Traitors and Mercenaries, Part 2 (Finale)
Posted on Mon May 3rd, 2021 @ 4:43pm by First Lieutenant Bethany Harrison & Captain Jonathon Harrison
Edited on on Thu May 6th, 2021 @ 5:01pm
Mission:
The Factions
Location: Somewhere in the desert
Timeline: Present Day
Fractal shifted into light again, allowing him to pass through her, burning him as he went. That effort dropped her to one knee as Garrett careened into a finger of rock sticking up from the ground, blasting it into so much rubble and dust.
“You’re not going to be able to hold up to this for too much longer,” the voice of the nano suit’s AI came across her communication system. “Even your small expenditures are starting to overtake your power regeneration rate.”
“Acknowledged,” was Fractal’s only response as she began calculating her next move. It needed to be the last; she couldn’t afford to play with him anymore. “Why now? You’ve been with the Underground as long as I have.”
“Once I sell you off to the highest bidder, I’m gonna have enough to quit this bullshit game and live a very extravagant life. And I haven’t even gotten started, my dear,” Garrett hissed as he spun on her once more, immediately rushing at her and throwing a new skill into the mix. He hauled up a large boulder, pushing it out in front of him at the speed of sound.
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“Chopper incoming,” Radar announced, his voice this time coming through their comm systems rather than the speaker on his belt.
Jon turned and shielded his eyes with a hand to see the helicopter coming in low. “Pack up. Ride’s here,” he told the others, reaching down and yanking the Hydra agent to her feet.. “Any funny stuff, I shove you out the door, luv,” Jon warned her.
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The young brawler was weak and winded, but Fractal didn’t know when to quit. She could have left him there, throwing boulders and dreaming of a fistful of cash, but that wasn’t her style, and she laughed darkly as the traitor came at her, one of those large stones bearing down. One, maybe two more shots, and she knew that she’d wind up on the losing end of the fight. The team was coming. She just had to last a little longer.
The merc had chosen his timing well, waiting until she had already been weakened by another battle. But he had given the young soldier far too little credit. Suddenly Fractal started laughing, though there was no mirth to the sound. “Fool,” she said as she seemed to vanish.
The world around the man darkened dramatically as Fractal rapidly drew in the light around them. Garrett’s eyes widened, as time appeared to slow to a stop for a brief second.
“While you’ve been playing with the speed of sound--” the dangerous mutant nearly growled. As quickly as she had vanished, she reappeared in a blinding flash of light right next to him, and whispered into his ear, “--I’ve perfected the speed of light.”
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With everyone loaded into the helicopter, Jon strapped on a safety harness as he stood in the doorway and took up the sniper rifle as they swept over the desert toward Bethany’s position.
“Over there!” he called, indicating for the pilot to come in high on his approach before Jon stared into the scope.
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In one moment, Fractal was right next to him, then next she was above him. Still another brief moment later, she flashed back to him again, only this time she drove into him, kicking him into the ground, boulder and all, at insane speeds, throwing up debris, and creating a smoking crater. Once the man was on the ground, she descended into the cloud of sand and stone, gathering a bright, molten orb as she went.
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Jon blinked, looking away from his scope as Bethany’s light nearly blinded him, if it wasn’t for his nano. There was a lot of dust kicked up, so he wasn’t going to get a shot. He waited for the helicopter to get in closer.
“Rook to Fractal,” Jon called over comms, “if you could, keep him alive so we can get some answers out of him.”
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There was no response from the coldly furious young woman. A sudden, bright flash of light briefly backlit the cloud of debris, as a hail of molten sand and stone pummeled the area. Then Fractal seemed to flicker and fade, descending to the ground rapidly, vanishing into the dust cloud that had been kicked up during the fight.
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Jon frowned, sensing Beth’s exhaustion through the link as the helicopter landed nearby.
“Stay here,” Jon instructed, unbuckling and jumping out the door, swapping the sniper rifle for his carbine and jogging into the dust cloud that was settling in the area.
“Fractal!” Jon called, blinking and peering through the dust, his nano providing eye goggles for him. His HUD was already tracking Beth’s nano signature, though he could see nothing else because of the desert heat obscuring any infrared heat signatures.
The hot desert winds began clearing the cloud of dust and revealed Fractal, standing at the lip of the crater that she had created, staring down at what she had wrought. Garrett was laying on top of what was left of the boulder, sprawled out on his back, gleaming, cooling glass tracing around his entire body. He was badly injured, but conscious, a look of shock and terror on his face.
“He’ll live,” Fractal said as Rook approached. “Might...take him a bit... to...” she managed to get out before her knees buckled and she collapsed from a combination of her injuries and sheer exhaustion, her nano sparkling as it tried to help her gather needed light.
Jon leaped forward, aided by his cybernetic leg, and caught Bethany before she could hit the ground. He sighed. “You don’t need to overextend yourself like this, Beth,” he whispered to her. Then he called in the helicopter.
It only took a few moments for Garret to be collected and trussed up next to the Hydra agent, the medic taking a look at him while Jon and Beth buckled back into their seats, and soon they were off for home.
“He started it,” Bethany responded, laughing softly. As she settled into her seat, Jon sitting next to her, she laid her head on his shoulder with a soft sigh. “He was after the price on my head,” she told him with another tired sigh as she began dozing off.
“What price on your head?” Jon asked with surprise.
The exhausted brawler gave a slightly pained hiss as she shrugged, but she was asleep before she could answer.
FIN
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Captain Johnathan Harrison
Mutant Underground
Lieutenant Bethany Davies
Mutant Underground
