Broker

Rewinding the clock a bit…

Everything was pain. Every movement was an effort, every staggering step dragging him closer to the room. He leaned against the wall, a smear of blood following him as he clutched the severed limb in his hand. His abilities might allow him to redirect damage, but he had no method for fixing it once it was done. He staggered again, his eyes burning as he fixed his stare on the distant door. The ground shook, and he heard that presence-like roar rattle his chest.

That wasn’t the sound he was afraid of, though. Somewhere, far behind him, another roar echoed down the halls, and he winced. He shuffled forward with renewed vigor as he tried to make it to the door. Ishtar’s pet monster, damn it! He cursed, and, as his legs nearly gave out, he found the door. Riot pressed his severed limb between his waist and the door as he fumbled with the knob, his bloody hand slicking over it. He slammed his head against it. Damn it. This is the meeting point, you fucking abomination, open the door!

That low rattling growl echoed down the hallway, and he froze. His eyes slowly turned to see a long snout - not a lurker this time, something else - snuffing at the trail of blood he’d left behind. He slammed into the door again, and it opened, his mangled body falling forward into the entryway of the guest suite. A hand grabbed him by the shirt, and he was pulled inside before the door slammed. He was flipped unceremoniously onto his back, and an inch-long heel pressed into his chest, pushing the breath out of him as his vision swam.

He blinked a few times before squinting up into the wild eyes and jet-black hair of Kaidan.

“...you…” he growled.

“Me…” she snarled back, and her eyes narrowed. “...What did you do to my baby?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Too much blood was loss. His vision darkened as she clicked her tongue and drove her fingers painfully into his chest. He felt her power - altered by Otis - burn through his cells. He felt his cells warp, and he threw his head back in a silent scream of pain as his arm forcibly regenerated. He gasped when she pulled her fingers out of him and kicked him in the ribs. “Now talk!”

Riot shuddered, coughing. “...bitch…” he snarled and croaked out a laugh. “...no time. Ishtar’s pet monster and Companion are on their way.”

“Better talk fast then. What did you do?” she demanded. “Amalgam sixty-one was so mentally fractured I had to put him down.”

He shot a glare at her. “I… didn’t do anything…” He breathed as he felt his forcibly regenerated body creak with every movement. His restored limb felt unnatural. He held his hand up in front of his face. His nails were long and dark, monstrous. His eyes widened. “What…”

“Don’t be a baby; it’ll turn back to normal with time,” she bit out. “You didn’t do anything?”

“N-no…” He chuckled and slipped to his feet, swaying, still too much blood lost. “...Ishtar did something. Her presence was something physical. The amalgam got shunted out.”

Kaidan’s eyes narrowed. “A domain. She has a Mythic beast ability.”

He squinted back at her in confusion as a low growl filled the air, the sound coming through the door behind him. His shoulders tensed, and Kaidan snorted out a laugh. She snapped her fingers, and another Rift Amalgam stepped out from around the corner behind her. The man was even closer to human than before, only his eyes looked feral, slitted like a reptile's. “One-twenty-one, get us out of here.”

“I still… have a mission…” Riot hissed. “Gotta bring back a recruit for His Majesty.”

Kaidan’s nose wrinkled. “His Majesty is on his assignment. He won’t be back for a while.”

“Your point?” Riot snapped back as a claw scratched across the door behind him. “Just get me to a secure spot here in Cairo and leave that thing with me.” He jerked his chin towards the new amalgam.

Kaidan’s nostrils flared, and her pupils shrank to points. Her fingers twitched, ready to snap out and throttle him. His threads rose, flickering. He glanced down at his original arm and knelt down slowly to snatch it up as Kaidan restrained herself. He pulled his gauntlet off his old hand and slipped it on the new one. “Well?” he asked. “If you drag me back now, it’s on you. I’m ready to continue my mission.”

Her eye twitched, and she snapped a finger. The amalgam spun and cut two portals open. A low rippling roar filled the air, and the amalgam shuddered but held itself together. She pointed at the left one, and Riot shouldered past her, his shaky grin returning to his face as he stepped through. He didn’t look back at the scientist as he stepped into the ceaseless Cairo heat. He reeked of blood and the carnage of the previous fight, but he didn’t care. He still had a job to do.

I am his first, his chosen, and he’s counting on me to bring someone exceptional home…

He flexed his new fingers as the amalgam stepped out behind him, and the portal snapped shut. In the distance, the massive shape of Erebus thrashed against the forces attempting to suppress him. His eyes narrowed, and he started heading that way.

—

The staging camp was set up in a matter of seconds. Support heroes and Pandora Soldiers spread out like well-organized bees as Nietz stepped out of the portal with the rest of his team. A roar shattered the air, and he looked up, his eyes going wide. He’d seen the initial specs when HQ had called them up, but even he couldn’t have fathomed just how big that meant in person. He clenched his fists. A mountain of silver scales and muscle was standing over almost every building in the city.

And above the monster? Floating in the air like a pale star in the sky? Ishtar.

Shots of light peppered down from the distant figure as she darted around the giant creature. It was sweeping its arms, trying to strike her. Every shot seemed to slow it down just a little bit, but she seemed more sluggish than usual. Her zippy movements almost looked like they were going through molasses. He narrowed his eyes as Kong let out a low whistle next to him.

“Now that’s a monster,” he chuckled, already conjuring up his staff and tapping it on his shoulder.

“We’ll focus on penetrating force,” Hui said, walking out ahead of them and calling up his worn-out-looking spellbook. He started flipping through pages and glanced back at them. “Dragoon, you’re on artillery.”

Dragoon strode out and conjured a spear, planting it on the ground as she squinted at the distant beast. “Yessir.”

Nietz clenched his jaw and glanced back at Hammond and Locke. They were staring up at the monstrous thing with a mixture of apprehension and resolve. He flicked his eyes up towards Glint, who was scowling at it as well, his arms crossed as he whispered to his sister, who nodded slowly. He looked back at Locke. “You’re sitting this one out,” he said finally. “I don’t think there’s a lot you can do against something that big.”

She met his gaze, and her expression went hard for a moment before she huffed out a breath and nodded. “Fine. Don’t die, idiot,” she grunted, but there wasn’t really any heat in it. She patted his arm and turned to join the rest of the support crew while he looked up towards the beast again.

“Heroes!” a voice called, and they all turned. A figure was standing on top of a distant crate. “I’m Protean. I’ll be your CO for this operation. I’ll keep things brief; we have people to save,” the hero said quickly. “That,” she pointed at the beast, “is Erebus. We have confirmation from sightings during his conquests.”

A low murmur rose up amongst the heroes, and Nietz clenched his fists. It wasn’t a monster but a Top-Ten Supervillain. One of the biggest out there.

“We are still unsure why he’s gone berserk, but he’s currently fighting other villains right now. Our priority is putting a stop to him. The villains are secondary priorities…” Protean swept into a quick overview of their strategy after that, emphasizing quick, heavy hits and retreats while they prioritized getting civilians to safety. The hero turned to look towards Nietz and the others. “...Wallbreaker! You’re on the front lines; I hear you guys can handle big beasts. Prove it.”

Nietz popped his neck and cracked his knuckles as Hui walked amongst them, planting his hand on their shoulders and muttering incantations. Kong spun his staff, his eyes fixed on the distant behemoth with a wild grin. Dragoon glanced around to find a high vantage point with enough distance from the camp not to draw fire towards it. After a few enhancements from Hui, she hustled in that direction. Nietz took a deep breath.

Evolve! He felt his body grow. Evolve! He felt his skin toughen as he went through another advancement. EVOLVE! He clenched his fists and stood up straight, his graying skin almost blending into his combat uniform. He glanced at Kong, who was now at eye level, squatting on top of his cloud. Fur was already coming out the side of his head as his eyes gleamed with a mixture of mischief and the lust for battle.

Kong held out a hand. “Ready?”

Nietz grunted an affirmative and clasped hands with him. Behind him, Hammond was opening his dufflebag and pouring out a pile of amber stones, sorting through it as one familiar after another took shape and darted out towards the city. Kong hauled him up, and, with a burst of momentum, they were off.

—

Ishtar whipped her head towards the feeling of two Mythics approaching at high speed. She glanced down at the infuriated beast that had once been Erebus beneath her and grinned. It was about damn time. She raised a hand over her head, and a cloud of hard-light spears formed in the air above her. She brought it down with a sweep, and the bolts sprayed down like scatter-shot. The long implements looked like nothing more than needles against Erebus’ scales, but with as many Visage-tipped bullets as she’d put into him, the scales weren’t holding up the same anymore. Check latest chapters at novel•fire.net

A low, vibrating groan rattled out of Erebus as he thrashed his head. Ishtar pulled back and clicked on her comm. <”Charon, Heroes have arrived.”>

Down below, a flare of gold flame sputtered out, and the heavy wingbeats of Drastic’s massive body filled the air. The tangling shadows trying to restrain Erebus started to loosen as the Villains fell back. No need to waste their strength anymore now that heroes are here. Let them handle the problem. She chuckled at their blatant villainy and shook her head, fingers flexing as the duo approaching neared. Her eyes narrowed.

Kong and Majordomo. No sign of Dragoon. Ah, wait-

A glowing spear arced through the air from a great distance away and slammed into Erebus’ side. She smiled almost warmly.

Look at them, they listened.

“Took you long enough, little heroes!” Ishtar taunted, broadcasting her voice.

Majordomo didn’t give her the time of day. A little rude, but she tolerated it. Her role here was done for now. She pulled back as Kong threw Majordomo up into the air, and the big man rose into the sky like a comet. She watched him pull his fist back and grow in size one more time. Along his arm, glowing runes from Hui’s enhancements flared and winked out one at a time. Other heroes were already coming into range as well, and a cloud of familiars from Hammond's bag were spreading out into the city.

Excellent. Now-

Majordomo descended, and the impact sent her back to the previous timeline. He collided with Erebus’ back with enough force to send cracks spiderwebbing through the armored hide. Scales cracked and burst, flicking off like shrapnel. Ishtar raised a hand and created a lattice of barriers that blocked a few that got too close. Her lip twitched as Erebus let out a pained roar, thrashing and trying to reach the man that had landed between his enormous shoulderblades. Before he could reach, an enormous pole slammed into the side of his head, whipping his attention to a new target.

“HOOO!” Kong cheered and practically danced on his cloud, zipping past Erebus’ eye and throwing up more than a few inappropriate hand signs from various cultures. “Focus on me, asshole!”

Ishtar drifted back further and, with a wave, conjured up a hard light throne to sit in, resting her chin against her knuckles. She caught Kong’s brief glance and waved at him. “By all means, heroes, have fun.”

Between Erebus’ shoulders, Majordomo was a jackhammer. Slamming his fists down over and over into Erebus’ back, trying to force another reaction out of him. He expended the remainder of the charges that Hui had planted on him in a series of mighty punches that sent the titan lurching closer and closer towards the ground.

Erebus roared.

The sound hit Ishtar in a physical wave, and she pushed back with her own domain, eyes narrowing as she saw something change on the ground beneath him. Her eyes widened as light hit a car that was slowly turning gold. She opened her mouth to warn the heroes only to snap it shut and clench a fist. A supervillain didn’t help the heroes. But she did mock them. She chortled out a laugh that broadcasted around them. “Better hurry up! Otherwise, Cairo is about to get much prettier!” she cackled.

Kong, zipping around Erebus, looked down, and she heard his curse even over the whipping winds and roars. Majordomo was still hammering away, trying to push his way through whatever he could, even if it meant digging into Erebus’ body to do some damage. A bolt of off-yellow electricity lanced through the air from another building while a spear arched through the air to slam into Erebus’ flank. More heroes were arriving.

<”Status?”> Ishtar asked Charon through the comms.

<”We’ve fallen back. Heading up to retrieve Saleh and his brothers now.”>

<”Good, get some distance. Erebus is starting to spread his Midas Touch over the city.”>

<”Well shit, how long do we have?”> Charon asked.

Ishtar eyed another car getting absorbed by the sudden wave of gilded color. She pursed her lips and glanced at the heroes starting to move into position. The action was quickly turning into a full Pandora op. <”Not long. Move fast. This will be over soon.”>

<”You got it. Portals?”>

<”As soon as Erebus is down. I don’t want his instincts pointing out your location.”> she said flatly and sat forward as Erebus thrashed again, throwing himself to the side to dislodge Majordomo. She watched the Herald get hurled from his perch and swatted away by a powerful backhand. She grinned. <”Meanwhile… I’m going to enjoy the show.”>

Riot slipped from my grasp, so at least I can see if I can take you as a consolation prize.