Chapter 5

He duo had spent the next five minutes navigating the halls of the dreadnought, Friday was pretty certain they had passed the same room three times. The events from the test were still fresh in their minds, Brains' more than Friday's. They could only imagine what someone would want to do with a weapon such as the one they witnessed, best not to find out.

The agent had her head lowered, finding it hard to concentrate, her thoughts filled with static. She stared down at her boots, sinking with every step into the immaculate carpet. Every time she closed her eyes, her irises were burned by the blinding white, and if she listened hard enough, she could still hear the thundering drone simmered down to a slight hum. It was like she had been scarred for life, lost a piece that would never return.

"Are you okay, Brains?" Friday asked concerned. She didn't answer. "Brains!" He spoke up, causing her head to jerk up.

She looked up to the robot with glazed eyes which seemed to be looking through him. She automatically followed the path around a corner. "Sorry, Friday. I was just thinking about..."

"It's Agent Brains! Get her!"

Brains snapped out of her haze. She just noticed a group of men wearing matching uniforms, the same ones worn by the henchman back at the hanger, straight ahead. The guards opened fire with their laser rifles. Agent Brains' years of training and natural reactions kick in and dove for cover behind the corner as beams of blue were hurled at them. Neither of them was hit.

"Use non-lethal force!" Another henchman hollered. "Captain Maverick needs her alive!"

Brains braced as more shots hit the corner, sending shimmers through the wood. She caught a quick glance at the patrol; there were five of them, standing in an arrowhead formation with no cover whatsoever. She pulled back as more shots impacted uncomfortably close. She turned to Friday, who was right next to her, with his blaster in hand. They exchanged looks, and came up with retaliation without saying a word.

Agent Brains dove from cover, firing wildly as she sailed through the air. Friday popped out and blasted away. Several trails of green flew down the hall; four out of five guards were hit by the goo and enveloped in green bubbles. The last guard saw his comrades subdued, dropping his gun in a frightened fashion.

"Alarm!" The guard screeched, turning to run. "Sound the alarm!"

Brains spotted the guard fleeing in fear. If he got to an alarm, the entire ship would be down on them. He had to be stopped. She could careful aim at the guard and fired, as she hoped, the projectile hit its mark, the guard was trapped.

Without wasting time, Brains and Friday continued down the hall, leaving the guards to their fate. She was in full concentration mode, worried that someone may have heard the gunfire and had now alerted the ship.

Suddenly, they heard something echoing from down a hallway. They stopped in their tracks and listened. It sounded like laughter, a thick, harsh one. Brains placed her index finger over her lips, followed by a quiet shush. She tiptoed towards the laughter's direction, the carpet softening her steps.

They approached an empty door; the sniggering was the strongest at this point. They edged over to the edge, Friday floated over her head. Brains peeked around the corner. The room she seen was big. She sighed because all the rooms in this ship were big, and quite frankly, the novelty had overstayed its welcome. The walls were covered with bookcases, and the far wall held a canvas of a mountain landscape. In the middle of the room, hunched around a terminal, stood two leather chairs. The laughter resonated from the chair on the left.

"And that's not even the best part..." A young boy's voice said from the chair on the left. Brains and Friday gasped in a mixed sense of shock and relief as they recognised the voice: it was Fred! "Friday had that 'I'm a moron' note stuck on his back for six days." His response was met with even more roaring from the man in the other chair, undoubtedly his captor. "Braianna and I had a bet as to how long before he found out. I won, of course."

At that point, Brains realised what he was doing. Without taking her eyes of the chairs, she addressed Friday. "This is it. This is our chance to capture Maverick and end his little plan." She primed the blaster in her hands, Friday followed suit. "We're going to sneak up on him and arrest him."

The two of them crept into the room and towards the chairs. The air was thick and musky with the smell of wine and whiskey. The room was dimly lit, with the terminal being the only source of light, but bear in mind it was a pretty big light. The chairs cast long shadows on the rug, which must have been exclusively selected for this room only. Brains felt a rise in excitement as they closed in on the chairs: she would be meeting the Protector's best (and worst) agent face to face.

She went straight down the middle while Friday moved to the other side of the laughing chair, with the intent to pincer the suspect. The figures in the seats began to show up as she got close. She shot a quick glance over at Fred's chair, and spotted the boy's features as she neared; his lilac hair, small nose, familiar smile, bright eyes – the boy was undoubtedly Fred. She turned back to the other chair, there sat a man with black hair and stern, down eyes.

This was their chance; she nodded to Friday before they both made their move. "Freeze!" Brains yelled. They drew their guns and pointed them directly at Maverick from both sides. The laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Fred jumped with shock, the two of them materialized from the darkness like ghosts. His surprise quickly turned to happiness when he realised it was his friends. "Brains! Friday! You're here!" He leapt from his seat and ran behind them, his feelings just wanted to embrace his friends with a big hug, but now wasn't the time. "I'm glad you showed up when you did. I was getting tired of talking to this guy."

Maverick remained in his seat. He switched his eyes from side to side, seeing Agent Brains on his left and Friday on the right, both of them pointing blasters into his face.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Robeaux..." He spoke with the same amount of urgency as doing laundry, unfazed by the guns in his face. "I see you have brought your annihilator unit as well, just as I predicted."

"You're under arrest, Maverick." Brains said, annoyed by the limp reaction promoted by him. In her line of work, shoving a laser gun in someone (or something's) face was met with mixed reactions, some cowered while others didn't. "You and all of your cronies are going to jail."

He shook his head, disappointed. "Oh, Miss Robeaux, did you really think you got the drop on me? Do you think I just leave my stealth systems switched off, and the hanger doors wide open for anyone to enter?"

"How did you...?" Brains muttered under her breath, barely audible to the others. Is this a trap? She thought, all of a sudden.

"And if I were to guess, you didn't encounter much resistance reaching me?" Maverick turned to face her, staring straight into the gun's green nozzle. "Well, I'm afraid all that is about to change... right now."

The agent had had enough of hearing this crazy man's rambling. She was inches away from pulling the trigger until suddenly, Friday just went ballistic. A piercing, blue beam was fired out of nowhere and struck him. Sparks flickered off his metal body; his arms wobbled and shook in every direction. Hypnotic rings formed in his yellow eyes. He began to sing madly.

"Friday!" Fred and Brains cried in unison. The beam dragged Friday away through the ceiling. He was gone.

In that split-second of madness, she had done the worst possible thing: took her focus off the main suspect. Before she knew it, the blaster was pulled straight out of her grip. Maverick had shot to his feet and pushed her away. Brains fell on her backside.

"Brains!" Fred shrieked in horror. Everything had gone from calm to crazy in a heartbeat. His robot buddy was whisked away in that laser, and now Braianna was flat on the ground.

Maverick dangled the gun harmlessly in one hand while shaking his index finger on the other. "Ah, ah, ah! You shouldn't be playing with dangerous weapons, Miss Robeaux, you might hurt someone." Then, in one swift motion, he opened a small compartment and pulled a piece out. The firearm's light faded to black, dead, disarmed. He threw both of them away.

"What have you done to Friday?!" Fred demanded.

"Don't worry. Your robot friend is in good hands. He's just being moved to an isolated unit where he can cause no harm."

Agent Brains arched back and placed her hands flat on the ground before pushing forward and performing a perfect kip-up. She landed straight into a martial arts pose with her knees bent, her left arm on guard and her right balled into a fist, ready to strike. She locked her red eyes on his brown ones, averting all her concentration on this target.

"This is between you and me, Maverick!" Brains exclaimed. "I've heard your goons say that you need me alive, so I know you can't kill me."

"Perhaps not... but I can still hurt you badly." Maverick said.

She lunged towards him, leading her attack with both legs. She watched herself home in on Maverick's fuzzy head, before it moved to the side, dodging her kick. She landed on the carpet and rapidly turned to strike again.

"Go on, Brains!" Fred yelled encouragement. "This old guy's got nothing on you! Kick his sorry butt all the way off this ship!"

She swung her second attack: a punch. But just life before, Maverick simply stepped aside as if he were letting someone passed. Her punch hit nothing but air. She threw another one, and again it was avoided. Her head began to fume with frustration; the opponent was making a fool out of her.

The fight was interrupted by a marching noise, the sound of many footsteps. A couple of henchman appeared at the door and entered, followed by another, and then another. They continued to filter into the lounge area two by two and stand by the walls. They didn't stop until there were about two hundred men, lined up around the room, their eyes watching the Protector and their Captain. Fred remained where he stood, by the leather chairs. Sweat was forming on his brow.

"Do not fret. My loyal men are just going to enjoy the show." The henchmen's captain explained.

Anger and misery vented in the young agent. She knew it was too easy. She swung another punch, but this time, Maverick caught her fist mere inches from his face. Before he could retaliate, he shoved her fist straight back into her face, into her eye. Brains whelped with pain. Almost instantly, he spun on his heel and executed a back kick. She felt the powerful impact in her gut, along with the air in her lungs leaving her body as his shoe made contact. She hit the ground again about six feet back. Her stomach radiated with a pain like she had eaten too much candy.

The room exploded with applause. The crew cheered and whistled encouragement to their captain, along with phrases like: "You show her, Captain!" and "That'll feel sore in the morning!" Out of the men cheering, one was not. Fred stared on, his mouth agape, his eyes wide and his pupils narrow.

"Get up, Brains!" Fred's support was drowned out by everyone else's. "You can still beat him!"

Brains fought to get her feet back, retching halfway through. She knew she was in trouble now. In all her years of service, she has taken on great challenges and even greater foes, and always came out on top. She was an expert in several styles of martial arts. However, her opponent has mastered even more forms of fighting techniques, according to his file.

She burst into a full sprint. She slide on the carpet, under Maverick's swiping hand. As she slid past, she spun on her hip and delivered a menacing kick to the back of his leg. He grunted as he fell on his knee. Brains made use of this opportunity and punched the man in his hairy face. The first blow swiped what she hoped was his chin, the second connected with his cheekbone. Maverick fell onto all fours. The audience began to hiss and boo, urging their leader to get up.

"That's it, Brains!" Fred encouraged her success. "Wear him down!"

Brains kicked the downed enemy in the face. His head flung back along with his spine, making him kneel upright. She followed through with another punch, but it was blocked. With his other hand, he swung it up, delivering an uppercut into her chin. Her lower row of teeth clicked against the upper row. She stumbled back, somehow managing to stay on her feet.

The room seemed to be shifting left and right, throwing off the girl's balance. The immense noise dulled to her ears, almost becoming silent. He buzzing returned. Maverick stood up straight, rubbing his face with the back of his hand.

She glared at her adversary with rage-filled eyes, the right one still sore. She took lurching steps towards him, building up speed with every step. She jumped at him again and kick straight at his face. Maverick caught her leg and, using her momentum, threw her down. She slammed face-first into the floor, the crowd roared louder.

With her leg still in his grip, Maverick lifted the girl up by her ankle. Agent Brains dangled upside-down. Her arms hung freely. Her long hair touched the ground. She opened her eyes. Everything was the wrong way up. All the blood in her body rushed to her head, piling pressure on her aching skull. She got a good look at his shoes and his trouser legs.

Then Maverick punched Brains in the chest.

The punch sent her flying. She landed on her head before rolling over and landing on her hands and knees, screeching to a stop. She attempted to regain her footing, but pain emerged in her chest causing her to crumple to the floor. She clutched her chest, trying desperately to ease the ache.

The crowd's reaction went from cheering to groaning the moment she fell. All of them felt the hurt in that blow, even from where they stood. Fred clutched large handfuls on hair, the tension building in his mind as he watched her get pummelled. He's going to kill her...Fred dreaded in his mind.

"Good technique... strong form..." Maverick complimented. "But you lack discipline, commitment."

This time, he made his move towards the downed agent. He moved with no sense of urgency. His steps were like tremors to Brains' ears. She lifted her head just in time to see the ex-Protector a few steps away. Using what little strength she had left, she got up just as he swung a punch. She ducked under it and countered with a punch into the abdomen. Maverick swung again, she dodged and delivered another blow. Unfortunately, she couldn't avoid the third. She stammered back.

Before Maverick could strike again, a figure jumped between them. Fred. He held his arms up to his face, shielding it in case he took a stray blow. His move may have been risky, but it got the two to stop fighting.

"Enough! That's enough!" Fred stood before the brutish man.

Brains leaned forward, gripping Fred by the shoulder. "No, Fred. I can still take him." She murmured in his ear.

"He was going to kill you, Brains..." He turned towards her and whispered. "I'm trying to buy you some time here. We need another plan."

Maverick remained where he was for a few moments, his fist still clenched. Eventually, he dropped his stance, breathing a calming sigh. "You're right, Mr Luckpuig. I almost got carried away there." He glanced over the boy's shoulder, into the background. "Guards, please subdue Miss Robeaux."

Their eyes shot open to what he just said. Before any of them could react, someone from the crowd fired at them. The blue beam hit Agent Brains. Nothing, not all her years of training or her many scraps, could prepare her for the sensation she was met with. The sting made it way to her internal organs, making them want to escape. Her muscles and bones began to spasm out of control. Her scream pierced everyone's ears. Mercilessly, the beam stopped. She slumped to the floor, smouldering like hot coal.

"No!" Fred shot arrows at Maverick with the angriest look he's ever made in his life. "You...! You...!" He let his emotions go, and lunged at the monster right in front of him. He unleashed a barrage of punches into his sweater vest. Maverick made no attempt to fight back, nor did he need to. He simply stood there and took whatever the boy threw. Fred's hands hurt with every blow; it was like he was beating a statue.

"Now, now, Mr Luckpuig..." He spoke while being punched. "I think you need to rest a little."

With that, he casually raised his fist and bonked Fred over the head with it, knocking him unconscious. Fred sprawled on the carpet, right next to his next-door neighbour.

Maverick stared down at the two out cold teenagers in his midst. A devilish smile formed. His plan was all coming together.