Mr. Trask waited for the black and yellow clad superheroine to sit, then stood and started talking – although pontificating might have been a better term for it.  “Dr. Justin Pierce has worked for me for several years – during which time he’s proven difficult at best to work with.  He eschews lab partners, claiming he works best alone, and he ignores directives from his superiors, convinced that he knows better.  The problem with these things is that he’s usually correct.  He’s a bona-fide genius – and he’s also dangerously naïve about the world, and doesn’t really know how the rest of human society works.  He’s a researcher, pure and simple – and he belongs in a lab where he can work without distractions…  My problem is that he’s also gone absolutely nuts.”  Trask turned to Virus to see how she was taking his statement – and so far she seemed to be listening intently.

 

                “His latest experiment turned one of our lab volunteers – a man named Kayden Ballard – into a monster the news calls the Waxman, who then killed a Nurse named David Walker.  That’s bad enough, but now, Dr. Pierce thinks I have some sort of vendetta against him and his little dog, and is trying to kill me!  Frankly, after seeing the weapons he had, I’m not sure you’re the right person for the job.”

 

                “Why not?”  Virus asked.  “I don’t see any other heroes here at the moment.”

 

                Trask shook his head.  “Cause you’re a newbie, miss Virus.  You might not have the experience with dangerous mental cases like I have.  I’ve dealt with barely stable inventors my whole career – and sometimes you have to be willing to make the hard choices when taking control of a situation.  You understand what I’m saying?”

 

                Colby hadn’t a fucking clue.  “No, not really.”

 

                “I mean, miss Virus, you might not be able to take him alive… and given the state of our mental rehabilitation facilities in this city, you might not want to.  New Bedlam Sanatorium is not a nice place.  It would be a mercy, really.”

 

                What the fuck!?  He wants me to kill him?  What the hell is wrong with this guy?  Virus looked at Trask, and shook her head.  “I’m not going to kill him!  I’ll catch him, and that’s it.”

 

                “And what do you do when he kills again, miss Virus?  He nearly killed me – and when he strikes again, he will probably kill someone else.  Where do you draw the line?  Does he go to rehab if he kills say, less than 10 people – or does he get the superhero revolving door policy you capes seem to have?  When is enough, enough?”

 

                “Mr. Trask,” Virus began.  “You seem to be operating under the assumption that I’m a mercenary.  I am not.  I am a heroine – and as far as I’ve been able to fathom, heroes save people – all people, villains included.  They don’t kill people.  Not as a mercy, not as an expedient, and not as vengeance.  They’re supposed to be better than that.  If you want to hire someone to kill Dr. Pierce, I suggest you find someone else.”  Virus stood as if to leave.

 

                “Wait!  What about the Waxman?  He killed somebody…  He needs to be found and stopped.  Frankly, he needs help too – he’s sick, injected with some experiment of Dr. Pierce’s.  Frankly, without our help, he’s liable to be thought of as a monster – and I think my company can help him.”

 

                “What about the Waxman?  He’s vanished, like he never existed.” 

 

                “I understand Dr. Pierce was working on a cure for cancer…  The Waxman might possess that cure.  We have to find him!”

 

                “Why?  Is he trying to kill you too?”  Virus asked a little hotly.

 

                “No, miss!  It’s because he’s potentially worth billions and could cure a lethal disease.  He needs care before his mutations get worse.  Dr. Pierce showed me some data, and said the mutation was eventually fatal.  He needs help!”

 

                I can’t tell if this guy is lying or not, Virus thought.  He certainly seems more concerned about the billions of dollars he stands to gain than the millions he’ll help by curing cancer.  This guy is a slimeball.  Oh – and the mutation was fatal, asshole.  I just got better.  Not even Dr. Pierce knows that.

 

                “Mr. Trask.  It certainly seems like you want me to clean up a mess that happened to your company.  You don’t seem to care too much about what happens to Dr. Pierce, or this Waxman, as long as you profit by it.  I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight into why he was trying to hurt you – and in a way, I guess you have.  Thanks, Mister Trask – I’ll take it from here.”

 

                Trask growled in anger.  How dare this trollop in a fancy leotard talk to him this way!  She wants to play it tough?  Fine.  “Miss Virus, you might want to reconsider my request.  Life can get awfully complicated in Empire City – you know what I mean.  Work with me, and I can make a lot of doors open for you.  Turn me down, and a lot of doors can close just as easily.”

 

                He’s threatening me?!  How fucking dare he!?  “I don’t need your help to catch Dr. Pierce, Mr. Trask.  I don’t want to be associated with you – frankly you turn my stomach.  I’ll catch him, and I’ll bring him in alive – and I’m sure whatever nasty business you have between him and yourself will all come out at the pre-trial hearing.  Have a good day.”

 

                “Sanctimonious Bitch!”  Trask shouted as she walked to the door of his ertsaz office.  “Last I heard, you hero types had people who care for you.  What if they have an accident?”

 

                Virus whirled around.  “Are you threatening me?!”

 

                Trask smiled…  Now he had her attention!  “No, of course not.  All I’m saying is that Empire city is pretty dangerous, and Dr. Pierce and the Waxman are still out there.  At least one of them is a known killer – and well, if you were known to be looking for either of them, they might react and strike back against one of your friends…”

 

                Virus grabbed Trask by his hurt arm, and dug her fingers into the wound, hard, and he yelped in pain.  “I understand loud and clear, Trask.  I’ll tell you this once, and once only.  Threaten me again, and your secrets will be public knowledge.  All of them.   Just try me.  High powered businessmen like you only care about the bottom line, and their power.  I will take your power away from you, one secret at a time.  If you want to trade threats, how does that sound?”

 

                “You won’t get away with this, you bitch!”  Trask panted, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

 

                “Get away with what?  Defending myself from veiled threats, or hinted accusations of my friends being killed if I don’t obey?  Keep it up, Trask and I’ll make YOU my problem.”

 

                “Get out!  Get out of my office!”  Bolivar Trask was so angry he was turning purple with rage. 

 

                I’m going to have to look into him soon, Virus thought as she left the office.  If anything, he’s probably a worse problem than Dr. Pierce.  As she left, she took some mild satisfaction in slamming the door to his office as hard as she could.  Asshole, she thought. 

 

                As Virus left, she couldn’t help but see the secretary talking on the phone and buzzing Mr. Trask frantically.  Hrmm… I wonder what’s up?   She interfaced with the phone, and listened in.  “Mr. Trask… It’s Shelly.  He’s at Trask Industrial.  Someone says that he has a bomb, Mr. Trask.” 

 

Mr. Trask growled.  “It’s fine, Shelly.  Call my troubleshooter please.  Thank you.”

 

                “Mr. Franco hasn’t called in three days, sir.”

 

                “Then call my other troubleshooter, Shelly – the one in the green file.”

 

                “Yes, Mr. Trask.  I’ll get a hold of her as soon as possible.”

 

                “Thank you, Shelly.”

 

                Trask Industrial, huh?  Virus thought as she entered the elevator.  That’s maybe eight blocks away.  It wouldn’t take me long to get there, and dollars to donuts its Pierce that’s got the bomb.  I wonder what the hell happened between him and Trask anyway?  I guess it doesn’t matter in the end.  Pierce is hurting people and he killed David.  He needs help.

 

                Virus headed out into the street, grew wings, and flew off, hoping she would be in time to catch Dr. Pierce – or whatever he was calling himself now.  As she flew down Lincoln and Main, she tried to keep at least five stories above the ground…  Still high enough to bypass traffic and lights and electrical poles, but not so high that she couldn’t identify the building when she got to it.  That’s one thing you never hear Captain Patriot complain about, she thought.  Buildings all look different when you see them from above.  How in gods’ name does he not get lost when he’s looking for a particular building?  There are no street signs, and all the buildings look the same from up here!

 

 

*                              *                              *

 

                Detective Taylor pulled the squad car up, just inside Trask Industrial’s parking lot.  “We need to get in there and stop Dr. Pierce.”

 

                Brian groaned.  “Actually partner, we need to wait for backup and set up a perimeter – or are we doing this your way again?”

 

                Allan growled.  “What do you think?”

 

                “Fuck me.”  Brian grabbed his jacket and hat.  This is going to suck balls, he thought.  Every fucking time.

 

                Allan saw his partner was following him, and got out of the car, shutting the door behind him.  The parking lot looked abandoned, or close to it – only a handful of cars were still here.  They could hear the fire alarm ringing outside the grey stone building       of the factory proper – but they couldn’t see or smell any smoke.  Suddenly, there were some screams, and muffled gunfire from inside.

 

                “Come on!”  Detective Taylor called, running towards the front door.

 

                “God damn it, I’m coming!”  Brian ran after his partner, wondering why he kept following him.  Yeah I’m an idiot – but it doesn’t help that he keeps being right for fucks’ sake.  He can be so freaking annoying that way.

 

                Allan ran up to the front door, and looked inside…  The foyer was empty of people, and a receptionist’s desk was inside and to the left.  Ahead, doors led to the factory proper, and to the right an elevator went to the floors above.  A stairwell marked “Exit” in bright red letters was nearby.  Inside, the gunfire seemed louder, and was coming more from the factory proper than the offices upstairs. 

 

                “Ahead, inside the factory.”  He whispered.

 

                “Way ahead of you, Partner.”  Brian whispered back, sneaking inside and taking up a cover position on one side of the factory floor door, looking left and right as he did so.  “Clear!”

 

                Allan nodded and moved up.  The sounds of gunfire were louder than ever – it was fast, like a machine gun – but it didn’t sound really loud.  Maybe it was small caliber stuff?  People were still screaming inside the factory – but they weren’t screaming in pain.  Some of the shouts were people sounding like they were trying to escape.  

 

                “We’ve got to get in there.  On three?”  Allan asked.

 

                Brian nodded.  “One”

 

                “Two”

 

                “Three.”  Brian pushed the doors open, and Detective Taylor rolled into the factory, dodging to one side as he cleared the doorway.  No threats here, he thought, but the factory has seen better days.  What in the hell happened here?

 

                Detective Keller followed him, and took cover behind a fallen steel pressure washer.  “What the hell happened here?  It looks like a war zone.”  The huge racks of storage space for finished products lay toppled like ten ton dominos, machinery and electronics scattered about, much of it destroyed and useless.  It would be a hell of a mess to clean up, that’s for sure.

 

                “It may be.”  Allan said.  “Dr. Pierce started calling himself Hazard Man to Mr. Trask.  Maybe he’s gone and joined the side of the villains, like a mad scientist?  Know anything else that could cause this much damage?”

 

                “Yeah.  My cousin Vinny, a forklift, and a six-pack of beer.”  Brian retorted.

 

                “That must be some cousin.”  Allan quipped.

 

                “He has his moments.”  Brian replied.  “He’s great at parties.”

 

                The two couldn’t see any hazards save for bad footing, and emerged from their cover near the stairs, heading towards the sound of gunfire.  A few seconds later, they saw the shooter, and Brian’s jaw dropped in surprise.  Flying through the air was a Dog that looked a lot like a stuffed animal, with what appeared to be a jet pack on his back, and a machine gun coming out of his mouth.  He was strafing the workroom floor, herding the employees towards the Fire exit near the back – but oddly enough, none of them seemed to be shot or bleeding.  They did look pretty scared though. 

 

                “What the fuck?”  Brian asked no one in particular. 

 

                “Worry about it later, Brian.  We’ve got to stop it first.”  Allan readied his gun, and drew a bead on the flying dog.  It was hard – the target was small, and fast moving, and over 60 feet away.  “Let’s get its attention.”  He fired a single shot, then one more – and somehow, he managed to hit it with the first shot and the second as well.  I have no idea how I did that, but I’ll take it, Allan thought.

 

                The bullets had little effect, flattening and falling off Mr. Chips’s bulletproof nylon body coating.  “Arf! Arf!” he barked.  [ defensive systems engaged ] his brain told him, and Mr. Chips whirled around to see the two police officers.  “Yip!  Yip!”  he barked.  Mr. Chips didn’t want to hurt people.  He was a good dog!  But they couldn’t be allowed to stop him either!  They would make Master sad, and no one would make Master sad ever again!  The bad man had to pay!

 

                “What is it?”  Brian asked.

 

                “It looks sort of like a robotic miniature schnauzer I think.”  Allan replied.

 

                “I was worried you were going to say that.”

 

                Allan steeled himself, and held up his badge. “Attention Robot Dog, this is the ECPD!  You are under arrest!  Please surrender at once.”

 

                Brian looked over at his partner like he’d gone insane.  “What next, genius?  You going to read it its rights?”

 

                “If we can arrest it, you’re damn right I am.”  Allan replied.  “Remember that sentient robot case over in Paragon where the robot walked because no one Miranda’d him?  Not going to happen here.”

 

                “Of course you are.”  Brian sighed, exasperated.  “Nice doggie.  We don’t want anyone to get hurt. Put the gun down, okay?”

 

                Mr. Chips looked at the two men.  They were police officers, and police officers helped people.  It was bad to hurt police officers.  But they were also trying to stop Master!  Mr. Chips scanned through his non-lethal weaponry and skipped a dozen potential ideas until he found the right one.  “IDEA!”  Mr. Chips’ vocoder made the exclamation sound high pitched and childlike, a little cartoonish too, but he didn’t care.  Now he could stop the policemen without making Master upset!  [Activating Taser-Net!]

Mr. Chips withdrew the machine gun into his torso, reconfigured it, and it emerged as a weapon that fired Taser enhanced netting.

 

                “Uh oh… That can’t be good.” Brian muttered, as he dove to one side.  Allan dived the other way – and the net missed them both.  The robot was circling with its jetpack to get a better shot.

 

                “Okay – so it’s a robot dog with crazy weapons!  Any ideas?”  Brian called out.

 

                “Get it grounded!  Shoot the jetpack!”

 

                “I’ll be lucky if I can even hit it!”  Brian retorted, and opened fire.  What a day.

 

 

*                              *                              *

 

 

                Virus swooped along 11^th Street, towards Trask Industrial…  Cars and pedestrians below whizzed past, and Colby figured she was pushing maybe 60 miles per hour.  I think I can go faster, but not in the city streets – too many buildings I could accidentally fly into.  I don’t fancy a collision at that speed, thank you very much.  I’d probably survive it, but it would still hurt!

 

                Suddenly, she was over the factory complex.  A dozen workers were streaming out of a fire door near the back part of the lot, so she swooped down and landed, reabsorbing her wings.  “Is everyone okay?  Is anyone hurt?”

 

                “Nah, ma’am – we’re fine.  There’s a crazy robot dog in there with a gun, shooting the place up!  He nearly hit a few of us, and we got the hell out of there.  No one really hurt except for some twisted ankles.”

 

Virus could see a few of the men and women leaving the factory were limping, but agreed there didn’t appear to be any serious wounds.  “What did the dog look like?”

 

“Some fuzzy gray terrier, ma’am.  It looked like a stuffed animal, actually – except that it had a gun coming out of its mouth.”  The factory worker looked panicked.  “Can I go now, ma’am?”

 

“Yeah, sure.  Get somewhere safe.  I’ll take care of this.”  At least I HOPE I will, she thought.  You sound pretty confident for your second rodeo, Colby.  I just hope you don’t screw this up!  The civilian didn’t wait for a second answer, and limped off, following his friends and coworkers.    

 

The fire door was wedged open with a broomstick, so getting inside was simple…  But Colby wasn’t prepared for what she saw inside.  There was a large factory floor buried in debris and fallen racks, machinery jammed up with debris and broken materials – and a tiny robot dog that looked a lot like Justin’s dog Mr. Chips, flying around trying to shoot electrified nets at Detective Taylor and his partner, Detective Keller.  The detectives looked like they were losing their engagement – but the fact they even came inside the building spoke volumes about their bravery!  Most cops would wait for super hero backup when facing off against what might be a supervillain, or hell, even a villain’s sidekick.

 

Virus reached out with her mental touch, to try and see just how robotic Mr. Chip’s duplicate was – and sensed a robotic mind… a highly advanced one!  That isn’t a duplicate!  She thought.  It actually IS Mr. Chips!  Oh, Justin… what did you do?!  She concentrated, and tried to seize control of the tiny robotic terrier, without harming it.  It took only a few moments to realize its operating system was incredibly advanced.  She pushed harder, concentrating – and Mr. Chips began to falter.  Suddenly, a gunshot from one of the detectives blasted the jetpack on his back, and Mr. Chips fell from the sky like a lead weight, landing somewhere in the debris.

 

“Got the little bastard!”  Detective Keller cried out. 

 

“Good shooting, now let’s look for him before he gets up!”  Detective Taylor moved closer towards the debris pile where the robot dog landed, but couldn’t see him.

 

Virus could sense him, though.  Small, electronic, moving towards the offices on the far end of the room.  “He’s moving this way!”  She called.  “Need some backup?”

 

The two detectives looked over, and sighed with relief.  “Yes, thanks ma’am!  Watch out for him – he’s a tricky one.”  Detective Taylor called out.  “We think his owner is here too – a Doctor Justin Pierce.”

 

“I know.  I’m here for him as well.  He needs to get help.”  Virus called.

 

                “He needs to be arrested.  And maybe hit with a brick.  Not in that order.”  Brian countered.

 

                “Agreed.”  Virus answered.  “I think Trask knows why Pierce is after him.  Give me a moment.”  She concentrated, trying to see wireless signals, and the warehouse was thick with them – dozens of terminals, printers, phones – all abandoned in the mad dash to get out of the building.  She accessed the security system and found him – in an office above the factory floor.  He just finished finding what he was after, too – he was just leaving.  She accessed the files he was looking at, and let the data flow into her brain, transferring as much of it as she could to a pair of USB thumb drives in her pockets, without looking at it.

 

                “He’s up there.”  She said, pointing, just as Dr. Pierce stepped out onto the catwalk above the factory floor. 

 

                “Doctor Pierce!”  Detective Taylor began.  “You’re under arrest for assault, amongst other charges.  I suggest you surrender and come peacefully!”

 

                “Or what?”  Pierce replied.  “You’ll find your bullets are less than effective on me, thanks to my enhanced armor.  Oh – and I’m not Justin Pierce anymore.  Call me Hazard Man!”

 

                “What is it with the freaks picking weird names?”  Brian muttered. 

 

                “Would you prefer Doctor Evil, Detective?”  Hazard Man asked.  “I don’t intend to surrender – not until Mr. Trask is fully dealt with.  He tried to hurt me and mine – and I intend to repay the favor.”

 

                Virus watched Justin, interfacing with his electronic goodies, one by one.  She shut off his laser weapon, his jetpack, and a number of other electronic devices… until she came to an electronic detonator.  “Where’s the bomb, Justin?”

 

                Both detectives looked over, more than a little panicked.  “Bomb?!” 

 

                “Oh – it’s nearby.  It’s big too – enough to level the entire city block or more.  It’s also rigged to detonate if you try disarming it.  I suggest your detective friends get out while they still can.”

 

                Virus looked at the two cops, and pointed to the exit.  “Get out of here.  Evacuate the area.  Save as many as you can.”  She knew there were still hundreds of people within a city block of the area – police, firemen and other emergency first responders, if nothing else.  They had to pull back and evacuate to save lives.

 

                Detective Taylor paused.  “What about you, miss Virus?”

 

                “I’ll be fine.” She said. “Go.”

 

                The two detectives beat a hasty retreat, and ran for the exit.

 

                Hazard Man waited while the police left, and during the hasty retreat, Mr. Chips burrowed up from beneath the debris to join his Master.  “And you would be Virus.  To what do I owe the honor?  It’s not every day a new villain faces off against a new heroine.”

 

                “Let’s just say we’ve met before.  I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”

 

                “As if you can stop me.”  He replied.  “You’re nothing more than a pugilist with some powers.  What are you going to do to stop me, Virus?  I noticed your powers worked best when you touched Carnage and Shrapnel.  I can assure you, I won’t let you touch me.”

 

                Damn, he’s observant!  Colby thought.  Still, he doesn’t know his jetpack has been turned off.  “So now what?”  she asked.

 

                “Help me!  Bolivar Trask is a bigger menace than I am or ever will be.  He kills people who disagree with him, and uses his power and wealth to cover it up.  He tried to kill Mr. Chips.”

 

                So that’s it. She thought.  He’s getting revenge for his dog. “How is Mr. Chips?  I assume he’s the dog you tailored your robot after?”

 

                “Mr. Chips is fine… and you misunderstand me.  Mr. Chips isn’t tailored after my dog – he IS my dog.  I transferred his intellect into a healthy robot body, since his fleshy body was dying.  Trask pulled the plug – and it was the only way to save him.  I did what I had to do!”

               

                “So why all this?” she asked.  “The bomb is going to hurt more people than Trask.  Why not go after just him?  What about all the innocent people you’re going to kill with him?”

 

                “There are no innocent people.  Everyone in this cesspool of a city – me included – has done things they regret to get ahead.  Done things they despise to help those they care about.  They make concessions, make bargains.  Not one of them has the conviction to do what is needed.  I do.  If some LCD’s get hurt in the process, so be it.”

 

                “LCD’s?”

 

                “Lowest Common Denominators.  The little people, the cogs in Trasks machine.  The people that make his business work, make him his money.  People that cooperate with him – like the police, the mayor, and the district attorney’s office.  People with no purpose except as grist for his mill.”

 

                Jesus Christ!  He’s insane!  “Is that what Kayden Ballard was to you?  Before you turned him into the Waxman?  An LCD?!”

 

                “No… Kayden wanted to help me save the world.  I… I actually feel regret for what happened to the young man.  If I could have saved him too, I would have.  I’d like to think we could have been friends.”

 

                No fucking way?  Is he for real?!  “I can’t let you do this, Justin.  I can’t.”

 

                “And you can’t stop me.”  Hazard man replied. 

 

                “We’ll see about that.”  Virus said, tensing – and changing her leg muscles to be extremely powerful, like those of a Kangaroo.  Her legs still looked mostly the same in shape, but they grew strongly muscled.  She leapt – and cleared the 50 feet between them with ease…

 

                Hazard Man raised his energy rifle as Virus leapt through the air, pulled the trigger, and… nothing.  What the hell? He thought.  He didn’t have any time for other thoughts, as Virus engaged him in battle, trying to land a hit on him.  He couldn’t help but notice she didn’t fight well…  He’d at least been in his college boxing club a few years ago and done well.  He blocked her attacks with relative ease.

 

                Mr. Chips was getting upset…  This woman was trying to hurt Master!  NOBODY HURTS MASTER!  Mr. Chips growled in anger, his digitized voice sounding both real and unreal at the same time.  [ Target Acquired. Scanning… ]  Mr. Chips sensors were scanning Virus to find if she possessed a weakness – and they came up with remarkably little – although he did detect a few defensive modifications he could try.  He began to reconfigure himself to deal with this new threat.

 

                Virus threw punch after punch, with Hazard Man blocking all of them, and she grew frustrated.  Laurie was right!  I do suck at this.  I need all the help I can get…  Suddenly she had a brainwave, and triggered the jetpack indoors, while Hazard Man was unawares – and he yelped as he flew up and hit the ceiling, smashing his head against the steel roof beams.  The jetpack cut out, and he fell twenty feet to the ground, groaning, but still able to fight.

 

                Hah!  How about that, Justin?  She thought to herself, and ran over to try and tackle him – only to be intercepted by a beam of fire ejected from Mr. Chips’ mouth.  She screamed and tried to dodge – to no avail – and was lit ablaze by the jellied flaming gasoline.  Virus screamed as she smelled herself burning.  It smelled like bacon, and made her stomach want to hurl – it also hurt like hell.  Struggling to hold on to consciousness, she dragged herself away from Hazard Man, and stopped, dropped and rolled, which didn’t help much.  I can’t let him get away!  She thought, trying to fight back the pain.  Fight it! You’ll heal you freaking wuss!

 

                Hazard Man got to his knees, and touched his head.  His hand came away red and bloody.  “I think… I think we should go, Mr. Chips.”

 

                “Yip!  Yip!”  Mr. Chips replied, looking at Virus.  “Yap!”

 

                “No – leave her.  I need help.  My Jetpack isn’t working.”

 

                Mr. Chips nodded, and turned to help Master.  Master was hurt.  Master needed help.  Mr. Chips would remember who hurt master too, in case they met again…  “Yip!”   He jumped onto Master’s backpack, and linked to it, becoming part of it.  A few moments later, he reconfigured into what resembled a helicopter assembly coming out of his modified backpack.  It was crude, but it would do.

 

                Hazard Man climbed down the stairs, leaving Virus on fire, struggling to stand, on the second floor.  Once outside, he could see the delivery truck, with its bomb inside.  He armed it, and gave it a two minute countdown.  That should give him enough time to get away.  He activated his Helipack, courtesy of Mr. Chips, and lifted off.  “Back to the warehouse, buddy.  It’s safe there.  Back home.”

 

                “Yip!”  Mr. Chips barked in agreement.  He would head back to a safe haven – and if he and Virus met again, well, she’d get more of the same.  All that mattered right now was that Master was safe.

 

                Meanwhile, Virus was battling to control the pain – and it wasn’t until she literally kept her own nerve endings from healing that the pain was manageable enough to function.  Still on fire, still smelling herself burn, she saw Hazard Man and Mr. Chips leave.  Damn!  I couldn’t stop them!  Oh hell… the bomb!  I may not be able to stop them, but maybe I can stop their bomb from going off?

 

                Colby staggered towards the stairs, and tried to walk down them to the door – but walking without sensation or nerve endings proved to be harder than it seemed.  Her legs were clumsy and like dead wood, and instead she fell down the stairs, landing in a heap.  She felt a bone in her arm crack, and poke through her forearm.  Oh, just wonderful, she thought.  Compound Fracture.  Peachy.  Today just keeps getting better and better!

 

                The bomb must have either a timer or a detonator.  If it’s electronic I can sense it, and I can stop it, so maybe 70-30 odds he used an electronic timer, and not a mechanical one…  I hope.  She lay on the ground, trying to heal, while scanning for radio signals.  It didn’t take long until she could sense one just outside the building, in a truck.  Of course… He drove the bomb here and parked it outside.  She struggled to her feet, to get a better look at the truck – and to make sure she didn’t get confused by the multitude of signals inside the building.

 

                Thank god I can’t feel the pain right now, she thought.  The damage was severe and it was incredible she could still move at all – but even so, her amazing healing factor was working overtime and the damage was slowly repairing itself.  She staggered outside, into the afternoon sun and for a moment she was dazzled by the bright light, and the chill of the air.  A few seconds later her vision cleared – and she could see the truck as plain as day, and sense the electronic triggers – the detonators – inside.  A command or two later, and she could sense the bomb was disarmed… but just in case, she told them not to turn on for the next 24 hours, even if they wanted to…

 

                She sat on the pavement, groaning, realizing for the first time that her costume had almost completely burned off from her neck to her knees.  Fucking hell, she thought, and regrew the costume.  “Let’s not do that again, shall we?”  She asked herself, and laid back for a moment, still healing.  A few moments passed, and she felt most of the damage was repaired, so she turned her nerve endings back on, and was pleased to find she didn’t hurt much any more, either.  She climbed to her feet, and scanned the sky – hoping but not expecting to see Hazard Man and Mr. Chips.  She wasn’t surprised when she didn’t see him.

 

                You may have beaten me this time, but I know I can outsmart you.  I can beat you.  She thought.  And I know where your hideout is…  We’ll be seeing each other soon, Hazard Man.