Days ago, in the
Villain’s Testing Chamber. . .
The
Heroes and Villain Leaders watched the events in the Chamber intently. The
Leaders, eager to see Decim8r’s capabilities, and the Heroes longing for their
partner to be saved. Somehow, some way.
Darkon
spoke very quietly into the microphone he used to give Decim8or orders. He then
laughed to himself.
The
monster closed in on Nex, who was moving slower because of the dust from the
toppled building.
It
got closer and closer.
Breeze
couldn’t bear to watch anymore, so she looked away, covering her eyes.
The
machine was now right behind Nex, walking in tandem with the scared Hero.
Then,
it grabbed Nex with four of its six arms. The other two had giant, deadly saws.
Nex
yelled in protest, barely seeing the red eyes of his assailant.
He
was able to angle his gun backwards to shoot Decim8r in the face, and fired a
round.
It
didn’t even wince. It then proceeded to smash Nex’s arm, breaking it, causing
him to lose grip of his gun. It pulverized the gun with its foot and got a
tighter grip on him. It started to squeeze, harder and harder. It activated its
weapon tail and brought it towards Nex’s body.
Nex
yelled in agony.
“NOO!”
Stormer said, jumping to his feet from the metal bed in his cell.
--
There were some prison
guards who pulled up the camera feed from the Team Alpha Hero’s containment cells
on their computer monitor to see their reactions. They snickered as they saw
the fright in their eyes. Practically laughed as Breeze curled up in a ball,
crying.
One
of the Villains said, “Those pathetic Heroes deserve all that’s coming for them
for the way they treated us.”
“Indeed,”
another one commented. “Indeed.”
--
Nex was no more.
What
Decim8r did was something no Hero ever wanted to speak of.
If only we could restore order,
Stormer thought, these Villains would
face a punishment so dire, there would never be a Villain uprising again.
He
was filled with anger and sorrow all at once.
The
monitors in the Hero’s cells powered down and folded back into the ceiling.
--
The Villain Leaders were
impressed. Very much so.
Darkon
was eventually brought to the Throne Room and stood before all three of the
Villain Leaders.
Von
Nebula started with, “Most impressive, Darkon.”
“Yes,
I agree.” Said Voltix. “This machine will be very useful.”
“I
concur,” The Black Phantom added. “What we saw was more than I had hoped for.
Now, how long will it be before this is field-ready?”
“But
a mere week or two, sirs.” Darkon replied.
“Can
it be done faster?” Von Nebula prodded.
“Possibly.
The reason it will take that long is to test its weapon resistance. You saw how
it was able to take a bullet to the face unscathed. Maybe a dent, but nothing
to stop it. I want to make sure it’s at least explosive resistant. There’s no
telling what this machine might come up against out there. Hunters, Heroes, or
even resourceful Strays.”
“Very
well. Good thinking. But, get it finished as quickly as possible. We must find those treacherous Hunters who
killed some of our Searchers.” Von Nebula said.
“I
will certainly do my best sirs. Thank you very much for the speedy supply of
materials as well. It’s helped us tremendously. We will work very hard; I
promise you that.”
“Thank
you Darkon.” The Phantom said. “You may leave in a moment. We will continue to
send you supplies as quickly as we can.”
Voltix
said, “We have one request, though, before you continue work. We’ve just
received word that there was another Hunter attack. We want you to go ahead and
send it out to search the scene of the attack. I’ll have a squad of our Elite
City Guards sent along for protection. There are Searchers at the site
currently, but we need its analytical skills to scope the area out.
“I
will prepare it for transport right away.”
“You
may go.”
With
that, Darkon saluted the Leaders and left the Throne Room.
--
Currently.
. .
The
Alliance’s Plan continued. After some rest and a restocking of supplies, they
were ready to start making a way to free Strays from the nearest City.
Finally, Jerin
thought, I may once again be reunited
with my family! One day.
Aleck
was thinking the very same thing.
Oran
had constructed a few more Square devices for use in the outskirts of the City.
It would help them avoid detection when freeing the Strays. Once they got to
the City, they would either, depending on the circumstances, A) free all of the
Strays when the Villains don’t suspect it, or B) free them slowly over time. B was the more likely option, though. If
all else failed, and the small Alliance group on mission was about to be
caught, one Stray was to be bait as the others escape. Once arrested by the
Villains, he would go into the City and observe as much as possible. He would
try to instill hope in the other Strays who were in the City, and try to make a
way to escape. If there was a way for them to communicate with the Alliance,
they should do so. But, they mustn’t reveal their involvement with the
Alliance, even if it meant not telling fellow Strays of its existence. The
reason for this, is that there may be Villain loyalists who would reveal these
secrets. He would have to make up a metaphor of what the Alliance is, not make
it seem as if it actually exists. This would apply to all of the other Cities
as well.
For
this first quest, Jerin and Oran would remain at the House, upon the request of
many of the Alliance members. Sheer did the same, since she would be too
recognizable, though she hopes to help on one of the quests at some point.
Aleck was willing to go, but he may also be recognized, since he was the one
who was conspiring with Sheer. So, a Stray named Joshua, a highly trusted
Alliance member, would go on to lead this group. This team would consist of
Joshua, two other Strays and a Hero, Callibur. The whole group was given com
links and supplies. Then, they set forth on their mission.
--
The
despicable Hunter, Ahaz reveled in the chaos he had caused for the Searchers
and City Guards. His minions laughed and celebrated right along with him.
Brey
sat in a corner, but this time, he was not hand-cuffed. He knew better than to
try and escape. He was well aware of what would happen to him if he attempted
to leave them. But, he still pondered on ways to get away. If there was a way,
he hoped it would reveal itself soon.
He
was still baffled that Villains were now fighting against each other. He could
understand the head of a gang beating up on his underlings every once in a
while, to keep them in submission, but not a battle between factions. Well, it
hadn’t gotten to that point yet, but, if Ahaz kept up the violence against
Searchers and Guards, and other Hunters decided to join him in doing this, it
could lead to an actual war.
A
gang member walked into the room.
“Sir,”
the lackey said to Ahaz, “There is a neighboring gang of Hunters who wishes to
make a pact with us.”
Wow, Brey
grumbled to himself. What timing!
“What did they say to you?” Ahaz asked him, with
a puzzled look.
“They
needed supplies, since theirs have run short.”
“What
kind of pact do they want?” he demanded of his henchbot.
“They
didn’t say.”
“Hmm.
Let their leader in, but that’s it.”
“Yes
sir.”
“You
two,” He said as he pointed at a few other gang members, “Go out there, with
your weapons, and keep an eye on the visitors. We don’t want any trouble.”
“Yes
sir!” they both said as they sprinted to the door way along with the one who
had just come in.
Minutes later…
“Well,
I’ve never considered having allies. But, maybe that should change. We mustn’t
become too big of a group, though. We all need to get in and out of our target
areas as fast as we can.”
“I
can assure you,” Regahr, the leader of the other gang said, “my bots are very
capable.”
“Good.
You have my permission to join, but under one circumstance. I will maintain
ultimate leadership. Your gang must follow all orders I give, yourself
included. In turn, we will provide you with weapons and supplies.”
“Hmm.
I don’t know— “
“Would
you rather be caught by a platoon of Searchers because they suspect you are
causing trouble and be executed on the spot?!” Ahaz exclaimed, leaning in,
eyebrows raised.
Degar
remained silent for a moment, contemplating his decision. Was it worth giving up command in order to have allies, supplies and
weapons? He wondered.
Ahaz
waited for a few moments to hear Degar’s response. “Well, what’s the verdict?”
“I’d
like to speak with my bots before proceeding with any agreement.”
Ahaz
sighed. “Very well. Go.”
Regahr
walked outside and spoke with his gang. He confirmed to his group that this
surely had to be the gang of Hunters they had been searching for.
To
be continued…
