Lancel felt the desperate force explode against his hand, beat against his chest, gasp near his head, but he paid it no mind. He smiled at the pulped remnants of Flash Bomb's face as he held him up by the throat.
"Oh, I know, this isn't fair. You did manage to steal the nano tech I wanted," Lancel said. He casually punched into Flash Bomb's midsection, and it made a wet sounding thud. Blood and gore sprayed in a heavy arc. "It doesn't help us though, if you lose it." He looked around the expansive space of his war room, filled with people quietly ignoring the spectacle, and caught the eye of one wearing a lab coat. 'I can at least count on Dr. Xeno.'
"What are we going to do with you? Karma must be against you Stuart. You managed to blow through the base, take on Super busting soldiers, steal the tech and almost, almost escape," he sighed. "Brought low by a teenager with a Katana. He rescued your hostage and broke the nano tech containment in one swing," Lancel said, his brow furrowing further. "When one of my men looks weak, do you know what that does? It makes me look weak."
He looked at the wreckage of a man left in his hand, the explosive power steadily sputtering with less force. "I. Am. Not. Weak." Lancel squeezed, and a loud crack was heard as he let Flash Bomb's limp form drop to the floor.
Lancel turned to his medical officer. "Dr. Xeno, you're sure you can extract some of the nano tech from this corpse' tissues and organs?"
"Yes, if the the containment unit was broken while strapped to Flash Bomb's body, most of the nano tech would Infest the closest body," Dr. Xeno said. He was a slight man in a white lab coat, his long fingers seemed to be moving to a rhythm only he could hear. He approached the former small s Super. "Oh Stuart, you had such potential. It just never seemed to break through." He gazed at Lancel, his huge frame and violet eyes more than enough to indicate he was a Super. "This technology is going to greatly accelerate our plans. Soon a very small s Super like Stuart here will be able to face someone at Gertand of the North's level. We are entering dangerous territory."
"Ha, if we only achieve Gertand's level, then it won't be a problem for me to manage. He's barely a Super," Lancel said. His large features twisted into a caricature of a smile and the violet of his eyes swirled like coiling vipers.
"Maybe so, but he's made the Northern Empire a military and technology force that is respected by the other Super's Nations. We need to boost our non-Super powers to stay relevant," Dr. Xeno paused, then said, "Hail the Lancel Ottava Republic."
"Hail." Lancel looked at his War Room, the impressive space filled with 3D interfaces, shining surfaces displaying his troops and supplies, tasteful artifacts and trophies from his triumphs. He smiled, stood straighter and turned back to Xeno. "You're right Dr., but we are stronger than the other States know, and your research is essential," Lancel's smile widened, showing an alarming amount of teeth that were longer and pointier than Xeno's. "The end of days is just the beginning."
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"To be honest, she is pretty lucky," Dr. Grey said, looking at the holographic patient chart. "That guy faced the Super Buster platoon with no damage, and his explosive power could have blown Corporal Mimi to pieces at any time."
"So why is she passed out?" Shin said, in the med bay for the second time in the last hour.
"Travelling at that speed, being so close to the explosions he used to propel himself, and being violently knocked away all contributed to a mild concussion. Plus, the adrenaline and fear have sapped her energy. Don't worry Shin, she just needs some rest." Dr. Grey didn't mention that Mimi should have had some broken bones from the way Shin freed her, at least. She wasn't sure if it was luck, or some latent HPA surge that went dormant again, but Mimi was whole and healthy.
Dr. Grey didn't really have time to worry about Mimi at the moment, the members of Shimin were in worse shape. She changed her holographic display to review their charts, noticing Shin and he knelt down beside Mimi's bed. 'He would be a good looking kid if he wasn't so filthy,' she thought, then shook her head and narrowed her eyes, 'Come on Sasha, what is wrong with you? A student is dead and you have a room full of others with burns, cuts, bruises and more.'
"Dr. Grey, how are they?"
She started a little, and her holographic display fizzed out as she turned to the sound of General Hamish's voice. "General Hamish, Sir," she said with a salute. She stood straighter as she presented herself to him. "The Shimin students are all sedated, aside from the casualty Private Cain. None of their injuries are life threatening, but the burns from the blast are painful and I'm being vigilant about infection. Corporal Mimi is completely fine and resting, Sir."
"Very good." The General looked towards Shin by Mimi's bed, observing the state he was in.
"Private Shin is unharmed, aside from some minor scrapes and bruises. He insisted we focus our efforts on the others, and I agreed." Dr. Grey could see the interest in the General's eyes as he looked at Shin.
"Thank you Doctor, please advise my staff if anything changes. When Shin is ready, please send him to my office." He made a fast salute and then left the medical bay as suddenly as he came.
'Shin my boy, your life is about to get a lot more complicated,' Dr. Grey thought to herself.
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"Beautiful," Shin whispered. He looked around to see if anyone was close by, and he sighed and lowered his shoulders when he realized no one was. No one awake at least. 'She's pretty.... when she is asleep at least. I can't let her know though, she'd use it against me somehow,' Shin thought. He gently moved some stray hair off her face, his finger, dark and bloody, managed to not touch her skin.
He saw the blood there, and all over his uniform and started to evaluate his own injuries. He was whole though, a scrape or scratch here and there. Unfortunately the blood on his clothing was not his own, it was from moving his classmates to the medical bay. 'It is lucky for me, and Mimi, that I wasn't injured, or I would never have made it in time. Who knows what that Super would have done with her?' Shin thought, his shoulders shaking a little at the images that followed. 'If I didn't get that OHUD message, I wouldn't have even known my old class was in danger.'
Shin had left the medical bay, was it only an hour or so ago, and went straight to the medical transfer passages that connect this main medical bay across the entire campus. He knew where the Super was likely to travel, the gate was a straight line from the building he had held class 4 hostage, and Shin made amazing time.
'It felt like I just blinked and I was already coming around the corner before that Super made it past,' Shin thought. Swinging his sword seemed natural, though looking back, it was probably the only way to impede the Super with out getting hit at near the speed of sound. 'How lucky that my wild swing hit him, and missed Mimi.'
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Gertand, Emperor of the Northern Empire, did not like to waste time. So, though General Hamish wasn't expecting to see Gertand waiting in his office, he wasn't shocked either. Hamish saluted, "Emperor Gertand. I am at your disposal," he said and walked over to the seating area on the far side of the office. He definitely wasn't going to sit at his large desk with the Emperor.
"May I get you a drink while I report on today's events?" Hamish said, watching Gertand closely. During the wars and years that followed the coming of the Supers, Hamish had met many Supers. None like Gertand though. He looked in Gertand's violet eyes, they were calm, and surrounded by the kind of fine lines that only come from frequent laughter. Supers didn't age.
"I'd love some of that scotch you're hiding in the back of the cabinet," Gertand said, his tone was soft, and he wasn't smiling. "I know I didn't have to come in person for a report, but a student died and I need to know what is going on." Gertand sat down, and took the offered drink. He was tall, tall enough that Hamish had to look up when they spoke, so Hamish appreciated when they sat together. Gertand was impressive, like all Supers, though Hamish thought that he could pass for human if he hid his eyes.
"Sir, I know that you probably already know everything I was likely to report. The death of a student is a tragedy. It really is, especially to an unknown hostile. I appreciate your coming," Hamish said. He took a long drink from his tumbler, half the golden spirit disappearing. "So tell me, what do you want to know that wouldn't be reported?"
A small smile creased Gertand's lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You're right of course, the child's death isn't the only reason I came. Many people have died across the Empire this day. This was the only death at the hands of a new and unknown Super though, and that wasn't the only surprising thing." Gertrand paused for his own sip. "We know why they came, those nanites were special. Who was he? How did a student manage to slow him down when the Super Buster Platoon was struggling." As he asked his questions, he leaned forward, steepling his fingers and touching his lips repeatedly.
"Sir, Gertand. I don't know most of the answers yet. I can say that the Ashigaru, and the rest of the platoon, engaged him successfully with no casualties. His explosive speed and weapons were a pain to deal with, but we assessed him as a small s Super. Maybe not even that level. We have looked at the armaments he used, and there are no identifiers we've been able to find. We'll keep searching." Hamish leaned forward himself now. "Sir, this guy wasn't a leader. Hired muscle at best. I think the question we need to answer is, who sent him? I could be wrong, but that is a pretty short list of candidates. The Republic, The Southern Republic, and the Dragon Dynasty are our biggest detractors."
"You're right Hamish. Share any data on the Super with the central Military teams, and they can investigate who likely sent our fast friend." Gertand leaned back, deep into the sofa. "Now, tell me how a level 0 student stopped a Super from kidnapping a talented Corporal?"
Hamish wasn't sure, but, for a moment, the light in the Emperor's eyes gleamed a little brighter.
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