By the grace of one of the gods, not all the agents died. When the first mistake happened because of exhaustion, only two died, being cleaved open by the claws of 280. When the second mistake happened shortly after the first, the agent was impaled and ripped like a piece of wet bread.
They were doomed to die the moment one of them gave up to exhaustion, but some were luckier, dying faster. The last one was not as lucky; she was flung into a wall, which collapsed on her. Clint watched all this go down, a mere human on the podium of the superhuman; he could do little but watch.
After the agents died, 280 locked onto the MTF. With the new target set, the MTF turned the device off and went full speed ahead, 280 chasing right after them. Clint shot a few arrows that finally hit, yet they seldom did much damage. At most, he could only put a tracker on them before he left.
In the confines of Shield, the tracker arrows were always pinging, and when they were shot, it was noticeable as they left the quiver that held them. Upon their release, many intelligence officers noticed.
It was put on priority tracking among others, and they worked to contact him or someone who knew what he was out on a mission for.
Since the topic was related to the tri spear, they had to wait a bit to get an answer, which came in the heavily censored document of 280.
It's important to note that only names were censored, as Shield didn't have much of anything to redact in the document about 2 pages long.
With the target clear, they continuously monitored the signal, and Shield prepared a large recon and assault force. As soon as the signal stopped for an extended period of time, they would set out and use their own 'special devices.'
The convoy didn't stop; they didn't swap cars; they didn't refuel. They had been driving long enough for the bodies of the dead to be recovered, and the storm that had been present to fizzle out, leaving droplets hanging from all edges.
They would have already made it to the base, but they took tremendous detours while leading 280; it wouldn't matter, as the tracker was still on one of the cars. Shield still knew where they were. As the cars drove in the mud and the leaves of the forest, they left a trail easy to follow, but ultimately useless, as the tracks led nowhere near their actual location.
They would clean up the tracks later, if nothing unexpected happened. The doors to the site were already open in advance; no guards remained near the area; the entrance was shrouded in darkness, the moon not bright enough to illuminate the interior. The tracker had been shut off by the site's anti-recon. It pinged the tracker and sent out alarms to the base; as the alarms activated, the darkness of the entrance was illuminated in red. The MTF continued inwards as the alarms blared; the door was shut, and 280 had entered Foundation custody.
A line of unconscious D-class led the way to an extremely dark room. The MTF turned their lights on and watched 280 disappear, reappearing shortly next to the unconscious D-class; it ripped them, one by one, getting closer to its permanent cell. The MTF kept a close watch behind it as it made its way into the corridor. The red light still bathed it at times before it teleported into the dark and continued. Inside its dark cell, it was locked inside.
Now the MTF worried about the alarm; their radios crackled.
"Someone put a tracker on the cars you guys drove." It was the voice of Ant; he had been spending most of his day inside the cafeteria and security room, as he was still paranoid of someone coming after him for his little stunt. When he saw the alarms trigger, his heart sank, but after seeing only the MTFs were there for now, he calmed down enough to send the reason for the alarm. After he did, he stood up and speed-walked to the armory, grabbing an automatic and a semi-auto, as well as some armor.
He went as fast as he could, with the weight physically and mentally, and made his way up. Along the way, he also opened his mission reward.
[ You have received a magnifier]
[Note: Exponential equations are always extreme]
He gave it a quick peek.
[Due to your int stat being minuscule, the equation used to calculate the magnification strength will not be shown]
[ The Magnifier - ███████████████
A normal-looking magnifying glass; however, any power that contacts it will suddenly exponentially grow, based on the power's originator. However, if the glass is dirtied, the equation ███████████████ will █████ and destroy all energy that contacts it.
[WARNING: its purpose is destruction one way or the other; use with caution.]
He now had a pitch-black case within his hands. The case was sealed shut; it had no means to open it that could be observed, but it could be used, as long as power was directed to the object inside. If you didn't know what was inside, this was useless.
[Shields' moment to shine]
The moment the tracker went offline, the assembled forces prepared to finally end the menace, or at least weaken it, because to the higher-ups it was very clear that the foundation was definitely far more far-reaching, although they weren't now.
The soldiers were packing heavy hitters this time; they had been given multiple explosives and special devices. In total, 2000 people were dispatched to deal with the base. The shenanigans that the MTF and Ant have done really didn't sit well with anybody, especially after the last base went up in a humongous explosion.
They really wanted a win, and because they wanted a win, they prepared to bomb the hell out of the area, even though it's on the border. The president wanted a result that day; originally, he was not aware, but an insider leak forced Shield to cooperate.
[Ant's Hell]
Ant took his sweet time, as he forgot to turn off the alarms, and being the buffoon he is, he didn't think to radio a guard to turn them off.
"WE need to bring ourselves somewhere else!" He screamed
"The signal cut out some time ago; they are probably already on their way, we need to make them think the base is somewhere else!" The distress was clear in his voice, yet it was also not completely drowned in misery
"They can't be certain of anything unless they see us, okay?" He stopped screaming
"Let's go!" There was no excitement as the mute MTF merely nodded.
They rushed out of the base and closed the door; it being hidden underground was a godsend. They got into the cars and started driving into Canada at full speed.
They needed a messy situation for the US; they had already seen that a terrorist wouldn't do much, but the US surely would care... Right?
Ant wanted to stay, holed up in the base, yet he still tagged along. He had the power to do something really important; if he could combine his memory-altering power with the magnifier, he could make anyone he wanted forget, or recall events differently.
He wanted to make them think they destroyed the base and that they killed the mastermind behind it all, but Ant was on the fence about that thought; he didn't think the people would come without cameras, so it would not work unless he could shut them off for a prolonged period. He had to make a decision; at any moment, they would arrive.
He made a choice.
"Listen, I have this little piece of technology." He grabbed the black case and held it up to the light so the people in the car with him could see.
"I'm going to use it to replace the memory of the people who will arrive soon." His eyes were open, all the way, with his heart beating at a faster pace than usual.
"When I do— you will run, or drive as fast as you can into Canada, and don't stop for anything." He had his index and middle finger resting on his thumb as he pointed to them.
"Tell them." He gestured to the radio, as he brought his hands over his mouth, as if he was praying to god.
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That's the end of this chapter
1455 words
SO? Personally, I think I might need to rewrite a couple of things, but it's all setting, if I'm being honest. I forgot the last time I published a chapter ✌️🤨.