"Do I have to do that?"
Gavin's plan sounds like a pretty good plan. I have no issues with it, except with one part of it.
"It's that or you knock them out, you're choice."
I bit my lip, feeling a warm blush on my cheeks. While I wasn't religious, I prayed to whoever was out there to forgive me for what I was about to do. I took a step out of the stall and readied myself for a marathon.
"I hacked the main door, it should open, now go!"
I ran out of the bathroom and headed to the room where the hostages were. I glance at the two guards, who instantly notice me due to being visible now. They aimed their weapons at me.
"Get down on the floor, noooooooooooooo-..." His voice slowed and slurred as I activated my super speed.
I took a deep breath before rushing to both of them. I grunted as I lifted both of them. Once I fully secured them, I ran back to the main door, the guards looking inside, one of them scratched their head and while the other was talking to the radio. I'll ignore them for now, as I jumped to the and flew, with the two soldiers still on my arms. Once I felt I was far enough away from their base, I dropped down to the ground.
And there comes the awkward part.
"-ow. Wait the-!?"
The two soldiers caressed their bodies, noticing that their weapons and most importantly, their armour, were gone. They were naked, safe from the fact that they were wearing underwear. They look at me with horrified faces as they watch me toss their gear into the sky, most likely heading towards space. I look at them, they look at me. And then to their nearly nude forms before taking multiple steps back.
"I'm not a pervert," I say before rushing to the base again.
This time, I took care of the guards standing by the large metal door. Grabbing them in super-speed before rushing back to the two nearly naked Titan Soldiers. Once more, I stripped them before tossing their armours and weapons to the sky again. This time, one of them rushed at me before throwing a haymaker aimed at my face. It connected, but I wasn't the one who got hurt.
"Ahhh..." The soldier whimpered, clutching his fist.
They look at me, utterly bewildered, not sure if they want to follow their comrade's footsteps. I awkwardly cleared my throat.
"Hey, uh-you should get a doctor to check up on that...yeah."
I darted back to the base, glaring at the building. I don't need to worry about the cameras anymore, stealth was no longer an option.
"How many left?"
[43 TITAN SOLDIERS remaining.]
I sighed. That's a pretty big number, oh well. I rushed inside the building and did the same thing over and over and over again. First, I kidnap them and take them far away before stripping them. Once they realized that an intruder was inside, they started to fight back. Some managed to fire shots at me, but all the bullets bounced off harmlessly. So I had no trouble doing this routine, over and over.
It was honestly getting boring. Even stripping them doesn't seem exciting, and what I mean is that it wasn't embarrassing anymore; I'm not excited about stripping older men nearly naked. Eventually, the number of Titan Soldiers dwindled until there wasn't anyone there. Although I could feel a silhouette deep underground, since it was just one, I prioritized getting the hostages out first. By the time I reached the base once more, my lungs were on fire, I took heavy breaths, and my legs felt heavy.
It's been a while since I felt so vulnerable. It's an odd feeling.
"Kid!?"
I took deep gulps of air before responding.
"I'm fine...I'm fine."
I allowed myself to rest for half a minute before taking a deep breath, before I went inside to grab hostages and flew close to the city. And I repeated the process, placing them in the same spot, nothing too different from kidnapping the Titan Soldiers, the only difference, I don't have to strip them. I finally stopped running as I carefully dropped the last two hostages. Suddenly, my body felt too heavy, and I dropped to my knees and hands and panted heavily. I could feel the other hostages looking at me.
As I was trying to regain my breath, one of them walked up to me. It was a woman, a bit younger than the others I saved. She looks at me with an expression I'd never seen before.
"How did-did you just-..." She stutters.
Oh crap, what am I supposed to say? I swallowed, saying the first thing that came to mind.
"Don't worry, you're all safe," I said, summoning a smile.
She was quiet for a moment. Then, before I could react, she wrapped herself around my body, sobbing.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
My face was utterly bewildered, but I felt something warm on my chest. It was a bizarre feeling. But it wasn't bad, not at all. I turned to face all the other hostages who were giving me the same look, clapping while cheering me on. I didn't even realize I was smiling until a few seconds after. It was a good feeling ,and honestly I don't mind staying here for a while.
But it wasn't over yet, not until I retrieved the nuke. I gently push her off me, smiling at her. I turned to everyone, using a serious expression.
"Listen, everyone, Toronto is not far, just keep going North and get help."
A scientist steps forward. "What about you?"
"I've got to stop the nuke."
Yes, now I do not doubt that whoever was down underground is most likely Atlas and is probably where he kept the Nuke. He knows I'm here.
"But, it's too-"
The woman who hugged tried to say something, but I cut her off.
"I'll be okay!" I didn't wait for them to respond, as I flew towards the base.
I wasn't sure if I was going to be okay. I have the gut feeling that this will end up messy,
"You're almost to the finish line, kid. Keep going."
"...Yeah." I sped forward.
RED
Elsewhere...
JUSTICE
Atlas crossed his arms, his eyes shut. He'd seen that 'Thing' rescue the hostage; it would most likely try to find the nuke, now. He never thought it would come to this, while he've seen a lot of bizarre things, this might just take the cake. While Atlas was working out, he got an alert that someone was on the base and somehow making his men vanish into thin air.
Using a tablet to view all of this place's cameras, Atlas sees his soldiers disappearing into thin air. Initially, he had thought that the government lab rats had created a new weapon that could transport people. But he was wrong, this was something else. He remembered replaying that video over and over, until he realized he had seen something.
He slowed down the footage to reveal a red blur taking his men deep into the forest. It was a person. And it was confirmed quickly when, occasionally, the 'Thing' stopped to take its breath. It was a boy, a small little boy wearing a red hoodie with a B and J crudely painted on his chest. And whoever this is, he was fast.
Able to move away from a rapid fire of machine guns and also durable enough for the bullets to bounce away its skin, only damaging its clothes. And that SEE goggles he's wearing, this boy is most certainly a weapon created by the government to retrieve the bomb. His excitement grew with each time his men were taken away. He was strong, strong enough for a good fight and possibly forced him to use the secret weapon. His eyes opened when his enhanced hearing heard footsteps.
Atlas uncrossed his arms, a savage grin crept up his face. He will take immense pleasure in destroying a weapon the government thought could defeat him. The metal door separating the research base from his training room was torn open easily, and outsteps the boy. Atlas could see the tense look on his face.
"Welcome."