Chapter 10: Vindicators 2

The explosion rocked the whole facility as tens of soldiers decked out in plated armor rolled in. The invaders were ruthless as they gunned down anyone they could find.

Back up in the ventilation shaft, Ben and Sam were crawling as Ben held the drone close to his chest. "....Sam. Are you sure they won't find us up here? I mean they must have someone or something that can see through things, right?"

"Maybe, but probably not. Cyberware like that ain't gonna be cheap so the people that the government will equip aren't gonna be the run of the mill soldier, and the people they're attacking aren't threatening enough to send in someone like that."

Ben nodded and continued on.

CRANK! CRINK!

Ben looked down and found the metal below them starting to....bend. "Oi! Sam, move faster or else we're gonna fall into the room below!"

They shuffled faster but it was too late and the shaft below Ben busted open. Before he fell, Ben tossed the drone to Sam, the fall wasn't very long, only a couple of feet. "Sam, I will meet you outside in the alley next to the factory!" Ben shouted up to Sam.

[Oi! Don't make so much noise! I'll meet you at the agreed place, don't be late, and don't die.]

Ben ran into the corridor following the shaft on the ceiling. When he went to take a left, he ran into a trio of Vindicators armed with the soldiers gear they had killed before. "All right, time to light some fireworks!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ben let loose as he ran down the hallway burrowing his bullets into the trio's bodies. The sound caused seven more to show up. "Yes! Come on, bring the chaos!" Ben loved the action and violence, the fact that he could die any second from now excited him! It reminded him of that morning on the bridge.

Ben let off on the attackers, but they were prepared and the five that didn't die from the first barrage dove for cover. Ben continued to run down the hallway as fast as he could covering the cover the Vindicators hid behind in bullets.

Once he was close, he holstered his hand cannon and pounced on the unsuspecting bastards with his stinger blades. Ripping through their bodies each time he swung his arm around, eventually there was only one left, armed with a charge rifle.

The glowing orange energy of the barrel gathered as Ben rushed the goon like a berserker akin to Vikings! Just as the charge got to the climax Ben jumped to the ceiling and on the walls making it hard to aim at him, leaving the nervous wreck of a woman to pull her gun around to aim at him.

PEW!

The orange beam released from the rifle hit the spot Ben was on previously before he threw his fist into the woman's stomach, releasing his blade and lifting it vertically, tearing through her body and littering the floor in intestines.

"No mercy from me, you stupid bastards should have just stopped while you had the chance..." Killing to Ben didn't really matter as it was them or him and as far as he was concerned his life mattered more than some scrub trying to kill him. Though if they were children he would spare them from the gruesome death they would have gotten had they been adults.

A few minutes later and almost out of the factory Ben gets stuck at a group of soldiers. There were at least fifty of them sitting in the room, with two heavy duty Abzu bots that looked like a mantis mech from Halo, guarding the exit Ben needed to take.

[Sam we might have a teeny tiny problem.]

[Those two Abzu bots are down there aren't they?]

[Yep.]

[Ok, listen, the best way to deal with those things is to first blind their optics and aim behind their knees. This will cause them to fall.]

[I'm gonna need something of a higher caliber.]

[Use that railgun of yours.]

[That will only take out one before the rest of them attack me like angry ants.]

[Take a grenade from one of the soldiers then and blow them off their feet, or better yet hack into the Abzu bots and overheat them. You're good at hacking aren't you?]

[They're ICE is tougher than I first thought, it'll take longer than five minutes to crack it and by the time I'm done they will have found my position.]

[Choice is yours.]

Sam couldn't babysit Ben as he had to get through a few obstacles himself. Charging the railgun, Ben hacked into a couple of grenades that were on the soldiers causing them to explode at will. Once the railgun was charged Ben moved around the room, behind the group before exploding the grenades and shooting the railgun, piercing through the bot's leg and causing it to fall as it let off bullet fire in retaliation.

Ben ran into the crowd hand cannon in hand, shooting any grunt that came into sight and tearing through any soldier that got too close with his blades. Eventually Ben was left with only four soldiers and one Abzu bot after the initial explosion of grenades and gunfire had littered the place.

Ben threw a grenade he nabbed off a corpse and threw it at the group while reloading his hand cannon.

BOOM!

Two of them were injured and one of them was too busy running away to bother with Ben. The other man however.....

"Fuck you, you damn psychopath! I'm not going down alone!" The man had scrounged most of the room for explosives and was just about to pull the pins before getting domed by Ben.

"Dumbass, why would you yell in this situation-" Ben was interrupted by the giant bot as its foot came down on top of him. Ben dodged to the right before being met with an incoming metal leg from the other side.

CRUNCH!

Ben quickly used one of the many bodies in the room as a shield and was bathed in its blood as he was launched across the room.

The robot unleashed hell on Ben, who at this point was hiding behind some concrete pillar that he dove to after he was kicked. "Now this is just unsportsmanlike you overgrown metal can!" Ben yelled as he popped his head throwing his fist into the air that had some rocks he picked up from the rubble he was standing on.

TICK! TICK! TIC-

BOOM!

The grenade he had hidden in the cluster of rocks blinded the robot, letting Ben make his move as he ran up to the massive legs and climbed his way to the head, spartan style!

Ripping open the hull of the bot, he scrounged around for a plug in port. Once he found it he plugged in and rigged his control over whoever was manning it remotely, frying whoever's brain was on the other end. Once all was said and done, Ben patted its massive hull.

"There you go, now there's no more big bad governmental officer controlling you....Now there's no more controller...." An idea blooms in his mind that, if put into fruition, will make the craziest situation...…

"....Bubbles....me and you are going to go cause some chaos..."

…

Back with Sam, as he was currently barreling his way through officers with his massive frame and ballistic shield that had been modified after his fight with Ben.

Sam moved his shield around like a blade as he chopped limbs and bodies in half that dared to get in his way.

BOOM!

Sam blocked a rocket that appeared out of his vision thanks to the cyberware implanted in his nervous system that gave him an almost spatial awareness. He brought his arm around and opened fire upon the bastards with his micro-missile launcher, and rushed forward.

His charge was stopped as he pushed up against a large powerful body enhanced by drugs and cybernetics. "Cease all hostilities immediately!"

Sam snorted at the command. "Why would I listen to you when I am already dancing with death at this point? If I have already started, why stop?" Sam slowly overcame the large cybernetics strength, before picking him up and throwing the soldier at his mates, and akin to a bowling ball the man completely squashed his squad.

BOOM!

This time the wall to the room busted open and revealed way too many people for Sam to handle. "Drop your weapons and put your hands up!"

[Kid! I could really use some help here!]

[Don't worry we're coming!]

Soon stomping could be heard and everyone looked to the wall it was coming from.

STOMP! STOMP! BOOM!

Through the wall came a shirtless Ben with a scarred Bubbles! "Say hello to my little friend! Bubbles use missile!" The back of Bubbles opened up and unleashed a salvo of rockets upon the poor bastards and destroyed whatever formations they had.

"Sam get on!" Ben dropped his hand down for Ben to grab onto.

"Kid you are one crazy mofo! You took over the heavy artillery bot and crashed through how many walls just to rescue me?!"

"How else was I supposed to? There are like at least a hundred dudes in this one room alone! Bubbles use cover fire!" Bubbles six barrels lit up as they tore through the goons with fifty caliber bullets.

"Bubbles use hellfire!" The heat in the room became like an oven as Sam sat on top of Bubbles.

"Why are shouting commands like that, it's annoying! Just issue commands through your neural link!"

"NO! I am a Pokémon master and I must abide by the rules and shout my attacks!"

"A what master?!"

"Just shush! Bubbles use run!" The giant robot barreled through any and all that stood in his way! Bubbles ran into the wall, breaking through and greeting the duo with fresh air from the outside world. "Keep going, Bubbles don't stop!"

Nothing could stop him as Bubbles ran through the barricade of vehicles and people in his way!

"Ben if we don't get rid of the trucks they've got they'll follow us!"

"Don't worry, I am way ahead of you! Bubbles use lighting on those trucks!" The 'arms' of Bubbles opened up and lighting tongues whipped around the inside of the barrel. Once Bubbles released it, the devastation completely outdid whatever Ben could do with his railgun!

The surrounding area looked like it briefly visited the sun and came back. Dust blew through the area, detailing the end to any on the other side of the barrel.

"Good boy, Bubbles! Now, onwards!"

"....You do realize we can't bring this thing with us right?"

Ben looked at Sam in horror. "We sure as hell can and will bring Bubbles with us! He is a part of our team! If it's the metal frame that bothers you I'll just take out Bubbles personality cortex. I was going to make something better for him anyway!"

"Oh...I see." Sam looked up at the darkening sky and mumbled. "I worry for my future...…"