The Sniper of Vlopolis

Chapter 13: Recruitment

Three Days Later

Mercury woke up in her lair, laying in a bed. She was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, and bandages covered most of her body. Her whole body was sore. Blotches of purple bruises spotted her skin.

"Good morning, Mercury," Ivanka smiled. She sat at a table fixing her utility belt. Her suit was neatly folded on the table, clean, and all stitched up.

"Mercury! You're ok!" Genesis burst. All of her friends, Genesis, Jada, Anthony, Nikolai, and Ivanka surrounded her bed, all smiling and happy. Uncle Kaz walked over and gazed at her, his eyes becoming wet.

"Kaz..."

He hugged her, her bandaged body aching. "Kaz, you're crushing my ribs," she laughed, trying to breathe.

He let go of her. "I thought I was the only one left."

Mercury smiled. "Thanks, everyone for helping me. Couldn't have done this without any of you. Especially you, Ivanka."

She smiled. "I will always be there for you. I will never make my mistake again."

Mercury glanced at her suit on the table. Ivanka made a new mask for her, which was placed on top of her suit. "I'm going out."

"No, you can't yet, you have to recover," Nikolai refused.

"How long have I been asleep for?"

"Three days."

"What?! That's a long time."

"You lost too much blood and I had to do some medical procedures on you. I put you in a coma for three days so you could recover a bit and not feel any pain."

She sat up in bed. "C'mon, please! I need to go somewhere! I'm probably all healed up because of your special medicines and chemicals. Please, let me go out, I really need to see someone."

Nikolai bit his lip, thinking for a moment. "Fine, but don't get into any fights. Before you go, you should exercise a bit since you've been sitting in bed for a while." He removed her bandages, revealing long, bumpy scars, especially the one across her chest. She ran three miles on the treadmill, lifted some weights, and took a quick shower before zipping on her suit and rising to the surface. "Halo, show me directions to Hope Tower."

Grappling to the tower felt relieving to her. She loves to grapple around the city and explore. She remembered when Nikolai taught her how to use a grapple gun and she was swinging on a rock climbing wall. She felt like she was Spiderman.

Hope Tower was one of the biggest skyscrapers in Vlopolis. It was the residence and headquarters of the Vlopolis Special Forces and the Vlopolis Police Department. Other buildings surrounded the skyscraper, and there was a beautiful park behind the tower called Guardian Park Chloris made herself. Mercury crouched on the roof of the tower and took a deep breath. This is the first time someone will be seeing me out in the daytime. She jumped off, deploying her wingsuit.

"Look! It's the Purple Death!" someone yelled as she fell.

Mercury landed in front of the fountain at the entrance of the skyscraper. Everyone gasped and took out their phones. As she walked towards the glass doors, hundreds of pairs of eyes gawked at her. People whispered and got out of her way. Parents picked up their children as she walked by them. Her sniper rifle and weapons intimidated them. They do fear me.