Dark Matter Ascension-Chapter 32B2 - : Vengeance for the fallen

Ollie appeared in the Starlit Sea, the liminal space of The Cosmic System. He saw Valerie: Quinn’s sparrow Wayfinder: and floated over to her. “Hey! Can you open up a line of communication with Quinn for me?”

“Sure!” Valerie replied.

“How have things been in here?” Ollie asked. “I haven’t seen you around Quinn at the apartment.”

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“She prefers me to be here to facilitate her Broker Skills.” The Wayfinder’s voice became slightly sadder and more dejected. “Just like every other information-style Class.”

Ollie patted her on the head, “I’m sure if you asked nicely, Josie and Xera would be happy to help out.”

“I think I’m going to ask to be reprogrammed.”

Ollie gasped and put his paws to his mouth, “Why? That’s like…losing everything you are!”

Valerie’s head cocked sideways slightly in that way that birds on Earth did. “I’ve been active for eight times longer than you, Ollie. I’ve got a lot of memories stored up in my data banks. I think it’s time for a clean slate.”

Ollie nodded in understanding. That was one of the few reasons a Wayfinder would choose to sacrifice everything they were and ‘reset’ ther personality matrix. It was because as they got older, and kept taking on new Aspirants…they would become bogged down and become slower. It normally happened after about 5,000 years. And Valerie was pushing 8,000. She was past due.

The exception to this, and one reason Ollie had such fear of being cast aside once Jace became an Ascendant, was that the Wayfinder would be ‘upgraded’ upon being chosen by their newly-minted Ascendant. It would enable them to persist without taking on extraneous data of new Aspirants. At that point, for the rest of that Ascendant’s immortal life, they would be a constant ally and companion; existing in the Starlit Sea and reality at the same time, instead of just being a manifestation of The Cosmic System, and normally unable to be interacted with.

And if their Ascendant died? They would get a reset automatically.

“I get it,” Ollie said solemnly. “Well, I’ll make sure to fill in the new-you once you go through with it.”

“Oh! Quinn got back to me. She said that Jace can use a Common (Equipment) Boon to ask for an earpiece, and she should be able to connect to it via you once you touch it.”

Ollie nodded, “Thanks. I’ve got a few more hours if you just want to talk.”

“I’d like that.”

Jace could hear the pitter-patter of rain falling outside. It was slow, methodical, and comforting. The space he woke up in was his first real home after the orphanage, and waking up to the sound of water cascading down the sides of the freeway in a small waterfall always brought a smile to his face. He recalled very clearly how they used that water: the cleanest, comparatively, to do their clothes washing.

And, when they managed to get some, the kids Jace was sticking around with were shown by his mentor how to set up old, metal trash cans with an ancient propane pipeline that the old man drilled a hole down to so they could heat up the water and take baths. It took a long time to heat up the makeshift tubs, but Jace had fond memories of the monthly hot baths he would get to take.

Sitting up, he moved over to the entryway and peered out the peephole drilled into the metal. All clear, he thought as he pushed it aside, exited, and gently put it back into place. Ollie appeared with a pop, floating in front of him.

“Using a Common (Equipment) Boon for a new earpiece!” he said jovially.

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[Using Boon: Common (Equipment)]

[Manifesting…]

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Quinn’s voice crackled over the audio device that appeared in Jace’s ear, “Finally got ahold of you. It’s been hours. Ollie filled us in. Greg…” She sighed. “He’s gearing up for an assault on the tower. He wants to go through the portal and fight his way there. He’s not changing his mind.”

“Right,” Jace replied tersely, cracking his neck. “Can you patch me through to him?”

“I’m here,” Greg said. His voice was subdued and Jace could hear the undertone of anger.

“You sure about this?” Jace asked.

A map of the island appeared just under Jace’s face, and he glanced down at it as Quinn’s voice came over the comms once more. “I was able to hack into the Myscape Industrial security system for the island proper: the surveillance network only. I have cameras. The portal to The Cosmic Corridor in Myscape Square is still under heavy security lockdown. But they’ve sent patrols along the main streets. Mostly mechs. The foot troops are stationed around the portal.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Greg replied. “I need to make them pay. This is for my crew.” Jace could hear the click of some type of ammunition being slid into a receptacle. “All of them.”

Priam’s voice crackled over the connection, “We’ve got a bit of a plan! Greg is going to pop out of the portal, dish out some vengeance, and then when my barrier pops or his armor degrades, he’ll come back into The Cosmic Corridor, and we’ll top up!”

“You can hit them from behind while I have them distracted,” Greg said with a terse chuckle.

Jace nodded and scrolled the map over to their main target. “What about the Empire State Tower? There’s two Ascendants there.”

“It’s got a heavy layer of security. All of the exterior had blast shutters and doors that have sealed up the whole building. The only way in is through the AC unit exhaust vents on the roof. And I don’t know anything about the building itself: a whole different, harder to crack level of security. Ollie has to touch a panel in there to give me direct access to try and bypass their measures.”

Jace nodded. “Okay…time to take on a small army.”

“We got this,” Greg said. “I got a Boon from Xera that is quite nice and hefty.”

Jace left the shadows of the highway overpass. Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3), he thought as he vanished from sight. He could see the pinpricks of the laser grid still set up on the ground floor along the streets, and using his Ghostlight Grapnel Arm, he pulled himself up to the nearest roof before beginning his run to the portal.

If only we could bring in more reinforcements, Flahjor mused, then we could crush this interloper who dares try and hurt our bottom line.

The Tier 6 Ascendant glanced at his companion. One of the Kruxk species, the smooth, granite skin was highly polished and made him look like a living statue. The only giveaway that he wasn’t an art fixture was the Nebula Cosmic Power symbol on his hand, and in the center a deep, green symbol of the Exoplanet Ascended Power. If only we had a way to block that, then he would be the perfect ambush predator…too bad he’s weaker than me.

Flahjor chuckled, which drew Strosh’s attention. “What?” the stone man rumbled out.

“Just thinking about how much weaker you are than me.”

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“It’s just 1 Tier,” Strosh softly replied. “You don’t have to rub it in. Tier 5 is respectable enough.”

“Oh, but I do have to rub it in,” Flahjor replied. “It’s in my nature,” he said as he smiled with his sharp teeth. “You know how competitive my species is by nature.”

Strosh shook his head and looked back out at the single entryway on the rooftop of the Empire State Tower. “Yeah…fucking Churkun.”

“The best fucking species out there,” Flahjor said with a grin. “Our world is one of the few that is.” He leaned back in his chair and kicked his legs up on the power conduit leading to the enormous fan that served as the exit for the ventilation system. A Myscape Industrial engineer that ran the building had advised the two Ascendants that while it was on lockdown, this was the only entrance.

But this guy…Flahjor had doubts that this top entrance would be the only one for long. The building was reinforced with layers of steel shutters that had rolled down to completely protect the entire structure. He’d seen the video from earlier in the day when this Aspirant, this Jace, had destroyed a building’s roof with a single strike.

He’s going to make other entrances, Flahjor thought as he slipped away from the corridor, leaving Strosh alone. I’ll be ready for him in the depths of the facility. Flahjor knew the server room was mostly filled up with cooling water to keep the temperature on the hardware nice and low.

And he would have the natural advantage as an aquatic species.

I really want to beat him one on one. He can’t be higher than Tier 4. Two Tiers up on him, and my unique mix of Cosmic and Ascended Power? He doesn’t stand a chance.

Greg was in the black void of space with the terminal in front of him. The Cosmic Corridor’s ‘entry point’ to Earth’s portal selection interface: which, he had learned from Xera via the comms, was unique to each person or designated group.

All his weapons were laid out in front of him on the ground, and he went over all of the components with a critical eye. Everything looks like it is set up correctly. Ammunition is fully restocked. Magazines are full up. His gaze went over to his newest acquisition thanks to asking Xera for a Boon. Bunker-Buster Mk. 3.

He was familiar with the rocket launcher. It had a vertical feed magazine of four rockets before needing to reload. 12 shots total. It should be enough for me to take out large chunks of them. That, combined with Planetary Retribution, Priam’s barrier, Planetary Defenses…the damage reflection should take out a good chunk of them. I have to save the rockets for mechs.

Quinn had spent the day hacking into and getting access to the camera network for the island. The headquarters and some other facilities were air gapped and inaccessible to her, but all Greg needed was those camera feeds. He scanned once more as he took a deep breath. Their mechs are Harbinger-grade.

The ultimate tool of warfare that the United States government was able to produce during the corpo-gov wars five years ago. It was much more mobile than the old-school M1 Abrams and packed just as much firepower; due to being humanoid in size and construction, a variety of weapons could be provided to each pilot to ensure they had multiple tools for many occasions.

These ones surrounding the portal were primarily carrying shotguns that would blast out a spread of one-inch-diameter buckshot that could tear through most armored plating. Plus, they also had enormous rifles with two magazines: forty rounds: and a knife that, if a regular person was holding it, would be the size of a broadsword.

Greg began to put the weapons he had gathered into the order he planned on using them: right in front of the glowing, blue portal covered with the glowing, red chains. His game plan was set, and Quinn was coordinating with Jace to ensure that his stealthy ally would hit the exact moment Greg came out of the portal, guns blazing.

Priam cleared his throat a bit, and Greg glanced sideways, “Yeah?”

The bunny-boy stood up, “This is unnecessarily risky, isn’t it?”

“Sometimes you have to take risks for justified reasons, kiddo.”

Priam crossed his arms, “First off, I’m 15. I’m not a kid: as I’ve told you before. Second off, vengeance isn’t a really good, justified reason.”

Greg stood up and turned to face the smaller man fully. “Well…it might not seem justified to you. But Myscape…they killed my crew. People I had gone to war with. People I would have died to protect. I hope one day, you find someone or something you’re willing to die for.”

Priam frowned but nodded, “Well, you’re set in your conviction. I am not going to try and convince you to do anything different.” He grinned, “But let me do a few things. Things that should make your life much easier.” He tapped the comms inside his floppy ear, “Jace? Go to the Empire whatever tower thing. Greg and I have the portal.”

Greg heard Jace’s voice over their connection, “You sure? I’m almost there, it’s on the way.”

“If you want to join in Greg’s vengeance-spree, sure. But he won’t risk injury.” Priam looked at Greg and raised his small, silver tube. “Pulsar Ward (Rank 30), Priest’s Benediction (Rank 13), Pulsar Physic (Rank 10) [Contingent].”

Greg felt the whole world slow down slightly, and could swear his already massive muscles bulged just slightly larger. “The hell did you just do?”

Priam crossed his arms and grinned, “Now, put that Protector’s Vow thingy on me.”

Greg nodded and pointed at Priam, “Protector’s Vow (Rank 3), Planetary Defenses (Rank 3), Planetary Retribution (Rank 3).” He saw the dull, brown symbol appear above Priam’s head, and felt the armor crust over with stone. “Why didn’t you barrier yourself?”

Priam smiled, “Grab all of your weapons.”

“What are you planning?”

“I have a new spell from one of Earth’s dead gods. Making a whole 1 and 9/10 of a mile radius worth of people become incapacitated by overwhelming pleasure? Sure seems like it will make your vengeance a lot less risky.”

Greg grinned, “Fuck yeah! Let’s do it!” He immediately set to strapping up with all of his gear, bandoliers of grenades, rifle, pistol, the rocket launcher and the extra ammunition. In that moment, Greg knew he looked like a badass action hero from the old 1980’s movies that his paw-paw had shown him. He took a deep breath and joined Priam at the portal entrance. “Let’s fuck them up!”

He jumped through the portal with Priam less than a second behind.

Priam got to the other side and instantly shouted out, “Ishtar’s Embrace!” A shockwave of golden-pink energy emanated out in an enormous sphere that traveled out from him: through buildings, through stone, through dirt. But don’t affect Greg or Jace!

The result was immediately felt. The thousands of troops and dozens of mechs that were surrounding the area began collapsing to the ground. The ones not inside the mechs that collapsed began groaning, screaming, moaning in pleasure, and Priam winced slightly. Yikes. That…okay, yeah. Overwhelming pleasure. “Bloopa, turn off my hearing, please.”

Scrubbing out the noises of pleasure.

The world grew blissfully quiet, save for the loud ca-thunk noise of Greg loading the rocket launcher. He pointed the enormous device at a cluster of mechs and thumbed the trigger, shouting out, “This is for Becca!” The shaped charge shot out and a massive kaboom echoed through the city streets.

Turning rapidly, he zeroed in on another three clusters and rapidly fired at each of them. Priam winced once more as he saw bodies blow to bits: the chunks of scorched meat and spurting limbs all flying about. At least they don’t feel the pain, Priam thought, as he knew that his spell-turned-Skill would override the pain response.

The enormous square chamber went clang and popped off of the rocket launcher. Greg slammed another one into place and pointed at a few more clusters, squeezing off rounds as he turned the city center into a moonscape; deep craters blown into the whole area. He was laughing in a crazed, almost manic fashion, shouting the names of people Priam had never heard of before. His fallen allies, Priam presumed.

He jumped slightly as he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looking up saw Jace. “Oh, it’s just you.”

Jace smiled, “Yeah. Just me.” He looked up at Greg, who had exhausted his rockets, slung the launcher, and set to work going from soldier to soldier. He was not using his own weapon; instead grabbing the guns of the fallen ones and using those to execute his foes. “Going to be a ton of Stardust,” Jace muttered.

Priam nodded and saw the enormous tower in the distance, “That’s our target?”

Jace nodded, “Yeah. It used to be General Logistics headquarters before they sold it to Myscape Industrial.” He looked dour as his expression clouded over, and the rain coming down from above pattered off of his hood. “It’s also near the orphanage I was left in.”

Priam put a hand on Jace’s arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze, before looking over at Greg. “Should we help him out?”

“How long does your thing last?”

“An hour.”

Jace smirked, “Let him have his fun.”

Greg threw aside the last assault rifle of a fallen soldier as the sound of incapacitated-by-pleasure troops faded completely. All dead at his hand. Glancing back, he saw Jace and Priam standing near the portal, just observing him. He gave them a wave, “I’m good!” he shouted out.

And he was good. For years of his life, he had been building up resources and supplies, making contacts, and prospecting a new Streetrunner crew across the water in New Jersey. That was one of the reasons why he had taken a liking to Jace and tried to go out of his way to become his friend: he was planning on inviting the slim man to his crew.

A crew with a singular purpose: take down as many megacorp assets as possible.

Well, the whole Cosmogenic Merging put a pin in that plan, but in a way, they had become a team and were doing exactly what Greg had been fantasizing about for almost ten years. Taking revenge, and getting his vengeance for his fallen allies.

As he stood there in the pouring rain, looking up into the weeping skies, he let out a laugh. Not a laugh of manic, crazed bloodshed. Not a laugh of satisfaction.

A laugh of a man who finally had an enormous weight lifted from his shoulders. Someone who had finished all of their unfinished business, and was truly free.

I got them, you guys…his gaze was drawn to the Empire State Tower. And soon, they’ll be gone for good.

He walked over to his allies and glanced at Darrin, his spider Wayfinder, who was just inside the torso of his armor. “Dust them all.”