MLaaTR: Maverick Hunter X

By Drewmaster

20. Chapter 20

When Jenny and the hunters returned home, X explained the entire situation to Ms. Wakeman.

As they continued talking, Jenny finally got around to asking her mom "Do you have any advice on how to find Vexus?"

Ms. Wakeman sighed and said "All right. I can see that you are quite serious about evaluating her. As you know, I know a lot about her, so I did build a machine that can **'theoretically'** locate her whereabouts. It's supposed to try to find that orb floating above her head, but only if is active at the time. I happen to also know that even after she removed the control chip from her own head and destroyed it, the orb still emits a series of very low frequency radio waves constantly. And when I say very low, I mean it's very difficult to detect them, even with my equipment. If it is finally broken altogether, you'll have to find a different way. I'm doing this because I do agree with the part about her added strength being an asset in this battle. If she turns against us, I will use this device to track her again and have her detained indefinitely by Earth's authorities or destroyed if necessary. If she is sincere, then that's okay. Just keep in mind that she's responsible for the deaths of billions of people and has ruined a countless number of lives during her more than millennium long reign as the queen she used to be when deciding whether or not she's trustworthy."

Suddenly, that reality hit everyone who heard this.

Shocked, Zero asked loudly "What the hell?"

Jenny now wide-eyed, asked in a quiet disbelieving tone "Did she rea…¦that many people?"

"Yes she did. Jenny…I'm surprised it took you this long to realize this. She's two-thousand years old. How many people do you think you could kill in that amount of time if you survived the effort? That's why I was so angry when you seemed to think it was a **'good'** idea to try this. I mean…shit, who knows? Maybe she is finally starting to have a change of heart. Maybe…after being forced to live on Earth so long, she's started to develop an attachment to humans. Maybe she's had a lot of time to question herself and reconsider her way of thinking and her lifestyle during her two yearlong 'time out.' Her criminal record is so long, it would take me probably a year to find the time to write down every crime. She's been given the nickname 'Queen of the Dead" at some point in history. It's only now that you're understanding the sheer gravity of what you are trying to do. I have virtually no compassion for someone like that, but…if there is a chance that she may be trying to redeem herself sincerely, it would be wrong for me to not at least give her a chance. You have some time to think about this, but not a lot. I will not spend my time locating her, but you may, if you wish," Ms. Wakeman said in one of the most serious tones Jenny's ever seen.

Silence filled the room as Jenny closed her eyes and lowered her head. She concentrated intensely on making a decision. Close to an entire minute passed before she finally opened her eyes and looked back at her mother's eyes.

With a serious expression of her own, Jenny said "Okay. I've made my decision."

Vexus heard a knocking at the front door of the building she was currently in. She was in yet another abandoned building, but in another location away from where she lives. She didn't want Jenny to know where to find her home.

Slowly getting up off of the table she was lying on, she prepared herself for the worst in case it was someone trying to kill her. She finally opened the door to reveal the visitor.

"I have grown bored waiting for you to show, but here you are. Would you like to come inside and make yourself comfortable?" Vexus asked with a half-convincing smile.

"How do I know you won't try to kill me?" Jenny asked.

"I told you before, I no longer have it in me. Please, come in. We have things to discuss," Vexus said as she began walking away from Jenny.

Jenny started following her cautiously.

As she walked, Jenny said "That little letter you sent my mom is, as you know, the reason I'm here."

Jenny scanned the interior of the small building before following Vexus. As soon as she discovered that there was no sign of a trap, she followed her. There were two small sort of worn chairs in the center of the largest room, which wasn't exactly large at all. They both sat across from each other.

"I know by now you've already guessed that this isn't my current home. It's true; I don't want you to know where I'm living. It's not just you. I don't really want anyone knowing where I live," Vexus explained.

"Figures. I'm not really concerned about that though. I've gathered that really have become desperate if you're willing to trust mom with your body. She could easily install a kill virus into your main processor," Jenny informed.

A sigh followed and Vexus explained in a relaxed tone that Jenny has never heard her in before "I'm well aware, but I don't have a choice. I'm at the point in my life where a transition is taking place. Either I risk it with your mother, or I risk it with Sigma. These past two agonizingly long years have made me realize things that I both never noticed and have ignored. On one end, for most of my life, I've ignored this…something inside of me that's been trying to get me to recognize the error of my ways. On the other end, I've realized…for the first time, that there actually is value…in fleshly beings. Please allow me to finish. Over these past two years, I've often spent time observing the actions of humans. They didn't make a good impression on me at first. They are some of the most inconsistent beings I've ever met. They change from one day to the next based on the way they feel about their situation in life, which often causes the foundations they've attempted to set up in their lives to crumble. They often don't sincerely value their own kind. The proof lies in the fact that they are constantly trying to find ways to take things from each other in order to gain something in their own lives. Sometimes they take it all the way to the extreme in the sense that they're often willing to end each other's lives in order to gain something. They claim to possess a humanitarian attitude, but only practice it to those they feel they can benefit from. I always thought the members of any specific race were supposed to value each other above any other race. They're constantly making the worst decisions imaginable that doom what they claim to be working for. I've seen some awful things. I've seen a fourteen-year-old mother who didn't want her offspring drown the child of only three days living in a kitchen sink and wrapped him up in a blanket and threw him in a dumpster. I've seen a neighbor dispute that ended not only each other's lives, but also the life of a woman who had nothing to do with the situation. A fifteen-year-old girl purposefully let her dog loose to kill an elderly woman who was minding her own business. A man kidnapped four women and hid them in his basement, and after raping them, beat them to death with his fists one by one. I naturally did nothing about it even though I could have. I cared nothing for them at the time. I was simply observing their animalistic behavior. Then I came to realize that all flesh beings are that way. I came to realize even further…that we…are not too much different. Under my rule, I maintained a peace amongst the citizens of Cluster Prime that masked our true nature. Robots tend to naturally remain consistent in their daily activities, or so it seemed. I remember labeling the ones that were inconsistent and self-destructive as simply being defective, as if they were the same as a malfunctioning appliance, and simply disposing of them. The age of that planet's peace lasted so long that I lost sight of the truth. The same way a human might kill one of their own that doesn't follow along with the order of things, is basically the same way we go about it. I allowed myself to believe we were superior by nature, but now I realize that I forced that on my society. I see now, the only thing that surely separates robots from flesh beings is our bodies. Mentally and emotionally, we are just as fragile as one another. Some people on the other make more productive decisions, and that's where I used to think real value lied. It turns out that sometimes, certain people who normally make destructive decisions, make decisions that save lives. Sometimes those who normally make productive decisions, destroy lives. An endless cycle of conflicting opinions based on circumstances. It makes one wonder where true worth lies. With that said, I realize that I am both just as potentially bad and as potentially good as any flesh being. Also, no longer being a slave of trying to maintain an image as a strong leader, I've come to listen to my emotions more than I'm used to. I tried to block them out at first, but I gave in over time. I've spent a lot of time imagining myself in other people's shoes. The more I understood people's motives, the more it affected me. In time, I began to feel sorry for them. I then remembered something from my childhood. I remembered how our creators oppressed us…and how I used my hatred as an excuse to justify my way of thinking. The irony is that something as simple and primitive as me playing the revengeful victim role for personal gain played a part in me believing that I was somehow superior. I have seen the greatness in certain people though. Some people have done amazing things that have proved to me the potential worth of all sentient beings."

Vexus gave a somewhat shocked Jenny a moment to ponder the things Vexus just said.

"Those words, coming from a normal person, would lead me to believe that was a prepared speech. From you…they sound sincere. I have to know. Did you help us that day, four months ago?" Jenny asked hopefully.

A moment later, Vexus answered in an almost whisper "I was helping the little boy."

Jenny gasped a little and said "The way your voice and your body is trembling…I know you're telling the truth. Why did you help him?"

Vexus lowered her gaze and answered "I had begun to feel as though I were dying while connected to that machine. It wasn't in a painful way…it felt more like my life was slowly drifting away. Then I had a vision of Vega crying out in pain. I awoke to see the boy crying his eyes out in a vain attempt to awaken his dead mother. He thought…he thought she was only just asleep. I wondered why children should have to be exposed to such a…complicated…reality. I then remembered, after so long, almost losing my father the same way. I saw the truck coming to take that boy's life. I thought…NO…that's just not fair. And then…and then it happened. I lost control. I didn't know why I was so concerned about a human's fate, but I was. I was. I suddenly felt as though…all…of the positive energy stored up that I never used in my life suddenly…exploded. For some reason, I suddenly felt as though that boy's life must be saved…and at any cost. When it was over, I couldn't believe what I had done. Strangely enough, it felt…fulfilling. I felt, in that moment, that I had accomplished more than I had in my entire life. I told Smytus and Krackus the bad news, then everything went black."

"I never once imagined I'd see you on the verge of crying. You didn't even cry when you were stripped of your power, but your expressing this much emotion over a human child," Jenny said.

Vexus then yelled "It's not just the boy; it's the whole human race. This whole world has seen so much tragedy…so much sadness. Every world has seen it. I'm finally able to imagine what it must be like for all of those people that still grieve as a result of what I've done to them. I caused it. It's my fault. It's all my fault."

Jenny grabbed Vexus's shoulders and yelled "Snap out of it. Please…calm down."

Vexus finally came to her senses and stared at Jenny's concerned face.

"I'm sorry I didn't have enough faith in you Vexus. I can see now that you are telling the truth. If you, of all people can suffer from being aware of other people's suffering, then I have no room to complain about having to deal with my suffering," Jenny said.

Vexus grabbed Jenny's left forearm wither her right hand, smiled, and said "I even put myself in your shoes. You've felt so much pain. I can look at you and see how much it has affected you. You're not as happy as you used to be. There was a time…when I admired you for your ability to remain happy…even with all the discrimination. Now it's gone. I'm so sorry. I don't want to see you like this anymore. I wish that you could return to the way you were. I don't hate you anymore. You taught me the error of my ways…and I thank you."

Jenny held back her blush and said "I don't hate you either. I never really did. And don't worry, I'll make sure mom doesn't hurt…"

Vexus cut her off by whispering "I haven't slept…in days."

She lowered her head and fainted.