Shadow Child

The plan started off simple enough.

When the guards went inside the complex to change over, we'd approach from three different directions fully costumed. Crashcourse and I would approach from the front, Pulsewave and Bastion from the left, and Wildthing alone from the right.

As we walked I activated the stealth features of my gauntlet, which had also been upgraded from the first time I'd gone out in costume. Darkness closed in on me like a vice, obscuring my entire body in shadow.

The overall function of the stealth features was the same, the gauntlet's emitters drew in photons from the surrounding area. But now with more, and more powerful, emitters the effect was much more pronounced.

Even if I was walking through direct blazing sunlight I would still be able to draw in enough light to shroud me in total and complete darkness. It would do enough to keep my face off of the Crafter Tech cameras that were present on the side of the building that we were trying to access.

We weren't going through the front door, of course, that would have been crazy.

The Vault was in active use all day every day, so there was an extra staff entrance around the back of the building that was under guard. That was the route that we were taking in.

The five of us met in front of the entrance that we had chosen to access, it was locked shut by a control panel that required some sort of pass word.

There were many ways that we could get through the door. Wildthing could have ripped it off its hinges. I could have fried the control circuits with a blast from my gauntlet. But both of those methods weren't even needed thanks to Crashcourse's power.

She looked at the device once, nodded, and then typed in the appropriate code. The door unlocked with a green flash and a happy chime from the control panel. Then she quickly punched in a second set of numbers, followed by two more green flashes and two more happy chimes.

"This exit is protected by a digital code, obviously," Crashcourse said as the door swung open, "Every single employee has the number to get in this way if they need to, it's basically a fire exit. But, usually opening this door would set off a bunch of alarms. That second code I punched in stops those alarms from going off at all. Easy peasy."

Considering there weren't any alarms coming from within the building, I could only assume that she had entered both codes correctly.

With the door open and the first stage of the plan pulled off without a hitch, the second phase could begin.

First of all, Wildthing began her transformation.

The change began slowly, so slow that if you didn't know what you were looking for then you'd probably believe that nothing was happening at all. But if you looked away, even for a moment, you would be able to tell that changes were most definitely taking place.

For this engagement, we'd agreed that Wildthing would be best off going with the same monstrous form that she'd used to try and kill me in the base. It was smaller and more agile than some of her creatures, which would be incredibly useful in the small and compact tunnels leading down to the Vault proper.

Bones twisted and cracked as they broke and reformed into new shapes. Her face contorted and distended from human into a strange mockery of a lizards. A tail ripped out through the back of her head, its split ends wiggling free in the air.

It was disconcerting to watch, both because she had become the creature that almost killed me and because of the body horror that her transformation entailed.

With Bastion in front, followed by myself, Pulsewave and Lauren, with Wildthing bringing up the rear we moved into the building.

The clock had started to run down the moment we popped the door open. While we had managed to stop the alarm from going off that would inform everyone of our arrival, the chances were that the security guards who were changing over would have seen us on the cameras.

If they were smart, which they likely were to be working in the biggest Vault in the city, they would have radioed the PHA to report a crime being committed by costumed criminals.

The main force of the PHA would be too far away to do anything, thanks to their little excursion into the wastelands beyond the walls of the community. So the PHA base would contact the Juniors, which meant we had around five to ten minutes before hell rained down upon us.

We worked our way through the floor of the Vault complex slowly and carefully.

Every time we passed a room Bastion, Pulsewave and I would double-check them.

The first few were all empty, but eventually, Wildthing noticed something. She grunted and sniffed, tossing her head toward one of the rooms that we hadn't gotten to yet.

In an instant Pulsewave ducked down and placed a palm onto the floor, spreading his influence throughout the room.

With a single pulse of energy, the person within collapsed to the ground.

After that, Bastion ducked into the room and came back out dragging a thirty-something-year-old man across the dirty floor.

The villain pulled some zip ties out of his pocket and tied the man's hands behind his back before lifting him up and placing him onto the top of a floating shield surface.

The man floated along as if he were being held up by nothing at all.

In the next room, another hostage was uncovered. Much like the first Pulsewave knocked the person out, this time a woman with greying hair. She was placed onto the platform and floated along as well.

Bastion's powers had much more utility than I originally gave them credit for.

We didn't pass by many offices on our journey through the base level of the complex, but due to the tension I was feeling it felt like we were walking forever.

Every time I looked into another office I hoped that it would be empty. I didn't want to drag any more hostages into this than absolutely necessary.

When we passed the last office I felt some of that tension float away, only for it to come crashing back when I remembered what I had to do in the next stage of the plan.

We reached the lobby of the Vault complex, the area where people would come and drop their prized goods off for storage.

Wildthing bounded off in front of us, roaring and waving the spikes of her tails around in the air like some kind of… well… wild thing.

It was a nightmarish sight, even though I had been expecting it. She wasn't going to hurt anyone of course, it was just a distraction so that I could engage in my part of the plan. Something I had no idea if my tech was even actually capable of.

With a deep breath, I raised my hand… and then with a flex of my palm, I turned out the lights.