NOVEL NEXT 155 - Carried Away
Given the chaos currently surrounding us, it was difficult to give Roxy our undivided attention as she went to show us a new move. As we cut down the enraged prisoners one by one, the super turned to the opening further down on the right as the horde of pursuers found where we had escaped to.
It was the usual rabble rather than the armored Gnaws that looked to be leading the charge, but it was only a matter of time before firearms were pulled on us again. Not to mention tanks on the way.
Roxy planted her feet apart and held her right arm out, left hand braced against her elbow. With a growl, the straightened limb burst into bright lava. Even the most rage-fueled gnoll was momentarily distracted by the sudden light and wave of heat. Just as quickly as it had formed, a swirl of cooled rock spiraled out from her shoulder and down to her hand.
Before I could question the use of a club more static and rigid that her normal arm, billowing smoke poured from the end of the rocky trunk she had created. My thought quickly switched to the purpose, and she didn't waste any time in filling me in.
The super yelled out loud, full of ferocity. After glowing bright amber at the end for a split second, the end of her arm exploded. A volcanic shotgun that spread globules of super-heated lava out in a wide arc. The mutants were just as surprised as I was, although they expressed it with howls of pain as the scalding projectiles burned them straight to the bone or set them alight.
[Remarkably impressive.]
"What can I say?" Roxy replied, as the rocky encasing split and fell from her arm. "You're quite the inspiration."
We didn't have the time to enjoy the finer details of her new ability. The hole in the wall was now cluttered with pained and dying gnolls. Any flames created flickered oddly due to the thick air of stench the prison held. It would delay the advance of the gun-toting enemies, but not for long enough.
//Clara: Armored vehicles closing on your position from the north and east.
//Clara: 20 seconds.
I twisted away from some sharp claws, retaliating with a right hook. Broken jaw. Kicked out a knee and grabbed their long snout as they dropped. Twisted and snapped their neck. Fired an Explosive Shot higher in the air, hitting one of the cages. The rough metal bars burst apart, raining long shards of shrapnel down on some prisoners skulking in the rear.
//Clara: I am allowing you access to prototype ammunition, Gunquake.
//Clara: Capacity is normally between one and three shells.
//Clara: So don't waste them. I will send Inventory for anti-armor options.
A list appeared in the side of my vision as I put a metal sphere through the heart of a stumbling gnoll, once of his eyes sporting a magical arrow already.
Boiler: 1
Krak: 3
Extreme Yield: 1
Corroding: 2
Some descriptions would have been nice. Not that I had a chance to read anything longer than the handful of words. I still had the armor piercing shots that were filled with expanding foam, but the names of these excited me. The thought of having to send Roxy out solo to deal with the vehicles washed away…
But we still needed a better plan here.
Not that I had any doubts about our ability to grind slowly through our opponents. However, this wasn't exactly a good chokepoint, and would soon become a death trap once their heavy weapons started firing on the building.
//Clara: I have spent all my resources and disabled the eastern vehicle.
//Clara: Two remain northward.
There was our potential out. A map, provided by the drone outside, flickered in the side of my vision.
[Roxy. We are leaving via the northern wall.]
"Confirmed," she responded, as she tore the arms from a gnoll.
The numbers in the prison were thinning, with some of the less deranged occupants not keen to dive straight into the meat grinder. The combination of Roxy's volcano shotgun and the efforts of the other Natural Disasters had all but clogged the hole we had entered from. It was enough to the point where the super could disengage from the front line to do my bidding.
An empty shell ejected from the side of my arm. Combat was tempering my synapses. It was an imperfect tool, but as close to feeling natural as could be expected. Each strike of my metal fist or cybernetic legs broke bones and tore away flesh.
For as much as I felt that I spent a lot of my days catching up to the superheroes around me, this was the first moment where I felt truly above the norm. Fighting against baseline humans wouldn't end well for them. I needed a powerful foe as my equal.
With a hefty kick, Roxy blew a new hole in the northern wall. As a cloud of dust spiraled around her, she twisted to the side in a slight dodge. A fist-sized projectile whistled past her, clearing most of the prison before striking an unlucky mutant near the back. They exploded, and the shockwave sent dark smoke and fragmented body parts up into the air.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Looks like we have company," she called.
I loaded in a prototype Krak shot and stepped over to her. My goggles scanned through the haze and picked out the shapes of two armored vehicles sitting down at the end of the street. The one straight-on from our position must have been the tank that had fired. Even with whatever resources the World Government had been providing, they didn't look like anything as sturdy as the Meteor.
A gnoll wearing a helmet stood out of a hatch above a long-barreled cannon. The metalwork looked dirty and ill-maintained. Too cohesive to be the usual ramshackle mutant fare, but probably several years idle and misused. To the left, struggling to get in position, was a second vehicle. This had a smaller cannon, but two mounted machine guns of questionable effectiveness. I wouldn't take the chance.
Ren continued clearing the aggressive gnolls from behind us, while the speedster ran rings around them. I gestured Belle over and indicated the main tank ahead.
She nodded and held her hand out. My arm hummed as Overdrive charged up.
A green hue washed over the tank, and I fired my shot toward the second vehicle. If anything, our timing had been almost perfect. My sharpened metal bullet rocketed from my hand, some of the excess force jettisoning out of my elbow vents to keep the arm stable. Just as it collided with the haphazard plating of the front of the vehicle, the tank decided to fire on us.
Unluckily for them, thanks to Belle, their cannon's barrel jammed and exploded itself. My Krak shot tore through metal like butter before detonating within the shell of the second vehicle. I couldn't tell the damage wrought from here, but the dark smoke pouring from gaps in the metal and the lack of further movement was a good sign.
[We are heading north. Roxy take lead. Ren with me.]
Out of all of us, I trusted the super to be able to take out anything without issue. Now that the path forward was clear, I wanted to give us some breathing space. As the others left the prison, I fired on the straggling Gnaws alongside the elf.
[I'll need your help to remove a fang or two.]
Ren nodded. "My aim is yours to guide."
I kept the map up in the side of my vision, watching as the other three moved further away. As soon as we had a breather from having to give cover, I turned and fired my grapple up to the higher wall of the prison.
It pulled me up as I swung forward, and I detached to land on the flat roof of a nearby structure. Ren was already behind me, standing atop her bow as it hovered through the air. She landed deftly beside me and drew an arrow.
Unable to assault the prison through the hole we had first made, the armed Gnaws were spreading out through the side streets, flooding this way like water. I had no intention of getting caught in between two groups of guns.
[We need to clean up.]
Ren drew an arrow up to her bow. "Roxy isn't the only one with something new to show off."
I watched as she fired the magical arrow high into the air. At its apex, it burst into dark mist. The mist quickly expanded, forming what looked like a storm cloud. As it blocked the sunlight from part of the below streets, the rampaging Gnaws paused to look up at it.
Then it started raining. Intermittently, arrows fell from this faux cloud. The elf remained standing with a hand outstretched, maintaining the effect of her artefact bow. Gnolls squawked and yelled as they ran for cover. Some were unlucky enough to receive one of the projectiles through their skull. I watched as the military unit barked orders to station up in a couple of buildings to the right.
[How long can you maintain that?]
"Long enough for you to do what you need."
Good answer. I wasted no time.
The V-Force drives in my legs powered up as I ran to the edge of the roof - a quick jump taking me to the next structure. Roof buckled beneath my landing, but I didn't fall through. Probably a terrible idea to gamble three more times until I reached my target. I'd have to hope that Ren could aim her arrows to some degree.
With energy crackling down my limbs, I leaped to the street below. Vents under my feet pulsed with energy to soften my landing, cracking the stone street and sending a shockwave through the panicked group of gnolls. Flash grenade went off, and I powered past them. Magical arrows clattered around the nearby scenery, dissipating after a few seconds.
The Gnaws had blocked the entrance ahead with furniture. I aimed my arm at the doorway ahead and fired a High Explosive shot. As the force burst the wooden object to splinters, I was already right behind it. Elbow vent powered my fist forward as I punched a stunned mutant, shattering their skull. Metal ball through the second.
This was only a small living room, so even as they recovered, they couldn't bring their firearms up against me. Most opted to draw sharp knives from their side, although several switched to hands and jaws being enough. I would show them the error of that manner of thinking.
Sparks rang from my arm as I blocked the swing of a blade. I twisted away to keep my left arm out of harm's way, using my cybernetics as a shield. Another gnoll grabbed me from behind. A kick backward broke their shin, just as my shielding device hummed out, deflecting the jab of a knife. Metal ball through the chest of my assailant. With a grunt, I threw the one holding me over my shoulder.
After they landed with a thud on the wooden floor, I lashed out with a kick. Their armor dented inward, putting pressure on their lungs. My arm went back and then powered forward, my punch breaking their spine just below their skull.
Out from the street, the other army Gnaws poured from the other two houses to enter this one. The Boiler ammunition switched into my barrel, appearing from back home with just a thought. As soon as the first armored mutant graced the doorway, I fired.
Another lump of metal with a pointed tip, this bullet punctured straight through the body armor of the first three gnolls in the way before exploding in the street. A fine mist of water filled the area, before it burned up in the air. Even from outside the range, I could feel the warmth and humidity.
I turned away from the noise of the mutants being scalded and boiled alive. A dagger slid across my arm and burned against my protective layers. I swung out with my left hand, but the gnoll leaped back away. Rather than continue to use his knife, he raised up his rifle to shoot me point blank.
Reflex burned through my synapses. I stepped forward and knocked the weapon to the side as a spray of bullets burst along the wall and ceiling behind me. I grabbed the gnoll's hairy neck and crushed his windpipe. As he dropped to the floor, I pulled the rifle from his hands.
It was… familiar.
Not World Government issued. At least, not officially. The Gov wouldn't outfit mercenaries with anything that could be tied back to them. A fact I knew all too well.
My hand fit around the grip as if it were made for me. Left hand checked the mag. Shadows echoed in the back of my mind. An empty feeling sunk through my core. Something that felt like it took minutes, but was barely seconds.
I shouldered the rifle and aimed down the sights at the remaining targets.