Broker

Chapter 82

Chunhua cut down another gnoll. The damn things were getting bigger. Those multicolored clouds would sprout back up now and then and change them into behemoths twice the size of their kin. Worse were the smart ones wearing bones and beads on strings. They were capable of using some kind of strange magic. She clicked her tongue as she kicked away another one of the bigger ones, sending it bounding back across the ground a few feet and raised her hand to her earpiece. Behind her, a small group of heroic-tier heroes had formed a wall, preventing the monsters from slipping past and into the city beyond the ruined battlefield.

“Euclidia, what’s the status on the east side?” She asked, one of Pathfinder’s bullets whizzing past her head and striking one of the caster gnolls between the eyes. She glanced over at him and nodded.

“Not great, Guildmaster Bluestar has a barrier up and is protecting all the injured I sent her way. She’s a real friggin trooper. They got the lions share of beasties though, like, a friggin’ army. Firestorm and Bandit are holding the line, and Handmaiden is fighting her way towards them,” Euclidia said.

“Can you get the injured further away? We could send Vytal, it’s not as bad over here,” Chunhua asked, her eyes turning towards the ongoing fight between Sapporo and An Set. Sapporo drove his palm towards the mad mythic only to get rebuffed by a pulse of yellow light. An Set’s movements looked jerky and static from here. She narrowed her eyes. What-

“...I’m sorry, I can’t,” Euclidia’s voice came back, sounding weary, “I’m almost done with building the bridge to LA. I’m giving it all I got as it is. You’re gonna have to pick me up after this. Gotta go.”

The connection cut and Chunhua frowned, Even Euclidia’s at her limits. She looked towards the warzone on the other side of the battle. Hang in there.

–

Bandit flew through the air, pulled along by his grappling hook. He accelerated towards another wall and landed, affixing himself with his powers before firing off another volley of shots. Not far away, Firestorm whipped out one hand and a thin ripple of white-hot flame ripped through the ranks of the Gnolls, cutting them in half. One of the big ones charged at him and he snarled, firing a quick series of shots straight into its eyes. It gurgled and fell only for four of the small ones to climb over it and charge at him, spears raised over their heads.

He growled, about to dart to the right when the concrete rumbled and shot into the air, forming a makeshift wall in his path. Shit, he cursed and spotted the caster-gnoll standing at the back, a wicked sneer on its dog-like face. The spears drew closer and he lowered his head, “Inky!” He barked, “Smash ‘em up!”

From within his cloak a tendril of liquid black ink rushed into the air and took the shape of an oversized arm with a puffy white glove. In its hand was a mallet made out of the same inky black material. It brought the weapon down on the four incoming attackers with an exaggerated ‘bonk’ sound effect, leaving nothing but greasy red smears and gore in its wake. The hand and mace turned into a circular head with white eyes and a too-wide deranged smile. It brought a hand to its lips and snickered as Bandit caught his breath, glaring at the confused caster. He conjured up an arrow and tossed it to the monster.

Inky caught the arrow in its mouth and chewed, crunching noisily before letting out a delighted snicker and returning to Bandit’s cloak.

He drew another arrow and it snapped out, plunging into the casters throat as it began a new chant. He shook his head and jumped up, climbing the wall it had created to block him before crouching down on it, scoping the area. Everything fucking hurt and he hated having to resort to calling Inky out. The monster wasn’t exactly well behaved and only stuck around because it liked the taste of Bandit’s arrows. The fact that it had somehow followed him out of the madhouse dungeon had been more than a little troubling. Still, he was a big help when he wanted to be.

He spotted Firestorm as his friend turned into a whirlwind of flames, the raging funnel of flame stretching up towards the sky as it marched its way across the gnolls. The small ones were drawn up into it, their bodies turning to ash while the big ones pulled away, giving the casters a chance to pelt it with various elemental-like spells. Stones, jets of water, tiny jolts of lightning, a tumult hurtled towards Firestorm as he dominated the battlefield. Bandit swallowed, he had never seen his comrade push himself so hard before. He hadn’t even seen some of these moves.

Don’t let him outdo you, he reminded himself with a grin and drew his bowstring back, concentrating. Blackness swirled into the projectile that formed, condensing and increasing in mass. He felt his muscles scream at the rising weight of the arrow, the head turning into a saw-like barb and oozing with deadly promise. He pursed his lips and focused on the biggest clump of them. He released the arrow and it burst forth, racing across the distance before scattering into dozens of vicious arrows that pelted the battlefield, killing in droves and spreading clouds of miasma where they struck.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

He whipped his head in the direction of the sudden nearing tumult. A big gnoll went flying past him, crashing into a wall and missing him by a hair. He blinked, startled. “Uh…”

At the other end of the gnolls trajectory, close enough to see her smiling at him, was Handmaiden with her fist raised and a cut on her cheek closing fast as the eye could see. She stood up straight, her maid-cosplay covered in blood, her gauntlets soaked, her chest heaving, but her head held high.

He raised a tired fist, “Glad you could join us!” He shouted.

Nearby, the blazing tornado that was Firestorm ceased somewhere over Handmaiden. Bandit grinned at him only to frown when the guy just dropped. Handmaiden caught him in one arm before looking up at Bandit. The remaining army of gnolls just stood there, dumbstruck by her entrance. She hefted Firestorm and tossed him towards Bandit. Bandit blinked, “Shit! You crazy-” He shouted and spread his hands out, the dark stuff that made up his arrows turning into a shortly lived net that caught his friend. He slid forward and Firestorm landed in his arms, Bandit quickly checked him.

Still breathing, you monstrous bastard, Bandit thought with a laugh before sending Handmaiden a nod of thanks. He kicked off the ground and made his way back towards the dome of the barrier. 

ROOAAAWWRRRR!

A savage roar drowned out all other sound, the bloodlust in it enough to lock Bandit’s muscles in place. He tripped and slid across the ground, finding just enough wherewithal to wrap himself around the unconscious Firestorm as he skipped across dirt and concrete before slamming into the surface of Bluestar’s barrier. He coughed and tried to sit up, checking again on Firestorm before looking for the source. “What the hell was-”

BOOM!

A golden streak flashed from the center of the battlefield. A ring of smooth stone tried to take shape in front of it but crumbled before it could fully form. The streak lanced across his vision before crashing into the ruins of a nearby building, part of the concrete and rebar bending inward before collapsing on whatever had fallen there. He blinked, uncomprehending for a moment before he looked over at where the streak had come from. An Set stood there, alone, uncontested, his body twitching and jerking as the serpent above swam even more wildly in the clouds.

He tore his wide eyes from An Set to Handmaiden who was also looking at the mad mythic. Her chest rose and fell a few more times before she closed her eyes and looked over at Bandit. She met his eyes.

Fucking hell, he groaned inwardly. He closed his eyes tightly before nodding, Get out of here, damn it.

Handmaiden didn’t need anything else, she changed direction and like a meteor, blasted through the thickest portion of gnolls she could find, streaks of white light streaming off of her body. He smiled at her back; That was nice of her, he thought ruefully and leaned against the barrier. He glanced over his shoulder at those inside. Bluestar was hanging in there, her eyes shut tightly as she squeezed every ounce of power out into her barrier. The occasional spears and spells that made it past Firestorm and Bandit had started to take their toll. 

Next to her, Lifesaver leaned against a broken pillar, spent.

He looked back as the Gnolls recovered from the shock of An Sets shout and Handmaiden’s departure. Just another hundred or so left, no big deal, he thought as they began charging. He shifted his weight and tried to pull up his bow. His muscles didn’t like that. “Alright,” He grunted, “Inky, gonna need your help bud, I’ll have to pay you back later.”

Ink began to spread out beneath him just as a hand clasped his shoulder. He jolted and looked up to see Firestorm getting to his feet, a frown on his face and flames literally dancing on his skin. He pat Bandit’s shoulder and shot him a grin, “I got this, man,” He said and started walking, his skin glowing brighter and brighter. Bandit recovered from the surprise a moment later, his eyes fixed on Firestorm's back, and the cracks beginning to spread across his skin. He tried to get up, tried to move, but his muscles just wouldn’t listen.

“NICK!” He forced out, “DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!”

–

Marta threw herself forward, she was like a comet. She blast her way through the few remaining ranks of gnolls. The sheer force of her body impacting them enough to pulverize bone and send them flying like bowling pins. Her attention was on only one target. An Set stood at the center of the battlefield, twitching and writhing in some kind of fit. Behind her she felt a sudden flare of intense heat that even scorched her skin at this distance. She didn’t look back, she couldn’t, but she had a feeling she knew what had just happened.

A tear strayed down her cheek, her heart cracking just a little.

This is the tragedy she has been trying so hard to prevent, she reminded herself as she ran, her eyes fixed on the twitching man ahead of her. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest only to immediately heal, her strength building and building as muscle fibers tore and rebuilt over and over. They tried to revert to her natural state, tried to resist growing denser, her body wouldn’t let her work out in a normal way. Here though, pushing herself to her absolute limits, she felt her power finally starting to grow.

She grit her teeth against the pain.

I won’t let it happen, I won’t let it all fall apart. This won’t be the end, this will be remembered as proof. She swore, I’ll make sure people can look back on today and learn from it.

An Set met her gaze, the twitching of his body easing. He cracked a grin at her.

All I have to do is beat you.

The storm above her rumbled and the serpent coiled again, eager for a new opponent. She barely heard her radio crackle in her ear. Amos said something about mana levels dropping. An Set turned fully to face her and spread his arms open as if welcoming her. White streaks continued to build on her skin, she moved faster and faster as she slowly forced her arm back into her signature blitz punch posture. Everyone will blame her, no one will forgive her, she reminded herself, No one will know, The tears kept coming, She opened her mouth in a scream.

BUT I WILL! 

In an instant she was in front of him and that sneer of his turned into a wide eyed look of shock.

I’LL FORGIVE EVERYTHING!

Her entire body, coated in brilliant light, crashed into the mad mythic with titanic force. She drove her fist into his head. His body twitched and jolted, electricity trying to spread to her, his flesh trying to go incorporeal. She wouldn’t allow it. She felt the cruch of cartilage beneath her fist as his head twisted to the side and he hurtled away towards the west side. She kicked off the ground again, vanishing and leaving a crater behind her. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks as she reappeared in front of him, passing a startled Black Lotus. She grabbed An Set and kicked him under the jaw, sending him into the sky.

EVERY CRIME!

She launched herself and drove a fist into his gut.

EVERY LIFE!

She pinwheeled in the air and kicked him in the side, shooting him off like a rocket towards the center of the battlefield. He hit the ground and scrambled to his feet, drawing his fists up and catching himself as she launched herself towards him. Every ounce of her strength, every memory, every emotion she could bring to bear, she threw it at him. Even if it took everything she had, she would stop him then and there. 

EVEN IF THE WORLD HATES HER! I WON’T!

–

Chunhua watched the brilliant comet that was Handmaiden fall from the sky and crash into An Set. The two punched one another, electricity lancing through Handmaiden’s body in a visible stream of crackles and sparks. The woman only swayed before coming back and landing a haymaker against his face. Above, the serpent recoiled, shrieking and writhing. Chunhua glanced to her left at the scorched ground where the passing duo had left devastation in their wake. Half of the remaining gnolls simply vaporized by their passing. The rest had begun to flee as a heavy archway formed behind her.

She felt something clench in her gut as another feeling welled in her chest.

Pride.

Whatever realization Handmaiden had come to, she’d embraced what it meant to have whatever power she had. She had become one with it. It was her first time, though, and Chunhua didn’t know how long it would last. Even so, it was breathtaking. The very air seemed charged with positivity. She felt stronger, ready to give anything to stop this chaos.

Her troubled scowl curled into a grin and she squeezed the hilt of her weapon tight. 

“Euclidia?”

“LA Heroes coming, Sapp’s fine, but he’s gonna need treatment,” Euclidia wheezed into the connection, “Is that Handmaiden?”

Chunhua smiled, “Yeah, and I’m gonna go join her. Time to pick up where we left off.”

“Kick some ass, leader.”

–

On the other side of the battlefield, Bandit leaned against the blue barrier. He gaped at the vast devastation ahead of him. A near perfect cone of destruction stretched out ahead of him. The ground rippled with waves of heat, stone glowed molten. His eyes barely processed it as he looked down at the pair of boots standing at its apex, and the pile of ashes surrounding it.

He covered his face and bit his lip, “Damn it.”