Agent Orange Confrontation

John's destination is the forty-ninth floor of The Beck Building, The HQ of the local branch of The Elite. Now having a public HQ may seem counter-productive to criminal enterprises, but it has its advantages.

You don't have to shake any tail when going into the "office" as your destination is already known.

Any tail also can't follow you past the front desk, hell the smart ones won't even enter the lobby. As any one smart has the front desk reporting to them any and all entries.

It stops heroes from storming the place as your base is surrounded by civilians. The heroes will even protect your base to a certain extent.

It stops random superpowered fights from wrecking your base as those who don't want to add extra variables and potential enemies to the fight will avoid your base like the plague.

It also helps sell the illusion that The Elite are something more than the brutish criminals they are, because make no mistake that they are brutes. They just use the muscle of the brain first and foremost, but they resort to the other six hundred other.

While heading towards the tower John was stopped on Granger Street. Now he may be paranoid, but something was telling him that the cloud of orange gas and piles of corroded corpses blocking the street was meant for him. Seems like Agent Orange is under new management.

"What's a sadistic psychopath doing in a nice place like this." John called out to Agent Orange.

"Well, you cost me my last job and thus a load of money. So, when I got an offer that will set me up for a while and help bridge the pay gap until I land my next long-term gig. When I heard that the job was killing you, well that just made my day." Agent Orange replied.

"Well, nothing to it but to do it" John said while shrugging.

"Let's dance bubbles." Orange said wearing the widest of grins.

Orange launched a pillar of orange smoke at him, which was promptly dodged by John. John responded with a pillar of his own. The <bone> spikes tore up the street while heading towards Orange. While it became full of holes by passing through the orange gas it maintained enough integrity to still be a threat to the ex-gang member.

The awkward squawk that escaped orange's mouth while throwing himself to the side was fairly rewarding.

The plume of orange smoke that blossomed from his hand was worrying, but easily manageable with a thick <fat> bubble.

John knew that this couldn't continue as the more time he was held up the more time Whisper had to prepare and that was the last thing you give someone with a power like hers. She was scrambling at the moment as John should have been extra crispy by now. This gave John a window to take her down that was rapidly closing as reinforcements would be on the way and Whisper had the money to get some of the best.

However, reality did not allow for a quick resolution in the current situation. As John's constructs were not powerful enough to withstand the concentrated version of Orange's ability to a level that allowed him to take the fight up close.

John needed to put Orange off his game enough to allow an opportunity to do so. John knew just the move to put the penultimate nail in Orange's coffin. A <flood> of weak <blood> rushed down the street towards Orange and it effectively canceled the cloud of concentrated gas out. Which created a moment where Orange had no defense.

This moment allowed John to charge him without having to run through a think cloudy tunnel of poisonous gas. Luckily, he reached the stage in development that allowed him to create a <nerve> carpet under his feet as he ran. That and a layer of <fat> construct protecting his body from the beginnings of the new cloud allowed him to deliver a finishing blow.

As Orange lay on the ground with a shattered ribcage and shards of bone in his organs, he just had to have the last word.

"I am but one of those that stand in your path of vengeance. You will not reach your objective." Were the psychopath's last words. After he got them out, he slumped on the ground and breathed his last.

I was just happy that Whisper was arrogant enough to not leave the city with a powerful metahuman after her head.

Now time to continue my journey of vengeance, hopefully the next guardian will be easier or at least of comparable ease.