The Metahuman Agency: The Superhuman War

Close Quarters Combat

The room rattled as the wall was smashed open and Audrey crashed through it. She bent down in the cramped apartment as the dust settled around her. She trudged forward, making for the door, but stopped when she saw the dead body.

Audrey's face paled. "Is he...?"

Jason nodded. "Afraid so."

Audrey gritted her teeth, the worried look vanishing as quickly as it came. With a snarl, she stepped over the body and smashed through the wall, bursting into the hallway. Jason leaped after him, giving the corpse a final look before he did so.

The two came into the hallway, another cramped corridor. The walls were bullet ridden and some apartment doors had been kicked or broken open.

Audrey looked around, antennae waving, cheeks flushed, her eyes darting this way and that. Jason followed her gaze, scanning the doors lining the hallway. He didn't see anybody, not even corpses. And the gunfire had stopped. Where was everyone?

It was quiet enough now that a pin could drop. He didn't like this. This felt too peaceful all of a sudden. Where was the mercenaries? Where was anybody? The inside of this place should be in a panic or at least, there should be some noise...

Then, out of the blue, mercenaries burst out several apartments in front of them. Jason heard footsteps behind him and turned. More burst out of the apartments behind them. They were sandwiched between two walls of men.

One mercenary cried out, "Fire!" Jason leaped forward, somersaulting back into the apartment they had just come from. A split second later, the hallway exploded with the roar of gunfire.

Jason hit the floor, rolling several feet before hitting a table. He uncurled and looked up, gasping. Audrey was bent all the way over, arms pressed against her face. Bullets bounced off her body from both directions, flashes of it lighting up the corridor. The hailstorm of bullets went on for several seconds before finally stopping. Its silence left a ringing in Jason's ears.

Jason heard the distinctive click of guns being reloaded. Audrey barreled forward, arms still head against her face. She ran out of sight and Jason heard a loud crash, followed by screams and yells. He jumped after her, not about to let her take on these guys alone, even if she was mostly bulletproof.

He saw her on the left side of the hallway, tearing through the group of mercs there. Audrey slapped one man aside, smashing into the wall before grabbing another and throwing her through a wall. The rest of the mercenaries were backing up, retreating and shooting at her, aiming for her vulnerable face. But in the chaotic melee, their shots kept missing, pinging off different parts of Audrey's shell.

Audrey roared and one arm shot out, grabbing one mercenary. She swung the poor guy like a club, viciously slamming him into his fellows and knocking them over, their shots going wildly and ripping holes through the ceiling. Jason turned away, just in time to see the second group of mercs at the right side of the hallway had finished reloading. And they were aiming at him.

He ducked back into the apartment, a barrage of gunfire tearing through the side of the wall. Jason took a breath before leaping back out. He sprang across the hallway, landing in the doorway of an apartment. More bullets whizzed past him, none striking him. He rolled to his feet, gasping hard.

He could still hear the roars of Audrey as she rampaged through the mercenaries. He raised one hand and three fingers. One...two...three! Go! Jason sprang out from the doorway and jumped onto the wall. He skittered forward across the wall, the enemy soldiers in front of him. They moved backed, aiming their guns at him. Seeing no other options, Jason leaped off the wall and tackled the nearest merc.