Battle with Scarred Hunters (Episode 26)

by grandvizier527

Modula sends five bounty hunters, each with a unique weapon, to fight our heroes. But if they're obviously not Mutradi, then what are they instead?

Episode 26: Battle with scarred hunters

DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THESE STORIES ARE COPYRIGHTS OF CARTOON NETWORK. I HAVE NO AFFILIATION TO SYM-BIONIC TITAN OR ITS CREATOR, GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY. I AM SIMPLY TRYING TO EXPAND ON HIS EXCELLENT WORK, NOW THAT THE SHOW, WHICH HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL, HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

T (this one's more violent than usual)

On Galaluna, now war-torn and scarred with the signs of battle, General Modula had driven the King and his forces deep underground, into the far corners of the planet. In doing this, he made sure to use his troops to cut off supply lines, separating the armies of the rebellion against his iron will into three groups. Today, one would be utterly annihilated. Under normal circumstances, Modula would have arrived at the battlefield to see which of the men that were once his comrades he was going to kill (prisoners were rarely taken). But he could not do this today because he was in the process of interviewing bounty hunters from all over the galaxy, searching for one capable of killing Ilana.

A reptilian creature entered Modula's new palace. Now that the King had been overthrown, the mad general considered himself the new king. This reptile was not a Mutraadi; rather, it was from a planet a good distance away from Galaluna. Modula would determine who he would hire to kill our heroes by asking them a series of simple questions. He began by asking the reptilian: "How long have been in the...mercenary business?"

"Seven years, General," replied the reptile respectfully.

"Seems like an adequate amount of experience for the job. Are you aware of the planet Earth, and if so, do you know its galactic coordinates?"

"I've never actually been, General. As you know, Earth is a very long distance away. However, I-" he began.

"Had you ever heard of Earth before I mentioned it?"

"Uh...no, sir," said the reptile ashamedly. Modula gave a low sound that seemed to be a combination of a sigh and grunt.

"Have you had any experience fighting humans?" Asked Modula.

"Well, General, no offense, but I heard that you humans were...inadequate fighters," the reptilian said, choosing his words carefully.

"I do not take offense to that. Do you have experience against...machines?" asked Modula.

"I would have had training, General, but your invitation to all bounty hunters in the area were vague as to what we were doing."

"If I had told you what you were fighting, you probably wouldn't have attempted to step foot in here."

"Try me!" exclaimed the reptile. "I think I can take on a few silly androids."

"What about one that is...500 feet tall, in Earth measurements?"

"WHAT? Who made one that big?"

"No one made it...directly," said Modula, thinking of his enemy, Edward. It had not always been that way, but now...

"Well, uh...I'm not interested", said the reptile. "I'll just find another job that gives such high rewards as your-" he began.

"YOU LIE!" exclaimed Modula. "You and I both know that a reward as great as the one I am offering-all of the diamonds on one of our colonies, as well as a portion of this kingdom-would never be found anywhere else! If you were truly a great bounty hunter, your lust for riches would overpower any doubt or cowardice!"

"How dare you insult my skills!" shouted the reptile. "I am a far superior fighter than any human, whether they fight hand-to-hand, or with machines!"

"If so, defeat me, then", said Modula, regaining his composure.

"Are you...serious? You're just an unarmed human, and you're starting to age. I haven't even seen you get up from your throne! You couldn't possibly-" the reptile began.

But Modula leapt out of the throne he had been sitting in from twenty feet away to strike at the reptilian mercenary as he was speaking. He was no pushover as the reptile perceived. Modula landed on the ground just inches away from his foe. The reptile unsheathed his dagger, but Modula grabbed at his wrist. He then proceeded to bend it backwards into an unnatural position. As the reptile screeched in pain, he tried to aim a punch at Modula's face. But Modula blocked his blow with just a raised hand.

"Stop! You're going to tear my hand off!" screamed the reptile.

"You want me to do that, hoping that I think you will have learned your lesson and let you go, don't you? But no, I won't end this pain just yet," the General said.

He bent the creature's wrist until the bone snapped, and tissue and blood spurted from the stump of the mercenary reptile's severed hand. As he was screaming in pain, General Modula delivered a kick to his jaw, breaking it with one blow. The reptile was now spurting red blood from his twisted jaw as well as his wrist. The creature could not react. There was just too much pain. He delivered two punches into the reptile's ribs, and they either fractured or broke. They were overcome by the sheer force of the blows. One more punch to each side, and all of the lower ribs shattered completely. He picked up the reptile with just one hand and threw him against the far wall. The reptile's skull fractured on impact. But Modula was not quite done with his victim. He walked over to the flailing bounty hunter, gasping for breath, and used his boot to crush the creature's spine. It did not break, but the spinal cord was severely damaged. He lifted his foot from the creature. Blood and spinal fluid were drenching the sole of the boot. Modula made a mental reminder to get that cleaned.

The reptile's corpse was cleaned up when the next group of bounty hunters arrived. There were five figures clad in metal suits of armor, more primitive than that of Manus or Corus, but just as durable. But the armor had no power other than providing protection. They each wore helmets with dark visors so that their faces could not be seen. Strangely, they each had a faint light glowing from orbs in the backs of their armor. They each carried a different weapon. One was unarmed, another carried a flail (spiked ball attached to a chain), another carried a small carton of bombs, a fourth carried a Taser, and the tallest one, obviously the leader of the group, wielded a double-edged sword. "Greetings, General," said the figure with sword. "We hope you will not be displeased."

"Why won't you reveal your faces?" Modula asked.

"We choose not to reveal them. You see, General, we come from a planet bearing the scars of war, much as this one does, but to a far greater extent. Due to the atmosphere and climate of our home world that our wars have altered, each of our race is born with a deformed, hideous face. It became a genetic trait when all of our ancestors acquired it because of the changed environment. Our faces remain the same, scarred and hideous, throughout the generations. It will never change."

"Fascinating, but the explanation was unnecessary," replied Modula. "Are you aware of what you will be facing?"

"No, but our tenacity exceeds our cowardice," said the figure with the flail.

"You will be fighting a giant robot. Do still wish to accept my offer? It may be your greatest challenge," warned Modula. These individuals seemed to have experience. Besides, there were no other bounty hunters that were unafraid after Modula told them exactly what they would be fighting.

"General Modula, what you perceive as a challenge may be perceived by us as...merely an activity," replied the figure with the sword. Modula smiled at the bounty hunters' bravery-or was it foolhardiness?

"Go and prepare, then. I will wait for you at the rift gate to ensure you a safe journey to your destination." When the bounty hunters were prepared, they entered the room which housed the entrance to the rift gate. "General, what planet are we visiting?"

"Earth," replied Modula.

Back in Sherman, our three favorite Galalunans were preparing to sit down for dinner. Octus and Ilana were already in the kitchen, and Lance was busy tuning his guitar. It was sort of a stress-relieving ritual he had every evening before dinner and before bed. Ilana and Octus knew that they couldn't disturb Lance during his quiet time. Ilana always enjoyed falling asleep to Lance's melodies. And there he is now, she thought, as he sat down to eat.

"So how was school, everyone?" Octus asked. He was currently in his "Mr. Lunis" hologram.

"Well, we just had this big test in my history class, and I think I did pretty well. What happened to you, Lance?"

"Well...I...just had a regular day," said Lance. He didn't think it would be okay to tell them that he had beaten up a jock, made out with Kristen during one of his more boring classes, and fell asleep in another one.

Just then, Octus sat up. "Something entered the rift gate. It seems to be a small ship. I can sense five life-forms on board." The three of them finished dinner and headed out to the location of the signal. They were much more confident in dealing with Mutraadi now. They never seemed to stop coming, but the three Galalunans seemed to gain more confidence in each battle, knowing that they had one less foe who sought to kill them. Little did they know that these next five opponents were some of the toughest they had yet to face.

They arrived at the Northeast area of the Sherman woods. That way, Octus said, they could minimize civilian casualties. It was night, and the only sound to break the silence were crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl. They walked in silence, armor off, until they heard a crash behind some trees. They found a small silver ship which had crashed at the far end of a large clearing, circled with blue flowers. They shined with radiance from the moon, even in the dead of night. Five figures emerged out of the ship, unharmed.

Ilana gasped. "They aren't Mutraadi, are they?"

"It would appear that they are some other species", Octus agreed. "But I'm not entirely sure what they are. Their bio-signatures are like that of a human's, only more...distorted."

"You are correct in that we are not Mutraadi." Replied the tallest of the five. "We have been sent to destroy you."

"That won't be happening," Lance said flatly. "If you knew what sort of things we've faced, you'd stand aside."

"Perhaps we would, but we don't," replied the bounty hunter with the Taser gun. "I am known as Coulomb," the bounty with the Taser gun said.

"I am Muskaati," said the one with the mace. "The fellow with no weapon is Carpalis."

The bounty hunter holding a carton of bombs said, "I am Letupan."

"And my name is Twoslice," said the leader, unsheathing his double-bladed sword. Lance rolled his eyes.

"Did I ask for names?" He said in irritation.

"Can we at least show you some courtesy before fulfilling our assignment?" Twoslice asked.

"Assignment, huh?" Lance said to himself, making the connection.

A brief standoff occurred between them. Ilana could almost see an outline of their faces through the visors. She suddenly felt sympathetic towards them, although she didn't understand why. She dismissed the thought when she saw Lance charging at the bounty hunters while inside his Manus robot. The fight had begun!

Twoslice rolled with agility underneath Manus's legs as it charged. Before he could turn around, Twoslice delivered a blow with his blade. Manus fell to the ground, crushing some of the delicate blue flowers. Twoslice leapt into the air to deliver a decisive blow, but Manus rolled over on its back and punched him. Twoslice crashed into the ground a few yards away. Manus got up, and Lance unsheathed its sword. The mighty blades clashed, Twoslice's being smaller but sharp and quick, with Lance's being slower and more powerful. Twoslice managed to dodge most blows using his speed. He intercepted Lance after another sword swing missed, and delivered a series of slashes onto the Manus armor. But Lance held on. He had an idea. He swung his sword, expecting Twoslice to leap to one side. He did, and before he could retaliate, Lance delivered a kick of incredible force with Manus' foot. Twoslice crashed into a nearby tree trunk, unconscious. Lance went to go and take on the others.

While he had been fighting Twoslice, Ilana was busy with Coulomb and Letupan. The battle went as follows: Letupan was whipping out bombs and placing them in his hand. Ilana fired a laser with her Corus armor to Letupan's face, but it had little effect. He hurled several bombs at her as if they were ninja throwing stars. She formed an electrostatic wall in front of her face using Corus. The bombs exploded on the wall, eventually shattering it. Ilana used her jets and strafed to the left. Letupan threw more bombs, but she destroyed them with a laser blast as she strafed. Angered that he could not land a hit on her, Letupan dove and tackled her. Ilana was pinned down. She kicked him off of her, but Coulomb shot her with electricity before she could stand back up. Letupan threw bombs at point-blank range towards Corus' heart. But Ilana fired a massive white laser from her chest at the bomb. It exploded, sending all three of them flying. Coulomb landed on his feet, and Ilana turned on her jets as she was flying backwards to stop herself. She turned to face Coulomb, who was helping Letupan to his feet. He fired his gun at a bomb that Letupan threw in the air, turning the bomb into an electrified explosive. Coulomb caught it and threw it towards Ilana. She tried to block with another barrier, but it went straight through and crashed into Corus' head, exploding in Ilana's face. As Coulomb and Letupan went over to examine her unconscious body, Letupan delivered 3 sharp kicks to Ilana's armor. "Insolent child!" he screamed. "With the exception of the General, you and your entire race will be annihilated, and you will be torn to pieces, and perish in a deadly-" he began just as Lance had knocked out Twoslice. Lance stabbed his sword into Letupan's back, piercing his armor and his flesh. He fell without ever knowing what killed him. Coulomb fired his Taser gun and shocked Manus. Lance could feel the electricity coursing through his body. It felt like a thousand needles had been jammed into his skin all at once. Coulomb continued zapping the Manus robot until it fell to the ground. Ilana opened her eyes just in time to see the weight of Manus crush her body.

Octus, meanwhile, had been fighting Muskaati and Carpalis. Muskaati swung his flail, but Octus dodged by moving his gel out of the way. Carpalis delivered a spinning kick into Octus' head, penetrating his gel. Octus responded by hurling him out from inside a bubble. Carpalis popped the bubble with just his fist and punched Octus. Octus resisted the blows, as Carpalis pummeled him more rapidly. Octus tried to hit back, but his blows kept missing. Finally, Carpalis kneed Octus, knocking him back a few yards. Muskaati swung his flail again, this time throwing the whole thing, but Octus caught it in his gel hand as it came to him. He threw it back at Muskaati, who ducked to avoid the flail as Carpalis leapt over it. Carpalis tried to lunge at Octus, but he strafed to one side by floating just inches above the ground. While Carpalis was vulnerable, Octus punched him with an electrified fist. Carpalis was sent sprawling in the grass, his body charred. Coulomb turned around to face Octus. He fired his Taser gun from where he was, near Lance and Ilana's unconscious bodies, and electrified the mace, which was now leaning against a tree. Muskaati picked back up and took a few steps forward to hit Octus from a distance. Octus dodged his next swing, but Carpalis, who had been revived by a jolt from Coulomb, delivered another surprise attack on the robot, this time with his fist. Muskaati motioned to Coulomb to recharge his flail. Fisto's punch, meanwhile, sent the robot even further back. Octus, realizing his strategy was not working, tucked his cords back into his head and reduced his gel body so that it was just a bubble. Octus cause the bubble to expand as Carpalis rushed forward. Carpalis got trapped inside the bubble. He tried to break out, but it was useless. When he tried to reach up and hit and Octus' head, the robot simply moved out of the way each time. Octus responded by touching the walls of the bubble, sending several jolts of electricity through his armor. As Letupan was stunned, Octus attached some of his cords onto his body, sending in more lethal shocks. Then Octus released the now dead warrior, throwing him at Coulomb and Muskaati, who amazed by the robot's abilities and his power. But they came to their senses, and as Octus reshaped himself back into his original humanoid form for combat, Muskaati's still electrified mace swung through Octus' gel and into his "head", knocking Octus to the ground.

Twoslice stood to his feet. Seeing the work of his subordinates, he congratulated them. "They were worthy opponents in life. I apologize for my unconsciousness. The boy nearly gave me a concussion."

"It cannot be helped," said Muskaati.

"True. But now they die. Wait, where are Letupan and Carpalis?"

"Dead, commander," said Coulomb.

"How...tragic. I take it you have killed the machine?" he said, observing the Octus' inactive head. Now kill the girl. I will see to the boy", said Twoslice.

"It's amazing that Letupan would be done in by a few...teenagers," said Muskaati. "Quite a shame, his death was. The boy stabbed him from behind. How cowardly."

"No, that's not cowardice; that is deception," countered Twoslice. "I tried to use a similar tactic on him. How ironic."

He walked over to Lance's body. Both his and Ilana's armor had vanished after taking so much damage.

"Our mission is complete," Twoslice said, but as he spoke a shadow loomed over him. It was not the massive, flat airship that served as the main base for G3, but one of their troop carriers. Paratroopers rained down. When they landed, they proceeded to fight the bounty hunters with machine guns. They rushed at them without giving them a chance to react. Twoslice and the others managed to kill a few, but eventually they were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. When the airship landed, Solomon rushed over to Lance and Ilana, while a G3 soldier ran to Octus' "head" carrying jumper cables. He picked him up and took him back inside the ship. Solomon with Lance and Ilana forced a dark purple liquid into their mouths. When he forced them to swallow the medicine, they woke up shortly after. Lance woke up first twenty minutes later.

"Ila..They won't hurt...you...arggh!" he suddenly screamed in pain.

Ilana woke up, but couldn't open her eyes. She groaned, reaching out to feel something. Her hand found Lance's, and she held on to it. She couldn't see, but she knew it was him.

Solomon spoke up. "This is the second-no, the third time I've had to rescue you guys from enemies. Are they getting tougher than usual?"

"We've gotta...go find them...arggh!" Lance groaned in pain. "When will these wounds...heal?"

"In just a few minutes", replied Solomon. "Right now, you just need to rest." So our heroes headed inside the aircraft, still on the ground until their wounds healed.

"Thank you for helping us", said Ilana. "I can't believe we used to not trust you. Now you guys are our friends."

"Thank you. But we can't be going around helping you all the time, though. To be honest, we can only stall these guys so much. It will only be a matter of time before they recover, regroup and come back here. The only reason we were able to drive them off was because they were in headlong retreat, probably wounded from fighting you guys. How are your own wounds, Lance?"

"Better", said Lance. He looked up Solomon. "I'm kinda sorry we've been...losing so much," he said sheepishly.

"It's not that you are getting weaker; it's that they're getting tougher. Like I said before, though, we can't help you every time, but you can always come back to us to get your robot fixed."

Ilana gasped. "Lance! Where's Octus?"

"Relax," Solomon said. "We're repairing him. It's not nearly as bad as last time. We figured out exactly what to do now. But it will take a few minutes."

"Who figured out how to fix him?" Lance asked.

"One of our scientists," said Solomon.

"Well, where is he? We need to thank him!" said Ilana. Without Octus, we're pretty pathetic against giant monsters! Does that guy realize how much he's helped us?" she asked.

Solomon thought about what Ilana had said. He couldn't tell her that it was Edward, Lance's father, who had repaired Octus.

"The scientist is...a little shy," he said. "But I will tell him you said thanks."

A few minutes later, after Ilana and Lance had rested, Octus appeared, just as Solomon and the other G3 personnel were leaving in their airship. "Sorry I was out for so long. I'm ready now, though."

"All right!" Lance said. "So Octus, can you tell us who revived you this time?"

"I was inactive during the procedure," said Octus. "I have no data on my memory banks of my repair."

G3 left as he finished speaking. As the trio watched them fly out of sight, Octus asked, "Now, where did those assassins go?"

"I don't know, but hey, look! Carpalis is dead!" Lance said.

"Great!" said Ilana. "Two down, three to go!"

"It's not over yet, though. I think it's best if we form Titan the next time we see them. Octus, can you track them for us?" Lance asked.

"Their strange bio-signatures are easy to spot on a planet full of humans. It will be a piece of pie."

Ilana laughed. "You mean a piece of cake, Octus."

"Oh."

Octus flew with Lance and Ilana, who turned on their armors again, searching. The crickets had resumed their silent chirping as the three heroes followed the tracks of the bounty hunters. A coyote howled in the distance, indicating that it was almost midnight. As they trekked deeper into the woods, Ilana asked:

"Octus?"

"Yes?"

"You said the bounty hunters would be easy to spot on a planet full of humans."

"Yes, because their tracks are in plain view, and their armors give off unique signatures that I've never seen before. Also, they..." Octus paused, not sure how Ilana would take the following information.

"What?" She asked.

"Their bio-signatures are like a human's, but they are...corrupted," said Octus. "It's as if they have some sort of...disease," he said.

"So, are they human, or what?" Lance asked.

"I cannot tell," Octus replied. After a few minutes, they walked on until they reached another clearing. There the three remaining bounty hunters were, nursing their wounds.

"Quick, let's form Titan, like we planned!" Lance cried.

"Very well, then," Octus replied, not questioning Lance's combat logic.

Twoslice saw them and looked up, malice in his eyes. But then he watched in horror as they formed Titan. He was shocked by its sheer size. "Coulomb! Muskaati! Activate your Heat Cores!" He cried as the three of them scattered to avoid Titan's foot. Upon his command, the three bounty hunter's orbs in the back of their armor glowed orange.

"The temperature of the plating of their metal armor is rising", said Octus.

He had scarcely finished speaking when the three of them grew into giants, one hundred meters tall. They were each now the same size as Titan.

"What the? How did they do that?" asked Lance.

"When metal is exposed to extreme heat", replied Octus, "it expands. Only this seems to be on a much greater scale than normal. I think those 'Heat Core' things they were talking about provide internal heat for their armor to expand to our size."

"Hey! I learned something about that in Chemistry class!" said Ilana. "Who knew we would actually have to use something we learned in school?"

"I hate the teacher," said Lance absentmindedly. "He always tells me to get a haircut," he muttered.

Twoslice slashed his sword, also enlarged, and swung it at Titan. But Titan unsheathed its own sword, and the two clashed blades. They swung their swords and collided, again and again. Twoslice flipped his sword around and gashed Titan' side with the blade that had been pointed towards himself. Titan was severely damaged by this unexpected attack and nearly fell over.

"We've lost 15 percent of our power from that single blow," said Octus.

"We need to think defensively!" Said Ilana. "Initiating sym-bionic shield!"

A shield grew from Titan's opposite hand. It managed to block Twoslice's rapid blows. Titan pushed its shield against Twoslice's sword, causing the edge that was facing him to stab into his body.

"AGGH! Clever deception!" Said Twoslice, wincing in pain. As soon as he had finished speaking, he withdrew his sword from his body and broke it in half. He now had two swords!

Just then, Titan fell to the ground after taking a blow to his head. It was Muskaati, who had just swung his flail, also enlarged by the Heat Core. He swung his flail like a hammer, sending it crashing on Titan. He swung his flail in a circle as he had done before, allowing it to gain more force and momentum for his next attack.

"We've now lost 25 percent of our power," said Octus.

"That flail's gonna shatter our armor!" cried Lance. "Quick! Get up!"

Titan rolled on its side and stood up a good distance away from Muskaati. It punched the flail as it stood up, sending it crashing back into Muskaati. He had no time to react. The flail crashed through his helmet, penetrated his brain, thus killing him. When he died, his armor, along with his body, shrunk back down to its original size.

"Two left!" said Ilana, trying to get their spirits up.

Twoslice and Coulomb rushed at them together. Titan blocked Twoslice's swords with its own sword in its right hand, and used its shield to block Coulomb's Taser shots. Titan was barely able to defend itself. Coulomb delivered a kick, knocking its shield away with his foot. He fired his Taser gun directly and Titan's heart. Electricity coursed through its circuitry.

"40 percent power loss," said Octus.

Twoslice raised his swords and tried to stab Titan. Titan had managed to move its hands just in time to knock them away, knocking them in opposite directions. Coulomb tried firing his Taser again, but Titan shot twin lasers from its hands before he could aim. These blasts went straight through the gun and hit Coulomb. He fell, unconscious. Twoslice, meanwhile, had gone to find his swords. He picked one up and threw it at Titan from behind. But Titan's quick reflexes made it turn around when it detected the sword flying straight at it, and it shot another powerful laser from its hand, destroying the blade. Titan then turned back to where Coulomb lay.

"Fire the Alpha Cannon!" said Lance.

Upon his command, the mechanical components of Titan's arm retracted and changed shape so that they resemble a futuristic cannon. In seconds, Titan fired a massive energy beam at Coulomb. He was killed by the massive firepower of the blast. Like Muskaati, he shrunk back down to his original size upon his death.

(Note: Dragon Ball Z fans, think of the Alpha Cannon as Titan's version of the Kame-hame-ha!)

Now only Twoslice was left. Titan prepared its Alpha Cannon again, but when it fired, Twoslice dodged with incredible reflexes. He brandished used his only remaining sword to slice off Titan's Alpha Cannon. Like all of Titan's weapons, it would be regenerated for the next time Lance, Ilana, and Octus combined their armors. But before Titan could use another weapon in its vast arsenal, Twoslice delivered a kick, sending Titan flying. Twoslice rushed to the site where it landed and prepared to deliver the final blow. But Titan unexpectedly recovered and punched Twoslice as he came over, knocking him down. Titan pinned Twoslice on the ground with its foot. It grabbed Twoslice's sword and snapped it in half as if it were just a twig. Twoslice did not struggle as he was pinned down.

"Your General will be displeased with us. If you knew what pain our race suffered, you would think twice about killing me. Remove our helmets after you kill me for a little...surprise," he chuckled.

"What does he mean by that?" asked Ilana. "And what's this about a General?"

"He's delusional, Ilana! Let's finish him!" yelled Lance as he rose Titan's foot.

"It was a pleasure going into combat with such brave warriors. I hope you win your civil war, your planet misses you very much..." Twoslice whispered.

He had scarcely finished speaking when Lance used Titan's foot to crush his skull. Twoslice shrank down to his original size when Titan lifted its foot. Lance, Ilana, and Octus powered down and went over to investigate the dead bodies. "I think... we should lift their helmets, to see what Twoslice meant," said Ilana. They gathered Coulomb, Muskaati, and Twoslice's corpses together. Ilana reached for Coulomb's helmet, Octus grabbed Muskaati, and Lance reached for Twoslice. Both Twoslice and Muskaati had a hole in their helmets, but too dark to see anything inside.

"Can we... do it at the same time?" Ilana asked.

"Ok," said Lance. "I want to find who these guys are if they are not Mutraadi. Ready? One, two, three!" They lifted the helmets of the scarred, dead bounty hunters.

Ilana gasped at what she saw. Lance's eyes widened. Octus seemed to have no visible reaction, but he could not believe his visual sensors.

The faces of the bounty hunters were each scarred, gray, wrinkled, and bald. But that was not the scary part. Despite their hideous features, Lance, Ilana, and Octus all came to the same horrifying conclusion:

The bounty hunters that had tried to kill them...were humanoid.

Ilana fought back tears. "Were...they...Galalunan?"

Lance was scared. "Octus, did we just kill...some of our...own species?" He asked softly.

Octus was frightened, but to a lesser extent. It would have been more shocking if they had turned out to be humanoid robots like himself. Octus dared not tell the others this, but he felt no real guilt in killing them. He scanned their genetic codes. Ilana and Lance waited for what seemed like an eternity. Despite the fact they had reluctantly or accidentally may have killed some of Steel's troops or even a few G3 agents before, this was the first time that they actually felt like cold-blooded murderers.

"They aren't human," Octus finally answered. The teens breathed a sigh of relief. "But they are very similar to Earthlings and Galalunans. It seems that every individual of their species-whatever they may be-has some sort of genetic disease acquired early on from their ancestors."

"That's...creepy," said Lance.

"Whatever their race went through, I feel so much pity and guilt for them now..." Ilana said forlornly.

"No, Ilana," Lance said. "Their appearance was no reason not to let them live," he said. "It may have been horrible, whatever happened to them, but they would have killed us if we had let them go out of pity. Whatever happened to their race is none of our business. We can only hope that the Mutraadi won't bring anything like this to our own people," he finished.

"You're right, Lance," Ilana said, sighing. "But why did they become assassins?"

"Their species may have acquired some beneficial mutations from the disease, such as an enhancement in reflexes or metabolism," Octus said. "But being born with a disease that slowly kills them, they may have had short life spans."

"If that's the case, perhaps they were near the end of their life, and they decided to go on one last mission before they died," Lance suggested. "Maybe they didn't show us their faces because they thought we would have tried to let them go. Maybe they were happy by defeating us...or just by going down in combat."

"I guess we'll never know," Ilana said. "I hope the Mutraadi don't send people like them after us ever again."

"I agree," said Lance. And with that, the three of them turned on their armors and flew home for some sleep.

A G3 worker carried the dead bodies of the bounty hunters, still in their armor, up to the nearby G3 ship. When the bodies were secure in the cargo hold, the ship took off into the night sky. High above the clouds was the massive G3 airship, protecting by a cloaking device Edward had installed. The smaller cargo ship landed in the hangar, where Solomon was waiting with Edward, who was leaning against a cane held by his metal hand. The soldiers carried out each body and presented them to their superiors.

"Hmm...I don't think I've ever seen these species before," Edward said as observed the bounty hunters bodies. Solomon knelt down and removed the helmet on Twoslice. He was almost disturbed by the creature's distorted face. "I think these are humanoid," he said, surprised.

"They're certainly not Mutraadi," Edward noted. "Perhaps they were—gasp! Solomon, dispose of the bodies! Now!" He shouted.

"What? Why?" Solomon asked.

Edward pointed to Muskaati's shoulder with his metal hand. "That's a Galalunan tracking device! With a camera!" he cried as the soldiers picked the bodies up and carried them over their soldiers. "Do you realize what this means?" He said to Solomon, panic in his voice. "Galalunan tracking devices are equipped with cameras that can send their footage back to any Galalunan monitors. They very durable and never shut off, even if their wearers are dead. Modula could have seen the bounty hunters' entire fight with Lance, Ilana, and Octus, as well as anything or anyone that the cameras saw in this facility, including myself," Edward finished.

"But how do we know that the cameras saw you?"

"I was looking right at the lens! I didn't realize what it was until it was too late!" Edward cried. "How much does Modula know now?"

Meanwhile, back on Galaluna, Modula was viewing a screen he had installed that showed the footage from the tracking device's cameras. When he came to the part that showed Edward, he raised his eyebrows from behind his hat.

"So, you are alive after all," he said. Suddenly, he slammed his fist on the arm of the chair he had been sitting in. "Why did I allow you to live?" he yelled to the monitor. "Why did I send you to the only planet which you could live in? Was it pity? Was it...cowardice?" Modula said to himself. He placed his hand on his hat, searching for an answer. At first, nothing. Then, he felt a surge of something envelop his mind.

"Next time my creatures find you, you won't be so lucky," Modula said. "But you are not my primary target. That status still belongs to Titan and those that form it."

It was tough coming up for the bounty hunters' names. Letupan and Muskaati are supposed to mean bomb and mace in some foreign language, but since I used Bing translator to try and figure out which ones I can't remember XD Coulomb is a unit of measurement used to measure electric charges, Carpalis is, if remember correctly, the name for the bones on the back of your hand between your wrists and knuckles (except I added the "is" at the end). Twoslice, however, pretty much explains itself, I think!

Leave a review on any of my stories, and I'll release 2 more of the episodes I've made!