Becoming Monsters: In The Mirror 2, Chapter 60

This is still a story of the Becoming Monsters universe by Ai Loves, setting used with permission. All canonical and mechanical errors are my own. The yarrb is the exceedingly cute creation of FelisRandomis, used with permission.

Anita and Iniki are the creations of XelArtz, used with permission. You may recognize Justin from Becoming Monsters: I’m Blue. He, as well as the other apprentices of Quiverbow, are using guns based on the Motortier, Hammerwald, and Rail Cleaner foam-flinging weapons created by Quiverbow’s creator, Domochevsky. Talonaxe is also a cameo, of the foam-weapon expert by the same name.

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Chapter 60: Fireworks

The sun was just starting to seriously make its way towards the horizon by the time we arrived on the scene. I’m sure someone, somewhere had a time they’d decided was the real one to count as Sunset, but anyone who lived up here knew those were deceptive at best. Shortly and without warning, the sun would decide it was done with today and disappear beyond the horizon. We needed to get familiarized with the area to be able to defend it properly. The cargo ship was already there, patiently waiting for what was scheduled to come from the nearby railhead. That was the end of the good news.

Active docks are not known for their open areas and logical layouts. I’m sure that it all made sense to someone, possibly even the people who would be working to transfer the cargo containers, but it did not to me at first glance. Or second. Thankfully, most of my team had wings to help deal with it. Gloria and Amber just had to find good places to set up and they wouldn’t need to worry about it. Sight lines might be messy, but anyone trying to get close would have another thing coming. In the end, Gloria chose a forward point so that she could coordinate with Nibbles (whose coloration made him nearly invisible in the darkening corridors). Amber set up near the bow of the ship.

While Whitney and Paige started to fly around to get familiarized, I went to greet a few of the reinforcements who had gotten there early. Atop one of the containers near the center of the area were four people. Two Humans (a pretty brunette and a guy who looked like a surfer stereotype who was carrying an odd sword made of blue glass) and a Dwarf were working on something. An attractive Tiger Beastfolk woman stood with them, her fur slightly but noticeably more flame-like than most of her peers, slightly apart from the others as if not wanting to interfere with their preparations. Given that I knew her already, I chose to land beside her.

“Anita, thanks for joining the party.”

She was dressed fairly scantily, but like the last time I saw her I got the feeling it was more for mobility than for showing off. In her right hand was a staff topped with a red crystal of some kind. “Jeremiah, good to see you again, and Xela sends his regards. Most of us were busy, but Iniki is already patrolling the waters.”

“Can’t say I know that name. Mind giving me the short version of her capabilities and yours? All I know is that you’re a fire caster.”

“Pyrotechnician. If you want spectacular, I’m your girl. Iniki is a Shark, and a Combat Shifter besides. Anyone tries to approach from the water, they’re going to have a bad time.”

“If you can let her know, there’s a pair of Cecaelia out there who work for me. Chaske and Misun are running scout drones for us.”

“Oh, she knows. Found them five minutes ago, they’ve been fanboying over her. She does model work, apparently they recognized her on sight.”

“I wish I could say I was surprised. And who are these three?” I nodded at the others, who seemed to be casting something into their surrounding area. Up close, I could tell they were all packing firearms… that were all reflecting the fading light oddly.

“Three of Quiverbow’s apprentices. Justin, Wilhelmina, and Talonaxe. A Shaper and two Enchanters, respectively. Those long arms of theirs are three of the nastiest weapons their boss has ever made, they’re making a fire base here.”

The beach boy Shaper with the blue sword and what looked like a submachine gun with anger issues stood and walked over, offering his hand. I shook it. He grinned a bit wildly. “Good to meet you in person, sir. I’m Justin, already signed on to the union. In about fifteen minutes the top of this crate is going to have so many layers of protection on it that nothing short of an Anti Material Rifle or several tons of explosives will be getting through it. We can help occupy the center and shelter allies if anyone gets hurt.”

I took a look at the structure of light they were setting up. “That can’t be cheap. You sure you want to waste all of those materials?”

“The actual enchantments are only going to last until morning, so they’re cheaper than you’d expect. Talonaxe is the Dwarf with the mag-fed launcher over there.” Justin nodded at one of his coworkers, the weapon in question looking fit to slay anything less than Dragon sized that got near us. “He’s on the actual Delving track and is showing us how he does it, then hooking into physical points I’m creating from the metal of the crate.”

I nodded. “Alright, I’ll take your word on it. Best get to it, then, I need to check on the others and night will fall soon.”

He gave me a thumbs up, and I started winging it across the docks to where a car had just pulled up. It was a relatively small one, so imagine my surprise when four Humans got out instead of the two I was expecting. The driver was a dark-skinned man in a white robe, wearing the badge of Pantheon on one side of his chest and an icon of a dragon holding a red cross on the other. I didn’t recognize the Patron, but he’d be here for healing. The two in the backseat were both garbed in light armor, carrying knives and pistols. Their badges were of claw marks suggesting a W shape. Wild Hunt had sent two instead of the one expected.

The man who got out of the passenger seat and stepped towards the trunk was another one I recognized, but his presence was unexpected in the extreme. “George? What are you doing here?”

George Godfrey, the main Tank of the main Delving team of the largest and most powerful Guild in Seattle, the man who had called in the favor that brought me here, and who had told me he likely wouldn’t be allowed to associate with me going forward. Tall, broad, blond, and strapping on his shining armor like the Knight he was. “I’m not on the schedule for tomorrow, Jeremiah, so the least I can do is be here to make sure the people who work for my family are protected.” His emotions were turbulent. This stunt could get him into some seriously hot water with his boss, but like me he felt his duty was worth that kind of risk. Might be why we were both in the role where we intercepted most of the incoming damage. I couldn’t help but note that his armor lacked one thing I had expected. The badge showing the sun rising over the city was conspicuous by its absence.

The next words were not his voice, however. “This is more of a production than even I gave you credit for, Jeremiah. When did you find the time between going to the Zoo and going to your job?”

“Leah. I probably should have figured you’d be representing Luna tonight.” I hadn’t heard her coming. As usual, really, but I’d been focusing on my empathic senses and even they hadn’t given me a whiff that an Assassin was in stab range. “Having you here will be a relief, though.”

“Don’t let down your guard. I don’t know if anything is coming, but if it is then it will be big. Something’s been trying to make sure this shipment doesn’t make it to buyers. Someone has spent more than it is worth to stop it, so what is going on is much more than market sabotage.” She was also in her gear, matte black leather mottled with varying shades of dark gray that broke up her outline. Two daggers were at her hips.

“Good to know. George, when’s the train due?”

“I’d normally say fifteen minutes, but given what we’ve been seeing you can expect it sometime in the next two hours.” The last things George pulled out of the trunk once his armor was on were his shield and sword, both looking noticeably larger and heavier than a man his size should be using. The sword had a wicked silver gleam I recognized, it was a mithril weapon. He’d upgraded since I last saw him. “If it comes to a fight, you’re in charge of this team. I’ll listen to your instructions.”

“I appreciate that.” Meant it, too, he was the one who’d ordered the operation and who knew the score best. He could have insisted on being in charge. “Wild Hunt, you’ll find people already controlling the area from high sight lines. Go make sure they know who you are so you don’t get shot prowling. Leah, I’d ask the same of you, but it is unnecessary. Cleric, the fire team near the center have formed a shelter. That will be ideal for a healer unless you have the ability to fly.”

“No, sir. I’m Level 3, just dedicated to the Hospitaler’s path, so a shelter is appreciated.”

“Good. Get to it, then, and prepare for what I hope is going to be a boring night.” I turned and prepared to jump.

“Hold on. I brought something to help with that, too.” George pulled out a bag, and from it he grabbed a walkie talkie. “I’ve got twenty in here, should be enough for your team. I just need them back at dawn, the batteries should last just fine.”

“Thanks.” I looked up to the sky, saw who I wanted, and gave a sharp whistle. Paige descended from overhead. After a quick explanation, we each had one clipped to our belts and she was flying them off to hand to the others.

Then the boredom started. I did my best to make sure everyone was on schedule, checking in regularly. Most of them had never done this kind of watch, and to be honest I hadn’t all that often either, but good habits start early. They’re hard to maintain when the rubber hits the road.

About an hour later, a train arrived at the railhead and crews got to work under George’s watchful eye (along with the lights around the docks, since the sun wasn’t helping). That didn’t really involve the defenders too much, though. Not once the Knight made himself known and explained the night’s rather peculiar security arrangements. Once the workers were in the groove, though, George walked up to me. “Kithkin. There aren’t as many workers as usual for a cargo this size. Either they couldn’t find people for the overnight, or…”

“Or whoever’s been interfering with this got to some of them, too. What’s the fallout?” I was looking at the people at work, academically interested in how they were doing it but intensely interested in any slight deviation from what I saw. It could indicate a disturbance.

“Between the slightly late start and that, they won’t be done until nearly sunrise.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Figures. My first night where I might have gotten real sleep and it was looking like sleep was going to be something I wasn’t getting. From far overhead, I could hear the faint humming sound of one of the drones scouting around. “I could see that they were nervous, but I wasn’t sure about the source.”

“Huh, is that how you get your combat edge? You read people’s intents and direct your guild around it?” He seemed genuinely curious.

I shook my head. “That doesn’t work unless it’s really obvious. If a man with a gun who hates me suddenly spikes with rage, I know to get a shield up, but like this? Best it’ll give me is if something major is going wrong, not what. I have to get back to the central fire base, let me know if something is odd beyond the usual.”

“Will do.” George turned to the others, standing out in his bright armor but somehow looking more comfortable in it than when I’d met him without it.

The hours dragged on, midnight passed us by without a whisper, and still we kept up our vigil. I made sure to drop by the shoreline to at least introduce myself to Iniki, who obligingly came to the edge of the docks and emerged to have a chat. Light blue, strong tail, and a black bikini designed more to not get in the way than to conceal anything. No wonder the twins were fans. She had been swimming slow laps of the area as deep as she could between coming up for (rare) breaths to look for anything coming through the water. Thus far, nothing, but there was a crackle from the radios, Chaske. “Boss, looks like we got company. IR is picking up what looks like body heat to the south, opposite of the loaders.”

Incredible what they could find when they weren’t staring at a fitness model’s boobs. “Overwatch, you heard him. Paige, Whitney, go say hi to the guest and make sure they’re friendly. I’ll stay centered in case someone else decides it’s a good time.” I released the radio button. “Iniki, if one’s here then there may be more. Get in position and be ready to rock.”

“On it.” She turned and dove back under the dark waters.

The tension between my shoulders started ratcheting up. The visitor was probably an innocent mistake. Someone who didn’t mean us harm, at the wrong place and wrong time, who probably didn’t even know anything important was happening. Having two strikers descend from the heavens to turn them around would be plenty. Sure, Jeremiah. At one o’clock in the morning. Someone was taking a walk randomly along the docks, tell yourself that. On a hunch, I flapped up to Amber’s perch on the bow of the ship. “Be ready for anything. I don’t like this at all.” I was looking out over the water, wondering if we were about to be attacked from our weakest side.

“You got it, Jay. I actually have a fairly good line of sight down the lanes between these crates, this is where the bunch around here were all heading anyway.”

A ripple on the water alerted me to the presence of something unexpected. I might not have even seen it had the moon not been reflecting off of it just right. Or just wrong, depending on your point of view. Before I could touch my radio set, another ripple emerged behind it. One that had the head of a certain Shark girl in it. She dove again, and the shadow making the first ripple was suddenly pulled underwater. At the same time, the radio crackled with Whitney’s voice. “Jay, it was hostile. Human male, a bit under six feet tall, wearing black tactical gear and armed with multiple firearms. I convinced him to take a nap, the helmet was good but not magical.”

“I’m on my way. Where’s the body?”

“Stashed him in container 3825.”

“Got it. George, get the workers to safety. Two down at the same time means there are probably…”

With an unholy screaming sound, one of the weapons in the central firebase spun up. It loosed an enormous bolt of power down one of the aisles, and the resulting explosion was not subtle.

“... as I was saying, there are probably more. Everyone, it’s showtime. Whitney, I’ll get the guy later.”

Gloria’s voice cut in. “I have at least two contacts on the far east side of the area, but they’re sticking to shadows. I can’t see them.”

Anita’s voice responded. “My turn, then. Look at the fireworks fly as they light up the night sky!” She called power, and all of a sudden the darkness wasn’t an issue any longer. Like three comets on a collision course with destiny, streaks of bright white light flew across the docks. When they reached the area Gloria had designated, they detonated with a sound that was clearly audible from the bow of the boat on the other side of the area, lighting it up like the noonday sun. In the intense glare I could see the targets clearly, including something that had been an advantage ten seconds prior but was no longer so. Night vision goggles.

Their screams of pain were faintly audible from where I was. Gloria pinning them in place then dropping Acid Mist on their position probably didn’t help. Four down, maybe five. No idea how many more to go. Amber suddenly sighted along her own carbine and started taking careful shots. “Spotted one nearby the gangway.”

“The what?”

“The ramp up onto the boat for those of us who don’t have wings.”

“I’ll take this one, then.” With a beat of my wings, I propelled myself over the railings towards the direction she had indicated, trusting that her last couple of shots would be enough to keep the enemy’s head down as I descended. My faith was well-placed, as her muzzle fell silent I landed within arm’s reach of another of the black-clad and armored foes. One slice of my Saber cleaved his rifle in half. The next brought its edge directly to the man’s crotch. “This sword can scar dragonscale. I don’t know what your balls are made of, but it isn’t that. Unless you want an improvised orchiectomy, hand over your radio.”

He complied, so all I did to him was punch him in the face to leave him unconscious. The radio was on, but silent. Something wasn’t right. It didn’t make sense, at all. Private Military Contractors weren’t cheap, and given the gear that’s who these guys had to be. Six of them had gone down like butter, and though I knew we were good we weren’t THAT good. That didn’t even count that whomever sent them had been going all out trying to stop this shipment. Even if they hadn’t been expecting capable defenders they should have been more capable.

Then I realized. None of them were coordinating well with each other to fight as a group. None of them had used any Class or Race abilities. All of them were armed in a way that suggested they didn’t have them, which meant they weren’t prime operatives. That meant…

“They’re decoys!”

The next people to become visible emerged precisely at the point furthest from the defenders, who had been drawn to the east, south, and west. They came from the north, straight through where the dock workers had been laboring minutes ago. Five people, ranging in size from three and a half to eight feet tall, were striding towards the train that still held half of the shipment. The big one lifted what looked like a rocket launcher and aimed at the train. Might have ended our defense right there if not for some quick thinking from the fire base.

Anita the Pyrotechnician dropped another firework on the enemy as not one, but three weapons started screaming. Another of those giant bolts flew out, this one followed by a rapid spray of bullets and shot from the others. They weren’t in range to do so accurately, but given that their targets had no interest in risking it they had to respond. The short one thrust forth his hand to summon a glowing barrier over them, stopping the large bolt in a flash of light. The barrier shattered, and all five decided simultaneously that cover was a good idea.

“Alright, looks like the introductions are done.” My voice was way more steady than I was feeling. “Mobile people, close in. Twins, I need one camera and both guns on them, other camera scouting. Iniki, keep to the river, and check the underside of the boat for explosives…”

I was winging it across the tops of the shipping containers towards the action as I rattled off instructions and coordinated information. Then I had to leap to the side as a fireball flew at me from one of them. Give them credit, too, it exploded midair just after it missed getting a direct hit, but a combination of distance and fire resistance meant that it didn’t bother me any more than opening a hot oven. Couldn’t let that stand, though, so I dialed in a Flame Ray and returned fire. Literally.

I know what I threw at them wasn’t doing much at this range beyond keeping them nervous, but it drew a response entirely out of proportion to what I’d done. The five of them immediately scrambled for position, and I found myself dodging both more magic in several flavors as well as the next rocket from the launcher. That also made no sense, we had a literal glowing fire base taking pot shots at them to way more effect along with their actual objectives. Why were they wasting that much firepower aimed at me? It was only reasonable if they’d identified me and I was an objective, but they hadn’t known I was going to be here.

The next couple of shots were on target, but thankfully hit my chainmail without enough force to really hurt. What it did manage to do was convince me to go to ground and hoof it the rest of the way instead of letting myself be a giant target in the sky. The sounds of gunfire and those unholy creations the fire base wielded continued off and on as I ran, letting me keep track of where they were. A moment or two later and I found George with his back to a shipping container, the sounds of the enemy weapons close. “George, your people safe?”

“They are.” He was getting his shield and sword prepped and secure. “Got any info about these guys?”

“Almost nothing. Five of them, heavily armed, including at least one and more likely two significant spellcasters. They also seem to hate me, specifically, once I revealed myself they turned a disproportionate amount of that firepower at me and away from the real threats.”

“Bad guys hating you is not a qualification that narrows things down, Kithkin. Minimum two casters and a heavy weapons guy means the play is to get close and don’t let up. If they scatter, call one out and we’ll focus fire to reduce threats.”

“Sounds good to me.” I pulled out my handset. “Misun, anyone close enough to the enemy to reinforce George and I? Rather not play this two against five for long but we can’t wait.”

“Gloria, Amber, the Tiger, and the Human girl from the fire base team got close enough for ranged support. Two gun drones in the air in range, too. Whitney and Paige should be there in a minute or two, but they also had to go to ground.”

I thought for a bare second. “Alright. Everyone who can get a bead on their general area, get firing. Keep their heads down, but your priority is staying safe if they start firing back. On my command, stop so that George and I can get in to mop them up. Twins, keep firing at any who try to leave the main area. Go.”

They obeyed. The sounds of gunfire redoubled, and I could hear some detonations join them as Gloria threw Fire and Acid at them along with more fireworks from Anita. George and I coordinated our own plans and I called Sapphire Radiance to bestow Regeneration on him for the time being. I mentally gave it about 30 seconds of this before gesturing “5 seconds” at him. Five… four… three… two… one… “Cease fire.”

The two of us charged around the corner to find an area pockmarked by the assault, some surfaces scorched. We also found the big guy with his rocket launcher already pointed directly at us, which he predictably fired the moment we became visible.

“STAND BACK!” George dashed forward at the incoming missile and delivered a stunning slap with his shield. He didn’t brace, he didn’t block. He SLAPPED IT ASIDE, the missile flying off to the side until it exploded against one of the shipping crates. With a snapping sound, a pentagram formed under him, trapping him in place until I could deliver a Combat Disenchant to shatter the barely-formed barrier. I dove forward, Shield Gauntlet instinctively active to intercept as two gunshots went for George’s chest followed by one at my head. A wave of darkness flew at us, only to be cleaved in two by a slash from the Knight’s bright sword.

A flash of light, and I saw that one of them had wings and had taken a flying leap at me, swinging a two-handed sword that was glowing with power. I drew my own and blocked, the strike nearly driving me to my knees. I blasted him with a Lightning Net, but he saw it coming and winged it to the side. A familiar voice came from one of them, standing to the side of the field to my left and holding a smoking pistol.

“Kithkin. I should have guessed you’d be the one to interfere with my life again.”

I froze, something that nearly cost me my life when the giant, stinking man pulled out a huge hammer and charged. He was stopped by another shield charge from George, but from the way the Knight was breathing hard he didn’t have too many of those left in him. I looked around the circle.

One with an agile build, smelling of cat dander, who had launched a wave of darkness at me.

One quite short, a dedicated spellcaster who had a Demonic Aura about him.

A giant man who stunk like a Troll, using heavy weapons and favoring a hammer.

A winged Paladin who had immediately tried to Smite me.

And, of course, our resident Gunslinger. “Paul Mann. Imagine seeing you here.”