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The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 13 - Flash Mob
🕑 Added 2024-11-09 07:39:06 +0000 UTCPower coursed through Nicole’s form as her form shifted under the expanding light. Not one of the machines wavered from the flash of light that spanned the visible spectrum. The machines weren’t the same as the ones they fought at the Renfaire, these were sleeker versions, with metallic blue stripes along their shoulders.
She couldn’t help but smile as she turned all her frustrations upon an acceptable target. Unthinking, unfeeling, and numerous enough that they wouldn’t be exhausted for some time yet. The machines moved to encircle the Rangers, not a one breaking away to attack the fleeing civilians. Their purpose was solely to counter the Rangers at the behest of the woman who had once helped put Nicole back together after one of her worst breakdowns.
“Keep them contained,” Devon yelled, stepping forward with his silver shield raised. “We can’t give them an opportunity to harm any civilians.”
Nicole rolled her eyes, not that anyone could see it and punched Grace’s red shoulder. “Let’s wreck their shit.”
“It’s certainly a better plan than homework,” Grace said, chuckling.
Nicole grinned savagely, stepping forward at a steady pace, a sureness to her feet that she once carried on the gymnastics mat. An automaton lunged for her, blade coming down. She sidestepped, pushing the limb out of the way and struck with an open palm. The machine’s chest piece dented under her blow and flew back, the others neatly stepping aside to dodge the new pile of scrap as it went over the railing and down into the mighty Mississippi.
Grace crashed into their formation shoulder first, bowling them over before she brought her axe around in a wide arc, shearing through the machines. Not even two steps to Nicole’s right, thin vines shot through the massed machines before whipping apart, shredding them. Jeff came down at that same moment, blazing purple the only warning before a machine disintegrated under the force of impact, scattering several others from the force of it.
Nicole moved in a flash, knives carving through the flank as Grace and Jeff decimated the center. Even with the upgraded models, the machines still couldn’t stand up to their team.
No sooner than those thoughts crossed Nicole’s mind, another flash of light signaled the arrival of more machines just up the walkway. Nicole was already moving to face them as the blue ones moved down the steps to catch them in a pincer, but those that resembled the machines from the Renfaire instead moved towards the town beyond.
People screamed in the distance, the snap of gunshots ringing out.
“Silver, handle these bastards,” Grace yelled. “Rogue, let’s go show them why we’re the real threat!”
Nicole nodded, punching one machine before spinning to drive her elbow into another. From there blades lashed out, carving through the remainder. With that, Nicole then legged it through the opening she’d just created. She jumped over the descending machines, skipping the two dozen stairs as she did with a flip straight out of her old routine. She landed on the railing above with perfect poise, and sent a dozen blades of prismatic light into the retreating crowd of baseline machines.
“Showoff,” Grace said, taking the stairs six at a time with fleet-footed hops, her axe flashing out to carve any machine that tried to get in her way. The machines that had been sprinting towards the hiding people all paused, turning their focus from the civilians. “That’s right, scrap for brains. Come and get us!”
The gray striped machines let off a warbling screech and surged forward, moving far slower than their counterparts but in greater numbers. Axe and dagger flashed in the sun, cutting through the less durable alloy like tissue paper. There were further flashes that signaled more arrivals, but Nicole couldn’t afford to focus on them, not with so many machines already converging on her and Grace.
Individually, the machines weren’t much of a threat, but they were swiftly growing in numbers, up from the initial cluster and multiplying at a terrible rate with every new flash of teleportation. Nicole knew it was nothing more than swarm tactics, all to wear them down with a mass of disposable bodies. The Rangers were already scattered, and would likely have to split apart again the moment another group broke away to attack those unable to fight back. Divide and conquer remained a classic for a reason.
Sirens sounded as flashing red and blue flew down the street, screeching to a halt to block the road. Officers stepped out, moving behind their impromptu cordon and taking aim with their handguns. These officers weren’t equipped to handle an Automaton threat, yet they put lead down range all the same. The people fleeing all instinctively ducked at the discharge, some tripping over themselves and making easier targets for the machines.
Nicole almost jumped when one of those bullets impacted her shoulder, a spray of sparks shooting off as she jerked back from the subsonic round. Growling in frustration as a machine tried to latch onto her, she grabbed the bastard by the leg, twisting as it slammed into another machine, then threw the mangled automaton towards the police. The husk impacted the nearest car, denting the hood as the officers ducked for cover.
“Check your fucking fire!” Nicole yelled, then hissed as a clawed limb scraped across her back, sending a shower of sparks around her. Even with the kinetic barrier, strikes like that still hurt. Though it hadn’t penetrated her suit, the pressure of each impact was still felt in her flesh.
Nicole spun, kicking the machine hard and loosed a flurry of small blades at it. The automaton fell in a shower of sparks even as Nicole was forced to dance back to avoid two more. They were fighting an uphill battle and there hadn’t even been a mutant yet!
“We’re going to get overrun at this rate!”
“Welcome to being a Ranger,” Grace said, ripping her axe free before bringing it around to decapitate another. “This isn’t like the old kiddie hero shows, we fail here, people will die!”
Nicole knew the truth of those words, and yet it was only now sinking in just how outmatched humanity truly was. They were deploying these kinds of numbers on a whim, all for an attack that was done out of a petty outburst in response to a speech.
An elbow strike to one machine, sidestep to avoid a strike, duck a blow, blade through the chest. It was all she could do to keep her focus on the chaos around her as she fought side by side with her friend through a sea of metal and blades. The dance continued as if they had coordinated together for years, enhanced reflexes making it feel almost natural.
A weight crashed into her from behind, cold machine limbs wrapped around Nicole’s torso and the kinetic barrier sparked from the pressure. Before she could throw the machine off another swiped at her with bladed limbs, sending heavy sparks arcing off of her as she bit back another cry of pain.
The worst part was how it felt like she was getting beaten with heavy clubs, just along a fine edge. Nothing cutting, but feeling it all the same. Nicole grit her teeth, stowing her daggers in whatever ethereal place they resided when she didn’t need them all so she could grab the machine off her back. Fingers dug into metal with a groan as Nicole twisted sharply, cracking the machine like a whip across the asphalt.
Not breaking stride, Nicole’s blades reformed in her hands just as she buried one to the hilt within the next machine. She winced as another blade glanced off her suit, ignoring the sparks as her barrier took another hit. She didn’t know the extent of punishment it could handle, but there had to be a limit. The dance continued as she almost entered a trance, the motions becoming less thoughtful and more intuitive.
Instinctive.
Nicole had cut down dozens of machines but they just kept coming. At least she hadn’t seen another flash in several machines. That thought almost tore a laugh out of her, the absurdity of tracking time by the number of machines cut down breaking her focus.
It cost her.
A blade rammed into her stomach, driving the air from Nicole’s lungs as she doubled over, rolling to the side in an attempt to avoid any immediate strikes. She didn’t quite succeed as she coughed, flopping onto her back instead. Above her, two machines with blue stripes loomed, ready to bring their blades down upon her.
Nicole’s breath hitched, bracing herself for the coming pain and potential end.
Grace severed the machines in twain with a guttural yell, rending their forms with primal fury. The Red Ranger paused, then offered Nicole a hand. “You good?”
“You’re kidding, right,” Nicole asked, wishing she could spit the blood from her mouth as she accepted the lift back to her feet. She must have bitten her cheek at some point in the chaos. Just for spite, Nicole brought her foot down on one of the damaged machine’s head and crushed it like an empty soda can. “There’s no end to them.”
A spear ripped through another, Jeff dropping in a blur of purple as he swung around his spear, pulling it free and swiping across the hoard. “Silver and Green are right behind me, they’ve been keeping the machine hoard contained while I picked off those trying to break away.”
That was good, at least the others hadn’t been as overwhelmed as she and Grace had, but it sounded like there was still a struggle to gain ground on their end. That two of the blue machines had broken through told Nicole all she needed to know.
Vines arced into the sky momentarily, then speared down into the automatons, clearing space around the trio before Devon burst through the line, one machine clinging to his shield haphazardly as it clawed at his helmet. His shield was held up, the makeshift battering ram putting in work. Once clear, he spun, throwing the clingy machine free and into Kayla’s writhing mass of vines.
The team stood together once more, each bringing their weapons to the ready as they faced down the hoards of the Sylan invaders even as several of the fallen machines exploded around them. A chill ran down Nicole’s spine as the moment hung there, even the machines seemingly frozen at the sight.
Glass shattered as half the assembled machines turned their focus onto the hiding civilians. The shift was instantaneous, and none of her fellow Rangers hesitated to spring into action. Jeff sailed over the tide of machines, crashing into one that threatened a bakery that had only opened a few weeks prior. Grace and Devon turned themselves into cudgels, meeting the machines around them to push out and away even as Kayla began to send lashing vines into the masses.
Nicole didn’t get to pick at random, her focus was squarely on Avant Garden where a machine had just shattered the window, Kendra screamed, but Nicole was already on the move. She phased through the bulk of machines, a hint of shame bubbling up as she realized that could have allowed her to avoid a few hits earlier.
Materializing behind the machine crawling through the window, Nicole grabbed hold of a leg and threw it back into another approaching automaton. She didn’t have time to appreciate the crash of metal as another jumped up on the counter, blades at the ready. Nicole had already summoned her energy blades and let them loose.
Bolts of pure energy shredded through the machine while others detonated within, ending the threat before it could claim a victim. Nicole phased inside and landed on the counter top without a sound. Blades formed in hand again, and Nicole sent them behind her, back through the window and into the machines attempting to follow her.
Down behind the counter, Kendra had ducked down, covering her head even as Colin crouched protectively in front of her, one arm raised to cover her. Colin looked up at her with wide eyes and all she could do was nod to the man before jumping back off and moving back to the broken window.
No other machine had made it to the window, though she did catch Colin peeking over the counter where hopefully Kendra had also taken shelter. Nicole instead pointed to the rear door, pitching her voice to sound as authoritative as she could.
“Clear out when you have an opening!”
Even with the distortion of her helmet it didn’t come across as she hoped, but it would have to do. Colin pulled Kendra up and began to move even as Nicole was forced to engage the automatons that continued to move towards her. She barely caught the pair escaping through the rear door between strikes, and Nicole took that as her cue that she could push back into the street once more.
Nicole was glad to see Colin get away safely, the last thing she wanted was for Becca to lose her boyfriend all because she decided to provoke the alien with an impassioned speech. Not her best moment, but Nicole regretted none of it. She’d meant each and every word.
With blades in hand, Nicole danced from machine to machine, carving her way back towards her teammates. Blades came for her, yet this time she phased through them. The timing was tricky since she couldn’t unphase until everything in contact with her was clear of anything more solid than dust particles, but after the first few she began to launch retaliatory strikes the moment she dropped her phase.
Nicole breathed deep with each strike, relishing the flow she settled into. The machines now struggled to touch her, her movements growing just a bit tighter with each exchange. Nicole hadn’t seen a blue striped automaton since the group reformed, which hopefully meant that they were all dealt with.
Unfortunately the hoards of regular machines just didn’t seem to end and Nicole was already fearful of what the coming Mutant might bring with it. That concern had to be put aside in favor of linking back up with her team. She caught flashes of purple as Jeff leapt from one threat to another, keeping the machines from breaking away. Vines now rose high to cut off one side of the street, with the police holding down the other with a vehicular blockade.
Silver and Red continued to hold the center melee, keeping the bulk of the hoard attempting to overwhelm them. Nicole focused on clearing paths to each shop on that side of the street, checking for anyone that might be in danger. Colin and Kendra ended up being the only people that were in immediate danger, most having since fled.
The focus on attacking the Rangers was strange, the Sylan could easily have dropped more groups of machines across the city, keeping them buried under numbers at one site while thousands more slaughtered civilians freely. Yet, that hadn’t happened even once since the first Ranger team appeared.
The last shop was cleared on her side, and she could only hope that Jeff managed to do the same on his side of the street as Nicole switched her focus to herding the machines towards Devon and Grace. Kayla was focused on maintaining the perimeter, her crowd control skills being amply demonstrated as she drew the circle in as they pushed back the machines. Their teamwork wasn’t the greatest, but everyone settled into their roles well enough.
No doubt there would be a meeting where they discussed what worked and what didn’t in the days to come, but until then she still needed to focus on the battle at hand. She could nitpick her own mistakes once the danger was past.
The flow between strikes stalled, and it took an extra step to reach the next machine. Soon that step turned to two and it became clear that the crowd was finally thinning enough that the Rangers would be able to breathe. Kayla’s vines had now encircled the battle in full, save for the police cordon, where Jeff had now stationed himself to defend.
Considering that handled, Nicole instead shifted and threw herself through the massed machines, turning solid again to slash out when the opening was too tempting to ignore. Grace cleaved one machine just as Nicole emerged through the ranks, solidifying just in time to carve through another as her feet found purchase atop a broken automaton.
“Welcome back!” Grace said, her voice almost breathless as she slung her axe over her shoulder. “Think you got enough in you to finish the fight?”
Nicole wasn’t doing much better, her own breathing heavy, but she didn’t let that mask the smile on her face under the helmet. “Plenty left, especially for these bastards.”
There were maybe two dozen left, all of which were circling their mound of broken machines slowly, none rushing into the fray. Nicole took the opportunity to catch her breath even as her eyes continued to track the machines.
The vines had since retreated, with Kayla rejoining them from where she had taken over watch, she stumbled, one of the bits of machine under her feet slipping. That was enough for the remainder of the automatons to surge towards them. Jeff crashed into the first, his spear ripping free to swipe widely at the next. Devon shifted to support Kayla, projecting a shield around them as Grace and Nicole rejoined the melee.
Sparks flew, machines exploded, but it was over just moments later, the last machine falling. Grace’s red boot came down on it, crushing the chest plate and the battlefield fell still. There was a beat where nobody dared break the silence, Nicole’s muscles were still wound, ready to spring at the slightest provocation.
A single clap rang out, and five prismatic helms turned as one to face the sound. The police officer froze, his hands still together. Then the other officers behind the line of cars joined and the tension broke. Nicole let out a shaky breath of relief.
So of course that was when something deafening roared out in defiance.
