IM/DC Chapter 227 (Patreon)

Third-Person Point of View… Five days ago…

People sat around a circular table as they planned the heist to end all heists. They planned to hit the Collector’s collection. The estimated payout was well over one billion credits for every single member, after they sold everything that number would be ten if not twenty times higher. They had to wait for the exact perfect timing as Mainframe described the plan after making several changes.

“Alright, we’ve figured out a method to bypass the third layer of the defenses. Krugarr will need to teleport us over the chasm but the antimagic wards will kick in so we’ll only have a few seconds to get through. We won’t need Charlie-27 or Krugarr after this point so they can stay behind at where they needed to bypass the defenses.”

She brought up a map with her technological powers and showed the expected area after the chasm filled with photosynthetic energies. That was why they couldn’t just fly over; they’d all be disintegrated. The only reason the magical teleportation would work was because they could physically see the other side. It was a method that appeared to be easy enough to bypass, but it most likely had the highest casualties of potential thieves of the treasure. That’s why it was so well known.

“After this point, we should start to see robotic guards. Martinex, Gamora, and Yondu will break off from us and give the rest of us time to break the encryption on the next layer. This will take us into the first part of the vault, the part with all the credits the Collector has acquired until now. The estimated earnings from reaching this point if we survive is twelve billion. This isn’t what we’re going for, the credits would take several truckloads to take away so we’re going for the inner vault.”

She brought up another map pinging a point on the map as she kept explaining. “Stakar will bypass any physical traps at this point, Aleta will stop the technological traps while I break the encryption to open the door.” They went over the plans again and again. Finally, the time came for them to pursue their heist.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Gamora’s Point of View

Everything worked out perfectly, or rather to our expectations so far. Charlie-27 had to keep cutting away at the self-repairing metal the outside hull of the Collector’s defenses was made out of. If he were to let it seal that area would strengthen its defenses so we were already down one member. The next layer was a completely random air minefield. There was no pattern to follow, everyone took the risk of death just by entering the area. With its complete randomness as the visible bombs flew fast enough it would be almost impossible to dodge them it left visible gaps.

While completely random, the area had some rules it followed. The bombs wouldn’t get close to each other. It meant if a bomb went right in front of your face you’d have five to ten seconds before another bomb would pass through that area making it safe for you to catch your breath or look for the next safe area to go to. This was the biggest risk for our heist as someone could fail to cross and die. There was no preparing for this or planning around it, with good enough reflexes it was possible to bypass with Aleta and me making it far before the bulky men.

Martinex failed and jumped forward too early. The bomb collided with him and we all held our breath as we waited for the smoke to disperse. He was close enough that after he regained his senses he jumped the remaining distance colliding with the ground. If anyone else had been struck they’d have been turned to gorey bits, Martinex was made out of super durable crystals though.

Breathing in and out he was alive but clearly hurt. It was the first fault in our plan, it would make defending the infiltrators from the robotic auto defenses that much harder. The next part was easier, we had practiced getting through the portal in the fastest fashion and every single time there was a problem it was Martinex, his body too slow and clunky to move with the speed necessary to get through quickly.

We easily made it through to the other side as his magic shut off from the anti-magic defenses. Mainframe began to hack the door but suddenly the entire building went dark. Were we found out? Mainframe immediately put that to bed. “This makes things easier. We can just cut through the door now that the defenses are down. Hurry before they come back up!”

Quickly Stakar broke out a flame-cutting tool and cut through the locks on the door before kicking it open. We made our way inside and all along the ground were credits. From floor to ceiling in some places and this was just the tip of the Collector’s wealth. None of the automatic robotic defenses were online as I looked toward the door to the actual Collection. My eyes went wide as the door was open already, all the framed items of value missing.

Hours after we unloaded all the credits, our credits cards looked much fuller. I couldn’t help but smile at the afterparty of all the members. Even the Guardians showed up with a few tag-a-longs from both sides. The party went wild as dozens of other Ravagers began to show up with even more booze. My eyes kept being drawn to a person as I kept drinking. The night became a blur after that.

…I woke up with my head pounding. I looked around the room and was shocked at the sight. I was completely naked, which wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was the naked people I was surrounded by. It was not only me but my sister who had regrown her hair and had all the cybernetic implants removed from her body. The ex-wife of the leader Aleta, I even could make out a robotic person near the edge of the bed.

My brain started to remember everything that happened as the night went on. The man who managed to talk us all into joining him for some fun… That was why my ass hurts. Quickly checking my credits wallet I saw I still had most of my money. Almost a million was missing but when I had over one point five billion that wasn’t a problem. The other girls began to stir. The moment the robotic girl spoke I recognized her voice. “Uhh, what happened?” Mainframe had a body now? I got a ping on my com, Martinex was the first male heist member to wake up, and the text he left sent goosebumps down my spine. He was already missing most of the money he gained from the heist.