Radiance Ch. 44

Chapter 44: Dethroning.

Malakai peeked his head over the edge of the broken window and peered down into the darkness below, thanks to his dark-adapted eyes he easily picked out all the shapes moving around below him.

He glanced back at Wisp who was peering over his shoulder, "I still can't believe you managed to persuade Seven to convince me to turn my armour into a saddle" he grumbled and Wisp shot him an evil grin.

"Well how else am I supposed to ride you my sugar spider?' she shot back with a playful kick of her heels in the makeshift stirrups now sewn into the sides of the body armour he was wearing that now looked like a cross between a bomb vest and a horse saddle.

"Seemed to do alright the other night without one," he said with a sly smile and Wisp laughed.

"Well yeah but then you were on your back and I had a lot to hold onto, well unless you want to flip over and have me ride your fluffy bum all the way down to the ground, sure as hell would work as one fucker of a distraction don't you think?" she said making him flush bright pink.

"Err I think I'll just keep it this way thanks," he said and she laugh again.

'Thought so, now how many do you count? I got about two hundred of them down there" she said.

"Two fifteen to be exact and what looks like some rather strange ones locked up in cages off to the right there, though they don't look like girls to me," he said pointing towards a stack of what looked like a mixture of welded shopping trolleys, chains and rebar that had all been welded together to form some kind of jail.

Wisp looked where he was pointing and Malakai swore he could hear her eyes whirring as they zoomed in, "Hey yeah you are right if anything they look like boys, but it's hard to tell, they could be regular super mutants, but there's just something off about them" she said.

"I'll take a closssser look, can you lower me down?" Riss said from Malakai's right, Malakai nodded and he quickly began weaving a silk harness like a sling which he handed to Riss who hooked herself into it, the fibres were so fine as to be nearly invisible looking like a fine grey shimmer.

Fortunately, the strands were more than strong enough to hold her weight and planting all eight of his legs far apart as Riss leaned over the edge applying her cloaking as she did Malakai took the strain of holding her weight, slowly he fed the strands through his hands lowering Riss down till she hit the ground and he pulled up the makeshift rope and using his spinnerets he severed it from himself.

Wisp pressed her radio PTT, "Riss in on the ground over" she said and Seven came back almost instantly.

"Roger that, we're getting everything set up here any eyes on the queen or her enforcers yet? Over," he said.

Both Malakai and Wisp looked around the crowd, "Negative nothing yet" Wisp replied.

"Ok roger that keep us in the loop we'll let you know when we're ready over and out," he said.

"Can yous hit that beam with a web?" Runs asked pointing to a metal roof beam a few feet away from them.

The ceiling was a latticework of heavily riveted steel beams that interlinked in order to support the huge glass ceiling that was mostly and surprisingly still intact except for a few panels like the one that the small group were looking through.

Runs was dressed completely in black and his face was painted with stripes and swirls of black paint, on his back was both his bow and a rifle both crossed over his chest, the only thing that showed his heritage other than his bow were the soft mocisans on his feet.

"Yeah should be no problem, gimme a second" Malakai said and using his spinnerets he began to create a ball of sticky silk, now as an Arachnakai he could make multiple types of silk, like the super dense thick and non-sticky strands that he used to make the armour they were all wearing, now he was producing a super sticky and elastic type that would work as an anchor this would be attached and blended into an elastic but non-sticky variant that would allow it to be climbed on without sticking to the climber.

He was about to throw it when Runs stopped him, "Don't throw, attach to this" he said holding out a blunt-tipped carved arrow made from wood and Malakai couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship that had gone into it as an artisan himself he loved admiring the work of a fellow artisan.

Malakai nodded and took the arrow before using his leg to pass the sticky anchor to his hands he quickly attached the ball to the tip and wrapped the arrow in enough sticky silk to hold it anchored in place before handing it back to Runs who smiled and nodded as he admired Malakai's craftsmanship.

Runs took his bow from his back and nocked the arrow into it, "I's needs enough rope to make it to that beam there" he said pointing to a beam slightly further away than the one he originally pointed at and Malakai nodded before he kicked his spinnerets into high gear and they rapidly began weaving the silk together like it was being braided and wrapped, now to look at his silk glands it would be easy to assume that Malakai only had two large spinnerets but that wasn't true as Arachnakai had six.

The outer spinnerets which were the ones that everyone saw and that Wisp continually loved to tease and play with as she was rapidly developing a little habit of either tickling them when he wasn't looking or gently pinching them before gently patting him on the rear.

But under those two large spinnerets that were about the size of two average human fingers stood end to end there were four more under them that were a little harder to see, there were the mediums and then the smalls and they all had their jobs, the smalls wove the finest of the threads into the weave, the mediums handled the thicker threads while also applying tension to already in play threads to make it easier to weave them.

Runs took careful aim before taking a deep breath holding it and drawing the bow in one fluid strong movement, the arrow hit exactly where Runs aimed it and stuck solid thanks to Malakai's web adhesive.

Runs tugged at the web and while it stretched the bonds were solid, he took the other end of it and tied it off to another beam in the window and he tested it, it was solid so he rehooked his bow on his chest and tied off his quiver so non of his arrows fellow out while he turned himself upside down and began to shimmy himself headfirst down the line.

As Malakai and Wisp watched he shimmied his way across the gap and flipped himself up onto the beam, he was stood in a crouch balancing on the beam giving Malakai and Wisp a thumbs up before vanishing into the shadows moving along the beams as silent as the shadows he was cloaked in.

"Alright sugar legs our turn let's move out," Wisp said and Malakai nodded.

"Alright hold on tight gorgeous this is going to be pretty jarring at first," he said and he felt her tightening the straps designed to hold her in place while inverted.

"Ready," she said.

"Alright here we go," Malakai said and with that, he moved forwards and flipped himself over the lip of the window and attached his feet to the metal, behind him his spinnerets were working overtime creating anchor points by attaching sticky silk to the metal so if the worst happened and he lost his footing or the ceiling fell away they wouldn't fall to their deaths.

As they began to move along the inside of the roof he could feel Wisp clinging on to him tightly with both her arms and her legs, he couldn't deny he loved the feeling of her thighs gripping him tightly.

Suddenly the radio sparked up in their ears and they froze, "Risssss to SSSSeven over" Riss's voice crackled into their ears and it was obvious she was speaking in a whisper.

"Go ahead Riss over" Seven replied.

"I have confirmation that the Amazonssss are holding fifteen repeat fifteen human prissssonersss and ssssix ssssupermutant prissssonerssss, the ssssupermutantssss are malesss, they have been tortured, assss have the humanssss, I have seen four bodyssss they are all children over," Riss said and the fury was obvious in her voice.

"Roger that Riss, did you say male super mutants? Over" Seven said.

"Yesss malessss, they sssseem to be a tribe like the Amazonssss are" Riss replied and that's when Shauna came on the line.

"Male super mutants!? That has to be the Greasers, they are the male equivalent of the Amazons, there are a lot fewer of them than the Amazons but during the experiments that created us one in six males wound up as a male super mutant, quite a few of them banded together to form a group that call themselves the Greasers because their leader is obsessed with some age-old styling, they use hair products and animal fat to shape their hair and wear modified leathers but they aren't a very big group for them to have fifteen of them they must have ambushed one of their camps but from what I know of these guys they aren't bad guys, just a bunch of guys trying to deal with what's been done to them and trying to find a new place for themselves in the world, as far as I know, they've never hurt anyone well any good person anyway, I did hear whispers of them attacking Raider caravans but I don't know for sure, but they sure as hell don't deserve this" Shauna said.

"Roger that, alright Malakai and Wisp you're top priority is those prisoners, we also need to move the non-combatants out of the way, how are we doing on the flash bombs? Over" Seven said.

"I'm placed three doing four now over" Runs said in a soft whisper.

"Ok roger that, where are we on identifying the queen and her enforcers now? Over" Seven asked.

"SSSStill working on it over" Riss replied.

"Ok well, we're ready over here how's things on your side Ven? Over" Seven asked.

"We're ready, Shepherd has set up that frame thing you give her and I'm ready to get in there, over," Ven said and that's when Gregory cut in quickly.

"Overwatch to Seven I have the queen repeat I have the queen over!" he exclaimed.

"Good job overwatch, is she with her enforcers? Over" Seven asked.

"I see at least two maybe three but I haven't managed to identify the others over but I have the queen dead on say the word and I'll drop her slaving ass with my first round, I saw through my scope the state of those kids Riss mentioned so say the fucking word Seven because this bitch is going fucking down! Overwatch out" Gregory snarled darkly into the mic.

Both Malakai and Wisp glanced at one another, they had never heard the gentle loving young man so fired up and angry before so what he had seen must be bad, "Roger that Gregory, hold it together my friend, don't you worry she'll get what's coming to her if I have to pull her fucking throat out myself but keep a cool head we need this to go perfect or it's going to turn into a blood bath Seven over and out" Seven replied and the others knew that there was no turning back now, it was on.

It took another twenty minutes for everyone to get their tasks done and to get into their positions, "Is everybody ready? Over" Seven called after everyone checked in Seven audibly took a deep breath over the radio, "Roger that, Riss dose em" he said.

From their position hanging over the prisoner cages, Malakai and Wisp couldn't see the NightStalker girl but they saw the results of her actions clear as day, the six enforcers one after the other suddenly began to coke and look panicked reaching up with their big hands to clutch at their throats as the toxic mixture of her own venom and Malakai's that she had silently added with a syringe to their food kicked in, now they didn't know if it was going to be potent enough to kill them but that wasn't the point, it was to distract and incapacitate them while helping to identify any others lurking in the crowd below.

The place was shaped kinda like a shanty town with a large collection of ramshackle homes that the girls had made out of everything they could get their hands on, from corrugated iron and wooden pallets to old tyres filled stones covered with tarpaulins, it was like an indoor town.

It worked beautifully as no sooner had the six of them began to choke and convulse Runs had identified four more, there were a series of hisses and thuds along with much heavier thuds as his specially made anti super mutant armour-piercing arrows hit home in quick succession and Malakai couldn't help be amazed, the man really was a lethal shadow in his own right.

As if on cue the queen leapt to her feet from her makeshift throne which sat at the head of a table at the head of the large room atop an abandoned and destroyed train, both Malakai and Wisp had noticed the two young human males that were chained naked to the sides of it looking thourally beaten down, their young bodies covered in a litany of bruises and scars.

"We're under attack!! Prepare to defend your queen!!" the queen yelled.

"Overwatch, hammer down I repeat hammer down," Seven said and a single shot rang out right on cue.

The queen's head snapped backwards as Gregory's round slammed right into her forehead before his body was even halfway to the floor Seven was back on the radio, "All call signs All call signs go go go!!!" he yelled and there were four huge roars from either side of the chamber as four doors were blown inwards, there were followed by two further roars but these two came from the two heavily armoured Claws that charged into the room at full tilt heading right for the enforcers who were still trying to fight off the venom mixture they had been dosed with, that's when the weapons started appearing.

Malakai landed with a heavy thud at the side of the prison and Wisp was off his back in a second, behind the metal the humans and male super mutants looked stunned and terrified, as Malakai lifted his rifle into the aim to cover his beloved one's back Wis planted a small conical stich charge to the main lock of the cage and lit the fuse.

"Fire in the hole!!" she yelled and the lock exploded inwards as the small charge detonated.

By now the Amazons who were going to fight were already at it, the remaining enforcers were yelling and trying to rally a defence but Seven's plan was already working, as instead of rallying to them the majority of the female super mutants were either diving for cover or trying to hide from the lead that was flying in every direction as the two groups exchanged fire.

Most of it was being direct at Ven and Visa who had cut right through the incapacitated enforcers and were now in the middle of the fray, but to the casual observer, it looked like the bullets were bouncing right off them without ever making it into the armour that protected them but to those in the know they'd have seen Seven at the corner of the room holding an invisible bubble around the two claws shielding them from the vast majority of the flak.

Though more women joined the defence than they would have liked the attackers were still pushing them hard, both Sheild and Shauna had joined the fray now both holding huge riot shields that had been constructed of plate metal and given a coating of Malakai's silk to not only catch lower calibres but to prevent either shrapnel damage and catch richoets.

Behind each of them was a strike team of six women who were using them as mobile cover, the pair were wearing two of Malakai's heaviest armour creations that looked like an oversized bomb suits, the women behind them were leaning out to fire at the defenders as they advanced into the room.

Malakai saw two Amazons turn towards the cages and as soon as they saw Wisp cutting the cage locks with her small plasma torch they went to hoist their weapons in their direction, he didn't even hesitate as soon as his hyper-precise eyes perceived the threat to his beloved one his body was already moving, he lifted his rifle in exactly the way Seven and Gregory had taught him and he opened fire.

Both women dropped in the hail of bullets that Malakai unleashed on them, "DIE SLAVERS!!!!" he bellowed as his weapon chattered next to his head spitting hot lead death on the women who posed a threat to his beloved one as well as the innocent prisoners she sought to free.

As the weapon snapped dry Malakai dropped the magazine and slapped in a fresh one before hitting the bolt release which slammed the parts forwards and recocked the weapon, it was over in three seconds and to him it barely felt like he'd moved, infact that's when his brain caught up with what he'd done.

But before he could freeze up Wisp appeared next to him, "Prisoners are free!! We need to extract! Come on Malakai!" she yelled and he snapped back to the moment and spun on the spot, he charged into the cells and began grabbing the terrified men and boys.

"We're getting you out of here!! Come with me!!" he yelled hoisting two of them up under his arms and leaping from the cage to the wall where he began to run up it at full speed while Wisp began removing the others, as he reached the glass he shoved them through the hole where Gregory was waiting while still laying down sniper fire.

He kicked down the other anchored knotted ropes that Malakai had woven and anchored and even before Malakai hit the ground and rushed to grab more there were already men climbing them some with young boys hanging off their backs like baby monkeys, even the male super mutants were doing it.

"They're freeing the oppressors!! Kill them!!" someone yelled and Malakai spun on the spot just in time to see three of them levelling their weapons on the climbing boys, without a second thought he lept right at them putting all of his strength into the leap.

Even as he was in the air with his eight legs fanned out to land he felt the bullets impacting into his armour along its underside and in the front, t felt like he was being his all over with hammers but the adrenaline shielded him from the pain but not from the force, but it didn't stop him and he slammed into the three of them knocking them flat.

Quick as a flash he sank his fangs into the neck of the nearest one and his legs and spinnerets hit turbo mode wrapping super sticky strands around them as best as he could as they struggled to throw his weight off them, but it worked and the three women were bound together in a sticky mess of webbing, that's when Riss just appeared out of thin air next to them and riddled the struggling mass with bullets.

That's when Malakai heard the call over the radio that everyone had dreaded hearing, "Man down!! Man down!! Oh god, they've hit Sheila!!" Shauna yelled.

He spun on the spot after leaping clear of the pile of dead women and he instantly saw Shiela's team, two of them were holding up her massive shield while the other four were trying to drag the fallen woman into cover behind some nearby barrels.

Bending his legs Malakai stored power before releasing it in a huge leap that allowed him to clear the majority of the room, he landed next to the team who all flinched at his sudden appearance out of no-where, "I've got this you get moving!!" he yelled and with a struggle, he quickly hoisted the fallen super mutant woman onto his back and bound her to him before running as fast as he could towards the wall.

As he emerged from the hole Wisp was waiting for him with the medical kit in her hands, Gregory was to their left laying down further fire but the fight below them was already petering out as the final resistance was being crushed under the weight of the attack.

Malakai quickly placed the unmoving Sheila down in front of her and he quickly began to search the armour for the impact and that's when he saw it, her completely glazed over and lifeless eye, singular as the other one was just gone, Sheila had taken a hit directly to the right eye, she was dead.

Wisp removed her armoured helmet and froze as she saw the wound, slowly she lowered her head and listened but there was no breathing, there was no heartbeat, there was no life, their new friend was gone.