Even after Kyushu fell to that monster, I had always thought the ocean was quite beautiful. Peaceful even. There was something calming in the smooth motion of the waves, the tranquil push and pull as the moon worked its magic on the planet's vast ocean, and to this day, I was often soothed while viewing it.
Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.
The dark waters of the ocean rolled softly under the moonlight as I stared out at the bright, glowing bubble that was suspended several dozen meters above the sea, lighting the starry sky around the structure a dark blue. It was a distinctly peaceful atmosphere, though on this particular night that did nothing to soothe my frayed nerves.
Footsteps emerged from the darkness behind me, breaking me out of my thoughts. I didn't turn as they stopped beside me, Bakuda crossing her arms as she stood on my right to enjoy the same sight I was.
"Looks tacky." She commented, staring at the Rig. Silently, I agreed with her. The massive shield that the heroes had erected around their base took away from the beauty of the ocean around it.
Still, "Don't lie. You would do the exact same thing if you had the materials and the ability."
Bakuda snorted, her voice slightly distorted, "Oh trust me. I have the ability. Materials? Not just yet."
I didn't comment on her words, instead finally turning away from the ocean to look at the woman herself. I paused slightly as I took her in, "You've upgraded your costume." I commented, looking over the much more professional attire that the woman was wearing, "It suits you."
I couldn't see Bakuda's face but her pleasure with my comment leaked through her voice, "I thought I was overdue for an upgrade and this seemed like the perfect field test. I've been working on this outfit for over a month now and just finished it up the other night."
Her work clearly showed. What she was wearing right now was a far cry from the amateurish costume that she had been wearing thus far. The entire ensemble was a mix of steely grays and blacks, blending in with the darkness incredibly well. Her simple bulletproof vest had been traded for a sleek, but slightly bulky top that was covered by a criss-crossing set of bandoliers, numerous grenades holstered in its straps. Thick leather gloves and boots covered her hands and feet, clearly made for durability more than anything fashionable though they still somehow worked, and numerous blinking tools sat on her belt.
Her mask was probably the most overt change. Where before it had been a simple gas mask, it was now a full face mask with bright red, opaque goggles that shone in the dim light. My sharp eyes could just barely make out the soft glow of light peeking out from underneath the edges of her mask, indicating that she had some sort of LEDs within, likely something to do with her bombs.
"Oh, yeah. Here." The woman broke me out of my thoughts as she reached behind her and retrieved something, "This should deal with the shield for long enough for us to do what we need to do."
She held it out for me to take. It was a dark grey, beeping box that was around the size of a brick and at least twice as heavy, "What is it?" I asked as I took it.
"A bomb."
I just stared at her, not in the mood for jokes at the moment. Bakuda tilted her head in a way that I could tell was her rolling her eyes before explaining, "It's a delayed charge EMP. It won't activate until it comes into contact with something with high enough voltage, i.e, the shield. If you fly above and drop that thing on top, the detonation should bring the whole shield down along with the grid it's attached to."
She shrugged, "Can't do anything if they have backup generators though. That shit's usually not even connected to the grid until it turns on so you're on your own with that one."
I nodded slowly as I stowed the bomb away in my costume, "Hmm, that's fine. I should have a solution for that. Where's Lee?"
The moment his name exited my lips, there was a light thump further into the warehouse. I turned to find that the man in question had appeared, standing slightly in the shadows and leaving only his bright red mask visible.
"Lee." I greeted the man, "I assume everything is prepared on your end?'
He gave me a swift nod and I let out a breath, turning to look at the glowing Rig once more as I began to gather my power within me, "Good. And I assume you both know the plan?"
They both nodded and Bakuda bright a hand to the side of her mask, "You'll break the shield and keep the heroes occupied while me and the Oni will take care of breaking Lung-sama out. Once we get a good distance away from the Rig, I'll shoot up a flare and you'll get out of there."
It was barely a plan, but it was the best they had at the moment so it would have to do. I nodded slowly, turning my eyes back to the glowing building in the center of the sea. My eyes narrowed and my lips thinned as I prepared my power, "Then let's begin."
No use in delaying. The sooner we got this done, the sooner my father returned to his rightful place.
~~~ Private Andrews ~~~
Private Timothy Andrews had always been a night owl. Even when he was young, being awake in the earliest hours of the morning had always felt much more natural than the reverse and that hadn't changed at all with age. That was why, when he was given the choice between doing a nightwatch on the Rig or being on the day team later that afternoon, he eagerly took the former. It wasn't like he had to do anything but stand around and look busy on the night shift anyway.
Though, as he stood on the balcony overlooking the sprawling deck of the Rig, he would admit that it could be a little boring at times. Thankfully, he had one of his best buddies to keep him company.
"You know, my wife's taken up some weird hobbies here recently." James broke the silence between them with idle chatter. The two of them were leaning up against the railing of the balcony, Andrews with a cigarette in his mouth and James with a tired look on his face that was currently twisted in amusement.
"What's she on this time?" Andrews asked, "Last time you told me she was doing that keto diet, right?"
James snorted, "Yeah, for a week. Turns out she loves a good burger just as much as I do. Who would've thought, huh? No, she's doing yoga now. Can you believe that? That woman hates working out as much as I hate doing laundry."
Andrews chuckled, shaking his head, "You act like that's something to complain about. I don't know a man out there who'd bitch about his wife wanting to get more fit but I guess you've always been a weird one."
"Oh shut up." James slapped his arm with a grin, "Gimme that cigarette."
Andrews took one last puff before handing it off, "She'll be sick of it before July, I'd say." He mused as James inhaled deeply. "She never did like to stick to one trend for very long."
"Ain't that the truth." James chuckled, breathing out a cloud of smoke, "Wonder what she'll get onto next. Hopefully nothing that requires me to join in. I had enough of that during that tofu phase."
"I feel that."
Comfortable silence stretched between the two of them as Andrews returned his gaze to the deck, watching the people down below go about their duties. Even this late at night, the Rig was abuzz with activity. He turned his eyes upwards, smiling slightly as he was met with the bright silver orb hanging in the sky, surrounded by glittering stars.
'Sure am glad I'm not on first response tonight.' He thought idly, 'Full moon's pretty as hell but I'd rather not deal with all the crazies-'
Andrews stopped mid thought, straightening from his slouch as something flew directly in front of the glowing moon. He squinted, taking the thing in as it steadily grew larger and larger, massive flapping wings bringing it closer to the shield.
"Hey." He grabbed James' shoulder, shaking the man and directing his attention upwards, "That's not a bird, is it?"
James squinted as he saw the same thing that Andrews did, "Can't be. Birds hate the electric field the shield puts up, won't go within a mile of it."
Andrews nodded, having already known that. But if that were the case, then what the hell was that thing?
Whatever the thing was suddenly banked extremely hard, fleeing away from the light of the moon and into the darkness of the night sky. It left behind a rectangular object in its wake, falling rapidly downwards and towards the brilliant blue dome surrounding the rig. Andres had just enough time to widen his eyes as the object slammed against the shield, the energy rippling outwards from the point of impact, before erupting spectacularly in an explosion of blinding color.
"GET DOWN!" James' voice was loud in his ear as the larger man suddenly slammed into his body, tackling him to the ground as the world erupted into sounds and sirens around them both, and the last thing that Private Andrews felt of the waking world was his head slamming into the cold concrete as the world shook around him.
He should have taken the first response position.
~~~ Miss Militia ~~~
The most prevalent thought in Hannah's mind as she stood atop her perch with her power-created shotgun in her hands, was that his woman was astoundingly calm for someone who was surrounded by dozens of Prt personnel as well as some of Brockton Bay's most powerful heroes. Velocity locked eyes with her from his place in a crowd of soldiers, and she gave him a small nod, before turning her attention back to the woman of the hour.
Even though they had been debriefed on her general appearance, Yosei was much shorter than she had imagined the woman being. Despite this, she was the textbook definition of composed as she stood there, surrounded on all sides by her enemies. Her face was completely unreadable as she stared straight forward, hands folding in front of her as mist curled off of her shoulders in ever-increasing amounts to pool on the deck underneath her.
It was eerily still on the deck, the silence left in the wake of the power being shut down leaving them all on edge as they stared down at the cape responsible for the current state of affairs. Hannah glanced to her right, locking eyes with Triumph for just a moment. Rory's helmet covered his face but his stance was extremely nervous, making it clear that the young man felt just as wary about this situation as she did. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring nod, before turning her gaze to her other colleague as he approached.
Armsmaster's armor looked even more vibrant than it usually did in the darkness that was created by the shield's destruction. The glowing LED's cast menacing shadows on his face as he strode forward with a confidence born from years of command and fighting. He gave Hannah a tiny nod as he passed her by, before continuing forward to stop mere feet in front of Yosei.
The woman inclined her head towards the Tinker, the first bit of movement she had made since she had arrived, "Armsmaster. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Why are you here?" As always, Armsmaster wasted no time getting to the point of the interaction. Yosei tilted her head at his question, seemingly mulling it over in her mind before responding. As she did so, the amount of mist pouring off of her shoulders only increased, and Hannah was finding it very difficult not to go ahead and take her down. Unfortunately, protocol insisted that they at least attempt to deescalate in situations dealing with capes as powerful as Yosei was.
Hannah's mind recalled what she had done to the Merchants just a few nights ago. The damage caused to Skidmark's legs and Squealer's tank spoke of a cape who was extremely capable of destruction and careful in how she applied it. Spooking her and causing her to go on a rampage in the presence of so many unpowered troopers was a bad idea, no matter if they had signed up for it or not.
"You have my father in your custody." Despite how softly she had spoken, Yosei's voice rang out across the empty deck, causing all nearby to tense, "I would ask that you release him before we are forced to come to blows."
"Your father is a criminal, Yosei." Armsmaster responded back succinctly, tightening his hold on his halberd, "You are as well. Surrender immediately and we promise you will be taken into custody unharmed."
Even as he spoke, Armsmaster was getting into a ready position, lowering his body in preparation to spring forward at the ABB cape at a moment's notice. His state of readiness urged Hannah into one of her own, and she cocked her shotgun, a fresh beanbag round being loaded into the chamber. Yosei's eyes flicked to her for a moment at the movement and sound but didn't linger, instead turning back to the more prevalent threat..
She spoke again, just as softly as before yet carrying an undercurrent of steel, "My father's mere presence in this city has been the most stabilizing force in the Bay since Marquis. His place leading the ABB has kept the Empire from consolidating too much territory, stopped the Merchants from spreading like the rats they were. Without him, there would be nobody to keep the ABB together and that assurance would disappear."
"Except for you." Hannah spoke up, causing Yosei to turn her eyes towards her, "If your father wasn't around, you'd step up into his position, right? I'd have thought you'd want to be the leader of one of the most powerful gangs in the bay."
Yosei's eyes narrowed underneath her mask and her mouth turned down in a sharp frown, "Then you know exactly nothing about me. My father saved me from the drowning waves of Kyushu and the chaos that spread across Asia in the wake of our country's destruction. From the clutches of the Yangban who would have used us as nothing but puppets for their cause and the rest of the CUI who wanted much the same. For all he has done for me I would follow him to the ends of the earth and even further beyond at the mere suggestion that it would assist him in any way. I would never so flagrantly betray him."
By the end of her speech, Yosei's voice had risen tremendously, yet it still remained the same even tone that it had been the entire time, as if she was simply loudly making a statement instead of a declaration of fanatical servitude. Hannah shared a look with Triumph and swallowed thickly. This woman clearly valued her father more than anything else. She wouldn't be leaving without him.
Armsmaster clearly realized the same, "I will not ask again. Surrender before we are forced to take action against you. You have already given us more than enough reason to detain you by force simply by being here. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be."
Yosei sighed, "I take your continued hostility to mean that you will not release him to me?" She asked, the simple question hanging in the air like a silent warning. Hannah's hands gripped her weapon tightly and Armsmaster scowled.
"We will not." He said simply but resolutely.
"I see." Yosei's voice was that of a disappointed parent believing that her child could do better, "That is unfortunate."
Without any warning, the mist hovering just above the ground around Yosei suddenly surged upwards, engulfing her completely and obscuring her from view. Armsmaster jumped backwards, a hand retrieving his halberd from his back and bringing it forward into a ready position.
Moments later, a rumble emerged from the mist, low yet constant, like the rumbling of a thunderstorm several miles away and Hannah's hair stood on end as if the very air itself was suddenly charged. Her nostrils flared, the scent of ozone filling her senses as the mist slowly disappeared, revealing the transformed cape in all of her glory
Where Yosei once stood was a wolf. A massive, semi-truck-sized wolf with snow white fur and icy blue eyes glared straight at them. Its bristling fur was covered with unnatural streaks of dark blue that trailed all along its muscled body from tip to tail. Said tail was massive and lashed about in the air behind it, a proclamation of its anger if for some reason the snarl on its muzzle failed to suffice.
As Hannah watched, the fur all along Yosei's back bristled and she flinched as bright blue arcs of lightning flew from the furry surface, electricity springing out to sing the concrete and those who happened to be too close to the transformed cape. A larger band caught one of the troops standing too close and he was immediately sent to the ground, convulsing as if he had been tased.
Hannah wasn't given any chance to wonder about the wellbeing of the man as the cape in front of them suddenly moved. Opening her massive muzzle, Yosei reared up on two of her four furry legs and raised her head to the sky, letting out a wild howl that shook all of those present to the core.
And as the sound echoed across the silent waters of the Bay, Hannah felt a very familiar fear crawl its way up her spine.
~~~ Director Piggot ~~~
Piggot hadn't received her position of Director of the PRT ENE by being prone to panic. A position like her own required a calm disposition and the ability to think with a clear head despite the tumultuous situations that she would doubtlessly find herself in.
That was why when the entire Rig shook and shuddered while she was in the middle of a meeting with a longtime acquaintance, and the power to the entire building shut off and trapped them inside her office, she did not panic. Instead, she calmly but swiftly reached down into her desk and retrieved her handgun, making sure there was one in the chamber as always, before placing it on the desk just in case.
Across from her, Thomas Calvert raised an eyebrow, looking no less calm in the situation they had suddenly found themselves in than she herself was. "Still use the same model as ever, I see. That old thing hasn't been regulation for at least ten years." The man noted as she closed the drawer once again, "You never change, do you, Emily?"
"You know as well as I do that to stay stagnant is to die, Calvert." The director said dryly, sitting back in her chair, "But I'll admit that I have some vices I haven't quite been able to let go of. My choice in firearms just happens to be one of those."
Calvert acknowledged her point with a nod, "Understandable, I suppose. I myself haven't been able to kick my own taste for the scotch we had that night. Absolutely disgusting, but I always find myself buying a bottle when I come across it."
Piggot nodded at that as she herself had a bottle of the stuff stashed away for those days she was feeling particularly reminiscent. It was actually on her desk right now and she'd offer to share some with the man himself but now was not the time. Something was off.
It only took a moment of looking around her office to figure out what it was, "The backup generators aren't coming online."
Calvert looked around, realizing much the same that she had, "You're right. That's strange. Do you think whoever's responsible for the outage is also keeping the generators from activating?"
"Probably. If they were able to take those shields down so easily, I doubt they'd have any trouble with the generators too."
"And yet you seem remarkably calm." Calvert observed astutely, "Why?"
Piggot smirked, "Simple. I haven't heard gunfire. If this was a full force attack on the base, this entire place would have been lit up with the sound by now."
Calvert raised an eyebrow as she reached for the cup of coffee that she nearly always had on her desk and took a sip. Cold. "That doesn't necessarily mean anything. It could be that whoever's responsible for this has a power that nullifies sound. You wouldn't hear any gunfire then."
Piggot rolled her eyes, "One strong enough to blanket the entire Rig? I haven't heard any shouts either and I know there'd be a massive panic if there was a full incursion. No, I'd say it's probably one cape who's in over her head, hoping to get back something she believes we took from her."
"You're talking about Yosei." Calvert realized, "You think she's here to try to break her father out."
"More than likely, but I've got news for the girl. She's not Lung." Piggot took another sip of her coffee, "Even if she was, even he didn't dare to fight the entire Protectorate at once. Especially not on our home base."
Piggot savored the taste of the bitter drink, using it to calm her slightly frayed nerves as Thomas stared at her with slight amusement in his eyes.
"If she thinks she can waltz in here and rip her father back from underneath our noses, then she's got another thing coming."
~~~ Miss MIlitia ~~~
The longer that this fight went on, the more that Hannah was reminded of the day that Lung had made his own power known to the Bay. It was eerie just how similar it was to that day, a single cape decimating nearly a dozen heroes on his lonesome and escaping the battle practically unharmed.
Yosei was not Lung, but she was certainly proving that she was his daughter as she danced around each and every one of them as if it was no challenge at all. Whatever beast she had become was extremely difficult to fight, spraying electricity in every direction on a whim and racing across the several meter long deck at a moments notice, making it even harder to get a bead on her.
She had already dealt with every single one of the unpowered troops that had been deployed to contain her, literally running through them as a streak of bright blue lightning and sending them to the ground, sizzling and smoking as their bodies twitched with residual shocks.
Some quick checking by Velocity had shown that she hadn't killed them, merely rendered them unconscious, but the ease with which she had done so was still frightening.
Hannah's eyes sharpened as the lupine woman strayed a bit too close to one of the many downed agents scattered around the deck, the constant electricity arcing off of her form singing the ground near them. Her rifle barked in her hand, the round slamming into Yosei's neck and piercing it easily. Like all others however, it did nothing but make the woman's fuzzy form shiver, bright sparks running over her snow-white fur and dissipating to show that her shot had done absolutely nothing but draw the woman's attention to Hannah herself.
The only silver lining to this situation was the odd lack of focus that Yosei seemed to possess while she was fighting. It was as if she was having trouble choosing which one of them to go after, flitting between each of them and getting distracted by the smallest action. That made it easy to lead her around, to pull her away from each other if someone had bitten off a bit more than they could chew.
Like she just had.
Hannah's eyes narrowed as Yosei opened her mouth, blinding light gathering in the back of her maw, before a torrent of bright blue electricity was sent racing towards her unmoving form far too fast for her to even attempt to dodge. She grit her teeth in preparation for the hit, only to flinch as the back of her shirt was suddenly grabbed in an iron grip and she was lifted into the air and away from danger.
Her hair stood on end as she narrowly avoided the attack which went screaming just under her boots, and her heart thudded powerfully in her chest as Yosei gave a growl that sounded more like rumbling thunder than anything resembling an animal's expression of displeasure. She angled her head upwards, more lightning building in the back of her throat as she prepared to shoot and Hannah grimaced, knowing that Dauntless wouldn't be able to dodge with her attached to him.
"HEY!"
Shards of glass and metal flew away from Triumph as his sonic shout rang in Hannah's ears, aimed directly at the massive wolf, breaking her concentration Yosei shied backwards, snarling in pain and rage as her doubtlessly sensitive hearing was assailed by the loud noise. Her form shuddered as she broke into particles of light and electricity, racing backwards and away from the man to escape his attack.
She coalesced several meters away, lunging towards Velocity who was bent over an unconscious troop, but he blurred away before she could reach him, causing her to let out a growl of frustration.
"You good, Militia?" Dauntless' voice sounded out from above her, revealing her rescuer. Given his own powerset, he hadn't been able to do much during this fight, not wanting to chance using his Arclance on the cape made of living lightning. He'd been relegated to helping her and the other's reposition in case Yosei strayed too close to them.
"I'm alright, Dauntless! Thank you for the rescue!" Hannah called up to the man, her weapon shifting in her hand until she was left holding a containment foam launcher. Whatever Yosei had become was completely immune to her bullets, simply healing any damage the moment it was caused. She'd need to shift things up. "How much longer until the backup generators are online?"
"They should have already been up!" The man answered as they set down on a nearby balcony. There were two unconscious troops up here, one crouched over the other, but they seemed safe enough to Hannah paid them no mind, "Something's wrong here, Militia! What's she even doing here? Lung is on the other side of the base!"
Hannah's eyes widened immediately at what he said, her mind making a connection that he had not. She looked over to Armsmaster, adrenaline filling her as Velocity strayed a bit too close to the woman and was almost clipped by a burst of lightning that she let off, "Armsmaster, what's the situation with Lung?"
Armsmaster wasn't able to respond immediately, too busy grappling out of the way of Yosei as the woman charged towards him on a streaking bolt of lightning. The ground sizzled in her wake as she skidded to a stop meters away and opened her mouth once more. Electricity built in the back of her throat as she prepared to spit lightning again, only for her form to fizzle as triumph once again directed a shout her way. She snarled, turning her head away from Armsmaster to face the other cape instead.
The man took the opportunity that had presented itself to answer Hannah's question, "Communications are down right now. She's doing something that's interfering with electronics. The only reason I'm not affected is likely due to how I've wired my own power supply. We've got no contact with the rest of the base until this is dealt with."
As he spoke, he flipped the top half of his halberd down, spraying a thick white foam at the ground where several wires were burning in the wake of Yosei's sprint. He then turned, his halberd flipping back into the proper position as he leapt down from his perch and rushed at Yosei once more. He flipped his weapon forward, sending a rope made of a material that Hannah couldn't identify shooting towards Yosei. It wrapped around her rear legs, causing her to trip as she went to take another step and fall on the ground instead.
Hannah's eyes narrowed as Yosei's entire body seemed to shiver, her fur glowing with electricity that then suddenly erupted outward in every direction, blowing the rope off of her legs. Triumph was close enough to her that he was also hit by the blast and was sent flying backwards, sparks arcing all over his armor as he slammed into a nearby wall hard enough to crack the stone.
He fell to the ground and let out a groan, trying to angle his head in Yosei's direction to scream again. Seeing this, Yosei huffed, beginning to stalk towards him to finish him off.
She didn't make it more than a single step before Dauntless suddenly shot down out of the sky, Arclance held tightly in his grip as he brought it down on the top of the transformed woman's head. Electricity, this time white instead of Yosei's blue, arced outward from the point of impact but seemed to do absolutely nothing to the woman herself.
Dauntless realized this and immediately went to retreat. He was caught before he could do so as Yosei suddenly stretched her head back, chomping down on one of his armored legs and capturing it in her massive teeth. The man let out a pained scream as metal crumpled and bone snapped in the wolf's maw, before she suddenly twisted her head, sending him rocketing towards the ground.
He slammed into the ground and his scream was silenced as he was immediately rendered unconscious even through his armor.
Yosei's head lifted to the sky as the cape let out a howl of victory, and Hannah took the opportunity to fire her launcher, sending a thick stream of containment foam flying directly at her unmoving form. She cursed as Yosei's ears swiveled on her head and she suddenly lunged to the side, dodging the attempted capture easily.
The transformed woman snarled as her celebration was interrupted, turning her enraged blue eyes in Hannah's direction. Hannah's eyes widened and she braced herself as Yosei lowered her body and her fur bristled in that telltale way that it had every time she had transformed into a lupine streak of lightning.
Suddenly, without any warning, a bright white flare of light appeared over the city, seeming like a second moon for all of its incredible brightness. It caused all of those present to freeze and look over at it, and even Yosei ceased her charge to gaze in its direction as it made its presence known.
As the light slowly faded, Yosei looked back to them and Hannah couldn't help but tense.
"It has been a pleasure, but I must go." The words came out with clear difficulty, Yosei's muzzle twisting awkwardly as if the woman was fighting herself to even say them, "Goodbye, heroes."
The woman's massive form suddenly glowed brightly, her fur disappearing as it was replaced with pure energy and forcing Hannah to squint to even gaze in her general direction. Then, faster than ever before, Yosei suddenly streaked straight upwards like a reverse lightning bolt, flying into the night sky and disappearing from sight, leaving all of them staring after her at her sudden departure.
Silence filled the deck for a long moment as they all stared in disbelief at what just happened, before it was suddenly broken as the backup generators hummed to life. The shield snapped back into place in an instant and the lights returned, illuminating the deck once more and calling an end to the conflict. Hannah just stood there for a moment, wondering what in the world just happened and if it really had ended just like that.
After a moment though, Triumph let out a loud groan from his place slumped against the wall and she decided that he and Dauntless were more important at the moment.
She stowed her power away, green light convalescing as a knife on her thigh as she sprinted to where Dauntless had fallen down. Velocity beat her to it by several seconds, blurring into place by the downed man's side and immediately moving to situate his broken leg in a way that wouldn't damage it even further.
The man groaned as he regained consciousness, immediately trying to rise only for Velocity to put his hand on his chest, "Stay down, we'll get you some help. It's over."
"For now at least." Hannah couldn't help but comment, looking around at the chaos around them. Triumph was back on his feet and looking around blearily, clearly out of it while Dauntless still hadn't moved from his spot on the ground.
"True." Velocity nodded as he continued working on Dauntless, "At least now we can put any of our doubts to rest. That woman is definitely his daughter."
Hannah nodded grimly, "She might be worse. At least with Lung I felt like I was doing something. Triumph was the only one able to even do anything to hurt her and even that looked like it was annoying at best."
Velocity made a noise of agreement, "True. Anyway, I've got this handled, go check on Triumph. I don't think he should be up given how hard he hit that wall. With how Armsmaster's yelling over there, we probably don't have long before we've got to move again."
The moment that he said that, their radios hummed back to life. Hannah winced slightly at the cacophony of noise that was output by her walkie talkie as the people around the base tried to figure out what was going on, yelling over each other. She pressed a button, switching to the channel that was exclusively for higher level personnel, and happened to catch the tail end of a conversation between Armsmaster and Battery.
"Repeat, Battery." The man's gruff voice demanded as Hannah made her way to where Triumph had begun to lean against the wall, holding his head in a daze. She grabbed him by the shoulder, gently but firmly lowering him to the ground.
"I repeat, everything is fine on our end, Armsmaster." Battery's voice came back, completely calm in the face of all of the chaos that had just been wrought by a single cape. Or maybe she just didn't know what was going on, either way, as Hannah moved Triumph's golden helmet out of the way to check his head for injuries, keeping her body in the way of any prying eyes, she heard something that made her smile despite the situation they had found themselves in.
"Lung is still secure."
~~~ The Docks ~~~
I grimaced as I returned back to my human form, bringing a hand up to my head as the lingering presence of my transformation faded away. If the Oni had been like an urgent whisper in the back of my head asking me to give into the bloodlust that had filled me, then the Raiju was ten times worse.
Being what basically amounted to the living embodiment of thunder and lightning, it only made sense that everything about the Raiju screamed manic energy. Its desires and interests flitted from one thing to the next like a hypomanic puppy with a fresh dose of caffeine. It made fighting against that many opponents at once an extreme challenge, not to mention the task of making sure that the backup generators underneath the deck wouldn't come on. Keeping a constant stream of electricity to the specific nodes that watched for outages was a pain, but necessary.
Heck, even fleeing back to the city was a challenge. I was almost constantly fighting against the urge to race across the night sky searching for the nearest storm, or even simply diving straight into the ocean to see where the tides would take me if I let them. I was glad to be back in my own body.
I was filled with fatigue as I made my way up to the side entrance of the warehouse I had touched down outside of. It had been far too long since I had taken on a form as powerful as the Raiju and I could still feel the lingering effects of its personality trying to rile me up once more. I wouldn't be doing that any time soon.
I opened the door cautiously, before striding in with much more confidence as I took note of the lack of people inside. The darkness was nearly oppressive as I closed the door behind me, only the thin streams of moonlight coming from the glass ceiling panels providing any light in the massive building, "Bakuda, are you there?"
A slightly modulated voice came from deeper into the building, "Yeah, I'm here. By the loading bay."
I made my way in the direction that the voice had come from, navigating my way through stacked crates and boxes of who-knows-what as I went, before I finally came upon the loading bay. Lee was nowhere to be found, likely somewhere nearby or already making his way back home. Bakuda was present, though the woman wasn't looking at me, bent over as she dug in the hood of her jeep and fiddled with something that I couldn't see.
I looked around, worried building in my gut as I noticed a distinct lack of my father's presence anywhere nearby.
"Where is he?" I asked the preoccupied woman, "Did he already return home?"
"Doubt it." Bakuda said, not taking her attention away from her task, "Unless he managed to break himself out, I mean. Our mission was a bust. They knew we were coming."
My blood ran cold, "What? What do you mean?"
"I mean that someone tipped them off or something because there were way too many people in our way!" Something inside the jeep dinged loudly and Bakuda cursed, "Shit! There had to be at least forty fucking guards in there, and some of the heroes too. Lee said he saw Assault and Battery hanging around and I caught a glimpse of that clock kid before we decided there was no way we were going to be able to do shit to get him out of there. Even if you didn't care about casualties, I'm not sure I brought anything that'd be able to deal with that many people and not hurt Lung-sama at the same time."
One of her arms came out of the jeep, dropping something heavy and metal to the floor with a loud clang as I digested what she was saying, "The Oni's gone to make sure nobody followed us. We ditched the boat a few miles up and drove here but better safe than sorry, I guess."
I just stared at her in silent disbelief, the warehouse filled with nothing but the sound of her quiet tinkering as I processed what I had just been told. Slowly, the numb disbelief that I was feeling gave way to intense anger, and my face twisted as my mind whirled at what I had just been told.
The mission had failed. Someone, somehow, had told the heroes that they were coming. Who? How?
Was it Takao? Had the man somehow sussed out the specifics of my plan with nothing but the little I had told him and the other Faces? Or had he simply told the heroes that we were planning something in the first place, leading to them increasing the amount and quality of guards allocated to my father's cell.
If so, then why? Takao had nothing to gain in the event that my father remained in the Protectorate's clutches. His position in the ABB was one that was only secure so long as Lung remained in charge and he knew that.
…Had my words during the meeting been the catalyst for his betrayal? Had I inadvertently made him panic by hinting that I was on to his duplicitous nature and actions and caused him to go to the heroes in some hope that they would be able to save him from my father's inevitable wrath?
No, that didn't make any sense. He would know for a fact that if I was forced to take charge, he would be the first to go. It didn't matter if it was myself or my father, he was done either way. Someone like him would know that it was better to just go into hiding as soon and as thoroughly as he possibly could instead of goading the already angry dragon into doing something even more drastic. I was missing something.
I scowled viciously. Even so, Takao was due for a long, thorough chat with Nana when I returned. I would find out what he knew and if he played a hand in what had transpired tonight one way or another.
I turned my attention back to Bakuda as the woman removed herself from the jeep, closing the hood behind her and pressing down on it to lock it in place, "We'll have to rethink our plan. Now that they know that we're coming for him and how, they will doubtlessly increase the amount of protection he has been given even more. I would also imagine that that show just now gave them more than enough hints as to extrapolate how my powers work."
I paused awaiting her opinions, only to be confused as the woman just shrugged her shoulders, "Whatever you say. I'm kinda pissed I didn't get a chance to try out some of my shit but I guess I got to use one so the day's not a total bust." She jumped down from her jeep, her boots thudding on the concrete floor of the warehouse, "You can go ahead and load up. I've gotta go grab something real quick. We'll figure out what to do back at base/"
I wasn't able to get a word in as she suddenly turned and walked deeper into the warehouse, leaving me staring after her in confusion and slight annoyance. Despite her words, she was clearly much more disturbed by our failure than she would like me to believe. I could feel it in the tone of her voice, obscured as it was, or the set in her shoulders as she stalked away into the darkness.
'She must be taking the failure just as hard as I am.' I mused to myself as I made my way towards the jeep, 'It only makes sense, I suppose. She has quite an ego on her so failing like this must hurt quite a bit. Hopefully this won't cause any more problems between us.'
I wasn't really counting on that.
I opened the passenger door to the jeep, knowing that Bakuda would definitely want to be the one driving, only to pause as I caught sight of something strange off to the side.
From the seats to the floor, the back of the jeep was filled with the bombs that she hadn't gotten the chance to use. Exposed wires and plastic shells filled the space to the brim, lights blinking periodically to indicate their armed state. I frowned at that. Even given the fact that her specialty would allow her to identify them at a glance, it seemed more than a little dangerous to keep them in such a state of disorganization.
A single light shifting from red to green and a low beep was all the warning I got before my world was suddenly engulfed in pain. I let out a shrill scream as the jeep exploded in a ball of fire and shrapnel, a wave of heat slamming into me and sending me back as shards of nearly-molten metal bit into my clothing as well as the skin underneath. My mask shattered as I hit the floor, bits of metal and porcelain breaking across my face as I slammed into the concrete.
I convulsed, the pain radiating through my entire body in a way that was distinctly unnatural. It was like someone poured molten lead into my veins, fire racing through my limbs and torso and making it impossible to focus on anything but the excruciating sensations that were consuming me.
I could vaguely hear a full droning in my ears, and it only took a moment to realize that it was my own screaming, completely drowned out by the constant ringing in my head as my nerves screamed in white-hot agony.
By the time I came down from whatever had been done to me, my cheeks were covered in tears and my throat was raw from screaming. I tried to get up, to move in any way, but even that felt impossible and so I was stuck just laying there pitifully as I tried to figure out what just happened.
"You know, I didn't actually think I'd be able to catch you with that." I slowly looked up as Bakuda's modularized voice appeared from the direction she had disappeared in moments ago. The woman was standing a few meters away, shadowed by the darkness around her as her red lenses gazed at my fallen form maliciously, "Thought you'd just shrug it off with that power of yours. You really don't live up to expectations, you know that? Just one disappointment after a-fucking-nother."
My mind was sluggish with pain as I stared at the approaching woman with confused and bleary eyes, "Ba…kuda? W-What…" I couldn't speak. Even the vibration of my vocal chords hurt enough that my vision nearly went white with pain. My tongue felt fat in my mouth, like I was at the dentist and they had just given me a fresh dose of anesthesia.
She clicked her tongue, "Don't try to talk. Your little whimpers are pathetic. Just let me speak."
She approached with deliberate slowness, her boots thudding methodically against the floor as she strode towards me, "This has been a long time coming, you know? You've been a pain in my ass since I joined this fucking gang. When Lung-sama found me, he told me about the incredible victories we'd win together, about how the ABB was one of the most powerful gangs in the country with a fraction of the capes. Quality over quantity, and I was going to be one of the highest ranking members."
She spat, "What a crock of shit. From day one, you've been there whispering in his ear, holding him back with your fucking moral bullshit. We could have been at the top the week I arrived with how much shit I'd already made, but you had to hold us all back with your fucking moral bullshit!"
Her boot lashed out, sending a piece of shrapnel from the jeep skidding across the floor. It slammed into something metal with a loud bang, the noise ringing out in the wake of Bakuda's rage. She inhaled deeply, the sound distorted through her mask, before letting it out.
Bakuda suddenly kneeled down, squatting right in front of me as she grabbed her mask, pulling it off of her face and leaving it to dangle on her neck. Her brown eyes were full of derision and her face was set into a superior smirk as she stared down at my trembling form, "Now though, that's changed and when you're out of the picture, things will be as they always should have"
I inhaled softly, the action feeling like someone was taking a hammer to my chest as I struggled to speak, "My f-father… He'll-"
"Shhhh…" Bakuda pressed a gloved finger to my lips, pain radiating through my entire face at the simple pressure, "Don't worry about Lung-sama. He'll have his hands full dealing with the Empire after what they did. And I'll be there to help him exact his revenge."
What?
I just stared at her, unable to do anything else as she rose back to her feet. "Really, it's such a shame you got caught off guard by those racist bastards and they put a bullet in your head before you were able to transform." She tutted, a sick smile coming to her face as she pulled a square package from the shoulder of her bandolier, "It's especially unfortunate that we weren't able to recover your body to be buried. Those tides, I tell you. They'll wash away damn near anything given enough time."
Kneeling down, she put the box on its side in front of my face. I was met with a black screen with bright green LEDs on its surface. 01:00, it read. Exactly one minute.
Bakuda patted the bomb's plastic shell almost lovingly, "I doubt even one of the Endbringers would be able to stand up to what's inside this puppy. By the time all is said and done with, all that's left will be ashes. Pitiful little bits of carbon will be the only physical reminder that you ever existed in the first place. Isn't that great? Nobody's gonna pay any attention to a pile of ash in some random warehouse by the docks."
The woman's manic grin shifted into one that was a bit more dissatisfied but still just as insane, "Unfortunately, as much as I wish I was here to watch it all go down, I'd get caught in the blast radius too, and we don't want that. I'll just have to rip the footage from one of the security cameras or something. Not exactly what I would prefer but what are you gonna do?"
She gave me a grin as I stared at her, grabbing her mask and bringing it up to her face, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the gang. We'll get Lung-sama back and turn this city on its head." She placed the mask back on her face, obscuring her features once more. The red lenses glared down at me like an angry pair of eyes, yet somehow seemed mocking despite it all, "It's like you said, the ABB has gone for years with only two capes in its ranks. It'll manage just fine with three instead of four. I'm sure I'll be a much better heir than you ever were."
'He'll kill you the moment he finds out what you did.' I so desperately wanted to say. Actually, I wanted to do much more than that. I wanted to scream my rage at this woman, I wanted to lunge up and tear her throat out with my teeth. Transforming would be completely unnecessary thanks to the blinding rage and pain filling my body.
Unfortunately, I was unable to even twitch the muscles in my legs of my own volition, so I had to settle with just glaring at Bakuda. She clearly found it pitiful at best, given the way she snorted at my attempts of conveying my rage.
"Anyway, I guess I should get going. The Oni's probably wondering where we are and I'm not taking the chance with that psychopath. I'll have to figure out something special to deal with him just in case he finds out about this." Bakuda turned away, waving at me over her shoulder as she began to walk away, "Enjoy the time you have left, Yuko. All sixty seconds of it."
She disappeared from view and moments later, the sound of a door slamming in the darkness marked her departure. With it, came a quiet beep from the bomb sitting in front of me as it activated. The timer began ticking down. Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, the shifting LEDs of the clock marking the passage of time to my destruction.
In response to the device's activation, my power began slowly boiling under my skin, the mortal danger I was suddenly put in marking an increase in the mist available to me. Unfortunately, thanks to my earlier actions on the Rig, it was a mere cupful of the ocean power that would be necessary to escape my sudden predicament.
I couldn't even move. The pain running through my body had completely paralyzed me, any input from my brain interrupted as my very nervous system twitched with residual agony. I could do nothing but lay there and watch as the timer on the bomb slowly ticked down, the green LED shifting with an almost horrific slowness, as if Bakuda wanted me to spend the last moments of my life panicking at my approaching death.
Unfortunately for her, I was in far too much pain to panic. All that filled my mind as I stared at the bomb was an intense numbness. That, and a slowly encroaching sense of sadness at all that I was about to leave behind.
'So that's it then, is it?' I thought to myself as I stared at my encroaching death, barely able to blink much less move away from the creation that would spell my end. Twelve, eleven, ten. 'Father… Tammi… I'm sorry.'
My power was building even quicker as my death approached but I could tell that it wouldn't be enough. My transformations took time to undergo and even if I turned into something durable I knew it wouldn't be enough to survive whatever Bakuda was doing to me. Thanks to my earlier transformation, I didn't currently have anything that would survive being turned to nothing but ash.
'...Wait!' My eyes widened as I suddenly realized something, my power singing within me as I latched onto a sudden, impossible hope, 'That's it!'
Unfortunately, the moment that the idea manifested itself in my head, the clock hit zero. The bomb gave a shrill beep, and I was given just enough time to stare at the device with heartstopping horror before it erupted in an explosion of plastic, metal, and energies too esoteric for my mind to even comprehend. I was given the uniquely visceral experience of my body shifting and tearing, my very essence being torn apart at the cellular level before everything went black…
And I died.
Next five chapters available to Patrons!