Victim of a Stranger
Emily Burke
November 7, 2129
Laying in bed, I glanced over at the clock. It was one in the morning, and I couldn't sleep. There was a sense that something was wrong, that something had happened.
Serena turned to face me, and put a hand gently on my arm.
"What's wrong, dear?" she asked tiredly.
"I don't know," I nearly whispered in reply. "I just have this feeling that something bad happened..."
My wife shushed me quietly. "Go back to sleep."
The phone on the nightstand rang loudly, destroying any remaining ability to sleep that I might have had. I reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" I mumbled sleepily. Gate's voice was on the other end.
"Shadowfire?" he asked. "You need to get over here, immediately." There was no explanation, he hung up the phone, and I followed suite.
"I have to go."
Gate was standing outside of the maintenance room, the place where Reploids were activated. He looked at me carefully.
"X is waiting for you inside," he stated.
I nodded, and opened the door. X was inside, standing over a table. On the table, half-buried under wires and cables, was a Reploid girl.
She looked about twenty, slighter younger than I did. Her slender, muscular form was partly covered with a blue bodysuit and silver and light blue armor, which definitely suggested water or ice. Her skin was fine, and pale. Long, straight, light blue hair, with silver streaks, framed her delicate face. Dead, ice blue eyes stared blissfully at nothing.
"Who is she, X?" I asked quietly.
His reply was a nervous whisper. "Your sister." I jerked slightly in surprise. "Her name is Mizu, she's about to be activated."
"I see..."
Gate began hitting switches and pushing buttons. Equipment in the room began to hum to life. A main lever was pulled. There was a brilliant flash as electricity flew into Mizu's unmoving form. There was an almost instant reaction. Her unarmored feet reshaped to become blue-furred paws with silver stripes. Wings began to grow from Mizu's back, blue, of course, with darker blue membranes, and more slash-like silver stripes. Her pupils became serpentine, like mine.
"It happened again!" Gate yelled.
The monitors were showing outrageous readings. Heart rate: 142, Energy output: 87% above norm, bizarre energy coursing through every wire. Brain activity spiking in places where only faint pulses should be detected.
I watched in astonishment. This is exactly what had happened to me. I could feel my own heart racing. Was she okay? Did she survive?
Mizu's eyes were shut tight, and remained so for several minutes as we all stared, dumbfounded. I could sense both dragon and gryphon energies in her.
X lightly touched his new creation's arm, and she sat straight up. Slowly, she looked from me, to X, to me again.
"So," she began in a cocky, self-assured voice, "where's Tweedledum?"
I frowned slightly. "Tweedledum?"
"Well, we have Tweedledee of the strange twins, now, where's Tweedledum?"
A growl escaped me through gritted teeth. "Well, I don't know where Techno is, but, 'Tweedledee' points out that his new sister is no less strange than himself."
Mizu rolled her eyes, and X put an arm on my shoulder, whispering, "calm down a little, Shadowfire."
"Wow, don't get so defensive, pal," the girl muttered. She started looking me over more. "Nice silk pajamas, my liege. They go well with your charming ponytail and macho battle scar."
I felt a sudden pang of fury, but X held me back, grinning nervously at my 'comedian' sister. "He's just not a morning person, Mizu, it's only two in the morning."
"Yes," I growled, "and I'm going to my quarters to finish sleeping." I turned and left. I walked down the nearly deserted hallways, and made my way to my old quarters. I hardly ever used it, unless I had worked late, and was too tired to drive home.
I flopped into bed, and laid there, trying desperately to get back to sleep. I wasn't sure what to think about my new sister. She was so disrespectful. Perhaps I just needed to give her time...
I yawned, and opened my eyes slowly. The first thing I saw was a needle.
"Hi!" Mizu yelled cheerily
"What are you doing!?" I growled.
My sister laughed quietly. "I'm a certified medic. I was programmed with the latest medical information, and, I also downloaded the most recent and thorough scans of your systems. Gate said I needed to give you this vaccine. He said it was a pretty nasty bug going around. So, if you'd just give me your arm..."
She reached for my arm, which I immediately pulled away, growling quietly. "Don't touch me," I commanded harshly.
Mizu looked shocked for a moment. My memories were boiling so close to the surface that she could sense them. "So," she said quietly, "that's why the scar's there..."
I looked away. Expecting the sting of a needle, I was surprised, to feel Mizu's hand on my arm.
"Listen," she began, "you really need this vaccine. Gate didn't want me to tell you just yet, but... Zero was infected with the virus that this vaccine protects against."
I jumped out of bed, to my feet. Mizu grabbed my arm, and stopped me from running out the door.
"Gate definitely won't let you see Zero if you aren't vaccinated against the virus."
I held out my arm. For the first time in years, I voluntarily offered my arm to a syringe. I still had to close my eyes, though, and I still cringed at the cold sting. A wave of dizziness washed through me, followed by a chill. I had to lean against the wall to catch my balance.
"Well, the vaccine took to you," Mizu stated. "Just remember, it can only give you so much protection."
I nodded, and ran down to the medical wing. I grabbed the first nurse I could find, and said, "Where's Zero?"
The nurse pointed to a large metal door. I nodded, and went inside. The room was a medical lab. Computers and equipment were all over. In the center of the room was a quarantine cell. There was a short airlock entryway with two sealed doors, a decontamination area.
I peered through one of the airtight windows of the quarantine. Zero was inside, stripped of armor, and strapped to a table. There were wires all over him, wires that lead out of the quarantine, and into laboratory analysis computers. His eyes were only slightly open, though he didn't appear to be very aware. A few scientists in sealed, transparent biohazard suits walked around him, taking readings like a bunch of misplaced astronauts.
Gate approached me, looking slightly irritated. He said, "What are you doing here!? Who let you in??"
"Nobody was guarding the door," I muttered. "I want to go in and talk to him."
Gate looked as if I had smacked him. "Out of the question!" he snapped.
I smiled slightly, which made him frown, he knew I had something up my sleeve. "Actually," I began, "I can go in there. In the Hunter's Medical Guide, section 2, paragraph 12, it states that in situations of this nature, 'if vaccinated and protected via biohazard equipment, anyone with a level 0 clearance may enter the quarantine.' As you know, I have level 0 clearance."
Gate sighed in frustration. I thought that memorizing that stupid medical guide would never be worth the waste of memory space.
"Fine," the scientist seemed to hiss. "Put on a damned biohazard suit and go through decon..."
I grinned smugly as I grabbed one of the plastic-like suits. As I slipped it on, I realized that I would have to be careful, or my heel claws might puncture the suit. Snapping on the sealed helmet activated airflow from the pack on the back of the suit. I walked through the first door of the quarantine entrance, and the door slammed and sealed behind me. Bright ultraviolet lamps flashed on, forcing me to close my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, the once-open coverings over the suit zippers had sealed together, a reaction to ultraviolet bombardment. The second door opened, and I walked inside of the quarantine.
Zero turned his head to look at me, and smirked a bit. "Hey, moon man, you left your pajamas on."
I couldn't help but smile, just to make him feel better.
"It's really focking cold in here..." he suddenly fell silent. All of the doctors immediately backed away from the table. I, mistakenly, did not.
Zero's eyes snapped open suddenly, shimmering red. He mustered enough strength to break the straps over his arms. His fingers pierced my suit, and dug into my shoulders. I tried to pull away, but he was too strong. I felt circulatory fluids trickling down my back. He had broken the skin, and was about to break my collarbone.
One of the scientists finally grabbed a shock-gun, and jabbed it into Zero's back. A jolt of electricity made him jerk back, ripping the upper half of my suit off, including the helmet. I fell back against the wall, in shock from what had just happened.
After a great deal of thrashing and struggling, Zero was finally subdued. One scientist grabbed me by the arms, and dragged me into the entryway. A bright ultraviolet flash killed the virus particles on the surface of my body. I was pulled out of the quarantine, and placed on a table. A few medics scissored the rest of the biohazard suit off of me.
Gate turned on a scanner, and moved it over my body.
"Great," he mumbled. "It's already been circulated around his body. It will invade his nervous system at any time. No telling how his systems will handle it... Try radiation bombardment with gamma rays, see if there's any effect."
I was taken to a room with a radiation sign overhead, and placed in a cylindrical tunnel in the wall. "Keep your eyes open," one of the medics ordered, as he closed the hatch to the tunnel.
There was a sudden jolt, a shock to the systems, my vision went black, though I was still conscious. There was a terrible burning in my eyes, and I shut them tightly.
The two medics pulled me back out of the tunnel, the radiation neutralized. There was damage. The sensors in the backs of my eyes had been singed on the surface by the radiation, blinding me.
"The blindness is only temporary," one of the medics reassured as I hissed in pain. I felt the slight tingling of a scanner running over me.
"Damn," a medic swore. "No signs of remission, it's beginning to invade the nervous system now..." A flash of numbness went through me, followed by paralysis. I couldn't move my limbs. At first, my fingers began to quiver, then, violent shudders coursed through my body. I lost consciousness suddenly.
--Techno--
I sat in my bedroom quietly, yet another bottle of Scotch in my lap. It would be the third one of the night. I had been hiding all the 'contraband' in a trunk under the bed. So far, nobody else knew about it. I had to hide my bottle under the sheets, though, when the door was flung open. Hasaki came running in. He jumped up onto the bed, into my lap, nearly knocking me over, he was crying.
"Uncle, uncle, dad got sick with a virus and they're keeping him locked up and he might die!" The kid yelled it all so fast, it took me a minute to sort it all out. My brother could kick the bucket. If he died, so would I. Oh, the joys of being a twin.
I hugged my nephew, trying to give him a bit of comfort as he sobbed into my shirt, which was soon soaked with tears.
"Come on now," I reassured, "your dad's a tough guy. He'll be fine."
--Shadowfire--
I awoke in a sterile quarantine room, strapped tightly to a medical table. One of many computer monitors turned on, to show Gate's face.
"Ah, you're awake," he observed, his voice coming over a speaker.
"Why did I black out?" I inquired.
"The virus," Gate continued, "caused a sudden seizure. We have you on some Phenobarbital to take care of that, so you might feel a bit weak." I now noticed the IV, and many wires on my body. "I'm afraid that your condition is only going to get worse. Your design is different from most Reploids, though, so there's a chance you might survive. If you do live, you'll develop a permanent immunity to the virus."
I leaned my head back, and sighed, "If I live. It's going to go to my head, isn't it? Make me go insane?"
"Most likely," Gate replied. How comforting. "We've taken some precautions against that, though. There are several automatic paralysis guns in the room, they're hidden, and I'm not going to tell you where they are. Not only that, but your IV line is also connected to a sedative pump. So, if you start getting out of control, we'll have you down and out in no time."
I rolled my eyes slightly. "Thanks, Gate. You've really reassured me." At that, I swear I saw the bastard smile a bit. "Isn't anyone going to come into the room? At all?"
"Medics and scientists," Gate said, "myself, occasionally. Nobody else, though. You're considered our biggest security risk right now."
"I feel so special," I muttered. I felt a sudden wave of agony. It washed through me, and when it had passed, I felt frightened, moreso than before. It wasn't Gate's face on the monitor, it was Leo's. He brandished his whips, and laughed.
"I'm coming..." he hissed. "To finish what I started with your scars..." The door open, and he walked in.
--Gate--
I watched closely through the monitors as Eric walked into the quarantine. Shadowfire was acting strangely, first, like he was in pain, then, as if he were... somewhere else.
He kept his eyes trained on Eric, as if he were there to kill him. Shadowfire squirmed in his straps, and roared loudly, his claws extended, gouging into the table. He managed to slash the straps close to his wrists, freeing his arms. Eric backed away.
It was all okay, I could get him under control, easy. I hit the button for the sedative pump Shadowfire jerked his arm, and the IV was pulled out. He tore away his leg straps, and the sedative dripped uselessly onto the floor. Okay, a little more serious... still had the paralysis cannons... I activated them.
Shadowfire threw Eric back, a wave of fire went out from his body just as the cannons activated, frying them. The monitors went static, the cameras were melted. I ran to the quarantine door. There was a terrible pounding sound, and the thick metal door was beginning to dent. I hit the panic button.
Red lights begin flashing, and a klaxon alarm started up. Guards poured in, and trained their guns on the door. The alarm quieted, and everything seemed eerily still. The pounding had stopped. Tensions were running high. Had the virus caused him to fall unconscious again?
The door was blown outward on an explosion of flames, cutting a swath through the guards. Shadowfire stepped out, in full armor. The guards' shots largely bounced off of his armor, and didn't slow him down at all.
Shadowfire activated the Dragonsmaw, and began firing. Blasts of plasma rocketed around the room, injuring several guards. A terrible force had been unleashed.
--X--
I was furious at what Gate was telling me. "He caught the virus!?" I practically screamed at him. "You didn't tell me! What's going to happen t him, now?"
"The virus will almost undoubtedly kill him," Gate continued. "But... just in case, we've sent Hunters out to track him, and... take care of him before he can reach any cities. If they can't find him, we may have to terminate Techno to take care of Shadowfire." I had never felt so enraged.
"You," I hissed, "are talking about his brother as if he's nothing more than a trump card! You will leave Techno out of it!"
Gate stood up, and left.
Mizu leaned against the wall, head down. "This is my fault. If I hadn't told him about Zero-"
"He would have found out anyway," I said. "It's not your fault."
--Techno--
I watched the Hunters march by the house, into the woods. Their orders were shoot to kill, to kill my brother. Reploid twins, the connection of life forces, a bizarre phenomenon. I had spent a great deal of time thinking about it, and had developed a few theories. It was much like tying two bowling balls together with a piece of rope, and then suspending them, balanced, from a high branch using said rope. The rope symbolizes the 'connection' of life force. If the rope is frayed on one side, if one twin is hurt, then both bowling balls sink slightly, but the rope can repair itself. However, if, on one side, the rope is cut, if a twin dies, then that ball falls. Without the other ball to balance and support it, the second one falls as well.
Other little 'theories' had spawned from this one. I had long wondered how to stop the passage of suffering from one twin to the other, the sharing of traumatic experiences. You couldn't sever the 'rope', or both bowling balls would fall. But, what if you tied a knot in the rope? Could the transmission be temporarily choked off?
I was distracted from my thoughts by a loud bang. It had come from a ways into the forest. Had they found Shadowfire? I ran to the window to see. A column of flames had risen through the trees, spinning like a cyclonic pillar of hellfire. I could feel the tremendous energy in it, even from nearly half a mile away. It was pyrokinetic energy. My brother was fighting the Hunters, and he would win. They didn't understand the otherworldly nature of our power. I knew for a fact that my brother's strength surpassed that of any Hunter, he had just refused to use it before, in fear of 'collateral damage.' Now that he was insane, there was no telling what he might do.
I felt torn. I wanted to help my brother, but, then I would become an outlaw. I also wanted to help the Hunters... Shadowfire could kill so many people if he got away. I couldn't just do nothing.
I pulled a heavy trunk out from under the bed, and unlocked it. It was littered with scotch bottles, a few packs of cigarettes, and other stuff not allowed in the house. I shoved some of this out of the way, and opened a secret compartment in the bottom. There were a few things here. An old dagger, some jewelry, and a glass and metal canister with a glowing orb in it. I picked up the canister, and looked at it. The glowing orb was pure data, data for a flash suit, the armor of a Reploid. I had no flash suit, yet.
The canister had been given to me by Lira, the Gryphon Storm Goddess who saved me at activation. The data would be downloaded into my body, and configured to form armor that would suit me. It was permanent, the data would remain in me forever.
I eyed a small red button on the metal canister, the activation switch. I pushed it. Small metal claws extended from the canister, and pierced the palm of my hand. I gritted my teeth. The glow inside the canister dissipated as the data was injected into me. I dropped the canister, and fell over. The raw data surged through me, fusing into my nervous system, into my brain. A bright light surrounded me as the armor materialized. The flash faded. Black armor with electric blue trim coated my body. It was relatively form-fitting, like Shadowfire's, but with feather-like metal projections on the outer ankles and wrists. They were sharpened blades. A crimson red visor, connected to a fierce-looking helmet, covered my eyes.
I stood back up, and looked at the world through my new visor. It had heat-vision, ultraviolet detection, and even some limited X-ray capabilities. One thing I especially noticed was its ability to detect electrical currents. Being an electrokinetic, I could sense electricity, but the visor allowed me to see it, every electrical wire in the walls glowed with energy.
I stepped out onto the balcony, and felt the cool night breeze ruffle my feathers. I spread my wings, and leapt, letting the air carry my weight. It didn't take very long to get to the battlefield. There were scorched and blackened trees, a crater in the ground, injured Hunters strewn about. Shadowfire stood among the chaos, panting. Using so much pyrokinetic energy had weakened him, perhaps I had a chance.
I landed about ten feet away from him, just out of reach of his powerful tail. "Shadowfire," I started, "you're sick. Please come back, you need help."
My brother roared in response, and charged forward. I leapt over his assault, and landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. A glow surrounded his body, and a sudden burst of flames threw me back. It had come to this, we were using our powers against each other.
I retaliated by calling down a lightning bolt. It struck Shadowfire full in the chest, and flung him into the nearest tree. He lay there for a moment, the shock had interfered with the electrical signals of his systems. He recovered quickly, and took flight. I leapt into the air, following him into the night sky. My brother was incredibly fast on the wing, but I was equally swift, and managed to keep up with him.
We were soon flying over LA, about eighty miles from Hunter HQ, directly over the huge international airport. Air traffic was heavy, lots of jets were in the air. Shadowfire suddenly went into a nosedive, his limbs pulled back. I soon realized that this was not intentional, as he struck the wing of a landing jet, and rolled off.
I tucked my wings back and dove, hoping to catch my brother before he plummeted do his death on the concrete landing strip. I barely closed the distance fast enough. I gripped him around the waist, and pulled him back up, higher into the sky, and, away from the city. Shadowfire snapped awake suddenly. He reached back, and grabbed my helmet, pushing back hard. If I didn't let go, he would snap my neck like a dry twig. I dropped him, and he flew only a few yards away. His eyes flashed, and a huge fireball came hurtling toward me. I dropped down quickly, and it missed. Turning around, to my horror, I saw the fireball split into a dozen comet-like flames, which all turned back toward me. I flew as fast as I could, but the fireballs caught up, and slammed into my back. My feathered wings exploded into flames. I flailed in the air, which only fanned the fire.
No longer able to support me, my wings went slack, and I began to fall. I looked below, forest, meadow, and a lake. Would I be able to reach the lake? I spread my arms out, using the feather blades as rather pathetic makeshift wings. They caught just enough air to push me forward. I hit the water at seventy miles an hour, and my whole body cried out from the impact. The fire was doused, though, and my wings regenerated their singed feathers almost immediately.
Peering through out of the water, I saw Shadowfire nowhere in sight. I swam to shore, and pulled myself out of the water. Everything went black.
I awakened after several hours, still lying on the lake shore. It was nearly noon, and the sun was blazing down. I stood up, and shook the sand out of my wings. My feathers absorbed the sun's energy like a bunch of little, overlapping solar cells.
I took flight, I had to find Shadowfire. I could sense his energy, he had returned to the area around Hunter HQ. Soon, I was overhead. My brother had his back to a large boulder, about the size of a semi cab. X had him cornered. I could see that he was trying to talk to my brother, but had his weapon drawn, just in case. He didn't get the chance to use it. Shadowfire stuck his claws into the boulder, and, straining, lifted it up, and threw straight at X.
Summoning up my energy, I threw out a bolt of electricity. It struck the huge rock, which exploded into smaller pieces. One of the larger fragments struck X in the chest, knocking him on his back. Shadowfire seized the opportunity, and rushed forward. He tackled X, and the two rolled on the ground. My father was desperately trying to free his X- buster, pinned beneath him, so he could defend himself, as my brother, ripped into him with his claws. X's breastplate was ripped open, there was a huge, bleeding gash in his left arm, but he wasn't giving up. He freed his right arm, putting the barrel of his weapon against Shadowfire's chest, and fired.
A blast of white-hot plasma struck him point-blank, blowing him back nearly fifty feet. There was a hole about six inches around blasted through Shadowfire's breastplate, surrounded by a ring of scorched, partly melted metal.
I dove down, and pinned my brother to the ground, I turned to X, and yelled, "Get the hell out of here! Run!" But he refused to go.
Shadowfire struggled below me, roaring in fury. This had to stop. There was only one way. My armor vanished, leaving me totally vulnerable. I let Shadowfire up, and stood before him. He raised the Dragonsmaw, its four long, sharp blades flashing brutally in the sun. I had to do it. He was too strong, his energy levels too high, for anyone to overpower. He was so much more important than me, as well. A hero, a family man. I was but a lowly bounty hunter with drinking issues. I had little to lose.
"NO!" X yelled. The blades came down, and plunged into my chest, one of them piercing my heart. Shadowfire jerked, the rope was fraying. I felt black fluid well up my throat, and drip from my nose and mouth. My brother fell to the ground, pulling the blades out of my body. I had to act quickly, tie a knot in the rope, so he would not die with me, but become unconscious.
Closing my eyes, I let myself fall back, system warnings were blaring in my head. Fluid pressure dropping, energy levels critical. I overrode several safety protocols in my electronic brain, and blocked everything. Memory, personality, sealed away. The knot was tied, and tight. I had done all that I could... And briefly, I heard a voice. "The plague comes from the Great Canyon of the Desert."
--Gate--
Shadowfire was finally returned to the medical bay, and without a trace of virus. The fluid tests showed, however, that he was loaded with antibodies, the reason for the virus's disappearance.
While he was still unconscious, and manageable, I filtered out some of the antibodies, taking several samples. I put one of the samples into a computer, to be synthesized, and loaded yet another into a syringe. Zero's condition was critical, and could not wait for antibodies to be synthesized.
I made my way into the quarantine, and walked up to Zero. He was barely breathing, almost comatose. I injected the antibodies, and saw positive, almost immediate results. Vital signs stabilized, and scanners showed the virus being eaten away rapidly, with apparently no ill effects on Zero. His eyes fluttered open.
--Shadowfire--
I woke up in a normal hospital room, with X and Mizu standing over me. X's left arm was bandaged, but there was a smile on his tear-streaked face. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, but his smile soon faded.
"Shadowfire," he started. "Y...your brother... your brother is dead." I had killed him... But, it seemed impossible. If he had died, I should have been dead, too. Mizu answered my question before I could even ask it.
"He blocked off the link, somehow," she said. "Gate's spent hours repairing him. He should be ready for reactivation, soon... We're so glad you're okay. And... you have other visitors, so we'll see you later." The two walked out.
Serena and Hasaki came in. The little boy jumped up onto the bed, and practically latched onto me. It was then that I noticed Zero standing in the entryway. He had a slight smirk on his face, arms crossed.
"Zero? I thought you were-?"
"Sick?" he finished my question. "Not anymore. Gate took some of your virus antibodies and used them on me. Cured me in a jiffy. Good thing you're useful for something." He smirked once more. "And, amazingly, you didn't kill anyone.. except..."
"Techno."
My brother lay on a metal table, covered in wires and cables. Gate threw the switch, and electricity coursed into him. Techno jerked from the sudden shock. His eyes opened wide, vital signs leaping. He was alive.
Techno was wide-eyed and frightened as Gate began disconnecting wires. What was wrong with him?
"Who are you?" he asked Gate quietly. The scientist gave him an odd look, and finished up his wire removal. Techno was then taken to be scanned. After a few minutes, Gate returned to talk with me.
"There's a problem," he started. "In order to stop the connection between you two, Techno blocked off his memory and personality."
"No..."
Gate held his hands up. "It's temporary. His memory and personality will return soon, but, until then, he'll basically have the mentality of a child. I think you should... take him to the house, so he'll be around familiar sights. It might help return his memory faster." I nodded in reply. "If there are any more problems, contact me immediately."
I had to follow Techno as he walked around the house. He stopped and looked at a vase of roses, muttering, "Pretty..."
He reached out to touch it, and nearly knocked the vase over. "No!" I yelled. "Don't touch that!" Techno recoiled, ears down, eyes watering. It was like a little child who was afraid of getting a whipping from his parents.
"I'm not mad," I tried to calm him down. "It's alright. Please don't cry." I didn't know what else to do, I gave him a hug. He hopped up into my arms, his own arms loosely around my neck. Then, Techno kissed me on the cheek, and laughed loudly. I dropped him straight on his butt, and he stood up, rubbing his backside.
"Ow, my ass... I save your life, and this is the thanks I get, you bastard," he joked, sticking his tongue out.
"Tech! How long have you been... back to normal?"
"Only a few seconds," Techno replied. I hugged him again, tears welling in my eyes, he was okay. My brother pretended to gag.
"Oh, come on, don't get all soggy on me," he said.
"But..." I stammered, "but.. I killed you..."
Techno smiled, and said, "Take me to the Grand Canyon in your Viper, and we'll call it even. Bring guns."
I gave him an odd look. "Bring guns? What?"
My brother looked at me with a grave expression. "When I died," he started, "I spoke to the gryphon, Lira. I heard her voice. She said 'the plague comes from the Great Canyon of the Desert.' We have to go there, and destroy the place. We have to do it alone, too. If we bring anyone else, they'll just get killed."
I nodded slightly. "Alright... and the Viper will be fast, and less conspicuous than the jet. They'll think we're just tourists."
Techno grinned. "Yeah, tourists packing heat."
I went up to my room, and summoned my armor, minus the helmet. I opened the weapons safe, and began strapping on guns. As a bucked the last strap into place, I felt eyes staring at me, and turned around to face Serena.
"I heard you and your brother talking," she said quietly. "Don't do it. Let the other Hunters take care of it."
"The other Hunters," I started, "aren't powerful enough."
"You could be killed. Hasaki... doesn't need to grow up without a father."
"Serena... Hasaki is part Reploid. If these people are allowed to continue the manufacturing of this virus, they could wipe Reploids off the face of the planet. Hasaki is only a child... what immunity would he have from the virus?"
Tears welled in her eyes. "Come back safe." I wrapped my arms around her, and held her for what seemed like an eternity, before giving her a parting kiss, and walking downstairs, and out the door. Techno was waiting by the car, armored up, and packing a lot of heat.
Hasaki came running outside, a big grin on his face. "Daddy! You're going on a mission! Can I come too?"
I looked at him, and his happy expression faded. I picked him up, and held him closely. "Absolutely not," I stated. "It's very dangerous. I love you very much, and I don't want you to get hurt."
He grumbled something, and frowned. I hugged him again, and set him on the ground before stepping into the car. I smiled at him as I started the engine. The car hovered a couple inches off the ground, but the landing skids would not retract. I looked at the controls.
"Oh, come on!" I yelled, pushing the skid control button several times. "Too much drag!"
Techno shoved my hands out of the way. "You're not gonna get anywhere doing that." He slammed his fist down on the dash. There was a thud, and the skids retracted. Techno grinned. "There, see? All it needed was a little motivation."
I couldn't help but laugh slightly. Here we were, a load of weapons in the back seat and glove compartment, and we were joking around.
Three hours had passed. The sun was beginning to set. We were flying just fifty feet below the lip of the Grand Canyon, nearing our target. Something thudded.
"What was that?" Techno questioned. "I thought you fixed that loose pipe!"
"I did!" I retorted. "I fixed it over a month ago! It's probably those grenades rolling in the trunk. Now, be quiet, there's the building." It was a metal structure, built into the wall of the canyon. I could see panels where auto guns would slide out, as well as missile hatches, the kind used for firing chemical weapons. I retracted the roof of the convertible, stood up for a better view.
The back seat slid forward suddenly, opening a path to the trunk, Hasaki crawled out, a shiny silver grenade in his hands. The pin was pulled, and the lights were flashing. "Daddy, what does this do?"
My eyes went wide, and I could swear I heard Techno scream. I snatched the grenade, and threw it out the window. It exploded right next to the building. So much for stealth.
Auto cannons came into view, and began firing. So much for stealth.
"Hasaki!" I yelled. "What are you doing here!? Lay down behind the front seat, and don't move!" I pushed him out of view.
"But, I wanna see!" he whined. I had one hand on the wheel, dodging shots, and one hand on Hasaki, keeping him out of sight.
Techno picked up a large, one-use plasma cannon from the back seat, and balanced it on his shoulder, like a bazooka. He stood up, and aimed for a cluster of three auto guns.
"Eat plasma, biotch!" he yelled, pulling the trigger. A huge blast of white and green plasma flew from the barrel, sparking and hurtling towards its target. The shot impacted, vaporizing all the cannons. The resulting concussive blast, took out another two. There were four left.
I reached back and felt around until I grabbed a grenade. I pulled the pin, and threw it. It went straight down the barrel of a cannon, which exploded as it fired.
The remaining cannons were soon taken care of. I looked back at Hasaki.
"Now, you stay right there, we'll be back."
Hasaki nodded, shaking. Techno and I donned our helmets as we leapt from the car, gliding down to land on a metal platform, right outside a door. The door was flung open suddenly, and a guard ran out. Techno clotheslined him, and we walked right in. Dispatching a few more guards, we entered a room labeled 'storage'. Inside the dimly-lit room were rows and rows of canisters with biohazard stickers on them. It was enough virus to blanket the planet.
"Can you believe that?" Techno mused.
The door opened again. A human man in a lab coat entered the storage room, flanked by several guards.
"Well," he muttered, studying us with cold eyes. "I always knew that defense grid was poor, but I never expected that only two Reploids would be able to defeat it."
"You," Techno hissed at the human, "you're the one who made that virus!"
"That I am," the human continued. "You Reploids are a nuisance. You should know your place, we created you, and you refuse to obey us. You must be disposed of." The guards raised their weapons. Techno's eyes flashed, each of the guards fell suddenly, electricity swirling around them.
I walked up to the human man, backing him against the wall. I unholstered my revolver, and pointed it at his head. This was the man that had caused so much pain, so much suffering. A madman, an extremist. I removed my helmet, so he could see my face, keeping the gun trained on him.
"You!" he exclaimed. "But.. you got the virus! You should be dead!"
I smirked grimly, and pulled back the hammer. "May God have mercy on your soul, human."
"At least I have a soul, wretch!" the human screamed. "I'll see you in hell!"
"When you get there," I whispered, "tell them Shadowfire sent you." I squeezed the trigger. There was a loud bang. A hole appeared between the human's eyes. Blood painted the wall, and splattered on my face and armor. I had killed a human, a nameless man, and I felt no remorse.
"Come on, Techno..." I muttered. "We have to destroy this... all of it."
Techno nodded, and gripped my hand. Ribbons of fire and lightning swirled around us, and a rush of energy went through me. The room was suddenly ablaze, fire burning hot as the sun. Sparks of electricity flew everywhere, overloading everything electronic. Sirens started blaring.
"The main core!" Techno yelled. "It's gonna blow, we've gotta get out of here!" I nodded, and we ran. The building was rumbling, flames everywhere. The exit was in sight, I could see the car.
Techno and I leapt out of the building, taking flight. Halfway to the car, there was a huge explosion. Huge pieces of rock and debris came hurtling towards us. We weren't going to make it to the car... I could see Hasaki standing on the back seat, watching with an expression of horror on his face. The boy's eyes flashed. Everything around us froze, the approaching flames, the flying debris, as if time had stopped. The debris was still spinning, hurtling in place, like it was held back.
We flew up, into the car. Techno took the wheel and sped away. The explosion suddenly continued, but couldn't reach us. We were already long gone.
Hasaki crawled up into my lap, and wrapped his arms around me, crying. I held him closely, beginning to cry, myself.
"Dad, I'm so sorry. You were right, I never should have come."
I shushed him, and brushed his hair out of his face. I gently wiped his tears away, and flashed away my armor, so he wouldn't see all the blood on it. I cried, but none of my tears were shed for the human lives that I had just taken...
EPILOGUE
Nobody ever learned of the human lives I had taken. All that headquarters knew was that we had destroyed the manufacturing building, and, as far as we knew, the only stockpile of the virus.
Several hundred tons of antibodies were synthesized, and distributed to hospitals around the globe. Though many Reploids were lost, more were saved. Perhaps my inadvertent heroism would make up for the Maverick-like actions I had taken.
What puzzled me most, though, was how the explosion had stopped, if only briefly. I knew Hasaki had caused it somehow. Perhaps he had inherited my tendency to harboring strange powers...
Emily Burke
November 7, 2129
Laying in bed, I glanced over at the clock. It was one in the morning, and I couldn't sleep. There was a sense that something was wrong, that something had happened.
Serena turned to face me, and put a hand gently on my arm.
"What's wrong, dear?" she asked tiredly.
"I don't know," I nearly whispered in reply. "I just have this feeling that something bad happened..."
My wife shushed me quietly. "Go back to sleep."
The phone on the nightstand rang loudly, destroying any remaining ability to sleep that I might have had. I reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" I mumbled sleepily. Gate's voice was on the other end.
"Shadowfire?" he asked. "You need to get over here, immediately." There was no explanation, he hung up the phone, and I followed suite.
"I have to go."
Gate was standing outside of the maintenance room, the place where Reploids were activated. He looked at me carefully.
"X is waiting for you inside," he stated.
I nodded, and opened the door. X was inside, standing over a table. On the table, half-buried under wires and cables, was a Reploid girl.
She looked about twenty, slighter younger than I did. Her slender, muscular form was partly covered with a blue bodysuit and silver and light blue armor, which definitely suggested water or ice. Her skin was fine, and pale. Long, straight, light blue hair, with silver streaks, framed her delicate face. Dead, ice blue eyes stared blissfully at nothing.
"Who is she, X?" I asked quietly.
His reply was a nervous whisper. "Your sister." I jerked slightly in surprise. "Her name is Mizu, she's about to be activated."
"I see..."
Gate began hitting switches and pushing buttons. Equipment in the room began to hum to life. A main lever was pulled. There was a brilliant flash as electricity flew into Mizu's unmoving form. There was an almost instant reaction. Her unarmored feet reshaped to become blue-furred paws with silver stripes. Wings began to grow from Mizu's back, blue, of course, with darker blue membranes, and more slash-like silver stripes. Her pupils became serpentine, like mine.
"It happened again!" Gate yelled.
The monitors were showing outrageous readings. Heart rate: 142, Energy output: 87% above norm, bizarre energy coursing through every wire. Brain activity spiking in places where only faint pulses should be detected.
I watched in astonishment. This is exactly what had happened to me. I could feel my own heart racing. Was she okay? Did she survive?
Mizu's eyes were shut tight, and remained so for several minutes as we all stared, dumbfounded. I could sense both dragon and gryphon energies in her.
X lightly touched his new creation's arm, and she sat straight up. Slowly, she looked from me, to X, to me again.
"So," she began in a cocky, self-assured voice, "where's Tweedledum?"
I frowned slightly. "Tweedledum?"
"Well, we have Tweedledee of the strange twins, now, where's Tweedledum?"
A growl escaped me through gritted teeth. "Well, I don't know where Techno is, but, 'Tweedledee' points out that his new sister is no less strange than himself."
Mizu rolled her eyes, and X put an arm on my shoulder, whispering, "calm down a little, Shadowfire."
"Wow, don't get so defensive, pal," the girl muttered. She started looking me over more. "Nice silk pajamas, my liege. They go well with your charming ponytail and macho battle scar."
I felt a sudden pang of fury, but X held me back, grinning nervously at my 'comedian' sister. "He's just not a morning person, Mizu, it's only two in the morning."
"Yes," I growled, "and I'm going to my quarters to finish sleeping." I turned and left. I walked down the nearly deserted hallways, and made my way to my old quarters. I hardly ever used it, unless I had worked late, and was too tired to drive home.
I flopped into bed, and laid there, trying desperately to get back to sleep. I wasn't sure what to think about my new sister. She was so disrespectful. Perhaps I just needed to give her time...
I yawned, and opened my eyes slowly. The first thing I saw was a needle.
"Hi!" Mizu yelled cheerily
"What are you doing!?" I growled.
My sister laughed quietly. "I'm a certified medic. I was programmed with the latest medical information, and, I also downloaded the most recent and thorough scans of your systems. Gate said I needed to give you this vaccine. He said it was a pretty nasty bug going around. So, if you'd just give me your arm..."
She reached for my arm, which I immediately pulled away, growling quietly. "Don't touch me," I commanded harshly.
Mizu looked shocked for a moment. My memories were boiling so close to the surface that she could sense them. "So," she said quietly, "that's why the scar's there..."
I looked away. Expecting the sting of a needle, I was surprised, to feel Mizu's hand on my arm.
"Listen," she began, "you really need this vaccine. Gate didn't want me to tell you just yet, but... Zero was infected with the virus that this vaccine protects against."
I jumped out of bed, to my feet. Mizu grabbed my arm, and stopped me from running out the door.
"Gate definitely won't let you see Zero if you aren't vaccinated against the virus."
I held out my arm. For the first time in years, I voluntarily offered my arm to a syringe. I still had to close my eyes, though, and I still cringed at the cold sting. A wave of dizziness washed through me, followed by a chill. I had to lean against the wall to catch my balance.
"Well, the vaccine took to you," Mizu stated. "Just remember, it can only give you so much protection."
I nodded, and ran down to the medical wing. I grabbed the first nurse I could find, and said, "Where's Zero?"
The nurse pointed to a large metal door. I nodded, and went inside. The room was a medical lab. Computers and equipment were all over. In the center of the room was a quarantine cell. There was a short airlock entryway with two sealed doors, a decontamination area.
I peered through one of the airtight windows of the quarantine. Zero was inside, stripped of armor, and strapped to a table. There were wires all over him, wires that lead out of the quarantine, and into laboratory analysis computers. His eyes were only slightly open, though he didn't appear to be very aware. A few scientists in sealed, transparent biohazard suits walked around him, taking readings like a bunch of misplaced astronauts.
Gate approached me, looking slightly irritated. He said, "What are you doing here!? Who let you in??"
"Nobody was guarding the door," I muttered. "I want to go in and talk to him."
Gate looked as if I had smacked him. "Out of the question!" he snapped.
I smiled slightly, which made him frown, he knew I had something up my sleeve. "Actually," I began, "I can go in there. In the Hunter's Medical Guide, section 2, paragraph 12, it states that in situations of this nature, 'if vaccinated and protected via biohazard equipment, anyone with a level 0 clearance may enter the quarantine.' As you know, I have level 0 clearance."
Gate sighed in frustration. I thought that memorizing that stupid medical guide would never be worth the waste of memory space.
"Fine," the scientist seemed to hiss. "Put on a damned biohazard suit and go through decon..."
I grinned smugly as I grabbed one of the plastic-like suits. As I slipped it on, I realized that I would have to be careful, or my heel claws might puncture the suit. Snapping on the sealed helmet activated airflow from the pack on the back of the suit. I walked through the first door of the quarantine entrance, and the door slammed and sealed behind me. Bright ultraviolet lamps flashed on, forcing me to close my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, the once-open coverings over the suit zippers had sealed together, a reaction to ultraviolet bombardment. The second door opened, and I walked inside of the quarantine.
Zero turned his head to look at me, and smirked a bit. "Hey, moon man, you left your pajamas on."
I couldn't help but smile, just to make him feel better.
"It's really focking cold in here..." he suddenly fell silent. All of the doctors immediately backed away from the table. I, mistakenly, did not.
Zero's eyes snapped open suddenly, shimmering red. He mustered enough strength to break the straps over his arms. His fingers pierced my suit, and dug into my shoulders. I tried to pull away, but he was too strong. I felt circulatory fluids trickling down my back. He had broken the skin, and was about to break my collarbone.
One of the scientists finally grabbed a shock-gun, and jabbed it into Zero's back. A jolt of electricity made him jerk back, ripping the upper half of my suit off, including the helmet. I fell back against the wall, in shock from what had just happened.
After a great deal of thrashing and struggling, Zero was finally subdued. One scientist grabbed me by the arms, and dragged me into the entryway. A bright ultraviolet flash killed the virus particles on the surface of my body. I was pulled out of the quarantine, and placed on a table. A few medics scissored the rest of the biohazard suit off of me.
Gate turned on a scanner, and moved it over my body.
"Great," he mumbled. "It's already been circulated around his body. It will invade his nervous system at any time. No telling how his systems will handle it... Try radiation bombardment with gamma rays, see if there's any effect."
I was taken to a room with a radiation sign overhead, and placed in a cylindrical tunnel in the wall. "Keep your eyes open," one of the medics ordered, as he closed the hatch to the tunnel.
There was a sudden jolt, a shock to the systems, my vision went black, though I was still conscious. There was a terrible burning in my eyes, and I shut them tightly.
The two medics pulled me back out of the tunnel, the radiation neutralized. There was damage. The sensors in the backs of my eyes had been singed on the surface by the radiation, blinding me.
"The blindness is only temporary," one of the medics reassured as I hissed in pain. I felt the slight tingling of a scanner running over me.
"Damn," a medic swore. "No signs of remission, it's beginning to invade the nervous system now..." A flash of numbness went through me, followed by paralysis. I couldn't move my limbs. At first, my fingers began to quiver, then, violent shudders coursed through my body. I lost consciousness suddenly.
--Techno--
I sat in my bedroom quietly, yet another bottle of Scotch in my lap. It would be the third one of the night. I had been hiding all the 'contraband' in a trunk under the bed. So far, nobody else knew about it. I had to hide my bottle under the sheets, though, when the door was flung open. Hasaki came running in. He jumped up onto the bed, into my lap, nearly knocking me over, he was crying.
"Uncle, uncle, dad got sick with a virus and they're keeping him locked up and he might die!" The kid yelled it all so fast, it took me a minute to sort it all out. My brother could kick the bucket. If he died, so would I. Oh, the joys of being a twin.
I hugged my nephew, trying to give him a bit of comfort as he sobbed into my shirt, which was soon soaked with tears.
"Come on now," I reassured, "your dad's a tough guy. He'll be fine."
--Shadowfire--
I awoke in a sterile quarantine room, strapped tightly to a medical table. One of many computer monitors turned on, to show Gate's face.
"Ah, you're awake," he observed, his voice coming over a speaker.
"Why did I black out?" I inquired.
"The virus," Gate continued, "caused a sudden seizure. We have you on some Phenobarbital to take care of that, so you might feel a bit weak." I now noticed the IV, and many wires on my body. "I'm afraid that your condition is only going to get worse. Your design is different from most Reploids, though, so there's a chance you might survive. If you do live, you'll develop a permanent immunity to the virus."
I leaned my head back, and sighed, "If I live. It's going to go to my head, isn't it? Make me go insane?"
"Most likely," Gate replied. How comforting. "We've taken some precautions against that, though. There are several automatic paralysis guns in the room, they're hidden, and I'm not going to tell you where they are. Not only that, but your IV line is also connected to a sedative pump. So, if you start getting out of control, we'll have you down and out in no time."
I rolled my eyes slightly. "Thanks, Gate. You've really reassured me." At that, I swear I saw the bastard smile a bit. "Isn't anyone going to come into the room? At all?"
"Medics and scientists," Gate said, "myself, occasionally. Nobody else, though. You're considered our biggest security risk right now."
"I feel so special," I muttered. I felt a sudden wave of agony. It washed through me, and when it had passed, I felt frightened, moreso than before. It wasn't Gate's face on the monitor, it was Leo's. He brandished his whips, and laughed.
"I'm coming..." he hissed. "To finish what I started with your scars..." The door open, and he walked in.
--Gate--
I watched closely through the monitors as Eric walked into the quarantine. Shadowfire was acting strangely, first, like he was in pain, then, as if he were... somewhere else.
He kept his eyes trained on Eric, as if he were there to kill him. Shadowfire squirmed in his straps, and roared loudly, his claws extended, gouging into the table. He managed to slash the straps close to his wrists, freeing his arms. Eric backed away.
It was all okay, I could get him under control, easy. I hit the button for the sedative pump Shadowfire jerked his arm, and the IV was pulled out. He tore away his leg straps, and the sedative dripped uselessly onto the floor. Okay, a little more serious... still had the paralysis cannons... I activated them.
Shadowfire threw Eric back, a wave of fire went out from his body just as the cannons activated, frying them. The monitors went static, the cameras were melted. I ran to the quarantine door. There was a terrible pounding sound, and the thick metal door was beginning to dent. I hit the panic button.
Red lights begin flashing, and a klaxon alarm started up. Guards poured in, and trained their guns on the door. The alarm quieted, and everything seemed eerily still. The pounding had stopped. Tensions were running high. Had the virus caused him to fall unconscious again?
The door was blown outward on an explosion of flames, cutting a swath through the guards. Shadowfire stepped out, in full armor. The guards' shots largely bounced off of his armor, and didn't slow him down at all.
Shadowfire activated the Dragonsmaw, and began firing. Blasts of plasma rocketed around the room, injuring several guards. A terrible force had been unleashed.
--X--
I was furious at what Gate was telling me. "He caught the virus!?" I practically screamed at him. "You didn't tell me! What's going to happen t him, now?"
"The virus will almost undoubtedly kill him," Gate continued. "But... just in case, we've sent Hunters out to track him, and... take care of him before he can reach any cities. If they can't find him, we may have to terminate Techno to take care of Shadowfire." I had never felt so enraged.
"You," I hissed, "are talking about his brother as if he's nothing more than a trump card! You will leave Techno out of it!"
Gate stood up, and left.
Mizu leaned against the wall, head down. "This is my fault. If I hadn't told him about Zero-"
"He would have found out anyway," I said. "It's not your fault."
--Techno--
I watched the Hunters march by the house, into the woods. Their orders were shoot to kill, to kill my brother. Reploid twins, the connection of life forces, a bizarre phenomenon. I had spent a great deal of time thinking about it, and had developed a few theories. It was much like tying two bowling balls together with a piece of rope, and then suspending them, balanced, from a high branch using said rope. The rope symbolizes the 'connection' of life force. If the rope is frayed on one side, if one twin is hurt, then both bowling balls sink slightly, but the rope can repair itself. However, if, on one side, the rope is cut, if a twin dies, then that ball falls. Without the other ball to balance and support it, the second one falls as well.
Other little 'theories' had spawned from this one. I had long wondered how to stop the passage of suffering from one twin to the other, the sharing of traumatic experiences. You couldn't sever the 'rope', or both bowling balls would fall. But, what if you tied a knot in the rope? Could the transmission be temporarily choked off?
I was distracted from my thoughts by a loud bang. It had come from a ways into the forest. Had they found Shadowfire? I ran to the window to see. A column of flames had risen through the trees, spinning like a cyclonic pillar of hellfire. I could feel the tremendous energy in it, even from nearly half a mile away. It was pyrokinetic energy. My brother was fighting the Hunters, and he would win. They didn't understand the otherworldly nature of our power. I knew for a fact that my brother's strength surpassed that of any Hunter, he had just refused to use it before, in fear of 'collateral damage.' Now that he was insane, there was no telling what he might do.
I felt torn. I wanted to help my brother, but, then I would become an outlaw. I also wanted to help the Hunters... Shadowfire could kill so many people if he got away. I couldn't just do nothing.
I pulled a heavy trunk out from under the bed, and unlocked it. It was littered with scotch bottles, a few packs of cigarettes, and other stuff not allowed in the house. I shoved some of this out of the way, and opened a secret compartment in the bottom. There were a few things here. An old dagger, some jewelry, and a glass and metal canister with a glowing orb in it. I picked up the canister, and looked at it. The glowing orb was pure data, data for a flash suit, the armor of a Reploid. I had no flash suit, yet.
The canister had been given to me by Lira, the Gryphon Storm Goddess who saved me at activation. The data would be downloaded into my body, and configured to form armor that would suit me. It was permanent, the data would remain in me forever.
I eyed a small red button on the metal canister, the activation switch. I pushed it. Small metal claws extended from the canister, and pierced the palm of my hand. I gritted my teeth. The glow inside the canister dissipated as the data was injected into me. I dropped the canister, and fell over. The raw data surged through me, fusing into my nervous system, into my brain. A bright light surrounded me as the armor materialized. The flash faded. Black armor with electric blue trim coated my body. It was relatively form-fitting, like Shadowfire's, but with feather-like metal projections on the outer ankles and wrists. They were sharpened blades. A crimson red visor, connected to a fierce-looking helmet, covered my eyes.
I stood back up, and looked at the world through my new visor. It had heat-vision, ultraviolet detection, and even some limited X-ray capabilities. One thing I especially noticed was its ability to detect electrical currents. Being an electrokinetic, I could sense electricity, but the visor allowed me to see it, every electrical wire in the walls glowed with energy.
I stepped out onto the balcony, and felt the cool night breeze ruffle my feathers. I spread my wings, and leapt, letting the air carry my weight. It didn't take very long to get to the battlefield. There were scorched and blackened trees, a crater in the ground, injured Hunters strewn about. Shadowfire stood among the chaos, panting. Using so much pyrokinetic energy had weakened him, perhaps I had a chance.
I landed about ten feet away from him, just out of reach of his powerful tail. "Shadowfire," I started, "you're sick. Please come back, you need help."
My brother roared in response, and charged forward. I leapt over his assault, and landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. A glow surrounded his body, and a sudden burst of flames threw me back. It had come to this, we were using our powers against each other.
I retaliated by calling down a lightning bolt. It struck Shadowfire full in the chest, and flung him into the nearest tree. He lay there for a moment, the shock had interfered with the electrical signals of his systems. He recovered quickly, and took flight. I leapt into the air, following him into the night sky. My brother was incredibly fast on the wing, but I was equally swift, and managed to keep up with him.
We were soon flying over LA, about eighty miles from Hunter HQ, directly over the huge international airport. Air traffic was heavy, lots of jets were in the air. Shadowfire suddenly went into a nosedive, his limbs pulled back. I soon realized that this was not intentional, as he struck the wing of a landing jet, and rolled off.
I tucked my wings back and dove, hoping to catch my brother before he plummeted do his death on the concrete landing strip. I barely closed the distance fast enough. I gripped him around the waist, and pulled him back up, higher into the sky, and, away from the city. Shadowfire snapped awake suddenly. He reached back, and grabbed my helmet, pushing back hard. If I didn't let go, he would snap my neck like a dry twig. I dropped him, and he flew only a few yards away. His eyes flashed, and a huge fireball came hurtling toward me. I dropped down quickly, and it missed. Turning around, to my horror, I saw the fireball split into a dozen comet-like flames, which all turned back toward me. I flew as fast as I could, but the fireballs caught up, and slammed into my back. My feathered wings exploded into flames. I flailed in the air, which only fanned the fire.
No longer able to support me, my wings went slack, and I began to fall. I looked below, forest, meadow, and a lake. Would I be able to reach the lake? I spread my arms out, using the feather blades as rather pathetic makeshift wings. They caught just enough air to push me forward. I hit the water at seventy miles an hour, and my whole body cried out from the impact. The fire was doused, though, and my wings regenerated their singed feathers almost immediately.
Peering through out of the water, I saw Shadowfire nowhere in sight. I swam to shore, and pulled myself out of the water. Everything went black.
I awakened after several hours, still lying on the lake shore. It was nearly noon, and the sun was blazing down. I stood up, and shook the sand out of my wings. My feathers absorbed the sun's energy like a bunch of little, overlapping solar cells.
I took flight, I had to find Shadowfire. I could sense his energy, he had returned to the area around Hunter HQ. Soon, I was overhead. My brother had his back to a large boulder, about the size of a semi cab. X had him cornered. I could see that he was trying to talk to my brother, but had his weapon drawn, just in case. He didn't get the chance to use it. Shadowfire stuck his claws into the boulder, and, straining, lifted it up, and threw straight at X.
Summoning up my energy, I threw out a bolt of electricity. It struck the huge rock, which exploded into smaller pieces. One of the larger fragments struck X in the chest, knocking him on his back. Shadowfire seized the opportunity, and rushed forward. He tackled X, and the two rolled on the ground. My father was desperately trying to free his X- buster, pinned beneath him, so he could defend himself, as my brother, ripped into him with his claws. X's breastplate was ripped open, there was a huge, bleeding gash in his left arm, but he wasn't giving up. He freed his right arm, putting the barrel of his weapon against Shadowfire's chest, and fired.
A blast of white-hot plasma struck him point-blank, blowing him back nearly fifty feet. There was a hole about six inches around blasted through Shadowfire's breastplate, surrounded by a ring of scorched, partly melted metal.
I dove down, and pinned my brother to the ground, I turned to X, and yelled, "Get the hell out of here! Run!" But he refused to go.
Shadowfire struggled below me, roaring in fury. This had to stop. There was only one way. My armor vanished, leaving me totally vulnerable. I let Shadowfire up, and stood before him. He raised the Dragonsmaw, its four long, sharp blades flashing brutally in the sun. I had to do it. He was too strong, his energy levels too high, for anyone to overpower. He was so much more important than me, as well. A hero, a family man. I was but a lowly bounty hunter with drinking issues. I had little to lose.
"NO!" X yelled. The blades came down, and plunged into my chest, one of them piercing my heart. Shadowfire jerked, the rope was fraying. I felt black fluid well up my throat, and drip from my nose and mouth. My brother fell to the ground, pulling the blades out of my body. I had to act quickly, tie a knot in the rope, so he would not die with me, but become unconscious.
Closing my eyes, I let myself fall back, system warnings were blaring in my head. Fluid pressure dropping, energy levels critical. I overrode several safety protocols in my electronic brain, and blocked everything. Memory, personality, sealed away. The knot was tied, and tight. I had done all that I could... And briefly, I heard a voice. "The plague comes from the Great Canyon of the Desert."
--Gate--
Shadowfire was finally returned to the medical bay, and without a trace of virus. The fluid tests showed, however, that he was loaded with antibodies, the reason for the virus's disappearance.
While he was still unconscious, and manageable, I filtered out some of the antibodies, taking several samples. I put one of the samples into a computer, to be synthesized, and loaded yet another into a syringe. Zero's condition was critical, and could not wait for antibodies to be synthesized.
I made my way into the quarantine, and walked up to Zero. He was barely breathing, almost comatose. I injected the antibodies, and saw positive, almost immediate results. Vital signs stabilized, and scanners showed the virus being eaten away rapidly, with apparently no ill effects on Zero. His eyes fluttered open.
--Shadowfire--
I woke up in a normal hospital room, with X and Mizu standing over me. X's left arm was bandaged, but there was a smile on his tear-streaked face. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, but his smile soon faded.
"Shadowfire," he started. "Y...your brother... your brother is dead." I had killed him... But, it seemed impossible. If he had died, I should have been dead, too. Mizu answered my question before I could even ask it.
"He blocked off the link, somehow," she said. "Gate's spent hours repairing him. He should be ready for reactivation, soon... We're so glad you're okay. And... you have other visitors, so we'll see you later." The two walked out.
Serena and Hasaki came in. The little boy jumped up onto the bed, and practically latched onto me. It was then that I noticed Zero standing in the entryway. He had a slight smirk on his face, arms crossed.
"Zero? I thought you were-?"
"Sick?" he finished my question. "Not anymore. Gate took some of your virus antibodies and used them on me. Cured me in a jiffy. Good thing you're useful for something." He smirked once more. "And, amazingly, you didn't kill anyone.. except..."
"Techno."
My brother lay on a metal table, covered in wires and cables. Gate threw the switch, and electricity coursed into him. Techno jerked from the sudden shock. His eyes opened wide, vital signs leaping. He was alive.
Techno was wide-eyed and frightened as Gate began disconnecting wires. What was wrong with him?
"Who are you?" he asked Gate quietly. The scientist gave him an odd look, and finished up his wire removal. Techno was then taken to be scanned. After a few minutes, Gate returned to talk with me.
"There's a problem," he started. "In order to stop the connection between you two, Techno blocked off his memory and personality."
"No..."
Gate held his hands up. "It's temporary. His memory and personality will return soon, but, until then, he'll basically have the mentality of a child. I think you should... take him to the house, so he'll be around familiar sights. It might help return his memory faster." I nodded in reply. "If there are any more problems, contact me immediately."
I had to follow Techno as he walked around the house. He stopped and looked at a vase of roses, muttering, "Pretty..."
He reached out to touch it, and nearly knocked the vase over. "No!" I yelled. "Don't touch that!" Techno recoiled, ears down, eyes watering. It was like a little child who was afraid of getting a whipping from his parents.
"I'm not mad," I tried to calm him down. "It's alright. Please don't cry." I didn't know what else to do, I gave him a hug. He hopped up into my arms, his own arms loosely around my neck. Then, Techno kissed me on the cheek, and laughed loudly. I dropped him straight on his butt, and he stood up, rubbing his backside.
"Ow, my ass... I save your life, and this is the thanks I get, you bastard," he joked, sticking his tongue out.
"Tech! How long have you been... back to normal?"
"Only a few seconds," Techno replied. I hugged him again, tears welling in my eyes, he was okay. My brother pretended to gag.
"Oh, come on, don't get all soggy on me," he said.
"But..." I stammered, "but.. I killed you..."
Techno smiled, and said, "Take me to the Grand Canyon in your Viper, and we'll call it even. Bring guns."
I gave him an odd look. "Bring guns? What?"
My brother looked at me with a grave expression. "When I died," he started, "I spoke to the gryphon, Lira. I heard her voice. She said 'the plague comes from the Great Canyon of the Desert.' We have to go there, and destroy the place. We have to do it alone, too. If we bring anyone else, they'll just get killed."
I nodded slightly. "Alright... and the Viper will be fast, and less conspicuous than the jet. They'll think we're just tourists."
Techno grinned. "Yeah, tourists packing heat."
I went up to my room, and summoned my armor, minus the helmet. I opened the weapons safe, and began strapping on guns. As a bucked the last strap into place, I felt eyes staring at me, and turned around to face Serena.
"I heard you and your brother talking," she said quietly. "Don't do it. Let the other Hunters take care of it."
"The other Hunters," I started, "aren't powerful enough."
"You could be killed. Hasaki... doesn't need to grow up without a father."
"Serena... Hasaki is part Reploid. If these people are allowed to continue the manufacturing of this virus, they could wipe Reploids off the face of the planet. Hasaki is only a child... what immunity would he have from the virus?"
Tears welled in her eyes. "Come back safe." I wrapped my arms around her, and held her for what seemed like an eternity, before giving her a parting kiss, and walking downstairs, and out the door. Techno was waiting by the car, armored up, and packing a lot of heat.
Hasaki came running outside, a big grin on his face. "Daddy! You're going on a mission! Can I come too?"
I looked at him, and his happy expression faded. I picked him up, and held him closely. "Absolutely not," I stated. "It's very dangerous. I love you very much, and I don't want you to get hurt."
He grumbled something, and frowned. I hugged him again, and set him on the ground before stepping into the car. I smiled at him as I started the engine. The car hovered a couple inches off the ground, but the landing skids would not retract. I looked at the controls.
"Oh, come on!" I yelled, pushing the skid control button several times. "Too much drag!"
Techno shoved my hands out of the way. "You're not gonna get anywhere doing that." He slammed his fist down on the dash. There was a thud, and the skids retracted. Techno grinned. "There, see? All it needed was a little motivation."
I couldn't help but laugh slightly. Here we were, a load of weapons in the back seat and glove compartment, and we were joking around.
Three hours had passed. The sun was beginning to set. We were flying just fifty feet below the lip of the Grand Canyon, nearing our target. Something thudded.
"What was that?" Techno questioned. "I thought you fixed that loose pipe!"
"I did!" I retorted. "I fixed it over a month ago! It's probably those grenades rolling in the trunk. Now, be quiet, there's the building." It was a metal structure, built into the wall of the canyon. I could see panels where auto guns would slide out, as well as missile hatches, the kind used for firing chemical weapons. I retracted the roof of the convertible, stood up for a better view.
The back seat slid forward suddenly, opening a path to the trunk, Hasaki crawled out, a shiny silver grenade in his hands. The pin was pulled, and the lights were flashing. "Daddy, what does this do?"
My eyes went wide, and I could swear I heard Techno scream. I snatched the grenade, and threw it out the window. It exploded right next to the building. So much for stealth.
Auto cannons came into view, and began firing. So much for stealth.
"Hasaki!" I yelled. "What are you doing here!? Lay down behind the front seat, and don't move!" I pushed him out of view.
"But, I wanna see!" he whined. I had one hand on the wheel, dodging shots, and one hand on Hasaki, keeping him out of sight.
Techno picked up a large, one-use plasma cannon from the back seat, and balanced it on his shoulder, like a bazooka. He stood up, and aimed for a cluster of three auto guns.
"Eat plasma, biotch!" he yelled, pulling the trigger. A huge blast of white and green plasma flew from the barrel, sparking and hurtling towards its target. The shot impacted, vaporizing all the cannons. The resulting concussive blast, took out another two. There were four left.
I reached back and felt around until I grabbed a grenade. I pulled the pin, and threw it. It went straight down the barrel of a cannon, which exploded as it fired.
The remaining cannons were soon taken care of. I looked back at Hasaki.
"Now, you stay right there, we'll be back."
Hasaki nodded, shaking. Techno and I donned our helmets as we leapt from the car, gliding down to land on a metal platform, right outside a door. The door was flung open suddenly, and a guard ran out. Techno clotheslined him, and we walked right in. Dispatching a few more guards, we entered a room labeled 'storage'. Inside the dimly-lit room were rows and rows of canisters with biohazard stickers on them. It was enough virus to blanket the planet.
"Can you believe that?" Techno mused.
The door opened again. A human man in a lab coat entered the storage room, flanked by several guards.
"Well," he muttered, studying us with cold eyes. "I always knew that defense grid was poor, but I never expected that only two Reploids would be able to defeat it."
"You," Techno hissed at the human, "you're the one who made that virus!"
"That I am," the human continued. "You Reploids are a nuisance. You should know your place, we created you, and you refuse to obey us. You must be disposed of." The guards raised their weapons. Techno's eyes flashed, each of the guards fell suddenly, electricity swirling around them.
I walked up to the human man, backing him against the wall. I unholstered my revolver, and pointed it at his head. This was the man that had caused so much pain, so much suffering. A madman, an extremist. I removed my helmet, so he could see my face, keeping the gun trained on him.
"You!" he exclaimed. "But.. you got the virus! You should be dead!"
I smirked grimly, and pulled back the hammer. "May God have mercy on your soul, human."
"At least I have a soul, wretch!" the human screamed. "I'll see you in hell!"
"When you get there," I whispered, "tell them Shadowfire sent you." I squeezed the trigger. There was a loud bang. A hole appeared between the human's eyes. Blood painted the wall, and splattered on my face and armor. I had killed a human, a nameless man, and I felt no remorse.
"Come on, Techno..." I muttered. "We have to destroy this... all of it."
Techno nodded, and gripped my hand. Ribbons of fire and lightning swirled around us, and a rush of energy went through me. The room was suddenly ablaze, fire burning hot as the sun. Sparks of electricity flew everywhere, overloading everything electronic. Sirens started blaring.
"The main core!" Techno yelled. "It's gonna blow, we've gotta get out of here!" I nodded, and we ran. The building was rumbling, flames everywhere. The exit was in sight, I could see the car.
Techno and I leapt out of the building, taking flight. Halfway to the car, there was a huge explosion. Huge pieces of rock and debris came hurtling towards us. We weren't going to make it to the car... I could see Hasaki standing on the back seat, watching with an expression of horror on his face. The boy's eyes flashed. Everything around us froze, the approaching flames, the flying debris, as if time had stopped. The debris was still spinning, hurtling in place, like it was held back.
We flew up, into the car. Techno took the wheel and sped away. The explosion suddenly continued, but couldn't reach us. We were already long gone.
Hasaki crawled up into my lap, and wrapped his arms around me, crying. I held him closely, beginning to cry, myself.
"Dad, I'm so sorry. You were right, I never should have come."
I shushed him, and brushed his hair out of his face. I gently wiped his tears away, and flashed away my armor, so he wouldn't see all the blood on it. I cried, but none of my tears were shed for the human lives that I had just taken...
EPILOGUE
Nobody ever learned of the human lives I had taken. All that headquarters knew was that we had destroyed the manufacturing building, and, as far as we knew, the only stockpile of the virus.
Several hundred tons of antibodies were synthesized, and distributed to hospitals around the globe. Though many Reploids were lost, more were saved. Perhaps my inadvertent heroism would make up for the Maverick-like actions I had taken.
What puzzled me most, though, was how the explosion had stopped, if only briefly. I knew Hasaki had caused it somehow. Perhaps he had inherited my tendency to harboring strange powers...