Hellions Unlimited 9

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Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by Armando "Army" Rosewell on Jan 22, 2007, 7:54am

Hellions #9
Flash Fire

Cover Description: A top-down view of Wildfire lying on a metallic floor, beaten. One eyes is swollen shut, and there are various bruises all over her body. She has a vacant, lifeless stare, looking almost…dead.

These events take place right before Hellions mission 4

~*~

I've been sedated enough times to know when it's happen to me.

I come out my sleep in a groggy haze and immediately notice the differences; a cold, metal floor replaces my soft bed, air conditioning breezes over my skin where covers should be protecting me. I was moved in my sleep, and I immediately start forming possibilities.

HYDRA could've retaken me…no, there's no reason for them to go to that much trouble. I don't know anything vital, and I've already proven my powers to be more volatile than they're capable of handling. If HYDRA captured me, I would never wake up.

There's the possibility of Shinobi trying something, but it's doubtful he could be so subtle - at least not on his own. He might've heard my conversation, figured to incapacitate me while I was asleep…but it's doubtful he'd try something like that. It would require some measure of courage.

With his possibility exhausted, I run a list of suspect as I stand up, and the entire time I'm wondering why I'm not bound in some way. No sort of restraints, not even as rudimentary as handcuffs. When I open my eyes, I see the reason why.

I'm in a spacious room with gray walls, not unlike the Battle Room. Wires lined the walls, woven into the framework, and there only three noteworthy objects in the entire space: Me, a dark corridor leading out that I assume is the exit, and the woman standing in front of that exist, smiling at me.

The first thing that strikes me is her height. Over six feet tall, easily, and with the muscles to accompany such a form. She's wearing what looks to be sort of red and black motorcyclist affair, but I can see the curve of her muscles through in. A network of power within.

The second thing that strikes me is descent, Latin America. She has the tint, the overall flair, a rebellious look in the eyes, but a calm one. Like a tamed wolf getting ready to fight.

The third thing that strikes me is her voice. In a cool, collected manner, she speaks. "Wildfire, right? I know it's your codename, but I was never given anything else to call you by.

"Wildfire will suffice. Who-"

"You're confused. I understand that." The woman shrugs, not the least bit fazed. There's something about her, about that gentle smile that looks like it has no business on her, about the regal way she walks towards, as if she's savoring every step. "Allow me to explain the situation: My name is Carmen Rosewell. I am a geneticist. I've captured you along with the majority of your comrades, and am currently holding you all at Arcade's Murder World facility. I'd imagine your friends are awakening right about now, at which point Arcade will entertain them with his deathtraps."

I know Arcade and my eyes widen to show it; his involvement in this could be disastrous. "Who are you working for? Shinobi Shaw?" I'm already heating up as she draws near, knowing where this will lead to but waiting for it to be official.

"I work 'with' Shinobi Shaw, not 'for'. I don't think I could stand the latter, honestly. He's a spineless man, and I detest cowards." She seems to be a good judge of character, if nothing else. "However, working with him has allowed me to encounter rather unique mutants, such as yourself. Perfect for my experiments."

"Experiments?" Growing hotter.

She stops walking as soon as she steps within my heat field, giving me five feet or so of welcomed space. Her features drop from the momentary surprise, but she's back to her default smirk soon enough. "While I typically prefer some subtlety, I'll be blunt in your case: Win or lose, live or die, whatever remains of your friends after this encounter is mine. I prefer to work with live subjects, but corpses suit my purposes as well. For some, like Kelly, I will determine the exact extent of their powers by carefully prodding them over the course of a few weeks. For formidable but less scientifically interesting powersets, like say, Nicolette, I'll extract their DNA, test them for any secondary mutations, then discard."

"Discard?" Growing even hotter still. I move into an attacking position, ready to burn straight through her as soon as she's done giving me all the vital information. "You'll kill them."

She shrugs. "There have been a few cases where subjects have survived my tests, but, typically, yes, the subject dies during procedure. I don't have malice, Wildfire, but I will do what needs to be done in order to achieve results." She points my way, sticking her finger inside the field and pulling it out quickly. "For instance, I deliberately mentioned the names of the two people my studies have shown you to be most attached, too." I can't help but shake my head at the mention; it would seem Shaw shared his dirty footage. "Judging from this incredible heat aura you're exuding and the rather melodramatic pose you've taken, I assume you're ready to attack me at any moment. This is good. I've already learned everything about you that I need to know; your powers are far too unstable to be put into MGH form." She stands straight, arms at her side, fists clenched, looking ready for combat. "So, instead, I'm going to use you to determine the upper limits of my resistance to heat. You can begin whenever you're ready."

Durability? Then it's likely she has super strength, as well. She seems like a smart woman doing what should be a stupid thing, unless she's so confident in her power that she doesn't realize it…there's only one way to be sure if that confidence is founded.

"I'm warning you." I hold out my hands and generate a fireball in both of them, drawing more and more heat as my flame spreads through the wires beneath the floor, smoke seeping out through the tiles and melting them. "I have no desire to kill you, but if what you say is true, I will not stand to be delayed. Surrender. Now. Get out of my way, or I will go through you."

"Go through me, huh?" She laughs, short and harsh. "I don't think you understand who you're dealing with."

"Likewise." The fireballs reach white-hot intensity, swirling around my palms. "This is your final warning. Give up, or I'll use extreme measures."

"Show me."

I offered a surrender more for time's sake than anything; if I'm in a position to reach the others, I need to take it as soon as possible. But on the other hand, I must say…I think I'm going to enjoy killing this arrogant woman. "Very well."

I launch both fireballs at close range; she doesn't even have time to dodge as the slam into her, exploding in a fiery fit. I instinctively leap back, not knowing what to expect when the smoke clears, but even if she does have some measure of durability, it's doubtful that she could take such an attack at close range. The flames were intense, strong enough to melt through steel; at the very least, she incapacitated.

That's why I'm so surprised when she leaps out of the flames and comes down on me from above. Not even singed, as far as I can see.

I gather my composure quick enough to leap back as she comes slamming down, hammering her fist into the ground and sending shards of broken metal and melted wire all around. I launch three fireballs this time; she dodges one, takes two head-on, and emerges from the smoke a moment later, closing the distance between us in two seconds. Fast. There's no time to even think, just act.

A straight punch, aimed at my chest. I jump back out of range and let a burst of flame in her face. Doesn’t slow her down.

She ducks down low and tries to knock me down with a leg sweep. I leap up and backwards, still retreating with style, pelting her with a blast to the chest as I go. Nothing.

She comes in and starts throwing blow after blow, and it's only pure technique that keeps me alive; I stay sharp, anticipating her range and keeping of it, doing my best, but there's only so much space to retreat into - my back hits the wall and I'm forced to block instead of dodge.

She comes at my neck with a regular chop. I get my forearm up in time to block, even manage to twist my body out of the way, just a little…it's no good. I go flying and my forearm instantly goes numb from the pain, I land on my back and skid across the floor, my resistance to heat saving me from some of the pain before my back slams against the nearest wall. At least fifty feet away.

My body is screaming. My right is broken; I look at it and see a reddish purple hue going all the way to the elbow, and I can't even will my fingers to move. My back is working despite the impact and I manage to stand, but every move hurts…stand anyway. I wasn't trained to lose.

"Tell me you're still operational over there." Carmen's voice sounds distance even though she's not that far away. Just standing there. Hands on hips. Watching as I struggle to my feet. Smiling. I want to melt that smile off her face. "You do realize that the path to your teammates lies through me, don't you? Because I don't like being treated like a second-class opponent." She shakes her head, sighing. "Maybe we should do this after I've conducted a few experiments. Honestly, the worst part is always the screams; they become monotonous after a while, but they're annoying to start with. I'd imagine they're a great motivator, though…and I am a tad curious as to how that Kelly girl sounds. She has a great voice."

She's trying to get me angry. This is exactly what she wants. Exactly. If I give in, I'll be playing right into her hands…and I don't care. "You bitch." I hold out my remaining good arm, opening the palm and gathering energy. "I'll kill you for that."

"Really? Cute. Where I'm standing, though, you're just a glorified guinea pig. Care to prove me wrong?"

"Gladly." Thank God, for the Discovery Channel and Human Torch; if it hadn't been for that report on the Fantastic Four, I never would've learned about Johnny Storm's Nova Blast. Mine works a little differently, and I've only ever thought about the theory, never used it, but it will work. It has to

I gather as much energy as I can into my hands, creating a ball like the one I hit Nicolette with, only much, much more intense. The flame goes white hot, blinding hot, so hot that I can't even look at it. I don't need to. "I will protect my friends." The room's temperature takes a sharp drop as I pool in all the heat I can muster; after this, it'll be impossibly to reach a decent level for a while. "I swore it."

"I'll remember to tell them how you fought so bravely while I'm picking them apart. It might make the process easier on my part."

I fire.

Like last time, she makes no effort to avoid the blast, and like last time a giant cloud of smoke erupts from the impact - only much grander. I'm knocked off my feet by my own attack and blinded as smoke covers the entire arena in it's shroud, sending pieces of the room flying all about in the terrible explosion. I hit the same wall with the same part of my back from before, my ears are ringing, I can scarcely breathe and I'm in no condition to fight anymore, much less save the others….but I can't even think of all that right now. I can take a moment to heal up, then go and save them; with this major obstacle out of the way, things will go much smoother. From what I've learned of Arcade, he tends to play with his victims, which gives me some time, assuming the others have their wits…

"Weak."

There's a crushing pressure around me neck, a vise, squeezing almost to the breaking point…but careful, just careful enough. The smoke begins to clear, and I see Carmen's arm through the thick of it, leading all the way down to a cold, unfeeling face I've seen on myself too many times.

She hoists me up with ease; I try to pry her hand away, kick around in a frantic fit, but her grip's inexorable. If she squeezed even a little harder… "Nothing else to say?" I gag and gag and gag, straining for the tiniest slip of air. "No, I didn't think so. All that talk about how you'd protect your friends, and that's the best you can muster. Pathetic." She's right, it is. All that power, and the only damage I managed to do were a few petty burn marks.

Carmen let releases me and I start to fall, gasping for air as I go, but what little I manage to draw in is knocked back out when her fist sinks into my stomach. It's a maddening pain, the kind that shoots throughout my entire body, but it's made worse by the realization that comes along with it: I'm still alive. She's toying with me.

"I have to say, people like you really irritate me. So-called heroes, I mean." She pulls her fist out only to replace it with her foot, kicking me away as I fall. I slam into the wall again and I'm vaguely aware of it being the same spot; there's already a few drops of black blood where I land, and I'm adding to it. "People like you need to understand that this isn't a movie or a game or something stupid like that. In real life, the villain can win. Hell, the villain wins most of the time. Just because you're doing the right thing doesn't mean you'll automatically come out on top." She saunters over to me, checking to see if I can move by giving me a few light kicks in the side. They feel like a hammer. "The Avengers aren't coming to save you or your friends. Chances are, most of them are dead already. You've accomplished nothing."

She places her boot on my neck and begins to crush, cutting of my windpipe and nearly killing me. Nearly. I squirm around, but I can't move. I open my mouth and fight for air, but I can't breath. I'm passing out, and the last thing I see as I go are those cold eyes looking down on me. "If you can't test my physical abilities, than I suppose I'll have to go the mental route; that link with your fire is somewhat interesting. You'll do until I can have my turn with the others."

Nicolette…Kelly…Blind. I'm sorry…


Re: Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by Amelia "Heaven" Chow on Jan 22, 2007, 9:09am

So is this a set-up for the next Hellions mission?


Re: Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by Armando "Army" Rosewell on Jan 22, 2007, 9:36am

Yeah.


Re: Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by The Sacred Digits on Jan 22, 2007, 9:45am

I like it.


Re: Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by Armando "Army" Rosewell on Jan 22, 2007, 9:53am

^_^ Oh, thanks.


Re: Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by Marisol Morales on Jan 22, 2007, 10:11am

"…before Hellions mission 4"? Don't you mean 3?

I hate reading things like that, where likable characters are treated tortuously and unfairly. It really annoys me. So kudos to you for making it so lively, I suppose.


Re: Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by Armando "Army" Rosewell on Jan 22, 2007, 10:26am

Oh, yeah, you're right.

And it wasn't exactly easy to write; I didn't want go overboard, but I didn't want to pull too many punches, either. I just hope it wasn't too faux-heroic…but at least it takes care of keeping Wildfire occupied while I GM.


Re: Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by Star/Muse on Jan 22, 2007, 1:10pm

Wildfire! Nooooo!


Re: Hellions Unlimited #9
Post by Dillon Drummond on Jan 22, 2007, 5:53pm

Damn. Wildfire got her stuff ruined.

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