[84: The Raid]
"Okay, this is it." Twice pulled out the signaling device and activated it. At the same time, Twice and Toga also put on one earbud each.
⁂
(Eleanor's Hideout)
"It's go time." Eleanor quickly got to work when she got the signal from Toga and Twice. The monitors lit up as they synced a view from a drone in the air. Twice and Toga were highlighted in white.
Eleanor put on a small earbud in her ear. "Twice, Toga, you two hear me loud and clear?"
⁂
Back with Twice and Toga, they responded.
"We hear you," Twice said.
"Yup!" Toga said.
"Okay, well, you know what to do. I'll be watching from here. If you need to call in an air strike, there should be a handheld laser marker in the boxes, along with other goodies. Just point it at where you want a missile, and I'll figure the rest out from here. Just don't point it at the hideout or use it when you're inside." Eleanor told them.
Twice and Toga looked at each other and blinked a little. "Uh…this is going to be a little easier then." Twice said.
"Hey, why not just bomb this place like crazy? Wouldn't that do the same thing?" Toga asked.
"That's probably the first good question you've asked, Toga," Twice said.
"Hey! I ask good questions all the time!" Toga raised her voice slightly at Twice.
"Alright, you two, calm down; you're in the middle of a secret operation. Toga, you're right. I could airstrike it, but it's a bit too much attention. And also, it's better to fully confirm something is destroyed rather than making an assumption," Eleanor said.
"Hmm…okay!" Toga accepted the answer quickly.
"So how should we do this, Eleanor?" Twice asked.
"Use the drones. This is all up to you. If you want to go in guns blazing or be more stealthy, it's up to you. I'm here to send in the extraction once you get the intel," Eleanor said.
"Well, it's nighttime; we should go in sneaky," Twice said.
"But where's the excitement in that? We have these drones with us! Let's go in!" Toga said.
"We should take advantage of the darkness! No one will see us in this darkness, and the trees here will make it even harder," Twice said.
"If we use these drones to kill everyone we see, then no one will be around to see us!" Toga said.
"But we don't even know what quirks we'll encounter," Twice said.
"It doesn't matter! If they die before they can use them, then it makes no difference!" Toga exclaimed.
"I mean…you're not wrong, but—" Twice was instantly interrupted by Toga.
"Awesome! Guns blazing it is!" Toga quickly went to the boxes with drones and opened them.
Toga activated them, and small drones quickly flew out. They were quiet and armed with machine guns. They didn't use any propellers, only electricity and magnets.
"Okay, we're doing this, I guess." Twice went along with it. He went over and opened another box. The drones also activated and flew out.
"Oh, look!" Toga reached in and pulled out an assault rifle. "This is so cool!" She held it up and inspected it all over.
"Be careful with that, Toga," Twice said. He also pulled out an assault rifle. He also took out the laser markers and handed one to Toga.
Twice and Toga kept looking through it. More than just the assault rifle, there was a shotgun and an SMG. There were also grenades and flashbangs. And some vests with pouches so they could actually store them and use them later.
"Wow! It's like we're in an action movie! Let's go, Twice!" Toga turned and started jogging to the League of Villains hideout.
"Don't worry about the drones targeting you. They have an autonomous targeting algorithm with you excluded. Basically, it means they'll do the killing themselves; none of us need to give any kind of approval," Eleanor said.
"Good to know." Twice quickly caught up with Toga.
As both of them jogged, the drones followed them. A quiet, faint, and constant humming sound accompanied them.
For a while, they encountered no resistance. Twice and Toga didn't fully understand it, but the drones were constantly scanning for any targets. The darkness was no hindrance at all.
"So far so go—" Twice's words were instantly cut short when one of the drones started firing its guns. Small flashes of light lit up the woods, and the sounds of automatic gunfire reverberated everywhere.
Twice and Toga instantly went to ground, letting the drones do their thing. A short while later, the drones stoped firing.
Twice and Toga looked up, seeing a few dead bodies on the ground. Some were on the dirt, and some were near the entrance of the hideout.
"You just had to say something, Twice!" Toga exclaimed as she slowly got up.
"Uh…sorry?" Twice scratched his head as he got up before he steadied himself. "We have to go in now; there's no way no one in here heard that."
"Let's go!"
Twice and Toga picked up their speed, running towards the hideout. The drones quickly followed.
When they reached the entrance, it was a large and heavy steel door. The door was shut tight, and though it wasn't visible, multiple locks were inside.
Twice reached for the handle, and even with just a small twist, he could tell that it wasn't budging at all.
"Quite troublesome," Twice said.
"We have guns!" Toga pointed the assault rifle at the door.
Twice quickly dived out of the way, landing hard on the concrete and covering his head.
BRRRRRRRT
The assault rifle in Toga's hands let out a stream of lead at the steel door. The recoil hit Toga hard, the assault rifle kicking the gun up wildly. Most of the bullets hit the door, but some hit the surroundings, and some flew into the wilderness around them.
Toga stepped back a little to steady herself before the entire gun was out of ammo. Toga looked at the barrel of the gun and then at the door.
The door was still shut.
"Uh…we need more bullets," Toga said.
"Toga! You wasted an entire magazine!" Twice got up, looking at the small impacts on the door.
"Hey, I tri—" Toga's words were interrupted when they heard movement around them.
Twice reacted instantly. "GET DOWN!" Twice dived at Toga, knocking them both to the ground.
A few seconds later, a massive tree trunk landed where they had just been. Twice quickly got up and looked around, but just a few seconds later.
BRRRRRRRT
The drones quickly located the villain and lit them up, turning them into a beehive. Another villain dead.
"How did you know that was coming, Twice?" Toga slowly got up and swiped away the dirt on her clothes.
"I didn't. I heard something and assumed the worst. We have to find a way in quickly!" Twice moved to the door again. It was more damaged, but still not open.
A drone quickly flew in from behind and approached the door. A bright light filled the area as the drone cut into the steel door. Sparks flew wildly as the laser heated the steel to thousands of degrees almost instantly, melting it.
While the drone was cutting through, Toga reloaded her assault rifle.
A few seconds later, a large opening was cut through. Twice lightly pushed on the part that had been cut. It easily fell forward.
Twice and Toga stepped aside, letting the drones go in first.
"Okay, Toga, you ready for the welcoming committee?"
"Yup! Let's go get the computer thingy!"
The raid was only beginning.