Chương 26: Hang around with Cricket

I eyed the inconspicuous-looking warehouse warily as me and a dozen other ABB gangsters shuffled out the back of some vans. Oni Lee had gone out alone to harass some other locations too, but I was more worried about Empire retaliation...

It'd been a day since my anxiety-causing meeting with Lung and Nishihara, and the PRT had acted precisely as they'd expected... Unfortunately, that also meant matching the time of their excursion into ABB territory, which left me and the other goons attacking E88 hideouts in broad daylight...

It might have been advantageous due to the fact most capes had civilian identities they had to uphold, and couldn't drop everything to run at an invading force... That said, I was pretty sure the Empire had measures against this, they were too organised not to.

I brush the back of my hand behind me, feeling the Glock I'd stolen from that nazi guy weeks ago tucked tightly in my makeshift holster. I hoped I didn't have to use it but there were some Empire capes it'd be necessary against. As Akiba mentioned though, using non-tinkertech weapons would almost instantly cause the enemy to start employing lethal tactics.

"They already know we're here so no fucking about! Kaibyō, do your thing! The rest of us will follow!" the leader for the goons whose name I'd not bothered to remember says, prompting me to start marching forward.

I move, easily kicking the metal side door of the warehouse off of its hinges and ducking inside. There, I find exactly what we were looking for. A large almost-empty room with a small living area tucked at the side, consisting of some couches, t.v, a coffee table, and a microwave placed awkwardly on the floor.

At the side were some metal barrel drums that should hold all the drugs the E88 had confiscated from the Merchants, hopefully we'd caught them before they'd ship most of it out.

Of course, then there were the nazi goons who all snapped their heads towards me after the ruckus I'd just made. There were only eight or so, but there was likely double or triple that in the area that'd arrive once word got out.

"IT'S THE FUCKING CAT! GET HIM!" one roars, causing the whole place to go into a frenzy. In response I draw my tanto and dash forwards, driving the short blade into the chest on the nearest one before throwing his convulsing body at the next.

The ABB gangsters run in behind me, drawing some attention as I duck a wild punch, slicing their side, before barely deflecting a crowbar swung at my temple. The guy, surprised by my strength stumbles backwards, allowing me to jump up and kick him in the chest, sending him flying over a couch and into the television.

*BANG!*

I grimace and roll to the side to avoid another two shots from a goon with a pistol. Before I can retaliate he's gunned down by someone on our side, leaving me free reign to deal with the rest.

Blood spatters, but I restrain myself to simple violent kills rather than drinking it in front of everyone... That'd create some questions I'd rather not answer.

With the nazis dealt with I tear the lid off of a metal drum but sigh and toss it away, it was empty.

The others had small baggies within but it was nowhere near the haul Nishihara and Lung were looking for.

*Thud!*

*Crack!*

I turn to see the bodies of my 'teammates' drop to the ground, one simply knocked out while the other had his throat slit.

"Cat." a quiet, artificial voice states. Across the room stood a young woman wearing jeans pants and a tank top, displaying the many small and large scars across her arms. Blonde buzz-cut hair and a metal cage-like mask that didn't hide the vicious scar across her throat, forcing her to use a voice synthesiser.

"You must be Cricket." I conclude, recalling everything I'd read about the cape. She was known to have some sort of Sound-based Shaker ability, and PHO speculated she was a tinker of some sort... Though, that was primarily due to her usage of a voice synthesiser when Othala, another Empire cape, could've healed that injury with relative ease.

She'd fought plenty of battles but was only recorded killing one other cape, someone in an opposing gang in New York before moving to Brockton.

She twirls her kamas in her hands and bounces on the balls of her feet, as if showing she was ready to fight... I glance at the remaining ABB goons who'd all backed up to the door after the leader was killed.

One catches my glare and fearfully draws his pistol, aiming at the woman... Somehow though she reacts before he'd even aimed it, without looking at him at that, swinging the chain of the kama and cleaving his wrist off.

"AAHHH! FUCK-FUCK-FUCK! SHIT!" the gangster screams, gripping his arm.

"Run." Cricket's artificial voice orders them, prompting them to flee without a second thought. Cowards.

"Is talking like a demented robocop your thing? Or does your gang hate you so much they won't heal you?" I question, lowering myself like a spring, ready to move.

She doesn't reply, electing to twirl her kamas above her head from their chains, I dodge a couple but every time I try to approach the blades shoot at me like heat-seeking projectiles... If I didn't know better I'd have guessed she had telekinesis or something of the sort... I flip backwards as she swings both at my chest, and as she recovers her weapons I sink my claws into a nearby pipe to throw myself onto the catwalk above her.

I liked my bets against her here than in an open area, with no place to swing those things along with the fact I was definitely more agile than her, she'd be easy pickings. If she didn't come I'd shoot at her until she did or retreated...

Cricket lets out a low growl and charges up the stairs, I duck as she reaches me, causing her to accidentally slam one kama into a metal railing while I blocked the other with my own weapon.

*Thud!*

I surprise her with a head butt, one she tries to avoid but isn't quite fast enough. Her nose breaks and blood squirts disgustingly across my face as she steps back, examining her injury.

"First blood, does that mean I win?" I say and I press my advantages, lunging forwards to stab at her abdomen. In a feat of impressive skill, she locks the tanto with her mini-scythe blade, turning it and causing the counterweight on the other side of the chain to wrap tightly around it.

With my blade locked in my place she makes a slash at my face which I respond to but extending my claws. I slash her wrist but I receive a light cut across my neck.

"Easy." her artificial voice drones as I snatch my blade back.

"Is it?" I retort, tapping below the cut with a finger to show the wound closing shut. A growl leaves her chest and she springs up, jumping atop the railing and swinging around a metal bar attaching the cat-walk to the roof.

I slash at her foot but am only rewarded with a metallic ring as it connects with a metal leg guard under her jeans. For my failed attack I'm unable to notice the heavy counterweight slamming into my metallic mask, denting it and throwing me into the railing, almost knocking me off entirely.

"Bitch." I growl as she tries for another kick. I know her game now though, ducking the kick and snatching the counterweight out of the air. With it in my grasp I jump off of th catwalk, hoping to either pull her with me or disarm her... Surprisingly she wraps the chain around the railing, leaving me hanging in midair... I'd forgotten I weighed almost nothing now, though, it was impressive for a girl of her size to hold up.

Unwilling to take this loss, I begin swinging back and forth, eventually building enough momentum to launch myself up to her. With one of her kama locked in place she slashes at me with the other, I take it, allowing her to stab the blade into my arm as I grab her cage mask with the other.

Panic fills her eyes as I wrap the counterweight around her neck and drop again... This finally pulls her off the catwalk, but once the chain pulls taut it snaps closed, crushing her neck with a vicious *CRACK!*.

With cat-like grace I land on the floor below the cat-walk, looking up at the hanging body of Cricket. That was hard, but not as hard as I'd expected...

"Kaibyō! You need to move now! Empire forces are-" a voice from my earpieces starts but is drowned out by the screeching of metal. A huge metal abomination slides into the room, it looked as if it was comprised of thousands of sharp blades and hooks to form something vaguely resembling a wolf... I was perhaps the most recognisable cape on the Empire's roster. Hookwolf.

"FOUND YOU, CAT!" he begins but loses its ferocity momentarily as it sees Cricket hanging from her own chains off of the catwalk. "YOU!"

"Me? Sorry, I left her hanging...?"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he roars and charges me.

I wasn't about to fight this cunt, I had literally nothing that could harm him so it was about time for a tactical retreat. I clamber back up the pipe I'd used earlier and quickly jump out of one of the broken roof windows of the warehouse. Leaping across a few more buildings I soon locate the pickup van my handler was driving.

I jump through the wind and shout "GO-GO-GO!", causing him to drive out of there like a bomb was about to go off.

"What happened?" he asks, wiping some sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

"Hookwolf saw what I did to Cricket and went apeshit..."

"What'd you do...?"

"Hung her like she was in an old western..."

"That'd do it. Well, that's some news to tell Nishihara I suppose, whether it's good or not is anyone's guess."

"Killing an Empire cape is bad?"

He shrugs, "Probably, they're gonna ramping things up now... Can't remember the last time an Empire cape was killed." he pauses, "Er, good job...?" he says, only now seeing the blood staining my clothes and mask.

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POV Othala :

*CRASH!*

The front door of her house explode open as Hookwolf, transforming back to his human form with the limp body of Cricket runs into the room. "HEAL HER! HEAL HER NOW!"

"B-Brad! What happened-!"

Hookwolf steps over and towers over her, "Shut your mouth and do as you're told!"

"O-Ok..." Othala pitifully lowers her head and touches Cricket. Her power wasn't a traditional heal like Panacea's was. She was simply able to grant temporary powers to people, like Regeneration for instance.

Unfortunately, while the granting Regeneration was able to heal most things, even scars and other preexisting injuries, something like what Cricket had, a spinal injury, was far harder to fix... She honestly had no idea if her power would heal this...

"There, we just need to hope it works now."

Hookwolf scowls and nods, laying the unconscious girl on the sofa. Cricket would be pissed if she recovered as all her scars were healing up, he imagined she'd find some way to be angry about getting her voice back too, as she took pride in the things she'd survived, especially for things back in the fighting pits.

"Where's Kaiser, that damn cat's becoming a problem." he growls.