The Shit-Town Saga:

New Agartha part 6 (finale)

Hyperion’s Light flew through the sky. It’s destination: New York. Ryan Bennings had been summoned to help Cavalier in the city so he contacted his fellow Commissioners to help their teammate. Additionally, he also brought along a new weapon he had developed for Cavalier since their last team-up. With the news that the Badges were also on the scene, it raised a few questions as to how they could help Cavalier without the two teams getting into a brawl.

Elsewhere, Raphael was placed on a stretcher and wheeled toward an ambulance with Cavalier following. “I’ll take care of everything,” Cavalier told him, “Tusk escaped just before the Badges got here, but don’t worry, I’ll bring ‘im in.”

Raphael tried his best to smile despite the head brace, “I know you will.”

Nearby, Cavalier heard a scuffle and saw the Felidae Guard pushing through police officers to get to Raphael. “We’re going with him!,” Mane snapped. “Let us go!,” Snow growled at the officers as she climbed into the back of the ambulance.

“What’s going on?,” Cavalier asked, “I tried to look for you after everything went down.”

“Those assholes tried to send us to the Ice Box with the others,” Mane pointed in the direction of the Badges before entering the ambulance himself.

The IMD agent known as Blitz darted onto the scene in a blur, “I got impatient… and I did apologize.”

“You people aren’t fully aware of what’s going on around here,” Cavalier told him.

“It’s a bit difficult to tell friend from foe in all the chaos.”

“Exactly my point,” he added.

Commissioner Reins arrived and placed a hand under his arm, “Cav? A word?” For a moment, he wondered if he was being arrested but trusted the Commissioner. The two of them stepped to the side as the ambulance pulled away and the Badges helped get the remaining Agarthans in the Ice Box aircraft. “Me and the boys are supposed to be bringing you in,” Reins admitted, “With all the commotion right now, people are too busy for that. This gives us a chance to talk.”

“What about?”

“The DA wants to evict all Agarthans from the city, including the underground tunnels. Agartha is gonna disappear whether it’s old or new.”

“I heard. Is Kassia listening to reason?”

“Not so much. The Badges won’t take them outta the tunnels since they’re not posing an immediate threat but she’ll get someone else to do the job eventually. Speaking of the Badges, I got no doubt they could stop Tusk and what’s left of his crew but maybe you’re better suited for the task if we’re gonna convince the DA not to go too far. The Badges’ll leave the city but we’re the ones who gotta stick around for the fallout.”

“I can bring in Tusk and earn some good will,” Cavalier responded, “That could be used as leverage to convince the DA to leave the rest of Agartha alone.”

“Worth a shot… Now, the question is, with Raphael in the hospital and the Badges trying to get Tusk before you do, will you have enough support to do the job?”

Before he could answer, Cavalier received a message on his helmet’s system from a familiar voice, “Hey Cav, it’s Bennings. Hope we’re not too late but we’re in the city and I got a little something-something for ya.”

Cavalier turned to Reins, “As a matter of fact, I think I have all the help I need.”

Minutes later, Cavalier’s hovercraft docked with Hyperion’s Light over the remains of Madison Square Garden. “Hi, Cav,” the artificial intelligence known as Astra Machina greeted him warmly. Next to her was Alysa Saraki, the alien warrior Shujai, and Labrat. Ryan Bennings entered the hangar shortly after.

“It’s good to see you guys,” he told them, “Where’s Intrepid?”

Ryan shook his head, “I couldn’t contact her. You know how she likes her secrets,” he peered out of the hangar window, “Just as well since we might get in some trouble with the Badges and those are her former co-workers. Sticky situation,” then he motioned for Cavalier to follow him, “Anyway,… let’s go see your new goodies.”

They made their way to a portable locker and when Ryan punched a series of numbers into the keypad, the door slid open. “Like I said, I’ve had some ideas about a new set of armor,” he motioned toward the suit in the locker, “Whatcha think?”

Cavalier’s eyes widened beneath his helmet once he got a clear view, “I’m willing to try it out.”

Somewhere in the city, the metahuman known as Blockhead used his great strength to leap from one street to the next. He left Agartha years ago to pursue a normal life. He tried his best to avoid the recent conflict but once Tusk killed an innocent homeless man, he could no longer be neutral. As Blockhead was once homeless himself, it was now personal. “Like it or not,” he thought to himself, “I’m involved in this shit now.”

Back in Hyperion’s Light, Michael showed off his new armor: it was sleeker and more form fitting than his previous suit which had been custom made for his father. It was black with silver plating along the limbs, chest and back, giving it a much more modern armor look although he still wore his standard black knight helmet with red eyes and a black cape. “It’s even lighter than the last model,” Bennings told him, “I thought you’d appreciate a design with more mobility. It’s still fireproof and can stand up to most blades and small firearms. It might not stand up so well to higher calibers, but that’s okay, because you have a few more bells and whistles. Your helmet’s HUD should be displaying a menu-screen for each gauntlet.”

Michael noticed a circular interface menu with weapon logos, “Yeah, what is that?”

“Close your hands and turn your wrists.”

When Cavalier did so, a blue, holographic long-shield appeared in one hand that covered most of his body while a similarly blue-illuminated broad sword appeared in the other hand. “Hard light constructs,” Ryan explained, “Very new and experimental. Go ahead and browse.”

Michael began turning his wrists in different directions as more weapons began to appear in his hands: a double-bladed battle axe, a morning star, and a quarter staff. “The weapons are obviously weightless, can’t be dropped and best of all, they’re made with forcefield technology, so they’re nearly impossible to break… turn your wrist one more time.” Michael obliged and a crossbow appeared on top of his wrist, complete with a crackling electric arrow. “No more shield-discs,” Ryan told him, “This program fires electric shocks that have about as much voltage as your old tasers. Take a shot, just flick your wrist.” He raised his arm and fired the arrow-shaped bolt which sent an electric current into a nearby wall.

“And I’m sure you noticed there’s a system located in both gauntlets to allow dual-welding.”

Cavalier rotated both wrists, summoning a sword in each hand, “Not bad,” he said aloud, “What do you call it?”

“The Round Table. Partially because of the shape of the interface but also, y’know, the whole knight thing. So,… What now?”

“I think I’m ready to go another round with Tusk. You guys ready to do your part?”

Seven blocks away, the IMD ship, the Cloudburst, made its way to New Agartha in an attempt to find Tusk and the few lieutenants he had left. “Coming up on the tenement building,” Brick reported to the team as he piloted the craft, “It looks like we have company, though.” Phantama peered out the window and saw Hyperion’s Light hovering in front of the building, blocking their path. She shook her head, “Call Director Pierce. I’m sure he’ll want to have a word with the Commission.”

Below, Cavalier entered the lobby to the mostly-abandoned apartment building, stepping over a collapsed ceiling as he walked across the floor. It was dark, as expected, but there were a few lights strung up along the walls with a criss-cross of wires, likely siphoning electricity from nearby powerlines and buildings. He dared not use the elevators and instead, went up the damaged stairs. As he made his way to the third floor, a tail slithered around his ankle and pulled him through a doorway.

Outside, two aircrafts hovered in the sky. Ryan Bennings and Shujai piloted Hyperion’s Light while Alysa Saraki and Astra Machina sat behind them. “We’re getting hailed,” Ryan explained, “Smiles, everyone.” Soon, the bridge’s screen lit up and Sean Pierce appeared.

“Mr. Bennings,” Pierce began, “I can’t help but notice you’re in our way.”

“Director Pierce,” Ryan retorted, “I can’t help but notice our ship is bigger than yours. It’s gotta be embarrassing.”

“What’s your game, Bennings?”

“Cavalier is on the ground. He has a long history with Agartha and he’s sure he can put an end to this tonight while also helping to protect the folks living underground. We’re just here to provide support… and newer, more badass weapons. We only ask that you give him some time to produce the goods.”

Pierce sighed, “In the spirit of professional courtesy, I will give your man 30 minutes to bring Tusk out of hiding and not a second longer. After which time, we will go ahead with our mission and I advise you not to interfere any more than you already have.”

“Hey, we’re all on the same side. If Cav doesn’t beat the clock, we’ll gladly sit on the bench while your team swoops in for a dramatic save.”

“See that you do… Oh, and Bennings?”

“Yeah?”

“It would not be wise to get in our way again.”

In the dusty apartment complex below, Cavalier was dropped into an empty hallway just before Hellbender slithered up a wall, crossed the ceiling, and disappeared around the corner. The knight stood to his feet and activated his new Round Table weapon; his long-shield and broad sword appeared in his palms a second later.

Almost on cue, Grandma Punch flew out of one of the abandoned apartments and collided against his shield. She pressed both palms against the edges of the glowing forcefield and spun him around. A second later, he was pushed against a wall and since the building had already been significantly weakened, he crashed through it. Metal boots scraped against tile panels as he stumbled into a kitchen area and finally fell against a counter which still had some appliances that had been left behind. As his palms opened, he found the holographic weapons had disappeared. “Got some new toys?,” Grandma Punch said as she loomed over him, “They won’t do any good!” Cavalier reached back and pulled the microwave from the wall, then launched it at Grandma Punch. When it bounced off her face, it staggered her, giving him time to activate the quarter-staff from the Round Table. The kitchen had little room and with his enemy’s strength-range, he didn’t want to be stuck in cramped quarters. Grandma Punch charged at him again but she stopped when she took a hard light staff to the sternum and then the chin. She came at him a third time but Cavalier spun away from her and slapped the end of the staff against the back of her head which threw her into the kitchen sink. With her inhuman strength and inertia, she burst through the faucet and broke a pipe, sending a fountain of water spraying along the floor. When the Cavalier exited through the collapsed wall, a growing puddle of water followed.

Once the Cavalier was in the hall, he had more space; the staff shifted into his sword and shield once more. Hellbender’s tail wrapped around his ankle once more as the salamander snuck up behind him. Undaunted, the Cavalier spun around and slammed the shield across his short snout. “Where’d you get that shit?,” Hellbender grew frustrated and tried to swat him with his tail but Cavalier brought his sword up, slicing it clean in half. “Hell no!,” Hellbender shrank back as his tail slowly began to grow back.

Grandma Punch rushed to his aid, her feet splashing through the growing puddle of water on the floor. The sword and shield had disappeared and were replaced by the morning star in preparation. He ducked under her punch, then slammed the weapon into her jaw, forcing her against a nearby door. Knowing Hellbender was returning for another attack, he performed a backswing into his chin, knocking him onto his back. Then he leaped over the growing puddle of water and rolled along the floor to the other side. The two Agarthans readied themselves for a two front attack while Cavalier activated his crossbow. “No more runn’n,” Hellbender growled as the water pooled under their feet.

From a crouching position, Cavalier fired an electric arrow into the puddle just as Grandma Punch and Hellbender began to give chase. The bolt of electricity created a loud popping sound when it made contact with the water and a brief flash of light emerged. The massive electric charge sent both of them flying in the opposite direction, then a cloud of smoke rose to the ceiling. As it cleared, the Cavalier took a closer look at their unconscious forms and muttered to himself, “I gotta send Bennings a thank you card” before continuing up the stairs.

Once he reached the top floor, he noticed that the walls had been knocked down to create a wider space. Candles and lamps were set up in such a way that it created a chiaroscuro effect and on the far end, Tusk sat on a flattened couch. “Knew you’d show up looking for me,” he stood to his feet, “I hope you noticed I didn’t run.”

“Maybe that was a mistake,” Cavalier told him.

“Nah, I don’t run. You people had us living underground like animals… and that was after you made us the way we are. You couldn’t live with the monsters you created so you exiled us. I wanna live free and if that ain’t possible, I’ll die free.”

“Living free doesn’t mean taking lives. There was always a middle ground.”

“Not the way I see it.”

Tusk rushed forward and Cavalier could feel the building sway while chunks of the ceiling fell with each step. The structure had already been weakened enough to be scheduled for demolition and he knew more fighting could potentially bring it down. Holographic crossbows appeared on each wrist, then Cavalier fired multiple electric arrows into Tusk and while it made him grunt and snarl, it did little to slow him down. The knight dipped under a wide punch and activated the morning-star; when Tusk spun back around, he took a hit across his massive jaw. Next, Cavalier turned the weapon into a shield in anticipation of the follow-up attack. A large, spiked fist collided against the shield, sending Cavalier several feet from the force of the punch. When he landed on his back, Tusk raced forward in an attempt to stomp him into the floor. Cavalier rolled out of the way at the last second, but when the foot went through the hardwood floor, it caused a large collapse, taking the two men with it.

The next floor was much darker as there were no lamps or candles set up but the hole above provided some light. Cavalier’s armor let him take the fall and as he wasn’t as bulky as Tusk, he scrambled to his feet faster. He activated his broadsword and brought it down against one of Tusk’s horns. From the small amount of light, he could see that the horn was cracked but it did little to stop his foe. Tusk snatched him up by the waist and slammed him into the weakened floor. The air was sucked out of his lungs and he tried his best to escape. “This was a long time com’n,” Tusk growled and raised a fist.

Suddenly, a similarly large fist came into view and slammed against Tusk, sending him into the apartment wall. Cavalier was relieved but also confused to see Blockhead pressing the attack by pushing Tusk through the wall and into the next room. “Know who I am?,” Blockhead shouted as he drove him through a second wall. “Yeah,” Tusk punched Blockhead in retaliation, “An Uncle Tom motherf-,” he was interrupted by a blow across his cheek. The building continued to shake and Cavalier was now sure it would collapse, especially since the darkness promised to make the two super strong fighters very clumsy. Catching his second wind, he quickly headed for the stairs.

He navigated the dark tenement building easily enough with the help of his night vision lenses but as he went down the stairwell, the wall above him exploded. When he looked up, he saw the two behemoths fly overhead, smashing from one side of the stairwell to the next. He stepped back to avoid falling debris, then picked up the pace as he evacuated the building. Outside, the metahumans burst out of the building and slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the alley before hitting the pavement. Tusk used the spikes along his forearm to slash at Blockhead and while they didn’t cut his rocky hide, they still pushed him against the fragile building.

“Why’d you have to take their side?,” Tusk growled as he attempted another swing.

“I didn’t!,” Blockhead grabbed Tusk’s arm and swung him into the crumbling wall, “I’m on my side.”

Several bricks and chunks of concrete fell on top of them but they continued to fight, causing more and more tremors. And as Blockhead rope-a-doped Tusk against the side of the building it lurched and finally began to topple. Thousands of tons of steel and concrete dropped, briefly hiding the area in a massive cloud of dust. The two teams in the ships above watched silently as the building collapsed, causing damage to the neighboring structures and the empty lot behind it. As the area had been abandoned due to the recent alien attacks, they knew no civilians would be harmed but they feared for the Cavalier. Soon, there was nothing left except a mountain of broken mortar and steel beams.

Blockhead was the first to emerge from the rubble as he pushed a chunk of the roof and an air conditioner unit off him. A second later, Tusk burst out from under an I-beam with a handful of crushed cinder blocks. When Blockhead turned, chunks of granite were smashed into his eyes, temporarily blinding him with dust and ground debris. After a kick to the chest, he fell against a shattered column, then Tusk attempted to drop his spiked elbow into his already-damaged eye but Blockhead caught his arm and held fast despite his blurred vision. Unfortunately, in his state, he was slowly losing resolve.

A few feet above, Cavalier raced along a sloped wall that jutted into the air. He leaped off and, in mid-air, activated his battle axe from the Round Table. He fell toward Tusk and aimed for the damaged horn he had cracked earlier. It was an easy enough target as Tusk was still wrestling with Blockhead and hadn’t yet noticed the dark figure dropping from above. And when the holographic axe swung through the air, a trail of blue light followed; it chopped off the damaged horn, forcing Tusk to reel back in pain. Taking advantage, Blockhead caught the horn in his palm and shoved it into the owner’s shoulder. Tusk screamed out again as blood trickled down his torso, then Blockhead pulled him in for a head-butt which dropped him onto the rubble.

With Tusk unconscious, Blockhead and Cavalier caught their breaths amidst the ruins. Cavalier was now sure he made the right decision to go after Tusk himself, rather than let the Badges proceed. He wasn’t sure why Blockhead helped him out but there was familiarity there and an outsider might not have navigated the situation as delicately. “This wasn’t a team-up,” Blockhead informed him, “This asshole targeted innocent homeless people and I got involved so that’s all it is. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone.” Cavalier nodded in agreement, “Understood,” and kept his word that night. Blockhead was gone by the time the Badges retrieved Tusk and while Hellbender and Grandma Punch were nowhere to be found, the authorities knew the situation had been resolved.

Epilogue…

The next day, District Attorney Chelsea Kassia walked through the halls of the court house and made her way to her office, a stack of paperwork in her hand. Once inside, she noticed the Cavalier standing behind her desk and let out a small gasp. He made a calming gesture as he spoke, “Obviously, you didn’t expect me here but I just wanna chat for a minute.”

She closed the door behind her and regained her composure, “I could call every officer in this building right now,” she set her paperwork on the desk, “But I suppose you’d just escape in some dramatic fashion. You came here with a purpose, so let’s hear it.”

“Tusk and his people are off the streets. There’s no reason to go any farther into Agartha.”

“This city has enough problems as it is right now with all the rebuilding, we don’t need super-powered mobs taking over entire neighborhoods. I’m not taking any chances. Everyone will be removed from those tunnels eventually.”

“Well, if you send officers into those tunnels, I guarantee you’ll have another Tusk situation on your hands. You go after innocent people and it’ll only radicalize them.”

“Do you have an alternative?”

“The city needs to be rebuilt, right?”

“Yes.”

“The people of Agartha have a ton of powers that could help facilitate that. You pay them for a hard’s day work and let them live their lives and everyone wins. I guarantee if you offered them jobs, they’d take it. Hell, I bet the city would be rebuilt faster than planned. Last night, I saw two of them take down an entire building in minutes and I bet they could build something almost as fast.”

“I’m a district attorney. That’s not in my purview.”

“Are you telling me you don’t have the pull to have a few meetings with City Council or the Mayor? They should be just as invested in all this as you are.”

“I can… see if they’re interested.”

“It’s all I ask,” he turned and began to climb out the window, “There’s no harm in trying.”

“Cavalier?,” she approached him before he left through the window.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll allow you to peacefully leave my office today but you’re not off the hook. I’m still coming for you.”

“I expected as much,” Cavalier dropped out the window and into the Dragon hovering below. The District Attorney watched him as he flew off into the horizon.

Next: The saga continues…