Elites Chapter III: New Empire Rising

XIX

Gurugram, India

March 19th

5:30pm

It was dusk when the remaining Elites arrived in Gurugram. Amber and Stone both landed in an airfield outside the city, with glowing red beacons all over their maps. As Sam and Rob stepped out of their aircraft, Natalie noticed the flashing red lights. "You too huh?" Nat asked jokingly. "Really not in the mood for this right now. Everybody's been silent for hours, I'm getting worried." Rob replied sternly. Natalie replied "I feel you, we can't get to them all in time. All we can do is hope the others get to them in time." Sam followed behind as they reached the safehouse. "I can set a perimeter so that we at least have some warning signs if Endgame arrives." Robert spoke, grabbing wire from Amber's craft and going to the nearby posts to create a tripwire around the base..

London, UK

12:37pm

When Nicole reached the source of the distress beacon, it was rather quiet along the Thames. There was a farmer's market blocking the bridge, and there was no sign of any terrorist activity She parked her motorcycle and stormed the apartment complex, scaling four flights of stairs. She ran down the twisted hallway until she reached apartment 4D. She tried to open the .door, to no avail. She tried using her powers to burn down the doors, to no avail. She still didn't have her powers. She pulled a circular disk from a pouch, and stuck it to the handle, with the glowing red core directly on top of the lock. After a few seconds there was a muffled bang, and Ruby kicked the door wide open. "Laura! I'm here! I..." Nicole yelled, before stopping herself. She examined the apartment, but found no sign of her friend. She made her way back to the lounge room where she saw Laura's laptop, with its battery dead. She quickly noticed that the floor around that area was drenched. Finally she saw the heart shaped box, opened. It was no longer a bright red, but a charcoal grey. It had been burned by something. Nicole didn't want to even imagine what had happened the night before. Finally she found her communicator on the couch. The screen on the small device was shattered. "No..." Nicole said to herself, realizing that her worst fears had come true. Before she could even break down and cry, a shadow emerged in the room. As Nic looked out the window she was knocked down by a figure in green. "Bad day Red? It's about to get much worse." Nicole's sorrow quickly turned to rage. "What have you done with Laura? I know you did something to her Barnes!" Barnes drew his sword as he said "Don't fret kid. I'm here to take you to her." He swung the sharp blade at Ruby as she slid beneath it. She grabbed a pair of blue daggers off the wall and positioned herself to fight back. "Bring it asshole." She said smugly. Barnes raised his sword as Ruby lunged at his chest. Both the blades were blocked by the katana. Ruby swung her leg around for a kick, only go be grabbed by the foot. Barnes then tossed her over the couch and into the kitchen space. "Jesus Christ Red when was the last time you practiced your Akido. Your spacing are shit." Nicole turned around and tossed a kitchen knife at Barnes, who blocked it with his black blade. She leaped through the air and landed behind Barnes, who swung his sword right at her as she blocked the sharp blades at the wrists. She knocked the swords out of her opponent's hands and punched him with such force that he fell backwards. Unfortunately the operative pulled a staff off his back , which had a red barrel on the end. Another part of the staff rotated to reveal a trigger. He aimed the weapon at Ruby and fired a bright red bolt. This odd bullet flew right past Ruby's shoulder. She felt the extreme heat as it seared her skin. The bullet struck the wall behind her, and scorched it to a charcoal grey. Without thinking, she swung her fist directly at Barnes, to no avail. He blocked the punch and hit her in the face with the weapon's barrel. Ruby fell backwards onto a glass table, shattering it on impact. "Should've just stayed in bed kid; you're out of your league" Barnes said as his weapon recharged. Just as he pulled the trigger, Nicole rolled off the shattered glass and got back on her feet. She turned for the window as the bullets burst through the glass. Ruby leaped through the glass and over the balcony ledge. As she fell, she shot a grappling hook through the ledge. Suddenly the cable stopped, and Ruby felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder as she hanged above the ground. Barnes stood on the balcony many stories above her, and saw the metal spike poking through the floor. "Please don't." Ruby said, out of breath. She couldn't move her right arm to detach herself from the cable. Her life was in the hands of a heartless mercenary. Barnes pulled on the spike, and cut the cable tied to it.

Ruby fell helplessly into a dumpster below. She gripped her shoulder in pain, and could tell that it was pretty bad. A dislocated shoulder, no healing factor, and no escape. She looked up and saw Barnes making his way down a fire escape. He continued to fire at her as he climbed down. Nicole rolled over and climbed out of the dumpster with one arm, and she ran as fast as she could to safety. There was a Farmer's Market near the London Bridge, and she ran through the crowd for cover. Barnes was already on the ground searching, until at last he found her. He tossed a thin blade at her face, but was blocked by a plank of wood. Barnes then swung his sword at her, and Nicole dodged each strike. Finally the mercenary kicked her out of the crowd and onto the ledge of the bridge. "Screw this!" He said as he drew a pistol. "I'm doing the Kaiser a favor by doing this." Nicole drew a knife from inside her sleeve. "That's what you think." She said before revealing the blade and stepping forward. As she did, Barnes pulled the trigger. The bullet struck Nic in the throat. She collapsed instantly and fell into the river. "Such a shame Gonzalez." Barnes said. "You could've died a hero...loser."

As the mercenary walked away with a sense of pride, Nicole rose out of the water, gasping for breath. She swam with her good arm over to a small dock. She pulled herself out of the icy waters, and unzipped the bloody collar of her suit, right along the bullet hole. However, she felt no hole, or any metal. She felt warmth around the spot, her throat was glowing bright orange where she was hit. "I have my powers back!" Nicole thought. Her returning healing factor would do nothing for her arm. She held her breath, and pushed her shoulder against the wall of the dock until she felt a sharp pop. Nicole winced in pain, and realized she could move her arm again. She reached into her pocket to find her communicator, but there was nothing there, as it had fallen into the river. Nicole instantly knew she was on her own. She would have to disappear to keep anyone from finding her. She quickly ditched the bloodied suit and walked away in a sleeveless shirt and shorts. She slipped away into the crowd, vanishing off the grid.