"I’m getting no response from Beta Team," Hephaestus said. "Only static."

"What blew up? Was it ours or theirs?" Avatar paced behind Hephaestus and his hands clenched and unclenched rapidly.

"It was pretty big. I can’t think of a reason why something of ours would make that kind of detonation."

"Well find them! We need to know what’s going on over there."

"Hang on. I’ve got a signal from Mouthymerc’s armor. Maybe I can force reboot his system; the internal diagnostics might wake him, or stabilize him if he’s dying."

"Do it."

Nova’s missed bolt shattered the desk and sent debris everywhere. "Keep dodging and hopping everywhere. It’s only going to make you die tired."

"I thought you guys had quit the mysticism trade," Koschei asked. She struggled to her feet, using the spear for support.

"Bakari is not fond of mysticism but he turns a blind eye every now and then. Besides, I only use it when people really piss me off." Again, Nova charged forward and again, Koschei managed to get her spear in the way of her fearsome strikes.

Villain X’s hand glowed and he blasted Equinox with the gathered energy. The bolt lifted Equinox into the air and dropped him just as quickly. Trinity and Leopard dove to the side as Villain X stepped into the light, and behind him, they could see three more armored minions.

Trinity was the first to recover from her roll and she dipped into her bag and tossed two grenades into the opened stairwell. The minions wisely retreated from the blast and staggered under the concussion wave. Leopard unlimbered her assault rifle and poured an excessive stream of fire inside the enclosed space.

Equinox scrambled backwards, trying to avoid his crazed attacker but Villain X was on him in two quick strides and he grabbed the agent by the front of his lapels and yanked him into the air. "Trinity! Get out..aagh!" Villain X backhanded Equinox with an armored fist.

"No, Trinity. Stay." The voice was distorted by the external speakers but the psionic command within was unmistakable. Trinity shook it off, however, and fired three ineffectual rounds into Villain X’s back. "You’ll pay for that, girly."

Equinox struggled ineffectually in Villain X’s grip until he slammed the agent in the stomach and threw him to the side. Equinox groaned and spit out a mouthful of blood onto the roof. He lifted the cane and fired a single shot that actually cracked one of the plates high on Villain X’s shoulder, then struggled to his feet.

Villain X turned back to Equinox and stalked over to him. He snatched the cane from Equinox’s hand and snapped it over his knee, discarding the remnants casually. "You’ll pay first, pretty boy."

"Somehow, I’m not surprised," Shadow said. Behind him, Mute continued to type in a remarkable feat of concentration and willpower.

"All to the glory of the Fist," minion #1 said.

"My friend’s not done cracking the files yet."

"That’s fine. We’ll just take the computer."

Mute paused. "I wouldn’t advise it. The files we’re looking for aren’t local – they’re networked. That’s what’s taking me so long."

"Interesting," minion #2 said. "It appears we have ourselves a ‘Mexican Standoff’."

"Can’t we negotiate on this?" Shadow asked.

"It would be difficult," minion #1 said. "We have our orders, and that means we must depart this room alone and with the data."

"Holy crap! I got it!" Mute exclaimed and he hit the enter key with a flourish. Then he looked up. "I screwed up, didn’t I?"

"Yes you did," Shadow said and he slammed the door shut. The six Shooktroopers started firing a split second later.

Koschei grinned and flipped high into the air, landing just behind Nova. "Give it up! You can’t kill me."

"Coward. Stand still and fight! Your death is inevitable. I am superior."

"You are nothing. I was the one chosen, not you!" Koschei stabbed out with the spear and then swiped, both strikes barely missing Nova.

"Yes, but who ended up cruicified and bleeding? That was you!" Nova lashed out, and again, Koschei brought the spear up to block. Unfortunately, the spear was Nova’s target; the kris split the spear in half. She dipped low into a footsweep that knocked Koschei to the ground and Nova scrambled over to the fallen agent and straddled her waist. "Die, fool!"

Nova gripped the kris with two hands and plunged downwards, aiming for Koschei’s heart.

"It worked. The suit’s rebooting."

"Good. Cross your fingers." Avatar sighed. "Oh, Equinox, everything’s going pear-shaped, and too quickly at that."

Hephaestus shrugged. "Trust the man. He’s accounted for everything so far, there’s no reason to doubt him now."

"I dunno…"

The console beeped at Hephaestus, indicating Mouthymerc’s reboot was complete. "Delta to Beta, come in. Over."

"…"

" Delta to Beta, please report."

"…"

"Mouthymerc, this is Hephaestus. Talk to me."

"…"

"…to Mouthymerc. Report! Report dammit!"

"…m’live," Mouthymerc mumbled. He hurt all over and his leg felt funny, but he was breathing and that’s all that mattered.

"What the hell happened?"

"Empty suit. We were fighting an empty suit. It exploded." The agent staggered to his feet and glanced around. A large, blackened crater had replaced their fallen enemy. "Ouch, my head."

"Where’s Eris?"

"Umm…" He searched, but saw no sign of her. He did notice, however, the large chunk of concrete digging into his left leg, so he pulled it out and almost collapsed from the sudden rush of pain. "Aargh! Don’t see her…"

"Find her!"

Mouthymerc bit back his instinctive retort and instead hoped that the blast hadn’t vaporized his battle partner.

The shooting stopped after thirty seconds, so Shadow eased the door open. Five of the shocktroopers lay sprawled on the floor, blood leaking from the wounds in their back. The sixth shocktrooper stood behind the pile of bodies, his weapon pointed at the door.

"They all dead?" Shadow asked.

"Unless someone’s attempting a resurrection and I’m not aware of it," the shocktrooper replied.

"Good. Mute? Let’s jet."

Mute snatched the CD out of the drive and put it in a case. "WK, you the man!"

"So I’ve been told." The shocktrooper bowed. "After you."

Equinox’s beating was brutal and long. Villain X pummeled him with a flurry of vicious blows, using those strikes to keep Equinox in place. When he sagged to the ground, an armored fist jolted him upright. When he swayed to the left, a right cross brought him back to the center. Villain X kicked, punched, elbowed and kneed Equinox continually while Trinity emptied several clips into the armor – all with little or no effect.

Finally, Villain X lashed out with a forward kick that sent Equinox tumbling to the ground. The agent didn’t so much as twitch after he fell. Villain X bent down and lifted Equinox by the hair, his other fist raised for a killing blow. It came down quickly – and was halted by Leopard’s iron grip.

"Why don’t you try me on for size?"