((Very good, almost makes me want to play villians))
"A thanks would be nice, Eres."
"A status update would be even better, B."
Groaned as old stimuli trickled into her brain again, the reassuring hum of electronics reverberating through the woman's fallen body. Something else was there too, though....a strange vibration deep in her marrow and spine. It was powerful, almost, yet still so very distant. Vision was blurry as she tried to get a bearing on things, muttering to the Demon as the symbol of her former allies caught the light; emblazoned across the chest of a Huntsman who looked as if he'd rather be elsewhere right now, the man's gun clattering in his hands.
"...are these yours....?"
"The Widow outside used to be, but I think they nailed her."
"....mrmph. Make it quick...."
Eres let her head - now annoyingly devoid of any hair, apparently - fall against the floor again, eyes closing weakly as Balaaj stirred. It was unspoken between them, but always effective - the slightest of insinuations and the Demoness would rampage freely, like a Rhino fresh of its leash. The satisfying crunch of bone, followed shortly by the impotent counter of gunfire, merely reaffirmed that naughty little pleasure. Eressos had always spoken down on Balaaj's methods....being openly derisive at times....but they were effective and fun to watch. Deep down she would never deny that.
An Ungodly snarl ripped through the confined lab almost as loudly as the technician's scream. His head struck the wall barely a second before the rest of him was used to club a nearby grunt, the soldier too startled to do anything but crmple under the blow. A third soon fell, the thundering split of metal and stone crashing to the ground as Balaaj's fist effortlessly piled through whatever unfortunate was in the way. Muttered to herself, turning on her heel, as she crouched by Eres' side again - one massive arm scooping the smaller human into an emancipated bundle.
"Come on, we're out of here."
"....O'Reilly?"
"He and the others split when you were dropped. Not a clue where they are now."
"...how bad am I...."
"You're not winning any beauty contests now, I'll tell you that much. For now though, let's just focus on not getting shot to pieces, alright?"
Another grunt as the Demon rose, bare hooves stomping against a metallic floor, gradually quickening and settling into a sprint. More of the world came back to Eres now....the sound of alarms blaring, distant reports of firearms and the screams of dying men. Eres' right arm twitched as the sprinklers suddenly burst into life - someone had apparently gotten a little too excited with their fire powers - the splash barely registering against dead skin. Could certainly feel something, but there was no depth or temperature to it. If on-....
"Gotcha!"
A hollow voice barked out from beneath the helmet of a Crab Spider, its form blocking the hallway in front of the two. The spider limbs rose, their vicious blades glinting under the cascade of water, a horrific screech of plasma tearing through the corridor as red heat surged towards Balaaj and Eres. Swearing under her breath the Demoness turned, teeth gritting together as the payload scorched at her skin and flesh. During the single moment's respite she laid her companion on the floor, fingers curling together.
"'scuse me a sec, Eres. You! Come here you cowardly Motherfu-....."
Was drowned out as the roof behind them all collapsed, the colours of a torn Night Widow's uniform hitting the wet ground with a painful crack. Flames whipped over smoking pipes and ruined support beams, the uniform's owner moaning pitifully before passing out. It seemed to go un-noticed by the Spider and his opponent though....their arms locked together, forcing each other into whatever was nearby. Walls buckled, computer monitors shattered - stray plasma from the soldier's armaments recklessly discharging into the air. A headbutt here, the sound of twisting metal there....
Whatever cries of pain the Arachnos grunt let loose were muffled as his communicator spat static, burning out in a high pitched whine. Smoke belched from the cracks of helmet, joints of the bulky armour coming loose as Balaaj's renewed attacks began to tear it apart.
Wham. An enormous, jagged line stretched across the Crab Spider's torso.
Crunch. Helmet caved in.
Crack. Teetered on his feet for a moment longer, waist snapping in half.
"There you are!"
Didn't waste a moment. Her hulking red frame throwing itself to the fallen Night Widow, tossing the woman over one shoulder before cradling Eres once again.
"Sorry Boss. I grew fond of a few people while you were gone."
"....just hurry it up, B...."
"Right."
Just a little further. Renewed strength and morale as the facility seemed to heave underfoot. Just a little more....an acrid stench of battery acid seemed to have flooded the corridors, electricity flickering and crackling in the fixtures above. Blast doors ahead....one of the great things seemingly torn away from its coupling, the other uselessly clamped in place.
Sunlight burst into view, almost blinding Eres as she breathed fresh air once more. Allowed herself the luxury of spluttering, vacantly staring upwards into the clear sky. A troop carrier surged over-head, left engine wreathed in flame as it struggled to stay in flight. A Longbow Chaser skimmed the air behind it, cannons blaring across the open scenery. Had no idea where they were, nor did she care.
Felt good to be home again.
It had been three days after the escape that this machinery rattled and buzzed....the formerly abandoned bunker whirring into renewed life. Old security systems clicked, their hum soothing Eressos as turrets and cameras surveyed their home once more - blast doors crashing together behind the two women as they made their way into its recesses. It hadn't taken much to find again, it really isn't something you tend to forget about, but was far smaller than needed - had been established as little more than a safety net in case everything else went to hell. Just one more guarantee she could bounce back and stop it all from slipping between her fingers.
"I could have torn the door down, Boss."
"Not really appropriate for one of our own facilities, B."
"So?"
"This is why we can't have nice things."
"Yeah, right....so....what now, Boss?"
To try and maintain a low profile, Balaaj had kept her powers subdued. On one hand it meant she was largely defenseless, on the other it meant she had the looks of something a little more subtle than hulking red muscle. Curly blue hair, a neat pair of spectacles and prim black business suit....could likely pass as an office worker if she still wasn't so damn tall.
"With the others gone we'll need to start recruiting again, of course. I doubt it'll be too long before Longbow - or anyone else - hunts us down a second time and finishes the job."
"Having your head blown off (one of many reasons I told you to add a bloody helmet to that suits of yours, lest we forget) usually gives you some breathing space."
"B. Tell me what you are again."
"Pft. A Demon summoned from the depths of-....oh, I see. Point."
"Nobody is expected to stay dead these days. I'm no exception to the rule."
Eres exhaled, the hollow wheezing of her lungs caught between the corridor's echoes and her gas mask. It served no practical purpose for her now, but old habits were hard to kick: thankfully, she was the sort able to avoid getting stressed when it came to physical appearance. Pallid skin was stretched over the little muscle Eressos was left with, distinct bulging and hard edges to various mechanical augmentations visible beneath her various leathers and clothing. Hadn't been much to look at before, but now? Well....she'd probably allow herself to get worked up over it at some point in the future, but there were more important things that needed to be dealt with.
"A few are left on the pay-roll, but nobody we can use in the field."
"Who?"
"That tech working with Ernesto, ah.....that's about it, I think."
"Your Night Widow?"
"She won't turn her back on the Spiders."
Bony fingers tapped into a control panel, beeping three times before a nearby door curled upwards into the ceiling. All manner of inactive computer monitors and keyboards lined the walls, forming a semi-circle around a small platform. The archetypical command center for people like her - beautiful and imposing, yet brutally simple to operate. Leather boots thudded against the platform, a spindly length of wire lowering itself in front of Eres almost on cue. Gripping the thing between two fingers, there was a quiet snap before the wire peeled backwards; a now visible needle glinting before them. With an instinctive grunt the device was inserted into the base of Eressos' wrist.
She waited.
Waited further.
...
Nothing.
"Christ...."
"Doesn't remember you, Boss, now you're dead."
"I can see that you dolt. No matter."
Disgusted, Eres threw the device over one shoulder. Perhaps foolishly she'd wired the system to her DNA, rather than the electronics inside her. Had felt it would be the safest way to secure her equipment, but hadn't taken the small matter of unlife into account. With a dead heart and nothing living flowing through her veins, it wasn't about to let her in - but it was still a machine. They could be fooled one way or another.
Arms rose, the silent incantations buzzing through the woman's mind almost on reflex. Those feelings she'd had in the Black embraced her again, embracing her hips and her arms; entwining around each and every little finger, every little toe. Balaaj watched in silence as dark tendrils extended from her comrade's hands, flicking upwards and wrapping around unseen lines of static. Gripped the air itself as Eressos focused, going silent....before the crack of a whip snapped through the cramped room, dozens of the snake-like appendages striking the individual pieces of equipment.
Sparks flew, fuzzy whispers burning into Eres' mind....what she would have once seen on the monitors etched into her body, her skull. There was no flat image with distorted sound....no, she saw everything those fiber optics spied upon. A column of Arachnos soldiers marching out across tarmac in some base miles away, a Goldbricker surging past the courtyard of Aeon City, Rikti and Heroes crashing together above a ruined skyscraper. Every little word, every little unguarded nuance building on each other and shrieking their secrets. Held it there just a little longer....swearing as her concentration was lost, those black tendrils snapping back into nothing.
"....Boss?"
"...s-shut up, just....just give me a minute...."
Steadied herself against a railing, putting it all into place. Her idea was sketchy, but it was a start. Sure, she still had a little something to call home and she still had a rather snarky Demon in her power....but it wasn't enough by itself. Her finances had been almost completely drained by Balaaj during her absence, and she still needed a new army, a loyal one. Something that could operate independently of her, something that wouldn't break and flee at the first sign of their leadership crumbling. Chuckled as the plan formulated, becoming just as clear as what she'd seen. Black Scorpion had been her benefactor in the past, allowing her into his inner-sanctum and his most prized technologies. They were still where they'd always been, she'd seen them.
"B, we're paying Ernesto a visit."
((You really quite good at this aren't you. another very good chapter))
((Agreeing with Cass here, really enjoying the story.))
A few have been asking me about this lately, but....sorry folks, I would have written something by now but I've been getting a lot of stabbing pains in my wrist over the last few days - sitting down and actually trying to type is making things worse.
On top of this I've gone and written myself into a corner (lack of forward planning ftl), so I need to straighten out one or two plot points before continuing. I appreciate the comments so far though!
This was mostly confusing, a little irritating, but by no means as bad as she'd believed. Just utter....silence, really. An odd sort of calm washing over a black landscape that seemed to go on forever. Like she was sleeping, but not. Sure it had been lonely and with little to do but amuse herself with some sort of dancing light would drag after a few more years, but Eressos was content with her lot in death. Just wish she could actually remember how she'd come to be here.
"She's hooked up, right?"
Huh....that voice was familiar somehow. Mind just playing tricks though. Let's figure out how to use this dancing light some more....ah, there we go. Can make it swirl and twirl, maybe form a little bit of her own name with-....heh, there we are. E-R-E-S-O-S. Okay, not the world's greatest spelling but it was a decent start. Could possibly try her hand at an essay further on, but that would be a while off yet - something well known and easy to remember. A catalogue of everything she had in her apartment for example.
"Start ramping up the generator as I read aloud. We'll need a lot of juice to get this going."
The voice was female, gruff. Balaaj maybe? Eres had summoned that Demon through a happy accident, but the two had become something approaching staunch allies; not quite friends, but still far enough away from the mistress/puppet relationship which seemed to get so many couplings of that sort off on the wrong foot. Still remember what the woman looked like....well over seven foot tall, rippling with muscle and red skin. No more than a thong and some loose chain to hide her modesty. A Hippy Demon at her core, willing to tear off someone's skull if they so much as thought of damaging the stone beneath her feet.
"Getting a flicker on the screen here."
Eressos could feel a tingling sensation where her stomach would have been. That sly feeling beginning to creep all over. Legs, toes, mouth....would have touched to the body parts if she wasn't disembodied. But it was getting increasingly uncomfortable and persistent; could feel her mind wrapping around itself, being pulled up and away from her pet lightshow. A pulse rippled, the sound of a synthetic heart crashing through the black.
"Sparks! Her arm's booting up!"
Nononononono....this wasn't right. Colours were leaking into her world! That wasn't fair....she'd spent so long in her quiet little place, full of nothing, only for reds and purples to start leaking into it. Shapes splodged here and there, a crackle of blue ripping through the sky....how frustrating, how tacky. Another jolt, the heartbeat whining louder and stronger, a familiar numbness creeping down Eressos' entire right side. Could almost feel like she was scrunching up her fist again.
"Easy, easy....don't want to go over-loading her."
It was like being on the hook of a fishing line. Something had dug deep into her chest and stubbornly refused to let go, forcing her to the side then up again. That voice was becoming more distinct and understandable now, though, a bizarre collection of chants and whispers leaking into her head. Couldn't quite place where she'd come across them before....like an old friend who'd got a new haircut, or shaved off their moustache. Familiar yet different. Eerie.
"Ease up with the generator, those internals of hers are already pumping."
Pain. A quiet buzz in the back of her skull, screeching and wailing like nails on a dinner plate as it grew to a more intense level. That chanting started to peak, Eressos' little black slowly being filled with all manner of stark white laboratory equipment - pentacles etched on the floor, indecipherable markings stretching up to the rooftop. Purple and red uniforms stood around, lights dimmed as something came into focus. Bleary and weak, Eres could hear herself wheezing as a cold grip iced up her spine.
Balaaj's face peered down at her, the Demon's cocky smirk playing on her lips as always. Could have just reached up and kissed the woman there and then, but could barely lift her own neck. The room was silent - uncomfortably so - as she heard the shifting of Arachnos uniforms, and the nervous cocking of a gun's safety catch being released. Her world was no longer lifeless or dull, but she had lost those lights....which was a shame. Grateful to Balaaj, in her debt, everything started to make sense as she realised where she was. Owed the Demon, would make it up to her, would use her life to start anew and make up for everything that's gone before....
A hoarse, croaky English accent weakly tumbled from Eressos' lips.
"...what....what took you so bloody long...."
Screw it. She wasn't about to change anything.