More plasma bolts fired at the Scorpion, courtesy of her friends. They came from all directions. He raised an arm to shield his face, then leaped toward the window. His tail shot out; Rhea leaped backward, slicing down with her X2-59, but the tail was aimed for her feet, and she missed it.
The hard metal appendage wrapped around the ankle of her right foot and pulled her out the window as the Scorpion jumped.
She descended, the building passing in a blur beside her. She vaguely noticed several Tasins lurking on the street below, huddling against the walls of the building, keeping a low profile. They were watching the unfolding scene with interest.
Rhea sliced down with her X2-59, aiming at the tail, but at that moment the Scorpion grabbed onto a protruding ledge and swung inside another level three floors down.
She struck the tail with her electrolaser-enhanced blade: the appendage was rather thin near the tip, and her blade easily penetrated, setting her loose. She went rolling away across the floor, righted herself, and scrambled to her feet.
The Scorpion stood towering before her, three meters away, his head scraping the roof.
“I see you’ve been upgraded since the last we met,” the robed man said, nodding at her body. Her clothing was tight-fitting, so he would have seen the outline of her new, thicker limbs and torso.
He doffed the robes, revealing a metallic body twice as wide as an ordinary human’s: he was so much bigger than he had ever been before. He had holes in the surface of his chest where the energy bolts had hit, revealing melted circuitry within, but he obviously had multiple backup systems, because he seemed entirely unharmed by the damage. His tail swayed back and forth behind him, hardly affected by the small section she’d amputated as well. “I’ve been upgraded, too, little girl.”
“Why are you hunting me?” she said. “What have I ever done to you?”
“It’s not personal,” the Scorpion said. “You simply have a high price on your head.” Small panels in his forearms slid back and rifle barrels deployed. He kept his hands pointed downward. For now.
“Are you employed by Veil as well?” she asked.
The Scorpion blinked but did not answer.
“Well, I’m not so little anymore!” she lunged forward.
Instantly those arms shot up. Rhea was expecting that, and she was already twisting her body to the side. Time seemed to slow as she retracted the blade and leaped to the side, landing behind a desk. Her feet slipped on a rug as she landed, and she slid forward. Grabbing onto one of the legs of the desk, she swung outward, and shoved off the floor at almost the same time, landing on her feet to the left of the Scorpion.
He wasn’t facing her, but that tail was already incoming. Retreating, she started to deploy the X2-59, but the stump on the tip of that tail struck her in the chest almost immediately, and she slammed into a metal beam that acted as a window support behind her. The beam bent inward beneath the blow, and the panes on either side shattered. She dropped, stunned, to the floor.
Horatio broke through the glass of another window and opened fire at the Scorpion. He targeted one of the rifles, scoring a hit. The Scorpion roared, turning toward Horatio and swinging that tail. The terrible appendage struck, batting the robot outside. Horatio was flung all the way across the street: the robot traveled in an arc, descending two stories, and crashing into a window on the opposite building. Momentum carried Horatio inside, and the robot vanished from view, leaving behind only shattered glass.
The Scorpion swung back toward Rhea, but she was already leaping at him.
She could have attempted to amputate the arm that wielded the remaining weapon, but she didn’t want to risk it; the armored metal was thick there, almost as thick as the base of his tail, and might prove stronger than her blade. Last thing she needed was the X2-59 becoming firmly lodged after cutting only halfway through.
So instead she struck across with her blade and targeted the point where the protruding rifle connected with the arm. She struck and severed the barrel.
The Scorpion flung his arm outward before she could bring the blade in for another blow, and connected with her chest, sending her across the room. She struck a wall and left a big dent in the surface before crumpling to the floor.
Before she could get up, the Scorpion landed on her, apparently having jumped from his last position, and pinned her with his feet and tail. With one hand, he grabbed the arm that wielded the X2-59 by the wrist. With the other, he latched onto the shoulder of the same arm.
He crushed his fingers together, crumpling her shoulder, and she screamed in pain. Then he bent the arm far back with his other hand, and tore it clean away, leaving behind only the empty sleeve of her uniform. She felt no more pain. She felt… nothing.
My arm, I’ve lost my arm.
He tossed the arm aside, along with the bladed weapon its fingers yet held in a death-grip.
Rhea struggled to push herself up with her free arm, but she was firmly pinned. She bashed her palm against his steel calves, tried to squeeze the fingers around the armored plates, to no avail.
The Scorpion chuckled. “Look at you. Struggling like a worm. This is the hero of Rust Town? The legendary Warden? I’m sorely disappointed. You fought so much better the last time we battled. Beginner’s luck, I suppose. Good-bye then, little girl.”
The Scorpion raised the tail, aiming the blunt end at her face. He slammed it down.
Rhea swung her arm at the tail, slamming it in the side with her fist; the blow was enough to steer it off course, and the tip smashed into the floor beside her.
“Interesting,” the Scorpion said. “You still have some fight left in you. Good.”
He stepped forward, crushing her body with
