Her finger rested on the trigger when the intercom hissed. At the same time, Tree Frog held his hand to his ear in receipt of a transmission. “This is Overseer. A rogue element has been confirmed in a hero casualty. Lethal force has now been authorized.” Catalina ejected the rubber bullets from her gun and pulled out her sidearm. In a smooth motion, she fired the pistol squarely at Tree Frog’s chest, the heavy round piercing the splintered glass effortlessly before tearing through his costume. A splatter of blood vomited onto the glass as his body went limp, dangling from the hand and feet that remained attached to the observation sphere.
She holstered her gun and grabbed a magazine of lethal rounds from her tactical belt. Snapping it into place, she chambered a new round in her rifle, the last rubber bullet spiraling away. Catalina spun, aiming through the glass at the blue streak now emerging in her line of sight. She trained the gun ahead of it and squeezed the trigger. The bullet exploded out of the muzzle, ripped through the safety glass, and met its target. The blue trail ended abruptly, and the body tumbled end over end to the earth below.
“How much longer?” she yelled, a smile on her face as she watched the fiery trail dart downward after the prone body of his brother.
“We’re almost there! Just keep… damn it!” Arthur yelled as she ran around, watching another flier move in. She scared the hero off by bringing her rifle up. “Keep them off us!”
She brought her hand up to tap her earpiece on. “This is Catalina, boys!” she began as a small red-and-black flare on the ground caught her attention. She aimed the gun at the general area, scanning the night with her scope. “They’ve declared all of us shoot-to-kill targets!”
“Catalina!” Arthur shouted, something else competing with his attention. “What are you doing? Don’t make the situation worse!”
A dark shape appeared in the scope, a man in a cape and almost completely armored with riveted plates. Caliber, affectionately known as the ‘Human Bullet’, was rocketing toward her. She pulled out her side arm and fired several rounds into the glass, weakening it enough to be kicked out. It was only a matter of seconds now before Caliber was there, a prospect which would potentially wreck her day. Calmly, she holstered the pistol, removed a flash-bang grenade from her belt, primed it and waited.
The shape was now completely visible to the naked eye, growing larger by the moment.
Catalina pitched the grenade, one-handed, into the path of the hero before covering her face. She heard the explosive go off and, despite the protection her hand provided her shut eyes, saw the flash of light. She smirked and watched as the dark shape now had the unmistakable flail of panic as it neared her. She politely stepped aside as Caliber rocketed past her, smashing head-first into the metal wall behind her. The Human Bullet should have slowed himself down as he neared his target, using the same controlled explosions he used to launch himself through the air.
Of course, it’s kind of hard when temporarily blind and deaf.
She gave Caliber’s slumped form a once-over to ensure he was dead, a fact betrayed by the angle of his neck. “Guess you aren’t physics-proof, asshole,” she muttered. Catalina slung her rifle over her shoulder and brought her left hand up to her ear. “Let’s show them what happens when they fuck with predators. I am giving the shoot-to-kill order.” She grabbed her pistol, ejected the empty magazine, and slid in a new one.
“This is Allison Capone,” her sister hissed over the static. “I am authorizing that order. Draw some blood, boys!”
Catalina smiled as she scanned the horizon. “How are the transports holding up?”
A pause, just enough time to see a flying hero fly up and toward the new entrance to the Panopticon. She brought her pistol up and fired, the female hero sent crashing unceremoniously into the tower before falling out of sight. “We lost a bus, but we’re managing to hold off the heroes.” A slight gap in the conversation, and another wall-crawling hero was scuttling his way across the safety glass. She chose to ignore the slightly anemic-looking plainclothes Bestowed for the time being. “What pissed them off?”
“Shut up and kill them before they kill you!” she yelled as the hero penetrated the observation sphere. He launched himself at Catalina only to be met with a spinning fist across his face. Catalina dragged him upright by his throat, then slammed him back into the ground. He gasped for air, the wind knocked out of him, as the mobster straddled him. “Why aren’t you in uniform, son?” she asked, pulling out her PDA.
He wheezed, his head lolling back and forth. “Fuck you,” was all he could manage. She slapped him before squeezing his face to bring him closer to the scanner.
“That was very rude,” she chided as the machine beeped. She read the contents of it, sighing with disappointment. “But you’re lucky you’re not too much of a pain in the ass.” She grabbed his head and slammed it into the floor, knocking him out. She put away the device as something orange worked its way up from the ground. She looked down, squinting into the rapidly rising fireball that darted away from the tower and re-aligned itself before bolting for the open window.
Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the unconscious hero and knelt in front of the window with him gripped firmly in front of her. Flame exploded against his back, heat licking the parts of her body that were exposed under his tiny frame. The blast was intense, pushing her away before knocking her up and on her back. She got to her feet as Spark soared at her and rocketed a punch across her face.
The blow was harsh, but Catalina refused to be put down. He swung again, but she blocked it with her left hand and grabbed the collar of his insulated suit, yanking him forward nose-first into her forehead. He stumbled backward, blood spurting from his face, and tripped over the ashen half-corpse of the hero Catalina had used as a shield. In his fall to the floor, he flicked his fingers toward her, launching five small fireballs in a wide arc.
Catalina ducked underneath the spray, sprinted once the flames cleared and leapt at him, bringing herself down as he got to his knees and launched another fireball into her. The explosive force didn’t stop her descent as she brought her hand down in a knockout blow before she crashed in an undignified heap near her attacker. Her vest started to smolder as fire from the impact spread, heat biting at her skin. She rolled on her back and tossed her rifle aside before unzipping the vest as far as she could and slipping it off. “Shit,” she growled as she threw the now-useless article aside.
The observation sphere shuddered, the lights flickering at the impact. Catalina turned toward the source and scrambled to her feet in horror. Arbiter rose to his feet, glistening with rain water. She reached for her earpiece. “Arthur, can you lock me down here?”
“What?” She took a step backward as Arbiter took one to match.
“Can you lock me down here?” she asked pointedly, taking another step backward.
“Yes, but…”
“Do it!”
Emergency shutters rolled across the Panopticon’s access ramps, drawing Arbiter’s attention. He sneered, turned back to Catalina, and continued his approach, cracking his knuckles. “Catalina Capone…”
She cocked an eyebrow, trying to make it appear she wasn’t as terrified as she was. “Have we met?”
His eyes flashed to the charred remains beneath him. “What happened to my fellow heroes?”
Catalina quickly glanced downward before returning to Arbiter. “Would you believe they were like that when I got here?”
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” he growled.
She stared at him, finding the pinpricks of white that were his eyes underneath his helmet. “I know exactly what I’ve done.”
“I’ve grown weary of your insolence, your flagrant disregard of law, your disgusting parade of villainous behavior.”
“Lock me up for tax evasion, then,” she growled in return.
He launched himself at her, and she dove aside. She ran as fast as she could, even though she had no idea where she could possibly go. Pounding footsteps threatened
to overtake her, and before she could get out of the way, a clotheslining blow sent her face-first into the ground. Her hands planted and shoved her up and backward as a fist was sent smashing downward where her head had been moments ago.
She didn’t even have a chance to start running again when the same fist rocketed upward, smashing into her chin and sending her tumbling into the air. Somehow, she ended more or less upright in a crouch, permitting her a vantage point of Arbiter rushing her again. She kicked to the side, rolling awkwardly out of the way. Behind her, she could hear that he was already readjusting for her maneuver. The only way she was going to get through this was by buying enough time for the others.
Getting to her feet, she ran, painfully aware that she had twisted her ankle. That was no concern, though. What was a concern was that Arbiter had opted to not chase her, but circle around the sphere to intercept her. His massive form charged forward, and she skidded to a halt before launching herself into the maintenance room.
She didn’t have much time before Arbiter would be on her trail. A nearby computer bank provided enough cover to hide until she could find a more suitable location. The door burst open, and the hulking hero stepped inside. He waited by the entrance, probably scanning the dark room for signs of movement. He shut the door behind him and took ponderous steps into the chamber, heading slowly around the computer banks. Shifting to keep him in eyeshot, she had to dart behind the computer bank when he whipped around.
Holding her breath at this juncture was the only thing to do. She couldn’t touch him, shoot him, or in any way incapacitate him. The kill shots she could make were rendered impossible thanks to his damn helmet and chest plate. In the off chance a flash-bang would…
Bang.
She squeezed her eyes shut at the sound. He must have punched the floor or something in an effort to make her reveal her position. She heard metal creak, then nothing, allowing her to resume breathing after a burn slowly branched through her lungs. Cautiously, and with great effort, she moved from her position, trailing after Arbiter in careful, laborious strides, taking advantage of any outcropping of computers to duck behind. When she caught up with him, he had apparently just discovered Maelstrom’s corpse. He knelt by it, then stood, grunting as he stepped over the body.
“More of your handiwork, Capone?” he shouted. “I’m sure he wasn’t much of a challenge.” He spun around, prompting her to once again duck out of sight. “Or maybe you thought it would enrage me?” He chuffed in annoyance, turning back around. “The former Nazi is of no consequence.” Catalina leaned out a bit to keep an eye on him.
The door crashed open, and suddenly he was charging toward her blindly. She ducked behind the computer and pressed flat against it as he leapt, landing against it. Anticipating his hand splattering her face into putty, she was shocked as he leapt again, toward the sound. “Hurikane?” Arbiter boomed.
Another hero must have opened the door. “We’re having trouble breaking into the Panopticon. The shutters are reinforced,” said Hurikane, presumably, his voice cracking in the presence of the High Consul.
“Catalina, we’re ready to go on your mark.” Arthur’s voice made her wince. She inhaled deeply before reaching up to her ear. “Catalina?”
“There’s a situation down here, Art.”
“Can you make it to one of the ramps?”
She moved, crouched and as quiet as she could, to another bank of computers. “I think so. It might take some… personnel management.” All she’d have to do was kill an unknown number of heroes and make it to a ramp while dodging Arbiter. Piece of cake.
“Okay. We’re going to open the west shutter on your signal, then close it behind you. Sound alright?”
“One question, kid,” she said. “Left or right out of the maintenance room?”
“Left,” Arthur answered. “We don’t have much time before Overseer notices he’s locked out of the password and door security subroutines,” he warned. “I can only give you two minutes.”
“Fine,” she growled. She peered over the side of the computer at Hurikane, the hero apparently standing guard while Arbiter went to smash his way through the security shutter. She had to draw him away from the shutter, unless she wanted the hero to coat the Panopticon in villainous insides.
Catalina inhaled deeply, then ran out from behind cover. Hurikane heard her approach, turned and immediately shot his hand out. She felt a gale of wind push into her, shoving her backward. “Help!” he shouted as she managed to gain traction and march toward him. His other hand came up, and the gust became almost intolerable, partially blinding her.
She brought her pistol up toward his vague direction and fired, catching the hero once in his shoulder. He went down with the force of the bullet, unable to rise before Catalina leapt into the air and brought her knees down on his chest. She heard bones break on impact, and his eyes rolled back into his head as he gurgled. A figure appeared in the doorway, and she shot twice, blowing holes in the unidentified man’s chest. He went down as she stood and ran, entering the hallway as she holstered her pistol.
A woman with bright red feathers on her outfit moved to intercept her. Catalina rammed her out of the way, sending the hero spinning into the wall. She needed to get her rifle and get out of there. Her heart was thundering as she made it to her gun, quickly picking it up as she skidded to a stop. She hadn’t even finished breaking her forward momentum as she double-backed toward the western shutter.
The feathered heroine from earlier had pursued her, now running past the shutter and toward the mobster. Catalina swung her rifle into the woman’s face, sending her toppling from the blow. She slung the rifle across her back and reached to her earpiece. The thunderous approach of Arbiter’s footsteps made her panic as she turned to the source, his reflection in the glass ominously approaching. The dazed heroine in front of her groaned. Catalina grabbed her off the floor, hefting her one-handed as her free hand withdrew her pistol from its holster.
Feathers tickled her face as she dragged the woman to the shutter. “What’s your name, heroine?”
“Paradise,” came the choked reply.
Arbiter roared into view, then stopped abruptly at the sight of Catalina jamming the gun into the woman’s temple. “Catalina, stop…” he growled.
“Could you hold on?” she asked. “I have to make a call.”
She was floating, and had been floating, for an eternity. Below her, an endless sea of naked bodies clambered over each other, reaching up to her. They were eyeless, genderless, featureless, save the gaping holes in their heads, the blackened gaps fixated entirely on her. She couldn’t breathe, her lungs paralyzed as she watched the things below. Occasionally, a familiar face would bubble to the surface, gasping for breath before the faceless pulled them down.
With a low growl, the figures conglomerated on themselves, piling on top of each other. It wasn’t like before… they were building. Each figure squirmed into place and locked rigid as the pillar of creatures grew closer. One, with a slavering facial gap lined with teeth, clawed its way up its fellows and reached the top. It stretched, extending a flabby claw up her exposed face…
Then, darkness.
Morgan’s head was pounding much, much harder than she ever thought it could. It felt like her brain had suddenly become aggressive and begun gnawing its way out of her skull. All she could think about was that eighties movie where that poor dog had some kind of alien in it and split apart before it started to attack the other trapped canines.
She hadn’t watched television for a month afterwards.
“Everyone fall back to the main lobby, do you copy? Escaping with as many inmates as possible is now our top priority. Fall back to the main lobby!” a man’s voice dreamily wafted through the haze of pain, echoing like he was at one end of a cavern and she at the other. Something rumbled, aggravating her head.
When the pain receded enough, she ventured to open her eyes. The moment she did, light was a belligerent blur, forcing her lids shut ag
ain. Her head thumped angrily at her as she inhaled deeply, trying to figure out where she was. The last thing she could remember was being in the Heroes’ Guild… she needed to find Zombress for… whatever reason.
Then, she remembered: the goon, the fight on the rooftops, the fireball… being told that the mobster was too far gone to save, and then passing out.
The world spun, physically this time, and she felt long, slender fingers on her face. They were cool to the touch, but relaxing. They seemed to spread a painkiller through her skin on contact, enabling her to carefully, shakily, open her eyes with a flutter.
Zombress looked at her, concerned. Morgan’s movement seemed to relieve her, and she offered a small smile which her eyes certainly did not reflect. “Glad to see you’re still with us,” she said, her voice an odd combination of soothing and unsettling.
“Where am I?” Morgan asked, shoving herself up the chair she found herself in. The world beyond Zombress’s face was resolving into banks of monitors, flickering television screens, and metal. A man in the distance was rushing to a set of computer banks as a woman darted out of sight.
“You’ve been in a sleep chamber,” Zombress started.
“What? Why?” Morgan’s attention snapped back to her. Her heart beat against her rib cage, once more aggravating her head. “I didn’t kill him! It was an accident!”
“I know, Miss Severson,” Zombress said with a degree of annoyance as, somewhere in whatever building they were in, an explosion roared quietly. “But others do not.”
Morgan pushed herself off the chair, and Zombress relinquished her position so that she could shakily go… somewhere. “I’m not going to be held like a villain for something I didn’t do.”
“Aquaria…”
“Shut up!” Did I honestly just tell the only Tier Five Bestowed on the eastern seaboard to shut up? She looked back at Zombress, hoping that she at least looked defiant instead of as embarrassed as she felt. The woman stared at her without flinching, apparently expecting this reaction. “Take me to the heroes.”
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