Brnng, brnng, brnng.
"Why, hello! If it isn't my favorite so-"
"Save it!" BP yells over the phone at Caine while holding onto Rex's back as they fly through the city. "I need you to call A.R.E.S and have them ready me an ammo crate and loadouts 4, 7, and 16." BP looks down and wiggles his toes as his lower half has finally finished healing.
"My, my! Who are we sending to an early grave today?" Victor Caine says, writing calculations in his ledger.
"Father Paco and his cult! They took my Lena!"
"Not the lust of your life! How unfortunate! So I'd assume you and your gang of miscreants must've learned the secrets of the New Dawn Society?"
"Besides the intel we already received? Not much."
"So I take it, the plan is to go in guns blazing, killing everyone in your way until you reach your bride? Hmm…"
"Pretty much. But it's not just her, they took Murphy's son too. Along with everyone on I Street, I'm assuming."
"Craig Murphy's son? What does he have to do with any of this?"
"Long story but for timesake, Murphy was murdered today. Tried getting revenge but the guy can turn into a ghost or something. Rescued the kid but we got separated."
"Leading to their capture. Well I'm glad to see you are bringing your girlfriend on missions. Shows how serious you are about your tasks nowadays." BP winces as Caine's sarcasm bleeds through the phone. "Well I'll have you know, you are no longer the only crew on this mission."
"Wait, what the fuck?! Why?!"
"The powers that be and I were unsatisfied with your current progress so I sent a member of the Hunter's Guild to investigate as well. The operative, Juno, discovered that Father Paco has the ability to change his followers. Juno, having a bug-like appearance due to her powers, was able to convince Church security she had already been converted, and thus able to enter the hidden chamber your group had discovered."
"And?"
"As stated in your report, hundreds of people in reverence of a man in the center with gold and white robes. The shocking factor, he's not that old. Around you kids' ages. More than that, she witnessed many large beasts lurching about in the darkness on the edges of the arena. This confirms that Father Paco is either harboring or is in fact the Creature Dealer, the Black Market broker that creates and distributes organic abominations to the highest bidders. This would explain the New Dawn Society's massive wealth, maybe the church's takeover was a money laundering scheme all along."
"Hm…okayyyyy…so how many crews are going to be in my way when I raid this joint?" BP says as he loses his grip and falls off Rex's mech.
SPLAT
"Two…" Caine hears the thud. "You still there?"
"Gnnnnm…yeah." BP grunts and he peels himself up from the pavement. "Who are they?"
Rex flies down and he places his hands on his head, the mech does the same. "OMG! Are you okay? You can't go jumping off like that!"
"I'm fine…" BP grumbles.
"One crew calls themselves No Limit Gang, the other is called the Cat Pack."
"Hmmm…" BP sighs. "Just sounds like more assholes to the slaughter. Alright! I've heard enough. Badbye, Old man."
"Happy Hunti-" Caine is cut off as BP hangs up. On Victor Caine's table is an ornate chessboard. "Craig Murphy…my finest bishop. Seems you drew too close to the sun." He says, knocking over one of his black bishops with a white pawn. "I'm deeply sorry I had to sacrifice you. But alas…" Caine places his last bishop in position to take the pawn next turn. "...this game is far from over."
Brnng, brnng, brnng
In Richville, thunder and lightning cracked over the highway as Reiko/High Roller rolled and tumbled to avoid falling arcs of electricity. Every time Reiko tried to make it to the ambulances, a bolt of lightning struck before him. Effectively inside an electrical cage, the only safe spaces being the directions to Roy's telegrammed coordinates.
"GAHH! Where are you taking me, boy?" Reiko shouts as he barely dodges lightning, falling over the guard rail and into the forest left of the road.
".- / -... . .- ..- - .. ..-. ..- .-.. / .--. .-.. .- -.-. . / - --- / -.. .. ." Pierces through Reiko's mind from Roy. "... --- -- . .-- .... . .-. . / .-- . / .-- --- -. .----. - / -... . / .. -. - . .-. .-. ..- .--. - . -.."
"Sounds like he's drawing you somewhere. It must be a trap." High Roller's psyche warns.
".. / .--. .-. --- -- .. ... ." Roy zaps down to the ground behind them, standing in the street. "There's no tricks up my sleeve, no traps, no ambush. Just you and me. A proper Snake Clan duel."
"And I'm just supposed to believe you? Why should I?" Reiko points back to Roy.
"Why shouldn't you? You're the only one here with a history of running away. I follow through on my promises. Besides…" Roy pulls out his phone. "...I could always inform your father that you were too scared to face me."
"You wouldn't! Where's your honor?" Reiko accuses.
"And where's yours?" Comes from a voice on the phone.
"Y-you…you didn't." Reiko says as his face grows pale
"Looks like I already did, my bad." Roy says while shrugging his shoulders.
"Reiko, I'm ashamed…again. In my 93 years of living, I've never declined a challenge. Even now." We finally see Ishikawa, sitting in the throne room of his castle. A servant kneels and holds the base of a corded phone that Ishikawa is talking through. He wears a loose-fitting white undergarment, a yellow outer robe, and a black lacquered silk cap adorned with the imperial chrysanthemum crest. His hair is long and grey but silk to the touch, it coils around his body like the motif of his clan.
Across Ishikawa's throne room are the scattered remains of young swordsmen aiming to take his head. Many ninja go around checking for survivors before slitting their throats and discarding the bodies. A lone swordsman stands in front of Ishikawa, bleeding, refusing to die, his headband has the kanji for "fox." The Snake Clan leader sits impatiently waiting for the Fox Clan member to strike again. With a flick of the wrist holding his katana, the young swordsman's throat slices open and he's sent flying back.
"Pathetic." Ishikawa says into the phone. "Reiko, listen to me." Roy extends his arm, holding his phone out. "You arrived in that damned country to finally earn your spot as one of my serpents. You gain no favor by killing one of my FORMER serpents. You do what you went there to do! Accept my serpent's challenge and I'll see you back at the estate…or, I won't ever see you again."
Reiko nearly chokes on High Roller's tongue as Ishikawa hangs up. Roy puts his phone back in his pocket then kneels down, placing his palms on the ground. "You heard the man, right this way, shall we?" Suddenly, mounds of earth clear from the forest, creating a Moses-like divide through the trees with smooth stone pathways. Roy hops over the guard rail and pushes a gust of wind that throws Reiko onto his face. "Now get a move on! I'd say you'll get there in about 6 hours or so."
Brnng, brnng, brnng
Reiko pushes himself off the ground and looks back at Roy furiously. "Oh I can't wait to kill you."
"If you could've, you would've." Roy says as the wind hovers him off the ground. "I've got a few errands to run, have to make sure Owen is safe. Be a good boy and I'll see you tonight, okay? And remember, I can track you wherever you are now. If you go off course or try to escape, I will light up every atom in your body. Like a firework in a microwave."
Brnng, brnng, brnng
"You're bluffing!" Reiko says as he begrudgingly heads in the direction Roy commanded. "You can't do that!?"
"Who knows? Guess you'll just have to find out later." Roy says before blasting off into the clouds before pulling out his phone once more. Incoming call from 'Bastard.' "What now?"
Later.
Walking down Martin Luther King Jr. Ave were three people headed to the Advanced Resource and Equipment Station, also known as A.R.E.S. Two young men and a jittery woman who excitedly bounced back and forth between them.
"This is going to be so exciting!" The girl bounds in the air above the guys below. "Eonnnn! This mission will cement 1 year of you being out of jail and the birth of our crew!" She lands on her clawed feet before jumping again.
"Jail and Prison are two different things, Juno." A man with fluffy purple hair says, walking with his eyes closed.
"You know what I meant, Tsubasa! Gee, you're such a grammar nazi." Juno says as she folds her arms, still bounding up the sidewalk.
The other man with nappy brown locs and thin cat-like eyes, walked with his hands in his pockets. "Ehh…just another day really." Eon sighs. "Hope we can get this over quick though…I really hate churches."
Suddenly, a red pickup blaring loud coworker music caused our newly introduced crewmates to cover their ears. The truck suddenly comes to a stop in front of the trio. A big and brolic white guy with a backwards baseball cap stands up in the flatbed of the truck. "Hey, Bug Girl!" The man chugs the rest of his beer then burps. "Why don't you quit your sorry ass crew and come join the Cat Pack!" The truck filled with four other guys of similar descriptions snicker and coo at Juno.
Juno's face balls in disgust. "I'll pass, indefinitely. Besides, wouldn't you rather recruit Eon given your whole theme?"
Tsubasa throws his arm in front of Juno, staring at the Cat Pack member. "I don't even have to read his mind to tell you what he was implying." The remaining Cat Pack members respond in meows and laughter. "Well, if it isn't the Frat Cats."
The man in the flatbed snorts and laughs. "And if it isn't Tsubussy, the Pussy."
"That's Tsubasa, The Mastermind, to you." Tsubasa says bluntly, not giving into the rage bait. "What do you want with us?"
"Nothing, really. Just wanted to fuck with ya! Ran into your 4th crewmate at A.R.E.S just now, Javier or-"
"Xavier." Eon corrects, staring at the ground. "It's Xavier."
"Right. We saw the illegal just as the first crew arrived…" The man says chucking his empty beer can at Tsubasa who angrily swats it down.
"The Boundless Crew?" Juno asks.
"Yeah, those losers." The man taunts.
"Well, what about them?" Tsubasa impatiently says, wiping spilled beer off his shirt.
"Seeing those newbies got me thinking."
"Praise the Lord!" Juno jests.
"Thinking about how weak you guys are. I mean these guys had a sword guy, a gun guy, a robot guy, and a guy guy, pretty well-rounded. Your team is a mindreader, two animal based Gifted, and an immigrant with blood manipulation powers. You're all over the place." The man argues.
"We are exceptional intellectual Hunters." Tsubasa states. "We uplift and protect our communities by using our Gifts to find missing persons and victims of trafficking. Just because we purposefully take lower ranked missions, doesn't mean we are any less worthy of this mission. Don't forget Xavier is now Rank B."
"However, you and the bug girl are D and that loser over there is still Rank E after a whole year. What a disgrace." The man points at Eon and laughs. "The point is, them? I can maybe see them pulling this off on their own. You guys? Never in a million years. So don't die out there, will ya?" The guy taps the roof of the pickup and it speeds off.
"I bet more of you die than us! You fucking losers!" Juno says shaking her fist at the speeding pickup.
"Don't mind them, Cricket. Let's just focus on meeting Xavier at A.R.E.S." Tsubasa says, wrapping an arm around Juno and pulling her back.
Eon stares at the ground and walks behind them unresponsive, fists balled in his pockets.
The sight at A.R.E.S was hectic to say the least, the remaining No Limit Gang members arrived at the facility at last and it's in complete disarray. A white-haired man argues with the receptionist, a blue-haired woman argues with a huge white robot, then they finally see Xavier who also seems to be in an altercation.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! I NEED THEM!" BP yells over the counter to the polite receptionist.
"Once again Mr. Cassidy, Godwinite is a finite and expensive resource, so the process of acquiring Reverted Godwinite is an even harder arduous task. This is why we urge all operatives with Double B authority to only use it as a last resort." The kind lady responded.
"I literally almost died. What do you want me to do against a guy who can manipulate luck?!" BP says' throwing his hands up.
"I can happily add a Reverted Godwinite suppressing flashlight to your kit." The lady smiles with her hands behind her back.
"Bahhh…OKAY! I guess." BP says while crossing his arms.
Across the room the white robot frantically waved his arms in the air. "For the last time! Magic. Isn't. Real!"
"Is so." Alayna responds. "Science is just the elements of magic within human comprehension."
"SCIENCE! Is the foundational understanding of our universe. Magic is just a title for things we don't fully understand." Rex stammers.
"Magic is the language of the Gods. How else would we have come into existence?" Alayna ponders.
"Wha-a?! HUH? Have you heard of TheBig Bang?! We all know Gods aren't real." The large mech does air quotes.
"I've met a few, they were as real as I am." Alayna chuckles. "Watch." The young mage holds her arm out. "Sol Veste." A shimmering blue energy covers her body, replacing her crop top and cargo pants with a bright form fitting sundress. "Explain that."
Rex's optical sensors flash triumphantly. "Ha!" He points to her. "A perfect demonstration of quantum field manipulation. What you just performed is clearly localized matter reorganization using controlled electromagnetic fields to alter the molecular bonds of carbon-based fibers!"
Alayna rolls her eyes and snaps her finger, causing her outfit to switch back to what she was previously wearing. "So what about this? Ridiculam Tripudium Cimex." She says and a shimmering blue beetle manifests in front of Rex, it shakes its arms back and forth like it's holding tiny maracas.
"Easy! You've achieved stable matter synthesis at the macro-molecular level!" Rex kneels down to get a closer look at the dancing beetle "This is clearly a demonstration of advanced bioprinting technology combined with neural network programming!"
Alayna waves her hand and the bug disappears. "Whatever you say." She says with a chuckle. "What did you say your name was?"
"Rex Wiliiams! I MEAN…THE PLATINUM GUARDIANNNN." Rex says as he flexes the mech's mechanical muscles once more.
Alayna covers her mouth as she lets out a tiny laugh. "Rex, huh? Another one." She says under her breath before turning to check in on Leo's discussion.
"Your mohawk looks stupid!" Leo yells.
"You're one to talk, Goldilocks!" A man with a red mohawk barks back at Leo.
"You're stupid!"
"Wow! How original, what are you, five?"
"Yeah! Five seconds away from beating your ass!" Leo growls.
"Yeah, I'd like to see you try. I've just been promoted to Rank B in my guild." The man says scowling at Leo.
"Ooouuu congratulations, what does that stand for? Rank Bitch?"
"That's it! You're about to-"
"XAVIER!" Eon calls out. "Do you have to make a scene everywhere we go? Jeez."
Xavier spins his head around to the arrival of his crew. "I didn't even do anything! This motherfucker just-"
"Come onnnn! Let's just get this shit over with already, I'm tired." Eon says, waving Xavier over.
"Hmmm…" Tsubasa says while focusing. "Seems the altercation started when the boy over there implied we copied their crew's name."
"That's stupid! We've literally been together a whole year longer than them!" Juno says, angrily bouncing up and down.
"Eon?" Leo questions.
Xavier bumps Leo's shoulder as he walks back to his crew. "You live today, tomorrow who knows."
"Yeah, that's right! Go back to your friends, pussy! Or I'll-"
"LEO!" Roy calls out. "Stop being an asshole, it's embarrassing. Skai just finished setting up the debriefing room, come on!"
"But Roooooyyy! You don't understand! He-"
"Don't wanna hear it, bring your ass!" Roy commands as he enters the office room.
"Okay! Fuck!" Leo angrily submits and drags his feet as he follows Roy. The No Limit Gang collect their gear from Xavier and leave the facility, Eon stares at Leo for a moment upon hearing his name.
Alayna notices this brief flicker of recognition. "Another three-lettered name. I wonder about the significance." She says to herself.
"Debriefing room?" BP questions.
"Uh, yeah! There's a few new faces here and I want to make sure we're all on the right track before doing this." Roy explains.
"Not my style, I'm outta here. See you guys at the church." BP turns around and heads out. "Come on, Rex. Make me a new motorcycle or something."
"Hehehe. Coming up!" Rex chuckles as he clanks behind BP.
"Wait…Rex?" Leo's eyes tail the mech as the small boy emerges from its chest. He dials a few buttons under a panel on its leg, causing the mech to fall to its knees. Suddenly gears and compartments move around until the mech turns into a pristine motorcycle with a side car attached. "That's the boy who was with Trevor!"
Rex hops into the driver's seat and puts the former mech's head on as a helmet. "Taa-daaaa! The Plati-cycle!"
BP stares blankly then proceeds to pick up Rex out of the driver's seat. "I'm driving."
"What no! I made it! It's mine! You can't do this!" Rex says as he kicks and screams.
"You're not old enough to drive." BP says as he places Rex in the sidecar. He gets in the driver's seat and flips a few switches.
"I literally flew you here!" Rex reaches over and flips the switches back down. "You don't even know what you are doing, stop it!"
"Seems easy enough, I just have to turn the key and-" An ejector seat launches BP out of the bike and onto his face.
"Hehehe. Told you!" Rex chuckles as BP hops into the sidecar with his arms folded. "Oh." Rex mumbles as Leo zips to the head of the bike and places his foot on the front wheel.
"Wassup lil nigga, the fuck are you doing here?" Leo asked, scowling at Rex.
"Salutations, Speed Demon!" Rex proclaimed. "I'm here to help save Seleeeene!"
"Why you…hmm…fine. Where the hell is your boss?" Leo questioned.
"At one of our excavation sites in Old Giza. We've found a sealed tomb with strange properties. Most notably every time we try to open it, it oozes a bl-" Rex is cut off.
"Are we done here?! Rex, let's go!" BP yells, smacking the top of the sidecar. "Leo, I want Trevor gone as much as the next guy but we got more important things to do right now."
"Hmmm…Egypt." Leo held his chin. "Wonder if I'm fast enough to run over water yet."
"Aht. Aht. Don't even think about it. You two are starting a habit of being grievously injured upon splitting up." Roy criticized. "Everyone, get in the classroom, we're listening to Murphy's last words."
BP and Leo whip their heads around. "Last words?" They say in unison.
Everyone was now nestled along office chairs as a hologram of Murphy projected from his prosthetic eye sitting on the table. Leo placed his hands on head. "Wait? Murphy is dead? When? I literally just met him."
"Happened this morning." BP answered while picking a booger out of his nose.
"Wait?! You know too?!" From Leo.
"All right, listen up!" Roy commands as the holographic recording starts playing.
"Hey Kiddos, it's your ol' Uncle Murph!" The flickering hologram greets again. "If you're watching this video then that means I'm dead. Isn't that exciting?"
"Not at all." Leo and BP both respond back.
"Yeah I didn't think so. I'm assuming you said no, that is, this is a pre-recorded conversation after all. So in the event that I'm killed in the near future, here are all the possible candidates…"
"Psssst…who's Murphy?" Rex whispers to Alayna. She looks at him and shrugs her shoulders.
"Candidate #1: Hubert Maelstrom. A renowned war criminal and masterclass scum of the earth. A teleporter, suspected to have his own pocket dimension. In the 80's parents would scare their kids into doing homework by saying that Maelstrom likes to kidnap kids with bad grades. A real reverse-Santa Claus type of guy. That being said, I was instrumental in the last of his 6 arrests. It's no secret that my foresight is uncanny to say the least, they didn't call me Silver-Eye Murph for anything now." Holographic Murphy pops his collar.
"Who called him that? Did you call him that?" BP asks. Roy looks at him and shrugs his shoulders.
"Whenever Hubert Maelstrom would appear, a trap was already laid, because I predicted he'd show. My last prediction was that he'd attack the World Leaders at the NADO summit nearly 20 years ago. Victor Caine confirmed that Maelstrom was there but he wasn't there for his usual antics. Caine says while the Presidents, Kings, and Queens of the world argued below. A meeting was held between the powers that be and for some reason Maelstrom was there. Now what was said at this meeting or who else was there is beyond me, but all I know is that Maelstrom has never been seen since." Murphy concludes followed by a cough. "Which brings me to Candidate #2: Victor Caine."
Roy and BP side eye each other.
"Victor is a weird one. I can't say I can find a conceivable reason he'd want me dead outside of tying loose ends but he's often fond of those. When I was in the Special Forces, he was our Squad Commander. When I received my Medal of Honor, it was him introducing me to the President of the United Cities. When I had my son, he was the first person I trusted to hold him. That being said, he has his hand in many pockets. I wouldn't be surprised if dozens of other agents have had the same relationship with him as I. And if that is the case, what would make me special."
BP bites his thumb.
"Victor Caine doesn't get his hands dirty, that's what we're for, that's what we're all for in his eyes. The Grand Puppeteer." Murphy's hologram continues. "On a tour in Iraqikstan, he once told me a story of his involvement in the Manhattan Project. Unrelated, but it goes to show just how capable and potentially catastrophic he can be. Ever since that meeting…he's been different. Not unnerved but a bit uneasy. He's been keeping his cards closer to his chest than ever, and now I can see why." Murphy concludes.
"Damnnnn that guy sounds pretty powerful, right? Have you ever heard of him before, B?" Leo asks BP.
"Yeah, I've run into him a few times." BP says nonchalantly.
"Just a few times?" Roy asks, side eyeing BP.
"If Candidate #2 plots my demise, Candidate #3 would pull the trigger. Quintin Cassidy aka Bulletproof. He's 22 and has a kill count higher than most vets. A walking artillery unit. Most of his files have been scrubbed, obviously Caine's handiwork, but I managed to find a few things. He's been in the service of Victor Caine since he was 9 years old. I'm talking about Cuban rebellions, aiding rebels in South Afrikana, most notably he was sent undercover to the Germanlands to infiltrate an extremist group." Murphy's hologram explains as the entire group stares at BP who cleans his nails. "I mean the guy can self-regnerate and fast at that, coupled with perfect aim, he's pretty unstoppable. However blue bottoms should do the trick, never said he was unkillable."
"Yes. They. Do." BP says while grinding his teeth.
"However, I pray it wouldn't come to that. Under all the murder and malice, he's actually a good kid, all things considered. Intelligent and witty, and has a soft spot for rainy days. During a debriefing over coffee, I once asked him what he would be if he wasn't in this life. You know what he said? A basketball player!" Murphy bursts into laughter as the rest of the room follows.
"A man can dream, shut up." BP says chuckling.
"Whew! Didn't know writing my will would be so fun. Quintin, if you're watching this too it means Skai and Roy trust you to be here. I'm sorry for airing out your dirty laundry but you may or may not kill me in the future. You know how it goes." The hologram reasons.
"No offense taken, proceed." BP says to the prerecorded message.
"Now, Skai. The reason this message can only be played by you, is because my fourth Candidate is Roy."