Author: Magus
(Collaboration of Magus and Laserkid)
The entire arena quaked with the high decibel speakers relentlessly blasting the air with a hard core, hard adrenaline pumping metal tune that transformed the normally sane(for the most part) audience into screaming, raving beasts being perpetuated on by the deafening beats and streaming light show. The arena was well sized, surrounding a large circle that at the moment was engulfed in an amazingly realistic holographic environment of a darkened metal forge with glowing red liquid metal. High above the circular fighting area hovered a giant four-screen machine depicting every smallest detail of the ongoing fight to the fans. Several flying automated cameras hovered around the arena as well as inside and outside of the stage.
A large and impressive array of pyrotechnics and lasers accented the already overwhelming atmosphere and caused the roaring screams within the subterranean arena to only increase in massive volume.
Two rather fearsome looking reploids were dueling it out one on one within the holographic arena, one was already missing an arm and had many exposed circuits, sparking randomly as he tried to defend himself against his offensive opponent, but he was failing horribly.
The dominating reploid smashed a hard felt fist into his opponents head that hit with enough force to remove his victim's jaw with a great deal of sparks and an mutated attempt at screaming. The second reploid only stumbled back and to the ground from the pain. The first reploid grinned at his coming victory, having only taken minor damage. He turned to face the audience (which for him was nearly invisible due to the holographic field) and raised his arms and yelled to hear the crowds scream even harder then before.
Unknown to him his opponent had already picked himself back up, holding the empty, spark-flinging socket where his arm had once been. His eyes narrowed in a fierce anger behind his gloating opponent. Before his opponent knew what had happened, the wounded reploid picked up his fallen arm and rushed at him and in a quick blow swung his severed arm to land a denting strike to his opponent's head, knocking him to the floor and causing some minor cracks. The crowd completely loved every moment of it.
The fallen reploid quickly recovered and with a zealous rage and yell charged after his opponent. The following brutal assaults were engulfed by the crowds screaming and strobe lights of all colors flashing and zooming across the stadium. The flying cam drones floated in and out, with the raging battle in the Arena deep below them, with one fateful eye watching from within the crowds, one eye.
Blade and Rock walked into the HQ's control room which was still busily occupied by many reploids manning their various stations. In the middle of the mess stood Zero, still overseeing all as it happened, and next to him was the reploid himself, X. The two were discussing something with a taller Reploid who resembled a soldier from Repliforce.
Blade approached the three as they broke from their conversation and turned to face Blade Rock. "Commander X, Blade and Rock reporting as requested, sir," stated Blade standing at attention. At first Rock was a little surprised by Blade's sudden formality, but before anyone noticed he snapped to attention as well.
The soldier reploid placed his hand over his chin and examined the two hunters. "So, these are the men you were telling me about, Zero?" he asked calmly.
"Yes, Blade and Rock are some of our top Hunters. They're responsible for the discovery of the X-Hunter HQ a few years back," replied Zero wit ha smile.
"I see," replied the tall soldier. He was bigger then any of the other reploids standing there.
Rock looked at the soldier's face, he could swear he knew who he was, but he couldn't lay a finger on it.
X turned to the soldier. "I feel they're more then worthy for the assignment."
The soldier nodded and seemed to drift into deeper thought and turned around. Rock couldn't help himself any longer. "Excuse me, who are you?" he asked eagerly.
The soldier grinned and spun back to face the two Hunters, his hands held behind his back. "Hunter! That is no way to address your CO!"
"My, what?" asked Rock.
"Sorry for the lack of formality," said Zero, "Rock, Blade, I want you to meet the new Commander of the Maverick Hunters, Commander Signas."
"THE Signas!? I thought you were in the Repliforce!" shouted Rock in amazement.
"Indeed, I was, but it is obvious my abilities are far more needed here. We can't have our best agents working desk jobs, can we?"
Rock was still shocked but quickly recollected himself and stood at full attention next to the unwavering Blade. "Sir! Apologies, sir!" Rock states very militantly.
Signas grinned. "At ease, hunters." Rock and Blade complied. "I am now the newest member of the Maverick Hunter force, but Zero and X have taken their time to get me acquainted with the system. Let's get a few thing's straight right off the bat, the Maverick Hunters is an auxiliary military force, and I intend to run it as such. Everything will run through the proper chain of command, and the chain of command shall be thoroughly respected. Second of all, I am now at the top of that chain of command, and while I am new I do rely fully upon every single member of this organization. My orders must be respected; they shall always be for the intentional benefit of every member of this team. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Replied Blade and Rock simultaneously.
"Very good," said Signas. "That being said, it is a pleasure to meet you hunters, I have heard much about you two. In fact, X and Zero have put you at the top of recommendation for this next assignment. If you two would care to elaborate…"
Zero stepped forward. "We just received permission to do a full investigation as to the RAC's true integrity. We're not sure if they're related to the Mavericks or not, but we have suspicions there is something fishy with them, and since they've been so kind as to disregard many of our codes in their process of work, we've decided it's time to be sure we know who our allies are."
X added, "In actuality, our permission is just to observe the RAC. I don't like this, but Zero's right, something is suspicious about the entire organization, so we are launching a full investigation, however it's going to be a classified covert operation, we can't afford to be discovered in this."
"I see," said Blade. "So, where do we start?"
"This is where things get sticky," stated Signas. "We believe that the RAC is involved in sponsorship to the underground, 'legalized' Reploid arenas." Blade raised an eyebrow. "As we know it, the Arena is a brutal pit between two or more Reploids in hand to hand combat in a VR projected arena. The fight's usual persist until all the opponents are no longer able to fight. A very brutal sport, but it rakes in huge amounts of cash every year. Cash we believe has been partially going to the RAC itself to help build its power base as an enterprise."
Signas reached on the table behind him and lifted up two small cards, no bigger then a dog tag. "We're sending in two agents to investigate the arena and find any relevance to the RAC. Blade, Rock, do you accept this mission?"
Blade grinned to himself. It was a dream come true. "With pleasure, sir."
Rock stood tall. "Yes, sir!"
Signas nodded and handed the cards to Blade and Rock. "Yes, these two told me you'd say that. Then consider this assignment yours. Remember this is a covert ops mission, as of the moment you leave this facility you will not be in the Maverick Hunters until you return. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" answered Blade and Rock simultaneously again.
"I have no doubt in your abilities. We were able to pull a few strings and get those two passes, one's for a fighter and the other is for his trainer, so that the trainer can scoop around while the fighter is more occupied," said Signas.
Blade looked over the card with a look of curiosity. "I don't understand…" he said puzzled.
"Don't understand, what?" asked Signas.
"This tag says I'm Rock's trainer."
"Yes, so?"
Blade looked around him real quick before turning his attention back to Signas. "I feel given the circumstances I would be better suited to be the one to fight in the arena while Rock looks around."
"Hunter, those assignments were made that way for a reason. Given everything X and Zero have told me, your skills would be far more suited to infiltrating any areas of the arena. Rock can fend for himself, can he not?"
"Of course, sir," said Rock, still a bit surprised. The idea of having to fight a normal reploid in the arena wasn't really appealing to him. He knew just how out of hand those arenas could get, and they were hardly ever about good sportsmanship.
"Good then. My assignment is clear. Besides, they can't be changed now; each tag is coded to the both of you respectfully."
Blade lowered his head, as was Rocks. "Understood, sir." His heart slowed down now, his eagerness to see what the arena life was really like died down. He had hoped his want for blood didn't show too much as he stood back up. Damnit, Blade, he thought to himself, just calm down, you should be glad you don't have to hurt any reploids. His thoughts were of little, awkward condolence though.
"This operation is very serious," said X with a hint of hesitance in his voice. It was more then obvious he didn't like the idea all together of it, but even X knew when something was necessary and when it wasn't. He had learned the hard way to contain his heart. "The RAC is a very powerful enterprise, and now that they're stepping into our genre, we NEED to know just what they're about. If you can find ANY links from the arena to the RAC it would help us tremendously in investigating them. But we can't afford either of you to be caught, no one can recognize that Maverick Hunters are there."
"I see, so that's why neither of you two are going…" assumed Blade quietly.
"That's correct," answered Signas. "Obviously Zero and X are a little too famous, they'd be recognized immediately by someone or another. You two, however, should be able to slide right under the belt undetected. You two leave in an hour to head to the arena, you'll both needs your wits about you, so be prepared. If there are no further questions, dismissed!"
"Yes, sir!" answered Rock and Blade simultaneously, who also left together to go prepare for their mission, both a little disgruntled.
"Do you think they'll be alright?" asked X as he watched them leave.
"They'll do fine, X, no need for us to worry," assured Zero, his eyes just as fixated on the two hunters.
Blade and Rock didn't care for their assignments. Both knew that Blade wanted to be in the arena and that Rock sure as hell wanted out of it, but Blade wouldn't admit it and Rock wouldn't say anything. It was never their job to like their orders. Getting prepared didn't take long, Rock reported to Lifesaver to do a final systems analysis and make sure everything was running at peak efficiency, meanwhile Blade prepared in his own, unique, way.
The two were talking together down the halls of the Maverick Hunter HQ, on their way to be sent off on their mission. They wore their passes around their necks, which was a needless reminder that they were not hunters the moment they left the building.
"Blade?" asked Rock as they walked down the halls. Blade's silence was taken as a "what?" and Rock continued. "I don't feel too good about this."
"You'll do fine. Just keep your wits about you. Killing isn't legal, so don't worry," replied Blade shrewdly.
That didn't help Rock's mind at all. A lot of bad things could happen to a Reploid without the consequence of death. Rock had spent his entire life since joining the Maverick Hunters fighting and destroying Mavericks to end their needless violence. He hated it in everyway, and the idea of two sane Reploid's fighting and nearly killing each other purely for entertainment violated most everything Rock believed in. He kept his opinion silent, even to Blade. He couldn't back down from a mission like this; he couldn't let the others know he wasn't up to this kind of work.
"Blade! Wait up!" shouted X from the opposite end of the hallway. Blade and Rock stopped and turned to face the blue Reploid as he approached them at a running pace.
"Yes, Commander X?" asked Blade.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk to you real quick before you left Blade." X turned his head to Rock. "Rock, go on ahead, Blade will catch up to you in a few minutes."
Rock squinted his eyes wondering why, but didn't question X's command and headed down the hallway. X turned back towards Blade with a very serious look on his face.
"What is it, sir?" asked Blade, curious himself to know.
"I, I just wanted to wish you good luck, Hunter," answered X hastily.
Blade shifted the weight between his feet. "Thank you, Commander. Is that all you wanted?"
X lowered his head, obviously in some distress. "Pfft, I just don't have a good feeling about this mission. I don't like tending to such an underhanded business, and I especially don't like sending one of our best Hunters on it. This just reeks of trouble."
"I understand, but we need to be sure the RAC is really our allies, right? This is our only way to confirm that. Don't worry about us, X, I'll keep a good eye on Rock. Nothing can go wrong, it's a simple bit of espionage."
"Yeah, I know, still…" stated X unconvinced. "I just have a feeling for these things. If anything goes wrong, pull out, got it? And….take this.." X held out his hand, in which a small black mechanical dot rested, barely the size of a pencil eraser.
"What is it?" asked Blade looking over the stub of black metal.
"It's a sub-burst transmitter, a tool that our new mechanic, Douglas, fixed up for us. I had him make this especially for you. It will allow you to communicate to us in secret without being detected, even in the underground areas of the arena and past security. If necessary, contact us. If we find out something important, we'll try and contact you, you'll know we are when u feel a slight tingle."
Blade scooped up the small device and held it between his thumb and index finger while still examining it. "Thanks X, don't worry though, I'm sure we won't need it. How do I use it?"
"Oh, just put it on your neck, it'll keep itself in place. Tap it twice periodically to transmit and once to end a transmission."
"Alright, I'll stay in touch."
"Blade, please, be careful. We don't need to lose any more lives around here…."
Blade grinned. "You worry too much, Commander." Blade turned around, placing the small device on the side of his neck, it blended in perfectly with the black area on his neck. He continued pacing down the hall with X watching him leave.
Security at the arena was more then some military installations. Hundreds of reploids and humans poured into the one level building that stood on the surface. They took the transit elevators on the short ride down to the underground establishment that rivaled a football stadium and throughout every inch of it were domestically armed guards. The fights were a giant attraction; unfortunately that attraction was indiscriminate and easily brought with it all kinds of unsavory individuals. The stadium HAD to have such a compliment of security to ensure that the hundreds of loyal patrons could remain as such.
Blade and Rock, however, did not need to navigate their way through the crowds and their lines, they were taken straight around to the other side. They both made careful observations along their way, first observing the surface building and then the guards and the crowd surrounding them, both kept silent. It was obvious it was a new tide, a new season of the arena must have recently started they both assumed. Many officials came in through their entranceway, and with them many reploids that looked as if they had been modeled in hell by their fearsome designs. One looked to be entirely made of spikes coming from every square millimeter of his stout body, others were tall with personal melee weaponry in them, and not a one looked to be in the mood to talk.
As Rock walked in line among them it was a whole new feeling. It's not as if he was afraid of them, in his career he had taken on many Mavericks along with Blade, Rock learned not to judge a book by its cover. These reploid's bodies, they were built for entertainment, not fighting, that was an unspoken mutual agreement Blade and Rock made as they waited their place amongst them on the descending transit. Rock could see it in Blade's eyes, he had learned very well to see that glint in them. Most any other being would take a look at Blade and almost think he was dead with his blank face, but Rock had learned otherwise by now; he had honed his own eyes to see what Blade kept so well hidden in his own icy glare. Rock had attuned his thoughts to model after his mentor's. So, it was natural that Rock was able to make the same conclusion as Blade in such a blunt matter.
Mavericks were the true threat, and underestimating even a helpless scientist gone Maverick could be a fatal mistake. No, Mavericks were far more insidious; they had no need to flaunt the great destructive powers they held within, not like these reploids. Those fans who cheered them had no idea what a Maverick was, they had never been on those deep-ended missions, looked into the eyes of a small maintenance reploid gone mad with power and possession and covered in blood. That was what Rock had come to establish as a forbidding reploid, not these overblown showcases. They were nothing like Mavericks; they were nothing like fear.
The lift came to a sudden halt as it landed at its destination deep underground. The gladiator's decked out in their full battle attire looked around them as the giant door in the lift opened into the large eloquent chamber that stood before them. There was some slight muttering between the fighters and their trainers and such. Rock and Blade didn't need to say a word. Out of just feeling it was right the crowd poured from the over-crowded transit to the wide open, finished metal chamber decked in extravagant red buntings hanging from the pillars and a long narrow carpet with gold lining racing down a small set of steps leading to a thick, rustic metal door. Blade's eyes patiently surveyed the room. All the gladiator's and their trainers were bunched together on the lower level, while the ceiling above them extended to a second, upper level that surrounded the chamber as an observatory. There were a few people hidden in the unlit darkness behind those metal slate railings, Blade couldn't make out whether they were human or reploid so he assumed both.
Blade nudged Rock quickly to gain the boy's wandering attention. He shifted his head as soon as Rock faced him to look towards various corners throughout the entire room on both levels. Rock squinted his eyes at first, but he could see what Blade was trying to point out. There were many discreet cameras skillfully tucked away just out of normal sight observing the room, all focused on the pit of gladiators. Blade then gave Rock a direct look, again saying everything that Blade wanted to be said. Rock nodded in acknowledgement. This was being televised.
The crowd that was watching them remained morbidly silent; Blade couldn't make out a word being said above them, even while various gladiators had begun small conversations among themselves. They were a bit too silent for his liking. Rock had by now taken notice of the same phenomenon and as he looked across the faces too shadowed to identify, he began to wonder just who they were. Various officials in the arena? Owners and businessmen? Perhaps even past champion gladiators in the arena, now observing the fresh blood? Despite his better side and the feeling that he was surrounded, Rock let his inventive imagination soar with the possibilities. Then something caught his eye, for just a second. He wasn't even sure if it was real, but as he turned his attention back towards the area he saw it, it was gone. He could have sworn he just saw something shine, a small red light, like an eye. Yes, a single glowing red eye from the crowd. It had just happened so fast Rock wasn't able to tell if it was a figment of his imagination or real.
Rock was snapped from his curious gaze into the area where the phantom eye had stared at him from as a slow paced yet heavy metal tune filled with the spirit of the ancient Olympians and the very heart of the arena came on. It was amazing just how well the music that was played in the arena seem to fit the mood. They must've been really good at their entertainment.
Trumpets played and a spotlight projected to the small both that stood on top of the giant metal door way, all attention was diverted from the gladiator's now to the figure, draped in a long red cape appeared.
From out of the shadow's the stately being prominently walked into the spot light. This high-held reploid, decked like an ancient Greek king in full gold armor with embroidered metal stood tall before the crowd. A coronet with a gold jewel in the forehead rested upon his head above his radiating face which was filled with a joyous expression. This grand reploid easily stood above most of the gladiator's, being a few feet taller then Blade. He had a red cape fit for a king wrapped around him.
There was a sudden hush as the golden, metal being raised his thick metal hand to the crowd. With a smile on his face he looked readily and eagerly upon all the new arrivals. Then he spoke, his voice was strong and resonated with a golden tone of equal regality of his gold appearance. "Welcome, fighters and champions! You stand here before the very gates of Valhalla. Beyond these doors lies the fires of heaven and hell, the flames of purification! You have come here, some seeking fame, some seeking reward, others seeking glory. Pass beyond these gates and all shall be yours, but so is challenge, so is struggle. You have been chosen as the next generation of fighters to add your blood and circuits to our already elite brand of seasoned champions. You will prove yourselves before the world, either of your strength, or of your failure. Pain is a reality for all of you, but you are here as warriors. There is no escape now from your destiny, the world awaits YOU! Fight, live, and rejoice in another day of survival! Here is where true reploid's are made! Here is where a reploid can truly learn what he is! With will, skill, and power we lay before you the champion's of the past. And indeed, should any of you survive the fires, you will enter Valhalla, for whatever goal you have sought. But first you must prove yourselves, here, in the greatest display of integrity and combat ever on the face of mother Earth! In the Arena!"
There was a triumphant cheer from miscellaneous gladiator's and such, apparently moved by the speech. Rock was just amazed at the barbarism that now surrounded him from every direction; he didn't even take notice of the sudden glint in Blade's eye as he stood cross-armed listening to the orator's speech. Outside he let no one hear the voice inside him that was whispering, he let no one see the inner face that grinned. He wanted to keep it buried for as long as he could.
"I am Apollo, the Master of this Arena! Many have come before you and many shall still come after you, shall you prove yourself worthy enough to fight those battle-hardened gladiator's who have EARNED our title of champion? To all those who seek it, I welcome you to my arena. Now enter, and view the same hallways that champion's before you once walked before they, too, had proven themselves. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die!"
The grand metal doors beneath Apollo's stand creaked with deep sound of the metal screeching across the floor as they slowly opened towards the gladiators. Rather purposefully a bright light illuminated the hallway on the other side of the doorway from the currently dark room they were in. After looking upon it, the gladiator's sluggishly wandered through it, this officially entering the arena as they headed towards the barracks where they would be staying for the duration of their novice session in the arena. Blade and Rock were some of the last to leave, tailing behind the small and deadly looking crowd before them. Just before entering the brightly illuminated doorway, Blade paused as a moment. Rock just ahead of him and across the threshold turned around curiously to him.
Blade stood with one foot above him on the steps, staring up at the grand, golden being who called himself Apollo. For some reason he couldn't stop, as if his eyes had a mind of their own and had to gaze up at the creature. And, for just a second, Apollo lowered his eyes and locked dead into Blade's gaze. There seemed to be a communication between the two that Blade didn't understand, but the gaze of Apollo released him from the spell his eyes had put him under, and he tore his gaze away to continue following Rock and the others to the barracks. A strange feeling was in Blade, and he quickly hid it just as fast as he did the personality that was grinning in pride and hope at the earlier speech.
As Blade and Rock were trainer and gladiator, they had two separate rooms in two different areas of the complex. The gladiator's 'barracks' were roughly furnished with only the necessities, while as a trainer Blade's room was overly comfortable and far away from Rock's. Even the regeneration capsule looked nicer in Blade's room. Neither cared for their setup.
Blade and Rock were now together in Rock's assigned quarters discussing the arena and such. Blade had as secretly as possible checked the room for bugs, but they wanted to at least lull any observer into boredom before they began to mention the mission.
"I don't like this," Rock stated.
"Tough," replied Blade.
Rock crossed his arms. He also didn't like it when Blade was so shrill about things. "This entire arena might as well be called Mavericks."
"They're fighting reploids," Blade begun to answer, "they live to fight. For them it's what life is, fighting like this. Those who think otherwise will be rooted out and certainly allowed to leave."
"Hmmph, I think one can find out plenty about one's self without having to resort to such barbaric means first. I learn plenty from our chess games and my pet projects."
If Blade had been a normal reploid he would have just shrugged and not replied. Being as he was Rock read that general body movement from Blade's stillness. Blade continued. "Perhaps. For some it's just not that simple, Rock."
For that Rock really didn't have a reply. Blade's following silence was enough of an awkwardness.
"Am I really going to fight tomorrow?" questioned Rock trying to break the silence. Blade nodded. "What about you?"
"Don't worry about me, I'll follow the plan. This place doesn't look too troublesome for me to get around without much of a raise. I'll be there at the beginning of your fight, try to make it last as long as possible, no matter how good or bad your opponent may be. Hopefully I'll be able to find something before it ends. When I come back feel free to do whatever you wish."
That didn't make Rock feel very comfortable. "I don't know if I'll be able to have that much control over the fight. Those holo-scenes are completely random too, I can't prepare that way, what if you don't come back in time?"
"Don't worry so much, Rock, you're more then a match for these over-dressed clowns here. I'll put myself on a personal timer as soon as the fight starts. I'll be back in plenty of time for you without raising suspicion. We just stick to the profile as best we can. Besides, your fight shouldn't be until the end of the day, you have plenty time. I read up on the guy you're scheduled against, he's just a punk."
Rock lied down on the vertical slant of the regeneration capsule with his hands behind his head. He sighed to himself. "I don't know if I like that idea either, beating up a reploid whose skills are inferior to mine for no real good reason. I don't like the fact I can do that."
"Would you prefer it be someone who's going to tear you in two?"
"Well, no, but it's just not fair is what I'm saying…" After that the room went silent again. Rock stared up at the ceiling, contemplating his current situation. He wished now he had heeded X's warning that this wasn't like a normal Maverick Hunter mission in any way, but it was such an honor for him and Blade to have been chosen for this. Neither he nor Blade belonged to any one unit within the Maverick Hunters, something rather rare for non-auxiliary personnel. Truly Rock's lack of assignment was because his mentor who he was assigned to, Blade, lacked a unit assignment. They were always called upon when a unit needed aid or extra firepower. Blade had earned the pleasure of being in both X and Zero's unit over his career.
There wasn't a unit in the organization that didn't respect Blade, but not many could claim they had an idea of whom he really was, ever met with him or talked with him to find out what makes him tick. They just knew of his great assistance and display of skill in the past and that he was considered a close friend to Commander Zero, something else that was rare. Zero had only one close friend. He had trusted contemporaries, but only X and Blade were considered friends of his. In a way, Blade was a shadow to the Maverick Hunters. Everyone knew him, respected him, but no one really KNEW him. When Rock joined up and was assigned to Blade the same general status applied to him, only everyone knew who Rock was. Too often around the mess hall they'd always inquire with wide-open eyes about what the mysterious Blade was like. Rock was kind and considerate to his mentor, but many of the gabbier Hunters would always blow even the smallest detail out of proportion. Not that Blade cared, but Rock didn't like the truth being so malformed like that, especially about a friend.
Suddenly Rock spoke up. "Say Blade, do you think these other reploids have a choice in fighting?"
Blade awoke from his meditation. "Hmm?"
"I mean, look at some of them, those aren't modifications in their bodies, they were built like that, to fight I mean. Do you think they had a choice whether to fight or not?"
"Don't be ridiculous," replied Blade. "They're Reploids."
"Yeah, but, they were built entirely for the purpose of fighting. What else would they do?"
"You were created to be a mining Reploid. Your body is made to work in deep mine shafts and work with very heavy loads and equipment, yet you are fighting now and becoming a Maverick Hunter. Do you feel as if you never had a choice in mining?"
"I really don't know," said Rock, lifting his head back to the ceiling. "I mean, I never really considered anything else back in the mountains, I didn't need to. I had everything I wanted with my family. When I could no longer be a miner there, then I made my decision. It's a question I think about a lot, if I would have become a Maverick Hunter, or done something else if…well, if thing's hadn't happened like they did…"
Blade didn't care for this line of thought. His creation was something he never questioned; he also never questioned what it was he was created for. Questions like that, ones without answers, were too aggravating to think about. Only the present mattered, it decided all three points of time, so why bother with the rest?
"Well stop thinking about it. It's probably best you don't think about the events that happened with Steele and your hometown, and rather just remember your hometown anyway."
"I guess, but the more I think about the more I wonder what Steele was created for, and if he had a choice either.."
"Pity?" questioned Blade.
"No, nothing can excuse what he did, I don't think I can ever give my forgiveness, but I just wonder sometimes why…"
"Don't ponder 'why'. That's what human's do. Leave 'why' to them."
"If you say so," Rock relented.
Suddenly there was a small tingling on the side of the Blade's neck. Recognizing the transmitter he lifted his hand to tap it twice. "I'm getting a call from base," he said astutely to Rock. Rock sat up and squinted in wonder.
"Blade here."
Over the com the distorted and staticy voice of X could be made out. "Blade, we've got some bad news."
"Bad news?" asked Blade.
"Yes, we've been monitoring the area via satellite. I don't want to tell you this, but you have to know. We're picking up faint signatures of the Maverick virus within your vicinity."
Rock's jolted up from the pod. He hoped he hadn't heard what he just heard. "Mavericks?"
"Yeah, thing's are going smoothly. Yes, sir, not a single problem yet."
There was an inaudible electronic murmur.
"Yeah, everything's set up. You won't believe this either, guess who's in this batch. Yeah, how did you know? Yes, I saw them both. I'm positive. Alright, just as you said." The strange figure in the dark grinned to himself and closed the com-phone. "Yes, now this could be fun, heh, heh, heh, heh….." The darkness was cut as a deep, glowing eye began to shine malevolently in the shadow.