The sound of sirens echoed around them from the main hall.
“Took them long enough…” huffed Lance as he put the vials of samples in a pouch.
“Time to go.”
They sprinted down the hall, Lance typed in a set of commands into his gauntlet.
“L.A.S.S.I., execute blackout on N.A.U. 's north-west wing,” he said.
As they continued down the hall, the lights on all of the cameras near them blinked out in succession just before they would have been seen by their electronic eyes.
“You hacked the school security system…?” Adam asked, almost rhetorically.
“I had the feeling that one day we would have to operate here. I figured it would at least help cover our escape if we decided to try to get back out of gear on-site.”
They picked a side room and removed their gear, packing it all into the reversible vests-turned-bags again. Being that they were near the locker rooms, they stashed their respective bags into their own boxes and proceeded to the nearest exit… just as a group of armed officers were approaching. They cautiously raised their hands to the group as they walked out the door.
“What are you two doing?” asked one of the officers.
“The building was supposed to be clear!”
“We were waiting for the chance to get out!” Adam said, feigning unease.
“The things in there… they sounded like they had finally moved away so we could get out!”
“Just get back there behind the line, son,” said the officer as he waved his squad up.
The friends hurried along as they were instructed, getting to the other side of a perimeter of vehicles and members of law enforcement where another officer had been waving them across.
“How is it that the two of you are the last ones to get out here…” questioned a familiar voice.
Adam cringed slightly as he turned to see his brother near one of the squad cars.
“Heeey…. Cody….” he said sheepishly.
“The reports… if they are even to be believed… said there were ‘giant three-headed dogs’ on the loose on campus,” Cody said with a slight frown.
“Please tell me you two weren’t attempting to wrangle said supposed dogs?”
Adam wasn’t sure, but he almost thought he caught a knowing look in his brother’s eye. Before either of them could answer, a call came in over Cody’s radio unit.
“All units, we have reports of more unidentified creatures in the city center near Midas Corp.”
Cody pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
“What are we? Animal control?” he asked no one in particular.
He glanced at his brother.
“Just get home and stay safe,” he commanded.
He called over to a few other officers and gave orders. They each entered their vehicles to leave the site as Adam and Lance walked briskly toward the parking lot.
“If I didn’t know better, I would say it sounds like our doctor friend is trying to take out the competition…” Adam speculated.
“We need to get down there and help…” Lance said in a low tone.
“We can grab our gear, head to our usual spot, and go from there. I can have a scan running of the police network to see if we can get any information as to what we are going to be dealing with.”
The two sprinted to Lance's vehicle and then sped away.
“We totally should look into getting a superhero car,” Adam suggested as Lance drove them back into the city.
“If we had a secret garage, that would be more feasible than you think,” Lance said.
“An all-purpose field vehicle with supplies and equipment…”
“And bullet-proof armor… missiles… turbo jets…” added Adam.
Lance glanced over, amused.
“Gotta get that garage first before you start up a wishlist, dude.”
Adam shrugged.
“I can dream. Not that I have a license to drive anyway,” he said.
Lance laughed.
“You don't have a license to be a vigilante either! Are you planning on pulling over at the first flash of red and blue lights while driving said superhero car?”
“True…” Adam agreed.
He thought briefly about their encounter with his brother, considering that despite his reaction, Cody may have known they had been up to something. He decided to not be concerned about it for now.
They arrived at the apartment complex Lance lived in and took to the alley behind the building. After verifying that no one was around, they used a pair of spare grapplers that were hidden to scale the side of the building to a balcony on the fifth floor. Lance touched his palm to a panel on the wall next to the door and the door slid open for them into his living room.
“No time to carry this stuff out and suit up elsewhere,” he stated as he prepared to change from his casual clothes to a black jumpsuit.
He pointed to one that was nearby for Adam, who retrieved it and went to where his armor was stashed.
“L.A.S.S.I., any specifics from the police scanners?” Lance called out to his computer system.
“Descriptions from reports are indicating an advanced iteration of a minotaur-type creature attacking the higher city sector around the location of Midas Towers,” replied the A.I.
“There are also mentions of another creature flying above the same area, but there have not been enough descriptors to analyze what it could be.”
“So they fixed up the bull-man and they’ve got a bird?” asked Adam.
“Wonderful…”
“We will survey the area and see what we can do to help against the minotaur first,” said Lance as he strapped his leg armor on.
“And once we have that established, I may have you scout for whatever the second creature is to gather any intel you can.”
“Wait… you’re planning to take the bull-man by yourself?” asked Adam.
“Specifically one that is likely all grown up and jacked up?”
“Only long enough to either have you get into a strategic point to take it down or for the city’s special task force to do so,” Lance clarified as he checked his helmet.
“Whichever comes first.”
“Does our current commission as vigilantes come with a life insurance policy? Or at least an excellent workman's comp?” Adam said with a smug look.
“If not, we might want to look into that…”
Lance shook his head with a slight smile, then put on his helmet.
“That’s a great joke…”
They grabbed the rest of their gear and exited through the same way they had entered.
“And now this is where a superhero car would have come in handy…” noted Adam as they began running toward the city center.
“This city is too big to just run everywhere when there is an emergency…”
Weaving through various alleyways and maintenance hatches to avoid being seen, they finally neared Midas Towers. This section of the city was owned by Bartholomew Midas and was built as four of the tallest buildings in the city, only surpassed by the New Atlantis Tower in the city center. The structures before them housed multiple companies, most notably Midas Corp. which was the parent company to the others within its massive edifices.
The duo had scaled one of the nearby buildings that, while not as tall as even the shortest of Midas Towers, still gave an adequate view of the scene below. Following the flashing lights of various law enforcement vehicles, they quickly found what they were looking for. A clear trail of destruction led toward the main perimeter wall that surrounded the towers and through the main gate. There were even several overturned police cruisers, their cycling red and blue lights pulsing like a marker for the carnage.
“It looks like Ferdinand already let himself in…” noted Adam.
“I’m guessing that the armed police and Midas Corps. guards were not convincing enough to get him to stop.”
Lance checked the shield gauntlet on his arm, then double-checked the straps to his glider pack.
“Then we probably don’t have much time…” he stated as he glanced up above the towers.
In the sky, there was one helicopter approaching, its spotlight trained on the grounds near the closest of the towers. Suddenly a dark form came swooping down from the top of the highest tower and attacked the helicopter, harassing its pilot and crew.
“Looks like our flying creature has joined the party too…” he noted, pointing it out to Adam.
Stepping up the magnification of his visor, Lance could begin to make out details of the new creature’s form: large feathered wings, a feline-like body, terrible sharp talons on its front legs, and a face and beak reminiscent of an eagle or some other bird of prey.
“It’s a griffin…” Lance stated grimly.
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