Radioactive
Chapter Eighteen
~Bring it
Together~
Ing ran down
an alley with a mutant close on his tail. He used his segmented arms to propel
him forward just out of reach of the raging mutant. The mutant snakelike in
nature and could keep up with the young android. Ing swung and jumped out of
reach with a carefree attitude. He reached the end of the alley and stood
there. Ing crouched down and covered his ears with his hands. The mutant crept
closer, ready to deliver its final attack. It screamed its victory before its cry
was cut short suddenly by a loud gunshot.
The creature
fell into a heap on ground just behind Ing. Fang walked out of the shadows in
the alley toward Ing with the gun in his hand. He barely looked down at the
creature as he walked passed it and holstered his gun. Fang knelt down by Ing
and picked him up.
“I’ve always
hated how they scream,” Fang stated as he walked out with Ing.
“I just turn
down the excessive noise so that it is more bearable,” Ing said with his arms
wrapped around Fang.
Fang looked
at him, “We humans can’t do that.”
“Oh,” Ing
said, “That is unfortunate.”
Fang suddenly
crouched down in the shadows of the alley. Ing kept still and quiet as he
waited. Above them, five creatures jumped the gap between buildings to the
other side. Fang and Ing were unnoticed. Ing was about to say something but
Fang placed a hand over Ing’s mouth. Just a few moment later, another mutant
jumped over the gap.
“Their
organized,” Fang stated, “They even have a sweeper to check for any
stragglers.” Fang looked back down at Ing, “Where are the others?”
Ing scanned
the area, “The others are scattered in the area. The group of mutants are
headed toward Riu and Duke are. We are only a few streets over from their
current location.”
“Let’s go,”
Fang stood up. He changed into his wolf form, “Hurry up.”
Ing jumped
onto Fang’s back. Fang ran off down the alleyway. He took off through the
streets following Ing instruction. The group had been broken apart as they
tried to restore order to the chaos that was unraveling before them. In the
mess of the scene the group of seven lost track of each other and were only
just finding each other now. Fang seemed to fly above the ground. His speed was
so fast that it didn’t seem like his paws were touching the ground at all. Ing
held on to Fang tightly as to not lose his grip and fly off of Fang’s back.
Fang jumped
up and climbed up a fire escape. He reached the roof and leaped from one
building to the next. Fang slit to a stop to look over the edge of the
building. Riu and Duke were down in the street below taking care of any enemies
that charged at them.
Duke was
brutal with his large broadsword. The ground quaked every time he smashed the
blade into the ground. Large crevasses appeared suddenly causing the attacking
mutants to fall into them. With a motion from Duke, the ground closed up again
leaving only a small scar where the crevasse used to be. Riu spun around, the
blades in her hair, cutting at any mutant that got to close. Electricity flowed
through her hair as well, shooting out at nearby mutants and electrocuting
those who were cut. She stabbed at mutants with the daggers in her hands
including the ones she threw.
The six
mutants that Fang and Ing had found lay dead around the deadly duo. Lightning
from the sky and earth shakes from the ground kept their attackers at bay. A winged
mutant flew in over the buildings and dived onto Duke and Riu. Ing jumped over
Fang’s back and jumped onto the mutants back. The mutant fell to the ground
because of the added weight. It crashed into a row of crowd of mutants clearing
the area.
“Hey there,
kid! Where’d you come in from?” Riu looked over her shoulder.
Ing stood up
and dusted himself off, “Hey! I came from up there with Fang.”
Fang jumped
down in his wolf form. He walked over to the others and looked around briefly, looking
for any other mutants nearby. Duke looked propped his sword on his shoulder.
“Where do you
think the others are?” Duke asked.
“Who cares,”
Riu snapped, “We have enough to worry about right now than where the smug-apartment-breaker
is.”
“We’re
stronger together,” Fang stated. He looked over at Ing, “Who’s closest to our
current location?”
Ing closed
his eyes and scanned the area, “The closest one is Jekyll.” Ing pointed in the
direction.
“The creepy
doctor?” Riu made a face, “He creeps me out…”
“As long as
you don’t pull a weapon on him, you should be fine,” Fang stalked off into the
direction Ing pointed. He looked over his shoulder, “Let’s go!”
“Okie dokie!”
Ing ran after Fang.
“Right behind
you,” Duke said as he walked after them.
Riu groaned
and followed the others, keeping an eye on their flank. Her complaints were
just loud enough to get on the other’s nerves.
Jekyll stood
over the bodies of about two dozen dead mutants. He sighed out of boredom and
tugged on the rim of his hat. Fighting these creatures was getting more and
more predictable making fighting them rather boring. They had no strategy and not
enough brawn. Over all they just went down to easily. Jekyll fitted on his
gloves. He stopped momentary. He looked over his shoulder as if he sensed
something. Thinking it was nothing; he turned back around and started walking
down one of the alley ways.
He turned
around suddenly and threw a surgical scalpel. It struck something unseen to the
eye. It screamed and dropped its cloak with a scalpel in its throat. It fell to
the ground, jerked, and died. Again, Jekyll sighed.
“That was a
better effort,” Jekyll stated, “but still not good enough.”
He heard
sounds of fighting near his location and decided to check it out. Jekyll walked
toward the noise down the alley. He came out into a small street and ran into
Kiri. She ran past him as she fired a handgun at some mutants that chased after
her. Jekyll assisted and took down three of the mutants that chased her. Kiri
shot down two with accuracy rivaling only Jekyll’s.
Kiri looked
over at her help, “Jekyll, it’s good to someone.”
“You’re all
alone?” Jekyll asked, “Did Kaiba ditch you?”
“We got
separated when one of the mutants attacked,” Kiri explained, “I am closing in
on his position now.”
“I guess I have
nothing better to do,” Jekyll shrugged, “Saving Kaiba will at least allow me
bragging points.”
Kiri rolled
her eyes, “Let’s go!”
“Lead the
way,” Jekyll smiled.
They ran down
the street and turned around a corner. The street was empty but Kiri slowed
down. Kiri stopped and looked around curiously.
“That makes no
sense,” she said.
“What did he
just disappear?” Jekyll asked.
“My scans read
that he is moving faster that he can even run which isn’t possible,” Kiri
reported.
Jekyll looked
up, “Unless he’s had a little help.”
Kiri turned
toward Jekyll, “But why would—”
Kaiba crashed
into the ground and an angle as if he had been thrown. He came to a rest,
sliding on his back. Kiri ran over to him but he shooed her away, getting to
his feet on his own. He was more or less in one piece. A loud roar got their
attention. An enormous mutant towered at the end of the street. It bellowed
before charging down the street.
“It runs in a
straight line!” Kaiba told the others, “Jump to one side!”
The three
Fixers scattered as the mutant charged by. Jekyll threw three scalpels at the
creatures back but the attack was useless. The sharp weapons didn’t have any
effect.
Jekyll
smiled, “This will be fun!”
“It hasn’t
been so far!” Kaiba called back.
“That’s
because you didn’t have me!” Jekyll charged forward.
Kiri ran
alongside him, “He seems to have a hard exterior. Any projectiles will not have
an effect. I suggest keeping it busy while I try to scan for a weakness.”
“Leave it to
me,” Jekyll glanced over at her, “I’m sure Kaiba will help to when he’s
finished licking his wounds.”
“I heard
that!” Kaiba shouted.
Jekyll
sighed, “You were meant to.”
Kiri fell
back and Jekyll and Kaiba charged at the massive mutant. A long blade jetted
out from Kaiba’s wrist as he tried to attack the mutant while its back was
still turned. The creature turned suddenly knocking both men to one side. Kaiba
flew into a wall while Jekyll that thrown through a glass shop window. Jekyll
winced as a shard of glass cut him on his left side. Kaiba got to his feet just
as the creature bellowed. Kiri took that time to jump onto its back and balance
herself on its shoulders. She pulled a shot gun from a compartment in her back
and fired it at the back of the creature’s head.
The mutant
cried with more annoyance than pain, reached up with its massive arms, grabbed
her and threw her into the ground like a rag doll. Kaiba looked behind him
through the broken window. Jekyll was on his feet and pulled the glass shard
out of his side. He held the bloodied glass shard in his hand playfully. Jekyll
started laughing hysterically.
He stopped
just as suddenly as he started. His hat was tossed aside. He looked at the creature
with a cold hearted stare, “You made me bleed. I’ll make sure you live to
regret that!”
The glass
shards on the floor rose with a strange eerie red tint. The creature bellowed
in response as it prepared to charge again. Jekyll smiled and raised a single
hand. With a cold crazed stare snapped his finger. The glass shards shot forward,
striking the mutant at full force. The mutants charge was stopped as it tried
to cover its face from the glass. The glass didn’t stop after one pass. They circled
the mutant cutting it repeatedly.
Kaiba ran
forward. He cut at the creatures legs, weakening it so that it was forced to
its knees. Kaiba quickly changed direction and cut in an upward slash along the
creature’s chest throwing the creature to one side. The mutant maintained its balance
by putting its weight on one arm. Kaiba jumped onto its back and grabbed the
creatures head. The blade emerged from his other wrist and he brought down his
arm and slit the creature’s throat. The creature bucked and fell to the ground
lifeless.
He got off
the creatures back and walked over to Kiri, “Kiri are you okay?”
“Checking for
any substantial damage,” Kiri paused and didn’t move as she checked her
systems, “Severe damage to right side. Unable to access weapon compartment in
right arm. Still have motion capabilities. No other substantial damage is
noted.” She raised her left arm for assistance.
Kaiba helped
her to her feet, “Can you still be of assistance?”
“We androids
are ambidextrous,” Kiri explained, “We may have a preference but using out
unfavored arm has no effect on our performance.”
“Good,” Kaiba
nodded. He turned around, “Jekyll, are you back?”
Jekyll picked
up his hat, “I’ve always been here. If you mean mentally, well, I’m here enough
to know not to gut you.” He looked at Kaiba, “I’d be careful though. You never
know when I might slip up.”
“Looks like
we’ve missed the fun!” Riu complained, her hands were on her hips in disappointment.
Fang shook
his head, “You were the one dragging your feet complaining about how we had to
find the others.”
Ing jumped
off of Fang’s back and ran over to Kiri. He looked at her damaged arm and
started to do some minor repairs and alterations; just enough to improve its
damaged appearance and maybe help her regain the use of her arm.
“What now?”
Duke asked.
Kaiba looked
down the street. Apparently they had an audience. A few mutants were watching their
titan fall. They were hoping to slip back into the sewers without being
noticed.
“I say we go
hunt this doctor,” Kaiba stated, “I’m getting tired of fighting his minions.”
“About
freaking time!” Fang muttered.
“Oh, heck no!”
Riu protested, “Do you know how expensive these kicks are!? There is no way you
will have me paradin’ around in no sewer!”
“Fine stay
here then,” Kaiba shrugged, “I could care less. Come on, everyone. Let’s get
this over with.”
