Heroes Off Campus
Feb 19, 2017 1:42:19 GMT
Post by dbzbabe on Feb 19, 2017 1:42:19 GMT
(OOC episodes 8 and 9 will be taking place at the same time as the end of episode 6 and all of episode 7, so they're happening simultaneously, just be clear so that there's no confusion either way, enjoy!)
Episode 8- The Boy Scout And The Soldier
The air rippled and pulsed as it was churned up by an invisible figure rocketing through the sky. The wind howled in a manner that would suggest a storm was brewing. Herbert looked down at the small monitor in his hand as he looked at the red dot moving across the map. He wasn't too far behind the convoy but he thought it best he keep his distance for now.
The convoy continued to roll on down the road in single file, the headlights piercing the blackness of the night. The huge wheels of the 4x4s tore through the puddles on the side of the road. The convoy was also full of trucks, jeeps and a couple of tanks. The soldiers stationed on top of the tanks and in other lookout positions were equipped with night vision goggles that also had a setting to be turned to filter infrared and thermal. The men on the turrets swivelled them around from side to side, keeping a constant watch. Rhodes was up ahead in the first car, a smug, sickly smile smeared across his face. He had no idea Herbert was so close.
By now the convoy was just entering the Peak District. Dark rain clouds began to form overhead and there was a slight murmur of thunder. Slowly but surely, raindrops began to fall. At first the rain descended like a fine mist before it suddenly picked up and began to clatter down upon the vehicles' windscreens.
Herbert pocketed the monitor as he was bombarded by the rain. He flicked his collar up to give himself more coverage before he began to emit a small of amount of heat energy before forcing it to pulse out through the entire sky. The rain around him began to evaporate, enshrouding him in a thick layer of steam and consequently covered the whole skyline. The heat he was producing would keep him dry and the steam would add to his coverage as it would distort the infrared and mask him against the thermal. He took out the monitor again to continue to track the convoy. The steam surrounding him was working both ways, they couldn't see him but he couldn't see them, he'd have to rely on the tracking device.
Not before too long, the convoy slowed a little as it approached its destination. At the foot of Mam Tor there was what looked like a small concrete hut with a solid metal door. The entire area had been fenced off with plenty of "NO TRESSPASSING" signs posted. There was a single watchtower with a sniper in it keeping a vigil watch. All the vehicles grinded to a halt as everyone bar the drivers and those manning the tanks disembarked. Rhodes strode up to the door and punch in a passcode into the small computer just to the right of it. The door clicked open and Rhodes pushed through it and entered the small hut. On the far wall was a panel that had various buttons down it and one keyhole at the bottom. Going over to it, Rhodes pulled out a small key and inserted it, twisting it ninety degrees clockwise. A small siren went off as pistons began to hiss and huge hydraulics began to pump. The front side of the cliff face began to move as it revealed a huge open doorway. The vehicles were fired up again as they now began to drive down into the heart of landscape. Inside the hut, another door in the wall opened as Rhodes led the men inside the hidden facility.
Herbert halted when he noticed the red dot had done so and just hung in the air for a moment as he ceased to emit the extra heat. As the steam cleared he gawked as he witnessed the cliff face open. How in the world had they been able to construct such a facility!? And how had they done it without him knowing!? Herbert's frustration and anger at the goings on at Olympus began to swell inside of him. He'd get his answers soon enough. For now, Herbert stayed hovering in the air, still invisible. He needed to plan his next move very carefully. After seeing this, there was a small shred of fear inside of him as he was uncertain of what he might face inside.
The soldiers began to bustle about down in the facility as they unloaded all of their cargo. Rhodes stood in the centre of the huge garage which the vehicles had now entered. He was bellowing out his orders and instructions to the men, hurrying them along. The weapons were carried off as the soldiers emptied from the garage area and headed towards the armoury. The scientific equipment was moved further into the facility and into the labs. Rhodes went with the scientists. The lab was dully lit, bathed in a pale green light. There were two rows of tables, each one filled with even more test tubes, flasks and various other equipment. Off to the sides were human sized tanks. All of them empty. At the end of the lab was a single tank, much bigger than the others. It was filled with some sort of fluid and there, floating in the middle was a giant man with harsh red skin. Small tufts of black hair littered his head. He was tall, broad and very muscular, a hulk like figure. There was a breathing mask around his face to supply him with air as he was kept comatose. As a precaution, the creature's was chained to the floor of the tank.
Rhodes walked down the lab to the huge tank at the end, the other scientists in tow. He stood before the great red monster as if to inspect it. A proud, almost father-like smile spread across his face an evil glint shone in his eyes.
"When will he be ready?" Rhodes impatiently asked.
"Any time now really sir," one scientist spoke up though in a quiet and tentative manner.
"Gooood…..goooood," Rhodes breathed the words out heavily, almost like a sick and sadistic pervert.
"Though we should warn you sir, his temperament is a bit…um…..unstable," the scientist continued.
"Ahahahaha," Rhodes began to cackle, "but that's good ahahahaha that's what we want!" the volume of his voice increased as he danced on the spot a little.
The scientists were a little unsettled by Rhodes' behaviour, it seemed as if he'd gone round the bend. Rhodes gave orders for the creature to be monitored further as he headed off for another part of the facility that needed his attention.
Outside, Herbert was still hovering above the facility, invisible and formulating his plan of action. He had to be precise, he couldn't afford any slip ups, not when he was so close. Having decided on what he was going to do, Herbert swooped down towards the lookout tower, landing behind the sniper. He placed his hands at the side of the guards' ears and quickly generated a small electric shock to incapacitate him. Herbert then took to the skies again and began to rapidly generate electricity all over his body. Focusing hard on the blast he was about to create, he suddenly let fly an EMP blast that rippled through the entire entrance of the facility, knocking out the security system.
Touching down, Herbert went over to the huge doors hidden within the cliff face. He powered his body up and directed the energy into his right fist as he concentrated. A huge aura of yellow light shone out from around his hand as the energy began to burn brighter and hotter. With a single punch, Herbert ripped through the enormous outer doors and pulled them apart just enough to allow himself through.
In the facilities security room, the men there were rushing round in a frantic panic as the camera feeds from the entrance had turned to static and the alarm system was offline. They had no warning that he main doors had been forced open. Rhodes came rushing in, his face like thunder.
"What's going on here!?" he demanded an explanation.
"We don't know sir," the head technician answered, "all cameras at the front of the facility have been knocked out and so has the security system."
"Mega Man!" Rhodes growled through gritted teeth.
Herbert proceeded through the facility and came out into the garage. Not wasting anytime, he released a small lightning storm across all of the vehicles, knocking out their electronics and causing the engines to explode with the shear heat of the lightning. The entire facility erupted into chaos as there was a mass chain of explosions. The soldiers scurried back into the garage, scrambling to get their hands on their weapons. Tapping into his mothers powers, Herbert rapidly went through three of the guards, taking each of them down with a single punch, small booms of air echoed out as his fists made contact.
Rhodes came bounding out with a small band of soldiers, all armed and ready.
"Switch to thermal vision!" he roared out to his soldiers.
Herbert turned to face them, still invisible. He released another burst of electricity as the small sparks shattered the glass of the soldiers' goggles, rendering them useless. Out of shear panic, the soldiers began to fire off their machineguns, spraying the bullets out at nothing. Herbert had already whizzed behind them with a short burst of speed. He stretched out his hands towards them and released a shockwave that sent them crashing into the wrecked vehicles.
They all seemed a little dazed by the impact but soon recovered quicker than Herbert expected. In fact, he didn’t expect them to be getting back up at all. Even the three soldiers he had knocked down before were getting to their feet. As Rhodes got up, he tossed a grenade at where he suspected Herbert to be, the soldiers also began firing again.
Left shocked by his enemies sudden recovery, Herbert was left dumbfounded and so was unable to escape the blast of the grenade or the new volley of bullets heading his way. He was knocked back by the explosion as the bullets riddled him with holes. The attack forced Herbert to relinquish his invisibility as he lay on the ground, panting, fighting for breath. As the gunfire halted with sound of numerous clicks, the soldiers threw down their weapons and all charged at Herbert. There were eight of them, excluding Rhodes.
Herbert was attempting to tap into Lucio's power and heal himself. The bullets began to be pushed out of his body but before he had time to complete his recovery, the other soldiers were on top of him. Herbert tried to roll over to dodge a fist being slammed down but another pair of hands suddenly grabbed him and hauled him up off the floor. Skin contact, perfect! Herbert placed his hands on the soldiers' forearms and began to transfer some of the damage to them. Letting out a small spatter of blood, the soldier let go of Herbert and collapsed to the ground.
One down.
Another solider stepped in and swung a right hook at Herbert but he'd seen it coming. Powering himself up as much as he could in his still weakened state, he grabbed the guard by the throat and slammed him down on the ground. He transferred more of his remaining injuries to this one as well, just enough to incapacitate him.
Two down.
Bullets were beginning to drop out of Herbert's body. As he was down with his hand around the soldiers' throat, the others tried to jump in but Herbert released a small shockwave around himself, knocking them back a little and giving himself a little more time to recover. Herbert began to emit a light green glow as the smell of flowers wafted through the air and grass began to poke out in between the slabs of concrete on the ground.
Within moments, the remaining six were on him again, each one coming in and either swing or jabbing. Herbert, not quite one hundred percent yet, tapped into his mothers' power again and swiftly and easily dodged each of the attacks thrown his way. He returned blows as well, jabbing the men in their stomachs and sides as well as across the face. The burst of speed soon wore off though so Herbert powered up and released a yellow aura, his body flickering with small shards of electricity. With greater speed than his opponents, though not as great as before, Herbert decided to push the offensive. He jabbed one in the face whilst releasing an energy wave at another. He jumped into the air and spun round, kicking two more in the head as he did so. Once he had landed, he threw himself at another and discharged another shock of electricity around their head.
Three down.
Herbert then swung a fist at the one still on his feet but at the last second, opened up his hand and smacked his hand into the guards' face. He switched over the remainder of his injuries, forcing the guard to stagger back before he powered up the energy around his fist and slammed it into their face, knocking them out cold.
Four down.
The remaining four now encircled Herbert, each one looking to take him down. Each one leapt forward and attacked him in a different way. The one stood in front of him lunged forward with a basic punch. To his left, the soldier crouched down and went to sweep Herbert's legs out from under him. To his right, they let fly a kick, aimed at the side of his rib cage. The one behind Herbert leapt in the air and clenched both fists together to bring them crashing down on his head.
Herbert could sense them all coming at him from different directions. He concentrated the energy in his aura and then released it as one giant shockwave. The four soldiers were sent hurtling through the air. Two crashed into the side walls, one back to the vehicles and the last one went flying down the corridor they had come from.
Herbert wasted no time, he surged forward towards the soldier who was now slumped against the shell of a burning tank and whacked him full on in the stomach. He then whipped up the air around him and sent the soldier sailing up, slamming him into the roof before he let the guy fall back down with an almighty thud. Herbert had been sure to moderate the force of the wind to only knock the guy out.
Five down.
Next, Herbert flew up into the air and powered up an energy ball in each hand with each ball aimed at the two who had been flung to the sides. He let them loose, hurtling towards their targets. One soldier was still sluggishly getting up and so was hit right in the chest and sent smashing back into the wall. He slumped to the ground as his eyes flickered out of consciousness.
Six down.
The other soldier had seen Herbert power up and so had timed his dodge to perfection. Herbert however, had prepared himself for such an event and so he powered through the air towards the guard and flew straight into him with enough force to render the soldier unconscious.
Seven down.
Herbert nestled back down on the ground and began to breathe slowly, regaining his composure and calming himself down. It had been a long time since he had had to exert himself like that, using Chris' power was especially draining. Luckily for Herbert, he had always made sure to have those sachets of energy in a tube that Chris always carried. He took one from one of the pouches on his utility belt and consumed one. Feeling the effects almost immediately, Herbert felt his energy returning. He strode off down the corridor, looking for Rhodes who had gotten away as the soldiers had kept Herbert busy. Turning invisible, Herbert whipped up some more wind around the last remaining soldier and slammed him into the wall.
Eight down.
Herbert continued down the corridor, pacifying any other guards he came across. It wasn't too long before he came across a section of the facility where they had set up a tighter defence. A barrier had been erected right across the hallway with a turret at either end. More soldiers lined up in between the heavy guns as they were all aiming at the wall at the far end, waiting for Herbert to come round the corner. They were all wearing thermal vision goggles as they expected him to be invisible.
Sure enough, Herbert strode out from around the corner but was swiftly met with a huge barrage of bullets. With a small sonic boom, Herbert retreated around the corner and began to charge more electricity to knock out their equipment. Holding onto the charged power, Herbert quickly rolled out from cover and unleashed the electricity down the corridor. The hallway was lit up as the lightning illuminated it, flashes of white light and blue. The glass in the goggles shattered as they short circuited and they each dropped their guns as the metal conducted the electricity, giving their holders a small but powerful enough shock. The men on the turrets were blown back a bit as the targeting systems on the guns blew.
Herbert now charged down the hallway and vaulted over the barrier and the soldiers behind it. He stretched his arms out wide and his entire body pulsed as he unleashed a shockwave that sent all of the soldiers flying over the barrier and tumbling back down the corridor. Using his burst of speed, Herbert advanced on the soldiers lay on the ground. He created some more turbulent winds and slammed a few into the wall and ceiling. To a couple of others, he let fly powerful punches. For the last one, he knocked him out with a small electric shock to the head. Wash, rinse, repeat. Herbert was quickly getting back into the swing of things and boy did it feel good!
Two more guards came sprinting round the corner, firing behind them for some reason. Herbert didn't have time to ponder such things. He raced forward and slammed his hand into the first ones face. He then smashed the rest of his forearm into the mans chest so that his forearm was vertical down the mans body. Herbert then crashed the soldier into the wall before he spun himself round off of the unconscious body and hurled a lightning bolt at the second guard as he ran up the hallway.
Pressing onwards, Herbert has just reached the next corner when suddenly, two more guards were slammed against it. There were three loud bangs in quick succession as blood began to spatter on the wall behind one of the guards as he slumped down to the ground leaving a bloody skid mark down the wall. The second guard was hit by some sort of cloud as he too collapsed to the ground, sputtering up blood, clutching at his throat as he began to violently cough and his skin broke out into boils and spots.
A tall dark and hooded figure confidently strode up to the guard down on his knees and placed a pistol to his head. Herbert suddenly pulsed back into visibility and placed a hand on the soldier, taking on his injuries. As he did so, Herbert began to emit the green aura again as the boils and spots instantly disappeared the moment they surfaced. The scent of wild flowers filled the air. Herbert looked up at the dark figure who in turn stared back.
"Herbert," the figure addressed him.
"Olem. Long time no see," Herbert casually replied.
"Hmm," Olem just grunted his response.
"How did you get in here?"
"Back entrance. Had to go through a load of tiny maintenance shafts. Wasn't nice."
"Well you are rather tall."
"I guess. What are you doing here? Finally got off your ass and decided to do something good for a change?" Olem mocked Herbert.
"Hey I do a lot of good. This is Olympus business," Herbert's tone was defensive, "but….you're right I guess. All this has been going on behind my back. Who knows how many people have been hurt because I got sloppy," Herbert condemned himself as he averted his eyes away for a moment.
"Hmph, figures. Olympus was always corrupt!" Olem growled.
"Wonder that you didn't stay with the Redeemer then," Herbert challenged Olem.
"Don't you dare mention that name!"
"Yeh well it's all in the past now. Not a lot we can do about it now. Why are you here anyway?" Herbert changed the subject quickly but also he was curious as to the reason why.
"I've been tracking down a group of rogue military black ops across the Middle East right the way back across Eastern Europe. During my last fight with them, I found a link to Olympus," Olem explained as he pulled out the Olympus business card.
"Yeh….that'll quite explain it. I think I get what part they had to play in all this," Herbert said as he saw the little white card.
"So how do we do this?" Olem asked as he turned his attention towards the guard.
Herbert pulled back his hand as both he and the guard were both fully healed. The guard began to look around at the pair, fear burned in his eyes. Herbert powered up some energy around his hand before he clobbered the soldier in the face, knocking him out.
"Like that," Herbert triumphantly smiled at Olem, letting the Plague Doctor know he wasn't in the mood for any of the usual shit.
"Wow. Didn't expect you to have that much of a backbone," Olem mocked, "I was half expecting you to give me a moral lecture."
"The lecture will have to wait I'm afraid, right now we need to work together to bring these guys down."
"Got it," Olem said as he drew his other 9mm pistol and cocked it.
"Olem," Herbert began, "I know you may find this difficult but we're doing this my way. Understand?" Herbert's tone was strong and authoritative, he certainly had had enough of the bullshit the world kept spoon feeding him. It was time he stood up for himself and for what he believed to be right, he was the leader of Olympus after all.
Olem just grunted as if to concede the point. He'd go along with Herbert's plan for now but he had every intention of resorting to his own methods should he feel the situation call for it. The two walked off down the corridor and headed towards the labs.
"I don't care if he might be unstable! That fucking boy scout is tearing through this whole facility! He may be a fucking pussy in most cases but he's still the strongest super out there when he wants to be! And right now, he fucking wants to be!" Rhodes roared at the scientists as he frantically waved his gun in their faces, getting them to activate the big red monster in the tank.
The scientists did as they were told. Rhodes seemed to be losing it and they were truly uncertain if he was or wasn't going to kill them. One went over to the monitor in front of the tank and scanned over the creatures vitals. Another went to the computer at the desk and began to type in a sequence code to activate the tank.
Suddenly, the lab doors burst open with a loud metal, squeaking noise that cut through the air. Herbert and Olem strode confidently down the aisle between the row of tables filled with equipment. Both sets of eyes were drawn to the tank and its occupant.
"Ah you brought the Plague Doctor as well," Rhodes mocked Herbert, "you have most certainly been a royal pain in my ass dear Doctor."
"Rhodes, I'm here to put an end to all this," Herbert acclaimed.
"Oh really? Well I'm afraid that doesn't quite match up with my plans Mega Man sir," Rhodes continued to mock Herbert as his own air of confidence grew.
"I'm gonna make you pay for all that you and the rest of you bastards have done to the people of this world!" Olem sneered at Rhodes.
"Oh there's no need to be so violent Mr. Tamas, sorry, it's Sergeant Tamas isn't it?" Rhodes' tone was very sarcastic and derisive, "I see you've kept up your hunting skills. You single-handedly destroyed our entire operations outside of Britain."
"And I'd do it all again in a heartbeat if I had to!" Olem growled, his anger swelling inside him.
"Oh and there it is, the anger, the drive, the desire to kill. You fought us because you saw us as monsters but you yourself are just as much a monster if not more so. Why I've even seen your Olympus file. All those naughty little deeds you performed whilst at university," a sickening grin spread across Rhodes' face.
"It takes a monster to kill a monster," Olem asserted.
"Does it now? Well in that case, it's a good job I've got a monster of my own," Rhodes said as he stepped back to the side allowing the being in the tank to take centre stage.
The scientist had finished the release sequence. The fluid from the tank began to drain away. The creature's eyes shot open, a hellish black, no life in them, only a void. The creature began to toss and turn frantically as it ripped up the chains that were tying it down. It pulled the mask off of its face to reveal two rows of sharp, stained yellowy brown fangs that bulged out of its mouth. Its nose was just two slits in the middle of its face. The creature growled at Herbert and Olem as its eyes made contact with them. It leapt at the glass and shattered it, landing with a tremendous thud as its feet smacked down on the ground. Shards of glass were littered everywhere. The creature arched forward as it let out a deafening roar before it reared itself up to reveal its full height and width. A giant hulking menace indeed.
"Erm Herbert……..?"
"Yeh…….?"
"Whadda we do……….?"
"We gotta take that thing out."
Episode 8- The Boy Scout And The Soldier
The air rippled and pulsed as it was churned up by an invisible figure rocketing through the sky. The wind howled in a manner that would suggest a storm was brewing. Herbert looked down at the small monitor in his hand as he looked at the red dot moving across the map. He wasn't too far behind the convoy but he thought it best he keep his distance for now.
The convoy continued to roll on down the road in single file, the headlights piercing the blackness of the night. The huge wheels of the 4x4s tore through the puddles on the side of the road. The convoy was also full of trucks, jeeps and a couple of tanks. The soldiers stationed on top of the tanks and in other lookout positions were equipped with night vision goggles that also had a setting to be turned to filter infrared and thermal. The men on the turrets swivelled them around from side to side, keeping a constant watch. Rhodes was up ahead in the first car, a smug, sickly smile smeared across his face. He had no idea Herbert was so close.
By now the convoy was just entering the Peak District. Dark rain clouds began to form overhead and there was a slight murmur of thunder. Slowly but surely, raindrops began to fall. At first the rain descended like a fine mist before it suddenly picked up and began to clatter down upon the vehicles' windscreens.
Herbert pocketed the monitor as he was bombarded by the rain. He flicked his collar up to give himself more coverage before he began to emit a small of amount of heat energy before forcing it to pulse out through the entire sky. The rain around him began to evaporate, enshrouding him in a thick layer of steam and consequently covered the whole skyline. The heat he was producing would keep him dry and the steam would add to his coverage as it would distort the infrared and mask him against the thermal. He took out the monitor again to continue to track the convoy. The steam surrounding him was working both ways, they couldn't see him but he couldn't see them, he'd have to rely on the tracking device.
Not before too long, the convoy slowed a little as it approached its destination. At the foot of Mam Tor there was what looked like a small concrete hut with a solid metal door. The entire area had been fenced off with plenty of "NO TRESSPASSING" signs posted. There was a single watchtower with a sniper in it keeping a vigil watch. All the vehicles grinded to a halt as everyone bar the drivers and those manning the tanks disembarked. Rhodes strode up to the door and punch in a passcode into the small computer just to the right of it. The door clicked open and Rhodes pushed through it and entered the small hut. On the far wall was a panel that had various buttons down it and one keyhole at the bottom. Going over to it, Rhodes pulled out a small key and inserted it, twisting it ninety degrees clockwise. A small siren went off as pistons began to hiss and huge hydraulics began to pump. The front side of the cliff face began to move as it revealed a huge open doorway. The vehicles were fired up again as they now began to drive down into the heart of landscape. Inside the hut, another door in the wall opened as Rhodes led the men inside the hidden facility.
Herbert halted when he noticed the red dot had done so and just hung in the air for a moment as he ceased to emit the extra heat. As the steam cleared he gawked as he witnessed the cliff face open. How in the world had they been able to construct such a facility!? And how had they done it without him knowing!? Herbert's frustration and anger at the goings on at Olympus began to swell inside of him. He'd get his answers soon enough. For now, Herbert stayed hovering in the air, still invisible. He needed to plan his next move very carefully. After seeing this, there was a small shred of fear inside of him as he was uncertain of what he might face inside.
The soldiers began to bustle about down in the facility as they unloaded all of their cargo. Rhodes stood in the centre of the huge garage which the vehicles had now entered. He was bellowing out his orders and instructions to the men, hurrying them along. The weapons were carried off as the soldiers emptied from the garage area and headed towards the armoury. The scientific equipment was moved further into the facility and into the labs. Rhodes went with the scientists. The lab was dully lit, bathed in a pale green light. There were two rows of tables, each one filled with even more test tubes, flasks and various other equipment. Off to the sides were human sized tanks. All of them empty. At the end of the lab was a single tank, much bigger than the others. It was filled with some sort of fluid and there, floating in the middle was a giant man with harsh red skin. Small tufts of black hair littered his head. He was tall, broad and very muscular, a hulk like figure. There was a breathing mask around his face to supply him with air as he was kept comatose. As a precaution, the creature's was chained to the floor of the tank.
Rhodes walked down the lab to the huge tank at the end, the other scientists in tow. He stood before the great red monster as if to inspect it. A proud, almost father-like smile spread across his face an evil glint shone in his eyes.
"When will he be ready?" Rhodes impatiently asked.
"Any time now really sir," one scientist spoke up though in a quiet and tentative manner.
"Gooood…..goooood," Rhodes breathed the words out heavily, almost like a sick and sadistic pervert.
"Though we should warn you sir, his temperament is a bit…um…..unstable," the scientist continued.
"Ahahahaha," Rhodes began to cackle, "but that's good ahahahaha that's what we want!" the volume of his voice increased as he danced on the spot a little.
The scientists were a little unsettled by Rhodes' behaviour, it seemed as if he'd gone round the bend. Rhodes gave orders for the creature to be monitored further as he headed off for another part of the facility that needed his attention.
Outside, Herbert was still hovering above the facility, invisible and formulating his plan of action. He had to be precise, he couldn't afford any slip ups, not when he was so close. Having decided on what he was going to do, Herbert swooped down towards the lookout tower, landing behind the sniper. He placed his hands at the side of the guards' ears and quickly generated a small electric shock to incapacitate him. Herbert then took to the skies again and began to rapidly generate electricity all over his body. Focusing hard on the blast he was about to create, he suddenly let fly an EMP blast that rippled through the entire entrance of the facility, knocking out the security system.
Touching down, Herbert went over to the huge doors hidden within the cliff face. He powered his body up and directed the energy into his right fist as he concentrated. A huge aura of yellow light shone out from around his hand as the energy began to burn brighter and hotter. With a single punch, Herbert ripped through the enormous outer doors and pulled them apart just enough to allow himself through.
In the facilities security room, the men there were rushing round in a frantic panic as the camera feeds from the entrance had turned to static and the alarm system was offline. They had no warning that he main doors had been forced open. Rhodes came rushing in, his face like thunder.
"What's going on here!?" he demanded an explanation.
"We don't know sir," the head technician answered, "all cameras at the front of the facility have been knocked out and so has the security system."
"Mega Man!" Rhodes growled through gritted teeth.
Herbert proceeded through the facility and came out into the garage. Not wasting anytime, he released a small lightning storm across all of the vehicles, knocking out their electronics and causing the engines to explode with the shear heat of the lightning. The entire facility erupted into chaos as there was a mass chain of explosions. The soldiers scurried back into the garage, scrambling to get their hands on their weapons. Tapping into his mothers powers, Herbert rapidly went through three of the guards, taking each of them down with a single punch, small booms of air echoed out as his fists made contact.
Rhodes came bounding out with a small band of soldiers, all armed and ready.
"Switch to thermal vision!" he roared out to his soldiers.
Herbert turned to face them, still invisible. He released another burst of electricity as the small sparks shattered the glass of the soldiers' goggles, rendering them useless. Out of shear panic, the soldiers began to fire off their machineguns, spraying the bullets out at nothing. Herbert had already whizzed behind them with a short burst of speed. He stretched out his hands towards them and released a shockwave that sent them crashing into the wrecked vehicles.
They all seemed a little dazed by the impact but soon recovered quicker than Herbert expected. In fact, he didn’t expect them to be getting back up at all. Even the three soldiers he had knocked down before were getting to their feet. As Rhodes got up, he tossed a grenade at where he suspected Herbert to be, the soldiers also began firing again.
Left shocked by his enemies sudden recovery, Herbert was left dumbfounded and so was unable to escape the blast of the grenade or the new volley of bullets heading his way. He was knocked back by the explosion as the bullets riddled him with holes. The attack forced Herbert to relinquish his invisibility as he lay on the ground, panting, fighting for breath. As the gunfire halted with sound of numerous clicks, the soldiers threw down their weapons and all charged at Herbert. There were eight of them, excluding Rhodes.
Herbert was attempting to tap into Lucio's power and heal himself. The bullets began to be pushed out of his body but before he had time to complete his recovery, the other soldiers were on top of him. Herbert tried to roll over to dodge a fist being slammed down but another pair of hands suddenly grabbed him and hauled him up off the floor. Skin contact, perfect! Herbert placed his hands on the soldiers' forearms and began to transfer some of the damage to them. Letting out a small spatter of blood, the soldier let go of Herbert and collapsed to the ground.
One down.
Another solider stepped in and swung a right hook at Herbert but he'd seen it coming. Powering himself up as much as he could in his still weakened state, he grabbed the guard by the throat and slammed him down on the ground. He transferred more of his remaining injuries to this one as well, just enough to incapacitate him.
Two down.
Bullets were beginning to drop out of Herbert's body. As he was down with his hand around the soldiers' throat, the others tried to jump in but Herbert released a small shockwave around himself, knocking them back a little and giving himself a little more time to recover. Herbert began to emit a light green glow as the smell of flowers wafted through the air and grass began to poke out in between the slabs of concrete on the ground.
Within moments, the remaining six were on him again, each one coming in and either swing or jabbing. Herbert, not quite one hundred percent yet, tapped into his mothers' power again and swiftly and easily dodged each of the attacks thrown his way. He returned blows as well, jabbing the men in their stomachs and sides as well as across the face. The burst of speed soon wore off though so Herbert powered up and released a yellow aura, his body flickering with small shards of electricity. With greater speed than his opponents, though not as great as before, Herbert decided to push the offensive. He jabbed one in the face whilst releasing an energy wave at another. He jumped into the air and spun round, kicking two more in the head as he did so. Once he had landed, he threw himself at another and discharged another shock of electricity around their head.
Three down.
Herbert then swung a fist at the one still on his feet but at the last second, opened up his hand and smacked his hand into the guards' face. He switched over the remainder of his injuries, forcing the guard to stagger back before he powered up the energy around his fist and slammed it into their face, knocking them out cold.
Four down.
The remaining four now encircled Herbert, each one looking to take him down. Each one leapt forward and attacked him in a different way. The one stood in front of him lunged forward with a basic punch. To his left, the soldier crouched down and went to sweep Herbert's legs out from under him. To his right, they let fly a kick, aimed at the side of his rib cage. The one behind Herbert leapt in the air and clenched both fists together to bring them crashing down on his head.
Herbert could sense them all coming at him from different directions. He concentrated the energy in his aura and then released it as one giant shockwave. The four soldiers were sent hurtling through the air. Two crashed into the side walls, one back to the vehicles and the last one went flying down the corridor they had come from.
Herbert wasted no time, he surged forward towards the soldier who was now slumped against the shell of a burning tank and whacked him full on in the stomach. He then whipped up the air around him and sent the soldier sailing up, slamming him into the roof before he let the guy fall back down with an almighty thud. Herbert had been sure to moderate the force of the wind to only knock the guy out.
Five down.
Next, Herbert flew up into the air and powered up an energy ball in each hand with each ball aimed at the two who had been flung to the sides. He let them loose, hurtling towards their targets. One soldier was still sluggishly getting up and so was hit right in the chest and sent smashing back into the wall. He slumped to the ground as his eyes flickered out of consciousness.
Six down.
The other soldier had seen Herbert power up and so had timed his dodge to perfection. Herbert however, had prepared himself for such an event and so he powered through the air towards the guard and flew straight into him with enough force to render the soldier unconscious.
Seven down.
Herbert nestled back down on the ground and began to breathe slowly, regaining his composure and calming himself down. It had been a long time since he had had to exert himself like that, using Chris' power was especially draining. Luckily for Herbert, he had always made sure to have those sachets of energy in a tube that Chris always carried. He took one from one of the pouches on his utility belt and consumed one. Feeling the effects almost immediately, Herbert felt his energy returning. He strode off down the corridor, looking for Rhodes who had gotten away as the soldiers had kept Herbert busy. Turning invisible, Herbert whipped up some more wind around the last remaining soldier and slammed him into the wall.
Eight down.
Herbert continued down the corridor, pacifying any other guards he came across. It wasn't too long before he came across a section of the facility where they had set up a tighter defence. A barrier had been erected right across the hallway with a turret at either end. More soldiers lined up in between the heavy guns as they were all aiming at the wall at the far end, waiting for Herbert to come round the corner. They were all wearing thermal vision goggles as they expected him to be invisible.
Sure enough, Herbert strode out from around the corner but was swiftly met with a huge barrage of bullets. With a small sonic boom, Herbert retreated around the corner and began to charge more electricity to knock out their equipment. Holding onto the charged power, Herbert quickly rolled out from cover and unleashed the electricity down the corridor. The hallway was lit up as the lightning illuminated it, flashes of white light and blue. The glass in the goggles shattered as they short circuited and they each dropped their guns as the metal conducted the electricity, giving their holders a small but powerful enough shock. The men on the turrets were blown back a bit as the targeting systems on the guns blew.
Herbert now charged down the hallway and vaulted over the barrier and the soldiers behind it. He stretched his arms out wide and his entire body pulsed as he unleashed a shockwave that sent all of the soldiers flying over the barrier and tumbling back down the corridor. Using his burst of speed, Herbert advanced on the soldiers lay on the ground. He created some more turbulent winds and slammed a few into the wall and ceiling. To a couple of others, he let fly powerful punches. For the last one, he knocked him out with a small electric shock to the head. Wash, rinse, repeat. Herbert was quickly getting back into the swing of things and boy did it feel good!
Two more guards came sprinting round the corner, firing behind them for some reason. Herbert didn't have time to ponder such things. He raced forward and slammed his hand into the first ones face. He then smashed the rest of his forearm into the mans chest so that his forearm was vertical down the mans body. Herbert then crashed the soldier into the wall before he spun himself round off of the unconscious body and hurled a lightning bolt at the second guard as he ran up the hallway.
Pressing onwards, Herbert has just reached the next corner when suddenly, two more guards were slammed against it. There were three loud bangs in quick succession as blood began to spatter on the wall behind one of the guards as he slumped down to the ground leaving a bloody skid mark down the wall. The second guard was hit by some sort of cloud as he too collapsed to the ground, sputtering up blood, clutching at his throat as he began to violently cough and his skin broke out into boils and spots.
A tall dark and hooded figure confidently strode up to the guard down on his knees and placed a pistol to his head. Herbert suddenly pulsed back into visibility and placed a hand on the soldier, taking on his injuries. As he did so, Herbert began to emit the green aura again as the boils and spots instantly disappeared the moment they surfaced. The scent of wild flowers filled the air. Herbert looked up at the dark figure who in turn stared back.
"Herbert," the figure addressed him.
"Olem. Long time no see," Herbert casually replied.
"Hmm," Olem just grunted his response.
"How did you get in here?"
"Back entrance. Had to go through a load of tiny maintenance shafts. Wasn't nice."
"Well you are rather tall."
"I guess. What are you doing here? Finally got off your ass and decided to do something good for a change?" Olem mocked Herbert.
"Hey I do a lot of good. This is Olympus business," Herbert's tone was defensive, "but….you're right I guess. All this has been going on behind my back. Who knows how many people have been hurt because I got sloppy," Herbert condemned himself as he averted his eyes away for a moment.
"Hmph, figures. Olympus was always corrupt!" Olem growled.
"Wonder that you didn't stay with the Redeemer then," Herbert challenged Olem.
"Don't you dare mention that name!"
"Yeh well it's all in the past now. Not a lot we can do about it now. Why are you here anyway?" Herbert changed the subject quickly but also he was curious as to the reason why.
"I've been tracking down a group of rogue military black ops across the Middle East right the way back across Eastern Europe. During my last fight with them, I found a link to Olympus," Olem explained as he pulled out the Olympus business card.
"Yeh….that'll quite explain it. I think I get what part they had to play in all this," Herbert said as he saw the little white card.
"So how do we do this?" Olem asked as he turned his attention towards the guard.
Herbert pulled back his hand as both he and the guard were both fully healed. The guard began to look around at the pair, fear burned in his eyes. Herbert powered up some energy around his hand before he clobbered the soldier in the face, knocking him out.
"Like that," Herbert triumphantly smiled at Olem, letting the Plague Doctor know he wasn't in the mood for any of the usual shit.
"Wow. Didn't expect you to have that much of a backbone," Olem mocked, "I was half expecting you to give me a moral lecture."
"The lecture will have to wait I'm afraid, right now we need to work together to bring these guys down."
"Got it," Olem said as he drew his other 9mm pistol and cocked it.
"Olem," Herbert began, "I know you may find this difficult but we're doing this my way. Understand?" Herbert's tone was strong and authoritative, he certainly had had enough of the bullshit the world kept spoon feeding him. It was time he stood up for himself and for what he believed to be right, he was the leader of Olympus after all.
Olem just grunted as if to concede the point. He'd go along with Herbert's plan for now but he had every intention of resorting to his own methods should he feel the situation call for it. The two walked off down the corridor and headed towards the labs.
"I don't care if he might be unstable! That fucking boy scout is tearing through this whole facility! He may be a fucking pussy in most cases but he's still the strongest super out there when he wants to be! And right now, he fucking wants to be!" Rhodes roared at the scientists as he frantically waved his gun in their faces, getting them to activate the big red monster in the tank.
The scientists did as they were told. Rhodes seemed to be losing it and they were truly uncertain if he was or wasn't going to kill them. One went over to the monitor in front of the tank and scanned over the creatures vitals. Another went to the computer at the desk and began to type in a sequence code to activate the tank.
Suddenly, the lab doors burst open with a loud metal, squeaking noise that cut through the air. Herbert and Olem strode confidently down the aisle between the row of tables filled with equipment. Both sets of eyes were drawn to the tank and its occupant.
"Ah you brought the Plague Doctor as well," Rhodes mocked Herbert, "you have most certainly been a royal pain in my ass dear Doctor."
"Rhodes, I'm here to put an end to all this," Herbert acclaimed.
"Oh really? Well I'm afraid that doesn't quite match up with my plans Mega Man sir," Rhodes continued to mock Herbert as his own air of confidence grew.
"I'm gonna make you pay for all that you and the rest of you bastards have done to the people of this world!" Olem sneered at Rhodes.
"Oh there's no need to be so violent Mr. Tamas, sorry, it's Sergeant Tamas isn't it?" Rhodes' tone was very sarcastic and derisive, "I see you've kept up your hunting skills. You single-handedly destroyed our entire operations outside of Britain."
"And I'd do it all again in a heartbeat if I had to!" Olem growled, his anger swelling inside him.
"Oh and there it is, the anger, the drive, the desire to kill. You fought us because you saw us as monsters but you yourself are just as much a monster if not more so. Why I've even seen your Olympus file. All those naughty little deeds you performed whilst at university," a sickening grin spread across Rhodes' face.
"It takes a monster to kill a monster," Olem asserted.
"Does it now? Well in that case, it's a good job I've got a monster of my own," Rhodes said as he stepped back to the side allowing the being in the tank to take centre stage.
The scientist had finished the release sequence. The fluid from the tank began to drain away. The creature's eyes shot open, a hellish black, no life in them, only a void. The creature began to toss and turn frantically as it ripped up the chains that were tying it down. It pulled the mask off of its face to reveal two rows of sharp, stained yellowy brown fangs that bulged out of its mouth. Its nose was just two slits in the middle of its face. The creature growled at Herbert and Olem as its eyes made contact with them. It leapt at the glass and shattered it, landing with a tremendous thud as its feet smacked down on the ground. Shards of glass were littered everywhere. The creature arched forward as it let out a deafening roar before it reared itself up to reveal its full height and width. A giant hulking menace indeed.
"Erm Herbert……..?"
"Yeh…….?"
"Whadda we do……….?"
"We gotta take that thing out."