Collaboration between
@Pupperr and I
New Angeles
Old Factory/Office
Detective Anderson
12:17 P.M
Vector switched a button to on position on his forearm. Six indicators appeared on the monitor, letting Vector know that all his drones were connected. He pressed a button down on his mask and began speaking. His voice echoed from each drone, the speakers in each drone broadcasted his voice throughout the second floor.
"This is Detective Arachnoid. Don't have a lot of time to talk, so I'll make this quick. You have five seconds to put down your guns."
He was met with silence, most of the criminals looking for the speakers, looking at each other, or readying their weapons.
"Uh guys, I meant right now. 5. 4."
Vector continued the count down, but he still was met without a response. He sighed, it always had to be the hard way.
He flipped the intercom switch to the off position, this time clicking a timer on his forearm and quickly setting it to 3 seconds. He watched as the timer clicked down, as it reached zero each drone light up, firing out three-puck like grenades exploding in a blinding light, blinding anyone foolish enough to not cover their eyes. Lucky for Vector, it seemed like they were all foolish.
Bursting through the window in-sync with his flash-bang drones, he brought his rifle up to his shoulder, firing at the man who had been listening to music moments before. He dropped his gun, and rubbed his eyes frantically. A well placed shot in his temple took him out easily.
One of the men playing cards fired blindly towards Vectors direction, still disoriented from the flashbangs. Vector sent two shots down range, the first shattering the liquor bottle on the table and the second hit the mans throat.
The second man playing cards started to stand up with a pistol, the effects of the flashbangs were starting to diminish somewhat. A bullet flew past Vectors head as he ducked into cover in the nick of time. Grabbing one of the drones on his waist, Vector rolled it down a walkway towards the gunman, rolling slightly before folding out four-robotic spider legs. Scuttling towards the man, who was focused on trying to get a shot at Vector, the drone easily latched onto his leg. Pressing another button, an electric currently quickly went through the drone, shocking the man until he was unconscious.
Vector remained in cover, swiping the monitor on his wrist to pull up the camera feed once more.
There were still four more baddies in the room with Vector, two of which were held up at the far end of the office close to the hostage room. One was two his right, slowly flanking around trying to line up a shot on the detective. The last man was still waking up to his left, huddled behind an old filing cabinet, reloading an assault rifle.
The one to his right inched closer and closer to his spider-camera, Vector clicked on the monitor, gaining control of the drone. A red button appeared in the bottom-left corner of the screen, and Vector quickly pushed it detonating the explosion in the drone. The man's body went flying a few feet, landing on a desk with a thud.
Vector glanced around the corner of his cover, and spotted the filing cabinet the man to his left hid behind. Vector brought his scope to his eye, waiting for the man to peak around the corner. It didn't take but a few seconds for the man to look over the filing cabinet, and Vector picked him off quickly. Staying low, Vector moved up, taking cover behind the card-table, the body of one of the men laying on it. Grabbing the last drone on his belt, he twisted it counter clockwise. The red-led lights lit up on it, blinking slowly. Tossing it overhead, the explosion detonated, killing the final two men in the room.
~~~
Vector made quick work of the two men guarding the entrance to the small office, who were foolishly ordered by their boss to go check on the men in the main-room. Vector slide behind a desk, sliding the strap of his rifle off of him and setting the rifle against the desk.
Flipping the intercom on his mask back on, he spoke to the mutant and his last henchman.
"Alright green mo-hawk, it's just me and you. Let the girl go, and I'll put you in cuffs instead of putting a bullet in you."
The superhuman laughed, pulling the girl from the ground and holding her in front of him. He glanced at his henchman, before he started to scan the room. "Looks like you're not too good at math Detective, there is two of us and one of you. If you wanna include girly here, there are three of us. You outta worry about putting a bullet in her to."
Vector pressed a button on his drone, taking control of it. A small pair of cross-hairs appeared on the monitor, as he lined it up with the chest of the henchman. Pressing a button, two wire cables exploded out from the drone, sending an electric current into the mans chest.
The mutant fired a ball of green fire from his hand, torching the drone, but it already did its job. Now it was just Vector and mo-hawk.
"No more hiding Detective, unless you want girly here to get alittle crispy."
The mutant ordered, his hand catching aflame. Frowning Vector obliged.
Vector walked into the small office, his hands raised showing he was disarmed. He ignored the mo-hawked man, and instead focused on the woman. "You alright Miss? Don't worry, I'll get you outta here."
The sound of explosions came from the level below. They rumbled through the room and alerted the leader to the intruder who barked at two of his men to go and investigate the situation. The two men hurriedly left to their inevitable death. Riley's ears were open and she could hear the detective on the floor below. When she looked through the floor beneath her feet all she could see was a room full of blinding light. It wouldn't be long before he made his way to her. It's showtime, boy's… let's make this believable.
"Looks like you have company, greenie. What are you going to do about it, hiding in this room with a hostage? Pussy." The words fell off of Riley's tongue like venom. She looked at the leader in the room with a cruel smile as he turned to face her; his face was plastered with rage. He quickly walked toward her in an intimidating posture and grabbed a fistful of Riley's hair, yanking it backward to force her to look up at him.
"What did you say, girl?"
"I said… you're a pussy. Hiding in here with a hostage while you let your goons to take care of the problem. You're going to die in here.. Pussy." Riley spat her insult at the man, relishing in his ever growing anger.
THWAP
A hard hand struck Riley across the face, leaving a painful red mark behind. The leader threw her to the ground by her hair and stood over top of her, ready to kick her in the gut. "I would watch your mouth, missy. Or you'll make friends with my boot here."
Riley looked up at the man, a sly grin on her face. She simply nodded in acknowledgement and waited. The sound of the onslaught continued on the level below, weapons were being fired, explosives were going off, men were shrieking in pain as they died one after another. It wasn't long before Anderson was on the second level. The two men standing guard at the door didn't stand a chance and then his voice came through an intercom in the room - "Alright green mo-hawk, it's just me and you. Let the girl go, and I'll put you in cuffs instead of putting a bullet in you."
She didn't have time to snicker at the pet name for the leader as he wasted no time grabbing her from the floor and pulling her in front of him for protection. Riley struggled against him with the least amount of force possible, she wanted it to look real enough but not overpower the idiot. She made comments toward green mo-hawk to let her go before he shot green fire from his hand and threatened to crisp her. ...I hate this part of my job..
The door carefully swung open and the detective walked in. He was in full combat gear and something about a knight in shining armor coming to her rescue intrigued her. Anderson ignored the leader and focused on making sure that she was alright. Riley mustered up a few tears and twisted her face into one of fear.
"Please…. Help me.."
New Angeles
Detective Anderson
12:31 P.M
He gave the girl a comforting nod, and turned his gaze to the leader. He was uglier up close. Half his face was covered in a surgical mask, while the top half of his face was scarred in several places. On either side of his head, his head was shaved down leaving a long, spiky green mohawk up top. His left ear was pierced in several places, while the bottom half of his right ear was gone completely. Vector whistled beneath his mask and took a step forward, showing that both of his hands were empty.
"See, no gun. Now put the fire out and let us settle this like men. No girl, no guns, and no powers." Vector suggested, taking another step before the mutant growled. "Not another step, I'm not an idiot, I see your fucking pistols." The flame in his hand grew bigger and brighter, the green fire illuminating the room. Slowly, Vector took the sidearms out of his chest holsters, and sat them on the ground. He kicked each one away, with a smart-aleck "Happy?" The fire diminished some as the mutant looked towards both auto-pistols, a smug smirk on his face. "Doesn't look like you're that smart after all jackass." Pushing the girl to the ground, the mohawked man extended both hands, fire erupting from his open palms towards Vector. Rolling out of the way, his hat fell to the ground and caught aflame. He pressed a switch on his forearm and extended a hand towards his auto-pistol. The gun shook on the ground before being pulled into Vectors robotic hand. Vector felt his the magnetism in his arm and gun connect, as he brought the pistol up to an aim.
Firing on the mutant, the first bullet caught the man in the ribs.
The second struck him higher up in the chest, right by his heart.
The third, and final, bullet hit the man in the throat.
He held his neck as blood gushed out, the spark in his eyes quickly dying out with him. He slumped to the ground, going silent with one last gurgle. Vector fell on his ass, his arms resting on his knees as he caught his breath. His hair hung in front of his mask and he brushed it. "That was my favorite hat." He muttered, glancing at the burning baseball cap. Standing up, he pressed a button on his mask, making it quickly retract back down revealing his face. He gave the girl a smile, and gently started to untie the rope from her wrists. Letting the rope fall to the ground, he offered her his hand and helped her stand. He pulled the chair up for her, so she could sit down. "You alright ma'am? They hurt you at all?"
Riley returned the detective's comforting nod, letting the tears flow from her eyes with ease. She had always been a talented actor, a necessary trait for her profession. Riley was used to wearing many hats or faces, from deranged psychopath to blubbering widow. The helpless hostage was one of her least favourites, she didn't enjoy being vulnerable, especially when the man holding her hostage was nothing but a low life scum who couldn't see when he was about to die. Riley would have to trust that detective Anderson could handle green mohawk and judging by what he had accomplished so far, he was.
Anderson moved toward them as he had words with the leader. The detective obliged to the leader's demands to drop his weapons and Riley was suddenly thrown to the floor. She hit the cold linoleum with a thump and a sound of pain, unable to brace her fall with her hands still securely tied behind her back. Falling to the ground like a beaten dog, this was the reason she hated playing the helpless hostage. Riley glared up at the green mohawked leader from the ground. Oh, how she wanted to skin the disgusting man and leave his bare-boned body to hang from the rafters.
The pistols thrown to the ground returned to Anderson's cybernetic hand. She wondered how he had managed to do that, impressed by the detective she attempted to scurry away with the inevitable showdown of pistols vs fire. The first shot fired, echoing through the building. Riley's well tuned ears heard the man's ribs crack and break against the bullet. The sound of his innards being punctured brought a cynical smile to her face that she hid by turning her head to the floor. The second shot was a near miss from his heart and the third and final shot, to his throat; slicing through his jugular and spraying blood. The leader grabbed onto his neck, desperate to close the wound, but it wouldn't matter… he would be dead in seconds.
The green mohawk man fell to the floor, his body hitting the ground lick a sack of flour. His blood began to pool around him and Riley could hear him drowning in his own fluids. One last smile before she composed herself back into the helpless hostage and rolled to her side to look at detective Anderson. She watched as he fell to the ground, the rush of adrenaline catching up to him. Riley forgot how most people were affected by the thrill of a fight. For her, she found pleasure in it. The detective pressed a button on his mask, revealing her handsome knight and shining armour. When he walked toward her and smiled, she felt a different kind of thrill that only heightened when he stooped down next to her to untie her, his sweet aroma filling her nose. She fought the urge to bite her light. This is going to be a lot more fun than I had ever hoped for..
Riley accepted detective Anderson's hand in helping her up. She sat in the chair he pulled up for her and took a few quick breaths in an attempt to portray anxiety. After a couple seconds she steadied her breath and looked at the detective. He was devilishly handsome; green striking eyes and long brown curly locks. Young too. "You alright ma'am? They hurt you at all?"
"I.. I think I'm OK. He just… he just hit me the one time." Riley's voice was shaky at first but began to steady as she talked. "Thank you so much, I don't know how to repay you. My name is Riley."
New Angeles
Detective Anderson
He chuckled some, brushing his hand through his hair. "Riley huh? Pretty name." He reached a hand into his jacket, pulling a loose cigarette from an inner pocket and setting it in his mouth. He raised his left hand, his cybernetic finger popping open, a small flame ejecting from it like a little lighter. He lit the cigarette, and inhaled the smoke deeply. "You don't mind if I smoke, do you?" He asked the girl, holding the cigarette in between his fingers. "No need to repay me either, just enjoy playing hero every now and then."
He laughed playfully, tapping the smoke on his wrist, letting the ash fall to the ground. He looked over at the girl, quickly observing her. She looked like a normal civilian, most likely just randomly picked up off the street. She wore one glove over her left hand. It was either a curious choice in fashion, or she lost the other one. She's pretty. He thought to himself, looking from her delicate lips and cute nose, only pausing when he noticed her eye. He took another drag, a look of excitement growing on his face as he saw the cybernetic glow that outlined her pupil. He scooted closer to the girl, leaning in to get a better look at it. "Fucking sweet!" He said in excitement, before laughing awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his head saying "Sorry, I tend to get excited when it comes to robotics and cybernetics." He showed off his metallic hands, extending one realizing he forgot to introduce himself. "Detective Vector Anderson, feel free to call me Vector though."
Riley examined the detective as he pulled the cigarette from his pocket, lighting it with his cybernetic finger. She smiled at him in response to his compliment and nodded gently in confirmation of him smoking. His playful laugh brought a genuine smile to her face, he was an innocent young man not afraid to laugh in such a wretched situation.
She watched curiously as his eyes traced her body until they fell on her gloved hand. Riley was used to men fantasizing about her, eager to have their hands wrapped around her body but Anderson was also a detective. He would remember the smallest of details… Riley's blue eyes fell on his as he looked observantly at hers and scooted closer to her, leaning in dangerously close to her face. A warm flush touched her cheeks as she flinched just ever so slightly but what came out of the detective's mouth surprised her.
"Fucking sweet!." he said with excitement. Confessing his love for robotics and cybernetics as he showed her his metallic hands and extended one in an introduction of himself. "Detective Vector Anderson, feel free to call me Vector though."
Riley turned her head slightly away from the detective in a shy yet submissive manner. She had just been held hostage and needed to remain in character of that of a scared victim. She looked up at the detective and extended her glove free hand to shake the cold steel of his. "Heh, thank you.. It's almost impossible to hide a glowing ring around your eye. I am so glad to meet you detective, without you I'm sure that man… he would have.." Riley's voice trailed off as she pulled her eye contact away from Anderson, as if she was realizing just what could have happened to her. Her gaze wandered over to the dead body upon a carpet of blood and she shrunk into herself in a small shiver.
"Can we.. leave, please?"
New Angeles
Detective Anderson
Vector failed to realize that this girl was a civilian, and wasn't used to seeing dead bodies. "Yeah, yeah ofcourse!" He proclaimed, taking her gloved hand and escorting her out of the room. He rested his cigarette in his mouth, opening the door for her.
The outside room didn't fare any better, a corpse of one of the guards was slumped over a knocked over file cabinet, while the other was laid face-down in a pool of his own blood. The detective wrapped an arm around Riley, pulling her closer to him so he could cover her eyes. "You uh, shouldn't see this."
He brought her to a side room, one that the Shade members had used as a bunkhouse. He pulled two chairs together and offered one to her, as he took a seat in the other. "I know you probably don't feel like answering questions right now, but I gotta ask'em or my boss will fire me. I'll make it quick and painless." He offered his cigarette to her, extending it in between two fingers. "First off, how the hell did you end up here? Do you feel like you were targeted, or was it random?"
Riley followed the detective out of the room, he was a true gentleman; leading her by hand, opening doors for her. As they entered the next room there was even more death, a murderous scene splayed out in the room. The detective pulled her closer into him, his arm nestled around her shoulder. She leaned into it, taking safety in it. The man's touch felt… nice.
Riley averted her eyes as Anderson lead her to another room. There were bunk beds lining the walls and desks opposite to them. Vector wasted no time pulling two chairs to the center of the room. She sat promptly, situated herself, and looked at Anderson who was sitting directly across from her but close enough that the tops of her knees continued to knock against his.
"How the hell did you end up here? Do you feel like you were targeted, or was it a random?" The detective didn't waste any time, he began to question her immediately while offering his cigarette to her as a comfort.
Reaching for the cigarette she rested it between her fingers for a moment before drawing it to her lips and taking a long, satisfying drag. She held it out to the detective again before beginning her responses. "Random, I think. I haven't seen that guy before today.. I was just walking home.. And.. and next thing I know I woke up in that room tied to a chair.. He must've come from behind me. I didn't see it.. I didn't hear it… oh god I'm pathetic." Riley's voice shook nearing the end of her sentence.
New Angeles
Detective Anderson
He took the cigarette from her, taking a puff of it himself. Resting it in his off-hand, he placed a comforting hand on her back. "Hey now, you couldn't have done anything to stop these guys. Believe it or not, they're professionals." He gave her knee a friendly squeeze.
"And you're not pathetic either Riley. You're handling this like a champ." He took another quick drag of the smoke, and offered it again to the girl. He thoughtlessly left his hand on her knee as he watched her body language.
This girl was obviously shaken up. She was practically shaking in her seat, her eyes showing signs of crying. The red mark on her face from where the mutant hit her was starting to fade some. It didn't look like it would leave a bruise, but it would still be sore. Who knows why those thugs needed a sweet, innocent girl like her. He thought to himself.
"Did you hear anything that sounded important while you were here? Plans? Other groups? Anything could help us track these guys down."
A quaint smile appeared on Riley's face as the detective offered a comforting hand and words of assurance. She laughed silently to herself as he called them professionals. These men weren't professionals, sure they worked for Furor but they were nothing but the dirt dwelling disposable morons that followed Purifier aimlessly. If only dear old detective knew he was squeezing the knee of a real professional.
Riley nodded in acknowledgement of Anderson's uplifting affirmation of her not being a pathetic woman incapable of taking care of herself and accepted the extended cigarette. She took a quick note of the hand he left behind on her knee as she drew the smoke into her lungs and let it escape her lips in a puff that danced away between them. Anderson was digging for leads on just how to track down the imbeciles who turn a massive factory into a base. This was her chance to throw him even further off of Shade… Poor dear old detective, you're playing into my game easily.. You would be fun to keep around. I do wonder…
"Um.. One of the men at the door asked that green mohawked man about someone named Purifier... The mohawk guy wasn't too impressed, he basically yelled at the guard and told him to be patient.. That this Purifier would send instruction when it was time." Riley offered the lead, just enough information to spark the detective to think that this wasn't Shade at all and in fact was Furor but not enough to think that what she was saying wasn't true. Surely it would be enough to intrigue him into investigating further. "I can't remember much more than that.. It's all a bit fuzzy still. I'm sorry."
New Angeles
Detective Anderson
"Purifier?" Vector uttered, his expression quickly growing surprised. This was supposed to be Shade, not Furor. "No, no you did great. That was a big help, thank you." He said, giving the girl a smile, standing up. "Just stay here and rest up Riley, give me a holler if you need me. Gotta go call the higher ups." He said, walking backwards towards the door and out of the door frame. As he turned forward, he took a look around the office space.
A faint smell of blood, overpowered by smoke filled the room after the battle that took place. Vector sighed, things just got a lot more complicated if Purifier was linked to this. Best case scenario, Furor was the ones behind the bombing and the informant had just been misinformed. Worst case, Shade and Furor were working together. Vector had to give the higher ups a call now, he'd left them out of the dark for too long, and no doubt they already had a team prepped to storm the building.
He took a set in a rolling chair and flipped open his monitor. He pressed a button, which quickly connected him to his supervisor. "Miss me Cora?" The detectives voice was mischievous and taunting as he spoke to his overseer. "Damn it Anderson, don't you dare cut me off from your feed again. And it's Misses Cora, investigator. Now tell me you have good news."
Vector sighed, kicking his feet up on broken office desk. "Yes ma'am, good news and bad news. Good news is, all hostiles taken care of and Ril- the hostage is safe." He swiped through several screens on his monitor, finally reaching one that controlled his drones. He pressed a button, and his remaining drones quickly made their way to him. "And the bad news?" Cora said, an impatient tone in her voice.
"I was talking with the hostage. Seems Furor may have been the cause of the bombing, or atleast linked to it. She overheard one of the goons talking to mohawk, talking about Purifier and some new orders." Vector replied, deactivating his drones and setting them on the table one by one. "Mohawk?" Cora said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Err, the superhuman leading the group. Had a green mohawk, so." Vector answered plainly, tossing a drone in the air, before catching it again like it was a ball. "Understood. A team is entering the factory now to clean up your mess and make sure the hostage is alright. Did you happen to leave any alive?"
Vector paused, unsure if he had remembered too. He stood, and glanced around the office. He counted the bodies. "Fuck. I'm missing one." He remembered the man that was knocked unconscious from his drone.
The drone was in pieces on the ground, probably torn free once the man woke up. Vector would have to adjust the nonlethal power of his drones to ensure they would keep people unconscious until he had time to put them in cuffs. "Misses Cora, looks like one of them may have gotten away." He glanced into the room Riley sat it, giving her a smile and small wave. He turned towards the main stairs as the Peacekeeper team made their way into the office. "Looks like the team is here ma'am, I'll give you an update in a bit."
Vector quickly wrapped up the questions and gave orders to the team, and made his way back to Riley. He knocked on the door frame, "Still doing good?" He walked into the room, taking a seat in the chair beside her once again. "I have to go fill out some paperwork, but the higher ups wanted to have a medical examiner look at you real quick before we can let you go." He paused, his hand slipping out a small paper card. He held the card out to Riley, giving her a smile and wink. "Here's my card. Feel free to give me a call if you happen to remember any other details. Or if you ever wanna grab a cup of coffee sometime. Either one works."
Riley watched in satisfaction at the detective's surprised expression at the news that Furor was behind the bombing scandal rather than Shade. The detective wasted no time thanking her and getting up from his seat, declaring he had to check in with his superiors. Riley simply nodded affirmation of Anderson's leave and grinned once the detective was out of sight. He was intrigued enough he had to run out of the room to report the new findings; it was done, the bombing was now linked to Furor.
Riley took the opportunity to gauge her surroundings while the detective was out of the room making his phone calls but made a point to keep her ear on his conversation. She snickered at how the detective addressed his superior, a woman named Cora. He was playful in his reporting, either the sign of a detective with capabilities excellent enough to get him away with that sort of behavior, or the sign of a detective who really didn't give a shit. Judging from what she knew about her dear old detective already, Riley put her money on the first theory.
As she listened to the detective tell this Cora woman about Furor being being the bombing, a thought crossed the mind whether or not a detective of his caliber was bored in his line of work. At his age he surely was mocked and tested every step of the way in his career; no man in their right mind would look at Anderson and think he was capable of single handedly taking on high risk cases. She wondered…. Did her dear old detective hold any signs of resentment for the people he worked for her. A wicked grin came across her face….
"Fuck. I'm missing one." Riley's ears perked up, her grin disappearing. A survivor? Someone to follow up with later I suppose...
She noticed Anderson smiling and waving at her from the other room. Riley flashed him a simple sheepish smile and looked away. Man, did she ever hate playing the hopeless hostage… Shortly after the team Cora had mentioned arrived, briefed with the detective, and scoured the factory. A couple low knocks on the door frame commanded Riley to look up at the detective, asking if she was still alright. Another small smile. Another moment she hated playing the hopeless hostage. In a matter of fact tone the detective explained his next steps and the most annoying part, a medical examination. Like hell she would participate in that, but dear old detective didn't need to know that.
Riley produced a more genuine smile as the detective winked at her while handing her his card and offering his ear for questions or coffee sometime. She stood up from her chair to retrieve the card, a respect she surely would pay after the man had come to her rescue.
"Thank you, detective. I really can't thank you enough. I'll be sure to call you if I remember anything else or… if I get thirsty." Riley allowed the last of her words to fall of her tongue with a slight inclination of playful flirting. She reached out to shake the man's hand before watching him leave.
We'll see each other again soon, my dear old detective.