MLaaTR: Maverick Hunter X
By Drewmaster
25. Chapter 25
When they all returned to the building, both Sheldon and Melody were both shocked and outraged to find that Vexus had been given protection by the world governments.
"What the hell do you mean she's been given protection? Are you people completely out of your minds?" Melody asked.
"I see why you said you didn't feel comfortable about it, Jenny," Sheldon said.
"Let me assure you that the only reason this decision was made was out of necessity. We did not enter into this decision lightly," Mr. Hodges explained.
"Have you people somehow forgotten all the things she's done?" Melody asked.
"No we haven't. We are also well aware of how this will likely affect our reputation. Instead of trying to explain this to you; it would be a lot easier if you watch the recording of her evaluation. I even have a hard time believing she's changed this much," Mr. Hodges replied.
"Changed? In what way?" Sheldon asked.
"You'll have to see it to believe it. I don't have the time to stick around and wait for you to watch, but I do want to say that I thank you for volunteering to fight in this war. That's very noble of you. Actually, believe it or not…we were trying to find a way to contact you, but you have no official citizenship or connection to the outside world. The fact that you showed up at such a crucial time and volunteered like this has gotten a lot of people's hopes up. If you want, maybe Ms. Wakeman could upgrade you as well, if she is up to it," Mr. Hodges replied.
"I am really tied up at the moment, but when an opportunity arises within the near future, I'll do it if you want me to, Melody," Ms. Wakeman said.
"Speaking of necessity; that's the only reason I'd even consider letting someone poke their noses in a lot of my dad's secrets. I want to live, so I'll do it" Melody said.
X had been staring at Melody for a few minutes straight without anyone noticing it. A few seconds later, she finally did notice.
"How long have you been staring at me?" Melody asked while staring back at him.
X finally snapped back into reality and replied, "I know this will sound crazy, but…you seem…familiar to me, somehow."
"What? That's impossible. Unless you've seen video footage of me, you couldn't know me because we never met until now," Melody said.
"I've never seen you in a picture or in video, but…oh, never mind. It must my imagination, or de ja vu or something," X said.
"Ooookay…de ja vu. You must've seen a whole lot of faces in your lifetime…since you are like one or two hundred years old. I think I got that right," Melody said.
"About two hundred: yes. I have seen so many people in my lifetime that a lot of their faces are like blurs to me. I probably just saw someone who looks kind of like you before. Sorry about the misunderstanding," X apologized.
"It's okay," Melody accepted.
"I guess I'm done here for the time being. I will return soon to check up on you all," Mr. Hodges said.
"We'll be waiting," Ms. Wakeman said.
The following morning, Grace awoke to the feeling of a solid object pushing against her shoulder. She was a little startled at first until she realized that it was only XJ6.
"I just hope those couches are comfortable to sleep on. Anyway, I brought you some breakfast," XJ6 said as she handed Grace an assortment plate.
"A sausage biscuit, an orange, and a carton of milk. I tire…of pre packaged institutional…food. Thank you for…bringing me breakfast anyway….though," Grace said as she lay the plate down on the coffee table in front of her.
"Can I sit with you?" XJ6 asked.
This was the first time since she was living in the psychiatric hospital that anyone had asked to sit with her.
She looked up at XJ6's face and answered "Sure."
XJ6 sat down beside her, and then said "I'm sorry we don't have home cooked meals here. The good news is that I have practiced cooking before a few times, and I'm getting the hang of it. If you want, I can cook something for you later."
"I would…like that. But why…are you being so…nice to me?" Grace asked.
"Umm…well…I have this weird feeling that you're someone I can get along with. Not only that, but I also want to practice human interaction with someone else besides my mom. Brad, his brother, Tuck, and Sheldon aren't around enough for me to have that opportunity. Plus, you look like you could use someone to talk to," XJ6 answered.
A moment later, Grace said "Thank you."
Grace began trying to open her milk carton. XJ6 noticed that she was having trouble with it because of her unstable nerves. She could see how frustrating it was or her.
XJ6 grabbed the carton and said, "I'll open it for you."
Within only a few seconds, the carton was opened and sitting on the table.
Grace stared at her trembling hand and whispered "So I get…this strength from nowhere, but the bad nerves…remain. What a load of shit?"
"Are you okay?" XJ6 asked concerned.
"Not really, but I'll be fine. I'm used to dealing with this after all," Grace replied.
Grace began eating her breakfast. XJ6 thought about the events of her life for a minute.
She laughed, and then said "I find it so strange that it's even possible to be calm and enjoy myself knowing that I might not live much longer. How do you even make sense out of that?"
Grace finished the last of her biscuit, looked at XJ6 and replied "There are a lot…of things I don't understand. To answer…your question though: my best guess would be…to say that…if we didn't…we'd probably go insane."
"_She probably knows that better than most_," XJ6 thought to herself.
"You are pretty wise. That's one thing I do envy about humans. By the time they become teenagers, they've attained wisdom robots like me usually don't through experience. I haven't lived the average life of a human, so my experience is limited. I have become wiser within these past few years, but there are things I'll probably never understand because of what I am. On the flip side, you'll probably never see the world as I do either. There is no one who was meant to know everything, I guess," XJ6 said.
"There's another…reason I snapped at you last…night. I've had this deep fear of robots…for as long as I can remember, and I'm not even sure why or…how that fear came…about. I'm learning that…not all of you are evil, or whatever it is, I…used to…think," Grace explained.
"So, you were trying to protect yourself. I'm not taking it personally. I forgive you," XJ6 said.
Grace looked at her hand again and said, "He said he thought it was cool."
"He, who?" XJ6 asked.
"His name is Jason: a guy in my school," Grace answered.
"Oh, that guy. I have yet to lay eyes on him. He's an asshole if you ask me," XJ6 commented.
"Not really. He has…a disappointed view…of the world around…him…and most of the people in it. He cares…about people…but he's angry because life…isn't pretty. He seems…to want the world to change for the better more…than anyone else I know, but he also seems to…be angry at himself…because he isn't…able to change it, so he points out people's flaws…constantly hoping they'll change, and he relies…on the feeling sarcasm…gives him as a crutch. He does have issues with…taking it too far sometimes because of…his struggle with controlling his anger…and his tongue. I often see him kick…himself over it when no one else seems to," Grace explained.
"How can you be the only one to notice something like that?" XJ6 asked surprised.
"I'm…probably not the…only one. I just seem to be. I have been…told by more than one…person that…I tend to notice subtle things…that most people never catch," Grace replied.
"Okay, but what about his undercover insults?" XJ6 asked.
"He hasn't…done much…of that since the attack," Grace answered.
"Jenny really hasn't mentioned him in a while. I guess I assumed he was still the same. You were forced to spend time alone with him in that tunnel, come to think of it. Maybe he developed a crush on you while you guys were down there," XJ6 said.
"What the…?" Grace asked.
XJ6 grinned and explained "You're the one who said it. He thought your transformation was cool. Was he grinning while saying it by any chance?"
"Come to think of it, he was," Grace answered.
"It seems to me that he might like you in that way. I could be wrong," XJ6 said.
"I don't know about that. I don't know what…he thinks about individuals that he…doesn't take the time to comment on. It's easy to see his…general view of everybody as a whole, but I have no idea what he…thinks about me. It seems more like he likes…the fact that 'life has suddenly become more interesting' as he would…normally say when something unusual happens," Grace explained.
Sheldon's voice was heard from the doorway saying "I heard a little bit of your conversation as I was heading in this direction. Trust me when I say this. I have spent most of my life obsessing with things, and with Jenny, and I'm no longer ashamed to admit it. I know when someone has a crush, and believe me, that Jason definitely has a huge crush on you."
Grace blushed a little and said "He's like an…expert or something when…it comes to hiding his intentions. I'm really good at seeing…what people are thinking, and I never once noticed him look at…me that way. How can you be so sure?"
Sheldon laughed a little, and then said "I told you. I know when someone has an obsession. What you don't see is how often he glances at you when you aren't looking at him. He does that to other people too, but not with the grin he has when he looks at you. I thought it was the fact that he thought you are just interesting at first too, but then I realized that he's been getting careless. He's taken way too many unnecessary risks of getting himself caught, which he is always careful of, as if it is some kind of rule of his. The tricky part is that I somehow don't think he realizes it himself. He hasn't paid that close attention to a girl in his life: his words; not mine. He might be having a hard time recognizing his feelings toward you, for what they are, based on the way he's been acting lately. Regardless of whether he's confused about it or not, I can tell, he's just as obsessed with you as I am with Jenny. He just has more self-control than I do."
Grace was blushing furiously by that time.
XJ6 grinned even wider, and then said "Uh, oh. I think you just made her blush Sheldon."
Grace covered her face with her hands and groaned a little.
"I can understand your issue with this. You haven't had many guys, if any at all, admit they like you in an obvious way. Am I right?" Sheldon asked.
With her hands still covering her face, Grace replied "Most people are afraid to be associated with me."
"Hey; you know, if he is the type to not be afraid say what he feels about people, maybe if he becomes aware of his feelings for you, he'd tell it to everyone, loud and proud," XJ6 said as she started laughing.
Grace blushed even harder and groaned again.
"He hasn't defended someone in that way before, and he's never had a girlfriend either. This will be a new set of circumstances for him to deal with. We'll see when that time comes. I say that because I can't imagine that it would take him much longer to realize it. By the way, that day you screamed and fainted in the cafeteria: he seemed so much more out of character than I've ever seen him. He looked as though he couldn't stand the site of you in that condition. I've seen him react harshly to all those dead bodies lying around after the attack, but not like the way he did when you were on the floor. He looked like he was overwhelmed with trying to decide how to feel about the situation. Then it happened, he said 'oh, fuck,' and then walked out of the cafeteria really fast with an intense expression on his face. When I thought about it for a second, he said it as if he was really hurt by seeing you like that. I doubt he even remembers saying it out loud like that. It was likely pure impulse. I ran into him later on that day in the supermarket. He didn't notice me looking at him at first, but he still looked very distraught, and he also looked like he was disappointed in himself. I asked him if he was okay, he looked at me for a second, and then said, "I really don't know." He walked past me really fast and went to the restroom. I left him alone after that because I didn't know what to do. The next day, you stayed home from school. That worried him really bad. He didn't say anything about it, so most people wondered what was bothering him so badly. I knew what it was though. When you returned the day after, he seemed overjoyed and quickly regained his composure before anyone else noticed him. I didn't make it obvious that I was watching him. I don't think he experiences these kinds of emotions very often, and judging by the way he was acting that day, I don't think he's ever experienced them on that level. He's had a lot to consider lately," Sheldon explained.
By this time, Grace was breathing very heavily, and her heart was pounding in her chest as she stared at Sheldon with a look of revelation.
"Oh, my God!" XJ6 whispered.
Grace took a deep breath, and then said "I see it now. It's as clear as the day. I didn't…know…he saw me that way. I see it now."
A moment later, Grace started panicking and asked "I don't…what am I supposed to do? I don't even know how I feel about him. No guy has ever paid that much attention to me before. I don't…know what to do."
"Now that you know that he feels that way about you, the best thing I can tell you to do, is do a thorough search of your heart to find the answer. If that doesn't work at first, you can try confronting him about it if you want to, and then search your heart again and again until you figure out what to feel and what to do next," Sheldon explained.
A moment later, Grace finally said "Okay. Thank you. I think I know…what to do know. When I see him again, I'll handle it."
Later on that day, Grace asked XJ6, XJ4, and X to help her as she practices using her new abilities. They agreed mainly because she had almost no experience, and they didn't want her to hurt herself, or anyone else. Melody then asked if she could join them, followed by XJ3 and Jenny. Jenny mainly wanted to spar with X and Melody to see if she could learn some new fighting techniques. They all found a large open room in the basement that could be used as a bomb shelter. They didn't really want to mention how utterly convenient that was.
"Okay then. We should first see if you can use that arm trick you used before at will," Jenny said.
"Just be careful, okay," X said.
Everyone else formed a circle around Grace and kept some distance from her. She took a deep breath and concentrated on her right arm. She focused on trying to recreate the feeling she had when she fought with Axel. Focusing intensely for about twenty seconds, a strange crackling sound was heard coming from her arm rapidly as it slowly expanded. Everyone whom had never seen it before could hardly believe what they were seeing, even though they knew Jenny wouldn't lie about such a thing. When the expanding finally stopped, her arm looked roughly the same as it did the first time.
"That's it, huh?" Melody asked wide-eyed.
"That's it, all right," Jenny confirmed.
Ms. Wakeman was also watching this on her monitor through Jenny's eyes.
"This is…very difficult…to get used to. Can someone…bring me something to break?" Grace said straining out her words.
"I'll get it," X volunteered.
He walked over to a pile of cinder blocks and brought eight of them back. He then stacked them on top of each other. Grace took two careful steps forward so as not to lose focus.
"Get as far back as you can. None of us knows…what's going to happen," Grace said.
They did as they were told. She slowly raised her arm above the stack, paused for a second, and then lightly smacked the top of it with her fist. All but the two blocks at the bottom of the stack shattered. The broken pieces of the block at the top was sent flying in many different directions.
As Grace stared at her right hand, Melody yelled "She barely even put any effort into that. I can only imagine what would happen if she hit it with all her might."
"Okay, can she do that transformation with her entire body?" XJ4 asked.
Everyone looked at XJ4 with a surprised look.
"What did I say?" XJ4 asked.
"That's probably not a good idea. What if she isn't able to become normal again? Worse: what if she loses her mind trying something that rash?" XJ6 asked.
"I was thinking…pretty much the same…thing. What if I became a…monster?" Grace asked nervously.
"I have a suggestion. What if, you focused on just increasing your muscle mass, instead of a full transformation?" Jenny suggested.
"Would that work? X asked.
Grace stopped focusing on her arm and let it revert to normal. She then focused only on her muscle mass. She let out a few groans here and there as the increase expanded the size of her body. She stopped focusing when her muscles reach three times their normal size. The effort caused her to breath heavily. She never before felt such a surge of power before. In a way, she felt as though she could do anything, but she knew that was a lie.
"That's amazing. It's just a little intimidating that she has all those veins bulging out everywhere, including her face. No offence. I just didn't expect this," Melody said.
Grace bent down and picked up one of the bottom two blocks and crumbled it into pieces with very little effort.
"Who's good…at anchoring their feet…should something crash…into you?" Grace asked.
"I don't have feet," XJ4 answered.
"X ought to be good at it, judging by some of the things I've seen him do," Jenny said.
"Zero is better at that than I am, but I'm pretty efficient at that too, I guess. Why do you ask?" X asked.
"I want…to see how fast I can run…without risking putting a hole in a wall," Grace answered.
"All right. Let me brace myself first," X agreed.
As soon as X was prepared, Grace turned to face him and charged straight forward at him with a lot of force. He was surprised at just how much impact he was calculating from her running speed. He put his hands out straight forward and her right shoulder impacted his hands. His body was sent sliding backwards. He managed to stop himself about two feet from the wall. He slid a total of sixteen feet.
"What the hell? I didn't think a human could generate that kind of power. I could've stopped myself from moving, but I seriously underestimated her strength. How is even possible for her to do that?" X yelled.
"Why are you staring at X that way? Melody asked.
X suddenly noticed the somewhat bloodthirsty look in Grace's eyes before she realized the why the question was asked. Her face returned to her normal expression.
"At the moment…I touched you…my body felt as if…it suddenly became aware…of how powerful it really is…¦or something like that. I'm not sure…but I feel this urge to start rampaging wildly. I'm not…because I would probably hurt somebody," Grace replied.
"It's probably endorphins," Melody guessed.
"Probably…likely," Grace added.
"If it weren't for mom giving us these upgrades, I'd be afraid for my life right now," XJ4 said.
"You seem to be forgetting what she did to Axel the Red. You don't know how strong he was. Don't worry about it too much though. Based on Jenny's report, the only upgrade they actually gave him was the flower petal restraining trick. The last time I fought him, I realized that he was weaker than Storm Eagle. Then again, we don't know the full extent of her strength. I'm not worrying too much mainly because she seems to have it under control. But Grace, you shouldn't exert yourself too much. You don't know how much stress your body or your mind can withstand using that ability," X warned.
"I accept your…advice, but I…think you're just worried…because of my ailments…and because you don't want…to be the one to suggest…that I help you guys fight in this war," Grace said with a slight grin.
"Dammit, Grace! You know we can't expect you to do that," Jenny yelled.
Grace allowed her body to return to its normal state, she pointed her finger at Jenny, and then she said "It's…not about expectations, and you know it. You're the ones…who are constantly looking for more help…to fight in this war. As…dire a situation as this is, you know you practically want to beg…me to help you. So, it's perfectly okay for armies…to expect full cooperation from their soldiers…when they are in tip…top condition, but because of a few ailments, it's not okay? It's okay…for a healthy person to be sent…to die in a battlefield, but it's not okay to send a…person like me? Give me a damn break. That's hypocritical as shit, and all of you know it. If a person…like me dies, and a person like Brad dies, it's the same fucking thing. The only real reason…you don't want to send me out…there is because you don't want to harm your reputations…as good and fair people. And don't even say it's only robots…that you're looking for. If Misty was still on…your side, you'd ask her to help in a heartbeat, and she's made of flesh and blood."
For once, Jenny had nothing to say in her defense.
"I appreciate that you're at…least trying to protect me, but for me to agree with…such hypocrisy, I would be basically telling myself…that not all people are created equal. In the end, if we lose, if we fail to protect the Earth, every human will be annihilated…with no favoritism shown. Reality dictates…that if everyone is created equally, then everyone can…also die equally. Just so you know; I don't plan to fight unless I…think I have to. My body has suddenly become a…dangerous weapon out of the blue, and I don't want…to accidently kill anyone I'm trying to…protect. Until I can…control this effectively, I'm not going on an…all-out assault. Your minds can remain at ease. Listen, I apologize for snapping…at you all so often. You guys are used to this…kind of lifestyle. I'm not. To tell you the truth, I kinda feel like…I've been traumatized. Then there's the fact…that my life has been a game…of learning how to deal with people who look…at me like I'm the sore thumb. All of you have played the game too, but you seem to be…able to handle it better, and sometimes that frustrates me," Grace explained.
"That's because I fight all the time. You're constantly in an environment where people are looking at you funny. In my case, I'm usually on missions, where I can focus on a task instead of the opinions of my peers. When I do think about the discrimination, that's when it hurts. Come to think of it, I think that's why older generations came up with the saying 'An idle mind is the Devil's workshop," X explained.
"The Devil's workshop, huh? I guess you're trying to say that if you sit around and focus on the bad, you're more likely to do something bad yourself in order to deal with it. So, if you're doing something constructive, you'll be focused on the good result," Melody guessed.
"That is more or less the thought I had in mind. But of course, I can't judge because I haven't lived anyone else's life but my own," X said.
XJ6 asked "So Grace, do you feel like continuing, practicing I mean?"
Grace grinned and bulked her muscles up to only twice their normal size this time around.
"I guess that's a yes," Jenny said.
As Ms. Wakeman, Zero, Vexus, Sheldon, and XJ7 watched the training session, they all had mixed feelings about what they were seeing.
"I would've never guessed that girl could do those things," Sheldon said.
"It's a big surprise to me as well. I didn't think it was possible for a human to do that. I wish I could run some tests without risking hurting her," Ms. Wakeman said.
"I just met Grace yesterday, and now she's suddenly some kind of superhuman," XJ7 said.
"I'm not concerned with the shock factor. I think it's great that a human can do that," Zero said.
Many tubes were connected to Vexus's body. They were all slowly injecting nano-machines into her body to upgrade her body from the inside out.
"I personally think you people are taking this too lightly. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad omen?" Vexus asked.
No…you're definitely not. I don't know what to make of this. This seems like one of those events that'll change all of our lives. I just don't know if it'll be good or bad," Ms. Wakeman replied.
"Whatever the outcome, we'll just have to deal with it as happens. I just hope for the best," Sheldon said.
A moment later, Vexus giggled a little.
With a grin, Zero asked "What's so funny?"
"Hey, Sheldon. I just remembered that one time," Vexus replied followed by another giggle.
"What time?" Sheldon asked confused.
A moment later, Sheldon blushed really hard, and then said "I hope you're not talking about…"
"Yep," Vexus confirmed followed by a loud laugh.
With a curious tone, Zero said "Whoa! I must've missed something."
"Oh, no. You're terrible, Vexus. Don't torture him like that," XJ7 said with a slight blush on her face.
Suddenly, Ms. Wakeman remembered the time Sheldon stole Jenny's master blueprints, and how Vexus transformed herself into QT2, and seduced Sheldon into tricking him into letting his guard down long enough for her to steal the blueprints.
She grinned and said, "You and your transformations: seducing poor Sheldon like that so you could steal those plans."
"Oh, how I had forgotten all about that. You should've seen how easily he bought my act," Vexus said followed by another laugh.
"That's actually kinda funny when I try to imagine that," Zero commented.
"You really got me with that one. I had never felt so embarrassed before in my life," Sheldon explained.
Without warning, a loud crack was heard coming from Vexus's direction.
The laughter stopped suddenly, and Zero asked "What was that?"
Vexus held up her left hand revealing several cracks in it. Not only that, but her hand was about fifty percent larger than before.
"I explained it to her already. Those tubes inject her with nano-machines that replace her old out of date parts with brand new improved parts. She insisted that she keep her old appearance, which I originally thought would be a hassle to figure out how to improve her thin body, but then I remembered that her technology was pretty far behind Jenny's with the exception of her teleportation ability and her orb. The reason for the swelling and cracking is because she's being completely rebuilt from scratch from the inside out, except for her brain and her teleportation device and orb because they're too complicated. In other words; it's like she's shedding her skin," Ms. Wakeman explained.
"Just like…a beetle," Vexus added.
"That is pretty amazing actually," Zero complimented.
"Thank you. I actually just invented this method, by the way. I plan to use it on my daughters soon," Ms. Wakeman added.
All within about a couple of seconds time, she noticed the way Vexus glanced at Zero. Vexus only did it for a second, but then she remembered her doing it plenty of times. Then there was a long conversation she had with Zero the day before. Without changing her expression, she realized that Vexus likely had a crush on Zero. She definitely thought it was funny, but she didn't show it.