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Chapter 23: Technical Issues

  A chilled wind blew through Arhke's bustling shopping district as Pyrebomb sat perched on a rooftop.

  He scanned the busy metropolis below, he saw crowds of people going into and from the various buildings in the district, their movements were mostly on autopilot, almost mechanical, as if they'd done it countless times before.

  A small grenade sat in the palm of his hand as he watched the people pass by. He prepared to toss the grenade off the building.

  "Something they can't cover up..."

  With a flick of his wrist he dropped the grenade from his hand, the pin caught on his finger and spun a little then hung in place.

  He looked down over the precipice and braced for an explosion.

  A few seconds went by and no explosion occurred. He looked over the edge in confusion.

  The grenade flew back up moments later, it exploded in the sky above him. A cheerful and direct voice came out of a small speaker below him on the ledge.

  "Hey hey, be careful with explosives, you're gonna hurt somebody!"

  A woman who wore a black visor with pink lights on the helmet jumped onto the rooftop and landed in front of Pyrebomb, she took a minute to fix her balance then twirled around and greeted him.

  A mechanical tail with four claws on the end of it snaked around her body, the tail was sleek and streamlined, made of metal plating and made a low scratching sound as it moved.

  Her visor mirrored her expressions using emoticons. A shocked expression made with pink lights flashed on the visor screen. Her voice sounded mildly synthetic, as if she was talking through a telephone.

  She paced around him in a circle. On her hands she wore black gloves with pink glowing claws on the ends of her fingers.

  As she walked her claws scratched against a metal vent, she pressed it down and kicked it but the vent cover wouldn't budge.

  "Hmmm, 'kay good, you can't use that as an exit. Makes things easier for me then."

  She tilted her head sideways and glanced at Pyrebomb, as she did the holographic cat ears on her head twitched.

  "Wait a sec... You're Pyrebomb! OMG you're Ranger Ranger's nemesis! I saw your battle with him, though I was just watching from afar... Ranger Ranger is so cool!"

  He looked at her and shook his head. "Did you just say OMG in conversation outside of the internet?"

  She nodded. "Mhm, yeah I did. There a problem with that?"

  Pyrebomb sighed and looked over at her shoulder. He approached her and tilted his head.

  "You're not with the Hero Organisation. Who are you?"

  A surprised expression flashed on her visor and she jumped up and down in excitement. "You could figure out I'm not with the Organisation just by looking at my shoulder? As expected of a seasoned villain and Ranger Ranger's true nemesis! You're so cool!"

  She stopped and her visor shifted to an embarrassed expression. "Oops sorry. I got a little carried away. Introductions, sorry I kinda forgot with all the excitement."

  Her visor displayed an excited expression and she twirled on the spot. "I'm Technya. Independent Hero, Internet Celebrity and Number One Ranger Ranger superfan! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She extended a hand to him and then quickly pulled it away before he could react. "Is what I would say if you weren't a villain!"

  Pyrebomb shook his head. "A vigilante? They can't even be bothered sending a real hero after me."

  "Real Hero?" Her visor made an exaggerated pouting expression. "Gosh you're so mean! Just because I'm not with the Organisation doesn't make me any less of a hero! Besides, I don't like the word vigilante. Independent Hero sounds so much more professional don't you think?" Her mechanical tail waved around behind her.

  "Anyway, do you like my suit? Took me ages to make, the tail and the visor were especially difficult." She gestured down to her body where a black bodysuit was covered by a black and pink jacket.

  "It's made of a special material which allows me to move around easily and is super sturdy!"

  Pyrebomb glanced at her suit. "You made all that yourself?"

  "That's right! I'm somewhat of an amateur engineer! This tail is like a fifth limb! It's so helpful!"

  Pyrebomb chuckled, a low and quiet sound. "So you're more akin to a monkey than a cat then. Despite your appearance."

  "Rude! I'm clearly a cat themed hero! Just look at the ears and stuff!" Her visor created a very basic cat-like face.

  He glared at her and shook his head. "Are you actually gonna try to apprehend me or do you just plan to chat?"

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Hey, c'mon, you gotta take me out to dinner first!" The expression on her visor shifted to a cheerful expression.

  "Enough jokes Technya. You're not taking me seriously are you?"

  "Nope, not in the slightest!"

  Technya giggled and her visor switched to a neutral expression. She reached a hand into her pocket and pulled out a mobile phone with a Ranger Ranger themed case.

  "I like to livestream my battles to social media followers! Smile for the camera!"

  As she lifted the phone and pointed it at Pyrebomb he suddenly flicked a small explosive directly at her.

  "Woah hey!" She slid out of the way and her phone flew from her hand. As it fell she caught it with her tail moments before it hit the floor.

  "That was a close one." She turned and faced Pyrebomb. "Alright you win, we'll fight like you wanted, though I had hoped we could talk some more first."

  She clicked her fingers and a drone rose onto the rooftop from behind her. The phone which she was holding in her tail was safely placed onto the drone, it began to circle the two of them as Technya stretched and prepared to fight.

  "Let's make this a good one Pyrebomb, I've got about ten minutes before the authorities trace my location, then our fun has to end!"

  She looked over towards him. He was already holding several explosives in his hands. He scattered them around like seeds as Technya tried to get in close.

  Her tail slammed hard into the floor and propelled her upwards. It swung her like a crane directly at Pyrebomb. She whirled around and kicked at him with her large black boots.

  He caught her and pushed against her boots in an attempt to throw her back. "Nice try Technya. I'm used to fighting acrobatic foes. I've fought Ranger Ranger on multiple occasions remember?"

  She laughed, a cheerful and giddy sound. "You've never fought an opponent who's studied your greatest foe's every move, and in turn yours... that's how that works right?" Spikes shot from the bottoms of her boots and Pyrebomb let go of them. She jumped into a backflip and landed upright in front of him.

  He looked down at his hands and grumbled as blood seeped from them. "Damn you Technya. What else do you have installed in that suit of yours?"

  "Only a fool calls out all their attacks and makes it obvious what they're gonna do next! You're a one trick pony Pyrebomb!"

  Technya rushed forward for another attack. As she leapt into the air Pyrebomb surrounded himself with landmines which Technya landed in the middle of, within a hair's breadth away from him.

  "Nice try Pyrebomb but I've seen that one befo-" Pyrebomb launched a punch which she weaved around, his other hand shot out and locked with the other, trapping her in a tight hold.

  She tried to squirm free but Pyrebomb held on tightly. "Hey! Let me go dammit! Unexpected hugs in battle aren't how this is supposed to go!"

  "It's over for you Technya. You underestimated me." He slashed his arms down then brought them both up for a punch directly on her visor. As his fists impacted two large explosions sent Technya flying.

  In the aftermath Pyrebomb dusted himself off and looked down at his charred and bloody hands. "I didn't need this today. This was supposed to be an easy mission, blend in and everything would go just fine. That's what she said. Damn vigilantes always have to complicate matters."

  Technya's Drone continued to circle Pyrebomb, it recorded his every move.

  He approached the edge of the rooftop and looked out over the buildings around him. "I wonder where she landed. I should find her corpse just to make sure she's truly gone."

  As he reached the end of the rooftop he heard what sounded like a zipline of sorts. Technya shot up from below and landed an uppercut. She landed into a roll in front of him, her visor was cracked and the lights glitched and flickered all over the dark surface, he voice sounded distorted as it came through the broken receiver.

  "Do you have any idea how much it's gonna cost me to fix all of this? I'm gonna be out of commission for weeks! Being a hero isn't cheap you know!"

  Her tail wrapped around Pyrebomb's leg as she yanked him to the ground. "Guess I gotta lock in now. Thanks for nothing Pyrebomb!"

  The tail constricted around him, it refused to let go as he crashed to the ground.

  A small wire shot from a compartment in the tail, it wrapped around Pyrebomb like a net, a small electrical current flowed through the wire immobilising him. The tail released him from it's constricting grasp as the wire weakened him.

  "That's the end. Okay, selfie time. Shame I can't look my best, no thanks to you!"

  The drone lowered her phone as she picked it up with her tail. She turned around and made double peace signs with her hands as her tail held the phone with Pyrebomb tied up in the background.

  "Thanks for tuning in for this one. I didn't wanna lose my cool back there but villains can be kinda annoying sometimes. Okay see ya next time everyone!" She clicked her stream off and turned her back to Pyrebomb to admire the photo she took.

  "Another great one, even with this glicthy visor. Now I wanna go home so I can take this thing off..."

  She felt a sudden and rapid heat against her back. Pyrebomb's voice loomed close behind her as he spoke. "Don't move. If you make a single move I'll detonate the bomb I've placed on your back. I'm going to leave now and if you try to stop me I'll make sure you're really dead this time. Do we have an understanding? Once I'm gone the bomb will deactivate itself. I have no desire to kill a wannabe hero today."

  Technya let out a bitter laugh, she didn't dare to turn around. "So now you're pretending you're merciful. You almost blew up a city block before I stopped you! Do you have any idea how many people you almost killed!?"

  He chuckled, a dry and deep sound. "There's a reason why official Heroes form squadrons. You're all alone, I could kill you here and now, nobody is coming to rescue you. Fortunately for you I'm in a hurry today. If we meet again I'll kill you in front of all of your fans and then unmask that pathetic secret identity of yours."

  The heat against her back faded and she suddenly jolted her head around to check on Pyrebomb. He was nowhere to be found.

  "He just... disappeared... wait a sec... didn't Pyrebomb lose a hand in his last fight?... this guy had two hands... just who was that really?"

  Technya's drone started to vibrate and jitter. A clear and direct voice shouted through it. Ghost's voice.

  "You've dispensed justice illegally. Surrender yourself to Ahrke Authorities and we will be lenient with your punishment. Technya."

  Technya sighed and looked around. "Oh it's you. The Hero Organisation's spokesperson. Look, I'm not gonna stop doing this, illegal or not I'm a hero. You know that as well as I do. I follow the same rules as your guys do. I don't kill, I let the police do their job, even leave all the evidence they need out for them."

  Ghost sighed. "You know I can't let you go, even if you are following the same code as us, without proper authorisation you're not allowed to dispense justice. The police are here Technya. You can't run forever!"

  "It was really nice to chat with you Hero Organisation person, but I gotta go. I can barely see through this broken visor. See ya!" Her tail shot forward and pierced the drone, causing it to spin and crash onto the roof. Technya could hear loud sirens in the distance below getting louder.

  "Crap, I gotta go." She leapt off the building and fired a zipline from her jacket sleeve as she disappeared into the cityscape.

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