It took a bit of searching, but I finally found the group Reload mentioned. There were six henchmen in total, smoking and talking in front of an apartment building. We were in Villain Territory, so while henchmen weren’t exactly hard to find, Surge Gang members stuck out like a sore thumb.
It was common for Disciple henches to sport flames, either on their clothes or as tattoos. Was an easy way to let people know they were affiliated with Agony. Surge Gang did something similar. Every henchman wore a bright yellow puffer jacket. Trust me, it looked dumber than whatever you’re imagining right now, especially since most of them sported matching crew cuts.
They didn’t notice me until I was a few feet away from the stairs they were on. The ones that were standing shot a glance at each other. I held my breath, rifle secured tightly against my back, as I started to approach them.
One of the henches sitting on the steps spoke up. “What’re you looking at, Mega-Man? This is Surge Gang Territory, and I don’t recognize you from around here.”
“I’m here with a message from the Disciples,” I lied.
A few of them reached towards the guns in their waist bands. “What is it?”
“Eat shit.”
While they drew their pistols, I moved just a second faster, pulling out my rifle. I'd spent half an hour practicing this one movement, because I knew that every second mattered. The one who was talking managed to pull his gun out before the others.
It didn’t matter. I pulled the trigger, and three shots rang out, bursting through his chest. He collapsed before he had a chance to shoot. My arm cried with each shot, struggling just to keep the gun steady.
The street erupted with the sound of gunfire, my bullets tearing through the henchmen. Sometimes I doubted if there really was such a big difference between supers and henchmen, but moments like these made it painfully obvious. All it took was being shot once for them to collapse, crying out in pain.
In a matter of moments, I took down nearly all the Surge Gang henchmen. Blood poured out of their jackets as they lay on the steps. Only one remained, some young kid who still hadn’t taken out his gun. I aimed at his chest and pulled the trigger. Click
Click. Click. I was out of bullets. Earlier, I had asked Reload for a spare magazine, but he said that it wasn’t possible to make just a magazine. The dickhead refused even when I asked him to just summon another gun that I could take the magazine from, said that it wasn’t his style.
The henchman who was frozen just moments ago seemed to gain a newfound confidence at my lack of bullets. He pulled out his pistol, trying his best to look cool in spite of his outfit.
He pointed his gun at me. “Aw, no bullets?”
I activated [Take], his pistol flying into my hands. “Don’t worry, just got some.” I unloaded five bullets into his stomach.
As blood began to gush out of his jacket, he collapsed. Before I left, I grabbed a fully loaded pistol off one of the injured henchmen. Sadly, I didn’t have time to go rummaging for more ammo. I tucked the pistol in my waistband and started running in the direction of Disciple Territory.
While I wasn’t there to see it, I knew exactly what was happening. Henches always carried Throm with them, it was the only way for them to survive the endless stream of gunfights. And it was the only advantage they had over supers.
Throm was the ultimate wonder drug given to us by the Dendra. One pill could heal my bullet wounds in a few hours, but it would heal an ordinary in a matter of minutes. Scientists barely understood how the pill worked, let alone why supers became resistant, but that didn’t matter to me, because I could use that to my advantage.
There was no way those henches would just accept being shot at in the middle of their territory, especially by a rival gang. That same mentality would carry all the way up to Surge himself, because this couldn’t be anything but a declaration of war. While I headed towards Reload, I knew that they were already up and spreading word about what happened.
It was a pain in the ass to get him to try and blend in, but he finally agreed to it in the end. Well, he agreed to taking off his gold jewelry and that was it. But it was good enough that he could eat dinner at the Chinese restaurant across from my apartment, without drawing too much attention. It had a window that let him see the entire street, so he just needed to keep an eye out for any movement.
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While I headed to my place, I made a quick stop at the motel. It was dark, and the Surge Gang henchmen wouldn’t be able to easily pick me out even with a description. That mask was the only real way to identify me. So I tossed it into the motel, keeping it safe incase I needed it again.
By the time I reached Disciple Territory, I could already hear gunfire in the distance. Shooting had erupted across the streets, turning into a choir of firefights. Bullets and men cried out to the sky for the last time. Everything was going as planned.
I moved through alleys and side streets, doing my best to keep my distance from any gunshots that I heard. From what I could hear all around me, this seemed to be escalating into a full on gang war. If these many henches were already fighting, then the supers would be quick to step in.
I was only a block away from my street when it happened. The street lights flickered, for just a passing moment. I didn’t know where he was or what was unfolding, but that could only be done by Surge preparing to fight. Surge Gang had managed to become one of the strongest gangs in the city, supported by the force of nature that was Surge.
When I made it onto my street, Reload came out of the restaurant carrying a takeout bag. He waved at me as if I could miss the only person in the street, who was also dressed in all white. I headed towards my apartment building, and he caught up to me.
Reload complained as we entered the building. “Can’t believe I was on dinner duty. You get to kill some henchmen and I have to eat General Tso’s. This is some real bullshit.”
I walked up to my door, unlocking it. “We’ll do some real fighting soon, but I need to get my contacts first. And trust me, it wasn’t exactly thrilling to shoot a bunch of henchmen.”
The two of us walked into my dark studio apartment, just as cold as it always was. I headed towards the middle of the room, reaching for the pull switch to turn on the lights. But right as I pulled the cord, I heard the door slam shut behind us.
“Yeah, it’s a lot more fun to be fighting villains,” the voice sneered.
I made eye contact with him as he locked the only exit. Polymeniac. He towered over us, another set of legs having sprouted through the soles of his feet. His smile was complemented by eyes that burned with hatred. He wore nothing but his super suit, a pair of bright red shorts with yellow streaks on the side.
“Who knew that staying here would lead you right to me? When I heard that Surge Gang was suddenly attacking us, I had a gut feeling that you’d be involved. Just something you would’ve thought of back in the day. Looks like I was right, you still have some spark inside you,” he taunted me.
I shot a look towards Reload, who had a stupid grin on his face. This was bad. Our super resistance was low, and our powers were still exhausted. Even if we were at our best, Poly was just too far above us. I tried to think of something, but Polymeniac beat the thoughts out of me.
He swiveled on one foot, striking my chest with his extended leg. I was lifted off my feet, and sent flying through the air, before I had a chance to react. I crashed into my only shelf, feeling my few possessions shatter against my back. Each breath shot waves of pain through my body, and I could feel my now broken ribs scraping my insides.
By the time I forced myself onto two feet, Reload was already unleashing a barrage of bullets. Poly sprouted a dozen arms out of his back, using them as a shield of flesh. While he closed the gap, bullets bouncing off of his arms, Reload continued to unload everything that he had.
Polymeniac’s arms smashed into Reload, half a dozen hits from each direction. Reload lost his grip for just a second, but it was enough time for Polymeniac’s arms to yank the guns out of his hands. With that, Polymeniac knocked Reload to the ground, his fists pummeling him.
I pulled out my pistol and started firing at his back. The shots just bounced off of him, the last bullets barely managing to scratch him. He was born to be a durable villain, and it showed. A pair of eyes sprouted on his back, and they stared right at me. Without any bullets left, there was nothing I could do as a dozen arms beat down on Reload.
His eyes followed me as I ran to my bed. I screamed through the pain as I shoved my mattress off the bed frame, finding my guns right where I left them. There was the pistol that I’d forgotten to bring to the heist. But more importantly, there was my shotgun, a drunken birthday gift to myself.
I grabbed onto the shotgun and charged at Poly. His arms stopped beating Reload and swiveled around, preparing to block the hit to his back. He was a moment too slow, however. The blast roared through the room, and the shotgun shell hit him directly in his newly sprouted eye.
The shot didn’t hurt him, but it knocked him off balance, causing him to stumble over his extended legs. Reload crawled out from underneath him, his body covered in gashes and bruises. His once pristine white outfit had been stained deep red with blood. I activated [Give], sending the shotgun to him as I ran to the bathroom. Shots cracked out as I fumbled around my shitty glass cabinet.
I grabbed every box of contacts and Throm that I found and shoved them into my pockets. While stashing them, I also grabbed my emergency pair of glasses. I almost never wore them, but there was no telling when I’d need them.
I made my way out of the bathroom, adrenaline struggling to hold back the pain. Reload was dual-wielding shotguns, each shell hitting Polymeniac in the face. Poly used his arms to try and block the shots, as a mass of flesh started to grow beneath him. Whatever he was planning, we weren’t going to be around to see it.
“Reload, we gotta go!” I shouted, desperately running out of the door. As I turned the corner, I caught one last glimpse of my old apartment. It was poorly insulated, overpriced, and had multiple infestations. But it was the closest thing I had to a home. I was going to miss it.
I was stumbling down the stairs of the apartment when Reload caught up to me. His face was swollen and bleeding, and each step carried a noticeable limp. It would be difficult to run away, but we didn’t have any other options.
Reload coughed, blood spattering down his shirt. “Don’t worry, he won’t catch up.”
“What, did you forget to mention you can summon cars?” I asked, ribs scraping against my lungs with each word.
“Nah. I left him a present, one that’ll slow him down,” he spat out.
That was when I heard explosions rip through the air, and I turned to see the window of my apartment shatter. Fire burst out and I managed to hear the angered screaming of Polymeniac through the flames. There went my security deposit.