[REND] 19.1 - Blonde and Dangerous

Amber Deen Leska “Did, um, my best friend say anything?” Amber Deen Leska asked Myra, taking care not to mention Erind’s name. They didn’t k

Amber Deen Leska

“Did, um, my best friend say anything?” Amber Deen Leska asked Myra, taking care not to mention Erind’s name. They didn’t know if someone else could be listening in on them. It happened once; it could happen again.

It had been a few minutes since they messaged Erind to set off the bomb at Eve, and Deen couldn’t stop the anxiety from eating her heart. What if the trigger failed? It was probably better if it did—an explosion at the parking lot would attract the guards of the club, and they might catch Erind if she were too close. Deen didn’t trust her weak-hearted best friend to keep herself safe.

But if the button didn’t work, Erind might sneak to the car and try to fix the bomb. Would she do that? Deen just knew Erind would get herself into trouble!

“It’s done,” Myra said. “She just texted me. She’s probably far from Eve by now. I told you not to worry about her. It was just a simple task.”

“I-I know,” Deen said, looking away. She wished for a button to stop her overthinking.

Erind was fine—she had mentioned she’d be busy after her role at Eve. Something about meeting her cousin. Deen was sure that Erind was worried about her too. Likewise, Deen should be more worried about herself. She was the one in the middle of the enemy base.

Concentrate on the here and now, Deen scolded herself.

But she couldn’t help it. She knew why her mind was racing in random directions—she was distracting herself from the dead body to their side. They had rearranged some of the boxes to make a border, segregating the corpse and stopping the blood from oozing all over the floor.

It turned out that Deen had crushed the man’s skull, explaining all the blood. Her mind had deleted the memory of what she had done. Some hazy bits returned when Everett bragged about what happened to Reo. Myra was also unnervingly cheerful, congratulating Deen for such a horrid act. 

It’s my first kill, Deen thought.

The realization hadn’t sunk in yet because part of her was numbed by the shock, though around half an hour had already passed. The rest of her refused to think about it, even as the dried blood on her mask taunted her with a faint iron stench.

The man was an Adumbrae. He worked for the 2Ms. The enemy! If she didn’t kill him, he would’ve done something to endanger them. Maybe he would’ve caused the truck to crash. Gabe’s warning was proof of that. She shouldn’t feel bad about what happened… about what she did.

But the guilt wasn’t the issue. It was the act of killing itself.

Would she need to kill more people? It might be unavoidable since the fighting would start soon.

If it’s for my safety, so be it. That extended to Erind, too. Deen surprised herself that she was ready to make Ramello’s uncle… disappear… to keep Erind safe. She didn’t have any problems thinking that way, right? She shouldn’t lump all killings as the same. Minimize killing people. Isolate only to what was necessary.

The walkie-talkie crackled with Dario’s voice. “Booster up.”

“What’s happening out there, Blank?” Everett asked as Myra unzipped their bag and took out the supplies from the Professor.

“This truck is supposed to go into a big warehouse near the water,” Dario explained. “The workers were signing at us. Instead, Reo went a different way, to a line of smaller warehouses to the side. We’ll see if there’s an open one to enter. A few workers are coming over to check.”

“They don’t fucking suspect a thing,” Reo chimed in.

“Ambriel?” Dario asked.

“We’re safe so far,” Deen said. She was bothered that Gabe was silent. Shouldn’t her Guardian Angel continually give them instructions?

“Nice,” Myra said, holding up a syringe. “Divide them while maintaining the element of surprise.” Then she stabbed the massive needle into her neck.

Deen gasped, covering her mouth. Was she expected to also do the same? It’d be painful, but she should be able to handle it.

Myra grinned at her, breathing through clenched teeth. She slowly pushed the plunger, injecting a glowing orange liquid into her body.

“There’s some science-sounding name for the chemical,” Everett said. “But we just call it ‘booster’. It buffs all superhuman aspects of our body.”

“Buff?” Deen asked.  

“Ah, sorry. I was talking like it’s some computer game. Enhance is the word. We get physically stronger, heal even faster, and become a lot tougher. Way tougher. Smaller caliber bullets will just tickle us. Awesome, right?”

As Everett explained things, Myra’s veins glowed beneath her skin, radiating from the point in her neck where she had injected the booster. As the chemical reached Myra’s chest, her Core shone so brightly that it was evident even under her jacket. She shook her body as the light faded. “The rush! I just fucking love it!”

“I’m next,” Everett said, taking out the next syringe.

Deen noticed that there was one more in the bag. A spare? Or was that… for her? Dario and Reo should have one each. Deen recalled a conversation that this booster liquid was so precious that they rarely got it from the Professor, which meant that the last syringe wasn’t a spare. Dario had planned for Deen to join the attack on the docks, and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. That was par for the course for Dario at this point. Fortunately, Deen never got to find out what he’d do if she had refused.

“The booster doesn’t just help the physical aspect,” Myra said, taking the last syringe and giving it to Deen. It seemed that she had noticed that Deen was staring at it and correctly guessed what she was thinking. “In my case, I can absorb materials so much faster. I can also make all sorts of shapes and control them. Not just make armor. Like, the last time I was boosted, I made additional arms that could punch and grab stuff, too. It’s great! I’ll try making tentacles later, though Reo might have something to say about that.”

“As for me, I got more bang for my buck,” Everett said as he injected himself. “Bang for my food, I guess. More firepower per calorie because I don’t get hungry as fast despite using more of my power. It’s nothing flashy, but I’m going to burn a whole lot of people later.”

“Only the bad guys,” Deen whispered, looking at the syringe that she held.

“What?” Everett asked.

“Burn only the enemies,” Deen said. “There might be people here who are innocent. They just work at the docks with no idea of what’s actually going on.”  

“Uh, yeah.” Everett weakly chuckled as he glanced at Myra. “That’s what I mean, of course. Burn only the guys trying to kill us. I don’t harm innocents.”

“It’s your turn, Deen,” Myra said.

Deen took a deep breath and held it as she stabbed the syringe into her neck. It was less painful than she expected, even if the needle sank more than an inch into her skin. What a tough needle. Pressing the plunger, she felt a warmness coating her neck. This warmth spread throughout her body, as if she had drunk hot coffee while being out in the cold for too long. It was very comforting.

Once the booster reached her Core, she felt a surge of power. Her heart beat faster as her limbs tingled. She wanted to dance, to wiggle her body, and spend the excess energy. Her golden glow died down after a few seconds, and that was it. She slowly turned to Gabe.

Her Guardian Angel had slightly changed in appearance.

It was around thirty percent bigger and less ball-shaped. The bird-like features were more prominent, with its wings becoming longer, spreading to the sides as they flapped. It soundlessly clicked its beak, staring at her with its dark eyes. It was faint, but golden strings emerged from the jewels on Gabe’s body and connected to hers.

Deen didn’t know what had improved with her power, but she began to feel safer. The knotted muscles in her back relaxed. This booster was supposed to last for half an hour, according to Dario, during their planning. They should be fleeing by the time it’d run out.

“How do you feel, Ambriel?” Everett asked.

“Um, sort of stronger.”

“More power to smash more heads!” Myra said, cackling. “Our training’s paying off.”

“Yeah…” Deen pursed her lips, glancing at the boxes hiding the man she had killed.

“Anything different with your invisible buddy?” Everett quickly asked, perhaps noticing Deen’s discomfort.

“Slight changes,” Deen said. “It’s bigger, for one. I don’t know what it does now.”

“We’ll eventually know,” Everett said. “I hope you can look further into the future to keep us safer. I’m just going to say thank you for accompanying us on this mission.”

“Can the lines, lover boy,” Myra said. “The truck’s slowing down. Reo had probably found a parking spot. We might be in for a fight soon.”

Deen doubted that because the improved Gabe wasn’t saying anything. She hoped it’d start giving instructions soon.

Everett rummaged through the bag, taking out grenades to tuck into his belt. He also fixed an item that looked like a brass knuckle but with electroshock implements on his fist. Deen had a huge taser, a stun baton, and a couple of EMP grenades, too. The Adumbrae and the augmented guards were their main concern; in their boosted state, they didn’t care much for regular humans with guns.

“This is going to be so much fun!” Myra said, pressing her hand on the floor. Metal creaked and crunched as parts of the truck shriveled, dissolving and going up her arm.

“We’ve come to a stop,” Dario said through the walkie-talkie. “We’re around a hundred, a hundred and twentyish meters from the big warehouse. I suspect that’s where our target items are.”

“What’s the plan?” Myra asked. “We’re ready for some action back here.” Metal wrapped her body and made her bigger. It was becoming cramped.

“Workers are coming,” replied Dario. “Normal people most likely. Reo and I will deal with them. Prepare for the headache.”

“Copy that.”

Deen felt the truck bounce a bit. Reo and Dario must’ve gotten off. She couldn’t hear anything that was going on outside. Gabe remained silent. What if the booster broke her Guardian Angel? What if it worked differently now? It sounded crazy, but she was starting to pray for danger so she’d know that Gabe was still working.

“Deen, I know you’re scared,” Everett gently said. He hesitantly reached out for her hand by her side. When she didn’t pull away, he patted her hand. “There’s no need to worry. Eh, I guess you’ll worry—we’re getting into a fight, after all. But we’re juiced up as hell! We can handle them, no problem.”

“If they have a Tier Three, it’d be dicey,” Myra said. “A Tier Four would be an instant abort mission.”

“Come on, Merge. I was trying to calm down Ambriel. There’s no way they have a damned Tier Four! They won’t need all these guards if they did.”

“Yeah, yeah. I bet the strongest asshole they got is a high Tier Two.”

Deen nodded with a determined face. With Gabe by her side, she might be able to defeat a Tier Two, an Adumbrae that was strong enough that a ComExo needed to be called. The Adumbrae Threat Tier levels were based on the response needed. Tier Threes would require BID special agents to handle, while Tier Fours could bend reality such that bullets couldn’t even shoot straight—those would need reality stabilizers… or the help of Corebrings.

“Listen,” Myra said, raising a chunky metal finger. Her voice became muffled as a helmet encased her head.

There was shouting outside. The jig was up; the workers knew something was wrong. A warning came from Gabe, and Deen braced for the headache field while praying in gratitude to the Mother Core that her power still worked. After Dario’s power stopped, there came a knock on the door.

“All right, kids,” Reo shouted. “Time to drop you off.”

Myra burst through the door, almost hitting Reo. She laughed as he cussed her. Everett helped Deen get down from the truck, though there was no need. Deen looked around. They were inside a cramped warehouse. Boxes stacked high on both sides. Four men were sprawled on the ground. They were wearing overalls. Dock workers.

“They’re just knocked out,” Dario said, controlling a tiny drone to fly outside the warehouse and scout the area. Both he and Reo wore face masks.

“What about the truck driver?” Deen asked.

“Huh?” Dario looked up from his controller. “Oh… We have him sedated,” he said in a tone that Deen didn’t buy.

The radio of one of the workers buzzed with a rough voice. The man on the other side was asking for an update.

“If they don’t respond soon, the guards will come.” Dario pointed at the oldest of the workers. “Oberon, get this guy.” 

“On it!” Reo was already kneeling on the floor with his hands extended. “Merge, go away! I’m doing my summoning here. Go absorb concrete or some shit.”

As Myra walked to the warehouse entrance to partially close the roll-up door, she left behind tiny holes as parts of the concrete floor joined her armor. Spikes grew out of her back, lengthening and wriggling. They were the tentacles she wanted to make.

“Takeover’s already out?” Deen was surprised to see Takeover flutter past her. It looked older, sporting jewelry and a staff. It had been just a few seconds since Reo started chanting, and he was already standing. “Is that the effect of the booster?”

“That and less energy required to fuel the abilities of my beloved subjects.” Reo stood up and dusted his knees. “They’re also stronger.”

Takeover entered the mouth of the dock worker that Dario was pointing at. The worker sat up and replied to his radio, muttering about an unexpected damage to the truck. Reo was chuckling to the side.  

“Everyone except Merge,” Dario said, “pick a worker closest to your size and get his uniform. We’re going out right after.”

A minute later, they snuck out of the warehouse while wearing the workers’ uniforms. Myra stayed behind to fight the guards who were coming to check what was wrong. She’d join them at the main warehouse afterward.

“I’m going to cream the fuckers who’d come here!” Myra had gleefully declared, banging her metal chest with concrete fists.

Dario had separated to plant bombs and spread more confusion. He’d then head to the ship and plant the tracker. Everett, Reo, and Deen reached the side of the large warehouse without getting detected, thanks to Gabe. Deen couldn’t explain it, but Gabe’s instructions were more understandable this time.

“What now?” Reo asked.

“We wait for shit to start,” Everett replied.