“Oh, he missed the pit trap.” Felix took a mouthful of pancakes and watched as Tanker closed in on a barricade full of his people.
A squad of supers stepped out of the barricade and surrounded Tanker.
Off to one side of the camera, Felix could see Lily and Ioana supervising.
Must be trying to give the newbies a taste of actual combat. Considering the Telemedics, it’s not a terrible idea.
A woman with a thin sword stepped forward and blasted a lightning-fast thrust into Tanker’s side.
The sword skittered across his skin, drawing a line of blood but nothing else. The swordswoman danced away as Tanker’s arms came out, trying to grab her.
One of her partners stepped in and unleashed a flurry of kicks into Tanker’s knees and thighs.
As soon as the big, nigh invulnerable hero turned, Eva’s brother Evan stepped up and laid his hands on Tanker’s back.
Lightning coursed through the hero at a level that could probably power an entire city.
Tanker arched his back, his body stiffening under the onslaught.
Evan kept using the man as a grounding wire before he finally took two steps back, falling to one knee.
Lily waved a hand at the young man and he was dragged backward out of the combat area by a burst of rune script.
Tanker started to fall over, his body still locked in an upright position from the shock. Then he somehow managed to take a few stumbling steps backwards.
The swordswoman stepped in again, her blade dancing out into Tanker’s face. Once, twice, thrice.
Then she was gone again before Tanker could react.
Turning, Tanker started to flee towards the security hall.
Apparently, that was a signal, as Ioana and Lily stepped in at that point.
Lily smashed Tanker to the ground with an explosive concussion. Ioana casually walked up to the man and started kicking him in the head repeatedly.
Ten kicks in and Tanker’s arms fell to his sides, unmoving.
Ioana visibly sighed and then looked off camera and gestured at someone. As she walked away from the unconscious man, Felix waited to see what would happen next.
“It’s like watching a movie.” Felix happily finished off one of his pancakes and dug into the next.
The floor around Tanker flowed, and carried him to the center of the room. Much like the previous attacker, Tanker fell down the hole and vanished.
Looking to the other screen, Felix waited. He really wanted to see what happened when they arrived.
After several seconds, Tanker was there, suspended in midair. Felix couldn’t see how he’d arrived, but he assumed there was a hole in the ceiling.
Huh. So, the same way in which the first was caught is the way they don’t go splat.
Two Death Others walked up and began discussing the man. Even now, he was waking up. On top of being as strong as he was, he apparently had a rapid healing factor.
Kit sucked in a sudden breath.
Felix’s eyes jumped back to the main screen.
The swordswoman was down on the ground writhing. Lightning arced from one limb to the other. Blood poured from her eyes, ears, and nose. Her teeth were locked together as she convulsed.
Smoke even wafted up from her body as if she were being cooked.
Lily and Ioana were both nearby but could do nothing, and looked on as she shook.
Focusing on the woman, Felix called up her ownership window and the idea of fixing her.
Name:
Victoria Volante
Power: Sword Mastery
Alias: Vicky, Swift Blade
Secondary Power: Expanded Senses
Physical Status:
Fatal Heart Attack, Electrocution, third degree burns
Mental Status:
Shock
Positive Statuses:
None
Negative Statuses:
Dying
Strength:
56
Upgrade?(560)
Dexterity:
88
Upgrade?(880)
Agility:
79
Upgrade?(790)
Stamina:
47
Upgrade?(470)
Wisdom:
58
Upgrade?(580)
Intelligence:
51
Upgrade?(510)
Luck:
45
Upgrade?(450)
Primary Power:
61
Upgrade?(6,100)
Secondary Power:
33
Upgrade?(3,300)
Status Correction: Fatal Heart Attack -> Healed
Correct Status? (15,000 points)
Seems cheap. Is it because a heart attack could be treated by a defibrillator?
Felix shrugged and waited for the lightning to dissipate. The moment it did, he hit the accept button to correct her status, then thumbed the communications button for the security hall.
“Get her up and moving. I don’t want to fix her again if I don’t have to.” Felix let go of the button.
Everyone in the security hall jumped at the sudden use of the communication system.
The martial artist snagged Victoria and dragged her off into cover. The swordswoman, for her part, was still in shock, or so Felix guessed.
Not every day your heart explodes and gets instantly repaired.
As soon as she was behind cover, everyone refocused their efforts on the hallway.
Victoria lay there behind the shielding, staring up at the ceiling.
Not being able to spare her any more of his time, Felix turned back to the other displays.
His people waited calmly. Patiently. There was no reason to go charging out of the lobby and into whatever they’d prepared on the street. Everything they needed had been placed underground. Only the security hall and lobby were above.
The rest of the building was shipping, receiving, and an elaborate fake of a headquarters building.
Leaning back in his chair, Felix set the fork down on his plate. “Fantastic as always, Andrea.”
The mercenary clapped her hands together happily. “Thank you, dear!”
Snatching the plate from his lap, she skipped away gleefully.
“I guess now we wait for their next move. They’ve lost two elite agents, a group of lesser agents, and gained nothing. I can’t imagine the police can ignore this forever. We don’t have to go out there, but they do have to get in here if they want whatever they came for.
“Probably my head.” Felix folded his hands in his lap.
Curiously, Victoria remained lying where she’d been dragged, staring up at the ceiling.
An hour passed, with the occasional burst of gunfire from the lobby, but nothing changed. At some point, there would be a push or a retreat. It all came down to the opponent’s belief in themselves.
“This is boring,” Andrea said plaintively. “Can we play a game?”
“What game did you have in mind?” Felix asked. He was only barely paying attention to the screens. His people were unlikely to be hurt in any way, shape, or form.
The Wardens were hanging off to the side in a neutral, non-powered state, waiting for the call to be used.
“I dunno. What about a card game? That’d be fun.
“Lily wanted me to ask you to play a game the other day, but I think she was trying to trick me,” Andrea grumped, her fingers playing with a button on her jacket.
Said sorceress was still down in the security hall defending.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. She likes making you do things that she knows put me on edge.” Felix looked around himself. Kit had left to go work on their guests in the sausage room.
Miu had shown up shortly after that, making herself part of a corner.
Everyone else had a job to do.
“On edge?” Andrea whispered, leaning in towards him. Felix felt his skin prickle and his stomach flop over at the nearness of her.