Gust and Codex arrive at the first timber camp just before 11 p.m. The area seems to be quiet, so they take the time to find a secluded spot that still has a clear view of the area. Gust casually plops down on a log, almost irritated.
Codex reaches into his backpack and pulls out a set of complex-looking goggles, full of dials and switches. He whips the strap around the back of his head and pulls the visor down over his glasses.
Codex fiddles with some of the dials on the goggles. “OK, just a little adjustment here.” He nervously thumbs at some of the switches on the side. “No wait...that one. OK that’s better.” He sits down on the log next to Gust and starts scanning the area for any signs of Wild Daisy.
“So how long have you had a thing for Illumina?” Gust blurts out.
Codex whips around so fast that he loses his balance and nearly falls off the log. “Wha? I..um. What do you mean?” blurts out Codex as he flips up his goggles.
“Oh come one now. Its pretty damn obvious. I’m sure she’s picked up on it herself by now.” says Gust. She reaches into a pouch on her bodysuit and pulls out plastic-wrapped hard candy, unwraps it with no effort to muffle the noise and pops it in her mouth.
Codex confidently responds “I’m not sure where you’re getting that from. I respect her as a team member, nothing more” though the rosy hue of his cheeks are an obvious tell that he’s lying.
“Get over yourself, man. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Wise words from Wayne Gretzky.” Gust pauses for a moment. “He was a hockey play...”
“I know who Wayne Gretzky is. Really Gust?”
“You’re just too easy to screw with Codex. Don’t take everything so seriously. Tell her. What’s the worst that can happen? She rejects you? Big deal. Move on.”
At roughly the same time as the first pair arrived at their location, Bastion and Illumina rolled into theirs as well.
“OK its game time. Be on your toes and don’t try to be a hero. Stick to the plan and everything should go well.”
Illumina responds “I know the plan. Don’t worry about me. I got it.”
Wild Daisy is an elusive foe, who has escaped from Nightwatch on several occasions. Her ability to quickly dig into the ground and travel as a sentient collection of vines makes her impossible to capture once she’s transformed and burrowed into the earth. However, Bastion has a plan that he thinks will work this time.
“Do you think the other guys are OK?” Illumina sounds genuinely concerned. She’s not been on many missions, so its obvious that her nerves are starting to kick in.
“They’ll be fine. Gust is a pro and Codex is great at hiding.” Bastion responds with a smirk.
The two settle down in a spot behind some bushes that give them cover, as well as a good view of the timber camp. They sit in silence as they wait for something to happen.
Which it does.
After 35 minutes of scouting the camp, they notice trees and foliage bending and twisting to make a path for Wild Daisy, as if they’re bowing in reverence to her. She takes a moment to scan the camp and spots a single security guard on duty. Before he can pull out his phone, the poor guard finds himself bound by vines and held in place. A tendril wraps firmly around his throat -- not enough to kill him, but enough to prevent him from screaming.
Bastion sends a quickly message to Gust on his phone and whispers to Illumina “the reinforcements are on their way.” The two stay out of the line of sight and observe Wild Daisy prancing around the logging camp, almost childlike. After a few minutes, she starts to summon vines and roots from the ground, which twist and tangle the logging machinery and equipment.
Once everything is wrapped in her plant-based snares, she reaches an arm above her head, makes a fist and plunges it quickly downward. The roots and vines react to her instruction and start to squeeze and constrict, like thousands of small anacondas made of wood and vines. The machinery starts to bend and buckle under the pressure, until they start to collapse on themselves.
While Wild Daisy is gleefully destroying yet another timber camp, Gust and Codex arrive. Bastion wastes no time in handing out the orders. “Codex you need to get her attention, Illumina you wait for the signal. Gust and I will flank her and carry out our maneuvers.”
The team nods in agreement and they spread out around the perimeter of the camp. Codex kicks things off with a taunt “hey, what are you doing down there?” In the moment, he wishes hit was gifted with the slightest bit of wit.
Thankfully, it was enough to get her attention. Wild Daisy stopped her destruction so she could investigate this new pest. Codex pulls a handgun from his backpack and starts firing towards Wild Daisy, fully knowing that even if he manages to hit her the bullets will harmlessly pass through her plant-based body. But the distraction has to feel genuine.
As Codex gains Daisy’s attention, the other team members move into position. Illumina sticks close to Bastion while Gust moves into place between them and their foe.
A raspy voice springs forth from the villain “what are you doing out here, sooo alone and sooo lost?” She starts to advance on Codex more quickly. Codex starts to slowly back away and catches his heel on a log beneath his feet, falling prone.
Illumina sees Codex fall and inches forward to jump into action, but Bastion grabs her by the arm and holds her back. “Wait...and watch.”
Wild Daisy is now just a few feet from Codex. “Let me give you a new home. My children would love to feassst on your flesssh.” A dozen thorny vines erupt from Daisy’s arms and pierce Codex throughout his chest and stomach. However, he seems uneffected by the attack. Confused, she takes a deeper look at Codex who vanishes in the blink of an eye.
“NOW!” yells Bastion from the left side of Wild Daisy. He reaches his arms out in front of himself and fans out his hands. Instantly a blue, glowing 8-foot cube takes shape in front of him with one side open.
As Daisy turns to face Bastion, Gust flies out from her hiding spot and hits Wild Daisy with a high powered blast of air, throwing her directly towards Bastion’s trap. The villain slams into the far side of the box, at which point Bastion closes the open side of the cube, trapping her inside.
"DAMN! That's how you do it!" yells Bastion, who is very pleased with himself.
Illumina ignores what’s going on with Daisy and recklessly rushes towards where Codex was slain. Finding no body, she starting looking around frantically.
From overhead, she hears an “Ahem!”. Turning her eyes upwards, she spots Codex sitting on a limb about 15 feet in the air.
Relieved, yet angered, Illumina whips around and walks back to the team, barely registering the “Sorry!” Codex blurted out as she stormed off.
Bastion looks down at Ilumina. “OK, you ready?”
Illumina is furious after being tricked into thinking Codex was just killed, so she utters an ice-cold “yes” through clenched teeth.
Bastion yells “NIGHTY NIGHT SUCKA!” as he drops his force field. Before Wild Daisy can even react, Illumina raises her fist and blasts the criminal in her face with an intense beam of light, knocking her completely unconscious.
Codex stumbles over to the group, pleading “It wasn’t my idea!” Illumina didn’t care. She was pissed and felt betrayed. “Let’s get this pile of garbage over to The Armory.”
// To be continued in episode 5
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The SteemHeroes Story
Prologue (complete):
Episode 0-1: The Discovery of Olympium
Episode 0-2: The Olympium War
Episode 0-3: The Splintering
Episode 0-4: The Rebellion
Episode 0-5: The Ravenwood Agency
Episode 0-6: Zenethen
Episode 0-7: The Discovery of Dimensional Fissures
Season 1:
Episode 1-1
Episode 1-2
Episode 1-3
Cover Image: Freepik