The Guy

Hah! What the…?! Where am I? I tried to get up, but the realization that I was stuck made me stop. I was also… face down? True. The blood spots I was staring at had definitely come from me. I tried to look around, but… ugh, these straps were on really tight…

"Don't try it," a new voice said. It sounded like a guy.

"Uh-huh…" I tried to twist my neck around to get a look at my captor, but the straps impeded any decent movement. Not too difficult, I decided.

"I'm serious. You won't like what comes next."

"Tell you what. I'll give you one minute to release me," I stated. "If I escape these bonds myself, I will absolutely scissor kick your head off."

"Heh. I'd love to see you try."

Ugh… he was taunting me; I just knew it. Just you wait, guy… in one minute, I'll… huh, these really are well tied. Maybe I'll need two minutes.

"Listen, Shurikit. There's a charge running through the bonds. You'll be paralyzed long before your two minutes are up."

"Huh? I said one minute, moron."

"I know what you said. And I'm saying to save yourself the trouble."

Listening to the guy was getting boring, so I decided to try and memorize his face. If I could just… twist around a bit…

There! He was standing a meter or two away, clicking on some kind of tablet.

His silver armor was a dead ringer – he was the one who had drugged me, for sure. Who does this lean, tall specimen think he is? You can't just punch through nigh indestructible glass and jab me like it's nothing, you prick! There will be blood. I'll knock the light out of his perfect green eyes if it's the last thing I do! Three minutes is all I'll need…

"Oh, you think my eyes are perfect?" He grinned, running a hand through his wavy black hair. "Well, you have to admit, I am gorgeous."

"Shut up! I didn't – wait, what? I didn't…! How do you know what I'm thinking?!"

"Well, I don't like to advertise, but it's a thing I can do," the guy said casually.

I thought things so horrifically vile the author couldn't bring himself to write them down; and as expected, the guy went, "Oh! Geez. You're not into that kind of thing, are you?"

"LET ME OUT!"

"Cool your jets," the guy sighed. "Listen, I was only commissioned to run an analysis on your wings' capabilities. It shouldn't be much longer, now that I have everything set up."

"Could you have asked nicely instead of sedating me? I bet you sent those drones after us, too!"

"No, the drones weren't me. I, don't have that level of authority."

I couldn't remember the last time I was this angry. I wanted to just scream, smash everything, knock out anyone who came close, and fly away. But I had to think practically: I couldn't risk the paralysis in the middle of enemy territory. And even if that bit really was a bluff, I was still in the middle of enemy territory, with no escape route planned and no bead on the possible resistance they'd put up. Maybe it would be better this time if I didn't take the risk…

"Fine. Do your analysis, or whatever. And make it quick."

"No guarantees there, but I'll do my best."

As he began whatever he was doing, he started mumbling to himself: "four wings? I'd have thought they would be more like a bird's. No down, but somehow still airworthy? Not that I know much about aerodynamics to begin with. Bulletproof, too…" he tapped on his tablet thing a bit more.

"Are you done yet?" I asked.

"Erm, not yet. Actually, can I ask you a question?"

"Will you let me go if I do?"

"No! It's… too dangerous," the Guy said.

"I was built for danger, you moron," I retorted.

"Uhm… you know what, fair enough," the Guy conceded, loosening my bonds. "Just answer me this, okay? What do you know about—"

"PSYCHE, SUCKER!" I immediately jumped over the bed and kicked him in the face, knocking him to the floor. Then I drove an elbow into his gut to really – OW! I had bruised my arm instead of his body. I tried again with a kick, but it too was deflected by the plates on his body. This was what punched through bulletproof glass…?

"It's called body armor," he said, rolling to his feet.

"No way! My kicks can dent body armor. And robots! What is it really?"

"Strong body armor. Now are you leaving or not?"

I rose an eyebrow. "You aren't going to stop me?"

"I know you only want to leave," the guy shrugged.

"I could just as easily break everything on my way out," I carefully said. "What's the catch?"

"Nothing you can't handle, right? Miss bred-for-war?"

"Shut up. You don't get to call me that," I snapped. "Mister… um, The Guy."

I quickly found my way outside of the tiny research lab, but the second I set foot beyond the doors, I had to drop and cover to avoid a volley of bullets. Ugh! So this is what he meant. Of course, I thought, hiding behind the entrance. Nothing I can't handle, huh… just how much does he know about me?

I took a breath, then folded my wings around me and ran into the blast zone. The turrets opened fire again, but they all ricocheted off of my tough scales. Soon I was out of range and out of sight, soaring into the wild blue yonder. Ahh, yes, the sky and I were good pals indeed.

It feels especially nice right after a life-threatening experience: just me, the clouds, and a few birds milling about. One of them glided over to me to check me out, then screeched at me and left to rejoin its pals.

Speaking of, I have to find out where MY pals are, I thought. The Guy was not around to comment on my thoughts this time, which was a relief. I still had no idea how he could do it, despite the theories I had come up with while I was escaping.

As I coasted on a slow updraft, I heard a telltale screeching sound. It was faint, but I knew it was there. I'd recognize the aeronauts' signals anywhere!

I quickly dove down in their general direction. Sure enough, I saw them resting on a foothill.

"Where were you?" Blake asked as we reunited.

"Some place I didn't recognize," I replied. "With some guy I hate. Maybe we can go back and raid it later."

"We have been out all day looking for you," Bernicia yawned. "Oogh, I'm beat."

"Huh… it is pretty late," I noted. I had escaped from that place pretty quickly, now that I thought about it. How long had I been out, exactly? And why did that guy let me out so readily? A lot of things weren't adding up.

"Ready to head back?" Blake extended his wings.

"I guess," I sighed. I could figure this out later.