The mercenary Emil gazed directly into Wyldfyre's eyes, meeting his old co-worker's gaze. "You don't expect me to spill all the beans at the moment, do you? I've been a double agent myself more than once."
Around the two men, the battle carried on in a series of confrontations. The fight wasn't a charge of heroes on one side of the field making their way to a phalanx of shielded mercenaries like the opening credits of a cartoon. Dozens of smaller conflicts raged around them where units of mercenaries fired upon groups, commonly league-members, of heroes who used their various abilities to wear down the mercenary force.
While a majority of heroes were members of BADGE, that didn't mean they intended, or had been trained, to work as one tight unit. Either solo or with a cadre of stalwart companions at their side, the heroes battled as they most other times; by doing whatever worked best."See that winged freak over there? Help take him down, and we'll talk some more," Emil lifted up his rifle and lined his sights onto the airborne individual.
Recognizing the flying man as a member of another league Wyldfye had little use for, he let loose a malevolent chuckle as he brought his power to bear on his new target. A ball of fire grew in Wyldfyre's hands as he targeted the solitary man's wings. He launched his fireball at him, and a split-second later, Emil fired his laser at the man as well. Both attacks struck their target squarely and he dropped to the earth with a large splat with a trail of black smoke from the burning feathers.
"Sounds like chicken tonight, BAK-BAK bitch," Wyldfyre shouted as he gave Emil a second meaningful stare. "That shot was free. You and your boss want more, you need to show me the money."
"You've got my vote. I'd much rather work with you than that arrogant, precious pansy Arx any day of the week." Emil said as he holstered his rifle and pulled out a communication device.
Wyldfyre spat on the ground with disgust. "Arx is a chump. He couldn't win a fight unless he was aided by CGI and Michael Bay directed it."
"Truth," Emil said. He pressed at the screen a few times after unlocking his phone. "I'll get the boss on the line. With you on our side, we could turn the tide of this fight in no time."
Nodding, Wyldfyre held his position, ready to act.
"Not the nipples. Not the nipples!!" Wyldfyre scanned the battlefield and saw one of the newer members of the Star Force, Lykos being assaulted by three mercenaries with large, cattleprod-like weapons. "Not THERE either..."
Highlander, another Star Force league member fought nearby Lykos as well, but had his massive, meaty hands around a mercenaries neck while several other mercs surrounded him. He wouldn't be able to reach Lykos in time to prevent his tender bits from being further tenderized. Wyldfyre mumbled hatefully under his breath, "Idiots. Each and every one of them."
Emil placed his hand over the speaker of his communication unit. "What was that?"
"Nothing. You know me. Impatient as always." Wyldfyre said as he ground his teeth. "This gonna take much longer?"
"You know how it goes. The boss always does everything in their own sweet time while we have to follow their schedule exactly to the letter." Emil said. "Hold onto your britches, the conversation will be worth the wait. Trust me. Remember that island I wanted in the Mediterranean. We get this done right, and I won't be wanting it any more, if you know what I mean."
The mercenaries around Lykos managed to surround him and pin him to the ground, his screams of pain stifled by boot on his head pushing his face into the grass. Each time the hero tried to push himself up, the mercs poked him sharply with their torturous devices and laughed at his pain.
"Awww, hell," Wyldfyre said as he brought his power to bear. "I've never been good at undercover work."
An area of field grass between Highlander and Lykos ignited in a blaze of towering flames that wrapped and shifted around one another until finally taking the fiery shape of a multiple-headed hydra. Three of the heads stretched to the mercs grappling against Lykos. The rest of the heads aimed for the combatants trading blows with Highlander. It was impossible to tell if the roaring sound was that of the beast warning its targets or simply the overwhelming sound of the raging flames that coursed within the creature's body.
"Bloody biscuits," Emil said as he dropped his communicator.
Wyldfyre concentrated on his creation, sweat dripping from his brow as he managed to turn his head in Emil's direction. "I still ain't no cape, but I do have friends. At one point, you were one as well. Take my advice, get your ass out of here. And I hope you got your cash up front, cause whatever it is that your boss wants, he won't get it today."
Emil's hands started for his rifle, but the flare of flickering flames behind Wyldfyre's sunglasses made him think better of that option. He started to walk away, but stopped and reached for his comm unit.
"Leave it!" Wyldfyre ordered.
Holding up his hands in surrender, Emil stood straight and backed away for several feet, eventually turning and running off into the distance.
"Sorry, pal. Wish I could have visited you on that island and had some of your wife's tuna noodle casserole." Wyldfyre turned his focus back to his monstrous inferno. Snapping dragon-like heads bit at the mercs surrounding his league-mates and chased the attackers away from them. He commanded his fire golem to give chase, allowing Lykos an opportunity to stand while Highlander took deep breaths to calm his battle rage.
"Impressive," a familiar voice said from above.
Wyldfyre glanced up and broke into a relieved smile. Starmaster levitated down from the smoke-filled sky. "Someone has to be there to save you stupid capes rear ends when you bite off more than you can chew. Where have you been? I gave up watching the Bachelorette to come out here because of you."
Landing beside his friend, Starmaster patted Wyldfyre on the shoulder. "Thanks for that. I know how much that show means to you."
"I recorded it," Wyldfyre said.
"Then how about you and I pummel the crap out of some of these mercs?" Starmaster asked. "Or are you planning on letting them all get away?"
Wyldfyre picked up Emil's discarded comm unit. "That guy's alright. There's more than enough out there that we can let one get away, can't we?'
"Whatever you say, buddy." Starmaster said. It didn't take a psychic to read Wyldfyre's mind to know he allowed himself to freely give away something he held as valuable. "What's that?"
"Comm device. I thought I could use it to ferret out who is behind this whole fiasco," Wyldfyre said as he melted the electronics in the palm of his hand. "Maybe find out what happened to you since you called for help. Since you're here now, I guess we don't need it anymore."
Lykos and Highlander trotted over.
"Thanks for the assist, man," Lykos said. "They caught me while my sugar was low, I guess."
Wyldfyre nodded. "Let's finish what we came here for. That is if you don't need time for a juice-box and a nap. The girls are racking up their body counts, and I don't want to have to do dishes tonight."
The group headed back into the fray, working together to bring the battle to its inevitable conclusion.
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