Ch17 In the Case of Hotwire and El Dorado

This fiction will be rated FR21 just incase. Beware sexual content and stuff like that. Readers discretion is advised.

Many of the characters seen are HumanX adaptations of characters from the various DC Comics animated series. HumanX holds no rights to characters such as Red X and Johnny Rancid (he only tweaked them for this story).

Let's get to the story already

So far our group has successfully infiltrated the Depraved's final base of operations thanks to the sacrifice of two of our own members. El Dorado and Hotwire have branched off from the rest of us so that we can continue pushing forwards into the base.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave Hotwire behind?" Mary calls up to Romulus.

"Don't sell her short." Romulus calls back. "She's a level three on the infections list and she chooses her battle well. She wouldn't have bothered to volunteer to stay behind if she didn't think she could win."

"I dunno." Charlotte adds in. "She seems a little hot headed to me."

"Trust Romulus." I tell them. "This is his team member we're talking about. He should know her weaknesses better than us."

"It's easy for you to say." Romulus smiles at me. "You can tell what she was thinking can't you?"

"I make it my business to know what goes through the minds of women." I grin confidently under my helmet. "It's just another reason why I'm awesome."

---

Hotwire rustles her fingers together building static electricity in her fingers as her opponent sizes her up. His sickly pale green eyes travel the lengths of her body searching for any sign of weakness or breach in her defences.

"You really are just a little girl." He comes to his final conclusion. "I've been underestimated."

"You think so?" Hotwire looks around the room at all the metallic material. "It does seem you have the terrain to your advantage. But you still have no chance of winning. Not against me."

"We'll see." Ferromagnum reaches his hand into the air and draws the metal in the area to it, creating a blade over his forearm.

---

"ORRRRRYAAAAAGH!" The woman's fist impales El Dorado's chest, busting through his ribs and crushing his internal organs. The shockwave itself rips his spine from his back.

"Wow." The body on the woman's fist disappears as El Dorado's true self fades into existence beside her. "Such incredible power. Your dedication shows well in both the initial strike and the fallow through."

The woman spins around to attack him but falls through the image of his body.

"Enough of these illusions." The woman grits her teeth as she tries to discover El Dorado's whereabouts.

"I just realized that I didn't even ask your name." Another image appears. "What was it by the way?"

"My colleagues call me Panzer." She attacks again.

"Such a rough name for such a delicate flower." El Dorado sighs as his illusion splits into three different clones of himself.

"Yeah," Panzer rubs the sweat from her chin before lifting a car over her head and tossing it at the images. "I'm a real pansy girl."

The car passes through the fakes but the original only has moments to get out of the way. His illusion breaks and Panzer tackles him into a wall.

"I think you may have broken two of my ribs." El Dorado chokes on the pain. "If you really put your full effort in you could have easily broke my spine too."

"I don't need advice." Panzer grabs him by the leg and tosses him at a parked truck. El Dorado wraps himself in his cape and teleports to safety.

"Those who don't accept advice from their elders are doomed to face failure." He says as he dodges another of her attacks. "Also, you seem to have a well formed base when it comes to combat. Why would someone with such natural skill resort to drugs to increase their abilities? Such a waste of talent."

"Just shut up!" Panzer grabs him by the head and pushes his skull into the concrete bellow.

El Dorado teleports from his cape just in time. "A second later and my head would have been mashed like a potato. I should start taking her more seriously."

"I have enhanced strength, defence, senses and the ability to fly." Panzer calls out to El Dorado who is hiding behind a large truck. "That's why I'm the first line of defence."

"And that's why I can't risk letting you get your hands on me." El Dorado whispers under his breath. "I also possess enhanced strength and durability but not to such extents. My opponent is indeed formidable. Her speed can even keep up with my teleportation. I may have to rely completely on illusion. And then there's that." His hands clench as he thinks over his options. "I can't hit a girl! It's about my manly pride!"…Are you kidding me?

---

Hotwire weaves through one metallic object after another as she dodges across the room.

"Stand still you little-" Ferromagnum tries to surround her with chairs but she flips out of the way and summersaults backwards before they even have a chance of hitting her.

"Boring." Hotwire places a hand on her hip and yawns. "Come on old guy, give me something fun to do."

"Something fun?" Ferromagnum reaches out to the metal in the chairs, tables and some from the rafters and forms them into a wave of metal which looks like sentient metal dragon. The dragon chases Hotwire who blasts it with lightning but it keeps coming. She jumps over its deadly fanged face and roles off the creature's back. It reforms and chases after her again, gaining as it herds her into corner. Hotwire moves full speed at the wall and runs straight up it using static electricity to seal her feet to the wall with each step and allowing her time to charge her electrical attack into her right hand. The sound of the creature's body being overwhelmed by the heat of Hotwire's attack sounds like a demonic shriek and the creature sweats drops of its own body. The metal falls away, melted into a clump of semi-liquid.

"I guess it's harder for you to control metal after it's been heated, huh?" Hotwire turns her attention to Ferromagnum. He grins as the liquid metal moves once more, wrapping itself around her and coiling like a boa constrictor.

"Not really. All forms of metal which are effected by magnetic fields are the same. I just need to focus my attentions differently than before." The metallic menace coils tighter. It's sharpened wire-like body cuts into Hotwire's suit and lacerates her skin. Despite the pain it no doubt causes the girl she simply glares at Ferromagnum with no signs of distress. "I've always liked this part. Watching the struggle as my prey tries to wretch itself free and the panic they display as their minds begin to understand that there really is no escape. But the best part would have to be watching as the life fades from their eyes as they die. It's thrilling."

"You need a new pass time." Hotwire fires a blast of electricity from her forehead and almost cuts a hole through Ferromagnum's shoulder, but unfortunately he dodges.

"I guess I will miss the show." He pouts and commands the metal to close around her. The constrictor melts over Hotwire and engulfs her body completely. Ferromagnum bows. "Revoir."

---

Panzers punches continue hitting dead air as El Dorado keeps his illusions up.

"Get out here and fight me you coward!" Panzer calls out to him.

"I just can't do it!" El Dorado sits in a fetal position on top of a transport. "It's not right for a man to hit a girl! My manly pride wont allow it!"

"Why haven't I killed this guy yet?" Panzer lift up the transport and tosses it.

El Dorado jumps off just in time. He dodges as Panzer tries to hit him with the force of an elephant behind each attack.

"I just can't do it. My body may have the strength of a lion but my heart cannot bare the pain of knowing I caused such a tender flower harm."

That "tender flower" misses a shot to his head and puts her hand through a concrete wall.

"Stop dancing around like an idiot and fight me d**nit!"

"Maybe we can talk this out." El Dorado keep dodging even though she's getting closer to hitting him. "Maybe I can help you get back on the right track."

"I don't need counselling!"

"If we would all just admit to our imperfections the world could begin to heal. Can't you see that when you attack me you're only hurting yourself?"

"If you'd sit still I could correct that!" She punches so hard it doesn't matter that he dodges it because the shockwave knocks him back and drops his illusions.

"Alright." El Dorado stands up and looks at her with so much intense passion in his eyes it stops her cold for a moment. "You leave me no choice then."

"Now we can get down to the real fight."

El Dorado opens his arm wide. "Hit me all you want until you're ready to talk! I wont try to stop you!"

"Alright." Her fist crams into his face and sends him rolling backwards like a stone being skipped against a lake.

"You really hit me." He gets up and rubs his cheek.

"Well of course."

"But what about my display of manly pride!? You're supposed to be moved by my selflessness and learn the error of your ways!" Tears are actually streaming from his eyes.

"You know, you're a good looking guy and a decent fighter but you're awfully stupid!" Panzer yells at him. "Who the hell falls for crap like that!? You sound like a cheesy cartoon superhero!"

"But don't you feel the power of justice beating in your chest!?"

"I don't want a freak like you talking about my chest."

"So you're ashamed of your body as well!?" He falls to his knees. "Don't you know that it's a woman's inner beauty which really shine the brightest!? Of course I can't blame you for not understanding your own good points. Having grown up with an abusive father and an uncaring mother."

"My parents loved me."

"Forced out of your home at an early age you never had a chance at a true education!"

"I went to Berkeley in California."

"Forced onto the streets and with few chances for good jobs you where forced to sell your body just to make it by."

"Stop making up other peoples back stories!" She kicks him so hard he goes through the nearest wall.

"You've led such a troubled life. But you've hit me twice now without killing me. Don't you see that's a sign that you truly are a good person!?" El Dorado cries into his wrist.

"How do I kill you!?" She screams in frustration.

"But all of that can end! Just see the error of joining the Depraved and turn to justice!" He wraps an arm around her. "When even your caring aunt who was the only person to support you lies dying in bed justice will show you the light and keep you going strong!"

"Don't kill off my aunt!" She flips him over her shoulder and screams. "What the hell is wrong with you!? Are you a freaking idiot!?"

"If caring makes me an idiot than I don't want to be smart!" El Dorado takes her hands.

"Sir." Panzer says to him in a calm, nearly sweet voice.

"What is it? You can tell me." He asks with sparkles in his eyes.

"I'm going to count to three and then I'm going to start beating you. I don't know when or if I will stop. But if I do you most likely will not survive."

"It sounds like somebody needs to talk out their problems." Her hand closes around his neck and crushes it into nothing. The body disappears.

"Another illusion." She turns around but he's right there, looking at her with so much sadness he almost doesn't look human anymore.

"I'm so sorry." He pokes her in the forehead. "I can't fight a girl so I'll have to use my mental powers to put you down."

Panzer feels her knees become weak and her eyes close. "I'm…I'm going to kill you someday…You stupid…I'm gonna kill you."

"So young. And so full of hate." El Dorado wipes the tears from his eyes and looks up into the sky. "WHY!!!!!!???"

---

"Now to catch up to Romulus." Ferromagnum prepares to come after us. "I'll have to teach him a lesson for betraying the Depraved."

The clump of metal encasing Hotwire begins to boil. Ferromagnum watches in horror as his death trap bubbles out of control and explodes in a furious blaze of blue lightning.

Hotwire steps out from the mess of molten metal and brushes her hair from her electrified glowing eyes. Her whole body is covered in an electric field.

"I can't let you hurt Anthony, not that you could." The sparks from flying from her body look like stars in the clear night sky. "You see I've got a thing for older men and he's been so nice to me. If things don't work out with Alex I may have to make him my target."

"If you survived you should have just played dead until I was gone." Ferromagnum calls the melted metal to his hands and forms two blades. "Now I'll have to make sure you're dead before I move on."

"Apres que vous." Hotwire crosses her arms and waits.

Ferromagnum charges at her but his blades cut through thin air. Hotwire's lightning fires a second later, blasting him into a wall.

"When I'm in this glowing form I get incredible speed. It's a part of the power you're bosses where kind enough to give me." Hotwire tells him. "I'd like to use it to show them my appreciation."

"Little brat." Ferromagnum reaches out his arm and sends a stream of metal in the form of a large spike to impale her but the stream stops just short of her face, unable to move any further.

"This form also comes with a built in shield." Hotwire grabs the metal spike and crushes it under the force of her power, shattering its body to pieces which fire off in every direction as her body moves through them at such high speed that she is standing in front of Ferromagnum before even a second could pass. In terror Ferromagnum calls out to the metal of the wires in the walls to wrap around Hotwire's arms and legs and lift her into the sky.

"You're mine!" Ferromagnum gathers all the metal he can into a claw and sends it flying up at Hotwire who focuses the electric power around her and fires a single focused beam from her chest. It cuts through the claw, melting it into a scattered pile of smouldering nothingness. Her electric aura returns and snaps the wires holding her up. Ferromagnum reaches out to the metal again but before he can Hotwire's amped up fist collides with his stomach and pounds him into the wall so hard that the wall splinters under the force. Her fists continuously collide with his chest so fast the naked eye can't see them, but the damage they cause is clear to anyone. Ferromagnum's fist becomes covered in metal and he reaches up and strikes Hotwire across the cheek. She stumbles back and looks up in time to put up an electric force field before Ferromagnum can hit her again.

"Vous merde stupide!" Hotwire's snarls, her face twisting into complete rage. "You never, under any circumstances, punch a pretty girl in the face!"

"Aren't we feeling high and mighty?" Ferromagnum covers his body aside form his face in metal. "We'll see how long you last."

He holds out his hands and the metal streams out like tentacles fro his fingers.

---

Charlotte looks back down the hall we're running through.

"Are you still worried about Yvette?" I ask her.

"Well, the guy she's fighting looked really confident. I'm not sure about his power level."

"It's the same as hers." I tell her bluntly.

"What!?" Charlotte panics. "Then we have o go back! She'll be killed!"

"Not likely." Romulus laughs. "Actually, I couldn't have hoped for her to face a better opponent."

"Huh?" Charlotte looks at us like we're nuts.

"I was briefed on the powers of all the people Romulus knows of in the Depraved before we came here." I explain. "Ferromagnum has the ability to control magnetic fields. You get it?"

"Not really?" Charlotte grumbles.

"Really?" I ask her, purposely making it sound really obvious. "It's pretty simple."

"Just give me the freaking answer!" She gets fed up with me.

"Fine." I give in. "Think about this for a second. The trick to Hotwire's fight is…"

---

"What's happening!?" Ferromagnum cries out as the metal falls from his body. "What's going on!? My power! What happened to my power!?"

"It's pretty simple when you think about it." Hotwire reaches an arm out and the lifeless metal on the ground bends to her will. "The magnetic fields you use to control objects are produced by electric charges. Because of that your powers are completely reliant on electricity, my power. So all I need to do is cut off your supply. Why didn't I think of this earlier?" She smiles. "I must be off today."

"You." Ferromagnum clenches the ground. "You're making a fool out of me. You little bit-" And bamf.

Ferromagnum is plastered to the wall with a charge of Hotwire's static power. "Yup. I totally made you look like a imbecile. But in the end I win." She knocks Ferromagnum out with a slight electric shock to the head.

---

"I see you've finished up in here too." El Dorado walks in and pats Hotwire on the head. "I expected no less."

"Yeah. Now we can catch up to the others." Hotwire turns to fallow us but freezes.

"What's wrong?" El Dorado asks watching as sweat pours from Hotwire's face.

"You wouldn't..uh…" She turns around and smiles awkwardly. "Happen to know where the others are, would you?"

There's a moment of silence before the two break into panic.

"Aw merde! We're so f**ked!" Hotwire shoots of sparks in her alarm. "Romulus is going to kill me! Maybe I can convince him this guy was tougher than he looked."

"Such a tragic end!" El Dorado cries. "Maybe we can wake these two up and have them tell us where the secret entrance is."

"Don't wake them up!" Hotwire stops him. "We'd have to fight them again. They probably wouldn't tell us anyway."

"HEY!" Both El Dorado and Hotwire look up to see a large group of Depraved soldiers ready to fight them. "We're what's left of the Depraved's front line! Don't think you can just pass us so easily!"

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" El Dorado flies up to him and shakes his hand.

Hotwire jumps up beside him. "If we make these guys last long enough we'll have an excuse not to catch up."

"We owe you our lives." El Dorado thanks the enemy in tears. "Romulus said if we mess up our missions he'd let Red X decide our punishment and I'm not sure the little guy's all there."

"Uh…I." The Depraved members have no idea what to do. "You're welcome…"

---

As El Dorado and Hotwire deal with their new friends the rest of our group makes its way into through the final hallway and enters a dimly lit room which resembles the Rose Avenue Cathedral. Except this place has no windows and is covered in spider webs and moss.

We wait silently until both Romulus and I nod to signal each other and we jump back, pushing our friends out of the way as massive strands of sticky webs coms down from the sky.

"Aw crap." Romulus realizes who we're up against instantly. "I really wanted to avoid him."

A strand of web falls down from the roof which is so shrouded in black that we can't see through it. A human man slides down the string and lands on the ground in front of us. He slouches as he stands. One eye peers through the tangles mess of hair covering his face down to his large, widened smile. His entire body is thin and I can see the bones of his arms as clearly in this darkness as if it where day. His thin arms and legs are long, far longer than natural. His stomach however is bloated out and hangs over his decrepit legs. Four large spider-like legs spread form his back. These are the only limbs he has with any signs of muscle on them.

"Hello." He says to us in a shrill breathy voice. His one visible eye darts between us. "I am…Aron Ganglious."

Preview Time!

Red Claw: "Hello! Anyone here!?" Looks around the apartment. "Alex, I came to play!" Crosses her arms. "Where did he go?"

HumanX: "Oh, hey."

Red Claw: "What are you doing here?"

HumanX: "Well, I'm…Same as you, I want to play."

Red Claw: "Considering it's you I highly doubt that. What's behind your back?"

HumanX: "N-Nothing."

Red Claw: Snatches it away. "Stealing caramel cubes? That's pathetic."

HumanX: "But I love caramel cubes. And they're the kind they only give out around Halloween."

Red Claw: "Isn't it Christmas now? Doesn't that mean these are old?"

HumanX: "When it comes to caramel it doesn't matter! Caramel is the single greatest of all candies! It is the king!"

Red Claw: "What about Pocky?"

HumanX: "I'm not a fan of Pocky."

Red Claw: "You're an otaku! How do you not like Pocky?"

HumanX: "There just never seems to be enough of it and I finish it before I even know I started."

Red Claw: "So, what's your favourite drink? If it has alcohol in it I'm all for it."

HumanX: "I like french vanilla coffee with whipped cream."

Red Claw: "You're going to die really young."

HumanX: "I've never been able to decide my favourite kind of food. I've been cooking my own food lately so I've been wondering which one my favourite is."

Red Claw: "Mine is the Diamond Fruitcake."

HumanX: "I thought all fruitcake tasted bad. I've never eaten one I liked."

Red Claw: "You haven't had Diamond Fruitcake. It was made by two Japanese chefs and It's served with a cute little floral arrangement and studded with 223 little diamonds. It costs around 1.65 million dollars."

HumanX: "You have pretty extravagant taste. By the way, I have a Deviant Art account now."

Red Claw: "Random."

HumanX: "If anyone wants to check it out it's at this link: http://negahumanx.deviantart.com/"

RedClaw: "Why NegaHumanX?"

HumanX: "When blessed with the dark power of anime I am given incredible inhuman abilities as I take on my negative form."

Red Claw: "Oh."

Alex: "Am I late for Preview time?"

HumanX: "Pretty much."

Alex: "On the next chapter of Red X Oscura we move deeper into the Depraved's hideout. The multi-limbed menace isn't the only one we have to worry about. I'm starting to feel like Ryoga Hibiki getting lost this much. Who the hell is behind this stupid maze!? Next Red X Oscura chapter, 17 in the case of Baby Doll and Kitten. Whew, now that that's over I can get a snack…" Rummages through the fridge. "Who the hell stole my caramel!?"

Red Claw and Human X: "Run away!"