Author's Note: Once upon a time, I came up with a story entitled "Absolute Power". Several years later, I decided to try writing it in detail and posting it online. The results were not what I had expected. What was originally to be the Prologue became four chapters, and I got stuck after that. Since the "Prologue" stood alone alright, I decided to leave it at that until I could figure out what to do about the story.

I think I may now have a way to tell "Absolute Power" properly, but most of the events of the "Prologue" aren't even going to be in it. As such, I have decide to re-title the prologue "Visitor From the Future", edit it to better stand alone, and leave it as a separate story.

Setting Note: This story is set in a "Zone" (alternate universe) similar to the comic's main world, Mobius Prime. It takes place not long after issue 18 and the "In Your Face" special.

Credits: I have taken the song "Crankin' Super Sonic" from the SatAM Sonic episode "Sub-Sonic," which was written by Barbara Slade. According to the ending credits, the episode's music was by Michael Tavera, and supervised by Joanne Miller. (I certainly didn't write it!) Finally, Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are property of Sega, and used without permission. (As if you didn't know that.)

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A Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Fiction:

Absolute Power:
Visitor From the Future
By Chronos the Cat

Chapter One:
The Shadow of Robotnik

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Another zone, another time...

The sound of an electric guitar blared through the Great Forest, overwhelming its normal sounds. In a clearing in the forest Sonic the Hedgehog was happily practicing his playing.

Soon, he started singing as well:

"You put the pedal to the metal,
and baby, I guarantee -
You'll be juicin',to the tenth degree!

Crankin' Super Sonic,
the rocket's in my pocket.
I don't need any fuel,
'cause I'm way-ay-ay—
Past cool!"

He bowed and said to his nonexistent audience, "Thank you, thank you. ...Not a bad performance, if I do say so myself." Though a little more practice wouldn't hurt, especially if I want to impress Sally with it, he thought.

He prepared to go back to practicing, but stopped a moment to listen to the birds singing. It wasn't often he got a chance to hear the sounds of nature. Knothole might be a village, but it was a quite crowded one these days, what with all the refugees from Robotnik they'd taken in, so you had to get up pretty early if you wanted peace and quiet. And when Sonic was in the forest, he was usually going somewhere, at super-sonic speeds. But for once, he could relax and enjoy nature. Which is what he did. Until he got bored, about ten seconds later.

I wonder how fast I can play the guitar? he thought. He then set out to find out.

The sounds of his playing spread out through the forest, but the trees muffled the sound enough that you couldn't hear it in Knothole. There, most of the other Freedom Fighters were passing time their own ways.

"Hey, Rotor! Want to play dirt-hockey with me?" Tails asked Rotor. Rotor was bent over one of his inventions in his workshop.

"Sorry, Tails, I'm busy here. If I can get this Inter-Zonal Multi-Dimensional-Framistat working, we may be able to enter the Zone of Silence and rescue the King. The only problem is I can't seem to find a way to get past the Negative Reality Barrier. Dang barrier's been stopping me for months, but I refuse to give up. There has to be a way."

"Oh," Tails sighed.

Rotor turned to look at him. "Why don't you go see if Sonic or Sally will play with you?"

Tails shook his head. "I can't find Sonic anywhere, and when I went to ask Sally, Rosie told me not to bother Sally."

"I see. Sally must still be mourning Julayla's death. Julayla was like a mother to Sally. …Hmmm… Maybe Bunnie will play with you?"

"Yeah, I'll ask her next."

Rotor turned back to his work. "Well, good luck!"

Tails found Bunnie helping some villagers repair a hut that had been damaged by a falling tree limb. At the moment she was using her mechanical strength (and extendable arms and legs) to hold up the roof while the others repaired its supports. "Oh, hi, Tails!" She said, seeing him.

Tails could tell she wouldn't be able to play with him right away—if she moved from that spot, the roof would collapse. "Hi, Bunnie," he said, disappointed.

"Oh my! What's got you down, Sugah-Tails?" she asked.

"Oh, it's just that everyone's too busy to play with me."

"Ah see. Well, as y'all mighta' noticed, ah'm a mite busy myself. But tell ya' what. How 'bout you all help me and the workers here, and afterwards, ah'll play with ya'. It shouldn't take too much longer ta finish here, 'specially with you and your 'bility ta fly helpin' us."

"You want my help?! ...Well, I guess..." Tails said with mixed feelings. On the one hand he had hoped to just play today, and wasn't sure he liked the idea of having to work. On the other hand, though, he liked being useful, and it was rare he got a chance to help out. And then of course there was the fact that Bunnie had promised to play with him afterwards. He wasn't as close to Bunnie as he was to the other Freedom Fighters, but he almost looked forwards to this opportunity all the more for that—after all, he liked having as many friends as possible.

And so, Tails helped Bunnie and the repairmen fix the hut's roof. The work was almost done (and Bunnie was no longer serving as a brace), when a blinding flash of blue light lit the village. As their eyes cleared, Bunnie, Tails, and the repairmen looked around for the source of the flash. It had come from the center of a nearby intersection. Kneeling on the dirt road with its' head lowered was something or someone that hadn't been there before.

Tails' first thought was that it looked like a hedgehog—the quills on its head were certainly similar. But the rest of its body seemed to suggest otherwise. It's arms and legs were bulkier than a hedgehog's and they (as well as what they could see of the rest of its' body other than the head) were shiny, and jointed like armor. Or, as Bunnie knew all too well, like a robot. The workmen and other villagers nearby stiffened in fear as they realized what they appeared to be dealing with.

Bunnie motioned everyone back, and steeped carefully towards the intruder. With her superb hearing (she was a rabbit, after all) she thought she heard the robot—or whatever it was—breathing in deeply. Why would a robot breathe? she wondered.

Slowly, the stranger stood up. As it raised its' head, even Bunnie drew back in shock. It can't be! Tails was the first to give voice to what they all saw. "Sonic?!"

Indeed, the "robot's" head did in fact look just like Sonic's. The 'bot—if that was what it was—looked around at the village and all the people there, an unreadable expression on its face.

At last, the stranger spoke. "Bunnie, Tails, it's nice to see you again. In fact, it's nice to see all of you again. It's been far too long since I saw so many free Mobians together—let alone completely natural ones.

"I'd nearly forgotten how beautiful Knothole was, and what clean air smelled like. Man, it's good to be back. …I only wish I could stay longer." A nostalgic smile crossed his face.

Tails almost whimpered as he said, "Bunnie, what's going on?"

Bunnie glanced at Tails out of the corner of her eye, then turned back to the stranger with a stern look. "Ah don't know, Sugah-Tails, but ah think it's about time we started findin' out." She clenched her mechanical fist in front of her, and said in a louder voice, "All right, pardnah, ah think we-all deserve an explanation. Who and what are ya', and what are y'all doin' heah?"

The stranger calmly stared at Bunnie for a second then answered, "I'll answer that, but first... this is the year 3234, right?"

"Huh? Of course it is. Ya mean y'all weren't sure?"

"Not entirely, no. But it looks like I calculated correctly. Good, I should be out of Chrono-nik's range.

"In answer to your earlier questions, you already know who I am, or at least you've guessed. I'm Sonic. Or at least, a future version of him. I've traveled back in time because—well, that's a long story, and I don't want to have to explain it more than once. For now, let's just say I need your help.

"That's what I'm doing here. As for what I am—what I've become... In my time I'm referred to as a 'technimal.' I suppose the best word to describe it in this time would be 'cyborg' but that word doesn't come close to describing the level of integration between my organic and technological aspects."

"Ah see," Bunnie said skeptically. "Tails, ah think you-all bettah go get the other Freedom Fighters."

The future Sonic nodded. "Yes, why don't you do that, Tails? I need to talk with all of them." Dutifully, Tails flew off.

After a few moments, Bunnie asked, "Y'all don't really expect us to trust you, do ya?"

"Sonic" thought about this for a moment, then answered, "Expect? No. But it would still be nice if you did. Really, what reason do you have to distrust me? My appearance? I'd have thought you of all people would be above that."

Bunnie shook her head. "No, it's not that. What bothers me is this talk of time-travel. It just sounds a might suspicious if ya ask me."

"Oh, so that's it. In that case, I don't know what to tell you. It's the truth. What more can I say?"

They just stood there for a little while. After minute or so, Bunnie relaxed from the defensive stance she'd been in. She still wasn't completely at ease, though. Finally, she grew tired of just standing there, and decided to ask a question that had been on her mind. "Sonic, if that's really who y'all are; ya' say you're a cyborg."

"So to speak."

"Right. Well this is mah question: Why are you a cyborg? What happened?"

He looked away, obviously unhappy. He then looked back at Bunnie, or more precisely, at her robotic parts. Finally he spoke. "I was infected by the 'Technomorphosis Virus.' I'm not sure how to describe it in terms you'll understand. ...Basically, it's a much more advanced version of roboticization. Only instead of turning you into a robot, it turns you into a technimal. Technimals supposedly possess the best aspects of both organic life and robotic systems. We can reproduce and grow, but we can also be built and redesigned. We have our own free will, and can make our own decisions, but most technimals—besides myself—must still obey the will of Chrono-nik."

"Chrono-nik?"

"Robotnik. He re-named himself again in my time."

"Oh. So why are y'all different? Were ya not fully roboticized? That why your head is normal?"

"My head isn't really normal. It just looks that way. As far as why I still have my complete free-will, Sally was able to re-program me before she..." His voice trailed away. He looked down lost in his own thoughts. Finally he looked up again and said, "Well, anyway, if you want to talk while we wait for the others, how about I ask a question? I know when I am, but refresh my memory. What was our last mission, exactly?"

Bunnie considered pressing for more details regarding "technomorphosis" and why mention of the future's Sally had upset him, but she decided against it. He'd already said he only wanted to explain things once, and this was obviously one of those things. Instead, she answered his question. "Well our last mission was a few days ago, when we went into the Forbidden Zone to retrieve Julayla's last message ta' Sally."

"Hmmm... It's hard to remember much this far back. Is this around the time we were preparing for that play about me and Sal getting married?"

"Yeah, we just did that play not long ago."

"What about that time Robotnik built that super-robot... um, I think he called it 'Eve,' or something... the one that blasted him and made us think he'd been killed?"

Bunnie looked at him in confusion. "Ah have no idea what y'all are talkin' 'bout, deah."

Future Sonic frowned. "I guess that must not have happened yet. Oh, well."

The two stood there a few minutes more. Some of the spectators took advantage of this lull to run off to tell their friends about this. Whether what future-Sonic said was true or not, this was something no one wanted to miss.

…However, those who took too long did miss the next thing to happen. A sonic boom rocked the quit village, signaling the return of it's foremost resident (with the possible exception of Princess Sally), Sonic the Hedgehog. After that, it was only a matter of seconds until the blue-blur rocketed into the intersection to see what was going on.

After skidding to a stop, raising a cloud of dust, he stood and stared at his counterpart for about three seconds (a long time for him) before exclaiming, "Well' I'll be! It's another me! Hey there buddy, what's shakin'?"

Future Sonic smiled. "Hello there, ...Sonic. Nice to meet 'me'. ...Sorry, that's the cleverest thing I could think of to say. I've had other things on my mind."

"No problem. So what's you're deal, anyway?"

"Well, to put it simply, I'm you."

"Yeah, I guessed that. Not too many other people running around this world that are that good looking. But, I mean, what are you doing here? Are you, like, a version of me from another zone, like that 'Evil Sonic' guy?"

"No. When I say I'm you, I really mean it. I am what you will one day be. I'm your future self."

"My future self?"

"That's right. I've traveled back in time from the year 3346"

"Oh, I get it, like the time Robotnik sent me back to the stone-age, and I met up with Sonugh the Boghog."

"Now you've got it."

Sonic scowled. "Wait a second. What year did you say you were from? Thirty-three something? But if you're supposed to be me, wouldn't that make you over a hundred years old?!"

"That's right. I'm one-hundred and twenty-seven years old."

Sonic's eyebrows raised. "You sure don't look it. How could you—how could I—live that long?"

Bunnie said, "Maybe it has somethin' to do with the fact that he's a cyborg?"

Sonic looked over at her. "Oh, hi, Bunnie. So, what would his being a cyborg have to do with anything? And for that matter, how did he—er, 'How will I'?-- um, become a cyborg? (Man this is weird.)"

Future Sonic said, "Bunnie's right. It's my new form that has kept me alive and young looking. As for how it happened, as I explained to Bunnie, I was infected by a 'Technomorphosis Virus.' It's sorta' like being roboticized. Sally helped me get my free will back. Please don't ask me more, I've already had to explain this to Bunnie, and I'm sure I'll need to explain it to the others as well. It could get really annoying having to keep explaining it."

Present Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. Okay, I'll go get the others."

Before he could start, though, Bunnie said, "Ah already sent Tails to get them. It shouldn't be to much longer now."

"Oh, okay, I'll wait for them to get here." They stood there silent for a few moments (about four seconds) before Sonic he got bored and started tapping his foot impatiently. After a few more seconds he asked, "Alright, where are they?"

Bunnie shook her head. "Sometimes, sugar, your impatience amazes me. Why, it's only been a few minutes since you got heah!"

Future Sonic, who had been standing perfectly still with his head down, looked up at them. "Actually, it's only been one minute and forty nine point three seconds. I remembered being impatient, but I had no idea I was this bad."

Sonic folded his arms. "Hey, get off my case, man. You're me, right? Shouldn't that make you on my side?"

Future Sonic shrugged. "Sorry. I guess I've changed a lot in the past hundred-and-twelve years." He then looked back down and went back to whatever he'd been doing. Sonic noticed with annoyance that except for the shrug, his future self hadn't moved any part of his mechanical body since their first conversation had ended. He really has changed. I wonder how else he might have changed, and if I really want to know? Sonic thought, tapping his foot.

It seemed like forever to the young Sonic, but it was only a few more minutes before the other Freedom Fighters arrived. Many other villagers also came to have a look. (All those who had left had by now returned.)

The villagers all wondered what was going to happen next. Was this cyborg Sonic another of Robotnik's plots? If so, perhaps they might get to see the Freedom Fighters in action for once. Or, was he telling the truth, in which case this was a chance to learn about the future?

"Oh, there you are, Sonic," Tails said as they arrived. The others were quite shocked to see the future Sonic. "Wow!" Rotor commented.

Sally said in amazement, "Tails was right! There are two Sonics!"

Fascinated by all this, Rotor added quietly, "A most intriguing phenomena."

As for Antoine, all he could come up with was a confused "I am not to be believing my ears!"

Sonic turned to them and said, "Finally! What took you guys so long?"

Bunnie rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Yeah, y'all, you took a whole five minutes! How evah could you keep us waitin' like that? It's downright rude!"

Sally said unapologetically, "Sorry, Sonic, but not all of us can run faster than the speed of sound."

Sonic responded, as if he hadn't heard the note of sarcasm in their voices, "It's okay. All is forgiven. I realize certain allowances must be made for dealing with you 'slo-mo's. Just don't let it happen again!"

While this exchange was going on, future Sonic looked around at the newly arrived Freedom Fighters. Sally was the first he looked at, and after he'd looked at the other two, his eyes returned to her once more. After a few moments she noticed him staring at her, and looked at him. He didn't look away, and Sally found being singled out like that and studied in every last detail a bit disconcerting, even if it was by "Sonic." He looked at her as if he hadn't seen her in quite some time and had greatly missed her. She supposed that was possible, but she hadn't been separated from him, thus making the situation quite strange. Still, she couldn't think of anything to say, so she began studying him, though not with the same intensity he was giving his study of her.

He was slightly taller than the present Sonic, though only by about an inch. His metallic body was blue just like his skin, and it didn't have as many separations between pieces of metal as modern robots did. In fact, there didn't seam to be any seams in his metal "shell" besides those placed to allow natural body movement. His head was disconcertingly similar to Sonic's, though from its appearance it might have been a few years older. There seemed to be something odd about his eyes, though it took her a few moments to identify. The color was slightly different from Sonic's (which were brown) but more unusual were the details of the eye. For instance she could see no veins in them, and the irises had an odd, grainy look to them, which on close inspection appeared to look vaguely like circuitry. She was just noticing this, when she realized he was now looking into her eyes.

She suspected he could have continued just looking at her for many more minutes, or maybe even hours, but she was beginning to find it a bit uncomfortable. (Especially as some of the others had noticed how the two had been staring at one another.)

Sally hastily asked, "So, you claim to be a version of Sonic from the future? If that's true, I think we need to know how and why you've traveled back in time, as well as why you look the way you do."

Future Sonic nodded. "Of course. First of all, regarding my appearance, I'll explain it one more time for you. Several decades from now, Robotnik, or Chrono-nik, as he now calls himself, had me infected by the 'Technomorphosis Virus'. This is a microscopic cybernetic life form engineered by Chrono-nik. It attacks the host at a cellular level, roboticizing the victim from the inside out.

"But, unlike normal roboticization, it doesn't turn the entire body mechanical. Instead it enhances the body's systems, replacing those organs that perform a task better accomplished by machines, but leaving the rest in their original form.

"Of course, certain parts of the brain are replaced or enhanced with circuitry, and in the process the brain is reprogrammed to obey Chrono-nik and his minions. Due to the nature of the process the subject retains their memory and even a limited amount of free will.

"The virus mecha-organisms live on in the body as "nanites," which repair the body when injured and can also be programmed to further modify the body as needed. ...The being created from this technological metamorphosis is known as a 'technimal.'

"...After I was technomorphed, I was Chrono-nik's slave for many years, until you, Sally, were able to capture me and reprogram me, deleting Chrono-nik's obedience program."

Future Sonic paused, as if to catch his breath, and the Freedom Fighters tried to absorb all that he'd just said. "Did I really just say that!?" the young Sonic wondered. "I'm glad he gave me the abridged version first!"

Bunnie commented, "What a mouthful!" and Antoine complained, "I am not understanding zee word that 'ee was saying!"

Tails looked thoughtful for a second, then said, "So that would make you 'Sonic the Technimal-Hedgehog,' huh? How about we just call you 'Techno-Sonic' for short?"

Future Sonic smiled and said, "Works for me. ...Now in regards to your other questions, Sally; how and why I came back in time... The first part is relatively simple. Many of Chrono-nik's minions possess built-in personal time machines. This is part of the reason he's so tough to beat—whenever anyone strikes a major blow against him, either he or one of his minions simply travels back in time and undoes the defeat. Since time-travel is such an integral part of his domination of Mobius, he sets each time machine to self-destruct when the robot it's in is destroyed. Luckily I was able to get my hands on a nearly intact time machine without him realizing it, and eventually I was able to repair it. That's how I was able to come back in time.

"Now, as to why... I'm not sure you want an audience as I explain this. The future's pretty bleak, and there's no need to panic the village, or get them worrying about things they can't change."

Sally nodded. "Good idea. We'll continue this in Freedom Fighter Headquarters. Everyone else, go back to whatever you were doing. We'll tell you what you need to know later on. Tails, that includes you too."

"Aww, Aunt Sally!" Tails whined.

"Let him come," Techno-Sonic said in a dispassionate voice. "He deserves to know what the future holds, too."

"If you say so," Sally reluctantly agreed.

They all headed into the Knothole cave-system, which housed the Freedom Fighters' base. As they walked, Antoine went over to Sally and said quietly "I do not think we should be trusting him. For all we know, this could be another one of Robotnik's traps."

Sally looked thoughtful. "I suppose you could be right, but if that's the case, why hasn't he done anything yet? Also, if he's not who he says he is, how'd he find Knothole?"

"I don't know, I just think we should be careful"

"Don't worry, I will be."

Techno-Sonic, who was a little ways ahead (and should have been out of hearing range) spoke up. "Yes, it is always a good idea to be cautious." Antoine jumped in shock. "However," Techno-Sonic continued, "don't let your caution turn into paranoia. Just because something is new and/or unusual, doesn't mean it's automatically evil. I hope I'll be able to earn your trust."

Sally asked, "You heard that?"

"Yes. Don't forget I'm technologically enhanced—and that includes all my senses." Sally remembered how she'd noticed something strange about his eyes, realized it must be because they were enhanced.

Bunnie thought to herself, Why, his hearin's at least as good as mine!

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Next: Shadows of the future…