The Battle Majestic (Round 4 - Magpie Skies)

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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"He's shorted out half the Sentinels, and the Yaggs are too, well, dumb to actually fight effectively. Not sure how we're going to handle this, ma'am."

Liss groaned. This wasn't going well. "Stall him while I get the lab working on a Sentinel more resistant to electricity. That's really our only option at this point."

"I'm not sure we can even..." The squawking on the other end suddenly stopped.

Then a human voice cut in.

"Hello. My name is Lionel Wykerr. I'm going to kill you all, and there's nothing you can do about it. I thought you might like to know."

***

Lionel laughed as he tossed the communicator aside and searched the bird-man's clothes. Amusing as it was to taunt the authorities, the real reason he had bothered with the bird-creature in the first place was that he needed a map. He had simply gone after the first important-looking person he came across, in hopes that his target would have one.

As it turned out, he did. Lionel looked over it, and found the perfect spot to cause the most damage. He drew out his path with a stolen pen, and put the map in his pocket.

Then he ran down the hallway. Three Sentinels stood in his way, but he knew they were no threat by now. He simply fried their circuits and walked past them with a dismissive yawn.

***

Alton Oxbow was a very hands-off CEO. Which is to say, his entire contribution to the company which bore his name was owning it. Yes, he received reports every so often, but he never bothered to read them. The important part was that he was receiving his paycheck.

But every once in a while, he got it into his head that he should have a look around the place. Not that he'd have a clue if anything were actually wrong, but it was good to keep up appearances, he reasoned.

Naturally, he never announced his visits in advance. It was more exciting that way. At least, that's how he felt about it.

He was about to get more excitement than he could handle.

As he stepped out of his luxury transport, he decided to begin his impromptu tour with the laboratories.

He regretted the decision about ten minutes later, largely due to the human woman who was holding a knife to his throat.