Tales of Team Sonic
Test Run
"Sir, I would advise you against this course of action," Sara cautioned as Agent Stone walked towards the Seattle bar.
"Oh Sara," Agent Stone smiled. "You worry too much. This guy is only an experimental guinea pig."
"Yes, but what if the Q9 formula has unforeseen side effects on him?" asked the artificial intelligence located on Stone's watch.
"Hey, that's going to be Sonic's problem to deal with then!" Agent Stone grinned.
Stone entered the establishment full of rough looking people. There were several bikers, a few drug dealers, and a few other shady people. Chances were, all of them had some kind of run-in with the law before.
"Yeah, I'm really slumming it," Stone whispered to himself.
"Are you Stone?" a bouncer went up to him.
Stone nodded in the affirmative and showed the man his ID.
"Come with me, please," the bouncer led Agent Stone to a room in the back.
Stone went in and made himself at home, crossing his legs as he sat down. It wouldn't be long before the man he was supposed to meet also made his way into the room.
"Hey!" Stone looked up.
"Ric Drake at your service," a short 5'6 man with brown hair and tattoos on his shoulder stepped into the room.
"So Ric," Agent Stone sat down and poured the man a cup of water that was available on the table. "It turns out that you have a bit of a rap sheet… but you're also known for your professionalism and never selling out your client."
"I do what I have to do," Ric took a drink. "Honor amongst thieves and all."
"Well Ric," Agent Stone told him. "What if I were to tell you I could make your rap sheet go away if you do a little favor for me?"
"What kind of favor?" Ric raised an eyebrow.
"It's a little different than running drugs," explained Stone. "I'll need you to… take someone out."
"It's not part of my usual resume," admitted Ric. "But hey, bullet between the eyes is something I can make happen if you keep your promise."
"Oh, there won't be any need for that," Stone replied. "You, my friend, will become more powerful than you ever were. More powerful than any drug kingpin!"
"Is that so?" Ric sounded interested. "What do you have in mind?"
oooo
"Agent Stone," Sara greeted as Robotnik's former assistant and Ric stepped into the secret base.
"This… this is something else!" Ric looked around in awe.
"Now do I have your full attention?" Agent Stone grinned.
"You do now," Ric gazed across the room like a little kid in a candy shop. "So kind of weapon do you got for me? Plasma rifle? Black hole generator? Stealth ninja suit?"
"You won't be receiving any weapon," Stone informed him. "You, my friend, will be that weapon."
"You… you mean you're gonna give me superpowers?" Ric looked incredulous.
Agent Stone did not answer him. He went to the table and picked up a container which featured one of Sonic's quills.
"Whoa, what is that?" Ric gaped.
"You remember that huge Pacific Northwest blackout a while time ago?" asked Agent Stone.
"Yeah man, that was crazy!" exclaimed Ric.
"Well, I'm gonna need you to go after the guy who caused that huge outage," Stone told him.
"Okay… but how?" asked Ric. "And who is he again?"
"I'll answer all your questions," Agent Stone took out a vial with unknown blue liquids in it. "But first, I'll need you to test this out.
oooo
"No, this cannot be" Knuckles growled.
He and Sonic were playing a game of Super Smash Brothers while Tails, Tom, and Maddie were watching.
"What can I say?" Sonic smiled as his Pikachu knocked Knuckles' Donkey Kong off the platform to his doom.
"Dishonor!" Knuckles shook his head. "I challenge you to another round!"
"Knuckles, you've had five turns already!" Tails pointed out.
"Yeah, give the rest of us a chance," Tom insisted.
Fuming, Knuckles wondered how Sonic could have beaten him so many times.
"I should have smashed your tiny electric rodent into dust!" Knuckles glowered. "Why is my great ape not performing to my expectations?!"
"Gee, maybe it's because I've been playing this game for a few months and know what to do?" Sonic offered.
Sonic looked down at his phone and noticed a text.
"Oh hey, burgers are ready," Sonic pointed out to his new adoptive family.
"So which joint is it?" asked Maddie. "We only have about… two burger restaurants in town."
"Oh, this one's in Seattle," Sonic told her. "It's a good one, I promise."
"Before you came here, I never thought it would've been possible to get takeout in another State," Tom nodded.
"Remember, no pickles on mine," Tails told him.
"You owe me a rematch, Sonic!" Knuckles told him. "You will rue the day your tiny lightning rodent made a fool of me!"
"Alright guys," Sonic put down the controller. "I should be back about two or three minutes later since this one's all the way in Seattle."
oooo
As Sonic sped down the I-90 highway, he couldn't help but get a feeling that he was being watched somehow.
"Hmm," he looked to the left and the right but didn't see anything.
Suddenly, a burst of green energy crashed into him, knocking him to the terrain off of the road.
"Whoa!" Sonic finally fell down to his side near a rock before raising his head.
Before Sonic was a man in a leather jacket and a green t-shirt. He sported some visible tattoos on his neck and brown hair similar to Tom's.
"And you are?" Sonic looked confused.
"Hey Sonic!" a familiar voice rang out.
Sonic looked above him to see Agent Stone sitting on top of a flying pod floating in the air to observe the scene.
"Hey, weren't you Robotnik's paper boy?" asked Sonic. "What was your name again? Agent Scratch? Agent Snively?"
"It's Stone! Agent Stone! Did you seriously forget my name?!"
"Well," Sonic frowned. "Yeah. Sorry dude, you really weren't that memorable."
"Oh yeah?!" Stone shouted. "Was it memorable to you when you sent the good doctor falling to his doom?!"
"Oh, you mean when he attacked my new hometown with a giant hulking robot and tried to kill me?" asked Sonic. "Yeah, I don't think I could forget that moment."
"I'll have you know the man was a genius!" Agent Stone snarled. "He was a very special person to me and YOU TOOK HIM AWAY!"
"Wait," Sonic raised an eyebrow. "You mean he was… and you are… oh, I get it now."
"Wait, you get what?" asked Ric.
"Look dude, I'm not gonna judge if you're into the Ro-boob-nik," Sonic told him. "But seriously, I won't just stand here and let you do whatever you please."
"I realize that," Stone smiled. "And I also realize that to make your trips to Seattle, you had to use the I-90 highway, which is how I anticipated you here. And it's why I brought along a friend. Sonic, say hi to Ric."
"Alright Ric," Sonic faced Agent Stone's hired hand. "I'll keep this short. Stand down and drop Agent Stone as your new boss. First and only offer."
"Gimme your best shot," was Ric's only response.
Sonic ran towards the man, throwing a punch with the intention of downing him in one blow. To his shock, however, Ric dodged the punch with his own super-speed as green lightning cracked around him.
"Wha—" Sonic gasped.
He didn't get to gawk for long. Ric uppercutted Sonic, hit him with a side blow to the liver, and struck him across the jaw with a right elbow that rocked Sonic.
"Score!" Agent Stone shouted.
Ric ran around him, speed-blitzing the space hedgehog with multiple punches per second. He then stopped before the dazed Sonic and kneed him right in the gut.
"Ack!" Sonic cried out.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Sonic blocked a punch from Ric and answered back with a blow to Ric's chin to knock him back.
"You might have super speed now, but do you know how to use it?" Sonic asked.
"Let's find out," Ric's eyes glowed green.
The two of them ran across the hills at super speed, punching at each other and simultaneously blocking each other's blows.
"My, this is getting good," Stone flew his pod into the air, watching the carnage as blue and green streaks raced across the landscape.
Finally, Sonic got a little ahead of Ric, stopped and stuck out his foot, causing the drug trafficker to trip and crash against a rock.
"Ready to give?" asked Sonic as he stood over the man.
"Not quite!" Ric's eyes glowed again as he stretched out his hands, blasting Sonic with his own green lightning.
"Aaaaahhhh!" Sonic fell back.
Before Sonic could get up again, Ric ran towards him at super speed, kicking Sonic across the side to send him skidding across the ground. With that, he took out his gun and walked towards Sonic slowly and triumphantly.
"Yes, do it!" Stone shouted excitedly.
Ric pointed his gun at Sonic but suddenly felt a sickening feeling in his stomach.
"Agent Stone, I…" Ric stuttered.
Ric's hand lost control of the gun as he fell to his knees and threw up.
"I warned you something like this could happen," Sara told Agent Stone. "This man's body has completely burned through the Q9 formula. And now his body is dealing with the aftermath."
"Oh great," Stone flew his pod closer and pressed down on a button.
Just as Sonic got to his knees to clear his head, Stone's pod unleashed a metal tentacle that grabbed the vomiting Ric Drake and lifted him into the air.
"You're in luck for today, Sonic!" Stone told the hedgehog. "Four days from now, meet back at this same location. Three PM sharp!"
Sonic shook his head as he looked at Stone flying off with his assailant. Near his feet was the gun Ric had dropped.
oooo
"Feeling better now, Sonic?" asked Tails as he put a bandage on Sonic's arm.
"As good as I'll ever be," admitted Sonic. "Gotta admit it caught me off guard that dude could move as fast as me."
"How did he get his super speed?" Tails wondered aloud.
"That's just it," Sonic answered. "He could move like me and he had his own electricity. I think Agent Stone must still have one of my quills that he used to power the guy."
"Hmm, so Robotnik's assistant is back," Knuckles rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I thought he had perished in the battle against Robotnik."
"I thought so too but he escaped somehow," Sonic put an ice pack on his head. "He probably has a secret base somewhere."
"Do you suppose Robotnik is still alive?" asked Tails.
"I don't think so," Sonic replied. "Stone wouldn't stop talking about how special Robotnik was to him and how I would pay. Yada yada yada."
"Hmm, perhaps the Eggman really has perished," Knuckles crossed his arms.
"Maybe, maybe not," Sonic admitted. "But what I do know is that I gotta deal with Stone here and now."
"Hey, Tom's back!" Tails looked up as the owner of the home came back.
"Hey guys," Tom told the gang. "I had the gun examined for fingerprints and the DNA results are back."
"What did you find out, Tom?" asked Tails.
"Well, the prints belong to a man named Ric Drake," answered Tom. "He's guilty of drug smuggling, assault, and armed robbery."
"Great, a thug with superpowers," Sonic groaned.
"He's a wanted man, Sonic," Tom told his adoptive son. "A dangerous criminal with super speed is nothing to take lightly."
"We'll have your back the next time, Sonic!" Tails clenched his fist.
"No need," Sonic told his team. "This guy's got my speed. I'm the one who needs to handle this."
"But Sonic, we are there to have your back," Knuckles protested.
"And you will," Sonic told him. "In fact, I do need your help before the confrontation."
"What do you want us to do?" Tails scratched his head.
"Knuckles, you're one of the few people on this planet who can go nearly as fast as me," Sonic told the larger echidna. "You and Tails can help me train tomorrow."
oooo
Four days later.
As expected, Ric and Agent Stone were there waiting for him on I-90 where he last encountered them.
Sonic came to a screeching halt, a few feet away from the two as he noticed Ric appeared a little buffer than usual, with glowing green eyes.
"Hi Sonic," Stone smiled. "You ready for round two?"
"Stone, what have you been feeding this guy?" asked Sonic. "You really think the Washington State Athletic Commission won't investigate this?"
"I'm better than ever, Sonic!" Ric started jumping back and forth excitedly. "Jealous you're no longer the fastest thing with two legs?!"
"Sir, the hedgehog does have a point," Sara told Stone through his portable watch. "I don't believe a triple dose of Q9 will really—"
"Not now, Sara," Stone cut her off. "Trust me. Ric's got this."
"You ready, Sonic?" demanded Ric as his body glowed with green electricity. "Now we'll see who the real speed demon is!"
Sonic said nothing and ran towards Ric, punching him across the chin. Ric stumbled back a few feet and moved his jaw back into place.
"I'm not just faster now," Ric grinned. "I'm stronger!"
Ric returned with a rapid fire volley of punches that Sonic was forced to dodge.
"Better quit while you're ahead," Sonic weaved past the blows. "Stone is just using you! You think he won't throw you aside the moment you become dead weight?!"
"Only thing dead is YOU!" Ric finally connected with a punch across Sonic's jaw, dazing him.
Ric Drake grabbed Sonic and kneed him in the mid-section again. As Sonic coughed in pain, Ric threw the hedgehog in the air and as he came down, Ric struck him with a roundhouse kick that sent Sonic smashing through a large rock.
"I've never felt this strong!" Ric came in, speed-blitzing Sonic from all sides.
Quickly, Sonic reflexively raised his arms to cover his head, blocking the blows. It was an instinct he picked up while sparring against Knuckles.
From what he could tell, Ric's mental state seemed to be going downhill from the triple dose of speed Agent Stone had somehow given him.
"Your mind is not there, Sonic!" Knuckles told him as he threw heavy blows at the hedgehog.
Sonic dodged under Knuckles' blow and hit him in the stomach to make the echidna stumble back.
"That felt there, didn't it?" Sonic continued to pummel Knuckles from all sides, with multiple punches at once while Knuckles raised his hands to protect his head.
Finally, Knuckles stopped the onslaught by throwing a fist to his right side causing Sonic to run into it and knock himself to the ground.
"You are distracted," Knuckles told him. "You are not used to fighting an opponent who's as fast as you but you must overcome this and focus!"
Sonic steadied himself and breathed, slowly analyzing Ric's attack patterns and realizing Knuckles was right.
"Just think of all the stuff I could do with this speed!" Ric screamed, continuing his assault.
Immediately Sonic stuck his foot out and tripped Ric, causing him to skid and crash across the ground before stopping at a hill.
"You're fast," Sonic told him. "But super speed alone won't win you the race."
"Shut up!" Ric ran towards Sonic and threw a punch at him.
Sonic step-sided the punch, grabbed Ric, and spun him around at super speed, letting go after a few seconds and throwing Ric into an abandoned gas station. Ric felt his body crashing through at least two walls before he fell to the floor and heard the sound of the building being leveled.
He coughed violently, getting back to his feet but just as he did, Sonic came in, dazing him with a punch and catching him across the chin with a kick. Ric swung at Sonic but the space hedgehog continued pummeling Ric.
"Damn it, Ric!" Stone shouted. "Are you really going to let that hedgehog beat your ass?!"
"Hell no!" a surge of anger reignited in Ric as he dodged one of Sonic's punches at super speed.
Ric grabbed Sonic's hair from behind and with all his might, threw Sonic towards the still-standing gas station sign that once showed the gas prices.
Sonic, however, flipped around and planted both feet on the sign.
"After all those hits and kicks, now I know what you're made of and you can take it, tough guy," Sonic told him. "Now I don't have to hold back."
Blue electricity surrounded the hedgehog as his entire body began spinning.
"What?!" Ric looked shocked.
Sonic then pushed himself off the gas station sign and flew down, catching Ric in the ribs with a powerful spin attack that slammed the man into the ground with a huge explosion of sand and blue lightning.
When the smoke cleared, Ric lay there unconscious in a crater, with Sonic standing over him.
"Alright Stone," Sonic turned around. "Let's finish what we—"
By then, Stone had already flown off into the distance. It came to no surprise to Sonic that he had abandoned his new partner.
"Figures," Sonic shook his head.
oooo
"So I was able to take him down and put those lessons you drilled into my head to good practice," Sonic told Tails and Knuckles outside at the campfire.
"I am glad to hear that!" Knuckles patted Sonic on the back.
"Omph!" Sonic nearly felt his roasted s'mores traveling up his throat. "Easy there Knuckles, I'm still bruised."
"Eh, sorry," Knuckles smiled sheepishly.
"So what was it that helped you beat this guy in round two?" asked Tails.
"Well, that guy was strong and fast," Sonic admitted. "He caught me off guard the first time around. The second time around, he got even stronger and faster because Agent Stone gave him a bigger dose."
"Sounds like Round Two should've been even tougher," admitted Tails.
"It was," admitted Sonic. "But Ric didn't have the experience or skill with super speed that I do. And more importantly, he lacked one crucial thing."
"What's that, Sonic?" Tails looked at his friend.
"He didn't have a mentor like Longclaw to properly train him and guide him to use his powers wisely," Sonic told them.
"I… have a hard time seeing Agent Stone giving proper training," Knuckles admitted.
"Yeah," Sonic looked nostalgically into the night sky. "And that makes all the difference."