The Dogfight Pt. 1

[Living_Hellfire]

Khalisti Wharf was quiet. It's always quiet. The man stood at the edge of the dock, fishing pole in hand as he watched a squad of Sky Raiders head East, out over the Atlantic. A three foot tall demonling lounged nearby, clearly bored as he picked at his teeth, his eyes tracking the same movement as the man with the fishing pole.

 

"I suppose you'll be investigating their purpose?" Screwtape asked. The man pulled slowly against the line, reeling slowly, saying nothing. "An entire squad of top fliers with breathing apparatuses accompanied by a Sky Skiff, heading over the ocean, gaining altitude and you're just going to stand there, fishing? Who are you?" The demonling snorted.

 

"When I've a mind tae hear yer opinion I'll give ye a sharp kick, ye feckin' gobshite." But his eyes still tracked the progress of the Sky Raiders as they grew smaller in the distance. The clicking and sucking of Screwtape picking at his teeth competed with the cry of the gulls and the restless washing of the tide as the man slowly dipped a shoulder in surrender. "I'm s'posed tae be retired." Screwtape said nothing.

"Feck it." The man said, collapsing his fishing rod and bundling his kit. He drew a circle in the air, opening a portal to a pocket dimension and dumped his fishing gear before stepping off the dock and into the air. Lightning struck and thunder rolled as The Legendary Living Hellfire hurtled upwards into the early morning dawn in hot pursuit, a trail of burnt orange flame in his wake. The fish would never recover.

 

***

 

He knew that he was not unknown to the Sky Raiders. They had heat-sensing tech that could detect him so he hid in the best place he knew; in plain sight. Keeping himself between the sun and his quarry, The Ghost of Paragon City tracked the pirates as they continued to climb, gaining altitude quickly well beyond 20,000 feet. Before long the target of this enterprise made itself apparent. A Norwegian Airlines A-340 on long approach to Paragon City International Airport appeared in the distance. Four Sky Raiders equipped with jetpacks and self-contained breathing apparatuses, accompanied by a Sky Skiff manned by two officers looped around to the North of the approaching aircraft, taking up escort positions behind and alongside the passenger plane. He didn't have a radio, but he knew what was being said to the captain of NOR.198. He was being diverted and forced to land elsewhere on pain of destruction.

 

The Legendary Living Hellfire poured on the speed, diving towards the Raider lagging behind and below the port wing. The Celestial blade Lightfire passed through the pirate, immolating him in a flashing, vengeful burst , sending the debris and what was left of a man tumbling to the hungry waves below. One down, four to go, but now he was behind, his interception spent. He arced around, reducing speed and tightening his turn and he oriented back towards the tail of the airplane, the air behind him screaming its scorching objection, the sound of reality itself shredding behind him aurally, The Man on Fire broke the sound barrier to catch up to his prey.

 

The Raider above the tail section opened fire on the port wing, leading his target and getting lucky, shredding the critical leading edge and the Airbus dipped left, falling into an uncontrolled dive. He then rolled over on his back to engage his pursuer. A veteran and not easily flappable the senior Sky Raider selected his weapon to burst fire and with carefully managed aim greeted his foe with the contents of the clip of his rifle. The burnt orange flame grew larger as the clip emptied and as the Raider reached for a fresh one he realized he was too late as he scrambled to take aim before he was engulfed and carried forward over the leading edge of the port side wing, his equipment fried and immolated he had only a few moments to consider his existence before oblivion took him and his remains were released to tumble down into the water.

 

The Legendary Living Hellfire soared above the left wing, channeling heat and rage from Downstairs, reducing the air pressure above the wing thereby lifting it and stabilizing the aircraft temporarily before looking to his right to see a ten year old boy. Blond haired and blue eyed the boy gazed in wonder. Liv gave him a wink before opening his arms against the wind.

He barrel rolled around the aircraft, sending a blazing bolt of concentrated Hellfire into the Sky Raider on the starboard side of the aircraft. The woman tumbled away, dead before she hit the surf.

Three down, two to go, including the Sky Skiff. The lone Raider raised his weapon against his enemy, but for some reason didn't pull the trigger. Instead he placed the safety on and dropped from view, disengaging his jetpack briefly before flaring again and heading to shore. He was allowed to live. Years later he would tell the story of how he quit piracy and who it was that convinced him to do so. The Angel on Fire carried on towards his quarry.

 

The Airbus-340 was in rough shape. The leading edge of both wings had been shredded and the passengers traumatized. The damage from the turbulence of the fight had weakened the integrity of the aircraft itself and it was now in what could only be described as a controlled fall towards Paragon City International Airport, but the battle was not yet done. 

The Sky Skiff oriented its guns towards its aggressor, but to no avail as both pilots were witness as a very angry, bearded man wreathed in flame landed on their craft. Teeth bared, eyes aflame he gripped the clear cockpit of the Skiff, digging his hands into the windshield, the plexiglass melting away beneath the heat. The officers watched in horror as The Legendary Living Hellfire literally dug his way into the space, ripping open the plexiglass shielding. The captain of the skiff actioned the only option available and pulled the ejection cord, sending himself and his navigator into the sky, leaving the skiff to erupt in flame, debris cascading and rattling along the fuselage of the airplane they were meant to hijack.

 

Liv let the craft go and concentrated on his priority; The safety of the aircraft and the civilians aboard. He pushed off from the wreck and pointed himself towards the nose of the A-340.

Its approach was too steep, it would slam into the earth well before the button of the runway. Liv pressed forward towards the nose of the aircraft. As he rolled over on his back both above and ahead of the plane he caught a glimpse of the two pilots, both straining against the yolk to pull the aircraft up. He channeled Hellfire.

The air temperature above the airplane spiked, reducing the air pressure, forcing the nose upwards. Inside the cockpit the OAT indicator rolled over, smacking hard against the pin as the passenger aircraft righted itself just in time to slam down onto the runway. The main gear collapsed, issuing a shower of sparks as emergency vehicles screamed their approach.

The Legendary Living Hellfire disappeared into the sky, leaving a trail of burnt orange flame in his wake.

Edited August 22, 2022 by Living_Hellfire