Return of the Armored Warrior
by J. Darksong
Ch.8
Dead, I am the life,Dig into the skin!Knuckle crack the bone—Twenty-one to win!
YESS! Now THIS was the way to do it! Back in a mechanized suit, soaring above the city, cranking out for Rob Zombie while looking for trouble. Er, looking for people IN trouble, that is. Not that I was talking about causing trouble myself... unless, of course, it was trouble for the ones causing trouble. Whatever. I was flying again, after being grounded for more than a week. It was little wonder I was a bit overly giddy right now.
Dead, I am the dog,Hound of hell, you cry!Devil on your back,I can never die!
The music was actually one of the better parts of all this, truth be told. My old suit was really advanced, but it was still considered ‘retro’ in the grand scheme of things. I’d actually connected my iPod to my Shining Paladin gear, so that I could listen to tune while I zipped around back in New York. I’d actually lost a few gigs of music when that suit was trashed. But it seems Frasier is as much of a fan of music as I am. And the new suit had full Cloud access, boasting a library way bigger than mine, with a lot of music choices that actually surprised me. Who knew the old guy was a fan of Death Metal? I’d kinda figured him more a fan of... I dunno... something with bagpipes.
DIG! Through the ditchesAnd BURN! Through the witchesI SLAM! In the back of myDraaaa-gu-laaaaa!
With small regret, I switched off my music as I drew close to the target site. Alright. This was it. I was finally about to get some serious payback. I mentally reviewed everything I’d learned in my studies of the files through Frasier’s database. There were actually six members of the Insect Society. I’d faced off against four of them, and apparently, the other two members were the ones responsible for breaking the other two members free. Looking back over the files I went over the ones I already knew:
- Leopard Moth—contains a powered bodysuit that allows the power of flight. Also, his body produces an unusual kind of dust, a slightly toxic substance that induces euphoria and renders a person highly suggestible.
- Dirt Dauber—likewise contains a flight powered bodysuit. He has the power to manipulate and control the dirt and ground, primarily using bits and pieces as projectiles or weapons.
- Weevil—wears an armored bodysuit, but has the power of flight naturally. She has augmented superhuman strength and is trained in numerous martial arts.
- Cricket—wears a flight powered suit. She has the power to channel kinetic energy then release it in the form of a hypersonic blast.
As I neared my destination, contemplating the other two members, however, I zoomed in on the scene before me. The transport vehicle lay in the middle of the road on its side, the frame riddled with holes, the heavy reinforced door ripped off its hinges. Further, several guards, some innocent bystanders, and a couple of costume wearing Supers lay facedown on the ground. Heading down to street level, however, my suit began flashing warnings at me.
+Alert! Detecting abnormal levels of methane and ammonia in the atmosphere. Asphixiation possible.+
Ahh. Well, that confirmed it. The last two members, Hornet and Stinkbug, had definitely been here. The concern, however, was the six people lying unconscious at ground zero. My suit’s internal respirators would keep me safe, but I needed to do something about all the gas for everyone else’s sake.
“Suit! Reconfigure: turbine fan mode,” I commanded, holding out my hands. I grinned as the nanite bound liquid metal of my gauntlets obeyed, melting and reshaping itself to the preset configuration I’d called out. It was amazing! Part of the reason the suit was so lightweight and versatile was its ability to reshape and reconfigure its systems as needed, eliminating the need to create multiple weapon systems and try to load them all in at once. This way, the one main power system could simply be altered and changed on the fly into whatever specific weapon or tool I needed at the time. It was basically the Swiss Army Knife of armors!
Activating the fans, I grunted, steadying and anchoring myself in place against the force the wind I was generating. Within seconds, I’d cleared the area, and the downed inhabitants began to stir. I checked on the two civilians first, assuring they were both okay, then the guards, then turned to the two Supers. “Hey, you guys all right?” I asked as they got back to their feet.
“Y-yeah, I’m okay,” Paper Doll managed, coughing. “Thanks to you. For a minute there, I thought I was going to check out permanently...” She shook her head to clear it, then frowned slightly. “And, um... not that I don’t appreciate the rescue, but... who are you, exactly?”
“Me, I’m...” I began, only to falter. She’d raised a very good question. I’d started to say I was Shining Paladin, the armored heroine persona I’d adapted back in New York. But that didn’t really apply so much anymore. My old armor was gone, destroyed and recycled, possibly repurposed into aluminum beer cans for all I knew. Technically, I was wearing Armor Man’s armor now... but I was hardly planning on trying to take on his name. For one thing, being mistaken for him is what got me into this mess in the first place.
“Okay, so, I don’t really have a name picked out just yet,” I conceded, “but that not really important right now. We need to track down the Society. Any idea where they went?”
”Nope, sorry,” Doll replied. “I’m afraid I was too busy hacking and gagging in the smell to notice where they were going. What about you, Pinny? Can’t you track them with your enhanced senses?”
“It’s probably more a question of won’t rather than can’t,” Pinnacle grumbled. getting back to her feet. “And frankly, I don’t even want to take a guess.” She groaned, covering her face. “That has to be the second worse stench I’ve ever had the displeasure of inhaling...”
“Oh?” Paper Doll asked. “What was the first?”
Pinnacle grimaced. “Another local heroine named Rectum. And believe me, the less you know about her and her ‘special powers’, the better.” Paper Doll frowned, but shrugged.
I chuckled softly. “Well, you two seem like you’ve had a rough time of it. I’ll take over tracking them down, while you two tend to the injured. My scanners should be able to follow the scent and lead me to where they’re hiding.”
“Okay, but do you think you can handle them alone?” Paper Doll asked, dubiously. “Not that I’m doubting your skills or abilities... but there are six of them now. Facing them all by yourself... it’s not really the best scenario, you know?”
I nodded in agreement. I’d actually thought about that, and ideally, I’d be going in with backup. “Actually, at this point, I just want to find them. If I can locate where they’re holed up, I’ll radio in for backup. The main thing is just to find them before the trail goes cold and they go into hiding.”
“Heh. Pretty smart,” Pinnacle replied. “Looks like there’s a brain underneath that metal helmet of yours, eh... um... er... sorry, what was your name again?”
I sighed. “Don’t have one yet... I’m still working on that. Anyway—”
“Yeah, well, names are kinda tough,” Pinnacle continued on, thoughtful. “I mean, you have that whole robotic armor thing going for you... but ‘Robotica’ is already taken. You’re a technology-based heroine, but ‘Techna’ has already claimed that as well. Your armor is a shiny silver... but I’m pretty sure all of Midas City would gripe at you calling yourself ‘Silver Girl’.” She paused, considering. “Metallo... Iron Girl... Machine Maiden...” She sighed, shaking her head. “Nope. Sorry, I got nothing...”
“It’s okay,” I replied tersely, activating my boot jets. “I don’t really care about that right now, alright? I’ll figure it out later.”
“Okay, but you should probably make it sooner rather than later,” Pinnacle called after me as I went airborne. “If you don’t name yourself, someone else will. And if you don’t get out in front of it, you might end up with a really crappy name. Like ‘Rectum’!”
Yeah right. A Super named Rectum operating in River City? I was halfway sure that she was making that part up. It was almost as ridiculous as the rumors about ancient Vikings from Norse mythology suddenly appearing and disappearing about the city! Now THAT was insane. Even though it WAS a really huge city, and there WERE sections I’d yet to venture into after being here more than two weeks now...
Speaking of which... I found myself cruising towards one of those aforementioned sections right now, following the trace scent of methane and ammonia being given off. The old Industrial section of the city was definitely low-rent, not exactly abandoned, per se, but certainly not a major part of the city’s thriving business structure. Most of the city’s wealth came from the creation and processing of electronics, with companies like GrimTech, Braxton Industries, and Nova Electronics, the Big Three were easily a rival for Silicon Valley in California. That said, even the old Industrial zone continued to run, several of the various plants continuing to contribute and provide steady work for the city’s citizens.
The paper mill I found myself landing in front of was one of the abandoned husks not currently in production, however. From the look of things, it hadn’t been used in decades, with the metal walls rusted and peeling in places. I also found myself in a bit of a situation. My finely tuned scanners clearly showed the trail leading into the plant, and the abandoned white minivan, stolen from the two civilians during the escape, parked just inside the gate pretty much confirmed it. However, it was a chemical processing plant, and my scanners could no longer discern Stinkbug’s trail from the other trace chemicals remaining from the plant itself.
If I went in now, I’d be going in blind. I needed more intel about this place, and what to expect before venturing inside.
On the other hand... the longer I waited, the better the chance that the Society might decide to move, to abandon their current hideout for someplace less... crappy. A quick scan of the minivan showed that it had only recently been parked there. From the remaining heat from the engine, my suit’s nano-computer estimated it had been there less than fifteen minutes. The Insect Society was definitely in there, hiding out. Best of all, they had no way of knowing I had tracked them here. They weren’t suspecting me at all. I had the element of surprise on my side.
In or out. Did I venture inside and attempt to use my advantage to take them all down while I had this chance? Or did I play it safe, and regroup, report back in to Mr. Frasier, and come up with a strategy, a game plan, then return later to swoop in, guns blazing... but risking the plant being empty and abandoned when I did?
Yeah. Well, as much as the wild untamed heroine in me screamed to rush in headlong, my first encounter with these guys, and subsequently ending up naked in a stranger’s bed with my head bandaged and my armor shredded lead me to take the cautious route. Activating a private encrypted channel, I contacted Frasier.
“Hey, coach. I met up with a couple of heroines at the site of the attack, but I was too late. The Society had already escaped by the time I arrived. Beat up a couple and stole their minivan to get away. I did manage to confirm it was Stinkbug and Hornet that busted their teammates out. And I managed to track down the Bug Boys to the old paper mill over on the south side. I was debating on whether or not to rush in after them... but I decided to check in with you first.”
«Aye, good girl,» he replied over the radio. I grunted, unable to prevent the wave of pleasure running through me at his praise. Damned stupid dreams. Damned stupid psyche! Why did this old fart still affect me that way?!? «It’s a good thing that ye called me first,» he continued, grabbing my attention again, «as I have an update for ye. I decided to do a wee bit o’ digging into their activities before they came across you last week. Turns out they’d been robbing various electronic warehouse and companies for parts, as well as a number of banks.»
Hmm. Electronics... and banks. “Gathering materials for something, and money, no doubt to pay off someone to create something for them,” I guessed, thinking aloud.
«Aye. That’s my take,» Frasier replied. «I haven’t compiled enough information yet to hazard a guess as to what they’re trying to assemble. But my guess is that its some kind of weapon, either to use against the city... or against Armor Man specifically.»
I couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Yeah. I get the impression these guys really do not like you.”
«Aye, ye could say that,» he replied ruefully. «Several years ago, when they were just starting out as criminals, I busted them trying to break into a FrasierTech warehouse. Needless to say, the ‘battle’ ended rather quickly. I made short work of them, then handed them off to the police. When they managed to escape prison sometime later, my alert notified me of the jailbreak, and I swooped in and captured them again. Within less than ten minutes of their escape.» He sighed. «Apparently, that made them something of a laughing stock among the other criminals for that, so they vowed revenge against me. We’ve clashed several times over the years, and they’d added technology of their own costumes in addition to their natural powers as Supers... but I always managed to overcome them.»
“Yeah... and now it seems I inherited your problem with then,” I replied. “Oh well... from what you’ve told me, they should be easy enough to take down, especially with this newly updated suit you gave me!”
«’Ere now! Not so fast, youngling,» he chided me, as I turned to head back towards the plant. «Aye, I was able to defeat the entire Society multiple times. Nevertheless, they’re not to be underestimated. I detailed all of their strengths and weaknesses and their personality and psyche profiles in the database you studied. So you know them fairly well. Just remember, having clashed so many times, they likewise know ME, and what my armor is capable of. It would be best if ye waited for me to send backup to yer location.»
“Any idea on how long that might take?” I asked, peering back towards the plant entrance, a frown creasing my lips.
«Hmmm... a half hour, give or take. Why?»
“I don’t think I have that long to wait,” I informed him. “I just saw someone run right into the entrance of the plant. And... I really can’t believe I’m saying this... but I think it was a female Viking!”