Red
Later That Day...Walking out of his bathroom with a towel around his waist, a freshly showered Red grimaced slightly as he tried to stretch out his still aching muscles from his sparring session with Makenzie. Glancing over at one of the mirrors placed against his wall, he gingerly reached with his right hand and touched the growing bruises that covered his body. He reacted with an immediate wince as he placed a small amount of pressure on the tender regions, a small string of curses escaping his lips as he was quick to retract his hand.
She really gave me a run for my money there, he thought to himself as he stared at the exposed areas of his body. Several scars permeated across his shoulders and chest, new ones accrued from his fights as a Young Blood mixed in with those having came from his years of fighting prior to then. Reaching up slowly towards his face, Red ran his fingers down the latest of these, a small fresh scar running beside his left eye. It was the end result of his last encounter with Marionette, a wound that easily could have left him blind at best had it not been for the protection his suit had offered at the time.
Upon thinking of the villain, a sour expression appeared on Red's face, prompting him to let out another string of muttered curses as he placed his hand back to his side and walked over towards his nightstand. Opening up the cabinet within, Red retrieved a small metallic flask from within. Unscrewing the top of the cap, Red tipped his head back as he took a swallow of the bitter liquid within, his throat burning from the harsh whiskey as it made its way down into his stomach. Letting out a small groan, he screwed the lid back into place, slamming the drawer shut as he went over to change into the underlayer of his suit.
He had plans to go out on patrol for the remainder of the day, wanting to follow up on the leads he had obtained thanks to the work of Isabella. As promised, he had received an unmarked yellow package which contained more than enough information for him to use to further track down the movements of the power enhancement drug. He was also given some vague yet potentially useful information in his promise to Casimir in regards to Ash's prior history, although until he could verify it he'd abstain from telling Casimir about the news.
In addition to all of this intel, Red also found one final item that completely and utterly astounded him.
Sealed carefully inside a plastic bag, a printed out photograph was stashed away in the bottom of the pile of paperwork. After pulling out the photograph to get a look at what was on it, Red had felt his heart stop as he saw himself and Isabella posed together with the breathtaking view of the Cordillera Paine mountains behind them. The two held wearied looks on their faces, but both of them seemed to be managing a small attempt at grins as they pulled down the cloth masks that rested on the bottom half of their faces. Written on the back of the photograph was a small note, the handwriting clearing belonging to Isabella.
One foot in front of the other, Red, it read, the simple phrase having stemmed a stream of memories back into him that he had long since having thought had been buried in his subconscious.
Walking over to his work desk where he had the remainder of the paperwork resting, Red couldn't help but pick up and stare at the photograph in amazement. While this hadn't been the only time Isabella had attempted to take a photograph of their entire group, the fact that she still was in possession of this astounded him. Lycan was always protective of their secrecy, having confiscated any sort of photographic or otherwise identifying evidence of their existence for as long as he could remember. How she had managed to keep this after all of these years was something Red thought would be impossible.
Staring at the photograph for several more moments, Red began to retrace his memories, the details of what had occurred that day seeming to have unearthed themselves in broad view.
Two Years Prior...The sound of heavy breathing and crumbling rocks below was all that could be heard as a pair of figures traversed over the steep mountainside path that was barely wide enough for a single foot to be placed down at a time. From time to time the group would halt in their progress as the helmeted figure leading the pair would take a step back after the path below them crumbled underneath their weight. A tense moment would fall as the other would grab a hold of the back straps of the leading figure's pack to keep them from falling several hundred feet to the rocky canyon below them. After a few moments to recollect, the pair would move on once more, taking extra precaution not to further cause the collapse of their already treacherous path.
After hours of this, the path before them finally began to open up until eventually the two reached the edge of a massive spanning plateau. The sun above them shone brightly against the clear blue sky, the two having already reached above the layers of clouds the day prior. Having reached their destination, the two figures plopped down onto the rocky ground below, taking deep breaths as they struggled in the low oxygen environment.
"Red, I'm fucking exhausted. How the hell are you even doing that with the rifle on your back?"
Sitting next to Isabella, Red responded with a small nod, still struggling to get enough air into his lungs as they recovered. "One foot in front of the other," Red replied with a strained voice that held a small amount of sarcasm within it. Even with the frigid temperatures, Red's face mask was soaked in sweat, causing him to finally pull the thing down so he could breathe a little better. His body was aching from the two days worth of climbing they had done, all while carrying sixty pounds worth of gear as well as their weapons. Isabella had already made it clear she was also feeling the fatigue, likely even at a worse state considering the physical strain this operation had placed on them.
Pulling down her own face mask, Isabella let out a loud exhausted groan as she plopped down onto her back, her pack acting as a makeshift pillow while she did. Red decided to join her in this, likewise laying down in the uncomfortable position. After a few minutes of this, he glanced down at the watch on his wrist, letting out a sigh of relief as he read the digits displayed.
"We're here early. Vasquez shouldn't be reaching the next part of the mountain for the next three hours. I'll go set up the rifle now, but you don't have to worry about setting up with the spotter for some time," he said over to Isabella, who gave a content nod as she let herself enjoy the much needed rest.
Seeing this, Red let out a groan as he reluctantly unclipped the pack from his back, turning it over and taking out a large black case. Setting it on the ground and opening it, he began to assemble a large rifle from the parts within, his motions smooth and quick as this was something he was more than accustomed to doing. After a few moments, the rifle was assembled and set up on the edge of the bluff the two were on, facing the path that their target would soon be following within the next few hours.
As he was finishing securing the bipods into place, he felt a small kick to his side, prompting him to look up to see Isabella with a small camera in her right hand and an ornery smile on her face. Red's expression immediately turned into one of disapproval as he stared at Isabella. "You realize we're only supposed to use that to confirm the elimination of the target, right?" Red said, his voice filled with a warning tone.
Isabella shrugged nonchalantly in response. "Well we better make sure it works before then, right?" Isabella said with a small mischievous smile, which did little to throw off Red's disapproving look. Seeing this, a small annoyed frown appeared on Isabella's face as she realized she needed to do much more to convince the redhead. "Come on, just one little photo Red. I don't know if you've noticed or not, but it's sort of breathtaking here with these mountains." As if to prove her point she turned around and pointed towards the various snow covered mountains around them. To further nail in her pleading, she clasped her hands as best as she could and made a begging hand shake while looking over a Red with a saddened look. Red's eyebrows scrunched downwards as he watched her do this, before finally he let out a small groan.
"Fine, one photo. But you better get that off of the camera before we turn it in or else Reaper's going to kick our asses," he said reluctantly, which caused a small happy squeal to come out from Isabella before she pulled Red up from the ground. Red could only shake his head at her outburst, him never having been able to understand how someone who acted this way could instantly turn into a cold-blooded killer at a moment's notice.
Holding the camera up high so that it would get both of them into the frame as well as the mountains behind them, Isabella seemed about to take the photograph when she suddenly paused. Looking over to Red, she gave him an exasperated look as she reached around with her other hand and pulled Red in so that the two were pushed together. "Smile, Red, or I'm kicking you off the side of this mountain," she said in a half joking, half threatening tone of voice.
Red rolled his eyes before reluctantly attempting to smile. His efforts didn't seem to be quite enough, as he felt a small kick at the side of his leg followed by a threatening gaze from Isabella. Letting out a small sigh, Red did everything within his power to conjure up a smile. Isabella seemed to be content enough with his efforts as he watched her slowly squeeze the camera button on top.
With the photo taken, Isabella turned the camera around to look at how the picture turned out. She studied the picture for some time, before finally nodding her head and letting out a content sounding hum as she placed the camera back into her pocket. Looking back up to Red, she nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Not too shabby, team leader. Maybe after Lycan gets tired of us you can get into the modeling industry. Hell, I could even be your personal photographer," she said in a mocking tone while giving him a wink.
Red rolled his eyes at her teasing before going back down onto his stomach so that he was behind the rifle once more. "Yeah, I'm sure Lycan will give me a wonderful reference when I send in my resume," Red replied sarcastically as he adjusted the dials on his scope. "Now, Ms. Photographer, if you wouldn't mind using your sharp eye to start giving me range indicators, that would be much appreciated."
Isabella let out a frustrated sigh, shaking her head as she went over to her pack to retrieve the rangefinder device. "Already back to work, I see," she said in a somewhat annoyed tone. A small smirk appeared on Red's voice as he stared at the scenery through the confines of his magnified rifle scope.
“Ain’t no rest for the wicked.”
bzzz...bzzz...bzzz…The sound of something vibrating on his bed caused Red to snap out of his thoughts as he looked over to see his phone’s screen was lit up. Shaking his head to clear his mind of the past memories that had been dug up, Red tucked the photograph underneath one of his pillows for temporary safekeeping as he looked to see what the commotion was about. As his eyes scanned the news bulletin message that was displayed, Red’s heart seemed to stop as his eyes rested on top of the name of the villain involved in the latest incident.
“Marionette…” Red growled, a deep burning sense of hatred within him swelling up as he saw that the villain had taken several hostages at a local news station.
It’s her fault for what happened to Yoshi. If it weren’t for her… Red’s thoughts raced as he finished reading the last bit of information on the incident. His eyebrows furrowed as he noted the image of the hostages being tied down with what appeared to be explosive devices wrapped around their torsos.
Are those...fake? Red had seen enough explosive devices in his life to recognize the odd look that they displayed. However, he knew that he couldn’t take his chances on mere intuition, which meant he’d need to account for this in his plans to take down Marionette once more, this time with the intent of throwing her down the deepest hole he could find and throwing away the keys once he captured her.
Heading over to his equipment storage, he quickly got into his exosuit which had been quickly repaired by Alexis the previous night. Red felt a tinge of guilt for the girl, as his frequent damage to the thing as well as the constant requests for upgrades must have likely kept her busy. Red made a small note to get her some food to show his gratitude next time he had the chance, a small gift for her efforts.
After putting his equipment onto their allocated spaces on his waist and torso, Red quickly made his way down towards the garage area. Starting up his motorcycle, he tore out of the parking area the moment the doors opened up high enough, his motorcycle roaring loudly from the effort as he did. He took a small glance backwards towards the Tower before he made it clear of the island, a small voice in the back of his mind telling him that he should ask for help from the others. This small voice was ignored, however, as a much stronger sensation was felt once Red remembered the sight of a possessed Yoshiro. A desire for revenge filled him, and he was hell bent on taking that evil girl down with his own hands.
Glancing through the air vents to the room below, Red watched as a single burly looking man leaned back in his office chair, a loaded rifle resting on the table next to him. The armed goon seemed to be bored with his assigned role of watching over the power station room, the man swiping through his phone and looking over at various social media sites in search of something entertaining.
Using the audio enhancement ability of his helmet, Red listened in to ensure that no one else was in the room. The audio enhancement was powerful enough that Red could hear sounds as subtle as softing breathing and the innate fidgeting people often did, which made it useful in situations such as these where obtaining visual confirmation was impossible. After listening for a few moments, Red turned off the enhancement, having confirmed that the man below was the only person in the room.
Pointing his wrist so that it lined up between the metal slats of the vent, a thick wire suddenly shot out towards the goon, wrapping itself around his neck in a split second. The man, having been caught unaware, desperately struggled to free himself, but Red’s height and leverage advantage was too much to overcome as his feet slowly lifted off the ground. The man’s legs kicked for a few more moments before eventually going limp. The second Red felt this, he cut the wire, letting the now unconscious man fall face first onto the ground below.
With the man dispatched, Red wasted no time in kicking down the vent, landing next to the thin piece of metal onto the ground below. Walking over to the sprawled out man, Red retrieved a pair of zip ties, tying them around the man’s hands and feet before checking the man’s pulse with his two fingers. After ensuring the man was still breathing, Red moved on towards the control panel. Taking out a pair of disc shaped metal devices, Red placed the devices on top of the control panels, the devices securely latching onto the metal panel via the magnets on the back of them. Pressing the buttons located on the top of them, the devices began to let out a small blinking red light, indicating they were ready to completely fry the systems the moment Red activated them.
As he turned around in preparation to begin making his way towards the area in which the hostages were being held, Red suddenly froze in place as he noticed the door leading into the power control room had been opened. If someone had walked in, he should have heard, which immediately caused Red to go into high alert as he reached for a pair of rederangs from his waist. Narrowing his eyes, Red looked for any sign of someone else being in the room, but no one besides him and the unconscious next to him was in the relatively cramped room.
After several moments of tense waiting, Red finally took a few steps forward, walking towards where the door was cracked open. Pausing to look outside to see if anyone was waiting on the other side, he didn’t notice anyone there so he slowly closed the door. As he turned around, he suddenly felt his chest bump into something, causing Red to instinctively swing forwards with one of his rederangs, the edge of the blade stopping a hair’s distance away from the throat of a young man, one that Red immediately recognized.
“Spectre? What the fuck are you doing here?” Red’s eyes narrowed as he realized what this Outrider’s appearance meant. “Where’s everyone else?” he asked, referring to the remainder of the team Red had once interacted with.