章節 59: Survive pt.2

"SKREEE!"

The scream shook T'Challa from his daze and with a determined expression, he unloaded his MA3A into the first infected. Even though he knew this was a game, he still flinched a little at the looks the other Dora Milaje sent his way.

"That wasn't Okoye any longer," he told them, shaking his head. Scanning the room and seeing the relieved looks adorning the faces of the others nearby, his gaze hardened and he began giving out orders, "Assata, take Nomble and secure the exits. The others, form up on me and start moving out. We cannot stay here any longer."

There were flashes of anger in the eyes of the other diplomats, but the Wakandan Prince ignored them and turned away. This wasn't the real world and here, they were his competitors, he had no reason to protect them.

""My Prince,"" the women said while nodding and crossing their arms across their chest.

They moved out of the building as one unit, scanning the long hallways for any threats while T'Challa took up the middle position in the formation. As they exited the building and set their eyes on the East River, they could just barely make out the echoes of screams coming from within the building's depths, proving their prior decisions to have been the wisest option.

"My Prince," Aneka, one of the top combatants within the group, spoke up when the sound of gunshots faded. "What do we do now?"

T'Challa was silent for a moment, unsure himself, before he feigned confidence and gave an answer, "We will move towards Stark Tower. If my guess is correct, people will start to converge there for no other reason than that it was the focal point of the invasion."

Seeing the girl's approving looks, he continued, feeling more emboldened than before, "We've all played this mode before, so you should know there's strength in numbers, at least for a while."

""Yes, my Prince,"" they repeated as before.

T'Challa nodded, until he froze at the sounds of movement coming from within the building and his gaze iced over once more, "Let's move."

•••••••••••

"Tsk, they survived," James commented while clicking his tongue. He was really hoping for the Wakandans to be knocked out right off the bat, but it looked like that was just wishful thinking.

"Their elimination was unlikely to begin with, sir," Queen replied stoically between bites of popcorn. "You may not like them very much, but the Dora Milaje is one of Earth's top forces for a reason."

"Hmph, I know that," the man snorted while stealing back the tub and earning him a pout from the AI, which he ignored. "Still, it's unlikely they'll even reach their destination. There's more than half a million players between them and Stark Tower, and the infected are already moving out."

"Indeed," Queen stated, summoning the popcorn her creator was about to bite down on and tossing it into her own mouth, smirking at the audible *click* of teeth meeting nothing but themselves.

James scowled before putting a shield around his hand, only to realize that the tub had been taken back whilst doing so. He shot his companion a look of disdain after noticing she'd done the same with her own hands, before turning back to the action below, snackless and annoyed.

"Oh? This'll be interesting," he grinned, drawing Queen's gaze to where he'd been looking.

The AI said nothing, but she too had been intrigued. Looks like it was time for yet another hidden society of the world to make their move.

•••••••••••

Wong looked back at Mordo with a grimace, as the screams of what they could only assume were the infected, echoed from down the street. They'd been lucky to find each other at the New York sanctum, it being completely deserted at the time, and had opted to make their stand here.

Obviously, none of the portals were functioning and all the artifacts had proven inert, but the simple fact that they were exactly where they'd remembered had been cause for alarm. It seemed ASTIR knew more than they'd initially thought and they'd sworn to inform the Ancient One after they returned.

For now though, they hunkered down atop the center stairwell, rifles aimed at the front door.

"They got here sooner than I thought," Mordo stated with a frown. "It would've been better if the others had made it here by now…"

Wong nodded to himself, but he didn't think they could hold the building with just the two of them either.

"Should we change locations?" the future Sorcerer Supreme asked aloud.

"No," Mordo replied, shaking his head. "It's already been 10 minutes, they'll have an active radar by now. We wouldn't last another 5 out in the open."

"Hmm," Wong agreed.

*BAM! BAM!*

The two Masters of the Mystic Arts flinched at the sound of banging on the front door, tightening their grips on their rifles in preparation.

*SLAM!*

The door broke from its hinges and crashed atop the hardwood floor, the magical protections on the building in reality non-existent within this virtual recreation.

"FIRE!" Mordo shouted, going full auto from the start which earned him a disappointed glance from his companion.

Wong was the far more active gamer and was experienced enough with the world outside their sanctums to know his partner had just screwed them both. Hell, Mordo only played through the Campaigns on Easy and had only a single round of Infected under his belt before entering this tournament, while he'd committed almost all his spare time to Halo these last few months.

"STOP, you fool!" he hissed. "Small bursts! You'll run out of ammo like that!"

However, Mordo didn't seem to be listening and continued raining lead down the stairs.

Bodies started piling up at the entrance and a near-manic grin started to spread across the dark-skinned sorcerer's face. It's was an enthralling feeling, taking down your enemies with such ease, and Mordo showed no signs of wanting to stop anytime soon. That was, until…

*click...*

Mordo's face shifted to horror at the realization of what he'd just done, but he didn't have enough time to regret his actions.

"SKREEEEE!" came a shriek from their left, the sound of shattering glass following shortly after as a Chitauri crashed through the second story window.

"Crap," Wong cursed, getting up to a knee from his prone position and firing at the infected. "Mordo! Reload, I'll cover you!"

*Brrt!*

*Brrrt!*

*Brrt!*

"I've only got one mag left!" came the reply, but Wong was to busy to acknowledge.

""SKREEEEE!""

Two aliens came from the second floor windows, announcing their presence with a bloodthirsty shriek, while countless more started tearing down the blockage at the front door. Wong swiveled to the new targets, taking them out with short bursts to the head, but they were swiftly replaced by more.

The sound of full-auto came from behind him once again and he cursed within his mind to never team up with this idiot again. He didn't bother to correct his partner this time though, there was little point now.

"I'm out! I'm out!" Mordo shrieked, something Wong would also never let him forget, before unsheathing the knife attached to his thigh.

*Brrrrt!*

*Brrt!*

"Let's move to the roof!" Wong shouted amidst his bursts. "Just cover my back!"

The larger man didn't think they'd make it out of there, but his pride as a gamer wouldn't just let him sit down and wait for death. Plus, dying really hurt.

A Chitauri came charging at them from the bottom of the stairs until Mordo kicked the bannister, turning the steps into a slick ramp, one of the few manual features of the building that still worked in VR. Another disconcerting thing to mention to the Ancient One when they got back, but not worth commenting on at the moment.

"Shit! They've blocked the exit!" Wong cried out.

*CLICK!*

The crisp sound reverberated through the battlefield, the moment seeming to stretch on for seconds within the two men's mind, before time was forcefully pulled back to normal and the infected seem to get a second wind, charging forth with newfound fervor.

"I'm out!" Wong shouted with a hint of panic, his eyes darting around nervously in search of an escape.

Mordo turned and gave his partner a shaky smile at the declaration, meeting Wong's eyes briefly and conveying his apologizes within that instant. Then, his gaze hardened and he sprinted towards the incoming wave, "FOR KAMAR-TAJJJ!"

Wong's eyes widened at his friend's war cry, before he steadied himself and grinned, unsheathing a blade of his own. He may not be as skilled in close quarters as Mordo, be he charged forth and rallied the cry nonetheless, "FOR KAMAR-TAJ!"

Maybe it would've been somewhat poetic to say that they held their positions for hours, fighting on until nothing but determination and sheer willpower flowed through their veins. But alas, it wasn't to be as the two brave sorcerers were struck down nearly instantly.

"PTUK!"

Blood sprayed from Mordo's lips as the bladed arm of a Chitauri burst through his chest from behind, the man not even landing a single blow on his opponent.

*Thud.*

""SKREEEEE!""

Wong's head hit the deck amidst victorious screams, rolling away from the spewing fountain that was his severed neck, until it was crushed beneath the foot of an infected.

Their final stand ended like so many others that day, buried beneath a wave of grey bodies, their courage all but forgotten by the world for now… Save for two lone voyeurs, that is.

•••••••••••

"Pftt- Ahahahaha! That was great!"

"Fufufu, yes. We should put that on the highlight reel, sir."

"Oh? That's not a bad idea, my dear. Make it so!"

"As you wish, Master James."