Alec fancied himself as categorically ‘smart’, and at the minimum, he wasn’t exactly a fool.
Admittedly, he liked acting the clown in their little group of friends. It was low-key, but he had been working hard on using his powers on the Iron Spider… The nature of Alec’s powers was of the ‘Master’ category, and it was one of the most effective ones out there.
But Alec was starting to doubt it… The ‘bio-electricity feedback’ from Iron Spider was adjusting to his powers. In real-time, the Spider’s neural network was fixing the little electric threads that Alec was using.
Judging by the lack of reprimand and reaction, the Spider was most likely unaware of what he was doing. Alec surmised the nature of Spider’s powers was instinctual.
“We are going to reinforce the Protectorate and Entomancer,” announced the Iron Spider. “Glory Girl, tell New Wave what is happening. Setting up a perimeter of capes is many times better than risking unpowered professionals. Lung is out there, duking it out with the Protectorate’s roster.”
“W-what?”
The Iron Spider ignored Glory Girl and addressed Alec. “Regent, follow me.”
Damn, the Iron Spider was stepping up on the leadership role very fittingly. It didn’t escape Alec’s notice that the Spider felt like copying someone when he was in his ‘leader’ voice. With relatives like Alec’s, it was difficult for him not to acquire the skills to ‘read’ people. Though it would pale in comparison to ‘Thinker’ powers, Alec was plenty competent enough.
Alec hitched a ride on Bitch, the two of them riding on Angelica. The dogs Brutus and Judas were in their normal state, conserving as much energy as possible.
The Iron Spider was swinging by their side at a slow pace, allowing them to easily catch up to him. From the comms, Alec heard the Spider’s next set of instructions.
“Regent, Hellhound… I want you to regroup with Tattletale. She is making good distance. After triangulating her movements, and some thinking… I reckon this is another ‘distraction’ attempt by the ABB. Lung is free, and it is stupid that the PRT withheld this information. The moment we reach Entomancer, I want the two of you to pick up Grue and run after Tattletale pronto.”
Too abruptly, gunshots resounded from their left.
Alec frowned. It was an ambush, and he had enough brains to deduce that was for stalling them. But the Iron Spider was steps ahead of the ambushing ABB thugs. It took little effort for the Spider to web up the dissidents.
The Spider continued, “Bakuda is likely headed for the Rig to steal Armsmaster’s technology. The only thing the PRT might have done right was to detain Lung in the PRT base separate from the Rig… That incentivized the ABB to conduct this second operation. This is the best chance we have.”
“Wait, wait, wait… You expect us the Undersiders to throw ourselves to Bakuda? Oni Lee will be there,” Alec complained, “And just to inform you, Lee fucking loved his grenades. And he can duplicate ‘grenades’ which is… I don’t know… How about Tinker grenades?”
“That’s why you need Grue, and if Armsmaster listens to reason, then he might see the ‘good’ in you guys, and you lot don’t have to be villains anymore. I’d like to have either New Wave or the Wards back you up guys, but you lack street cred.”
Ouch…
“What about you?” Bitch asked for the first time.
“Me and Entomancer will handle Lung… Last time I heard from Taylor, Lung was outfitted with some Tinker tech.” And then the Spider sped up, swinging with more oomph.
Alec swore he’d have his sweet revenge for the spider-duo coercing the Undersiders to their bidding, and here he was starting to like Spidey.
It was complicated being invested in a ‘family’ he thought was a good pastime. But then again, there was a reason as to why he liked the Undersiders. While it was deserving of Tattletale, he promised not to scold her after everything cooled down. That was Grue’s job after all.
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Monday— April 18th, 2011.
TIGHT SPOT.
11:20 AM.
“I never thought a day would come I would rely on little trinkets,” began Lung as the Protectorate and he engaged in a stand-off.
“I am on the nest, Armsmaster, loading the specialized tranq bullets,” Miss Militia informed Armsmaster from the comms.
Armsmaster replied, “Shoot at your own discretion.”
It was a shame, but Lung had escaped. Armsmaster recalled Director Piggot insisting that Lung be contained on the PRT base and not the Rig. Even now, Armsmaster was unsure if that was the correct decision. He was confident he could contain Lung in the Rig, and even if ABB succeeded in freeing Lung, Armsmaster would have easy countermeasures to track them, making an easier capture.
Thomas Calvert— the PRT consultant was the one who suggested the Director change the holding cell of the Rage Dragon. And then in a turn of events no one saw coming, Lung had escaped in means only a mole could have thought of.
Even Armsmaster did not see it coming considering the PRT base had more lock mechanisms than the Rig in lieu of protecting its civilian staff on the basis of a hostage situation.
Thomas Calvert was suspicious, but Armsmaster had no time to think about him.
Lung continued with his speech which was uncharacteristic of him, “I am proud of my little bomb-tinker. She made these reusable micro-bombs and injected them into my veins. With this, I don’t need to ‘Ramp Up’ anymore. Anyone here heard of Tinker-tech-infusion?”
And here Armsmaster was hoping Lung would tell them his objective of being here, but the problem was more serious than he thought. “Shoot him! Shoot him now!” He shouted to Miss Militia via the comms.
“Witness my Ascension,” grinned Lung with mania in his eyes, and then… he exploded straight away into an enormous 14-foot-tall monster.
The tranq bullet sped on his visage, but it simply melted at the heat.
“Fuck,” cussed Armsmaster for the first time, “I knew I should have made it in Tungsten.” He hated every second of it, and the ‘budget’ was all to blame.
Lung's transformation was nothing short of terrifying. But this!? This would take the cake! His muscles bulged and his skin rippled, he seemed to expand exponentially, towering over everyone around him. His once-human form was now distorted and monstrous, with scales covering his body like armor.
“And he had fucking wings!” Assault inelegantly fumbled as Lung unleashed gouts of flames unlike before. Assault, Battery, and Velocity scattered.
Dauntless tried to close in with his shield held up, but Lung began flying.
Via Armsmaster’s interface, he could see the thermal reaction and the inhibited explosion caused by minute vibration from Lung’s skin… He had too little data, but he could safely assume that Lung’s claims of being infused with Tinker-tech with true. Armsmaster held his halberd and jumped, easily reaching Lung mid-flight.
The halberd slashed at Lung’s left arm, severing it from him.
Lung’s regeneration was too strong, his arm already healing, and an arm was nothing to him.
But Armsmaster wasn’t done yet. He launched a grappling hook right at Lung’s chest, the hook clinging to the ribs. Armsmaster’s aim was not to be looked down on.
And Miss Militia’s aim was even better— she had launched a grappling hook at Lung’s three o’clock.
Standing beside Miss Militia were Velocity, Assault, and Battery doing their hardest to bolt down and fix the pieces of metal on the concrete like a crew from a Formula-One-Racing championship in the midst of changing the tires.
“The grappling hooks are made of unique tungsten alloy of my making, not totally heat resistant, but enough to hold you in,” Armsmaster strategically gloated, trying to play with Lung’s ego.
Lung struggled and with his brute rating, he was more than capable of escaping this.
Unfortunately, Dauntless was already on his back. Dauntless sported a Greek-warrior-themed costume and he was just one step away of becoming a Spartan with a ‘hoo-hah’ war cry.
Thankfully, he was sensible enough not to shout at someone he was sneaking into. His boots gave him the ability to fly, and with his current speed and Lung’s attention away from him, he managed to sneak on Lung’s back. With his shield outstretched and all of his weight, he descended on Lung.
“RAAAGH~!!” screamed Lung, but the Protectorate was not done yet.
Triumph arrived from his hiding spot, he unleashed a sonic shockwave directed at Lung.
The Protectorate had come prepared. Dauntless was outfitted with modified sound-barrier technology from the combined work of Armsmaster and Dragon. On top of his shield, Dauntless should be able to endure the sound manipulation by Triumph.
Triumph wore a gladiator-themed costume with a golden lion helm on him, he put more effort into control and launched sonic blasts right on Lung’s eardrums. “Get down, Lung!”
Miss Militia launched another grappling hook and it connected to Lung’s abdomen, the trio of speedsters was working on the counterweight and leverage where the grappling gun was connected.
Slowly, Lung's flames were getting weaker. The sonic blasts traveled on air, and while it would have normally amplified Lung’s flames, this situation was different: for instance, the air was getting erratic and a sonic vacuum was being formed around Lung.
Lung’s knees reached the ground, his 14 feet bulk was reduced to a kneeling figure yet he still came taller than Armsmaster.
It was not a victory yet, but they were close.
Armsmaster took out his foam gun and was about to spray it at Lung.
But Lung smiled… His monstrous visage just smiled… “She made these reusable micro-bombs, and injected them in my veins.” Lung’s words echoed in Armsmaster’s mind.
Emphasis: reusable.
Lung exploded a second time, and this time, he was 40 feet tall.
It was a powerful explosion, a lot more powerful than the first time. It was terrible. Dauntless was flung backward, and Armsmaster was held in place by Lung.
Armsmaster felt the powerful grip of the monster on his waist and torso.
This was it. This was it for him.
“Retreat!” Armsmaster yelled with all his might.
“Hold your ground,” yelled back by an unfamiliar but unmistakably feminine voice.
The voice that cried opposition to his orders was none other than the Entomancer, evident by the sound of her swarm that had begun to darken the sky. Taylor Hebert. The young girl whose civilian identity was all too suddenly exposed to the world.
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Monday— April 18th, 2011.
FEARLESS OR JUST PLAIN SUICIDAL?
1:35 AM.
Taylor proudly walked to Lung, “Took me some time to expand my range and bring more insects but I am ready, it is me you want, Lung, come and get me!” She raised her both arms and then brought them down.
Coming from above was a literal waterfall of insects of any kind.
Grue who was standing beside her began to move, expanding his smoke on ground level and creating the illusion that Taylor had more insects than she appeared to have. With excellent positioning, Grue reduced his presence on the battlefield.
Meanwhile… Taylor was using the spider emblem recently embedded in her suit at its fullest function.
Rather than a drone, the spider was more of a ‘server’ to the watch strapped on Taylor’s wrist. Yes, it was meant to be a drone, a tracker for her, and a high-tech ‘minion’ with abilities more varied than her usual insects. But Taylor appreciated its more IT-side support.
For example, she was able to insert herself into Armsmaster’s comms channel with the watch.
Before revealing herself, she had sent Miss Militia instructions as to how to deal with Lung and save Armsmaster. Taylor did not lie of momentarily ‘expanding’ her range to gather more insects, something only possible from the ‘thread’ she shared with Peter. It was a weird feeling, knowing she could draw power from the connection, but she did not hesitate to tap into it.
Thus, the current situation.
Taylor couldn’t give a clear number to the insects under her control, but a safe estimate was in seven digits. “Miss Militia, do it!”
Dark-haired and olive-skinned, Miss Militia wore a scarf and sash around her waist patterned after the American flag, and stylized, fitted army fatigues that accentuated her curves. And… she was as deadly as she was pretty. Before even Entomancer revealed herself, Miss Militia was already moving.
With a steel machete summoned from her hands, she ran, bravely jumped, and slashed at Lung’s wrist.
Because of the size difference, she only managed to cut one hand, but that was enough for Armsmaster to pry himself from the Rage Dragon. Miss Militia rolled on the ground, while Armsmaster dropped on his knees. Waiting for them down below was a crouching Grue who took Miss Militia and Armsmaster’s hands at the same time.
This all happened within a good two seconds.
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Miss Militia thought Armsmaster would have been dead right at that moment.
But Entomancer came.
When the smoke cleared, she saw Grue who finally let go of her and Armsmaster’s wrist.
It was unexpected to see someone from the Undersiders here. Though she heard from Armsmaster that the Spider-duo had appropriated Undersiders and forced them under their employ, Miss Militia could still not believe it.
The Undersiders were a slippery bunch.
“What are the plans now?” Miss Militia asked Armsmaster.
But Armsmaster just stared at Grue. “Where is the Iron Spider? And where are we?”
Miss Militia looked around and only now did she realize it was dark around with the only source of light being the fluorescent lamp above. “What is your game here?” She added inquisitively.
“I don’t plan to try anything,” the young leader of the Undersiders sighed. “The Undersiders are now working for the spiders. Just full disclosure, some nanite-cylinder was forced in my team’s bloodstream, and I don’t trust the nanites’ function are as simple as tracking devices.”
“Did you bring us here because you want to break a deal?” asked Miss Militia.
“No! If I am being monitored now, and gave some treasonous answer, I might be fucked up over. It is something else…” Grue sighed again, more exasperated. “Entomancer has a message to the two of you… She says, she wants to fight Lung head-on, and that the Protectorate should… support her.”
Entomancer was basically telling them to play second fiddle from this point.
This made Miss Militia and Armsmaster utterly speechless.
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#Lung about to get another Taylor Treatment #Grue being sneaky
