This is the last chapter before the final epilogue! A big thank you to everyone who's read this story and left feedback for me! Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Aqueous launched her stream-like liquid form directly at Tech. Tech leapt out of her path just in time, sliding sideways across the floor. Before he could get to his feet again though, Aqueous slammed her jet-stream liquid body into him, pushing him up to a wall with a hard impact.
"Ugghh!"
Tech was then wrapped tightly by her liquid body, and sent crashing up to the ceiling, then to a wall, another wall, and finally the floor. Tech weakly moaned in pain. His battle-suit had protected him from the worst of the impacts, but he had still been shaken badly, and the suit had now taken on severe damage. Electrical sparks were being spurted from the damaged hinges of the metal suit. And Aqueous wasn't done yet. Keeping Tech tightly restrained in her wrapped grip, an offshoot liquid arm swirled around Tech's neck and head, and she ripped his metal helmet off with a quick twist. Then she brought his unmasked, vulnerable face close to her featureless face again.
"Let's crack this tin shell of yours open shall we?"
She then sent tendrils of her liquid matter around Tech's armour, which began seeping into the small gaps and joints of it. She was slowly forcing his armour to split apart. Tech let out an agonized cry.
"EeeuuuuRRRAAAAAAGGGHHH!!"
A sharp blade-like appendage emerged from Aqueous' body and sunk itself into the armour plating of Tech's chest. It penetrated the armour and Aqueous began forcing the cut armour plating apart. She then plunged her blade-like appendage through Tech's exposed chest, impaling him through the heart. Tech's body fell limp. Only then did Aqueous finally release Tech, dropping his still body onto the floor. Without a word of remorse, she turned back to her M-14 bomb and began setting its countdown sequence: 5 minutes.
Unbeknownst to her, Tech's molecular regeneration was rapidly healing his chest injury. He sluggishly rose to his feet once more.
"That hurt."
Aqueous, surprised, spun round to face him, only to have a pellet thrown into her viscous liquid body. In the space of a second, a chemical was dispersed from the pellet and spread through her body, freezing her solid. Tech walked up to her frozen form.
"Liquid nitrogen, never leave home without it."
Tech then turned his attention back to the activated bomb. He dragged his exhausted body toward it, panting heavily from his physical exertions.
"Fire scramblers!"
Tech's armoured back was suddenly hit by two devices that latched onto him. A large jolt of electricity passed through his armour, short-circuiting it.
"Eeeeyyyaaaaahhhhhh!!"
He let out a cry of pain and fell down onto his knees weakly, his battle-suit now completely dead, its systems rendered inoperative. As he looked up, he saw Ace and the other Loonatics approaching him. Rev was holding his scrambler launcher gun. Ace looked at Tech with glowing gold eyes.
"Try getting away again Tech, and we have something else from your workshop of wonders to take you down!" Ace warned.
"The bomb!" Tech rasped weakly. "I have to deactivate it!"
"Or accelerate its countdown!" Ace countered.
"Errr Ace, this bomb is reading only 20 seconds!" Lexi cried in dismay.
Rev, Slam and Duck looked at Ace in panic too.
Tech stared pleadingly at Ace. "Please, you have to trust me…"
Ace regarded Tech uncertainly for a few moments, torn between whether to trust his former team mate or not. Finally he held out his hand to Tech.
"Don't let us down Tech."
Ace pulled Tech to his feet and supported him from underneath his arm. He helped the coyote toward the bomb. The countdown sequence was at 10 seconds now. Tech skimmed his fingers speedily over the bomb's key panel. He terminated the countdown just as it reached the last second. All the Loonatics let out a sigh of relief.
"Welcome back Tech." Ace sincerely said.
Tech smiled a small smile in satisfied relief.
