AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!
Hey everyone! Sorry about the gap between chapters but life, (and XCOM 2), got in the way of me actually writing anything for this story. But I'm back here with the second installment of this adventure. Before we begin I'd like to thank everyone for their support towards this story. This is by far my most popular story based off of views for the first chapter alone so it's encouraging for me to continue writing. Also, I've accepted some OC's which you'll find on the bottom of my profile page if you were wondering whom I've accepted. I'm still looking for two Specialists (Supports) so keep sending them in before next chapter is posted. Anyway let's get on with the story.
Chapter 2: Here's XCOM!
== Back at the Avenger ==
The Avenger was in total chaos as news of the Commander's return started a whirlwind of activity amongst the people preparing for his arrival. The soldiers were ecstatic that their leader would be back, while Dr. Tygan and Dr. Shen were both prepping for his immediate surgery. Bradford had discovered a chip that was implanted in his skull that was likely an ADVENT probe that would need to be removed upon arrival in case it was a tracking device.
When the Skyranger touched down, Bradford picked up the Commander and immediately headed for the Research Lab where Tygan and Shen were waiting. Smokey and Kelly each picked up one of their dead comrades and brought them to the armory to remove their weapons and armor for usage by the remaining soldiers, before they were to bury the bodies outside the ship.
== In the Research Lab ==
Bradford rushed in and immediately dropped the Commander onto a waiting examination table that was hastily set up only a few minutes prior.
"Easy! We may have a decade and a half of atrophy to deal with!" exclaimed Tygan as he went about getting the probe removal instrument ready. Dr. Richard Tygan grew up on the streets of Chicago, Illinois and stood out early in life with his enhanced knowledge of the world around him. Excelling in school, he graduated with a doctorate in Biochemistry from Chicago University and was employed by ADVENT at one of their earliest Gene Therapy clinics. Tygan eventually grew concerned with the aliens' application of his work to exert control over the human population and fled to the Resistance movement five years ago to head the Research division. Tygan stands at 6' 2'' and is slightly muscled, dressed in a white and green lab coat over an olive green dress shirt and black tie with black slacks and black dress shoes. Tygan is dark-skinned with a pair of black horn-rimmed glasses and has a shaved head which shows a scar near the base of his skull.
"Are you sure this procedure will work Tygan?" asked Bradford as he applied pressure to his shoulder wound with gauze.
"Normally I'd have them hooked up to pain meds and have them fully asleep, but we'll have to make due."
"Hang in there Commander!" said Shen as she removed the suit that the Commander was trapped in.
"Moving for chip extraction." stated Tygan as he unleashed the probe removal device and grabbed onto the chip implanted into the Commander's frontal lobe. The device came out with a little bit of force as he looked at it in awe. Placing it into a containment device for now, he pulled out his flashlight and examined the Commander's eyes to see if his vitals had stabilized.
"Pupil activity is normal, vitals are stable, surgery complete." Said Tygan to the others as they released the collective breath they were holding.
"Welcome back Commander." said Bradford as he saw the Commander pass out from the exhaustion he was no doubt experiencing from regaining control of his mind.
"I'll take him to his room. You two rest and get ready. Once he's up and about he'll look to get this war going."
== A Few Hours Later ==
The Commander awoke with a splitting headache as he looked around to discover that he was in a living space of some kind that wasn't the tube he had been kept in for the past fifteen years. Trying to sit up too quickly, he was met with a wave of pain that caused him to groan out as he fell back on the bed. His movements awoke Bradford who'd passed out shortly after receiving treatment for his wound and came back to watch over the Commander.
"Easy sir, you've been in that tube for fifteen years so it'll be difficult to move for a bit."
"John! Nice to see you again, where are we?" asked the Commander as he instantly recognized his former subordinate from the alien war days.
"We're aboard the Avenger Commander. It's an alien ship that Dr. Shen and his daughter have converted into a mobile base of sorts. We're just missing a power source and we can begin flying around the world to help the resistance forces."
"Impressive! Remind me to thank Shen when I see him again…" he stopped when he saw Bradford's downtrodden expression.
"Shen passed away a few weeks ago sir. His daughter has taken over the Engineering team to carry on his legacy. Dr. Vahlen went missing shortly after the reinvasion and hasn't been seen since. She's been replaced by Dr. Tygan whose defected from ADVENT to help our cause."
Seeing the look of sadness on the Commander's face, Bradford chose to give him a few minutes to deal with the news.
"I'll give you a few minutes to go through the Archives and get reacquainted with the situation. Come to the bridge when you are ready sir. It's good to have you back Commander."
== Ten Minutes Later ==
The Commander had grieved over the loss of his friends, but knew he had a job to do and would do it to the best of his ability for his fallen friends' sakes. Arriving at the Bridge, he entered the room only for the alarm to sound off about an unauthorized presence.
"Sorry sir, just a moment. Computer; initiate Echo protocol."
The alarm suddenly stopped, and the flashing red lights disappear as a now cheerful female voice says:
"Transfer of command acknowledged. Welcome aboard Commander."
"I wish that was more ceremonial, but it's the best we can do on short notice." stated Bradford as he led the Commander over to the Geoscape to view where they were. It seemed that at the current moment the base was located in what ADVENT had dubbed New Mexico, (it's just Mexico), and was low on supplies and manpower for the Engineering and Research divisions.
"Seems like a dire situation we're in. I think I can manage with this though Bradford."
"I did the best I could over the years sir, but it can be taxing on a person trying to coordinate a bunch of spread out units all over the world." sighed Bradford as he pulled a flask from his back pocket and took a drink of what appeared to be whiskey from the Commander's brief whiff of it.
"You did the best you could John. Now relax and let me take over from here."
"Roger that sir."
"Any operations ongoing right now as we speak?"
"Yes we have one headed towards Omaha, Nebraska call sign Gatecrasher."
"Patch me through to them so I can assume command."
"You heard the man bring up the links."
Waiting for a few moments, the doors behind them opened and Dr. Shen, Dr. Tygan, Smokey, and Kelly all entered one after the other and were surprised to see the Commander already up and about.
"Commander it's good to see you up and about already. It appears the operation was a complete success. Dr. Richard Tygan, at your service." said the Research department's leader as he shook the Commander's hand.
"Yes it was. A pleasure to meet you doctor. I take it you're eager to begin work on a few projects." inquired the Commander as he took in the young doctor.
"Absolutely sir, just say the word and I'll begin work immediately."
"In due time Tygan." said the Commander as he took in the next person who was dressed in an orange shirt with the XCOM logo on it, covered by a green vest as well as a pair of black cargo pants and black and orange sneakers. She also wore a pair of black nano-fiber sleeves that covered the bottom halves of her arms, and had the saying "Bellator In Machina" tattooed on her upper right arm with a skull tattooed under it. (Just Google the images for XCOM: Enemy within it's the Mech's motto.) She also had her black hair stylized in a bob with a part on her left side and had her bangs fall across her forehead to her right. She stood at 5' 10''.
"I presume you to be Dr. Shen's daughter, Lily. We met while you were still a teenager."
"Good memory Commander. Dad told me so much about you, and I want to do my best to make the both of you proud."
"I'm sure you will Shen." replied the Commander as he looked to the next person in line, which was Kelly. (Look for her description in the first chapter.)
"I'm not sure we've met soldier."
"We probably haven't. I'm Jane Kelly I was a part of Bradford's security detail when he returned to the President's War Advisor team. I was also a member of the team that rescued you earlier."
"Thank you for the assist in rescuing me. Bradford informed me that you were the only survivor besides him and Smokey. For that you will be promoted to Squaddie. Do you have an idea of what class you'd be best in?"
"I'm more suited for close combat so being a Ranger seems like a logical choice for me sir."
"Excellent I'll make the paperwork reflect your decision." said the Commander as he looked towards the last person who entered the room. Said person was showing his age as he was 42 years of age with his wrinkled tan skin and the diagonal scar running the right side of his face from the top of his nose, past his eye and to his cheek bone.
"Smokey my old friend, how have you been?"
"Good sir. It's a relief to see you back at the helm. We thought we'd lost you when they took you all those years ago."
"Well I'm back and it's time to send a message to the utopia that is ADVENT. And it's going to say 'Here's XCOM!' Are you going to help us lead the new generation of fighters against the alien forces one more time Smokey?"
"Yes sir. I'm ready to make this dream a reality."
"Excellent! I'm promoting you back to Squaddie and you can go back to being the new improved Grenadier class just like old times."
"Thank you sir, let's get started."
"Speaking of getting started, the other squad is patched in and ready to roll Commander." said Bradford as he jumped back into the conversation.
"Thank you Bradford. Put me on screen."
== On the Skyranger (Somewhere over "The Slums" Omaha, Nebraska, USA) ==
Firebrand was currently approaching the target site for XCOM's reemergence into the public eye as they planned to destroy a statue signifying the peaceful alliance between ADVENT and the aliens. The squad chosen for this mission was comprised of four veterans of the first war against the aliens. Two of them were former members of Bravo Squad before being folded into strike One, while the other two were the last surviving members of Strike Two. In order the four were identified as Benjamin "Ice" Watson, Sarah "Dozer" Watson nee Kauffman, Isabella "Lockdown" Maroni, and Bernard "Deadeye" Dickey.
Watson was still the most unlikely XCOM soldier as he looked more like a doctor than a soldier. Watson stands at 5' 9'' with spiked up short Brown hair, and had black horn-rimmed glasses that made him look like Rivers Cuomo; the lead singer from Weezer. Watson had taken his old XCOM gear and died it burnt orange in honor of the Texas Longhorns whom won the College World Series the year after the first war ended. Watson had continued his career in medicine and got his doctorate before being employed as a cardiac surgeon. He had married Kauffman shortly after the war and had disappeared to rejoin the resistance when the ADVENT coalition was formed.
Kauffman was still the blonde-haired beauty she was back from the first war. Her soft blond hair was hung in a loose ponytail that allowed her bangs to frame her face. She was the same height as Watson, and had pursued a career in architecture after the war designing the reconstruction of several major cities in Germany. She also had joined Watson when the ADVENT coalition came around and sought out Bradford's resistance. She had died her old uniform solid gray and had smeared eye black around her face making her appear demonic to her opponents as she gunned them down without care.
The two former members of Strike two had lost their usually happy demeanors after the surprise attack that claimed their former squadmates and had severely changed them from how their friends knew them. Maroni had gone from a carefree leader to an intense combat junkie who was always ready for the next engagement. She stood at 5' 7'' with her brown hair covered by a ranger hood and a gray ball cap that shrouded her face. Maroni had died her new armor red and green after her native country's flag, Italy, and was ready to whip some alien ass. She had gone rogue after the botched Special Ops mission and had linked up with Bradford once he escaped ADVENT's clutches.
Dickey on the other hand had become downtrodden about the whole experience as he missed Shipman. He'd planned to propose to her after the mission, but that all changed with her death. When she was felled by the Berserker, he'd frozen and paid for that mistake dearly with his left eye. Now the nickname 'Deadeye' had two meanings. What was left of his empty eye socket was completely covered by a black eye patch that he refused to remove under any circumstances. With no purpose after the alien takeover, Dickey picked a fight at a bar and was imprisoned at Leavenworth when he killed an officer during the brawl. Prison had hardened him even further, and when Maroni and Bradford busted him out, they were surprised at the now badass version of Dickey. He now wanted nothing more than to kill anything that reminded him of all he's lost in the war. Dickey now has his brown hair cropped into a buzz-cut, wears green and black war paint that a sniper would use in the jungle, got a full sleeve tattoo on his right arm with the XCOM logo in the middle, and a tattoo of a stalking wolf on his left arm, and he then proceeded to die his armor dark blue to show off his new outlook on the war.
The four were ready to drop, when the Commander's face appeared on the screen connected to the base. They were surprised to see him again, and cheered once they realized he was back at the head of the ship.
"It's nice to see some familiar faces again. Below in the town square is where we make a statement to ADVENT. You're no longer safe in your big cities; we're back and ready for action. Good luck! And make sure to kill every single ADVENT on site. "
"Yes sir!" they exclaimed as they fast-roped to the ground below.
== On the Ground ==
The four soldiers landed just south of the square where the explosives were to be placed on the statue's base. Looking up they saw there was a three-story building that was overlooking the right side of the square, and thought it'd be the perfect place to set up an ambush for an ADVENT patrol. Deadeye and Ice both scaled the building and set up on the railing waiting for the enemy to patrol into them.
Dozer and Lockdown ran forward and took cover behind some concrete pillars as they saw four ADVENT troopers patrolling the square without a care in the world. It appears that word about the Commander's rescue hadn't reached them yet as they were being very lackadaisical about their duties. Knowing this was the time to strike; Dozer went on Overwatch as Lockdown raised her rifle to fire the first shots in the retaliation against ADVENT. The shots hit home as the lead trooper was felled with her brain leaking greenish blood from her helmet as she fell to the ground lifeless. Startled by the sudden attack, the troopers tried to retreat to the right in order to flank the two enemies in front of them. What they didn't account for was the shots that rang out after that. Dozer, Ice, and Deadeye all recorded kills as the remaining three troopers fell in sync to the cold ground beneath them. The two males regrouped with their female counterparts, as they began moving towards the statue; while all around them the citizens were fleeing in terror as the rumors about the terrorist group 'XCOM' were coming true before their very eyes.
Reaching the base of the statue, Dozer planted the X4 charges on it and the four fell back to detonate them, but jumped back behind the cover of some lamp posts, as an officer and two more troopers patrolled into them from the statue's rear. The officer raised its right hand as she pointed out Lockdown to the group and opened fire hitting her square in the kidney. Dickey ran over and helped her apply pressure to the wound, as Dozer unleashed a grenade that claimed the two troopers who were laying down wildfire on their position. The officer realized that he was outnumbered, and tried to flee behind the statue to signal reinforcements, but was struck down by a burst of assault rifle fire courtesy of Ice. His bullets found the back of the officer's skull as it ripped open in the process exposing his gray brain matter to the world. With the enemies dealt with, the squad prepared to leave, but Ice ran over to the officer and rolled him over as he noticed a data pad clipped to his belt, as well as a scope on his gun. Removing his combat knife from his belt, Ice sliced the pad free from the officer's belt as well as the scope from the gun as he pocketed the items before returning to his confused squadmates.
"What the docs might want a look at these." he replied as he showed the squad his haul. Shaking his head at the Englishman's actions, Deadeye proceeded to fast rope with Lockdown on his shoulder as she was too weak to walk. Dozer, on the other hand, kissed her husband for his intuition before the two joined them in the Skyranger via fast rope as well. The chaos left in their wake was a brutal wake-up call for ADVENT. These fighters were serious in their threats against their regime.
== Back at Base ==
The occupants on the bridge cheered for the squad's success as they left the mission and prepared to come home. With the corpses and items found at the site, the base would be getting a little bit busier with all the new work there was to do. The Commander proceeded to order Tygan to begin research into Modular Weapons so they could be one step closer to ADVENT's magnetic weapons, before looking into the data pad Ice had retrieved. He then gave Shen orders to begin work on a Medikit and a flashbang grenade just in case they were necessary for later missions. He then was about to retire for the day, when an alarm sounded over the computer system. One of the analysts signaled Bradford over and showed him what it was. Bradford paled at the sight before turning to the Commander with a grim face.
"It's Ghost sir. He and Black Widow have managed to migrate down to Austin and were securing transport here when they were ambushed by ADVENT. We need to send a team immediately or we risk losing two of the greatest sharpshooters to ever grace a war zone!"
"Understood Bradford, luckily we have just the man for the job. Smokey assemble a team and get them geared up, you depart once Firebrand returns from deployment."
"Roger that sir!" exclaimed Smokey as he saluted before quickly leaving the room to grab his gear.
'Hang in there Ghost, help is on the way! It's time to reunite the rest of the team.'
AN: And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter. Love it? Hate it? Drop me a review or PM and let me know. The OC's I have amassed will appear next chapter as a part of Smokey's retrieval team. If anyone gets confused about whom I'm referring to in the story please go to my profile as it has a list of all the characters that will be appearing in this story. What has XCOM's best tag team snipers been doing in their free time? Find out next time on "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors"! Until next time, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.
-PRAK #TheNastyOne