Battleground: Sin City

“Yuri, increase the packs intake cycle to 2000rpm, that help with keeping the jets cool at higher speeds...” Jacob moved around his lab, moving surprisingly fast, for someone relying on prosthetics. “And make sure to install the emergency shut off, last thing we need is him being knocked out and becoming a human missile.”  

“All systems are in place, protocols are installed, and safety parameters have been met.”

“You’re the best, Yuri.” Jacob looked over to Ryan, a massive smile on his face, as he motioned to a display model beside him.  

The model was wearing a now fully repaired suit, with a couple of changes made. The helmet had added sensors, altered rebreather, and the visor was lit up with a heads-up display. “The HUD is fully customizable to your preferences, and can be linked to Yuri here for assistance...” He pressed a button on a remote, which made the suit rotate, revealing a small, fitted jetpack. “I built this bad boy to require minimum energy input, while still maintaining maximum output over long periods of flight, while they aren’t as fast as the Talos jet systems, you can easily break the sound barrier...” He looked over to Ryan. “Calculated max speeds have it clocked to Mach 1.5, but there is room for upgrading, if you ever feel the need for speed...” He tapped on a center port of the pack, fitted between the two jets. “I added a compression undersuit for the Gs, but if you find yourself passing out, or getting knocked out during flight, the suit had a full suite of readers to keep track of your vitals, and if you drop below the threshold, the jets will cut off, and the safety chute will deploy...” He paused, the smile seeming to grow as he explained the upgrades. “Landing will be rough, but it’s better than splatting.”  

“Sir, the situation in Vegas has taken a drastic turn for the worst.”  

Suddenly, the two heroes were surrounded by projections, showing various News feeds, and CCTV cameras around Vegas.  

While the nightmare-land theme had disappeared, it had been replaced by what looked like literal hell on Earth, as demonic monstrosities ran through the streets, slaughtering whoever crossed their paths.  

“Shit, looks like Jack got tired of just scaring people.” Jacob rushed over to a nearby Pod-like machine, rapidly tapping a code into the console.  

“Sir, all scans indicate Jack is no longer in Vegas...” Yuri paused. “Or in this realm, for that matter.”  

“So we’re dealing with a new player...” Jacob rushed over to a nearby locker, stripping off his casual clothes. “I was hoping we would be able to field test your new gear here...” He looked to Ryan, grabbing a compression suit from the locker. “But I guess it’s gonna be a trial by fire...” He leaned against a nearby bench, taking off his shorts. “Just remember to lean the direction you want to fly, there are buttons on your gloves, arrows increase and decrease speed, to hover, decrease speed and shift your body until you are vertical, and lean slightly back until you come to a full stop.”  

He didn’t skip a beat as he ranted off instructions, pulling one leg off, sliding the legging of the suit on, and sliding the leg back on, repeating this process with his other leg.  

“Sir, safety protocols requires that I remind you that you are currently recovering from a critical stab wound.”  

“Shit, you’re right...” Jacob zipped up his suit, walking over to the door, where he pressed a button on the wall, speaking into the intercom. “Doc, prepare two doses of that painkiller you gave me earlier for my suit, and bring them to the Lab asap...” He smiled to the hologram child as he walked back over to the pod. “So glad I installed those safety protocols, would’ve hated to be in the middle of fight when this stuff wears off.”

“Protocol requires I recommend resting.”

“No can do...” The Pod opened, revealing another set of armor, clearly a backup suit. “Given the rampage in the streets, there are either no heroes on site, or they are stretched too thin...” He turned away from the suit, holding out his arms, as the pieces of the armor opened, and moved into their proper places. “This is what it means to be a hero.” In a matter of seconds, Jacob had disappeared, and Talos stood before them, once again. “I can’t just by while lives are on the line.”  

"Thank you, Doc.” Talos took the cases, sliding them into ports on his suit. “Now...” He looked over to Ryan, stepping towards the center of the lab, as a hole in the ceiling opened. “You ready for round two??”  

Before waiting for a response, the suits jets kicked on, and Talos launched through the exit, and up into the sky. He paused for a second, clearly seeing the chaos in the city from where he was, before leaning forward, making a sudden dash towards the fight.

Ryan was tense.

He couldn’t stop the tempest of thoughts that whirled within his mind. Thinking over all that happened and all that was going on.  Vegas was under assault by a mad man, a pumpkin headed one to be exact but something told him that was something beyond his own abilities. The power of a god focused on a single city, something he wasn’t sure even his father could hope to shut down. The man was not weak by any metric but his power came from more than muscle. More than just the ability to destroy, and even he was more than an engine of destruction. Flamel had taught him how to think, use all he had at his disposal to the best effect he could.

All of this thinking made his head feel like it was going to split in half. It almost made him forget where he was and what he was doing, until Jacob spoke and drew his attention to the male. Distant eyes quickly focused on the male, narrowing in curiosity in what he had to say. He was talking about the modifications to his suit. Additional features that made it more useful, perhaps even in the field. Sensors, flight capabilities as well as the ability to break beyond the sound barrier. Would speed like that do any actual damage to his body? Ryan considered this, half paying attention to him and half contemplating his own stray thoughts. Parallel processing had its own strengths.

”That’s pretty impressive. You’ll have to tell me more about how you got the suit to reach that kind of speed,” Ryan noted, perking up significantly at what he had been told. Perhaps he would have learned more but something had changed outside.

So trial by fire it is. ”Used to it by this point. ” He responded, half paying attention to him quickly changing into a compression suit while also rattling off instructions. While he did that, Ryan went about getting into his own suit.  Switching into a compression suit if only because it would make Jacob feel more comfortable with him flying at those speeds. He never thought about how fast he could move without suffering consequences, which meant he would have to perform a few tests. Sven had said that his body returned to an ideal state when regenerating, so he wasn’t too worried about what happened if he performed such tests.

His suit was waiting for him, upgraded with all the burnt holes patched up. It looked a little bulkier but he was impressed with how Jacob managed to keep it so streamlined despite adding all of those features. Normally he put it on through alchemy but he was afraid to mess with the new circuits and devices. So he went with simply putting it on manually. Fit just like a glove. Did his AI manage to take his measurements when he wasn’t looking? Overthinking was the way of things but inevitably he let the visor clamp over his eyes, a HUD springing to life.

”Didn’t think I could like someone more,” Ryan muttered, thinking back on his small minded opinion of humans he had not so long ago.  Running fingers along the exterior of the armor, he nodded and returned to where Talos was standing in his armor. Armor looking as if he had not been run through sometime tonight.

”Sure you can do this? I don’t think you heal as fast as I do,” He questioned, already feeling as if most of the energy had been washed from his system and the injuries he sustained were closed up. Not even scars remained when he had fully healed up. Well, none that he had paid much attention to. All he knew was that he made some kind of friend and didn’t want to see him die due to painful injuries. Humans and even his siblings were so slow to heal, it made him worry over them like porcelain dolls.

Despite that he couldn’t help smiling under the helmet. ”Course I’m ready. Don’t think they are though,” With that the man took off and so Ryan did too. The initial burst of speed was dizzying, everything around him becoming like a blur as he shot into the sky. There was no bodily discomfort but his mind did reel, trying to figure out and come to terms with what was happening around him. The City of Vegas; once a twinkling jewel stretched out below them. A burnt and smoking thing, so small as he realized he was ascending too high.

Recalling what he was told, he slowed down to a hover and quickly darted back down to a lower altitude. One where breathing felt more manageable, where he could catch sight of Talos within his HUD. A little reticule scanning the horizon, and catching sight of malformed things darting and jumping through the burnt streets below. His attention was quickly sourced on Talos, and he followed suit. Quickly breaching the sound barrier as his target became a massive, ape-like demon with teeth as large as a human arm.

Telekinetic force formed around him like a shell, turning him into a fast moving weapon. Strong enough to punch through this things skull. It popped like a balloon,  and caused the body to slump against the nearest building.  Its girth was enough to slow him down a little,  slamming through a concrete pillar and stopping against the ground in the midst of the same building. Cobalt stepped from the rubble, shoving the massive carcass away with a thought and looking to see multiple people running away from the carnage. There were many more little demons skittering through the streets, just as dangerous for different reasons. They looked like massive beetles. ”Have a few more chasing some civilians down the street.” Ryan sent the comm to Talos, feeling the presence of something lording over him. Three more of the demons he had taken down, seemingly seeing him as enough of a thought to focus on themselves.

“I figured he was a quick learner...” Talos noted to himself, watching Cobalt turn himself into a human bullet, quickly dispensing with one of the larger Demons. “But he’s already utilizing his new tools for offensive maneuvers.”  

“Indeed, at his current rate, I calculate he will be fully proficient with the new equipment before the nights over.”  

Talos dove down to the streets below, seeing the beetle-demons Cobalt had mentioned, currently chasing down an SUV, the family inside making a desperate attempt to escape the city. “Alright, can’t let the rookie show up the vet just yet.”  

He cut off his jets, descending into a freefall, picking up momentum as he did. “Yuri, activate the cannon ball protocols.” The suit made several audible noises, as he curled into a ball shape.  

The beetle-demon leading the chase was soon close enough to slam into the back end of the car, forcing it to skid and spin out of the control, sliding to a stop between to abandoned cars.  

The family, too scared to do anything, simply embraced, as they awaited their impending demise.  

Instead, there came a loud Fwboom!!, following by a slight shudder in the ground, then, everything went silent.  

Opening their eyes, the family looked out, seeing the beetle-demons had stopped, startled by something. The one closest to them laid slump on the ground, its insides making a sickening sloshing sound, as something moved around inside.  

Suddenly, two beams of yellow energy shot out of the demon body, one striking down a second beetle-demon, the other managing to kill two more, instantly, and then leaving a third of suffer some before it too died. “Note to self...” busting out of the carcass from the side, an ichor covered Talos stumbled out. “Beetle-demons smell horrible on the inside.” He looked over to the other demons that hadn’t fled, which were now sizing the hero up. “Yuri, what are the latest on an extraction plan?”  

“All nearby military bases and facilities are being pulled in to respond to the rising threat...” Yuri replied. “While the CIA is bringing in any every supernatural expert they can to formulate rules of engagement.”

From behind, the sound of a car engine starting broke up the standoff, as Talos remembered the family behind him.  “Damnit.”

The demons, also remembering their prey, screeched and started shuffling towards the car.  

Talos spun around, waving to the family in the SUV. “Hey there, mind if I borrow this??” He grabbed onto one of the abandoned vehicles, lifting it off the ground, and throwing it towards the oncoming demons.  

“I am picking up several life signs..." A live feed popped up on Talos HUD, showing an entire conference room, packed with people. They seemed to have managed to barricade themselves inside, as Demons swarmed the outer halls, trying to force their way inside. “I am adding their location to your GPS"

Talos gave the family another wave, as they sped off towards the highway. “Alright, I’m on my way there.” His jets kicked on, preparing to take off. He barely got ten feet in the air, as a humanoid, armored demon caught him by the foot, smashing him back into the ground. “Well, that was rude!” He raised his hand up, firing a beam of energy at the hulking demon.  

Instead of vaporizing the demons head, the beam dissipated against the armor, as the creature grinned. With it’s other hand, it raised a massive, crude machete looking weapon.  

“Oh fuck no!!”  

Talos rolled to the left, as the machete came crashing down, digging into the road, but ultimately missing the hero. He managed to twist his foot free, and kicked his jets on, sliding some distance away, before moving back to his feet. “Cobalt, we got civilians trapped in one of the hotels in the city, sending you their location now...” As Talos spoke, the information would pop up on Cobalts HUD. “I kinda got a road block in my way, so if you aren’t pinned down or anything, you mind getting them free...” He turned to face the Demon-Knight, who had just managed to unstick its weapon. “Yuri, power up the praetorian package.”  

“Copy, package is en route, eta five minutes.”  

“Really need to work on the teleportation technology.” Talos charged towards the demon.

The building he had collided with had become further unstable. Bits of ceiling fell around him,  some bouncing off against his armor. He hardly even felt it, mind instead focusing on the dangers around them. Demons rampaging unbidden and people fleeing from them, specifically targeted as if for some darker purpose. Ineffectual plinks against his armor, doing nothing more than making the young metahuman flinch against sudden weights that came down and were relieved.  He was confident Talos could deal with the demons attacking those people. What he wasn’t confident in was his ability to determine where they were coming from and how he could stop the demons. Afterall, something told him they wouldn’t sotp until all humans in the city were killed. That was a number of live he wasn’t really willing to have on his shoulders.

With a thought most of the rubble was shoved away from his form, crashing around him as his mind worked a mile a minute. Solutions after solutions, none of them having much as far as concrete proof as if they would work. Humans governments could be moving in to stem the tide. Did they have the means to do it? Letting the HUD scan over his surroundings, Ryan stepped from the ruins and considered what seemed to be some kind of demon lumbering over him.

It had some bull features, a weapon forged from an obsidian-like metal that gleamed within the red light. Steam hissed from between its strange bovine features, eyes gloating like coals. What followed next was a swing of its massive weapon, intended to remove his head with a clean stroke. The kind of blow that he was sure would have killed a human, or even a lesser metahuman. He was not one of those lesser people.

He had already projected the trajectory of the blade and set his power into motion. Striking the blade in its weakest point, using psionic power to break it. Obsidian shards plinked against his armor and fell to the ground.  ”I always thought demons were supposed to be scary,” He motioned with a hand, blue energy washing over the creature. Enveloping its entire form, leaving what looked to be a frozen statue that quickly fell apart into small fragments.

”“So I guess there are powerful ones here. I wonder what that newest monster summoned here,” Ryan spun on his heels, looking to see a woman, not too much older than him with vibrant red hair the tips dyed neon colors. Her eyes contemplated him curiously, though something about her screamed danger. Maybe it was the fact she was dressed for a rave rather than a demonic invasion of Vegas. Without thinking he slipped intoa  defensive stance, blue blade springing from the durable metallic hilt. All this did was amuse her further, bright white teeth shining between blood red painted lips.

”Who are you?” He questioned, unable to hide the anxiety.

”So tense. Don’t worry little boy, I’m not even the scariest thing here. She’s watching, waiting,”

”Wha….” He blinked and she was gone, leaving him confused and his mind racing many miles a minute.  Demons moved around, seeing him as even more of a threat and turning their greater magics. He was confused by the situation that had just happened, left open to what looked to be a bolt of lightning aimed at his back.

Pinnacle resisted the urge to bolt upright as his consciousness abruptly surfaced from the void and he regained... Being.

There was no better way to put it; falling unconscious was just NOT something that happened to him... The unfamiliarity of unconsciousness left a lingering unease, a sensation foreign to someone so intimately connected with their entire being as he was.

Yet, he had fallen unconscious, body and soul. His mind, blank... Like it was gone.

The sensation was like reassembling his existence; navigating the delicate balance between being and nonbeing; a cosmic reboot.

Indeed, it was like being deleted from reality before being reuploaded from a back-up.

To call it unsettling was an understatement...

He had, in essence, died... More or less.

This gravity of this realization hit him in the very instant he came back to himself... Existing once more.

Still, he remained motionless, careful to keep his vital signs the same as they were, at least for the next few attoseconds.

In these fleeting moments of feigned stillness, Pinnacle's mind raced, exploring the gaps in his memory. Uncertainty clouded his thoughts, and the void of knowledge gnawed at his soul.

He knew nothing of how he got there or whether or not he was in a "friendly" location.

The last thing he remembered, he had been fighting with the pumpkin-headed villain in London... But where was he now? Were the civilians alright? Had his efforts in London proven futile? Were the civilians safe? Had he failed utterly? The questions lingered, unanswered and unsettling.

He had, in fact, failed... Of that much he was certain... But to what extent, he couldn't say, and the hole in his knowledge ate at him; the weight of failure pressing upon him.

As he lay there, playing dead in every way for the next few attoseconds, his mind raced in Planck time before he decided that the universe hadn't yet written him out of existence, so he might as well take a chance here and sit up.

... So he did.

He arose slowly and deliberately, allowing his vitals to return to their normal cadence; His autokinesis and constituent matter generation, the latter a subset of his proscennial self-ordination, intertwined as he reconstructed himself, a testament to the unique nature of his abilities.

... As Pinnacle surveyed his surroundings, his gaze extended beyond the immediate vicinity. Walls and barriers held no secrets for him; his zero-point sense reached into the very fabric of reality. The robotic attendant at his side revealed its intricate inner workings, a testament to Pinnacle's ability to discern the hidden substrate of the world around him.