Tumble weeds roll about. Then the author appears.
-Sure's been a long time. Well, back to work !
Chapetr 8 : Confrontation at the Factory
John was testing the new armor out. Since he'd ''lost'' the S.E.N.T.R.I-C.O.N-C.A.R.N.E, his higher ups had decided, as a punishment, that he'd become the scientists main ''guinea-pig'' for a short time. And God it was horrible ! Although, he got to test cool weapons and armor, he was still used as a test subject for other questionable types of teen technology, like that ''zit vaccine'' which backfired completely. At the end of the day his head was covered in spots, and it had taken a whole week for him to recover.
The teenager flew across Cleveland, made a few loopings, then landed on top of a building.
From there he could see a good part of the town.
He checked the armor to see if everything was okay. That special type of Battle Ready Armour had been specially designed for the TEENZ field medics.
The weapons, like lasers and and tranquilizer darts, were operational. He had his integrated bone-saw alright. His syringe gun, which was integrated to his armor's left gauntlet, was fully loaded. The injector was operational, and he had a med-kit ready. He checked his defibrillator gloves. They were working fine.
Finally, he opened up a panel on his armor's right arm, which indicated him the level of all the drugs and liquids could need. He'd just checked the plasma and energy drink levels, when he realized that he was missing a certain level of morphine ( He was currently at 47 percent of the damn stuff. ).
He knew the armor had never been used before, so the fact that some of the drugs had been used gave him suspicions. Oh well, he'd have to resolve that issue when he came back.
He then checked in the armor's pockets and backpack for some of the antibiotics. Everything was there : Pain pills, anti-depressants, sleeping pills, some sort of anti-venom... Everything was fine. No need to worry.
The teenager then resumed his flight. His jet boots limited him. He couldn't go to high, KND fighters frequently patrolled these parts of the sky. And jet boots don't have infinite fuel.
He'd never flown before, except on the airplane from Britain to the U.S. But feeling the wind on his face and the air in his lungs was a new and exiting sensation. He liked it, no loved it, he who was usually uneasy in high places.
However, after a few minutes, he realized that his jet boots were starting to lack energy. He landed near a bustling industrial site, and wondered for a bit. While walking, he noticed a few posters on the walls, some publicity for cars and furniture, a ''Missing'' poster showing the face of a blond teenage boy, which looked like it had been stuck up quite a while ago, and then a poster for what seemed to be an election, probably the Presidential one.
All of a sudden, he heard cries from behind a corner, and came on a scene which totally bewildered him. In front of him was a scene of total panic : People were running away in terror...from a distillery. And that wasn't even the most shocking site. He could see waves of what seemed to be...root beer pouring out of it. He advanced quickly towards the building, stopping near one of the people to ask them questions.
''Hey, what happened ?, he said to one of the adults.
-Don't know, two weird people came and entered the building. Since then, no news of what kind, until that pool of soda came out. My son is still in there...I hope nothing happened to him.
-Don't worry, I'll find them.''
And without leaving the man any time to respond, he entered the building.
The corridors were soaked with beer, giving the walls a brownish color and the air a sugary scent.
He'd recognized the firm when he saw the building for the first time. It was called ''Captain Morgan's''.
From experience, he already knew that it was an alcohol firm which produced mainly root beer, but it also produced drinks for adults. John had tasted one of them at Oktoberfest during his last autumn vacations, a year ago. He had emptied the pint in one go, and felt the drink burn his throat. It was even worse than the bottle of Whiskey one of his uncles had brought back from Scotland, and this type of brew made vodka pass for coke.
He continued to explore the corridors, pistol at the ready. He still wondered who had caused this. The Kids Next Door ? Probably. He'd heard recently that the law cracked down hard on kids when it came to drinking.
As he advanced towards the brewing chamber, he could hear voices. But they weren't kids. They were adults. Five or four of them.
''Did we get all of them ?
-I think so Boss.
-Right, now to destroy this disgusting brew.
-I couldn't agree more, said a voice with a Spanish accent, alcohol must be destroyed. Coffee is the real deal.
-Don't get to exited, Cuppa Joe, said the second voice. We're only here for one alcohol, not all of them. And as for your declaration about coffee...''
John had heard enough. He bolted towards the door, laser pistol at the ready.
''FREEZE !'', he yelled as he burst through the door.
He pointed his laser pistol at...a bunch of ice cream men, drill workers and two men in white suits, one of them wearing a large white sombrero like hat.
Turning his head around, he noticed a dozen kids chained up next to the brewing barrels, which had been blown up.
Well, that explains the root beer pouring out of the factory.
There was an awkward moment of silence, before one of the Ice-Cream men spoke.
''And just who the Hell do you think you are ?
-I should be the one asking questions, John responded, I'm peacefully flying over this nice city, and then I come to this ugly industrial site for a rest, and what do I see : some root beer...
-You're very impudent for a Teen Ninja, one of the men in white suits remarked.
-Excuse me ?, the teen replied.
-My, my, he continues, the man said, I guess I'll have to speak to Father about his recruiting methods.
-Father ? That guy in black who spouts flames and is technically my boss ? You know him ?''
The man was massaging his temples in frustration.
''I thought Teenagers were stupid, but not at that much, he said.
-Hey, shut your mouth up, the boy retorted.
-And he's impolite as well, the adult continued, how did you even enter the Teen Ninjas ?
-I dunno, there are lots of idiots who managed to get in, so why not me ? Anyways, let's get back to the subject of this conversation. Who are you ? What are you doing ? Why are you doing it ?
-Very well, the man declared, I am Mr Fizz, lawman and person in charge of the application of the 2006 Soda Law. To my left is my associate, Cuppa Joe, who's in charge of Evil Adult industries coffee department and merchandising. Our goal today was to destroy this factory, because of the root beer it contains. Like this, the brats won't be able to replace soda with something sugary, and they'll be forced to drink water. Ha, ha, ha.
-So you destroyed all the brewing tanks ?
-Yes, and we captured a few of the brats who were here on a school outing.
-Are they KND ?
-No. At first, we used them as hostages in case the KND came, but since you're here, I guess you can take care of them...I've heard the Teen Ninjas need more slaves...
-Say no more, said the teen, I'll do what's necessary.''
He walked towards the frightened kids, who cowered in terror. He took out his bone saw...and cut the ropes which bound the child's hands and ankles. He then freed all the others in the same way.
He straightened up, and went back towards the adults, who were now looking at him with a dumb founded expression.
He stopped for a moment, noticing the children staring at him.
'' What are you waiting for ? he said, turning towards them; You damn brats ! Go ! Shoo ! Piss off you midgets !''
The children obeyed immediately, and ran off towards the factory's exit.
The adults were furious. Mr Fizz looked at John with disgust.
''What's your problem, he yelled, you're supposed to put them back them back in place ! Make them respect adults ! Not let them run away !
-I spoke with Father, the teen said nonchalantly. He told me he hated kids but I was only told to attack the KND...Technically, nothing more...
-Shut up, yelled the adult, You...You're the stupidest teen I've ever met, and that's saying something, because I've met more dumb arse teenagers than I've had hot diners.
-You're the stupid one, you old geezer, John replied with a growl, you and your goons destroyed all the brewing systems. This factory produces real alcohol too...
-We already knew that, Cuppa Joe said, with his Hispanic accent, but sacrifices must be made. Alcohol is a horrible mixture, for the real thing that an adult must drink is...coffee ! Yes, you heard me, coffee must prevail ! And I will personally destroy every barrel of alcohol if that means that adults...
-You crazy fucker, John interrupted him, do you really think I'll let you continue your schemes ?! There's no way Oktoberfest is going to be screwed because some psycho grown up decided that coffee was better than beer ! I hate that crap ! It stinks !
-¿¡Qué?!, snarled Cuppa Joe, whose eyes bulged so wide that he started to look like a Cuphead villain.
-Yeah, you heard me. I prefer tea, the teenager said smugly.
At the mention of the world ''tea'', Cuppa Joe clutched his chest as if he was having a heart attack.
Mr Fizz sighted in exasperation. He'd seen enough. He nodded to the cronies :
''Teach that impudent youth a lesson !''
Instantly, eight or seven ice cream men ran towards the teenager.
John's laser gun sprang into action. Three men went down immediately, one of them screaming and clutching his crotch.
They were only four left now, but they were trying to surround him. A short, skinny man tried to grab him. John pushed him back, and before his opponent could react, he gave him an uppercut to the jaw. The force of the punch, plus the fact that it was delivered with an iron coated glove, knocked the guy out cold.
He avoided a punch thrown by a stout woman, which hit another goon who was trying to grab him from behind. Before they could recover, the teen rushed at his fourth opponent and took him by the legs. They rolled across the floor together until the boy managed to get on top of his opponent, and soccer punched him mercilessly until he went limp.
He heard the last two running towards him.
Fuck, he'd lost his energy pistol. But he still had an ace up his sleeve...
As they closed in on him, he turned and aimed his left gauntlet in their direction. He fired two tranquilizer darts. They both slumped to the floor.
Finished, John thought, Now, I just need to...
He turned around swiftly, hearing some heavy footsteps, only to get a massive punch in the face. The force of the blow made him fall over, and he skidded away on the spilled root beer, until he crashed into one of the brewing systems.
He got up painfully, still seeing a few stars. The punch had dealt him severe damage. One of the lenses on his specs was cracked, and the hot liquid which he felt trickling down the left side of his face could only be blood.
Before he could react, he got kicked in the stomach. He lurched, severely winded, before he was pulled up by a single massive hand.
John opened his eyes, and found himself facing a huge man, with a savage looking face.
''This is Golgo, Cuppa Joe said, He's the most strong and brutal of my workers. You're not the first he will crush.''
The giant pulled back his massive fist with a smirk, then turned towards Mr Fizz and Cuppa Joe.
''Should I finish him ?''
Crap, John thought, Another punch from that guy and I'm finished. Need to think fast...
''Of course.'', Mr Fizz said.
The colossus then smirked at John.
''Looks like it's the end for you, little punk.''
John kicked him in the crotch. Golgo howled and fell to his knees, letting go of John in the process.
The teenager got up and noticed two things : One, his enemy was at his mercy. Two, his laser pistol was only a few meters away.
''You little s**t, the man yelled, I'm gonna lay you out.''
But before he could get up, the teenager was in front of him.
''Say ''Ah'''', John declared.
Golgo didn't have time to react, as John shoved the gun in his mouth, and pulled the trigger a few times. The giant lurched then started coughing and wheezing, spurting blood out of his mouth with each breath.
The teenager didn't even give him a chance. He socked the man in the jaw, in the throat, then he punched him a few times in the face. He finished him with a second uppercut which put the giant K.O.
The teen, victorious, turned to his last two opponents. But contrarily to what he expected, they laughed.
''Very impressive...'', Mr Fizz said, while slowly clapping his hands.
All of a sudden, five barrels appeared out of nowhere, and started fixing themselves on Mr Fizz's limbs and head.
''...but you're going to have to do a lot better than that.''
The process, revealing a massive robot suit, which easily dwarfed the Teen Ninja.
''Scheize !'', John muttered.
He aimed his energy weapon at Mr Fizz's head, and fired half a dozen shots. The adult easily countered this attack by raising one of his robotic arms in front of his face.
''Is that all you can do, you acne diseased little punk ?, The man shouted, Now, watch...and learn !''
The bottles of soda on Mr Fizz's left arm started spewing soda at an excessive rate.
John had to run madly, trying to dodge the soda blasts that were trying to nail him down. He observed the suit and its opponent. The man seemed to be drinking soda from plastic tubes attached to a plastic mask.
John, of course, didn't ignore the properties of the drink. Although his enemy would probably have a very fizzy stomach, he now had more energy than a car battery.
He paused a moment behind a big crate filled with bottles. The jets of soda were progressively pushing the box forwards, but John didn't care.
If that guy loves fizzy drinks so much, I'm gonna make sure he doesn't do an overdose.
He took out his bone saw, and prepared to jump out. As the crate was on the point of sliding into the wall, he activated his jet boots and burst out of his hiding place. This surprised Mr Fizz, he didn't have time to aim correctly at the flying teenager, and John crashed into him.
Mister Fizz tried to shake off the teenager but to no avail. Meanwhile, John was holding on for dear life. He finally managed crawl onto the robo-suit's back. Taking out his bone saw, he swiped at the plastic tubes that provided the man with soda. He managed to sever one of them, which caused gushes of soda to come spewing out.
However, John's luck was short lived as Fizz pointed both of his Soda Gatlings at him. Although most of the shots missed their mark, on of them hit John straight in the face. He lost his grip, and fell to the floor. He wiped out most of the soda which had splattered on his sunglasses, then jumped quickly out of the way, noticing the incoming robot foot which intended to squash him. He retreated a few meters back. He then heard Mr Fizz taunting him.
''Ha, you thought cutting off my reserve of soda would weaken me ? Big mistake !''
John turned around and started raising his middle finger, but he didn't have time to finish his rude gesture. A huge jet of soda pinned down on the ground. He tried to get up, but to his horror he couldn't move his limbs. Looking down, he realized that the soda had stuck to him. He tried walking. No result. His feet were stuck to the ground as surely as if he'd walked into some fresh cement.
Mr Fizz approached the boy with a wicked smile on his face.
''Looks like I've won.''
He then shot a dozen blasts at the helpless teen, who's body started buckling under the shots. He was forced on his knees, trying to shield himself as much as possible from the sugary drink which was being shot at him. But to no avail. At the end, the Ninja was curled on the floor trapped in a sugary paste which made it difficult for him to move. Mr Fizz turned back to his goons, who were painfully getting up :
''Try and find any kids in this factory, then check on the others. Evacuate the wounded, then get out of there.
-What about that teenager ?, One of the ice-cream men said.
-Leave him there. When the police will be here, they'll find him in all this mush and blame him for what happened !''
John was hearing every word of this. No way he was going to be locked up in prison for nothing. He wasn't ready to start a criminal record at his age ( As if being in an organisation of evil teenagers hell bent on torturing children didn't count ! ). He had to think of a way of getting free from this sticky mess.
What could desolve this ? Acid, water, alcohol, fire...Wait a sec...fire, that's the solution...Just have to activate my jetboots...
He tried his best to move his feet as to activate them, but all attempts failed. The only way possible now was to punch them and pray whoever lived up there that it would work. He removed the satchel on the back of his armour. He could now move his back freely, which permitted him to act out his plan with more ease. First, put everything back in the bag, it's damn content had spilled out during the battle.
Med kit, pain pills, anti-depressants...All of sudden, something caught his time.
Interesting, he taught, I think I now have some chances of beating that bastard !
He took the item which interested him, and slid it in one of his pockets. He then resumed his task. He started punching the inside back of his boots, in hope that it would activate it. The first hit made no effect, the second neither, but the third caused the rocket boot to activate, creating a puff of smoke as the shoe's miniature jet engines burned away the soda.
Mr Fizz noticed the smoke, and gave orders to his men :
''Go and investigate, quick !''
The men walked cautiously towards the smoke, armed to the teeth this time. They levelled their ice cream pistols, ready to light up anything that came out of the smoke.
John rose up as fast as a bullet, and before any of his enemies could react, he unloaded his entire reserve of sleeping darts in their direction. Most of them hit the floor, but every ice cream men was hit by at least one of them. They all fell on to the concrete, snoring loudly.
Mr Fizz stopped putting his robotic arms up ( They were riddled with dart. ), and looked darkly at the teenager.
''I can't believe it...you're still standing...I guess I didn't do enough then...Have at you !''
He fired all twelve of his soda cannons at John, but this time the boy evaded the attack, and flew high in the air.
The teen then jetted directly at Mr Fizz, pushing his rocket boots power to seventy percent. In a last desperate burst, he dodged all the soda shots the adult threw at him. He landed on top on him, and a fierce struggle followed. John was trying to get hold of the robo-armour's soda tube which gave Mr Fizz soda, and Mr Fizz was trying to shake off John. Like in the first confrontation, John let go, only this time Mr Fizz attacked him. As soon as the teen's feet had touched the ground, he gave him a mighty swipe which knocked back the boy a few meters. John was now sitting against a wall, nursing his injury, a slight trickle of blood coming out of his mouth, recovering the blood crust which had resulted of Golgo punching him.
Mr Fizz advanced on him :
''Stay down this time, you rebellious little b*****d !
-You first, John murmured.
-What ?'', Mr Fizz questioned.
He looked at his hands and noticed something rather odd. There were...blurry ? No, his hole vision was blurry. The adult started to yawn, his eyes closing more and more often. He moved closer towards the boy, trying to blast him.
''What...did...you...do...to...me ?''
The teenager smirked.
''Easy. You know that second attempt ? I wasn't trying to cut your ''fuel'' line...During the struggle, I slipped a few sleeping pills in the left tube, the one I had cut open. I'm surprised you didn't notice.''
The adult snarled faintly, then his eyes shut, and he fell to the ground, robo-suit and all, with a loud THUD.
John got up and walked up slowly towards the unconscious Mr Fizz, and gave him a hard kick in the face, causing the villain's nose to start to bleed.
Right, now that he's out of the way, let's get rid of the other one.
He turned towards Cuppa Joe and the remaining goons. They looked at him menacingly. Cuppa Joe advanced through his henchmen, towards John, not even putting his cup of tea down. He looked disdainfully at Mr Fizz's unconscious body, then back at John. Then back at Mr Fizz. Then back at John.
''Don't tell me you have a coffee spewing robot suit as well.'', the teen muttered.
Cuppa Joe only smirked, and took a sip of his coffee.
''All right, you know what, f**k this !'' John yelled.
He aimed his laser gun at the man, and fired a dozen shots. But as the lasers were about to hit him, the sombrero wearing adult disappeared, and the energy projectiles hit a crate, making very little damage. John looked around him. He couldn't see Cuppa Joe anywhere. Nor could he hear him.
All of a sudden, the villain appeared right in front of him. He punched John with such a force that he sent the boy flying ( Again. ). John got up, painfully.
''What the f**k are you ?'', he mumbled.
The villain didn't respond, and instead gave John a another powerful punch...No, wait not one, several. John felt them this time. He understood what was happening. His adversary was a man possessing super speed. How the crap did he become like that ?, the boy thought. The villain bragged :
''Look at you, you can barely stand up. You're bleeding abundantly from your face, you have several cuts on your body. You look exhausted. And yet you still want to fight. Pfff, ridiculous...You cannot even hit me. I take a cup of extra hot coffee every two hours, which makes me the fastest man alive !''
He then charged at John, only this time the Teen Ninja had the sense to fly up into the air to avoid the attack. Cuppa Joe crashed into a crate, but it did him little damage.
I'm in a c****y condition, the boy said to himself, I can't fight him in that state. Don't I have something which could put me back in shape ? I do, actually...the adrenaline injector. It's the only thing to do...
He activated it, and held out his right arm. He poked the needle in one of the rare parts which wasn't protected by armor. He felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins. It gave him vitality, it was as if his tiredness and pain was only a dream.
I feel like I could fight for hours...
He raised his bone saw and laser weapon at the ready. He could see Cuppa Joe sipping his coffee. He rushed towards him. John swiped at the man, but his adversary disappeared out of sight, only to reappear behind him. The teen blocked the hit just in time. Cuppa Joe tried swiping him off his feet, John jumped just in time, but he didn't evade one of the punches the man sent him. Luckily, it didn't affect him much, thanks to the adrenaline. He shot the adult with his laser weapons, then tried engaging him in close combat. He only managed to swipe empty air, his bone saw never striking it's target. He started chasing the coffee crazed man, still to no avail.
Alright, if I can't get him, I'll just wait for him...
He stopped, bone saw at the ready. He looked around him, trying to get a glimpse of his opponent.
Cuppa Joe appeared at his left, but instead of punching him, the villain started running around him. John turned around, and turned once more, expecting punches from the villains. At one point, something strange happened. John started feeling dizzy. He realized too late that he'd played into his enemy's game. What a fool he had been ! Turning around like a goddamn idiot ! He was so disoriented that he didn't manage to evade the next attack that the adult threw at him. He got punched a few times, but with sheer luck, he managed to exchange a swipe with Joe. The villain stumbled a few steps back, and looked at his suit. There was a jagged cut on his torso, blood dripping and staining his suit.
''¡Pequeno hijo de p**a!'', the villain enraged.
He rushed at the teenager, his rage fueling his speed. He was now going twice as fast as before. He sent a flurry of punches at the Teen Ninja, who at first intercepted most of them. However, the never ending wave of punches soon took care of that, and five seconds after the boy was taking the full blunt of the attack. All of the hits were damaging him severly.
I think I can shut my eyes now, he thought.
So what's going to happen ? Will John be able to beat Cuppa Joe, or will loose and be confronted to dishonor from his fellow Teen Ninjas ?
