The Prince of Astoria-Chapter 83: LXXXIII - Bomb Proof

Gabe rushed into Etienne’s room, nearly busting the door down as Etienne napped.

Etienne sat up in a panic and grabbed his sword from the side of his bed immediately, "What’s going on? What happened?"

Gabe held his cell phone horizontally and showed it to Etienne.

"Bomb Proof just went live. Does this place look familiar to you?"

On the screen, Bomb Proof stood confidently in the middle of the sidewalk. wore a red turtleneck sweater that hugged the curves of her body and oversized black sweatpants, along with strange looking black boots. Blue and red wiring ran through them, just under the surface.

Behind Bomb Proof was a familiar looking demolished building.

"Turn the volume up," Etienne requested, "What’s she saying?"

Gabe pressed the volume button on his phone and allowed Bomb Proof’s voice to echo through the room.

"I wonder if any heroes will show? I wonder if they care? The Dark Pattern stands for the perserverance and strength of humanity, and we stand against the reckless use of power and glory hunting of the heroes!"

Bomb Proof gestured to the razed building behind her, "This is what happens when that power goes unchecked. Wanton destruction. This could be your business. Or your home, with your kids in it. Turned into collateral damage of a metahuman battle. Just like GoGo’s Girls, which used to be a personal favorite of mine."

Etienne stood up and grabbed a black surgical mask off of a stack of them sitting on his desk.

"She wants a hero to come right?" Etienne muttered, "Hopefully she’s fine with a former hero."

____________________________________________________________

Etienne stood on top of a roof adjacent to the demolished building. Bomb Proof stood right in front of building, surrounded by a small crowd of people all holding their phones. She spoke passionately and emphatically, her words inciting cheers from the crowd.

Etienne scoffed and thought to himself, "Charisma."

He jumped down off the building and landed a few feet away from Bomb Proof and the crowd. The crowd parted as he walked through and approached Bomb Proof.

"Ninjaman," She stated dryly, "I’m glad you made it. The reponse time of heroes leaves a bit to be desired..but good job nonetheless."

Etienne put his hand over his sword, "Ms. Bomb Proof. I heard you calling for a hero to come out here. Why?"

A small smile spread across Bomb Proof’s face, "I want to fight you Ninjaman. But not with that," She pointed at Ninjaman’s sword, "Hand-to-hand. I’m powerless, so that’s a bit more fair, no?"

"I’m powerless too, technically," Etienne though to himself, "But I’m tired of repeating that."

Etienne moved his hand away from his sword and crossed his arms, "It’s still not very fair if I’m being honest. I’m a hand-to-hand combat expert. What purpose does this serve?"

Bomb Proof cracked her knuckles, "We all have to test our mettle Ninjaman. As a human, you have to do it at least once, so you know where you really stand. You get that, don’t you?"

Etienne stared at her silently.

Bomb Proof stretched, "I haven’t fought a hero in years, since I first started streaming. And they were only rank 220 or so. You’re the perfect target Ninjaman. You’re a contract hero, but it’s no secret if you were ranked, you’d be in the top 100. Hell, based on what I’ve seen and read, I think you’d be top 50 easily."

The crowd let a collective noise of surprise at the comment.

"I’m serious!" Bomb Proof called out, "That’s why, if I can hold a candle against you, then I want to prove once and for all that normal humans can do anything, as long as they persevere and put their mind to it. I can prove human tenacity can beat metahuman power."

Etienne looked around at the crowd surrounding them. They were all enthralled and engaged, like they were watching a stage play.

"Isn’t that what you did when you first came here?" Bomb Proof questioned, "You fought GoGo’s disciples to test your mettle, to prove yourself right?"

Etienne glared at her, "You don’t know anything about that. They were threatening people, hurting people. I had to step in."

Bomb Proof snickered, "Is that so? You know, I was there that night, When you destroyed the power and gassed out the building."

Etienne narrowed his eyes, "You...were?"

Bomb Proof paced in a small circle, "Why do you think I’m here? Do you think we always stream in front of demolished buildings? Today is the six month anniversary of that night. The night sixteen people were hospitalized, and one young man with a promising future died."

Bomb Proof tapped her chin and added, "Or maybe I should say killed. Because that’s what you did right? You killed him? Have you thought about that kid’s death at all or was it just another inconsequential event to you? Just a necessary step in your mission as a hero?"

Someone from the crowd tossed a backpack at Bomb Proof and she caught it with one hand. She set it down on the ground and looked up at Etienne, "You’re a human, so we know the answer to that question already. Of course you don’t care. But with all that said, I really just want to see if I’m as good as you. Or if you’re really as good as they say."

Etienne dropped into a battle position. Bomb Proof unzipped the bag and reached her hand into it. She carefully pulled out a pair of futuristic looking grey boots with glowing buttons and switches on them.

She slipped the futuristic boots on over the boots she was wearing and kicked the ground a bit, testing the feel.

"I know on my streams we usually just have fun, showing off gadgets is more Terminator’s thing. But Yorrk gave me a special gift, I want to show it off. This is what human effort can produce. Everybody, check out my Fuzzy Boots," She pointed someone in the crowd holding an expensive looking camera, "Make sure you clip this."

Etienne lunged forward and unleashed a flurry of punches. Bomb Proof was mostly unsuccessful in blocking the blows and was pushed back. She regained her balance and glared at Etienne. Bruises already started to form on her face and her forearms.

Bomb Proof answered back with her own flurry of relentless kicks, coming from different angles and directions. The kicks were surprisingly fast, and only continued to increase in speed as she continued.

Etienne blocked them easily for a while, but after a while some of the kicks broke through his defense and hit him.

"It’s not just the boots, she’s skilled. Is this...taekwondo?" Etienne thought to himself, "She’s still not all that strong though. I should just subdue her and make her tell me where the other members are."

Etienne dodged one of her kicks and grabbed her leg. Bomb Proof slipped out of the grab easily and jumped into the air. She spun around, intending to hit Etienne with a devastating kick.

Without thinking, Etienne just barely avoided the kick and drew his sword. He slashed and in one swift motion, he sheathed his sword again.

Bomb Proof landed on the ground roughly. She watched in horror as the Fuzzy Boots split apart, both of them sliced perfectly through the middle.

"What did you—" She barely choked out.

As Etienne looked down at Bomb Proof and her boots, something sharp struck Etienne in the back and cause him to fall to one knee.

Etienne looked down at his stomach and spotted a large metal stake penetrating him.

Behind him, a young man threw a large device down and wiped his hands.

"That’ll probably be the last time I use that, thankfully," The man spoke with a concerningly deep voice, "Reloading that thing is a hassle."

Behind him, a man in khaki pants and a clean white button up stared down at Etienne. The man adjusted his black tie, loosening it slightly. A bronze orb floated just over his shoulder.

"Hey Ninjaman. That’s not gonna kill you, right?" He asked nonchalantly.

Etienne pursed his lips together and pushed the stake out of his stomach. He held one hand over the one and held his sword with the other, pointing it at Yorrk.

"If you know what’s good for you, you wouldn’t point that sword at me. I don’t have anymore weapons for you, but I do know a few secrets about you that would do just as much damage. Courtesy of our mutual friend Code Talker."

Etienne snarled and continued to point the sword at him. He circled Yorrk.

Yorrk put his hands up, "If you hurt me or threaten me too much, I may be more inclined to share what I learned. I know the crowd here would love for me to air a heroes dirty laundry."

Yorrk motioned to the crowd and they cheered loudly. He smiled and continued, "And I’m sure the stream would love to hear it as well. So Ninjaman, what’ll it be?"