Chapter Eleven: Enter the Jammerhead
The Shadow Phantom helped people out of the way as a trio of Cyberdroids moved forward, intention of plowing her into the ground, along with everyone and anything that got in their way. She dodged the attack, as one of its arms spun into a Kusari-Gama chain and swung towards her. She dodged and deflected the attack. Another attack was deflected and she moved forward, but the second Cyberdroid's arms converted into shuriken cannons and began to blast the Shadow Phantom with a series of shots that she avoided, deflecting each and every shuriken out of the way whenever possible before she gracefully somersaulted out of it and blasted it right in the chest. It was rocked but not enough and the third Cyberdroid moved in, arms like razor sharp katanas and it swung, but the Shadow Phantom deflected each shot, barely able to back off from them and dove underneath the attacks. A net was sliced into ribbons but she propelled herself up, hanging from the light post as the shuriken cannon cyberdroid moved forward. She quickly flipped out of the way, allowing the shurikens to plunge into the armor of the katana cyberdroid denting it.
"Try this on for size," remarked the Shadow Phantom as she threw two exploding shuriken into the Cyberdroid with the shuriken cannon. It caught inside the cannon which overloaded and promptly exploded, sending shurikens flying in every direction. It was just barely that the Shadow Phantom was able to keep them away from hitting innocent bystanders. Unfortunately, the final Cyberdroid was still on and it flung its chain. The sickle hooked into the armor, but the Shadow Phantom hung on, before she sent vibrations from her suit of armor. It rattled the Cyberdroid enough so she quickly sprung up, wrapping the chain around the robot. The cyberdroid struggled and a kick was aimed right in the chest, dropping it to the ground. It crashed down hard and another blast from her armor ripped it into shreds.
The Shadow Phantom staggered forward and collapsed to the ground, before she moved off, as the sounds of sirens echoed throughout the neighborhood. She needed to get home before she was missed. It was winter vacation and a snow storm was coming, so she did not want to be caught up in that either.
-
"Jammerhead, those Cyberdroids were the final straw, time and time again, I have given you unlimited capital and opportunities, but you failed me and this was the latest, spectacular, failure," said Jammerhead as Techno-Mages stood on either side, threatening him with their wands.
"Please, the Cyberdroid Supreme would have worked, had you given it a chance, I just had some bugs to iron out and their weaponry was deadly, but it is strength in numbers and more of them would…" stated Jammerhead but he got a wand to his throat, a blade transfigured out of the end of it.
"Your Cyberdroid Supreme failed me, just like every other plan you brought to me as failed," responded "X" coldly. "But perhaps there is one final component missing to make your Cyberdroids a complete success. After all, there is so much you can control from the outside and it is obvious that we need to combine machine durability with human intelligence and reflexes."
"What are you saying, Master?" asked Jammerhead as his eyes widened in fear. The truth was he had a shrewd idea exactly what his master was telling him and he did not like it one bit. Not at all, but the Techno-Mages on either side had grabbed him, before dragging him to the side.
"Take Jammerhead and the newly finished Cyberdroid Supreme, the one that can morph its limbs into a variety of martial arts implements along with phasing though solid objects and throw them into the elemental fusion chamber," said "X" coldly.
"What, you can't do that!" shouted Jammerhead in a loud voice, but thick cables wrapped around him as the Techno-Mages dragged him off. "That's only meant for organics, when fusing together man and machine, there's no telling what might happen!"
"Then you should be an intriguing test subject, you are a scientist, I have little doubt your curiosity would be heightened with the results of this little experience," remarked "X" calmly as Jammerhead was thrown into the Elemental Fusion Chamber, with several more Techno-Mages pushing his Cyberdroid Supreme on the inside. Jammerhead pounded on the wall of the chamber, as it was sealed shut but there was no way that "X" would allow him to escape his punishment. Calibrate the elemental fusion chamber to activate on a time release and then evacuate the lab. Obviously, we don't want anyone useful to perish in this experiment."
"Right, Master," said one of the scientists, who looked thrilled at the potential competition in the organization being eliminated.
"And Jammerhead, don't worry, despite the fact that you will no longer be my lead scientist, you still will be a valuable tool for this organization, providing you survive this experiment," responded "X" as his eyes looked from the shadows maliciously at Jammerhead from the monitor. Jammerhead looked horrified as the lab was evacuated as both he and the Cyberdroid Supreme was bombarded by a heavy level of radiation.
"NO!!!" shouted Jammerhead in a pained voice, as he felt his brain melting down as computer chips were fused to it, the skin fused to the metal, rewiring his bones into circuitry. It was pain beyond anything else he had ever imagined, as he felt his organs being shredded to nothing, to be replaced by more computer circuitry. He breathed one last breath before his lungs were gone and then collapsed, the newly created cyborg having his arms twitching in every direction before he deflated.
-
"So while we've had some luck with trying to find a more permanent cure to cause someone with your unique condition to be able to perform magic, we haven't been able to get anything for a case as advanced as yours, Grace" remarked Hermione at the table the following morning, she was staying at the Potter residence for the day, along with Ron, Luna, and their children.
"It's not too pressing, while I want to perform magic one day, I'm getting used to living without it," said Grace and Hermione just smiled at her goddaughter.
"Most witches and wizards would die if they had to go just one day without magic, it runs their entire life," said Hermione and Grace just rolled her eyes at the thought of these people. "Going an entire day without magic would be too much for them."
"Most people should be required to go at least a week without magic, just so they can see what it's like," said Rowena who had just joined them. The ten year old girl always seemed a bit wiser beyond her years than Grace had remembered being at that age. "Perhaps they would understand and fix problems like yours."
"Not much of a problem but an inconvenience," responded Grace with a smile. "I've gone without magic so long, it's just…"
"I know, being with it would be a bit strange and something that you might not be able to deal with but if anyone can deal with it, it would be you, Grace," responded Rowena. "As bad as it is over in the United Kingdom sometimes, it's lucky we don't live here. All the Techno-Mage problems and the American Wizarding Government attacking people who try to help out."
"It might be rough but it is home and after the last fifteen years, I've really learned to get used to it," said Grace.
"I don't know how, but I spent most of my time travelling, and not staying in one area," said Hermione. "It's just a lot easier on my nerves, that way I don't have to deal with the problems of one place."
"At once this was a great country, until after Dad defeated Voldemort then one thing lead to another, and everyone decided to try and latch onto this country, turning it into what it was," said Grace. "It wasn't perfect…"
"Nothing is but the people who do try and make a difference, it's appreciated, just like Uncle Harry, he never gave up, until he had to and it took more to force his hand than anything else that I would have ever experienced," responded Rowena as she heard some noises from upstairs. "That could be the twins, they just can't stop talking about the Shadow Phantom. It annoys Edgar to no end, he's a bit too serious for his own good I think but I think the Shadow Phantom is something that the world needs. So while Quinton and Cassie's worship can be a little…fanatical sometimes, it's understandable."
"Well I'm sure they're not the only one's who appreciate the Shadow Phantom's hard work," remarked Hermione and Grace nodded, why did everything in her life revolve around her masked alter ego, even with people who did not know who she was under the mask. "Still, as Harry once reminded me, the right thing is not done because it's appreciated, it's done because it's the right thing to do."
"Dad said the same thing to me, Mum did as well come to think of it, but people do like to make it difficult," said Grace.
"Yes, they do," agreed Harry who had joined them, followed by Ginny.
"Oh good morning Harry, we were just talking about the Shadow Phantom and the excellent job that she's doing for the city," said Hermione who stopped when she realized what she had said.
"Well someone has to be there for everyone," said Harry evasive as he took his morning coffee, yawning. "Uphill battle or not, something has to be done by someone. Evil never dies, but there are times where I think heroism is terminally ill."
Ginny said nothing, Harry got like this every year, this close to Christmas. It was a good time of year, as that was the day they had began dating back in Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts and Ginny's third, but it was also brought back memories of what happened regarding the Turtles and even more the death of Master Splinter at the hands of Lord Voldemort. She felt bad as well and felt guilty that there was only so much to do to help Harry but it was something that had to be done.
-
In the lab, Jammerhead in his new Cyberdroid form was strapped down on an operating table, with a group of scientists fusing a special computer chip right on the base of his neck.
"Ensure that the compliance chip is place, we wouldn't want any human free will to somehow compromise the control that we have over the Cyberdroid," ordered "X' as the scientists continued to work, fusing the computer chip back into the brain.
"Activate the Cyberdroid Supreme," ordered the new lead scientist, as several shock currents fluctuated throughout the lab as Jammerhead came back to life, his fingers twitching, before the straps snapped, holding on the operating table.
"Man it feels great to be in a new shell," giggled Jammerhead in a slightly crazed manner.
"The computer circuitry fried his brain when it was fused to his cerebral cortex," responded one of the scientists helpfully but the eyes of "X" showed no pity, but rather amusement at his former lead scientist being reduced to this.
"His brains were useless to me before so it matters little, but this form has been enhanced, combining the best qualities of an average human body with the best qualities of the Cyberdroid Supreme model," said "X" in a triumphant voice as he looked at Jammerhead.
"Brains, who needs brains we you are the ultimate Cyberdroid Supreme like me, baby," said Jammerhead. "You thought I was great before, but "X", my man, I'll be popping right now in this new shell. All sorts of features, I will prove my worth to you."
"This time, the Shadow Phantom will be annihilated, Jammerhead," responded "X". "Each of your dismal creations failed in the past but now I have given you the tools, fused your human body with the Cyberdroid Supreme and now you will be ready to eliminate the Shadow Phantom."
"No sweat, Master, she's as good as gone, I can sense all sorts of complex ninjitsu moves, all that karate hoo-hah and hi-yah is flowing in my data banks right now," cackled Jammerhead who rocked back and forth, sitting on the operating table with a crazed expression on his face, which was only the only expression he could give, with all of his nerve endings being fried from the experiment.
"Leave then and seek out the Shadow Phantom, leave just enough for us to unmask her," ordered "X" and Jammerhead sprang up, before he gave his boss a salute and quickly got up, phasing through the wall before he disappeared. "Either he finally succeeds or the Shadow Phantom annihilates him for good. Either plan will work in my favor."
"X" disappeared; he needed to capture the second to last component of his plan today while the Shadow Phantom was busy dealing with the new and improved Jammerhead, the Ultimate Cyberdroid Supreme.
-
In her Shadow Phantom armor, Grace watched the city. The snow had come down slightly but it was not too much of a problem. Then again, in New York, snow could turn from a minor inconvenience into a disaster in the blink of an eye. She had to watch for any signs of crime as it was four days until Christmas. Perhaps the thieves had taken a holiday.
A bank alarm echoed throughout the city and Grace sighed. Unfortunately, crime appeared to not be something that would take a holiday. She dropped down, as a pair of men in sky masks exited the bank, laughing at their ill gotten gains. They would not be laughing for long.
-
Jammerhead dropped down with a grin on his face as he looked outside of a high priced clothing store. People shopping here would have loads of cash and thus that meant loads of opportunity for loads of mayhem. He walked forward, before he pushed the door open, his hands morphing into battle axes, as he walked forward, a bunch of stuffy old arrogant rich ladies were shopping here. A sales clerk, dressed in a fancy suit walked forward, as he looked at Jammerhead with contempt.
"Sir, unless you can prove that you can afford our extravagant prices, I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to leave," responded the sales clerk in a snooty voice but he raised his battle axes into the air and sliced them into a coat rack, causing several fur coats to be ripped in half as several ladies screamed at the destruction.
"Now, listen here, Jeeves, I'm here to help you slice your prices in half," remarked Jammerhead in a crazed voice as he raised his arms, which morphed into twin laser blasters as he pointed them steadily at the patrons, who were shaking with absolute terror, mortified at what they faced. "Now, listen to me you rich old bags. Money, jewelry, keys to your fancy foreign cars, it doesn't matter, cough it up or you won't suffer a nasty case of laser burn. Right on the floor, where I can see them, that's it."
Several wads of cash and jewels dropped to the ground as Jammerhead's morphed one of his arms into a vacuum cleaner, while he pointed it to the ground, sucking up all of his ill gotten gains before storing them where his stomach once was. While he was supposed to be dealing with the Shadow Phantom, there was no reason why he couldn't make a little side profit as well.
"Now, you, open up the cash register and dump all the money on the floor, before I have to turn your skull into a sun roof," threatened Jammerhead and the store clerk quickly opened up the cash register, as Jammerhead looked smug, like a snake cornering his prey.
-
After wrapping up the thieves, the Shadow Phantom prepared to make one more quick sweep of the city, before she headed on home. Several loud screams echoed and there were frightened people fleeing a nearby high priced clothing store, with laser blasts cutting though the air. In a flash she moved forward, before she saw a figure moved into the shadows. It turned slowly as she tried to piece together. At first, she thought it was a Cyberdroid but it looked to be something much more human and it was grinning at her.
"Shadow Phantom, I hoped to see you here today, you and I am going to have a blast," said Jammerhead as he aimed his laser blaster at the Shadow Phantom but she dodged out of the way of the attack before she sprung up, aiming a kick but it only backed Jammerhead off a half of a step, before he hoisted up the Shadow Phantom and effortlessly heaved her through the open door. "All the times you foiled my plans, well guess what it's payback time and you will be paying me back with more interest than you could afford but I'll take what I can get."
"Just who are you anyway?" asked the Shadow Phantom in confusion as she ducked a punch that was almost quicker than her reflexes. "Most importantly, what are you?"
"Me, I'm the ultimate evolution of man and machine, in a past life, I was Michael Jammerhead, lead scientist for the Techno-Mages, but now I am Jammerhead, the Ultimate Cyberdroid Supreme, waiting to do a number on you," said Jammerhead and the Shadow Phantom was knocked off balance with a spinning phoenix punch. She winced, she had never been able to pull of that move and this nut job had just caught her in one move, before he morphed his vacuum cleaner arm into a large iron mace, which he swung around to gain momentum. "I'm going to mace your face, you little upstart."
The Shadow Phantom dodged the attack, before she ran up a wall and landed behind Jammerhead but he spun around, cracking her right in the face. She dropped to the ground from the impact of the attack and Jammerhead head his arm up, turning into a rotating drill. She remembered this attack being done by one of the Cyberdroids she fought in the past and she was just barely able to block it. Jammerhead attempted to force it through, but the Shadow Phantom tucked her feet underneath his chest plate. With all the leg strength she could manage, she kicked him off. Jammerhead landed on the ground but rocked his feet back and sprung back to his feet, before he shot out a chain, with a large sickle at the end. The Kusari-Gama chain whacked against the Shadow Phantom, backing her off, punishing her with a variety of assaults.
"You see that, you can't beat me," cackled Jammerhead but the Shadow Phantom grabbed the chain, before she pulled it, activating the power amplifiers on her gauntlets and reared back, hitting Jammerhead. He was rocked backwards but only for a moment. That punch would have knocked a normal human out for at least a week but Jammerhead grabbed her around the head, scissoring his legs around her body, before he rocked backwards, propelling them right towards the side of a building, Jammerhead looking to hit first.
"Stop, can't you see you'll hit first, are you crazy?" managed the Shadow Phantom.
"Yep," responded Jammerhead as he phased out of reality at the last minute, passing though the wall and causing the Shadow Phantom to smash into the wall. She fell back, staggered and wounded, but struggled back to a standing position before Jammerhead stuck his head out. "I can phase though solid objects and since you can't…that hurt you more than it did me."
The Shadow Phantom reached for the head of Jammerhead but he phased back though the wall. Suddenly his hand popped out, cracking the Shadow Phantom right in the face. Another shot right to the face rocked her backwards.
"Peek-a-boo," cackled Jammerhead with two more punches, before he completely phased out of the wall and raised his arms, now converted as sickles, before he clanged them across the armor of the Shadow Phantom, backing them off. "I'll see how many scratches it takes to get to the center of the Shadow Phantom's armor."
"Well, guess what, the world will never know," muttered the Shadow Phantom as she managed to kick Jammerhead off but not before he scratched the hell out of the armor, but did not reach any vital functions of it. The cyberdroid smashed into the fire hydrant, breaking it open, causing his legs to become very sluggish.
"Pardon me for one second," said Jammerhead as he blasted the Shadow Phantom backwards with a laser blast as he staggered forward, his legs feeling like they were weighed down after they were touched by water but he blasted open a window and then his arms spun into lassos, before he grabbed several cans of oil. Pouring them onto his legs, he suddenly got them working properly again just as the Shadow Phantom struggled to her feet, having smashed right into a pile of bricks. "And now back to your regularly scheduled bludgeoning."
Jammerhead converted his arms to laser blasters and attempted to blast the Shadow Phantom with them but she dodged. She noticed that he had a very distinct weakness but she was too busy avoiding being hit to exploit it now. If only she could slow him long enough to get him in position. A pair of exploding shuriken was blasted with ease away from Jammerhead, before he transformed his arm into the shuriken cannon.
"How about trying my shuriken on for size," cackled Jammerhead, as several razor sharp shuriken sped though the air at the speed of light. Shadow Phantom looked over her shoulder, towards an abandoned factory, if only she could lure Jammerhead in there, it would be away from civilization.
"C'mon is that the best you can do!" taunted the Shadow Phantom, but quite frankly, some of those shots made sizeable dents into the parked cars on the streets that they fought and she really could not afford for him to take much better shots until she got him away from civilization. "Hit me with everything you've got, you can't stop me with those puny shots."
"I'll hit you with it alright," said Jammerhead as he rushed forward, blasting at the Shadow Phantom but she dodged the attack and managed to push her way into the factory. If her calculations were correct, there would be a sprinkler system that could be used but right now, Jammerhead needed to be stalled and she propelled herself onto the catwalk before she kicked some crates down towards the Cyberdroid. This effort only served to slow Jammerhead down but she shot a net that tightly wrapped around Jammerhead, trapping him.
"Finally," breathed the Shadow Phantom but one of Jammerhead's arms were now a deadly looking buzzsaw that sliced right though the net and he kept moving forward, ready for the attack. "You've got to be joking me."
"I joke sometimes but this is far from a trifling manner," responded Jammerhead as his arms morphed into thick cords that wrapped around the Shadow Phantom, dragging her from her perch before they swung her around. Jammerhead looked smug as she laid up, before he leapt up and sliced his way into the wooden support beams holding the factory up. "Well this fight, it brought the house down."
Jammerhead cackled like a mad man as he threw himself out the window as the factory collapsed right on top of the Shadow Phantom. Armor or not, there could have been no way for her to survive that. He was not going to even bother to look back, now that he gained his revenge, he had crimes to commit.
-
Down in the sewers below the factory, The Shadow Phantom was on her hands and knees, just barely throwing herself though the entrance to the basement and escaping through the sewers before the entire building came down. Still as she struggled to get to her feet, nothing appeared to be injured, except for maybe her pride and she lost Jammerhead.
"Back to square one, I don't know how I get myself into these messes," grumbled the Shadow Phantom but she struggled on, brushing the debris off of her shoulder before she looked towards the nearest manhole cover. She would not be denied, especially now that she had a proper amount of time to figure out a way to exploit the one key weakness that Jammerhead appeared to have.
-
"Look at this bank, a prime target just waiting to be cleaned out," remarked Jammerhead with a smug voice, as he stepped forward, but a beeping in his ear had stopped him. "Talk to me, boss."
"Jammerhead, has the Shadow Phantom been annihilated yet?" asked "X"
"Sure thing boss, just rubbed her out a few minutes ago, will be heading back to base soon enough with her tattered remains to present to you," responded Jammerhead which was a half truth. He would go back and dig the Shadow Phantom's corpse out of the wreckage, after he cleaned out a few banks.
"Very well then, I will await your arrival, Jammerhead and do not stall for too long or I will send people to retrieve you," responded "X".
"Right," commented Jammerhead with about as much sarcasm as a cyborg could manage before he walked forward, drilling off the hinges from the bank door, before he opened them up and walked inside. He stepped into the bank with a smug expression on his face and raised his two hands, turning them into jackhammers where he began to break down the vault door of the bank. It continued to pound the bank door echoing. It just made things a bit simpler when the bank in question was closed today but not that it mattered. Quickly he cracked open the vault door and his eyes widened, when he saw huge stacks of cold hard cash. "Yes, happy birthday to me."
Jammerhead walked forward and began to scoop up the money and stuff it into a bag that his arm had morphed into. His stomach cavity had been a bit full but he would dispose of it at his apartment before he continued to move onto the next bank.
"I hope you weren't planning on making a withdrawal too much today," said a voice and Jammerhead paused, before he turned and saw the form of the Shadow Phantom standing in the entrance of the bank, hands on her hips.
"What…I saw you destroyed, an entire factory collapsed on you, you can't be alive," said Jammerhead.
"And if you didn't check for a body, then you really must be stupid," said the Shadow Phantom but Jammerhead responded by laughter.
"Well, you have my number, tripped up by the oldest cliché in the book, sorry, won't happen again," said Jammerhead as he jammed his arm into the ground, rumbling the ground with a converted jackhammer that propelled the Shadow Phantom high into the air, knocking her down. Jammerhead rushed forward and swung his jackhammer enhanced arm but the Shadow Phantom ducked and shot a metallic ring. It did not have the desired effect as Jammerhead pound though it. "I've got to admit, you're a bit tougher to put down, you've lasted longer than most could have hoped for against the Cyberdroid Supreme but I'm going to bust you into pieces now."
"I refuse to be put down by a lunatic cyborg," said the Shadow Phantom as she propelled another net that was ripped into shreds by a converted axe as they continued to brawl outside.
"And just when we were getting along so nicely too, you just had to call me names, that wasn't very nice of you," said Jammerhead before he cackled and his arm now was a shield, which blocked several high impact attacks, but one managed to crash Jammerhead though the wall of the bank. He just kept coming. "Perhaps I should teach you some manners, you little annoyance."
"You have room to talk," remarked the Shadow Phantom as she propelled herself over Jammerhead with a swift somersault and landed right next to him, before firing some kicks that unfortunately bounced off of his armor. Jammerhead back handed her with the axe hand and quickly he swung it, but Shadow Phantom rolled out of the way. She saw a fire hydrant nearby and then the docks, leading to sea, with a plan forming in her mind. She hoped this worked. "All those weapons and not even close to beating me and I thought you said you were the Supreme Cyberdroid. That's a farce if I ever heard one."
Jammerhead angrily swung his axe arm but stopped before he impaled the hydrant, phasing though, before he drew it back, in amusement.
"I bet you were trying to get me to attack that fire hydrant so I could rust my arm and force me to change my other one, thus dropping my money," remarked Jammerhead as he backed off onto the docks, before he turned his arm into a laser cannon. "Nice try but what kind of idiot do you think I am to fall for such a trick."
"The same kind that backs onto the laser docks to get a clear shot, above an entire ocean full of water," responded the Shadow Phantom and she threw several shuriken. Each detonated as she propelled herself up. Jammerhead tried to phase though but the dock crumbled, splashing water up and causing his circuits to get scrambled, rusting him slightly, before he dropped into the water.
The Shadow Phantom landed above and Jammerhead pulled himself from the water, taking two steps forward, before he stopped, frozen like a statue, unable to move. The metallic properties of his skin rusted him in place.
"You…you…I can't believe this, you stopped me when I get out of this, I will stomp you, I will hurt you, you can't do this to me," shouted Jammerhead as the only thing that unfortunately was not rusted in place was his ability to talk and make veiled threats. Jammerhead continued to make even more threats.
-
"I got you some more information on Zixx, but I'm afraid it isn't much, just a few records on break ins," said Rosaline that night, as she and her family had stopped by and had ushered Grace outside to talk, while the adults talked.
"I haven't had any more run ins with him, so I just wonder if he's done a job and blown town," remarked Grace.
"Maybe," responded Rosaline in a skeptical voice. "But the Techno-Mages, when you were fighting that Jammerhead guy, they stole something else, but nothing's been released to the press, other than it's a top secret piece of technology that was missing."
"Grace, Rosaline, dinner's ready you two!" called Ginny from the kitchen and the two girls looked at each other. Such matters could wait, right now, there were more important and more enjoyable matters to attend to.
-
"One component remains Techno-Mages and we will strike to gain it when it is brought into town on Christmas Eve," responded "X" in a crude voice as his followers bowed before him.
-
The cloaked figure of Zixx stopped in the shadows, looking at the transmission of his benefactor.
"The prototype, no problem, it's in town on Christmas Eve, I've got plans later that night but I should be able to fence it if I time everything wisely," said Zixx as his mysterious benefactor had disappeared. He might be illusive but he paid well and that's all Zixx asked for.