"So, where is he?" Ed asked.
"He's at the Iron Gang's base." Jessica replied. "This isn't going to be easy. World Walker is a very careful man. He keeps his distance. I won't get a chance to use my powers on him."
"What if I attack the base to distract him? He'll probably let down his guard when an enemy is storming the fort."
"That might work..." She played with her long red hair as she thought for a moment. "Will you really be able to handle the entire gang alone?"
"I don't know." He shook his head. "How many members are there? And how strong are they? If their boss was the strongest then it should be fairly easy."
"World Walker told me that Iron Jaw is actually one of the weaker members. The others followed him since he was a good leader. As for the others... I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what their powers are. World Walker and Tracker always handled intelligence. I mainly focused on recruitment and distractions."
"What about their base? Is it an ordinary building like Blood-Lust's?" He asked.
"On the surface it is, but the main headquarters is underneath the ground. One of their espers built a bunch of complicated tunnels into a huge maze and they always have guards stationed there." She replied.
"Hmm..." He rubbed his chin in thought. "They're certainly more careful than Blood-Lust. Looks like I joined the wrong sinner group back then."
"That's because we didn't need to hide like that... or at least we thought we didn't. We had some of the strongest espers in the city and World Walker could always help us escape. We were overconfident."
"Alright." He nodded. "You can head back first. The plan begins two nights from now. I'm not charging in blind and need to prepare first. Make sure you and World Walker are in an air-sealed room before sunset. Hold him with your powers as soon as the opportunity presents itself."
Jessica nodded and left to return to Iron Gang's headquarters. Ed took off his mask and headed for a store that specialized in propane and propane accessories. He asked to rent several large propane wagons from them in two days' time. The large steam wagons had huge propane tanks on top of them to deliver propane to various local stores. Normally, the store wouldn't loan these trucks, but they had a hard time refusing the large amount of cash Ed offered them. He also requested for the store employees to drive the trucks, which eased their worry since the store would be able to keep an eye on them.
He stayed the night at a local hotel. The next morning, he awoke in a pleasant mood. 'That was easier to prepare than I expected. I don't have my exo suit with me. I should make some basic armor since I have the spare time anyways.' He traveled to various markets throughout the day, some of which were black markets. 'So hard to find good tech here...' He sighed to himself. The best he had managed to create was some ballistic clothing with metal plates for extra protection. Still, it was better than nothing.
He spent the rest of the time he waited in meditation. The mana flowed through his mana-paths faster than usual as it completed the circuit within his body. His heart meridians were almost full. 'Mm. I should be able to break through the next meridian in a few days.'
Soon, the night of the operation arrived. Ed put his mask back on and arrived on the street behind Iron Gang's headquarters. He surveyed the area for nearly an hour. Then, three large steam wagons pulled up. The propane employees got out of their trucks and gave Ed strange looks when seeing the mask. "Gentlemen." He gestured towards them. "I suggest you all stay in your trucks and prepare to leave as soon as I tell you. Trust me. You don't want to know anything about what's going to happen tonight."
One of the men seemed to recognize him and nodded. "Don't worry Forge. We won't tell anyone." He gestured towards the others and they all returned to their trucks. Ed pulled a large hose from each propane tank and laid them down next to each other. Then he began to melt a hole in the ground. He had to go quite a few meters before a stony tunnel revealed itself. This was one of the corridors in the maze that belonged to Iron Gang. He had even seen one of their members walk within it when he surveyed the area earlier.
He took all three hoses and lowered them down the hole. Then he sealed it so that they were barely noticeable. He returned to the trucks and turned the valves to begin letting the propane out. 'An odorless gas would have been preferable, but this was easily obtained and most of them are probably asleep anyways.'
After enough gas had flowed from the trucks, Ed made a small opening and released some green wind from his arms. It quickly pushed the propane throughout the maze tunnels in all directions. Soon, the trucks were completely empty, and the tunnels were filled with the gas. He indicated for the employees to return their trucks. Once they were far out of sight, it was time to begin. He couldn't risk flying directly from the ground right now since the flames might trigger the gas. He instead chose to climb a nearby fire escape of a tall building.
He jumped off the building and flew into the air as flames shot from his feet. "Hooo." He breathed out slowly to calm his nerves before beginning. This wasn't like Reef City. Hunters would be swarming this place after the explosion went off. 'I should have given Jessica a mana-radio or something. I hope she listened to my instructions carefully.' A large ball of flames formed in his hands and he tossed it downwards.
BOOM!!! Repeating explosion noises sounded as the streets rose up from the ground. Flames briefly streaked into the sky before quickly disappearing. The explosion quickly traveled throughout the entire neighborhood. Many building foundations were destroyed, causing some to start to topple over. Small fires spread throughout the area. Some caused by the gas and others caused by the mini earthquake.
'Mm.' Ed nodded while watching. 'Not as bad as the explosion in Reef City. I didn't really have a way to sneak mana-powder into their base though. This should have taken care of most of them, right?'
Suddenly, a black portal opened behind him. A man and woman stepped out of it and landed on the nearby fire escape. The man had curly black hair, a thin black mustache, and wore a black suit with a top hat. A solid bronze monocle decorated his right eye. His left eye currently looked pink and glazed, indicating that Jessica had been successful.
She smiled, "My powers should last at least 24 hours. If it goes over that then I need to reapply it."
"Good." Ed nodded. "Let's leave. Have him take us to-"
"BASTARDS!!!" A raging voice interrupted him as a large man clawed his way out from the crumbled streets. The man was covered in yellowish rocks. He glared at them. "FORGE?! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Ed turned to Jessica. "That is?"
"A strong esper." She replied. "He was Iron Jaw's 2nd in command. World Walker, how strong is that esper exactly?"
"His overall grade is D. His defense is grade B. Offense is grade C. Agility is grade E. Versatility is grade F." World Walker replied in a monotone voice.
"Where did you get specific information like that?" Ed questioned. He had only ever heard of the power rankings assigned by the Hunter Association. Those rankings were only based on the power itself and was fairly inaccurate as a combat indicator.
"Nexus, of course." He replied.
"Nexus? Never heard of it." Ed frowned. "Whatever. We'll worry about that later. How does his defense compare to Iron Jaw?"
"Iron Jaw has grade D defense. The two of them are in completely different leagues."
"I see... that would explain how he survived the explosion. The hunters will be here soon. No point in wasting time on him." Ed pulled out a small vial and tossed it down towards the ground. It shattered in midair and silver powder covered the man. Another ball of flames appeared in his hand and he tossed it down.
Boom! A large flash of light appeared as the lightning mana-powder ignited. Dancing streaks of lighting scattered in all directions. Crackling sounds rang out for several seconds before it faded away. It revealed the esper still standing there unharmed. "FIGHT ME, COWARDS!" The esper shoved his fists into the street and pulled up a large chunk of rubble. Then he hurled it towards Ed, who easily dodged to the side in midair. Some smaller chunks of the street rubble slammed into his chest, but his ballistic armor mitigated the damage.
'Interesting.' Ed rubbed his chin while looking at the esper on the ground. 'I doubt I can hurt him with my flames if even the lightning mana-powder couldn't hurt him. World Walker said this was grade B defense? Perhaps I'm not as strong as I previously imagined...'
Shouts and screams could be heard nearby as citizens tried escaping their damaged dwellings. Hunters were already starting to appear on the scene. Ed turned to look at the duo. "Let's go. Take us to the outskirts of the city for now."
"Mm." Jessica nodded towards World Walker. A black portal appeared and they all stepped into it. They could see a small ghetto through the other end of the tunnel. It appeared to grow bigger as they quickly approached it. Only a brief moment later, they arrived.
Ed looked at his surroundings. The buildings here were smaller and clustered closely together. They all looked rundown for the most part. The walls of the huge dome that covered the city could be seen nearby. The edges of most cities tended to have the worst neighborhoods. They would usually fall first during nightmare attacks, so only the poor and desperate would be willing to live there.
He looked towards the duo. "World Walker. Explain your powers in detail. What are the limitations? How often can you teleport? How far? Include anything you think is important."
"Alright." The man nodded. "From here, I can teleport anywhere within the United States and most of Canada. I can frequently teleport for small distances. A large distance between several states or more will drain me of most my mana. It takes me nearly two hours to fully recover. Other than that, I can also increase gravity. The farther I spread the effect the weaker it becomes. I can increase it by about 10 times within 10 meters."
"Good." Ed nodded. 'Better than I expected. Now then... what should I do with Jessica. Her powers are fairly useful, but I've only got one mana-collar on me and it's currently implanted in her head. I could keep using it on her and have her control World Walker, but I don't trust her. She could end up betraying me like she did World Walker. Once I'm under her control then she could easily have me remove the device... Right, it's decided then.'
He looked at Jessica. "Hold still. I'm removing the mana-collar now." The street melted to form chains that bound her. "Just a small precaution since you won't be under my control soon."
She glared angrily at him, but quickly lowered her head in defeat.
A blast of green wind shot from his arms towards her. This way, if she did try using her powers, then he would still be fine. He was nice enough to turn off the pain receptors this time and the device was soon removed. He quickly implanted it within World Walker's head. "Oh, before I forget. World Walker, what's your real name? Your moniker is way too long."
"Bolin Walker." He replied.
"Ah, so your real last name is also Walker. How funny." Ed turned towards Jessica. "Well, it was nice knowing you." He rose an arm towards her and flames appeared in his hands.
"WAIT, NO!!!" She screamed. "This isn't what you promised! I can be useful! Why kill me?!"
"I am a man that loves control." He grinned. "Your very existence threatens my self-control. I can't allow something like that to exist. So, I'll simply erase it."
"UGH, NO!!!" She struggled against the chains that bound her. A stream of flames flew towards her. The glow of the fire reflected off her fearful eyes. Then she was burnt to ash.
The pink glow in World Walker's eyes quickly faded away. "A pity..." He sighed while shaking his head. "Espers with control powers like that are fairly rare."
"That's funny coming from the guy that basically gave Jarrod a death sentence." Ed replied. "It seems like you're fully aware of what's happened tonight?"
"Mm." He nodded. "Her powers don't affect memory. I'm aware of what you've done to me."
"That's good." Ed smiled. "You're free to try and escape. I can't shock you if you travel far enough. I've even adjusted the collar so that it won't zap you unless you're away from my transceiver for a full year. Aren't I such a nice guy?"
"No need to mock me." Bolin sighed while shaking his head. "I know when I'm beat. I'll cooperate. Besides, all of Blood-Lust has been taken down. Iron Gang has practically been destroyed as well. Steam Work City is becoming inhabitable for sinner groups these days. Perhaps a change of pace would do me some good."
"How open minded of you. That makes my life easier. Anyways, let's discuss the rankings you mentioned earlier. I believe you said it came from something called Nexus?"