AirGirl Phantom- The long awaited chapter has arrived. Enjoy.
CodeLyoko- Very interesting, indeed.
Uber Spoonz- Always gotta keep up the mystery.
Shewhodanceswithdragons- "A rolling wall of raw power, radiating from Ben."
DarkArbiter- Gah! Spatular!
Sorrowful-Ragdoll- Well, it's a climax.
Wolf07- Here's the update.
Death's Pet Fox- Hopefully, the action is up to snuff. I don't have a lot of experience with action scenes.
Ok, guys. Enjoy the chappa.
Chapter Eleven: EP-713
The robot didn't seem to notice, instead pulling back its scythe for a swing at its unmoving target.
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As the blade descended, no one saw him move. There was no blur, no after image. There had been no flinch from Ben to give the movement away before it happened, nor was there movement afterward. Besides, no human could ever move that fast. All logic dictated that the boy had not budged an inch. Max's eyes supported that thought. It simply wasn't possible; Ben could not have moved. But he had. Somehow, he had.
One moment, the terrible scythe was whizzing through the air towards his neck; the next, Ben's hand materialized right in it's path, palm extended to stop it. Metal hit flesh…………. And stopped, a loud, metallic clang echoing throughout the clearing, several chips of Titanium-steel-synth alloy flying off as it hit something it could not cut through. Ben closed his hand around the blade, small fault lines appearing along it moments later. The hunter-killer struggled to move the blade, but found it could not as long as Ben held onto it, not seeming to be exerting any effort at all. Then, Ben slowly raised his eyes to look at the robot's head. The irises had completely turned white, and the pupils had become small, cat-like slits of green. He growled deeply in his throat and squeezed. The scythe-blade shattered.
The next thing the robot knew, a blue spiked fist was being rammed into it's chest, sending it skidding back several feet and leaving a large dent in it's outer plating. And then Ben was above it, having jumped high into the air in the blink of an eye. He brought both feet down on the hunter-killer's head, driving it face-first into the ground with a force akin to that of a speeding semi. The boy did a flip as he bounced up from it's head, grabbing it's leg, which had still been in the air, and spinning rapidly, building up great speed. Then, with a twist, the robot's leg severed at the knee, sending the hunter-killer flying into a tree. The tree broke in half from the force of the blow, landing atop the robot. The leg was dropped back to the ground, where it did little more than spark weakly, the electricity leaving it quickly.
All was still for a moment. Ben stood silently, watching where he had thrown his enemy. Max, Veltran, and Garen all held their breath. Gwen slipped fully into unconsciousness. Then the tree exploded upwards as the robot burst out from under it, shooting lasers from it's palms at Ben, a small jetpack-like device protruding from it's back allowing it to fly. Ben just smiled with some sort of amused, destructive glee, taking a large breath. He let it out an instant later, a giant glob of greenish slime flying from his mouth. It met the lasers with an explosion of heat and smoke. Ben disappeared into it stealthily, leaving the sight of the trio on the edge of the clearing.
"My good Lord………" Max stared on in astonishment, unable to believe his eyes. His grandson had just………….. Waylaid the hunter-killer. But how? Could he have- No. That simply wasn't possible…… was it? But, what if he had? What if Ben had actually-
"Speaking of God," Garen interrupted his thoughts, brandishing a pint-sized rifle. "If you're tight with Him, it might be a good idea to give Him a call." He loaded a dart into his weapon.
"Why?"
"Because," Garen cocked the rifle, his face grim. "If EP-713 is awake, He'll be the only one who can help us."
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Slix Vigma was highly……… dissatisfied. Here he was at the drop-off point, the 'merchandise' sitting next to him in it's titanium-reinforced box, waiting for a very late associate of Daverik to come pick it up. He had other things to do, darn it.
"Lousy organics……" he muttered, tapping his proverbial foot in impatience and taking another glance around the deserted asteroid.
"What was that about organics being lousy?" A deep, throaty voice startled the robot, causing him to whip around, only to find no one there. Greatly puzzled, he turned back around, only to bump right into the chest of what appeared to be a seriously mutated Tophgler. Vigma quickly regained his composure.
"Here at last, I see." he snipped, already disliking this creature. He wasted no time in getting down to business. "Do you have my payment?" The creature merely chuckled, showing his many teeth.
"Do you have my weapon?" It shifted it's gaze to the containment box, it's eyes seeming to widen in anticipation of what lay inside. Slix let out a computerized sigh.
"Yes, of course." He gestured to the box. "It's right in there." And oh, how Slix couldn't wait to be rid of it. It had been nothing but trouble since he had 'acquired' it. It and that polymorphic creature.
"Good……" The scaled….. Thing walked over to the box, examining it.
"Ahem." Vigma held out his hand expectantly. The creature looked at him for a moment, before focusing on his vessel.
"Is that your ship?" It asked suddenly, apparently very interested. Slix was momentarily taken aback, but answered nonetheless.
"Yes, it is." He replied curtly. "Now, about my payment-"
"Thought so." The creature nodded slowly. "You might want to come a little more this way."
"What?" If Slix had eyes, he would have blinked. "Why would I-" He was cut off by the detonation of his ship, which sent several large chunks of debris his way. Luckily for him, none of them managed to hit him. After the initial danger was over, however, he went into light shock. "M- My ship….."
"Bummer." The creature remarked nonchalantly, punching into the containment box as though it were tissue paper and ripping out a large hole. "Aw…… he's sleeping."
"Are you mad?" Vigma floated back a few steps in fear. "You can't let that monster out!"
"Too late for that." The creature chuckled again, flicking a piece of the box at him lightheartedly. "Besides, I think he's waking up." It leaned in a little closer, retracting suddenly and bending backwards as a fireball rocketed from the box, right through where his head had been. "Yep!" It laughed, obviously amused. "Definitely awake!"
"Oh no…….."
"Hey hey!" The creature looked back into the box. "Rise and shine, crazy-face! I've got a surprise for you!" It pointed to Slix.
"What!" Slix's robotic voice was strangely high-pitched. "What about our deal?" He shouldn't have said anything. (1)
"Slix?" A deep, distorted voice droned in confusion, probably due to just waking up from a rather long sedative-induced nap. Its confusion didn't last long. "SLIX!" The voice was now full of rage as the monster inside the box came to it's senses, recognizing the voice of Slix fully. The creature stepped aside, looking quite pleased with itself, as the monster pulled itself from the box, fixating it's four, fire-filled eyes on Slix Vigma.
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The hunter-killer's sensors found themselves unable to pierce the dense, super-heated smoke. The thermal detectors were useless, due to the heat, the electromagnetic sensors were being confused by the ambient electricity from the robot's lasers, and night-vision was blocked by the smoke itself. As such, the hunter-killer was in deep trouble and, being smart enough to recognize that fact, it quickly flew straight up, out of the blinding gas. And it waited, hovering above the swirling blackness, looking for any sign of the boy.
"I give it thirty seconds." Garen observed the scene, his rifle at the ready. "Forty, tops."
Veltran let out a deep growl.
"I know," the Binarai agreed. "I don't like it either, but we've go no choice." Max looked over to him.
"No choice about what?" he eyed the rifle suspiciously.
"Oh, you know," Garen answered without looking at the human. "Shooting your grandson." he shrugged.
"WHAT?" Max practically yelled, making Veltran flinch. Strangely enough, his shout went unnoticed by both the robot and Ben. Garen glared at him.
"Sure," he rolled his eyes. "Yell all you want. I'm sure it won't attract any unwanted attention." he remarked sarcastically. "Don't worry so much." He continued in a more serious tone. "I'm only shooting darts: One Physical Stimulant, one sedative." (2) Max visibly relaxed at this, though not by much. Still, realizing that it would probably be the best chance to get Ben back, he shut his mouth and gave a tight nod.
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"Hey! Meex!" Meexyairna turned around at the sound of the familiar voice to see Takin walking towards her. "Welcome back moonside." The Tophgler greeted, clasping hands with the Mikarin. "Have a nice time on Earth?"
"Well," Meex shrugged, walking alongside the researcher. "Minus the boredom, loneliness, and, towards the end, fear for my life, it was an ok trip." She grinned. "How 'bout you? Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" she nudged her friend.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Takin assumed an innocent look.
"Oh yeah, something definitely happened." Meex nodded. "You can't lie to save your life."
"Well…….." Takin rubbed the back of her neck shyly. "I guess one or two things might have occurred….." Meex let out a small squeal of excitement at this.
"Details!" She demanded. "I need details."
"W-Well, you know Veltran?" Takin looked down, a blush rising to her face.
"The janitor-slash-mechanic guy?" Meex recalled. "With the brown fur?"
"Yeah, that's him…." Meex blinked in confusion, before a wicked grin spread across her face.
"You didn't!" the Mikarin laughed. "You and the janitor! I can't believe it!" Takin's head shot up, eyes wide.
"We haven't done anything!" She protested, waving her hands in front of her. "It's not what you think!"
"Sure…." Meex nudged the Tophgler with her crystalline elbow, winking. "Whatever you say."
"I'm telling the truth." Takin pouted, arms crossed.
"Uh huh." Meexyairna smirked. It was at that moment they were approached by a purple and green blur.
"'Scuse me Miss Takin," Commander Morrigan greeted. "Gwendolyn's-" he paused, noticing Meex for the first time. "Well, Ah'll be a lizard on roller-skates!" he exclaimed. "If it ain't the prodigal field agent, come home at last!" He scooped the blue alien into a tight hug.
"Good to see you too, Captain." she greeted, patting him on the back lightly. He let her go after a moment, stepping back.
"That's Commander now." He corrected, swelling with pride at his rank increase. (3) "They gave me a promotion fer stoppin' 'ole Experiment 3024."
"That thing got loose?" Meex looked to Takin, who nodded.
"Yep." Morrigan put his paws on his hips. "But it won't be doin any more damage no more; Gwendolyn made sure of that."
"Speaking of our boss," Takin broke in . "What was it you were saying about her?"
"Oh!" Morrigan snapped to attention at this. "Gwendolyn requests your immediate presence at her quarters, M'am!" he saluted.
"Right." Takin nodded slowly. "She won't try to eat me, will she?"
"No M'am!" the cyborg-lizard cracked a smile. "She's fully recovered."
"Alright, then. Tell her we're on our way."
"Yes, M'am!" with that, Morrigan sped off.
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"It's been a long time, Slix." The four-armed monster grinned maliciously, cracking its knuckles as it slowly advanced. Slix Vigma frantically backpedaled, trying to put more distance between them. "We really outta catch up." It laughed in its throat.
"You- You'll never take me!" the robotic business man shouted, his hands glowing white for a moment.
"Oh? And what're you gonna-!" The monster broke off its sentence in surprise as the ground began to rumble under it's feet, dozens of robots bursting from the dirt a moment later. The hulking monster frowned at this, narrowing its eyes in annoyance.
"That is what I'm going to do!" Slix chuckled in his mechanized voice. His new and improved guard-bots were top of the line, with lasers, electric batons, and triple-thick durosteel armor.
"Weak." the monster commented. With a sigh, it began to rip the robots apart. One was crushed by a blow from the monster's tail, two were melted by fire, another one was ripped in half by its claws, and three were trapped in its corrosive goo. Slix, however, was unworried, as more and more robots continued to appear. Fire, goo, and shards of crystal were being constantly thrown, but, slowly, the monster was being pushed back.
"Argh!" The monster growled. "There's way too many of these guys!"
"Forgotten already?" came a voice. "Knock knock."
"What the?" The monster pushed some robots away from it, looking all around. "Who's there?" Its answer came as two robots suddenly went flying, the creature appearing where they had stood.
"Combining your abilities!." It chuckled with sadistic glee, taking out another couple of robots, before pausing. "You're supposed to say 'Combining your abilities who?'." It went back to smashing bots.
"Don't toy with me!" The monster roared, trying to grab the creature. The creature was too fast, however, and actually managed to get up on the monster's shoulder.
"Sorry, kid!" It laughed, leaping back into the fray. "See you at the end of the fight!" And with that, it was gone.
The monster tried to follow it, but was blocked by the multitude of robots. Angrily, it shot goo all over the front line, before it was struck by an idea. 'Combine my abilities, eh?' It extended its hand, shooting forth flames. It got a desirable result as the goo ignited, creating a large explosion. It grinned darkly.
The fight turned rapidly to it's favor after that. The monster quickly discovered various deadly combinations of its powers, including one a brown-haired boy had once taught him. Robots went flying left and right as they were riddled with heated shards of crystal, explosive goo, and super punches. In no time flat, the monster had decimated the army of robots.
"Now," it said, approaching the cowering Slix once more. "Where were we?"
"I believe it had something to do with dismemberment." The creature offered helpfully, popping up beside the monster.
"Yeah," The monster grinned. "I like the way you think."
"Please, gentlemen!" Slix implored. "Perhaps we could talk this over!"
"Talk this!" The monster snarled. It's descending fist was the last thing Slix Vigma would ever see.
"So," The monster turned to the creature, eyes narrowed. "I'm guessing you're the one who busted me outta that box."
"You guessed right." The creature nodded.
"I suppose I should say thanks or something, then." The monster scoffed, crossing its arms.
"No thank you necessary." The creature grinned. "I have a proposition for you, Kevin."
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"Hey, quick question." Meex huffed as she ran alongside Takin, heading for Gwendolyn's quarters.
"Yeah?" The Tophgler responded, having slight trouble keeping up with the Mikarin; She was designed for swimming, after all, not running.
"What did you mean when you asked if she was going to eat you?" She snickered, despite her lack of breath. "You in trouble for something?"
"No, actually," Takin shook her head slightly. "She was just- turn left up here- going on a bit of a feeding frenzy earlier; You know how Phantalin are."
"Well, no." Meex answered honestly. "Her royal assistant-ness is the only one I know, and you know how well we get along." Or, didn't get along, really. Gwendolyn still refused to trust the Mikarin, even after all these years, and Meex found the Phantalin to be a stuck-up jerk.
"Then I'll just give you a brief overview of what's been going on at our end of things, it'll explain better." Takin directed the Mikarin to take another turn before continuing. "See, Phantalin go into a feeding frenzy when they're recovering from big injuries, something about converting the organic material into energy. Gwendolyn was injured fighting Daverik, who, as it turns out, is the one that's been causing most of our recent problems; He even went so far as to activate the Reaper!"
"What?" Meex gasped. "He was always a bit of a loose cannon, but that's just crazy."
"Tell me about it." The Tophgler agreed. "I've got no idea what sent him over the edge, but it was obvious he'd been planning the whole thing for a long time; He did a number on Gwendolyn when she caught him hacking a console in one of the spare labs."
"Huh." Meex chuckled humorlessly. "I feel like I should pummel him, but I've got this terrible urge to shake his hand." It was then that they arrived at Gwendolyn's quarters, panting, out of breath, and highly reluctant to go any further. (4) Before they had the chance to contemplate turning around and finding a place to hide (5), however, the door slid open, revealing an unamused Gwendolyn, arms crossed.
"You know," She shook her head at the sight of her worn out employees. " The teleporters are working."
Meex groaned and slapped her forehead; Yeah, she definitely wanted to shake Flame-head's hand.
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The hunter-killer slowly rotated above the swirling smoke, looking for any sign of movement that would give its target away. There! The robot quickly extended it's arm down and left, taking a shot. The laser hit nothing but the ground, however, the target escaping. Perhaps it would show itself ag- To the right! The hunter-killer fired again, to the right this time, at another movement within the smoke. As the previous shot, it failed to make contact with the target. The target was just too fast. One moment, it would be on the left; The next, on the right. And probably behind, below, and all around it, too.
At that instant, a streak of black, white, and brown shot from the smoke behind the robot, dealing the machine a blow as it passed, before disappearing back into the smoke. Before the hunter-killer was able to recover from the hit, the same blur of motion shot out again, dashing by the robot and dealing more damage. And again. And again. The hunter-killer, now missing a chest-plate and one shoulder-plate, shot straight up in the air, hoping to gain enough altitude to be out of range of the obviously deadly boy.
Then, when it had flown high enough, it made a fist with it's right hand, the hand then retracting into the arm. The arm twisted and turned, a fin popping up on the side, the hole where the hand was widening, and the hum of particle-energy filling the air. The hum rapidly grew higher in frequency, until it became an ear-piercing whine. And then, after a five second countdown in the hunter-killer's head, it fired.
What came from the barrel was a slow-moving ball of pink energy, roughly the size of a basketball. It crackled as it slowly descended, electricity running along it's surface. A stray leaf had the misfortune of floating into it; The leaf was incinerated on contact. Garen's eyes widened.
"Take cover!" He shouted, prompting Veltran to duck behind the thickest nearby tree. Max quickly followed suit, recalling an old saying among the plumbers. If you don't know what it does, duck!
The ball had made it down to the smoke at this point, the black gas appearing to flee from its presence. The instant before it touched the ground, it seemed to pulse, sending the smoke blowing away and revealing a wide-eyed Ben. And it detonated.
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(1)- Slix isn't the most sprinkled cookie in the jar. You would have thought he'd have realized the deal was off when his ship exploded.
(2)- Don't ask how that works out. It just does.
(3)- In their ranking system, Commander is about two levels above Captain.
(4)- One, because she was still afraid of being eaten. The other, because she hates Gwendolyn's guts…….. If she had guts, that is.
(5)- Again, in Meex's case.
Well, how was that for an action chapter? Not bad, in my opinion, considering I've not written very many of them before. For those who thought the story was drawing to a close soon, guess again. Things are just getting started, y'all. I ask once again for you all to review, please.