Broker-Side Story - Team Crusader 1

POP! POPOPOPOP!

The rhythmic sound of gunfire carried over the hill, followed by shouts. A roar broke through the noise. Crusader pushed her legs harder, the strain falling away as gold washed across her body. She could already see which direction she needed to move in. Al was in position, and she followed him. Without a word between them, she felt a hand the size of the hood of a car scoop her up and launch her the rest of the way. She crested the hill with her sword over her head as the fighting came into view.

A dozen men backed up slowly as a creature that looked like something between a bull, a goat, and a steam engine ambled forward. Its armored body shrugged off the gunfire. Al let out a screech, and the bull flinched, whipping its head up and pausing instead of breaking into a wild charge that would have trampled the soldiers. That was its final mistake. A flicker of gold and the sound of metal cleaving metal, and Crusader rose to her feet. She turned and held her hand out towards the men, and her flames did the rest. Exhausted eyes turned clear, and several of them sagged with relief.

She turned and called back towards the hill. “I got it!”

BLF slid to a stop at the top of the hill and looked down at her, hands on his knees. He was putting on a good face, but they’d been going for hours already. He’s already wiped out, poor guy, she thought. I know he and Snow think they’re falling behind, but… she sighed inwardly. At least we agreed to pair off like this to keep things balanced.

BLF wiped his chin. “We gotta head back! There’s a few more heading east, according to Snow!”

She adjusted her breastplate and nodded. “Right,” she turned to the soldiers. “Are you guys good?”

The man she assumed was their commanding officer snapped a quick salute. “We can handle the lesser ones. Keep moving, hero, and thank you.”

She nodded and got back to work.

The decisive battle wasn’t the end of the Liberty War. Remnants of the cult still existed even if the individual that gave them their strength was gone. The dungeons that had burst as a result of the fighting and Liberty’s machinations had spewed out hundreds of monsters into the surrounding area. Crusader and her team had enjoyed a small respite after going to The Hague. They’d needed some air, but they also had a job to do. So when the call came for heroes to assist in the cleanup, they answered.

After crossing the distance from the first hill to the east, she and BLF stopped to survey what was happening. She snorted and shook her head. “I think they’ve got this,” she said and sat down to catch her breath and watch. BLF chuckled and joined her.

Down below, where a farm had been annihilated by the monsters, a maze had sprung up from the ground. The earth itself extended from the ground and formed an interconnecting labyrinth of rocky walls. Monsters ran this way and that through the confusing passages, herded by translucent specters of sound and visible light. Every now and then they would come in contact with the towering horned figure in armor that stalked the maze, and that would be the end of them. In other parts of the maze, soldiers had set up small kill zones where they mowed down anything that came within range.

“That new feature is nuts,” BLF said thoughtfully, reaching up to scratch at his scraggly blonde hair. He let out a heavy sigh and turned her way. “We’ve been at this for a week now.”

She nodded slowly, watching her friends clean up the last of the monsters. “Yeah, I think it's time to move on. The higher-level monsters are either gone or being dealt with by the other cleanup teams. It’s just the grunt mobs left. We should head back to New York soon.”

He let out a groan of relief and fell onto his back. “Thank you, Al! You are the best!”

The hawk in question swooped in and landed on her shoulder, letting out a screech as she looked down at him with amusement. “Who said it was Al’s decision?”

He held up a finger. “He talks to the birds for you,” he held up a second finger, “they tell him how we’re doing,” he held up a third finger, “he tells you how we’re doing,” he held up a fourth finger, “you listen to what he says,” he extended his thumb, “you’re the team lead. Ergo, if you say we’re done, then that means Al says we’re done.”

She burst into laughter. “Should we be called Team Alphonse instead? I was hoping for a name change.”

He turned and gave her a deadpan look. “Hell no. The bird can’t handle the press, and I’m better looking than you. If we changed to Team Alphonse, I’d be handling all the talking.”

She sighed dramatically. “Well, excuse me for not being able to teach Al to talk.” The hawk screeched again, and she looked up at him. “This is your fault.”

The ground shuddered, and they turned back to see the maze descending into the earth. The churned soil settled as the soldiers approached and spoke briefly with Harbinger and Snow. After a few moments, the pair were heading back up the hill. Crusader smiled at them. “You two are getting good at that!”

Harbinger huffed and puffed as she marched up to her, glancing at BLF and giving him a cute little wave. “Would have been faster if you’d joined in! Hit me with some of the good stuff.”

Crusader gestured, and gold fire washed over her and Snow for good measure. The two of them groaned and sat down on the grass. Crusader shook her head. “You guys were doing just fine.”

A faint static filled the air, and Snow chimed in. “I need a bath and a nap. Controlling that many complex illusions for hours is tiring.”

“Al says we’re done,” BLF said. “Off duty.”

Harbinger flopped onto the ground before crashing down on BLF’s chest. He let out a groan of pain but didn’t say a word. “Thank goodness. You’re the best, Al.”

Crusader crossed her arms. “Seriously, when did it become a thing that I took orders from Al?”

Her team just laughed.

–

The return flight from where they’d been stationed in Alabama back to New York was blessedly uneventful. It was disappointing that they couldn’t take a portal back, but Euclidia’s focus was almost entirely on moving responders around to deal with villain attacks on dungeons. Things had been getting progressively worse all over, and more heroes were being pulled off their normal duties to help stem the tide. To add to their frustrations, they’d been told that a small number of protesters and counter-protesters had gathered at the airport they were set to land at.

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Snow wasn’t happy.

“I just want to go one day without firing my brain on all cylinders,” she complained through her usual haze of static. “Creating illusions to cover all four of us in a crowded area filled with tech is going to be a pain.”

“We just gotta make it to the car,” Alex pointed out, trying to look positive.

Lillian knew he was raging on the inside, though. If Cass didn’t look like she was about to cry if things got worse, he would have exploded, she thought.

He blew out a breath. “No worries, Snow. You’ve got this.”

“Says you,” Snow grumbled.

Lillian glanced towards Cass, who wasn’t speaking much as she leaned forward in her seat, her hands clasped together. She had a pretty good idea of what was going through her head. Not only had they become famous from the War and from what happened at The Hague, but they’d also gained a bit of infamy for some people. Not everyone could accept the Pandora Committee’s official statement that Cass wasn’t responsible for Liberty’s death even after those asshole representatives and Verity had cleared things up. Someone had planted a hammer that looked a lot like the one Cass could summon at the scene, and no amount of her dismissing and summoning the thing would shake the trolls and conspiracy theorists.

“It’s just a small number of really loud and really dumb people,” Lillian said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We know the truth, and so does most of the world.”

Cass nodded but said nothing, twirling her thumbs and scowling at the floor.

Lillian squeezed Cass’ shoulder and glanced at the others, who looked equally upset. They just wanted to go home for a little while, but it felt like they would have to walk on eggshells while they were there. It would be hard to do patrol work when people were acting like this, even if the majority were receptive to them. They all knew it only took one bad lead for someone to get hurt.

The plane landed, and when they got off, they found John and Val waiting for them. The bland-faced John was in a suit emblazoned with the guild logo. Val was in a t-shirt, jeans, and elbow pads. He waved energetically at them and hurried over, throwing himself into a forward tackle and nearly bowling Alex over. “Hey guys! Welcome back!”

Lillian smiled. “Hey, Val. How’s patrolling?”

He shrugged. “It’s slowed down now that most of the heroes are back. Was exciting for a while there, though.”

“I don’t doubt it,” she said and glanced towards John. He looked more sour than usual. She shot Val a sideways look. “I don’t suppose he looks mad because he messed up a sandwich?”

Val made a face. “John doesn’t mess up sandwiches.”

“What happened?” Cass finally said, coming out of her mood.

“He’s upset that he has to send you all back out,” Val said, looking disappointed as well. “Oh, by the way, Bluestar gave him the Vice Guildmaster job. He’ll be your point of contact for what’s next.”

Team Crusader exchanged a look as John approached, adjusting his tie and forcing a half smile onto his dour face. They all wanted to congratulate him but were dreading what he had to say. He seemed to pick up on it because he ripped the bandage off quickly. “With the rising villain attacks, there’s been a shortage in key areas. You’re being redeployed for…” he hesitated, “...a Dharan tour. Ultimately, it’s your choice. You can refuse, however…” he trailed off again and looked at Cass. “It might be wise.”

Lillian looked at her team. They were tired, but they were good at what they did and committed to the job. Laying low wouldn’t be a bad thing either, and it was just a culling tour. Snow stood up a bit straighter, and Alex nodded. Cass hung her head for a heartbeat before looking up and meeting her gaze with her own fierce look. Lillian nodded back to her. “We’ll go.”

John sighed. “Very well. I’ll arrange for the portal.”

-

The break conference room in the staging building outside of the Dharan Exclusion Zone was unsurprisingly humble. A single long wooden table and chairs were set alongside a kitchenette. Lillian barely paid any attention to it even as Snow fiddled with one of the chairs, probably carving something on it. She looked down at the briefing pamphlet while John explained what they were going into.

The newly-minted Vice Guildmaster had only been Bluestar’s assistant for a little while, but he had earned her regard quickly. His blunt demeanor, in contrast to Bluestar’s more gentle-but-firm approach, created just the right kind of back-and-forth for the guild. He adjusted his tie again and closed the pamphlet himself. “...and that’s everything,” he said. “As I said at the beginning of the briefing, Dharan is a unique place. The dungeon break has been going on for a long time, and the monsters have evolved and grown since the initial blast. The respawn rate is also significantly higher. We believe it has something to do with the local geography. Mana clouds build up against the Himalayas and double back down below. Your job is not to clear the break, just to cull the monster population in the outer ring. Any questions?”

Alex grunted as he rested his head against Cass’ while she flipped through the pamphlet thoughtfully. “Why doesn’t a Mythic or two go in there and deal with it?”

“The last attempt was by Heroes Qilin and First Wind. They went in about as far as the edge of the central region before the sheer volume of monsters forced them out. They aren’t invincible,” John said. “We would need a large strike force to push all the way in, and that many heroes can’t be spared right now.”

“Ishtar,” Lillian growled. “This is her fault.”

John nodded. “Actually, yes, more or less. We got word that she put out a bounty on dungeons recently, and we believe she wants her villains to clear dungeons rather than take control of them for resources to humiliate the Pandora Committee.”

“First she tries to blow Sonya up, and now this,” Alex grumbled, sitting up straight. Cass pulled off of him and frowned a little before looking back at her book. “That lady is getting out of hand. I say we take the fight to that maniac.” He pushed back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Seriously, who in their right mind would work for someone like that?”

John raised an eyebrow. “Do you have a strategy to take down the Queen of Villains, BLF? You were lucky you survived running into her during the war.”

Cass scoffed, her eyes fixed on the table. She clenched her hands together. “She nearly killed Snow. I wouldn’t call that lucky.”

Snow shifted in her seat and looked away. Lillian reached under the table and grabbed her hand, squeezing the momentary shakes away. She knew that Snow was still a little traumatized by whatever that ability Ishtar had used was. She wasn’t a forward fighter, and getting hit by something like that couldn’t have been easy. Alex raised a finger and tapped the table, leaning forward. “That’s another thing,” he said. “Has anyone here noticed she doesn’t seem to ‘like’ killing heroes? She lets us go a lot.”

“It’s psychological warfare,” John said flatly. “Let’s not get off topic. You have a job to do here. ASTA is handling the political and public-relations situation back at home. By the time you’re done with your tour, things should be more comfortable.”

Cass sighed. “Sorry, guys.”

Snow clicked her tongue, and static preceded her words. “Don’t you go apologizing for shit that isn’t your fault,” she clipped. “If an asshole wants to believe the sky is falling, the world is flat, and there are gremlins in his socks, there’s not much you can do about that. Whoever decided to pick you to frame for the whole fiasco is the real problem, and if I had my way, I’d fry his brain for it.”

John sighed. “While I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment and wish I could do something similar with my knives, can we not vocally express the desire to commit acts bordering on villainous activity during a meeting of heroes, please?”

Snow winced. “Sorry.”

John gave her a rare smile. “It was a slip of the tongue, of course.”

Lillian got to her feet. “We should do an initial foray and get an idea of what we’re really dealing with. Pamphlets are good and all, but the longer we’re in here, the less time someone’s out there keeping that population down.”

John’s expression turned grave, and he nodded. “Good luck.”