[dcs_p]”Watch it Steve, we’ve got suspicious movement up above. I don’t know if its
anything to worry about, but I’m going to stick with the ‘better safe than sorry’
policy.” Mark warned.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”There’s civilians all over the place in here, Mark. What’s so suspicious about this
movement?” Steve asked.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Well, its not as if I can really tell, but they are…” Mark trailed off. His attention
was now on a sudden movement detected less than a meter above him. Looking
up as the movement descended, he caught a glimpse of a large book bouncing
off the side of his battle armored visor.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Heads up Steve!” he cried out. Suddenly the book exploded in a burst of fiery
red. However the explosion was not concussive. Instead it sprayed bright red
liquid around the stairwell, covering the battle armors and rendering their
defensive chameleon-effect obsolete.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”We’re sitting ducks on these stairs.” Steve muttered. Suddenly detecting
another movement from above, he fired his laser up into the nearby fifth flight of
stairs. The movement dropped down in elevation, apparently sliding down the
stairs until it disappeared into stillness.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Mark! I’m reading something huge outside the library. This thing has got to be a
Mech. We have to move now!” Steve called out. Jumping to the steps before
him, he tried to climb them as quickly as possible.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Not fast enough, take cover and prepare for evasive actions on the second
floor!” Mark exclaimed. Just as he finished his warning, a high powered laser
blasted a hole through the wall of the stairwell. The entire stairwell shuddered
violently as a giant Mech smashed into it on the outside wall. The stairwell and
parts of the library began to collapse from the roof down.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”I’m tagging the Mech as a Spider, a 30 tonner!” Steve called out. But it was too
late, Mark had already lost his footing at the base of the second floor’s entrance.
As the stairwell collapsed behind him, Mark was caught up in the falling rubble
and disappeared off the edge into the collapsing structure below.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Mark, Mark do you read me?” Steve called out. As he prepared for the worst,
he took his first shot at the Spider, hitting its visible right hip joint through the
falling stairwell rubble. Waiting for his weapon to cool, he retreated into the
second floor’s main room, destroying the security entrance by stomping through
its detector. As he turned back to face his powerful, 30-ton foe, Steve could see
the Mech crouching down in order to come face to face with him. He watched as
a small portion of the melted armor on the Spider’s hip joint buckled, then cracked
off to expose the weaker internal structure of the Mech’s hip assembly.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”I gotta get another shot in there…” he thought to himself. Steve suddenly
realized that the Mech was bending down to physically attack Mark’s battle armor
suit. Able to do nothing for his friend, Steve watched horrified as the Mech
picked up the Purifier armor and smashed it into the outside library wall.
Breaking through with relative ease, the Mech’s fist and Mark’s armor crashed
downward through the third floor’s outside wall. It then collapsed through the
ceiling of the second floor into Steve’s sight. Mark’s armored body came to rest
after bouncing off of the marbled floor about 10 meters away. It lay motionless,
missing one leg from the knee joint down.[/dcs_p]