Supervillain Idol System: My Sidekick Is A Yandere

Chapter 654 - 664: Not A Hero (Part 4)

The moment Don and Ash stepped back outside the apartment complex, the night air hit them full force.Cold.

Heavy.

It carried smoke from somewhere deeper within Santos City, along with the distant scent of burning fuel and melted plastic.

Somewhere far off, another explosion rolled across the skyline a few seconds later. Faint. Muffled by distance.

BOOM~

Above them, helicopters moved through the sky.

Don tilted his head slightly as another passed overhead.

His hearing had recovered enough now that he could distinguish the rotor patterns properly.

These weren’t Aegis-9 strikers. Not the same heavy mechanical thunder that had carried him and Charles away earlier.

Lighter frames.

Different engines.

But military all the same.

Searchlights swept across the apartment complex from multiple directions, carving through darkness in long white beams.

One crossed over shattered windows several floors above. Another skimmed across blood-stained walls before moving on.

Somewhere across another rooftop, infected scattered from the light before vanishing back into darkness.

Ash followed his gaze upward. Her expression shifted immediately once she realized what she was seeing. Some of the stiffness in her shoulders eased for the first time since they’d left the bunker.

"Wait— is that help?!" she said, voice rising with sudden hope. "We should tell them there’s people still down there—"

She started forward toward one of the searchlights sweeping across the parking area.

Don’s hand caught her arm immediately.

Firm.

Not painful.

Just enough.

Ash froze mid-step and looked back at him, confused.

"If they think you’re infected," Don said quietly, "they might just shoot you on sight."

Her eyes widened slightly.

That possibility clearly hadn’t crossed her mind.

Don released her arm and looked back toward the sky. Another helicopter passed overhead, lower this time, its rotor wash stirring loose paper and dust across the pavement.

"If they’re real help," he continued calmly, "then those people down there won’t need us to tell them anything. The choppers will find the bunker eventually."

He paused briefly before adding,

"As for us—"

A faint crackle interrupted him through the comms unit in his ear.

Then Winter’s voice came through clearly.

"Don, Charles has communicated that he should have a chopper available to extract you within the next hour."

Static crackled softly behind her monotone voice.

"I believe this is the more appropriate option given the current situation across the city. The UPSDF has begun widespread operations, and it would be unwise for you to be caught between them."

Don absorbed the information without speaking immediately. His eyes drifted across the darkened complex grounds while another helicopter swept past overhead.

"I see," he finally said. "That’s probably the better bet."

He exhaled slowly through his nose.

"Then we’ll just wait in one of the bunker rooms until then. Hopefully n—"

The searchlight hit them instantly.

White light flooded across the parking area so suddenly that Ash physically flinched beside him. After spending so long moving through darkness and failing emergency lights, the beam felt blinding.

It had originally been sweeping another section of the apartment complex before abruptly shifting.

Now it remained fixed directly on them.

Don narrowed his eyes upward toward the hovering helicopter above.

Ash’s breathing quickened beside him.

"...shit," she whispered. "What the fuck do we do?"

Don never looked away from the aircraft.

"Raise your hands," he said quietly. "Slowly."

He demonstrated immediately, lifting both hands to shoulder level with his palms visible.

Ash copied him quickly. Her handgun remained clutched in her right hand.

The helicopter angled lower overhead.

Rotor wash hammered across the parking lot hard enough to scatter dust and loose debris outward in spirals.

Then a voice thundered through mounted speakers.

"PUT THE WEAPON ASIDE AND GET ON THE GROUND. NOW."

The command echoed across the apartment complex.

Ash looked toward Don immediately.

Silent panic.

Silent question.

Don answered without hesitation.

"Put the gun down. Then do what he says."

Ash hesitated for barely half a second. The weapon had clearly become something grounding for her over the past several hours. Something reliable.

Then she crouched slowly and placed it onto the concrete.

The metal clicked softly against the pavement.

She straightened again with her hands raised.

Then both of them lowered themselves carefully onto the ground as instructed. Knees first. Then palms. Then flat against the cold concrete beneath the burning white searchlight.

Ash ended up beside him. Don could hear her controlled breathing over the rotor noise above.

The helicopter descended lower.

Ropes dropped from the side door.

Three soldiers came down first.

Fast.

Practiced.

Boots hit the pavement one after another while rifles remained trained on Don and Ash from the second they landed.

These soldiers looked very different from the ones who’d extracted Charles and him earlier.

No specialized combat gear. Just standard UPSDF military equipment. Standard armor plating. Standard rifles. The same uniforms Don had seen stationed around SHQ before the city collapsed.

One soldier immediately moved wide to cover the perimeter while the other two approached directly.

Their visors remained lowered behind dark tactical glass.

"Don’t move," one ordered. "Remain face-down until instructed otherwise."

Neither Don nor Ash reacted.

Brief radio chatter followed overhead.

"Ground secure."

"Movement north side, no approach."

"Negative infected contact within fifty meters."

One of the soldiers crouched beside Don while the other kept his rifle leveled between both of them.

"Are either of you injured?" the crouching soldier asked.

"No," Don answered.

"Bruises and shit," Ash muttered against the pavement. "But nothing that’s gonna fucking kill me."

The soldier nodded once.

"Are either of you infected? Bitten, scratched, exposed to blood?"

His gaze moved carefully across them while asking the question, searching for wounds or signs of infection response.

"No," Don replied.

"N-no," Ash answered quickly. "I’ve been hiding in a bunker with a locked door. Nothing touched me."

The soldiers exchanged a quick glance.

"Are there other survivors inside the building?"

"Yeah," Ash answered immediately, voice more urgent now. "Yeah— there’s a bunch of them. Bunker level. Three or four rooms. Women, kids, some guys. They were alive last I fucking knew."

The soldier keyed his radio immediately.

"Multiple civilian survivors confirmed. Bunker level. Repeat, multiple civilians confirmed alive."

Static answered him.

Then he looked back toward them.

"Anyone else with you? Anyone still outside?"

"No," Don said. "Just us."

The soldier rose to his feet and gestured toward the helicopter.

"We’re taking you to a designated camp. It’s secure. You’ll be safe there." His tone sounded rehearsed. "Just follow instructions and everything will be fine."

Ash visibly relaxed at the word camp.

Don noticed it immediately.

Probably imagining safety.

A place to finally stop moving.

Then the soldier asked another question.

"Are either of you superhuman?"

Don paused briefly.

"Yes."

Ash grimaced beside him.

"...yeah," she muttered. "Fuck. Yeah, I am."

The soldiers exchanged another look. Still not hostile.

Just careful.

One unclipped reinforced restraints from his belt. Thick polymer cuffs reinforced with embedded locking systems.

"Standard procedure," the soldier explained. "Restraints remain on until testing is completed at camp. No exceptions. Understood?"

Don looked at the restraints.

Then at the helicopter overhead.

"I understand."

Ash muttered several curses under her breath before nodding.

"Yeah. Fine. Whatever. Just get me the fuck outta here."

The restraints clicked around their wrists moments later. Tight enough to restrict force application without causing pain.

Don tested them subtly.

Strong.

Military grade.

Afterward the soldiers secured harnesses around both of them one at a time. Thick cables locked into place overhead before the extraction began.

The ascent hit hard.

Rotor wash battered them from all directions as the cables lifted them off the ground. Ash’s expression tightened immediately beside him. Not fear exactly.

Just discomfort.

Being suspended helplessly beneath a helicopter while restrained clearly wasn’t improving her mood.

A soldier remained attached to each of them during the lift, one hand gripping the cable while the other stabilized their movement.

The apartment complex shrank beneath them rapidly.

Searchlights continued sweeping across rooftops and parking lots below while additional helicopters crossed overhead in the distance.

Then hands grabbed Don’s harness and pulled him into the cabin.

Boots hit metal flooring.

The interior glowed under dim red tactical lighting.

Soldiers lined both sides of the helicopter cabin, some monitoring equipment while others watched through open doors with rifles resting across their knees.

Ash stumbled toward a bench once she was detached and immediately sat down heavily, breathing hard.

Don sat opposite her and secured himself into the restraint seat as best he could with bound hands.

The helicopter banked away from the apartment complex.

Through the open side door, the building slowly receded into darkness beneath them.

Searchlights continued moving across it like wandering eyes.

Then Santos City spread out below them.

And for the first time all night, Don saw the full scale of what was happening.

Helicopters everywhere.

Dozens.

Maybe more.

Some moved in disciplined flight patterns across the skyline.

Others descended toward rooftops while extraction teams rappelled downward.

Some rose back into the air carrying civilians or soldiers aboard. White searchlights crisscrossed the city endlessly, illuminating streets and rooftops before vanishing again seconds later.

Below them, armored UPSDF vehicles pushed through major roads in organized convoys.

Perimeter lines were being established.

Checkpoints.

Containment zones.

The infected were still there. So was the horde

Still dangerous.

Don spotted movement several streets below where figures sprinted through intersections before being intercepted by soldiers near barricades.

But the city no longer looked like it was losing.

It looked like something trying very hard to survive.

Ash leaned forward slightly beside the open side door, her restrained hands resting against her knees as she stared outward.

"Shit," she muttered quietly.

Not fear.

Not panic.

Just disbelief.

Don watched the city beneath the dim red cabin lights without speaking.

Burning buildings still marked parts of Santos City.

Dark districts remained completely powerless.

Smoke drifted upward from multiple locations.

But now there was structure beneath the chaos.

Coordination.

Response.

For the first time since this nightmare began, the city looked like it was fighting back.

And while watching all of it unfold beneath the helicopter, one thought crossed Don’s mind despite himself.

’Is it finally over?’

Not the infection.

Not the outbreak.

Just this night.

This endless stretch of blood and running and barely surviving one hour after another.

He never said the thought aloud.

He simply watched Santos City shrink beneath them while the helicopter carried them deeper into the unknown.

A/N: Man, writing during stretch has been tough. It’s my first time trying to tackle a wide scale event that’s not focused solely on the MC, but rather shapes him in some way, be it good or bad. Major events tend to shift the whole balance of a story so I’m just trying to incorporate what I feel is of importance (can’t do too little or the jump will feel forced. Can’t do to much or it will feel dragged out).

I could bore you with the thought process but I should probably keep dissecting this story. At least I’m at a well planned point so lemme keep pumping Chapters.

Thanks for reading and the continued support during these tough times.