BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG
Pistol bullets pierced my body.
Passed straight through.
Tore chunks out of my back.
I lost my balance and pitched forward, hitting the cold, hard asphalt.
Several more bullets thudded into my torso and head.
"What the hell was that?"
"How should I know? Some nutjob who decided to die 'epically'?"
"Well, one less idiot in the world."
Revy and Eda turned and began walking away.
Holstered their weapons.
Left my motionless carcass to "bleed out."
Though since they put several rounds in my head, that term probably isn't accurate.
Big mistake.
Also—they ruined my brilliant plan by not checking if I was actually dead.
'Amateurs.'
"Param-pam-pam-pam. Param-pam-pam-pam. Param-pam-pam-pam."
I hummed as my body liquefied.
Turned into a jelly-like mass.
Slowly pulled itself back into a human silhouette.
Gradually took on a clearer shape.
All under the stunned gazes of the two women.
They spun around at the very familiar tune I was performing.
"I'll say what every woman longs to hear—"
I spread my reforming arms wide.
"Shall we continue?"
In a flash, their pistols were aimed at me again.
The silence shattered with the roar of gunfire.
'Here we go again.'
I dashed forward and slightly to the side.
Ignored the hits this time.
Closed the distance between us.
For obvious reasons, they didn't want me close.
They began retreating backward, firing non-stop.
Split off in different directions.
'Smart.'
'Who should I go after first?'
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe!"
I rattled off rapidly and took a [Step] to the right.
Felt my body "flatten" slightly.
One of the downsides of being a Slime.
Appeared in front of the blonde.
Straight left.
Right.
Diagonal left kick.
"You're very flexible and fast," I said to the woman who dodged all my attacks.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Eda replied with a smirk and a growl in her voice.
Promptly shot me through the right leg.
I began to collapse to the side.
Dissolving into a blue-gray puddle on the asphalt.
"Too bad I don't care about being hit on by a hentai monster!"
'Ouch. That one actually hurt. Emotionally.'
"You're missing out."
I muttered, continuing to ignore the bullet hits as I... crawled quickly toward the blonde.
'How exactly am I moving?'
Simultaneously lashed out with "tentacles."
Revy shot some of them off.
Eda—with difficulty—dodged the rest.
Retreating further.
"Don't interrupt our conversation!" I told the brunette, turning my currently non-existent head toward her.
Encased her hands—guns and all—in ice.
Then her legs.
Earned more stunned stares.
"Now, where were we? Ah, right! I wanted to catch you!"
'This isn't just posing anymore. It's straight-up bullying.'
'Hmm...'
I resumed humanoid form.
Engaged in close combat.
Right.
Left.
Elongated my limbs and slammed them down.
Don't know how, but she managed to dodge such an unusual attack.
'What the hell?'
In the end, she walked into a mid-kick from my extended leg.
But instead of knocking her back, it liquefied.
Stuck firmly to her torso.
I lifted Eda up.
Pulled her close.
Transformed my limb back into a hand while ignoring the hits to my "head."
Click-click-click
"Seems the little mouse is out of ammo?"
Although it wasn't visible behind the scarf and mask, the presence of a smug grin on my face was obvious to everyone.
Well, "everyone" being the "hentai monster" and two terrified mercenaries.
'Pfft. Hentai monster. I'm keeping that one.'
"And now your frien—"
My left arm was shot off.
The blonde—now freed—increased the distance again.
Running toward her savior.
I looked at the chunk of slimy mass on the asphalt.
It began to crawl and reabsorb into my leg.
Slowly turned my head toward the two mercenaries.
Revy had a new, smaller pistol.
'Is that a P-250?'
Eda had just finished reloading.
Had me in her sights again.
Simultaneously fumbling for something in her bag.
"I really should have made the ice stronger."
'Who knew she'd have another piece on her?'
"What are we going to do with this freak?"
"Hey, I'm standing right here. I can hear you perfectly fine."
"I've got an idea. As usual, on the count of three."
'I wonder what she found in that bag.'
'According to the laws of the genre, it's got to be some kind of...'
Revy opened fire again.
Dumped the rest of her mag into my head.
Distraction.
Eda pulled out a grenade.
Yanked the pin.
Hurled it at me.
I activated the [Talisman] power.
"Slowed down the world" around me.
I studied the flying cone intently.
'Hmm.'
'Not that I'm intimately familiar with grenades, given the huge variety of shapes and types.'
'But one thing's certain: it's not high-explosive.'
'Even an offensive grenade has a kill radius larger than the ten meters separating us.'
'And defensive ones? Two hundred meters. You only throw those from behind solid cover.'
'What do they even teach in safety classes these days?'
'So this is most likely a flashbang or smoke grenade.'
'The shape fits.'
'Though incendiary and pyrotechnic grenades exist, I doubt they'd be messing around with those.'
'Besides, my intuition is silent.'
'Meaning: nothing dangerous.'
'If I think about it... probably not smoke either.'
'Smoke only deploys instantly in Counter-Strike.'
'In reality? Not that fast. Quite thin.'
'So they decided to blind me and run for it?'
'Logical.'
'They've already started turning around.'
'Too bad it's pointless.'
With a calm stride—well, at the speed of sound—I walked past the very slowly flying and rotating grenade.
Past the girls.
After turning to face them, I deactivated the acceleration.
"BOO!"
Revy and Eda froze mid-step.
Eyes wide.
Click
"That's a good shot."
I quickly shoved the phone back into my inventory.
Just as a bright, loud flash occurred.
Dispelled the night gloom.
Broke the pair's trance.
They immediately tried to act.
Well, "act"—
When a fist hits you in the gut and a strong hand starts squeezing your throat and lifting you off the ground?
There isn't much you can do.
"But enough playing around. I've got plenty to do, so you'd better start talking."
I loosened the pressure on their throats.
Kept holding the girls—who began greedily gulping air—above the ground.
'Hmm. Am I being "affected" again?'
I checked my stats.
No new effects.
'Meaning I'm acting like this on my own...'
'Strange.'
"You bastard! / Monster!"
Revy and Eda spat simultaneously.
"Let us go right now, or else..."
"Wrong answer."
I tilted my head.
"Maybe I should dissolve your clothes so you become more cooperative?"
'Hmm... though when Ben trans—'
My head and body were blasted into pieces again.
Freeing the captives.
I shifted my "vision" back and to the side.
Where the bullets came from.
A crowd of stunned, armed men.
'Oh, come on.'
"Don't go anywhere, ladies—I'll be occupied for a moment."
I completely lost my humanoid form.
Surged toward the Russians—well, with Caucasian accents—who had opened fire on my amorphous body again.
Appearing in front of the first unlucky soul, I shot out a tentacle.
Grabbed his leg.
Yanked him toward me with force.
"Swallowed" him.
Everyone else froze in shock.
The firing stopped.
'Didn't want to hit their own?'
Then I spat the unconscious, disarmed body out behind me.
In the next moment, the silence was broken by screams.
Two captured criminals whose heads I slammed together.
Then again.
And again.
'Tough bastards!'
I dashed after those who were fleeing.
Grabbed two more.
Dragged their faces across the asphalt a bit.
Launched myself forward like a certain "friendly neighbor."
Right onto the back of a runner who tripped and started to fall.
Quickly assessed the situation.
Shot tentacles in different directions.
Caught five more.
Pulled them back into a dog-pile.
Crawled out from under the bodies.
Whipped the legs of the last two mobsters.
Grabbed them.
Slammed their foreheads into the asphalt.
I returned to humanoid form.
Looked around for Revy and Eda.
"Ran off, as expected."
'Maybe it's for the best.'
'Women and the slime that caught them...'
'I've seen way too much hentai.'
'Besides, in the anime, Eda was a CIA agent...'
'Better not to get involved with that mess.'
I gave a good thwack to those still conscious and struggling.
Gathered everyone in one place.
Created handcuffs from durable, heat-resistant ice.
Sent a message to Alfred.
[Meanwhile — On a Boat]
"Step on it! Step on it!"
Revy urged her friend over the roar of the engine.
"I'm giving it all she's got!"
"Then it's not enough! If that monster catches up to us..."
"I know, I know!"
Eda snapped back, also glancing behind.
"'Easy and profitable job'?! I'll kill him..."
"I think we lost him."
"Don't jinx it, you idiot!"
Both mercenaries looked around, searching for threats.
"Damn Falcone! There wasn't a word in the contract about a T-1000! Let him deal with these freaks himself!"
Silence settled in the boat.
Broken a minute later by Revy.
"What do you think? Was that a Meta or actually some kind of liquid terminator?"
[Back to Me]
"Achoo!"
'Is someone talking about me?'
'I doubt Slimes can have allergies or colds.'
Unlike normal people.
The crowd of whom was currently gathering to storm the police station.
"What the hell... they're insane! This city... I'm just speechless!"
"Can't even argue," Croc replied, closing a window. "What's the plan, Batman?"
"I'm thinking."
"About what?"
I asked the most obvious question.
"How to stop this mob thirsty for Commissioner Gordon's head? Or about the professional assassins whose main target is now you?"
One of whom he'd already crossed paths with.
"Both."
Heavy silence fell.
Broken only by Batman's clicking on his PDA.
'Do those still exist?'
I looked again at the chaos unfolding in the street.
Several hundred grown-up morons.
In pursuit of some five hundred thousand—split between all of them?—and a desire to suck up to a crime boss.
Had challenged the entire law enforcement system.
'Did they even consider what this could turn into?'
'Did Falcone consider it?'
'Though he probably did think it through. Prepared well.'
'Unlikely anyone will link it to him.'
'Still. Incredibly bold.'
'Even if his goal was just to lure out the local Hero.'
"A sniper has taken up position in one of the buildings."
Batman turned his computer around.
"Our task is to deal with him. Then the police can attempt to disperse the crowd. According to specialists at the precinct, he could be in one of these buildings."
He showed the target buildings.
"You realize their main target is you, right? And there's a 99% chance it's a trap?"
"Yes. But we have an advantage."
Pause.
"We know it's a trap."
'I don't know why or how, but Waylon and I shared a look.'
"And we have detailed floor plans. Plus the ability to reach them stealthily through the sewers."
"Alright. That sounds better."
"But what about the mob? And the bounty on the Commissioner's head?"
'Why do I have a strange feeling...'
'Anxiety?'
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~ Evey 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ ush the Story forward with your [Power Stones]