Wonder World: Ignition

Vindicators

"Oh God, why does everything hurt?" 

Kyle's eyelids felt like they were made of lead, and he ached in places he didn't even know he had. His legs were so cramped he wasn't even sure he could move them. He was flat on his back in a parking garage with no idea how he got there, ears ringing like crazy from the ... what had just happened? It felt like someone had cracked him across the back of the skull with a baseball bat. He tried to move an arm to rub his aching head when he almost passed out again as fiery pain shot through his side.

It all came back to him in a flash. The anchor line, the cocoon, the endless laps in the energy chamber, the explosion, the spike of metal sticking out of his chest. "Holy fuck I was impaled!" Kyle realized with a start. He looked down at his stomach, terrified of what he would see. The bottom half of his hoodie had been cut away, revealing a nasty looking scar. It looked like his skin had been burned. It was all red and blistering and gave off a disgusting smell that made Kyle gag. He forced himself to sit up. He found a similar scar on his back, and every breath was agony. Where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered was Nova staring down at him.

He grabbed the door handle of a sedan and pulled himself to his feet. The souls of his sneakers were completely shredded, so Kyle kicked them off and staggered forward barefoot. Something fell out of his hoodie. It was the pair of mirrored sunglasses Officer DeSanta had given him. One of the lenses was shattered but Kyle picked them up and pocketed them anyway. The ringing in his ears was quieting down, but it was replaced by the blaring car alarm he had accidentally set off. His shirt and pants were soaked in blood, but as far as he could tell he wasn't dying anymore. He felt really light headed though; he had probably lost a lot of blood. There was an explosion in the distance, and Kyle's ears picked up something whistling through the air. The windshield of the sedan exploded as a blue and red comet blasted straight through it and careened into the back seat, sending the whole car skidding backwards a good ten feet. Kyle heard a groan from inside before the back door was kicked off its hinges, revealing a very battered looking Delta Hero.

"Oh good, you're alive," Kyle said with a weak smile, "but you really need to work on your landings. Maybe you should leave a note with your insurance information under what's left of one of the wipers?"

"Hilarious," Delta said dryly as he got to his feet. "You OK? You had Nova pretty worried."

"Never felt better," Kyle said through gritted teeth.

"Keep your head down, we got this from here," Delta said as he turned to take off.

"Wait, this isn't over?"

"Not yet. Stay here, you've done plenty," Delta ordered before he disappeared into the sky. 

There was another boom in the distance. Kyle grimaced and carefully limped his way to the street. He had never seen Midtown look so empty. Cars were abandoned in the streets and there wasn't a living soul in sight. Something lurched out of an alleyway, causing Kyle to jump. The clock-bot turned its cold blue eyes towards him and extended a metal spike from it's wrist. It was dragging a limp body behind it, but Kyle spotted the woman's chest rising and falling ever so slightly. He pulled out his sunglasses.

"I guess I just can't catch a break," he muttered as his claws slid out with a satisfying shwing. The bot dropped the girl and lunged forward. Kyle side stepped and tried not to yell in pain as he raked its chest. It leaped away before he got a good swing at its ticking core, so he dashed forward, slid under its right hook, and sliced through both legs at the ankle. He winced as he slowly got back on his feet. The clock-bot tried to crawl back into the alley, its severed legs scrapping uselessly against the pavement. "Yeah, yeah, you better run," Kyle said as he limped after it. He half tackled, half collapsed on top of the fleeing bot, using his body weight to ram his claws all the way through its back and into the core.