1.2 Unbreakable and Uncontrollable

Salamander Base, as Obsidian called it, was composed of a residential building, two buildings that would have advanced laboratories, and one tall building akin to an advanced mining shaft that held a giant elevator down to a special hangar that gorged out by the cliffside where various types of aerial transports would come and go. 

Sabermancer and Partisan had gauged its defenses 'carefully', and by that, they meant to simply make a helicopter view, for two hours, of the many armed security forces in the facilities. From such poor scouting, they assumed that the base was a simple scientific base to make innocent experiments for the betterment of the world. Partisan deduced that they might be hiding a mining operation beneath the hangar, but it was all speculation, no one in the gang had real scouting or infiltration skills.

So, the moment Omni Dan stepped onto the main entrance, confident that all he had to do was deal with the entrance's four guards, he was surprised the outcome had been different.

The guards looked at each other in disbelief as this individual wearing a pure white cowl that concealed his face like a ninja approached them fearlessly. One of them shrugged and warned the intruder.

"Halt! This is a restricted area, go back to where you came from or be shot on the spot."

Omni Dan did not waver, his steps only affirming themselves as he walked at them earnestly.

Another guard shot the ground multiple times, then at the air, "Last warning, weirdo, leave or be buried here."

Omni Dan ignored their calling, and two meters ahead his head was hit by a bullet. Immediately he fell to the floor, apparently lifeless.

"Idiot," the killer guard laughed, as he took his hand to the comm by his white helmet.

"Wait," said the second guard, his eyes still on the body, as Omni Dan flinched a hand. Then, he stood up like normal, as if he had just napped. Not even his cowl showed signs of burns or blood. 

"What—" the killer guard uttered, twitching his head as he took a few steps close to Omni Dan to verify his eyes were not deceiving him.

Omni Dan's eyes sprung open, scaring the guard in such a way that all three began shooting at the young man in a white cowl. This time, however, Omni Dan did not flinch. His body reacted to the bullets like drops falling on a normal human—not even his eyes blinked at the spark of crashing projectiles nearby.

Now the guards panicked, as Omni Dan resumed his walk towards them, dangerously closing the gap.

"We need backup!" reported one of the guards, "send reinforcements to the entrance, we're under attack!"

Omni Dan's fist glowed an intense green light and his eyes furrowed. "Let's see if I get this right..."

He rooted his feet and arched his body, apparently giving more energy to the fist, as his feet then gleamed with power...

Then the guards lost sight of him.

Well, all minus one.

It took a few seconds for them to realize a destructive trail had been created along the entrance and down to the administration building, and the one comrade missing crushed beneath the rubble, alongside a confused intruder.

"Crap, too much too much!" Omni Dan said as he looked at the rubble of the building's side wall utterly destroyed. 

Obsidian's armored folks were not having it anymore. They all sprayed bullets at the intruder, as well as a couple of explosives like desperate people.

Omni Dan simply covered his face by crossing his arms, the bullets ricocheting all around him, hitting random people behind him that were caught in the crossfire.

At that time, a second hit was also starting. The agglomeration of security guards was suddenly hit by a well-placed explosion that cratered the ground.

King Shifter chuckled from a distance, placed on one of the cliffs beyond the trees surrounding the base.

"I told him to grab his minigun, the loser," he said as he readied another shot.

But as the gas-masked, hazmat suit-clad King Shifter aimed it at the remnants of the platoon, his eyes diverted towards turrets that emerged from the ground, targeting the lone attacker with seeker missiles.

Those were not mentioned by Sabermancer.

"Mother of—"

He reflexively fired his next shot at one of them, effectively blasting it, but he could not prevent the other five from targeting him and firing a volley of missiles. With so many projectiles homing on his location, he swiftly jumped down the cliff and into the woods. The explosions hit the cliff one by one, trying to reach the sliding, then rolling, young man.

"Ow, OUCH, ARGH, OW!" he complained as the explosions behind him made his body ragdoll downhill, each time hitting his head.

When he finally reached the ground, one last missile blasted behind him, pushing him deeper into the woods and a small pond. King Shifter felt all of his pain and hurting coalescing into an unquenchable anger, as his mask's eye sockets glowed amber. He felt a surge of power cursing through his veins, and that scared him.

"No no no no no!" He said, angrily, "I will not go there, I will not go there!"  

The amber glowing faded as he violently blinked to turn it off, breathing deeply to calm himself.

"There, nice, don't go there, you can do this without—"

"There he is!"

"Open fire!"

 A wave of Obisidan forces shouted and fired at him. 

It was a tad fraction of a second, but King Shifter took it to curse, "Damn me... It seems I'll go there."

King Shifter was no Omni Dan, who could just ignore the bullets and explosions. The bad guys obviously didn't know that, and so King Shifter's body simply shattered to fleshy pieces when all those incoming shots finally connected. 

Omni Dan was barely getting to feel how to pull his punches as he threw three guards away and grabbed one missile only to launch it back at the sender when he heard Partisan over the comm.

"King Shifter is down."

Omni Dan looked at the crowded forest beyond the fence, for a moment worried, as more bullets hit the back of his head.

"He'll be okay, right?" he asked.

No one answered.

"RIGHT?"

"Well, we send you to the frontline for a reason," Sabermancer said, "It's time to see if that triggers."

A few moments passed, and nothing happened.

"Crap, I think he's dead..." Sabermancer said.

"Galen! No!" Mek V shouted.

"Sabermancer, you piece of—"

"Save it," Sabermancer cut Partisan off, "Right now we need to salvage this situation."

"What do we do now?" Omni Dan said as he dispatched another group of guards.

"You'll have to draw more attention than usual I guess, your invulnerability has paid off."

"More?!" Omni Dan said as he saw how the forces chasing King Shifter were now coming back.

"You don't have to brush Galen aside like that!" Partisan complained.

"I'm not! Trust me! But we're in the middle of something here, so as Omni Dan here distracts everyone, you do your part!"

"Fine, goddammit!" 

"Mek V, you're up, assist Omni Dan while Partisan and I initiate stage 2!"

Mek V sighed, "Why... I have to do voice commands again?"

"Just do it, dammit!"

"ARG! Fine!" Mek V shouted as he began his command, "Mek class: Archangel!"

As the area where Omni Dan concentrated all firepower on him became too volatile, he decided to jump and clear his sight from sparkling crashes and blinding shots. He propelled himself upward and then immediately materialized a glowing circle to keep himself afloat.

"Great, this still works," he said, relieved.

The mass of guards could not believe it as they saw their invincible opponent simply escape their onslaught seemingly untouched.

"Tehehe, this is cool!"

As Omni Dan relished in his control over his powers and growing grief over King Shifter, powerful seeker missiles hit him, sending him flying as he was not adapted to their kinetic power. His body was sent flying against the main building that looked like a mining shaft, breaking the squared tip as he crashed across it and finally onto the ground.

Just as the turrets aimed at him to finish the job, a series of red lasers made them explode as another fighter joined the fray. 

The Obsidian forces looked to the sky, dismayed, as a winged, mechanical frame now harrassed them from the skies.

Mek V had taken the field, piloting an exoskeleton that used two powerful jets on the sides, laser turrets on the shoulders, a hand cannon on one arm, and a laser sword on the other.

It was Mek V's predilected gear: the Archangel. His proudest imaginative achievement when he designed his character.

"Eat dirt, suckers!" he shouted as he did another run, firing his weapons across the base, "For King Shifter!"

"Woah woah!" relayed Sabermancer, noticing his friends go a bit unhinged, "Remember we need to keep the infrastructure as intact as possible!"

"Ow, yes, roger that!" Mek V said.

"And yet, you sent King Shifter to the frontline," Partisan said.

"Bro, come on, he knew the risks... are you inside already?"

"Al...most!" Partisan said.

Just as the battle raged on the base's main surface, the hangar bay by the cliffside was readying itself a group of drones were readying themselves to fly, heating their engines, when the staff there suddenly spotted a dark figure appearing by the edge of the hangar.

"Oh shit!" the security forces there cursed, "We got another one by the hangar, I repeat, we got another one by the—"

A flying sword swirling across a vast arch cut a whole line of guards in half. It was a big, heavy sword that was pitch black and glowed green on the edges. Commanding it was an inert Sabermancer who witnessed the carnage beneath his mask and black cloak. The drones barely got to move before being cut down as well. 

A few guards managed to aim at Sabermancer's dark frame, but the rounds did not hit, as he ignited a laser blade that helped him deflect the bullets. 

"Impossible!" the guards shouted, before being hit by the flying sword. 

The hangar then grew silent. Sabermancer took it as a sign that the enemy numbers were dwindling, or that he was not as important as Omni Dan.

"I'm in!" Partisan said.

"Good, I'm going in too," Sabermancer said, "Let's see what our new home has in store for us."

********

Somni could not take it any longer, and she released their Acheron prisoner.

"I'm cutting you loose, please forgive me!" she said, as the noble girl looked at her attentively.

The hatch opened and the tank's liquid receded as the shaking around them grew more and more intense. Just as she took the nullifier helmet off her head, the scientist girl suddenly saw herself involuntarily kneeling, her head banging the floor in abject obedience to an unknown force. 

The girl sat and jumped out of the tank, removing cables from her arms and mind as she coughed liquid, her footing unsure. One thing was certain, though, she seemed responsible for Somni's submissive stance. Her eyes darted here and there before locking on her captor, suddenly filling with rage.

"Give... me.. one... good reason... why I should let you live..." the Acheron girl said.

Somni's head began to hurt, to the point she could feel her head's veins beating and her ears could hear her heart. It was unbearable.

"Please! I was wrong!" she begged.

"Wrong won't cut it, you put me there!" the girl roared, her eyes' veins bulging as the invisible pressure around Sonmi intensified.

"Please... no..."

Just as Somni's head was about to burst, the force let go of her. Something else had drawn the girl's attention as her eyes went up to the ceiling. Despite physically seeing metal, her mind perceived something else.

"You—you let me live?" Somni said.

The girl's eyes widened as she sensed an entity of blackness, mystery, and dread beyond the reinforced ceilings of the deepest floors. She could only pierce the veil slightly, but she knew this encroaching darkness was responsible for all of the mayhem in the base. It paid her no mind like a storm would a bird.

A shiver went down the girl's back and she reflexively tore the locks on the gate before turning to a recovering Somni.

"You... you know the way out, don't you?" she asked.

Somni smiled, glad that the door was down, and she nodded as she ran her hand across her silk hair.

"Take us out, and you'll earn your life."

The scientist stood up, and walked towards the exit, making sure no one saw them. The base at those floors had been abandoned from any security, with only a few security cameras still scanning the area.

"The main elevator can lead us to an underground railroad that leads to an adjacent valley, and to a town. We can plot our course after reaching the town."

The girl's eyes still showed the veins, and Somni decided to remain silent further down the alley. Theirs was the last level, meant to contain the girl or other powered individuals, so it was one single hallway that led to the elevator, which was wide and spacious to contain 50 people.

Somni hastily pressed the button to call the elevator, a panel showed the level the shaft was on, number 10, and it started going down.

11

12

13

16

24

75

"Too fast!" Somni said, before realizing "What is happening—watch out!"

She jumped back and ran as fast as she could, away from the elevator door. An explosion blew the gate toward the Acheron girl, who stopped it in its tracks with her telekinesis and proceeded to move it away.

"No! Nonononono!" Somni said, her hopes fading away, "This was our only exit! We're trapped!"

"Damn you guys! Why did you have to destroy the shaft's magnetic system?"

It spoke.

The girl then sensed it—the pitch-black darkness amidst the scorching flames melting metal and stone.

A figure emerged, slender, but sporting long, messy hair arranged in one crazed ponytail. The figure walked out of the flames unscathed, and it revealed itself to be something akin to a secret agent with a slim black suit, wearing a glowing visor with multiple lenses, armed with a single sniper rifle, and carrying a mechanical backpack. 

A personal shield dissipated in an energy sweep across his body, the one thing seemingly protecting him from the engulfing flames.

"Friend or foe?" the figure asked, aiming the rifle towards them, "Answer quickly."

The Acheron girl was unable to move. That darkness... it was all-consuming, and the figure's glowing eyes pierced her soul, paralyzing her decision-making process.

"Friends! We're friends!" Somni said instinctively, her mind unable to handle any more stress.

The dark shape considered them before lowering his gun, evidently noticing Somni's strange black lab coat and the girl's slender, almost naked figure, still wet with the tank's liquid.

"My name's Partisan, well... yeah, let's go with that," he said. The Acheron girl saw how the darkness dissipated as if lowering its guard to greet her, and she was finally able to perceive Partisan for his true appearance, "Sorry for the scare, I've been welcomed with nothing more than hostile guards that did not second guess on firing me, you're the first to treat me otherwise... anyway, what are your names?"

"Somni..." the scientist said.

The girl remained quiet, trying to piece together whatever she felt a moment ago, before blinking and hastily answering "Z-zoana..."

"Cool names!" Partisan said, noticing the flames were rescinding behind him and going back to inspect the large tunnel that lay above him.

"Dammit, it's a long way up," he said, "Who could've guessed that the base ran this deep?"

Somni heard that last part and remembered Dr. Simula's fears, "Have you come to rescue the... Zoana?"

The Acheron girl looked at Somni with forbidding eyes, ordering her never to mention her name again. Somni cowered on the other side of Partisan as a reflex before panicking, realizing she had grabbed his shoulder.

"Answering your question: Not really but... now I guess I don't have much of a choice, damn," Partisan said without minding the physical touch, clicking a bracelet on his wrist. His backpack ejected upward from its platform and transformed into a drone with a small gun in its belly and stepping platforms on the top. Partisan swiftly jumped on it and invited the two girls to hop in. They clumsily clung to his back as the hovercraft began to ascend.

"Here we go," the young-looking man said, "Oi, Sabermancer, I'm coming back from the deepest level, I found two girls... yes two girls, a doctor, and her patient."

Zoana looked at Somni again with deadly eyes.

"I don't know, how were we supposed to know they had some sort of hospital here?" Partisan complained, "Next time I'll adjust one of my drones to scan as far as the center of the Earth."

Somni and Zoana looked at each other with puzzled eyes as their mysterious benefactor kept arguing with another person.

Partisan turned to them reassuringly, "Don't worry ladies, we'll get you to the surface in no time!"