Bring The Heat

54. Heavy Metal (CB ARC 3)

"Shit, Corey, what the hell is this thing made of?"

"Now hold on, Vertigo. The best conclusion to draw is rarely the one you have the compulsion to jump to." the man in the plague doctor get-up returned.

Beneath his mask, he grinned smugly, and reached down towards the hatch. As he did, his arm slowly disappeared, chunk by chunk, as if it were a chameleon blending in to it's surroundings - but his arm wasn't just turning invisible, it was disappearing completely!

Vertigo grimaced and looked away. He always found this so gross...

Corey tried to make his fingers reappear inside the hatch, believing it to be locked and that he could unlock it from inside the mechanism, but began to sweat when he found that the hatch was completely solid.

"A- ah... yes, you were right, it would seem. It is solid, and just rather heavy..." he mumbled nervously, instantly humbled. Vertigo sighed, disgruntled. Showing off... this mission should be being taken seriously.

"Just go through then. I'll take top hallways."

Corey looked up at Vertigo, surprised to hear him talk about straying from the plan. It simply wasn't like him!

But before he could asked for confirmation, Vertigo disappeared, zooming out of the room. As the air tunnel created by his fast movement collapsed, everything in the room was flung into the air, and Corey was dragged to the side, falling to the floor.

He picked himself up dizzily, fixing his mask back to his face.

"Ack- a warning would be nice..." he muttered, before stretching out to the room below as his body phased through the floor.

-(VERTIGO)-

Vertigo held a focused, stone wall of an expression as he tore through every corridor in the compound. The plan was to search the basement first and the upstairs halls LAST, and yet here he was, defecting.

As he rushed past what the blueprints he was given said were the training rooms, he could hear a loud scuffle inside. Seemed like Ingrid had found someone... Vertigo huffed in annoyance. He hated his colleagues immensely for their collective incompetence, and yet here they were, doing their jobs better than him.

'Why lie to myself,' he decided, and began to dash down the hallway to what he was really doing still up here. He arrived near the entrance of the medbay.

Outside, X9 was pushed up against the door, hissing maniacally about how he was going to torture his targets.

"What the fuck are you doing, X9? Just bust the damn door down!" Vertigo demanded, his anger only growing. X9 was programmed to be smart, quick, and merciless - he was always Vertigo's favourite.

"I'm demonstrating my new skills! Sadism, mental torture, cruelty-"

"Who taught you those!?" Vertigo inquired, but quickly realized the obvious answer. Ingrid, that little psychopath... he put his head in his hands. "Ok, ok, just make sure to kill them eventually. But... save the girl for me."

X9 tilted his head curiously.

"It's personal. She's meant to be dead already... a job of mine, from way back. Just save her for me." Vertigo explained.

And with that, he sped back down the hall.

-(WREN)-

Panicking, Wren rushed back out of the supplies closet. She was holding as many things as she could, barely able to identify any of them other than the plasters. Collapsing to her knees next to BM, she frantically spread them out over the floor.

"What do I need?"

"Just... uh... bandages, I think." BM replied weakly. He was tired, but not delirious yet - the sooner the blood loss was stopped, the better. What really worried him, though, was how physically weak he felt, and how foggy his mind seemed. His senses, his perception, a little more distant and less precise than usual.

"Ok, ok! Bandages! I know bandages!" Wren affirmed herself, trying desperately to cope with the situation as she searched through the pile of medical supplies.

Just then, she heard loud clanging outside the medbay.

"Unlocked? I could come in whenever I want. Whenever I want..." X9 murmured through the door.

Wren scrambled back in fear, and grabbed hold of a pen hastily (the first thing she could find), holding it shakily out in front of her as a weapon.

X9 seemed to hear her terror, and chuckled mechanically to himself.

"Whatever you think you can do, you're wrong... I could come in right now, and tear you in half. No... I'd cut off your limbs, and make your friend eat them right in front of you. Doesn't that sound fun? It's not a matter of if I get in... it's a matter of when."

Suddenly he jolted the door with an a quick exclamation, and took the utmost pleasure as Wren screamed. She clutched at her face, backed as far against the wall as she could get herself, feeling more vulnerable than ever without her ability. BM reached out and began operating on himself silently, but found that he too was unable identify most of the medical supplies. He took a roll of bandages, and began to wrap it around his waist until his deep wound was covered tightly by multiple layers.

Wren curled up in fear, sobbing as her attacker garnered even more sadistic satisfaction. In an artificial voice that sat right at the bottom of uncanny valley, X9 began to hum slowly and menacingly. He wasn't programmed to feel joy, but the feeling he got from Wren's weak little sobs... euphoric.

X9 stopped abruptly, as if interrupted by someone passing by, but Wren held her breath, convinced that he was about to break in. She screwed her eyes shut, traumatized, just wanting the world to go away as she began to hyperventilate. Oh god... she felt dizzy and ill again, like earlier with Rebound. Another panic attack - no, she was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown!

But then she felt something on her leg. She peered out from between her fingers to see BM looking up and reaching out to her.

"It's ok, Wren." he said, calm despite how pale he was beginning to look, "It's ok. Let's take this in steps. First things first; I've mostly stopped the bleeding. I seem to have lost my ability too, though, so I'm sure we could find something better. Then, we could try to barricade the door. We can't fight without our powers, it's far too dangerous, but remember - they came here with a group, and split up to fight everyone at once. Surely someone else will come and help us soon, yes? Let's just make it until then."

Wren gulped down her fear and nodded. She began to build up her confidence, wiping away her tears and getting up to look for things to barricade the door with as BM rifled through the medical supplies to see what more he could do.

They were determined to make it out alive. Both of them.