I do not own any of these characters.
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"This fucking sucks" Barnaby glared at the chains holding his wrists to the concrete wall behind him.
He hated feeling so helpless. At this point the situation was simply pissing him off. First they had been cornered and captured like rats, and now they were forced to stand, chained against this concrete wall, in an empty room, with nothing to do but wait for something to happen.
What pissed him off the most was that the kids had been captured. He didn't know how the Rebels had found out, but it pissed him off to know end. They hadn't even gotten to the summer house- the creeps had been waiting outside the city. At least they had a chance fighting the Rebels in their armor if they managed to get out- the kids were in their day clothes.
"Barnaby," Nathan accused "don't say such foul words. Especially in front of ladies such as us."
"I have to agree with Barnaby," Pao-Lin huffed, "this blows." Nathan glared at her, but she continued talking, "All we can do is stand here and wait for someone to help us."
"Help will come," Karina said, looking determinedly at the opposite wall, "Kotetsu definitely will come."
"How?" Ivan moaned, sliding down the wall as much as he could with his chains, "He doesn't have any powers anymore. Even we couldn't take them on"
"He'll think of a way," Keith smiled, "Kotetsu's stubborn like that."
"Even if he does find out where the base is, he will probably just charge right in without thinking" Barnaby snorted, "probably get himself killed"
"yeah, but don't forget he has his team backing him up now- they're military trained- they'll think of something then just a frontal assault," Antonio advised, "either way thinking negatively will do no good. Think positively guys," he gave them all reassuring looks, "Kotetsu will come, just like he always has."
Everyone looked at him, doubt clouded their eyes. The door to the room opened, and everyone shuffled to stand up straight.
"Hello, Heroes" the masked Rebel leader spat as he walked in, behind him followed a person holding a video camera "I have great news for you! My men have managed to do something you Heroes have been trying to do, but never seemed to accomplish."
None of the chained heroes offered to rise to the man's goading to make him speak, though a few of them looked interested.
"How useless you are, not even able to capture one killer- when we got him in the first try!"
Barnaby's eyes widened, "you didn't,"
"Oh, but we did. I would like you to meet the newly captured criminal: Lunatic!" he announced, throwing his arms toward the door. Three more Rebels walked in, dragging in the criminal tied up with ropes.
Barnaby's eyes widened at the sight of the Criminal he and Kotetsu hadn't been able to even touch in a fight, much less capture. He frankly looked like he had been dragged through hell and back- even his helmet was on crooked, and he was favoring one side. Barnaby remembered the last time they had seen the criminal. He had been cut with a sword, and managed to get away. Had his wounds reopened been?
Lunatic was dragged into the middle of the room by the two rebels, and made to kneel on his knees in front of the Heroes, "This, demon" The Leader of the Rebels spoke to the camera, pacing around the kneeling Criminal, "decided to challenge us in your place. Stating that since no one else was going to defend the city- he might as well."
"Of course I was!" Lunatic said calm as a glass of water, "you think-" Lunatic was cut off when the Rebel leader punched him, sending him falling to the floor.
"Shut up!" the Blond yelled, drawing a pistol, and pointing it to the criminal's head, "you will not speak unless I say you can! Now sit back up!"
Barnaby watched with a sick stomach as the serial killer picked himself up slowly off the floor. Barnaby felt pity for the man, he was a killer sure; but Lunatic was a much better person than their captor, at least he didn't torture people.
"Is that a look of pity I see, Mr. Jones?" the Rebel leader said, happily, "I guess that means my suspicions are true. This Criminal isn't your enemy, but rather working with you!" he turned to the Man with the camera, "You see, Lunatic could kill off as many people as need be, because the heroes were ordered not to capture him! Even after his capture he would not be put to justice!"
"What? You're mad! How does that make any sense?" Antonio said.
"It makes perfect sense," the leader said calmly, drawing a black pistol he waved it around, "which is why Barnaby is going to unmask this man. You see, I've already seen his face, and in seeing his face all has become clear to me. If you try anything," He took a step to the side, and held up the black gun to Pao-Lin's head, "If you try anything this girl's life will end."
The leader jerked his head, and two of the men unlocked the chains around Barnaby's wrists and ankles. He looked over at the other heroes, worry clearly written in their faces. For Pao-Lin's sake, he stepped toward Lunatic. The criminal was still kneeling on the ground, hands tied behind his back. As Barnaby looked down at the man, and hesitated. The whole situation felt wrong, Lunatic shouldn't be unmasked like this, tied up in a cement cellar, powers taken away, bloodied. He had never imagined what it would be like seeing Lunatic's face for the first time, but he definitively would never have imagined it being like this.
Without an honest capture, and at forced gun point. Barnaby took a deep breath, and reached down. He gripped the Mask's edge underneath the man's chin, finding the clasp, and lifted the mask away.
Recognition, shock, confusion.
"K-K-Kotetsu!?" Karina stuttered out in shock, "no way!"
Barnaby took a step back, dropping Lunatic's mask onto the ground. Kneeling in front of him, dressed as their arch enemy, was none other than his partner Kotetsu.
"Recognition!" The leader of the group cheered, "You see! The NEXT have been plotting against us all this entire time! This man," he moved and grabbed the x-hero's face, turning it to the camera, "this is none other than Wild Tiger, Kotetsu Kaburagi!"
"But that's impossible!" Keith yelled, "Tiger helped us against Lunatic, they've been seen in the same place at the same time!"
"No, Kotetsu Kaburagi's identity was only reviled before the Maverick incident, a huge plot to cover up his real identity as Lunatic! Wild Tiger has been a robot all along- ever since teaming up with Barnaby." The leader of the Rebellion started to pace, completely ignoring everyone else in the room, "I can't believe I didn't see it before now."
"I don't think you quite have the full puzzle yet." Barnaby looked down to see Kotetsu grinning- in that way which indicated he was planning something, "maybe it's not best to jump to such drastic conclusions."
"are you saying I'm wrong?" the blonde man looked mad, approaching Kotetsu with his gun- a gun that was no longer trained on Pao-Lin Barnaby realized, making him tense ever so slightly. This was his chance- and if anyone knew how to fight without powers it was Barnaby. The man had made a mistake.
Kotetsu had done this to give them an opening. But how was he supposed to do anything without his powers, they all had those strange devices tapped to their legs- emitting some kind of signal which canceled their powers out.
"I'm not saying you're entirely wrong, just that the details are fuzzy," Kotetsu wasn't perturbed at being held by gunpoint, but was clearly buying time, "I and Lunatic aren't the same person- but I am currently working with him. Unless you think I just managed to strip his costume off a clothing line or something."
"See I knew it!" The leader accused, when a huge explosion shook the room. Kotetsu moved immediate as if he had known the explosion was coming. Swiping the man's feet out from underneath him. Twisting up to this feet, a knife slid appeared his hands, and the ropes he was bound with were gone as everyone was initially reacting.
Barnaby jumped into action at Kotetsu's prompting, punching the man next to him holding the camera. It wasn't until the punch made the man fly across the room, into the opposite wall, that he realized his Next powers were activated.
"Barnaby! Your powers!" Ivan said amazed, "our powers aren't being blocked anymore!" with that, he happily transformed into a snake, falling out of his bonds.
From across the room, a huge ripping sound indicated that Antonio had pulled the anchors for his chains out of the wall, chains still hanging from his wrists, he slammed the last two Rebels heads together, rendering them unconscious.
"Well done, Antonio" Kotetsu smiled, giving his friend a thumbs up, he had pinned the rebel leader, "couldn't have done it better myself"
"Don't think, you've won quite yet" the Rebel Leader said spat bitterly, "you might have your powers back now, but that means I have my own as well." To all of their horror the man beneath Tiger started glowing blue.
"You're a NEXT!" Nathan said accusingly
"If I'm the only NEXT left in the world, then the world is mine to control," the Rebel smirked, "you see I can control minds, however I can't seem to control other NEXT."
"Everyone here is a NEXT," Pao-Lin smiled "so we've got you cornered"
The blond NEXT started laughing, "Not quite little girl, Kotetsu Kaburagi how about you hold that knife up to your own throat."
Kotetsu's face twisted up in pain, and he sat up, releasing the man. His right hand holding the knife seemed to be acting against his own will, though his left side struggled in retaliation. He desperately pulled at it with his other arm, trying to pull it away, but not being able to. "Cheap trick, bastard." he growled.
"Now I'm going to leave" the Leader said, smiling sliding out from underneath Kotetsu and doing a back hand-stand up to his feet, "and if any of you Heroes so much as move an inch, Kotetsu will slit his own throat. Ta, ta now." and with that the leader skipped out, the door closing behind him.
"Kotetsu, don't worry, we'll get that knife away from you, somehow." Barnaby reassured.
"What do we do?" Karina asked desperately.
"Calm down, give me a second," Kotetsu reached down with his free arm, and pulled a communicator out from underneath the neck of his Lunatic costume, "this is Tiger reporting in. we have complications. The Rebel Leader is a NEXT. he can control any person that isn't one" there was a moment of silence as he listen to the other person at the end of the line, "he is controlling me right now, if any of the Heroes move I'll kill myself." another pause, "Keep it up then. I want a team to go after the leader. Don't engage, just follow. The rest of you keep the fight up, find the captured prisoners and free them. We'll be there as soon as we can." another pause, and Tiger sighed "right." he closed the line and looked at the Heroes, "help is on the way, just stay still." he said.
"Your team is here?" Barnaby asked in surprise, "you really think they're up for this?"
"Course they are," Kotetsu didn't look phased at all, in fact he gave a rather cheeky grin, "and we've got a black ace up our sleeve."