Still within the sewers, the team navigated through the foul stream of liquid sewage, remaining vigilant for any sign of the new threat posed by Scrapers, while also drawing closer to the service tunnel; it was now just a few turns away from their destination.
"I'm telling you, after becoming a mutant, he could see sounds and hear images. I don't understand why this is so difficult for you all to grasp." Bai's voice carried a hint of betrayal, reflecting his friend's apparent distrust in his words.
"I have encountered creepers, Reapers, octoworms, and a plethora of unimaginable phenomena, but the idea of someone hearing images and seeing sound—how is it even possible to hear images? Do you ever pay attention to the words you speak?" Henry, who stood to the left of Bai, sighed as he pondered the absurdity of human imagination. Yet, considering Bai's outrageous behavior, it seemed he might not be entirely human himself; perhaps he Hailed from the planet 'oogle google'.
"Yeah, I am indeed serious. I actually met the guy; he cou--" Before he could proceed with his defense, a raised left palm from Micheal brought silence, causing the entire team to pause and adopt a defensive stance.
Micheal turned to the team, raising a finger to his lips to signal them to remain quiet. He then placed his finger on his ear and pointed toward the corner they were about to cross. The team, familiar with such gestures, immediately understood that he wanted them to listen to something from there.
Listening intently, the team was able to discern faint voices emanating from that corner; although they initially sounded distant, they gradually became clearer as they approached.
"Enemy contact, offensive position spiderweb, all eyes on the threat. Once you spot the bogie, take aim but wait for my signal before you open fire. Switch to silenced mode," Michael whispered into his mic, his voice clear to the rest of the team. They nodded seriously and spread out toward the edge of the walls. Two members at the forefront faced the corner while on their knees, ignoring the pungent stench from the liquid they were crouched in. Three remained in the center—two at the edge and one in the middle—while the last two positioned themselves at the rear, backs to the group. This formation provided visibility on every angle, allowing them to react to any situation that arose.
"That girl didn't know what hit her, and her brother's shocked expression was priceless, haha!" An arrogant and haughty voice echoed as it approached the group, who remained still, like pillars.
"Absolutely, I can't wait to go back and c--" As three men emerged from around the corner, armed with assault rifles, another voice echoed. Upon their arrival, Micheal commanded the team to activate their flashlights, rendering them somewhat invisible.
The group, clearly caught off guard, stood in stunned silence as the lights illuminated them, causing them to instinctively turn away.
This provided the team an opportunity to observe them closely. The first individual was a large, light-skinned man, muscular yet not quite on par with Henry. His face bore scars that gave him a menacing appearance at first glance, and his Hair was styled into a mohawk. The second was a slender, light-skinned individual, from whose body extended numerous spikes that gave him a resemblance to a porcupine; it was evident that he was one of those eccentric mutants. The final individual was a dark-skinned male, somewhat younger than the others. He embodied size, with arms that bulged beneath his clothing, seemingly on the verge of tearing through it. His pupils shone red, and a rhino's horn crowned his head, he looked like a human rhino. The team quickly realized that these individuals were not your typical Dick and Harry. What captured their attention most was the orange attire they wore; despite their attempts to conceal it with standard soldier gear, it remained noticeable.
"They're Inmates," Hei remarked, his gun trained on the first man's head, poised to pull the trigger as soon as Micheal issued the command.
"Who are you, fools?" The first man, bearing several scars that disfigured his face, swiftly seized his gun, followed by the others who mirrored his actions, directing their weapons at the team whose lights obscured their visibility.
"You have 5 seconds to identify yourselves or we open fire," Michael replied in a chilling tone, his finger tightening around the trigger.
"You feds?" The second man inquired with a frown, his aim shifting from one light to another, struggling to determine where to focus. This was precisely why Michael had proposed this formation; it disrupted the targets' psychological state, instilling a sense of fear and uncertainty.
"Three seconds more," Hei replied, his aim shifting to the head of the second man.
"Forget this, HAAAAA!" As they realized answers were not forthcoming, the first man swiftly took aim, prepared to fire, but the team acted more quickly.
"Fire," Michael whispered as he squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet through the head of the first man, whose head erupted in a gruesome spray of blood and flesh.
"Bang" Hei whispered, squeezing his trigger to unleash a bullet that shot straight between the eyes of the second man, ending his life instantly.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Bullets rained down on the group, all of whom were promptly attended to, except for the third Rhino man. Sensing that the situation was deteriorating, he had remained silent the entire time. Once he realized the impending danger, he quickly turned and fled, abandoning his fallen teammates.
"After him" Michael instructed, dashing forward after the man who shot away, seemingly familiar with the landscape. He was able to navigate effectively, but the team stayed on him, following closely behind without opening fire, as per Michael's command.
"STAY AWAY!" The man suddenly paused after reaching a dead end and yelled, his voice causing the structures around him to tremble slightly.
"You're clearly trapped. Put your weapon down and surrender; we just want to ask some questions," Michael said to the man calmly, his gun still aimed at him. If he made any sudden moves, Michael would take him out immediately.
"Me trapped? Haha, I think you've got it all wrong, you're the ones that are trapped." The man, upon hearing Michael's words, erupted into laughter while gesturing behind the team. They turned to see at least 50 inmates gathered at a distance, all brandishing weapons aimed at the group.
"Now, where was I? Yes, as I w--" A bullet from Michael's gun silenced the Rhino man for good, piercing through his head with finality.
"Seek shelter!" Micheal yelled, leaping behind some reinforced pipes as bullets cascaded around them from the inmates who cackled with maniacal glee.
"They must have escaped from the prison facility above, after everything went down. They likely slaughtered a significant number of people and made a home in the sewers. But what kind of Arkham mental freaks would choose to live in this place, not to mention the presence of Scrapers down here?" Racheal shook her head as she stood behind the pipes on the left, alongside Micheal and Yoshi, while Hei, Bai, and Henry stood on the right.
The refined steel utilized for the pipes prevented the ordinary bullets from the inmates' guns from penetrating, providing them with a temporary reprieve.
"We can't stay here forever; we have to take action" Yoshi said, turning to Michael.
"I understand, but we're limited in how we can use our abilities down here. I can't harness the lightning since we're literally drenched in liquid, and you all can't use your powers because we don't know how your flames might interact with this liquid, nor the effects of your light or darkness. That leaves Henry; you could likely transform your skin into this refined steel. Yoshi could replicate that, and then you could lead a frontal assault against these psychos while we provide cover from behind. How does that sound?" Micheal outlined his plan after a brief moment of contemplation.
"How do you come up with such impeccable plans so quickly?" Bai inquired, perplexed, as he struggled to comprehend how, in nearly every circumstance, Michael always seemed to have a well-thought-out plan, and a remarkable one at that.
"Indeed, this plan appears to be flawless from my perspective, with an 83% probability of success," Yoshi remarked after conducting his analysis.
"What can I say? It's just natural, I guess" Michael replied with a shrug.
"Well, I suppose it's worth a try, Yoshi. Let's go for it." Henry nodded in agreement and placed his hand on the pipes, causing his skin to turn silvery. Yoshi soon followed suit, adopting the same appearance. Just as they were about to move out, Micheal halted them.
"What's wrong?" Henry inquired, his expression clouded with concern.
"They've stopped shooting at us," Racheal said, having noticed the same thing Micheal did. Her words brought the other's minds to this realization: the inmates had ceased their assault, yet the sounds of gunshots and screams still echoed around them.
"ARRGG!" Suddenly, a scream of horror echoed
from the inmates, eliciting a range of expressions on the team's faces.
BANG! BANG!
RATATATA!
ARRRG!
The chaotic clamor of bullets firing and the piercing screams of fear, pain, and horror echoed relentlessly, leaving the group in suspense about the unfolding events beyond their sight. After a brief moment, the chaos ceased.
"Bai, take a look at what's going on," Michael said to Bai, who frowned in reply.
"What! Why should it be me?" Bai inquired with a sense of bewilderment, wondering why Michael had selected him from among all the others.
"Just do it and stop complaining, that is an order," Michael replied with a stern look that left Bai gaping in disbelief.
"I won't do it alone; how about we all do it together?" Bai declined outright and offered his own suggestion instead.
"You little... fine, on the count of three, we all look at the same time." Micheal was on the verge of delivering a retort when he paused and sighed, realizing it would be futile. He took a deep breath and gripped his gun tightly.
"1..2..3, now," he counted down, and as he reached three, he feigned a look but quickly pulled himself back.
"What happened to us checking together?" Micheal inquired of the group who had undertaken the same action he had.
"You didn't look either. Alright, let's try it again. 1....2...3..." Henry responded and then began the countdown once more for the same event to occur again.
"Tsk, a bunch of kids," Racheal remarked, rolling her eyes as she stepped out and glanced at the location of the inmates. Once she did, her eyes widened in shock, and she subconsciously lowered her gun, saying, "Guys, you need to take a look at this."
The rest approached her with caution, immediately taken aback by the horrific scene before them. Body parts were scattered across the ground, eyes squished into the ground, and limbs strewn about haphazardly, the walls were drenched in blood. As the team drew nearer, they realized that not a single body remained whole; some were stripped of flesh entirely, leaving only bare bones behind.
"This is...who did this?" Hei felt a wave of nausea wash over him, a mix of disgust and horror, as he witnessed the scene unfold before his eyes. He struggled to comprehend what could have led to such a shocking event.
"Scrapers," Yoshi remarked with a serious expression. Within seconds, an unknown number of scrapers had finished off a group of this size. The thought of such a thing was horrendous to even imagine.
WHOOSH
A shadow suddenly darted behind the group, sending them into high alert. They swiftly assumed defensive positions to shield themselves from the unseen threat, as several more shadows zipped by at an extraordinary pace.
WHOOSH
WHOOSH
"We're not alone! Porcupine formation! Fire at will; this could very well be the most dangerous battle we've encountered." Micheal shouted, his demeanor shifting to one of seriousness, as the others nodded and clustered together, creating a circle with their backs facing one another, their weapons directed at the unseen foe. Upon witnessing the bodies strewn across the ground, they immediately recognized that the adversary before them was not merely a typical Creeper or Reaper; this was something far more formidable.