In This Country Act 02 Ch. 02

But no one was in danger there and Osprey moved to the next neighborhood. There was a gathering at one of the houses but that was for a benevolent, charitable event. They were excited for him to drop by and requested him to stay a while, but he declined in favor of his duties and flew off. This is definitely a quiet city, Osprey thought as he flew back to his perch. I'm glad everything here is peaceful but I'm bored.

But as he began to descend, his eyes caught movements as a laser marksman rifle adjusted its aim . . . right at him. As quick as he could, Osprey flapped his wings to take him skyward. The marksman fired extensively, trying to hit the elusive hero and failing. Osprey contorted his body to increase the difficulty of hitting him then unsuspectingly dropped from that height. The marksman pulled out a machine gun to shoot him with but he was falling to fast to be hit. The hero fell below the edge of the roof before he opened his wings to halt his descent and fly back up. The marksman leaned over the roof to locate and shoot him down but Osprey grabbed the snipe's shirt and took him to the sky.

He ripped the marksman's mask off, revealing him to be female instead, known as Target, the villainess that hunts down her targets aggressively until they are (or she is) incapacitated. Her whole life has been around guns and ammunition; in her childhood, she hunted wild game, in her teens, she was involved in almost any shootout imaginable. By the time she was an adult, she was shooting people who inconvenienced her in the slightest, even going after Dr. Genie when she attempted to kidnap and experiment on the armed woman. However, realizing her mistake, and the potential the dangerous woman had, Dr. Genie struck a deal with the lady: help the doctor bring down the government and establish one governed by the strongest and she would be able to take on prey big enough to satisfy her trigger happy greed.

Like the Committee.

Like a hero or heroine.

And then . . . being able to do it again.

Target pulled a knife out of its holster and tried to stab Osprey's shoulder. He grabbed her wrist with his other hand and elbowed her in the face to force her to drop it. Ignoring the pain, she pulled herself up to be eye level with him and used her legs to push her out of his grip and free fall in the air. Osprey dived towards her, knowing that she had a parachute on hand and was trying to put distance between them to use it.

She pulled out her pistols from her shoulder holsters and fired everything they had at him. Osprey dodged whatever he could and used his arms to cover his face when he couldn't. Still, it was absolutely necessary that he didn't allow her to use that parachute. Fixated on his goal, he soon stopped dodging and just flew straight through her shots, coming within arm's length of grabbing her.

However, he was blindsided without any warning whatsoever as someone tackled him midair and carried, no, flew him away from Target. The flying combatant rained blows on Osprey's body, but he simply curled up and quickly lashed out a kick that connected with his attacker's stomach. With a quick check below him, Osprey could see that Target indeed used her parachute and he was a good two or three miles away in the air, which was the last place he wanted to be with her around.

His current assailant launched at him again and they wrestled each other for dominance as they fell through the air towards the ground. Noticing a shorter building, Osprey tore himself away from the villain and flew towards the building. When he landed, he saw that the villain was already there, waiting for him.

"And you are?" Osprey asked, looking the villain over.

"Yellow Jacket," he introduced himself.

"The dude with the bug face helping the prison escape last semester?" Osprey connected.

"I'm the dude that's going to kick your ass," Yellow Jacket sneered.

Overconfident for sure, Osprey noted. From the top, Osprey could see a pair of antennas slightly waving in the wind that was connected to his head. His head, or helmet, was yellow with two large black ovals on either side of his face. His namesake yellow jacket was a thin material that was flapping freely in the wind. His pants were also yellow with irregular black splotches decorating them, although they weren't flapping in the wind. His hands were black, possibly gloves, and so were his boots.

Bug? Human? Both? This definitely had Dr. Genie's name written all over it. He thought it over and Osprey began to think that the villain was getting his first taste of crime after being taught by his criminal peers. If done right, Osprey could override all the shit they've been telling him and get him a life doing something useful.

"I don't know the reason why you're doing this," Osprey said, "but you should know I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're new at this."

"Do you think we're fighting each other because they thought you were easy?" Yellow Jacket laughed. "You were chosen because you're one tough son of a bitch."

Yellow Jacket flew off with a good burst of speed that Osprey had a hard time keeping track. Closing his eyes, he redirected his attention to his ears, removing the useless sounds and other noises from what he wanted to hear: buzzy wings. His eyes snapped open as he turned to his right and caught Yellow Jacket by his throat and slammed him to the ground. Panicking, the young villain lashed out wildly and knocked his fist against Osprey's chin. It didn't faze the hero one bit and he threw the villain against one of the building's ventilation unit.

While Osprey wasn't the aggressor, he was caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he didn't want to go full hero mode and beat the living shit out of Yellow Jacket, scarring him and making the villain actually hate him. On the other hand, he didn't want to appear weak and be taken advantage of, giving the villain an easy victory that would undoubtedly boost his criminal confidence.

That fine line of balance had to wait as Yellow Jacket flew at him, fists ready to do some damage. But instead of putting them to use, he jumped forward with his knee aimed at Osprey's face. Osprey bent backwards to dodge the incoming knee, keenly aware that the villain was fighting with speed rather than his skills. They both righted themselves but it was Yellow Jacket who moved first. He used his fists to attack Osprey's defended form this time, pushing the hero around the roof as he tried to force him towards a corner.

Osprey, however, was biding his time as he sought a pattern in the young criminal's fighting style. And, when he did find it, the hero grabbed the incoming fist, twisted his body, and flipped the villain on his back. Yellow Jacket landed on his other hand and feet, surprisingly, then used his newly enhanced strength to lift and throw Osprey across the roof.

"I bet you can't do that," Yellow Jacket grinned.

Well that's a surprise, Osprey thought. This dude has speed and strength on his side. Yellow Jacket rushed in on him but this time, Osprey met him head on, catching the arcing fist and throwing Yellow Jacket to the ground. Instead of letting him go though, Osprey continued his punches until Yellow Jacket caught each fist like he did. They slowly climbed to their feet, trying to force the other into a more vulnerable position. Actually, Osprey felt as if he was the only one doing that since it seemed like Yellow Jacket was resisting rather than grappling with him. It seemed like there was something he was missing, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

The second, or third, surprise that Osprey got was watching Yellow Jacket uncurl an extra pair of arms from being held tightly against his chest. Keeping his arms in place, Yellow Jacket went after Osprey's unprotected midsection without remorse. Osprey did his best to pull away, but Yellow Jacket dug his feet in the ground to keep him from leaving. With no other option available, Osprey spread his wings and flapped them, taking Yellow Jacket off balance as Osprey pulled him backwards.

Yellow Jacket tried to regain his footing from earlier but Osprey lifted him into the air and threw him back down to the roof. But before he dived back into action, the hero remembered that Yellow Jacket wasn't the only criminal he was going up against. And a split second later, he was shot like a duck in hunting season. Pain and agony spread through his chest like an explosion, dousing his nerves in molten heat as Osprey tumbled through the air, the world rolling in every direction he fell. He grit his teeth to keep from fainting, but it felt too easy to slip into unconsciousness.

However, right on cue, someone yelled in horror and brought the hero back to his senses. His body immediately righted itself and he found himself falling face first to ground, impact in less than eight seconds. His wings stretched out to their fullest, then bent at an angle to vector his body around the building's corner. Instead of that happening as he would have liked, Osprey felt an all too familiar force crash into him and slam him into traffic. Civilians ran in a panic as Yellow Jacket tossed Osprey against an incoming car and slammed his shoulder into the hero's gut. Weary, Osprey beat on the villain's back with his elbows and fist until Yellow Jacket was able to separate himself. Seeing an opening, Osprey screeched at the young criminal, using his wings to keep the vibrations from spreading and dissipating too quickly. Yellow Jacket was sent back against a couple of cars, clutching his head and screaming in pain. Tired as he was, Osprey went over to the villain but he flew off before the hero could reach him.

"Commander, are you there?" Osprey whispered, keeping an eye on the sky.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" the Commander replied.

"I need assistance," Osprey answered. "Target showed up in Nanit with the bug villain half an hour ago and they've been giving me hell."

"Give me a minute to pinpoint your location in Nanit," the Commander said. "Okay, your coordinates are being sent to Ghost. He's going to HALO parachute above the city, land, and help you defeat the villains, but it will take him about twenty minutes to get there. You're going to have to hold out until then."

"Understood," Osprey replied.

With his orders, Osprey scoped out the sky to see where Yellow Jacket went. It didn't take him long to find him either as he saw the villain bring Target to a building closer to him.

"Perfect," Osprey grumbled. "At least I won't have to get shot looking for her."

With Target in the same vicinity as him, Osprey knew he was grounded. If he wanted to get back in the air, he needed to be far away enough for her to miss even by a centimeter; plus, a couple of obstacles between them would be most welcomed.

His ears picked up a buzzing noise just before Yellow Jacket landed behind him. Since he was only behind a car at the moment, Osprey knew it was time to find a better hiding spot from Target. A cargo truck was a few feet behind him, as a matter of fact, but it was in the wide open, just the air and the ground, his own personal grave. The only way he'd ever be able to get there is if Target couldn't get a decent shot.

Yellow Jacket came at him with his feet first this time, which Osprey stopped with his hands. The young villain then flipped over and tackled Osprey to the ground, pinning the hero with four of his arms. But with them that close, Osprey was able to screech right in his ear and almost put Yellow Jacket in a comatose state. Getting on his knees, Osprey tilted the car on its side before dragging it and the woozy villain to the cargo truck. Pings against the cargo truck and the car let him know that Target wasn't too happy about his idea but there was always someone who didn't appreciate a creative mind.

By the time he made it to the cargo truck, Yellow Jacket was coming back to his senses, and he wasn't too pleased about nearly passing out just then. He twisted Osprey's arm to loosen his grip and kicked himself free to restart their fight. Just then, he looked up towards the sky, as did Osprey, as a transport aircraft appeared in the sky. Target noticed it as well and, putting two and two together, figured she'd make quick work of one of the plane's engines. Setting her marksman aside, she retrieved a rocket launcher and aimed it at the plane. When the plane was locked on, she fired the rocket just before Osprey could kick it out of her hands.

There wasn't any time to deal with the villainess at the moment with the rocket homing in on the plane, so Osprey just leaped off the building and flew into the sky after it. The rocket was traveling at an insane speed that Osprey was having trouble keeping up with but he strained to fly as fast as possible. But below him, in his peripheral vision, he could see Yellow Jacket flying just a little bit faster to catch up with him. Still, Osprey focused on catching the rocket, but if he was going to do that, he'd need more speed and that could be obtained from gravity.

He flew at an intercepting course to be above the rocket. Yellow Jacket eventually stopped flying at a certain altitude, due to the cold, so Osprey didn't have to worry about any sneak attacks for now. When he was high enough, he dived towards the impact point, beating his wings to push him even faster. It quickly dawned on him that the impact point was a few feet beyond his reach, so instead he moved on to plan B. Osprey stopped flying, inhaled deeply, and screeched at the rocket, but without the assistance of his wings. The range of the vibrations expanded right in the path of the rocket and caused it to explode a few feet in front of the transport aircraft. It passed through the smoke, experiencing a little turbulence, but no damage was done to it.

The Committee decided they were well within the city limits and proceeded to drop off the package. The aircraft's ramp was lowered and Osprey flew around to see Ghost running towards him. He jumped off the ramp and was sucked into the void left by the plane. Osprey caught him, then flew to a lower altitude so Ghost could breathe easier.

"Are you ready to fight?" Osprey asked as they descended.

"I wouldn't have jumped out of a plane if I wasn't," Ghost yelled in the wind.

"I need you to hold Target's attention for a while," Osprey requested. "She has a partner that I'm trying to deal with and I can't handle both by myself."

"Then she's all mine," Ghost replied.

It didn't take him long to locate Target on the building, so Osprey headed straight towards her. Suddenly, he dropped in altitude as a laser shot over their heads. He then leaned over as another shot soared beside them.

"Can you make us intangible?" Osprey asked.

"I won't be able to hold it for long," Ghost warned.

"No problem," Osprey grit his teeth as he dodged another laser shot. "We just need to get to her unharmed."

As they got closer, Osprey dived towards the building Target was on, then rose up and aimed for the rooftop. Before they went over, Ghost turned them intangible and they phased through the building's side, leaving Target confused, wondering where they were. As she looked over the ledge, the heroes flew out of the center of the rooftop to fight the villainess.

"They're here, Yellow Jacket!" Target yelled in surprise.

They turned around and saw a gargoyle statue hurtling down towards them. The heroes dived in separate ways as the statue broke apart on impact. Yellow Jacket dove for Osprey but the hero somersaulted and kicked him before he went over the ledge. The two flyers got tangled up as they fell down the side of the building until Osprey screeched in the villain's face and Yellow Jacket shoved him back through the building's window.

On the roof, Ghost was engaged in a shootout with the villainess. While she was moderately protected by one of the building's ventilation units, Ghost had to hide behind the gargoyle statue chunks as it was slowly being chipped away by Target constantly shooting at every part of him she could see. Breathing deeply, Ghost turned intangible and ran through the statue chunks straight for Target. She was thoroughly surprised, but fell back quickly as she got over it.

She picked up a pair of electric batons from her bag of weapons but Ghost turned tangible and tackled her before she could put them to use. Reflexively, Target lashed out with her leg and embedded her foot in his stomach. He grimaced in pain as he clamped onto her leg and twisted her leg back. Her other leg followed to kick him in the head, but Ghost caught the incoming kick and tossed her into a ventilation unit.

Her eyes unfocused for a minute but that wouldn't stop a criminal like her. Target pulled a knife out of a hidden sheath and slowly approached Ghost. She needed to get to her weapons to assist Yellow Jacket but she had to get past this phantom fucker first.

They stalked towards each other, sizing one another up and looking for any signs of leverage they could use in their favor. Target gradually grew impatient looking for an advantage and went charged forward to take him on. When she was three feet away, she leapt and kicked at the hero, forcing him to jump back in defense.

But once she landed, he moved in and struck her in the jaw. Quick as she was, Target lunged with the knife but Ghost caught the arm and flipped the villainess on her back. Mind racing, Target changed knife hands and threw the knife into Ghost's shoulder. Pain exploded through his arm as he staggered back in surprise. While he worked on getting the knife out, Target raced towards her weapons and searched the sky for aerial combatants. A moment later, both fighting flyers crashed onto the roof, both looking haggard, exhausted, and pissed.

"Yellow Jacket, we're ending this now!" the villainess shouted.

The heroes watched as she pulled a canister out of her bag, which she twisted in her grasp. Osprey sprang into action, knowing whatever the device was, it wasn't going to be good for them or the citizens below. He shoved Yellow Jacket to the side in his pursuit to the villainess, but as he drew closer, smoke puffed out the canister and obscured his view of the villainess. He unwittingly breathed in some of the smoke and staggered out in a coughing fit. A window open, Yellow Jacket flew in and pounced on the unsuspecting hero. And for the last surprise, Yellow Jacket released a barbed stinger from each of his hands into Osprey's torso.

Immense pain flooded through his body instantly, along with a surge of adrenaline as he head butt the villain on reflex. Target rushed over, with Ghost right behind her, and wrestled Yellow Jacket off the hero, breaking the stingers and leaving them in Osprey's body. As Ghost caught up, Target fired a grappling hook into the air to Mad Master flying overhead caught the hook with his telekinetic powers and lifted them off the roof.

"Commander, this is Ghost reporting in," Ghost called.

"Go ahead Ghost," the reply came.

"They got away," Ghost informed. "The villains got away. And O-Osprey . . . Osprey's down."

" . . . U-Understood," the Commander sorrowfully sighed. "I'll have a medical team picking you guys up."

*****