Rampage

  # # #

  Deadguy leapt out of the car before it could come to a complete stop in front of New Tao Central Memorial Hospital. He halted suddenly, not believing what he was seeing. "Okay," he said. "This is weird."

  Jill and Valkadaidan walked up behind him. "Yeah. This looks like a villain's headquarters," Jill remarked. She shook her head and walked away.

  "You owe me twenty bucks," Valk added, then followed their boss.

  Our Hero continued examining the building. He felt someone was watching him. Scanning the windows, he locked eyes with a bald young man on the Fourth Floor. It almost looked like he smirked before slowly drawing the curtains close. "Very weird," he muttered, scowling at the closed curtains before turning to rejoin the others.

  "Let's say, for the sake of argument, that there is a pattern," Jill said to Valk as Deadguy got back in the car. She tapped her tablet, bringing up the map of New Tao. "With the information we already have, we may be able to pinpoint where Rampage is going to strike next."

  "I'm telling you, he's in there," DG argued.

  "In a hospital," she asked flatly. "What villain uses a hospital as a base of operation?"

  "One that's a lot smarter than we give him credit for," he replied.

  "Admit it, you were wrong," she said.

  "This isn't over yet." He adjusted his trench coat as he tried to get comfortable in the back seat. "What's your plan?"

  "If this guy's running on a sort of pattern, then his next target should be part of the circle," she answered. "Which means his next target would be..." she tapped her tablet a few times, then zoomed in to get a closer look. "There."

  "Where is 'there'," Valkadaidan asked.

  "Looks like a place called Pagída Bank," she answered. "I think we need to pay them a visit first thing tomorrow morning."

  Glass shattered and metal crumpled like paper as Rampage charged into Pagída Bank. He stopped, let out a mighty roar, then looked around at the strangely empty place. No guards. No customers. No employees except one redheaded teller with her back turned. She spun around quickly, a wide grin on her face.

  "Welcome to the First Hero Bank of New Tao," she announced.

  "Where we hand out Reality Checks," came a voice from high above his right. The villain looked up to see Deadguy on the second floor balcony. "Valk. Your line."

  "No," came a broody response. Rampage turned to see Valkadaidan on the other balcony, his katana drawn.

  "Too late now," DG remarked. The two Heroes leapt over the banisters and started falling towards the villain.

  "You still think you have any chance against me," Rampage yelled.

  "That's what my horoscope said this morning," DG answered. The two slammed into the villain, fist and blade met with armor and determination as Rampage knocked them off with ease. The Heroes landed on their feet and turned to face him. "All armors have a weak point, right?"

  "Correct," Valkadaidan said, his katana aimed at Rampage.

  "I think I know where his is, and this is probably going to hurt." Our Hero took a few steps away from Valk. "Hey, Mamma's Boy, you're not the favorite."

  "What," Rampage roared. The villain started charging at Deadguy. He crouched, ready to jump. As Rampage came mere inches from him, he grabbed the villain's face mask and leaping to the side. The sudden jerk stopped Rampage in his tracks. "Hey! Let go," he growled.

  "No. You let go," DG replied.

  Rampage shook his head, trying to get Deadguy to let go. The Hero flew back and forth, but never let go. "Get off," he yelled.

  "No, but I've gained new insight into how a dog's chew toy feels."

  Rampage punched him in the stomach a few times. Deadguy still held fast. The villain rose his hand to knock Our Hero down, but was stopped short as Valk's katana slammed into his arms. He turned to face the Dragon Blooded when Deadguy took the opportunity to start punching him. He landed a hit right between his eyes.

  "Argh," Rampage cried. He grabbed DG by the neck and slammed him into the floor. The blow caused him to let go of the face mask. Valkadaidan swung his blade and connected with the small opening on his helmet. The villain staggered backwards. Deadguy managed to roll out of the way before Rampage stepped on him.

  "That's his weak point," Valkadaidan asked.

  "Who said all weak points are physical," Deadguy replied.

  Rampage screamed and started jumping up and down. The bank shook greatly. Parts of the ceiling began to fall. The glass walls cracked and shattered. The Heroes shielded themselves from the falling debris. Deadguy bobbed and weaved as Valk started slicing the larger chunks of ceiling in two. Through the chaos, Rampage found his way to the bank vault. He rammed through the metal door to find nothing. All the deposit boxes had been emptied They laid bare on the floor of the vault. There was the sound of the three Heroes running up behind him.

  He slowly turned to see them stopped at the vault entrance. "Here's a fun fact," Deadguy said, leaning against the vault opening. "Bank's have a protocol to remove all items of value from the property if given enough time.

  "It usually takes about an hour," Jill added.

  "Less if there's been a string of heists," Valk continued.

  "Now, one last thing," DG said. "Are you going to come quietly or are there going to be more problems and/or structural damage?"

  Rampage let out a furious roar, then charged at the Heroes. Valk grabbed Jill, moving her out of harm's way as Deadguy dodged to the other side of the entrance. The villain ran past them and through another wall.

  "That's right," DG yelled. "Go run back to your m...whatever hole you crawled out of."

  Jill pulled out a special gun and fired a tracer. It latched onto the neck piece of Rampage's armor as he continued his path of destruction out of the bank.

  "Unless he somehow realized that he's being tracked," she explained. "he'll lead us right to his lair."

  "I'm driving," Our Hero announced.

  "No you're not," Jill and Valk said at the same time.