Chapter 11: Just as planned
Luke: "So what's the plan, genius?"
Jace: "Shh! I'm casing."
Luke: "What?"
Jace: "I'm trying to figure out what's going on down there."
Luke: "Any ideas?"
Henry: "Shut it, you two! Look, down there."
Luke: "Like a sore thumb."
Jace: "What's he doing?"
Henry: "It looks like he's showing the crowd around the new exhibit."
Luke: "Do we wait until he's alone?"
Jace: "I say nah. I want an audience."
Luke: "I'm starting to get sick of these insane statements."
Henry: "Now to his credit, it would be cool to kick his ass in front of dozens."
Luke: "Whatever. I'm not going down there yet."
Jace and Henry exchange glances. They wink and smile.
Jace: "Suit yourself!"
Jace reels his left arm back and with a boost of speed thanks to his burn ability, he shatters the glass dome into hundreds of pieces. Without missing a beat, Henry leaps onto the ledge and drops into the exhibit hall. The participants scatter and alarms blare as security surrounds him. He places his hand on his opposite shoulder and cracks his neck. From above, Jace steps onto the same ledge. Before he can jump, Luke grabs his arm.
Luke: "You're going to get us killed!"
Jace: "Probably, but at least we'll look cool!"
He jumps down as Luke's grip loosens thanks to the statement he just heard. He clenches his fists before joining the two and vaulting over the ledge into the exhibit.
Breakdown: "Who the hell? Light 'em up!"
The trio separate and begin their assault on the security guards. The sound of magazines being loaded echoes throughout the quiet hall before a hailstorm of bullets hurtle towards the three.
Henry: "Dodge!"
Henry speeds and weaves by the bullets before meeting his first kill. He spreads his arms out and sprouts four venomous scorpion tails, giving the illusion of having six arms. The guard flinches before slowly peeking back up at Henry. Before he can pull the trigger, Henry sends the tails into the man's abdomen and pierces deep into his skin. With some venom thrown into the mix, he retracts his tails and the man falls limp to the floor.
Luke: "How much ammo do these assholes have?"
With a shield born from plasma, he deflects numerous waves of bullets before parrying the gun out of a guard's hand with the shield. He follows through with a bash that crashes the guard into a wall. The brick cracks and they lay slumped over.
Jace: "Sick teamwork, you guys! This one's mine though!"
Jace continues throwing super-powered punches that turn any opponent into his personal ragdoll. He switches into his recently acquired freeze ability and coats the floor around him in ice. Some of the guards slip and others find their legs encased within ice.
Jace: "Alright, guys! Head's up!"
Luke: "What are you planning this time?"
Jace swaps back into burn and strikes the same frozen ground. It immediately creates a thick enough mist for everyone to lose sight of each other.
Jace: "Pitied Party, scatter!"
Henry: "Don't you ever fucking call us that again!"
Luke: "You consider this a team?"
Flashes of gun muzzles and the sounds of bullet casings colliding with the tile rage on within the mist. Only a few more guards are standing between the three and Breakdown,
Breakdown: "These freaks just wrecked my men!
Breakdown clenches his fists and shatters the wine glass in his hand. The red of the wine dances with the red of his blood and pitter onto the pristine, white tile. He doesn't move a muscle. The mist begins to fade, but he can clearly see who's currently winning.
Jace: "Heads up!"
Jace leaps out from within the mist towards one of the final guards. He locks his fingers together and brings his arms above his head to form a double-ax handle. He swings his arms and body down into the guard, crashing him into the tile while Jace does a front-flip and lands perfectly. He looks at Breakdown and his frozen face of shock. Jace replies with a shrug and looks back to the fading mist.
Jace: "I warned him. How're you holding up, Henry?"
Breakdown: "Henry?! That's right! You three are the ones Ren told me about."
Henry: "Any good words?"
Henry emerges out of the mist. He's holding onto the collar of another limp guard. He looks down and throws them to the side and away from the upcoming battlefield.
Breakdown: "I told him I would give him the honor of bringing me your heads, but I'm just as comfortable doing it myself."
Luke: "Hear that? We're pretty special to have the big boss kill us himself."
Luke is the last one to leave the mist. A guard latches onto his leg, but he kicks them away and throws a plasma knife to keep them down a bit longer. The three stand before Breakdown, finally ready to get their answers.
Breakdown: "You aren't special. You're all a bunch of insects that ruined a perfectly good evening!"
Jace: "Wanna know who's already having a shit night? All of the unfortunate folks you're bleeding money from in your pathetic-ass cave!"
Henry: "Jace. You're playing with fire even more now. Please don't set him off, we want answers."
Breakdown: "I'll have you know my own father carved out segments of that hole with his bare hands! That man slaved over that cavern, so he could build a wonderful residential area for those who helped him within his life."
Luke: "He failed, thanks to you."
Jace: "And I'll have you know that my fucking father was KILLED thanks to a handful of androids you support and fund!"
Breakdown: "What're you- Oh, he got caught up with them. That's really a shame."
Jace: "So you do know them!"
Breakdown: "It's none of your concern and you should just accept the fact he's dead and move on."
Jace: "Yeah? Says the one who snaps like a twig when I diss his."
Breakdown: "Okay. Enough. I get why Ren had trouble with this...Trio De Dumbasses."
Henry: "Ooh, I like that more than 'Pitied Party."
Jace: "Rude."
Luke: "I think it fits our dynamic."
Jace: "But what if there's more than three of us?"
Luke: "Do you honestly believe that someone else is going to join us now that we're wanted?"
Henry: "We'll just change the name accordingly."
Breakdown: "Time's up, scum! I'm not listening to another second of this!"
Breakdown grabs the shoulder of his suit jacket and with one swift movement, completely removes it from his body without damaging it. He rests it on the table behind him and cracks his knuckles. The muscles on his back stand out as he turns back to face the three. His frame is what bodybuilders could only dream of.
Henry: "We fucked up."
Jace: "Is that physically possible?"
Breakdown: "Now before I slaughter you all without an ounce of mercy, I'd like to establish some rules."
Luke: "You have rules?"
Breakdown: "First: I want you all to attack me at the same time. It'll be fair that way. Second: I'll stop beating you senseless if you damage or stain my suit. I don't need my cover being blown by getting some weakling's blood on my best outfit. Now, come at me!"