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Shooting Stars 25: Chapter 5

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          Magnum Opus had to give the woman her props; Los Santiagos del Muerte had executed a near perfect surprise attack, using the military grade hardware that the Professor and she had acquired for them.  They were, maybe, not as efficient as a trained military unit or SWAT team, but they made up for that inefficiency with brute force and guts.

          One of their number- a big guy, lightly enhanced- had gotten to her first and, despite being blind and disoriented, she had dropped him like a bad habit.

          Of course, he had reciprocated and the woman was now lying inside her living room, coughing and choking as the tear gas did its work on her.

          Moe watched as the rest of Los Santiagos advanced on the fallen woman.  She was really just here to oversee the operation, in any case- she didn’t expect to be needed.

          A golden aura lit up the night sky and she abruptly changed her mind.  Apollo dropped through the atmosphere like a meteor, shattering the ground and creating a shockwave that blew out the house’s remaining windows and knocked several Los Santiagos off their feet.

          Moe felt her body adapting to the powers she saw and felt.  She stepped away from the van she’d been leaning against and began to saunter over to the action.

          Apollo moved with an efficiency of motion that was surprising in so large a man; he swept three Santiagos out of his way with a stroke of his arm.  One of them caught most of his fist and was propelled back until he hit a tree, cracking the trunk.  He lay where he fell and didn’t get back up.  Before the other gang members could close, Apollo had cleared the broken frame of the picture window; his force field evidently filtered the air he breathed, because he showed no ill effects from entering the CS gas.

          One of the Santiagos was thrown backwards out of the building straight at Moe.  She caught him and set him back on his feet, smiling at him sweetly.  “Are you gonna take that from him?” she asked.  The dazed man wobbled a little, but turned and staggered back towards the fray.

          The professor would be well-pleased, she thought; it appeared his drug significantly increased aggression, durability, and strength, but it had not rendered this batch completely uncontrollable.  Sale to world militaries was looking like a definite possibility which would, in turn, provide enough income to seriously fund the Professor’s long-term projects.

          Of course, there was still the possibility that premature exposure could ruin that plan; that was why they were here.

          As Moe stepped onto the porch, she saw a cluster of Los Santiagos pile onto Apollo, driving their fists against his golden aura.  The glowing field sparked and shimmered under the assault, but Apollo was still holding, even if he was being forced back.

          Their target had gotten to her feet and was groping- limping, really- her way along the back wall of the living room.  Moe wasn’t really worried about her- Los Santiagos had surrounded her house and there was no way she could actually escape- but she was impressed anew.  This woman was clearly not a civilian- a civilian would have panicked at the first whiff of tear gas; this woman had covered her face and was attempting to escape the zone without risking additional exposure.

          Moe stepped around the scuffle and caught up with the woman as she reached a doorway leading deeper into her house.

          “Hey,” she called, reaching out to yank the woman back by her collar, “no leaving just yet- this party’s all in your honor, after all!”

          Another flash of light heralded the arrival of another hero.

          “Maybe it’s time to wrap this up,” Moe suggested.  She reached out a hand, intending to tap her captive’s forehead hard enough to stun her so that she could escape with her when a gloved hand clamped down over her arm.

          The newly arrived hero was not one Magnum Opus was familiar with, but it hardly mattered.  Her grip was powerful for a human, but Magnum Opus was in the upper echelons of metahumans; the woman’s grip might as well have been composed of cobwebs for all that it could hold her.

          To her surprise, her hands passed through her intended victim as if she were made of smoke.  Network stumbled and fell through the open doorway, while Moe turned to the newly arrived metahuman.

          “I’m getting really tired of you damn glowing do-gooders getting in my way,” she grumbled.

          “Suck it, bitch,” Will-O-Wisp smiled, “you can’t even touch me!”

          Moe’s returned smile was wintry.  Her fist shot out, catching the heroine in the belly.  Will-O-Wisp folded over her arm.  “Wanna bet?” Moe asked, stepping in to deliver a crushing blow to the back of Shae’s head.

          Will-O-Wisp tucked her chin, rolling with the punch so that Moe’s knuckles barely glanced off her skull; it was still enough to leave her dazed and punch-drunk, and she staggered, trying to get her guard up with arms that suddenly felt as if they had weights attached.

          Another flicker of movement made Moe pause- another hero had just appeared in the room- that damned witch!

          Magnum Opus spat a curse.  The witch could teleport- she could ruin everything!

          Hailey took in the carnage, felt the lingering gas tickling her throat.  She saw the woman staggering towards her and made a split-second decision.

          She opened her mouth and sang.  “Travon Na Tora!”

          Moe’s eyes widened as she felt the magic take hold; she gathered energy to shout the counterspell when Apollo, having finally broken free of his assailants, crashed into her side, breaking her concentration.

          In a paroxysm of fury, Moe grabbed Apollo and hurled him at the mage; the big hero hit the nimbus of Hailey’s portal and he, Hailey, and, much to Moe’s overwhelming disgust, the target all vanished.

          “God damn it!” she screamed.  A Santiago wandered a little too near and her hand flashed out, smashing him in the face.

          “It was a simple mission!  Simple!  You fucked it up!”

          A low moan arrested her tirade.

          She looked down and saw Will-O-Wisp struggling to get to her feet.

          She grabbed the girl and punched her again, this time hard enough to render her insensate.

          “Okay,” she panted, getting ahold of her rage and locking it firmly away, “so, maybe, it’s not a total loss.”

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So... I guess I was thinking the heroes were having it all too much their own way, or something.  Or, to put it another way, getting in a scrape with Moe (and without a solid plan) is sort of unwise.  Of course, looked at that way... well, no one ended up dead, right?  Call it a win!

This picture- and all the artwork for Shooting stars- is brought to you by the amazingly talented and lovely :iconlady-quantum:.

Shooting Stars is an epic tale (okay, maybe that's pushing it, but I've always wanted to call something I wrote an epic) taking place in :iconangel-fallsda: and will feature characters by :iconwhisakedjak::iconmoxiee:, and an appearance of Esau by :iconsebastianssire:.

Apollo, Will-O-Wisp, Network, and Magnum Opus all belong to :iconwhisakedjak:.
Hailey Storm belongs to :iconmoxiee:.

You can find the previous section here: 

Mature Content

Shooting Stars 24: Chapter 5 by WhisakedJak
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Mature Content

Shooting Stars 26: Chapter 5 by WhisakedJak
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moxiee's avatar
The render looks like something from a 70's comic. They used that type of pose a lot.