Anita Fite/Empress
Anita remembered before Smiley could pull the knife out that first aid ruled that you should keep those in to apply pressure and prevent bleeding out. Good thing, because He had been about to pull it out.
Mimikyu appreciated the new lesson on humans.
Was the location the Silicon Dragon gave them (before Smiley knocked him out with a brutal headbutt) the docks. Where else? The best way to illegally transfer human beings across continents was by boat after all. Cheaper than flying them in.
From on top of some shipping containers overseeing the docks, Anita stood, Mimikyu on her left, and Smiley on her right. She felt so strange, watching a truck waiting on the dock as a boat finished getting… docked? Anchored? Parked?
There were three men waiting by the truck, the storage container on the back of it open and ready. One stood out, a thickset man with white hair and a pair of giant steel gauntlets with a yellow dial on the back of each. The other two wore the silver colors of their gang, further marking the other man as different from them.
"What's the plan then?" Anita asked, looking at Smiley and Mimikyu.
"Fight like hell!" Smiley's recorder said.
"That isn't a plan," Anita said. She felt more than a bit exasperated when Smiley simply cocked his head to the side.
"Mimikyu!" the small magical spirit said cheerily. "Mimi, kyu kyu, Mi, Mimikyuuuu."
"..." Anita pressed a hand to her face. "Okay, communication issues."
She leaned over to watch as the boat was 'parked'. The three men were joined by two more, with a storage container on the boat being opened.
Inside were a group of people. They were dirty, tired looking. Anita saw some woman with pale skin and blonde hair, short men with Asian features, children that were horrifyingly young.
Anita was the daughter of a cop. She knew how common human trafficking was. She still wanted to throw up, seeing it. She focused. Use it.
"How about this? Mimikyu and I will head down and free the civilians. Smiley, you take out the guys by the truck?"
"You got it, dude!" A young girl's voice said from his recorder, Smiley raising his thumb.
"Mimikyu," the small Pokemon said, sounding a little confused. Wait, was that the plan the dark spirit had suggested the first time?
Anita pushed past that thought, instead leaping off the storage containers. Mimikyu and Smiley followed, the trio moving together.
Smiley broke off midway through, heading for the truck. Mimikyu hopped onto Anita's shoulder, riding along on the way towards the boat.
The two men at the boat weren't being very gentle to their captives. One tazed a man who moved a little too slow. Another tripped over a young woman and kicked her. He did so with such casualness. Like he was bored.
Empress pulled out her batons from their sheaths, gripping them tightly. She ran along the dock, going from concrete to wood as she went. The cadence of her feet echoed just a bit. One of the two men looked up in her direction while tasering a little girl.
She kicked him in the face.
"Oof!" the man reeled, falling on his back. The other man jumped in shock, turning in her direction.
"Mimikyu!"
The Pokemon took off her wooden tail and slammed it into the guys stomach like a tiny baseball bat, almost folding him in half as he was launched into the water with his eyes bulging.
"Go!" Empress waved at the group of people. "Come on, get out of here!"
One of the Asian men shouted something in Korean, running, the other people following him. Empress and Mimikyu ran along with them, the group running off the dock. As they came closer to the truck, the three men came to intercept them.
Smiley dropped down on them.
"Fuc-AAAAHHHH!" One man screamed when Smiley landed on his back, then grabbed his arms and pulled them backwards until his elbows snapped backwards. The other Silicon Dragon swung at Smiley, his fist landing into his chest.
Smiley headbutted that man, blood splashing across his yellow face mask.
Empress stopped at the edge of the dock and waved. "Go, go, go-"
She was cut off when the ground began to shake. She looked around, confused.
"An earthquake?"
"More of a tremble," a gruff voice answered her. Everyone looked at the man with the large gauntlets. He was twisting the yellow dial on the back of one, a smile on his square-jawed face. "Hold on, darlin'."
He slammed his palms on the concrete. The ground ripped out from under her. Screams erupted around her. For one moment, she was airborne, seeing Mimikyu fly past while Smiley smashed into a cargo container.
Then she hit the ground hard, air leaving her lungs. "Ah-ahhhh!"
Anita rolled to her back, trying to breath.
"Gotta say, I was hopin' for that Kahu fella. Not his backup band," the man stalked forward as he spoke, his voice half-chuckling the whole time. "Still, least I get to brawl with one of the little critters that follow him."
"Mimi," Anita heard to her left. She turned to watch Mimikyu rise up, readjusting her costume just a bit. "MIMIKYU!"
The small creature leaped forward, swinging out her wooden 'tail'. The man smirked, ducking under the tail and punching her out of the air, only to back away when Mimikyu snapped back up to her feet.
"Damn, you can take a hit for such little thang!"
"Mimikyu!" She lashed out with claws of energy that felt like the spirits of the dead to Anita, the ends of them ripping through the air.
The man pressed his palms to the ground, the earth shaking again and rocks snapping upwards in front of him to intercept the claws.
"But don' worry darlin'. Temblor can handle you just fine! Hehehehe!" He pressed down harder. The stones around him erupted.
Anita was on her feet, forcing herself to move. She yelled at the people who they had came to save. "Go on, get out of here!"
They ran for it, Temblor ignoring them in favor of Mimikyu, who sped forward, bouncing from stone pillar to pillar. She smashed into Temblor's crossed gauntlets with her full body, sending him sliding back. Temblor then grabbed her out of the air, a vibration in the ground followed by Mimikyu launching back like she'd been shot out of a rocket.
"Kyuuuuu!"
The small creature smashed through the side of a shipping container, ripping a hole the size of a computer monitor in the side and sending dust outwards.
"One down," Temblor chuckled. "Damn. Really thought this would be a good fight," his eyes landed on Empress. "How about you, Ponytail?"
Empress tightened her hands on her sticks, trying to breathe. Her chest and back were hurting like crazy. She wanted to scream. She focused instead. On the magic within her, around her. Then she pulled it out and forced it into her voice.
"I think you need to stop."
Temblor smirked. Then he frowned. His muscles bunched up under his trenchcoat and muscle shirt. His face twisted into a grimace, then fear filled him. "W-What the hell!"
Empress didn't let him stand still for too long. She rushed forward, her escrima stick raised high. Temblor watched her approach, eyes wide. At the last instant, he forced himself through her enchantment, her stick glancing off his skull rather than hitting him directly under his nose.
"What did you do to me!?" he roared, punching at her. Empress desperately dodged the attack, swinging her sticks at him.
"Just told you what I think," Empress quipped, surprising herself. She'd sparred before. Lots of times. But she'd never actually fought someone. Or used her magic on them.
Temblor didn't fight like anyone she'd sparred with. He used short and simple punches, but he also aimed to hurt.
He aimed a punch towards her. Empress stepped back. Then she realized her mistake when his gauntlet landed on the ground. Yellow energy flew from the palms, exploding the ground. She raised her arms in a block, chunks of rock smashing into her forearms and sending her flying back.
She landed in a roll, then kept moving when Temblor sent another pulse, then another, forcing her to keep dodging, rolling, and jumping while the concrete around them shattered apart. She jumped off a piece of concrete that rose under her, over a pillar of stone, then slid under another rock that nearly ripped her head off.
"Keep dancin, girlie!" Temblor crowed. "You fancy pants fighters can't do your kung fu bullshit when the earth swallows you whole!"
Empress shouted out, her voice raw with magic, trying to scream over the sounds of shattering stone. "Hold still!"
"Urq!" Temblor froze. Empress jumped into the air and pulled her magic around her, this time her whole body rather than her throat and mouth alone. She looked at a spot behind Temblor, focusing everything onto that place-
White smoke poured out of her skin, wrapping around her. Temblor broke out of her control and smashed his hands into the ground again. The earth exploded around the smoke, dissipating. Temblor stared at the spot where the smoke faded from, blinking behind his sunglasses in confusion.
No one was there.
"What the-"
Empress smashed him in the small of his back with a powerful kick.
"Oof!" Temblor stumbled forward, tough enough to take the hit. Empress desperately tried to hit him again, but Temblor spun around and grabbed her by the throat.
"That hurt, girlie," Temblor lifted her up. His metal gauntlet squeezed down, pinching and digging into her throat. Empress tried to gasp at the pain, but no air escaped. She kicked at his chest, but her boots bounced uselessly off his thighs. Blackness crawled across her vision. Her fingers grabbed uselessly across his gauntlet, gloves sliding on steel.
"Ohhh. Now that's nice," Temblor chuckled, pulling her close to look into her masks eyes. "Something fun about killin nice… and… slow."
Empress felt tears fill her eyes. Her arms fell to her side. Temblor's laugh filled her ears.
"Mimi…KYU!"
Spider Dance (Music Box / Adriana Figueroa Instrumental Version)
The storage container Mimikyu had flown into exploded apart, darkness flowing in its wake. The sound of something striking flesh filled the air.
"Gah!" Empress fell to the floor, air rushing into her lungs.
Temblor fell to the ground as well, spinning around to smash his palms against the earth. On his back, four long bloody marks had been slashed through his trenchcoat. Each mark was soaked in spiritual energy to Empress's senses.
"You tiny bastard!" Yellow energy flew across the ground, further destroying the area. Water began to rush in as the destruction reached the water's edge. Temblor ignored it.
Mimikyu did as well. She bounced around at high speed, unleashing waves of magical and spiritual energy, violet and pink. Stones shattered apart, water exploded, Temblor stumbled a step backwards and suddenly an empty jerry can came flying and hit him in the back.
An artificial voice sounded out. "Hold on to your lugnuts, its TIIIIIME for an overhaul!"
Smiley dropped into the valley ripped into the concrete, a metal car muffler in his hand. He crashed into Temblor like a falling meteor, bashing the muffler into the other man's head.
Temblor grunted, pressing a hand into Smiley's chest. The sickening sound of bones cracking was followed Smiley smashing into a wall behind him. For all of a second. Then Smiley rushed forward again, swinging the muffler out.
"What the hell!?" Temblor ducked the muffler and pressed a hand into the ground, exploding stone sending the masked man crashed into a pillar. The sound of a spine snapping filled the air. Smiley fell.
Then got up and rushed forward.
"What in goddamn!?" Temblor grabbed the muffler, vibrations ripping it to shreds. The piece in his hand became a long jagged piece of steel. Temblor stabbed it deep into Smiley's throat. Blood sprayed out.
Empress wanted to throw up at the sight of meat separating, the copper taste of blood in the air. The world seemed to hold its breath.
Smiley looked Temblor in the eyes. Then, slowly. Almost too slowly. He lifted up the music player in his hand. And pressed a button there.
PAYDAY 2 Jacket Trailer Theme Song - Simon Viklund - Breath of Death
Music echoed in the space around them. Empress got to her feet, breathing in. The spirits. They had gathered. Focusing around Smiley, Mimikyu… and herself. Something had changed in the air.
"What-" Temblor fell back, staring in horror at Smiley, who ripped the steel from his throat, ignoring the hole that remained there, blood splashing down to soak the ground and swirl into the water. "What are you?"
"Do you know what time it is?" the player said in answer.
Smiley ran at Temblor. The man growled, raising his gloves.
"Rest," Empress hissed.
Temblor's arms dropped. He blinked lazily, awakening seconds later when he realized what was happening, desperately raising his arms again.
Mimikyu, Smiley, and Empress struck as one. Mimikyu wrapped shadowy tentacles around him, holding him in place for Empress to kick him in the face and shatter his stupid sunglasses while Smiley laid heavy fists into his stomach.
When Temblor tried to fight out of Mimikyu's grip, Smiley dipped the fingers of one hand into the bloody hole in his throat and tossed blood into Temblor's eyes, blinding the man and making him scream in horror and pain.
Empress stepped in to kick him in the head again. "Pass out already!"
"Not happening!" Temblor roared. Mimikyu lifted him up and smashed him through a pillar, but the man only screamed in rage. Empress hit in the chest with her escrima sticks. Temblor didn't stop, fighting harder. "I'm Temblor! I don't quit on a job-"
Mimikyu lifted him up. Smiley's player cut off the music, with a man's voice speaking while Smiley jumped up, pulling a crowbar out. When Temblor realized what was about happen, horror filled his visage.
"It was at this moment that he knew," Smiley's crowbar hit Temblor between the legs as Mimikyu pulled him down. "He fucked up."
They all froze. Smiley, Mimikyu, Temblor, and Empress, just staring at each other.
"..." Temblor, mouth opening and closing, his face pale as sweat began to pour, seemed unable to speak. Empress finally spoke.
"Sleep peacefully."
This time, Temblor didn't fight the magical compulsion. He seemed grateful.
As he fell into blissful unconsciousness, Empress looked around.
The dock was destroyed, water slowly filling the giant hole Temblor had created. The trafficked people had run off. The Silicon Dragons were somewhere in the mess. And in the distance, she could hear police sirens.
"Oh god… dad is going to kill me."
Smiley considered that for a moment. Then he hit his player again. The wailing of a sad trombone played.
"That is not funny!"
Smiley's shoulders shook, while Mimikyu poked idly at Temblor. "Kyuuuu."
God. Was anyone else's first superhero fight this chaotic?
One day, she'd learn that, yes, it was fairly common. For now, she needed to get out of there. "Come on. What do we even do now?"
"Mimikyu!" Empress looked down at her. Mimikyu was pointing outwards.
"You have a plan?"
Mimikyu nodded. "Mi, Kyu, Mimikyu!"
Empress thought on that, then looked at Smiley. He didn't seem confused, which Empress wasn't sure about. Anita Fite breathed in, sighing. "All right. Lead the way."
"Mimikyu!" The spirit hopped on her shoulder, and the three took off running, leaving the devastation behind them.
It was only after a mile of running that Empress remembered she'd left her bike in a random parking lot.
Author's Note: Next chapter, Kahu meets Empress and Smiley, while Clock King meets everyone else. Some updates on what's going on with Kaldur's team.
Next chapter will be on my pa tr on, much sooner this time around, and the next story I'm updating is Rewired Saga, then Soft Magic.