Supplying Supers - Ch. 34 - Contingency Plan - Alpha (Patreon)

Tuesday June 20th, 2025 Mazuma City, Mazuma Amerika

Gunner Webb

OSDB Hero Rank: N/A - Civilian

OSDB Threat Rating: N/A - Civilian

With help from Hailstorm’s ice powers, she created a sealed room for the purpose of the meeting. The door was still good, but a blast had shattered the interior walls and exterior glass. She froze thick sheets of ice to create temporary walls. Gunner made a mental note that any future meeting rooms for his teams should have somewhere safe and secure to do their business.

Something underground or perhaps a pocket dimension like Yokai’s home would work well, he thought.

Yokai’s clicking heels were the last to enter the room. When Gunner looked up from the holographic city map, his jaw dropped. Velocity was standing next to her. Her skin was caked with dirt and mud. Her blue eyes were completely shot from the countless hours without sleep.

“Are you all right?” Gunner asked, standing.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Last I heard, you were downstairs in the clinic.”

“I’m fine now. What about you? Any injuries?”

“Nothing bad, just a few bruises and scrapes.”

“Here, let me fix you up,” MartyrDOM said, standing from her chair.

With an outstretched hand, they all watched the wounds transfer to MartyrDOM’s skin. It was clear by MartyrDOM’s grimace that Velocity was underselling her injuries. The raw cuts spread across her form like a plague before her regeneration healed them.

“Thanks,” Velocity said, smiling.

“No problem,” MartyrDOM said, taking her seat.

“Let me clean you up,” Yokai said, holding out her hand. A spell circle rose from her feet to the top of her head, clearing all the mud and debris from her clothes like a laser rust removal tool. “That better?”

Velocity looked down at her arms and legs. “Yeah, much. I’m starving though. Is there any food?”

Gunner pointed to the sealed crates and coolers near the wall. “There are some protein bars, snacks, and MREs in those boxes. Bottles of water in the cooler. Apologies for the lack of services, but we’ve got hundreds of civilians taking up all our supplies.”

Velocity marched over the boxes, scarfed down a beef stick, and chugged a bottle of water before letting out a satisfied belch to the laughter of everyone else in the room.

“Anything to report?” Gunner chuckled.

“Yeah, it’s getting weird out there.”

“Weird how?”

“New creatures are showing up by the minute. It’s like a faucet that never stops. They’ve also taken over the asylum. I think they’re using it as a staging area.”

“What about Mellicent? Any action on her?”

“She’s like a queen overlooking her army. She’s been in the same spot since she started. The military has sent in drones, jets, and helicopters, but they stopped sending airborne forces when she kept dropping them either with her own attacks or her fliers.”

“At least we know where she is so we can plan things around her.” Gunner rubbed his chin before expanding the map displayed. “The Navy and the Marines have stationed themselves along the east coast. They’ve sealed the bridges to the docks. The Army and National Guard are pushing in from the north, east, and south, from what we can tell. VILLCON 2 sets a priority of locking down the city. Once that’s done, then they’ll start sending teams in to neutralize the threat. Luckily the outskirts of the city haven’t been touched, so the video feed is coming in clean. You can see here that the infantry and armor have stopped at the border, creating a blockade. My guess is that they’ll soon move in, taking things block by block.”

“Have any other supers tried their luck?” MartyrDOM asked.

“Not that I saw,” Velocity said. “Just the military.”

“Much of what’s left in the city are only C and D - Class heroes,” Gunner said before looking over at their frosty friend. “Although we heard the Egalitarians are on their way. Have you heard anything from them, Hailstorm?”

“You all would have more of an update than I would. I’ve been out there helping where I can.”

“What’s your take on the situation?”

“Same as Velocity. To put it lightly, it’s a shit show. With no one to stop them, Mellicent’s forces are pushing out further, unchecked. But if the Egalitarians are on their way, I’d doubt the SOC is going to throw them at her. They’re probably bringing them in to withdraw any VIPs. With the Paragon Alliance tower being destroyed, and Mellicent still flying around, I’m assuming they think the entire team has been killed. Which they have.”

“Not all of them,” Blast Wave said, looking up. “Justice is still alive.”

“Right… but she’s incapacitated.”

“I know… I just don’t want to count her out. You never know.”

“If no one else is going to stop her, are we all going to push her together?” MartyrDOM asked.

“It’s not that simple,” Hailstorm said, shaking her head. “She’s unkillable.”

“What do you mean?”

When Hailstorm looked over at Yokai, the sorceress spoke up. “Hailstorm, Divinity, and I hit her with everything we had. We thought we killed her, but she somehow resurrected herself.”

“Then what the fuck are we supposed to do?” MartyrDOM shouted, pointing out the window. “There are people dying out there.”

Gunner glanced around the room at the sunken eyes of his team. They all looked to him to provide the answer. When he glanced at Yokai, she stared with a furrowed brow. Her chestnut colored eyes told him everything he already knew. She solidified her direction with a stern nod. This was all up to him.

Gunner leaned back and rested his chin on his thumb. He scoured the map while contemplating all of his options like ivory pieces on a chessboard. How did he kill the unkillable? There was no easy answer. But as he thought about all of his resources, an idea popped into his head. It was as permanent of a solution as it could be. Once he had his plan, he leaned forward and tapped on the table.

“All right, this is what we’re going to do. I’m going to have you all split into two teams. Hailstorm, Blast Wave, Whisper, and MartyrDOM you’re going to be team one. The largest concentration of Mellicent’s forces is pushing through this major thoroughfare. I want you all to hit them as hard as you can.”

“We can do that,” Hailstorm said after garnering reassuring nods from her team.

Gunner looked over at Flux and Yokai, who were already staring at each other with crossed arms and pointed lips. “Flux, Yokai… I know what I’m asking for here—”

“Does it really have to be her? Flux groaned.

“Remember what you promised me…” Gunner said, glaring at her with pointed brows.

“Ugh… fine.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m not happy about it either, but I can put aside our differences for the time being,” Yokai said.

“Thank you,” Gunner said with a mischievous grin. “I want the same thing from you two, but you’re going to do it from the opposite side, pushing in toward Mellicent. Yokai, I want you to give me something big. It doesn’t have to be a heavy hitter, but anything to grab her attention.”

“Consider it done,” Yokai said with a nod.

“Flux… we’ve done a lot of work on restraint so please understand I don’t say this lightly… Don’t hold back.”

Flux grinned unnaturally wide. “Oh, I won’t, Sir.”

“What about me?” Velocity asked, crossing her arms.

“We need someone to defend the Lighthouse,” Gunner said. “Do you remember where we pulled out those crates in the garage before we left for the asylum?”

“Yeah.”

“Grab all the weapons and ammo you need, and do your best.”

“You got it.”

“I’m sort of confused about what the overall plan is,” Hailstorm said. “It looks like we’re just creating a big distraction.”

“That’s exactly what you’re doing,” Gunner said.

“For what?”

“The Contingency Plan.

“And what’s that?”

“You’ll know it when you see it,” Gunner said with a slight chuckle. “All I want you to worry about is creating a big enough distraction to pull Mellicent’s attention. Once you see the signal, I want you all to pull back and regroup at the Lighthouse. If everything goes smoothly, then in a few hours from now, it will all be over.”

Everyone shared concerned looks before Hailstorm shrugged and said, “If you say so.”

“I want everyone to stay on the comm. The attacks must be coordinated at the same time.” Gunner checked the time. “If there are no other questions, get some food and get water. We’re heading out in thirty.”

Before everyone made a line for the coolers, Gunner grabbed two bottles of water before approaching Yokai and Flux. “You two, follow me.”

Once they were in the elevator, Yokai asked, “I take it your plan is to distract her forces long enough to take the fight to Mellicent yourself?"

“That’s exactly my plan. However, I need more information. If she is using an avatar or clone, I need to trace it back to her body. My biggest concern is being able to destroy her body and maintaining control. I’ll need your help to leverage the suit as best I can.”

The elevator doors opened, and the trio made their way to the secure room.

“But the suit can’t control your power,” Flux said. “What’s the point in using it if it doesn’t work well?”

“I may have a solution to that,” Yokai said.

“Oh?” Gunner asked.

“I did some light reading while you were out. There are records of summoners using binding circles to contain the powers of Gale creatures. As well as cultists binding Gale creatures to the mortal plane to siphon their power. The suppression rune that I used earlier worked somewhat, did it not?”

“For a time, yeah, but it didn’t last long, and I was holding back.”

Yokai tapped her cheek and said, “Hmm… My hypothesis is that your power build up isn’t the problem. It’s the sudden transformation you go through into your secondary state. The one you find yourself in after you explode. What we need to do is regulate it so that as you use your power, and it attempts to jump out, your body gets as close to that state without such an explosive result.”

Gunner opened the secure room’s door and led the others to the containment capsule. “Like having multiple layers of security?”

“Yup exactly. I’d use hand crafted runes and spell circles combining suppression, binding, and siphoning runes. The siphoning runes will help sap some of the excess power. The suppression runes will push your power down should it reach close to the max threshold. And then the binding runes will keep everything bound to your suit so nothing bleeds over, allowing the mechanical aspect to exhaust your excess power. This should allow you to reach close to your peak without the explosive results.”

“But if he’s not transforming, doesn’t that mean he wouldn’t be able to reach his maximum power, right?” Flux asked.

“You’re not wrong… but we’re talking power levels in excess of everyone around him. In simple terms, if Gunner’s threat rating is one hundred by default, rises to a hundred thousand inside the suit, with his final transformation putting him over a million, when his toughest competitor is a measly five hundred, it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, right?”

“Hmm… I guess so.”

“So how do we do this?” Gunner asked.

“I’ll need to imbue the runes onto your suit,” Yokai said, pointing up. “So get in.”

“You’ll want to stand back,” Gunner said after walking to the side of the containment capsule. He hit a few buttons on an integrated computer. After it performed a biometric scan, pressurized air hissed into the room. The front glass split open, and the suit twisted around, revealing the back.

The backpack disconnected from the front plate and rose along hinges on the shoulders like a hatchback’s trunk door. Metallic clicks echoed throughout the room as the suit split down the back, revealing the multiple layers inside.

The innermost layer was orange and spongy, with electronic tracer lines spread throughout it. Behind it were metal bars and clasps that looked like cybernetic muscle. A stretchy rubber-like layer covered it that sat underneath hard armor plates for protection.

The arms pulled forward, and the chest curved inward, revealing holes inside the arms and legs. Gunner stripped completely nude, noticing his entourage all looking down with smug grins..

“You two enjoying the view?” Gunner smirked. When the pair glanced at each other and nodded, Gunner shook his head and laughed. “Well, at least you both agreed on something.”

Gunner gripped on the edge of the lifted battery and pulled himself into the legs of the suit. He pushed forward, sticking his arms into the sleeves. It wasn’t until the edges of his gloves pressed into his fingertips that he stopped.

“Operator biometrics detected,” a deep, automated voice said. The back clasps pushed into each other, clamping together before the suit sealed up. The battery swung down and drilled into the front plate. “Suit sealed and ready for operator control.”

Gunner grabbed his helmet and stepped off the platform. With wide circles, he rotated his hands and arms. He twisted his waist before raising his knees in place. When he confirmed everything felt right, he put on his helmet and twisted it around the neck seal ring.

The inner screen flickered before presenting the AR feed. A simple Heads-Up Display appeared in the corner of his view, presenting the suit’s systems. He rotated his neck and twisted his head, ensuring he had his expected mobility and none of his beard hair got caught.

As a final check, he relaxed his guard and let a bit of his strength out. The power bar for the batteries skyrocketed. A tingling sensation spread all over his skin. The lower jaw of the helmet extended, spraying steam into the air.

“Everything looks good,” Gunner said. “I’m ready when you are.”

Yokai used her long nail to slice into her hand. She pulled the blood into a small orb. With her index finger, she drew symbols in the air. Each one pulsed a blood read before disappearing into a bright gold. She placed one on each appendage and the center of his chest.

Once those were finished, she spent the most time on his helmet. A supernatural force pushed his head back with each application of rune and circle. With a final pulse from her hand, she pulled her blood back into her hand.

The effects of the spell were immediate. Gunner felt more connected to his suit than ever. Each suppression rune shrank the flame of his power tenfold. By the end, it was a small ember.

“How do you feel?”

“I can definitely tell a difference. Especially the suppression.”

“You’re naturally used to lowering your power. This should allow you to release it at a higher state, with the runes and suit working together.”

“I’ll have to test it once I’m

“That’s fair,” Yokai smiled. “Have a look in the mirror. If we ever get time, I’ll teach you how to read and cast them.”

He looked at his reflection in the containment cube’s glass. Circles outlined runes that were etched in the front of his helmet with laser-precision accuracy. The ones on his body were supernaturally linked and hidden from the untrained eye. However, they floated above his ankles and wrists like holographic red bindings. A final one hovered in the center of his chest, just above his heart.

“I can see them.”

“All you need to do now is test them out and see how well they work.”

Gunner turned and let out a short laugh. “I think I have the perfect target. I just need one more thing for the trip.”