Encountering the Vanguard of Therax-Prime
Vitality, Kr'anri, Cavalier, D.A.W.N. and Mentella entered the Westside Prison Complex on the first floor, smoke billowed from smashed consoles and alarms blared as prison cell doors were either embedded in the opposing walls, severely buckled on the prison floor or barely hanging onto their hinges. Fires raged from some of the consoles and guards lay on the ground; some slightly incapacitated, others trapped under buckled cell doors and some so badly wounded by the inmates they were slipping in and out of consciousness. Mentella’s eyebrow arched elegantly as she took in the carnage which at one point was Westside Prison Level 1.
“Wow, this certainly has gotten way out of control.” Remarked Cavalier
“Hmm, yes, my sentiments precisely.” Sighed Mentella
Kr’anri frowned as she noted that none of the inmates close by had attacked them;
“Kr’anri asks why are they not attacking?” She asked
“I’m currently masking our presence whilst we come up with a plan of action.” Mentella replied
“Right. Cav, Kr’anri, I’ll need you with me, keep the inmates away from any of the guards that you see and takedown any inmates you see, containment isn’t going to work, the cell doors are useless. Dawn, hack into the Halon System, get these fires put out and lock down any escape routes you can access that are still online. Try to get their security system up and running. ” Announced Vitality.
He looked at Mentella, whose look of disgust was quite apparent as she looked around the prison level. Cavalier put his mask on his face, forming his hand into a fist as red energy wrapped itself around his fist quickly shaping itself into a deadly looking claw. Cavalier regarded the softly glowing energy for a moment before turning back and nodding at Vitality who addressed Mentella;
“We’re good to go.”
She nodded and lifted the psychic cloak masking their presence. A split second after she lifted the psychic cloak, they sprang into action, taking down inmates, who were initially surprised at the sudden appearance of super heroes without hearing the prison entrance open. Mentella generated a psychokinetic shield around herself and D.A.W.N. commenced her hacking, easily accessing the Halon System, putting out the fires on the level, which attracted more inmate attention. Fortunately Kr’anri, Vitality and Cavalier were on hand to deal with the surge of inmates.
Kr’anri and Cavalier seemed to work seamlessly, Cavalier focused on inmates who were close by, dealing with as many as 5 inmates at any one time, taking them down in one or two martial art moves combined with his energy claws. Kr’anri focused her psychic assaults on the inmates utilizing their low level projectionist powers, whilst actively dodging incoming blasts with terrifying speed. Vitality was inundated by some of the more brutish inmates, his powerful blows and shockwaves stunned them into submission, he felt a small pressure on his back and turned around to see an inmate staring at him and then at the pronounced curve in the steel rod that had struck Vitality’s back. Vitality smirked and calmly took the steel rod from the surprised inmate and quickly wrapped it around the inmate binding him entirely before attaching him to a wall using a steel plate.
Mentella had been tending to the injured and unconscious guards, using her abilities to greatly accelerate their natural healing rates and bring some to consciousness, enabling them to make their way out of the prison complex to the paramedics waiting on the outside.
“I conducted a scan in addition to the hacking and I’ve picked up ten devices on the five upper floors, they seem to be exuding some form of transformative energy.” Dawn stated.
Mentella finished healing a guard and helped him to his feet as he slowly got up then made his way to the entrance. An inmate noticed her and charged before being stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes had changed to a solid magenta color accompanied by a telepathic corona of the same color, he stood motionless as Mentella turned to D.A.W.N.,
“Hmm, where exactly are they situated?” Asked Mentella
D.A.W.N. showed her holographic display to Mentella, whilst eyeing the controlled inmate, Mentella nodded and turned back to the inmate. Mentella extended her arm and placed her index and middle finger on the forehead of the inmate as she released him from her control, he looked up at her confused and disorientated, and before he could react he let out a cry as his facial features contorted in immense pain as he dropped to the floor as she removed her fingers.
“Thank you, Dawn. You would do well to catch up to Kr’anri, Vitality and Cavalier, there are a number of inmates up ahead; I’ve got a few things to consider.” She stated.
D.A.W.N. nodded and took off; Mentella focused momentarily and generated a psychokinetic shield to shield her as three inmates quickly rounded the corner. Upon seeing her they started pounding mindlessly against the barrier. Mentella ignored them and focused her telepathy on the higher levels of the prison and observed the interaction of the devices on the prisoners. She broadcasted a telepathic message to her allies:
<As we progress, you should be aware; these inmates will get somewhat stronger. The transformative energy those devices are exuding seem to be physically and psychologically altering the inmates, granting them enhanced strength levels, causing their psychic signatures to enter a state of flux and some are even gaining energy projection abilities. My advice would be to destroy these devices if you come across them; the energy is comparable to a psychoactive substance like caffeine, meaning they’ll need more of it to stay stronger for longer. The effects are not permanent but they are addictive.>
<Thanks for the update Mentella.> Cavalier replied
<Thanks Mentella, are…you okay?> Asked Vitality
<Just a minor annoyance, I’ll be along shortly.> She replied
Kr’anri seemed to be too enveloped in combat to reply to Mentella’s message, which was unusual.
The brutish prisoners continued to pound mindlessly on Mentella’s barrier, she turned her attention to the inmates but before she could act, a blast of orange energy from the D.A.W.N. sent the three brutes crashing into a nearby wall, they slumped against the wall, out cold. Mentella dissipated the barrier and looked towards the prisoners.
“Thank you Dawn, I take it Vitality relayed my message on your communication device?” She asked.
“Yes he did. Are you okay?” Replied D.A.W.N.
Mentella nodded and both super heroines made their way through towards the other Delta members, Vitality had carefully moved the injured guards into a safer part of the prison, creating a small alcove for them with a few cell doors. Mentella made her way over to them, aiding them and D.A.W.N. joined Vitality, Cavalier and Kr’anri in combat as they fought through more inmates. As the group continued onwards towards the end of Level 1, inmates from higher floors that were affected by the transformative energy started to appear and enter the fight.
“These guys hit harder, Kr’anri watch yourself. You too Dawn.” Cavalier shouted
He spun back around to see an inmate running towards him before falling to the ground in crippling pain, confused he looked up to see Kr’anri with her left hand outstretched, with a wild glint in her eye as she recoiled her psychic attack, knocking the inmate unconscious.
“Thanks, Kr’anri.” Cavalier nodded.
Kr’anri smiled at him before jumping back into combat alongside Cavalier.
A few moments later a majority of the inmates were either unconscious or had fought long enough for the energy to wear off and had run back up to the next level. A woman in a red and grey uniform stepped out of the nearby stairwell a few feet away from the group and almost growled at them.
“Vengeance is my name…killing super freaks is my game!” She shouted
“Cav is my name...taming dames is my game!” Replied Cavalier
Vengeance screamed at him, enraged at Cavalier’s mockery she engaged them in combat, firing telekinetic blades out of her fingertips. She was quickly joined by “charged” inmates. Mentella sighed and tended to the final guard on the level.
“T-Thanks Mentella…I really thought that was it for me…these guys we brought in, three males and one female, all glowing eyes and everything, they are on the other four levels, this is their doing. Take this, this’ll allow for use of the elevator.” He coughed as he got to his feet. He handed her a key card and quickly made his way out of the complex.
“I’ll alert Defender!” He called back
“No. Don’t do that.” She sighed as she looked at the key card.
Mentella looked up in time to see Vengeance and the inmates who accompanied her drop to the floor.
“What did the guard say?” Asked Vitality
“Four super powered villains were taken into custody earlier today and were separated and placed in different cells throughout the four remaining levels in the Westside Prison Complex. It’s highly likely Vengeance wasn’t the only hired hand helping out here. As a matter of fact I can sense them right now, alongside the four prisoners. He handed me this key card for elevator access.” Mentella explained.
She stepped forward and slotted the key card into a thin metal scanner, the light quickly changed from a dull red to a light green as the lift descended from the top level.
Vitality turned to his allies as they entered the elevator, doors sealing firmly behind them;
"We need to act fast...we're going to have to split up. Dawn, you take Level 3. Cav, you and Kr'anri take Level 4. I'll head to Level 5. That leaves you with Level 2 Mentella."
A few moments later, the elevator doors opened up to a scene much like Level 1, however some guards had set up a barricade of sorts, periodically firing at the rioting inmates, some of whom retaliated with bolts of energy, which fortunately only lightly dented the makeshift metal barricades.
The effect of the transformative energy was clear on the inmates; their eyes seemed to have a low level yellow glow to them as they used their newfound abilities.
“Are you sure you want to clear this Level?” Asked Vitality
“Yeah…it looks rough to say the least.” Cavalier added
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be perfectly fine.” Mentella replied
Mentella stepped out of the elevator, an almost unnoticeable smirk played on her lips as she looked out past the guards towards the prisoners. The elevator doors slid shut just in time for them to see Mentella extend her arms forward, an action which was swiftly accompanied by the bloodcurdling scream of the inmates echoing through the building and through the elevator shaft.
Kr’anri looked up at Cavalier.
“Kr’anri does not want to know what Skyfire Hair is doing to them.”
“I think it’s probably better that way.” Smirked Cavalier.
D.A.W.N. exited the elevator as it arrived at Level 3, engaging the inmates instantly, an energy blast narrowly missing her as she unloaded her arsenal onto the rioting members quieting them with a sea of ballistic weaponry. Her jets lifted her high above the rioting inmates carefully targeting the large group which was forming, some attempting to drag her out of the air, only to receive singed fingers courtesy of her jet fire. A small panel opened on her right shoulder, housing at least 50 small blue capped micro missiles; without any sort of warning they burst forth showering the mob with a series of crippling explosive forces, forcing the vast majority into unconsciousness. The few who remained standing were heavily disoriented. D.A.W.N. rendered the remaining inmates unconscious with three energy pulses.
A small device in the corner of the room registered as exuding the same transformative energy she had identified earlier, locking onto the device D.A.W.N. fired a small dart like weapon from her forearm at the device. The weapon seemed to drill into the core of the device and begun to flash which, was D.A.W.N.’s cue to leave. She left the lobby, sending an override code to the containment panels, the panels descended from the ceiling relatively quickly as the device exploded violently, a rush of hot air forcing its way out of the lobby as the doors closed with a pneumatic hiss.
The rush of hot air scorched inmates who were running towards D.A.W.N., acting fast, she tapped into the Level 3 Security System, with the intention of activating the four power suppression units littered throughout the level. Unfortunately two of them had been damaged by the rioting inmates and their new found powers, with the exits successfully sealed by 10 inches of electrified steel containment panels, the inmates were locked inside the building searching for a way out. D.A.W.N. made her way towards the end of the level; she noted that a large percentage of the inmates had been taken down in the lobby and only a few remained, who were in front of her, still dazed and disorientated from the scorch of the hot air.
“Collectively you have a 0.000001% chance of survival if you do not comply and stand down right now. Do you want to survive?” Asked D.A.W.N.
“Screw you Robocop!” Shouted one of the slighter inmates
“You were warned. Your actions have factored into your chances of survival. It is now 0%.”
A sphere of golden energy began to form in one of the inmates palm and they rushed forward; D.A.W.N. targeted the four inmates, releasing a barrage of ballistics in their direction, a collective cry was the only response. Once the smoke cleared D.A.W.N. walked forward, noting only two more hostiles on the level and one device. Activating her jets, D.A.W.N. made her way towards the end of the level, periodically scanning for any hiding inmates and the final device. Moments later the transformative device flashed up on her radar, she locked onto its co-ordinates and fired another explosive dart towards the device; a silver object cut through the air, flying directly at the small dart, slicing it in half, causing it to explode mid-air. The object became embedded in the wall, as a tall figure to D.A.W.N.’s right appeared from the shadows.
“Sorry homie, but I can’t let you do that. The boss says that these things are crucial for business and that you and your friends are bad news, and I’m inclined to agree. You can back off now…or I can ginsu you into little metal pieces. Your choice.” Announced Double Dealer.
“Here’s your choice, I could calculate your chance of survival in combat with me and then confirm it, or you could leave.” D.A.W.N. replied. Double Dealer chuckled and stretched his hand out towards the metal sword embedded in the wall, it began to vibrate before flying into his right hand, and he pulled out a second blade, twirling both before gripping them firmly.
“Time to deal death with both hands…” He smirked before charging towards D.A.W.N.
D.A.W.N. took a split second to re-load before firing a fresh wall of ballistics at Double Dealer. He spun his swords in a cyclic manner deflecting the bullets into the surrounding walls;
“That’s real cute; you’re going to have to do a lot better than that to get the better of my Eye of the Storm technique.” He mocked.
D.A.W.N. increased the rate and calibre of her bullets, quickly forcing Double Dealer back with the impacts they were having on his “Eye of the Storm”, quickly forcing him jump up and lunge towards D.A.W.N., slashing wildly with both blades whilst expertly dodging her bullet fire. The tip of one of his blades scratched along the surface of D.A.W.N.’s steel chassis just as a powerful explosive round impacted Double Dealer sending his relatively powerful frame into the end wall, near the elevator doors. He impacted the wall with significant force, causing a crack in the wall itself. Double Dealer looked up at D.A.W.N.;
“Hah…Adonia’ll get cha…”
He slumped against the wall, out cold. One of the blades that had been knocked out of his hand had flown towards the device, damaging it slightly, causing it to spark periodically. D.A.W.N. fired a small pulse of energy at the opening in the device and it was engulfed in a ball of fire.
At the sound of the explosion a woman clad in white attire and glowing golden eyes stepped out from one of the cells, she looked at Double Dealer’s unconscious form, then towards the smouldering device in the opposite corner. She shook her head and turned to D.A.W.N. who had already trained her weapons on the woman. Her eyes burned a golden color, much brighter than the inmates as she sneered at D.A.W.N.;
“I see you rendered this human useless. Unfortunately I am not surprised.” She sighed
“Stand down or you will encounter the same fate.” D.A.W.N. stated simply.
“You have an active imagination for a piece of scrap metal.” The woman chuckled.
D.A.W.N. fired at the woman, whose eyes briefly burned a brighter gold. The smoke soon cleared and the woman was encased with a golden sphere of energy;
“As I said, you have an active imagination.” The woman grinned.
Before D.A.W.N. could react, she projected the sphere towards D.A.W.N., a shield matrix quickly materialized around D.A.W.N. protecting her from the powerful impact. D.A.W.N. was sent backwards a few feet, before stabilizing herself. When she fully recovered she looked up and the woman had gone; a freshly cut hole in the wall still hot with the energy it was cut with the only indicator as to where she had gone.
The lift doors swung open at Level 4, the cell block was unusually quiet; most of the guards had either left or were unconscious. A few inmates lumbered around near the lobby, eyes emitting low level yellow energy. Cavalier signalled for Kr’anri to be as quiet as possible as they slipped out of the elevator. Kr’anri pointed to a small spherical device was positioned in the centre of the lobby; it pulsed strangely, the watched briefly as a few in mates readily absorbed the energy it gave off,
“Ready?” Asked Cavalier
Kr’anri nodded and watched as Cavalier once again manifested his red energy claw and dashed for the small device, simultaneously sliding past it and slicing straight through it. He rolled clear of the device and looked back up, one of the inmates who was still “refuelling” noticed both Cavalier and the damage he’d done a moment too late, before he could react the device blew up sending him crashing into the lift doors.
“Here they come!” Cavalier called out to Kr’anri who was poised for action at the other end of the room.
“Kr’anri is ready…”
The room exploded in a series of shouts and energy blasts as Kr’anri and Cavalier engaged the rush of inmates. Cavalier was set upon by several inmates as his energy claws reformed around his fists; Kr’anri jumped up, her Prosythian physiology and acrobatic skills enabling her to send herself several feet into the air, and dug her claws into the cell block ceiling eying a group of inmates firing energy blasts towards Cavalier who was alternating between avoiding them, using nearby inmates as human shields and teleporting short distances in front of other inmates causing them to take each other down. Kr’anri stared at one of the groups firing, projecting her telepathic energies towards them.
“You’re a stinkin superhero!” Roared one of the inmates
“You fakin wot mate?” Retorted another.
The inmates got into a heated brawl firing and punching each other, dragging other nearby inmates into the conflict. Kr’anri grinned before letting loose several psychic attacks, minimizing the amount of inmates Cavalier was handling. The affected inmates gripped their heads in pain as they fell to the ground, screaming out various curse words before succumbing to the psychic attacks forced unconsciousness.
Eight inches of red bio energy was promptly plunged into one of the inmates, his body jerking oddly as the energy claws disrupted the flow of energy in his body, inducing paralysis. Cavalier stepped back, withdrawing the claw from the inmate; two tiny, barely visible rectangular burn marks on the inmates’ standard orange jumpsuit. Cavalier blinked out of existence, disorientating the group of inmates running towards them, Kr’anri sent out a series of psychic attacks, disorientating the inmates as Cavalier appeared behind each one; in a series of pale red flashes, Cavalier mixed his martial art strikes with his bio-energy claws, crippling each of the inmates with sudden and lethal blows. Kr’anri looked on as brief pale red flashes occurred below, the inmates dropping to the floor immobilized and unconscious shortly after.
Kr’anri pushed off the ceiling, landing on her two feet as Cavalier teleported to her side, his voice filtering through as the post teleportation energies dispersed;
“…seems like we’re done here. Picking up any more nearby inmates?” Asked Cavalier
“Kr’anri cannot.”
The duo made their way into the main body of Level 4, Cavalier quickly entered the bypass code D.A.W.N. had given them before she left, the containment panels descended from the ceiling, blocking off access to the lift and forcing Kr’anri and Cavalier to confront a cell block full of rowdy inmates, most of whom were charged with the transformative energy.
“Looks like we’re just in time to party!” Grinned Cavalier.
Kr’anri frowned at Cavalier’s announcement of arriving at a party but focused as the inmates began to notice their presence in the cell block. Cavalier’s red eyes flashed slightly as the inmates began to attack, utilizing his martial art training; he deftly avoided the attacks thrown his way whilst unbalancing his foes before immobilizing them with his energy claws. Kr’anri was on the ground directing her psychic assaults towards incoming members, with her back towards Cavalier’s location. Cavalier kept an eye on one of the more heavily built inmates as he fought the others; it was clear from his glowing eyes he was affected by the transformative energy. Cavalier whipped back around to take care of an inmate attempting to stab him with a piece of rusted iron; mere moments had passed since he had been tracking the burly inmate. However in such a short space of time, the inmate had ripped a metal panel from the cell door and launched it in Kr’anri’s direction. Kr’anri was still focused on the influx of inmates attempting to attack her physically, to notice the incoming projectile. Cavalier teleported just in time as two inmates either side of him charged towards him, unfortunately for them they collided into each other, knocking each other out from the force of the impact. He re-appeared a few feet away from Kr’anri and solidified his energy claws, causing them to take on a slightly stronger red hue, the metal panel still flying towards him. He ran forward and teleported towards the metal panel, re-phasing on the actual panel as it hurtled through the air, slicing through it with ease multiple times as it showered down as thin strips of metal a few inches away from Kr’anri.
Sensing Cavalier close by Kr’anri spun around and noticed the final inmate at the end of hall, his bulging muscles burst through the supplied orange jumpsuit as he raged, seemingly driven mad by the energy and their presence. He began hurling paneling and any bit of debris he could lay his hands on, even an unconscious inmate. The duo dodged the objects and inmates and ducked behind a piece of paneling lodged in the ground.
Kr’anri turned her left to see Cavalier still in his combat mind-set, poised for action as the cell block seemed to rumble, the echo of the burly inmates rage filled roars bouncing off the walls as he lumbered closer to where they were crouching.
“Whew…that was fun, but those inmates sure do pack a punch…” Sighed Cavalier
“Kr’anri will take care of this.” Stated Kr’anri
“Hey, wait…” Started Cavalier
Kr’anri had already stepped out from behind the metal plating and faced the burly inmate, Cavalier a few steps behind her:
“I’m gonna squish you in ta lil purple paste, HUR HUR HUR HUR!” He boomed
“Kr’anri will not become paste.” Kr'anri frowned as she shook her head.
She screwed her eyes shut, as she focused her psychic energies on the inmate, he lumbered closer laughing at her before a powerful constricting pain hit his brain, causing him to stumble back in surprise and pain. He lashed out, roaring and attempting to physically claw out the pain from his head. Kr’anri continued to exert her maintained assault on the inmate until he stopped shouting and was soon overwhelmed by the pain. The inmate’s body fell to the ground with a tremendous thud, the impact almost causing Cavalier and Kr’anri to temporarily lose their footing.
“Nice work, Kr’anri!” Smiled Cavalier
Kr’anri nodded and began to reply when a distinct sound of footsteps and clapping sounded from the guards’ room.
“Congratulations, you have met your end. I am the Green Dragon the one and only Master of Kung Fu! Bow before my superior ability, American dogs!” He announced.
A crowd of inmates seemed to appear from behind him, looking at them. Green Dragon eyed Cavalier, noticing his stance and smirked;
“You think you know Kung Fu?” Asked Green Dragon
“I know more Kung Fu than you know Mandarin.” Smirked Cavalier
Green Dragon’s nostrils flared as he processed Cavalier’s sly insult;
“You DARE to dishonor me?! American dog, I will show you TRUE Kung Fu! FINISH THEM!!” Roared Green Dragon.
Green Dragon lunged at Cavalier and the two were locked in combat. The inmates fired blasts of golden energy at Kr’anri, the impact and bright light from the energy blasts causing her to back away from them as they rained down around her. They continued to hail down towards her until she found herself against the wall inside a holding cell. Two of them quickly overloaded the control panel nearby, causing the steel door to slide shut. The inmates jeered and laughed at their apparent victory:
“Now you can be our little purple pet! You damn freak!”
“Yeah! How does it feel to be on the other side?!”
“Kr’anri is NOT a pet!” She growled.
Kr’anri slashed at the concrete walls of the cell tearing through them as if it was simply tightly packed dirt, the rage clear in her eyes as she continued to hack away at the wall at a frightening pace. The inmates quickly noticed as Kr’anri had disappeared from sight and the wall started to crack and crumble, they backed up quickly some whimpering as Kr’anri continued to ruthlessly slice through the concrete.
“Dude, we should go, what if it does that to us?”
“Man the fuck up! We have the power, we got this!”
“I dunno man…look what they did…”
The wall cracked and crumbled in a heap of debris, a grey cloud of dust obscuring their view;
“W-Where is it man?”
“How the hell should I know dude?!”
Suddenly Kr’anri leapt forward, her claws digging into the nearest inmate as she collided with him, he screamed loudly;
“Oh god! Oh god! Ahh! GET IT OFF!”
“Oh shit man, kill it!”
Energy blasts flew as Kr’anri leapt off the inmate just as a barrage of energy blasts from his friends smashed into his chest, knocking him unconscious. Kr’anri faced the other four inmates and lunged, alternating between utilizing her claws and her telepathy to attack.
Cavalier and Green Dragon exchanged blows, which either narrowly missed their intended mark or flat out did not connect, each using their incredible ability to dodge to avoid blows. Noticing that Cavalier was indeed a worthy opponent and would not fall as easily as others, he decided to employ his more lethal techniques. He struck out with a tien-hsueh strike; Cavalier’s observation of Green Dragon’s dodging and technique allowed him to quickly replicate his dodge, successfully evading the strike, before lashing out with the same strike on Green Dragon, directing it towards his inner left shoulder. Green Dragon gasped as he recoiled from the pain and shock of having his own technique used on him.
“Thanks for the quick lesson on how to strike that way.” Smirked Cavalier
Green Dragon looked up at him initially in shock before gritting his teeth and throwing a strike towards Cavalier’s torso. Cavalier caught Green Dragon’s arm, latched onto his wrist and threw him over his shoulder towards the wall. Green Dragon twisted mid-air and contacted the wall, his feet pushing his weight off it as he attempted to counteract the power of the throw. He aimed for his target, certain he would finally land a third hit, a split second before connecting with Cavalier, he had vanished from existence. Green Dragon passed through where Cavalier had been and flipped in the air, touching down across the ground, looking around for a sign as to where his opponent had gone.
A pale red flash occurred behind him, he spun round a second too late as Cavalier, forced a blade of red energy into Green Dragon, causing him to convulse before passing out.
“Surprise Green Douche...” Cavalier grinned.
He looked over to where Kr’anri was, as she sent a psychic blast into the final inmate. Kr’anri made her way over to the nearby device, disabling it with a swipe of her claws. It sparked briefly before fizzling out.
A tall and thin man stepped out seemingly from out of nowhere. He glared at Cavalier and Kr’anri, his eyes burning significantly brighter than the previous inmates.
“I had high hopes for this one. However as usual, human frailty and pitiful nature has killed off his level of usefulness.”
“Who are you?” Asked Cavalier
The man chuckled darkly before looking directly at them, his fists burning with golden energy.
“I am Zultaer, your superior.” He replied
He brought his fists down towards the ground, his energized fists crashed into the ground, releasing shockwaves of golden energy from his location, which rapidly advanced towards Kr’anri and Cavalier. Thinking fast, Cavalier picked Kr’anri up and turned away from the blast knowing that she wouldn’t be able to dodge the attack, braced for impact, shielding her from the incoming attack. The shockwaves slammed into them sending them backwards, as his body tossed through the air, Cavalier quickly teleported with Kr’anri away from the main cell block hallway, he crashed into a cell wall, his body still reeling from the force of the energy attack. He released Kr’anri who was quite surprised at the whole ordeal;
“Cavalier is…okay?” Asked Kr’anri tentatively
“Y-Yeah…I’m good. Are you alright?” He replied a little out of breath.
“Kr’anri is fine. Kr’anri brings thank you.”
Cavalier removed his mask and smiled at Kr’anri, wincing slightly in pain as Kr’anri helped him to sit properly as he started to heal.
The elevator beeped softly as it arrived on the top floor of the Westside Prison Complex, Vitality stepped forward to exit the elevator when the doors opening mechanics stuttered and stopped, barely leaving more than an inch for Vitality to leave through. He sighed as he looked at the inch wide crack in the elevator door; he placed both his hands in the space between the doors and gently tugged against the doors. The elevator doors buckled under his might as he forcefully created a more reasonable space for him to exit the lift from; the lift door machinery sparked violently as Vitality stepped out and looked out towards the lobby.
He noticed that Level 5 was not a rowdy as Level 1 and immediately put his guard up. The alarm system merely flashed red intermittently as its audio unit had been damaged, presumably by a blast of energy from an angry inmate.
Pushing the extra communicator D.A.W.N. had given him in the elevator into his pocket he walked towards the glass screen, looking through it he saw the inmates causally walking around; some were messing around with their new energy powers whilst some of the more physically enhanced inmates pounded on the containment panels which most likely were activated by the one or two guards present at the time.
Vitality tensed as a slightly warm hand wrapped itself around his ankle; he looked down to see a badly bruised guard;
“You…shouldn’t be up here…run.” Breathed the guard
“I think I should be saying that to you, do you have any broken bones? Can you walk? Is there a first aid kit around here?” Asked Vitality
He knelt down and carefully helped the guard into a seated position from lying on the ground. Vitality looked him over noting his name plate read: SIMMONS. Simmons’ right shoulder seemed to hold itself oddly.
The guard nodded to a small desk which was just about intact, before throwing his head back breathing steadily. Vitality opened one of the drawers, careful not to attract any attention from the inmates and retrieved a small blue container labelled: MCPD Med Kit. He made his way back to the guard, pulling out various bandages from the kit as well as disinfectant wipes. As he bandaged the guard he began formulating a plan of action;
“Simmons is it? I’m Vitality. What happened here on Level 5, I thought it had higher security than the other levels?” Asked Vitality
“Ah...yeah...Adrian Simmons, I’m glad you’re here Vitality. It’s good to see a super hero. Security Systems changed in the past few weeks. You see, we looked back at Stronghold and you know how bad that prison bust was, what if all of the higher super powered threats broke out at the same time. On the same level, that’d be chaos. So Surhoff thought it’d be a good idea to re-jig the sec…ow…security system and the prisoners were rearranged so that they’d be spread out more. Level 2 to Level 5, took on the energy projector and the super strong inmates that we had brought in recently. Level 2's all about the containment though, I think we've got a few Stronghold worthy ones down there...Ah...shit...” Explained Adrian.
“Sorry about that Adrian. Okay, so how many guards were on duty on this level? I’ve got allies working on each floor.” Replied Vitality as he finished binding the guards’ right arm in a sling.
“Only me, I had just come back from the john and I heard about the Level 1 break out. Murphy, Lewis, Edwards and Wazowik had gone to assist, left the note that they’d gone to help out in Level 1. I figured I’d patrol the level to make sure no funny business was going on here too. That was when all hell broke loose, the power suddenly went offline…ah…shit…that hurts…anyway…inmates busting out of their cells and rioting. Vengeance, Hard Target, Double Dealer, Bulldozer and the like all escaped. I ran back to the desk to try an initiate lockdown but only managed to activate the alarm before the inmates got me, beat me up and left me for dead.”
Vitality listened as he helped the guard to his feet; it soon became clear he wasn’t going to be able to walk without experiencing a lot of pain.
He carefully placed him in a corner nearest to the lift and pulled out a secondary communicator, handing it to the guard.
“If anyone or anything sees you and starts to attack press this button Adrian. I’ll take care of them. Stay here until I clear the level, I can’t risk these guys finding a way out.”
Adrian nodded profusely and shimmied back towards the wall as Vitality silently concealed Adrian’s presence using pieces of debris in a protective semi-circle around him. Vitality received a quick thumbs up from Adrian before facing the inmates. He stepped out into the first part of Level 5 and saw a seven foot inmate standing over a floating device, sending out pulses of golden energy, each wave washing over him, causing him to grow ever so slightly as his muscles bulged, straining against his prison uniform.
Vitality was slightly taken aback by the size of the inmate, the prisoner turned around quickly spotting Vitality and barred his teeth. Vitality lifted himself into the air as the wall of muscle that was the inmate pounded the ground and pulled out a piece of the floor and threw it. Vitality flew forward, stopped suddenly and punched the projectile mid-air shattering it into various shards of grey concrete and orange painted flooring.
Vitality focused on drawing the inmate away from the device, hoping he would not have to physically drag him away, however the inmate continued to stand by the device, blocking it as it fed him and his enhanced form. Dull impacts and bright flashes from behind him alerted him to assault that the few energy projecting inmates were firing off. Deciding to take out the distractions, Vitality flew towards them, golden energy bolts streaking past him as he evaded the shots. Stopping short of the surprised inmates who were only just registering that Vitality had in fact evaded every blast and was now right next to them, Vitality slammed his hands together causing a stunning shockwave of compressed air to impact the inmates causing them to fly back into the nearby containment panel, where they sank to the floor, unsurprisingly unconscious. Heavy footsteps and a roar of strain was the only warning Vitality had as the seven foot inmate swung an iron support beam at him.
Quickly raising his left forearm he was able to partially withstand the impact, shifting a few feet to the left in the air. The brute looked at the iron beam which had bent somewhat around Vitality. He swung again, however this time Vitality was ready, he grabbed the iron beam before it could gain much momentum and pulled it out of the inmates’ grasp. The iron beam flew out of the inmates grasp, scraping across his skin, causing him to growl at Vitality.
“I’m going to CRUSH YOU!” He roared
“I really don’t have time for threats.” Replied Vitality
The inmate smashed his fist towards Vitality, who quickly blocked it with his forearm; the impact from the resultant collision of both arms generating a minor shockwave, the inmate’s arm was incredibly heavy, the sheer weight of it, temporarily forcing Vitality to the ground. At this, the inmate grinned at Vitality attempting to push him down further towards the ground. Realizing this was taking up valuable time, time he could be using for more important things, Vitality gripped the arm of the inmate, lifted him off the ground and slammed him into the nearby containment panel, the force of the impact rattled the panels slightly, the inmate attempted to get to his feet, failing several times before passing out. Vitality picked up the iron beam and bent it back into place, forcing it slightly into the wall, hoping it would stay. Flying over to the pulsating device, Vitality took the device into his hands and firmly crushed the device between his palms. It sparked and the bright yellow crystal in the center shattered under the force. He entered the security code given to him by D.A.W.N. into the control panel, watching as the security field, near the guards office activated, securing Adrian inside. He pulled out his communicator;
“Adrian, the security field is up and is at 90%, I wouldn’t count on it, but, if any of those inmates wake up and start attacking the security field let me know.” Vitality informed him.
“Thanks Vitality, I’ll definitely mention your assistance in my report. I owe you man.” Adrian replied over the communicator. Vitality smiled to himself before continuing through the abnormally quiet cell block. The Halon System had put out all the fires, leaving slightly hot-to-the-touch metal plates and cell doors around, Vitality hovered through the halls, constantly alert. A few hushed whispers to his right alerted him to the presence of inmates nearby;
“Shh! Quit yappin’! Ren, ya wan dat the boss findin us here?!” Eric hissed.
“Fuck no man! That guy is crazy! I can’t believe he just killed Jules and Iro like that…Eric…hey…you hear that?” Replied Ren.
“Eric, you’re wack man, what if the boss is just around the corner?!”
“Oh shit, we’re gonna die…Ren, Eric, I love you guys…”
“What’d you say Jim?” Frowned Eric
Vitality’s eyebrows knitted together as he turned the corner to see three inmates huddled together whimpering in the corner of a cell.
“Um…”
At the sound of Vitality’s voice one turned around, eyes round with fear. It took him a few moments to register it wasn’t who he thought it was and he quickly nudged his two friends who quickly coughed, attempting to appear “manly” again.
“Eh…sup?” Sniffed Ren
“Who is "the boss"?” Asked Vitality
“Some alien dude, he-he helped us bust out.” Chimed Jim.
“He’s crazy strong though, we’ll do whatever you say, just don’t bring him to us…please man.”
“Stay here. If you leave you’ll end up like your friends back there.” Vitality commanded as he pointed to the still unconscious pile of inmates.
The three men nodded profusely before Vitality floated out of the cell. Noticing that those inmates were not affected by the transformative energy, he awkwardly pressed a cell door over the entrance to the cell, to ensure they would keep to their word.
Vitality flew down the prison hall, checking to see if any inmates still lurked in the cells. He checked all twenty seven cells without encountering a single conscious inmate, only energy burn marks, dried blood and holes on the walls and one unconscious inmate he made his way to the final section of the level.
He noticed a screen with six smaller displays, which seemed to show footage from the other levels, outside and Level 5. He looked at each one, The Level 5 feed flicked between him hovering over the control panel looking at the feed and Adrian's position back in the guards room. The Level 4 feed saw Kr'anri and Cavalier up against inmates and Green Dragon. Level 3's feed showed D.A.W.N. with her weapons trained on a woman clad in white attire with golden strips of fabric adorning the edges, Vitality quickly tapped on the feed his eyes widened as he stared at the enlarged display:
"Anlea? No...that can't be Anlea..." He frowned.
As he backed away from the screen a bolt of golden energy flew past his face, looking to his left he saw a group of inmates rushing towards him, having recently absorbed the energy from the transformative energy device. The energy bolts which did manage to make contact with him simply left tiny scorch marks on his uniform, Vitality flew towards the group grabbing the closest and largest inmate, spinning him around and throwing him into the group. At such a speed the impact was brutal sending the group along the floor at an alarming rate.
He looked up as he heard footsteps headed towards him from further down the hall, he flew towards the footsteps, determined to put an end to this situation. An older man with glowing golden eyes turned the corner and looked at Vitality with some level of malice:
"I've had enough of this. Stand down and make this easier for yourself." Frowned Vitality.
"This planet certainly has no shortage of foolish inhabitants. You honestly believe you can even think of matching me?!" Shouted the older man.
Vitality narrowed his eyes as he hovered closer to the man. The man made no sudden movements before unexpectedly shouting;
"Be gone, disgusting human!"
His eyes blazed with golden energy as he generated a large sphere of energy above him before hurling it towards Vitality, the energy sphere hit Vitality sending him careering back into a cell door. Vitality blinked several times and looked up to where the man was, in his place was a small hole in the wall and a figure who slowly walked out of the shadows. Shaking off the temporary disorientation, Vitality got to his feet and faced the figure, who he quickly identified as Hard Target.
"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in..." Sneered Hard Target.
"If I were you I'd back off. Right now." Frowned Vitality.
Hard Target began chuckling before falling into his old habit of monologuing before a battle. Vitality sighed;
"I haven't got time for this."
Hard Target's eyes flashed briefly with rage at his monologue being cut short. He pulled out his pistols and fired at Vitality, the bullets ricocheted off Vitality as he walked closer to Hard Target until he was within punching distance. Hard Target aimed his pistols at Vitality's head and fired. He watched as the bullets compressed on impact with Vitality's head and fell to the ground. Hard Target swore as Vitality had clearly taken no damage, he realized he was more likely to hurt himself than Vitality with his bullets.
Vitality threw a few punches towards Hard Target, who expertly dodged the blows.
"There's a reason they call me Hard Target bub." Chuckled Hard Target.
Thinking fast he dropped his guard and flipped back, distancing himself from Vitality and drew his swords from his back, twirling them around before running towards Vitality, brandishing his weapons.
Vitality shook his head as Hard Target lashed out, one early swipe of the swords slicing his uniform across his chest. Noticing this, Vitality flew out of Hard Target's range, as the mercenary attempted to swing his sword at Vitality's feet but to no avail. As an act of desperation, Hard Target threw one of his swords at Vitality who back handed the flying object into a wall where it embedded itself.
"What the hell are you? Some kind of superman or what?!" Raged Hard Target.
"You could say that." Vitality replied matter-of-factly
"Whatever you are, you're not going to get one up on me bub." Hard Target stated
"I admire your optimism, but I have a job to do." Vitality replied
Vitality flew towards Hard Target at a tremendous speed slamming into his midsection, winding him and severely disorientating him. He disarmed Hard Target, bending his remaining sword into an entirely useless shape before binding Hard Target tightly with a steel cell door. When Hard Target came around he let loose a string of curses as he struggled in vain to escape.
"You really need to learn to shut up." Sighed Vitality
He walked over and flicked Hard Target in the side of the head, the mercenary's head hung down as he fell into a stunned silence. Vitality clicked in his communicator, checking in with Delta.
"This is Vitality. Is everyone alright?" He asked.
"Cav and Kr'anri here, we're good, just minor scrapes really. Those aliens got away, they really do pack a punch though...Sorry Vit. Although, we did manage to snag an anti-western bigot, aka Green Dragon." Replied Cavalier.
"Dawn here, I'm afraid I'm in a similar situation to Daniel. The primary target exhibited powerful energy field generation and projection, my shields were reduced to 60% with a single blast. However Double Dealer is currently in custody. My apologies David." D.A.W.N. replied.
"It's okay, don't worry. I'm just glad to hear you are all okay. My one escaped me as well, I've got Hard Target in custody though. Any of you heard from Mentella on Level 2?" Vitality answered.
"Nope, Kr'anri says she can't even attempt mental contact with her. Hope she's alright though." Cavalier sighed.
"I have not heard from Mentella either." D.A.W.N. agreed.
