D.U.S.T. to dust

This should be easy.

She cracked her knuckles while looking at the target from the 10th floor of the ruined building. The glass window was shattered open and grimy from age and weather. The inside of the room was empty and equally grimy. Her footsteps unsettled the layers of dust and she prepared to attack.

The D.U.S.T. patrol had thinned out since the three-man team arrived in the area. It had been a few minutes since the lone soldier was left standing sentry in the street. Scarlet was not sure where the others were, but she couldn’t wait to long as they may be returning from their individual patrols. D.U.S.T. soldiers looked formidable as the armor was thick and their rifles were rather large. She had not seen them in serious action but the few visual records available revealed their firepower can easily dispatch the Devouring Earth. If the soldier got a good shot at Scarlet, then this sortie would end poorly for her. All she wanted was his gauntlet.

Scarlet planted a foot of the window frame and jumped. She absorbed the rushing wind from her fall and created a personal shield that enveloped her body. Two stories later she pushed against gravity and flew toward the soldier, his back to her. With both fists in front, Scarlet stretched her body flat and concentrated sonic shield around her hands and wrists. She couldn’t prevent her flight from being utterly silent and was a little surprised the solder started to turn in her direction, but he was too late.

She struck him in the upper left arm first. The sonic shield dented the armor but there was an audible snap before Scarlet coiled her body to wrap around him as he collapsed. They fell into a heap of clattering armor and flesh. Her skin-tight black body suit stretched with her movement and she recovered quickly. Jumping to her feet, she was surprised the soldier kept the grip on his rifle and lifted it, pointing toward her head. Scarlet dodged as the beam burned the air nearby. She lifted a leg as she moved and the rifle was kicked away but didn’t leave his grip. He grunted and struggled to get off his back with a useless arm.

“Bravo one!” He yelled.

A warning! Scarlet thought.

She lunged for the broken arm. He yelled incoherently as she yanked at the gauntlet but it was fixed in place. Again, the beam rifle was leveled but in close quarters the shot went wide again without much effort from Scarlet. She was frantic and thrusted her elbow against his helmet attempting to stop the fight quicker. His body went limp and the rifle clattered to the concrete.

As she removed the gauntlet, Scarlet checked it was still functional. Noticing no serious damage she checked the soldier for a pulse. After a few seconds she checked again and started to worry.

A blue laser beam crossed in front of her vision and temporarily blinded her. She fell back on her buttocks reacting to the surprise attack and could only think of the concept of luck. Another beam destroyed the concrete nearby and showered her with debris. Scarlet willed herself to resist gravity and propelled along the road. Only inches above the broken gravel she spun to orient herself then lifted toward the sky, clutching the gauntlet. She looked back as the two other D.U.S.T. soldiers arrived to their fallen comrade, the predator turned prey forgotten.

She looked away from the scene toward the gauntlet and it activated on its own. “Cape, you’re lucky you escaped. You are being tracked –“

The Scarlet Scorpion shut off the receiver and threw it to the ground.  She stomped on it, crushing the gauntlet and then flew toward the Survivalist Compound.

Corpse Box

The War Wall thrummed with life. The aegis that protected, defended or quarantined Boomtown (depending on your point of view) was also bright. In addition to its radiant visage, it was huge: several meters tall and thick at the base that supported the columns which emitted extremely dense laser beams. The laser is what gave the War Walls their distinctive color and purpose. The Scarlet Scorpion was using the height and luminosity to hide her intentions. She was flying at the zenith of the Wall, only a few meters away. At that distance, the treacherous warmth from the laser would be more uncomfortable. At her elevation, the bright shimmer would down out her silhouette.

The irony was not lost on Scarlet that Boomtown was a dark and ruined landscape while just on the other side of the south Wall was Steel Canyon, alive and perky by comparison. Both cityscapes were home to various villain groups to equally varying degrees, but Boomtown was more often ignored by both Heroes and Longbow lately. This has allowed certain groups to proliferate. One group was the Vahzilok and they were purpose of her visit.

She was approaching the northeast corner of the zone at a comfortable pace. Her contact would be waiting in the corner-most building to be sure, but she wanted to be as unnoticeable as possible … even to the undead. Scarlet was grateful for the ability to fly now. The dank stench of death wafted to her elevation. She would dread the smell on the surface. But duty calls.

As she reached the corner, she slowed and found shadow along the support column. Gloam had settled on Paragon and especially here. She willed herself to fall controllably until she landed on the support base. Looking down she did not perceive any threats at the top of the building below where her contact was resting. Again, she floated down until she landed softly on the rooftop. Finding the entrance door she entered and covered her mouth to keep from gagging out loud.

Scarlet recovered and blinked trying to remove the stench from her eye. Somehow it worked. Gulping a few times she started to reluctantly get used to the smell. Her heavy boots made echoes down the dark hallway and Scarlet absorbed the sound and projected them away from her to create a silent sonic shielding. Any sudden attack would be deflected away, or at least softened. But with the Vahzilok, she would hear them before her shielding was needed. This was just a precaution.

She heard some dirt shuffle and paused. “It’s ok, the building is clear”, whispered a woman unseen. The female voice was strained, as if she were hiding the fact she had cried recently. Scarlet frowned in recognition. “Just be careful of the blood on the floor to your left.” She looked left and noticed an eviscerated cadaver still trickling blood and formaldehyde from its many cuts and severed limbs. Scarlet shook her head and kept walking to the source of the whisper.

Turning a corner into a room overlooking the road in front, Scarlet noticed her contact crouched at a window, its pane shattered long ago. She was dressed in mostly black combat fatigues and boots with camo-green armored pads. A large vibrosword was resting at her feet while combat goggles were resting at her neck. Her long blonde hair pulled back into a pony-tail. The crossbow attached to her arm was armed with extra bolts in pockets on her leg.

Scarlet crouched at the window and looked out. Not seeing anything of value she spoke to the woman without looking at her. “You know, I’m not really fond of being here for several reasons.”

The woman spoke without looking away from the window either. “I know, but the sentiment is appreciated.” She sniffled, but the air was not cold.

“Does Sister Hecate know you are seeing me?”

“Does Indigo know you are seeing me?”

Scarlet nodded. “Fair enough. I see you are a Hand now. Congratulations.”

“I see you are a Field Commander. Congratulations as well.”

“Thank you. Sheryl sends her regards and wishes you’d come home.”

Silence. Scarlet nodded again. “Now that I’m here to help her, why am I here to help you?”

The blonde nodded toward a cargo trailer near the building. Scarlet looked. Through the darkness she noticed what was not there before: a wandering conglomeration of Vahzilok cadavers herded by a few Reapers. On the backs of the cadavers were other bodies. More fresh in death, or maybe even alive but unmoving.  Either way, Scarlet counted twenty wobbling cadavers before estimating at least that many more again in the whole group. They were shuffling toward the cargo container.

“What’s in the box,” Scarlet darkly wondered.

“Nothing … yet.”

Now Scarlet was confused. “I think you could handle this pack, so what’s the deal?”

The Hand of Artemis looked to Scarlet. “You owe Sheryl a favor and this is it: my husband is on the back of a cadaver and we’re going to rescue him. Dead or alive. After that, I’ll turn myself in to you.”

Veni, Vidi, Vici

She leaned against the wall and stared at the gravel surface. Facing the helicopter landing pad in between the two buildings, she knew she was taking a risk. Technically she was in the open with very little cover to run to, short of the landing pad itself, several yards away. But she was also thirty stories up on one of the tallest buildings in Crey’s Folly. Still, this massive building was captured by the Rikti during the First Invasion, and they still occupied several areas in this city zone.

Scarlet chewed on her lip. It had been 5 minutes and her contact was never … ever … late. “Go se.” Her Chinese was getting rusty.

Gravel churned ahead of her at the other end of the landing pad. She looked up without moving and saw him. He wore a one-piece suit, colored dark blue and black. Various armored plates were attached at tactical locations. A helmet and visor covered his head. Her relief was muted by the large case strapped to his back.

He stepped around the landing pad never looking away from her. She pushed away and sauntered toward him, her stiletto books stabbing into the gravel. “Is that a picnic basket on your back? I didn’t know you were such a romantic. Did I ever tell you I’m a fan of red wine?”

“You flatter yourself, Scarlet Scorpion.” His voice was modulated.

“And you must be a single man, Paladin.” She smirked and lifted her head slightly as she stopped and leaned on one leg. Her opposite arm bent at the elbow to rest a hand on her hip. She was ready.

The man’s helmet nodded at the touché then hissed as pressurized locks released. Paladin removed the helmet; his hair was wet with sweat. “This is an impressive piece of hardware. I’m surprised you let me play with it.”

“I’m impressed you even asked. Now then, let’s finish business. I have a date.”

“Ah, yes. About that, no offense Scarlet, but I need one more favor.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You always do Paladin. I came here for a simple trade. Quid pro quo.”

He nodded again and removed the case. Placing it on the floor, he unlocked it and revealed its contents. “You want information, it’ll cost you more than a joy-ride in Dawn Patrol’s new toy.”

Scarlet looked at the item then to Paladin. “You do realize I have the kill switch? That suit will crush you into tomato sauce.”

“Then you’d be a murderer.”

“I’d be one with that thing!” She pointed at the particle projection cannon in the case.

“I see you don’t think of all the possibilities. It’s murder if you kill a human, but it’s not murder if it’s Rikti.”

Her eyebrows rose again. She looked to the sinister weapon then back to Paladain as he dismounted from the combat suit. “What I need is not worth the effort, unless the target is in this building.” She countered on a hunch she was safe.

“It’s your lucky day then.” Paladin smiled.

Scarlet frowned.

"He’s alone, on the tenth floor, looking for the same info you need.” He pulled out a data-pen and handed it to Scarlet. “That’s the map to the files’ precise location, and to where that alien is going.”

“Can’t get your hands dirty on this yourself?”

Paladin raised both hands as if he were under arrest. “I’m not the one snooping in Crey’s dirty laundry. Proust and his Korps are busy at the Crash Site. That pop-gun will disintegrate the Rikti's existence, that's why your powers will not be used.”

Lifting the rifle, she frowned again. “To hell with you and Longbow. Proust has no idea how much of a prick you are. After this we are done.”

He pulled out a pair of sunglasses, placed them on his face and ‘shot’ Scarlet with one hand. “Yes, he does, dear Scarlet.”

Passing Fab

Two hours ago

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m completely serious. You’ve been tapped for the job. You’re one of the best.”

Scarlet blushed slightly at Lady Jane’s compliment while also looking at her incredulously.

“What about the operative that lost it in the first place?”

“Reassigned. Other duties.” Jane smirked.

Scarlet shook her head. “Any prep time by chance?”

Jane shook her head. “Not a chance.”

---

15 minutes ago

Scarlet tried to play the part. She was a little surprised her off-duty costume would get her past the riff-raff in Grandville. But she reached her limit five minutes ago. The search party was small and she didn’t think they raised any big alarms: what’s one hero going to do in the Rogue Isles anyway?

She pressed against the very large pipe and looked both ways searching for the Arachnos soldiers hunting her. Seeing nothing she sprinted a few steps then flew toward the crates. She couldn’t help kicking up dirt and debris from her flight wash, but she was running out of time. Scarlet entered the small maze of storage crates and ducked hoping to be concealed.

From behind her she heard raised voices: she was caught. Scarlet fumbled at her belt to find a device she used in Warburg. She saved it for moments like these and regretted having to use it now. The small disc fit into a slot on her tactical visor. Heavy-booted footsteps got louder.

Now or never.

She pressed the activation rune and lunged toward an exit way. Her skin and clothing became translucent and her running speed quickened as she hyper-phased toward the ramp that led into The Fab. Scarlet ran so fast that she leapt into the air as she reached the lip of the ramp. Landing hard, her boots slipped on the slope but she recovered quickly and kept running.

Soldiers in front and behind her recognized something strange was happening and tried to react but she was too fast. Red-tinted blaster shots flew past or struck the ground around her. Someone threw a grenade but Scarlet was past its blast radius in less than a second. Following the rail tracks into The Fab’s delivery gates, she had to sidestep onto adjacent tracks to avoid closed doors. Arachnos soldiers were shouting to get others in front of her alerted in an attempt to stop her.

The tactical readout in her visor told her the item should be on the floor near the final gateway. She turned a corner and the gateway was a dark maw willing to swallow her. Scarlet literally skidded to a stop, stunning several soldiers nearby as others behind her were raising their weapons.

Glancing frantically, the item somehow reflected just enough light to reveal its location. She reached for it and a blaster shot whizzed past her head. She could feel the heat of the laser beam on her neck and she flinched. Clutching the item, she turned on her heels and started running back the way she came.

Scarlet could feel her speed slow and she noticed the hyper-phase timer expired. More shouts came as almost everyone she ran past fully realized what was happening: a hero from the Dawn Patrol had infiltrated Grandville. She willed herself to fly and concentrated on her flight path. Scarlet flew exiting almost as fast as she ran entering. She egressed The Fab completely and flew toward Paragon as more blaster shots tried to catch her.

---

Now

“Great work Commander.”

Scarlet was still breathing hard from the experience. “Yes ma’am.” She saluted and looked at the small device she was sent recover on Lady Jane’s desk. Anger continued to simmer and she almost lost control of her composure. “Permission to speak freely, ma’am?”

“Denied, Scarlet. You have performed your duty admirably and with gratitude from Indigo and Crimson. I look forward to your report.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Scarlet replied through clenched teeth. She turned on her heels and exited the office.