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Silent Showers
Zapdos
Festive
Majoraa
TokyoPewPew
4323O2
twave
Kero
wikkit
The first espers to arrive were all of the Gemini Agents. Jacqueline remarked on how annoying it was to receive an unknown number of freelancers for a mission, which got Binky’s attention.
”I could probably notify you of how many we are getting, though Veronica had me use her account when I put up the hit on Shimr. They give priority to high ranking government officials and qualifying faction leaders. Though I can’t log in and find out who’s coming, as I don’t presently have access to her computer.”
After Binky and Su shook hands, They shook Jacqueline’s hand too. While Silmeria had her hands full, that didn’t stop Su from giving her fellow agent a thumbs up and a huge smile.
Jacqueline asked about possible monster activity, and Binky looked in their direction. ”As soon as Veronica arrives, we’re going to get one of her world famous rundowns. B-but if you must know, we aren’t expecting monster activity. Agent Silhouette and a few others were dispatched earlier to ensure there weren’t any monsters nearby.” Not long after Binky finished speaking, the Freelancers started to show up. The first was “Protector,” who asked everyone for their names. ”I’m Binky, one of the mission organizers. Well, until Veronica gets here!” Binky raised an eyebrow at Leroux. While far from unheard of, it wasn’t common for an agent to use any part of their real name as a code name. Though each agent was free to do as they pleased.
”I am Breacher.” Su eyed the metal giant up and down. ”You look impressive, Protector. I know someone who love to see you! May I take picture later?”
The playful banter came to an end with the roar of an obnoxiously loud engine. Everyone watched Apollo as he sauntered over to the group, showed them the job, and declared his name and role on a team.
”A healer? You mean a medic? Noted.” With a curt twist of her head, she looked to the newly arrived. Klava’s arrival was practically silent. Though her quip about Appolo’s intelligence did get Binky to almost smile. ”Afraid the coffee machine and snacks were left in another van, along with the ice cream machine.” Binky pointed at the vehicle behind herself. ”As for your bike, safest place is probably inside one of the APCs. And the maps…” Binky pulled out a tablet and started tapping her fingers across its surface. ”I should have something shortly. I saved it somewhere for the briefing.”
Then another person showed up. A purple-haired woman in a lab coat seemed to fade into reality right beside Binky. The sudden appearance may have been jarring to some, but everyone in Gemini was aware of Dr. Fritzi Moller’s antics. It would have been stranger for her to just show up like a normal person. While she had a reputation for being “scary,” the agents had never seen her that way. If anything, she was a bit goofy. She smiled way too much for a government official, and anyone who colored their hair purple had to be a little odd. There was a rumor that all the researchers who worked under her had to color their hair at her behest, and was the primary reason Binky’s head looked like a cabbage patch.
”Good afternoon, agents!” Her eyes scanned everyone before coming to rest on the freelancers. At which point her smile receded. ”Binky?”
”Y-yes?” She looked up from her tablet.
”Who are these people?”
”They are the freelancers!” Binky smiled. ”You wanted to hire 1, right?”
”I did, but that’s-” Fritzi waved the tip of her finger between them all. ”That’s at least 3.”
Binky blushed. She might look like a Christmas elf if she got flustered enough. ”I put a hit out on Shimr. I can’t really decide how many people take the job.”
”Yes you can!” Fritzi said with a chuckle. ”Have you never used it before?”
”Um...”
With a sigh, Fritzi walked closer to Binky’s side and leaned over her so that they could both look at Fritzi’s tablet. ”Do you see that little box over there?”
”Yes.”
”You want to check that box when you host a job, and then you see this box here?”
”Uh-huh.”
”You’re going to scroll down to limited and then this second box appears, and you’re going to select ‘MAX ESP’.”
”Okay.”
”And then you select the maximum number of espers you want. It won’t let you go less than 3 because they already accepted.”
”Alright.” Binky sighed. ”Sorry everyone, I don’t use the app that much.”
”There’s no need to be sorry, Binky. I’m sure the freelancers love to get paid.” With a wink, she addressed the freelancers. ”I’m Veronica, I’m the primary overseer of this operation.” Vermillion Veronica was her full code name, which allegedly made more sense if you were looking at her esper form. But no one in the unit save maybe Binky had ever seen it before, so she usually just ended up shortening it to Veronica. ”Time is urgent, so let’s make every second count. Your primary objective is to retake PSPD #11 from Cobra Gang, ideally without leveling the place. The government is dispatching an organization that doesn’t exist instead of the army for a good reason. ”
Binky plugged a dongle into her tablet, and a drone flew overhead. Once the drone was flying between everyone, it projected an image onto the ground. It seemed that Binky had located the blueprints to the PSPD #11. ”The blueprints are a little dated, but the general layout should be the same. There haven’t been any major revisions to the building, aside from whatever the targets did after their arrival.”
The first image on display was the first floor. The rectangular building’s north and south walls were the longest, with the east and west walls being roughly half the size. Each wall had 2 and 6 windows respectively, with a large pair of double doors allowing people into the front (west) entrance and the back (east) entrance. The rooms themselves weren’t marked, but there was a large corridor that ran the length of the building and allowed access to all the side rooms. Near the front entrance was a staircase that went to the basement, while the back entrance had a staircase leading to the second floor. There was also an elevator not far from it.
”What makes this mission a little more interesting is that the basement floor contains a prison. We estimated Cobra Gang to be 30 men strong, but they may have recruited some extra muscle from the prison. Worse still is that not everyone in jail is a murderous scum bag. Aside from petty criminals, it’s possible they rounded up some innocent people as a deterrent from future attacks. This wouldn’t be the first time they did something like that. Things could quickly turn into a hostage situation if handled poorly.”
The next floors were more of the same. It seemed like each floor was essentially a giant corridor that fed off into the smaller rooms and offices. Only the entrance ways were replaced by a 3rd window, and the front door staircase was non-existent. It seemed the one staircase was the only way up or down. The 4th floor had a small change. The corridor terminated into the commissioner’s office by the west wall, and there was a clearly marked kitchen area right beside it.
”Looks like the commissioner knows how to party.” Veronica looked to Binky. ”Maybe we can have some coffee and snacks when this is all over?”
Binky didn’t sigh, but a single look at her and anyone could tell she wanted to. ”We have some people of interest too.”
”Of course.” Veronica addressed everyone again. ”The big bad that really needs to be taken out is a man who goes by the moniker ‘King Cobra.’ As you likely guessed, he’s in charge of Cobra Gang. He likes to play with explosives, so be ready for that. Killing him should seriously demoralize the gang. We don’t really know who he is though, so it would be preferable if you didn’t totally vaporize him. The second target is Jean Wagner, better known as ‘Rottweiler.’ During the police station takeover, he decided it would be better to serve his new friends, which he is still doing to this day. His capture would be ideal, but is not necessary. It should also be noted that he was trained in military Krav Maga, Tae-Kwon-Do, Jiu Jitsu, and Muay Thai. Basically, do not engage him in striking distance unless you know what you’re doing, and don’t let him grab you unless you want to have every bone in your body broken.” She pushed her hands into her pockets. ”Beyond that, there are your usual seasoned killers in the gang, but most are your average garden variety thugs. They shouldn’t know what melodies are, so use their ignorance to your advantage. Just remember that guns kill more espers than anything else, so don’t get cocky.”
”Plan?” Su rubbed her chin.
Veronica hardly needed time to consider her orders. ”I was going to go for a stealth approach, but with so many espers, why not go for a spit roast?” Veronica pointed in the direction of the police department. ”Breacher, go knock on the front door. Leroux, you might as well go with her. Valkyrie, there’s a vacant apartment complex right across the street. You can offer them supporting fire from there. Just be ready to move, as they will see you firing from a building across the street.” She pointed at Binky, then the freelancers. ”Binky, you’re going to take the freelancers around back. With everything hitting the front, you should be free to enter. Fight your way to the upper floors, I’m sure that’s where their boss is hiding.”
Binky raised an eyebrow. ”Just the freelancers?”
”No no, Silhouette will be with you shortly.”
This seemed to put Binky at ease. ”Sounds good.” She said after taking a breath.
”Once the freelancers are on the second floor, The Gemini squad will attempt to secure the jail and the first floor. Meanwhile, the freelancers and Silhouette will work their way up the floors. If the enemy is fully distracted, there shouldn’t be much resistance on the eastern stairwell, as most of them will be shooting through the windows at the Gemini unit if you hurry. You may be able to climb to the top floor, but use your own discretion and don’t get surrounded. If the Gemini squad gets pinned down, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you clearing out a floor or two.”
”I’ll try to relay information to you from Veronica and update you as the situation changes.” Binky huffed. ”Don’t expect much fire support from me. I’m strictly here for support, regrettably.”
”Get into positions everyone. Daylight is about to fade.”
From up above and from beneath!
VARIOUS GOAT NOISES!
FIRST SHOWDOWN
SPILL THE TEA, SIS!
Once the freelance squad was in position, Su walked out into the street before the west entrance. It was getting dark out, but it was still possible to see outside thanks to the orange light washing over the city. She could see a few of the gang members by the windows. Some were resting, others were on guard, but they were all armed and dressed in fancy suits. She could spot the familiar curved magazine of an AK-47 on one, while another held a small black pistol. The make wasn’t familiar to her, but it did look like something the local police used. They must have raided the gun lockers, if they didn’t loot them off of fallen officers directly.
But woman dressed up like SWAT members are not something that most gang members would be happy to see, and their reaction to her appearance was about what she expected. Someone on the first floor looked up from their shot glass and nearly jumped out of their seat. While he was reaching for his pistol, Su already had hers drawn, and she didn’t hesitate to shoot. His head kicked back, and he fell out of view. All that remained of him was a bit of blood on the opposing wall.
The sound of gunfire drew several armed men to the windows. ”The fuck is she suppose to be? That’s no pig!”
”Who gives a shit? Unload on her!”
Su was able to fall onto one knee and raise her shield, which covered herbody from fire. But with so many people shooting at her, it wouldn’t be possible to return fire. This was hardly the distraction her team needed, she would need to do a bit better.
Dust from the street surged to Su’s position. The effect was plainly noticeable to an esper, but not to those who had never seen magic before. But the effect would become apparent as soon as Su attempted to jump. She didn’t soar just a few inches off the ground, she flew. The thugs were initially startled by this, and weren’t able to track their target as she flew into the air.
”I gotta stop drinking.”
The gang members weren’t going to stay stunned for long, but Su was able to gun down two more of them before raising her shield again. She tucked her knees under her shield and and started to glide to the ground before her melody wore off. Hopefully that was enough to give her fellow agents the opening they needed.
Meanwhile at the back entrance, things were pretty quiet. The espers could hear shots being fired, but that was at the front of the building. There was some movement in the windows, but it was thugs in suits rushing to the front of the building rather than a diligent patrol keeping watch for them.
”I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you this, but the attack started.” Binky pulled the APC out of the allyway and into the street. ”This isn’t exactly an inconspicuous vehicle, so the sooner you get out there, the better.”
And there were ample opportunities for the freelance squad. Veronica had instructed them to go through the back door and up the staircase, but there was no reason things had to be just like that. There were plenty of windows that could be used to enter the building, and some of them even had those gang members in them. It was also possible to see the staircase, and it did seem like some people were moving up and down the floors. But if they wanted to prevent the Gemini squad from being overwhelmed, they didn’t have time to talk about it. They needed to move now.
”Hey Huntress, I’m Tetrad!” She waved enthusiastically at the totally-not-ominous girl leaving the shadows. ”I don’t know about having a plan though. Most of our group is still out of city, so we don’t really know what we’ve got to work with.”
Billy turned to look at the other girl who arrived and smiled. It was hard to see his mouth, but his cheeks puffed up like any normal person’s would when they smiled. He even raised his hand and waved back to her, flexing his fingers individually as he returned her kind gesture. With his other hand, he brought up a comparably tiny phone to his face. ”Guess y’all are the freelancers we’re gunna get.”
”Oh well.” Tetrad forced a smile. She would have really liked it if a guy joined them, but she was fine with these two. Huntress and the other girl didn’t look like the type to try and smother her face in their cleavage like someone else she knew. ”So what’s the plan, Billy?”
The giant stepped out of his fancy car and brandished a sword with a serrated edge. People told stoeries about the larger than life man, but seeing him in the flesh was the only thing that did his size justice, ”We’re gunna clean Bastion of every last cultist. I say every last one!” He hoisted his blade over his shoulder and paced in front of the espers present. ”The Queen O’ Bees has decided to take Bastion for herself, and has her whole ‘Church of the Hive’ along with ‘er. Don’t know nothin’ other than that. Just that they hoard honey and kidnap people as quick as a hiccup. Even woman!” The last word he spoke caused his fist to tighten until his entire arm quivered. ”Taking the queen out is a must, but I want the rest of those honey suckin’ cultists outa Bastion too!”
”So you have a plan?”
Billy nodded. ”Why don’t y’all try sneakin’ in? I’ll make sure the exit stays clear. Not sure how useful I’ll be inside Bastion. Barely enough room to swing my blade in them corridors. Not to mention I ain’t exactly easy to spot. I-say I-say I’d be better suited makin’ sure nobody goes in after ya.” Billy walked towards the warehouse entrance. He took hold of one of the garage doors and pulled it open with ease. Sure enough, the warehouse was empty. Aside from a few empty crates put in place to disguise the Bastion’s entrance, it looked like it was abandoned. ”Y’all watch yourselves. Just don’t overextend and get surrounded.”
BIENVENUE POWER BOTTOMS!
IT'S YOUR TURN.
Concert 1
Unite up!
And with varying levels of hesitation, three Espers entered, their steps echoing against hard concrete and past the pale line of dust that had gathered at the edge of the warehouse’s heavy doors. In that instant, however, an electric shock, a realization of magic, shot up their spine. At a distance, viewing from the outside, the warehouse was totally empty, devoid of anything of note. But now that they were inside, the illusion cast over the mundane environment was pulled off, like a bystander walking past the curtains into the backstage.
The heavy crates, shipping containers more like, had been pushed off to the side in various manners of disarray, while the manhole that lead to the depths of Bastion was currently being occupied by…gorillas? No, Regina had experience in animal physiology, understood instinctually that these were not actually gorillas in jumpsuits, but rather furries. Seven furries with various weapons that looked like approximations of Rainbow Six Siege melee equipment, from riot shields to sledgehammers to…was that a fucking katana?
“Grugh?!” One of them let out, obviously surprised that anyone else planned on entering, before the seven of them all beating their fists against their chests and rolling their shoulders back to expose the size of their (costume’s) pecs. “RETURN TO MONKE! RETURN TO MONKE!” was the warcry they chose…and yet, as none of them carried guns, there was no real attack made yet.
The Great Escape was still rocking to Elroy’s fantastic covers of Van Halen’s music. It didn’t quite sit right with Betty to let Elroy do all the work, so once the first song was over, she stopped him to talk.
”I think, um.“ She sighed. ”Thank you, Elroy. I do want to finish my set though. So if you’d like to play a few more songs, I’ll get something to drink and hop back over here.“
”Take your time, Violin girl!”
”You can call me Betty if you like.“
”I prefer Violin girl!”
”Well okay then!“
Elroy was an odd duck, but Betty couldn’t argue that she owed him big for this. She hopped off the stage and moved away from the amp before he started playing his next song.
On her way past the stage, she caught a glimpse of “Trisha,” the girl who had fetched Elroy’s amp and guitar. She was wearing a retro game inspired outfit covered in little Pac Man ghosts and other videogame sprites she didn’t know the name of. While many were captivated by Elroy’s playing, no one seemed as into it as her. She stood at the corner of the stage, propping up her head with both hands. ”Knock ‘em dead, Elroy!” Betty was sure there was a story there, but if she didn’t do something about her daydreaming, she wouldn’t be able to finish her set!
By the time she got to the counter, the owner was just finishing his transaction with Fable. ”If the current performance is too loud for you, we have some seating in the back. Should make for a quieter atmosphere, if that’s what you’re looking for.” Once Fable departed, he turned to Betty. ”Suppose you want coffee too?” Betty nodded as her eyes tracked Fable. ”I’m pretty sure you kids would have the energy to get through the day if you did’t stay up so late. Not to say I don’t understand why you do it. I loved doing stuff after my parents went to bed at your age. Just don’t get use to it, I couldn’t stay up past 11 if I wanted to.” He passed her a cup of coffee. ”Anything else? I’ll just take it out of your payment if you’d like.”
”That works.“
Betty was only half listening to the owner as she walked after the hooded boy. There was no doubt in her mind that whatever brought everyone else here had brought him here too. They had to be one of those “esper friends” like Elroy. But what surprised Betty was how young he was compared to everyone else. Everyone present had to be at least an adult, but here was this boy who might not even be a teenager.Betty didn’t like to drink by herself. It looked like he had a coffee too, so that was something they had in common, right? She didn’t want to bother him, but…
Regardless of where Fable sat down, Betty would stare at the back of his head for approximately 5 seconds as she contemplated what to do next. After giving herself a moment to breathe, she took a seat opposite to Fable and put on a warm smile.
”Well hey! A fellow evening coffee drinker!“ She picked up her cup and gently shook it. ”I’m Betty, maybe you saw me up on stage? I need a pick me up before I go out there again.“ With a chuckle, she popped the lid off of her coffee. A puff of white steam whiffed into the air, making the area smell like ground coffee beans and caramel. She never understood why coffee was so hot. Yea, you had to brew it, but nobody actually drank it at that temperature. They even put a lid on it to help keep all that heat in. ”So, why are you drinking at this hour?“
