Chapter 3: Enter Omega Strike! The Truth Behind Bonnie's Awakening!
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"Yes, I'm worried about him sometimes, but he always manages to come through."
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"I know he's like that at times, but that's what I like about him."
…
Blue eyes slowly opened as they adjusted to the lighting in their surroundings. Their owner searched around only for bewilderment to creep into her face. Wasn't she just at the Shoppe a moment ago and Zach and Cassidy just walked in on her? Now she was in a medium-sized metallic room of sorts. As if she was straight out of a sci-fi movie! …Was it all a dream?
"Oh! You've awakened!"
Hearing the voice, Bonnie sat upright before turning towards the source. Only to find a girl seated next to her. She seemed to be really young, but at least in her teens. Her eyes were a faded bluish color and her hair was long and platinum blonde. Judging by her pale appearance, she could've sworn she was frail and sickly. Her assumptions gained more support as she saw where she was seated.
"What's wrong?" She asked, before she notice her eyes focused below her. "Oh, this? Don't let it bother you."
Bonnie shook her head, "Oh, nonono-NO! I wasn't-"
"It's okay! Really! It's nothing to be ashamed about."
Feeling awkwardness, Bonnie decided to change the subject, "Anyways, we might as well get acquainted with each other. I'm Bonnie."
"I'm Celestia. But you can call me Celeste. Everyone else does." She then asked, "So, how are you feeling?"
"Tired…" Bonnie flatly stated, trying to muster strength to turn herself to face her. "Where am I?"
"You're in our headquarters. You've must've really been through a lot!"
"That's putting it mildly…" What was that girl on? Of course she's been through a lot! She had to if she woke up in this place? Speaking of which, she had to find a way out! Had to find Zach! As she placed both feet to the floor, she felt the coldness rush into her feet… "What happened to my shoes?" She looked around, finally noticing a missing layer of clothing, "Where's my jacket?"
"We had to take them. For samples! Apparently you've produced a lot of sand after you've awakened, so there was plenty of it inside of your boots and coat."
"Awakened? Just what the hell are you talking about?" The realization began to register in her mind, "Wait, waitwaitwait… You think that I'm a Mu-Type?" She scoffed, "That's got to be some kind of joke!"
"I know this may be a shock to you. But you did indeed awaken. You are a Mu-Type."
"Look, I don't know what delusions you have, but believe me, I'm so not a Mu-Type!" Bonnie stated arms crossed.
The younger girl sighed, "It's so heartbreaking, having to see them go through denials such as this. It all becomes worse when they realize…"
"Realize what?" Bonnie was starting to get angry. "Listen, I don't care what kind of evidence or theory you have I'm not a Mu-Type! I know I'm not! I feel perfectly fine! There's nothing freaky about me at all!"
"Is that so? Then surely you have an explanation for the sand on the second floor in the Shoppe!"
"Someone could've been playing a prank for all I know! Those three losers I met could've been behind it!"
"I have an ability to sense an energy signature that only Mu-Types have. And I sense plenty of it within you." Celeste sighed, seeing the denial on her face, "Bonnie, I know this may be hard to accept, but you must understand now before things get out of hand. You have awakened. You are a Mu-Type."
"But I'm not a Mu-Type! I'm not a Mu-Type!" She said defiantly. However, the more she said it, the less she believed it. "I can't be a Mu-Type… I just can't…"
"Bonnie…"
"I was supposed to have been cured of this! I was given the antidote after Xanthos blasted me with that Xenocide! And now you're telling me that I'm a Mu-Type freak?"
Hearing her voice cracking, Celeste could see the tears in her eyes. Becoming a Mu-Type was hard enough for most people. But believing to have been cured only to find out differently… She placed a hand on the weeping brunette's shoulder. "It'll be okay…"
Watching all of this through a one-way mirror, Mindflare let out a sigh. "So, the cure didn't work."
"Well that adds to the speculation that Mu-Types are the next step in evolution of humanity." Saber speculated, standing beside him. "The cure was supposed to do just that. Cure her of being a Mu-Type. But all it did was just repress the Xenocide within the DNA. It was as if it was a failsafe!"
"A failsafe that was easily broken when given the right amount of stress." X stated, eyes on Bonnie falling to her knees, head in her hand. "Like that incident back at the Shoppe. Still, it looks like that cure was ineffective after all."
"Ineffective…" Machpunch muttered, looking down towards his raised closed fist. "Unless…"
His three teammates' attention was caught, "Unless what?"
"Unless, the so-called cure wasn't the cure in the first place!" The redheaded behemoth explained. "Wasn't the girl given a high dose of Xanthos' new Xenocide?"
Saber's eyes widened, "And there's the fact that he willingly gave Kim Possible the antidote. Charade aside, there's no way in hell he would willingly hand over the antidote, especially knowing that the receiver was looking for any chance to stop his Mu-Type supremacy. Unless he did so for a reason…"
"Xanthos must've set some kind of failsafe within the Xenocide!" X's fist began to tighten as it shook, "Just in case Helix or anyone else manages to recover or duplicate the antidote. Whoever took it would be in for a brutal surprise."
"It gets worse. Xanthos used that Xenocide on himself as well as Bonnie. X and Quickstrike hit him with more from the chamber and he started to become unstable! If the amount Bonnie took in was even close to the amount he took…"
Mindflare closed his eyes. "We will have to run thorough tests! Examine every cell in her body! If even one cell is corrupted in the slightest…"
"So what are we going to do? Tell her what's goin' on with her body?" Machpunch asked.
"I'll tell ya what we're not going to do: Lie to her about what's going on." X remembered the last time he kept something from her. Namely, about Kim being a Mu-Type. Granted, he had every reason in the world to believe that letting her know was a bad idea. The key to any friendship is trust. As high as the possibility of her worrying herself to death about her body, Bonnie may actually throw caution to the wind. It was simple logic. Wanting to protect someone was one thing, but don't treat them as if they were stupid. That would most likely drive them to do something stupid anyway, all in an attempt to prove that they weren't.
"X, do you think that's a good idea?" Mindflare advised, "For all we know she may not take the news well."
"It's better than finding out the hard way, thus being angry with us for knowing of the possibility all along yet keeping it from her!"
"C'mon X, think about for a second!" Saber stated, "Bonnie isn't exactly the rational type. I mean the reason why she got into this situation because of her pride and obsession with Kim Possible in the first place! What would you do if you were in her position? And don't say that you wouldn't get yourself into it in the first place, because nobody's perfect."
"Good question. I'd suppose anyone would freak out if they found out that their body was falling apart." X shook his head, "Thinking about it now, Bonnie has been losing some weight lately. Granted, she was never a big girl to begin with, but at least she looked like she actually ate. Now she's starting to look model-thin. Really model-thin… I'm talking Skeletor-levels here. "
Saber closed her eyes, "Now that you mentioned it, each boot was filled with at least a centimeter of sand. And her socks had a few grains. You don't think…"
"Her body is starting to break down into sand!" Mindflare nodded, "We'll have to contact Dr. Helix."
"But isn't he still in Middleton, though?" Machpunch reminded.
"We could try his office. Maybe Gabriel has information that could help us. At this point anything would-" Acting upon his reflexes; a raise of his hand was enough to keep the glass shards and the thrown chair from colliding with the standing bodies as they were then slowly dropped to the ground.
"What the hell happened?" Machpunch tensed, preparing for the fight as the four soon found out the source of this incident…
"THAT BITCH!" Bonnie shrieked, throwing a chair onto a nearby bed. "THAT FUCKING BITCH!"
"Bonnie please…" Celeste tried to reason with the enraged brunette, but it seemed to be all for naught. "You have to calm down!"
"Calm down for what? Possible gave me the cure, or at least she said that it was, only to find out that not only did it not work, but it's possibly killing me? Like it's poisoning me?" She grabbed another chair, griping it by the back… "As if she hasn't ruined my life enou-OWW!.."
"Bonnie!" She quickly went to tend the girl as she clutched her wrist. During that, more grains of sand proceeded to drop to the floor before the wheels of her chair. 'It's already happening…'
"Are you alright, Bonnie?" X quickly tended to her, as the other followed.
"Yeah! I'm fan-freaking-tastic!" Her sarcasm was replaced with rage, "It FELT AS IF MY WRIST WAS CRACKED! OF COURSE I'M NOT ALRIGHT, YOU MORON!"
Saber sighed, "Nice to see the bitch switch has flipped."
"You try finding out you now basically have brittle bones and see how you like it!" Bonnie frowned, favoring her wrist.
"Looks like we'll be having that examination now…." Mindflare ordered, "Lie down on the bed…"
"Like I have a choice…" Bonnie hopped back on the bed, lying down on her back.
"Alright Bonnie…" From a counter, Mindflare grabbed a particular checking tool. "Let me know if this hurts." He taps her on the top of her foot a few times.
"Kinda feels like slapping…" She stated. It wasn't hurting, but it felt pretty sharp. 'Just how bad is it?'
"Alright, I'm going to tap a little harder now, is that okay?"
"Fine, whatever!" Bonnie wanted to see just how bad her situation was. Her wrist looked fine, but it felt as if it cracked a bit. Nevertheless, she wondered if she was still able to walk, or would she need a wheelchair like Celeste.
"Here it comes…" Mindflare increased the force in his tapping, causing the girl to wince a bit. Also, he noticed at within each impact, small grains of sand splashed upward from her foot. "Hmm…"
"She's bruising easily," Saber noted a dark mark forming where Mindflare was tapping. Upon closer examination of her bare foot she could see thin cracks on the top. There was no way around it. This girl was fragile. She watched as Mindflare proceeded to move upward on her body. The results were as you could expect at this point. The light taps she was fine at best, but within each increasing force of contact, the pain became sharper and worse. She may appear to be fine now, but it was bound to get worse within the days until she was falling apart before their eyes. She wasn't sure if she knew how to keep herself together. Still, at least she wasn't going to do something stupid. Like get into a fight…
Within each tap the pain grew worse and worse. Bonnie felt as if a nail was slowly being punctured into her limbs, splitting her bones apart one by one. She closed her eyes in order to fight the pain, but she couldn't help the tears that escaped from her shut eyes. The pain… it was unbearable! She wasn't sure how much of this procedure she could take before she just screamed. Clenching her teeth, she tried her hardest to avoid showing pain. She couldn't show pain! She couldn't show any weakness! This was just another roadblock in her way. In her quest to find herself, to make a name for herself! To finally accomplish something of great importance while being as far away from Kim's shadow as possible. This was her clean slate and the last thing she needed was to gain the reputation as a crybaby spoiled princess!
After about 30 minutes of testing …And 30 minutes of pain, Bonnie let out a sigh of relief at hearing Mindflare's words…
"That will be all for today."
"Finally…" Bonnie said before wincing, seeing the others' reaction to her remark. Was she really that stressed that she forgot her Ps and Qs, or were bad habits hard to break? "So what's wrong with me?"
"We're not sure. But we believe that it has to do with the Xenocide you absorbed. The sand that is coming from you is proof of that. I suggest that you take it easy for the next couple of days until we're able to get an expert's opinion."
"Couldn't you just call Dr. Helix?"
"He's still in Middleton. Likely there for another month or so! Still, there are others here who could lend a hand or two. Though at this time, everyone's preparing to go home for the evening."
'What am I supposed to do now?' Bonnie was scared. Would she have to sit in a wheelchair or would she have to be bedridden just to keep her from losing more of herself? This whole Mu-Type thing being a big gamble, she was starting to realize what Zach meant by that. Nevertheless, she has really got herself into fix she may not get out intact – literally!
Location: Undisclosed
"Hurry up, or we're going to be late!"
"Calm down! You don't want us to get caught, do you?"
Two young girls quickly rushed toward a metallic door as a hand was placed on the rusting knob. After a quick glance, the door slowly opened as the girls rushed inside, closing the door as lightly and carefully as they could in order to avoid detection.
"You brought it right?"
"Of course, I'm not stupid enough to forget that! Especially knowing what'll happen if I screw it up! Though, there was a close call with-"
"What close call?"
"…" At the sound of the voice, both sets of eyes turned towards a seated figure. While the lighting was scarce at best, there was enough to see her. Cross-legged and arm crossed, both could sense an air of displeasure around her. "Mistress! I…"
"Amanda, what kind of 'close call' is she talking about?"
"W-well…" The brunette girl, named Amanda, wasn't sure what would happen if she would explain. Would she kill her on the spot for being a snitch, or just Libby? Or would she kill them both! "It's like this…"
"SPILL IT!"
Both girls cowered at her outburst before Amanda decided that it was best to give her what she wanted. "You see… We were doing as you asked… "
"Go on…"
"We managed to locate the gems you wanted. But then…"
Her eyes narrowed, "Then what?"
"They showed up. Just when we finished gathering them, Omega Strike showed up!"
"What? How could they even know what we were up to?"
Libby decided to give her hypothesis of the situation. "That's what we wondered, too! We didn't trip the alarms or do anything to alert anyone of our presence, let alone intentions."
"And what happened then?"
"While we managed to make it out of there, I'm not so sure that they didn't see us!"
"Hmm… Just curious, who were the ones that did manage to spot you?"
"We didn't get a good look. But I could've sworn one of them had cat ears!"
"…That damn cat girl…" She muttered. "I assume that there was a big guy next to her. Carries disgusting slugs, looks pissed off?"
"No, he wasn't that big. But he was in a mask!"
"What?" This greatly brought her attention. "This masked guy, did he wear a long scarf?"
"No scarf! But his hair seemed to be long." Amanda informed. "The guy was moving at great speed! It was a miracle that we managed to make it out uncaught!"
She shook her head, "Kittina and Quickstrike…" Glaring at the two girls, "Do you have any idea of the ramifications of your screw up? If any of those two losers manage to track you guys back here all that I worked for could be ruined!"
"Mistress, please! I'm sorry! W-we didn't-GACK!" Her eyes widened as she felt a strong current of water shoot into her through her mouth and nostrils.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear over your choking!" She hissed. Her arm extended with fingers spread. Each shooting out thick streams of water that joined together near their target. She watched Amanda squirmed, trying to muster a word while desperately trying to keep from suffocating.
"Please Mistress! I'm begging you! We're sorry! We won't fail you again! I swear to god! I swear to all that is holy and right we won't fail you again!" Libby watched her mistress raise her other hand, expecting to receive the same treatment as her partner.
While maintaining her hold on Amanda, she began to consider Libby's plea. As desperate and outright pathetic as it was, she knew that despite their screw up, they were at the very least still useful. Good fodder was becoming harder to find these days. With that in mind, she yanked her extended hand back…
"!" Feeling the water forcibly exit from her mouth and nose, the force of the release sent Amanda flying towards her mistress. Causing her to land before the pointed toes of her boots. Coughing in her attempt to get oxygen back into her system, she looked up towards her, pleading and gratitude in her eyes. "Mistress…"
"I'll let you live this time. Screw up again and next time you won't be so lucky! Now get out of my sight before I change my mind!"
Within her words, both girls took her up on her mercy as they quickly left the room. Much to her amusement… Their dedication and desire to please her was admirable, but their infiltration skills could not be said the same. Again, they still had their uses.
"An interesting couple of followers you have there." A new voice mentioned. Belonging to an older gentleman.
She scoffed, "Amanda and Libby aren't exactly top choice for big time jobs. But otherwise they make decent errand girls. Given that they're both runaways from that orphanage from Johnston, they're very willing to do whatever I ask. Money and security have a way of motivating people."
"Orphanage you say? Well that takes me back."
"From what I heard about that place, there are plenty of girls who are ready and willing to look for a chance to leave that place in exchange of some cash and perhaps luxury. And I'm the only one who can provide them their desires…"
"You seem to be quite the young business woman."
"What can I say?" She smirked, "I have plenty of experience from watching my father for years." She raised a brow, "Are you offering?"
"In due time, my dear."
"Well in that case, then why are you here? Or are you another Dirty Old Man who thinks he can get away with his perverted actions with his money?"
He laughed, "My dear, you must have me confused with someone else."
"Whatever…" Within the sound of a jingle, she reached aside for her cellular phone, "What?"
"Now Nemesis, isn't that anyway to speak to an old friend?"
She scoffed, "Arrogant as ever, huh V-Ray? So, what do I bring the honor of you gracing me with your irritable presence?"
"I was just curious about your current dealings back in Newport. Given your reputation…"
Shaking her head in annoyance, "Let me rephrase my question: What do you want me to do for you?"
"It's not much of what you can do for me, but rather what you can do for yourself. There is a simple device that I need you to acquire. It's located at a place that you are all so familiar with…"
She shook her head, "Of course… Hayden-Tech, right?"
"This device is crucial if my plans are to come to full circle. You should make haste, immediately."
"Wait a minute, waitwaitwait… Since when do I take orders from you?"
"Since our master's untimely disappearance, I have decided to take up the reins in his goal of Mu-Type superiority."
A smirk formed on the girl's face, "You little usurper…"
"This is no usurpation. This is simply a matter of logic. Xanthos has proven himself unfit to carry out the task at hand, so I elected myself to take up the reins."
"Just keep telling yourself that. But I suppose I could do you this favor this one time. As long as there's a great payoff for me, of course."
"If you are successful in your task, you will be handsomely rewarded. Fail, and you will suffer the consequences. You should know that only a small number of people actually trust you."
"Like I care about what those losers think."
"Just succeed in this one task and you would have proven yourself to be trustworthy. I expect good results to come from you."
"Whatever…" Within a click, the conversation was over, causing the girl to sigh. "He is so annoying…"
"It seems that you have quite the task." The older man noted.
She scoffed, "V-Ray just wants me to be his puppet to advance his own ambitions. But I'll play along this time. All I know is that it's going to be very entertaining when Xanthos gets back."
"So… This isn't the first time he's disappeared?"
"He's already been ripped apart, like, five times already. I'm sure that he'll be back soon. Hopefully to knock Bach down a few pegs."
"You don't seem to like him very much, do you?"
"He just annoys me. Anyway, isn't there something you should be doing right now?"
He chuckles, "All in good time, my dear. All in good time… But right now, isn't there something you should be doing."
"I know…" Rising from her "throne," she let out a sigh. "Let's get the damn thing so he could leave me alone… Considering the security there's a joke, this shouldn't take long."
"Well in that case, perhaps we can discuss further business sooner than I anticipated."
"Just don't leave." She stated, "This business you wish to discuss, I want to hear every word of it first thing when I get back."
Nodding, he watched the girl proceed to her objective, a smile forming on his face. She seemed to have the right build, not to mention the right amount of ambition. A bit feisty for his tastes, but she should suffice. She would be a great replacement for what he had in mind…
Omega Strike HQ
Her foot fitting snugly inside, Bonnie tucked in the pant leg of her jeans in her boot before proceeding to tie the laces, "How much longer is this going to take…" She was ready to go home and lie in bed. Even if it wasn't her own. She was so over being a lab rat.
"Yer lucky we're even doing this!" Machpunch responded to the snide remark. "We could've just left you alone to stew in yer own crap!"
"Well you're not the one whose body's literally crumbling apart!"
"Well you wouldn't be in this whole mess if you weren't stupid enough to go to Xanthos in the first place!"
"Calm down you two…" X said before turning towards the brunette, "This won't take much longer. We have to record all that we've examined for reference just in case something happens."
"Finally… The sooner I can actually get into something comfortable, the bett-" She caught herself, "Not that kind, Perverts!"
"Believe me, it was the furthest from my mind." The larger man narrowed his eyes. Hasn't been a day and already he felt like beating the living crap out of her.
"X, Machpunch!" Saber walked back into the infirmary. "We need to get ready! Something's happening at Hayden-Tech!"
"Good…" Machpunch sighed in relief, "Finally something to let out my aggression."
"We'll be heading home in a bit, right now it's time take care of business." X informed Bonnie.
She scoffed, "You mean you couldn't have done this after you've taken me home?"
A growl escaping, Machpunch just had enough of this princess. Before his fist could rise, a hand was placed on his shoulder. "Let it go, she's going through a hard time."
"Not hard enough, if you ask me…" He muttered as the trio walk away, leaving the newly-discovered ill girl alone.
"What's that guy's ish, anyway? Asshole…" She crossed her arms. Great, now Zach and his buddies were going to take all night, leaving her stuck in this place. And with her condition, no less! What kind of people does that, anyway? Walking back towards the bed, she decided it would be best to lie back down on it. It was the only comfortable thing she saw in there. Before she could leap on, she heard a familiar ringtone from her bag on a countertop. "Great… Who could be calling me now…" Reaching inside of her bag, she pulled out her phone as her eyes widened on the revelation of the caller's ID. Without any consideration, she quickly answered, "Hello?"
"So you did come to Newport after all!"
"No duh!" She snarked, "You'd expect me to miss out on this opportunity?"
"But how are you-"
"I'm crashing at Asters' place. He can so be such a friend!"
"But isn't this a bit-"
"Wade! If I wanted a lecture, I'd go to my mother, Tara, or god-forbid Asters. Now, I take it if you're calling me then you must've found something, right?"
"Actually Bonnie, that's what I wanted to tell you. I found them."
Her eyes widened, "You did? Really?"
"Yes!"
Joy filled within her eyes as the significance of this call sunk in. He had found them. After a couple of months since she had made that call Wade had found them, the only reason why she came to Newport in the first place! There were here… It was only speculated but now it was confirmed…
Bonine's parents were in Newport.
Now that Bonnie knows her parents were here, what will she do?
Next Chapter: Bonnie learns the identity of her birthparents. Meanwhile, Omega Strike investigates Hayden-Tech, but what, or who will they find?
Chapter 4: True Blood! The Fateful Encounter!
