation to James. She's likely Rune. Normal troopers have brought in Alabaster. Shortly Laser Dream and Manpower will bring in Othala and Victor given they are who we suspect"
"That's all of them," Piggott responded. If he snagged the entire Empire in a single day she couldn't see an angle of attack. There had to be some way to recover face.
"I don't settle for half measures. This operation was critically planned to do just that. This is the end of Empire 88. Even if a few evade us everything that made them dangerous is gone. Everything that rendered them a formidable force will break beyond rebuilding. This is a permanent change larger than when the Brockton Bay Brigade stopped Marquis." Calvert stated.
"You could have let me know. You kept me out of the loop because you're angling to take my job, is that it?" Piggot accused him.
"I have built my career on delivering on my promises. I obtain results regardless of the impediments I face. I also take whatever help I can get regardless of any personal feelings or misgivings. I don't cling to excuses for low performance." Calvert said his volume lowering as he spoke till the end was barely more than a whisper.
"What are you implying!" Piggott almost shouted.
"Perhaps if you had fewer grudges and a better relationship with the local Parahumans you would be more effective and in better health. This City does boast the greatest healer in the world."
"My health is not any of your business."
"Your physical health no but your state of mind? That should be of great importance. Why else would you not seek her assistance than a deep mistrust of Parahumans? Perhaps that mistrust has clouded your vision to avenues of opportunity."
"The day I require advice from a man who shot another in the back to save his own life is the day-" Piggott started.
"That the E88 is wiped out? We have work to do, director. We can't sit and humor your need for attention any further. If the DEA or anyone else needs you I'll forward them your number." Calvert said, turning and walking away.
Piggott opened her mouth ready with a retort but two large agents stepped into her path. Looking around she saw no allies. Her phone calls abroad had done nothing. She had no official way to force her way into this.
She still had a few resources to call on. She pulled out her phone as she left. She'd find a way to salvage this.
Hookwolf's Arena
Max had warned his people of the raid. The timing was such that there was not much they could do with the warnings. Victor and Othala we're taking care of a secret server that held E88's illicit financial records.
Brad knew running wasn't going to work for him. He had a power that was too distinctive to create a new Cape identity. He was already a killer with an automatic life sentence to the Bird Cage. His best bet was to tie up as much force for as long as feasible.
Cricket and Storm Tiger were too loyal to Brad to cut and run. Fenja and Menja were only here by chance. They had been working on their combat skills. When the call came.
The twins were stubborn and despite Max's hasty instructions for them to flee and lay low, they weren't having it.
A large circle of concrete from the ceiling fell. Following it was an RPG fitted with a flash-bang style payload. Armsmaster and Dauntless entered the former descending a zip line, the other floating.
Velocity, Assault, and Battery used their super speed to penetrate the perimeter. The alarm seemed more of fanfare for their arrival than an early warning. Of more concern, Velocity had a possibly tinker tech weapon slung over his back.
Miss Militia and Triumph could be seen looking down from opposite sides of the hole in the ceiling.
Brad was the only one of his crew who was standing in the light. He was standing alone in the arena off-center enough that the falling block missed him. The others were a few feet away in the shadows.
Dauntless stopped in mid-air halfway to the floor placing him in the middle of the arena space. Armsmaster pointed his Halberd
"Give yourself up and this will go easier. Given the desperation of your circumstances, we are pre-approved to use lethal force if you resist." The hero authoritatively announced.
"That would be tempting but I think I would rather die than spend my life locked up like a rat. Death would be my preferred outcome. The question is how many of you can I kill on the way out." Brad sneered.
"So be it," Armsmaster replied
It was Miss Militia who acted upon those words. Another RPG streaked from her launcher Brad dodged but when the grenade exploded a wave of sticky gummy gel enveloped the area. He transformed. His flesh vanished behind a surge of blades, hooks, and spears. The gel kept sealing behind the slices filling back in after every move.
Fenja grew to her full height. Dauntless struck at her with his spear only to have it deflected by her shield. Menja shot up to half as large as her sister and thrust her spear under Dauntless' guard. It managed to pierce his armor and draw blood from his calf.
Her excitement was short-lived as she was struck by Triumph's sonic roar attack and shoved sprawling to the earthen floor.
Storm Tiger tossed blades of air at the hero. Triumph dodged back from the roof opening. Miss Militia however was descending the zip line Armsmaster left.
Armsmaster glanced at Assault and Battery. They were double-teaming Cricket who for her part was dodging every attack. That had been anticipated Velocity was only waiting for an opening. His speed would overcome her sonar and fast reaction time.
Hookwolf was starting to make progress with the gel. He was sending broader blades to separate its mass. He'd then move portions of his own semi-amorphous body into the space he'd made.
Estimating his time, Armsmaster raced toward Fenja. He made a downward stroke that forced her to parry with the haft of her spear. The strength behind the blow forced her to brace. Armsmasters' aiming system targeted a vein throbbing with the effort to match his power armored strength.
With a barely audible "pssst" the hypodermic dart hit and injected her with a potent sedative. Made to nullify Lung, the thirty-foot Valkyrie had no prayer to withstand it. She collapsed in a heap and slowly started to shrink.
Menja, seeing her sister fall, pushed herself to get up. Pain exploded all over her. It felt like she was back fighting Lung like she was being roasted alive in the flames.
Miss Militia had pointed a weapon at her. It was a duplicate of the one Velocity had. Dragon had sent a microwave pain gun, an experimental military device. She made it smaller not by tinker tech per se but by the inclusion of one of Danger's power cells. Upon testing it the patriotic heroine found her power able to morph into a duplicate of that weapon.
The Heroes had planned to use the devices on Hookwolf. Now the well-armored Nazi Valkyrie was paying the price for her metal protection. That suited Hannah just fine.
A spear of metal drove into one of the support pillars and a wave of sharp scrap metal followed it. Behind this, the deformed gumdrop of gel snapped back from its deformed state. The scrap reformed into the customary canine form of the scrap metal shapeshifter Hookwolf.
Armsmaster charged counting on Miss Militia to guard his back. His halberd changed configuration and the edge of the blade became blurry as a slight hum started.
The Nano-thorn blade was made to rip matter apart at the molecular level. Armsmaster had designed the weapon for combating the dense flesh of the Endbringers. While he had never intended to turn it on for a lesser threat lethal force had been authorized. The weapon could theoretically cut through Hookwolf's metal scrap body and find the vulnerable core of organs.
The exchange that followed was brutal even by the standards of Brockton. Caught by surprise the first few thrusts sliced away hunks of Brad's body. While he could summon more metal to replace what was lost doing so took effort. Brad started changing tactics hammering at the flat of the weapon, the haft, and even Armsmaster's body. Brad proved why he was such a feared fighter.
Most Parahumans relied upon their power to such an extent they forsook other training. Colin, however, had never been that sort. He had few friends and less personal life. He was not Hookwolf's equal in hand-to-hand combat but he knew his weapons. He had studied combat forms that used the halberd and knew the systems of his power armor with an easy familiarity.
The result was the two fell into a stalemate each checking and then countering the other. Brad's exhausting struggle to escape the salvaged Bakuda gel bomb perhaps tipped things a bit. Neither was more than tangentially aware of the battle around them.
Dauntless had staunched his wound and returned to the fight. He had distracted Cricket with a sudden stroke of his spear. This hit her just as she was doing a leaping dodge to spoil an attack from velocity. Velocity's high-speed hit only grazed her. Dauntless' spear sank deep into her upper chest near the shoulder.
Battery flashed over to Assault striking him on the back. He absorbed and redirected the kinetic energy into a jump kick that hit Cricket just before she landed and sent her flying. She crashed into the recently vacated gumdrop.
As Assault had seen at the battle with Oni Lee the gel would seal the wound and stop the bleeding.
Velocity had added the power of his weapons to Miss Militia's attack. Both had started tossing confoam grenades now that Menja was smaller.
Dauntless spun and joined Triumph. The holding action again Storm Tiger started to turn. The quick addition of Assault and Battery sent the aero kinetic to the mat.
With that, the full force of a tired but resolute Protectorate joined their commander. Senses overloaded by pain battered by halberd spear and sonic blasts Brad started to slow. Assault and Battery dashed around using the team's grenades then rushed out to retrieve a pair of confoam sprayers. Soon the infamous pit fighter, the bulwark of the E88's ability to hold off Lung, faltered and was trapped in the air-permeable foam.
Armsmaster nodded. "Good work team. We'll all be getting some well-deserved recognition for this.
Back Alleys of Downtown
Laserdream dropped her dad at ground level and flew to the roof. The PRT agents were behind just out of sight. They remained in their vans. They were ready to move in any direction.
It was not known why Othala and Victor had fled to this location. They took off from their home driving for this building at breakneck speed. They had to abandon their car and run through an alley as this place had no street access.
It was a simple two-story building and the surrounding places were taller. The only thing to indicate that it wasn't abandoned was the loud hum of a powerful air conditioning unit. Neil shoved the front door open, breaking the hinges. Crystal cut the roof access lock with a laser blast and headed inside.
Crystal floated down not trusting the rusty roof ladder. She was surprised by how hot it was. The air was filled with the sounds of powerful fans. The simple metal stairs down revealed banks of computer racks. Victor was typing with undoubtedly stolen skill and nearly inhuman speed upon a keyboard.
Othala was calling out to him that Manpower had come through the front door. Crystal smiled, this was going to be easy.
"Whatever you're doing, stop! You are both wanted for questioning regarding your employer Medhal. Any aggressive actions will be met with force!" She announced raising her hands to indicate that she was prepared to back that up with a laser blast.
The married pair of villains looked at her then over to her ever-closing father Neil.
"You should probably listen guys, she means business. Besides that, your work isn't doing anyone any good. I already infiltrated these systems and stole what money could be reached and even as we speak copies of the data you are erasing are being uploaded to the web." A familiar voice came from under the stairs.
Crystal turned sideways so she could look without presenting her back to Victor. "Doctor. We aren't here for you. Leave now and we won't pursue."
Manpower added. "She's right we were to take these two into custody. That would prevent us from following your trail if you take off now."
"Tempting guys but a bit premature. I came here with a purpose. I have an offer for Victor and Othala. Renounce racism and the Empire 88 then pledge your loyalty to me and I will get you both out of here. Or stick to your beliefs and go to jail together. Neither of you is on your third strike so this isn't a life or death affair, pick whichever your convictions drive you towards. A word of warning, I can read your bio signs even with Victor's skills it will be hard to lie to me." Danger stated.
"You are not walking out of here! Not now, not after that." Neil snarled.
"I absolutely assure you, I am. However, there is no need to make this personal. This is just business. Business, which should be conducted in a business-like fashion. First comes the answer, then repercussions. So out with it, both of you there is little time for debate."
"Yes" Victor called
"Yes," Othala followed a half-second behind.
Crystal created a dome around the mad scientist trusting her father to deal with the other two.
"I would say I'm sorry but I don't want to lie to you. I do regret that your family had to be the target." Danger said with a regretful frown.
Then the world exploded.
Boat Graveyard
Aegis looked to his fellow Wards "This is something we will seldom get the chance to do. Piggot might have her own reason for doing it but she is giving us a chance to capture real villains by ourselves. Make no mistakes. If we screw this up we will be in as much trouble as Piggot can toss at us and likely whatever her replacement can pile atop that."
Kid Win shook his head "Should we even be doing this? Nova got called away to help Panacea, Gallant is down with whatever knocked all of NuWave out. Now the PRT guys are saying there is another Cape in that old warehouse with Skidmark and Squealer."
"If you want to cut and run Kid go we don't need babies fouling this up," Shadow Stalker said with dripping scorn.
"We don't need that either Stalker. Hold it together everyone there are still six of us to three of them. What punks they have left are only armed with pistols and a few shotguns" Browbeat interjected.
"IF we can count on the intel. Never forget that knowledge is never one hundred percent accurate." Vista offered.
Clock shrugs "We still got this we have the plan we have the skill and we have a surprise."
"That being said we need to modify the plan Win you said your new guns were reconfigurable?" Aegis asked.
"Yeah inspired by that multi-effect pistol Danger uses. I couldn't pack everything into one package but I have clips with different effects. Two can fit in a pistol at once giving me options and I can even swap the clips in them if we get a few seconds. Currently, this one has a laser and an electro-laser. That mimics the basic functions of Danger's gun."
Holding up his left he added, "This one has a pain disruptor and ultrasonic projector. Like he used to scramble everyone's balance at the museum." Kin Win reminded him.
"Swap out the left neither of those worked too well on druggies from Danger's own videos. Let's learn from our enemy's efforts against each other. Use the other pair you were talking about yesterday, the grapple repulsor beam." Aegis suggested.
"Ohh I got something better. This is another double clip it makes a space compression wave. It might even get through Skidmark's force field. It sends a gravity wave that pushes matter in its path in tests it can work a lot like a rubber bullet."
"Including that you have to avoid hitting the head or heart I'll bet. Ok, we need the edge but be very careful with it" Aegis decided.
"We still going in the front? Shadow Stalker asked.
"Yes, this costume was up-armored for this fight. I will rush in you cover me Vista will open the side enlarging that crack we saw. She and Clock will slip while Browbeat crashes the back door open and charges. Kid Win cuts a hole in the roof to hit them from above. Once in Vista will warp any vehicles we see before they can get in them. Clock will try to slip close to Skidmark and block him." Aegis ran down the bare bones of the plan.
Everyone nodded. He had a feeling they were about as prepared as they could be.
Remember the scenarios we worked up. If you see the chance to use any of the moves we'd worked out as counters to these pushers you use them. Even more important, look out for each other and keep them all contained. The PRT agents will close to foam up the lot of them." He finished as they broke and headed to their places.
The initial attack proved that no plan survives contact with the enemy. They had expected the warehouses to be a drug lab, filled with machines and stored chemicals. Something with lots of broken lines of sight and places to shelter.
What they walked into was a garage, rows of vehicles with relativity clear lines of sight. Some tables had been set up in the center. Where Skidmark was apparently planning. The gang's next move became a matter of immediate concern, not distance planning.
The volume of firepower leveled at the loud entry of front and back was well within the capacity of Browbeat's forcefield. Aegis however rolled to the side quickly to find cover behind an armored pickup. Even with the bulletproofing that many weapons hitting his costume would hit him like a prize boxer beating a cheap punching bag. He might live through that level of damage but it would take him out of the fight.
A large section of the ceiling fell toward the table only to be tossed aside by a sudden vortex of telekinesis. The Cape Skidmark was meeting with had been revealed. Whirlygig was a known but minor Cape who could make a tornado-like field of force around her body. Her spinning field grabbed the section of the roof as it fell and slung it. She either was better with her powers than she had let on or the Wards were very unlucky. The corrugated metal spun one circuit and then flew into Browbeat knocking him to the ground.
Kid Win saw the effect and rather than target Skidmark as planned he tased Whirlygig dropping her like a stringless marionette.
Skidmark used his power layering several fields sending the table he'd be using flying up to hit Kid. He didn't pause to see it knock Kid back up through the hole before screaming. "Get to the Rides you puss maggots! Get the fuck out! Converge on target one!"
Henchmen ran for the vehicles as they continued to fire their weapons. The cars all warped upwards stretching high while narrowing. Reaching the doors let alone getting in their warped shapes was now impossible.
"Find that little bitch Vista and fuck her up!" Squealer screamed.
Skidmark was rushing Aegis. The truck he had sheltered behind was unwarped as he was too close to it for Vista to warp it easily. A slick field appeared on the ground. As the meth-addicted villain collided with Aegis as he fell back into another field. That his foe had placed behind him. This one was angled to toss him away from the door.
Aegis was quicker than Skidmark counted on. Even as he was pushed away from the truck he maneuvered his body so his leg hooked his opponent's foot. Skidmark dangled from the door handle as his footing fouled. Before he could right himself a bolt stabbed into his neck. The long years of addiction had built up the foul-mouthed gang leaders' tolerance for drugs. Nothing in his bag of tricks prepped him for the next bolt which pinned his arm to the truck door. Shadow Stalker closed and laid into the pinned shoulder with the butt of her crossbow.
Neither noticed a laser had already stabbed into the hood and cut a path through the engine block. Kid Win had returned and was giving aerial support to his teammates.
Aegis rose and scanned the room. Whirligig was still down and with Kid Win in the high ground things looked good. Browbeat had risen and used the debris he had been knocked over with as an impromptu shield. He was bashing thugs about to great effect. Vista had her newly issued snap baton out and was wailing on Squealer. Clockblocker came around from the back side of the truck and slumped his shoulders.
"I ran all this way and you already got him?"
"We didn't have all day to wait on your slow ass" Shadow Stalker commented.
"We only have to hold them for a few more seconds I can see the reinforcements" Aegis called out
"Well then still time to have a little fun. Shall we?" Clock asked.
"Indeed we fucking shall" Shadow Stalker replied as the three joined their teammates in finishing off the thugs