Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 5: The Asylum

Anna Murray stood behind the glass in the observatory overlooking the theater below. Her private quarters were a stone's throw away, but this was where she needed to be. She'd been waiting patiently while her guests followed the bread crumbs she'd left for them. Occasionally, she had to nudge them in a different direction, and more than once they'd managed to surprise her. However, all of it had been leading to these final moments. The confrontation, the battle, and the test of their limits and the limits of her work.

She had to admit that Jake and the others had been better equipped than she thought possible. Their little group of four had managed to push themselves well beyond the limitations that she had carefully considered. For years, Murray had studied and compiled data on Metropolis’ heroes and villains alike. She knew more than almost anyone the strengths, weaknesses, and psychological ticks and triggers of each of them. Her library of knowledge was almost encyclopedic. Her knowledge of the witches from Citiville were less complete, but she’d been studying them at length since the ascent of the Goth Goddess and the arrival of Pamela Lavely as a specter fighting alongside the new breed of heroes.

Over the course of the last few years, she’d watch the evolution of Catgirl and Birdboy into the Feral and the Raven. Anna was no stranger to working from the shadows. It was how she’d managed to avoid prison for as long as she had. Operating under different aliases, stolen identities, and utilizing a network of lower and lesser contacts for supplies, hideouts, and more helped to keep her off of the supposed heroes, and allowed her to observe their struggles and victories. Their developmental downfall had been fascinating to watch, but more fascinating ahd been the way the city’s villains had evolved alongside them.

The citywide war between the supposed Goddess had turned more than a few of the old guard into reluctant allies in the fight for good. While some of them like Kaitlyn had simply abandoned their aspirations for power and glory, others had perished in the fight. Most notable was one of the more fascinating beings to emerge out of the well of strange that was Metropolis: Havoc. The special case of the hulking and cruel woman had always captivated Anna, but she had never gotten the chance to study her in person. The body had been virtually eviscerated in the aftermath of the war. However, opportunity and fate had a strange sense of humor at times.

Mere months after the downfall of Goth, Murray had been approached by a stranger with an invitation. The invitation had been a meeting with her current benefactor and business partner: Eva Brunswick. She knew the legacy of the Brunswicks better than most, but she had thought their legacy long since dead.She was never one to ignore the curious and unusual. Besides, she knew that if nothing else it would yield her a fresh body to play with. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined the wealth of prosperity and fortune that would come from that fateful meeting.

The number of shell companies that Eva owned was impressive, and it allowed her to acquire several properties under the guise of preservation and restoration. It was because of this tactic that she was able to operate in her asylum turned sanctuary. The truth was that Murray had been working within the walls of the asylum for quite a while. It had been shortly after Courtney’s crime spree and assault on the city that she’d taken up residence in her new home turned office. Her talks with Eva afterwards had given her the resources to turn her sanctuary into a proper lab fit for her wildest dreams.

There was still so much that she wanted to do, so much to study and learn. However, she wasn’t a fool. Anna knew that her time on this planet was finite. No matter how much she wished otherwise, her mortal body would only carry her so far. So, she’d begun diverting time, energy, and resources into another means of prolonging her life and achieving her goals. She could blend the wonders of science, medicine, and the Brunswicks’ money and knowledge into finding a way to further both their cause and hers.

It was something she’d done in secret without either of the sisters knowing. The enhancements for their Chief Information Technology Officer had been one of the first steps in the evolution of humanity. It became another of Murray’s obsessions to drive her towards achieving her goals and ambitions. She was closer than ever to her goal now. Chaos had been a step in the right direction, and her progress with Ingrid’s integration into the subnet within the city had furthered that progress. She had been only a few short days away when Jake and the others arrived. Her newest subjects were on schedule, but that schedule didn’t quite line up with her agenda.

It had been fun to watch as her new arrivals and subjects wandered through and stumbled around the walls of her asylum. She’d been careful and deliberate with how and where she’d released the orderlies, her patients, and even Chaos to ensure that they received the full tour of their new home. It helped to buy her time as well, but the truth was that she was far more interested in observing how they handled adversity and stress. It was amusing and fascinating, but she knew that all good things had to come to an end.

She’d saved the best for last: her Dolls. Originally, she’d seen them as failures, but through blending her new advancements and resources, she’d managed to repurpose those failures into something truly remarkable. They were beings that didn’t feel pain, remorse, or anything beyond what she wanted them to. Through the use of modified larval parasites and spores, she had managed to create a sort of hive mind that she was able to control with finesse and ease. Courtney still had more control, far more than Murray liked to admit, but between the pheromones and radiowave frequency manipulation, she was quickly gaining ground on her.

Of course, they had only been the final means of distracting and delaying her subjects before the final show. Remarkably, both Rebecca and Pamela had managed to fight through the effects of the dampening field that she and the rest of the Board had developed and implemented. It was an impressive feat, but based on what she understood, it would only buy them so long before they succumbed and passed out from the pain. Their group had been full of surprises, but it was only a matter of time before they fell victim to the odds.

It had been a true shame to watch as Margaret was slain by Chaos. Good help was truly hard to find, but all they’d managed to do was hurry their inevitable death and destruction. Chaos’ inhibitor gave them control over her, but they’d been purposefully slowing her movements down. The Havoc project had given the subject unbelievable strength, speed, and reflexes, but full use meant that they couldn’t get a good read on combat data or subject encounters. The fact was that fights simply ended far too quickly for anyone’s liking.

Yet again, the group had been full of surprises. Addy, the young spitfire, had shown an impressive backbone over the last year, but she hadn’t expected her to actually rally her pet project Kaitlyn. Seeing the former warrior woman regain some of her former glory was a pleasant shock to her system. The fight between her and Chaos was short, but it was impressive all the same. However, she knew it would only be a matter of moments before she too was overwhelmed by the insurmountable odds of her creation.

Then it happened. The moment when the delusion of hope finally died out and reality set in was always one of her favorites. She loved it when her victims and patients finally realized that they weren’t going to get away; that nobody was coming to save them. That moment was quickly descending on their group when the unexpected arrival of none other than Sadie Wilson occurred. The gun for hire had been refusing to answer any of her benefactor’s calls, so they’d assumed she was on another continent fulfilling a contract, or at least would be staying out of the equation. 

When the walls to the theater were suddenly shattered and fell in, Anna had been taken by surprise. She’d been shocked when the glint of Sadie’s pink and black armor caught her eye. Out of everything she’d calculated and planned for, this was the last thing she’d been expecting. The military trained veteran came prepared with weapons and bots of her own. The board had been altered dramatically in an instant, and for the first time in what felt like years, Anna Murray felt panicked and anxious. She’d barked orders in a shriller tone than she typically used before stepping back from the viewing window.

“Emily,” she said, her tone calmer now as she walked back towards the elevator in the back corner, “What is the status of Eternity?”

A young blonde woman in a pair of black scrubs jumped as her mentor and boss addressed her. She shook as she looked down at the clipboard in her hands and back at Murray, “Uhm, we’re waiting on the final results to come back on-”

“Did the upload work?” Anna cut her off, her tone somehow both desperate and irate, “Spare me the minute details, girl. All I care about right now is whether the initial upload seemed successful or not.”

“Oh, forgive me, ma’am,” Emily rushed out an apology, “Y-yes, from what I can gather the initial upload seems to have taken effect successfully. Now, whether or not the subject remains in a stable state is another story. We planned-”

“That’s good enough for me,” Anna shook her head, “Let’s go.”

“Wh-where are we going?” Emily asked.

“Obviously, you’re coming with me,” Anna scoffed, pressing the button on the elevator, “Plans have changed and the time tables have been expedited. Our fortress has fallen. This battle has been lost, but the war is far from over. With Margaret having been wasted by our wonderfully devastating Chaos, I’ll be needing another set of hands to ensure the transfer is done properly.”

“But, but I’ve only been an observer and scribe, Doctor,” Emily stammered out.

“Then I suppose congratulations are in order,” Anna rolled her eyes, “You’ve just been promoted. Now, come along, dear, don’t make me tell you again.”

The doors to the elevator opened and Anna stepped in with her new assistant in tow. The doors shut and they ascended to Anna’s private office while the party continued below on the theater floor.

Meanwhile, down below, Sadie stepped down with an automatic rifle slung over her shoulder. Her double-edged sword was strapped across her back, and her left gauntlet had a screen on it that was illuminated. The duffle bag she’d brought with her was laying on the floor waiting for someone to open it and retrieve the spoils within. Behind her were four There were four large oval-shaped drones hovering behind her with red targeting screens with lasers shooting out of them. Sadie had a broad smile on her face as she punched in a code on her left gauntlet to activate her new toys.

The four drones behind her suddenly fanned out and the tops of their casing opened up to reveal small machine guns. The red targeting lasers grew wider for a brief second before narrowing again. “Everybody, hit the deck!” Sadie ordered.

She had no intention of giving a second warning. If these rag-tag bunch of motley misfits were supposed to be half as good as they seemed to be, they’d be wise enough to heed her warning. Even if they hadn’t heard her, a skilled combatant would have known to get down. As long as she didn’t hit that bird-brained idiot Jake, she wasn’t worried. Her contract was still in effect with Rebecca, and she would be damned if she would let that idiot be her first failure in years of work. Thankfully, the group seemed to hear her as they dropped onto their stomachs one by one just as the drones guns sprang to life.

The sound of machine guns roaring to life as the clips within her babies were rapidly drained. The casings rained down as the drones started to cut through swaths of Dolls. She’d found the casings from one of the raid sites from Jason and the others, and she’d managed to salvage the little bots by combining the remnants of several other broken and busted bots. As the Dolls fell to the ground, Sadie was reminded of the impressive craftsmanship of the designer of her remote toys. 

The last few rounds from the drones cut into Chaos’ upper body as they fanned inward. The gray-skinned monster let out a guttural growl as the bullets dug into her flesh. She turned her attention to the source of her newfound pain before charging towards them and Sadie. The hulking mutant began racing towards the drones and Sadie. The single-mindedness of the woman’s scrambled and addled brain meant that her sole focus was on obliterating whatever was causing her stress. In this case, it was the drones that were in the process of reloading.

Chaos was in front of the first one on the far left before it could reload. One of her gigantic hands came crashing down onto the drone and swatted it out of the air. One of her monolithic palms clamped down over the side of the egg-like frame and began to squeeze. She turned and hurled it at the one on the far right across the room. The mangled frame crashed into the other drone and caused an explosion. Sadie quickly slid her finger across the panel on her gauntlet to signal the drones to ascend out of Chaos’ reach.

“Okay, big girl,” Sadie smiled to herself, raising her rifle and flipping the safety off, “Let’s see what you’ve got. The rest of you are free to grab what you can and join the fight, anytime!”

Sadie opened fire on a few of the Dolls that were approaching the duffle bag and the others. She dropped them with a few quick pulls of the trigger. Afterwards, she turned her barrel on Chaos. A few shots from the rifle was all it took to get the monster’s attention. Chaos had just jumped into the air towards one of the rising drones when one of Sadie’s bullets caught Chaos in the stomach. Chaos looked down at Sadie and repositioned herself. Her fist shifted behind her as she threw her weight downward and went crashing down towards Sadie. Sadie dove into a forward roll to avoid the incoming smash and slung her rifle back over her shoulder. She wasn’t going to beat this thing in a full frontal assault, not without a few tricks.

With Chaos distracted, Jason, Sally, and Beth all rushed towards the duffle bag. Addy and Kait kept holding their positions. Kait was still struggling with breaking the psychological hold that Doctor Murray had ingrained in her. She was doing better, but it was a second by second basis considering the sheer hell she’d been through over the last year. Combat helped to take her mind off of that trauma, but that was fleeting at best. Addy seemed intent on keeping close to her despite everything.

Jason reached the bag first. He knelt in front of the bag and opened it up. It was like Christmas had come early. There were rifles, submachine guns, handguns, and explosives galore. He would have preferred to have his repeater or a bolt action, but he’d settle for one of the semiautomatics that Sadie had brought along. Beggars couldn’t be choosers after all. Sally and Beth were close behind and wasted no time grabbing what they needed. Sally snatched two submachine guns for herself along with a high caliber revolver for her. Beth grabbed the only pump action shotgun in the bag along with a handful of grenades and a belt of shells. 

“Spread out,” Beth said, cocking the shotgun and looking at Sally, “We can clear this place and make it to Murray in a flash with this shit.”

“Yeah, we can,” Sally nodded, looking around the room, “But that’s not what we’re gonna do. That psycho-bitch is freaking out. You, Jake, Pammy, and that walking corpse Goth need to get after her. We can handle things here with this extra firepower, but the longer it takes the more time she’s gonna have to run.”

“I’m not leaving you guys again,” Beth shook her head, “We can take these bastards out and make her pay.”

“No, she’s right,” Jason sighed, “As much as I want to be there to watch this bitch pay the price, she’s too crafty and calculating not to be working on an escape plan. She’s too dangerous for us to let her roam free too, Beth. Look at what she’s done in the short time since you all disappeared. We can’t risk her getting away.”

“Fuck,” Beth groaned, looking around, “Fine, but you assholes better stay alive and survive this bullshit.”

“I’ve done the whole dying thing once before already,” Jason shrugged, nodding at Pam who was struggling to stand up, “I’m good on having a do-over with that. Pam’s fading fast over there. Get to her and get your team ready. We got this, go!”

“Fucking jackass,” Beth grumbled, running towards Pam and Rebecca. 

As Beth was arguing with Jason and Sally over the plan, Jake was still near Kait and Addy. “Kait,” Jake cleared his throat, “We gotta get over there and help Sadie. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but clearly she’s on our side. We can’t let her go against that thing by herself.”

Kait didn’t respond at first. There was a part of her that didn’t seem to have heard Jake. “Mistress,” Addy said, reaching over and taking hold of Kait’s hand, “He’s right. We need to get link up with the new arrival and fight back. Come on, let’s go.”

Kait shook her head as she came back to reality again. She had slipped into that familiar state of trauma for a second, but Addy’s voice and touch helped to bring her back to the moment. “Hmph,” she shook off the stupor, “Right, let’s move. Jake, bring up the rear guard, will you?”

“What?” Jake asked.

“You heard me, boy,” Kait replied, her tone more commanding than it had been seconds ago, “You can either flank or launch a surprise attack. There’s no sense in all of us getting ourselves overrun. We need to keep some elements of surprise and advantage in our back pockets.”

“I-fine,” Jake sighed, “Just get going already.”

Kait and Addy nodded and started to sprint towards Chaos. They crossed paths in an X formation to try to flank the monster as it tried and failed to catch Sadie with one of her hulking fists. For all of her strength and speed, Chaos was struggling to land a hit against Sadie. Her time fighting against and alongside Havoc in the past had given her an advantage in dealing with women like this. The trick was to stay nimble, but unlike Havoc this woman didn’t seem capable of fatigue or exhaustion.

Kait dove into a slide with her elbow outstretched and at the ready. Her elbow crashed into the back of Chaos’ knee and caused the monster to stumble. She quickly rose to her feet, turned towards her, and connected with a powerful uppercut that connected with Chaos’ jaw. The punch was enough to stagger the monster as Kait took two steps back to put distance between them. Addy raced in behind Chaos as she stumbled and leapt onto her back with one of her scalpels drawn. She sunk the blade into Chaos’ shoulder and kicked off of her back before she could get herself grabbed again. She landed several feet away on the opposite end of the monster of a woman.

“Took you long enough,” Sadie scoffed as Kait stopped near her, “I was beginning to think that you’d lost your nerve and will, Kaity.”

“Don’t call me that,” Kait frowned and held her hand out, “Sword, now.”

“Touchy, touchy,” Sadie chuckled, quickly unsheathing her sword and tossing it to her old friend, “I take it your little grippy-sock vacation didn’t go well?”

“Shut up and fight, smartass,” Kait rolled her eyes, catching the blade raising it with the tip aimed at Chaos while she widened her stance.

“Gladly,” Sadie smirked, grabbing a couple of grenades from her belt, “Let’s hope your little prodigy can handle herself in a fight.”

“Don’t worry about her,” Kait assured her, “I trained her myself.”

“Yes because that’s reassuring,” Sadie scoffed, “You’ve always been two steps behind me, if memory serves.”

“Shut up and fight,” Kait rolled her eyes as she and Sadie fanned out and around Chaos.

Across the room, Rebecca and Pam had done their best to hold their positions after Sadie’s arrival. The distraction had brought them a welcomed reprieve for a few moments and a moment or two of them to try to regain some of their strength. The hole that Sadie’s initial attack had done more than create a space for some fresh air to roll in. The breech had created a weak spot in the dampening field. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for them to finally be able to catch their breath between spells.

Pam was struggling to remain on her feet, even with the newfound breathing room. She and Rebecca watched as Sadie fought against Chaos and the others swarmed her goodie bag that she’d brought in with her. Neither woman had cast another spell since Sadie’s arrival. They were waiting for the right time and trying to save their strength while they could. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw Beth rushing towards them with a purpose. Both of them could feel a sense of urgency radiating off of her.

“Hey, hey, I’m here,” Beth said, reaching out and wrapping an arm around Pam to steady her, “Breathe, Pam, I’m right here.”

Pam let herself fall onto Beth’s shoulder. Her head was pounding and she felt like she was underwater. Jake’s adrenaline shot was working to fend off the effects of the cocktail of sedatives that she’d been given, but every spell she cast took more out of her. “Wh-what are you doing, Kitten?” she asked, “Unless I’m mistaken, we still have a battle to fight.”

“You sound like shit,” Beth said before she could stop herself.

“The level of respect in your relationship is truly astounding,” Rebecca scoffed.

“Irrelevant, Rebecca,” Pam sighed, fighting to regain composure, “My head is already pounding, and I do not have the strength of will or mind to listen to you two bicker in my nightmare.”

Gunshots rang out as Jason and Sally mowed down several dolls with a wave of well-placed bullets. The Dolls were being drawn to the pair as more of them fell by the second. “We need to get after Murray,” Beth said, deciding to ignore Rebecca’s snide comment and focus on the plan Sally and Jason had hatched.

“What about the others?” Pam asked.

“We’re gonna have to trust them to handle themselves,” Beth answered, “With Sadie here, I think they’ve actually got a fighting chance at winning this. Although, I gotta say that her joining up with us wasn’t on my bingo card.”

“Hmph, always have an ace up your sleeve, Elizabeth,” Rebecca crossed her arms.

“This was you?” Beth asked, shaking her head when Rebecca nodded, “Alright, that’s a story for later. The point is that with Sadie backing them up, they can handle things down here. Murray is freaked right now, and she’s gonna try to bail if we don’t hurry.”

“I’m not so sure that-” Pam started.

“She has a point, Pamela,” Rebecca interjected, watching as Sadie, Kait, and Addy danced and dodged around Chaos, “Our allies seem to have things, at least somewhat, under control. Anna Murray is a cockroach, and Sadie is the light forcing her to scurry into the crawlspace. Unless we catch her now, she will find a way to escape and continue to be a thorn in our side.”

As Rebecca and Beth found a moment of mutual agreement, Jake had been watching as Sadie, Kait, and Addy did their best to fight back against Chaos. After Sadie had given Kait her sword, she’d activated a switch on her gauntlets. They crackled and sparked as she flanked to the left while Kait flanked to the right. Chaos reached out and grabbed hold of Sadie as she got close, but Kait sliced her right side as she rushed past. The subsequent slice was enough to break Chaos’ grip and allow Sadie to free herself. Sadie moved forward and delivered a sudden jab to Chaos’ midsection before practically leaping back and putting more distance between them.

“Catch, girl!” Sadie shouted as Addy got close.

Addy had been on the verge of launching another attack, but she stopped as Sadie unclasped a belt of grenades and tossed it to her. Addy caught it with ease and pulled back as she reworked her plan of attack. She fastened the belt around her waist and tried to figure out the best way to use these grenades to bring down the Havoc imposter. While she was figuring out her strategy, Sadie and Kait were moving in and taking turns delivering blows to the monster of a woman. Kait would get in a few swipes and swings with her sword, and Sadie would deliver a couple of well-placed electrified punches that caused Chaos to falter for a fraction of a second.

Meanwhile, Jason and Sally were fighting back to back to keep the droves of Dolls away from the others. They kept close to the bag of weapons that Sadie had brought in in case they needed to reload or replace their guns. With a fresh set of weapons, their spirits and wills had been renewed. The pair worked well together and were slowly driving the waves back while the others tried to handle Chaos and the rest of the plan. All they had to do was hold the line while the others worked, and if they could dispatch Chaos, they knew they would have a fighting chance.

Jake had been waiting for his chance to join in on the fight with Chaos. He’d seen Beth rushing over to join Pam and Rebecca, but he forced himself to keep still rather than join his best friend and ex. “Something is going on,” Ashley remarked beside him, nodding at Beth, “They’ve got things under control. Three is already a crowd, but four would be too much. Let’s see what’s going on.”

Jake stared at Sadie and the others for a moment before sighing and nodding. He changed direction and hurried over to join his friends who were finishing their conversation when he got close, “So we’re agreed,” Beth said, “All we gotta do is-oh. Nevermind, here he is.”

“What’s going on?” Jake asked, looking at his friends, “Why aren’t we fighting back against the Dolls.”

“Beth thinks that we should pursue Anna before she tries to escape,” Pam explained, “Rebecca agrees.”

“Jay and Sal both said the same thing,” Beth reminded her girlfriend, “Things have changed since Sadie arrived, which apparently we need to thank Becks over here for. We’ve got a chance to put an end to things once and for all.”

“Do not call me that,” Rebecca frowned, “That is not my name.”

“Yeah, and mine isn’t Elizabeth,” Beth countered, “Doesn’t stop you from calling me that, does it?”

“Can we not?” Jake asked, “We can argue over names later. I’ve got a lot of questions, but the biggest one is whether or not it’s smart for us to abandon our friends?”

“Murray is like a cockroach, or a bad penny,” Rebecca explained, “The moment that things started to turn out of her favor, she would have started plotting her escape. The longer we stand here arguing, the longer she has to scurry off. We need to stop her so that she cannot cause any more pain or suffering to anyone else.”

“Are you two up for this?” Jake asked, looking at Pam who was using Beth as a literal crutch.”

“If it means we can end this, I’ll be fine,” Pam assured him, “We’re on the home stretch. If we bring this to a close then we can rest and regroup.”

“Alright,” Jake sighed, seeing the point that Rebecca and Beth were making, “I’m not gonna go against this idea then. Especially if you two are actually agreeing on something for once.”

“I believe somebody found an air conditioner in Hell,” Pam joked.

“Bite me,” Beth rolled her eyes, yelping when she felt Pam do just that, “Hey, not the place!”

“Allow me to give us the means to chase after our depraved host,” Rebecca said, ignoring her prodigy and rival.

Rebecca raised her hand and summoned her winged familiar. The large black bird started to glow purple and its eyes glowed red. She pointed at the window that Murray had been observing them from above and sent it rushing towards it. It collided with the window and exploded in a flurry of purple flames and smoke. Glass shattered and began raining down as their opening was revealed. Afterwards, Rebecca stepped forward adn motioned for the others to stand close by.

“Next stop, the office of a mad woman,” Rerbecca smirked, a series of large purple tendrils bursting from Rebecca’s back and wrapping around everyone, “Hold on and try not to scream.”

They were lifted into the air and moved towards the open window. They landed with a crunch as their boots touched the broken glass. The observatory was empty except for a small elevator panel between twin book cases. There was nobody else around. Their eyes landed on the panel and they rushed to it. The final confrontation was finally upon them. They just hoped that the others could handle the mobs and monsters without them.