nextgenerationmarvel | Intrigue at the Arcade

"You're late on your debts, Bennett," the woman stated calmly.

"I know, I know. That's why I'm here actually." He shows off the winnings from the men he had skimmed. "See? And this is just the start?"

"I'm supposed to be impressed by a hundred and twenty bucks? You owe Echidna a thousand dollars. You knew the risks of betting on the fights."

"Just give me a little more time. I-"

"That two-bit telenises of yours is only going to work for so long until your "buddies" catch on. And you'll be worse than a cheat, you'll be a mutie cheat. We're going to Echidna. She'll decide whether your ass is worth trusting."

"Mayhem, please! We can settle this between us! Please! She'll do worse than kill me!"

Rose made a face. "Amazon there's a leg-breaker. Other guy owes somebody a lot of money. Think it's gonna turn ugly. She's takin' him with her whether he wants ta go or not."

"Geez..what do you wanna do? I don't think we want to start a fight in here," Sean asked.

"You're right," she agreed. "Too many people around."

She let out a breath. "Don't like it, but we gotta let her take him... follow, and hit when the time's right."

Mayhem grabbed his wrist and put a "small" amount of pressure on it. The man yelped, but caught himself.

"Okay, okay! I..I can convince Echidna."

"Good," the giantess replied. "Let's go."

The two made their way out of the store, the man reluctantly being herded along.

Rose signaled Sean that they should head out the other way. She had the scent.

Sean nodded, quietly following along. He may not have Rose's natural gifts, but he was a pretty good hunter in his own right.

They wouldn't have to track them that far. Mayhem took her unwilling companion to a warehouse. They were met at the entrance by one of the workers. He exchanged a few words with Mayhem before nodding and letting her and Bennett inside.

Rose frowned, peering around a corner. "No way of knowing what's in there. But I don't like this one bit. That guy was flippin' terrified.

"Smart thing to do would be callin' this in..."

"Yeah..." When Sean was serious he tended to be very quiet, even pensive. "Any way we could scout around? Try and get some kind of look in there without alerting the whole place?"

"Dunno if there's another way in... or any kind of security," Rose said. "Don't see any cameras though..."

"What about the roof? There's a heavy lift over there. We could climb up that and probably jump up the rest of the way," Sean suggested. He didn't know if it was a good idea, but he wasn't keen on leaving.

Rose nodded. "I take back one of th' bad things I said about ya, Irish. Good idea."

"Just one? Well it's progress I suppose," he says in a deadpanned tone. He heads for the aforementioned lift, trusting Rose to be right behind him.

Rose was right behind him and quickly started climbing. Once at the top, she made a quick leap, doing a perfect "super-hero landing" on the roof.

Before Sean could mutter "Showoff", a grinding sound could be heard inside. Part of the floor shifted to reveal it was in fact a giant door blocking what looked like a massive, man-made ramp with stairs built along the far sides. Several figures came up first, all human-sized but with distinctly non-human features: An extra eye, tusks, an additional arm, and various minor, but distinctive mutations. They were also all armed with pistols. Then a large, snakelike form slithered up the ramp. From the waist up she looked like a scaled woman of mixed reptilian and human features. Below was a leviathan-like tail of coiled muscle. The only remotely "human" trai she had was a shock of red hair.

"I'm disappointed, Bennett," she spoke, a surprisingly smooth, almost soothing tone. "I would think you would be more grateful given what I've done for you."

"It's not that I didn't want to, Echidna. Really. Just..Molly's pregnant and I thought betting on the fights would get us some quick cash. I never meant to cheat you."

"Considering you were already in-debt for that mask you're wearing, I'm surprised you'd risk my anger."

Bennett gulped. "We'd spent all or lives in the sewers. I..I wanted our baby to have more."

"You have a roof over your head," Echidna pointed out, seeming to slither idly in an approximation of a human pacing. "You can see the Sun rise without being mobbed by paranoid flatscans. You have edible food and water."

"But-"

"But nothing!" She snapped. "I lived there too and made something of myself here! I didn't do it by biting the hand that fed me!"

"Please, Echidna. I'll pay you back for everything. I swear!"

Rose quickly shoved Sean behind cover. The conversation, though, gave her pause. There was more here than met the eye, but what exactly...

What the flamin' heck..?

Her hands flexed open and closed. She wanted to leap into action right now, tear this snake woman and her goons apart.

Echidna took a deep breath, then let out a sigh of irritation. The tip of her tail made a few brief, agitated movements.

"You leave me with an uncomfortable situation. We grew up in the same dank cesspool together, and that does mean something to me. On the other-hand I can't have our fellows think I'm soft to my fellow Morlocks." Echidna narrowed her eyes before waving a dismissive hand. "I'll give you another chance to pay me back."

"Really!? Thank, thank you, Echidna. I told Molly you hadn't forgotten your roots."

"Yes, yes, but this is your last chance, Bennett. Having the surfacers discover what you really are will pale in comparison to my wrath."

He gulped. "I-I understand."

"Good." She turned and began to slither back down the ramp, her guards following suit. "Mayhem, rip his left arm off."

"What!?" Bennett cried out as Mayhem took hold of him. "But Echidna, you said you were giving me another chance!"

"I am, but you still crossed me. An example has to be set," she said coldly.

"To blazes with waiting," Rose snarled. She clenched her fists, willing her psionic energy claws into existence. They would tear through any inorganic materials, but merely stun and paralyze people (plus, it would hurt like heck).

She vaulted from their hiding space.

"Hey! Jolly Green Giant!"

"She sure knows how to make an entrance," Sean mused before jumping down after Rose.

"The hell!?" Mayhem looked over to see Rose and then noticed Sean a little further back. "The fuck is this!?" She maintained her hold on Bennett.

Echidna glanced up at what was taking place, surprised, but seemingly nonplussed by it.

"Kid, if you don't want to be torn in half than you better walk away right the fuck now," Mayhem snarled.

The human guards for their part lifted their guns, just waiting for an order.

"Lady, better scum than you have tried and failed," Rose said, brandishing her claws. "Bring it."

"Mayhem, make sure the bodies are disposed of when you're done," Echidna replied casually before resuming her downward slithering into the tunnel.

"There won't be enough left to bury," Mayehm growled. She shoved Bennett to one of the guards. "Hold him!" She came at Rose like a freight chain.

Sean suddenly wished he had some kind of weapon, or at least a bulletproof vest. He'd have to hit and run here. He dashed off the crate, leaned his toward a group of guards and let off a wail of sonic power. The closest guards were floored immediately while those further pack held their ears in pain.

Rose grinned like a madwoman and charged forward, dropping low and striking out with her claws at the last possible moment.

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