Amazon Arrow's Power Quest | Part 4 - White Owl's Patrol

Story/art by amazonarrow
Script/dialog by and of course White Owl is her OC.

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The nightly patrols between Queen City and Amazon Arrow's hometown were beginning to wear a bit.  But the news of her "going rogue" was still being kept to a minimum.  I had been asked by the embassy to fill in for Chryseis, until the new champions were chosen and trained.

So far it had been routine--very little the local police couldn't have handled.  But tonight was different.  Dr Tronix decided to try the "substitute" heroine.  I felt like I was back in second grade with the Kish brothers trying to fool their substitute teachers.  But every sub in my school was enough to handle the challenges.  Surely I could step up to this.

This thing had a body covered in heavy armor and looked like a giant gorilla.  An Iron Ape.  And Bio mechanical if I understood it. 

The direct attack resulted in me getting swatted and flipped into the brick walls of the alleyway. 

All right then, time to see what this thing is made of.  I didn't want to hurt the ape, I was certain there was still a frightened experimental creature beneath all that armor.  I tossed a Flash Bang at the Iron Ape--listening as he howled in pain, his arms thrown up over his eyes, to wipe away the phosphorus blast.  So he COULD be hurt.  I rolled in and with a flying kick attack, landed 130 pounds of Owl Fury into the armored belly of the beast.  A whoosh of air escaped from the gorilla's mouth and I nearly gagged on the smell.  I climbed to get some momentum, then dove down again, flipping to land another flying kick.

The eyebeams caught me by surprise.  I didn't realize that Tronix had that kind of technology.  I smelled the synthetic NuSilk beginning to burn.  "All right," I said out loud.  "This Ends now!"

I threw another bop ball at the Iron Ape, and watched his glaring eyes disintegrate the ball as it drew close.  But while he was distracted, I got in close again.  The Iron Ape scowled, and I felt the heat rising on my costume again.  Gritting my teeth, I got close, then dropped another Flash Bang into the collar of his armor, along with a gas ball.

I heard the boom, and heard the Iron Ape howl in pain.  The gas ball caught up with him as he was howling in rage and I saw him stagger, dropping to his knees then to the ground, unconscious.

"OK Tronix--I win this one," I said.  "But using innocent animals makes me VERY upset."

Dr Tronix doesn't rely on theft alone to support his research; he's also been known to sell his "toys." The Queen Hornet is one of his better, and wealthier customers. Tonight, I caught her coming out of Monitor and Wagers facility, a soft glow coming from the antigrav devices built into her armor.

"Stop right there, honey," I said, palming a net ball.

"You must be the White Chicken I've heard about," she taunted. "You don't look so tough."

"White OWL," I corrected, wondering why I bothered. "I don't suppose you'd care to avoid the conflict and surrender?"

"Fat chance Owly,"she said. "That Amazon Arrow couldn't stop me, and I don't think you can either."

I heard a buzzing sound and a soccer ball sized object flew past my ear. I ducked instinctively, turning to see this silvery object with a glowing yellow "eye" whipping around for a second pass. I saw a small appendage on the ball , beginning to warm up.

"Meet the drones," giggled Queen Hornet. "They LOVE their Queen."

I threw the net ball at the drone, watching as the net opened then covered the drone. The weights pulled the net close then the magnetic tabs held it tight. The drone whined, as it pulled against the magnetic pull. I pressed a switch on my belt and a small electronic pulse caused the drone to explode.

"One down," I said.

"But can you stop eight at once?"

A small squadron of drones surrounded me and I dodged two short bursts of plasma. The drones weren't compassionate apparently, one of the shots missed me and exploded another drone. I dove onto a drone as it flew past me,wrestling it in front of me and using it as a shield as two more drones took pot shots. I released it just before the bursts hit home; rocked by the blasts.

I recovered and found a paint ball in my pouch. A flight of three drones shot forward at me, and I tossed the ball onto the "eye" of the middle drone. It hit hard, covering the drone with a bright orange tempra paint. I could see sparks breaking out, and the drone lost control, wiping out one of the others. I looked around, seeing Queen Hornet flying away. I shot after her, the drones following after me.

"Give it up White Owl," she laughed, holding up the flash drive. "These plans will fulfill my debt to Dr Tronix, and there's nothing you can do to stop me....OWWW" My bop ball hit hard, denting her armor at the wrist. The drive fell out of her hands, tumbling to the pavement of Chapman Boulevard. The combined blasts of the remaining five drones burned into my back. I heard the sizzle of high energy on my back and howled in pain. I blacked out and followed the flash drive to the streets below.

 

 "Are you sure you're up to this White Owl?" asked Police Chief Brody.

"I think so chief.  I'm just curious why the police divers can't handle it."

Brody tugged his ear, a nervous habit I had picked up on.  Generally it meant that there was more than he was willing to share.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt, since he had a clean record as far as the Guild was concerned.  So I listened intently.

"We're fairly certain Tronix has been tinkering with Genetics in addition to robotics.  The real problem though, is that catching this guy is like nailing Jello to a wall.  You hero types have broken several of his operations, but HE always manages to get away, and start over.  Anyway...this operation is pretty high profile for the police force.  A seaside factory, abandoned since the Cold War ended.  We're pretty sure Dr Tronix set up a lab there."

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"We want to surround the place with SWAT, and cover the exits by air, land and sea.  We're hopeful we can catch Tronix with his labcoat down.  That's where you come in."

Brody pointed to a spot about a mile out from the factory, in the bay.  "There's a drain vent here.  The specs show it to be about 5 feet in diameter.  It runs straight into the factory and opens into a drain pool there.  We'd like YOU to infiltrate the factory through that and get the drop on Tronix from the inside.  Our Intel shows he won't be expecting a heroine if the police are surrounding him.  The Chaos ought to be enough for you to take him by surprise."

I nodded at the logic of this.  "Give me a few minutes to get ready."

An hour later, I was in a small boat wearing swim flippers.  A small "chariot" device was at hand as well.  I slipped on my swim mask and rebreather, then dropped over the side into the murky bay.  After getting my bearings, I set out towards the drain vent.  The water was dark and cold, and I could see fish briefly as they flashed past me.  I paid them little attention, fish were generally harmless.  But as I got closer to the vent, I felt a tug on my left leg.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, and only because my brain kicked in did I not lose my rebreather.  I looked behind me and saw a human/amphibian hybrid reaching out to me again.  I kicked it in the chest, then kicked up the prop speed on the "chariot."  I moved faster, but the creature was right behind me.  Suddenly two, three, five of them surrounded me.  I covered my eyes, tossing my only phosphorus grenade at the things coming closer.  The bright flash illuminated the murky water and the creatures  backed away in pain.

I pulled the filter off the vent, and swept inside, wondering what the hell those things were...

"Looks like Dr Tronix IS experimenting with genetics," I thought.

 

Getting through the drain entrance, I made it through without encountering any more mutants.  The drain grew empty and I padded along to the drain cover.  Herculean strength was enough to move it, and I slipped into a large open room.  My footsteps echoed in the cavernous area, and I could see dim metal cylinders in the security lighting.

A bright light flashed and I head an autotuned voice saying "Greetings White Owl.  As you may have guessed by now, Chief Brody's little scheme has failed.  You see, I'm not here; and while I have no reason to worry about White Owl, YOU do."

The lights came on through the entire room, and I saw the cylinders were filled with mirror images of me.

The doors to the cylinders opened and suddenly I was faced with at least 40 images of myself.  Clones?  Droids?  I didn't know; but I had a feeling I was about to find out.

 

After determining that these creations were almost my equal in every way, I settled in for the fight for my life. These things knew my every move and counter; making it difficult to stay a step ahead.

"They can't have Athena's wisdom," I thought. "That was a gift."

But their muscles were every bit as powerful as mine, and if I could fly, so could they. I spent what seemed like an hour ducking, dodging, catching, throwing, and generally avoiding getting hurt.

Behind me, I heard a sudden crash... then an arrow flew into one of the clones. Had Chryseis returned to her senses? I chanced a look over my shoulder and my jaw dropped. The Amazon Arrow? But this wasn't Chryseis. She was shorter, blonde...and she had friends.

"All right sisters, spread out. We need to stop these White Owls!" she said.

"What if the real one is in here?"

"Then we'll find her."

I remembered the Amazon embassy telling me there would be new champions coming to look for Chryseis. I could see there were four of them... One with a bow, who I assumed was the new Amazon Arrow.

"Lykopis!" she cried. "Be careful! One of them could be the real White Owl."

The Amazon with the bladed weapons sliced a clone in half and laughed.

"Well it's not this one!" she said, swinging her sword again.

The fight had suddenly turned... but had it turned in my favor?

 

I felt a pair of silky gloves on my shoulder and I turned around to see a White Owl grinning back at me with her arm raised to deliver a powerful punch... but without warning a larger pair of arms picked her up and pulled her apart in a shower of sparks and shredded metal.

I said thanks to the towering women, but received no reply. The Amazon Fist said nothing as she grabbed another White Owl, crushed her head and returned to the fray.

 

 I assumed the blonde was the new Amazon Arrow. Her outfit was the same as Chryseis's and her aim was every bit as accurate. She had a coolness and an accuracy with the bow that made it seem like an extension of her soul.... but she wasn't shooting Soul Arrows. I don't know what they were, but they were stopping the clones in short order.

I cut left, knocking down two more, but wasn't able to shout a warning in time as one of the clones got behind her and wound up for a savage chop...

 

"Aella!"

I heard Amazon Blade cry out as a White Owl chopped the new Amazon Arrow in the back of the neck, dropping her to her knees.

Lykopis began hewing in earnest and bits of White Owl clones began falling all around the room.  She came closer to me, where I was still fighting back against clones of my own. 

"Peace!" I said.  "I didn't do it!"

Her sword pointed at my throat as Lykopis made up her mind regarding my fate...

 

 The woman mountain (I assume she was the Amazon Lance) literally broke one clone with her bare hands and speared another with her large spear while I was busy dodging the gleaming weapons of the Amazon Blade. 

Behind her the new Amazon Arrow was coming to her feet, and with a surprised look on her face she gazed up at me. I tried to appeal to her but a solid blow from an armored fist suddenly hit me in the back of the head. 

I dropped to the ground, surrounded by the avenging Amazon quartet.

Slowly I raised my hands and said, "ειρήνη?"

 

"I could stab her with the Soul Sword... just to be sure..."

Lykopis's blade was suddenly at my throat as it glowed and vibrated with power. It appeared to be made of the same energy as Chryseis's arrows.

The giant of a woman cried, "ΑΡΚΕΤΑ! Τετέλεσται!"*

Behind Lykopis, Aella was lowering her bow.

"It's over, Lykopis!  This is the real White Owl--and she's a friend."

The Amazon Blade growled, but lowered her sword in acknowledgement.

I looked up at the large woman and said: "Melousa, isn't it?"

With a grim face, Melousa nodded: "We have arrived to search for our errant one and to... return her to the First Ones.  Your mission is over here.  You are no longer needed."

"I...I would like to help you find her," I said as I came to my feet.

Melousa looked at me, said something too fast for me to catch and laughed. The others joined in.
"What's so funny?" I asked.

Aella whispered in my ear: "She said you have the heart of an Amazon, but not the stature."

I looked around at the shattered creations Dr Tronix had left and smiled: "But I AM the last White Owl standing."

Aella translated this and Melousa laughed harder, pounding my back.  I staggered forward, but somehow managed to keep my feet.

 

Chief Brody and his CSI team showed up shortly after, along with cleanup crews from STAR, NSA and the FBI.  Apparently Dr. Tronix had been VERY naughty.  After taking our statements, the Amazons and I were released.  We went to the Amazon Embassy first and I gave them a full report on Chryseis' actions to that point.

"I'm very worried for Chryseis... and for all of my friends," I said.

"We too are concerned," said Aella.

"Rest assured, we will find Curia ...and bring Chryseis down," said Lykopis.

"In..." quickly corrected Aella.

 Lykopis gave her a funny look.

I almost didn't see Melousa squeezing Lykopis on the shoulder... almost... I couldn't be sure what plans they may have for Chryseis, but that would have to be a problem for another day. Confronting them in the middle of thier own Embassy wouldn't help anyone, and right now Chryseis could certainly take care of herself.

"We have detained White Owl for too long.  I am certain she has other responsibilities to which she must attend.  She has fought bravely and her valor will long be remembered. Amazons ...Salute!"
The clang of bracelets coming together thrilled me as I left the Amazon Champions in the courtyard of the embassy and gratefully returned to Queen City.