Night 63: Road to/from Doyleton

[dividedby]

[From here.]

But being outside was probably just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than it was being trapped inside the bus with that nurse.

Besides the many other deformed nurses that were roaming around here, Zero caught sight of numerous forms flying overhead, casting large shadows on the ground as they passed by. They looked like...eagles. But deformed and horrific-looking, just like the nurses. At first, they seemed content to simply circle overhead, screeching, like vultures swarming above a carcass. But then many of them suddenly swooped down and headed straight for some of the prisoners running in the street.

Kind of like the one flying at Zero right now.

"Kh--!" The once-Reploid barely managed to dodge the monster as it dived for him by falling to the ground and rolling back onto his feet. The bird flew upwards again, slowly flapping its wings, then circled around as if to try again, another eagle joining it. To avoid them, Zero quickly moved out of the open, where he was obviously a target, and circled around one of the buses, keeping his back to it for cover. But he knew he wasn't going to be safe here...not when there were nurses on the ground and so many eagles above.

Not since the night he had become temporarily stronger had there been so much visible chaos... And if that one prisoner hadn't started a riot, this wouldn't be happening right now...!

As he stood contemplating the best route for escape, Zero glanced around quickly, searching the fleeing prisoners for anyone familiar or anyone who might need help. He was defenseless, so protecting someone else would only get him so far (and he certainly didn't want a repeat of two nights ago), but they all might have a better chance of survival if they grouped up...

[Leanne, Lana, and Harvey, WHERE YOU AT.]

Comments

[oyaji]

It was hard, but Wild Tiger was a professional. The civilians came first. Cursing his luck, he turned away from Barnaby and sprinted to the front of the bus before one of those flying creatures could try and take a chunk out of him and leaving everyone else vulnerable.

But just as he came to the entrance, a body broke through the sliding glass door and landed in a heap a few feet away from him. At first he thought it was one of the civilians, but the twisted and broken body was dark and not exactly human. Glancing back at the windows, he saw the rest of the patients making their way back out the emergency exit. The thing on the ground didn't move, and for a second Wild Tiger wondered if he should try and help her--it. Her. It had been a person before. Even as an enemy, the older man didn't want to see anyone hurt. In fact, she could have just been as easily contained rather than destroyed.

"Damnit..." If he had gotten there earlier, maybe he could have suggested it. Maybe they could have--Damnit! Turning away was something hard to do, but he had to focus on the immediate threat. Once he rescued Barnaby, they could try and help the disfigured nurse.

"Bunny!" Behind him, the beast was on the ground, it's long wings bent and digging under the bus for Barnaby. "Hang on!" He awakened the power within him. Shining like a blue beacon, he planted his legs behind the thing and began to taunt it. "Hey!" Wild Tiger raised an arm, pointing menacingly at it. "Why don't you pick on someone you're own size!" Technically, Barnaby was bigger than him, but that wasn't the point. That was how the saying went! Who was he to fight against such good one-liners?

Of course, it didn't even turn around. This was a lot easier when you were working with a human being. Okay, new plan! He moved closer and kicked the bird in the leg. It buckled momentarily and brought its big, silver beak toward him, squawked, and returned to the ground. Tiger couldn't believe it. "H-Hey! Don't ignore me!" What the hell was so special about Barnaby? Was it the spilled blood? Well, he would't be ignored by some bird-brained scavenger!

Taking a step back, Wild Tiger surged forward and staggered into the bird. It shrieked as it fell, but it didn't stay that way for long. Those large wings spread to balance itself, buffeting him in a heavy wind that forced him back. It may not have been as debilitating as he had expected, but at least it wasn't going after Barnaby now.

[baniichan]

Barnaby, meanwhile, had tried to make a strategic escape from the other side of the bus. But as soon as he stuck his arm out into the open, another one of those creatures had landed not far from him, as if waiting for easy prey. Barnaby promptly withdrew and tried to think of another strategy.

Well, they were going to get fight they wouldn't forget anytime soon, that was for certain. He was about to crawl toward the front of the vehicle, resigning himself to the fact that he would most likely have to resort to using his powers before reaching the patients on the bus. All the more reason to make things quick.

But then he heard Kotetsu's disgruntled shouts from just outside, and the unmistakable sound of large wings flapping against the air. Of course his partner would cause a commotion just before he was about to make his move, he realized with a quiet huff. That was probably just as well, though, seeing how Barnaby doubted he could make his escape undetected. His partner provided enough of a distraction for Barnaby to smoothly roll out from under the vehicle, kicking up just a small amount of dust as he leaped to his feet.

While he was less than pleased to find that Kotetsu had started glowing blue on his account, there were more important concerns to attend to. He knew that his partner wouldn't have come back for him unless everyone on the bus had evacuated, which meant--

Barnaby's eyes darted over toward the creature writhing on the ground near the bus door. The people who had decided to engage her in combat must have neutralized her long enough to clear the way for any stragglers stuck on the vehicle.

"I'm checking on the nurse," he announced. The feathered creature wasn't as hell-bent on attacking Kotetsu for some reason, and since Barnaby didn't feel comfortable burning through their Hundred Power at the same time, he thought that made his partner the better candidate for keeping the large, mutated bird at bay. "Cover me."

With that, he began to close the distance between him and the former woman writhing on the ground.

[oyaji]

"Got it!" Wild Tiger shouted back at his partner now that he was out from under the bus. His bright, glowing eyes zoomed in on the cut across his shoulder, but it wasn't life-threatening. That was good.

He turned his attention back to the beast in front of him. "Whoa!" The very sight of his partner had the thing in a frenzy that he was having a hard time containing. It made a move for the blond, dipping his head and flapping its wings closer. "Hey, hey! Cut that out, plucky!"

The man tried to punch it, but it just tried to get around him from the other side. What was he, chopped liver? What was so fascinating about his partner? Actually, Wild Tiger felt a little put out that he wasn't good enough for a stupid chickadee. "What, old man meat ain't good enough for ya?! Come on!" He didn't have the time to tap dance with this thing! His power was running out.

Instead of going for the head, he decided to bring his foot up and kick it right in the chest. That got its attention! It hadn't liked that. He did it once more and now the thing wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.

[baniichan]

He reached the nurse -- or, more accurately, what was left of the nurse -- within moments. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to go right up to her, and Barnaby took a moment to observe from a small distance. The damage was even worse now that he wasn't watching the results of the transformation from the back of the bus. The woman (if she could even be called that anymore) gave a feral shriek, the metal instruments that protruded from her torn, stretched skin gleaming in the moonlight.

He was aware of his stomach as it gave a sickening turn, but was far too focused on the matter at hand to give his feelings much weight.

"Ma'am, if you can understand what I'm saying, please respond!" he called instead, but he received no intelligible words. He had seen the way she'd behaved on the bus, lashing out for blood. In all probability, she'd lost any semblance of humanity the moment the sun set. The people in charge of this facility had clearly done something to her, and now she was going to attack anyone that went near her. They had no idea whether some unknown pathogen was responsible, or if her condition was contagious.

He wished there was a better place to contain her, but throwing her back onto the bus was out of the question. Thankfully, most of the patients appeared to be fleeing in the opposite direction, and she appeared incapacitated for the moment. But that probably wouldn't last for long. Barnaby hated feeling ill-equipped for this type of scenario. Basic injuries, falling civilians, terrorist attacks, or bomb threats were more up his alley. But this...

Trying not to think too hard about the rash resting beneath his sweater's sleeve, he tore himself away from the grotesque sight, and darted back toward Kotetsu.

He seemed to have the situation relatively under control, but there was no telling when the tides would turn. Now that everyone had evacuated, they needed to get out of here.

"There's nothing we can do for her!" he swiftly called over to him before the bird could turn its attention back to him. "We have to go!"

[oyaji]

"Really? Damnit...!" He had almost been close enough to stop those civilian's attack. No longer was he impressed by their team work, but now he needed to have a stern word on them about killing someone who looked to be a victim of circumstance.

"Alright, hang on! This stupid bird--D'ah! Stop tryin' ta eat Bunny!" He was not going to have that on his watch! This whole kicking and trying to punch was not going to work; Wild Tiger needed to come up with a better solution. That wasn't his strong suit, but luckily the opportunity presented itself for him. It's long neck pulled back, ready to strike at him. He waited for it to come forward and when it did, he feinted to the side and hooked its neck within one elbow. Pivoting closer to the bird, his other arm pressed against the back of its head and he clamped down until he cut off its air.

If he could just make it pass out then they could run away without having to watch their backs! "Easy--Easy there, Birdy! Whoa--Hey! Now don't be like that!" It wriggled and squawked, hitting him with its wings until it finally succumbed to the lack of oxygen.

[baniichan]

Barnaby gave Kotetsu a wide berth, not wanting to get struck by one of the creature's wings without his powers activated. Instead, he waited for the right moment to leap in and help deliver the finishing blow.

After a few seconds, though, he realized what his partner intended to do. Even knowing what such an animal was capable of, Kotetsu wasn't willing to destroy it. When the bird collapse from a lack of oxygen, Barnaby watched with a particularly stern expression.

While he could have easily rushed in to finish the job, he knew violently ending the bird's life would upset the other man. If it had been anyone else, he might have acted anyway. But Kotetsu was a special case, and that was the only reason he held back. "Leaving it alive won't make the area any safer," he tersely warned him instead.

[oyaji]

Wild Tiger did exactly what his partner predicted. His face, so focused and grim as he waited for the beast to slip into unconsciousness, suddenly fell at Barnaby's comment. The neck fell out of his grip and hit the earth with a thunk.

"Bunny, that's not our job--" He hadn't been a Hero for more than a decade to kill and destroy the world around him (well the living part anyway), but he heard the other side of the younger man's argument. He had been a hero to help people, though. Killing it would take one less killer out of the picture. There were so many reasons to finish what he started, but he just couldn't help but cling to the one reason why he--they shouldn't. "We can't." He insisted.

[baniichan]

He wasn't surprised by Kotetsu's response, but that didn't mean Barnaby wasn't going to make sure he'd thought this through. "What if it injures someone later?" he pressed. "You're prepared to take responsibility for that?"

But now wasn't the time to get into a debate about theoretical situations. They were in the thick of a bad situation, and they needed to get out of it. Large, dark shapes swooped overhead, catching Barnaby's gaze. He furrowed his eyebrows. They could discuss this later.

"Regardless, we can't stay here, and we can't go back to town with things like this," he suddenly added. "Let's return to the Institute for now."

[oyaji]

The answer was easy in theory, but not in this context. When you captured a bad guy, they were sent to prison. Wild Tiger and Barnaby may be the faces of justice, but they were backed by a system with rules and facilities to keep his answer--No, the answer--true.

Here, there was no one to put this bird away so it didn't hurt other people. It was essentially like capturing someone and then just letting them blend back into society to cause more havoc.

Well, he was too stubborn to bend now. They had to come up with something and fast, and killing was out of the question. Picking up the bird's lifeless head and neck again, Wild Tiger was struck by another idea.

"Okay, I got it! We can drag it under the bus! It'd have a hard time getting out--" But before he could finish, the bright blue aura around him faded, along with all his power. The giant monster fell out of his hands and into the grass. He felt so weak, as if his vigor had been sucked out of him. It was a strange sensation that had never happened to him before and he wondered in horror if this was another side effect of his power decline. Was this how it was going to end?

The older man had to brace his hand against the bus to keep his knees from buckling. Talk about embarrassing.

[baniichan]

The moment Kotetsu faltered, Barnaby moved closer to his partner and gripped his arm to help keep him upright. He wasn't sure whether the sudden bout of weakness was related to his waning powers, their dampened abilities inside the institute, or the strange illness that seemed to be going around. But they couldn't afford to spend time speculating about that right then.

"I'll put it under the bus," he evenly told him, "but then we're getting out of here." Barnaby's tone suggested there was no room for discussion, and that was only emphasized by the way he suddenly activated his powers. Without another word, he crouched down and began pushing the creature's body underneath the vehicle. Although his strength had been greatly reduced, Barnaby estimated that his abilities were still amplified three times. It wasn't ideal, but at least it was better than nothing.

"Let me know if anything's coming," Barnaby instructed without looking back at him. Even if Kotetsu wasn't in top shape, he knew that wasn't asking too much of the man.

[oyaji]

"On it!" Tiger shouted above the noise and chaos. Swiveling his head in every direction to watch for attackers, it helped to distract him from his self-pity. A few of the vultures circled overhead, but none made any pretense of wanting him which still boggled his mind. Maybe it was because they were both manhandling one of its kin, but he doubted these blood-thirsty beasts were that sentimental. Either way, it bought them both time so the older man wasn't going to complain.

When the bus shook under his partner's weight, he let go of the vehicle lest it bring him down with it. Swaying on his legs wasn't much better, but there wasn't much he or Barnaby could do about it.

"Done yet?" His question held restless concern the longer he stared out into the thinning crowd of patients. Eventually he would be the last morsel left and then they would see if being picky mattered any longer.