She-Ra: Codename Resurrection

CHAPTER IX: Shrinking Feeling

Adora approached the crack in the wall with a singularity of purpose. She hadn't felt so directed in weeks. In the buzzing greenish glow of the nearby streetlights, she could see two figures in dark clothing standing shoulder-to-shoulder inside, one Aquarian man, one human woman. They watched as she approached.

"Doors closed half an hour ago."

"For the honor of Grayskull."

"What?"

About twenty feet away, Bow watched as She-Ra appeared in a flash of light and proceeded to toss the bouncers unceremoniously into the still water sitting at the bottom of the massive half-pipe. He prepared his bow and glanced at Entrapta. "So we'll stay back. She-Ra's got this. We'll just support from... a distance."

Entrapta held her makeshift shield out with her hair, staring determined up at the entrance. She nodded once.

If Bow had a blind spot, it would be Entrapta. She was particular. She spoke in a particular way, she was particular about being touched. He'd figured out how to talk to everyone else, but Entrapta, despite their friendship, was still hard to read sometimes.

"You guys coming?" Adora called.

"Right! My bad!" Bow hurried up the short flight of stairs to the crack on the wall, and Entrapta followed close behind.

The crack opened up into a hallway ending with a heavy steel door. As they entered, the dulled sounds of a raucous crowd became apparent. Bow had nocked a net arrow and drew the string, holding it down, staying close to the ground. Adora did not share his caution and sliced the door in two, kicking it off its hinges.

With a booming thud, the two halves of the door hit the ground, steaming from the energy it took to separate them. Bow took note of the room immediately: there were dozens, maybe a hundred people sat along rows around a rectangular pit, and eight automatons stood in pairs in each corner of the room. There were two other doors, both on the opposite wall, and a handful of individuals who had the air of being in charge or otherwise very important. The room fell quiet after a few seconds when everyone had realized what was happening.

Adora registered most of this, but subconsciously. There was clamor, shouting, people removing knives and pistols from vests and jackets, and the robots turned laser sights on Adora. She-Ra easily batted the attacks away, pushing through the crowd, barrelling through them with the flat of her sword.

"Bouncer bots!" Entrapta shouted, as one targeted Bow. She leapt over and held up her shield just in time to deflect the laser.

Bow followed up with a sharp arrow, aiming for where the automaton's most important bits would probably be. "Did you come up with that just now?"

"It's obvious! They're bouncers and bots!"

"It's alliterative. I like it." Bow aimed across the room and took out another one.

In the meantime, Entrapta leapt from the highest walkway to the second highest, pressing a button on the back of her shield. It made a screeching mechanical noise and a swath of bystanders - some guards, some not - wavered, falling to their knees or backing up. "Cover me!" she shouted up to Bow.

"What? Okay!" Bow took out the last robot in the corner and hurried to the walkway railing, keeping a net arrow aimed around Entrapta. But the upper walkway was far from clear. As Bow had his back turned, two women with short knives rushed him from behind, and he was just able to catch the first attack with his bow. The second one was able to take a sizable cut from his leg, and he shouted. "Adora!"

Adora heard him, and nearly didn't turn around. Her scowl was fixed firmly on the handful of guards surrounding a well-dressed man with a mechanical plate on the side of his head. But she regained her senses and whipped around, firing a beam from the tip of her sword in one smooth motion at one of the attackers. "Stick together!" she shouted, batting away another belligerent. "Where's Entrapta?"