The sky alternated between light and dark as the clouds themselves alternated between white and grey. The wind smelled clean or dirty. The asphalt was new or old. Buildings changed from pristine to worn. But it was the banners on the buildings that announced the most obvious, allegiance to hero or villain that made the entire milieu recognizable to the participants in the never-ending war. A temporal war for control of the Earth.
Such was each day in "Recluse's Victory".
Scarlet was used to it by now; her powers had matured, along with her sense of place in the world, to the point where she ventured into this chaos with little fear. But the glory of defeating a super-powered villain no longer entranced her to this place. Curiosity was the little itch she needed to scratch. Curiosity lead her to the thing that stood immobile before her.
As the battle unfolded in pockets around her, Scarlet ignored it all. Glancing over her shoulder, she look past the trees, with bright green leaves quickly wilting suddenly rejuvenating, that she saw the Pillbox. Magnificent in construction, it was a deadly machine of war. Even with her sound-controlling defenses and regenerating abilities, the firepower behind the machines was lethal. She had witnessed more than one Pillbox, controlled by hero and villain alike, destroy man and machine with ease.
Now it was her turn to feel the power for herself. But first she needed to overcome its automated weapon drones, and the means to do so was only a few seconds away.
Scarlet turned to the Longbow Heavy. It's bright red and white armor glistened and dulled. She looked at the control panel and smirked as her fingers danced over command codes and overrode data streams. Her Longbow contact will be recognized for his assistance. Even though he was stationed in Bloody Bay, his knowledge of this action post was now paying off.
Energy was routed to the Heavy. Sparks and steam erupted from cracks and vents as the machine came to life. It's "eye" glowed yellow and the Heavy stood erect, quickly stretching it's arms before taking a ponderous step forward. A second step confirmed the Scarlet Scorpion as its Master. A third step activated its weapons and the console revealed it was fully operational.
Scarlet rerouted control to her wrist-comp and pressed the touch-screen. The Heavy responded to her command and turned on its heel toward the Pillbox. The Heavy's weapon arms were raised as it charged. For her part, she focused the conflict around her, natural and man-made, and created a sonic barrier around her. She was ready ...
She was ready to feel the power of war.
