Chapter 20: Suffering/Posturing

s-t-h

Hints of pain replaced the numbness that had dominated his world for what had seemed like centuries. If he had been conscious, he would have been relieved. As it was, only a spark of awareness existed under the heavy mist encircling his mind. His ears functioned properly and transmitted signals to his brain, but he was too far under to comprehend them.

"Report, doctor."

"Well, my lord, he's finally out of danger. Still very weak, though. With enough Chaos rings I estimate he will fully recover in two weeks. The broken bones and burns are nothing serious. The raptured organs were a bit worrying, but his innate regeneration is taking care of that. It's the Chaos damage that's the problem. His body is saturated with it."

The first voice was ruthless, demanding. The second placating and somewhat squeaky.

"I want to talk to him."

"S…sir?"

"You have him sedated. Flush his system."

"Of course, sir, but keep in mind the pain overload might be too much…"

"Do it."

Another period of silence followed, then sharp focus; sharper pain.

Speedy woke up in excruciating agony, letting a weak gasp that would have been a desperate keen if not for his weakness. He could feel his heart racing and he tried to move. What little strength he had would have only allowed him to writhe in place, but even that was denied by the firm restraints securing him on the bed. He still tried to struggle, until a large hand cupped his forehead and he felt a wave of power forcing him to calm down.

His eyes had been open for some time, but only then did he really see. There was a short, fat individual further away, but he soon focused on the owner of the hand, an imposing figure staring at him sternly. "Father?" he managed.

Imperial Battle Kukku the 15th looked down on his son and nodded. "You fought a Chaos adept and you were defeated. Our people have come to call him The Mael-Sprawler."

Speedy seemed lost for a while. The pain was a dull echo, kept at bay by his father's power, but his mind was still a bit fuzzy. Then it clicked. He couldn't help laughing, though it translated as a pained grimace. "It's Miles Prower. Someone has done… some creative interpretation." Something else came to his mind. "Father, the Emeralds! He has three. He threw them to the river. Wasn't he captured?"

The battlelord shook his head. "You've been under for days. He has escaped. My sources say he's retrieved them."

The younger avian's eyes went wide. "Then I… failed?"

He felt a glare from his father and couldn't help but shudder. "We will talk about punishment for your…weakness later," he promised ominously. "Now tell me about this… Miles Prower. Tell me everything."

Speedy opened and closed his mouth a few times, searching the appropriate words. "He's young. Unnervingly so. A tiny fox with two tails."

His father's eyes went wide at that. He'd seen the reports, though he had dismissed some of the more outrageous claims. He was regretting that now.

His son managed a knowing smile. "Yes, he looks so harmless and yet he's the strongest Chaos adept I've ever seen. After you, of course."

"Explain."

"He's still very new at controlling his powers, so anything I tell you might be… old news. He can use power rings at high efficiency, almost at my level. He can alter his tails' physical properties and use them as blades, shields or even for copter-style flight. He can manifest solid chaos constructs, like mallets. He also has some level of mechanical aptitude and likes using explosives. His power, speed, endurance and reflexes are all extremely high, especially for his size. Also…" he hesitated, knowing how important that was. "….he has unconsciously drawn power from the two Chaos Emeralds he had on him."

The battlelord had been nodding up to that point, but couldn't help but gasp at the last claim. He quickly fiddled with a datapad one-handed, he was still containing his son's pain, finally showing him an image.

It was a military jeep with three mobians inside. A shark, handling the vehicle's minigun; a Vixen, shouting something while aiming a rifle; and a tiny fox kit, looking far less intimidating than the other two, somehow driving while standing on his seat.

Speedy chuckled. "It's so ridiculous. Ren is fierce but I defeated her easily. The G.U.N. agent had a couple of tricks but I took him down hard, personally. And yet, Miles is on a class of his own. The closest I came to victory was when I almost convinced him to join us." He looked at his father seriously. "You have to believe me, father. I fought him with everything I had, and more. I've never had to try so hard. Don't… don't underestimate him."

Kukku the 15th nodded, then removed his hand, causing Speedy to gasp and almost blank out. "Sedate him," he ordered one of the doctors, then turned to face his head scientist. "Opinions?"

"Ho, ho. That was troubling for sure. How I wish I could get my hands on such a strong adept!"

The battlelord smirked. "You might get that chance, Doctor Fukurokov. I'm sending you to collect two Emeralds from two different dig sites. They've both reported results."

The doctor's eyes went wide. "You want me to…."

"Indeed. You wanted to try your prototype stealth planes. You can take both of them. No better chance to test that system than when a fleet of enemy fighters is scouring the area, no?" he went on gleefully. "You were really confident of their capabilities."

Fukurokov wiped cold sweat off his face feathers. "As you command, sir. What about your son?"

The battlelord frowned. "Speedy has disappointed me again. I was hoping my genes passed down to him, but his power stopped growing a year ago, despite the rigorous regime I dictated. His last chance was to have a breakthrough against a stronger enemy. It happened and he failed. He will never be able to replace me," he added sadly. "Perhaps his younger brother…." He shook his head and regained his composure. "He is yours."

The doctor's eyes went wide, not daring to believe his luck. "S…sir?"

"You wanted a Chaos adept to experiment with the new fortification technology we received from that mysterious source. Speedy already has some of your implants. I give you permission to augment him to the best of your ability," he clarified.

The owl mobian gulped. "His mind won't be his own when I'm done," he cautioned, although he was unable to hide his elation.

Imperial battle Kukku the 15th scowled. "All minds in the Armada are mine, doctor. Never forget that. Speedy is now useless to me. I'll never suffer such a weakling to lead the Armada. If you can make a stronger enforcer out of his carcass, then do it!" he allowed his expression to melt to a sardonic smile. "That is, IF you survive your impending mission."

s-t-h

Rouge had done her homework. She had studied the folder of one Irene Yokosolis, alias Vertigo the Fox, very carefully. Wayward heir to one of the largest criminal organizations on Mobius, harmless unless provoked, in which case she turned into a killing machine. High level Chaos aptitude, ranking unknown. Bounty in three city-states; remembered as a hero in twelve. Neutral towards the Federation and ambivalent to G.U.N. in particular. Primary directive: avoid contact. Secondary directive: Seek cooperation.

"Well, that's off the table," muttered Rouge as she flung a couple of smoke bombs at the subject of her scrutiny. She had prepared herself for both an opening and a counterattack and she blinked in confusion as no smoke appeared. "Wha..?"

Vertigo hadn't bothered to move, one of her hands still at her waist. The other was extended, a faint aura around it. The bat glanced at her bombs and her fears were confirmed. Two tiny globes of energy were preventing the smoke from filling the area, rendering the weapons useless.

The older mobian rolled her eyes. "I had a ninja problem some years back. I was motivated to counter their more common techniques," she explained. "Do you really want to do this, kid? Really?"

The young gem thief sneered at her. "Don't underestimate me!" she demanded as she went for a frontal assault, leading with a high kick combo. She had expected some rough, street-fighting defense and she almost stumbled when she met an expert guard, speaking of years of martial arts training. Not a single kick landed, all of them parried or dodged, with the latter being far more frequent.

"No; horrible; better; sloppy form; opening at your left side; good one; a bit higher; forget it; slightly better; nice; nooo, you lost the rhythm!"

Rouge jumped back, her fur frazzled in anger. "Stop coaching me!" she demanded. "This is a serious fight!"

"On the contrary, it's an incredible chance for sparring," came a familiar, slightly sleepy voice from behind her. "I was about to curse you both to high heaven for waking me up, but if that's the reason then don't mind me…"

The bat did not turn her back to Vertigo, jumping to the side and glaring at Ice sideways. "Help me beat her!" she demanded.

The shark leaned against the doorsill, yawning mightily, multiple lines of teeth glowing in the already peeking sun. "Nope, I don't feel like it."

She gaped at him. "We are both G.U.N. agents! Would you leave the Chaos Emeralds to a gangster and an infant instead of taking them for the Federation?"

Ice laughed at her. "Really Rouge? If you were doing this for the Federation, you'd have to notify Command, receive the okay and formally demand the gems with the backing of your soldiers." He kept looking at her amused, as her ears drooped a bit. "But you didn't do any of that, now, did you? You want them for yourself, you little kleptomaniac brat. The last thing you need is G.U.N. locking them away in some secret vault."

Rouge pouted. "So you'll fight me for them?"

The older agent shook his head, crossing his arms. "Nah, I'm good with watching you two. Neither of you might be a cat, but even married men are allowed to watch," he added winking.

The bat huffed, then fully eyed the fox again. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," she threatened.

The vixen wiped imaginary lint off her fur. "We've been doing this the fun way up to now, so proceed as you wish, little girl," she taunted.

The young agent didn't lose her composure, attacking with measured strikes. This time, Vertigo retaliated with her own hits and the bat found herself hard-pressed to keep up. Instinctively, her hand reached for a pouch on her belt. The vixen would have none of that, though, suddenly speeding up. Her attacks were devastating and a kick managed to pass through the bat's hasty guard, hitting her squarely in the face and sending her flying.

"Ah-ah-ah!" cautioned Vertigo, shaking her finger. "It's not a good idea to use a power ring. I have a stock of my own, you see, and we wouldn't want to ruin Miles' neighborhood, now, would we? Innate reserves only."

Rouge's answer was spitting blood on the ground as she hopped to her feet, but her hands stayed well away from her belt.

She attacked head on once more, hiding her smirk when Vertigo looked bored. At the last possible moment, she planted her toes into the sand and kicked towards the fox's face. The older adept was caught off guard for the first time, temporarily blinded. The bat capitalized on that, throwing a flying punch, which was still blocked, then twisting just above the ground and delivering a sweeping kick at Vertigo's ankles. The vixen fell to the ground, still blinded, then rolled to the side just in time to avoid a heel strike to the gut. She managed to return to her feet and clear her eyes, only for a painful punch to land right at her diaphragm. She gasped and slid backwards but, to her credit, stayed upright, regaining her balance and blocking a multitude of follow-up attacks.

Rouge jumped back out of range and smirked. "Not so tough now, are we?" she asked cockily.

Vertigo rubbed her tender midsection a bit, then her expression changed from neutral to a grin with way more teeth than strictly necessary. "Good, you have some bite in you. For a moment I thought you were just a fruitbat or something."

In response, Rouge flew towards her, dodging a kick and landing a fly-by punch. Circling around, she did the same move again, this time getting blocked. Gritting her teeth she tried a third time. The vixen casually dodged and countered by whipping her tail and snaring the passing bat's foot. Yelping, Rouge fell to the ground prone, tasting sand, then cried in pain as Vertigo mercilessly brought her foot down on her back, right between her wings.

"Sloppy," commented the older adept, sounding disappointed. "Trying the same move twice was bad form, but forgivable. Trying a third time after the second failed? I should just do you a favor and break your spine!" she shouted viciously, grinding her foot deeper in her opponent's back.

"Get OFF me!" shouted Rouge, trying to wiggle free.

"Make me!" replied Vertigo, putting more of her weight on her as she bent to grab the Chaos Emerald bag, which was hanging from the bat's belt. Just before she could loosen the string, the G.U.N. agent forced her lower body upwards, managing to kick the fox right at the back of her other leg's knee. Vertigo stumbled and overcompensated, practically falling over Rouge. As the weight on her back was briefly alleviated, the bat twisted around very fast, grabbed the still flailing fox, and somehow managed to come on top.

Now face to face, Vertigo winked. "Oh, bat-girl. I didn't know you liked me that way!" she cooed.

Rouge's ensuing momentary lapse of concentration cost her greatly, as the fox suddenly delivered a headbutt so strong, she actually flung the bat away. She caught herself in midair, ears ringing and vision blurry, and before Vertigo could stand up, she opened her mouth and released a high frequency shout, laced with Chaos energy. It hit the downed fox squarely and she winced as her eardrums and her equilibrium took a beating.

The bat, still in midair, saw her chance and took it. She started spinning like a top, emptying her reserves into one devastating attack. She shot towards the downed fox like a drill-bit, feet leading the way and her whole body glowing.

Vertigo's eyes went wide at the Secret Spear attack, then narrowed. In an amazing feat of agility, she did a handstand without a start, Rouge's spinning heels swishing by her own raised feet, then twisted around and back down like a break-dancer, sweeping her legs at the descending bat and altering her trajectory by destabilizing her axis of rotation.

The explosion of sand hid both combatants for a few moments, then revealed Rouge face-first on the ground and Vertigo smartly jumping to her feet. "How did you…?" tried the bat, after spitting what seemed to her like half the beach.

The vixen replied while dusting herself, this time for real. "The strongest opponent you'd ever fought before today was Ice," she stated with certainty. Said shark nodded once. "Now, he's a really good fighter, what with his height and those dreamy muscles of his," she praised, prompting the bat to gag and her to raise a brow. "What? I know he's off the market, but… Oh, you look at him as a father figure! Awkward." The bat made a face that confirmed that. "Anyway, he's strong and pretty slow, so he often uses Chaos energy to augment his speed."

"She should have already known all that," grumbled the shark, shaking his head.

The vixen nodded. "I'm the opposite. Without conscious augmentation, I'm about four to five times faster than him, not to mention more agile. I usually have to augment my strength instead. In that respect, you are similar to me," she grinned at that. "Ignoring the fact I have a knockout body already and you're still a waif, of course, all knees and elbows" she added, causing Rouge to growl menacingly.

Ice took over to forestall another fight. "When you have to consciously augment one of your body's aspects, there is reaction time involved. I wouldn't have been able to get out of the way in time. In comparison, Vertigo's body sped up instinctively and she was fast enough to both dodge and counter you."

Vertigo took a step towards the still downed bat. "Are you ready to call it quits and give me back the Emeralds?"

The younger G.U.N. agent finally returned to her feet. "Hardly," she spat. "I might not be strong enough to beat you, yet, but I can certainly outfly you," she decided, her mood improving as she ascended beyond the fox's reach.

Ice rolled his eyes. "And you thought of that just now?"

She ignored him, intent to rub it in. "What now, Irene Yokosolis?" she taunted, and Vertigo glared fiercely at the use of her real name.

"I should give you another beating for even mentioning that name," she started enraged, but then blinked, her frown changing into a smile. "But then again, you know what they say. Pride comes before the fall."

Rouge cocked her head in incomprehension, then gasped a split second before something zoomed past her, grabbed the Emerald bag and flung her towards the ground at breakneck speeds.

"I got them, I got them!" sang Miles, flying left and right at his top speed, which had increased to the point where he looked like nothing but an orange blur.

Ice gasped and practically dove forward and downwards, just in time to catch Rouge before she could slam on the ground. A crater still formed around them. "Damn it, Miles, don't kill my students!" he complained.

"Sorry!" shouted the kit. "See you guys later," he added as he landed right into his submarine, setting sail at once.

Vertigo eyed him incredulously as he vanished beneath the waves. "Did he just…"

The shark sighed. "Yeah, he ditched us," he deadpanned, still holding Rouge, knocked senseless.

s-t-h

End of chapter 20.

With Speedy almost back in the game and the villains ready to rumble, we are approaching a pivotal point.

I hope you liked the Vertigo vs Rouge thing. The fox was quite stronger than the chibi-bat. Their interaction mirrored the Amy-Rouge dynamic, actually, especially as seen in 'Sonic Battle'. Adult female vs inexperienced but gifted teen. Of course, Tails proved once more he's in a league of his own, so all is well. His reasons for going alone will be explained later.

Stay tuned for more, coming soon (perhaps). Until then, remember to review.