Chapter Text
I rode down the street at breakneck speeds, my helmet's feed showing me the single fastest method to get to the Lord's Street Market. I came within inches of slamming into other vehicles on the road at some points, but I couldn't afford to be more than the most minimally careful, it was too important.
The Monkey Queen herself had requested our assistance with 'a delicate situation, and when the most powerful Master in North America asks for help, it has to be given.
We hadn't gotten many details, as she wasn't able to stay on the phone for long, but it seemed to be a hostage situation. That seemed rather confusing to me, as she assuredly had many means of dismantling those and had many times in the past.
But I guess that just painted the seriousness of the situation even more.
"What do you think could've made the Queen of all people so nervous?" Miss Militia echoed my thoughts. She had to yell past the wind, seated on the back of my motorcycle as she was.
"I'm not certain, but considering the last time she did it was for the Slaughterhouse Nine, I'd say that we need to proceed with the utmost caution."
Miss Militia quieted once more, whether at my words or the fact that we'd just turned the corner to see a street flooded with monkeys, I would never know.
They seemed to have evacuated all of the civilians, and had setup a large tribal hut in the center of the street. There was a large radar tower coming from the top and the monkey playing bongos in front of the door, and monkeys wearing all manner of professional wear were cloistered around the small building, poring over numerous tables, papers, and screens.
I slowed the cycle in a swift and effective maneuver, the screeching of tires drawing much of the crowd's gaze towards us. Miss Militia and myself stepped off of the vehicle and a few monkeys surged past us, grabbing our transportation and wheeling it away. I trusted the little creatures enough after everything they'd done for the city, and made no protest.
"Out of the way!" A distorted, rough voice rang out through the crowd, and I tensed up a bit, recognizing it immediately. And sure enough, in-between the throngs of waist-high monkeys and their much larger equipment being moved about, was a monkey dressed in a purple robe, her fur colored the same. A wooden mask with glowing green eyes covered her face, and she carried a small totem in one of her hands.
The monkey stopped upon seeing me, planting her totem onto the road. "Ah, Armsmaster. I should've known the Queen would call you for help. It is good to see you Parahumans respond so quickly."
"Ezili, now is no time for pleasantries, not if the Queen herself is calling for our aid. We'd like to be apprised of the situation." I told her, my voice brooking no nonsense.
Luckily, the strange voodoo monkey seemed to agree. "Of course, it is a rather grave matter of course. Follow me, I will lead you to the standoff." She turned and the monkeys parted to give her a clear path through the crowd. We followed closely behind, and soon, she began to speak.
"We've caught sight of a rather grueling situation, when we were out making construction surveys of the Queen's section of the city. A foe of unknown power traipsing about the public square, as if no one was even noticing the danger."
That was both very concerning and very enlightening. On the one hand, that spoke of a high-level Stranger, one who was recognizable enough as a threat to the monkeys on sight. On the other hand, the fact that they were able to notice the cape without the power interfering was very good to note.
"We called it out on the spot and made ready to deal with it, but it had taken a young human girl hostage. We've kept it in our sightline ever since, not allowing it to move away. But without knowing what sort of power it wields, we are hesitant to put the child in harm's way by initiating an encounter."
That was very smart of them. For all we knew, it could have a debilitating Striker power that would cripple or even kill the child. Keeping it from moving was the best sort of action, as was calling in backup. Hostages were always tricky, and there was no such thing as being too careful in those situations.
"I'm glad that you've approached the situation carefully, Ezili," Miss Militia spoke from beside me. "I think it'd be best if we saw the scene ourselves however."
The magic monkey nodded. "Of course. In fact, we are almost there now."
Indeed we were, as the crowd of monkeys milling about had changed into a line of them setup for combat. A few emplaced weapons, such as a few of their 'dartling' guns and even a large, yellow missile were setup, and many more monkeys of varying styles and sizes had weapons of all sorts pointed towards a particular direction.
At the middle of the line, standing twice the height of the diminutive creatures, was the Monkey Queen herself. Her gilded golden armor seemed to shine with a slight glow, and along with her massive headdress, made her stand out as the royalty the monkeys all claimed her to be.
We stopped a few feet short of her, and Ezili took a knee. "My Queen, the heroes are here, as you've requested."
The Queen turned, her monkey-styled mask and glowing yellow eyes giving off an otherworldly power, even more so than the voodoo monkey. "Thank you, Ezili" she spoke, voice commanding an almost tangible might. "Go take some extra lives from the marketplaces and prepare to setup a few totems incase the situation gets heated."
The monkey stood, but kept her head bowed. "Of course, my lady." She then turned and ran off, leaving us with the Queen herself, as well as the many other creatures situated on the line.
"Armsmaster, Miss Militia, I thank you for showing up so soon. This is a crisis of unknown importance, and while it's possible the enemy could be swiftly dealt with, I felt it would be better to get assistance incase it wasn't."
I nodded my assent. "A good mindset to have with a hostage situation." I walked forward to stand at the queen's side, and looked over the cordon. They'd surrounded a four-lane intersection, all faced towards one of the more prominent market buildings. The stalls setup for the day were noticeably empty of people, some mess showing that they'd likely been ushered off in a hurry.
The only remaining life within the monkey's firing line was a small girl in a yellow dress, standing on the sidewalk opposite the creatures in front of the building, crying profusely. "Why hasn't that girl been evacuated yet?" Miss Militia spoke, echoing my own concerns. "And are the criminals in that building behind her?"
The Queen shook her head. "No, Miss Militia, the girl is the hostage. And the opponent is right in front of us, with a tight grip on the child. I am surprised you cannot see it." I took another look over the situation. My helmet readouts weren't detecting anything that would suggest a person was grabbing onto the girl, but Stranger powers had avoided electronic detection before. Unfortunately, it seemed this was something only the monkeys and their Queen could detect.
"I'm not getting any readouts on my equipment, how are you seeing the enemy, Monkey Queen?" I questioned.
She looked at me, and even behind her large and ostentatious mask, I could tell she was confused. "What do you mean, Armsmaster? One of the few things that we've confirmed is that the enemy isn't camouflaged, you should be able to see with your own eyes."
My gaze lingered on her for a moment before turning over towards my fellow hero. "Miss Militia, are you seeing anything with your unobstructed view?"
She gave the area in front of us a once over, before turning to me and shaking her head. "I'm not seeing anything either. Are you sure this isn't an ability of your... subjects that allows you to see them?"
"No, but I shouldn't be surprised. I myself wasn't able to-" She was cut off as a mild breeze blew through the streets, and the monkeys tensed up. The Queen turned, her gaze directed towards the girl. "Do not move, you impertinent fool!" she cried, voice laced with her active power, hands glowing with golden light as she readied for combat. "Or I will be forced to put you down like the helium-sucker you are!"
Wait. That can't be it. I turned my own eyes back to the girl and, sure enough, tied to her wrist with a thin string was a balloon, colored chrome and depicting a popular cartoon character in the center. Some sort of kitchen sponge by the looks of it.
"Monkey Queen," I spoke very slowly. "Can you describe to us exactly what this enemy looks like?"
She didn't change from her readied stance as she responded. "Small, about the size of a basketball, floating barely a foot above the girl, and grasping tightly onto her hand with a thin appendage. It's not like any other bloon the other monkeys or myself have seen, so we're taking every caution we can against the disgusting sack of air."
Her voice was dripping with so much hate and vitriol as she described it that it took all of my willpower not to question the woman's sanity. Verbally, anyways. "I see." I turned to Miss Militia. "Militia, would you mind-" I didn't even have to finish my statement as she raised her hand, a small pistol in her grip, and the crowd of primates gasped as she pulled the trigger.
Silence and stillness descended as the balloon exploded in a shower of cheap, reflective plastic, immensely noticeable on the previously busy street. The simian's shock was palpable as they stared at us. Miss Militia, however turned to me and, with a voice dripping in sarcasm, spoke two words.
"Enemy neutralized."
The streets shook as a cheer spread across the road. A few of the monkeys rushed forward to begin checking the girl for injuries and shock, but the majority crowded around us, picking up Miss Militia and throwing her up and down to celebrate her shot. The Queen herself turned to me, her shock evident even past her massive mask.
"H-how did you know that would work, Armsmaster?" The Monkey Queen asked, her voice stuttering for the first time in public history.
"It was a balloon, Monkey Queen. It doesn't take much force to rupture and pop them."
"Well sure, but it could've been any type of bloon! What if the character on it came alive and began fighting, or it redirected the shot! You couldn't have known its effects on sight."
"A balloon" I stated carefully, stamping down the urge to sigh. "They pop when they're shot. That's the effect."
"But, but..." she trailed off, looking towards her hands as she contemplated the great mysteries of floating children's decorations.
"Well then, Monkey Queen. If you need assistance, remember to call us again. I have to go file a report on the situation, so I will be on my way." I turned and began walking away.
I called up Miss Militia's comm. "Miss Militia, will you be returning with me?"
A laugh met my ears. "No Armsmaster, I don't think the monkeys will be letting me go anytime soon."
This time I did actually sigh. "Very well, I'm certain my own report will suffice with this one." Shutting off the comms, I walked towards where I saw the creatures parking my motorcycle.
But I couldn't help but wonder, in what world did you see an ordinary balloon as a threat to your life?
I quickly decided it was a question I didn't need the answer to.