"I'm not done playing yet!" Quickly, I reach for a small grapple hook underneath my belt and throw it towards Archer. It snatches his leg under the railing, and he gasps in surprise and grabs onto the metal bar as he's jerked down. I press the button that would activate the motor, propelling me upwards toward the second floor. Archer reacts quickly, slicing the wire with a knife from his boot. My momentum slows down, but I make it far enough to grab the edge of the floor. Archer resumes his running as I pull myself up and chase after him again.
He rushes through a door, breaking the lock in the process and frightening the guests that are staying in there. I follow him in, and he makes a jump for the window, shattering the glass and grabbing onto something that is hanging above him. He quickly rises up, and I have no choice but to follow his lead and jump after him. A balcony for the next floor is right above the window, and it makes me think: what kind of architect thought that would look good on a building. I pull myself up, glancing at him speeding down the narrow hallway and gaining distance.
I step onto the red velvet carpet of the interior doing my best to catch up. I pass a supply cart and get a long shot of an idea, snatching whatever is on the top shelf and chunking it at him. Turns out that what I grabbed was toilet paper, and I watch it soar through the air and land in front of him.
He turns his head around quickly. "Seriously?"
"Why don't you wipe your mouth with it!" I shout back.
Suddenly one of the doors opens in front of him, and he slams into it at full speed. The door gets damaged, and Archer is caught off guard as he falls to the floor with a thud. From behind the door steps out a small dog by the name of Clyde who looks down the hallway at me, then looks at the ninja on the floor.
"Archer!" he screams with conviction, "I still owe you for throwing me off a cliff!"
"Wha- what!?" Archer replies. He slowly starts to crawl backward away from Clyde, only to bump into my shins as I close in on him. He is now sandwiched between the two of us, and I piece together that this is the last predicament he would have thought to see himself in. He suddenly swings his arm into his pocket, pulling out a silver piece of technology that shines in the light.
"No!" screams Clyde as he dives onto Archer and snatches the gadget from his grasp. Archer is now completely helpless under Clyde's unforeseen strength, and Clyde crushes the gadget between his hands. "Teleporting is against the rules. You have to play fair this time."
"Wha- what the hell happened to you!?" Archer asks, staying on the ground as he whips his head between Clyde and me.
I place a foot on Archer's chest, pinning him down under my weight. "Aw, did Clyde break your favorite toy? He never could play well with others."
Clyde grabs Archer's legs and he proceeds to drag him into our room. Archer could only grunt and mumble under his breath as he realized that he had finally lost. I follow slowly, looking around to see if anyone is watching a child pull a full-grown man into a room against his will. The door is slightly broken, but it can still close properly as I shut it behind us.
*** *** ***
Archer continues to stare at Clyde as he's being secured in restraints, tied down to one of our kitchen chairs that we sat in the living room. I stand in front of him, watching Clyde finish up with the cuffs and ankle braces.
"Where's Lula?" I ask.
Archer finally takes his eyes off Clyde to look at me. "Aw, I thought you'd be more concerned about me. Don't I matter to you?"
Clyde slaps him across the head. "Hey, remember that we've got direct orders for your immediate death. You're just lucky we've got a few questions for you."
"Look at you all large and in charge," he teases. "Troy, we should get married and raise Clyde together!"
"You're in no position to be making jokes," I tell him.
"You do know that I'm a master escape artist, right?" he says smugly.
"Good point. Oh Clyde, would you kindly?" Clyde centers himself in front of Archer and proceeds to shatter his knees, making Archer cry out in pain.
His face becomes red and tear-streaked. "I hope you've got soundproof walls!"
I kneel down to get in his face. "It was a gift from Mr. Marston," Archer ruffles around nervously, "I'm curious, Archer. You used to be part of our team, one of the good guys. Why would you suddenly turn a complete 180 and try to bomb me in my own kitchen?"
He chuckles to himself. "You know, you're really cute when you're playing detective."
I back up. "Clyde." A tiny fist punches Archer across his cheek, knocking him and the chair he's tied to down on the floor. Clyde picks him up, getting him ready for round two. "Okay, I don't need to know the motive. I'm fine just chalking it up to you being completely insane. After all, who recruits the very people they're trying to kill after an attempt on their lives? Also, congrats on the hired gunmen. You knew the bomb wouldn't kill us on the spot, huh? Good thinking."
His face is swelling already from where Clyde had hit him, but I can tell that he's trying to wink, "No hard feelings, I hope."
"It's one thing to try and kill us, but why'd you have to blow up my parent's house? I wasn't even in the building at the time."
Archer looks down at his broken legs. "That one wasn't my fault, the damn remote detonator was buggy. It should've gone off while all of you were in there. And Lula..."
I step closer. "What about Lula? Where is she?"
"How about a kiss first?"
I shove Clyde's gun into his mouth. "Sure, pucker up and taste lead."
To the right of me, I hear glass shatter and then immediately feel pressure on my neck. Repeating touches make me remember that it's another bullet, but it must be a bigger caliber since it gives me a heavier push than the first one. The gun drops from my hand, I stumble to the floor, Clyde reacts too late, and Archer already begins to make his move.
He somehow slips out of the handcuffs and got to his belt of gadgets that we had put on the table. Clyde throws the chair he was sitting on at him, but Archer ducks in time and releases a smoke bomb. I dive after his silhouette, but he's already disappeared in the thick screen of smoke. On the ground, I feel the shattered glass from our window, noting that there is obviously a sniper on the other side.
"Sniper!" I yell.
Clyde runs to cover. "Ya think!? Take 'em out, Superman!"
I guess it was the pure instinct that made me take cover, even though I know I'm indestructible. The problem is that I'm already not that great of a firearms combatant, and the only weapon I have is a modded version of the standard-issue pistol Ispio gives to all field agents. Not my first choice of long-distance-counter-sniping. Then, I suddenly get an idea. I quickly stand up and jump out of the broken third-story window.
Bits of glass trail with me through the air as the parking lot's pavement comes closer at lightning speed. The forceful wind is something I've never experienced before, but I imagine this is what parachuting must feel like. Even though I'm falling at a fast rate, time seems to have slowed down as my body reaches a mere ten feet away from the solid road, giving me time to flashback pieces of my life. Without warning, time resumes its normal pace, and I close my eyes as I splat on the ground.
I sort of knew that I'd be fine, but that still scared the hell out of me. "Holy crap, I'm alive!" I get up, checking if the gun I brought with me didn't break. Another shot rings out, this time it's loud enough for me to judge its origins. People walking along the sidewalks and public areas start fleeing for safety as they watch a bullet hit me in the shoulder. I go down again from the sheer force of the firepower, but I get right back up without a scratch. It's now obvious which building it keeps coming from; the roof of a nearby bank.
I sprint across the street, dodging all the traffic and making it to the front doors. Everybody inside is completely unaware of the shooting taking place right above their heads. I run past them, a couple of security guys chasing after my tail. I don't blame them, running through a bank with a gun in my hand probably has something to do with it. I take the staircase, skipping three steps with each stride, quickly making my way up to three floors. At the very end of the journey is the roof access doorway.
I burst through, the sniper still in place trying to pack his gear away. He looks at me with startled eyes. "What the hell are you anyway!? I shot you twice, and you fell three stories!"
I aim the gun at him. "I am a Demigod, mortal, and I judge thee to never work with Archer again."
He maintains his bewildered look, "Archer? I don't know any Archer! I'm supposed to stop you from looking into the Grade A prototypes!"
Now I'm confused. "What? Grade A prototypes? You're not with Archer?"
The guards finally appear behind me, their guns are drawn at both of us. The time for questioning is over, and there is still so much I need to ask.
"Drop your weapons," one of them orders as he eyes my small pistol and the sniper's colossal rifle. I slowly place my arms above my head, still clutching Clyde's pistol. "I said drop it!"
"I can't, Clyde'll kill me if I lose his favorite gun," It's true, he had it custom built so that it never jams. They step closer, and I take steps back. We keep doing this until I eventually meet up with the sniper who is still next to the edge, sitting there with his gun case partially packed. It's obvious that the information he has is vital, and I'm not about to let my only lead get taken away by the law.
I put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, pal, this Demigod can't fly." His face becomes filled with fear as he guesses what my next move is. Without hesitation, I wrap myself around him and throw both of us off the roof, leaving the security guards in awe and the sniper screaming all the way down. I use my body for cushion, taking in all the shock that would've otherwise killed the sniper. Of course, I am a rather small fox, and he doesn't go completely unscathed. I have to carry him back to the hotel, his unresponsive legs dragging behind us.