Action city, p.16
Action City, page 16
"I can't control it!" Gilwain cried.
His hands worked frantically over the control panel with the Starman's. They were within a small control room inside the station, but with its power draining and the dim lights flickering around them, it was becoming ever harder to work.
"Power depleted by forty-eight percent," the Dwarf said gravely. "Field temperature rising by seventy. We're too late!"
The Starman looked up darkly.
"Hell," he whispered, "there goes the City."
Yushera grabbed onto a railing as the ground rumbled violently.
The ripples grew across the City as the smoking towers shook wildly while a piercing whine came from far below the ground.
The final cry of the nuclear reactor.
"Right," Platinum said coolly, "let's blow this place."
She pressed a button.
Several cracks split through the middle of the City square and rippled outwards, uprooting some roads and revealing numerous gold-blooded lava veins underneath. Several dollops of lava flew high into the night hitting some crumbling buildings. More and more followed, like drops from a sprinkler that was about to be turned on to the full. As the whining grew and the seas of fire widened, the spitting lava bubbled furiously.
"Here we go!" cried Platinum.
Yushera screamed as Gilwain and the Starman braced themselves.
"Now," Platinum grinned, looking at her watch. "Three...two...one...party time!"
But just as she was about to flick that final switch, the rumbling suddenly ceased and the whining died as the City suddenly became still.
Silence followed. Only the bubbling from the lava in the streets and the crackling of the flames could be heard.
Platinum however, was not phased in the slightest. She wasn't upset. She wasn't confused or even emotional. Instead she stood silent and motionless, rather like a mannequin with no expression whatsoever. She stood like a stone cold statue.
Then a voice spoke within her mind.
"THE SYSTEM ACCOUNTS TO NO ONE!"
"Exactly," she replied. "The System accounts to no people, only total assimilation into the machine." She smiled. "Smoked you out at last have I? I was wondering when the great demon of capitalism was finally going to reveal itself..."
"It is Blue!" Yushera said, relieved. "She has saved us."
"Not her," the Starman frowned, looking over the controls. "A colossal amount of power's just been drained from the City. Something else has entered into the equation."
"Like what?"
"Can't tell you that, lass," Gilwain answered. "But the reactor's sitting at just below critical which gives us time to get down there and disable it. We'd better hurry while we still can."
"Amen to that brother," quipped the Starman.
"But what happened?" Yushera cried impatiently.
"Don't yell at me, I'm not one of your rodents!" the Starman snapped back. "Blue's the only one who can find the answers and they can only be found in the Tower."
"Auto-alert, auto-alert! Errors have been detected within the System. All System errors must be annihilated."
Platinum gave a little smile at the voice within her head. Coolly she looked down at her watch.
"A few minutes out but that's still pretty good. You wanna talk shop now?"
"Auto-defence grid initiated. System reserves online."
"Fine then. Find out the hard way."
Several hatches opened at the base of the Tower. A loud whine followed as several platforms rose from below.
A short distance away two patrolling Cavemen watched as several golden humanoids ascended steadily, all composed of thousands upon thousands of coins.
The Cavemen raised their weapons. The newcomers bounded for them as the sparks sprayed. The nearest two caught the full front of the blasts and jolted wildly as their counterparts rushed in and smacked the guns from the Cavemen's hands.
A punch from a Soldier sent several dollars flying from the first humanoid's mouth. It reeled back and then retaliated with an equally hard blow, sending the Caveman staggering back. As the giant hulk struggled to stay on its feet, the golden humanoid leapt in, grabbed the Soldier's face with both hands and hissed,
"Tax time! Pay up!"
A crackle of energy rippled through the Soldier and he shrieked in agony before slumping to the ground, becoming nothing more than a pile of rubble as its life force slowly drained away. Once it was gone, the Money Man knelt down and placed a golden hand on the rubble. The rubble glowed and transformed into grey and then gold, before finally forming itself into a pile of golden coins. The Money Man's fist tightened as the coins surged up his arm and absorbed into his body, making him grow slightly larger and stronger.
"Ten point five percent profit," he said mechanically.
His counterpart sent the second Caveman falling to the ground with a heavy blow. A moment later it too was no more than a stream of golden coins which swept up into the Money Man's arms as he grew slightly.
"10.67 percent profit," it also said mechanically. "Profits must be increased."
The two Money Men that had been struck down slowly rose and began walking with the others through the burning streets.
And as they walked they chanted.
"Profits, profits, profits..."
Then they ran.
A short time later and several blocks away, a lone survivor crawled out from under some debris and looked up groggily. Through the smoke, the heat and the ash, he could just make out three figures walking towards him.
And they were all made of gold.
"What...?" he began weakly.
Their heads turned slowly towards him.
"Investment opportunity. Assimilate."
They ran for him.
He staggered to his feet and turned and hobbled away, half-tripping and falling over the rubble and debris as they bounded after him. A girder caught his foot and he thudded to the ground as the Money Men swept in.
"INCORPORATE!!!"
He screamed.
Suddenly an engine revved and the wall to a warehouse suddenly exploded as a monster truck flew through and bounced onto the street. With a skid of its enormous tyres it roared up to the Money Men, turned hard and crushed them. As their gold coins were splattered by the thousands, the man on the ground looked up in disbelief as the door opened and then,
"Wanna have some fun?" Blue grinned.
He wasted no time and leapt inside, half-propelled by her enormous strength. She effortlessly threw him into the back seat before shutting the door, revving the engine and fishtailing away down the street.
Beside her, Kimie screamed in excitement and punched the roof several times with her fists, feeling freer than she'd ever been, then she turned to the back seat where the wearied young man sat. Excitement overcame her and she squealed and clasped his face in both her hands and kissed him hard. A bump in the road rocked them violently and she fell back in her seat.
"I'll let you get away with that one," he said. "God knows I needed it."
"You okay?" she asked happily.
"More or less," came the reply.
Coolly Blue flicked open the glove compartment, pulled out a cigar, bit the end off and spat it out the window and onto the head of a passing Money Man. She put it in her mouth and as they passed a burning building she stuck her head out and lit the cigar before ducking back in.
"Oh yeah," she said, sucking hard.
Strangely, no smoke exhaled.
She pulled out another and offered it to Kimie.
"It's alright," Kimie said. "I don't smoke."
"Come on, I've been having these since I was seven. Never did me any harm. Try it."
"Oh...what the hell!"
She took it, and tried to bite the end off but found it impossible, and so snapped it off with her fingers. Blue turned the wheel hard and as the truck swept past another burning building Kimie reached out and lit the cigar from its flames. Then she fell back into her seat and sucked hard.
She was amazed at the result.
"Is that...spearmint?"
"Damn right." Blue replied, sucking on hers. "I got chocolate."
"Haven't you got any, like, real ones with, y'know, tobacco?"
"What, are you crazy? That stuff'll kill ya."
"Agreed," Kimie shrugged and savoured the spearmint.
"Wanna drink?"
"You bet."
She pulled out a flask and threw it at Kimie who caught it. She took the top off and drank.
"Nice," she grinned. "Choc vanilla, right?"
"Right."
She handed it to Blue who took her cigar out of her mouth and had a quick swig.
The man looked out through the back window.
"Guys I hate to break up the party but I think we have company."
Kimie looked back and saw that the three Money Men the truck had crushed had now reformed. They were chasing them so fast that they'd almost caught up.
"What are they?" Kimie asked casually, still sucking on her cigar.
"Money Men," Blue answered, equally casually.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Looks like somebody's been playing around with the System. They've sent the economy after us."
"So what are you saying? That there's a conscious economy with a mind of its own here?"
"Damn right. They're here to prove they're worth their weight in gold."
Kimie mused thoughtfully. "So you wanna blow the economy then?"
"Abso-friggin'-lutely." She indicated the backseat. "Yo flyboy! Drive."
She opened the door and stepped out onto the enormous sidestep as she swung a gun over her shoulder. He made a dash for the wheel as the truck veered off the road.
"Hey!" Kimie called. "What about me?"
"In the back!" she called back.
Kimie reached over and pulled out an automatic rifle.
"Oh yeah!"
"Have fun!" she called and then leaned down and kissed the man hard and fast.
"Yum yum," she said licking her lips. "Building."
"What...?"
He looked ahead startled, then jerked the wheel hard to the right, narrowly missing the corner of a building. Kimie gave a scream of delight as she bounced around beside him while Blue hung onto the handrail on the sidestep.
"God damn!" she called to Kimie as she powered her gun. "Looks like I was really a bad influence on you after all!"
The Money Men were almost upon them now. Their limbs were a blur as they ran past the burning thrusters and up to the monster truck. The closest leapt high and landed in the trailer, only to be caught by a burst of heavy automatic fire from Blue as she stood on the sidestep with an arm looped through the handle whilst holding the gun tightly. Kimie did the same as she fired her gun and sucked up the spearmint from her cigar. The Money Men jolted wildly from their blasts as hundreds of tiny coins went flying off them continuously, but no matter how much fire went into them, the bright glow underneath couldn't be penetrated and they were only stopped momentarily.
"Whoa!" Kimie called over the fire. "Check out the strength of the dollar!"
"Damn Luther!" Blue hissed and then leapt into the back trailer firing as hard as she could into the Money Men while Kimie redirected her fire to the ones on the ground. Then she looked ahead.
"Tough spot!" she called.
She held on tightly and Blue did the same as the truck drove up a steep slope of debris, flew high in the air, and crashed down on three parked cars before bouncing over them with heavy crunches.
Kimie punched the sky hard and screamed.
"Heaven!"
Behind them, a Money Man hung off the rear of the trailer, having been pounded by Blue's shots and he flailed limply as it drove along. When his strength returned he started to pull himself up but was greeted by a kick in the head which sent several coins flying from his mouth. His legs were a blur as he kicked upwards and sent Blue reeling, then he leapt up into the trailer and smashed the gun out of her hands. Angrily she elbowed him in the head and then jabbed and punched until he blocked her blows, grabbed her cheeks, pulled her close and hissed,
"Prime Investment Opportunity."
His eyes glowed.
"Noooooo...."
A shot from Kimie hit him in the head and a few dollars bounced off. Blue blinked quickly and grabbed the Money Man's head, smacked it down hard on the side of the trailer, elbowed his back and delivered a prime uppercut to the head. He flew high in the air and backwards off the trailer just as another Money Man leapt on. She whirled around and kicked him back, then a double jump kick sent him reeling backwards off the truck. As they drove into the remains of a construction site, Blue looked up ahead and called,
"Time to go left!"
Kimie followed her gaze.
Several Money Men had appeared in front of the truck up ahead. She relayed Blue's instructions to their driver and then turned and fired as Blue kicked another Money Man off the truck, then punched a second in the head, sending him flying too.
"Come on," she said, tensing her muscles and jumping up and down as the truck bounced over the ground. "That all you got, Money Man?"
Two more leapt on.
She kicked one in the head and then swung around and drove a hard kick into another which grabbed her foot. She fell with a cry, then used her other foot to break out of its grasp before leaping up and calling to Kimie,
"Back in a minute, kid!"
"Hey, what...?"
Ignoring her, Blue jumped on the roof of the truck, then leapt off and hung from a magnet which was dangling from a cable. She dropped to the ground and ran backwards as the Money Men leapt off after her.
"Time to freeze your assets!"
As they ran towards her she fired a shot which hit a lever, then suddenly the golden figures were pulled up into the air where they clamped onto the magnet and twitched awkwardly as they tried to break free.
"Guess the almighty dollar isn't so strong after all."
She ran after the truck.
"Take a look at this, guys!"
The Starman indicated to a monitor which showed an image of the monster truck. "Looks like somebody's back!"
Gilwain smiled. "Think she could use some help?"
"Of course not, but we'll give her some anyway." He activated a transmission signal. "Time to call in the rats!"
Yushera nodded.
Moments later the manhole covers throughout the City suddenly rose under an influx of rodents.
The Money Men swept at the truck like vultures. They were smart too, Kimie realised, for they used strategies and tactics to gain ground as she fired relentlessly. The truck swung around around hard and tried to drive over one, but the Money Man leapt to the side and clamped itself between the wheels.
Another leapt directly for Kimie. She blasted it in mid-air.
"This is crud!" she called, throwing the gun inside. "Got anything else in there?"
He threw her something back.
"Ah good," she grinned.
She strapped the flamethrower over her shoulder and powered up. Then she swung herself onto the bonnet of the truck, grabbed a railing above the windscreen and knelt down.
"You're liquidated!"
A fireball engulfed a Money Man before he was crushed under the truck. A stream of fire made several more back away while some others swept around the side of the truck and climbed into the trailer.
Kimie tapped the windscreen and pointed.
"Left! Swing us left!"
The man swung the wheel around and they raced past a truck with a cement mixer on the back.
"Right! That's it! Stop!"
A Money Man leapt onto the roof behind her then knelt down and reached out. Suddenly the truck screeched to a halt and she let go of the handle and went sliding hard and fast into the mud below as he flew past her. The truck door opened and the man leapt out with a gun and blasted the Money Man, then ran up to Kimie. Quickly he helped her to her feet as she hit the nearest Money Man with a jet of fire before she staggered back past the cement mixer as over a dozen more of them ran towards them.
"Gotta plan?" the man asked.
"Oh yeah," she answered. "Don't know if it'll work though, but it's worth a shot. A big shot that is."
She grabbed the gun off him and they ran for some way before she turned back and blasted the cement truck with a spray of fire. A billowing cloud of black, gold and white followed, igniting the night. Several Money Men were engulfed as Kimie and the man fell backwards, shielding their eyes. The barrel of the cement truck flew high, spun over and then crashed to the ground before splitting in half and sending thick waves of cement spilling out and enveloping the golden army, slowing their movements. The monster truck however, having been made with Dwarf alloys, had been left intact.
"Nice shot," the man quipped.
"Thanks," she nodded.
Only five Money Men were left now. They approached cautiously.
"Got another plan?" he asked.
"Nuh," she replied. "You?"
"Nuh."
"Oh good."
The Money Men closed in as she threw her gun to him and raised her flame thrower.
"On the count of three point five billion..."
THUK!
A heavy pole whacked a Money Man on the back of the head before he was picked up and hurled into a large compactor. A second Money Man whirled around and threw a fist at Blue who blocked it, backhanded him and then dumped him in the compactor after the first. A third reached for her with both arms which she smacked away before headbutting him and hurling him after his counterparts. With a single kick she disorientated the other two and then threw them in as well. Then she pulled the compactor lever down and crushed them all to smithereens.
"Nice work," Kimie called.
"Yeah," Blue replied. "You too." She indicated the remains of the cement truck. "Could have done better there, though."
"Yeah right. Let's get..."
Her voice trailed off when twenty more Money Men stepped out from the shadows and surrounded them.
"Damn!" Blue hissed. "The economic reserve's bigger than I thought."
