CountOrlok777: oh God. watching er reading about Diana lecturing will about vengeance and him siccing Morris on her is fucking hilarious.
Re: Even someone like Wonder Woman can be caught completely by surprise~
Jebest4781: This was great and enjoyed how this went. Can't wait to see what you'll do next in this and getting closer to the initial Young Justice events.
Re: Yeah, once I'm done laying the groundwork, I can skip straight into the missions themselves at the chapter's start, if not the most-interesting dialogue of the briefings.
Cousin687: Sweet Mary and Fucking Joseph you keep making this kid scarier and freakier with each passing arc. I was sold when he got the Nano-Suit but oh fuck. You done give him powers too. The suit already made him like Doomsday but now he's got the power to fuck with Superman! Magic is Bullshit but I am so here for it.
Re: "The key has been turned."
That's the short of it. The long of it is, that Virgil may get crazier and crazier, but his sanity is still well within acceptable deviations; for now.
Church: Wow, what a ringing endorsement.
*Cue Background Explosion*
I am filled with confidence.
Re: Moving on, the Nanosuit is just a fancy suit, and even then it's only a prototype of what we see in the Crysis series itself. Now that he's neck-deep in all this nonsense he was once a spectator of, now he's "doomsday prepping" so he won't get "rolled over" by super-villains like Mercer ever again. Everyone else is fine "depending on" Heroes to save him, but Virgil, is not, because "the magic is gone".
As for the Doomsday comparison... We're talking an entity that can destroy planets. Virgil with the suit on is barely "city-block-levelling" strong. At present, the suit would only let him level a small one-story building. Two-story if he knew where the support beams were. Doomsday is a "nuke', Virgil in the Nanosuit is a "scalpel" in the hands of a first-year med school student.
UtopiaKnight39: Anyone else feel like Virgil was channeling the spirit of Katsuki Bakugo just a smidge in this chapter?
Re: I only had him channel "the spirit of Katsuki" back during the thing with the Oreo milkshakes. Back then I was being really obtuse about that.
This time around, it was a more-generalized declaration of his intent to kill, mixed with Merlin's [Exterminate Ray] from Seven Deadly Sins, and Shin Wolford's hydrogen-based [Fire Explosion] from Wiseman's Grandson.
Pathfinder097: Loved this chapter lots of laughs here...also is the Reynald Blade based or something or from another series?
Re: No, it's just a magical sword made of Nth Metal inspired by Arturian and Celtic lore. The sort of lore that tells you calling one of the Fey a "Fairy" is the magical equivalent of the N-Word. That or- "It's like the N-Word and the C-Word had a baby, and that baby was raised by all the bad words for Jews"
*CODED MESSAGE*
*WRMMMM!*
"Hey, what's with the sudden detour?" Virgil asked after the trade-off, York suddenly turning off the main road.
"Emergency deployment. We're going to New Mexico."
"What's the situation?" he asked in the face of York's serious tone.
"One of our VIPs is in danger of being abducted. The intel came in seconds ago, so we're re-routing."
"To New Mexico? Isn't that like… an entire day's drive without rest?"
"Twenty-seven hours give or take, but we aren't going by car."
"By plane?"
"Too slow."
"With what then?"
"Virgil… Did you have a light lunch?" Carolina asked.
"No."
" . . . This next part's going to suck then…"
"Huh…?"
*CODED MESSAGE*
Pulling up to an anonymous looking, high-end camper in C.E.L.L.'s colors, when Virgil and Carolina piled inside, they were greeted to the site of a high-tech-looking mobile laboratory, a little more-cluttered than the Transporter Bay from Star Trek.
"We were hoping to pop your cherry when there wasn't a high-priority mission waiting for you on the other side, but with how-important this guy will be to your future development, this can't wait…" Carolina said as she was handed a large attache case, which she quickly strapped to her body before stepping onto the raised pedestal.
"What… exactly am I getting into?" Virgil asked as he was handed a similar case. Peeking inside, he saw that inside was the Nanosuit, his Predator Bow, and an auto-quiver of arrows.
"We'll be transporting you to our FOB in New Mexico via Wormhole Transit Device," she answered.
Which was exactly the sort of shit that made him mistake the events surrounding Snake and his predecessors for someone's "media-induced, paranoid, delusional nightmare and shroom-induced military/fantasy fanfic"…
" . . . I'm gonna get 'teleporter sickness', aren't I?" he asked, knowing exactly where the weirdness that was his life was going to take him.
"In all likelihood, yes. Don't worry, your first time's the worst, but warping across space-time gets easier the more you do it," the red-head answered as a tech started spooling up the equipment, a high-tech ring lowering above her head.
"Night Snake, if you want, we can always tranquilize you for your first journey. You should be able to come to in time for your mission," the tech answered pointing to an aid kit.
"No, no, I'll be fine. How bad can 'teleporter sickness' be?"
Famous last words.
*CODED MESSAGE*
Gallup, New Mexico: CryNet FOB
December 21, 08:45 GMT
"GLUUUUUGH…!" Virgil cried as he upended the contents of his stomach moments after he had landed on the inflatable landing pad waiting for him. "HORRRRRRRK!"
Carolina's journey looked harmless enough; assuming a singularity in space-time resembling a setting sun behind a swirling mass of smoke and cinder-like particles could be called "harmless". At first he assumed you were supposed to stand up while being sucked in, but as it turned out, when gravity decided to fuck off to go fishing, Carolina went limp and let herself be drawn into the wormhole butt-first, her body disappearing as it entered the hole, which snapped shut behind her as the last of her extremities went through.
His own journey was much the same, the techs standing him up on the pedestal as a circular handrail rose up to waist level. It was a little disconcerting, feeling like he were being sucked up by a tractor beam in an old sci-fi, but that in of itself was harmless-enough.
What wasn't harmless enough was when his head finally went through the wormhole, where thusly his equilibrium was completely upended as "down" became "up" and "up" became "down", the gravity of two different locations tugging his body in opposite directions and playing hell with his perception of which way was which.
After he landed, well…
"BLURRRRRGH…!"
The rest is self-explanatory…
*CODED MESSAGE*
Gallup, New Mexico: CryNet FOB
December 21, 09:31 GMT
"Hey kid… You doing okay…?" Carolina asked nervously, Virgil's head drooping into a bucket.
The original bucket he'd hurled into had been replaced, but he'd had to upend his stomach two or three more times before the worst of the 'teleportater sickness' symptoms abated…
"And they had this tech… *urp* in the fucking eighties…?!"
"Mid-to-late eighties, but yeah," North replied, clad in his own armor alongside his sister, Carolina, Maine, and CT.
York apparently was taking the Renard Blade and other related objects back to base.
"Don't worry. It sucks the first time but after that, it starts to feel kinda good~" the man's sister grinned.
"I'll *hurp* take your word for it…" Virgil groaned before finally feeling well-enough to sit up. "So… Who's this guy we're protecting?"
"Well, in all likelihood we'll be 'extracting' him instead of outright protecting him…" South hummed dourly.
"The person we're going to be protecting for this mission is a man by the alias of Code Talker," Carolina said handing him some AR Glasses, a myriad of text files appearing before his vision, which he began to leaf through. "After he returned stateside after the events of Outer Heaven, he spent the last couple decades working on a variant of Metallic Archaea capable of decontaminating the Navajo Nation of the uranium deposits that the US government exploited prior to World War II. In exchange for CryNet funding his research, on the side he loans us his expertise in parasitology, though as you can obviously tell, his own passion project is extremely valuable to us as well."
"Not to mention dangerous in the wrong hands," Virgil hummed to himself.
Something that could eat radioactive particles and render them inert… Anyone and everyone with a nuclear arsenal would have plenty of reason to fear these microorganisms.
On the flipside, if someone had found out about his contribution to the Parasite Unit under Skull Face in the late-70s… Being able to manufacture subservient, nigh-unkillable SPBs with any sort of consistency could only spell trouble. And given how they said this guy was going to be important to his "future development", or more-specifically, the Nanosuit's… it seemed less and less of a coincidence that the Nanosuit's [Cloak], [Armor], and [Camouflage] were practically identical to the SKULLS' parasite-based meta-abilities.
Whatever happened to those things anyway…?
Knowing my luck, I'll find out first-hand someday…
"So… Who exactly wants Code Talker, and for what purpose?" Virgil asked a few minutes later after brushing up on the man's bio.
"The League of Shadows; the criminal and terrorist organization led by Ra's al Ghul, 'The Demon's Head', master of a band of assassins and one of Batman's long-time nemeses," Carolina answered. "As for what they want out of him… Both his avenues of research are incredibly valuable, though by the look on your face, I'm guessing you know that already."
They probably had caught his gaze flitting between the files "in front" of him and the Nanosuit's carrying case.
"Something like that," Virgil hummed, wondering if the Nanosuit was based upon the "One that Covers", or if it actually was some kind of cybernetic nanotech strain of the Wolbachia… "So what do you need me to do, specifically?"
"Whatever you're comfortable doing; put the suit through its paces, use your own judgment, take a couple of risks. We have more support staff coming in, but when the mission starts it'll be just the six of us," Carolina answered.
'Talk about throwing me in the deep end…' Virgil thought to himself, idly wondering if the Assassin's Creed franchise was some kind of "double-negative cover-up" concocted by the League of Shadows to make the idea of a real-life organization of assassins seem "too ludicrous to be real".
*CODED MESSAGE*
"CT, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"If the actual mission is taking place after sunset, why'd Carolina and I relocate so-early?"
"Some of it's from the teleporter sickness; you might not be feeling it now, but the sudden shift in spatial equilibrium is still discombobulating you. You try to jump off a building, you'd have to ask for directions on the way down."
And boy was that an image.
"And the rest of it?"
"On the off-chance the Shadows can detect breaches in space-time in their vicinity, we want them to hypothetically assume we're here for something other than their nighttime op. Hours and hours away, they'd think it's coincidence; right-before they make their move, and they'll assume it's 'planned intervention', they pull up their wheels, and we lose our window of opportunity to catch them with their pants down."
"Sounds fair... I'm going to lie down now."
"You probably should."
Blaagh.
*CODED MESSAGE*
"Carolina."
"Hey there, Snake. You feeling better."
"A bit. How long 'til we move out?"
"Still got a few hours of hiding to do."
"I see. Is there time for any last-minute CQC training?"
"Maybe a little. Probably a good idea too; the rest of us should limber up."
"I'll try not to make a complete fool of myself."
In the absence of my magical texts, the contents therein I couldn't make use of anyway in uncertain terms, I figured a little hand-to-hand for emergencies, would be the best use of my remaining downtime.
"Horp!"
As soon as I re-empty my stomach…
*CODED MESSAGE*
Gallup, New Mexico: Outskirts
December 21, 19:28 GMT
Under the cover of darkness, the six of them piled into three ATVs a pair apiece and rode out into the middle of nowhere. They weren't using headlights, but they did have high-end NVGs and an augmented reality windshield to help them along. A couple of hours later they had arrived at a research compound even further in the middle of nowhere, the place looking like an out-of-place repurposed oil rig colored almost entirely in dark-orange paint, though Virgil could just tell that all of the important stuff was down below…
Getting out of the ATV and hiding it under a camouflaged tarp synched to a rock face, Virgil was happy the Nanosuit was insulated, because according to the HUD, the ambient temperature was only in the mid-40s Fahrenheit.
Laying down on his belly and crawling to the edge of the low cliff they were on, with a hum of [Camo]the Nanosuit's exterior shifted to match the rock underneath him, making him even less-visible to onlooker than if he had remained in the Nanosuit's original black-and-chrome color scheme.
He knew it was still in the prototyping phase, but did the chromed exoskeleton have to be the shiniest chrome they could manufacture…?
"Kid," Carolina's voice called to him over Codec. "Since the last time you put this thing on, the suit's Nanovision subroutine should've been streamlined. Give it a try."
"Right," he replied sub-vocally, ever-so-slightly narrowing his eyes and feeling his visual acuity heighten impressively. The far-distance appearing in greater clarity through his visor, he saw a van with H&RB's logo driving under the facility's flood lights driving toward the gate.
At first there was nothing "off" about it, but as soon as the van passed the gate house, a figure in all-black slipped out the back, into the booth, and a spray of blood spattered the inside of the gatehouse.
"Everyone, the intel was good. I repeat, the intel was good, the League of Shadows are here."
'Dammit…!' Virgil swore as the assassin slinked out of the gatehouse like nothing was wrong.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to Carolina to see her giving him a sympathetic look through her visor.
"I know it's hard… but you can't save them all. That man knew the risks of what he was protecting, and his family will be well-compensated for his loss."
"Doesn't mean I can't still feel bad about it…" he spat, watching as more of the Shadows piled out of the van before going into the building, a few of them standing guard in CryNet uniforms.
"Probably stolen," North's voice called out; according to the HUD, while he and Carolina were at the 8 o'clock position with the facility in the middle, he and his sister were at the 4 o'clock, CT and Maine at noon.
"So… What's our play?"
"North, give us full overwatch if our cover is blown; South, watch his back; CT, move in at the same time we do; Maine, stay hidden in case they have any brute muscle hiding in there."
A few affirmative words and Maine's incomprehensible growling sounding over the Codec, Carolina started climbing down the rock face, Virgil following after her, the Nanosuit conforming to him like a well-worn 'Sunday best'.
*CODED MESSAGE*
For the League of Shadows, the infiltration thus-far had gone to-plan; get through the gatehouse, take out external security, assume control. The infiltrators had already entered the depths of the facility with the target in mind, so all they had to do was hold ground until they were ready to exfiltrate.
The two guarding the main door looking out at what passed for the "main road" while the others circled the facility, the younger of the two thought he counted one more woman than they had arrived with making the grounds. The colors looked right, though at a distance, it was hard to be 100% sure, though he could swear the uniform was a little bulkier in places than it should've been…
The sound of disturbed rock on concrete drawing his eye, the Shadow looked away from the 'off' Shadow, his eyes passing over a dark spot between the overhead flood lights, wondering if he actually saw something there, or if it was just a trick of the eye…
The sound of an altercation behind the far side of the building drawing his attention away from shifting shadows, he and his partner turned their attention to the right in time to see a woman in brown combat armor striding into the open. They could hear the sounds of other Shadows moving to intercept her, but the familiar *thump-thump* of bodies hitting the ground sounded from around the corner.
The older of the door guards moving to intercept the woman as she turned to face him, the younger was about to follow, but a movement out of the corner of his eye in the shadows before a *thunk* of something heavy hitting metal sounding from above, put him a pace too-far-behind to help his comrade who attacked some sort of holographic decoy, a replica of the exposed woman appearing to the side and planting a very large combat knife into his back where he couldn't reach. The Shadow frantically reaching for it to no avail, a moment later the woman drew a pistol and shot him in the side of the head.
The Shadow getting ready to shoot forward, sword in hand, the next moment the sounds of concrete cratering off to the side warned him of an approaching attack; one that came too quickly to stop. The metal wall at his back buckling as he was shoulder-checked into it with a loud *CRUNCH!*, the last thing he saw before everything went black was a crimson visor and a figure with concrete-colored full-body armor.
*CODED MESSAGE*
"Ground level secured," South said a minute later.
Carolina's insertion into the orbiting patrol was almost flawless, the woman slipping out of the darkness and sliding into a gap in the patrol after she got enough images to render her disguise. Maine had stayed to the shadows, but even though small arms weren't his forte, he was still able to support CT as 'she' walked brazenly out of the shadows and into the light. The real McCoy taking out one of the door guards, Night Snake aka 'Washington' had taken out the other with a boost of super-human speed before cratering him into an exterior wall with superhuman strength and an armored hide. The remaining Shadows moving to the front to intercept, Carolina, CT, and Washington each hid in the shadows, Carolina and Washington changing the colors of their armor to match the exterior walls while CT hid 'unconcealed' in the shadows beside a hologram doppelganger. Those that were coming around to the front from his side of the building were taken out with silenced sniper shots, the lateral movement of his scope and masterful shots only possible thanks to many years of rigorous training.
"Overwatch, reloading," North said into Codec after she finished spotting.
"North, South, stay where you are, the Shadows might have reinforcements nearby. Maine, you're topside with me topside. CT, Wash, you're on exfil. Floor plans should be transmitting to your HUDs."
"Why not just wait for them to come out with the old man, let them do half the work for us?" North questioned.
"They might only be interested in his body. There's no guarantee they came here to take him alive."
"Don't worry, Carolina. We've got your six," South replied, swapping mags before getting his breathing back under control.
*CODED MESSAGE*
The interior construction of the facility resembled pictures of the R&D Platform of the original Mother Base; clean, clinical, with lots of white that made any speck of dirt stand out. The facility was mostly empty, but because no alarms had been raised, Washington and CT passed by a number of bodies. Some of them were still alive, just tranquilized, while others had their throats slashed mercilessly.
"Where are we heading?"
"According to the HUD, Code Talker's quarters are on the bottom-most floor," CT replied. "Whoever betrayed us so the Shadows could get to Code Talker… I hope they get what's coming to them."
"You sound especially spiteful over the whole thing. Something I should know?"
" . . . The only reason Blackwatch got their hands on the suit was because of a traitor in CryNet's own midst. When it got stolen, Carolina took it out on us before taking it out on you."
"That sounds highly unprofessional," he said navigating the halls toward the elevators. Using [Cloak] and poking his head around the corner at ankle level, he saw one of the Shadows by the elevator, an SMG with a silencer in his hands.
"Amazingly enough, she is getting better," she said as the feed from Washington's helmet appeared on her own HUD, before opening up her own window and fiddling with her wrist computer. "Think you can take him out?"
"From this distance? Most-definitely."
CT nodding her head, after some final adjustments to her wrist computer, the woman projected a duplicate of the Shadow she killed and had it round the corner, the Shadow immediately rounding on it.
"We got a problem outside?" the Shadow asked, Virgil under [Cloak] squat-walking and drawing his bowstring before firing through the hologram, his arrow skewering the assassin through the left pectoral. The man staggering backwards, another arrow shaft blossomed from his right peck a moment later before another one went through his eye and out the back of his head, the body dropping to the floor with a *Thump*
"Hallway secure," Virgil said as he habitually picked up the SMG. What was different from his time in New York Zero was he was now equipped with tactile and visual sensors working in tandem, identifying the pertinent information about the newly-acquired weapon such as weight, ammo count, modifications, and manufacturer. The weapon was RFID-slaved, but in of itself might prove useful.
"Got it. Slaving comm signal to mine," CT said hijacking the Shadow's comm signal, modulating her own audio off the limited voiceprint she'd been able to get. "Otacon, how's the security looking?" she inquired, an iDroid connected to one of the security cameras on the ground and giving the man a backdoor into the facility systems.
"The Shadows don't have eyes in there anymore; not after Carolina took out the one in the gatehouse. Far as I can tell, you're good to go to the bottom floor. Elevator's locked though, so you'll have to take the stairs."
"Yeah, that figures…" CT sighed. "Come on, let's go. We've got some walking to do."
"Shouldn't we hurry our pace a little?"
"In a stairwell like that, the sound will carry and let them know we're coming. Let's just hope Code Talker can hold out until we get there. I doubt the Shadows will be able to get the jump on him that easily; not after all he's survived over the decades."
"Fingers crossed."
*CODED MESSAGE*
Elsewhere in the base, Code Talker's parasites returned to their host body after flittering out through the bottom floor, barely perceptible unless one knew what to look for.
As usual he had worked late into the night, well after the majority of the staff had gone back home or to bed in the upper floors. He always kept a few of the unattuned Wolbachia out as feelers, but even before the intruders got to the bottom-most floor, he had just known that something was off.
A while after that, he felt something… pleasantly familiar enter the building, and a wry smile tugged at his wrinkled face, his blind, milky eyes glinting eagerly.
"What took you so long?"
*CODED MESSAGE*
Squat-walking down many flights of stairs after giving Otacon a backdoor into the lab's systems, while the Nanosuit thankfully cradled his glutes to stop the worst of the cramping, Virgil still knew he had a long way to go if he was going to live up to the legacy of "Snake".
The Shadows hadn't left any patrols in the stairwell, but there was definitely one by the only other door. According to the security feed, the Shadows were searching the place room by room, which in of itself was a good sign.
If they were still searching, it meant Code Talker wasn't in their hands quite yet.
"So… We taking any of them in alive…? Cause I'm pretty sure all of them topside are dead," Virgil sub-vocalized.
Most of the Codec topside had been partially muted, but he was pretty sure the Freelancers had been keeping score…
"It's preferable if we do, but that's a secondary objective. Most-important is getting Code Talker out of here in one piece," she said as they got to the bottom floor.
"Alright… So how do you wanna play this-OH SHIT!"
"What!?"
"I forgot Morris!"
"Who the hell is-" "-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" she suddenly cried, forgetting to sub-vocalize as a six-legged four-winged creature with no face waddled up to the teen merc's leg and nuzzled against it.
"Who said that?"
*CODED MESSAGE*
For the lone Shadow standing by the stairwell, his was simply the participation in another mission at the behest of The Demon's Head.
Go to the desert, grab the old guy, and make use of the knowledge the Old Diné had been cultivating.
Resistance had been minimal to say the least. Some in their way had died, while others were only knocked out so their knowledge could be "called upon" at a later date.
The target, the Navajo biologist, was nowhere else in the base; a fact corroborated by security logs which indicated he hadn't left the bottom-most level prior to their arrival. Allegedly the elder researcher was wheelchair-bound, but anyone could ride one of those things for convenience instead of outright need. The Sensei himself was one such example of how an elder could be as-spry as a young man, even if only a little bit slower-than. In fact, plenty of assassins had used physical infirmness as flawless covers, resuming their role as "the cripple" after their handiwork was discovered.
The mission wasn't glamorous, but one didn't serve The Demon's Head for the glory of it; those that served did so for the good of the world. For the Demon's will. Even if it meant standing by a stairwell all night, he would gladly carry out his duty.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
"Who said that?"
Stepping into the stairwell, unaware of the two figures pressed into the corners outside of his vision, the man's eyes landed on what looked like a loose Rhesus monkey sitting in the middle of the stairwell landing, its back turned to him.
"Huh. Didn't know they did animal testing here…" the man hummed idly, pressing his finger to his earpiece. "No. No, it's just a Rhesus monkey." A pause. "Right, I'll get on it; no witnesses," the man said ending the call before going for a short sword meant for indoor use. "Heeeere monkey monkey monkey~"
One would think that killing animals would be a little "overkill" for the League of Shadows, but animals have historically been capable of identifying those that killed their masters. Pet fish being the exception, the yowling of a cat or the bark of a dog could easily draw undue attention towards a Shadow they would rather not have.
Hence, why this measure was being taken.
"Come to papa…~ I've got a nice juicy banana for you…~"
The Rhesus monkey rounding on him once he'd cleared half the distance, the Shadow let out a horrified cry as a blank face bereft of eyes, nose, and mouth made itself present to him.
The door sliding shut behind him, the next moment two figures leapt out of the shadows, knives glinting as each of them took an arm and planted their blades up to the hilt under his armpits and into his chest cavity. The Shadow about to call out, the woman in brown armor clamped a hand over his mouth while the man in black kicked his knees out from under him, the two taking him to the ground and pinning him in place as they proceeded to carve him open like last month's turkey.
*CODED MESSAGE*
"Okay… So… You wanna explain what that is?" CT demanded as the faceless monkey vanished in a plume of smoke, revealing some sort of… headless chicken-pig…?
"This is Morris, my Familiar."
"What, like a magical girl familiar?" she asked as the DiJiang waddled up to the teen's leg and rubbed up against it.
"Something like that…"
"So, how much time do you think that bought us?"
"Don't know. Monkeys are tricky, so maybe ten minutes?" Virgil groused. "Otacon, you got those elevators locked down yet?"
"Yup. Those puppies aren't going anywhere; that stairwell's the only way topside."
"Alright. Then we'll route the assassins, make our way topside once things are clear there," Virgil nodded before relaying his plans to Connie.
"Yeah. Sounds good. I'm right behind you."
*CODED MESSAGE*
Washington and CT continued to stealthily sweep the bottom-most floor for hostiles, and compared to the upper floors, there was a minimum of surplus bodies. Thankfully, the Shadows down here seemed far more disciplined, because none of them were actually dead; albeit, a few were arranged in compromising positions for to be found in later.
Guess even assassins could have a sick sense of humor…
"Otacon, how many are there left?"
"Topside was cleared seconds ago, so it's just the two around the corner guarding Code Talker's private quarters.
"Armaments?"
"Small arms and analogue weapons. That they didn't bring anything bigger means they weren't planning on a counter-ambush."
"I see... CT."
"Yeah?"
"I'll handle these last two. I want to do one last test."
"A 'hold my beer' moment? Oh, I'm so proud of you~"
She had tried to ruffle his hair, but through the Nanosuit's armored mask, the gesture fell a little flat.
*CODED MESSAGE*
" . . . Hey."
"Yeah?"
"You ever wonder why we're-"
The two Shadows' conversation was cut off as loud footfalls suddenly sounded from around the corner. The Shadows turning on their heels, were shocked to discover some sort of black-and-chrome android covered in artificial muscle fibers, a baleful red visor set into its face. The reason they thought "android" right off the bat was because of its stiff movements; like Red Tornado's. Or a Terminator from a franchise of the same name.
"Target Acquired," a monotonous tone through a voice synthesizer stated.
"What the- They weren't supposed to be doing robotics testing here!"
"I'm calling backup-GAH!"
"What's wrong?" the Shadow asked as his friend ripped his headset free.
"When the hell'd we get fucking dialup?!"
"What do you-AGH!" the other Shadow cried ripping his headset free. "Dammit, we've been compromised!"
"One thing at a time! That thing's coming! Cover me!" the second Shadow said hugging the wall and running forward, the first opening fire with his SMG.
Bullets flying, to the gunner's shock the bullets proceeded to bounce off the armored machine's hide like raindrops off an umbrella, barely jostling it as it strode mechanically forward. The other Shadow managing to slip behind it with sword drawn, before he could cut into its neck, the thing vanished into thin air. The sword blade passing through empty space, the next moment an unseen force jerked the man's arm behind his back, breaking the wrist with a *SNAP!* before he was suddenly frog-marched into his compatriot at high speed.
The two Shadows' masks meeting with a loud *THWACK!*, as the first one fell back clutching his face, the one who wielded the sword snapped up his SMG with his free hand and fired blindly behind him, rolling into a crouch as the grip on his neck vanished, before spraying the hallway behind him with rounds. Masked eyes darting to and fro, the next moment he was pistol-whipped from behind with a *CRACK!*
*CODED MESSAGE*
"Last one," Virgil said subvocally as he pistol-whipped the remaining Shadow. He wasn't exactly 'practiced' when it came to inducing unconsciousness through blunt force trauma, so a quick check with his suit's biometric sensors confirmed they were still in fact, alive. Definitely concussed, but at the very least, alive.
"Not bad," CT hummed aloud. "You take any stray rounds or anything?" she asked looking him over. "I figure you can't use Cloak and Armor at the same time, but I don't want to assume…"
"Never stress-tested that. I swan-dived to the floor as soon as he got his gun hand up."
"The Nanosuit should protect you from small arms fire, though."
"Maybe, but getting shot in general tends to really suck, Armor Mode or otherwise."
You don't just "stress test" body armor like that…
Especially at point-blank range.
"Fair point," CT hummed as Morris waddled up behind her. "You look for the old man, I'll handle things here," she said drawing some zip ties from her belt and got to work.
Virgil nodding in turn, strode into the room the last of the Shadows were guarding. Though they were private quarters for a handicapped man of a significantly-advanced age, there were a few items of lab equipment against the rear wall; likely for more private experiments he didn't trust to store in the main labs. The equipment in question was all stuff Virgil would need one or more PhDs to even identify, let alone use. Other than some experiments running in their respective stations and a bed off to the side, sitting alone in the room like some kind of art piece was an old rickety wheelchair in stark contrast to its quasi-futuristic surroundings.
"CT, I found the target's wheelchair, but he isn't in it. It's possible he climbed into one of the vents like Die Hard; assuming he's that spry," Virgil conveyed after giving the room a once-over.
"Sooo… You're the new Snake?" a withered voice asked from out of nowhere, Virgil whirling on his feet to see that the vacant wheelchair was-in-fact, occupied.
Sitting upon the rickety piece of equipment after de-cloaking was an incredibly old Native American man, his exposed skin a roadmap of wrinkles and liver spots befitting a man on the verge of pushing one-and-a-third centuries. The top of his head completely bald, he had wispy white hair that went down past his shoulders, and eyes that were foggy and white with cataracts, the old man regarding him with an intrigued gleam as ink-like smears flared across his face.
His attire consisted of brown loafers, ceased black pants, a white dress shirt with a black vest over it, a black coat with fur lining draped over his shoulders, and a turquoise necklace hanging from his neck. Most would think the eagle feather ornament hanging from his hair was derivative, but "Code Talker", real name Gaagii Aditsan, had a genuine cultural right to such things as an indelible part of his heritage.
" . . . It still feels unreal… but yes," Virgil replied, allowing his voice to be heard. "Are you alright, sir?"
"Physically, I am… but this incursion will hamper my research…" the man said irritably.
"I read about it… I'm sorry for the delay."
"Don't be. My work, the work I am not ashamed of, can continue even if I am no longer here to supervise it in person," Code Talker replied. "Even in hiding, my 'children', the Metallic Archaea, will continue to be born; even if their progress is slowed."
"Unless that avenue of research is what they wanted."
"It isn't, or they would have left already."
"Fair point," Virgil nodded. "So… Shall we go?"
"One last thing," he said jerking his head to a corner of the room. "In that cabinet, you'll find a 'bug-out bag'. That's the one thing I cannot leave this place without. Anything else I need is up here," he said pressing his finger to his temple.
Virgil nodding his head opened up a cabinet in the corner where a black duffel bag was waiting for him. Slightly open, he saw that inside of it was an iDroid whose paint had been worn away along all the beveled corners, a butt-load of old cassette tapes with semi-faded labels, bags of herbs, and a traditional Calumet; otherwise known as a "Peace Pipe". A small metal case, fitted with a biometric lock, was also included. Virgil thought he might've spied some external hard drives buried underneath, but he had more-pressing matters at the moment.
Placing the bag in Code Talker's lap, the teen merc wheeled the Old Dinè from the room.
"VIP secure. Making way to elevator now."
*CODED MESSAGE*
By the time "Washington" and CT made it back topside, the League of Shadows members had all been dealt with, either killed or captured, the dead piled up for disposal.
"You didn't find any of the 'gimmicky' ones up here, did you?" the youngest of their number inquired.
"No. This facility was lightly-defended, so the Shadows likely didn't see the need to bring any of their 'heavy hitters' to bore," Carolina answered as Maine dragged a body behind her and tossed it into the pile. "Oh? I see this little guy tagged along~" she cooed as she took a knee and stroked Morris' back.
"AUGH! What the hell is that thing?!" South Dakota squealed in fright.
"Long story, don't ask," Virgil sighed. "So… Mission accomplished?"
"Unless they send a second wave at us, I think we'll be fine," North hummed. "Ohhhh… shit."
"What? What is it?" Carolina asked.
"Stealth chopper inbound. They haven't seen us yet, but North and I will be moving to a better vantage point."
"Which way's it coming in from?"
"Chopper's tagged. You should be able to pick it up on your Nanovision," South returned, Virgil feeling his eyes synchronize to the crimson visor of his mask as a vaguely helicopter-like silhouette with a red chevron appeared in the distance.
"I'm picking up armaments. Chain gun, air-to-ground missiles, and… Is that a fucking railgun? What kind of ninja assassins use those?"
"Well, to be fair, Snake used a railgun too that one time."
"Yeah, but that was after all traces of subtlety went straight out the fucking window…!"
"South, you in position yet?" Carolina asked.
"Not yet. But even then, I doubt this rifle of mine would be any better than a pea-shooter."
" . . . Snake," Code Talker whispered. "That is the Nanosuit Prototype you're wearing, correct?"
"It is."
"I see," the old man nodded, rummaging through the tiny attache case in his bug-out bag before drawing out a stainless steel cylinder, three holes in the bottom allowing three needles to pop out. "I was hoping to give this to you in a more controlled environment… But field testing is fine too."
*CODED MESSAGE*
"Ground forces have been terminated. Please advise," the stealth chopper pilot inquired as long-range sensors picked up the unknown combatants.
"Fire nerve gas missiles. We can't let any harm come to the Old Diné."
"Roger that."
The League of Shadows' stealth chopper pilot locking onto the targets as they scattered into whatever cover they could find, the co-pilot ran the calculations to cover the widest area with cross-wind in mind. Once the lightning-quick preparations were made, the full battery of nerve gas missiles were launched in a deluge. Thin trails of smoke shooting out into the night air, before they could complete even a quarter of their journey, something from sidelong caused them to detonate mid-air, their payload scattered uselessly into the skies.
"Enemy has overwatch. Nerve gas attack has failed."
" . . . I've just received authority clearing the Old Diné for the Lazarus Pit. You may fire live rounds, but try to limit damages to the body. Gaagii isn't in great shape to begin with."
"Roger that. Scanning for enemy overwatch."
The pilot yawing the stealth chopper toward the rocky outcropping, right as the scanners were about to run their sweep, external radar detected swiftly-approaching projectiles. Too-small to be surface-to-air missiles, initially the blips were believed to be local birds until one of them, an arrow made of composite materials, struck the windshield glass barely piercing the composite material, the others striking the side of the main body.
The pilot raising the stealth chopper up and away from the path of the projectiles, dodging another two, was unaware that the intended payload had arrived at their destination.
Within moments, oxidation began to crawl across the control panel, rapidly devouring anything that was neither plastic nor glass. A similar corrosion spreading across the body of the stealth chopper, it was only when the red emergency lights began to shine that the pilots noticed what was happening within the darkened cockpit. Instruments failing as metal-devouring micro-organisms began to eat into the electrical wiring, moments later a high-powered sniper round struck the tail rotor. The second blasting it completely from its axle, the stealth chopper beginning to spin out of control, bleeding altitude as the spreading plague crept up the chassis and devoured the bolts holding one of the main rotors in place.
Moments later, all attempts of stabilizing the craft failing them, the Shadows let out their final terrified cries as the unforgiving ground rose up suddenly to meet them.
*CODED MESSAGE*
"Holy crap! Those arrows were like [Rusting Grasp] from Dungeons & Dragons!" Otacon cried over codec once the stealth chopper crashed, its composite chassis crumpling like a sock on laundry day.
"You can say that again..." Virgil said staring down at his armored palm, the rust-colored motes of light he'd rubbed onto his arrowheads skittering across his 'skin' before retreating back into the seams.
"BOOOOOOO!" South called out over Codec. "No explos-"
*BOOMMMMM...!*
" . . . Nevermind," the Freelancer amended as the downed craft went up in a mushroom cloud that briefly turned night to day.
"Code Talker."
"Yes?"
"Microbiology is fucking terrifying."
"I'm glad you are giving my children the respect they deserve," the Old Diné hummed.
"I'm not going to have to worry about them turning the Nanosuit into a moth-eaten sweater, am I?"
"No. That strain of metallic archaea is bred to recognize the Nanosuit as... non-palatable. Anything else on the other hand is free game."
"You can say that again..." Virgil said as he zoomed in on the smoldering wreck, the metallic archaea devouring the metal of the fallen vessel even as it burned away. "Still, was it a good idea using a method so... ostentatious?"
"With the black box devoured, self-destruct notwithstanding, I imagine the League of Shadows will assume a hitherto-unknown meta-human was at play."
"I mean... It's hard to imagine otherwise..." Virgil said before turning his eyes away from the wreck, before turning his attention toward his visor, his intent to see the store of his latest upgrade revealing a percentile counter of how many battle-ready metallic archaea were waiting, deployable either from the palms of his hands, or radially from his entire body. "So... Mission accomplished?"
"Seems like it. South and I will bring the cars around and-"
"OH FUCK!"
"What?! What is it!? Are there enemy reinforcements?!" South demanded.
"No… Worse…! I TOTALLY FLAKED ON MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!"
" . . . "
" . . . "
" . . . "
The silence growing poignant, Code Talker beckoned Carolina over to him, whispering into her ear for several moments.
"Code Talker says we should get on that right away," Carolina relayed.
"Wait, do Indians even celebrate Christmas?" South questioned tactlessly.
"Not in the religious sense. More for the gift-giving & togetherness aspect," her brother commented. "I assume."
" . . . Code Talker also says he wants a cheeseburger," Carolina said after a moment.
*KrRrRrRowrrrr*
"Yeah, and it sounds like Maine has the munchies too."
"I'll see if any burger places are still open this late," Otacon hummed over the line.
"Well, at least I got to shoot something with my bow and arrows today. That's always a plus."
*CODED MESSAGE*
AN:
Initially I thought of having Virgil getting home to Bludhaven unmolested after the "Fetch Quest" Arc, but then I thought- "Naaaah!" -and pumped out this baby during my Hawaii vacation~
Onto a bit of trivia... Code Talker's name when he was forcefully "Americanized" became "George", so the reason for his "real name" (Fanon) being Gaagii Aditsan is that "Gaagii" became "Georgy" and then "George" when he was forced to change his name. Gaagii is the Navajo (specifically Diné) word for "Raven", and Aditsan is the Navajo word for "Listener". Framed retroactively, it seemed fitting when Spaceman and I were debating his true name because of the black markings around his eyes, and to be a Code Breaker in WWII, that involved a great deal of listening.
See you next time in Chronicle of Zhu!
*CODED MESSAGE*
Elsewhile, atop a rocky outcropping in the far distance...
"Hey boss," a young cynical man with gray eyes the color of quicksilver said tearing his gaze away from an NVG-augmented sniper scope. "Looks like the C.E.L.L.'s 'A-Team' managed to grab the Old Diné. And the LoS are either dead or captured and on their way to some sinkhole black site."
"It's going just as you predicted," says a young devoted woman with eyes as red as rubies. She is not looking at the burning wreck in the distance, but beyond the flames to a future her master has envisioned.
"All in all, I call today a success~" an ambitious woman with eyes like campfire replied, before turning away astride glass slippers.