[T1] Short Cut

[Centurion]

Back on the street, there was little to indicate Cade's scuffle had even taken place. The crowd had dispersed, the angry man was nowhere to be seen, and no one was giving the young man any strange looks. Hope that the whole thing had blown over bloomed in Angel's chest and she tugged on her companion's arm.
 
"Come on! No one's here, so ­­there's nothing to own up to."
 
  Cade scanned the crowded street and shrugged. "Huh... well that's good I guess."
 
  They both started back towards the Cafe, if only to have a safe place to sit. The crowd was just as thick as earlier, but Cade took the lead and pushed open a pa­­th for them both. He was starting to see the kind of world he was in, and it was one that required force to make sense. He could hear Angel grunt out apologies as the pressing masses bumped into her a few times, so he redoubled his efforts to split the sea of people. Suddenly, parts of the crowd gave way to a small group of people, led by a familiar and angry face.
 
"Hey lapdog! Round two."
 
  The man, a shiny purple bruise adorning the side of his face, was accompanied by two other men. They seemed to be hard laborers, men who worked with their hands, and were notably larger than the younger hero. The angry man had a metallic rod of some sort in his hand, likely a pipe, and kept tapping the side of his leg. Cade pushed Angel away again to keep her well out of the way.
 
"Hey man. I thought we got over this?"
 
"Hell no, you don't make a fool of me and get a way with it you son of a bi-"
 
"Language! There's a lady present."
 
"F@$& your lady, man! I'm gonna kick your smug prick ass back through whatever gate you came from!"
 
  Cade clenched his fists and that racing heartbeat kicked up again. He didn't want to do this, and his body knew it, but it pumped enough adrenaline into his system to help him forget that fact.
 
"Come on brah, just let it go. You're blowing this way out of proportion."
 
  No response, just blind rage as the man ran towards Cade, screaming and brandishing his pipe. Cade could hear angel scream inaudibly as the metal rod slammed into his shoulder. His attempt to block the blow resulted in far more pain then he had expected, the whole joint exploding from the impact. He felt the bones rattle in their sockets, his ligaments desperate to hold the joint together. The pipe swung around again, but this time Cade responded. He slid his foot forward and shot out his arm, grazing the pipe and dispersing the impact of the second strike. With a twist, he wrapped his arm around the rod and pivoted. His knee slammed into the man's and he fell backwards, Cade's grip on the pipe ripping it out of his hands. The man sprawled backwards, a stupefied expression on his face as Cade stood over him, pipe in hand.
 
  It took Angel a few attempts to shout the young man's name before he heard her through the pounding oh his heart in his ears. He turned to look at here a moment too late. His vision was filled with a massive fist. The strike rammed into him like a truck, Cade's whole face going numb for a second. He stumbled back, feeling a trickle of blood make its way out of his right nostril. In an attempt to steady himself, he planted his left foot behind him only to see one of the larger men taking another swing at him. Cade ducked under the wide swipe and hooked his fist into the larger aggressor's kidney. It elicited a grunt of pain, but did little to slow the massive man as he swung back around and landed another powerful punch on Cade's temple. His vision exploded and his knees buckled, everything going white. He barely managed to stay standing and took a few steps back for distance. It was when he lifted his arm to strike back that he realized he had dropped the pipe. Where could it...
 
KRACK

  This time everything went red. Cade fell forwards, no control over his body anymore. It took all of his will to lift his arms, keeping his face from an untimely meeting with the street. Another scream from Angel. He tried to get up, to help her, to show her this wasn't enough to keep him down, but three shadows washed over him. Cade had been through this before. He knew what was going to happen. He couldn't stop it, but he'd be damned if he let it go down without a fight. The first kick landed in his back, and he almost lost his breath.
 
"Come on! That all you've got!?" He tried to push himself up and glare at the men attacking him, but it earned him little more than a foot on his jaw.
 
  Pushed back on the ground, a hail of strikes rained down upon him. They blended together, each individual impact devolving into a single dull pain. He couldn't tell which were punches or which were kicks. He could always tell which ones were the pipe. He curled up to protect his head and stomach as the torrential wave crashed into him over and over again. He was starting to black out, stars dancing behind his closed eyelids, and he growled in frustration in a desperate attempt to retain consciousness.
 
KRACK
 
The pipe slammed into his ribs and Cade prayed they weren't broken.
 
THWACK
 
A kick to the head, or at least that's what he guessed. It was getting hard to focus.
 
KRACK
 
More red. More black. More white. Just any and every way a brain could scream 'help me I'm dying' bombarded Cade's thoughts.
 
THA-WUMP
 
Orange. Weird. Everything went orange.
 
He felt his mind clear, he could hear Angel shouting again, he could focus. The pain was less noticeable, and his eyes were no longer assaulted by dancing lights. A message he had only seen twice before spelled out in English across his eyelids.
 
Wielder Death Imminent: Unlocking Basic Combat Protocols
 
  New strength flowed into Cade's muscles, his lungs could expand without burning, and his pure unfettered anger flared back up. He exploded to his feet, without warning, roaring like a savage lion. As he stood, liquid metal slid up his legs and encased his arms. His chest was coated with thick nano-machine based mesh and orange lights flared up along his hexagonal sigil. The real thrill came when his helm slid into place and that trusted HUD exploded across his vision. It was limited, but at least this time it wasn't trying to kill him. With the Apparatus fully attached to his body and his orientation now upright, Centurion was alive.
 
  The larger men responded too slowly, one finding that the human body is quite certainly capable of assisted flight. He crashed into a storefront, shattering the plate glass of the displays. The other tried to turn and run, but Centurion would have none of that. He grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and pulled. The large man was suddenly and powerfully yanked down and back, the back of his head smacking the pavement. He tried to crawl away, but the Centurion Apparatus knew not the meaning of mercy. Without thinking, Cade dropped down and slammed the man’s face back to the street, knocking him unconscious.
 
KTAANG
 
It was a barely perceptible impact, the suit absorbing most of the damage and relaying it to Cade's HUD. Centurion turned to see the man, the first man, dented and bloodied pipe in hand and terror etched on his face. Energy crackled from Centurion's eyes, his mind overcome with rage. He seized the bastard by his collar and pulled him closer. The man's feet dangled just above the street, toes scraping the pavement desperately for a place to stand. Cade's enraged voice buzzed out from the face-plate of his armor, the nano-machine mask mimicking his knotted brow and snarling visage.
 
"Alright asshole! ROUND THREE!"
 
Centurion pulled his hand back, his orange palms building up a charge and glowing bright enough to dim the other street lights. The snapping skeins of Ionic Energy cast flickering shadows across the man's terrified expression as he babbled apologies and begged Cade to let him go. He didn’t. A quick right likely shattered the man’s nose, a geyser of blood splattering the shirt crumpled in Centurion’s grip.

“CADE!” Angel’s cry fell on deaf ears.

Another one threatened the man’s consciousness, his head snapping back like a toy. The warrior’s hand opened, the flaring energy inspiring new fear in the man he held. Lightning snapped from finger to finger and Centurion pulled back for another, this time ionically charged strike.
 
"CADE! STOP!" Her voice broke on the words, choking on emotion.
 
He did, but he didn't lower his hand. Centurion barely tilted his head to the side, peeking in his peripheral vision to see Angel standing behind him. The orange glow of the Apparatus highlighted the fear in her tearful eyes.
 
"Stop. It’s over, you got him... please…"

  Cade looked back at the man in his grip, limp and almost lifeless, then up at the crowd surrounding them. His anger started to burn out and the ramifications of what he had done hit him. He released the man, letting him scramble for safety. Cade spun around, his helm retracting to expose his face, and looked at the other two men. One was out cold, his groggy companion trying to drag him away. Even the crowd was afraid, murmuring permeating the air like an accusatory fog, Cade feeling suffocated by the weight of their stares. He looked back at Angel. She was on the verge of tears, arms wrapped tight around her body as she tried to comfort herself. His hands. Cade looked down at his hands and was struck by the glistening crimson of blood ornamenting his gauntleted knuckles.

  The charged energy faded and Centurion dropped his hands, his face now joining the others in its horrified expression. His heart seized. He should never have done that. Why had he done that? The suit, the damned suit. Combat Protocols… it had hijacked his mind, fueling with adrenaline and anger to ensure survival at the risk of murdering the aggressors. Cade wanted to scream, but his attention was quickly captured by the squad of about a half-dozen armored troopers pushing through the crowd. Their plates were ice white, offset harshly by the glowing red barrels of their rifles.

“HANDS UP SCUMBAG!” The first trooper ordered, rifle raised and voice modulated by his helmet to bellow throughout the street. “Rest of you DISPERSE.”

The crowd wasted no time in scattering as calmly as possible, may glancing back at the armored boy as they went. Cade didn’t raise his hands, not out of rebellion but out of shock.

“I sad HANDS. UP.”

“Cade, put your hands up!” Angel’s panicked command snapped the young man back into reality.

He raised his hands as the troopers surrounded him. He could take them. He could win this fight. All he needed was to drop his helm, blast a few holes in their chests, he could easily kill each and every one of… of… NO. Cade blinked long and hard, forcing the suit to deactivate combat protocols. He literally felt his soul lighten, the adrenaline and serotonin in his body dropping sharply. He felt normal again, and all that led to was an onset of shame and frustration. He glanced back at Angel, who had her hands up level with her head and was darting her eyes between the troopers and her companion. Reluctantly, Cade raised his hands, if only for Angel’s sake. These guys meant business.