Ultimate Wonder Woman #8: Cyber skirmishes pt.3

[jackalope]

Ultimate Wonder Woman #8
World of Wonders part 8: Cyber skirmishes pt.3

Downtown Gateway City

Harold stopped in the doorway where Mike is standing.

“Where the fuck are we?”

Mike pointed to the Cale building. “SWAT are all ready to make their move and FBI has just showed up, so they'll keep each other occupied for a few minutes. All entrances and exits are going to covered surrounding the building, but the robot terrorist things didn't just walk in there. They got in there by some means which isn't covered, well not yet...”

Harold scratched his chin. “...Underground.”

Mike nodded. “The building has a tunnel system that links with three other buildings, including this one. A back-up generator runs from this building through to the Cale building, I think it'll lead through to a basement level.” Harold shook his head in confusion. Mike smiled, “My dad was an electrician for the city council.”

Harold rolled his eyes. “Of course he was...” They ran into the building.


Cale Building roof

“What are you doing?” Anna Red whimpered to the robot. It remained silent, its smaller arms moving swiftly around her, clicking together a latch. The vest hung heavy on her, she swayed under the weight. Tears trailed down her cheeks. She stood with the other CEOs, in line, them too wearing bulky metallic vests. Behind them the sword wielding robot stood behind them, blades crossed in front of it.

The gentle scraping of metal against the concrete floor could be heard as Dr. Cyber marched in front of them. At the end of the line of the figure turned on the spot, facing them. “You lucky few are here to witness the birth of an organisation, a company,” the artificial voice rang out, “an empire. From the ground floor up.” Dr Cyber walked back, pointing out at them. “Funded by you...”

The sound of engines rapidly approaching made the CEOs turn. Robert mouthed the words 'what in hell.' The giant steel hued vehicle appeared from out behind a one of the large sky scrapers in the distance and came towards the roof.

“Right on time,” Dr Cyber called. The large machine hovered near them. Underneath it a camera lens focused on them. “Broadcasting nation-wide. Thank you all for tuning in. In front of you stand three CEOs of America's richest corporations, plus a couple of stand-ins.”

“Maximillian please!” Anna called out, falling to her knees. The blade touching the back of her neck stopped her screaming cold.

“The fashionable matching outfits have been provided as motivation, for the friends and family, as well as the company executives. For the very reasonable sums of 20 million dollars apiece, delivered to the locations individually being provided to you each of you, they will be free to go.” The terrorist leader's hand went to the side of its head. “This just in, our first call back. And it's everyone's favourite electricity tycoon, Maxie Zeus! Let’s put him on speaker phone. Maxie, you are on the air.”

The voice echoed out of the robot behind Anna. “I do not make deals with terrorists.” There was the sound of a phone hanging up.

“Really Maxie? No hello, no sorry. Ah well.” Dr Cyber walked up to Anna and stretched out its arm, grabbing her hand. “You weren't a CEO anyway. It wasn't fair of me to expect 20 million dollars for a personal assistant. You called my bluff.” Anna looked up at the featureless mask, trying to gauge its intentions. Delicately holding her hand, she was lifted to her feet. She stood, her eyes darted around at the others. John Delion looked at his feet. Cale had her eyes closed. Derrick was scanning the situation, his eyes darting around. Only Robert looked at her, his eyes fierce but half filled with tears. Dr Cyber's hand gripped hard, and it spun her around off her feet, and out into the air. The hovering camera vehicle quickly turned to follow the flying woman.

“No!”

The explosion scatters red across the roof in a fine mist.

Dr Cyber looked over at the shouting woman at the roof entrance, dressed in black leather armour, standing with her sword drawn. Her breath was rapid, like she had just run up two dozen staircases, or that she was very, very angry. She pointed her blade at the villain. “<You cannot destroy someone like that! You cannot fight so unfairly, with such dishonour! She had no chance.>”

“Who the fuck is that?” Cale whispered to Derrick.

Dr Cyber twisted its neck to the side. “I'm sorry, I don't speak crazy woman.” It pointed at her. The four robots turned towards her, brandishing their weapons; blades, circle saws, hammers, and drills, all in pairs. Diana breathed out slowly and bent her knees. A smile slowly grew on her face.



44 Fathom Road, apartment 6

“No, no, no, no.” Aria rocked back on the couch.

Iris looked away, but immediately turned back. The footage swung between the hostages, then the robots and back to Diana, slightly crouched, with her sword in one hand, and the shield section attached to her other arm, at her waist the golden rope hung. The smile she wore was vicious looking.

“What is she doing?” Iris asked no one in particular. She collapsed back down onto the couch. “Somebody call the fucking Flash or something...”

“What's going to happen Iris?” Aria looked to her.

Iris met her eyes. “She's a killer, Grandma. I saw the blood on her hands. She kills bad guys I think, but she kills them. Maybe she wants to die in battle...”

“No,” said Aria shaking her head. “She is a good girl.”

“I saw her in her room...” She turned and stared at the stairway. “...her room.”



Below

“We need to get those hostages out of there and then kill the rest!” Colonel Greggs shouted at the FBI liaison officer.

The FBI agent pressed his earpiece. “We have got out snipers set up from two vantage points. We can take out the leader and maybe the sword woman but the machines are going to be a challenge. We don't kno...”

“FUCKING SHOOTING THE SWORD WOMAN?!” The shouted, throwing his third cigarette of the hour to the ground. “SHE IS OUR BEST HORSE-FUCKING CHANCE UP THERE! ARE YOU ALL DENSE?”

“She is a fucking murderer Alan!” Greggs said, pushing his finger into his chest. “I have her killing four people down by the docks. And at the mall...”

“Have you EVEN WATCHED THE MALL FOOTAGE YOU NUMB NUTTED PUSSY CLOWN?!” The spittle sprayed across the Colonel's shirt.

“Men,” the FBI officer placed his hands between them, pushing them apart. “We cannot let this happen, not live on TV, not a terrorist attack like this. We need to do something, taking these shots are our only option, I anyone has another option...”

“schhhh Chief,” the radio on the Chief’s shoulder crackled in. “Do you read? Chief?”

He grabbed it and held it to his lips. “Copy, who the fuck is this?”

“It's Schorr sir, I'm with Champion. We are approaching the roof, we are two floors away.”

“How the fuck? Tell them to stand down Alan! They will fuck up ev...” Greggs hissed.

The Chief’s voice was calm and even. “Boys, when this is over you will have your arses fucked so badly that any children you have will resemble me...” He smiled, “but while you're up there this is what you're going to do...”



The roof

“You,” Dr Cyber pointed to the hostages, “split up.”

“No!” Derrick said. “Stick together.” He turned to the CEOs. “If they split us up he can use us as individual bargaining chips.”

Behind them the robots approached the armoured woman. They attacked. In pairs they struck. The bladed robot slashed at her chest, whilst the hammer wielding robot struck at her from above. Her blade struck out blocked the robots blades, and spun closer to it, dodging the falling hammers. Her sword struck the robot's front plating, but only leaving a dent. The robot pulled its blades inwards at a blurring speed but she had slipped under and out of their range. She rolled back, hammers dropping where she once was.

She pulled her blade up in time to knock a spinning circle saw flying at her face. A drill stabbed into the ground inches from her swinging leg. She scrambled backwards, ducking under blade, and dodging another spinning circle saw. The weapons swung around her in a perfect simultaneous rhythm. She jumped, twisting herself in the air, using her metal wrist guards to deflect the striking weapons outwards. She landed, her boots skidding outwards slightly into a wide legged stance. She nodded.

“Good.”

The machines struck, but she was faster, leaping onto one of the drill arms and stabbing at its base. As the arm dropped dead she ran up it, ducking under a sword swinging at her neck. She stood up and leapt over a hammer swung sideways. She threw her sword at the circle-saw robot, which stumbled backwards. The remaining working drill stabbed down at her. She caught it in her hands and pulled it downwards until it was drilling into its own armour plating. Sparks flew out of the hole and it collapsed backwards.

She dove off it to the side. Two saws shot out at her, moving her head, a dozen strands of her thick black hair were sliced, cut by its spinning teeth. She spun, running toward the robot; she skipped over a hammer swing and up the saw robot's front. She pulled her sword out and swung it back, blocking two swords flying down at her. She turned, stabbing the sword back into the already damaged robot, piercing it half a dozen times in a couple of seconds. The robot swung its arms out and stopped moving, smoke pouring out from the gashes on its front.

She ducked under a hammer blow and rolled under the sword wielding machine. Slashing across it's backwards facing knees, it dropped downwards and she was crawling up its back. Its bladed hands started spinning, whirring around and moving towards her. She stabbed its back with the sword, and stuck her arms out. The blades sparked against her wrist guards, pushing them closer towards her with each strike. The hammer slammed down at her and she ducked back, the hammer slamming into the sword stuck in the back of the machine, driving it deep into its workings. The blades spin became slower and slower before it stopped completely.

The next hammer strike knocked her off the dead robot's back. On the ground she looked up at the remaining robot and touched her face. She spat blood to her side and smiled through bloody teeth.

“<In honour of the first blow struck on me by you and your brothers I will fight you without weapons.>” She stood, almost stumbling but finding her balance. The robot took a single step towards her. She held out her arms, fingers spread, showing her empty hands. The robot charged. Its giant hammers swung back. Within steps she was within its range. It stood silent, arms still in its backwards arc. Her right arm, up to halfway between her shoulder and elbow was sunk deep into the robot's chest. She pulled out her arm. The robot remained still.

She shook her hand, “ow.” She walked over to her sword and pulled it from the broken chassis. She turned to the leader who stood alone near the hovering camera vehicle, which was still focused on her. Dr Cyber clapped its hands.

“Very impressive. But I'm afraid you missed the point. I still have hostag...” It looked over at the entrance. Cale was being lifted over the shoulder through the entrance by a giant cop in a blue uniform, the rest having gone already. “Well I guess this is my exit.” It grabbed the hover vehicle as it started to rise in the air. “Until next time...”

A golden lasso pulled Dr Cyber's free arm with a speed that made it lose its grip. Dr Cyber fell back onto the rooftop with a clank. The being stood up, trying to rid its arm of the rope. “You will find I am not as easy to dispatch as my creations.”

Dr Cyber's head flew up off the shoulders and fell, bouncing on the ground a couple of times before lying still. From wear it sat sparks flew out and clear fuel squirted out. The body dropped to its knees and fell forward, flat on the ground.



44 Fathom Road, apartment 6

Iris carefully turned the door handle and pushed it open. Aria waited while Iris peeked inside Diana's room. The granddaughter’s face froze, her mouth slightly open and she walked into the room. Aria hesitated before following her in. To her left her eyes scanned over the hooks covering the wall a couple still holding weapons. In the midst of them, on an alter over the old covered off fireplace, a number of small clay statues, ancient looking gods and goddesses.

She turned to her right to see where Iris was looking. Her mouth opened too. The walls were covered in red. And blue, and yellow, green, black, white, orange, violet. The painting that covered the walls was of a yellow and green island in a blue sky and sea. White buildings dotted the island with red flowers could be seen among the fields. Aria smiled.



The roof

Mike stood at the roof entrance door watching the scene stretched out ahead of him. The four destroyed robots, the wondrously beautiful, dark haired, warrior woman, the decapited body of the seemingly robotic terrorist leader and beyond them all, the older redheaded warrior woman, dressed also in dark leather armour, whose thrown sword had beheaded the robotic man only moments before.

Diana looked at the woman, eyes bewildered. “Orana?”

The woman drew her second sword, her face severe. “<Diana, you are hereby ordered to return to Themyscira, to return the items you have stolen, and await punishment for your actions.>”




You have been reading: World of Wonders

Thank you for reading.
More to follow.
-jackalope