Chapter 8
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***
I woke up in an unfamiliar room. My whole body was bandaged up and it hurt pretty good. Looking around, I didn't see anything unusual, which was good: at least they hadn't taken me for experiments. And who were those people anyway? Were they after that guy, and they took me for company? And what kind of psycho was that guy? I don't remember any werewolves in Marvel, except maybe Jamison's son. And what end of the world was he talking about? No, he's strong, but Thor and Hulk would wipe the floor with him. All right, we gotta get out of here.
I used my partial transformation and headed for the door. As I listened, I heard footsteps. There were definitely more than two and they were coming towards my room. I quickly stood in the corner in the blind spot and prepared to escape.
-I'm not lying! It's definitely his son! And he tried to kill him because the brat came to demand child support.
-Remy, you're the most reliable source of information, but given the amount of gibberish you're making up, do you really think you're going to be accepted as the truth?
-You look at him and you'll see that they have some common features, although he turned into a wolf. And how Thomas used to tell us about his honour and blessing. Turns out it runs in the family. I wouldn't be surprised if there's still some werewolf badger from his ex-wife running around the world. Here, take a look at this. Don't you think--
I make a grab and put my claws around the chatterer's neck.
-Where am I? -And who are you?
-Yes, you are, huh. - Smiling at his friend's predicament, Schultz said.
-Boy, calm down, I promise to talk to Thomas about the alimony, he'll give it all back. -Boy, calm down. - Looking nervously at the claws said Lebo.
-What are you talking about? What alimony?
-Stop, weren't you trying to kill each other for them? - Lebo was surprised.
-That nutcase just jumped on me, shouting about blessings and warriors.
-So you're not his son?! - Remy said in shock.
-NO!
-Why are you both turning into animals? - Remy asked in bewilderment.
What am I supposed to say now? I'll stick to the old line.
-I'm a mutant.
-Yeah? So am I. Why don't you let me go, brother, and we can talk about this? - Remy tried to make things peaceful.
-Prove it.
He took a playing card out of his pocket and threw it at the wall. It began to glow brightly and exploded on impact, tearing up the wallpaper where it hit. That's when I remembered who knocked me out. It was Gambit.
-What's up? Happy? - Gambit asked.
-It's fine.
-Herman, why did you stand there and do nothing? - Unhappily looking at his comrade asked Gambit.
-I was wondering: whether you will finally finish you, or our suffering will continue. As you can see, luck is not on my side. - Schultz replied with annoyance.
-Oh, come on, are you still upset about the other night? Well, you lost your share - it can happen to anyone. - Giving Herman a nasty smile, Gambit said.
-How long was I out?
-You were out for 16 hours. -What you and Thomas don't have in common is recovery. He woke up after two hours and was eager to finish your battle for the warrior title. Philippa had to knock him out several times to stop him from running to finish you off. - Herman calmly replied.
-Who are you guys anyway?
-Mercenaries. You can only find out more from Philippa. She'll be back in an hour, and in the meantime I'll go and reassure Thomas that his "magic" title is not under attack, because Remy has barely left in one piece after he woke up and remembered the one who interrupted your duel. - Quickly Herman left the room.
-'Is that what they call an assault with intent to kill now? - "There he goes. Apparently he doesn't want to account for the rampage either."
***
I was sitting at the table, with Gambit on my left, Herman on my right, and a dark-haired girl sitting in front of me, apparently the leader of their squad, and this "warrior" sitting on the sofa in the corner, looking at me with a disgruntled look.
-Well, what's your name? - Philippa asked, looking at the teenager.
-Bruce Wayne. - "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to reveal myself. Suddenly my dad also has a reward for me, like, bring me home in one piece, but if you beat the crap out of him, I won't mind."
-Okay, Bruce, I've been described the situation and I apologise for Thomas and his actions. And I saw your fight yesterday, and you're a pretty capable kid. So I'd like to offer you a lucrative job. Is that something that interests you? - Zontag asked in a calm tone.
You mean they also watched that psycho mutilate me?
-How lucrative?
-Missions vary, but the pay starts at 80,000 and can go up to 200-300,000 per person. - "She must have expected to see the shock in my eyes at those sums, but I'll get somewhere around $1,500,000 for the first print run of my book alone, and they're luring me in with such crumbs. Although... It might be a good workout, and I can pump up my skills, because training with Brooks has stopped bringing me quick level-up. I need combat experience and this job is perfect for that.
-I agree.
-Then, Bruce, tell me what you can do - I need to understand what you can do. - Looking at the teenager, Philippa said.
-Well, you've seen the transformation, in it I'm stronger, faster and more fully aware of my surroundings. I'm also a good shot and can fight.
-Well, you'll show me your shooting skills later. -Well. For now, you can meet the team. And you have a week to recover before the test mission. I think that'll be enough for you. - Said Zontag, then got up from the table and left the room leaving Rain alone with the team.
- Yeah, I can recover, just don't let that violent one near me.
-At this rate, we'll be a travelling petting zoo. - Schultz said, unhappily.
-If you had seen them fighting, you would have realised that this will be the first and last contact in the life of our visitors. - Remy Etienne Lebeau better known as Gambit said with a smile.
-What can you do?
-I'm not bad with cards, but you've already seen that. - Gambit replied.
-He's not bad at cheating at cards, that's all he can do. - Corrected his companion Herman.
-Well, you know our puma. By the way, while you recover, think up a call sign. Here I am, for example, Gambit, this disgruntled - Shocker, our aggressive animal called Puma, and for the main we have Arclight.- Listed the call signs of team members Remy.
-I'll think about it. - "Afterwards we talked some more with Gambit, and I began to realise the reason for the Puma's hatred. He's from some ancient tribe where this transformation is only passed down to the most worthy and is a great honour. And then he meets some lefty kid who resembles him after the blessing and then demonstrates powers 80% similar to yours. It's like saving up for a car for a few years, buying it, and then finding out a week later that a new dealership opened a couple of blocks away and they're giving the same car away for free to the first ten buyers."
So what do we have now? As you asked, here's an adventure, but, apart from the bad start, I'm happy with the situation, because what can pump up my skills better than dangerous battles? Especially I can use the teleporter and escape at any time. Although why this idea did not occur to me yesterday is not clear.
It took me three days to fully recover. Of course, time acceleration played no small part in that, but Philippa was surprised - it seems she's not often wrong.
My shooting skills were rated well, though they seem to expect me to mostly use my other guise as a cougar.
-Well, have you chosen your call sign? - Gambit asked with interest.
-Yes.
-И?
-Werewolf.
-...
My test assignment was the purpose of their order, for which they came to this city. And they said, of course, that it was just my luck that the order was so close. But since it's a test, I'll only be paid 40,000 to fulfil it. That was generous! And, best of all, they picked the perfect part for me. Me, Puma and Arclight will distract attention by destroying buildings and killing guards, and Gambit and Shocker will sneak in from the opposite side of the base and will have to steal something and blow up their labs. We are attacking some Arab organisation, and its name in the shadow world is so pathetic! I can't believe it! "Secret Empire" - that's what I mean - people's ego. They're responsible for 60% of terrorist attacks using explosives.
The assault squad will ride in an armoured car and ram the gates, while our quiet friends go on foot.
It's good to know that in the briefing during the ride, we were given very specific objectives:
1. Make noise.
2. To crash.
3. Kill.
4. Not dying (optional).
The first three items are straight out of the Hulk's diary.
Zing!
Assignment received.
"First time."
You've killed before. But killing from a few hundred metres away and killing someone standing in front of you are very different things. Prove to yourself and your acquaintances that you are good for something and complete the task and return alive.
Reward for completion: depends on the integrity of your body after completing the mission.
Punishment for failure is variable: loss of chance to join the team, loss of respect, loss of limbs, death.
That's nice... I've been given a mission outline.
-We're coming up, get ready. -We're coming up. - Said Arclight.
Well, now we'll see what I'm good for.
***
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