Page 38 of Legend of Scorpio
He jolted hard and, being on the edge of the bed, promptly fell out of it. Stunned, he sat on the floor, and Doc dangled over the side a second later to ask, “What is that noise?”
“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Scorpio groused as he rose and rubbed his ass.
“Oh, did someone get a boo-boo on his tush?” She rolled her eyes. “What’s that alarm for?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard it before.” The hidden speaker in his room came to life with Aries barking, “Perimeter alert. All Zodiacs outside, now!”
The command widened his eyes. Never before had the tower been breached.
Scorpio didn’t pause to put on a shirt or even shoes. Wearing only his sleep shorts, he raced out of the bedroom and snared the weapons kept by the door. He threw the strap for his sword scabbard over his back and grabbed a rifle as he raced out into the hall. He saw Leo emerging from his suite, bleary-eyed with hair tousled.
“Who the fuck is attacking at this ungodly fucking hour?”
“No idea. Grab your gear and let’s go,” Scorpio shouted as he ran past.
Leo appeared to be hungover again. His usual state these days since the incident five years ago.
Scorpio began pounding down the stairs, only to whoop in surprise as the treads suddenly turned into a smooth ramp. He slid, picking up speed as he descended.
He also whooped because, fuck yeah, like snowboarding down a steep hill, this was fun.
As the bottom approached, he tensed his legs and leaped, landing with a slight bend before continuing to run. He emerged from the tower to find Aries already outside with Cancer, the pair of them shielding their eyes against the dawning sun.
“Where’s the enemy?” Scorpio huffed.
Aries pointed to the sky, where a tiny dot hovered.
“I fell out of bed for a fucking bird?” Scorpio complained. He’d been looking forward to waking with a snuggle.
“Not a bird, a drone,” Aries flatly replied. “And before you ask, it’s not ours.”
“A drone? Here? How?” Because the tower had shields against outsiders, whether living or mechanical.
“I don’t know, and I don’t like it.”
“Let’s find out who it belongs to.” Scorpio raised his rifle and took aim.
Bang.
His bullet snapped a moving rotor blade, and the drone began to drunkenly weave as it lost height, heading for the new moat, the surface of it a still and bright green.
“Don’t let it hit the acid,” Aries yelled as he bolted for it.
They all sprang into motion, splitting apart as the drone zigged and zagged, left and right, unable to control its direction with the broken part.
Don’t touch. Don’t touch.Scorpio kept repeating that as he raced along the moat’s edge keeping pace with the drone. When it dipped low enough, he leapt and reached, his fingers brushing against the solid material of the invader before gripping it tightly. Only as he began to descend did he realize he’d overextended with his leap.
Before he could find out just how bad the acid would be for his skin, Aries snagged his foot and managed to yank hard enough Scorpio landed on solid ground. With the drone, he should add.
Other warriors converged, everyone curious, which led to Aries barking, “Leo, Cancer, and Virgo, run a circuit around the tower. See if there’s any more eyes in the sky.”
Off they jogged, leaving Scorpio and Aries with the catch.
The device stopped whirring abruptly, the red light of its camera going dark.
Aries pointed. “I recognize that symbol.”
Scorpio had a second to mutter, “Fucking Cetus,” before the drone exploded.