Chapter 3: Crashes and Criminals

The train ride to Manhattan abruptly crashes, forcing Monica and Balthazar to continue their journey on foot. But some infamous criminals try to impede her for reasons unknown.

Before long, the train abruptly crashed into something just ahead, forcing it to jolt as it struggled to pull to a stop, somehow managing to halt right by a station.

"Attention, passengers! This train will be cancelled for at least the rest of the day due to a casualty on the tracks. Please disembark at the nearest station and do not linger!" a voice spoke over the intercom.

"Great. Just great," Monica grumbled, tucking her phone away.

"Tell me about it," Balthazar replied as the two stood up.

He put his arm around her shoulders as he ushered her off the train, making sure they didn't get separated among the fervent crowds of fellow passengers. She didn't seem to mind this gesture; she seemed more concerned about safely disembarking and continuing on her journey. Once the two got off, Monica took the opportunity to peek around the front of the engine, her eyes widening at the sight of a crumpled body lying on the tracks, clad in a sumo outfit and luchador mask.

"Say, isn't that Pygmy Hippo?" she asked aloud.

"You mean that notorious two-bit criminal?" Balthazar replied. "Yup, that definitely looks like him."

"I wonder what made him want to commit suicide like this," Monica continued.

"Probably got fed up with being arrested all the damn time," Balthazar answered. "But seeing how this train's probably gonna be halted for a while, I think our best bet will be to head to the other major station in this city. Only problem is it's all the way across town."

"Well I'm not in that much of a hurry, so let's go." Monica nodded.

As Balthazar set off just a few steps ahead of her, she casually glanced down at her right arm and noticed a small smear of blood. Wiping it off revealed that it wasn't hers. Monica then looked ahead and noticed a small cut across her friend's palm.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "I mean, your hand-"

"Huh?" Balthazar checked out his own hand, seeming surprised at the cut he now had. "Eh, it's nothing."

"How can you say that?" Monica asked.

"...Look, can we just get going? Something tells me you don't have all the time in the world," Balthazar continued, his voice a little more ominous than usual.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Monica persisted.

"You said you need a kidney transplant as soon as possible, did you not?" Balthazar folded his arms.

"Well yeah..." Monica's voice trailed off.

"Well then. Let's stop standing by and doing nothing." Balthazar immediately started walking away.

---

Not bothering to continue her inquiry, Monica followed him up the steps and back onto the street. The two eventually agreed to take a bus across town in order to save themselves some time, and lucky for them, the bus showed up in not even three minutes. The ride in of itself was rather uneventful, at least not until they were nearly three quarters of the way to their destination.

Accompanied by a loud noise, a massive inward dent was formed in the bus's roof near the front, startling the driver into swerving back and forth. He ended up accidentally bumping into several much smaller vehicles on either side of him, before ramming into a streetlamp on the nearby curb. Everyone currently on the bus couldn't help but scream as this all happened; this included Monica, who failed to notice that Balthazar was strangely calm about the whole ordeal. As was the case back on the train, everyone hurriedly disembarked, with Balthazar and Monica once again being among the last to step outside onto the rainy streets of Montpelier.

"You know, maybe we'd be better off just walking to Manhattan. It's almost as if there's some outside force that doesn't want us to ride any vehicles," Balthazar said, though his sarcasm fell on deaf ears.

"Yeah right. I don't have all the time in the world, and I'd rather not die this young," Monica replied.

While the two chatted, a third figure stood up on top of the wrecked bus and stared down at them. She wore black spandex with gold accents that covered her whole body, complete with a hood that left only her eyes and nose exposed, alongside a smattering of visible dark veins all over her pale face. A few strands of ivory hair peeked out, and her eyes were completely black, most likely the result of 8-ball fractures. Dangling from her left hand was what appeared to be a pair of nunchucks, each about a foot long with one bulbous end covered in spikes, and both connected by a golden chain.

It was only after a flash of lightning provided a glimpse of her effeminate silhouette that Balthazar looked up and noticed her. As soon as she was spotted, she leapt high into the air and attempted to land on Monica with a powerful elbow-drop.

"Monica! Look out!" Balthazar screamed, following a gasp.

Before Monica could respond, she found herself being tackled out of the way of the attack, unaware of the mysterious assailant's presence.

"Just what the hell are you doing?!" she asked incredulously.

"Someone just tried to attack you from behind, and- Oof!" Balthazar was cut off by a leg-sweep from behind, toppling him over as soon as he stood back up.

Now Monica was finally able to see their attacker with her own eyes as they both slowly rose back to a stand.

"Wh-Who are you?" she asked cautiously.

"I am Queen Cobra, the self-proclaimed deadliest assassin in the world! And I have a bone to pick with you, young lady," the assassin spat in a strong Russian dialect.

"Huh? But... I don't even know you!" Monica replied.

Instead of responding, Queen Cobra let loose a battle-cry and leapt into the air, swinging one of her spiked nunchucks downward in an attempt to smack Monica in the head. The latter managed to sidestep out of the way, before leaping backwards to evade another lashing attack. Cobra then ran towards one of the two nearby walls and took a few steps up along it, before leaping after Monica and attempting to lash her again. She backflipped onto a nearby dumpster, only to stumble in place as she realized the lid was open, revealing that its innards had been flooded with rain water.

Monica just barely managed to avoid a few upward swipes and kicks aimed at her feet, before Queen Cobra was abruptly knocked aside by a seemingly invisible force, smashing into the opposite wall and dropping her weapons in the process. It was then that Balthazar casually strutted over towards them; peculiarly, the shadow following him boasted an otherworldly, barely humanoid appearance.

"B-Balthazar..." Monica acknowledged.

"Just get out of here! I've got this under control!" Balthazar said dismissively.

As he turned away to focus on their attacker, Monica managed to regain her balance and step back down to the ground. She couldn't help but watch in curiosity as Queen Cobra leapt back to her feet and began to spar with Balthazar by means of mixed martial arts. The latter managed to knock her down again and quickly hurried after her to follow up, but the former quickly leapt onto the wall, before kicking off and clinging to the one on the other side of the alley.

She gained more and more altitude via her wall kicks until she reached the rooftop. Balthazar refused to let her get away and, much to Monica's shock, leapt onto the nearby dumpster. His feet only touched the rim for a split second, before he jumped again and began to shimmy up the nearby gutter as he pursued his opponent. Monica could've sworn she was dreaming, for never before had her friend displayed such a display physical prowess.

Regardless, she decided not to complain. At the rate he was going, he would likely vanquish their enemy within the next few minutes and they would be on their way again.