Danny’s team moved around the back of the building, down the alleyway towards the fire exit. “This is where we’ll go in. Who wants to do the honors?” Danny looked around at
his teammates, Phil, Banshee, Drake, and Ringo. “I’ll-” Ringo started before the doors burst outward towards the Vanguardians.
Rant, Gnaw, Amuck, and Cascade stood facing them. “Well, Drake, decided to bring some friends to the party this time?” Cascade pulled his toothpick out of his mouth and
flicked it towards Marshall. “I only need one friend to handle you.” Drake’s arm inched towards his tattoo.
“Bruttes. . .”
“Vanguard. . .”
“Attack!” The orders sounded simultaneously from the captains of the team.
Amuck darted towards Phil only to bounce off of his tk shield. “Hah! Now if I can just grab hold of his mind. . .racing too fast. . .a jumble. . .”
Banshee took the air as Gnaw attempted to pounce on her. She swooped around and came in low, then veered off to the side as he slammed into a wall. “Not very gentlemanly
are ye, ye ugly wanker!”
Cascade hurled cement and bricks towards Drake who was instantly replaced by the white dragon, Drax. Drax’s form filled up much of the alley, causing the remaining combatants to spill back into the street. Drax struck out at Cascade with his tail, as the merc fled down the street, riding a seismic wave. The dragon gave chase, firing off blasts of pink lightning.
Amuck bounced off of Phil’s shield again and landed at the feet of . . .Vengeance. The Spirit sat atop his bike and revved the engine loudly. Amuck got to his feet. The race was on. Metagenetic speedster vs. supernatural agent of revenge. The raced past the buildings faster than the human eye could follow.
“This oughta be good.” Phil quipped before his mind was seized by a piercing mental assault. “Fate is too kind to me, to have brought me another telepath named Smith to play
with.” Psi’s now familiar thoughts mocked Phil.
Rant and Danny bobbed and weaved, dodged and striked, each shifting between various animal like states. Rant took the form of a greyish wolf. Danny called up his exoskeleton
from Hal’s archives. They collided in mid air. Danny summoned eagle wings from Hal. Rant followed with bat wings and ears. They flew into the sky, taking their battle to the rooftops.
Gnaw hurled garbage cans at Banshee as she flew past him in circles, making faces at him. Banshee circled in close and unleashed her sonic cry, dubbed “the Wail,” by her
teammates. Gnaw’s ears, highly sensitive from years of living under the water, began to bleed from the pain as he screamed. “Aaaahhhhhh!!” After a few moments, Gnaw passed
out from the pain. “Ye’re not so tough. Ye just got beaten by a girl!” Banshee kicked at him lightly with her foot.
Phil struggled with Psi’s devastating mental assault, as he attempted to get a lock on his foe. “You will never find me, Smith. I’m an old hand at this type of mental jousting.” Psi’s glee was apparant. Phil’s anger was too. “You. . .asshole. . .I told you before. . .to
get out. . .of. . .my. . .HEAD!” Phil unleashed an explosive tk wave that slammed through the immediate area and shifted the buildings slightly off to the side. They now had a slight lean to them. Phil dropped to his knee to catch his breath. It must’ve worked. He’s gone. But he’ll be back. I’ll be ready next time. Phil thought to himself.
Cascade and Drax hurled down the street past Koning’s men, who were collecting the unconscious Gnaw and placing a metagene inhibitor upon him. Cascade attempted to
dislodge a section of building upon them, but his shot was knocked off by a burst of Drax’s lightning. “Damn, that was too close.”
He turned to face the dragon, and uplifted a section of the road directly into the dragon’s sternum (or the nearest approximation). Drax was stunned long enough for Cascade to
double back towards the Lupin building. “They may be paying me, but I’m not stupid enough to fight that thing alone.” He thought to himself. “I want a raise.”
Cascade rode a seismic wave up the side of the building, all the way to the roof. He clambered over the side and ran towards the stair doorway. He shot past Danny and Rant,
continuing their fight and unleashed a brief shot at Danny, who was trying to slash Rant with eagle talons. Rant misted as Cascade’s shockwave threw Danny off his feet.
Amuck and Vengeance raced through the busy L.A. streets, Amuck slashing at whatever he could in attempt to block Vengeance’s path. The spirit biker drove across the tops of
cars, and along the side ramps of freeway interchanges, attempting to keept up with the crazed speedster. Occasionally steel blades would spark against holy flame as the two clashed in their race of destruction.
Banshee and Phil landed on the roof of Lupin Tech, as Danny and Rant continued battling. “Hold yer ears, Phil.” Banshee unleashed her sonic cry again, and Rant dropped to his knees in pain, having not changed his ears back from bat form. “Gahhh! You retards! This shit sucks big bloated dead green donkey dicks! FUCK!!!!”
“Well, I see how he got his name. . .” Phil and Banshee stopped short at the unexpected barrage of profanity spewing forth from the Bruttes’ field leader’s mouth.
“Okay, enough of the friendly banter, see you later!” Rant flipped the Vanguardians off as he switched to his mist form and flowed down the stair well door.
Phil and Banshee helped Danny to his feet, as he dusted himself off. “Are ye okay?”
“I’m fine. We gotta. . .” Danny paused to catch his breath. “We gotta get after him.”
Amuck sped past them and charged down the doorway, quickly followed by Vengeance. Drax’s form peered up over the side of the roof. “I’m a bit large to fit in there.”
“It’s okay, Drax. You wait out here in case they try to escape. Let’s go get ‘em, team.” And with that, the Vanguardians descended into the building.
