In the morning, Alexis is already awake and going at the gym before Shayera even rouses. They've put on some of the workout gear from their first body, though it was tight and not completely comfortable for them. But getting in a workout to try and relieve their stress at last night events was doing good for them. A sweat formed as they kept up the shadow-fighting routine in the ring, pretending to fight an imaginary opponent.
Something was changing in them. The way their thoughts were seemed to be clearer than they were before. Something about their body changing must have done something to help them remember more. They remembered sparring just like this against someone who could keep up with Alexis' pace. It had to be the one that had been prepared to fight against Shayera, Wrath. But why did they not remember what they looked like? Just the feeling of blows blocked and connected.
It was when they went for an axe kick on their shadow adversary that they heard and felt the sudden tear as the spats, already tight on their body, split apart at the seam. Frowning and honestly fed up with the restrictions in the first place, they shed it all off, continuing their routine released from all confines. It felt much better to let everything breathe anyways.
The sound of Alexis exercising rouses Shayera. She couldn't think of a good reason why she had to get up this early, so she finds another position in her chair and tries to get a little more sleep. After some time of tossing about, she decides the sounds of Alexis' shadow boxing wasn't letting her instincts settle. She gets up, thinking that maybe she could use her own bed.
She slips out of her chair and sneaks into her room. Choosing the side of her bed that hadn't been used by Alexis, she crawls underneath the covers and closes her eyes.
"...Really?! I mean- Good, glad you figured out some good stuff, but seriously? Este zángano, you're just gonna pretend I just didn't say **anything** else?!"
***
Taking advantage of Shayera's typically-well stocked kitchen, Bronwyn headed up to the penthouse. While she was still in the elevator she asked Abacus, "Hey keep it quiet that I'm here for now? If she's all jet-lagged or portal-lagged or whatever, then I want her to get her sleep."
Slipping into the kitchen she piled up some fruit in the blender and quietly prepped just a few more low-aroma items, not actually cooking anything that would make it completely impossible for Shayera's nose to miss.
Padding into the bedroom, she smiled to see Shayera still curled up, wings pulled in tight. She stood there a moment, letting her scent gradually get picked up by her girlfriend's sleeping nose before she got any closer. Can't just pop back Elsewhere to heal up anymore if she has a nightmare...
"Hmm?" Walking up behind Bronwyn, a very naked Alexis walked up while using a towel to wipe away the sweat from their body. They stood in the bedroom doorway, cocking their head to one side. The cheap hair-dye that they'd been using seemed to be running a bit from their workout, needing some additional touch-ups. This did little to detract from their honed figure.
"Oh, Bronwyn. I thought I heard someone coming into the penthouse. I would have been more worried if it hadn't been through the elevator," They admitted. "She seemed like she was tired still when I woke up in bed, so I thought I should let her sleep some more. We had a long night," They sigh.
"I'm only here as a favor. I quit the team, so the rest is irrelevant."
Bronwyn clenched her jaw hard for a couple seconds, but her anger boiled over before she made it to ten.
"Psst! Hey Alexis! Cover up! It's- it's good that you're... comfortable, but you can't- Look, just 'cause it's some airbrushed, photoshopped, insta-model version doesn't mean it's not still my body! You can't just walk around like this in front of people, it's like you're passing around naked pictures of me to whoever shows up for breakfast!"
***
Bronwyn's eyes widened as she smiled in "Irrelevant. Wow. Well screw you too. A little. You're really going to pretend we weren't even friends?
"Well no matter what you're pretending, I know you. And I know Alexandra. Team or no Team, favor or no favor, you're not done putting yourself in harm's way. Let's face it, that's why you haven't gotten rid of the super car, right?
"So fine. Me hurting your feelings is still 'irrelevant.' But I just showed that I'd come running when the chips were down, even if I didn't have all the intel. You know if things had gone bad I would have helped you just like I helped Chloe. Oh, and if whatever weird magic-stuff you got up to right after the Balor showdown turns out not to be 'irrelevant' too, well... I'm an asset, dummy. Use me!"
The soft voices and new smells rouse Shayera from her sleep gradually, until an anger-laced scent of Bronwyn shocks her to wide awake. She sits upright abruptly in bed, wings deployed in a protective configuration, and sees Bronwyn and a naked Alexis standing in her doorway.
The initial alarm dissipates, but as she takes in the situation a new realization grips Shayera. "Bronwyn! Hi! Alexis! Um..." She looks at her bed with the covers mussed and smelling of her teammate. Panic surges.
"I didn't look! I wouldn't! Ever!" She suddenly realizes that it's impossible to not look while they're standing right next to Bronwyn, so Shayera slams her eyes shut. "Sorry!"
Now Alexis looked very confused. "You're angry because I'm naked in front of people...but, I'm only naked in front of you and Shayera," They reason out. "I wouldn't be naked in front of anyone else. Though I do need sports clothes that fit me better. I'm bigger than the last time I had-" They gesture just as Shayera wakes up.
"You don't have to be sorry," Alexis tells Shayera as she scrunches her eyes closed. The ex-soldier walks closer to her. [b]"I don't think that it's wrong to look. Though Hex thought it was weird in my last body...Is there something wrong with me?" They ask, glancing back at Bronwyn behind them.
Shayera slips out of bed and turns so that Bronwyn is in view before she opens her eyes. "No, Alexis, no. You can wear some of the stuff that's here for Bronwyn. That'll fit you all right," she says while keeping her eyes fixed on her girlfriend. "You don't mind, right?"
She steps up close to Bronwyn, fanning out her wings wide to give Alexis a measure of privacy.
"You were the one to declare that, not I. And despite whatever you may think, why would anybody get rid of a perfectly good car, super or not? Not all of us have super-human speed and a bicycle will only get you so far. And I don't know if you've noticed, but you and Chloe aren't exactly friends, so essentially what you're saying, and what you've shown me, is that we're about as much friends as you and any other schmuck at school. But hey, thanks for noticing something was up too late to actually do anything. I'm just glad the friend who gave me this car was a bit more on top of things and already had contingencies in place to get me to a safe place before Balor's rotting beam, y'know, managed to kill me. Because I'm sure the thing you seem to think happened after that fight was whatever techno-magic was being used to save me from that magical corruption of his. But hey, good to know I could've used whatever the hell is up with you to identify my cause of death at my funeral; I'm sure that information would have been of great comfort to my mom."
The ex-soldier looked at the couple and wondered why they were uncomfortable with their nudity. It was hard to come up with anything in particular, as they moved to slip into some of Bronwyn's clothes - the looser fitting ones, as they were certain wearing any of the tighter clothing would be uncomfortable for them.
In loose mesh shorts and a tank top, they turned to the others. "...I don't think I did anything wrong." They defend themselves, unsure but trying to figure things out.
Shayera throws up her hands in frustration. "Alexis, you didn't do anything wrong, but you kind of did anyway. On accident."
She pinches her brow. "I don't see what the big deal is either, but I understand it is for some people. I've only been wearing normal clothes for a few years. It was usually open hospital gowns, or nothing at all. So I never feel bothered if I'm seen naked.
"Bronwyn's had a normal life. And normal people don't like being naked, usually. Or, most normal people. So, while you're looking like her, when you get naked, I think it's like she's naked."
She turns to look Bronwyn in the eyes. "Am I sort of right? It's almost like-- Wait! You have a sister who's a twin, right? Is that what it's like for her? When one gets naked, does the other one get embarrassed?"
"Look, yeah, I get that you have a different tolerance for this kind of thing, but this isn't your first week out of the barracks anymore! I know you're more observant than this, Alexis, and I know you know that we don't all walk around naked! I mean Shayera's never even seen..." She trailed off, but luckily had quite enough frustration to find something else to latch onto nearly immediately.
"And no it's not like having a twin! Aside from Gabby and Gabe having very different parts that they do not show one another, if I had a twin sister than it would be her body, not one that she was just borrowing until the next time she threw it away! And I would hope that she wouldn't like, send naked selfies of herself to my girlfriend either! And no, Alexis, I'm not blaming you for being put in a stolen body, and I'm absolutely not asking you to do what makes you change bodies. But while you're in that particular body could you at least be a better guest?! And not flash the neighbors?!¡Madre de Dios! ¡¿Cómo seguimos hablando de esto?!"
***
"Maybe if you didn't drive off incommunicado all the time, we would have been able to tell that that time it was a failsafe and helped you faster!"
Fishing out her phone for proof, Bronwyn added with a jab, "Oh, and not that you're the arbiter of who I am and am not friends with, but Chloe and I text all the time since I saved her in the train station. We're gonna hang out next time she's in Halcyon too; I was hoping you'd be a part of that like before all this, but since that is up to you, I guess we'll have to see if you're too busy being a hypocritical misanthrope. Oh, speaking of those, your girlfriend's invited too."
Shayera steps back and looks down at her feet, a sinking feeling in her stomach making her want to throw up. She'd had Bronwyn mad at her enough that she didn't want to step into the line of fire again, but couldn't resist the need to defend Alexis anyway. "My windows are polarized. No one can see in," she mumbles.
"Let's take a break, huh? Alexis, shower's open if you want to use it." Shayera takes a hold of Bronwyn's hand and tugs her gently toward the door.
Emotions swirling, she can't bring herself to meet her girlfriend's eyes. Instead, they dart around as she avoids looking at her. "Um, would you want me to see you, ah, naked?"
"Well yeah! But not just like, at random, or because you walked in on me while I was changing or something. It's just... I know it doesn't mean the same thing to you, but especially because you're my girlfriend, I want my body to be something private and special. I just... So many of our firsts got swallowed up by the whole Bran-thing, and I just - I hate to lose even more of them." The heat in her eyes had ebbed before her quiet sorrow, but a spark suddenly flared back to life.
"It doesn't help that they're prettier than I am," she added with a teasing poke of her tongue.
Shayera's head snaps up and she focuses hard on Bronwyn. She had thought that with the "death" of Bran that concern that he was taking up parts of her life was going to fade, but she realizes it's still there. She starts to nod along.
"It doesn't help that they're prettier than I am," she added with a teasing poke of her tongue.
Shayera whips her head back toward her bedroom and back in a full double-take. "What?"
She tilts her head and looks at Bronwyn's face. "Oh. You mean because Alexis' skin's clearer and their hair has that bounce because it's grown out faster, and is a touch shinier and..."
She stops before Bronwyn's expression can darken too much. Shayera's eyes close and she breathes in deeply through her nose. "But you smell better. Your scent cuts through the perfumes and deodorants you use because you won't hide for long. You smell of Honesty and Truth; you've earned your blemishes because you work at what matters. Your sweat, your breath, your essence comes from within and I just... just love it. You glow in the dark."
Bronwyn couldn't help but give a small grin, raising her eyes to the ceiling with a couple quick blinks. "You are such a cheater."
Reaching down she picked Shayera up to her eye level with a broadening smile. "I mean, how am I supposed to keep being upset when you go and say something like that?"
"Sorry I blew up like that I just... Oh, I should tell Alexis too, so I'll wait til they're- Oh! Burning!"
With a quick peck she put Shayera back down and darted back into the kitchen to get the skillet off the burners before breakfast was ruined.
"So... K struck out, and your mystery vacation didn't give us a lead. What's step next?"
Shayera follows Bronwyn to the kitchen. She jumps on her back and wraps her arms and legs around her in a self-maintained piggy back carry. She nuzzles Bronwyn's neck and breathes in her scent while breakfast is saved.
"Well, the parole officer is dead. We should check out the place for signs of foul play, and see if we can get access to her files. Plus, theres something else I was thinking about. I confirmed that Deathmark wasn't the one who killed Rush Job, but he's still involved somehow. He had payments from that financial company. So he might be a future target."
Alexis returns after their shower. And apparently a shave, as they've sheared the sides of their heads below the temples nearly to the skin in an undercut. They look at the prospect of food, even burned food, with some anticipation.
At Shayera's comment, they look thoughtful, tossing back their still slightly damp hair. "Maybe we should ask Kaoru to try and investigate the company and see who owns it?" They ask in suggestion. "But I'm not sure if that is something that can be done. And what were they being paid to do? Why were they killed? This feels...like the killings are supposed to be a message to someone."
Shayera makes sure Alexis has a spot at her breakfast table by scooching her chair so that she's touching Bronwyn. She nods in agreement with Alexis' idea.
"Yeah. That's another good lead. Plus, if Kaoru's not up to digging into XPN, I might be able to talk my sisters into doing it." She looks away for a moment, frowning as she thinks about how that conversation would go.
She shakes herself out of that reverie as she focuses on eating breakfast and trying to be cute for Bronwyn.
When Abacus pings, she slips out of her chair and moves to the main console. "Okay... that's not suspicious at all." She gives the computer several commands in Chinese to start cycling through traffic cameras and other security feeds to track Sidney Lemmons' vehicle. "Where did you go, Mr. Lemmons? Your grandma is worried sick."
Kaoru bit back a retort. He inhaled slowly through his nose and then back out again before flatly responding, "Whatever you have to tell yourself."
There was no point in arguing with someone who was willing to make up lies to excuse their behavior. Especially if it got to the point that they had convinced themself it wasn't a lie, though he wasn't yet sure if she had gotten that far. Either way, he had delivered his message. She had been the one who wanted to talk about this touchy-feely bullshit. He wasn't going to get upset and spill his guts to someone who not only didn't care but probably just wanted to use it against him. He had already let her make a fool of him once. He wasn't going to give her the chance to do so again.
Now they've got a cooler haircut too...
"I guess maybe not such a dead end after all, huh?"
What is puzzling though is that a few hours later, there's a hit on his face from a gas station on the Northside. This is not just Sidney Lemmons, but Sideswipe as he glides across the asphalt at breakneck speeds. He's missing an ear, blood having stained his shirt on the left side, and in one hand he's holding what looks like some kind of serpentine rod bent into an S-shape, holding it like some kind of projectile weapon. That was four hours ago and the last image that Abacus is able to find, with him heading further north from that position. She knows the exact location of the station: Square K on Third Street.
"Lemmons?" Alexis is looking over in puzzlement, before leaning in to whisper to Bronwyn. "Does this look okay? I thought maybe I should buzz off the whole thing. I don't want you to see yourself when you look at me," They tell her.
Shayera claps her hands when Abacus provides the most recent location. "There! Square K on Third Street." She rises from her chair and starts to head to her room, pausing to glance at Bronwyn and Alexis. "I'll-- I'll probably get there faster if I go myself. He was headed there four hours ago, so if I have any chance of picking up his scent, I need to move fast."
She gives Bronwyn a peck on the cheek as she passes her while pulling off her nightshirt. She dashes into her room and as quickly as she can pulls on her new superhero outfit of durable fabrics and padding. Once ready to fly, she looks at them both. "I promise I'll wait for you if I can. Get ahold of Kaoru, let him know where we'll be. Love you!"
With that, she dives off her balcony and beelines it straight to Square K with the plan to try to pick up Sideswipe's trail.
It takes Shayera no time at all to reach the Square K, a chain gas station slash convenience store. There's probably at least thirty of them within Halcyon's city limits. Here on Northside, there was a more active industrial district, as well as these few strips of commercial road property with some half-empty strip malls and a couple encampments of the homeless settled up close to the fast food places.
Landing at the site, she takes in the scents even as her presence gets a buzz, she can see two clerks inside looking out at her in shock. But the blood trail is easy for her to detect even through the heavy fumes of gasoline and oil. She can tell that Sidney made it further north from here.
From her bird's eye point of view, she could see a couple different places that someone like Sidney might have gone to try and hide from whatever had come after him. One older factory that looked like it was in the process of being demolished or converted into a new type of building, with 'Sasuke Electronics' printed on the side. A strip mall with no businesses at all, its parking lot effectively abandoned to new growths of weeds and with several smashed in windows and graffiti tags along its length. It was unlikely he'd have left the area though, as Abacus would have been almost certain to have caught him on camera again.
What does she do?
In just as short of a time period as Shayera, Alexis had changed into a more outside appropriate attire, as well as grabbing a bandanna and hoodie to wear to help disguise the fact they looked like Bronwyn. They called up Kaoru, and when they hit the first voicemail, they spoke urgently.
"There is a lead we're looking up on the Northside. The one you spoke to yesterday was last seen there, running from someone who had injured him. We're going to investigate. We could use your help. Please return this call."
They finish, looking to Bronwyn. "...It's a long way to get there by foot. Should we call a cab?"
Wingblade circles the area a few times, trying to figure out the most likely spot that Sidney would have holed up. Though Sideswipe had been injured, she didn't think it was life-threatening or she would be going in to render aid. But since she didn't want to spook him and get him running again, she decides to wait and make sure she has backup.
She speaks into her communicator. "I'm in the area. I think he's in hiding, so I'll stay and watch until you get here. If he moves or anyone else comes after him, I'll let you know."
She doesn't want to stay in the air to be spotted, so she looks around for a billboard or cellular tower that she can perch on to keep watch.
It'd be easier if we could just get a ride in the Machina-Mobile. Or if that phasing spell had worked so I could really get up to top speed without all the debris... "But there might be something a bit faster than a cab."
"Go ahead and suit up. I know a shortcut."
Bronwyn pulled her helm out of her duffle, the metal gleaming more than the ambient light demanded, at least to her eyes.
It's almost ready. Cassie was right, it already feels more like a suit of armor and less like a 'helmet-and-breastplate-and-sabatons-and-greaves-and-battle-onesie' etc.
Well, still one leg at a time for now...
***
Her helm was nearly finished, not a boxy greathelm like Bran had worn, but a smooth sloping, nearly featureless facemask that would angle and deflect blows away from its few weakpoints; a crest rising from the back of her head served as both decoration and a doubled layer of steel where protection was key and mobility was not.
She hadn't finished all of the joints and overlapping fiddly bits, so the bullet-resistant weave of her crimson undersuit showed through between thick silver plates and behind snug fastenings.
The overall effect was still more sinister than she wanted. The contrast between her undersheath and her armor made her limbs seem almost too articulated. And unless you got close enough to see her eyes, it was all too easy to imagine that her faceless mask was hiding something inhuman.
Whatever. Function first. Plenty of time to work on the other stuff.
"Okay, follow me."
**
A couple short blocks from the penthouse was an alley where the shadows were heavier than they should have been. "Okay, I never figured out what exactly came through over here, but it's one of a bunch of weakspots in Halcyon that have popped up since the whole thing with Balor and Efnysien. I haven't mapped them all out yet, but I should be able to get us pretty close to 3rd, and a lot faster than a cab. The Paths are safe when you're Elsewhere, but we have to follow them. So when we go through there, you need to be holding my hand. Noise-cancelling or beeswax would probably be a good idea, but you should definitely keep your eyes Closed. They can't hurt you if you follow the rules, but they'll try just about anything to make you break them.
"That sound okay?"
Alexis closed their eyes and stepped into the Shadows. "It's okay. I trust you." There was no reason for Bronwyn to lie. They reached out to grab onto her hand though to help guide them through.
As they ventured in, they felt the chill of darkness on their skin. Maybe they should have gotten earplugs like she had said, but they didn't want to waste any time, and they figured it would be only a couple of minutes anyways. They-
Nails lightly scraping along their shoulders. They flinched, drawing away from the perceived direction of the act. They didn't feel anything there...
You should have died... The whisper came suddenly, a chill crawling up their spine as they press up against Bronwyn's back more firmly, feeling afraid. The crackle of fire snapped in their ear - no, that was the sound of fat cooking off of their flesh. They could smell it, sickeningly appetizing and horrendous all at once.
"What are they? Why are they..." Alexis whispers to Bronwyn as they continue forth...
There's an old peeling billboard advertising 'SAVE YOUR SOUL...EMBRACE THE LORD' up on top of one of the older tenements that were spotted here and there in Northside, a perfect perch for her to look over the area. As she flew close though, she noticed something crawling across it, shimmering with the telltale sign of active camouflage. It wasn't bigger than a house cat, but seemed to be able to climb like a spider from what she could tell of its movements.
"They're predators. Call them wisps, or vampires or whatever. Maybe in the real world they'd fit human classifications better, but over here they're just whatever will help them feed.
"Don't worry though. Whatever you're hearing isn't real. And we're just about... there!"
The whispers cut off with a pop not dissimilar from repressurization, and the sounds of Halcyon fill Alexis's ears.
"Ha! See! 3rd and Simon." She reaches up and triggers her comm, "Wing? We're two blocks out. What do you have?"
That was fast. "Target's still hiding. I've got something on the big God sign; I'm going to check it out. Keep watch in case this gets loud and spooks the target."
The bogey being tiny and cloaked made her think that it most likely was something mechanical but she couldn't make that assumption that it's not a person with shrinking tech. So dropping in on it with a lethal attack was out of the question. Better to figure out what it is before engaging.
She keeps her eyes on it while making sure she's obscured by the landscape as she approaches, getting close enough so her other senses can work on identifying the crawler.
As she gets closer, Wingblade's keen senses note that the small cloaked object had the kind of symmetrical gait that made her sure that it was mechanical in nature. Tracing the very faint outline she could, it appeared to be shaped like some kind of spider, if they ever got as big as cats. She can't make out any weapons on it, so she's not certain without capturing it if it's just some kind of surveillance bot or something more insidious. It's still probably the greatest threat to her at the moment if whomever's watching through its eyes has spotted the hero...
Alexis was glad to be out of that strange place full of creepy vampires. They were equally glad to not have to have seen what they looked like. They were still holding onto Bronwyn's hand for the moment as they looked around. "I know this place - I used to live here a few months ago," They comment, gesturing in the direction of one of the homeless camps. "It's a good place to hide - maybe Sidney went there?"
Though, both of them being in hero gear - well, Bronwyn in hero gear and Alexis in workout clothes with a domino mask and hoodie - they weren't sure how welcome they'd be to the action.
As they all take some time to figure out what to do, the ground suddenly shakes beneath their feet briefly! Several windows at the old electronics factory shatter, the epicenter of the rumbling.
As that happens, the cloaked drone suddenly leaps from its perch, folding up into a disc like shape and flying off towards the old factory!
Bronwyn grabbed a telescoping javelin from her back, readying it at full extension with a quick flick of her arm, before sending it rocketing straight at the drone with a window-rattling rumble of her own.
She ran towards the old factory, calling into her comms, "I'll see what's going on there, but if he's hiding, make sure Sidney doesn't rabbit!"
"Copy that," Wingblade says as the javelin streaks past her at the drone. She spares a moment to verify that Bronwyn's aim was true and the drone is out of commission, and if so she puts her wings to use. She beelines straight at the factory, banking hard and circling around the structure at such high-gees that a normal person would be unconscious. She keeps her senses alert for their target, preparing to give chase in case the speedster tries to run. As she circles, she also tries to get a sense of what's happening inside the factory.
The cloaked object seems to try and evade the javelin, but Bronwyn's aim is true enough, sending it careening towards the homeless encampment as it crashes through a tent, causing more of an uproar from the confused and worried tenants on the land. Alexis goes off towards the source of the rumbling, looking to the sky and following what they think is Wingblade, hoping to catch up to her.
As Wingblade banks around to one side, she gets a good view of where some of the windows had completely shattered, and a fly by gives her a split second view of the interior:
A massive tank crawls up out of the concrete foundation of the factory, displacing abandoned conveyors and using its quadruple treads to maneuver in three dimensions. A drill as large as Kaoru's new car tips it, with grinding gears apparently powerful enough to let it burrow through solid rock acting as both weapon and shield.
Sidney is up in the supervisor's office on the third floor, the furniture left within now acting as barricades for the doors and windows. He looks like he's planning to make a last stand here.
Crawling up out of the tunnels behind the drill tank, at least two dozen armored Triakosia soldiers clamor up, the same as the guards that Wingblade had seen at the Killzone. Coming up behind them are Wrath, Boudica and Chimera, climbing up calmly as they move to take the stairs up to Sideswipe's fortified position.
Mercy makes it to the factory's fence, vaulting over it and heading for the front doors, unaware of what they're about to run into down there!
"Oh, f+%+," Wingblade exclaims, then quickly broadcasts on the team channel. "Abort, abort! We've got Triakosia and three super mercs, Wrath, Boudica and Chimera! Plus a drill tank! I'll get Sidney out through the air. No need for you to mess with all that!"
Wingblade banks in to the third floor office window where she saw Sidney preparing for his last stand. "Come with me if you want to live," she says in a thick eastern European accent.
Alexis skids to a halt when confirmation comes over the comms on the source of the disturbance. They freeze up, looking at the factory building, the window which could make for a good entry point. Confronting their former team...confronting Wrath. They should run away like Wingblade said to do...but with only three of them there and a whole bunch of soldiers in there, the only thing that they would be good for was a brief distraction. So they waited for any other word, peeking in to try and see if they could make anything else out.
-
In the office, Sidney stares at Wingblade incredulously. One whole side of him is caked in dried blood, with some kind of makeshift bandage of duct tape holding paper towels on the side of his head. "First some kid detective, now we got kid heroes," He groans. "Forget about it. Not going to live long now now I've got a five million dollar hit on my head," He chuckled mirthlessly, peeking out the window as the tactical teams slowly worked their way up the metal landings below them, cautious of traps.
"If they haven't noticed you yet, you should go. I could have kept running and hiding, but eventually these bastards will get dirty, get my grandmother to draw me out...not going to give them the satisfaction!" He holds up the strange, serpentine looking pistol, which crackles at the tip. "This is strong enough to knock anyone out with one shot, and stop their heart with two. I'm sure I can take out at least half a dozen before they break down the barricade..."
Sidney seems to be ready to die like a badass up here in his nest. The tactical soldiers have made it to the second floor already. What does Wingblade do?
Wingblade sets her jaw and glares at the suicidal man. Her mind races; she had expected some suspicion about her intentions, not some last-stand fatalism. "Guys like you aren't worth a five mill hit, unless it's because of something you know. Come on, you tell it to enough people, and there's no point in killing you or your grandma. You'll be safe at Defender's HQ."
You watch as Alexis rushes off to go aid in the capture of Sideswipe while alert for any more of those invisible drones. As you do, Wingblade's frantic call comes over the comms, alerting you of the potential danger!
As you look to see where Mercy is now, you see them behind the fence by a window at the factory, before they reach out and slide open the window, before slipping inside!
What do you do?
"Like hell I'll be safe," Sidney states angrily. He peeks out a window, then fires out of it. One of the Triakosia soldiers was hit by some kind of electrical charge launched from the gun, the person falling to the floor. "...Just means stepping out of the pan into the fire. Fine then, if you think-"
As he starts to turn around, Shayera sees behind him the tattooed figure of Chimera, somehow having leapt to the third floor and now clinging to the outside of the office window. Her complexion has turned green and shiny, eyes bugging out slightly, as she opens her mouth wide and a shockingly long tongue punches through, grabbing Sidney by the back of his shirt and yanking him towards her!
Wingblade moves, trying to interpose her wings between Sidney and Chimera but isn't fast enough. "Dammit! Hope you've got some tricks, because we at least have to deal with this one!" She moves to the window and tries to run interference.
"Alexis!" Dangit - didn't they hear?
She didn't follow, snapping another javelin to full extension. Shayera'll be out of there soon. I just need to make sure the path is clear and no one gets hurt while she makes her escape...
Sideswipe is struggling on his own, frantic and angry - in an act of frustration, he turns his strange gun on Chimera and hits her point blank, the electrical charge pulsing through both of them at once. Chimera falls away from the window, and Sidney falls with her, his weapon clattering out of his hand to the floor!
Shayera watches as they fall and land together on the second story landing, the tactical team starting to close in on them as Wrath and Boudica come from behind. She sees Wrath pointing straight at her, with the redheaded swordswoman nodding and heading up towards the office.
What none of them see, but Wingblade can, is a familiar figure sneaking in from the window. Mercy's taking in the situation and looking for a solution, before gesturing to the wall next to them.
"I don't know how you got here at the same time as us," Wrath speaks, their voice audibly louder from speakers in their helmet, "But leave. I have no desire to kill you."
One of the tactical team stops and examines Sideswipe's currently stunned body, before seeming to speak inaudibly. Wrath looks towards his target, before looking back up at Wingblade. "Where is the device he had?"
The entire second landing shook suddenly, the team briefly off balance and confused. Underneath by one of the foundational pillars, Mercy was punching into it as hard as they could to try to send them all crashing down. Unfortunately, it was sturdier than they expected, and now they had drawn attention to themself!
What does Wingblade do?
Outside of the old factory, Bronwyn can see a small gathering from the homeless camp approaching, mostly younger men and women wanting to see what all of the fuss was about. One of them appeared to be carrying some sort of metal crab device tucked under her arm - Bronwyn's sure that's the drone she took down. A red light flashes ominously from its chassis - just as she hears the building shake again briefly!
What does Brownyn do?
Wingblade scoops up the gun instinctively and stows it in a pouch that's located just beneath her wings.
"I don't know how you got here at the same time as us," Wrath speaks, their voice audibly louder from speakers in their helmet.
"Duh. I fly," Wingblade retorts.
Wrath looks towards his target, before looking back up at Wingblade. "Where is the device he had?"
Glancing back inside real quick, Wingblade shouts back, "Oh, you mean the gun thing? It's sparking and glowing red-hot. Is that bad?"
"Hey everyone, I need you to stay back. This place is not safe, but you'll all be okay as long as you stay calm and give us some space. And maybe give me that drone?"
Ugh, could I have sounded less convincing? I should have just kept doing a Bran Voice. I felt stupid but everyone treated me like an Authority... Maybe until my costume is less scary looking? No, that's even stupider...
"You think you're clever, baiting me like that," Wrath says to Wingblade, before glancing back down at the first floor, where the other was. "That must be the girlfriend. Don't let her escape," They command, as half of the tactical team starts to converge on the one who had failed to bring down the second floor landing.
All of these distractions made them err, as Sideswipe recovered more swiftly from his stunning than was expected. He looked up at Wingblade, nodding briefly, before rolling off of Chimera, tackling into one of the soldiers and sliding forward to push three into the railing! The remaining three there with Wrath fired on Sideswipe's position as he ducked behind cover, while Wrath unsheathed his sword and started to stalk around.
As Wingblade watched, she also saw another blade cutting through the barricaded door to the office - it sliced through metal and wood like a wire through clay, carving inwards as Boudica pushed in. "'Ell. I'm not getting paid enough to tangle with heroes," She grumbled.
Below, Mercy stopped pounding the support column, and turned to the half dozen who'd surrounded them below. They assess the situation calmly, taking in a deep breath. "I knew this day would come."
As firearms discharge, Mercy moves faster than they can track them, before with one open palm strike sends one of them flying. "Wait, is thi-" One of them managed to speak before their helmet was cracked in two by a hard elbow strike. The whole team is surprised, and they keep trying to tag them as they take out another soldier by the knees.
Everyone there looks at Bronwyn in confusion. "Who the heck is that?" "Someone's sidekick from the looks of things..." "Hey, where's your boss?" "What the heck is going on here?" "You want this thing, you should pay for a hotel room for us!"
The crowd gathers around Bronwyn, pressing her for answers as she's surrounded. They seem frightened and worried, but not enough to take themselves away from danger.
And then the gunfire echoes out loudly from inside of the building, as the crowd starts to scream and rush away, Bronwyn being swept up with them!
Wingblade gives Boudica a deadly serious glare. "Damn right. Tell you what, how about you cut your losses right now? It's about to get *very* expensive for the Triakosia in a moment. You walk now, and I'll forget you were even here. Hell, take out a few of them on your way out, and I'll owe you one."
"Non-lethally," she adds.
Boudica looks carefully at Wingblade, before replying. "I betray a contract to these guys, that's my head. But, can't help it if you were to throw me out the window." She shrugs, whispers good luck, before yelling and smashing herself through the office window, plummeting the two stories to the ground below! She rolls over a couple times to bleed off the impact, before limping up to her feet and hobbling away from the fight!
Down below, Mercy's fight is getting a little more intense, as they weave through the Triakosia grunts, palm striking and tripping them up in that soft style that they had practiced with Shayera before. It was working out well, as they maneuvered themself below Sideswipe's cover. "Can you run?" They shout up at them in a pause from reloading.
"Not without getting shot to pieces before I build up enough speed!" They call back down. "Assuming you're part of team hero!"
"Enough games," Wrath speaks as Chimera finally shakes out the cobwebs and stands back up, ready to get into the fight. "This is taking too long. You have one minute to finish this...or else I will," They state. Everyone seems to tense up at that, and the remaining soldiers start to converge on Sidney's cover!
Mercy, fairly worried about that and knowing what's coming, decides to do the smart thing and climb up to Sideswipe's side, getting into cover next to them. "I need a distraction to help me get him out of here!" They call out over the comm, holding onto him with a hand on his shirt. "On my signal, we run. Ready? Go!"
They felt some hope as they managed to move faster than the soldiers could track with their weapons. They manage to bring Sidney over the side and catch them, both now safely on the first floor. They just had to get to the windows to escape-
Movement caused Mercy to push Sideswipe forward. It was a good thing they did, because the harpooning grapple lines that shot out from the tank pierced through their shin, tripping Mercy as they were suddenly dragged towards it!
What does Wingblade do?
Wingblade's eyeroll is thankfully obscured by her mask when Boudica dives out the window. She rushes to look outside and watches as Sidney gets a head start thanks to Mercy's help, but then the tank manages to catch hold of them.
"Keep running!!" Wingblade shouts as she dives out the window, corkscrews, and smashes back inside the warehouse to slash at the support strut that Mercy had been pounding on. Weakened already, her own blades and momentum should be enough to finish the job.
The already weakened supports keeping the metal walkways aloft collapsed under Wingblade's assault, and the steel structures sag and send the Triakosia soldiers tumbling down. Chimera hangs on, before her body seems to alter itself, and she lifts up into the air after Wingblade on bat wings, screeching harshly at her and baring her sharp fangs!
On the ground, Mercy saw more of the factory coming down around them both, struggling with the harpoon stuck in their leg. At the very least Sidney hadn't needed any additional motivation to high tail it out of there, the window blocked off by bent steel behind him. That just left Mercy to fight off a tank...and the remaining soldiers...plus Wrath, who had managed to land on their feet before striding towards them.
"Which one are you? The detective? The host? Or..." They stop a few feet away from them, tilting their helmet. "...Is that you, Mercy? Have you finally decided to come home?"
"I will never go back," Mercy said, grunting as they pulled and snapped off the tines of the harpoon, allowing them to pull free. "You will have to kill me first."
"That's funny," Wrath said, as something in their armor clicked. "Ah, warm-up's done. Time to finish up here."
They pulled their sword from its scabbard, holding it gently in one hand.
Mercy didn't hesitate - they were already rushing forward, seeking to strike first -
They stumbled through the spot that Wrath had been in, halting and looking stunned. Or maybe that was because their arms and legs had suddenly started to bleed profusely from what seemed like dozens of cuts that hadn't been there a second ago.
"Sit this one out while I deal with the interloper," Wrath said. Wingblade's kinetic vision was better than Mercy's by far - so she was quite aware that the Triakosia was suddenly moving at superhuman speeds, running up across the wall and then the ceiling, heading straight towards her!
She is pincered between the bat form of Chimera and the charging lance of Wrath - What does she do?
Haven't heard from Bron lately; hope that means she's heading after Sideswipe. Gotta give Mercy a chance to recover and get out of here. As Kay would say, I need to draw aggro. Wingblade's thoughts are a blur, racing through her mind as Wrath approaches. Tactics formulate instinctively as she needs to keep the Triakosia occupied, let her friends escape, and protect the strange gun that could be the bad guys' objective.
And stay alive in the process.
Rather than take to the air, she stays low within Wrath's reach to keep him focused on her. Her wings beat extra fast to prevent him from coming in from her flank, trusting that he doesn't have the sort of speed that would let him stick his hand into a jet turbine without losing it. She draws Chimera to fight over the weakened part of the collapsed structure -- anything that would ruin Wrath's footing and not let him get up to full speed.
In an instant the two are upon her and Wingblade engages.