Jason followed Robertson down the passages, listening. He didn't hear any sounds of gunfire nor any other sounds. His stomach churned. That could be either because they had taken care of all the attckers on this floor or...everyone was dead. Including Audrey. Or, fuck, both.
Jason slapped himself in the head. He couldn't think like that! God...Jesus...Audrey wasn't dead. She could't be. No, no, no! Fuck no!" Jason squeezed the sides of his hair tighter, grinding his teeth. No. He sucked in his breath, slapping the sides of his head. Focus, right here, he had to focus. Get upstairs. Drop off Robertson with the Director. Get the others. Kick ass.
Yeah. He straightened up and exhaled. Yeah, sounded like a plan.
He noticed Robertson had halted. The doctor was looking at him, arms folded. "Are you alright?" Robertson asked. Jason couldn't tell if he was genuinly concerned or not. If only the guy would put in just a little emotion, just a flicker. What was he, allergic to non-monotone phrases? But Jason just nodded.
"Fine..." He chuckled humorlessly. "Just, you know, a bit stressed. I mean...this is crazy."
"Mmm," Robertson peeked around the hallway's corner. "Well, keep it under check. Having panic attacks will get you killed. Or me. And both those situations would be problematic." He waved his finger. "Coast is clear." He moved around the corner. Jason briefly glanced over his shoulder before following.
They move down the hallway, past other rooms. The two then reached the end of the hallway, where a glass door stood. Beyond the glass door was the elevators. A ID scanner was placed on the door, blinking red. No sign of any bad guys.
Robertson reached into his jacket and took out an ID card. He swiped it over the electronic lock. It blinked green and there was a loud click as it unlocked.
Robertson moved to push it open. But as he did, as Jason moved to follow, there suddenly came footsteps from behind them. Jason froze. He turned around, his hands tightening into fists.
Three figures came around the corner. They all stopped at the sight of Jason and Robertson. Two of them were the soldiers. Surprisingly, they didn't raise their guns but stayed where they were, just watching. Jason gritted his teeth, as he gazed went to the final figure, who stood between the two soldiers. The lead figure stepped forward.
She was a black woman, wearing a sleeveless tactical vest, her face covered in ghoulish skull makeup. Her hair was combed into dreadlocks. Her piercing eyes locked with Jason's own. Jason stared back and a brief shiver went through his body. He knew. She was a meta.
He snarled at Robertson, "Run!" But before either of them could move, the woman opened her mouth and began to scream.
The noise boomed through the hallway, assaulting Jason's ears. It was incredibly loud, sounding as loud as an explosion. Jason screamed, clapping his hands over his ears and collapsing to the floor. Robertson flopped next to her, also screaming in pure agony, practically clawing at his ears. The doctor's lenses shattered, glass spraying everywhere. Behind them, Jason caught a glimpse of the glass security door also shattering into tiny shards.
The woman kept screaming. Jason howled. He couldn't even hear himself over the noise. He felt something tickle his palm. Water? No, no...blood. His ears were bleeding. The noise kept up, continuing to smash into him, overwhelm him, like a mallet was being smashed into his skull. The floor rattled beneath him, seeming to almost vibrate.
Then, suddenly, mercifully, the noise stopped. The sudden silence felt defeaning. Jason gasped, unclenching his teeth. His head was throbbing. He could hear his pulse pounding in his ears. They hurt. They hurt really bad. Jason slowly peeled his hands off his ears. He saw spots of blood on one palm. As he pulled his hands away, he heard a slight, far off ringing noise.
Jason looked up, feeling like he had just sat through...through...fuck he didn't know but it was a horrible sensation. The woman was closing her mouth and she took a visibly long, ragged breath. As if that loud scream had taken a lot out of her.
The soldiers continued to stand behind her, unmoving. The woman looked at Jason. Her lips briefly curled into a smirk. Then she opened her mouth. Oh crap. She was going to scream again.
Jason looked around hurridly. Robertson lay on his back, still gripping his ears. Something was lying next to his side. His cell phone. It must have slipped from his pocket. Quick as a flash, Jason snatched up the phone and threw it at the woman.
The phone slammed into the woman's forehead, cutting her off as she was about to unleash her scream. She staggered back and slipped, falling to the floor. The cell phone came down with a loud thump next to her.
Jason scrambled to his feet. The soldiers reacted instantly, raising their guns. Jason grabbed Robertson's arm and yanked him through the doors. Gunfire roared around them, sections of the walls exploding. Jason cursed, ducking instinctively, but the shots didn't hit him. He pulled Robertson toward the elevator, dragging him across the floor, hearing the clink of the shards of glass beneath the doctor. No time to worry about that. Another burst of gunfire clipped the wall, spraying hunks of debris over Jason.
Jason coughed and sputtered. He reached the elevator and pulled Robertson forward. The doctor groaned as he sat up, his hands sliding off his ears. Trickles of blood were dripping from them. Jason pulled him up, the doctor staggering unsteadibly. Footsteps echoed out. The soldiers were coming.
Jason slammed his fist against the elevator button. The button was smashed but the elevator dinged. The doors slid open. Jason pushed Robertson inside. He turned. The soldiers were several feet away. Behind them, the woman was getting up, clutching her forehead. Jason sprang forward, leaping into the elevator, a burst of gunfire booming behind him.
He landed in the elevator. He hissed as his wounded arm jerked forward, sending a spasm of pain through him. Nonetheless, he spun around. A soldier ran in front of the elevator. Jason slapped the close button. The elevator doors began to shut. The soldier opened fire through the closing doors they did. The burst of gunire roared in the closed space. Jason instinctively ducked. But the doors then slammed shut and the soldier disappeared from view.
Jason stood. He exhaled as he looked at the shut doors. He quickly pressed the floor for the team living quarters and the elevator began to rise. Grinning, he turned around and said, "Whew! That was a close-"
His words died his throat.
Robertson was lying against the elevator wall. His chest was ripped to shreds. Blood splattered all around him. His face was turning white, his breaths coming out into vacant, warbling gurgles. One of his hands twitched, trying to rise, but weakly flopped to his side.
Jason stared for a moment. His brain unable to register what he was seeing. Then his mind caught up with him. Oh shit. Oh fuck, oh god, Jesus Christ. That soldier's shot, it must have-
Jason sprang to Robertson's side. He looked at the doctor's chest. It was ripped open, blood oozing from it. "Oh man..." Jason sputtered. He rubbed his head. What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?! He looked at Robertson and sputtered out, "R-robertson, you...you gotta...how do I help you...oh god..."
Robertson's eyes stared back at Jason. They were vacant. Almost like he couldn't see him. The doctor made a gurgling noise and a fountain of blood sprayed from his mouth. One of his hands weakly flopped, his fingers slapping against the elevator floor.
"Robertson!" Jason screamed. Maybe I can stop the bleeding... He desperately looked around for something to stop it. Seeing no other options, he grabbed the edge of Robertson's pants and tore a hunk off. He pressed the strip against Robertson's bleeding chest. A loud squelch went as he pressed down.
"Don't worry," Jason stammerd to Robertson. The doctor stared at him, his face now bone white. Jason's hands trembled slightly. "W-we'll be there s-soon a-a-and..."
Robertson raised one shaking hand. He gripped Jason's shoulder. Jason stopped. He stared the doctor. The man he had thought infallable, now choking up blood and lying on the floor bleeding everywhere. He...he...couldn't be...
Robertson stared at Jason. His hands tightly gripped Jason's shoulder. Then his grip slackened. Robertson's head tipped forward. His shoulders slumped. He went still.
Jason stared for a long moment. His mind went blank. Then, like someone had rebooted him, he blinked. He swallowed. His hands slipped off Robertson's chest, leaving the strip of the doctor's pants there, soaked in the man's blood. Robertson didn't move.
Jason kept staring at him. Then he collapsed to the floor. He felt numb. His mind couldn't process this, what he was seeing. Robertson....Robertson was dead.
He felt the tears come them. His eyes welled up and Jason trembled as he began to cry. "Oh god..." He stammered. "Oh my god." He sobbed, gripping his face in his hands. Crying into them. Robertson was dead. The man who had helped him adjust here, who had treated his wounds time and time again, who had always been there...was dead. Just like that.
Jason sobbed into his hands, crying and sniffling, his entire body feeling like jelly. He felt like he was going to throw up again. His head throbbed, his ears hurt, and it felt like someone was strangling his stomach.
Then a ding echoed. The elevator's ding. The elevator stopped. Jason heard the doors hissing open. He slowly peeled his hand out of his hands, sniffling, his vision blurred with tears. He was on the team's floor.
A voice cried out from to the side of the elevator, "Hey! Who's there?!" Jason didn't answer. He didn't even know if he wanted to. Footsteps thumped before Laureen limped in front of the elevator. Hiroshi appeared behind her. Both were dressed in gym clothes.
"Jason!" Laureen shouted. "What the fuck is happen-" She stopped in mid-sentence as she saw Robertson's body. "Oh my god." Her eyes went wide and she stared at his corpse, clapping her hands over her mouth. Hiroshi paled and ran out of sight. Jason heard a muffled scream come from him, somewhere down the hallway.
Jason's lips trembled as he looked at Laureen. Her legs shook before she slowly sat down. She took a breath. Then another. A third. She looked at Jason. Her mouth opened. Nothing came out.
Jason just nodded. He swallowed. He looked back at Robertson's body. Then looked away. Slowly, he got to his feet, shaking slightly, feeling a bit cold. He staggered over to Laureen. She looked up at him, her own eyes welling with tears.
"W-what..." She stammered. "What happened?"
"There's people in the base," Jason muttered. "Attacking us. They..." He bit his lip. Hesitated before continuing. "They killed him."
Laureen sucked in a long breath. A few tears streamed down her cheeks. She clenched her teeth, looking down at the floor for a few moments. Jason stared at the floor. It was my fault. I should have protected him. I forgot...forgot he was just a normal guy. I should have done more. Took charge. Now he's dead because of me.
"Who..." Laureen swallowed. "I heard the alarms. The Director speaking over the intercom. I was in the gym with Hiroshi." She shook her head. "Gym kinda locked down when the alarms hit. Took us a while to get out." She wiped some tears off her face, continuing to stare at Robertson's mangled body. "But...but fuck. Robertson..." She trembled slightly. "God. I...I don't know. I don't know."
"Yeah," Jason muttered. "It just happened. Just out of the fucking blue." He slapped his hands together angrily. "We almost got away. Then boom. He was shot and killed. I tried to help him..." He waved at Robertson's corpse. "But..." He trembled. Shuddering. The image of Robertson, choking, spitting up blood in his mind's eye, gripping Jason's shoulder as he slowly faded away. "But it was too late."
Laureen didn't say anything for a moment. Then she exhaled again. She closed her eyes briefly and then held out her hand. Jason gently pulled her up. She grimaced as she got up, her injured leg trembling a bit she steadied herself on the elevator's side.
"Who are these guys?" She asked. "I mean...if you know."
Jason shook his head. "I...I know."
"Then we should get ready. They're storming the base, right?"
"Yeah." Jason nodded quietly, avoiding look at her directly. He kept wanting to look back at the body but didn't have the courage to do so.
Laureen rubbed her hand over her head. She swallowed. "Okay...Jason...we need to get our stuff. Get into costume. And you need to tell us what we're up against."
Now Jason did look at her. He narrowed his eyes. "I...I don't know. I don't know if we can do this. Audrey..."
Laureen's eyes widened. "Audrey? What happened?"
"She...she might be dead..."
The silence that followed was so dead one could hear a pin drop.
Laureen finally lowered her head. She cleneched her jaw. Then looked back up. "That's confirmed?"
Jason shook his head.
"Then fuck that noise. She's not dead. We...we're not losing anymore fucking friends. Jason. We need to get in costume. And we need to kick these bastards out of our base!"
Jason looked at the floor. She's right. Of course she was. But he felt...he didn't know how he felt. Robertson's last moments continued to flicker in his mind. It almost didn't feel real. But he knew the corpse was still right there.
And there'll be more corpses. The people in this base are getting killed. The security guards. The scientists. The janitors. The combat experts. The technicians. Dozens of people. And if you don't defend them, they'll all die like Robertson.
Jason looked up. He straightened his stance. Laureen stared at him, seeming to be waiting on his word. He nodded.
"Okay boss. Let's go inside."
Laureen smiled. A small smile but a smile nonetheless. "Alright. Let's go to the others, hopefully they haven't left the room, get dressed, get our shit, and you can quickly tell us what we're up against. Then we'll kick these fucking people's ass for what they've done."
Laureen limped out of the elevator, not looking back. Jason swallowed. He started to move after her. Then he stopped. He turned around and looked at Robertson's crumpled form.
"I'm sorry," He whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. But I'm going to save the base. I'll save the people. I won't let them kill the Director. Or any of us."
Jason then hurried after Laureen, praying the attackers didn't find them as they were getting ready.
Jason wiped his ears with a tissue. He looked down at the tissue, now coated with droplets of blood that had leaked out. His ears still hurt from the number that screaming meta had done on him. But it somehow seemed nonconsquential with everything that had happened and was happening. Sighing, he dropped the tissue into the trash.
He was standing in his room, dressed in his costume. As soon as he and Laureen had gathered up Hiroshi (who had been hyperventilating in a corner from seeing Robertson's body), they had entered the dorm and gone in separate directions to get changed. Jason hadn't seen James or Max yet but he assumed they were in their rooms.
Jason snapped on his utility belt and holstered his grappling hook pistol. He rubbed his hands over his outfit, tracing the large spider emblem that covered his chest. Now...now he felt ready. Time to start actually fighting back against the bastards who were attacking.
Jason strode out into the common area. Moments later, Hiroshi emerged from his own room, also dressed in his armor. His long cape dragged behind him as he walked into the room, still looking slightly sick but at least he had got himself under control. His helmet was tucked under one armor, its visor seeming to glow even in the dim light.
Jaosn nodded to him. Hiroshi quietly nodded back before forcing a smile. " Well isn't...exactly how I thought my first few weeks with you guys were gonna go." He chuckled nervously, trembling at the same time.
Jason didn't laugh. He just stared back at Hiroshi and folded his arms. I'm not in the mood. Now hurry the fuck up, everyone. What do you think, we're getting dressed to go to a movie? Hiroshi's chuckle died away and he went quiet. He stared at Jason for a moment before swallowing and put his helmet on.
Another door opened. Laureen hopped out of her room, sliding on a boot. She finished doing so in mid hop and steadied herself against the couch before rising up. She gave Jason a thumbs up. Jason didn't return it.
Then Max's door opened. Max emerged, dressed in little more than an undershirt and jeans. His single eye narrowed as he slowly approached them. "What's going on?" He grunted.
"Didn't you hear the alarms?" Jason snapped at him. God I'm in no mood for his shit right now. A few months ago, he would've been the first to leap into action in a crisis. Now he can't get off his ass when our base, our fucking home, is under siege.
Max looked at him and pursed his lips. "Yeah. But I assumed it was a fire drill or-"
"Its not a fire drill," Laureen interrupted him. "We're under attack."
"Under attack?" Max blinked. He folded his arms, now looking a bit more serious. "How are we under attack?!"
Jason pointed at the door. "Don't know how but there's dudes with assault weapons running rampant through the base alongside metahumans." Max's eye widened slightly. "Sounds insane but I saw it. First hand. They're killing the base's personnel, they want us dead too, and I barely escaped them. Unfortunately...." He felt his voice crack a bit. "...Unfortunately Audrey didn't."
A moment of silence went by. Max bit his lip and closed his eye. "She's...dead?"
"I don't know but the last I saw of her she was being brutally attacked by this..." Jason shook his head. "A metahuman. He was a monster, a half-human, half-elephant guy and he overcame her. Last I saw of her she was lying at his feet and he had a gun-"
"And you just left her?" Max snarled. He strode forward, Hiroshi meekly stepping out of his way. "Of all the cowardly, stupid-!"
"Hey!" Jason snarled back, jabbing a finger at Max. "I didn't have a choice! It just me there, outnumbered! The elephant sicced a whole squad of soldiers on me and if I didn't run, I would've gotten killed too! You think I wanted too?!" His voice rose. "Well fuck you! FUCK YOU! Besides, what have you been doing?! Sitting on your ass, safe in your room, asshole! I don't care if you're missing an eye, you just fucking ignored the alarms while people out there are getting killed! I ALMOST DIED! So shut the fuck up!" Jason shouted so loudly he sprayed spittle across the room. He wanted to punch Max, hit him for acting so high and mighty when he had acted like a complete jerk since Chicago.
Max stared at Jason for a moment. One of his hands clenched into a fist. But he didn't attack. Jason glared at him, seething, hoping he would come at him. Then he'd deck him and give a big fucking kick right in his single eye.
"Shut up!" Laureen barked. Jason and Max both looked at her. She strode between them. "This fighting ain't gonna get us anywhere, okay?! So both of you shut the hell up! That's an order!" Jason clenched his teeth but he deflated a bit, uncurling his fist. Max just quietly moved back, folding his arms and glaring at the floor.
Laureen sighed. She rubbed her head then pointed to Jason. "Okay. Tell us what's going on."
Jason shot another glare at Max before taking a breath. He looked around. "Hey...where's James?"
"Still asleep," Laureen replied. "And uh, it's currently-"
"Six twenty five." Max muttered.
"So he won't be up for another five minutes."
Jason nodded slowly. "Okay...uh...want me to wait for him?"
"No. We don't have time. When he wakes up, you'll be wrapping this up I'm sure and we can always catch him up on the details. The professor is smart, he'll catch on easily. Now go ahead."
Jason opened his mouth, wanting to protest, but he decided not to waste anymore time with pointless arguments. So, he said instead: "Okay. So Robertson told me this before he..." He swallowed. "Before he...uh....yeah." Max raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?" Max said quietly.
"We'll..." Laureen looked at him. She paused, perhaps thinking over her next sentence carefully. "We'll tell you later. Keep going Jason." Jason was thankful she didn't tell him, as he knew Max would probably fly off the handle again in reaction to Robertson's death.
"He said these guys are a mercenary unit called the Skeleton Crew," Jason explained. "They're apparently some crazy collection of psychopaths and stuff, coming from the Middle East. And...apparently they're being run by the Director's sister."
Everyone went quiet. Jason paused, letting that sink in. Hiroshi shook his head and said, barely aduible beneath his helmet, "Almost sounds like a bad comic book plot..."
"Her...sister?" Laureen said, incredulous. She shook her head. "That...that almost sounds ridiculous."
"Yeah, I know," Jason growled. "But Robertson...was deadly serious when he told me about it. And I doubt that guy would have cracked a joke in this situation." He swallowed before continuing. "So yeah. Apparently the Director has a sister, she runs a mercenary unit, and she's managed to invade the base. And they're killing everyone."
Laureen and Hiroshi looked at each other. Max, however, continued to stare at Jason. "Why are you referring to Robertson in the past tense?" He asked, his voice deadly quiet.
Jason looked at him. They exchanged a long stare. Then Jason said, quietly, "I think you know."
Max leaned back. He covered his mouth. Then he slowly backed up until he was against the wall. He began shaking his head, muttering something. Jason watched him before turning back to the others.
"That it?" Laureen asked. She knew, of course, that it wasn't but Jason knew she was just prodding him to keep him on topic.
"No," He quickly answered. "There's metahumans in the base too." Max raised his head at that and Hiroshi gasped. "I've seen so far an elephant man, a woman who screamed so loudly I think she damaged my eardrums, and..."
He paused. He licked his lips. I don't want to say it but...
"...Akihiro."
Laureen gasped. Hiroshi didn't say anything but he began to shake badly, his entire body seeming to vibrate. Max's eye went wide but narrowed just as quickly. Slowly, he lowered his arms and clenched his hands into tight fists. He said, quietly, his voice nonetheless hissing with barely contained rage: "Where?"
"I saw him a few floors down," Jason grunted. "Bastard massacred a whole bunch of the staff before he sicced some soldiers on me. Audrey and I escaped them but he came at me again. I bit his hand and he retreated but he's still here, I'm sure. Doing his sick fucking 'art'." Jason practically snarled the last few words, rage building up inside of him as he thought about this. Akihiro is alive. And he's here. In our base!
Max was silent for a long moment. Then he strode toward the exit. Laureen whistled and said, "Oi! Max!"
Max didn't stop. He approached the exit.
"Max!"
Max raised his hand and tried to grab the doorknob. But he missed, despite being right in front of it. Jason's rage deflated a bit when he saw that. He felt a bit bad now for yelling at the guy but...no. Not that much. Max needed to get himself together or at least, open up to them. They were just his friends, they wanted to help him deal with his injury.
Max sighed. He slowly turned around and faced Laureen. "What."
"Don't do that," Laureen growled. "You stay put. I know what you're thinking and you're not-"
A soft gurgle punctuated the air. Jason turned. He saw Hiroshi wrapping his arms around himself, his face still hidden, but his body language said it all. He was terrified. He was moaning badly and seemed to be breathing fast, as his whole body rattled like he was vibrating. Everyone stopped.
"Hey," Laureen said quietly. She approached him and grabbed Hiroshi's shoulders. He didn't look at him, continuing to shake. "Hey!" She shook him. Now he did look at her. "Its okay. I know you're-"
Hiroshi shook his head. His voice came out in spurts, almost like he was being strangled. "H-he's a-a-alive. And h-he's here. Oh g-god...he s-said he'd k-k-kill me and my family if I-I-I ever betrayed him." He shook more violently. "I...I...can't...h-he's going to k-kill me...oh god oh god I'm g-going to d-d-die..."
Hiroshi sounded on the verge of tears and dangerously close to hypervientilating again. Laureen shook him. "Hiroshi! Calm down. Its okay!" Hiroshi shook his head, not listening to her. She cursed and pointed at the door.
"Hey! You think we're gonna let that fucking bastard kill you?" Hiroshi didn't answer. "Hiroshi!" She grabbed his helmet and turned him to look at her. Jason watched, not sure what to say. "If that asshole comes near us, we'll deal with him again. We knew his fucking tricks by now! He's a psychopath, a fucking murderer, and yeah, he's tough. But we're NOT letting him go for round two. Soon as we see him, we'll beat the shit out of his dumb ass. You believe me, right?"
Hiroshi didn't reply. Jason wished his helmet was off, so he could see Hiroshi's facial reactions. Laureen said, a bit louder, "Hiroshi, you're a superhero now! You're on our team. You're one of us. And we don't let fucking crazed art maniacs do bad shit to our teammates! What's your name?"
Hiroshi swallowed loudly. "H-hiroshi."
"Right. But who are you now?" Laureen let him go and gestured at his costume.
"Um..." Hiroshi looked at himself, his voice cracking a bit. "P-photon?"
"That's fucking right. Hiroshi may be scared but Photon ain't. You can fly, you can spray energy blasts, and you're way more prepared for this asshole than before. He did some bad shit to you, to all of u. But Photon ain't gonna take his crap or back down from him. We'll be there for you and you just gotta fight back. Okay?"
Hiroshi nodded. He took a long, ragged breath. "Okay." He didn't sound particularly confident but at least he wasn't hypervientilating. Laureen backed off, nodding. She turned back to Max and Jason followed her gaze. Max was leaning against the door, looking at the floor.
"Max," He looked up. She gave him a stern look. "No going off by your own to take on Akihiro. Okay? I see that look-"
"In my eye?" Max said harshly. Laureen paused. A guility look came over her face. Max snorted humorlessly. "Yes, mom, I won't go off by myself. I'm not an idiot."
"I didn't..." Laureen said, deflating a bit from her usual bluster. "I didn't mean...to...you know I didn't..." Max didn't answer her, just looking away.
An awkward silence came over them. Jason opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, but wanting to break it. Thankfully, someone else did his job for him. James's door opened and James strode out, slipping on his glasses with one hand and typing away at lightning speed on his phone with his other. He paused, staring at them, and said "Oh my what's going on is there an emergency no at least no wait the usual emergency would have us all on The Panther already but everyone looks distressed something's happened where's Audrey what's going on I'd like some answers oh my this is stressful to wake up to."
Jason looked at him as James glanced around at them all. He answered. "There's an attack on the base. Mercenaries, metahumans, and maybe other stuff. Audrey...is MIA. And we're suiting up to take care of it."
James blinked in shock. He opened his mouth and for once nothing came out. It didn't last long though, as moments later he shook his head and blurted out, "An attack mercenaries oh my goodness is it Zeus no wait Zeus is dead blown to shreds in the Cage's destruction an army of mercenaries terrorist group how did they get in here the exit doors to the surface from the Hangar are blast doors designed to withstand an enormous amount of firepower I've been over the blueprints the notes the schematics fifty times they're fascinating to read really metahumans too that's problematic very problematic probably more than problematic actually what are we going to do Audrey MIA oh god this is horrible she's not dead is she oh god no not Audrey what are we going to do as we need to do something now quickly hurry!"
Jason listened to his miniature rant and then said, once James finally stopped, "I agree. Audrey isn't dead, by the way, but she's...missing."
"You don't know that," Max snarled. Jason rounded on him, now ready to at least slap the guy but Laureen raised his hand.
"Shut up!" She yelled. Jason and Max glared at each other but obeyed. Laureen turned to James and then said, "What Jason said is correct. Now please, no offense, but no talking now. I gotta give orders, the lowdown, our plan for defending the base." James nodded vigorously, not saying anything, his glasses nearly sliding off his nose as he slid his phone absently into a pocket.
Laureen turned to them. "Okay. I'll lead. And no giving me shit about my bad leg. I can walk fine and if we run into trouble, I'll spray them with smoke, confusing any potential enemies and shit, giving our heavy hitters-" She gestured at Jason and Max. "-time to attack. Jason and Max, as you probably guess from that, you'll be right behind me."
Jason nodded. "Right." Max, however, looked a bit uncomfortable. Laureen pointed at him.
"So...uh...change into Tuatara, dude."
Max swallowed. He didn't answer, directing his gaze once again to the floor. Jason cocked his head.
"What's wrong?" He asked. He could see, just from Max's expression, that just asking had struck a chord with him.
"I..." Max grinded his teeth together. He squeezed one arm tightly. "I can't."
"Huh?" Laureen replied, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean you can't?"
Max looked up at her. He clenched his teeth almost defiantly. "I mean I can't transform! I..." He swept his arm around haphazardly. "I've...I've tried. But for some reason, after this..." He pointed at his eyepatch. "I just can't change. No matter how hard I concentrate...I just can't." He hung his head, shaking it.
Jason, Laureen, and James all look at each. James, of course, was the first to speak. "Oh my that sounds awful it seems you can't access your powers then perhaps something psychological trauma from the uh well you know sorry that was insensitive wasn't it I don't mean to be insensitive-"
Laureen raised a finger. James grinned sheepishly and closed his mouth. He then covered it with one hand, perhaps for good measure. Laureen looked at Max and said, "You're...sure?"
Max closed his eye. He grunted, squeezing his arm tighter then exhaled. He opened his eye and shook his head. He muttered, "...Yeah."
Laureen rubbed her hair. She hesitated a moment then said, "Okay. Sorry to do this but Jason and Hiroshi, you guys are right behind me. Can you handle it?"
Jason nodded confidently. "I sure can."
Hiroshi didn't speak for a moment. But then he said, his voice sounding visibly like he was restraing himself, "I...yeah. Uh. I can...do that. No...n-no...no problem."
Laureen nodded. "Okay. Max, you and James will bring up the rear. Max, act as a spotter. But don't, you know, get too close without...yeah." Max didn't reply but he nodded.
James gave Laureen a thumbs up. "Excellent what shall I do shall I do many things what do you want me to do ooh tell me tell me tell me!" Jason narrowed his eyes. James didn't seem to be taking this serious and it was pissing him off a bit. Sure, James was always like this but come on. This wasn't a mission, they were being fucking invaded! People were dying! He could, at least, treat that with some significance! Just thinking about it made Jason's blood boil but he held himself in check.
"You hang back at the very...back...of the group," Laureen told him. ""Hack into security cameras, tell us where the enemy troops are, and keep them off our ass by shutting down elevators, emergency exits, etc." James grinned broadly, giving her now a double thumbs up.
"Okay people," Laureen breathed in again. She looked nervous but still, authoratative, which Jason found impressive. "Let's do this." She limped to the door, Max moving aside, and opened it. She then strode out, moving as fast she could.
Hiroshi floated off the floor and flew after him. Jason scuttled after him, passing by Max. Max shot him a final glare but falling into line behind him. James quickly ran after them, shutting the door behind them. The group moved together down the hallway, staying in tight formation.
Jason, as he moved, hoped Audrey was okay. He hoped they could defend this base. And most of all, most all, he hoped they could avenge the death of a doctor called Robertson.