Chapter 46 : Trapped
[Author note : As always, you can find more of this on my Patréon page (e instead of é). Search for Cathbel. Please leave a comment or a review. I don't always reply to comment, but I do read them. Enjoy this new chapter !]
==============
A ragtag group was making its way through dark hallways, intermittently lit up by a red light. A loud sound of alarm blaring up and around them. Among them, leading the way was a strange trio : a robot or at least, a figure wearing a high tech armor, a brown-haired teenager with a red and yellow suit with a lightning bolt on his chest, carrying a womanly-shape composed of darkness and stars, and another one, wearing rags, a fire in his eyes. The latter was dirt blond, with brown eyes.
And following them, more teenagers, just as stranger, if not stranger. If they didn't wear rags, they had on a form-fitting, sci-fi outfit. And most of them looked around warily… and especially at the figure leading them. Ned Stark… AKA Silver Lad. Some had heard of him, others, having been detained for years, didn't. They wondered what brought someone like him, here. How did he find this base ? After all, their jailers taunted them repeatedly about its secrecy and that nobody would ever find them, here… Hearing this day in and day out, they started to believe it. Moreover, they started to believe in the omnipotence of the organization that captured them, and that of its shadowy leader…
In fact, some of them were waiting… to prove themselves, to avoid a worst fate. Those, Ned had already pinged on his HUD with Bastion's help.
As for Ned, he was a little anxious. Liberating all the abductees from the facility had taken too long… No doubt that N.O.W.H.E.R.E. would be ready for them by now.
Suddenly, he stopped, making everyone behind him stop as well. Muttering to himself, but loud enough for others to hear him, Ned commented :
« There's no reason to leave from the front door… Since it's the only way in and out, they'll surely have it locked tight. And making another exit would take too long, especially since the facility's dug underneath the mountain. »
He looked to the side at Aaron.
« They know about it, but can they do something against it ? »
He faced once more toward the exit, and started to send commands aloud to Bastion :
« Are the drones far ? »
« Beeep ! Bi-boo-pip ? »
« No. On the contrary, I want them far… » Ned scanned his surroundings, spotting the surveillance equipment strewn all around the corridors and even inside the open cells. He raised a hand in a wave, a sly smile hidden behind his face-plate. Out loud, he ordered : « Knock out the surveillance, Bee ! »
A short moment later, everyone heard Bastion's bipping reply :
« Yeah, sorry about the nickname… So, it's done ? » Another series of bipping. « Alright ! »
He turned and faced the group, talking to them this time :
« N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s mostly probably right outside, with a lot of firepower. Maybe even with a couple of other metas. All they want is to use you. It doesn't matter who you are or what you want, to them. I know some of you probably think your only chance of escaping here alive is by doing their bidding. And it might work… for a time, at least. Until you're no longer useful, until you fail, or until it becomes too hard for you to do what they're asking you to do. Then, they'll kill you. And replace you. » He paused as he scanned the group, hitting the nail on the head with his last comment : « The world is vast and although Meta-humans are rare, your numbers are growing. They won't lack recruits. Especially since they don't care whether or not you want to join them. »
At this, he pointed an open palm behind him as it slowly lit up :
« You might think that there's no way out for you, unless you join them or go through them… But, you're wrong. »
And with these words, a portal opened behind him, showing an empty grass field. The wind blew through the grasses, making them dance. On the other side, a gorilla with glasses and a giant cannon strapped to his back, a blue skinned woman with a sniper rifle in hand were watching them calmly.
« Step through, and you'll be free. » After a second he added as if in afterthought : « Oh ! And these two are my friends ! »
It took a little while to explain things and for Kid Flash to gather enough courage to lead by example. Aaron was actually the first one through, because he could feel the magic from the portal. Although he kind of hated the Wizarding World at the moment, one thing he learned from this place was to trust in magic. And in an open space like the one on the other side of the portal, he'd have more chance to escape than in here. Kid Flash, the young woman still on his back, was the next to step through. And then, trickling slowly at first like a stream, and then pouring in faster, the rest of the young people followed. Once everyone was through, Ned watched them all from inside the secret base, a small smile on his lips, hidden to all but two. They approached the portal in silence, turned to the group to say a few words before they joined their father…
* * * * *
Superboy, along with his babysitters from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. waited outside the facility. While most of the grunts were anxious, he was impatient and annoyed. It had been 10 minutes since they decided to just ambush the assets when they exited the base and… it was too damn long for his taste ! However, he tried not to show it. After all, he was still on tenterhooks. If he couldn't show them how useful he could be, then he doubted they'd let him live for long. His handler, Ravager, certainly wouldn't mind killing him ; she told him as much.
During the ride, after she gave the briefing of the situation to the others, she took him to the side and explained that she was top dog, and if he stepped out of line, she was authorized to put him down. Superboy had no choice but to prove he was a team player.
However, taking orders, especially foolish and irritating ones like this, went against his instincts !
And then, finally, people started to appear leaving the base. The one in front, equipped with a very advanced power armor, was Ned Stark. A young genius and entrepreneur. According to the mission briefing, he was to be captured alive if possible. If it wasn't, then at least, they had to bring his armor in as intact as possible. This objective was stupid… If the guy inside was dead, then the armor wouldn't be in a much better state, would it ?
The other two, on the other hand, were totally unknown. At least, to the young clone. He was positive that they weren't originally detained in the facility, nor were they on the surveillance footages of Ned's attack on it. So… How did they get here ? Were they waited outside and came in after the footage was cut ? No… Superboy shook his head in denial. The surveillance equipment was destroyed only a few moments ago. They couldn't have sneak past them. Then how ?
The trio casually made their way forward until they were around 100 feet away (about 30 meters) from the closest agents. Peering farther back, Superboy didn't see any of the assets, nor could he perceive them with his enhanced senses. Now, he was feeling anxious too… The idea of failing this mission started to down on him. At least, he wasn't the leader of the operation, so he shouldn't be blamed… Right ?
« Woah ! That's a lot of people and firepower ! » The distorted voice of the young genius cut through the silence. « It seems like your organization either has funding or has its hands in a lot of pies, huh ? »
« Ned, voyons ! You already know all this… » A blue skinned woman in a form-fitting outfit that left very little to the imagination said as she scanned the group and the rest of her environment. Superboy noticed the French accent and vocabulary. Her skin tone pointed out to a meta-gene activation but he never heard of someone like her…
And then, there was something even weirder. The gorilla making its way leisurely with equipment that must weigh close to a ton, and with reading glasses. He appeared both wild and sophisticated at the same time… From where he was, Superboy also saw a spark of remarkable intelligence in his eyes.
« What kind of freak show is this ? » The clone muttered under his breath.