Chapter 38

"Hey, are you ok?"

Max opened his eyes to find Blaze and Adam staring down at him from above. That familiar English accent with an American twist cut straight through the ringing noise that was clouding Max's ears as Blaze's voice echoed to wake him up.

"Where, where am I?" Max looked up at his friends, dazed and confused.

"We made it here finally! We've escaped Wood Oak City and it's much safer here for now," Adam reassured him.

"But what is this place?" Max sat up. Everything around him was a blur and the past few hours since leaving Zan's lab were all but a distant memory. He could not recall the journey, nor what had happened before he passed out.

"You remember our old Chief of police don'tcha?" Blaze smiled.

Max squinted his brown eyes at her whilst he rubbed the back of his head to soothe the throbbing pain at that moment. "What the guy you fuckers thought was worth saving after they gassed that place?"

"Yep! That's the guy!" Blaze smiled, "at least he's returned us the favour by letting our brady bunch stay in his country estate without anybody else knowing. It kinda reminds me of the countryside back in England out here…" she replied.

"Well, I remember that his ass was worth saving", Max briefly gestured, pointing at Adam, "but the Chief of Police? I wasn't gonna get involved in that one!" The wrestler smirked.

"I understand. And like that last fight, I don't expect you to get involved this time either. You need to rest and recover," Blaze insisted.

"She's right. You've been through a lot over the past month," Adam remarked.

Max casually shrugged "I've still got some fight left in me!"

"So what happened earlier man?" Adam queried.

"I don't know, I guess I err….. Just blacked out all of a sudden…." Max frowned.

Blaze tilted her head with concern, "had that ever happened to you before? You know, since the concert?"

"No, not really…" Max shook his head. "But I err,, I've been getting these headaches every day and feeling nauseous,"

"I'll get the old doc to run some tests on you. He managed to bring most of his equipment out here, but still some shit is back at the lab. Probably burnt to a crisp by now!" Adam frowned.

"Hmmm," Blaze rubbed her chin. "Did anything trigger this to happen? Had you eaten? Had you inhaled anything toxic?"

"No, I can't remember where I was or what I was doing," Max started to contemplate, battling with his own thoughts. The frustration of it all and his lack of awareness started to doom on his face.

"Look, don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this, ok?" Adam nodded, trying his best to help the wrestler feel more at ease.

Shortly after, Adam and Blaze left the room to allow Max to rest and recuperate.

It hadn't been long since the whole group arrived here, in fact it was only a matter of hours. Their gamble based on Estel's information had paid off. By the time they left the city, Dr Zan's old building had been demolished and bombed to dust. The part-cyborg had taken the news pretty well considering that the place had been his home for almost 20 years. It is where he spent most of his hours researching, creating and testing. The very same place where he had first taken his discovery of the element Rakushin into shortly after leaving a company called RoboCy that was founded by the Syndicate.

Zan was once their most trusted scientist but, when he witnessed what their real objectives were and the experiments they were carrying out on innocent human beings, including himself, he had no choice but to escape from their grasp. He observed Shiva across the room, understanding where his old enemy was coming from. The two fighters had much in common having witnessed first hand what it was like to have an important role in the Syndicate on the other side of the law. They both understood how cruel and unorthodox the organisation could be, particularly when it came to Mr X's outlook and goals. And they understood that the apple never fell far from the tree when it came to his children.

"Hey," Shiva politely nodded at Zan. He had spent the past three hours helping Floyd and Cherry set up the rest of the doctor's equipment in one of the large rooms on the ground level.

"Konbanwa", Zan replied back, wishing him a good evening in Japanese. Shiva acknowledged his gesture with a brief smile.

"So, what is this thing you got us setting up?" The Kempo fighter asked.

"It's a simulator I constructed. You will find it useful for your training."

"What kind of simulator? Can I fly?" Shiva grinned.

"No. It is something generated by the mind of your old boss. Our old boss, I should say…" Zan cleared his throat.

"I'm not usually interested in technological gadgets, but you got me intrigued with this one, doc."

"Here, this is how you can connect it…" Zan knelt down by his side, securing one of the cables towards a power supply.

Whilst Floyd and Cherry were on the other side of the large room, Shiva took the opportunity to question his former colleague. "So, how come you left the Syndicate all those years ago? They were paying you good weren't they? For…" Shiva glanced down awkwardly at Zan's robotic arms. He remembered many of the 'human volunteers' RoboCy used to recruit for their robotics trials.

"From one honourable fighter to another, do you really think I would have accepted money for my limbs and my organs?" Zan coldly replied.

Shiva shook his head as he glanced down at the ground. "I guess you saw the ugly side of them too, right?"

"Ay," Zan nodded as he finished connecting the rest of the machine. "And so did you I take it."

"Yeah", Shiva nodded. "Everything changed after Mr X died. I might have been a loose cannon back then, but if I'd had known what they were doing to you and the others, and the experiments they were doing on the animals, I would have left a long time ago."

"I know that, you don't have to explain yourself."

"Well, I wish the others here could see it that way. Adam, Sammy, Max,... they all look at me like I'm still that criminal standing by Mr X's side…."

"Give it time. They were cautious of me too when I first arrived, especially Axel."

"It's funny you say that, I don't think the guy even knows I'm here. And when he realises I'm here, that will be eventful…."

"He's changed. He's forgiven you for everything," Zan replied.

Shiva sighed as he paced back and forth. "I'm not sure I should even be here. And I'll believe that when I see it,"

"Well if Blaze trusts you and you saved her life, the rest of them will too. She was the one who gave me the chance to prove myself when I first got here."

Shiva smiled as he stopped and folded his arms, "I understand that."

Suddenly, Sammy came running into the downstairs basement that was now their temporary lab.

"Hey, the old Chief wants us all in the dining room! Somethin' about a briefing…" He interrupted.

"Great", Cherry huffed, rolling her eyes from across the room. "What does he think we're cops like my dad?"

"Hell no!" Floyd shook his head, expressing his distaste. "I mean, your dad is cool, but the rest of them…"

"Don't get me started!" Cherry agreed. The four of them reluctantly placed their tools down then they followed Sammy upstairs.

The former Chief of police gave up his job at City Hall ten years ago after he was abducted by the Syndicate. The city committee concluded that it was time for him to retire, even if he didn't want to. For months following his ordeal, the Chief suffered from PTSD and various health issues. Adam could see his boss deteriorating each day. Adam knew himself what it was like to be held captive by Mr X's empire. Their methods of torture both physically and psycologically were impossible to bear and it all took a hard toll on the Chief's mental wellbeing.

In return for his retirement, the state of Wood Oak offered the Chief a generous paycheque and a yearly allowance that would set him up for the rest of his life. With more than enough money to burn, he invested the cash into real estate outside of the city where the communities felt safer. This particular property they were staying in was in his brother's name and it was a safe escape for the team to go to. It had over 20 acres of land outside, four floors boasting 10 bedrooms, a terrace, a gym, a kitchen and two dining halls. This place was fit for an aristocrat and had all the space and security they needed.

The Chief knew that saving the city came with a price and the team of vigilantes had many enemies. They gained even more threats after stopping the country from war with the Lima Nations. After the group of heroes saved his life, the Chief vowed to help them and to keep them safe whenever they needed it. Adam trusted him and knew that he was a man of his word.

"Good evening everyone." The former Chief began as the rest of the group apart from Max and Axel sat around the table.

At first, his eyes met Shiva's. And even though the memories of a traumatic time came flooding back, the ex-Chief managed to suppress them and carried on.

"I just wanted to say that this place is all yours now. I owe some of the people in this room my life, and…." he paused, trying his best to avoid looking at Shiva, "...and you can stay here as long as it takes. Whilst I am away, I will make sure that there is an abundance of food, water, clothing, and if there is anything you need, do tell me."

"Yo Chief, do you mind bringing me an X-Bo….?"

"Hey!" Adam quietly elbowed his younger brother with annoyance on his face. Although Sammy Hunter was a breath of fresh air making light of the situation, he still never knew when to pick his moments according to his older and more serious sibling.

The group of fighters quietly sat around the long dinner table scoffing down a well deserved meal after a very long journey. Tonight was all about settling in and adapting to a new place. Tomorrow, the real training was about to begin.

"So who's ready for some serious training tomorrow then?" Floyd decided to break the silence.

"You ain't still referring to that dead machine you got downstairs, are you?" Sammy argued.

"You havn't even tried the simulator yet, it's brilliant!"

"Nah, you won't be catching me on that thing. All I need are my rollerblades and I'm good!"

Cherry interjected, teasing her uncle. "I don't know why you're so caught up on training, you're staying here to babysit, remember?!"

"I don't need a babysitter," 10 year old Kaiden muttered under his breath.

Blaze briefly glanced down at her nephew sitting by her side, "and what are you going to do if those bad police officers or worse come back for you or your mom? Who's going to protect you when we're out fighting?"

The young boy glanced down at his plate then shrugged. "Maybe one day I'll have powers like yours!"

"Maybe", Blaze replied, taking a sip from her bottle of cold beer. It wasn't her favourite drink, but it was the only type of alcohol that Chief had stashed away in the fridge. "But powers are no good if you can't fight, and if you don't know yourself or your strengths".

"Is that why Sensei left for the woods all those years ago?" Cherry asked from across the table.

"Mmmhhmmm," Blaze awkwardly nodded, this time taking a larger gulp from her bottle.

"I told you!" Cherry quietly nattered to Sammy who was next to her.

"And please, stop calling him that! Axel might have recently trained you to fight but, from tomorrow, you're undergoing my training methods, and you ain't seen nothing yet!" Blaze promised.

"What about the simulator?!" Floyd frowned.

Sammy couldn't help but heckle under his breath, "simulator is for pussies, nothing beats a physical fight!"

"You'll see!" Floyd replied.

"Well, actually, Adam and I have decided that half of you will train on the simulator tomorrow morning and the other half in the ring," Blaze informed them.

"Wait, I thought daddy was leading us?" Cherry frowned.

"There's been some changes. Don't worry kid, you'll adapt quickly to it all", Blaze smiled.

"And what about him?" The teenager asked, gesturing a cautious nod at Shiva.

"I'm here to help and I believe we can all learn something from each other,"

"What, like how to kiss ass to men in suits or how to kidnap civilians?!" Sammy angrily replied. "I don't even know why this guy is still here, I beat his ass twice, someone should babysit him!"

"Actually, we were a team when we beat the Syndicate," Blaze replied.

Cherry was next to critisize her uncle, "wait didn't Sensei kick this guy's ass, not you?"

"Shut up, you were still wearing diapers!"

"THATS ENOUGH!" Adam shouted. "Y'all missing' the point here! There are enemies out there and we're doing things differently this time. We would have been killed if we'd stayed in Wood Oak City today. And we got a mountain of shit to climb right now, so all I'm asking is you put any differences aside and we work together to beat that common enemy. Shiva is right, we can all learn something from each other and the more skill we have under our belts, the better".

The two old foes, Adam and Shiva, immediately gave each other a respectful nod from across the table.

"That reminds me…" Zan randomly broke his silence, standing up to his feet before sliding forward a large whiteboard at the end of the dinner table.

"What's that?" Floyd asked with curiosity.

Zan immediately used his powers to power up the light resting above the board so that they could see what he'd written. The rest of the group perked up in awe at what they could see.

"This is what Shiva was talking about. Tomorrow you will start building each other's strengths and helping one another to overcome his or her weakness…."

It read:

Adam - smart / lack of risk taking

Max - high in strength / lack of speed

Cherry - fast against the enemy / lack of strength

Sammy - fast against the enemy / arrogance clouds judgement

Floyd - Strong / lacking in agility

Shiva - knowledgeable / lacks trust in his team

Axel - powerful / takes too many risks

Blaze - resilient / afraid to admit defeat

"These are your strengths and your weaknesses to overcome. When you train using my simulator, all of your fears will surface."

"That's bullshit! You don't know me at all," Blaze shook her head.

Amira quietly elbowed her, annoyed at her sister for cursing in front of Kaiden.

"I can see the doc has a point," Adam rubbed his chin.

"You think so?" Blaze sarcastically replied.

The whole team paused, staring intently in silence at the home truths laid out in front of them.

"So who would win out of all of you if you had to fight?!" Kaiden cheekily broke the ice.

Blaze turned to him, flashing a smile and a wink at the boy whilst the others at the table started to bicker among themselves.

"So I guess we'll have to see for ourselves in training from tomorrow then," Adam nodded.

"Bring it on!" Blaze grinned.

Author's Notes

This chapter was a little more light hearted and dialogue heavy, but before the fight and training comes, I wanted to make some references and anecdotes to the games. This is where events from the 3rd game connect to events of the 4th - i.e. how Shiva left compared to where he is now as well as the references of Sammy in game 3 but not 4.

In the next chapter, the team will start getting a grip on training, preparing for more fighting to come.