The Player Plague

by Lucas Flint

  LEVEL: 250

  HEALTH: 500/500

  ALIGNMENT: Anti-Hero

  CLASS: Gardener [Glitch Elimination Task Force]

  WEAK POINT: Hair

  WEAKNESS: Fire

  Founded in the wake of the Z-Virus that nearly decimated Capes Online, the Glitch Elimination Task Force is full of elite Hero and Villain players who work directly for SI Games. Armed with unique weapons, Equipment, and Powers, as well as a thorough knowledge of Capes Online’s mechanics and code, the Glitch Elimination Task Force is a force to be reckoned with in the world of Capes Online. They have a 100% success rate of destroying glitches.

  Cy whistled like a wolf when he saw Rootless. “And Rootless, too? Man, they really are going all out, aren’t they?”

  “Is she another member of the Task Force?” I asked.

  “Yep, and one of the deadlier ones, too,” said Cy, nodding. “Not super strong, but she’s pretty much the best Gardener in the world and can summon and control even the deadliest plants with ease. Also, she’s super hot. Like, in the top ten hottest women in the world hot.”

  “I can see that,” I said, frowning, “but I don’t how she could be so dangerous when—”

  Without hesitation, Rootless walked up to one of the restrained Stalking Shadows. She smiled seductively, her smile so arousing that even the Stalking Shadow stopped struggling against his bindings. A hopeful look spread across the ninja’s eyes as if he thought he was going to get some.

  Then, without warning, Rootless raised her shearers and neatly lopped off the ninja’s head. She repeated the performance against the other restrain ninja several times, behaving as if she was simply trimming the hedges of her garden. It was almost frightening how easily and coolly she dispatched the various Stalking Shadows. It made me feel glad I wasn’t down there fighting her.

  “That’s why she’s so scary,” said Cy. “But you know, I wouldn’t mind being restrained against my will by one of her vines, if you know what I—”

  “I know what you mean,” I said, cutting Cy off before he could delve even further into his fantasies of being dominated by strong women. “Geez, considering how those two are cleaning up the place, I almost feel redundant for coming here.”

  “Same here,” said Cy. His eyes locked on Rootless below, who was now fighting a couple more ninja that had popped out of the shadows without her knowing. “I could just watch Rootless all day.”

  I slapped Cy on the shoulder. “Creep on her later. Right now, we still need to find Master Haru and Atmosfear.”

  Cy sighed reluctantly and said, “Okay, fine.”

  I immediately began making my way down the catwalk, doing my best to remain hidden. Last thing I wanted was for the combatants below to notice me. I did keep an eye out for my Teammates, but I didn’t see anyone, so I sent a quick Team chat:

  Me: Cy and I are in the factory. How’s everyone else doing?

  Funky: Same. Got ambushed by an Elite Stalking Shadow, but took him out easily enough. Zombie flesh smells awful after it’s been cooked by dragon fire.

  Hop: Still can’t get in. Dillo’s dealing with a couple of zombie ninjas. They can’t hurt him, but it doesn’t look like we’ll get inside for a while.

  Me: No problem. The Task Force and Ninja Guild are currently locked in combat with the Stalking Shadows. The Task Force sent some of their heavy hitters, but so far no one seems to notice we’re here. Still don’t know where Atmosfear and Master Haru are.

  Funky: Check the offices. I imagine the two of them are holed up back in there if they are anywhere in the factory.

  Suddenly, my map of the factory glowed and I saw a glowing blue spot on the southern end of the factory, which was the end I happened to be close to. I could even see what looked like a series of offices in the distance, although with their doors closed it was hard to tell who was in them.

  Me: I see them. Heading that way now.

  Just as I sent that message, I heard a soft thud and then felt a splitting pain in my left kneecap. Crying out in pain, I fell down onto my hands and knees, clutching my now-shattered kneecap as a new notification showed up:

  Debuff added: Shattered kneecap. -50% Agility and Evasion. Duration: 10 minutes.

  “Boss!” said Cy, looking down at me. “What’s the matter? What happened?”

  I gritted my teeth. “My kneecap … it’s broken …”

  “Broken?” Cy repeated. “What do you mean? How did it get broken?”

  A shadow swooped by overhead and then a figure landed in front of us with enough weight to make the catwalk shake underneath us. Then the figure rose to his full, rather considerable height, and in the light from the flames below, I saw that it was Targetman, the leader of the Glitch Elimination Task Force. And he was aiming a gun right at us.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  “Hello, Winter,” said Targetman. His grip on his rifle was straight and firm, not wavering even slightly as he looked through the scope. “I did not expect to see you again so soon. Agent Omar promised me that you would be locked away in your Base for the duration of the mission.”

  Gritting my teeth, I reached into my inventory and pulled out a Health Drink, but before I could down it, Targetman pulled the trigger of his gun and a loud bang went off. A bullet struck my hand and made the Health Drink I held go flying out of my hands and into the fighting below.

  “No, no,” said Targetman. He lowered his gun in order to look at me directly, although his goggles meant I couldn’t even see his eyes. “You are not going to get away that easily, my friend. As I said, Agent Omar specifically promised me that you would not be present here tonight, which makes me wonder whether Agent Omar was lying to me or you somehow managed to break out of your Base to come here for your own reasons. I do not like either explanation.”

  I winced at the sound of a loud explosion somewhere nearby, but held up a hand and said, “I know what this looks like, Targetman, but I came here to help. I found out that Master Haru and Atmosfear have set this entire thing up to be a trap. They are going to try to Infect your Team and the Ninja Guild with the Z-Virus in order to make you part of their army.”

  “I see no proof of that statement,” said Targetman without missing a beat. His goggles refocused a couple of times before a frown crossed his features. “Yes, no proof at all. I do, however, see a Z-Virus carrier standing before me, attempting to sneak past me and my Teammates without being noticed. A Z-Virus carrier, moreover, who shouldn’t be here at all and already has a history of getting involved in things that he has no business being a part of.”

  Uh oh. I remembered how Chuck had explained to me that Targetman and the rest of the Task Force were ticked off about how they had been unable to stop Dark Kosmos during the Blackout. No doubt that was fueling Targetman’s feelings toward me. I needed to defuse the situation quickly.

  “Look, man, I know it looks suspicious, but you have to trust me,” I said, gritting my teeth when the pain in my knee burned. “My Teammates and I—”

  “So you are not alone?” Targetman said, his eyes narrowing. “I see. Yes, I did see some players enter the fight who weren’t part of my Team or with the Stalking Shadows or Ninja Guild. Now I know they are your accomplices.”

  “Accomplices?” I repeated. “Targetman, you’ve got to understand. My Teammates and I are here to help you and—”

  “The Glitch Elimination Task Force does not need help from a bunch of low-leveled players,” Targetman interrupted without missing a beat, “especially players who carry the Z-Virus within them. How much has the Infection set in by now, Winter? Twenty percent?”

  “Ten,” I said, “but Kids Mode is still enabled. I couldn’t Infect you with it even if I wanted to.”

  Targetman tilted his head to the side. “I am aware of that, but I still find it suspicious that one of the only Infected players in the game went to the trouble of breaking out of his Base and coming directly to the factory where this stuff is manufactured for reasons that aren’t very clear
to me.”

  “I already told you why I am here,” I said. “I came here to help you guys. If you can’t see that, then you’re blind as a bat no matter how high your Accuracy is.”

  Targetman shook his head. “I do not believe that. I do believe, however, that your presence here, along with the presence of your Teammates, is an unwanted and potentially dangerous distraction to our very important mission. And because you went against the rules and left your Base, it is my duty to ensure you do not go any further.”

  My heartbeat started running wild when Targetman said that. “You’re not going to delete me, are you?”

  “Nyet,” said Targetman. “I could not get away with that even if I wanted to. However, I can still kill you and send you and your Sidekick back to your Base to respawn. That is perfectly within my rights. Even Agent Omar would not be able to dispute that … if he was even here at all, that is.”

  Targetman’s finger was tapping the trigger of his gun. Any second now, he was going to pull it and kill me and Cy. And I knew he could. At Level 200, he could probably kill both of us with one hit. No way I could possibly hope to defeat him in PvP combat. I would need to find some way to get out of here or distract him long enough for us to get away.

  “Hey, boss,” Cy whispered in my ear, making me turn my head slightly to listen to him, “why don’t we just go back the way we came? If we’re fast enough, we might be able—”

  Cy was interrupted by a loud thud behind us. The two of us looked over our shoulder to see a new figure standing behind us. It looked like a full-sized robot with a human brain in a dome on top of its head, glowing pink for some reason. The robot was humanoid in appearance, aside from the extra two arms around its waist, and it was a dull gunmetal gray color, which looked very deadly in the lights from the fires below. Its face was two glowing blue optics and a vent for a mouth. Over its head, the nametag [SIDEKICK MECHBETH] floated over its head, the same golden color as Targetman’s nametag, in fact.

  “There you are, Mechbeth,” said Targetman. “I was wondering when you would show up.”

  “Apologies, Targetman,” said Mechbeth. The robot spoke in a monotone female voice, kind of like those early 21st-century text-to-speech programs. “I was distracted by a couple of Stalking Shadows that attacked me. I would have been here much sooner if not for them.”

  Dang it. I hadn’t realized that Targetman had another Sidekick, but it made sense. Mechbeth was probably only about half as strong as Targetman, but that would still put here at around Level 100, give or take, which meant that she could probably kill me all by herself if she wanted. I wondered why Targetman had two Sidekicks, even though players were supposedly locked to one. I suppose Task Force members were an exception to that rule or something.

  But I didn’t have time to worry about that. I rose to my feet, leaning on the railing for support and taking as much weight off my knee as possible. Targetman aimed his gun at me again, but still did not shoot.

  “Why are you standing, Winter?” asked Targetman in a voice full of danger and warning. “Do you simply wish to make it easier for Mechbeth and I to kill you?”

  I gritted my teeth when the pain in my knee flared again. “No. I simply don’t want to die lying on the ground like a child.”

  Targetman nodded. “I understand. I also believe in dying on your feet a free man rather than on the ground like a slave. My great-grandfather died in such a way opposing the Soviets of old. I can respect a man who chooses to die in that way.”

  I gripped the railing. “There’s that, but honestly, I don’t plan to die today at all, whether on my hands or on my knees.”

  With that, I activated Freezing Touch. Ice exploded out from underneath me in both directions. The ice immediately appeared underneath both Targetman and Mechbeth. Mechbeth made weird robotic noises, while Targetman just shot his gun.

  But as it turned out, Targetman was too late, because once the catwalk froze, I slammed my good leg—using my Super Strength—down on the frozen catwalk as hard as I could.

  The catwalk shattered and all four of us went falling down to the floor below. Well, me, Cy, and Targetman did. Mechbeth somehow managed to cling onto the frozen remains of the catwalk, but it still left her dangling several dozen feet off the floor as we fell to the floor below.

  The fall wasn’t very long, but we seemed to fall forever. During the fall, my gaze locked with Targetman’s, who had a look of utter shock on his face from my unexpected move. But then I saw him reach for a small handgun in his belt and knew that if he could pull out of his gun now, he would be able to kill us both.

  But then we hit the floor all at once. I landed on top of Cy, but the fall still jarred me and I got this debuff notification:

  Debuff added: Jarred. -20% Accuracy, Evasion, and Agility. Duration: 2 minutes.

  I also lost a tiny amount of Health, but it was much less than I thought. I guess landing on Cy must have broken the fall for me, which made sense. Nonetheless, I rolled off of Cy and said, “Cy, you okay?”

  Cy lay flat on his stomach, a dazed look on his face before he shook his head and said, “Yeah, boss, I think so. Aside from the fact that I probably broke my back. By the way, where did all those pink elephants come from?”

  I sighed. Cy must have been suffering from some sort of crash-induced hallucination. Luckily, Cy had a fairly thick skull, so I figured he would be okay after a Health Drink or two.

  That was when I remembered Targetman and looked over to see the Task Force Leader lying just a few feet away. At first, I thought he was dead until I Scanned him again and saw that the fall had only taken a fraction off his Health bar. It looked to me like he must have fallen on his head and knocked himself out entirely. His Health bar might have been full, but I knew from experience how vicious debuffs could be and how they could negatively impact even the best players in the game if they weren’t careful.

  Deciding to take advantage of this moment, I grabbed the Health Drink that Targetman had shot out of my hands earlier and downed it in a couple of gulps. My Health bar filled all the way back up while the pain in my kneecap disappeared and I got a notification informing me that my broken kneecap was healed and the associated debuffs were lifted.

  Smiling, I jumped to my feet and said to Cy, “All right, Cy. Let’s get out of here before Targetman wakes up.”

  Just as I said that, however, I heard a loud clunk behind me and whirled around just in time to see Mechbeth rushing toward me. Expecting her to attack me, I summoned twin Ice Daggers in my hands and raised them high, but to my surprise, Mechbeth just brushed past me and knelt before Targetman.

  “Sir!” said Mechbeth. Although her voice was very robotic, I thought I caught a hint of worry and concern in it. “Sir Targetman, can you hear me? Sir?”

  I turned around to look at Mechbeth. She was trying to shake Targetman awake, but whatever debuff he was suffering from must have been pretty tough, because he wasn’t responding to her touch at all. Mechbeth, however, didn’t give up. She kept shaking him over and over despite how useless the gesture obviously was.

  “Sir, sir!” said Mechbeth again. “Please wake up, sir. We have an important mission to complete and we cannot do it if you are unconscious.”

  I bit my lower lip. Seeing Mechbeth’s genuine concern for her Hero got to me, I will admit. I considered just leaving now and resuming my trip to the back offices where Master Haru and Atmosfear were. Heck, for a moment I even considered killing both Mechbeth and Targetman outright. I was no Assassin, but even I could see the opportunity to take out two potential threats that could make life more difficult for me later. Targetman had already tried to kill me twice, after all. Perhaps I should return the favor and see how he likes it.

  But then I shook my head and walked up to Mechbeth. The Sidekick must have heard me because she immediately stood up and lifted her fists, which crackled with electricity.

  “Stay back, carrier,” Mechbeth said. “You will not kill sir as long as I am here.”
<
br />   I stopped a few feet from Mechbeth and withdraw a Health Drink from my inventory, which I held out to her. “Here. Take this and give it to Targetman. It should restore his Health and wake him up, as well as heal any potential internal injuries he might be suffering.”

  Mechbeth eyed me suspiciously. “Why should I accept your help? You are the one who put him in this situation in the first place.”

  “Because I’m not the monster you think I am,” I said. “But even if I was, you guys have an important mission to complete. You won’t be able to stop the Stalking Shadows if Targetman is out cold like this. What do you care about more? Attacking me or helping your boss?”

  Mechbeth’s robotic face meant her facial expressions were fairly limited, but even I could tell that she was considering my offer. She looked over her shoulder at Targetman one last time and then looked at me. “Fine. I will take your gift.”

  I nodded and handed the Health Drink over to Mechbeth, who took it rather quickly and then immediately turned around again and began feeding it to Targetman.

  I didn’t stay to see what would happen, however. I immediately ran in between a couple of conveyor belt lines, running into the shadows of the factory even as the sounds of fighting around us grew louder and more vicious with each passing second.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  “Gee, boss,” said Cy as the two of us made our way as stealthily as we could through the complicated maze of crates, conveyor belts, and various other machines and equipment that made up the Z-Virus factory, “that sure was nice of you to help Targetman back there, even though he tried to kill us both.”

  “It was the right thing to do,” I said without looking over my shoulder at Cy. “Targetman might be jealous of me for defeating Dark Kosmos, but he’s not a Villain or even really a bad guy. He’s trying to keep Capes Online safe from glitches in the same way I tried to keep my hometown safe from criminals. I can respect other law enforcers, even if they don’t like me.”

  “Yeah, but I’m still a little worried he’s going to come after us again,” said Cy, glancing over his shoulder as we walked. “You saw how much he wanted to kill us. If it wasn’t for your quick-thinking back there, both of us would be back in the Base again.”