Mod Superhero

Chapter 4.25 - Enemy of My Enemy

Something did.

The floor behind Angel Eye blew open, sending chunks of concrete through the air. Angel Eye dove away and skidded across the floor. Glass in the immediate area shattered.

A knight burst out of the stairwell, which could only have been Oakenheart. She pushed forward, dragging the hostage by the collar with one hand and holding a giant sword in the other. If her armor had been shiny at one point, it was now covered in gore. The hostage wore a disheveled suit and a black bag over their head.

If Oakenheart had gone into the tunnels to escape, why had she turned back? Even Angel Eye was shouting in disbelief—

Green hands reached up from the stairwell. Deep Ones were chasing them. They must've come through the tunnels.

Oakenheart tossed the hostage through the glass tunnel and they stumbled toward Angel Eye. She turned and gestured like she was casting a spell. A second later, a mass of thick vines grew over the opening. Deep Ones clawed at the vines but the magic held, for now.

Mod stepped out from behind the corner and stood in clear view of the hallway. He made sure to keep his rifle relaxed.

Oakenheart saw him and raised her bloody sword defiantly. Angel Eye scrambled to his feet.

"How about a truce?" Angel Eye shouted, pointing one pistol at the horde.

Mod nodded. "We need to get out of here. Come up to the roof."

Oakenheart held out her sword. "We're not going with you."

"Monstrosity inbound to your location."

Arsenal added through the comms, "Mod, it's moving fast. Get your asses up here!" Outside, kinetic blasts and machinegun fire sounded.

Oakenheart and Angel Eye stared at each other in disbelief—TINA had obviously included them in on the transmission. A look of agreement passed between them, then the sharpshooter muttered something. The kaleidoscope hallway faded, returning the foyer entryway to its normal layout.

Angel Eye gestured for Mod to follow, then hero and villains ran up to the roof. Oakenheart left a trail of thick roots and bramble in their path. With any luck, it would keep the Deep Ones from following quickly. While the paladin was distracted, Mod threw the hostage over his shoulder and sprinted ahead, bounding up the stairs with inhuman speed. He ignored the exasperated shouts of the mask and villain.

Mod burst through the door to the roof. "TINA, I need a Fast-Response drone for the last hostage."

A second later, one swooped down. Mod set the hostage down gently on their feet.

"The drone is a little cramped, but it will keep you safe and get you out of here." Mod didn't give them time to protest before gently, but firmly, shoving them inside.

Then he turned to the real problem. Mod stepped to the edge of the roof and looked out over Belport.

Deep Ones were flooding the streets. They darted between buildings, clearly converging on Mod and Arsenal's building. Some were close enough that he could already make out the sharp spines on their limbs.

Arsenal buzzed the street, blasting errant fish-men as she slipped past. At first, Mod thought she missed most of her shots—they struck just in front of her targets. Fish-men startled in their assault and leapt back.

More fish-men filled the street—a mass of them advancing together. But Arsenal's pass had just grouped them tighter together.

Machinegun fire erupted down the street, so loud it caused Mod to duck. He could just make out the flickering camouflage of the solitary heavy drone two blocks away. The building-sized drone had opened fire with four massive miniguns. Their combined report was absolutely deafening, and Mod felt each shot ripple through the air. Chunks of asphalt blasted into the air and made the road look like it was boiling.

Neither Dr. Venture nor TINA had confessed the weapon loadouts that their heavy drones used, and Mod could only guess that they were rated for Class 4 skirmishes.

The burst was over as quickly as it began, but it turned the first wave of the horde into chum.

In the stillness that followed, Mod shouldered his rifle. He sighted the first fish-man soldier. They were two blocks away—within two hundred yards—and fired.

The kinetic shot tore through the creature's shoulder, taking the arm off with it. It didn't stop. Mod adjusted his aim and the next shot hit the creature center mass, dropping it.

He had to lead his long shots a bit, but it would do.

The stairwell door swung open across the roof. Oakenheart and Angel Eye finally emerged.

"I should kill you right now!" Oakenheart bellowed. Mod glanced over his shoulder, but didn't stop firing at the horde. She leveled her sword at him, but Angel Eye grabbed her arm.

"Just let it go."

Angel Eye strode past and took up position next to the cyborg. Reluctantly, Oakenheart did the same. She stood at the ready while Mod and Angel Eye started firing.

"How many shots do you have?" Mod asked.

"Enough."

In the distance, Mod could make out the hulking form of the monstrosity. Its back crested the smaller buildings and looked like a giant armored shell. It was moving North... but it wasn't heading toward their building.

That should have been a good thing, but Mod had an uneasy feeling.

"TINA, where is the monstrosity going?"

"It's heading toward the nearest Summit staging center."

"Shit."

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