Chapter 8: A Stroll Through Manhattan

Belle was overjoyed, but sadly the same couldn’t be said of the people around here. Regarding the Voxhaben Complex, the cat was out of the bag so-to-speak. No one nearby knew what to make of the gigantic, 1000ft tall brass female smiling like a goof in south west Manhattan.

The former reporter was quick to notice she had caused a bit of damage. Those buildings her toes poked through were collapsing down on her feet. She frowned as she noticed a few people fail to get out in time.

“Damn.”, she said.

“It can talk?”, said one frazzled person on the street.

“It’s alive?”, said another.

They quickly ran off in directions both opposite each other and away from Belle.

A voice piped up from the colossus’s left hand. It was Angelica of course.

“Belle.”

“Damn, I can’t believe I did that. I just was so excited to be free at least I-”

“Belle! Focus, we need to get to the capital. I’m sure you know where it is, just a bit north of Central Park.”

“That’s so far.”

“Not that far for you.”

“But, think of the people in the way.”

“You can just take it as slow and carefully as you can.”

Belle paused a moment. She looked down at her feet. A speeding automobile crashed into the side of her left foot, exploding. It felt a little warm, but she was otherwise fine. People on their own feet darted away from her.

“That’s gonna be tough.”

“A little damage is expected and ok, we need to get to the bottom of this, and I need to explain things.”

Belle turned her head around. The steam inside her body near her neck warmed up to permit the movement. The clanking of some gears rung out. She looked back at the Voxhaben complex.

“Actually, I have an idea.”

Belle turned around and stepped back into the complex, which stretched from south to north. She slowly turned her massive form north-wise, then started walking. She raised her right hand high to cleave through the ceiling as she walked through the complex, crushing all the walls in her way while flattening much of it underfoot in her march.

“What are you doing?!?”, said Angelica amid the sound of crumbling concrete and metal.

“This complex stretches for a few blocks. If I walk along it, I’m not stepping on the street where innocent city-goers are. Plus, I’m destroying what’s left of this horrid place. That’s a nice little bonus don’t you think?”

Angelica bit her tongue. Who knows what kind of steamtech advancements still lingered within, hoarded by the private company. Still, Belle’s logic was hard to deny, it would result in less risk of causalities and chaos in the city.

It ultimately wouldn’t matter though. Belle proceeded through the complex for just two more blocks. Her outstretched arm ripped up the roof while her legs cleaved through the walls and her feet fell down upon the stragglers, hiders, and brave few Voxhaben employees that saw fit to try and fight her off. In the end, her march through the complex was cut short: because it blew up.

From the northern and southern end of the Voxhaben Complex came explosions, cascading towards the already ravaged middle. The loud sound of bursting gunpowder prompted Belle to reflexively clap her brass hands over her ears, though that wasn’t needed. She weathered the explosive sound even as it vibrated her body.

Angelica yelped as she was suddenly pressed against the lukewarm metal of Belle’s left ear. She managed to protect herself from the racket best she could, even as she balanced precariously on a curled finger.

The explosions completely leveled the complex. Every portion of it collapsed and smoldered in jagged ruins. Belle and Angelica were no worse for wear at least; there wasn’t a scuff on the former’s brass exterior. Belle gasped, remembering Angelica and lowering her left hand back down to make sure her new government friend was safe. She was, but she look dismayed.

“No...” muttered Angelica. “Damn that madman.”

“What do you mean?”

“The blasts were thorough, but controlled. Victor had planned for a self-destruction of the facility. My guess is he didn’t want anyone to pick through it, try and repeat what he did to you. That bastard... all that steamtech, lost.”

“There were people in there, all his employees.”

“Ha, it was probably one of his employees who set it off. Orders given in advance to someone most loyal, someone will to go down with the ship as they say.”

“While taking everyone else with them.”

The streets were pandemonium now. A 1000ft tall brass woman was walking the streets, and the largest building in Manhattan had just blown up.

Belle moved her legs free from some rubble that had around the limbs. She raised her foot up to take another step north, but quickly realized an issue.

“I can’t keep walking here. The ruins are too jagged.”

She took the step, feeling the chunks of metal and concrete slowly give to the bottom of her foot.

“You didn’t have any issues with that?”, said Angelica. She now watched from between Belle’s massive, curled fingers.

“My legs still feel stiff. I don’t wanna trip here. That could get you hurt.”

“We have to go to the streets then.”, said Angelica.

Belle made a sighing noise. “Seems so, at least the roads are flatter. I just, feel bad about it all. All of this, what a disaster.”

Belle stepped back into the street, which had since cleared. She then reoriented North and went on the move.

At her immense size, the brass woman was wider than pretty much every street New York City had to offer. She was able to walk close to the ruins of the Voxhaben Complex, but even then her right foot simply had to pass through a few buildings. Even though the buildings were evacuated, the damage was wracking up to the million dollar mark real fast.

“Wait.”, said Belle. “Why can’t I just stay here and wait for the government to show up and you talk to them?”

“A few reasons Belle. One is that the government is probably on their way to try and kill you. The other is that most people at the government don’t know I work for them. Victor confiscated the relevant paperwork I usually have on hand to prove I’m a top level agent. Far as any soldier would know, I’m just a disposable hostage or, worse, an accomplice to the giant machine wrecking the city.”

“I’m not a machine!”, protested Belle.

“Sure, but they won’t be easily convinced. The only people who know I work for the government are at the capital, and I’m sure madam president has a lot of questions. Just get me there.”

Belle though it a bit absurd, but some of what Angelica said made at least a little bit of sense.

So, she kept moving, and it wasn’t long till she had cleared the area immediately around the Voxhaben Complex, and reached the blocks where people had run to. There was still a ways to go till getting to the capital building though, and now the streets were packed.

Automobiles were honking at each other. People were hit by one or two, speeding by, even if the driver just crashed shortly after. People were simultaneously trying to flee buildings while a few idiots thought to hide in some. Belle looked down at the chaos near where her toes settled onto cracked pavement. People scrambled back from her till they could no longer move.

“Uhh, hello. Sorry I mean you no harm. Just, please, clear the way.”

Belle waited, and many did manage to squeeze out of the streets due in front of her.

“You can’t wait forever Belle.”, said Angelica.

“But they’re people.”

“Yes, but this is a poorer area of the city. My intel is vital.”

“So you want me to step on them?”

“Step on as little as you can manage, but if you wait too long some airships will show to blow you up, then we’re both dead and you’re never getting back to normal!”

Belle sighed. Once again, Angelica made just enough sense for her to go along with things. She lifted her foot up and it hovered more than the width of the street before her.

“I’m sorry!”, she said. “But I need to keep moving.

She stepped. The cacophony of intensified screams reached her, a haunting chorus, then, silence once her foot fell. The screaming intensified back up soon after. She felt half a building collapse over the top of her right foot, with the other half already crumbled beneath her metal sole.

Another deep breath, then another step. She got past another few blocks that way. One morbid silver-lining was that when she stepped, she helped thin the crowds enough that they had room to move again. Her first steps were the ones that crushed the most innocents.

“Steady, steady.” muttered Belle. She had gone from having her legs bound to walking several blocks all within the span of an hour. The limbs were still stiff.

Despite that, she was making pretty good progress, getting the hang of her stride. Then, with the start of central park in view, Belle’s right foot cleaved through a building. Nothing unheard of there, but the central pylon of the structure was a tiny bit sturdier than she had anticipated. Her toes still tore it free, but her balance wavered.

The unthinkable happened, Belle tripped.

Thinking fast, the colossal woman pressed Angelica tight to her chest. Her right arm stretched out to brace herself, but it was too little and too late.

She fell forward and right, diagonally. Scores of people had left her direct path to head in that direction. The looked up to see the shadow of her naked front coming down upon them.

With a crash and a loud clanging like some giant gong, all 1000ft of Belle fell over several blocks. Buildings cracked against her chest and face. Their resistance was paltry enough to rival egg shells against her might and weight. No one beneath her stood a chance. A scant few lived in the space behind her crossed left elbow, but it was only for a moment.

Belle quickly move to get herself back up, her arm sliding back to take care of those few stragglers with her hardly noticing. She was too emotionally exhausted, enough that she slammed her free hand down as a closed fist.

“Dammit! These stupid legs.”

She slammed her right foot down, knee bent, and rose with care and sluggishness.

“How many people did I just kill there you think? How many lives gone cause I’m a klutz?”, said Belle.

“Belle,”, said Angelica. “Get it together. We’re almost at Central Park. Everyone already fled from there. Once we clear that, it’s just a few steps--your steps at least--to the capital. We’re almost there.”

Belle flicked some rubble off her shoulder. The rest fell off on its own from whatever cleaning-coating nonsense she had going on. She sighed.

“You’re right, you’re right. Still, it’s a shame to crush all that nature.”

“Central Park is a big place, and it’s better to flatten trees than people right.”

“Yeah.”, said Belle.

She went on the move again.

“You’re right.”

Central Park once stretched for a couple miles, though now it was down to just 1 in length. Business owners had lobbied, successfully, for permits to build closer and closer. The towering fancy brass-decorated structures formed a border to the green-laden area. Belle’s body burst right through a few of them on the park’s south side.

At last, she felt greenery under her feet instead of cracking streets and bursting bodies. Angelica was right, the area had cleared out once word of the giant steamtech woman had spread. For once it seemed like she’d have an easy time.

Then, coming into view were the airships. Military ones: primarily airzeps, but there were a few larger standard airships and even one formidable armored airblimp hanging in the back.

The sleek airzeps were coming in fast. Belle used her new eyes to zoom in on them and take inventory of the steam cannons lining their sides and beneath the bottom gondola where the crew worked.

“Do you see that Angelica?”, said Belle. She returned her vision to normal. Her left hand was since outstretched again, with Angelica able to peek through the slight gaps between Belle’s sturdy fingers.

“The government dirigibles? Yes, they are the official airforce for the city. There’s a military base not far off. I’m honestly a little surprised it took them this long to arrive.”

“Well, they’re gonna shoot me! Victor kept playing up how this body was strong and all, but I’d rather not be shot... just in case at least.”

“Just try not to harm them, it’ll make my job more difficult.”

“Well they’re heading this way, the littler ones nearly as fast as I can walk. I’d rather not-wait, I have an idea. Do you remember what Victor said? I have a radio in me.”

Angelica paused.

“Actually, yes. He brought me out to the central chamber when your surgery was done and they were finishing putting the metal back on that body’s head. He wouldn’t shut up about all the features. He talked about the ability to intercept any radio, crack it, and send your own messages.”

“Well, I’ll just do that to talk to them from afar, before they start shooting at me. I know you said you’re a top secret agent but, surely there’s something you can say to them to get them to back down? A codephrase or something?”

“Well... yes, right again. Good thinking Belle. Tell them you are carrying a Classified Class Agent 2977, and you need an escort to the capital building for a top secret report.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“And you think that will work given the circumstances?”

“It’s better to at least try than just get shot at, right?”, said Angelica. She smiled a tad.

“Alright, I’ll try.”, said Belle.

She looked inward, trying to tune into her new, gigantic, steamtech body as though it were flesh. Sadly, she wasn’t that in tune with this body, at least not yet. It made sense, as she didn’t exactly remember being able to ‘feel’ her liver or spleen back in her old form.

So, with the armed airships fast approaching, she tried another tactic. Simply ‘wanting’ to use her built in radio functionality. Victor had mentioned that the “Black Box” provided an interface for her body to respond to her desires.

She thought long and hard about tuning in. To her amazement, she started hearing staticky noises in her mind as though the noise was coming from within. She heard some music at first, quickly learning she had tuned into the wrong station. So, she focused on tuning into whatever channel that had the closest activity.

It felt like her mind was trying to break down a door for a moment. She pushed and pushed, but eventually got in. Whatever decryption stuff Victor had rambled about seemed to have worked, and all the sudden she heard some words neither hers nor Angelica’s.

“Approaching target, nearing range of fire.”

“Damn.”, said Belle aloud. She quickly focused on trying to send them a message. Her best idea of how to do this was the same: want it, and think it really hard.

Something clicked for Belle, and not the usual clicking of gears in her body. She was able to communicate without sound coming out of her mouth.

The captain of the city air-force was lounging in the airblimp when an unfamiliar voice came over the radio.

“Hello? Hello can you hear me. Don’t shoot! Please don’t shoot.”

Across all the airships, the voice was heard.

“I repeat don’t shoot!”

The captain leaned forward into her console.

“Who is this? Identify yourself?”

“I’m the giant brass woman you’re shooting at, my name is Belle Braxley and I mean no harm!”

“Preposterous!”, said the captain. “But if what you say is true then stand down immediately.”

Belle looked down at Angelica and spoke.

“They want me to stand down?”

“They’ll just shoot you anyways if they do that. You’ve caused millions of dollars worth of damage. Just say the phrase I taught you already!”

“Alright.”

Belle talked over the radio again.

“Classified Class Agent 2977, I was told to say that. The woman in my hand isn’t a hostage or anything, she works for the government. We need an escort to the capital building for a top secret report on the Voxhaben Complex!”

“What the...”

There was silence on the channel for a bit. Occasionally bits of static were heard. Unknown to Belle, that captain was contacting superiors on a higher channel.

Then, contact came for Belle again.

“This is... the weirdest thing Ms. Braxley, but your request was approved. Government staff put out a special announcement over all city radio channels. You have your escort too.”

“Thanks.”, she said over the channel before tuning out from it.

“It worked!” she said aloud to Angelica: and anyone else in a radius of at least several hundred feet by virtue of the volume.

“Great!”, said the spy.

The airships were still heading over, but on better terms.