Red vs. Blue - What If?

Carolina Died (S13E11) - Chapter 2

Temple of the Key (RvBluniverse-57)

Sharkface began his long trek back up the mountain. The mercenary felt ready for action, having brushed off any ice from his armor. However, knowing there was no rush, he took his time.

Wondering if controlling the enhancements was easy, Sharkface began testing out different possibilities. He knew Epsilon was an integral factor in using the power-ups but figured there was a way to activate them himself. First, he reached back and grazed his hand against the unit. He believed the slits that held the enhancements might have had a button he could press to activate them. Failing to find anything, the man moved on. "There's gotta be some solution," he muttered. Sharkface jokingly changed the shape of his fist, remembering the thousands of possible webbing combinations from that one classic Spider-Man movie. He sighed when it failed.

"What do freelancers have that I don't?" he pondered while his hike carried him into an icy cavern. Staring at his own reflection in some clear ice, Sharkface twisted to get a better look at the Epsilon Unit. At first, the mercenary saw nothing wrong with the armor. But as he looked at the top of the unit, he noticed a cord was loose. A flash appeared in his mind of the Epsilon Unit being attached directly to the base of Carolina's helmet. It was a detail that had skipped his mind earlier while setting up. Sharkface quickly reached back and attempted to attach the cord to his helmet.

Immediately, Sharkface felt a massive surge in strength, though he also heard a low hum ring in his ears. Carolina's healing unit had been active but hadn't done anything to help her situation after the crash. "Deactivate the healing unit," he ordered. The buzzing in his head stopped. Having just seen Carolina's abilities, he started listing them off, "Speed, healing, camo, shield, strength." His observational skills were astute, but he hadn't seen her EMP or BioScan in action. Wondering if he had to describe his intentions aloud without an AI, Sharkface thought about activating his camouflage. In an instant, his armor turned deep blue, allowing him to blend in with a crystalline wall behind him.

"Sweet," he chuckled, looking at his arms. With another thought, he deactivated the camouflage. Sharkface knelt onto the floor, placing his hands on either side of his foot. He closed his eyes and pounced. Activating the speed boost, the mercenary began sprinting at an alarming speed. On top of that, he used his flamethrower enhancements to propel himself faster; he kicked up snow from beneath his feet into a dense cloud of fog. It didn't take long for him to escape the cavern and reach the summit.

Sharkface checked his radar and noticed one of his allies around five opponents. Since it was on his way to the Pelican, he figured he'd intervene. Walking towards them, he saw Felix standing high on a ledge with his light shield up, alongside five colorful soldiers cornering him. Felix laughed confidently, "Not so tough after all, huh? I guess with Carolina dead, you can't really do much, can you?"

"She's not dead," Tucker spat. Sharkface smirked. "She's just figh—"

"Then explain to me how she survived falling off a cliff, getting burnt by my flamethrowers, and why I have this," Sharkface interjected. He turned around and showed the Epsilon Unit on his back. His success took Felix's breath away.

"Holy shit," Felix gasped, "you actually did it!"

"Taking her down was easy, she never stood a chance. But I gotta admit, she survived longer than I thought she would. Do you have the key?"

"I do," Felix held it up but didn't try activating it. "Doyle's too big a coward to keep it from me. I'm lucky I didn't have to take it from Kimball. She would have put up a fight," he laughed.

"Doyle?" Sharkface's gaze locked on the leader of the Federal Army. Everyone stood in silence for a moment. The tension was so thick that one could cut through it like butter.