Meet the Good Guys

A/N: Don't normaly put in notes, but I feel i need to: Akili-chan, you ROCK!!! I'm posting 9 and 10 now for you, and I'm still working on 11, so it might be a while before an update after that. Thank you very much for the reveiws; YOU make it worth writing for.


His gear was ready to go, and Blur was just waiting for clearance to leave. The black and gold motorcycle was packed onto the cargo chopper, which Tempest would fly down to the surface and drop him off before returning to the ship. Everything he needed for this mission was set. Asazi and Mary agreed that he was Blur while wearing his helmet and mask, so treated him as such. They would keep their silence.

The engineer entered the Flight Bay, and climbed into the helicopter before Blur. "X cleared you." That was all that was needed to be said as the blades started up and the craft left the ship.

Blur tested his gear, making sure the helmet interfaces worked with the motorcycle. He didn't doubt the skill that Tempest and Colin had, but he just wanted to make sure. His mind was blissfully blank, thanks to a painkiller that had been slipped into his food earlier that day. He breathed deeply, calm, at what was about to happen. In truth, he had no idea, but he could speculate. Blank, yet active as millions of probabilities rushed forward and faded, never around for long.

The back of the helicopter dropped open, and the motorcycle and rider rolled out and onto the grassy area. Dark clouds were ominous above, threatening rain.

Rain… it always rained when he went into a city. Rain covered his tracks and masked the sounds that he made. Rain was his ally… and his enemy. Enemies hid, and attacked with the lightning strikes. He learned that on his last mission.

The hum of the motorcycle held a faint comfort, part of his past beneath him. Memories flared around the painkillers, reminding him why he was here. He had to find the resistance base here, get in, and locate Grey. X thought he was doing that to locate his old mentor to kill him and remove another name from the list. But there was more at stake than just senseless slaughtering of the innocent.

Water pelted like needles on his back and the exposed flesh of his neck. He reached back and pulled the collar up a little higher on his suit, eliciting a shiver as the ice drops ran down his back. The new face guard of his mask protected his face and neck from getting wet.

The streets were dimly lit, and the headlight of the motorcycle was having a hard time lighting anything up with all the rain. He finally pulled into an alley and cut the engine, and grabbed the bag from the back of the bike. Stuff he would need for later. He found the manhole cover, and with a metal rod nearby, pried it open, and slipped down into the darkness of the flooding sewer. He switched through visor modes, and was finally able to see in the dark. The water was running south, and a base, to keep dry, would be in the north.

The trek was slow, but eventually there were signs for the resistance, to mark where they should go and follow. If he hadn't been the one to design them, he would have assumed they were just a gang symbol from before the War. Now he followed them as all Resistance members were trained. When the water receded to ankle deep, he found a dry ledge where there was a ladder and a manhole cover above. Here he slipped into the baggy clothing of a resistance member that he had packed, and shoved the helmet into the bag. Now he once again moved on, following the glow of the symbols.

All of them suddenly surrounded a wall, which was a really a door. It was impossible to tell if one didn't know what to look for… He reached up, and rapped his knuckles on a pipe. Moments later, a speaker sounded from above him.

"Who are you?" The voice demanded, gun priming in the background.

"Alex Mann." Alex replied, still facing the door.

There was silence, and the voice came back. "Impossible. Commander Brandon Caine reported you to have gone over to the enemy's side."

"It was a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstand this, asshole." Brandon replied, and the hidden sentry guns appeared and opened fired. They targeted nothing, because nothing was there. Alex had pulled himself up out of the reach, hooking his feet and arms around pipes, placing his face next to the microphone and speaker.

"Brandon. I need to find Coach Grey. I need his help to stop X—"

"Bullshit. You want to kill him."

"That is what X wants, but I need his help first. Just tell me where he is."

"Go to hell." There was a crackle, and the sentry guns disappeared. The whole area was silent.

Alex dropped back to the water, looking at the door, and then to the speaker. He didn't want to force his way in… He reached into his bag and pulled out a card. He slipped it into a slot just within reach over his head. There was a whine of gears moving, and as the door slid open, Alex moved to the side, to avoid the gun fire that streamed out. His face was calm (once again thanks to the painkillers), if slightly bored. "Hold your fire!"

The shots cut off a moment later, and Brandon came around the corner, leveling a shotgun to his chest. Undoubtedly, it was the same one that took him off the active roster last time. There was a cold feeling in his chest, hate gripping his heart and holding tight. He felt dead... but he came back to life! He shouldn't feel like this!

"Alex…"

"You know me, Brandon. If I was working for X, I would have used the card first, and went in shooting. Yet here I am, unarmed, on your door step."

There was a faint smirk in the violet eyes of the battle-hardened commander. "Didn't you once tell me X was using me to reach his own ends? I think he is doing the same thing once again, but to you. He is telling you these things, letting you learn them, and then he is going to strike before you get a chance to save anyone. I think he is letting you feel safe that whatever quest you are on, whoever you talk to, that he doesn't know about it." Brandon shook his head, chuckling. "I wont tell you where Grey is, for the sole purpose of keeping him safe from you. But.. the least I guess I could do…"

He turned back to the fighters behind him. "Get the box!"

There was commotion, and then a silver box was passed over Brandon's shoulder. "Here. He'll get in touch with you."

Tenderly, Alex took the box, and Brandon disappeared back into the base. He looked it over, found the clasp to the tin case, and flipped it open. His watch. He nearly dropped it to the water. Flipping the lid closed once more, he stuck it in his bag and headed back the way he came, reclaiming his gear and changing back into Blur.

The walk back to the surface was shorter, maybe because his mind of occupied with what the watch could do for him. It has always been his contact with Coach Grey when he wore it as Action Man. Now it would once again link him to the scientist that gave him the AMP Factor. It had been nearly a year since they last spoke, and all that conversation had been was a warning… a warning Alex vaguely remembered. Now the ex-athlete sought shelter from the pelting rain in the remains of an abandon building. He sat in a corner, placing his helmet next to him, within reach, and his weapons on his belt. He kept his back to the walls, watching for anything to come at him.

He slipped the watch into place, over his glove and sleeve, and hit the tiny power button with a nail he found. The screen blinked to life, displaying the spinning globe that was the 'CONNECTING' symbol. He waited with baited breath, wanting to see the little envelope show up, saying he had a message, or the beeping for an incoming call. Or even the tone for low battery.

None of that happened as the globe turned into the Team Extreme Logo, and spun on the screen. He let out a sigh, and tapped through several settings, bringing up a time editor, and theme editor. He would have to connect the watch with the ships computers and upload new software.. but that would also let X see what he had been doing. It was best to keep the time-piece away from the ship.

The watch beeped; an incoming call. Someone knew it was active. With carefully maintained joy, Alex pressed the answer button, getting a black screen as the call loaded. When the other end finally responded, he was surprised to see Brandon. He had been expecting Grey.

"So… I figured you would find a place to camp out and get this thing going. Well… I guess I was right." Brandon looked away for a moment, and then looked back to him. "Listen, Grey wants you to know that the Factor is dormant, something went wrong over the last few months, and he put it on stand-by until he was certain that this had all blown over. We still don't know what side you're on, but we are willing to trust you as a freelancer. He will turn it back on if you meet him at the City Beyond the Setting Sun."