Travis found himself on the floor. Everything happened too fast. Moments ago, the man in the armor had pushed him to the ground suddenly and without warning. A loud sound came soon after, liberating a cloud of dark smoke and debris. It was an explosion. The back wall of the workshop was gone; only a hole remained in its place.
His ears ring with pain, and the smoke made him cough. After some time, he was able to get his bearings. Travis turns his head. Amongst the confusing scene, he could only make out a large shadow standing over him. As the shadow began to move, the malnourished man felt the vibrations that accompanied every step. It was as if the man in the armor had transformed into a black giant.
The giant silhouette turned. From its forearm, a stream of light emerged, and then another. The streams of light were directed towards the massive hole that used to be the back wall. Travis tried to stand, but he found it difficult to maintain balance. It took him a few times to get up. His hearing came back, but only from his left ear. Meanwhile, the sound generated by the beams of light came one after the other.
As everything came into focus, he was able to see more details from the giant. It was actually a power armor. The streams of light were lasers that thing was firing through the hole caused by the explosion. Laser beams and bullets fired from outside bounced from the surface of the machine.
Travis understood that his life was in danger. But he could not turn away. The technology displayed before him was too marvelous. He at least had the good sense of ducking to avoid incoming fire. Now on the ground and feeling a bit safer, he looked around the ruins of his workshop. Travis will shed no tears for this accursed place.
The malnourished man spotted the terminal of the workshop. He crawled towards the computer and looked at the device. It was still in one piece and functioning. Using the keyboard of the terminal, he was able to update the software of the dormant mechs outside. He then messaged the Vulture Queen that the mechs were ready.
Inside the Ogre, Mark cursed his luck. With the explotion his rescue plan was revealed. Being forced into action, the young man started shooting the weapons of his power suit. "Damit, why can nothing come out as planned?" He returned fire at a group of gang members shooting at him.
With his quick action, Mark was able to keep Travis, the mech engineer, alive. Although without one of his eardrums. At the moment, the malnourished man was crawling behind the power armor. With a bit of luck, the mech engineer would be able to install the software fixes. Laser fire and tracer bullets bounced harmlessly against the black armor of the Ogre suit. Since the weapons were of low quality and small caliber, Mark was not worried.
The young man started to return fire without hesitation. Using fluid movements, the laser weapons mounted on the forearms of his powered armor flared with every shot. Mark fired with deadly accuracy using the targeting system integrated on The Ogre's visor.
Another rocket was fired; this time, the Ogre suit was the intended target. He could have used the ordnance mounted on the Ogre's shoulders, but that would bring unwanted attention. Instead, Mark shot it down using the lasers without much fanfare. With a second shot, he took down the one firing rockets.
As he turned to shoot towards the other side, the members of the vulture gang dropped their weapons. Mark pointed one of the forearm lasers and fired. His target was a member of the Blazing Hand aiming at the surrendering gang members.
His actions were misunderstood by the Vultures as a sign of support. Grabbing their weapons again, the members started firing at the coalition of gangs being led by the Blazing Hand. Mark decided not to correct this error.
The young man was not able to fight everybody by himself. While his technology was leagues beyond the weapons of the gangs, everything had a limit. Too much concentrated fire was bound to bring down his Ogre suit.
Yet another laser beam hit The Ogre. Mark turned and fired the forearm-mounted laser at the aggressor, another member of the Blazing Hand. Without hesitation, he ended another life. In his mind, Mark cursed at the man for making him take his life.
The other gangs witnessed the event and decided not to shoot at the power armor. They figured out that the black powered armor was shooting only in response to the ones that shot at it. They stopped targeting the black powersuit. Some of them had even started to withdraw. Little by little, the coalition of gangs was falling apart.
Behind Mark, the hum of mech engines roared. The franken-mechs started to move. While the vultures were not able to build laser weapons for their mechs, they did not need to. Mele weapons will be enough for this encounter.
Some areas of the mechs had poor armor; however, this was not an issue. Infantry-grade weapons were not able to harm the mechs. Swinging a crude club, one of the mechs brought the wall of the warehouse down. Then, the two machines walked out of the building.
Watching the two Vulture mechs, the other gang's morale crumbled even further. They started to run away from the battlefield. In their eyes, this had become a losing battle, and they had no plans of dying for another gang.
All of a sudden, a piece of debris came crashing down onto one of the mechs. The mech hit by the improvised projectile was not seriously damaged. However, the inexperienced pilot lost balance, and his mech came crashing down.
Mark looked in the direction the attack came from. He saw two enemy mechs walking in the direction of the warehouse. These machines were actually converted construction mechs. Moving slowly, the machines were closing the distance.
The intact vulture mech started moving in the direction of the Attacking machines. With a sword in hand, it moved as fast as it could. While the machine's construction hindered its movement, the franken-mech was quicker than the converted enemy mechs. Using the scrap sword, the vulture mech attacked the closest construction mech.
With a successful attack, the arm used to toss the debris fell to the ground. The vulture mech lifted the sword once again, but the enemy mech countered with a tackle. The swordsman mech lost balance. However, before falling to the ground, the pilot maneuvered the machine and succesfully regain balance. Using a turning motion, the mech attacked again.
This time, the sword attack was successful. The construction mech's leg was severed below the knee joint. Since these machines were not meant for combat, they had poor balance to begin with; the enemy mech was out of the battle. The swordsman mech turned towards the other construction mech.
At the same time, the mech near the warehouse regains its balance and charges to attack. Between the two, they made quick work of the converted machine. Only scrapped metal remained from the two Blazing Hand mechs. Without mechs to support them, this battle was lost.
The Blazing Hand and the coalition of gangs started to withdraw. Their defeat was obvious. However, this war will not be won with a single battle; the gangs will be back. The remaining vultures began to take stock of their losses. Both groups had bled significantly. However, very few members of the Blazing Hand have died. They mostly use the other gangs as meat shields.
Mark decided to take the chance to slip away with the engineer. To move faster, he changed back to the Mirmidón armor, storing the ogre suit back in the inventory. Since the vultures were occupied, they planned to leave quietly. However, as they exited the warehouse through the hole in the wall, the two men were surrounded.
Fearing the worst, Mark materialized his chrome rifle. With a menacing tone, he addressed the men & wemen surrounding him. Let us pass, or you will not see the light of day again."
The vultures dropped their weapons. Mark was puzzled by the actions of the gang members. Instead of attacking, the gang members started chanting a word over and over. They had chosen a name for their unlikely savior. It was Specter.
One of them came forward. Raising his hands, he signaled the crowd into silence. The young man recognized him; he was one of the men from the appliance shop. The one named Handy. The man moved towards the two, showing his bare hands.
With a Respectful tone, Handy addresses the man in the Armor. "Specter, the Vulture Queen is dead. She died in the battle. We need someone to lead us, and we want it to be you." Handy looks around at the other members. "Since you helped us and saved many of us, we want to follow your lead. Without you, we will die in the next fight."
Mark was about to say no, but he realized that once the Blazing Hand dealt with the vultures, Riggan's point would belong to them. He and the droid boutique would be the next item on their list. Instead of Travis being in chains, it would be his turn. Even worse, they could take his family to force him.
If he had to face the army created by his enemies, Mark needed an army of his own. However, this was not easy. He would need help. Before taking action, he decided to consult one of the few men he trusted, ...his grandfather.
With his electrically modulated voice, Mark spoke to the crowd. "I need time to make this decision. I will come back tomorrow." He turned to look at the crowd gathering around him. The gang members looked at him with eager eyes. "In the meantime, bury your dead and start rebuilding. Tomorrow night, I will come back with an answer." Handy and the rest of the vultures opened up a path for the two men.
As they left the crowd behind, Mark materialized the hover bike. Travis looked in amazement. Mark gestures for the man to board the vehicle behind him. Without delay, the mech engineer hopped on the vehicle. It was the first time he ever used a Hover Bike. Travis was afraid of such vehicles. With the little strength he had, the malnourished man gripped the handlebars behind him as if he was holding to dear life.
On the other side of the city, Gin knocked reluctantly on the door to the boss's room. He had to give the bad news to the man. Needless to say, the tattooed man will not be happy with the news. Still, it had to be done.
As he heard the command to come in, Gin opened the door. This time, the Boss was standing shirtless in the middle of the room, practicing Martial Arts Katas. His tattooed body displayed a well-toned physique.
With a reluctant look, Gin comes closer and bows. "Sir, I have bad news. The attack failed. The coalition fell apart when facing the vultures. The gang members were hiding a lot of tech inside their warehouse. I'm prepared to accept full responsibility for this blunder."
The Boss never stopped performing his Katas. "Do not worry, Gin. This outcome was expected. That is why I ask you to send the lower members along with the Vipers and the other gangs. Our strength is not actually diminished."
Gin had a puzzled expression. He knew the Boss was pragmatic, but sacrificing the lesser members and the other gangs just to make the enemy show their hand was a bit cold even for him. Still, he voiced no complaint. Hiding his emotions, he asked for guidance. "What do you wish to do now?"
The boss performed another kata flawlessly. His well-toned body and his execution showed his devotion throughout the years of practicing martial arts. "Did you record the battle as I asked you?"
Gin had a positive response this time. "Yes, Sir, I have it right here. Would you like to watch it now or when you finish your training?
Performing another perfect Kata, the Boss voiced his choice. "Place it by the monitor. I will examine the video when I'm done with my training."
After dropping Travis in a hospital, Mark decided to call Bart. The man answered his comm-pad immediately. "Mark, where are you? I have been trying to reach you for the past half hour. There were reports of a gang battle near Riggan's Point."
Mark decided to tell his grandfather about the events of the night. If Bart was going to help him, he needed to know. "Well, about that..."