The landscape ahead of them looked much the same as it had over the past hour or so; ruins and refuse everywhere. It was almost as though the entire planet had become one giant slag heap. Given what Alex had read about the Bombardment, it was kind of expected, with the damage the Confederacy had wrought. Still, it was a shock to see in person, even though he'd been mentally prepared for it.
With the level of devastation being so complete, it was hard not to understand why the locals were distrustful of outsiders. First the Confeds show up and ruin entire worlds, then the Federation abandons the people that had survived here. The sheer level of stupidity and nihilism that plagued the galaxy today was beyond what Alex had feared. It just boggled the mind why people had a senseless need to destroy.
"See anything, Alex?" Natalya queried, snapping Alex out of his thoughts.
"Nope! Keeping my eyes open, yet I don't see a damn thing!" he replied, scanning the landscape for any signs of life.
"We need to stay vigilant! As I said, the Shadow Dancers are a mysterious lot and they don't take kindly to trespassers! I'd be surprised if no one is watching us right now!" Dagan called out from the driver's seat.
"I wouldn't either, if I was trying to keep any intel of a group that I ran out of the hands of strangers or anyone who was too nosy!" Kasumi stated as she too kept glancing to and fro. No one had spotted anything yet, even though they were all staring out and around, trying to pick out any watchers from the rubble that dotted the landscape.
"I would be much the same, if I was—JESUS CHRIST!!!" Dagan cursed as he hit the brakes on the rover, trying to bring it to a complete stop.
In front of him, right out of nowhere, a grayish portal had materialized right in front of them. It was easily large enough to overtake the entire rover and their passengers, swallowing them whole! Dagan had tried to stop them cold, but it was too late, they were already through. He cursed as gunfire erupted from the area they now found themselves in, peppering the armor plating of the vehicle.
"GOD DAMMIT!! We need to get out of here!" Dagan screamed, as he ducked in his seat, trying to keep his head from being blown off.
"Foot on the gas, captain!! I got this!" Alex bellowed.
He brought forth his Aetheric power, remembering what he did on the station at Veldhern. This time, Alex made it so that it wasn't just a shield protecting them, but a dome. A bulletproof dome that would ensure they would all survive the incoming fire. Moments after Alex started to bring it into being, he spread his arms and the violet bubble of energy snapped into place, protecting everyone in the rover.
"What the..." Dagan exclaimed, shocked at what he was witnessing.
"Keep driving!" Korsa told him, as she brought her gold energy to bear, strengthening Alex's shield with her own power as well.
Dagan didn't argue and put the pedal to the metal, pushing the rover forward and out of the ambush. The Shadow Dancers stared in awe at this new power, wondering who the fuck these people were! The rover continued on, passing the final killbox their assailants had set up, quickly passing out of range.
He kept driving, keeping the rover at maximum speed until they were easily nearly a dozen kilometers away. Once they were far enough away from even a sniper's bullet, is when Dagan stopped the rover. The moment they halted was when Alex and Korsa brought down their shields. The group spilled out of the rover, needing a beat to process the situation they found themselves in.
"What... the fuck just happened?" Captain Min questioned, beyond angry at their current circumstances.
"We were shot at!! That's what fucking well happened!!!" Kasumi replied, more than a little pissed at being shot at.
"I know that!! What I want to know is... how the fuck did we wind up at the ruins of Heliopolis! This ruin is nearly several hundred kilometers from Tanith's Gully, yet we were brought here in an instant!" Dagan fumed as he looked around at the ruins that surrounded them.
"It must have been a portal of some sort. That's how we got here so fast! That also solves the mystery of how people who go searching for the Shadow Dancers vanish. They must have had someone nearby, radioing their portal maker to open one up at whoever was looking for them. The portal opens up, the people go through and it looks to the rest of the populace that they vanished into thin air," Alex surmised.
"I didn't believe the rumors, but seeing it in real life was more than enough for me to become a believer!" Dagan breathed, still coming to terms with what had happened.
"It's clever, really! Hell of a way to keep people at bay and drive everyone's superstitions to a point where they'll be the ones to make up the horror stories for you! Did anyone see what color the portal was?" Alex questioned.
"I'm pretty sure that it was gray. It blended in too much with the surrounding landscape to stand out," Natalya answered.
"Hunh! What has me stumped, is how could a surface user draw enough Aetheric power to create a portal that large? I mean, such feats are beyond mere surface users, aren't they?" Shazza posed.
"Hmm. I suppose it's a question that we'll have to ask the bastard when we find him or her," Kasumi stated.
"Oh? Do you mean this bastard?" a masculine voice called out.
Everyone drew their weapons and pointed them at the source of the sound. It was a dark-skinned man who stood there with a smug look on his face. The look came from the fact that he was surrounded by men and women, who were also armed like the
Darkstrider
crew was. The biggest difference was that the weapons in question were pointed at the crew.
"In answer to your question, a lot of practice was needed to do that. But, like riding a bike, once you know how, you don't forget. Put down your weapons and surrender. No one needs to die here," the man stated. The crew looked around them and it was clear as day they were surrounded and outmatched.
"I don't think so. You rely on people doing your bidding when you have them at your mercy. Newsflash boy, we won't go down and if we do, we'll incur a high cost from you and yours," Alex growled, keeping his violet energy handy and in plain sight.
Seeing such energies daunted the man, as he stared down at the crew. He remembered that energy which had color to it was far more potent than the energy he possessed. It was definitely something that he'd have to consider, as he wasn't told of this from his spies in Tanith's Gully. Had they been aware of such things, he would have been informed, but regardless of the situation, he was formulating what to do next.
"Hey, Dak! Is that her?" one of the men there asked Dak, who was there helping the Shadow Dancers, despite his recent capture. The man squinted at the woman in question, then his eyes widened upon recognizing Shazza.
"Yeah, Rod! That's the bitch all right!" Dak growled, leveling his weapon at the woman.
"Gun her ass down!" Rod called out to the Shadow Dancers. Some of the people assembled opened fire, while others were wondering what the fuck was going on. The moment Rod said that, Alex brought his shield back into being, keeping the rover crew safe from the oncoming gunfire.
"Wha—hold your fire!!" the leader boomed, causing some of the attacking group to cease.
"Who the fuc—" the man growled, intending to berate Rod for his insubordinate behavior. He would have continued, but Rod had already closed the distance and driven a long knife in the man's gut. He looked down at the weapon buried in him and then glared at Rod, wanting to tear him to shreds for this betrayal.
"Sorry, little Matty! But you gotta die!" Rod sassed as he drew his pistol, intending to end his life. "Brutus protocol, initiate!!!"
Just then, two-thirds of the Shadow Dancers turned on the others, gunning down those who were close while sending the others scurrying for cover. A massive firefight ensued, with both sides trading shots, but neither one gaining the upper hand. Rod would have killed Matthias, but his hand was pulverized by a charging Alex, who knocked the pistol out of his grip, sending it flying.
Rod screamed in pain, but even that was short-lived, as Alex decked the man with an Aetheric punch. The blow sent the man flying over fifty feet through the air, but it wasn't enough to kill the man. Alex had held back his full might, not wanting to end him, but question him after he subdued arrogant prick. Alex smashed the ground with Aether powered fists, and the ground itself rumbled, kicking up waves of dirt and debris, sending the nearest turncoats tumbling to their backs.
Korsa dashed forward, bringing her own shield into being, while Natalya, Kasumi and Shazza flew through the air, using the Aether to drive back their assailants. Kasumi called upon her power and pushed forward with her hands, creating a tidal wave of rocks and dirt. The men and women screamed in fear upon seeing this, not wanting to get buried in the debris.
Natalya punched the ground with her energies, which created massive human shaped fists to punch out of the ground beneath the turncoats, scattering them. Shazza's display was no less impressive, as she literally flew through the air, using her Aetheric power to heft large boulders and throw them as a child might throw rocks. Fearful of what might come next, the Shadow Dancer turncoats fled, picking up their leader, their friends and running as fast as their legs could carry them!
Dagan Min and his men were bewildered at this turn of events, but did everything possible to aid Alex and his ladies. Even though the situation was beyond weird for the man, he figured it was best to go with the flow of things. He aided some groups of the Shadow Dancers, helping drive off the last bunches of turncoats as they fled. Once they were gone, the men took a beat and surveyed the damage that had been done.
"Damn it! We came all this way to find you lot, only for this chance to be stolen away by some gangbanger politics!" Alex griped as he hit his knees in front of Matthias.
"What... are you... talking about?" Matthias asked, as he held his gut closed with his hands, trying to keep his lifeblood inside him, but failing. Alex was just about to speak, when Natalya came up to him, fairly glowing with her Aetheric energies.
"I can help, if you'll let me," Natalya told the man.
He stared up at her, wondering who she was and how she was doing that. Moreover, Matthias was debating if he could trust this woman, as beautiful women had gotten the better of him before. Seeing how he had little in the manner of options, he stared up at Natalya and nodded, giving his assent. Natalya then kneeled next to the man, placing her hands on his wound as her power flowed through her.
Like magic, his blood reversed course, pouring back into the man as his wound slowly closed. Once the last drop was back inside him, the cut sealed itself up, as though it had never been. Both Matthias and Alex looked at her in amazement, never having seen anything quite like that.
"Babe, you gotta teach me how to do that!" Alex said to her as he drew Natalya in for a kiss.
"It might be a bit of an uphill fight for that, but not impossible," Natalya told him after she brought her face away from his.
"What do you mean?"
