Viper's Bite

Chapter 25: The Battle for Mercury Heights

-Bertolli Device Charge: 5%-

A random cop from Marvin's squad attempted to begin the fight by charging at The Crawler while wielding only a baton, complete with a voiced battle cry. Unfortunately, the scaled man saw this coming and grabbed onto the officer before throwing him over the railing in one fluid movement. 

Duncan tried his hardest not to laugh at what had just happened, while The Viper just facepalmed and shook her head out of disappointment. "Idiot....." she muttered.

Afterward, a massive fight broke out between the heroes, the police officers, and Duncan's forces. 

"Get her!" the doctor ordered. Two Crimson Skull agents attempted to restrain the heroine by placing her in a chokehold and binding her hands together, but Herman was able to shoot them dead in a matter of seconds. 

The Viper breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the help!" 

Herman gave her a thumbs-up. "Just try to stay on---" However, he was cut short after Duncan leapt towards him and tackled him into the Chinook. The boy attempted to fire several rounds at the doctor, but the shots just plinked off of his cybernetics. Once Duncan got in close, he forcefully grabbed Herman and threw him out of the aircraft onto the observation platform while he continued towards the cockpit. "DAD, WATCH OUT!" Herman cried in alarm. 

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-Bertolli Device Charge: 10%-

In the cockpit, Herman's father was busy trying to keep the Chinook in the air when Duncan ambushed him and forced him onto his back on the seat. The pilot managed to land a few solid blows on the doctor, but Duncan quickly regrouped and wrapped the nearby seat belt around his throat, strangulating him and rendering him unable to operate the Chinook properly. 

At the same time, Mitchell also entered the aircraft. "Don't worry. I'll take care of things here," he said. "We need to protect the Bertolli Device while it charges." Duncan exited the Chinook and rejoined the fight on the platform while Mitchell moved to finish off Herman's father. 

However, before he could gift the pilot with a high-powered plasma beam to the face, The Viper silently approached from behind and began choking him before throwing them both to the ground. They grappled on the floor of the Chinook for several seconds before Mitchell managed to recover and begin charging the plasma beam again. 

Before he could discharge it, though, The Viper tackled him out of the Chinook and back onto the observation platform. As they flew through the air, Mitchell discharged the beam at one of the Chinook's propellers instead, severely damaging and destabilizing the craft. "NO!" Herman wailed as the aircraft began to go down with his father still restrained inside it. His father tried one more time to try and disengage the seat belt, but he was already too fatigued. 

The smoking, flaming shell of the Chinook plummeted to the city streets below, exploding violently on contact. 

Herman's face gradually transitioned from a look of sadness to a look of anger. "Come on, then! Who wants a piece?!" he exclaimed as he charged into the fray, guns blazing. 

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-Bertolli Device Charge: 15%-

Next, The Viper moved to free Jaden from the chains connecting her to the spire's power generator. Duncan had unwillingly used her as an electricity conduit, meaning that she felt every single watt of energy painfully passing through her on the way to the Bertolli Device.