Ch45 Bloodsuckers

 

Buzzer

 

“This is bullshit.”

“Stop complaining.”

“We’ve been at this all night! Can’t we at least stop for coffee?” whined Buzzer.

“The agreement was until noon today. Until then, we’re not wasting a single minute. Not until we’ve cleared this nest out for good,” asserted the hero, a gadget user who went by the utterly pretentious name of Dark Gauntlet. Likely because the name Gauntlet and most of its variations had already been taken.

“Oh come on,” continued Buzzer, unwilling to let the hero have the last word, “A few minutes either way won’t swing anything.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind staying a bit longer to make sure we get these last strays?”

“Fuck that! I’m done with this service shit the moment the clock strikes twelve.”

“Tch, and then what? You’ll just go back to shoveling Hellion’s shit instead. At least you’re doing some good here.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about Gloomy Glove. I was held hostage and forced to work by Trebla.”

“Pfft, please, tell me another Joy Buzzer.”

“Your face!”

 

Dark Gauntlet just grunted in disgust and turned back to the front of the van, unwilling to carry on the juvenile back and forth.

 

Likely cause that’s the best he’s got. Joy Buzzer? Really? What a putz.

 

Buzzer nodded his head in satisfaction at ‘winning’ the argument, then settled back into his seat to continue scanning for vamps. Dark Gauntlet and the other two federal agents in the van with him had been carting Buzzer around for almost two weeks, using his power to ferret out the damn bloodsuckers, and Buzzer was just about done with this crap, prompting him to constantly drag the cape and agents into pointless arguments in his irritation. True, the work wasn’t all that hard, since he didn’t have to kill the things himself, and if he hadn’t gotten caught he probably would have still wound up hunting vamps for Hellion anyways, so it wasn’t exactly a waste of his time. Couldn’t have vamp rumors around the Red Zone after all, scared the tourists.

 

But the difference is, I get paid when I do it for Hellion.

 

Buzzer’s demeanor soured once again at the thought he wasn’t being paid, but he dutifully went back to scanning for any vampire~y sounding sounds, if only so that the C’s couldn’t try to claim he hadn’t lived up to his side of the bargain and try to hold up his release. He focused his attention outward, trying to pick through the many, many sounds produced by a bustling sector, separating extraneous sounds from anything that sounded promising.

 

Easier said than done though. It was very much a mask in a madhouse situation. They blended right in.

 

E12 was of course packed. It was the main thoroughfare into E13 (and therefore the Red Zone) for most of the city, and had managed to set up a reputation as the ‘safe guardhouse’ to the Red Zone’s wilder infamy. All bullshit of course. It was just as dangerous as any of the outer sectors, but with its restrained architecture, powerful hero team, and the former Espada having driven most mutants away, the sector attracted many a tourist to stay a night in its stately hotels and commute to the Red Zone in the morning (or evening more likely). An endless parade of tourists and transportation.

 

All of which made it rather difficult for Buzzer to identify the telltale sounds of a vampire. Was that person in the alley silent because they were smoking a cigarette on their break? Or was it because they were a vampire and couldn’t speak? Were those two accelerated heartbeats in a private room a couple getting down? Or was it a victim enduring the vampire’s latest feeding? You couldn’t always distinguish a vampire from a human by sound alone; the sound of their heartbeats were too similar. A fact that Buzzer had always found distinctly creepy.

 

Come on. Just where did they get to?

 

They’d found three nests over the past two weeks. Kinda high for a single sector, but one of the nests had been a fresh offshoot, so luckily it seemed they had caught the vamps as they were building up to scatter and disperse. Only problem was that his cape babysitter had let two of the vamps get away from the nest they hit last night. With every minute that passed, and every beam of sunlight that filtered out over the rooftops of E12, it was more and more likely that the two runaway vamps would go to ground for the day, which would make finding them nearly impossible. It was a vain hope, but if he could find these last two stragglers before that happened, maybe the cape would let him leave early, and not waste half of Buzzer’s day trying to find more nests that likely didn’t exist.

 

*eeEEee*

 

Buzzer heard the whine and latched onto the sound. It had come from only two blocks away. He held his breath and listened closely, hoping it wasn’t just an old air conditioner or something.

 

*eeeeeEEEEeeeee*

 

“Got one. North of us, about a block and a half.”

“You sure?”

“Would I have said something if I wasn’t? North. Let’s go!”

 

The driver grumbled but changed lanes, then turned the van north. Buzzer guided them to an area full of identical looking apartment buildings, boring and drab like most of the sector. Telling the central agents to shut up for a moment (they hadn’t said anything), he then narrowed the location down to somewhere between two buildings on their left. He had the driver pull into the alley between the buildings.

 

“Alley looks empty to me Buzzer,” said Dark Gauntlet.

“It wasn’t in the alley, it was up in one of the buildings.”

“Shit. Did it attack a civilian?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. Make yourself useful and check for broken windows or something.”

 

The hero went to do just that, slamming the door to the van as he exited and causing Buzzer to curse at the unexpected *bang*. For the millionth time he wished his power had presented in a different way; he didn’t have super hearing, he manipulated the soundwaves so they reached him, and it was rather easy to blow out his own eardrums if he wasn’t careful, something he’d already done several times over the years. Practically a bad trigger if you thought about it.

 

Thank God for HH health insurance, jeez.

 

The hero saw no signs of a forced entry on either building, so they were forced to wait as Buzzer scanned the area, waiting for the tell-tale whine of a vampire.

 

…*eeEEee*

 

“Ha, got her. Left side, third floor, sixth window from the right.”

The hero approached that section of the building, “I don’t see any forced entry Buzzer. You sure?”

“Yes I’m sure, I’m a professional. Unlike some people I know.”

The cape scoffed, “I just don’t want to interrupt another couple Buzzer.”

“That only happened once!” and it was hilarious!

 

Dark Gauntlet shot a grappling hook from his glove that latched a few floors above the target window. Then he scaled the building, the mechanical systems in his gloves and the hero’s own training making quick work of the vertical distance. Buzzer had to admit, for a B-list hero Dark Gauntlet could move when he needed to, and his combat skills were rather impressive. Vampire nests tended to have around three to five vamps per, and Dark Gauntlet had taken out all the ones they’d found by himself, making the extra agent waiting in the van with the bolter redundant (although Buzzer suspected the agent’s true purpose was probably to keep an intimidating eye on him). He was the kind of hero that minions hated. Not enough of a threat for the villain you’re working for to stop their oh so important plans and help, but skilled enough that even an above average crowd of mooks would be going home with broken bones and hospital bills.

 

Dark Gauntlet reached the window in question, and hesitantly leaned in to look in case Buzzer was being a little shit again. This time though it seemed Buzzer was on the money.

 

“I see it. Confirming no armband. Going in.”

 

The hero flexed his legs and kicked off from the building, arching out over a dozen feet away from the wall before reaching the end of his swing and reversing course. He hit the window feet first, gizmos in his boots shattering the glass away from him and into the room. Then the fight was on, Dark Gauntlet attacking the surprised vampire in a flurry of punches, kicks, stun batons, and whatever else was stored among the hero’s gadgets. The vampire reacted quickly, counter-attacking with claws, strength, and of course attempting to bite the arrogant human prey that dared attack it, a high-pitched whine streaming forth from it the entire time and setting Buzzer’s teeth on edge. An epic fight that would have fit into any action movie with ease.

 

Or at least, that’s what it all sounded like to Buzzer. There was far too much noise for Buzzer to make out exactly how things were going, especially with the droning whine the vampire was producing. He contented himself with imagining the clawed fists that were no doubt punching the daylights out of the rugged hero. Maybe they’d get into a desperate scuffle that would wind up with the vampire biting his ass or something. Heh.

 

But unfortunately, Buzzer had to put that humorous fantasy on hold, as he could hear the second whine that was picking up in another room of the apartment. The door to that room had been closed, making him think the corresponding heartbeat was in an apartment next door. Perfect echolocation his power was not.

 

“Heads up, sounds like the other one is here. Coming at you from somewhere in the rooms to the left of the entry point.”

“You couldn’t mention that sooner!?”

“Bite me, I can’t tell them apart from people unless they use their wings.”

“Maybe I’ll let them bite you!”

 

The second vamp joined the fray, and the discordant noise they put out drowned out Buzzer’s ability to listen, the whine giving him a headache.

 

Ugh. I could have had eye lasers or something, but noooooo.

 

*eeeeeeeEEEEEEE*

 

What?

 

Buzzer leaned forward in his seat, concentrating hard. The apartment was a mess of noise, but that whine had come from a different floor altogether.

 

“Ah, bad news, looks like we might have a third vamp.”

“What!?”

“Er, four actually. No wait, five.”

“Buzzer stop fucking around! How man- Oof,” Dark Gauntlet’s words got cut off by a punch to his gut.

“I’m not! Looks like we found a fourth nest. They must have, uh…”

 

*eeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*

 

What the hell?

 

Across the entire face of the apartment building, heartbeats he had thought to be the apartments’ occupants were suddenly being paired with the droning whine of vampire wings. Even the other two agents in the van could hear it now; it was practically rattling the windows. This wasn’t just a nest, the building was completely and utterly infested.

 

And the building behind them was beginning to buzz as well.

 

“Hey Gloomy Glove? Time to go buddy.”

“Almost, got, it…” there was a small *bang*, and a single heartbeat ended, along with its associated whine, “…Did you just call me buddy?”

 

The increasing drone of the surrounding vampires cut out for a single moment, then doubled in its previous intensity, quickly followed by the tinkling of breaking glass.

 

“Get out of there!“

 

Dark Gauntlet to his credit didn’t question him or waste time, disengaging from the second vampire and leaping out the same window he entered, grabbing the still hanging grapple line to slow his fall. Then the cable snapped, cut by a vampire that had emerged from a higher floor. His gizmo infused boots took the brunt of the fall, allowing him to transfer the momentum into a roll, and he was up and sprinting for the van in seconds. After a brief look over his shoulder to see what had Buzzer so worked up, he immediately began screaming into his com for backup. The two central agents in the van were likewise quick on the uptake, the one with the gun sticking it out a window to cover Dark Guantlet’s retreat, the one driving already hitting the gas to intercept the hero’s path and get them out sooner.

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The next few seconds were a blur of activity. Dark gauntlet lept for the open door of the van and just managed to grab hold of the doorframe. The agent with the bolter began firing off rounds, three vampires landed on the roof, and the driver floored the pedal, lurching the van towards the mouth of the alley. Buzzer concentrated on using his power to keep the overwhelming buzzing whine from making their ears bleed…

 

*BAM*

 

…and then something big hit the side of the van, rolling it end-over-end.

 

When it finally came to a stop, Buzzer threw up. On one hand, his helmet detected the bile and automatically unlocked the mouth panel to let it out. On the other hand, he was suspended nearly upside down, and the vomit just splashed back and leaked under his faceplate anyways.

 

“Agh! Pfft, pfft, pfft… eew.”

 

He oriented himself, then undid his seatbelt buckle to get down, forgetting he was still handcuffed to the side panel. It wrenched his arm and slammed him against the side of the van.

 

“Agh, goddamn it! Gloomy Gl- Dark Gauntlet! Get this thing off of me!”

“One second.”

“We don’t have a second!”

 

Buzzer spun in place, suspended by the handcuff. His feet just barely reached the ‘floor’, but he was having trouble standing due to his dizziness and the uneven footing. When he finally got turned around to view the central agents, what greeted him was a grim sight. The driver had been buckled in, but the agent with the bolter had gotten tossed like a peanut in a tin can. His neck was snapped, and Dark Gauntlet was pulling the bolter out from under the man’s corpse one-handed, his own left arm limp at his side.

 

The gun finally came loose, and Dark Gauntlet immediately pointed it at Buzzer and shot the handcuff chain to snap it-

 

“JESUS!“

 

-before turning to the driver and helping the dazed man out of his upside-down seat.

 

“I’ll cover you two,” said Dark Gauntlet once the man was upright, “We’ll aim to get inside somewhere and barricade ourselves. Reinforcements are coming.”

 

The door to the van was already ajar, and Dark Gauntlet led the way with the bolter while the driver and Buzzer stumbled out after him. Right away Dark Gauntlet started snapping off rounds at the vampires that were swarming after them. Buzzer sprinted past him towards the nearest building that didn’t sound like an angry beehive, not sparing a single glance over his shoulder, and already using his power to probe the area around him to try and plan his escape. This wasn’t his first rodeo, a lifetime of working as a minion meant he’d had to run through more than one chaotic mess with his head down.

 

Let’s see, all the angry vampires are behind me, and the big thing that hit us was… you’ve got to be kidding me.

 

“Really!? You let a truck hit us? Learn to drive a getaway van, asshole! There’s like no traffic this early and you hit the one damn truck on the road?!”

“Not exactly… the time… for this!” said the agent, gasping.

 

Needs to enhance his cardio routine too.

 

The two of them ran across said nearly empty street to another apartment building. Luckily one of the residents was just coming out of the main entrance, and the two nearly barreled into the man.

 

“Move it or lose it!” yelled Buzzer.

 

The man recoiled in shock. Either he recognized the HH uniform, or perhaps he was finally noticing the vampire swarm.

 

“Central agent! Get inside!” said the agent, following Buzzer in.

 

The three of them scrambled into the antechamber of the building, only Buzzer and the agent stopping to look back out the door at the hero. Dark Gauntlet had held the leading edge of the swarm back nicely; a bolter with a full clip went a long way.

 

But he’d gone back for the truck driver.

 

He wasn’t going to make it.