Squirrelman - Sins of the Past 21
As they left The Cosmos Lounge on their way to the Sterling Spire, Squirrelman and his team found their beloved Action City under attack from an alternity where the Mongol Horde conquered the world and is out to conquer others. They leapt at the opportunity to help out, but Squirrelman rapidly realized that gravity can be a harsh mistress...
Falling.
Why am I always falling? It's like it's a hobby or something. So what do you do in your spare time? people could ask me, and I could say, Me? Oh, I fall. A lot.
Any time now guys.
I mean, there's at least two dozen folks I know flying around right now. Grant you they're a little occupied at the moment, but you'd think someone would notice.
I spin in midair to have a look around. Yep. Lots of folks flying around tonight. All of them busy at the moment.
Then something catches me, wraps itself around me. A net. Someone else is in here too, big, male, unconscious. The net's suspended between two skysteeds. Great. The wrong guys caught me. At least I'm not falling. I try to slash the net with my claws but a charge zaps me and now I can't move. That's another thing I'm getting tired of. Twice in one night? People will talk.
The two Mongols are gaining altitude now, heading for something that's coming out of the hole in the sky. It looks like one of those old Chinese junks, only made out of black and red metal. And, you know, flying.
Big doors open in the hull and we fly in. There's dozens of Mongols in here, rushing back and forth. The guys with the net dump us and two other guys pick us up and carry us into the ship, dumping us in a holding cell.
I'm left staring at one wall and the other mask that got caught, lying on the floor next to me. After a second I realize it's Konstantinopoulos' hired mask, the big guy who was giving me the hard eye. He's wearing a navy bodysuit with a gold metallic chestplate, helmet, gauntlets and boots, pretty much what he was wearing in the restaurant, only he didn't have the helmet then. The whole thing looks vaguely Greek, design-wise.
He wakes up and looks at me groggily. Feeling is starting to pinprick my muscles with little micro-twitches. I drag my arm under me and lift myself up.
"You okay?" I ask.
"I guess," he says, sitting up slowly.
"What's your name?"
"Huh?"
"Your name. I'm Squirrelman, you're...?"
"You don't know?"
"Should I?"
He gives me this really odd look, like I just put my cards on the table in a high-stakes poker game and he's holding a much, much better hand.
"Name's Achilles," he says, looking amused.
"Well, Achilles, any ideas how to get out of here?"
"I got a couple."
I go to the door, check it for hinges or a control panel. Something.
"Look out, slick."
Achilles steps up and touches the door lightly with one hand, looking at a readout on the back of his other gauntlet. He drags his fingertips slowly back and forth, then seems to find something he's looking for. He taps it once with his finger and steps back.
He looks at me once, looking like he's going to say something, but shakes his head and turns back to the door.
"Stand back." He taps something out on the display pad then closes the panel. His hands curl into fists and he reaches way, way back and then faster than I can see his fist goes through the door where he tapped it. He gives it another punch and sends it flying into the hallway.
"After you," he waves me through the door. I jump out the door into the hallway, taking to the ceiling because I figure there's got to be some guards on this ship somewhere.
Yep. I was right. Three of them come around the corner and start shooting their ray guns at us. The beams glance off of Achilles' armour, I'm twitching and dodging, both of us heading straight for them. I tackle one and Achilles grabs the other two, smashing them into each other. They make a nice pile on the floor.
"We've got to get off this ship," Achilles says.
"We've got to stop this ship from attacking the city," I answer. "Let's find the command center or bridge or whatever it's called."
"I don't know about that."
"Do what you have to, pal. I'm stopping this ship."
I head off and a couple of seconds later I hear him following me. Normally I would be arguing his case, but everything about Konstantinopoulos and his team bugs me. I was half hoping he'd take off.
"Do you even know where we're going?" he asks.
"Up."
"Yeah, but how do you know where-"
"I don't, okay? But the bridge has to be somewhere, and I figure it's not in the belly of the ship. Now stop asking me stupid questions, I'm trying to think."
"Well, don't strain anything, smartass."
I grind my teeth but I don't say anything, because arguing with an idiot is pointless.
We climb a ladder to the next level and run into another patrol, maybe five, six guards with swords and ray guns. I run straight for them, twitch-dodging the whole way, leap up and grab some overhead pipes, kicking two of them in the face, sending them back into their buddies. Gives Achilles enough time to catch up. I slam one guy into a wall and slash at another's face while Achilles flips a guard, slamming him into the two guys my kicks put on the ground. Achilles grabs a sword and slashes at the air with it.
"Do you even know how to use that?" I ask.
"No," he admits.
"Then put it down. Geez."
He doesn't put it down. Whatever.
Two more guard patrols later, still no sign of a command center or a bridge or anything. We find a porthole though, and I stop for a couple of seconds to watch the battle. Looks like Action City's going to be okay, from what I can see from here. Not that there was much doubt, but it's good to know. I have enough time to hope that Ragdoll's okay when Achilles grabs me by the tip of my tail and yanks me hard, away from the window.
A skysteed comes smashing through the glass, shortly followed by Ragdoll and Physique on Physique's skycycle, then Ace on his flying card.
"Sorry we're late," Ace says.
"No worries. This is Achilles. Let's take out this ship."
"Squirrelly-" Ragdoll starts, and in that one word I hear a whole monologue of what a bad idea she thinks this is.
"Come on, hon. Taking out this ship will be great P.R. for the team."
She looks sceptical, but doesn't argue any more than that.
"Did you guys get a look at where the bridge is, from the outside?" I ask.
"Honeybuns, we're standing right under it," Physique grins.
I smile back.
"Think you can take out the floor?" I ask her.
She looks up. It's about five feet over her head to the ceiling.
"Hey, Achilles, think you can lift me up there?"
"No prob, babe."
I roll my eyes a little and watch him give her a leg up. She grabs the ceiling, her fingers crunching into the metal. She gets a good grip, teeth gritted, then she looks down at us.
I nod once. She rips out the ceiling, and the floor comes with it. A Mongol guard falls into the room, and Ragdoll kicks him in the head unconscious. Ace tosses a couple of flash-bang cards onto the bridge through the hole, then I jump up once they've gone off. Ace and Ragdoll are right behind me. I'm already slashing my claws at one guard. Ray beams start crisscrossing the room, they're all shooting at us. Physique jumps up and grabs a guy by the arm. There's a wet snap and he gets tossed into another guy. Achilles is the last one up, he goes for the control panel. A ray beam bounces off his armour and into the control panel next to him. Sparks fly everywhere. There's a shudder in the ship and an explosion somewhere far back in the flying junk, and the whole room suddenly tilts.
We've pretty much taken out the command crew of the ship, but that's the least of our worries. The ship starts to roll as gravity takes over.
"Falling again. Why am I always falling?" I ask no one in particular.
Achilles rushes over to a control panel, fingers tapping at everything. The system is totally fried.
"Shit," he says.
"Ace, get Doc on the horn, tell him-" I start.
"Relax," Achilles says. He flips open the panel on his gauntlet. He looks around the room and says to his wrist, " Priority alert. Mass transit. My coordinates. Uh..." He looks at us, then out the window at the buildings that are rushing up to meet us. "This one goes to eleven. On my mark."
"What's that?" Ragdoll asks.
"Mass teleportation system. Praxis Orbital is over us." He looks outside again. "Three... Two... One... Mark."
Nothing happens.
Falling.
Why am I always falling? It's like it's a hobby or something. So what do you do in your spare time? people could ask me, and I could say, Me? Oh, I fall. A lot.
Any time now guys.
I mean, there's at least two dozen folks I know flying around right now. Grant you they're a little occupied at the moment, but you'd think someone would notice.
I spin in midair to have a look around. Yep. Lots of folks flying around tonight. All of them busy at the moment.
Then something catches me, wraps itself around me. A net. Someone else is in here too, big, male, unconscious. The net's suspended between two skysteeds. Great. The wrong guys caught me. At least I'm not falling. I try to slash the net with my claws but a charge zaps me and now I can't move. That's another thing I'm getting tired of. Twice in one night? People will talk.
The two Mongols are gaining altitude now, heading for something that's coming out of the hole in the sky. It looks like one of those old Chinese junks, only made out of black and red metal. And, you know, flying.
Big doors open in the hull and we fly in. There's dozens of Mongols in here, rushing back and forth. The guys with the net dump us and two other guys pick us up and carry us into the ship, dumping us in a holding cell.
I'm left staring at one wall and the other mask that got caught, lying on the floor next to me. After a second I realize it's Konstantinopoulos' hired mask, the big guy who was giving me the hard eye. He's wearing a navy bodysuit with a gold metallic chestplate, helmet, gauntlets and boots, pretty much what he was wearing in the restaurant, only he didn't have the helmet then. The whole thing looks vaguely Greek, design-wise.
He wakes up and looks at me groggily. Feeling is starting to pinprick my muscles with little micro-twitches. I drag my arm under me and lift myself up.
"You okay?" I ask.
"I guess," he says, sitting up slowly.
"What's your name?"
"Huh?"
"Your name. I'm Squirrelman, you're...?"
"You don't know?"
"Should I?"
He gives me this really odd look, like I just put my cards on the table in a high-stakes poker game and he's holding a much, much better hand.
"Name's Achilles," he says, looking amused.
"Well, Achilles, any ideas how to get out of here?"
"I got a couple."
I go to the door, check it for hinges or a control panel. Something.
"Look out, slick."
Achilles steps up and touches the door lightly with one hand, looking at a readout on the back of his other gauntlet. He drags his fingertips slowly back and forth, then seems to find something he's looking for. He taps it once with his finger and steps back.
He looks at me once, looking like he's going to say something, but shakes his head and turns back to the door.
"Stand back." He taps something out on the display pad then closes the panel. His hands curl into fists and he reaches way, way back and then faster than I can see his fist goes through the door where he tapped it. He gives it another punch and sends it flying into the hallway.
"After you," he waves me through the door. I jump out the door into the hallway, taking to the ceiling because I figure there's got to be some guards on this ship somewhere.
Yep. I was right. Three of them come around the corner and start shooting their ray guns at us. The beams glance off of Achilles' armour, I'm twitching and dodging, both of us heading straight for them. I tackle one and Achilles grabs the other two, smashing them into each other. They make a nice pile on the floor.
"We've got to get off this ship," Achilles says.
"We've got to stop this ship from attacking the city," I answer. "Let's find the command center or bridge or whatever it's called."
"I don't know about that."
"Do what you have to, pal. I'm stopping this ship."
I head off and a couple of seconds later I hear him following me. Normally I would be arguing his case, but everything about Konstantinopoulos and his team bugs me. I was half hoping he'd take off.
"Do you even know where we're going?" he asks.
"Up."
"Yeah, but how do you know where-"
"I don't, okay? But the bridge has to be somewhere, and I figure it's not in the belly of the ship. Now stop asking me stupid questions, I'm trying to think."
"Well, don't strain anything, smartass."
I grind my teeth but I don't say anything, because arguing with an idiot is pointless.
We climb a ladder to the next level and run into another patrol, maybe five, six guards with swords and ray guns. I run straight for them, twitch-dodging the whole way, leap up and grab some overhead pipes, kicking two of them in the face, sending them back into their buddies. Gives Achilles enough time to catch up. I slam one guy into a wall and slash at another's face while Achilles flips a guard, slamming him into the two guys my kicks put on the ground. Achilles grabs a sword and slashes at the air with it.
"Do you even know how to use that?" I ask.
"No," he admits.
"Then put it down. Geez."
He doesn't put it down. Whatever.
Two more guard patrols later, still no sign of a command center or a bridge or anything. We find a porthole though, and I stop for a couple of seconds to watch the battle. Looks like Action City's going to be okay, from what I can see from here. Not that there was much doubt, but it's good to know. I have enough time to hope that Ragdoll's okay when Achilles grabs me by the tip of my tail and yanks me hard, away from the window.
A skysteed comes smashing through the glass, shortly followed by Ragdoll and Physique on Physique's skycycle, then Ace on his flying card.
"Sorry we're late," Ace says.
"No worries. This is Achilles. Let's take out this ship."
"Squirrelly-" Ragdoll starts, and in that one word I hear a whole monologue of what a bad idea she thinks this is.
"Come on, hon. Taking out this ship will be great P.R. for the team."
She looks sceptical, but doesn't argue any more than that.
"Did you guys get a look at where the bridge is, from the outside?" I ask.
"Honeybuns, we're standing right under it," Physique grins.
I smile back.
"Think you can take out the floor?" I ask her.
She looks up. It's about five feet over her head to the ceiling.
"Hey, Achilles, think you can lift me up there?"
"No prob, babe."
I roll my eyes a little and watch him give her a leg up. She grabs the ceiling, her fingers crunching into the metal. She gets a good grip, teeth gritted, then she looks down at us.
I nod once. She rips out the ceiling, and the floor comes with it. A Mongol guard falls into the room, and Ragdoll kicks him in the head unconscious. Ace tosses a couple of flash-bang cards onto the bridge through the hole, then I jump up once they've gone off. Ace and Ragdoll are right behind me. I'm already slashing my claws at one guard. Ray beams start crisscrossing the room, they're all shooting at us. Physique jumps up and grabs a guy by the arm. There's a wet snap and he gets tossed into another guy. Achilles is the last one up, he goes for the control panel. A ray beam bounces off his armour and into the control panel next to him. Sparks fly everywhere. There's a shudder in the ship and an explosion somewhere far back in the flying junk, and the whole room suddenly tilts.
We've pretty much taken out the command crew of the ship, but that's the least of our worries. The ship starts to roll as gravity takes over.
"Falling again. Why am I always falling?" I ask no one in particular.
Achilles rushes over to a control panel, fingers tapping at everything. The system is totally fried.
"Shit," he says.
"Ace, get Doc on the horn, tell him-" I start.
"Relax," Achilles says. He flips open the panel on his gauntlet. He looks around the room and says to his wrist, " Priority alert. Mass transit. My coordinates. Uh..." He looks at us, then out the window at the buildings that are rushing up to meet us. "This one goes to eleven. On my mark."
"What's that?" Ragdoll asks.
"Mass teleportation system. Praxis Orbital is over us." He looks outside again. "Three... Two... One... Mark."
Nothing happens.
Squirrelman
ever.
t!
Thanks!