Grudge Match

The bulkhead glowed red, then white, then a shower of sparks shot from an incision in the metal. A chainsaw popped out of the rectangular hole in the metal door, and laboriusly cut down through the hinges, sending bits of molten metal skidding along the grav plates on the floor.

Cut from its hinges, the door fell to the floor, and Thresher walked into the hallway. "All right, all clear. Where's the welcoming committee?"

The Eye followed him closely. "Behind the next door, there's a cross hallway. Killotron on the right, Bearcat on the left."

Jolt took up the rear. She pulled a panel off the wall as they stopped in front of the next door. "OK, I can open this from our side. Anyone have any bright ideas what to do about the ambush?"

The Eye smiled, and began pulling flashbangs from her utility belt, and popping them up in the air with her other hand. Soon, she was juggling four of the small grenades with one hand, and she nodded curtly to Jolt as she switched over to a two-handed juggle. "Ready."

Thresher positioned himself just behind the door. "Ready."

Jolt touched the control panel, and the door opened. The Eye expertly tossed two flash-bangs to the left as the door was still half-open. A feral scream echoed through the hallway as the detonated in front of Bearcat. She bounced the second pair of grenades off the door frame, and they detonated in front of Killotron. Once the door was fully open, Thresher charged to the right as Killotron opened fire on him with his arm-mounted plasma blasters.

Jolt peeked around the corner, and aimed for the floor as Bearcat recovered from the flash-bangs. He was in mid-crouch as a lightning bolt struck the floor plate he was standing on, burning out the fuse and disabling the artificial gravity. He was in mid-jump, and suddenly finding his legs in free fall caused his spectacular leap to become a face-plant.

As he struggled to his feet, Jolt aimed carefully, and hit him square in the face with a lightning bolt. Bearcat fell to the ground, unconscious and smouldering.

Killotron's blasters left Thresher's armor pockmarked and smoking, but the cyborg continued his advance on the heavily-armed robot. Thresher's chainsaws were still out, and he gunned the motors as he lunged towards Killotron.

Thresher brought a chainsaw up to the robot's throat and started sawing through his neck, as he chopped off Killotron's left arm at the shoulder. The robot screamed as his mushroom cap shaped head was separated from his body.

As the smoke from the flash grenades began to settle, The Eye poked her head out into the hallway. "All clear?"

Jolt turned to her and gave her the thumbs-up. "All clear."

Killoton's body tried to crawl on its arm and legs, feeling around for its missing head.

The Eye pointed to the left. "This way."

On the other side of the Reyll warship, Demonslayer dragged Red Menace to the forward torpedo bay by her hair. The young girl was crying and sobbing, and tried to get to her feet and run away. Demonslayer slammed her into a bulkhead and beat her savagely with a wire coat hanger.

Red Menace wiped a trickle of blood from her nose, and glared at Demonslayer with hatred in her eyes as the older woman pointed to the torpedo tube. The young girl could have easily snatched the wire hanger from Demonslayer's hand and wrapped it around her neck.

Instead, she obeyed, climbing into the waiting tube, sobbing and crying.

Demonslayer had had a vision, and she saw what was coming. She went to a wall panel and signalled the bridge before stomping out of the room.

Arsenal rose over the curved horizon of the planet, approaching the Reyll warship. The front torpedo tube coughed as Red Menace was launched on an intercept course. Two streaks of light approached each other.

There was a flash of light when they met, and Red Menace's spark fell slowly to the surface of the planet below as Arsenal closed in on the warship.

He stopped abruptly, and a purple beam cut deeply into the right side of the ship, severing one of the engines.

Lights flickered inside as Demonslayer activated her combat pulpit in the port hangar. She swore, closed her eyes, and choked down the rage rising within her.

Jolt, Thresher, and the Eye opened the door on the rear end of the hangar, and the Eye pointed at two large crates of spare parts placed just in front of the door. "Look out -- boss fight!"

Her prediction was confirmed a fraction of a second later. Demonslayer towered over them in her open-frame exoskeleton, and its eldritch transducers converted her words of power into a swarm of homing curses. Jolt and Thresher ducked behind the crate, as the Eye cartwheeled to avoid a swarm of deadly colored lights that followed her into a sunken repair bay.

Demonslayer took a thundering step forward, focussing her attention on the Eye. Behind her, the wall of the hangar began to glow.

In an instant, a crack opened, and the port side of the hangar bay peeled away from the ship, opening the huge chamber into space.

Demonslayer was blown out instantly, as Thresher activated the grippers on his replacement feet and hung on to Jolt. The Eye tried to grab the edge of the repair bay, but her fingers slipped.

Thinking quickly, Thresher shot a tether to her, and she grabbed it and held on for dear life as Arsenal flew in through the hole in the hull.

Arsenal saw the Eye struggle to keep her hold on the tether, and gestured towards the gash he had made in the warship. Like a film running backwards, the hull re-assembled itself, and the Eye fell to the floor, tumbling.

"Sorry about that." He touched down next to his team-mates. The Eye gave him a dirty look.

Jolt squinted at him, smirked, and said, "Be more careful next time. You can keep the new outfit."

The credits roll as the four heroes walk towards the bridge of the captured enemy warship.