Rue: Web of Deceit - Part 19

Criminal Activity

Having realised to their horror that the android Evelyn was housing a living human brain within her, Rue is forced to contend with the idea of having taken a life, regardless of whatever form it took. Nevertheless, they and Jasmine have a friend to save, and they're not about to let her down, no matter what they may face.

Despite the balaclava, Rue visibly pales as they spot the human brain amongst the cogs and bolts. For a moment, it's all that they can look at, the smell hitting their nostrils and making their stomach drop. This... This wasn't right. Their breathing shallow, Rue swallows the bile rising in their throat back down, their hands trembling at the realisation of their actions kicks in. They killed her.   ''I'm sorry...'' They utter to the charred remains, ''I'm so sorry... I-I didn't know...'' It doesn't make them feel any better, the guilt clawing at them much in the same way the flames clawed at Evelyn's body.   "Hey, Rue, come on," Jasmine says, poking her head around the doorframe back to the room, pausing after a moment as she sees the pile on the ground, "Oh... God..."   The purple-haired woman's demeanour suddenly becomes serious as she places a hand on Rue's shoulder, turning them to face her and leaning down to make eye-contact as the taller hero looks down and away.   "Rue. Come on, we can't stop here. Someone or something might have heard that scream. We need to get going before it's too late," she notices Rue looking back over their shoulder at the body, "Not now, Rue. Think about Rachel. She needs us! We can deal with that later, but for now, you've gotta come back to me."   Despite their unfocused gaze, Rue flinches under the woman's touch, the words slowly filtering through the haze. If Jasmine looks closely, she could almost see a part of Rue closing off, the look of terror morphing into one of almost cold indifference as they force themselves to look away from the remains, batting away the hand from their shoulder.   ''Let's go then.'' They say flatly with the kind of calmness of someone with barely contained rage. They brush past Jasmine into the corridor, grinding their teeth as the previous fruity scent mingles with that of charred flesh. Deciding to rely more on their other senses until they're further away, Rue searches each room they pass, listening out and looking for the woman they came to rescue.   Jasmine follows closely behind, surprised at how seemingly-easily her little pep talk seemed to work. She looks back once at the abomination of science smouldering on the floor and then closes the door behind the pair as they make their way into the adjoining hallway.   "Do you know where you're going, Rue?" She asks as the young superhuman takes the lead but quickly realises that no answer will come. Rue is on the hunt and has no intention of getting distracted.   Rue quickly makes their way towards the sitting room. As the pair get near, the faint sound of a heartbeat monitor can be heard echoing down the hall, and soon Rue can scan with their enhanced vision and see Eli Manchen himself, sat in the same armchair as last time they'd seen him. He is wearing some sort of would-be surgical gown and looks pensively over to the far end of the room that has been divided with some sort of large, sterile curtain.   ''Eli's in there.'' They say lowly, pausing a little way away from the door. They ponder about why Eli would be wearing a surgical gown himself, not sure if they'd actually like to know the answer to what the man is plotting.   Turning their focus to the curtained off area, Rue pushes themself to look past it to get a clearer picture of what they're about to get into. To their revulsion more than surprise, Rue looks beyond the veil and sees that the far half of the room has been converted to some sort of makeshift operating room. Plastic sheets and tarps cover the floors and walls, a table full of instruments sits gleaming to one side, featuring various scalpels and, most disconcerting of all, a surgical drill. Most horrifyingly of all however, was in the centre of the room.   Rachel was sat in some sort of strange chair wearing some sort of hospital gown, her arms and wrists secured, but not bound and an intravenous line hooked up to her arm. She seemed to be unconscious and her head is both shaved and affixed to a frame with several holes that seem to be awaiting surgical pins.   It would appear that the doctor, whoever they are, has yet to arrive as Eli seems to be impatiently checking the ornate wall clock hanging over the fireplace. He leans forward and places his hands on a box on the table, before lifting it onto his lap and opening it. He reaches his hand inside and reverentially retrieves some of its contents, bringing the silken strands of dark red hair to his face and inhaling deeply.   ''She's in there too, past the curtain.'' Rue says, not wasting any more time for the Doctor to show up. They slam the door wide open with their telekinesis, not saying a word as they storm inside. With their powers, they quite literally pull the curtain down to reveal the setup, sparing Jasmine only a quick glance to suggest her getting Rachel free. They lift one of the scalpels, launching it forward and stopping it just before Eli's face, the threat left unspoken but abundantly clear.   "What the-" Eli shouts as the door flies open, quickly silenced by a blade flying in his direction, "Oh shit!" He cries as he covers his face with his arms, only looking up again a few moments later when it becomes clear that he's not about to be evicerated, "Who are you? What do you want?"   Rue doesn't answer him, taking a few steps back without taking their eyes off him, getting closer to Rachel and Jasmine. They wait patiently as Jasmine works to take the IV out of Rachel's arm and frees her from the chair she's in. They continue to glare at Eli, the scalpel unmoving but glinting dangerously in the light.   Jasmine wraps one of Rachel's arms around her shoulders and Rue moves closer to do the same, the pair of them lifting the unconscious woman between them towards the door.   "Hey, stop that," he shouts, pointing over at Jasmine and sitting forward in his chair, seemingly less interested in the scalpel as it presses against his cheek, "Leave her alone!"   As Rue and Jasmine lift Rachel onto their shoulders, they're astonished at how heavy the woman is, and Rue briefly wonders how strong Evelyn must have been to carry her to the mansion. They begin to awkwardly drag the hero's limp body towards the door and Eli becomes noticeably more agitated.   "No! Put her back!" He screams, gripping the midair scalpel and tearing it out of Rue's telekinetic grip. He jumps out of the chair and runs at the trio, knocking them down as he bears down upon them, blade in hand, and screams "I won't let you take her from me!"   They’re reminded of another place, not long ago, a gun aimed at them and going off before they could neutralize the threat. They look past the man on top of them to the recently vacated armchair, their telekinesis yanking it from its place, soaring through the room and colliding with Eli’s side at full force. The chair continues to fly past its target, crashing against the wall with an almighty crack, one of the arms breaking off.   Eli cries out in pain as he's knocked over, a loud crack being audible as the large piece of furniture collided with much of his left side. Frightened but unscathed, Jasmine joined Rue in picking themselves up and the two continued their escape, making their way to the hallway.   "You can't have her!" Eli cries as he clutches at what appeared to be a broken leg. He quickly drags himself over to the wall and lays a hand on it, closing his eyes briefly before an alarm goes off and the entire building's lighting turns red. Jasmine and Rue make their way into the corridor in time to see metal shutters fall down over every door.   "Oh shit," Jasmine utters as the pair watch the world turn red around them, "What the f-"   She's cut off as the wall beside her explodes with the force of a cannon blast, and the two would-be rescuers peer down the hall to see two flying attack drones approaching fast, their weapons trained.   “Hold her.” Rue growls, their eyes reflecting the red of the lights as they move to stand protectively in front of the two women.   Unleashing the rage that’s been overwhelming them, they raise their hands up in front of them to help them aim their telekinesis onto the attack drone on the left. They can feel the machine in their grasp, can feel the weight of it as it tries to continue to move. With as much force as they can muster, Rue throws the drone against the other, the machines both crashing against the wall.   Jasmine grunts as she's suddenly the only support for Rachel's super dense musculature, barely able to stay standing as Rue takes initiative. The drones clatter against one another, the propellers keeping them aloft cutting into one another as they crash into the wall. Their weapons continue firing as they're knocked asunder and Rue has to think quickly as the robots blast chunks out of the ceiling and debris begins to rain down upon the trio.   They discard the crashed fighter drone, instead catching the debris, redirecting its momentum to launch the pieces at the metal shutters blocking their exit. Dust flies up all around them as Rue wraps Rachel’s arm back around their shoulder, ushering them forward.   The three of them make their way through the carnage that was once Manchen Manor, Jasmine stumbling over the wrecked drone as they find themselves in the main foyer opposite the largest reinforced bulkhead they'd seen up until this point.   "Oh shit..." Jasmine says as she looks up at the mass of steel and bulletproof glass, "What are we-" She's interrupted as the bald woman between the two of them groans, her body twitching slightly as some muscle tension returns to her.   “Hey,” Rue says softly, eyeing Rachel as her eyelids flutter ever so slightly, “you with us?”   They return their attention to the problem at hand, wondering if they might be able to break through one of the other walls in the foyer instead. They’re not sure they could lift this with their powers, a weariness already starting to seep into their bones despite the adrenaline coursing through their veins. Desperate to get out of here as quickly as they can, they decide to give it a try nonetheless, focusing their telekinesis on the bottom of the mass, urging themself to lift it just enough for them to slip underneath.   "Wuh- w-Wah," Rachel groans as she slowly comes back to her senses. The metal of the bulkhead groans as Rue attempts to lift it, but doesn't budge. Their pulse quickens and their muscles tense as they try to exert every ounce of their will on the object. Within a moment, the dull weariness throughout their body becomes a pain that radiates to their skull like the mother of all migraines. After a few moments, they can't hold on any longer and release, the metal groaning once again as it settles back in place.   "Jazz? Rue? Wh-Where am I?" Rachel takes a look around the group, her eyes coming back into focus as she slowly manages to stand under her own power, "What the fuck is going on?"   Rue wobbles ever so faintly when they release their grip on Rachel and the bulkhead almost simultaneously, their vision swimming momentarily from the strain on their powers.   “You’re at Casa del Creep - Manchen’s mansion,” They say, “We can talk later though, right now we need to get past this fucking thing… Think you’re well enough to give me a hand with it?”   "What? Eli? Oh, God..." She mutters, before shaking her head and standing up straight, "What did he do? Why am I weari-Where the FUCK is my hair!?" Her hands shoot up to her head and the freshly shaved dome thereupon, "I'm going to kill him... I'm gonna fucking kill him! Where is he!?"   Rachel looks ready to go on the warpath, but Jasmine steps in with her most serious tone, "Rach, calm down. You can kill him later, but right now, Rue needs help with this shield. Can you take it down?"   "But, I've gotta..." she seems to deflate a little as she looks into Jasmine's eyes, "Fine. Gimme a moment."   She quickly paces over to the wall of steel and places her fingers in a decent grip. Once again the metal begins to groan as Rachel begins to lift, and the pair standing nearby are surprised to see her struggling against what must be fairly decent design. Inevitably a torrent of profanities spew forth from Rachel's mouth intermingled with a few promises about what she'd do to Eli that impress the other two with both their creativity and gratuitousness.   After a few moments, the true extent of Rachel's strength is unveiled as, instead of the shutter being pried open, it begins to move, and the whole frontal façade tears away from the rest of the house. Rachel's feet crack the floor beneath her as she lifts the several tons of metal and stonework overhead, roaring with an animalistic fury as she tips it forward onto the lawn. It comes down with an almighty slam that crushes robots and smashes masonry, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.   After a moment has passed, the debris settles and Rachel is stood, panting as she recovers from the exertion, and opposite her, out on the grass just beyond the collapsed bulkhead, is Eli. His leg clearly dragging behind him as he stands there, clapping and cheering, "Well done," he calls out, smiling, "That's my Rachel. What an amazing display!"   Rue isn’t quite sure if he would still be clapping if he’d overheard the string of profanities, but they’re not foolish enough to underestimate the clearly deranged man. They can almost see steam coming off of Rachel, the woman visibly seething. Despite feeling like they’ve long since surpassed their limits, Rue braces themself, telekinetically lifting a hefty piece of debris to use as a makeshift weapon, ready to strike if needed.   "Now, if you two would kindly leave us," he says, raising he left hand, clad in what appears to be some sort of high-tech gauntlet, "The doctor will be here in a moment and our patient isn't in her room..."   His hand turns slightly and another quartet of attack drones encircle the three of them, the hairs on the back of Rue's neck standing up as they watch Rachel still panting, trying to push Jasmine away and stand on her own after the previous exertion.   "I'll never do what you say, Eli!" She shouts defiantly, her voice dripping with rage.   "Yeah, we'll see about that, my love," he says as his hand comes down and the drones close in.   Rue has just about had it with freaky fanboys and fighter drones. They're exhausted, they're furious (though mostly with themself), and they want nothing more than to go home, crawl into bed, and forget any of this ever happened. They glance at the surrounding machines, their weapons trained on them, and they'll be damned if they get shot again.   Their focus turns towards Eli, the smirk on his smug little face fuelling their rage, before they hone in on the gauntlet. If they can disarm Eli, hopefully that will disarm the drones as well. An idea starts to form in their head. They're not sure if it will work, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and Rue wants to end this night with one final attack.   ''Move over.'' Rue growls quietly, their eyes fixed on their target.   ''What are you-'' Jasmine looks over at them, noticing some sparks flashing around them. She grabs Rachel by the shoulder, getting a weak protest out of her as she quickly steps back, pulling Rach with her.   Rue leans forward, knees bent as if they're about to sprint forward. Time seems to slow as they imagine the flames forming beneath their feet and palms, the energy compressing and building up to a point where they can barely contain it.   There's a loud bang as they let that power go, the force of it propelling them forward, straight past the fighter drones and towards Eli where they just about manage to hook their arm around his, pulling them both back as they sort of crash land on the meticulously kept grass. They can feel the ‘pop’ from Eli’s shoulder as his arm gets pulled back, and as they roll across the lawn, they roughly yank the gauntlet off him.   "Agh, Fuck!" Eli screams as his shoulder twists in a way it was never intended to, and the two of them skid to a halt.   Rue yanks the gauntlet off him and stands up while Rachel and Jasmine see their opportunity to start throwing bricks at the drones, the former's throws being a lot more effective due to her strength.   Never one to know when he's beat, Eli rolls onto his back. His broken leg and dislocated shoulder making him look a little like a puppet with his strings cut. He raises his capable hand in Rue's direction one more time, groaning through gritted teeth that he won't let them go. The gauntlet springs to life in Rue's hand and begins to grab and claw at whatever it can, trying to return to its Master.   Rue hisses as the gauntlet digs into their skin, the machine wriggling in their grip to break free. They take hold of it with their telekinesis instead, wielding it to strike Eli across the head.   They're breathing heavily at this point, their vision blackening slightly around the edges as they overexert their powers. They put as much force behind the hit as they dare without doing any further serious damage, wondering what they'll do if this carries on.   The flying fist connects with Eli's skull with a resounding crack and he finally falls limp, apparently not so capable of willing himself through a concussion. Rachel meanwhile tears the final drone to pieces and looks in Rue's direction, throwing a thumbs-up in their direction before she and Jasmine begin walking over.   "You okay?" Jasmine says, looking Rue up and down concerned as she approaches, before giving Eli a quick nudge with her foot, "Is he okay?"   Rue places their hands on their knees, taking a moment to catch their breath. ''I'm fine,'' They grind out, glancing at the unconscious man in the grass. ''He'll live...''   They look down at that, the adrenaline fading rapidly and making space for the guilt that they'd pressed down for the time being. They can feel their stomach churning as they're reminded of the smell, the screams of sheer terror that came from Evelyn.   "That voice..." Rachel says, a big grin spreading over her features, "Is that... the the Kick-Butt Kid  under there?"   Jasmine says nothing, chuckling slightly as the once-redhead tip-toes excitedly in Rue's direction.   “I need a different nickname…” They groan, pinching the bridge of their nose as they’re dragged out of their thoughts.   "I mean..." she says, looking down at the freshly brutalised body of her stalker on the floor, "It seems fitting to me," she peppers Rue with a light jab to the shoulder as she chuckles, leaning down and slinging the would-be supervillain over her shoulder.   Though hidden behind the mask, Rue gives her a small smile, “I’m glad to see you’re okay,” they say, watching as she effortlessly lifts Eli, his head lolling from side to side. “I should really get going though. I don’t think Creel would be pleased to hear about any of this and I certainly don’t want him to find me here…”   "Oh yeah, that's not a problem," Rachel says as she holds out a hand to shake, "The police will be here any minute now anyway."   "They're here already," Jasmine interjects, nodding down towards the rapidly-approaching police cars down the road, "We can take it from here."   "Yeah, we got this," Rachel continues, smiling wearily through the haze of exertion and lingering anaesthesia, "Go on. Get out of here. Thanks for everything, Kick-butt Kid."   Not wasting any time, Rue gives a quick wave to both women before they hurry around the side of the mansion, hopping over the fence once they’re certain the coast is clear. They keep the mask on for a little longer, sticking to the shadows as they listen out for police cars or nosy neighbours. Once they feel they have a safe distance between them and the crime scene, they remove the balaclava, slipping it into their pocket and putting up their hood as they continue down the street.   After a few moments they feel their pocket buzz and pull out their phone to the sight of another message: "1. Used superpowers. 2.Saved a damsel in distress. 3. Defeated a supervillain. Face it, Kiddo, you're a superhero. Thanks again. Rachel."