Roxy in the Drakes den.

Written by Corsair.

Thanks for taking the time to read through, the first part of this story isn't really that heavy on the sexual peril, that's something I have planned for the second part. Please feel free to offer any constructive criticism to daveydont@yahoo.co.uk, please be kind though this is the first time I have ever shared so widely :)

Corsair.

To the untrained eye it was a normal power-station in the average City of Badlands. The usual Guards stood in their post boxes fences the usual security cameras and patrols. To the eyes of a trained professional or someone who knew that the facility was something more than it was pretending to be.

Inside the facility, past all the meters thick vault doors and the X-ray scanners was yet another  even more secure room.

‘’Extracting substance zero now’‘ The technician was talking into a microphone built into a thick plastic suit that covered him from head to toe. Through the clear plastic sheet over his face the figures observing him from the other side of the glass could see the look of total concentration.

On the other side of the room were five men four of them in immaculate three piece suits was in an Olive green, the medals and epaulettes marked him out as Military, he was stood straight as an arrow with his cap tucked neatly into the crook of his arm.

‘’You’re certain this is going to work?’‘ General Bletcher asked his associates. ‘’It goes without saying that if this test fails then your funding will be amongst other items that will be considered for termination’‘

‘’Substance Zero will not fail, the Chameleogenic structure guarantees a successful bond with any potential host. White blood cells act like a Taxi, they destroy the hosts own cells and drop off Substance Zero. From there the substance Zero will blend and alter the host DNA thus providing you with genetic anomalies that I am sure you will be able to find a use for’‘ said Doctor Farlman, he was the only one in the room who didn’t start sweating at the Generals not-so-veiled threat.

‘Explain this in a way an old soldier can understand, thank you Doctor’‘

 without taking his eyes off of the man in glass room who was slowly and carefully handling a large clear glass flask General Bletcher continued his questioning.  ''How long until your ready to deploy, and how long until I get results''

Doctor Farlman visibly scowled at this question, his pet hate was having his work questioned by military style thugs brow creased as if he was struggling to do think of a way to dumb down his intellect ‘’It means General, the that mutagen we are about to release over the City will trick a hosts immune system into attacking the hosts own cells, destroyed strands are then replaced by sany way needed, in your terms it’s stealth technology, the host will not feel anything until the changes take place and by then it will be too late. Results will be almost immediate but it will take between two and three months before subjects of any real value to become obvious. Make no mistake General, I will deliver what we agreed on. Zero will bring you the soldiers you want.

This was what General Bletcher wanted to hear,progress. He was a man for whom the word failure simply didn’t exist. He didn’t fail at the Battle of Tripsnake Ridge, he didn’t fail at the Whisperhead rebellion and he would not fail with this. ‘’What’s the Time frame involved here Doctor, and what changes are you expecting Zero to make’‘

Farlman grinned at this question, he was the lead Scientist and was responsible for spending the millions upon millions of Military money. After months of delays, setbacks and accidents he finally had some positive answers to give General Bletcher ‘’Results should be evident within a week but as for what they will be i have no idea. The Chamelonic nature of Substance Zero will make results a little unpredictable but you can be assured that whatever they turn out to be, they will be one of a kind and most useful to you’‘

The cannister was in its final stages of being wired into the Rocket that was to explode over the city and spread its payload into the air. The cover up story was already in place, Government officials and Politicians were paid off and the ones that wouldn’t take a payout were Bribed or Blackmailed into silence. Media outlets across the Nation would be fed a story about a leak at the Power plant and the  huge walls going around the City were there to help keep any contamination in. As for the population of Badlands the story was simple, they were either dead or too sick and contaminated to leave. The Military super-soldier plan was ready to go. Over the following months Project Zero was proving to be a resounding success, Spy Drones and Cameras around the city were monitoring and compiling a database of anyone they felt showed promise. It was time for the Military to try and extract it’s first potential recruits and this is when they realized that Subject Zero was perhaps a little too successful. Every attempt the Army made to retrieve failed. Every team they sent in to bring out a promising subject failed. They sent in crack teams of Special Ops soldiers armed with sleeping darts and non lethal weapons, these first squads were sent back injured and battered but still alive. So the decision was made to send them in with live ammunition and then the survival rate plummeted. Survivors came back out with horror stories about men and women that shrugged of injuries that would drop a normal human, others came out with claw marks and wounds normally seen on victims of animal attacks, worse still were the reports of things that weren’t human anymore. Eventually the Military simply gave up trying to control its experiment and chose to contain it forget it. The Money spent on failed extractions was costing more than any military gain. The whole project was eventually sold on, the identity of the new owner was kept confidential.

The new owners inherited the research data and ownership of Badlands but they also inherited the cost of keeping the cover story in place, so the regular deliveries of food water and supplies were kept up. The public outside of Badlands all too aware of the disaster and the sympathy for the Cities inhabitants was still too strong to ignore.

 They were sending in Doctors researchers to try and purge the contamination and Engineers were sent in to re-enforce the perimeter walls. At least that’s what people on the outside of the walls were told. In reality the shadowy owners had hired Mercenaries to man the walls and keep watch on the Gates. 

Inside the City life carried on. Society had split into two distinct groups,  on the one side you had Norms these were people who hadn’t reacted at all to Subject Zero and then you had the Changed. The Changed became the ruling class, they were stronger faster, some of them had abilities that were genuine boons to whoever they served. Whilst more common were the Changed who had become fearsome combatants. The general populace flocked to the side of the whoever they thought was the strongest of the Changed. Society survived by devolving. The common enemy was the world on the outside of the walls, the world they were powerless to reach, the world that had forgotten about them, the people of Badlands all knew it wasn’t a leak at the Power plant, most of them remembered looking to the sky when they heard the explosion and saw the Red mist that was Subject Zero drift down like hellish rain fall.

It was inevitable then, that one of the Changed would rise to the top one that would be more powerful or more cunning than the others, and his name was Clive Wilson. A one time Factory foreman who, before the change, had an inflated opinion of his influence and wealth and held grudges against the every single person who held a job more senior than his. When the Change happened he took his frustrations out on the higher ups. One by one they were found murdered in their homes the change hadn’t helped a single one of them. But there was one person in all of Badlands that was neither changed or normal. I had always had my powers for as long as I could remember.

The man handcuffed with his hands over his head spat another tooth out.

‘’I swear it boss you gotta believe  me, i ain’t on the take for no Rat. I already told you it was who that took out Club and Rip’‘

The figure wasn’t concerned with the two hulking goons stood either side of him he was more concerned with the darkness in the corner of the room.

‘’So tell me then Maggot, you expect me to believe  that it was just one girl that handled my two best fighters’‘ the voice spoke slowly and calmly out of the shadows in the corner it was all the more menacing for it.

‘’Just like i said Drake honest, it was the girl that did this, go see for yourself'' his pleading was silenced when one of the thugs backhanded him.

‘’I’ll decide what you are and what to do with you when you tell me this again and if I still don't believe you I am going to feed you your own fingers’‘.

And so Maggot started his story again.

2 hours earlier. Midtown.

Maggot was out doing his job for The Drake, He was something like an accountant in the sense he would collect what his boss was owed for protecting the people who lived in his territory and in a City where Money was worth less than spit people fell back on trading Gold Metals or food and livestock ,it was the Gold and Metal that Maggot had come for today as he walked into Rassiter's general store.  He had two of Drakes bodyguards with him for tonight's work there to guard to collections than to keep Maggot safe. The two Bodyguards were Club and Ripper, Club got his name from the way his left hand had fused together to form a ball of solid bone and skin whilst Ripper was more lethally gifted. Sharp spikes ran from the top of Rippers head to the base of his spine and protruded from both of his forearms it gave him an almost reptilian appearance and his fights almost always ended in a crowd pleasing fatality.

‘’I don't got time for this old man ! ’‘ Maggot shouted at the Shopkeeper whilst Ripper was looming over him pressing one of his forearm spikes into the old man's throat whilst Club was trashing the back rooms looking for anything worth some coin.

’‘The price has gone up old man, Drake wants double or I'm gunna have Rip here put a few new holes in you’‘. 

I stood across the street watching all of this happen. Not a single person dared step in and help when Drakes people came looking for payment. But this time was different. I knew Mr Rassiter, he was a kind man, I never once heard him complain about being stuck behind the city walls instead he would talk about how he could help others.  I wasn't going to let this happen to the only kind person in the City. I had worked hard to hide my powers all this time but to protect Mr Rassiter I was willing to let people see what I could do. I strode across the street and casually stepped into Rassiters. By this time Club had old Rassiter in one hand, held off the floor with his grip so tight Rassiter was struggling to try and negotiate. I cleared my throat and spoke. 

‘’You really need to put Mr Rassiter down, he can't pay you if you kill him ya' genius’‘ the last thing that was expected to speak to them like that was me, I was a little under 5'' 5inches tall so in comparison to them a passer by would assume I was the one in trouble.

‘’Oh we can do that. Club could you put this nice old man down, seeing as this young lady asked so politely’‘ Maggot turned to look at me and a broad smile split his face. My skin crawled as he eyed me up and down and licked his lips. I knew straight away that he was misjudging me. I took my leather jacket off carefully folding it and placing it on top of a row of canned meat and cracked my knuckles fixing Ripper with a steel glare.  I wore a T-shirt and a black denim skirt, not exactly dressed for a fight but I wasn't expecting this to take too long.

‘’You sure you wanna do this toots’‘ Ripper spoke with a curious drawl as if he couldn’t move his jaw or mouth to form his words properly. ‘’I’d rather not mess that pretty 'lil face up’‘ he dropped Rassiter and took a few steps towards me.

I was already sizing him up, my pulse quickened and I felt an familiar rushing, tingling sensation as I prepared to use power. I was sizing Ripper up the moment I saw him, in fact I had already instinctively assumed a few things about their fighting styles . I had a good enough guess that Ripper would be using elbow strikes and slashing attacks with the spikes protruding from his forearm, something I had learned in my time on the streets is that a predictable opponent is easily beaten.

I couldn't keep a grin off of my face, beating up bullies was something I always enjoyed making time for ‘’If i rearrange your face it just might make you pretty. Mr Rassiter why don't you close shop early and I will take out the trash’‘ I cracked my knuckles and strode down the aisle towards Ripper. Ripper stood head and shoulders over me and just as expected he swiped his arm from left to right, I was ready for it and ducked dropping to one knee and threw a punch at his kneecap, a small explosion of bright blue light came from the impact. Ripper yelled in pain and dropped. Ripper was a seasoned prize fighter and his reaction to getting hurt was to hit back, he jabbed his fist out, I raised my arms to block it, more blue light ran the length of my arm and for a second the feint outline of a gauntlet flashed then vanished the very second the force of the blow was gone. i drove my fist into Rippers temple then surged to my feet piling an uppercut into Rippers chin on the way, Ripper was thrown onto his back when Club came to see what all the racket was. Rippers head slumped to the side, out cold. Roxy glared at Maggot who was staring with a stupefied look on his face. '’One punch and he’s out....you ain't normal are you. Club you better get in here!’‘  Just as Roxy thought, a cowardly bully who would rather hide behind bigger bullies.

Club stepped out of the back rooms walking as if he knew what had just happened, he looked down at Ripper and snorted '’huh, pussy, getting slapped out by a little girl’‘

‘’Try not to mess her up Club she looks like she could make us some Coin if that pretty little face don't get too mashed up’‘ If i thought that Ripper was big then Club was something else, he was a few inches shorter than Ripper but was wider with broader muscles, I had never seen someone so muscled. Before i had a chance to figure out his fight style Club charged at me, I gritted my teeth and braced for an impact.  When that impact came I planted my feet and widened my stance, I tried to hold my ground but my feet were skidding backwards, the soft rubber soles of my Converse screeching on the tiled floor. It was a wall that stopped me, club kept pushing and lifted me off of my feet.

'’How about we get a little early preview before we put you to work''

Creeps were something I hated almost as much as bullies but with Clubs forearm pressing into my throat all I could do was spit from behind clenched teeth. For that moment I was at his mercy and a fighter like Club knew it. He pulled me off the wall handling my far smaller frame with ease and shoving her towards a row of groceries, I staggered backwards and was met with Clubs left hand, it was more like a wrecking ball and powered me through the shelf to land in a heap of pain and scattered groceries, I rolled onto my side and coughed whilst taking a deep breath refill my lungs again after the impact, I would have to get rough. Before I could get up again Club gripped my ankle, my world started spinning as I was tossed down the aisle, I shifted my weight and twisted in the air to land gracefully in a crouch my Converse screeching on the polished tile floor as I slowed to a halt. I looked up to see Club stomping down the aisle after me, I took a deep breathe and allowed her heart rate to quicken some more feeling a pleasant warmth in my hands as I got ready to put Club down. When I stood up I was throwing my punch at the same time as Club only this time I was aiming at the solid mass of bone that made up his right arm, both of my hands were layered in a bright blue light, the ghostly outline of knuckle dusters on both of them just as I wanted. Our two fists met in an explosion of sparks, light and flying chips of Bone. Club screamed  as his fist was broken, then he stopped screaming when my next blow broke his jaw, the entire bulk of the 300lb Prize fighter sprawled sideways collapsing another row of shelves. He had his ruined fist pulled in to his chest and staggered like a drunkard back to his feet. He turned around with his normal hand raised ready to fight. I am pretty sure all he saw a trail of blue light as another one of my punches slammed another fist into his '’You’re a creeper and a bully and I don't like either very much’‘ he was mine for the taking, the power I had in such a small frame was like nothing else in all of Badlands. Each blow took the hulking fighter back another step closer to the window before the last punch lifted Club off his feet and crashing through the glass. It was only when Club was out cold that I realised how fast my heart was racing, I took Ripper by his ankle and dragged him to the window dumping him outside on top of Clubs unconscious body.

'’Rassiters gunna flip’‘ i groaned as I took in the devastation in front of me, Tins of food were split and jars smashed, their contents covering the floor and that’s even before i started to think about the work it would take to repair all his shelves. I thought back to fights and ran back through them in her mind, only two mistakes this time, I shouldn’t have tried taking Clubs charge head on and the second one was letting Maggot get away. But he hadn’t got away he was doing what all good cowards do, he was hiding.

 I couldn’t see him crouched behind the counter and pulling a syringe from his pocket, he waited for my hand to get close enough before reaching over and grabbing it. By the time i knew what was going on the Syringe had already pierced my skin and emptied its bright green liquid into my bloodstream. The effect was almost instant my vision clouded and my pulse started to race. Maggot climbed over the counter and sat on its edge watching as Roxy staggered backwards almost knocking over a stack of boxes.

'’What have you stuck me with, piece of shit’‘ Maggot answered my question with a laugh.  

‘’Drake got some chick back at the Foundry, she can make all sorts of interestin‘ stuff.’‘ He must have been expecting me to be more compliant and certainly not ready for my hand to grip his throat and pull him over the counter, i threw him down as if he was half his weight, Maggot wasted no time in rolling over and kicking his legs to crawl away. Maggot was many things, a negotiator and extortionist yes, a thief and an opportunist most certainly. But a fighter he was not. He had won his place at Drakes side by coercing the best fighters and strongest workers to Drakes side. His only chance of getting back to Drake and safety was in the substance that he had just injected into me.

‘’Looks like your boss needs to hire  a new Chemist...Rassiters is off limits now you got that’‘.

Maggot had crawled so far that when his back hit the wall at the end of the aisle he kept pushing with his legs until he was standing up perhaps realised that I was stood between him and the way out he raised his fists. I blocked his path 

’‘Oh you want to fight me I had you for coward...so lets go then’‘ I raised my own hands mocking the stance that Maggot took. I laughed as i threw a punch that somehow he dodged. I threw another one that he dodged and to my surprise he jabbed through my guard and hitting me square on the chin. Maggot stared at his fists in disbelief then remembered it probably had more to do with Vials concoction than his fighting skills. I could feel that something was different, wrong. There seemed to be a delay between deciding to move or strike and my limbs actually doing something, the jab to her chin didn’t hurt but served as a wake up call that I needed to try harder.

’‘The hell did you stick me with creep’‘ i rubbed my chin and threw a wild left hook that she couldn’t believe  got blocked when he raised his arm in defence, he threw his own punch that ploughed into my abdominals a loud ’‘OOFF’‘ told him that he did enough to drive the air from my lungs and double me over.

‘’Prettiest thing in all of Badlands aren't you,Vial told me it will make your brain confuse pleasure and pain, is it working?’‘ Maggot he slid his hand down over my back then on to my butt. The rough Denim material gave way to the smoothness of my skin and firm muscles on the back of my thighs.

‘’Bullshit’‘ I spoke through between coughs ‘’A lucky shot, you let me go now and I will only break one of your hands for touching me’‘ I couldn’t be sure it was all lies though, I had been in enough fights before that I was aware that this wasn’t hurting like it should be.  She squeezed her thighs together when Maggots hand went too far and explored her inner thigh, it felt dangerously pleasing.

’‘Awwww relax baby, don't be like that‘’ He pulled me back upright and clamped his hand to my breast squeezing one of  them hard. The green stuff he shot into me was starting to do it's disgusting job. I felt like I had just binged on litres of Whiskey and had gone from sober to smashed in the blink of an eye.  I was willing myself to do something breaking his wrist would have been a good start and I knew it would be easy to do, easy if it weren't for the disorientating feeling that the room was spinning wildly. I knew he wasn't lying when he said my brain chemistry was being messed with.

There was no way I could let this go on, bigger men had tried to do what Maggot was almost getting away with. I had to try harder '’I am not....done, not yet!’‘ I shouted and drove my head into Maggots nose he let his grip loosen and staggered back slipping on some spilled food from my earlier fight with Club and Ripper. I had bought myself a few moments to stop and focus, or at least try to. Whilst Maggot was squirming around on the floor trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose I was trying to focus my way through the effects of the green stuff. I tried to visualise Maggot crawling back to Drake with a promise to never return, but still my mind drifted back to his touch and the satisfaction that accompanied it, that shamed me...i gripped that idea and focused on the shame. That was more like me I would never let anyone take advantage of me like that, I was coming around. The shame turned to anger when the realisation that these creatures did this to everyone. They would turn up demanding money for the privelidge of living in Drakes territory. The influence of the green stuff was receeding it felt like it was being burned away by the anger that I found filling my muscles with fresh energy. 

''Oh you really are feeling it aren't you, how about feeling this?'' Damnit, I had been caught with my guard down, I expected a punch but when I looked up I was greeted by a length of wood. He had swung it upwards and it hit my chin hard enough to snap my head back, I would have collapsed backwards if it weren't for the glass door of a refrigerator. If my world wasn't already spinning it was now, another CLONK whipped my head to the side.

'''Jesus you're tough, not even a mark on you'' he must have seen the vacant look in my eyes. I was seeing three of him but still managed to raise my fists for what good it did. He was proving to be tougher than I thought....or was it the drug making me weaker....I should just give up, it would be easier, right?. At least I knew Mr Rassiter had gotten away with his coin, I was in a bad way but I was sure I could figure a way out, I always had before.

Maggot still had the length of wood and swung it again, somehow I was fast enough to block and even deflected it with her power causing blue sparks to bounce across the floor before fading out. I punched back and caught him with the back of my hand spinning him around on the spot and tried to follow up, I was fighting by instinct and muscle memory, I couldn't afford to give him a chance to recover but he followed through and spun 360 degrees to backhand me in return.

'’So is it working then?’‘ he pummelled me in the side once then again in the stomach. For the second time I was bent over his fist then I went down to one knee, Maggot being the creep that he is couldn't keep his hands off of me and tugged my T-shirt up over my breasts.

'’Mmmm i was right, great tits’‘ he licked his lips and all the green stuff in the world wouldn't be enough to stop my skin from crawling, when I looked up he was stood over me but my eyes dropped I couldn't hold his gaze. When he slapped my right breast i had to bite my lip to keep a sigh of pleasure. I was wrong about the green stuff it was working and now it was harder to concentrate on anything other than feeling it's effect again.  The blows I took to my head knocked me right back down into it's grip.

It didn’t register when he let me go, I only noticed when he kicked me in the chest and sprawled me out on my back.

''Look those legs, its like you want me between them, is Vials potion making you want that....do you want it?'' I still had to do something, I was moving away, too confused now to stand I stayed sat down and used my hands and feet to move away. ''Just stop struggling, and see how good it could be for us'' he was taking his time walking after me. He wasn't looking into my eyes he was looking up my skirt. I wanted to stop, that gnawing whisper at the back of my mind to give in, but I was not about to submit. I rolled on to my front and broke into a crawl but wasn't fast enough, Maggot grabbed a hold of my ankle and pulled me back. He was kneeling behind me as he pulled me close enough that I could feel his excitement press into my ass.

''I'm going to make you pay, you're scum'' I let a small cry of pain out as Maggot grabbed my hair and pulled, his other reached under me and up my T-Shirt to pull one of my breasts free. He pawed and mauled at it and my squeal of pain turned into something with more longing in it.

''Oh you're almost right, only I wont have to pay, you owe us Rassiters fee for the month and you messed up two of the Bosses favourite men, you owe us you little slut'' I felt his thumb run over my nipple before pinching it between his finger. His free hand pushed between my legs, I didn't have the strength or thought to stop him, my knees slid apart and I gasped suddenly with the sensation of his hand between my legs.

''Drake is gunna want to see you'' he leaned forwards until I could feel his breathe on the back of my neck, I was ashamed and felt powerless when I my body started to respond to his invading hands. ''If it weren't for Drakes rules, id fuck you right here'' Instead he shoved me forwards, I laid on my front with body wracked with sensation and longing. As I turned on my back hoping to see my victorious opponent on top of me I was greeted by a final swing of the length of wood. It struck my temple, a brief second of lucidity broke through the surface of my chemically induced defeat. It could be worse, so long as I make them hurt it's going to be okay

Part2

Club and Ripper were still in the gutter by the time Maggot made his way outside.

‘’Where the hell did that bitch come from’‘ groaned Ripper, he was picking peices of the spikes on his back that had snapped off when he was put through the window, they would grow back soon enough, but that by no means meant it was painless.

‘’The hell if I know, she broke my god damned hand with one punch, wait 'til I get another crack at her, I'm going to pound that bitch into dust’‘ Club was nursing his splintered weapon, picking out shards of bone that would have otherwise fallen out. His enhancements would heal eventually too but he knew Maggot would take the blame for what happened tonight.

‘’You ain't pounding nobody into the floor,especially her. Besides, after the mess she made of you two idiots you're lucky she didn’t pull that thing off. Oh and she's out cold in there, your welcome. You two can get her into the back of the Van. We're going back to the Foundry’‘ Maggot walked off, trusting that his two bodyguards would not be far behind him. Before leaving Rassiters he smoothed Roxy's skirt back into place and pulled her T-shirt back down. Maggot was thinking in silence about how he was going to spin this and escape any of the blame for the injuries that Club and Ripper had suffered, Drake's temper was well known to the people that worked under him he allowed no room for meddling with anything that could affect its value or it's ability to work as part of his empire even if Maggot and others would occasionally take liberties. Club and Ripper were too busy whispering between themselves trying to figure out how Maggot had managed to knock out a girl who beat both of them fair and square. All of them too busy to notice to figure crouched on the roof top, just a few meters above their  heads. It was unmistakable male dressed in flat grey military clothing. Muscle filled the uniform out and a face painted in black with Grey stripes stared out from underneath a deep hood.

'’Guardian-1 to Guardian base I have located the Major, detained by native forces, please advise'', he had his finger pressed to a communication device at his throat and in his other he hand he held a view scope, watching as Roxy was carried off over the back of Clubs shoulder. His jaw tightened with the effort of doing nothing. He had infiltrated Badlands two weeks ago and had been following Roxy for the best part of four days. He was about to make himself when he lost her in a crowd and by the time he found her again she was slung over the shoulder of a huge gang member who had what looked like a hammer for a hand. The order to follow and observe didn’t come as a surprise, he was an outsider and being discovered in Badlands would mean mission failed. This far over the walls Guardian Base wouldn’t be coming to rescue him if anything went wrong.

'’Guardian-1 solid copy, will follow and observe only. ’‘ With his orders received Guardian-1 made moved with inhuman speed to track the Van that held the one he called Major.

I was taken back to the foundry, that was no surprise the Foundry was the centre of Drakes little empire so it made sense that I would be taken there.  The room I found myself in was too large to have been built for one person. Benches were bolted to each wall and a gate with thick bars stopped stopped me from leaving, i tried to slide them open but they were made of something that even my strength couldn't so much as move. I gave up and fell back on using logic and reason to help figure my situation out. For a start I was able to think straight so whatever it was Maggot had filled me with was temporary, further more I wasn't feeling any loss or withdrawal so I could thank each of the gods that it wasn't addictive. I looked at the construction of the Cell and realised why I couldn't bend or move the bars. The construction was solid and well anchored to the floor, walls and ceiling. I had heard stories about the Foundry and how being press-ganged into one of it's work crews was a death sentence, how Drakes labour gangs placed production above the lives of it's workforce. The entire place looked like Hell had been brought to the surface. Smoke stacks vomited a never ending plume of smoke and ash throughout the night and day, I had lived near the foundry once and knew first hand that the constant noise of Industry never stopped.

Maybe an hour had passed without anyone coming past, just the muffled thud and clash of machinery that made even the thick stone wall shake and tremble slightly. Without any guards coming past I figured it was safe enough to try another way out. I held my hand out palm down then rotated my wrist. It took just a second or so of concentration for a crackling Blue beam of light extended from my elbow and down past my hand. My powers were back, something else to thank my stars for, I sliced diagonally and downwards, a crack and a shower or sparks lit my Cell up. The metal of the bars started glowing as I pressed the blade against them, a dark red grew to a dark orange and then eventually to yellow then white. Slowly the bar was melting, I didn't need to go all the way through just far enough to weaken them enough that I could force them open.

It did occur to me that this was too easy but I was never one to let a chance go by, if my captors were either too stupid to post guards or so confident that they thought I was no longer a threat I would be all too happy to show them how wrong they were. Even with two bars cut half way through it still took all of my strength to bend them wide enough for me to slip through. That's when I realised that besides the windows that were way over head telling me I was below ground I had no idea where I was. '' The only way is up,Rox'' I had always been curious about what Drake was up to in his Foundry and now I was inside of it I was perfectly placed to find out.