Bunker 12

"I'm serious."

"I know you are, Nuke. That's the problem."

"Why?"

"Because we can't win."

Nuke aimlessly looked at the ceiling, shaking her head in disbelief. She then forcefully pressed onward deeper into the recruit's room, Savvy backing up.

"I really did think you were better than this. Hate to see I was wrong."

"Savvy's right."

"Nobody talked to you."

Rouge tried to step in but the heated soldier didn't falter. 

"Look. I know what I said. And I stand by it. We will make him pay. Just… not yet."

The Insider refugee stuttered.

"Then when? Huh? When?"

"I- Just.."

"Who else needs to die? Huh? Morphe died. Cortex died. Who's next? Me? You?"

"No that's no-"

"We've waited long enough. We agreed we'd let things settle down. We'd carry on with our missions and try to get as many people on our side as possible. But it backfired. Some of us died. We got cold feet. We were afraid. I know you're afraid. If you're anything like us, I'm sure some of you barely made it alive. Am I wrong?"

"..."

"Exactly. We can't afford to wait any longer. We can't afford to be afraid. I know I ain't. I see it's different for you."

"We're not afraid."

Rouge tried to step in again. This time with more fervour, moving between the two of them.

"This isn't about fear. It's about knowledge. There is so much you don't know. So much we don't know. If we do thi- when we do this, we cannot fail. We cannot afford to fail. Now's just not the time. We need to be patient."

"Patience might win you some battles, but it will never win you a war. We need to fight back. Now. I'm not gonna fucking wait around until I get myself killed."

"Trying to fight back will also get you killed anyway. Can't you see it?"

"No. No, I can't. I don't want to see it."

The blonde tried to play pacifist with a more reassuring approach.

"Nuke listen. This won't do any good. To anybody. If you try to do anything, and you fail, what is that going to achieve? Doc will only get more on edge than he already is. We won't be able to get another chance at this. And even if you do kill him. Then what? Are his men going to just accept his death? What about the Hollows? They won't just disappear when he dies. Even if I would fucking love that. It won't happen. We're still going to have to fight them."

"No we don't. At least I won't. When Doc finally gets what he deserves, you better fucking believe I'm gonna make myself at home in the Inner City. If they don't have to fight, why do I? I'm gonna live the sweet life in there."

"If we stop hunting them, they'll grow and spread. It'll be impossible to set foot outside again. And it'll only be a matter of time before they will break in. And I'm not even mentioning how all Outsiders will be completely wiped out. Don't you want to protect them? Your family?"

"You don't know anything about my family. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"If not for yours, we have to fight for everybody else. Be it on our own terms or under this psycho's terms. Plus, life in the city ain't all it seems to be."

"What would you know?"

"More than you think."

"The fuck's that suposed to mean?"

"I- It doesn't matter."

"You're right. It doesn't matter. I'm doing this."

"Nuke please…"

Her pleading did not reach its destination. Even if it did, its reception was unwelcome. Two of her teammates, Lunchbox and Kage, were waiting for her in the hall. However short in arms, this rebellious assembly wasn't short on zeal. Seeing how quickly she walked past them without looking at them, they knew. They exchanged a glance and quickly followed her lead, fully understanding not to await reinforcement. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mom?"

"Oh honey! I am so happy to see you! I missed you so much!"

"Isn't that a heartwarming reunion?"

"..."

Kage immediately understood something was way off. And that's without taking into account the fact Doc was standing right there, outside the Lab, clearly waiting for them. He needed only to catch a whim of the air between Nuke and what seemed to be her mother.

Just outside the main entrance to the Lab, the mutiny was cut short as they immediately found their target. However, he wasn't alone. 

"Why are you here?"

"Oh well honey, you have to thank our King for allowing me this chance to bring us together agai-"

"Shut up. You make me sick. We both know I can't stand your face after you sold me off."

"Oh fuck you, ungrateful brat. I had to do what I had to do."

"Why did you bring her here?"

Nuke immediately bypassed her matriarch and directly confronted her target.

"Well this is awkward. And here I thought I could gain some leverage with her as a hostage. Threatening to take her life if you kids tried anything funny."

"You chose the wrong hostage. I don't give a shit what happens to her. She didn't hesitate to just sell me to you fuckers. You can kill her right now, I wouldn't even blink. We're here for you. And only you."

"I know. I was waiting for you and your friends."

"How'd you know?"

Lunchbox walked up next to the young leader, not afraid to confront the man himself.

"Hm?"

"We were coming. How'd you know?"

"Why, that goes without saying, my boy. I know everything."

"Bullshit."

"Big words. Then why don't you go ahead and explain to me, young man, why is it that I am standing right here, calmly waiting for you?"

"..."

"I'm serious. Answer me. We'll wait."

"I- Huh… Just, just shut up!"

"Calm down Box."

Kage assessed the situation long enough. It was time to step in. Doc was alone, sure. But they still needed to be careful.

"I understand that you also know why we're here."

"Of course."

"Good. Let's get to it then."

Without warning, Nuke immediately blitzed the old man, rapidly closing the distance between them. She aimed to blow him up in one swoop. However, her legs got almost ripped out of her torso as she was literally frozen in her tracks.

"Woah there, little lady. This won't do."

Frostbite nonchalantly walked up between Doc and Nuke, her legs now stuck in a fresh chunk of ice.

"The fuck you doing here?"

"Don't mind me. Just doing my job."

"Nuke you ok?!"

"Yeah. Don't worry, Box."

In a split second, the young woman blew up in a burst of flame. The smoke cloud dissipated, revealing her menacing figure. Now out of her bonds, she was holding two giant glaves connected by a chain.

"Move."

"Like I said, girl. I'm on the clock. So no can't do."

"Why are you working for him? Aren't you on our side? We're here to take him down. With your help, we could easily do it."

"That's quite tempting, I must admit. But who's gonna pay me if this old dude kicks the bucket? You? I mean, if you say you can pay for my room and my drinks and my meals and my hoes, I guess we could cut a pretty dang good deal."

"Are all those things worth more than freedom and safety?"

"Depends who you asking."

"I'm asking you."

"No."

"Then why the hell are you still here protecting him?"

"Boss' orders."

"You fucking moron. You're just gonna listen to this piece of shit all your life?"

"Him? Hahaha, no that's not what I meant. My boss. You know him. Mob?" 

"What difference does that make? Mob is just this bitch's lapdog."

"The difference is I owe Mob my life."

"You're not just arrogant like your owner, you're blind like him too huh?"

The other soldier made sure the Don was not forgetting their presence in the backrow. The old scientist, however, could not care less.

"This is quite entertaining, I must admit. But I have better things to attend to."

"Kage don't let him get away."

"I know."

Kage nodded as Luchbox waited for a sign to jump in. They barely pushed forward before a skin-burning frozen hurricane flung them and their interim leader backwards. They did not see the Lieutenant's attack, but they could now hear him click his tongue and see him wagging his finger. Doc then leisurely began to walk away. 

"No, actually. You don't know. Are you still not getting it? I am here to show you that you filthy Mudders have nothing on me. This pathetic coup that you came up with never had any chance of working. Its very concept failed the second your infantile brain even came up with it. And Frosbite here will make it his pleasure to teach you the harsh truth."

"What about the old lady? What do I do with her?"

"Whatever you want."

As much as they wanted to stop the old scientist from slipping further away from their grasp, they knew they couldn't afford to take their eyes off the Don.

"Alrighty. Go back home, granny. I don't do free shows."

As he turned around to taunt the woman, a massive clunk of metal flew right at him. If they wanted to chase Doc as fast as possible, they needed to take care of him twice as fast. And Nuke was already on it. 

Purely on battle instinct, Frostbite sensed the heavy blade coming towards him and erected a large wall of ice behind him. Nuke's blade sunk deep into it. However, it did not break through. 

The young soldier's mother did not wait for a second warning and immediately ran into the dark tunnels. Paying her no attention, Nuke continued with her assault. 

She spun the chain holding her second glave, accumulating immense momentum, before flunging it towards the other end of her weapon. As the two blades smashed against each other, it created a violent explosion. 

His icy protection now spilled across the entire cave, Frostbite dusted off the thin layer of crushed ice resting on his outfit. Nuke snapped back the chains in her hands and recalled her large blades, skillfully catching them. 

"Those are pretty cool, not gonna lie."

"Yeah. Haven't got the time to try them yet. Hopefully you'll be a good punching bag."

"Bitch, calm down. You ain't even gonna scratch me. It's about time you learn to work as a team and let your boys on the action. You're gonna need them. And I say that but, you really ought to bring more people next time. You lot ain't good enough"

"Shut up and fight."

"Box, time to rush him down."

"Bet."

The fight was on. Lunchbox pulled out a capsule and immediateyl popped it in his mouth before running towards the cocky bodyguard. It only took a few strides before the carbohydrates energized his body and gave him a substantial speed boost. 

"Oh shit."

The drastic change in speed was enough to surprise him, sure. But not to take him off guard. Frostbite firmly stomped the ground, rapidly growing a lake of ice spawning across the cavern. 

Lunchbox immediately lost his footing as he stepped on the slippery surface, barely recovering before falling, still sliding forward. The cold soldier then kneeled and pressed his palm on the azure floor. Imbuing it with his aura, a field of freezing sharp spike emerged. 

Too fast to stop, the doped warrior envisioned a gruesome end to his short life. Right before getting skewered, a large iron edge flew right before him. The chain following it wrapped around him and crushed him.

To ensure she could successfully pull him back without getting dragged herself, Nuke hurled her other glaive all the way behind her, firmly gripping the earth. The shock of Lunchbox heavy body, empowered by his inhuman speed, almost ripped her arm off as he snapped at the end of the chain. She did, however, rightfully stop him. 

Screaming in pain and exertion, the young woman forcefully whipped him back to them.

"Oh no you don't."

The Don rushed towards the chained rescue. His speed surprised them. In a blink, he was able to grab part of the chain and immediately began to freeze it. As the frost rapidly gained territory down the metallic rope, Nuke answered back. She sharply cracked the chain, sending a wave of sizzling implosions to break the invasive frost.

"Well played."

He could but praise his enemy as she was able to successfully counter his attack and force him to let go of the chain. Kage swiftly got in position to catch his flying friend's body and help him escape his constraints. 

"Sorry, Box. I made the wrong call."

"Yeah no shit. I almost died."

"But you didn't. So shut it and focus."

She did not have the same apologetic behavior as the strategist of her team. Nor did she have his patience. However, in this instance, they could not hold it against her. They had no time to spare. A wall of frozen razors was dangerously approaching them. 

Intuitively, Nuke pulled both her glaves in front of her and began to spin them vigorously. As their blades were sporadically clashing, the discharges those collisions birthed were enough to destroy the incoming spikes. 

As smart and efficient as this impromptu defensive tactic was, it had a flaw. A flaw their nemesis cashed on immediately. Using the smog to hide his approach, Frostbite leaped out of the smoke, sliding on ice. His fist covered in hardened frost, the Don used all of his weight and speed to throw a hook directly into Nuke's guts. 

The pure strength crushed her inside and propelled her back at high velocity. The man swiftly grabbed the flailing chain, still connected to the flying body's hand, and reeled her back in. He then extended the frost on his hand and covered his entire arm. As he effortlessly pulled her back in mid-air, he raised his arm and caught her right in the throat.

Kage, still trying to untie Lunchbox at the other end of the weapon, could do nothing but bear witness to his comrade's throat getting crushed, now flying the opposite direction she was initially going. 

As she lost all of her strength, her fingers let go of her chained weapon before she crashed into the ice and slid further away. Even though it took more time than they wanted, Lunchbox was now free. Just in time to dodge the incoming icicle coming for him. 

"You kids had enough? I'm not here to kill you guys. Just hold you down. The fight ends when you stop fighting."

"Fuck… Off…"

"Well damn. You're tougher than I thought, girl."

Nuke spat blood on the ground as she struggled to stand up on the slippery ground. Everybody was now back in action. 

"You guys aren't doing too bad, not gonna lie. You've made a couple mistakes though. Like blocking your vision. And incapacitating a teammate while trying to save hi-"

"Don't you ever just shut the fuck up?"

"Box, let's close the distance."

"Let's get it."

Initially thinking only a mere speed boost would be enough to give him the edge needed, he rapidly understood it wouldn't be enough. Lunchbox used a second nutrient pill to unleash his potential. This time he bet everything on brute strength. 

In the little time he had before the two men got the jump on him, Frostbite locked away Nuke's armament inside an unpenetrable frozen cell. That's when the drugged warrior came crashing down with all his strength, breaking away the icy floor, messing with their footing, trying to remove their handicap. Fully knowing he could just freeze the ground all over again, the Don preferred not. He liked a challenge.

Kage and his brother in arms teamed up to unleash a flurry of strikes. While not the strongest combatant, Kage still had solid training in martial arts just like any soldier. However, that includes Frostbite. And two of them were not enough to pressure him. He was able to slip through every kick and block every punch using his ice prowess. 

Thankfully, their team had one more member. And she was enraged. The cocky Lieutnant was caught off guard when a massive explosion forced him to rappidly spawn a ice shere around him to absorb the blow. Even the two other fighters barely had time to escape. Frostbite had made his first mistake of this fight.

"Well, the more you know huh? I thought taking away your toys would do the trick, but you can still use your power freely."

Both her palms were still fuming from the fresh ignition, her eyes completely lost to bloodlust.

"Hey Nuke, chill the hell down! You almost killed us!"

"Should have been faster, Box."

"Piss off."

"Guys focus. Let's spread out. Being too close to each other both nerfs Nuke and buffs this guy."

"Alright."

Kage was starting to understand the layout of this bout more and more. Still, he didn't see any way they could win. He knew they couldn't. But he also knew Nuke would hear none of it. No point in trying to talk her down. She had to see for herself. And she would; Frostbite's courtesy. 

Cold razors emerged from the azure sphere in the middle of the cave. The crew barely managed to avoid them, suffering many freezing cuts. The Don calmly broke out of his shell, now armed with a large frozen sword, its blade resting over his shoulder.

"You guys know Doc is already far gone, right? Probably chilling in his room doing… whatever an old weirdo like him does."

"I don't give a shit. We could've overthrown him. You could've helped. If you weren't such a piece a shit."

"Woah now. Let's not throw around mean words. I'm a sensitive guy."

"Drop the fucking act. Level with me. Why?"

"Hmm."

Frostbite looked at the young soldiers surrounding him. Their faces. Their rage. He understood it. All of it. All too well. He scoffed under his icy breath before unconsciously playing with the edge of his frozen blade. 

"I used to be powerless. Literally. When I took the shot, it barely did anything. Obviously, I didn't get fucked up like you guys. But I didn't get any crazy upgrade either. Crazy part is, I never was grateful. I had dreams of suffering. I was ready to have my body eaten away just so I could gain power. That's when Mob gave me the chance of a lifetime. He cut a deal with Doc and made a few of us. Doc got to mess around and learn some shit. Mob got to keep whatever he made. And lived. That's how we, Dons, came to be. We were experiments. I gained some old dead soldier's power and here I am. I'm not a good guy. Or a smart guy. I just see value in loyalty."

"... I hate you."

"Not the only gal to hate me, girl. You ain't special."

"I thought hearing you out would somehow help me swallow the fact you let that psycho get away. But you just made me even more pissed. You could ride your boss' dick all you want, it won't change the fact you're just a pussy. Playing lapdog won't get you anywhere. You'll just be playing in Doc's hand just like your boss is. And everybody else. Not me. You won't catch being a pawn."

"Look, woman. I get it. But yet again, you ain't special. This little emo goth rebellious teenage girl phase won't achieve anything. People have tried to overthrow the king way before you. And people will try to take him down after your dumb ass is dead and buried. Hell, even Mob has been trying to. If he hasn't been able to do it still, ain't no fucking way you brat have any chance."

"At least I have the balls to try."

As she said so, she kicked the dirt and immediately ran towards him. She had nothing left to say. She was too furious to think anyway. She failed to put her hands on him as a large frozen blade cut right in front of her. She was then rushed down by his swordplay, trying to avoid every hit.

"We need to attack him in waves. Box, you go in and out. You poke and leave. You push your offense until you're backed into defending. That's when you retreat and Nuke goes in. Can't be caught lumping in together."

"Sure, whatever."

"No. If we want to have a shot at this you've got to listen to me."

"Yeah, cause that's been doing us good so far."

Kage could only sigh when his partner ran off into the fight. It's the only time he ever gave up. But he knew it was a lost cause since the beginning. He just isn't the type to step down. Usually.

"The hell you think you gonna do, big guy."

Effortlessly, Frostbite discharged an ice-cold geyser out of his hand, freezing the charging warrior behind him, turning him into a living sculpture.

"You stay out of thi-"

His eyes widened as he heard the shattering of frozen glass. He underestimated the young man's boosted strength, now able to punch him directly in the ribs. Thankfully, the Don's battle experience is extensive, allowing him to create at the last instant a patch of rock-hard frost to absorb the brunt of the hit. The brute force of the blow still sent him flying straight towards Nuke. She made it her pleasure to make use of this opportunity.

The young woman crashed her fists together, changing them up with implosive energy, waiting for her prey to come crashing into her. The Lieutenant did not wait for that to happen, however. In a flash, he morphed his sword into a long javelin and pierced the ground to stop himself.

In the same movement, he spun across the pommel and gained great centrifugal energy. He then used this force at the end of his spin to crash his large boots into Lunchbox's sternum and hurled him across the cave. 

Alone again, the female fighter punched the earth and generated an immense explosion, completely rocking this underground battlefield. Dusty fog blocking his vision, Frostbite pulled his cold weapon out of the ground and reforged it back into a more suited blade.

Like a frenzied beast, Nuke began to leap back and forth into the smog, projecting herself through explosive pounces, trying to grab a hold of her nemesis. Ungracefully but with ease nonetheless, the Don evaded every attack, redirecting her with the slick face of his blade. 

Since this onslaught showed no sign of slowing down, the Lieutenant snarled.

"Alright. Enough."

With both hands on his handle, the man violently shoved his sword into the ground. The powerful impact generated a massive detonation, freezing everything in its path, leaving nothing but a cold dessert in its wake. As the ice particles and the dust finally settled, Frostbite saw the three figures, kept in a frightful state of statis. 

"I'm going home. You guys cool off a bit."