The Cleanup Crew

     Tyler was staking out the second to last warehouse The Order was using.  Since his last encounter with The Order he took a look at a second warehouse location; finding it already cleared out. This place was, however, teaming with activity; people were moving about the place like they would have to leave at a moment’s notice.  It was in the northern Bronx and operated, by day, as a warehouse for one of Convergence Industries' competitors.

Watching the people move items around Tyler said “We can’t say they don’t know how to mobilize.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean; makes me wonder how big a group they truly are.  I think we’ve gathered enough material to pass this onto state police or someone just as qualified.” Susie said in his ear.

“We need to know more before I feel comfortable doing that.  We don’t want them going against something they can’t handle.”

Letting out a sigh, she said “You’re also not saying the part where the source of this information comes from a vigilante that’s publicly sought after.”

“I seriously doubt that they can move this much stuff out before sunrise so I think we’re safe to strike tomorrow.  I’ll be back after making the usual rounds.” Tyler said landing on an overpass to look around.

On his way back to the central Manhattan area Serene notified him that Jenifer was calling.  He wasn’t far from Central Park so he landed on top of an apartment building and had it put through.  She sounded upset and said “I know it’s a little late but I just need to talk to you.”

“It’s just after eleven, what’s wrong?” Tyler asked.

“It’s just I had a fight with my dad and I need to cool off.  I’m getting some air in Central Park and thought I should talk to you.” She said sounding less upset now.

He turned invisible right away and moved toward the park.  While flying he tried scanning for her while saying “It’s not safe for you to be out alone at this hour; though I guess that’s why you called me.  What was the fight about anyway?”

“My dad thinks I need to spend less time making music and focus more on athletics.  He doesn’t think it’s worth my time.” She said as Tyler spotted her.

She looked like she had just thrown on a coat and shoes and left her apartment complex.  Landing a little ways away from her he said “That’s tough but I ready do think you should go back home and we can talk about it more tomorrow.”

“Maybe you’re right.  No, you’re definitely right.  Stay on with me until I get inside?” she asked as she stood up.

Sighing softly, he answered “Of course, better safe than sorry and all that.”

Tyler followed behind her as they talked; keeping his distance to not make any noise.  He watched her put in the complex apartment code and then hang up.  Just as she was about to walk inside a guy wearing all black approached her.  Freezing up Jennifer stood in place for a moment as Tyler saw the complex door engage the automatic lock.  She tried for the door just a moment too late and the guy pulled a knife out of his pocket.

“Give me your phone and wallet; real nice and simple.” The guy said.

She took a step back and Tyler made himself visible.  Pointing his right gantlet at the man he said “Leave the lady alone and we all walk away here.”

From around the corner of the building, a woman stepped forward and said “Just want her stuff man.  Don’t need to include yourself here.”

Pointing his other gantlet, Tyler said “Can’t let you do that.  You’ve had your warning so take your chance.”

The man ran in the other direction while the woman moved toward him.  He fired one energy blast and she fell to the ground like a sack of bricks.  Jenifer looked between the woman and Tyler and just stood there.  Putting his hands in front of him, to ease so tension, he said “Go about your business, best to stay alert at this hour.”

He took off as he heard her yell “thank you” after him.  He flew in the opposite direction of toe to not leave a trail.  He spent some time patrolling the streets like he always did while Susie didn’t say much.  Tyler could hear her typing away at her computer; she finally said “I wouldn’t worry about her.  Looks like a police report’s already been filed.”

The following day Tyler made sure to be at The Lab earlier than usual.  His new gantlets were ready for fabrication as well as getting all of the readings from the energy sword.  The Fabricator was a large, cylindrical, machine that had a control panel on the front.  The first thing Tyler and Sam did was make sure the measurements were right and set the machine to work.  Hearing the secondary cover activate, they turned their attention to the recovered weapon.

It sat with the rest of their experimental pieces, next to the computer terminal designed for their analysis.  The terminal came on as Sam said “Well, as we already figured out, it has a high-power energy filter.  From there I figured out more; primarily about its design and power source.

“I tracked down a couple different blueprints for such, mostly considered theoretical, devices.  This is almost an exact match to something designed here in The Lab; the ES–77.  Without opening it, for fear of it blowing up, it seems to run on a similar energy cell that your gantlets fire with; just contained to a sword shape.”

“There it is again; another link from The Order and Convergence Industries.  There must be people from The Order amongst our ranks.” Tyler said taking a seat in a rolling chair.  He looked at the ES-77 and asked “Is it safe for ‘field use’?”

“I had a feeling you might ask such a thing and I wouldn’t recommend that model; at least in its current state.  I think it can be modified with a power modulator so it wouldn’t always, you know, seriously wound people.”

“Well let’s get working on that design, shall we.  We’ll have to figure out a way to crack the thing open to insert power modulation/.” Tyler said trying to picture where to open the device from.

They spent the next hour tinkering with different methods of modulation; displaying the possibilities over a simulation of the device.  While doing this, the Fabricator beeped loudly as the protection layers unlocked.  A thin layer of smock emptied from the machine as a pair of new gantlets sat there.  They looked like metal gloves that were the same length as his current pair.

Tyler ran across the room to look at their new creation; not even sure if he should pick them up.  Gently picking up the right gantlet, he looked over the design changes.  The grappling hook was now on the bottom of his wrist and the pressure bar was replaced by a pressure sensor on the center of the palm.  There was also the addition of the new feature he would have to try out.

Putting it back down, he made them compress down into heavy-looking lumps of metal-based around the grappling hook section.  Walking over to him, Sam said “Here are the tracking bands.  Each responds to a corresponding gantlet.”

Putting them on, Tyler said “I won’t look funny wearing a bracelet with my watch will I?”

“I don’t think so.  Come on, let’s make sure they actually work.” She said locking the lab door.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his wrists to line up the lumps of metal.  Instantly, they flew into his wrists and began to expand.  They fit like gloves around his wrists and hands, nano-tech covering the fingers; all without breaking his watch.  The metal was lighter than he expected and cool on his skin; he observed that the metal didn’t seem to have any obvious breaks or seams.

He quickly tested the firepower abilities and grappling hook; making them compress afterward.  After putting them down, and rotating his wrists, he said “The real test is tonight.  I’ll let you know how they work.”

Sam pulled out a small oval case from the Fabricator and put the two lumps of metal in it.  “I realized that you didn’t think of a way to store them.  I took the liberty to design something compact and chargeable.”

Tyler slipped the case into his backpack as there was a knock on the lab door.  He opened it to find Brenda standing there.  Before he could say anything, she walked in and said “I know personal projects and all that but I just wanted to know if you still meeting us all later.  You didn’t really respond in the text.”

Making a show of checking his phone, he said “Sorry about that.  Been a little busy around here today.  We’re running exciting computer simulations and testing fabrication builds.”

Sam noticed Brenda become laser-focused on the ES-77 simulation before she shook her head.  Seizing the moment, she said “You two can head out now if you want to.  I’ll clean up around here.”

Tyler picked up on her tone and put his lab coat by the door.  Throwing his backpack over his shoulder, he said “It would almost be time to meet everyone else anyway.  I’ll just wait for you in the lobby.”

“Sounds good to me; nice to see you again Sam.” Brenda said as they left the room.  Walking to her lab station she asked “So, The Fabricator.  Making progress with Nano-Tech?”

“Something like that.  You’ll see when I have something worth showing.  Meet you upstairs.” Tyler said and walked over to the elevator.

He only had to wait a few minutes for Brenda to come up the elevator.  They set out to meet Jennifer and Jason at a local café called The Roost.  Jason wanted to talk about a Halloween party he was going to have.  Of the group, Jennifer showed up last and didn’t say much; Tyler had a feeling he knew why.

He only just noticed she was holding his hand when Jason said “So, my parents said I was good to have that small party Halloween night.  You three are coming I assume.”

Jennifer only nodded her head while Brenda said “I’ve got something else I’m doing that night but I’ll definitely be by.”

“Can’t promise I’ll be there.  I’ll try but you know both my parents give out candy from The Lab.  We Didn’t decide who’s staying at the house yet.” Tyler said.

“Right, of course.  When you know for sure just let me know. So, what does everyone think of…” Jason said, while surely asking something about school.  Tyler stopped listening for a moment to study Jennifer.

It looked like she was thinking about something but it wasn’t hard for Tyler to guess.  Suddenly she said “I think he does good work.  There might just be some things that someone like him can handle be able to handle better than police; no offense Jason.”

Tyler refocused on the conversation as Brenda was shrugging.  She said “I don’t, necessarily, disagree with you.  I’m just saying that if The Mirage wanted to help, he would; it would make more sense to help the proper authorities.”

Jennifer’s expression said she clearly had more to say but didn’t.  The group let the topic go and moved on to other things.  It was then that Tyler noticed her grip on his hand had become tighter.  It wasn’t much longer until Jason and Brenda left; leaving Tyler to pick up the, admittedly not large, bill.  Jenifer looked more relaxed than before but still a little tense.

“So, you going to tell me what’s wrong, or do I have to guess?” Tyler asked breaking their silence.

Taking a deep breath, she said “Well, after we hung up last night, I think I was almost mugged.”

Showing as much concern as he could, Tyler asked “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine; just a little shaken up still.  It was two of them but The Mirage showed up.  One ran off while he had to stun the other person.”

Tyler cupped her hands as he said “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Laughing slightly to herself she said “Yeah, so is my dad.  Our argument’s been put on hold for now.”

He laughed, louder than necessary, he was sure.  The two spend some more time at The Roost and then he walked her home.  While walking Jennifer talked about how The Mirage just appeared out of nowhere and she wasn’t sure what she would have done without him.  Tyler reassured them that she would have, probably, been fine because she was just outside her apartment complex.  She agreed though she sounded a little unsure; all the same, they were back at the complex.

Parting ways, Tyler could tell she wanted to say something more to him but she just went inside.  He had plenty of time before he would head out for his nightly activities so he thought he would go over his plan with Susie in her room.  In a moment of silence, she said “The best plan would be capturing one or two agents and turning them over to the police.”

He looked at his sister and said “Believe me, I would love nothing more than that.”

Finally, the time came for Tyler to head out as The Mirage.  He put on the various parts of the outfit, leaving the new gantlets for last.  Activating them the cool metal morphed around him; he flexed his hand a couple times to make sure the fit was still right.  Heading to the window, his internal display came to life with a map routing him directly to The Orders base.  Flying with the new gear didn’t, really, feel any different and he soon forgot about the weight difference.

Getting to the northern Bronx wasn’t very difficult; Tyler was getting used to leaving the Manhattan area.  He landed a couple buildings away from the target building as Susie said “Traffic cameras, as well as reports, suggest that a lot of activity was happening here today.  Looks like they actually have our plan figured out.”

“Don’t worry Soothsayer.  Every move they make tells us more about them.” Tyler said.  Pausing for a moment he asked “Serene, is the area clear?”

“It appears that way, sir.  All non-Order activity appears to have stopped two hours ago.” Serene reported.

Before Tyler could ask her another request, she already pulled up building schematics showing the best entry point.  He watched the building to be sure that Serene was correct for about fifteen minutes.  There were some vehicles parked around the place, but they looked abended.  Someone stumbled out from one of them, though they looked like they might be drunk.  He turned invisible and landed by the cars to take a quick look around anyway; finding nothing except that most had missing license plates.

Serene pointed out several doors along the building, one close by even left wide open.  It felt too much like an obvious trap but he looked through it.  As far as he could tell nobody was inside but many of the creats were still there.  The lights weren’t on full power so the whole place had a gloomy feel to it.  Deciding not to enter through the door he walked around the corner and found another one.

As quietly as he could, he forced a side door open and let himself in.  He wasn’t walking for long when he heard a woman say “We’ll have to leave it.  It’s just parts and power cells.”

Tyler got closer to the source of the voice as another, though younger, woman asked “Are you sure?  I don’t mean to speak out of turn but these parts weren’t cheap.”

“I understand the cost here but I think it wise to leave it.  Now prepare our friends and let’s be on our way.” The first woman said as Tyler stood behind a shelf full of boxes.

It sounded like this was the woman who was in charge at the first warehouse he went to.  Pocking his head around the shelf he didn’t see anyone; he carefully walked into the open walkway.  He became visible again as all the lights came on to full power and Tyler saw two groups of four people being tied up against different shelving units.  He whirled around and saw the person he fought one on one and a hologram of the woman in charge.

The woman had a smile smug enough it could be seen through the image.  She made a hand movement and said “You hero types are so predictable.  I mention ‘friends’ and you think hostages.  It’s all amusing.”

The young woman cocked her head and said “Of course, that’s what they are.”  She turned to the woman in the hologram and said “I’ll see you later Matriarch.”

Trying not to let the fact he fell for a trap he could practically taste show, he said “So she’s your leader.  Is that it?”

The young woman let out a small laugh and said “You have so much to learn about us, don’t you.  We’re leaving this all here so you’re welcome to any of it.”

She turned to leave and Tyler shot his right grappling hook at her shoulder.  She looked back at him as he said “I’m not letting you go so easily.  I know your suit can shrug off my energy blasts but let’s see how it handles direct contact to high voltages.”

With that, he tapped the side of the gantlet and it became electrified.  That same number of amps in the gantlet surged through the grappling line and the young woman fell to the ground.  He quickly checked her pulse, finding she was fine, and went to help the people tied to shelves.

Susie didn’t have much to do with this tonight.  She sat back in her chair and watched Tyler knock the young woman out.  She looked over at her second monitor and saw the, muted, police scanner went quiet on certain frequencies.  Turning the volume back up she heard S.W.A.T. team members saying they were in position around their target.  She checked where the signals were coming from and saw they were all around the warehouse.

Almost shouting she said “Tyler you need to get out of there now.  There’s S.W.A.T. all around the building.”

Tyler looked over at the young woman who was now standing, though on shaky legs.  She gave him a little nod and turned invisible.  He heard her take-off and crash through a window, making her escape.  The moment of shock was the exact moment he had for his own escape; one moment later S.W.A.T. team squads started busting into the building.  Three sets of doors were busted open and three S.W.A.T. squads rushed through the building.

They pointed their guns at him while screaming at him to get down on the ground.  He stood there for a moment, not really sure how to proceed.  Suddenly Susie said “Get out of there idiot!  They have orders to shoot for non-compliance.”

Tyler didn’t even bother turning invisible, he ran for the main exit.  One of the S.W.A.T. team members shot at him but it flew by.  He jumped and then turned on the rocket boosters.  Several S.W.A.T. team members started shooting at him but they all missed.  They managed to shut up the main doorway just before he went through it; not wanting to, potentially leave himself open to, actually get shot he turned towards a window.

While flying overhead, he started throwing smoke bombs.  The building quickly became filled with a thin layer of smoke that masked his escape.  He crashed through the window and barely went noticed as the S.W.A.T. squads turned their attention to clearing out the hostages.  Tyler cleared a few blocks before stopping to catch his breath.  He double-checked that he wasn’t hit, as well as not being followed.  He cautiously made his way home but he did notice a lot more of a police presence along many of the main roads.  

As he approached his window, Susie said “Looks like you were right about not getting the authorities involved.  The Order must have some kind of their own amongst their ranks.”