A hoarse gale blows across the fearful air. The entire planet has been put on alert like it never has before- the end is a stone's throw away... and crawling ever closer.
Model M, known to the public as the 'Planetary Malignance' levels city after city in its never-ending quest to destroy.
A sonic Boom is heard in the distance, and before long- the statue of the redeemer is eclipsed by 4 heroes.
"We didn't get a lot of time to prepare. But here it is, our first time in action against this 'new' enemy." - "It sucks that we get the ENTIRE western hemisphere while ALL the other heroes take the others." - "This isn't time for that, Buttercup, we've got company." She fires off ahead. "Hey, Blossom! WAIT!" She follows quickly. The 2 remaining heroes shrug and fly down.
A very large barricade is in place from every major western power. Should this wall fall, the momentum the enemies would pick up would be nearly unstoppable. The group's only male member strikes the ground next to the American sergeant near the blockade.
"Any info on the enemies?" - "Ah, Dexter. Good timing. We don't have too much information, they are moving so fast and viciously that we can only get satellite data. They seem to be small ground-bound machines that target any signs of humans. Camps, cities, everything."
A local law enforcement shows up and coughs as he tries to speak to the sergeant. "Sir, there are... THINGS outside Rio! They will be here very soon! Hundreds, THOUSANDS!" - "Well that's what we expected. This city is the largest within thousands of miles, these scum would flock here like flies to shit. That's why we are here- that's why THEY are here." He pats Dexter on the shoulder. "We are counting on you, Dexter!"
"Girls, we are moving out- they are close!" - "Well, at least this will be fun, even if we have to do EVERYTHING here." The four fly off to the south, and it is not long before they witness the writhing mob. Still in mid-air, the blue one speaks up to Dexter. "I forget... why isn't... uh- Barasia here again?" - "She had personal things to take care of, a lot of them. We wont hear from her for a while."
"And we're live!" Buttercup exclaims as she dives into the mass. "Be careful Butter-" - "DAMMIT I'M IMMORTAL AND PISSED! I'LL DO WHAT I WANT!" She roars as she tears the machines to bits. "Be careful Bubbles, we are with you!" Blossom reassures her before she too- dives into the mass. "Just be sure to collect a few souvenirs, you don't want to be the only one left out, do you?" Dexter jests as he crashes into a mob as if they were bowling pins.
"You guys...!" She fumes as she is the only one left above the hoard. "Ngh!" She closes her eyes and rips into the robots!
" 'Scuse me!" - "Coming through!" - "Ten one shot, Eleven one shot..." - "Ahh!" They all mutter to themselves as they seem to turn this catastrophe into a little game.
Whatever machines make it through are made short work of at the gigantic wall, no REAL threat yet. But they can't help but think what smaller, unguarded towns are like. They cannot be everywhere at once, and this is the best they can do...
"HSSSSSSSS!" The machines blare out as they try- in vain, to strike any of the 4 heroes only to be taunted and eviscerated. "See? This- whoa- isn't so bad. Hehe..." Buttercup lets out as she nimbly dodges attack after attack. Until that is- one lands a glancing blow, drawing blood. "YOUSONOFA-" She seethes as she rips it to shreds, taking its comrades with it.
"This isn't much, but at least I won't get rusty..." Dexter sighs out as he parries and disembowels the machines with break-neck speed. "Or... maybe I will..." He says as he nearly yawns.
"If it's THAT mind-numbing, try making it harder. Take on- oh I don't know... A hundred at a time!" Blossom yelps out as she corrals the machines into a large ball. "Nope, still easy. Oh well." She huffs as the machines explode on a moment's notice.
"You all make it- AHH- seem so easy!" Bubbles states as she delivers precise- but slow attacks on the machines. One by one, they fall. And one by one, she flies back up to find a safe target. "Muhh..." She blubbers.
(===)
"We got a... disturbing message from HQ... you might want to look at it yourself." The private hands his commanding officer a note from the machine. As he reads it, his face slowly descends into one of disbelief. "This... can't be right- I won't do it." - "I know what you mean Sergeant, but look at the clearance code. It's the top, Sir."
"DAMN!" He yells flatly as he bangs on the wall. "How can they Expect us to-" - "What if they are right? What if they DID do what they say?" - "Then how do you explain what they are doing now?" - "I can't. But HQ can, I assure you. Are you willing to forsake your job, your career over a friendship? Or are you going to trust your country?"
The sergeant eyes the private as if he were an enemy. "You would blindly obey this abomination of an order?!" - "Of course not, But that's not in my jurisdiction, I will file a complaint myself after this is done. We are here to make the hard decisions, Sergeant. Or have you forgotten?" - "I didn't forget... it's just... damn!" The ranking officer gnashes his teeth together, causing small noises to be heard from his mouth.
"I hereby promote you to Sergeant on the grounds that your Commanding Officer cannot follow his orders, and has lost the will to fight." He states enigmatically. "I... understand sir, I am sorry." The newly promoted sergeant rises and calls for other law enforcement to take away his formerly ranking officer. "He has deserted the fight, I call for a dishonorable discharge. Goodbye, and good luck..." He somberly nods as he is dragged out of the war-zone.
Now alone, he sighs as he picks up the hard-line to contact the cannon operators. "Did you get the notice too?" - "Yes, we are awaiting your orders." The new sergeant pauses for a small moment... "Fire at will..." - "Y-Yes sir..."
(=====)
Bits of machine lay strewn on the ground, steam and smoke rising from their wreckage. One tries to skitter away, before it is caught by a young man. "Where do you think you are go... ...!?" He trails off as he notices something ghastly under the Machine's insect form. Even through its constant hisses and clatters, he notices a small... bulge in its core.
"What... the... h-hell...?!" He stammers out. He digs into the bulge as the machine lets out one final cry and what He finds in it will possibly scar him for life, perhaps the most disturbing thing he has ever seen, even during his terrifying excursions into darkness and sin itself.
He merely looks at it in disbelief as the machine slowly dies. "K...ill... meeeEEEEE!"
The being he pulled out of the core was a young man, no older than 10, crying out in pain, bathed in blood and begging for death! Dexter disconnects the kid from the machine, only to feel him wrench in pain- as the last wire comes undone, he lets out a soft groan as all life leaves his form.
He gently places the boy on the ground, all color leaving Dexter's face. He walks over to another- dead machine. Upon opening it up, he nearly gags.
All of the machines he and his friends were killing seemingly for sport were none other then humans...
"Dexter, where are- oh, there you are. What are you do- ...?!" Blossom lets out, also stopped by the gravity of the situation. "Oh, my... g..." She says as she nearly expels on the spot. The being inside the robot rapidly decomposed with a terrified look on its face, the body is mutilated and filled with tubes and wires.
"How... what, I mean we... just- killed, them?! But... they were- ugh..." Blossom fumbles her words and thoughts as she tries to put things into perspective. "This is worse than we thought, Blossom." He rises and looks around the Battlefield. "There were thousands of these things and if they were all Humans... humans taken from other cities and villages Model M conquered... then that means we..."
He shakes his head. "I... don't know what to do, anymore... do we stop them like before?" - "We... have to, don't we? If we don't, MORE people will become like... like that. And besides, aren't the already dead?" Dexter gulps. "No, Blossom, they were alive until the instant we killed them."
*The 2 other heroes fly in a little later and are filled in on the situation...*
Bubbles is facing the wreckage, taking it all in, as Buttercup stands in the middle of the group, deep in thought. "So, Dexter... you are saying you, saw one of these people before he died?" Dexter nods somberly. "This can't change too much-" - "What are you saying, Buttercup?!" Bubbles lashes out with! "We can't just destroy them! There are people inside! We have to tell everyone!" - "Tell everyone to do what? Stop attacking them so that THEY can get corrupted too?"
Blossom interjects and pushes them both to the side. "Stop, Both of you. This is getting us nowhere. While I agree with Buttercup, these things are still more than a little dangerous and they must be stopped at all costs- I am more than inclined to agree that these are still living, breathing people. Killing them right off the bat would be... wrong..."
"So what do you suggest?" Both Buttercup and Bubbles ask. "I... don't know, yet. We need more information. Bubbles, fly above the battlefield and see if you can see a living specimen anywhere, you too Buttercup. Dexter and I will contact the professor and the Base and tell them what we saw." Everyone nods as they take their positions.
Bubbles squints as she views something far off in the distance. "Hey... what's that over there?" Dexter looks up at Bubbles and the direction she is facing. "That's the high power 'Meta-cannon' designed by the professor and I to be deployed here in case something huge came along." - "Oh... you designed it to look like a ball, that's odd." - "Well, it's spherical to spread impact, but it has a large protruding cannon." Dexter says as he pays no mind to Bubbles.
"Are you sure? I don't see any... oh wait, there it is. It's pointing in this direction so looking right at it made it look like it wasn't there." Dexter squints as if he is remembering something urgent, he looks back up to Bubbles. "Are you sure it's pointing at us?" - "Yeah, now that I know what I'm looking for, I can see the cannon pointing at the battlefield." Dexter shakes his head and Blossom walks over. "Didn't you say the cannon was too dangerous to have looking at the battlefield if we were on it?" - "Yes, that's exactly what Utonium and I forced the army to agree to if they constructed it."
Blossom looks over to Buttercup, who is pretty much indifferent to the boring situation. "Buttercup, can you go tell the people over there to turn the cannon away?" - "Sigh... FIIIIIINE." She drolls out boorishly.
But as soon as she starts flying off, a quaking noise fires off in the distance. "What the he-" - "BUBBLES!" Buttercup screams out as she intercepts the shot! She raises both of her arms to block the attack, but the large aptly designed round penetrates both of her arms and into- and then through her skull!
"BUTTERCUP!" Bubbles screams out, flying off to her, only to have another noise fire off in the distance, this time- hitting Bubbles!
Everyone stands in paralysis of the situation at hand.
The cannon Dexter and Utonium designed to destroy things much more powerful than themselves has fired upon them.
Buttercup falls to the ground with a gaping hole in her skull.
Bubbles falls to the ground with one less arm.
"No..." Blossom stammers with- baffled. She is so frightened that she cannot move.
"GHAAA!" Buttercup screams out, now having fully regenerated. "I AM GOING TO KI-" She yells out, before she notices Bubbles. "BUBBLES!" She flies off to her and catches her in her arms. Her eyes are closed, she is knocked out by the pain and shock of the situation. Buttercup's face loses all color as she realizes that Bubbles has only one arm.
Dexter breaks out of the stupor and clenches his fist and bares his fangs! "I AM GOING TO KILL THEM ALL!" He explodes out as he takes off beyond the speed of sound! Blossom lets out words of objection, but he cannot hear her- and even if he did it is likely he would not heed them.
As he takes off toward the cannon, it fires again- which he nimbly dodges. Mere seconds later he crashes through the cannon wall!
As soon as he lands he locates the cannon operator and strangles him as he holds him in the air, above the fusion reactor below. "WHY?" He yells out at the the helpless man. "Ihhht... wusss our- gak- ordersss! *gasp*" He floats above the reactor and squeezes harder. "AND YOU FOLLOWED THEM?! YOU FUCKING-" He yells out as he lets go- "SCUM!" The man hoarsely screams in protest before he falls into the reactor, causing a red glow to permeate the cannon for a short while before it initiates a self destruct system.
His eyes aflame; he looks at the other people as they scramble to leave the cannon. "None of you are leaving this place alive... You followed your orders to the grave!"
(===)
"We have to get her back to the house!" Buttercup yells out. "No, Dexter's lab is closer and is better stocked- you get the Professor, I'll put her in the lab!" Buttercup nods as she flies off. Blossom gently lifts Bubbles up and cradles her. "Why did this happen...?" Blossom asks herself as she notices the cannon exploding. "Dexter..."
(===)
Dexter stands in awe of the situation. All of the scientists and soldiers he just recently worked with and fought along-side with lay dead at his feet, by his hand. "You all put yourselves in this situation. Not me. Count yourself lucky I gave you all a swift death, Model M wouldn't of been so kind." He states grimly as he walks out of the cannon before it melts down completely.
(===)
With Bubbles on the operation table, Buttercup flies down with Utonium in toe. "Oh my god; Bubbles!" He lets out worried. Her arm is in a thick cast with chemicals being poured into her. Blossom is only partly in sight, as she constantly messes with devices to check her vitals. "I... think she's going to be okay. This is not going to be a smooth week though..."
Dexter floats above the city of Rio de Janeiro and looks toward the battlefield. "They want us dead? In the middle of this crisis?" He pauses, fuming. He thinks to himself deeply, never leaving the sight of the Battlefield or the mental image of the young man who died in his arms. "Model M will be the death of them all..."
"She's stable, and I cauterized the wound. We should take her back to the house." Blossom orders. "How did this happen?" Utonium blubbers out, still never getting an answer.
They don't know what happened themselves. Their supposed 'allies' Humanity, have turned on them. None of them know why, and none of them know what is going to happen next.
*An hour or so later, Dexter arrives at the house to meet them all nursing Bubbles.*
"Is she okay?" Dexter asks somberly. Blossom merely nods, avoiding eye contact. The professor leaves the kitchen with a bowl of hearty looking soup as he locks eyes with Dexter. If anyone is going to know what happened, it would be him. They merely nod at each other as Utonium places the soup on the table and jostles Bubbles awake.
She hazilly makes out the room, before starting to panic, noticing she is missing her right arm. "Shh, calm down Bubbles. You are fine." Blossom lets out as hallow reassurance. "B-But my arm...!" She blubbers out nearly going back into shock. She slowly rises to a sitting stance and eyes the soup on the table. She looks around, everyone is here worried about her. She doesn't have time to worry about herself while other people do the same.
She rubs her cast, the cannon bullet took off her entire arm and shoulder with artistic precision. She lets off an innocent statement to ease the tension. "I'm not too good with my left arm... haha..." Dexter and Utonium walk away as Bubbles starts eating the soup, having difficulty holding the spoon.
As they enter the basement, the Professor's lab, they look around and close the door. They sit down next to a very well designed safe.
"What happened over there Dexter?" - "The government... or perhaps indeed all of humanity has marked us as a threat, and seek to wipe us off the face of the world." - "That's... *sigh* Why haven't they come 'here' yet?" Dexter diverts his eyes as he remembers his actions in the cannon. "The last soldier I killed said that it was a very new order, chances are it hasn't been fully spread yet."
He continues with mock reassurance in his eyes. "And I would love to think that even if it were spread, it would take a longer time due to some of them disobeying the order. I think we have a day at most to plan out what we are going to do." Dexter's Chronometal enhanced ears pick up the door opening, but he ignores it. Part of him wants whoever is there to hear what he is about to say. He is tired of holding it in.
"I think it's time we put the chemical to use, I think we have no choice." - "But... that's..." Dexter shakes his head. "We prepared it for a time like this. The world is going to end, and everyone is going to be enslaved into a life of permanent pain and torture. After that, there is no guarantee the wildlife and well-being of the planet would be preserved."
Utonium grimly nods. He opens the safe and produces a seemingly invisible chemical in a large vial. He eyes it as if he were looking at the very end of the world. Dexter spouts words indirectly targeting the person at the door. "With this, all of humanity will be killed over night, painlessly. This is the best we can do."
Dexter snatches the chemical and goes upstairs, the person at the door now vacated.
As he enters the room, everyone is looking at him, each with different emotions across their face.
"Dexter...?" Blossom asks sheepishly.
Author's Note: Chapter one starts very strong, and the story will only get stronger from hereon. I originally took a several month break from writing when I first finished the Chronometal Wars. I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue or not, but I ended up continuing. This story, the Chronometal Panic, is where I eventually ended up getting most of my permanent readers on Snafu. It's rather dark and brooding compared to the energetic and confusing atmosphere of the first story. Its layout will prove to be rather unique as well, as it prides itself in being split into 3+ "tangents" as I call them. These tangents are this story's hook, while the original story's hook was constantly going back and forth through time, this story is more or less linear but branching into 3 different but still linear tangents.