Chapter 7

The Job

Eclipse’s crew had settled into an abandoned airfield nestled in the mesas and rocky plateaus of dry desert terrain. When asked he would only tell the others he had stationed them somewhere in the Arizona desert, although on multiple occasions Bulldozer would swear he had scene herds of wild camels when allowed to wander. If Eclipse had an explanation for the bruiser, he kept it to himself. The first day was spent settling in, working out bedding accommodations and allowing Shiver time to set up some of her equipment to the main hangar and set to work. Bright and early the following morning, Eclipse called the villains together for a meeting to discuss the clandestine work ahead of them.

The group had gathered into a kitchen annex built onto the old hangar, surrounding themselves around a table that had several building schematics and photos of Facility Epsilon laid across it. Hardstone held up a glossy black and white and studied the image. “It’s a pretty front porch but security seems pretty light.”

“The surface station serves mostly as a support staff facility, elevator shafts are one of the only ways to get to the underground base and that controls the flow of bodies in and out in chokepoints.” Eclipse replied.

“Why can’t you just teleport us in?” Bulldozer asked.

Eclipse tapped at the blueprint of the facility “This isn’t like breaking into a bank, Doc Spectre and the other Guardian tech heads have a anti-teleportation fields in a bubble around the entire complex. Even if I could get in most of the facility is accessed with RFID technology, and there's surveillance wall to wall .”

“So this entire thing is hinging on Medusa over there?” Bulldozer said with a jerk of his thumb to Shiver behind him, who was working with a set of soldering tools on some gadget.

“It’s Shiver you actual dick, and I can handle it. There’s a lot of pretty tech and more than a fair share of super-tech even, but I’ve seen it before, I’ve pulled it apart and put it back together. You should be thanking me for even going I do my best work far away. Safe. In a bunker preferably.” Shiver said gesturing with her soldering iron. “With pop-tarts.”

“Let’s just run through the plan.” Eclipse said crossing his arms. The other shifted a bit uncomfortably at his tone, but no one said anything further.

“First we’ll infiltrate on the ground roughly 4 miles away from the surface station, Shiver that’s where we’ll need you to start cloaking our approach.”

Shiver nodded and tapped the side of her completed gadget with a screwdriver “Five more of these babies and we’ll be in the wind”

“Fabricate a few extra.” Eclipse ordered, garnering a nod from Shiver as he continued “Each of these facilities have Guardian A.I. software installed, The thing is on the day we’ll be infiltrating there will be a Guardian Trial and the A.I. only has domain over the underground Facility. Call it paranoid but it seems even the good guys don’t want an A.I to have run over every system, which is our boon. The senior staff will be moderating the trial which means only support staff on the surface, chance of Alphas is slim to none.”

Eclipse rolls out a set of blueprints and grabs a laser pointer from a pocket on his belt, using its tiny green light to highlight hallways and doors. “Bulldozer will give the front doors a knock and then we are making a beeline for the surface control room. This room doesn’t have the same access as Epsilons command center, but it will give Shiver a foot in the door. Shiver will start hacking into the facility while the rest of us start going room to room to dispatch anyone who could get in our way." He turned back to the resident IT expert. "We’ll need you to turn off the Facilities anti-teleportation fields, can you do it?”

Shiver looked at the blueprints. “From a surface control room? maybe. If worse comes to worse I can give you access to the surface elevators and give Buster a datajack you can plug into the nearest machine to give me full access.”

Eclipse nodded “Our goal that we’re being asked to take is THIS room here in Epsilon." he said, circling the space with his laser. "Officially it’s listed on any blueprint we could find as just an armory. If our intel is good this is where recovered villain-tech is temporarily housed before it’s studied or dismantled. We go in and grab anything that isn’t bolted down, I jump us to safety and we make enough money to never see each other again."

“You don’t mean that, do you Eclipse?” Hardstone said giving an overdramatic pout.

“You’ll never know.” Eclipse said flatly.

“Just like that?” Bulldozer said, rubbing at his beard. “What about any other anti-Alpha measures? I heard these places are full of robots.”

Eclipse nodded at Bulldozers question“The should be two squadrons of about a dozen drones that we could encounter. The first are a standard model rescue drone, really nothing more than mannequins with rescue equipment. The second are more concerning, orb sentries that can shoot zero-point energy. They can lock you in place so long as the beam is traced on you, but because of the power involved if you can get the machine to change target or destroy it it will break the stasis-hold.”

Hardstone rubbed her chin.“So anything that looks like a floating basketball should be a target priority. Well all computers at least have some kind of silicon in them, leave that to me. I can see why you asked me along on this dance party now Eclipse.”

“Huh?” Shiver said confused

“I can create, control, and manipulate silicate and crystal materials. “ Hardstone said extending a hand as a large piece of quartz began growing in her palm. “Ranged projectiles, object barriers, you’ll see kid” she said with a wink.

“Why are you even here then? Can’t you just be making a fortune selling diamonds or something?” Shiver replied

Hardstone shook her head “Where's the fun in that?”

“You’re nuts.”

“It’s not all about the money Miss Shiver.” Hardstone said as her eyes went back to Eclipse.

Shiver arched an eyebrow while Hardstone hummed calmly, picking at her fingernails with a soft smile on her face. “Riiiight.” Shiver said sarcastically.

“Let’s take a brief recess and we’ll reconvene later.” Eclipse cut in, ending the spat.

After Bulldozer and Shiver had filed out, Eclipse turned his masked face to Hardstone. Even through the black featureless cloth, Hardstone could feel his angry glare on her.

“What?” she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

“Can we not instigate the other members of the team.” he said

“Eclipse I’m just poking fun a little, it’s good for to foster camaraderie!”

“Focus on the mission at hand” he said, walking out of the kitchen.

Hardstone followed him outside where he rolled up part of his mask to have a cigarette. Eclipse took a long drag and Hardstone waited for him to enjoy the smoke in his lungs. On his exhale she spoke “You know four does feel a little light for this kind of job.”

“You know that isn’t the point.” he said.

“Yeah I know, but they don't. You keep compartmentalizing information like this and we’re going to get burned.”

“They’ll get their payday , same as you.”

“I’m not doing this for the money, you know that. I’m doing it for her.”

Eclipse let the statement hang in the air as he checked his watch. “Speaking of, she wants to meet me in a few minutes. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Can I come with you?”

“No.”

“But— ”

“NO.”

Hardstone slammed her hand into the rigid sheet metal wall of the hangar. “This is fucking bullshit and you know it!”

“Are we done?” he said with a disinterested tone.

Hardstone didn’t give the courtesy of a reply as she stalked away to brood, leaving Eclipse alone with his thoughts. He flicked away the finished butt of his cigarette as his shadow began to deepen in the early morning sun, less and less light penetrating the space before a complete void of darkness had replaced it. Wordlessly, he stepped through to meet with the benefactor to this entire operation.

After a few moments Eclipse emerged inside of a dimly lit office. The place was decorated comfortably in warm tones and wooden mahogany furniture, with various intellectual books and other knick-knacks filling bookshelves on either siside of a desk where a woman with short cut white hair sat in a corinthian leather office chair. As was customary during his visits he took a knee and bowed low.

Anastasia Dragunov even just at her desk oozed an air of authority, if not royalty. She gave a serene smile as Eclipse made his presence known. She stood, the twinkle of her snowflake earrings catching Eclipses eye as she walked around to the front of the desk and leaned against it. She was wearing a smart white pantsuit, seems today she was all business Eclipse noted.

“The team is assembled and we have a strategy.” Eclipse said, standing and putting his hands in his coat pockets. “They’ll want to meet our fifth team member soon, Anastasia.”

Anastasia clicked her tongue as she looked through Eclipse with piercing blue eyes “They’ll meet me soon enough, how is Hardstone holding up?”

“She has her good days and her bad ones, but she’s mission ready”

“Excellent. I think this has earned a toast, don’t you?” she went to a crystal decanter and poured two tumblers of a dark whiskey, small frost began to form around the glass edge as she passed one to Eclipse. “Soon we’ll be the pride of Winters' Realm. No one else in my bloodline has the temerity to do what we’ll be doing.”

She raised her glass high “To Winter's Reign”

Eclipse chimed his glass against hers “To Winter's Reign”

===

A fer days had passed before Eclopse finally introduced Anastasia to the rest of the crew, her true identity concealed by the adoption of a disguise chosen specially for this mission. She had a custom form fitting suit prepared all in shades of white, a half mask, goggles, and hood completed her look. She stood before the others next to Eclipse, hand on her hip.

Eclipses introduction was brief. “This is Frostbite, I felt we could use some extra firepower. The plan remains the same. Lets run through it. At 6 AM we will make landfall..” he continued through the plan, discussing what if scenarios and fielding questions from the rest of the crew until they made it through the entire heist, ending on the exit strategy. “..at which point I’ll reconvene with Shiver, and several jumps later we’ll be halfway across the country.” he finished, nodding his head satisfied.

“Everyone if you have any further questions the time is now, otherwise take the rest of the day. Mission starts tomorrow.”

===

Bulldozer gripped the sides of the surface stations door before wrenching it from it’s hinges and casually tossing the thick steel behind him. On either side the crew of villains took flanking positions around the door frame as bullets began flying out of it and shouts from the support staff and security echoed within. Buster the dog was barking angrily as Shiver kept him on a short leash.

“You seriously brought the damn dog!” Bulldozer shouted over the gunfire.

“You’ll thank me later!” Shiver retorted.

“Be ready to move” Frostbite said as she slammed a hand to the ground and a surging wave of ice rushed out from her, washing over the attackers in the hallway and spearing others with long needle like tips. The sounds of gunfire began to abate as the remaining guard forces repositioned.

Eclipse looked to Bulldozer “Go, NOW!”

The large brute Alpha charged down the hallway as some more gunfire opened on him, Frostbites ice already dissipating with a wave of her hand as Bulldozer began smashing his way through more security guards. At the end of the Hallway Eclipse double checked the building schematics and and walked to the left, before indicating with his finger at a portion of concrete wall and looking at Bulldozer.

Bulldozer began pummeling his fists into the concrete, prying away the debris to make an ingress to the control room beyond. The support staff inside had not expected an attack through the wall and weren’t quick to respond.

Hardstone generated a pricky looking ball of Quartz and tossed it through the hole Bulldozer had made. “Might want to step back!” she adivised.

There was a sound like shattering glass and then screams of pain, Hardstone giggling as her makeshift grenade went off. Eclipse and Frostbite were providing covering fire. She with her powers and Eclipse with a sub-machine gun while Bulldozer, Hardstone, Shiver and Buster piled in to dispatch the rest of the staff inside.

Inside, one of the support staff had survived Hardstones initial attack and was making a distress call. The video call showed a woman on the other end as he shouted into the terminal “We’re under atta-”

Hardstone lanced out with her hand projecting a spiraling purple crysta thatl caught the staff member in the back,traveling through him and into the console. He slumped limply in place as the terminal sparked where the crystal spike pierced into it.

Shiver carried herself forward on her hair tendrils, settling in as they snaked and jolted outwards and began plugging into every compatible port in reach, a web growing across the room's terminals. They glowed with a strange yellow light as she let out a euphoric coo. “Okay...I’m in...they got a message down to the underground.”

Eclipse ducked inside and gestured for Hardstone and Bulldozer to begin their sweeps before he and Frostbite hovered over Shivers shoulders as she typed away at a computer terminal. Buster came jogging up with a severed hand in his mouth, wagging his tail as he set it down proudly by his owner.

“Can you disable the fields?” Eclipse asked

Shiver scrunched up her face “Hang on...the A.I. is trying to put the base into a Lockdown...shit I don’t think I can stop her.”

“You need to.”

Shiver began typing rapidly “I can disable them for a moment but you need to be ready, and take Buster with you I need access to a computer in the underground base.”

“The dog? You were serious about that?” Frostbite asked.

Shiver gave her a look “Dead serious…”

Bulldozer and Hardstone returned, giving an all clear to Eclipse.

“Bulldozer, stay up here and guard Shiver. Hardstone and Frostbite you’re with me.”

A loud "WOOF!" interjected from his feet.

“...and Buster too.”

Shiver gripped at the edges of the desk she was at. “Get ready!”

Eclipse was already growing his shadow as the others gathered around him preparing to jump into its inky depths.

Shiver opened her eyes like a shot “NOW!”