The Misadventures of Axel Shade (Fanfiction based on my playthrough of CoV)

[Vic Raiden]

Chapter 1: The Breakout

 

Twenty years. Twenty God-forsaken years.

 

Deep in the bowels of the Zigursky Correctional Facility, in the sector reserved only for the most notorious superpowered criminals in history, Axel Shade was shaking in frustration as his thoughts drifted to the past again. Just two decades ago, the world knew him as Emperor Stahleon Hephaestian, a fearsome cybernetic warlord who had almost brought the world to its knees with his innumerable legions of mechanical soldiers. But now? He was just another prisoner, another number on the list, another fallen star of supervillainy. For twenty years now, he had been held in the highest-security prison on the planet, trapped in a weakened and severely disarmed body and suspended in electromagnetic shackles designed just for him.

 

Just how much longer am I to remain here? It feels like I would need a miracle to leave...

 

Just then, with perhaps coincidental timing, Axel could hear a loud rumble paired with the cell around him shaking violently. Then another one, now accompanied by alarm sirens blaring. And suddenly, everything around him went dark.

 

THUD! The disgraced archvillain's body dropped to the floor with a loud noise as the electromagnetic shackles suspending him in mid-air went out. He slowly got back on his feet, taking a moment to dust himself off and get used to being able to move again, before approaching the cell door and knocking it open with a well-placed punch. By the time the Zig's emergency power generators went online, he was already gone.

 

As he made his way through the prison complex's halls, Shade would notice he wasn't the only one taking advantage of whatever just happened. Countless criminals of all kinds have likewise used the sudden blackout to break free from their cells, and were already in the middle of a rush to get outside before the compound's security guards catch up. In the midst of all this, Axel wound up bumping into one individual who, curiously enough, was resting calmly against a wall, apparently not even interested in escaping. It was a man appearing to be in his thirties, with his blonde hair in a buzzcut, sporting a neatly-trimmed beard and a pair of heavy goggles on his eyes.

 

"Hey, watch your step!", exclaimed the prisoner when he got crashed into.
"You get out of my--", the cyborg was about to reply before noticing who he is talking to. "Hard Time? Do you have any idea what is going on?"
"I'm not sure. There was some kinda big explosion that shook loose a bunch of the cells. Most of the cons made a break for it and ran out into the Yard, only to be recaptured by security."
"That much I do know. Tell me something I do not."
"Lots of people are saying Arachnos is involved, that they're trying to break out some sort of special people." Hard Time paused for a second. "Could even be you, I guess."
"Arachnos, you say... About time they remembered about me." Axel deliberately left out the part where he was a formidable competitor to the spider-branded organization.
"Heh. They must think you're pretty important to them if they're willing to raise this kind of ruckus to break you out. But I'd watch myself if I were you. Just because they think you're special doesn't mean they'll give you a free ride. You'll have to prove you've got what it takes."
"What is there to prove? I have been in their business for fifteen years, I think that is proof enough."

 

Shade was about to rush off and continue his escape, but stopped in his tracks after a few steps and returned to Hard Time.

"I just remembered that all my weapons were stripped off of me when I was imprisoned here", he muttered in mild embarrassment. "Do you have any clue where to look for them?"
"I know everything about this place", the goggled prisoner replied. "There's a whole vault of confiscated gear up on the top floor."
"Thank you." The ex-archvillain was about to depart again, but turned back upon seeing his interlocutor hasn't joined in the mass breakout. "Are you not coming along?"
"Nah, I choose to stay. I'd rather serve my sentence to the end than risk prolonging it."
"As you wish. Farewell, then." With these words, Axel left the sector, this time for real.

 

On his way up to the vault, he passed by a scene of several dozen inmates charging the Zig's main gate, getting into a brutal fight with the guards gathered there. Taking advantage of the commotion, he continued his journey, eventually reaching a massive, secure door - the last thing standing between him and his weapons. It was obviously tough enough to withstand direct melee attacks, even ones reinforced with cybernetics.

 

Luckily, a solution to the problem had soon presented itself in the form of a lone guard, who had been tasked with overseeing the vault no matter what and who had just noticed Axel's intrusion.
"S-S-Stand back!", the guard exclaimed while drawing his sidearm with obvious hestitation.
"Make me", Shade responded while advancing closer to the man.
"F-Fine!"

A couple bullets were fired - the first merely grazed the cyborg's head, while the following two hit his chest without denting it. Sure, Axel may have been deprived of means of offense, but his armor was still made of the same highly-durable alloy as all those years ago. He responded to this pitiful attempt at stopping him by catching the guard by the collar and slamming him face-first against the retinal scanner holding the door closed. The device read the unfortunate sap's eye and promptly turned green, unlocking the heavy door. With nothing more standing in his path, Shade stepped in and, after a few minutes of searching, reached a locker labeled with his name and prisoner ID. It didn't take long before he unlocked it, refitted himself with his old gear, and tore off his orange prisoner jumpsuit for good measure.

 

With that out of the way, he hurriedly made his way back to the prison's ground level, where he could see that the brawl at the gates had died down, while one of the floor grates was lifted enough for people to pass through. Stranger still, he could hear a raspy, almost gravely voice shouting "OVER HERE!" from below. Naturally, it attracted the mechanized villain's attention and led him down to the Ziggurat's sewage system - and a platoon of Arachnos soldiers, all clad in unmistakable jet-black body armor with eight-eyed helmets and silver harnesses patterned after spiders. One of them in particular stood out, with very lanky body proportions evocative of a stick figure and mild signs of decomposition on his exposed lower face drawing even more attention than the collar and cape present over his uniform, denoting him as commander of this squad.

"AXEL HERBERT SHADE, IS IT?", the stick-like officer spoke, revealing himself to be the source of that voice from before.
"That is indeed me. Who is asking?"
"ARACHNOS OPERATIVE STICKMANN, AT YOUR SERVICE." He backed his words with an Arachnos salute: hands crossed on the chest, palms outwards, with fingers curled to resemble a spider's legs.
"I could already tell you are of Arachnos. Now, what business do you have with me?"
"SHHHHH... THIS AIN'T THE BEST PLACE TO DISCUSS THAT. FOLLOW ME."

 

With those words, Stickmann turned to go deeper into the sewers, with his soldiers (and Axel) following. Before long, they emerged outside, in the complex's outer yard. It was a veritable battlefield at the moment: escaped prisoners and Arachnos soldiers on one side, security officers and Longbow guardians on the other. But none of that was of major concern to anyone in this little group as they advanced towards a futuristic black helicopter which seemed ready to take off. Operative Stickmann entered first... before emerging from it with a frustrated look on what little of his face was visible.

"DRAT. THE DEMOLITION GUYS DIDN'T DO THEIR JOB RIGHT AND THE RADARS ARE STILL UP. TYPICAL."
"What happened?", asked Shade.
"I SENT MY CO-PILOT JENKINS TO ONE OF THE RADAR BUNKERS WITH A BOMB TO FINISH THE JOB, BUT HE HASN'T RETURNED YET. IF YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE, SOMEONE'S GONNA HAVE TO BITE THE BULLET AND GO CHECK UP ON HIM."

 

After the Arachnos officer, two more figures emerged from the aircraft: a man in dark Eastern-style robes, and a black-scaled draconic humanoid in a purple bodysuit.

"Another Destined One, eh?", asked the latter upon seeing Axel. "Can't wait until we all make it out of here... There's so much I want to do over in the Isles!"
"Destined One? What even is the meaning of that?" The cyborg villain really couldn't stand being out of the loop at this point.
"That Stickmann guy didn't tell you? Lord Recluse is looking for powerful villains who could help him take over the world."
"Let it be known that I am not interested in furthering the goals of anyone but myself. Especially if said goals pertain to world domination."
"HEY!" Stickmann saw fit to interject. "YOU CAN ALWAYS STAY HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO ESCAPE. LORD RECLUSE IS OFFERING YOU MERCY, I'D ACCEPT IT IF I WERE YOU."
Axel let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. I will take your offer, then."
"SO, AS I WAS SAYING... I NEED SOMEONE TO GO INTO THAT BUNKER, RESCUE JENKINS, GET THE BOMB HE HAS AND MAKE SURE IT GETS PLANTED IN THE RIGHT SPOT. WHO VOLUNTEERS?"
The man-dragon and the Eastern-looking mage started arguing, each trying to push the other into the task, while the Arachnos troopers cowered away.
"Okay, I volunteer", said Shade after a while of that frustrating impasse.
"GOOD. THE ENTRANCE'S OVER THERE." Stickmann pointed towards one of the short tower-like buildings surrounding the prison's perimeter. "AND TAKE OUT ANYONE WHO GETS IN THE WAY, OKAY? THEY'LL ONLY SCREW THINGS UP FOR THE REST OF US."
"Can do."

 

Upon crossing the radar bunker's door, Shade would bear witness to a scene of an Arachnos soldier standing against a wall, interrogated by two agents clad in tight white-and-red bodysuits with unmistakable Freedom Corps patterns on them.
"FREEZE!", shouted one of them. "Hands against the wall!"
"Who are you guys supposed to be?", replied the spider-man.
"We are the ones asking questions here. Who is Arachnos busting out? I want names, and I want them now!"
"I'm a trained Arachnos soldier, you won't get me to spill the names of--"

 

Before the captive could finish, his oppressors could both feel a nasty electric shock on their backs. The one who was asking questions thus far turned around to see the person responsible.
"Stahleon? B-but..."
"Good to see somebody remembers me." With these words, he punched the Longbowman squarely in the face, before firing an energy bolt from his gauntlet towards the other one's chest. Both of them dropped to the ground, unable to fight back. Seeing that, the Arachnos operative recoiled in fear before turning to face his savior.
"Whoa... Emperor Stahleon himself... And I thought we were here to rescue YOU!"
"Cut the small talk, Jenkins. Where is the bomb?"
"R-right h-here, sir." Jenkins handed over a bundle of dynamite sticks with a digital detonator strapped on one side. "W-was supposed to put it at the mast's base, b-but then these guys showed up and--!"
"Whatever. Just stick by me and watch how a professional villain does it."

 

Axel and Jenkins went deeper into the bunker, knocking out several more guards and Longbowmen along the way before reaching the central chamber: a small octagonal room with a pillar in the center and computer terminals lining the walls.
"This is it", said the soldier. "We just need to plant this bomb at the pillar and we're golden!"
"Not so fast!"

The two villains stopped and looked behind themselves to see themselves cornered by a Warden - a high-ranking Longbow officer, distinguished by his cape and helmet.
"You are not going to take this station down. Not while I stand!"
"Well then, go ahead and try to stop us."

Shade put the bomb back in Jenkins' hands and tackled the officer of justice. They would go on to exchange a few punches and kicks, taking the fight back and forth between the control room and the corridor leading up to it while the Arachnos soldier planted the explosive. Eventually, it would let out a beeping noise indicating that it has been armed, attracting the attention of both combatants.
"I did it, sir!", shouted Jenkins with satisfaction.
"Oh, you little--!" The Warden broke away from the struggle in a bid to disarm the bomb while it's still ticking, only to find himself snagged by the cape and flung against a wall by Shade, who then proceeded to maul him with a burst of rocket punches and then electrify him in the face. With the last of his strength, the Longbow officer tried to reach out and stop Shade and Jenkins from escaping, but to no avail.

 

The duo managed to leave in the nick of time, with the radar station bursting into flames behind them. Operative Stickmann and the two other Destined Ones were still waiting for them.
"I SHOULD LEAVE YOU HERE FOR YOUR STUPIDITY", said Stickmann to Jenkins while bonking him on the forehead, only to get interrupted by another explosion. "ANYWAY, IT'S TIME TO GO. I HEARD THAT THE FREEDOM PHALANX ARE ON THE WAY TO BUTTON UP THIS BREAKOUT, SO WE'D BEST BE LEAVING QUICK."

 

Without much further ado, everyone gathered climbed aboard the helicopter, which would promptly take to the skies and - along with several others - departed from Paragon City's airspace, directing its movement towards the far-off Rogue Isles, the eponymous City of Villains.

[Vic Raiden]

Operative Stickmann belongs to @owt.

The draconic humanoid and the Eastern-robed man belong to @Juan Pablo.

The characters were all used with their owners' permission.

Edited July 4 by Vic Raiden

[Monos King]

Lovely read, I love how dynamic and focused transitions from one event to the next is. Makes me wish Bios in game had this much space!

[Vic Raiden]

Chapter 2: No Mercy for the Wicked

 

The trip from Paragon City to the Rogue Isles took quite a while, so it was pretty much inevitable that the arachnocopter's passengers would eventually strike up a conversation to pass the time, as well as to get to know each other better. A good chunk of that was taken up by Axel telling the other two escaped supervillains stories from his lengthy career.

 

"Wow... You really were quite the guy", said the Destined One with a draconic face after the third such tale, recounting Shade's plot to raise the Terra Volta complex into the air and use the threat of its explosion to press the Paragon City Council to surrender the city to him, only foiled by a timely intervention of Statesman and Galaxy Girl.
"Yeah, I wish I got to do half as much before I got busted", added the one clad like an Eastern mage.
"I am glad to hear that my tales are entertaining", replied Axel. "But enough about me. How come that throughout this whole flight, I have not asked who either of you are?"

 

After a brief period of silence, the robed one was the first to speak up.
"I am Gedeon, Sensei of the Hand of Extermination, Master of Darkness..."
"...who got kicked out of his ninja clan for breaking their teachings", interjected his scaly companion.
"HEY!"
"Sorry."
"As I was saying...", continued Gedeon, "my old masters were too narrow-minded to understand the sheer potential of the dark arts I had discovered, and so they turned against me. Banished to that blindingly shiny city, I was lucky to find some like-minded people I could work with."
"Let me guess, the Hmong Tsoo?", asked Shade.
"No, it was a death-worshipping gang calling themselves Skulls. I quickly earned their trust, made their Lords of Death into my henchmen, and was just about to throw Paragon on its knees before that blue dork with a big badge ruined all my fun!"

The cyborg warlord couldn't help but chuckle at Gedeon's story. "Skulls? Really? You wanted to take over the world with a meek street gang?"
The Eastern-robed ex-ninja was about to get up from his seat and do something nasty in response, but was stopped just in time by the draconic man.
"My turn now", he said. "You ever heard of a hero called Juan Blazelight?"
"I may have heard some inmates discuss him."
"Well, because it just so happens I'm his dark side made manifest..." With those words, the veins along his scaly body lit up with a volcanic orange glow, as did the wing membranes. "Eternal Juan!"
"I have never heard a dumber villain name before."
"Ye, I know, I've never been good with names... But you've no idea how much destruction I've wrought upon Paragon while I was still sharing a body with my good self. But alas, we've since parted ways, and then he and that Blue Steel prick got me jailed after I tried to burn the big PPD building."
"Now that unironically sounds impressive, especially coming from a fledgling criminal like you."
"Meh, it's nothing. Were it not for Juan, I would've torched ALL of Kings Row, if not the whole city!"
"On the bright side, the two of us wouldn't have met otherwise", said Gedeon. "We got caught more or less together, remember?"

The discussion went on for a couple more minutes. The monotonous droning of the arachnocopter's anti-gravity engines eventually began dying down before stopping completely, which, along with the sensation of delicate impact below the passengers' feet, meant that the craft had landed. Shortly after, the hatch on its side opened, letting in light from the outside and inadvertently blinding the passengers as they disembarked.

"AND HERE WE ARE", said Operative Stickmann upon leaving the pilot seat, shortly followed by Jenkins standing at attention beside him. "WELCOME... TO HELL."

 

Indeed, the location the arachnocopter arrived at looked nightmarish enough to pass for a part of the underworld. The entire land outside the landing platform was shrouded in ruins, slums and decrepit Colonial-era tenements stretching as far as the horizon. If one were to look hard enough, they could see people in dirty clothing scuttling about amidst the rubble, searching for anything they could improve their situation with - or anyone they could steal these things from. Coupled with fires emanating from several buildings all throughout, this whole landscape evoked the image of a town ravaged by a brutal war.

 

While Gedeon and Eternal Juan gleefully admired the sights, Axel was far less amused.
"What are we doing here?", he asked Stickmann after a moment of pondering. "Were we not supposed to meet Lord Recluse himself?"
"LORD RECLUSE DOESN'T JUST LET ANYONE WALTZ INTO HIS THRONE ROOM", replied the lanky zombie-like soldier. "HE HAD DESIGNATED THIS ISLAND - MERCY ISLAND - AS A TEST OF GRIT FOR ALL HIS DESTINED ONES. ONLY THOSE WHO CAN SURVIVE HERE AND EMERGE STRONG ENOUGH MAY DREAM OF COMING FACE TO FACE WITH HIM."
"A test? He does not need to test me. He should know how powerful I was back in the day..."
"WAS. THAT'S THE KEYWORD. YOU LITERALLY JUST GOT OUT OF JAIL, YOU HAVE NO BIG ARMY TO SHOW HIM, AND YOUR ARMOR HAS DECAYED SINCE YOU LAST WORE IT. CAN -YOU- BE SURE YOU'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO SATISFY HIM?"
"Considering what you just reminded me of, not exactly."
"EXACTLY! IF YOU CAN'T BE SURE YOU'VE GOT IT, NEITHER CAN HE. YOU DON'T WANNA PROVE YOUR STRENGTH TO LORD RECLUSE, AT LEAST PROVE IT TO YOURSELF, OKAY?"
"Fine then. I will take this belittling test."
"BESIDES... WE'VE GOT A LITTLE SITUATION IN HERE." Stickmann brought out a pair of binoculars and gave it to Shade before pointing towards an odd structure in the distance. "SEE THAT FORT OVER THERE?"
"Yes?" The cyborg could indeed make out the shape of a small Arachnos fortress... with tricolor Freedom Corps banners hanging in all the most eye-catching places, a red-and-white helicopter seated on the rooftop, and several small single-seater VTOL fighters flying around.
"THAT'S FORT DARWIN. USED TO BE A KEY PART OF THE ETOILES' NAVAL DEFENSE NETWORK... UP UNTIL THOSE PESKY LONGBOW FELLAS SHOWED UP AND TOOK IT BY STORM. NOW THEY'RE ARRESTING CRIMINALS 'ROUND HERE, PROVIDING AID TO THE CIVILIANS, AND WORST OF ALL, THEY EVEN STARTED A RECONSTRUCTION EFFORT IN THE OLD TOWN! OUR SOLDIERS ARE STRUGGLING TO REPEL THEM, SO WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET."
"I see... This could indeed be problematic."
"PROBLEMATIC IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT."
"Okay, so we got here, and now what?" Eternal Juan made his and Gedeon's presence known again.
"AND NOW YOU CAN GO MAKE YOURSELVES AT HOME IN MERCY, DESTINED ONES. THERE'S A LOT FOR YOU TO DO 'ROUND HERE."

 

Upon descending down the ramp leading off the platform they arrived at, the three jailbroken villains would gain a better view of what lay behind Mercy's massive walls. Almost immediately they found themselves at a large square-shaped plaza, with a slight rectangular elevation in the middle. Straight ahead they could see the large, imposing building of the governor's palace, decorated with red-and-black banners bearing Arachnos' logo and capped off with a large dome whose supports made it resemble a gigantic monstrous spider resting atop the building's roof. Directly opposite it stood the stronghold's primary gatehouse with its four elevator gates and the ramp leading up to the landing pad balcony, while the remaining two sides were filled in by less significant buildings, most prominent of them being the bank and the Hungry Dragon inn. Normally, this place would be rather empty save for occasional Arachnos patrols or public executions, but today the whole plaza was rife with criminals from various walks of life, some still wearing the orange jumpsuits of Zigursky Correctional Facility prisoners, all gathered in front of a low tribune spread out underneath the Arachnos palace's main entrance, bearing a plain lecter flanked by three Arachnos troopers presenting their jagged submachine guns standing on either side.

 

As Axel and his two companions, approached the crowd, they would poke the nearest person present in a bid to get their attention.
"Excuse me, what is going on here?", asked the cyborg.
"I don't know, apparently there's some big ceremony we don't want to miss", was the response.

It didn't take much longer before the Arachnos palace's double door swung open and out stepped a dark-haired man with a short well-maintained beard, clad in a variant of the Wolf Spider bodysuit distinguished with a red chestplate and shoulder pads and a black collared harness, paired up with a strange backpack and a cape. He walked up to the lectern, while two officers in silvery white suits stood beside him.

"Welcome to the Rogue Isles, Destined Ones", the man spoke out with a noticeable Russian accent. "My name is Ivan Kuzmin and I am the Marshal of the Mercy Stronghold, the commander-in-chief of the Arachnos legions stationed here. I have called you all together because you're the worst assortment of lowlife criminals with exceptional powers I have ever seen!" He was making no effort to conceal his sheer villainous excitement. "You're mean, you're malicious! You're MY kind of rotten!"
The crowd began cheering. Around the same time, one of the white-clad Arachnos commanders beside Kuzmin walked off the tribune and began making his way through the assortment of new Destined Ones, carefully examining each one of them and having an attendant of his write his judgements on a clipboard.
"Ever since our glorious leader, Lord Recluse, launched his ingenious plan to conquer the world, hundreds if not thousands of villains have graced Etoile soil. It is with great pleasure that I am seeing you join them here, in the land of the free. Anywhere else in the world you'd be living in hiding, in constant fear of the forces of justice out to detain you... But here, here you can do as you please freely, just as Lord Recluse wills it!"

 

Once again, the listeners cheered, with the exception of Axel himself, who was not particularly feeling the spirit of the situation. In due time, he too would be approached by the officer in white.
"Your name, sir?", he asked upon taking a first look at the cyborg.
"Stahleon Hephaestian", was the response.
"Yeah, and I'm Sister Psyche. You're not fooling an Arbiter with such a cheap rip-off armor. Give me a real pseudonym or go back to the gutter."
Shade sighed in annoyance. Never before did he feel so disrespected. "... Cyberkhan."
"That sounds more like it. Write that down, Jenkins." The Arbiter's attendant politely filled in another row on the clipboard.
"But how do you not recognize me!?"
"Listen, I have too much work to do to deal with your tantrums. Good luck convincing anyone that your delusions are true." With that, the two spider-marked men moved on.

 

Meanwhile, Marshal Kuzmin continued his inaugural speech.
"But don't think it's going to be easy. He had you all summoned here because he sees potential in you, potential to change the world. And this is why I, acting on the authority he gave me, am laying a test before you all. Prove that you have the strength, the cunning and the determination to rise above your peers, to amass wealth and infamy like none other, to become worthy of the grace of our great leader! And now, without further ado, I hereby declare that this season of Project Destiny... IS NOW OPEN!"

 

With an even greater cheer than before, the crowd would proceed to surge off the plaza, each crook going his or her way to cause mayhem. Only Stahleon - or Cyberkhan, as he was forced to go by now - remained there. All the way until the ceremony's end, he was too stunned by the "cheap rip-off armor" remark to even consider moving, but once he examined his reflection in a nearby puddle, this confusion would turn into sorrow.

 

Indeed, as he stood now, he was but a shadow of his former self. His ornate black-and-red plating was now severely rusted and damaged, with paint chipping off the once-shiny cuirass and the formerly intimidating head crest having broken in a couple places. The titanium frame hidden beneath it embodied the pinnacle of robotic engineering... by the standards of the 1990s. Nowadays it was little more than a museum exhibit, an outdated piece of hardware nobody would take seriously anymore, especially not in its current bad shape. It was then that it finally hit him: the Stahleon Hephaestian whose very name used to instill fear in the world's hearts was long gone. All that remained was a delusional relic of a bygone age, with no resources nor power nor even respect.

 

As Axel pondered his situation, he would suddenly hear a familiar voice coming up from the landing pad's direction.
"HEY. WHAT'S THE MATTER, DESTINED ONE?"
"Stickmann?..." Cyberkhan turned around to face the lanky officer.
"YOU GOING TO STAND AROUND UNTIL YOU DIE? ...THAT WAS A JOKE, HA HA. YOU HAVE BETTER THINGS YOU COULD BE DOING THAN LANGUISHING HERE, YOU KNOW."
"Perhaps, but... Is there even any point? As far as Arachnos cares, I am a fraud."
"MAYBE YOU ARE A FRAUD, HA HA. YOU COULD TRY LAYING DOWN AND DECOMPOSING WITH THE REST OF THE JUNK ON THE ISLAND, IF YOU'D LIKE... OR YOU COULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I'M NOT YOUR BOSS, THOUGH, HA HA."
"Junk? JUNK!?" Shade began to regain his composure. "I am the great Emperor Stahleon! I have done many great things before, I will not let them treat me like junk!"
"NOW THAT'S THE SPIRIT."
"I will show them what I really am made of. The saga of Stahleon Hephaestian is far from over!"
"THAT'S RIGHT, KNOCK 'EM DEAD. AND REMEMBER: NO MERCY FOR THE WICKED, HA HA."
"I shall... keep that in mind."

With those parting words, a now-reinvigorated Axel Shade would set off to the stronghold's streets, in search of something he could do to prove to everyone that his villainous credibility has not yet died down.

Edited July 11 by Vic Raiden
Minor grammar fixes

[Vic Raiden]

... I was trying to maintain a bi-weekly post schedule for this, but I've recently hit such a writer's block that I could barely get any work on chapter 3 done.

 

Apologies for any inconveniences.

[Juan Pablo]

im really hoping this continues nice use of my characters Vic 

[Vic Raiden]

I apologize for the delay, but this chapter came out far longer than expected. In any case, hope you enjoy it as much as the last two!

 

 

Chapter 3: The Ballad of Fire Wire

 

Over the course of the next few days, Axel Shade would take his time to seek out job opportunities, as well as take a look at how his competitors were faring thus far. And for the most part, he wasn't impressed. The vast majority of newly freed evildoers he saw were either harassing ordinary citizens, picking fights with the police, or even trying to enlist into Arachnos service.

 

Childish losers... They have not even a shred of ambition. Surely there must be something greater for a self-respecting villain to do around here!

 

So lost in pondering his options was he that he eventually found himself bumping into the wall of a nearby building. After this sobering crash, he'd look up to see where exactly his thoughts led him - right in front of the Mercy City Bank, designated as such by an unmistakable banner suspended just above the front door.

 

Of course! The only bank in this claustrophobic stronghold. Normally I would deem it beneath me, but a beggar has no right to choose. Furthermore, if I were to successfully rob it, I would gain not only the wealth stored within, but plenty of infamy among the criminal underworld as well!

 

If Shade still had anything reminiscent of a functioning human face, he would've smirked upon thinking of all he could gain from pulling a classic bank heist. But even without that, his curious posture would soon attract the curiosity of one peculiar individual...
"What's up?" rang out a screechy and high-pitched, yet obviously masculine voice beside Axel.
"Hm? Who is it?", he responded in mild confusion as he turned to face the voice's source: a shifty-looking man in a red business suit, with sunglasses over his eyes and dark red hair combed in the shape of a candle fire.
"Name's Fire Wire. I'm the best lookin', best talkin', best fire usin' guy this side of Mercy. Haven't seen you 'round here before, who are you?"
"Stahl... I mean, Cyberkhan. I am also curious what even brings you to me, of all people."
"I heard you're tougher than tough. That's the kinda person I need on this job I'm plannin'." Fire Wire rested one arm on Shade's shoulder before stretching the other one out in front of them both. "This thing is gonna be BIG, Cyberkhan. We're talkin' lots of money big. You catch my drift?"
"I believe I do. But it is not something we should discuss out in the open." Having said that, the cyborg grabbed his interlocutor's arm and dragged him into a nearby alleyway, ensuring nobody would listen in on their scheme. "Now we can continue."
"So, the bank right over there, yeah? The RIP have really upped the security since last time someone tried to rob it. Word is that they're storing a bunch of stuff there now. Money, artifacts, the works! It's all on super-secure lockdown..." Fire Wire leaned closer, visibly brimming with criminal excitement. "But you and me, we're going to rob that place blind!"
"You sound immensely confident in our success. I presume you already have a plan of action?"
"You bet I do! What self-respecting robber wouldn't have a pla--- wait, quiet a sec. Rippers." When Shade looked, the red-suited fellow was jerking his thumb at the opening of the alleyway; visible in the light were silhouettes of two RIP officers marching by sanctimoniously, the thumping of their jackboots against the cobblestone producing an unmistakable sound. Fire Wire waited a couple seconds for them to leave before continuing. "Anyways, I got some inside info from a guy who is a guard there. I told him I'd split some of the cash with him, but I'm just gonna light him on fire in the end. Nice, huh?"
"I have little regard for that. Get to the point." The odds of him doing the same to me are all too high. I shall be careful...
"Okay, okay. So he left the detailed info inside a statue here on the main plaza. You gotta be the one to get it and check it out. Meantime, I'm gonna go run some surveillance on the place, check out the times when the security switches up. That'll be the time that you and me make our move! Let's meet back up when we both got what we need, you dig?"

 

It was then that Shade's mask of humility had cracked, even if only a little.
"Excuse me?", he asked. "Why should I run any errands for you? Surely we would both be better suited for the opposite tasks."
"I can't go out there! Too many people in Mercy know about me already, we'll be toast if anyone spots me! Meanwhile you're a total stranger here, they won't bat an eye to you as much."
"Fine, fine. I shall do my part, then." Oh, how low have I fallen to take orders from such an entitled brat... But I will come out on top nonetheless.

 

Having parted ways with his current fellow conspirator, Axel stepped back out into the stronghold's streets, briefly covering his eyes as he readjusted to the bright daylight seeping through the uncharacteristically thin clouds above. He directed his steps towards the large plaza between the gatehouse and governor's palace, trying to raise as few eyebrows as possible as a mechanoid covered in an elaborate, despotic crimson armor design. Fortunately for him, the place was fairly quiet that day, save for an occasional pedestrian, so it didn't take long before he located the right statue and recovered a small envelope stashed away in a small drawer at the base. Regardless, to make doubly sure he's not caught, he retreated into a back alley before opening the envelope and familiarizing himself with its contents - a detailed map of the bank, paired with the following notes:

 

- 20x submachine guns for security guard use
- large supply of heavy piercer rounds
- set of pop-up security turrets to install in the vault hallway
- upgraded trip-wire laser network along the entire vault area, only a handful of guards can disable it
- They're upgrading the system soon, a bunch of higher ups were given documents detailing the upgrade. You can find usually find them in the parts of Mercy here. Get those documents and you can easily hack into the upgrade.

 

Once he finished reading, the red cyborg hid the paper in a small compartment at his hip before setting off towards the Rogue Isles Police station, the only symbol of genuine justice within Mercy's oppressive walls.

 

It did not take long before he reached the location, in no small part thanks to how characteristic it was compared to the majority of Mercy's architecture - the police was stationed in a large cubical building with gray-painted walls, just a single crossroad east of the Arachnos palace. Predictably enough, there were several RIP officers guarding the ground-level entrance.

 

Simple beat cops with nothing more than batons and revolvers... They are of no threat to me, but I cannot afford to make a scene in broad daylight. I need to find some other way of getting inside...

 

Looking around some more, Shade noticed a flight of emergency stairs running up the wall of an adjacent tenement. Taking advantage of the rather low density of people around, he went on to climb it for a few levels, up until he found himself just above the walkway connecting the police station with the governor's hall. After some careful calculations, he would take a running start and jump over to the walkway, landing a couple meters behind an Arachnos soldier who was just entering the police building. The spider-branded man was startled by the sudden noise behind him, prompting him to hurry inside and leave the door open, thus giving Axel an opportunity to sneak in as well.

On the inside, the station looked like a perfectly ordinary office building: beige-walled hallways with red and black linoleum covering the floor, their monotony occasionally spiced up by some potted plants or propaganda posters. More importantly for the cybernetic infiltrator, there was an evacuation floor plan hanging off the wall not too far from the door, detailing the placement of all stairs and fire-extinguishing equipment on the level...  alongside several specifically marked rooms, of which the one that drew his attention was a large one labeled as "Archives". He took a few seconds to memorize the optimal route before carefully making his way there, taking advantage of the fact most of the personnel was currently on lunch break. Thankfully, he did not run into any stray officers along the way.

 

Picking the requisite paperwork out proved itself to be just a formality... almost. Before Shade could leg it, he heard the sound of the door opening, prompting him to hide behind one of the massive wooden bookshelves. And unfortunately, the sheer weight of his footsteps was enough to give his position away.
"HEY! Who's there!?", shouted out the lone RIP officer as he turned the lights on and began making his way towards Axel's hiding place. In turn, the cyborg pushed the shelf forward, causing it to topple over and make all the ones behind follow suite like a bunch of oversized dominoes. Papers and folders were flying left and right, and the cop eventually succumbed to their flood, as did two others who came to investigate the ruckus. By the time they managed to dig themselves out, Shade was long gone - all that remained of his presence was one of the windows having been knocked open.

 

About an hour later, the crimson cyborg would meet up with Fire Wire again, in the same back alley as before.
"Everything go cool on your end? Eh?", the red-suited crook opened the conversation.
"Indeed", responded Axel almost immediately as he handed over his loot. "Complications were minimal."
Fire Wire took all of a few seconds to skim over the documents, a devious grin forming on his face. "Nice! This is exactly what we're gonna need."
"And what did you find?"
"About what? Ah, right." The fiery-haired man pulled a small notebook out of his pocket and showed its most recent contents to Shade. "Looks like they're the weakest around the middle of the afternoon. That's when they got guys switching guard posts and when they got some tech guy comin' in to make sure the security system hasn't been hacked or anything."
"Interesting... According to my calculations, work on the upgrades is set to begin around five o'clock. With this in mind, what would the next step be?"
"I'm gonna see about hookin' up to one of their networks to slip one of my nasty viruses in there. That'll at least solve the issue with those nasty turrets going on. I'm gonna need ya to do two things for me while I'm takin' out the turrets."
"Excuse me?"
Fire Wire's body language was outright radiating criminal glee. "So first, I need ya to run some interference for me, take out some cops so they're not noticin' me hackin' into the system. Then, I'm gonna need ya to book it real fast to an office buildin' near here." He pointed towards a fairly unremarkable tenement several crossings away."The RIP are usin' it as one of their storage facilities. We gotta get ourselves a detailed list of what exactly is in that vault. You really gotta book it though, 'cause accordin' to my sources, they're planning on moving all that info later on today!"
"Hold on. Why should I do all this menial work while you hack into their systems? Surely our heist would have a higher chance of succeeding if we split our duties in the opposite way."
The man in the red suit suddenly hestitated, his expression changing to show growing discomfort. "Well, you see... You're so big and heavy, and loud, no way ya'd be able to hide well enough while hackin'! While I ain't so brawny as to pick fights with rippers on the streets, see? They'd just arrest me on sight, and our plan'll be foiled!"
Axel did not respond for a couple seconds, either. Is he taking me for a fool? This sounds like a distraction for sure, but less for the RIP and more for myself. Nevertheless, I shall keep playing my part for now, if only to see where this is going. "Fine. I shall do it. Just make sure you do your part as well."
"Of course, of course... Now go, we've precious little time to spare and I don't want ya to distract me!"

 

Shade begrudgingly nodded and made his leave, the impact of his steel boots producing small but noticeable quake with each step. Day had already progressed into afternoon, clouds above having grown thicker as if to spite what little light used to shine past them in the morning. The streets were now significantly louder and more crowded with the influx of citizens leaving their jobs and school. An ordinary crook would have little issue blending in to avoid police patrols and especially the ever-watchful eyes of the arachnocopters routinely circling above the stronghold like vultures above fresh cadaver.

 

Unfortunately, Axel was no ordinary crook - his bulky armored silhouette was towering above the masses. As such, it's no surprise that he was spotted within minutes of leaving that back alley. Even without doing anything attention-drawing, he'd already have a full squad of three cops charging towards him with arresting intent, causing non-villain citizens to scatter away in fear. His reaction was swift - the first officer to get within melee range was met with a rocket-assisted right hook introducing him to the pavement, while the next one ended up pushed into the nearby dumpster with a well-placed burst of energy bolts. The last policeman backed out and took cover between buildings, before proceeding to draw a walkie-talkie and call for reinforcements.

 

Soon enough, Shade would hear the sounds of police sirens in the distance, coming from the direction of the RIP station and drawing ever closer to him. He looked sternly at the approaching flashing blue lights, then turned to dash off in the opposite direction - not out of fear, but out of a carefully-planned desire to keep the pursuers occupied. And seeing an opportunity to kill two birds with one bullet, he directed his steps towards the building which, according to Fire Wire, was supposed to house a number of RIP assets. Instead of simply entering it, however, the cybernetic crimelord strayed off to the right, into a narrow alleyway, and quickly took to scaling the emergency staircase - or rather, skipping it completely, jumping from one balcony straight up to another.

 

This should keep them occupied enough...

 

Indeed, once Axel made it to the rooftop, he'd see his pursuers stop before the building and splitting up to surround it, with one detachment taking to climbing the stairs. He weren't going to stay there and wait for them to catch up, as he heard the eerie buzzing of an approaching arachnocopter, taking it as a cue to move further on.

 

Several buildings later, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked down at a street beside. What he saw was something he expected to run into, but was infuriated by nonetheless: Fire Wire standing out in the open, holding a casual conversation with an Arachnos captain like an ordinary citizen with nothing to fear. Grunting in annoyance, Shade quietly descended several levels to listen in on the situation...

"...and once he gets in there and thinks he made it", said the red-suited man in his usual annoying voice, "we're gonna raid 'em from behind, and then BAM!" The last word was punctuated by a fist slamming down on an open palm.
"Are you entirely sure about this, Destined One?", replied the spider-masked soldier. "Do realize that there is nothing stopping me from grabbing you by the collar and dumping you outside the walls if you turn out to be wrong."
"Don'tcha worry man, I've got it all set. Bet that guy's worth a whole lot, enough to get us both promotions! 'Arbiter Liola', can you imagine that?"
"Hmmm... Fine. Now go back to playing your part, I shall handle the rest."

I knew it, I just knew it! Of course this pathetic rat was an Arachnos agent. Oh, he is so going to regret ever considering backstabbing Emperor Stahleon...

Shade's gaze lingered on the scene long enough to show him Fire Wire and the officer exchanging Arachnos salutes before parting ways. After that, though, he got back up on the rooftop and hurried back to the building still besieged by the Rogue Isles Police, who have managed to break inside it by now. Once the last cop disappeared behind the door, Axel smirked mentally before leaping off the roof and landing on the pavement below. Before long, he'd be on his way to the previously-agreed rendezvous point, having trapped the police inside the building via shoving a bench right in front of the main entrance.

 

As expected, Fire Wire was waiting on the spot, clutching a closed laptop in one hand.
"Good to see ya back, Cyber-pal!", he started the conversation once Shade approached him. "How did things go on your end?"
"The RIP will not be present to intercept us", replied the armored cyborg. "Unfortunately, the building itself turned out to be empty."
"Wha?" The redhead's shocked tone was almost comically fake. "Man! That's too bad..." And then he slipped back into his jolly car-salesmanly demeanor, grabbing Axel by the shoulder with one hand while gesturing vividly with the other. "But hey! On the bright side, you'll be in for a big surprise when you get into the vault!"
"Have you managed to disarm the defense systems?"
"Aye. All that's left is making the big move on the bank itself. You ready to make some big cash?"
"I could not be more ready if I wanted to."
"Okay, so here's the big plan, Cybbie." Fire Wire backed away to give himself more room for gesturing. "I'm gonna trigger the virus I put into their systems, it's gonna cause their turrets to explode! It's gonna cause a mess in the main lobby and take out the majority of the guards." He closed the distance again, prodding Axel's chestplate with his index finger. "That's when you make your way in to take out any of the remaining guards, and then break into the vault."
"I like the sound of that. And what about you?"
Fire Wire reached for his laptop and opened it with a swift move. "I'm gonna buy you some time by disconnecting their security systems, then I'll head over to the bank to give you some backup. You got any questions?"
"Only one. I assume you will help me drag all the loot out?"
"Oh? Of course! You and me, we're gonna get everything outta there together. If we go fast enough, we can get everything outta there before the rippers arrive. Plus, since the security cameras are gonna be disabled, they ain't gonna know it was us who robbed the place! Win win scenario, huh?"
"That it is. Now let us waste no more time."
"All right, enjoy the fireworks!"

 

Having said everything, the man in the red suit tapped the spacebar key on his laptop. What followed was a number of loud rumbles coming from the bank building, paired up with smoke leaking out of the windows and a whole crowd of patrons and staff alike spilling out through the doors. Shade and Fire Wire silently nodded towards one another before the former walked out of hiding and made his way into the bank's main lobby.

 

Inside, the place was chock-full of smoke, fire and collapsed structure pieces, while what few security guards were present were too busy taking care of the wounded to pay any attention to the big mechanoid casually passing by. Without much resistance, Axel took the stairs down to the building's basement, eventually emerging in a hall with all its walls, floors and ceilings lined with steel. And soon, he'd find himself standing face to face with the giant vault door - the last thing standing between him and the treasure. He'd take a short moment to examine it before beginning to crack the access code.

 

After a couple tries, the massive locks finally gave in, unlocking the door with a loud clang. Bags of cash, piles of gold, a number of peculiar relics... It took Shade a while to process all this wealth. Unfortunately...

 

"There's Cyberkhan!" Axel's contemplation of his prize was rudely interrupted by an all too familiar voice coming from behind. "I told you, he's trying to rob this place blind!"
"Fire Wire..." The mechanoid could not even be bothered to look behind as he spoke with a dose of annoyance readable through his deadpan voice. "What took you so long?"

"You think you can really cross Arachnos and the RIP, huh? Well, you got another thing coming!" As if on cue, a dozen pairs of boots could be heard ringing throughout the hall as a squad of Arachnos troopers ran into the chamber, their rifles all primed and pointed at the would-be robber's head.
"HALT!", shouted the leading officer, the very same one who was talking with Fire Wire earlier. "Put your hands up and turn to face us!"
"And what if I refuse?" asked Shade defiantly.
"Then we... We'll shoot you dead on the spot! Yes, that's what we'll do!"

 

Without saying a word further, the cyborg villain slowly turned around to face his opponents: Fire Wire, Captain Liola and ten lower-ranking Wolf Spider soldiers. Just when it looked like he would surrender to them, however, he would suddenly stretch his hands out forward and fire out a burst of lightning bolts, frying three of the spidermen on the spot. In response, the remaining seven all opened fire against him, only for a good deal of the bullets to either harmlessly bounce off of his armor or simply get stuck in it without causing much internal damage.

 

This body may be old, but it seems bullets still have not out-evolved it.

Confidence in his superiority restored, Axel rushed straight into the fray, easily fending off the Arachnos troopers' attacks while dishing out bolts, beams and punches against them. As the brawl went on, however, he caught a glimpse of Fire Wire himself slowly making his escape from the site now that his plan has gone south. Stopping just short of knocking Liola out for good, Shade decided to leave the last few of Lord Recluse's followers be and dashed after the redheaded crook, eventually catching him by the collar and slamming him against the wall, in full view of the Arachnos troop survivors.

"H-hey, just hold on, OK? I was just... just kiddin' around! H-hahaha! We're gonna beat Arachnos and take the loot for ourselves, right?" Fire Wire's facade of confidence quickly faded away as he realized just in how big of a pickle he had found himself.
"Silence, worm. You sent Arachnos after me in the first place, and I am not going to pardon you for that."
"Okay... okay, I messed up. Okay! There, I said it! Just... come on man, just let me go! I'll leave you alone, you can get all the money, too!"
"Why should I trust you now?"
"I'm not exactly in the place to lie to you now... am I?"
"You are making a sound argument. Unfortunately, sparing you still poses too big a risk to be worth considering." Axel's other hand moved up to the back of Fire Wire's head, its firm iron grasp sending immense shivers down the man's spine.
"I-I just wanted... to get aheaAAAAAEEEGH!--"

 

The Arachnos sellout's last words were cut short by a loud snap of his own neck being twisted far beyond what a human could possibly survive. Shade threw his limp, lifeless body behind himself, right in front of Captain Liola, who sheepishly backed away in a mix of fear and disgust.

"No one backstabs me. No one." With no further opposition, Shade returned to the vault, scooping up all the goods he could claim. A few minutes later, he'd be leaving the bank's premises, nonchalantly, with a number of stuffed bags over his shoulder.

 

A small distance away, just far enough to not draw attention of the passersby, an older man was observing the unfolding events. His inhumanly scarred, stitch-covered face was only partially obscured by a silver half-mask resembling a skull cut off at the nose, complementing his black suit in a grotesque way.
""Are you entirely sure he is fit enough, Doctor?", asked a disembodied voice only he could hear.
"Yes", he replied, "he does seem have what it takes."
"Very well. Invite him as soon as you can."
"I shall, my master."

Evening slowly transcended into night, casting it shadow over the entire city, only being broken up by the elusive Doctor's glimmering red eyes...

Edited Saturday at 06:10 PM by Vic Raiden
Added missing indentation