Chapter 10
The Threshold of Victory
By: Kerro Starbane
The predawn light turned the low hanging clouds a faint powder blue under- hued with bits of orange, red and pink. The still air in the upper atmosphere was calm and cooling raging tempers that were brewing out control. The stars still gleamed with their eternal fires and burning souls of desire, doing their best to hold darkness in its place.
No one stirred on the craft, everything was quiet and silent, all for the trilobugs skirting about with their semi-random acts of business. The gray cloak was splayed out around the person sitting on the floor of the bridge, staring out at the sunrise, powder blue eyes mirroring the clouds.
"I did what I did... because I had too. Because it was my obligation to, because... because I'm not better than anyone here." Came the near whimpering whisper. Knees were drawn up, and thin arms wrapped around, head buried into the denim fabric, all stifling choked back sobs. There was no decent explanation for what she did... it was all a mass of confusion, and instinct, and emotions...
"What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn't be thinking about my actions... I should just take what I do in stride, and... and... I lost who I was... The fire is under the surface, but it isn't who I am anymore. I would never have attacked Alex, I would... I would have hugged him for rescuing me... but..." she was going to run herself in circles before she ever came to a decent answer. A glance to the windows showed that the sun was continuing its rise over the eastern horizon. A reflection showed that she wasn't alone, and it wasn't the person she was expecting.
The figure knelt down next to her, resting on the balls of his feet, perfectly balanced that not even the strongest of winds could knock him over.
The words he spoke told he knew exactly what was going on in her head, and everything she feared that would eventually come true. Inwardly, she was horrified that he had logically foreseen her defecting from the Team, and becoming his ally. All because of the misdirection of them believing that she was dead. He spoke as though he knew it was going to happen, and going to come true. And yet, he never predicted her getting hit with lightning, her becoming like Tempest, or Alex and Rikki coming to try and find her. Many things he couldn't predict, or even logically perceive happening, did. He told her that the notions of him being a psychotic mad-man was not far from the truth, but that he was slowly pulling away from that path, but still furthering his goal.
"... and it is that goal that I want you to be apart of. I need someone like you, who knows what the people that I cannot understand are saying, and thinking. There are aspects to them that even the most intelligent of people cannot fathom. If you accept this... and along with your past actions, you will be a member of the Council. There is one place still open, and right now, it is reserved for you." He dismissed himself at that time, and let the woman think about it.
Many months later...
Fidget sat at the desk, poring over papers. One part of her screamed that it never imagined her with a desk job for the most evilest person in the world, but that part was very small, and to the point that it was soon going to be gone. Her eyes strained over the report papers, taking in all the information that came through on the printed sheets.
In a grunt of pure frustration, she pushed away from her desk, and tilted back, letting her arms hand over the arms of the black leather chair.
"I can't believe this... month of this hunt after Team Extreme, and still no word from them. I wonder if they just jumped down a hole and vanished."
The young man that had been sitting on the floor, leaning back against the bed, just shrugged. "It could be worse, you know. We could have InterCEPT still chasing us, and that pseudo government agency on our tails..."
"Jeezus, don't remind me!"
The two wielders of lightning flew down the corridors of the building. Dark sun glasses reflected the light, and gray cape nearly hid them from view, but their blond hair gave them away. They took a corner sharply, each braced a palm against it, and swung, the magnets grabbing the metal and throwing them around the corner, and out of the line of gunfire.
Tempest aimed his hand like a gun at a large vent in the wall, and fired a bolt of lightning. The vent shattered, and they both jumped through it, falling into the large ventilation shaft. Then both fell, Tempest held Fidget close, while a quick movement caught the cape on her heels, and it opened like a parachute, the wind sending them upwards.
Lightning arched a crossed the point of the upper shaft and his fingers, the vent and fan up there exploding outward, and sending them sailing into the sky. They both landed gracefully on the back of the Airship, Fidget pulling out the small black disk.
"Run this inside.. I think we have a tail."
Shortly, he was gone, but someone else glided to the back of the Airship as it started lumbering a crossed the sky.
"How did I guess that you would so soon be caught up in their antics?"
A grin slowly spread a crossed her face, easing a lightning rod out of its holster at her waist. "And I feel bad for you to, Alex... having to go against the new world order. Tell Rikki I said good-bye." She spun around; unleashing a series of bolts right at him.
Alex ducked, rolling a crossed the back of the ship. He jumped to his feet, and ran in close, no longer caring that this person used to be his friend. Fist up and under, missed. He fell, legs swept out from under him. He never saw her crouch. Landing on a well placed hand, he repeated her trick, bringing her down to the deck next to him. He didn't expect her cape to fall on him, causing momentary blindness, but in that time, he felt the attack of her power, every bolt coursing along...
He jumped back to his feet, catching a punch aimed at his face, and stopping a kick aimed a little to low for comfort with his other hand. Her free hand, a pale white and fragile, lashed out, connecting solidly with the side of his face, sending him with much ado to the deck.
The star speckled night, half moon lighting the battle ground with eerie white light. A gray, ghostly cape few off into the night, the wind carrying it away to some far off place.
The night was pierced with a scream of pain and surprised.
"AHH!!!"
A blue figure went tumbling off the back of the ship, spiraling down with bolts of lightning chasing him. There was no one to catch him, but everyone to see his fall. The next moment, he was gone, vanishing into the same air that stretched its arms to embrace him.
The grin re-emerged, wind lightly tugging at her vest and pants.
"Finally..."
Pain welled up again in her midsection, guilt for killing someone. But it was someone who should have died along time ago, and someone she was all too happy to take care of.
Sneakers squeaked as she walked down a corridor, headed for the Bridge where X should have the disk, and was accessing its contents. Hopefully it had the information they wanted and needed.
"Then again, it really wasn't that bad... I mean. We got the info, got it back, took care of Action jock, and all without getting caught. But I did loose my cape..."
A low laugh came from the teen. "A cape is a cape. It made you look sexy, though, and I think you should get a new one. But... you taking care of Action Jock was good. I wish I could have stayed to see it—"
"Ah-ah-ahh, Hon, you had to get that disk to X." She got out of her chair, and sat next to him on the floor of their room. She wasn't the type to lean against someone... so him slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her a little closer prompted resistance, but it was only a reaction that was as habitual as breathing for her.
Right after the first meeting with Alex and Rikki, after X offered her the place on the council and she accepted, her relationship with Tempest had grown. Really grown. Neither of them could describe the feelings they had, it was just a silent love. Each complimented the other, and after a few squabbles, it settled, and they got along perfectly.
Tempest seemed more like someone who was far older than her, but he was only 17... birthday was last month, and hers was still a while away. But between each of them, age didn't really matter; it was what they felt that they both believed in.
"It doesn't matter... mission was completed, and we got some time to relax."
"Yeah, then the shit hit the fan."
"What do you mean, 'you can't find them'? You are a hired bounty hunter and Assassin, yet you can't even find a simple group of ingrates! Asazi, you have 3 days to find where Team Extreme went into hiding, or, God help you, I'll throw you out that airlock with cinder blocks tied to your feet!"
Common threat made by X. simple for even his tastes, but sometimes his mind gets a little cloudy, and he can't really think straight.
Asazi had been ordered to hunt down Team, which was comprised of Rikki, Darla, Grinder, Brandon and Alex.
Action Man had survived the fall, using the AMP Factor when body, mind, and soul realized that he was going to die. None of the affects could have been monitored; since he moved so fast that not even X's optical implant could follow him.
Everyone was pissed off that he survived, but that just started this hunt for him.
The last transmission they received was in pure coding, and the tape was scrambled. It had taken X and Tempest 2 full days to figure it out. The message was that Team would never be found, and no matter how hard they (the Council) tried, they would fail. It also said that Alex was dead, but they were inclined to disbelieve that, since they saw him appear a while later.
But with Asazi's increasing failure, and the longer she spent away from the ship, they were becoming suspicious. Dr. X had every reason to believe that she was going to defect, and he stopped short of using manipulation to get the truth from her.
It was right after the Pseudo Government stuff that they started.
Shit hit the fan when a small group of Agents, Brandon and Alex, and some Ex-Military came after them all. They had docked at New Berg for a few things when they had been found, and only quick work of lightning, laser fire, and exploding arrows saved them. Since then, they had been on the run, only sending out Asazi in a mini-chopper to do what needed to be done. Major damage had been done to the ship during that fray, but it could all be repaired. It took a lot of time, and a lot of hiding.
They needed Asazi to take out Alex; he was getting way to close for comfort, always seeming one step behind them. He was getting way to close... and only a quick storm whipped away any trace that they had been in that spot.
They took the initiative when they got a chance too, turning around and attacking Team out right, and sending them into hiding... and that started the prey hunting the predator. They sent the team running, too. Airship had been equipped with more weapons, and unleashed hell on them. They didn't know the casualty rate, but they hoped that someone had died.
That had been about three weeks ago. Asazi had pinpointed where they had camped out at, and the route they had been taking and a possible destination. They had jumped hundreds of steps ahead, closing in on the strike. Master Trilobugs had been dropped at strategic locations in a half circle around the camp, and would keep them from running away. It was all set up.
Now they sat on the threshold of victory.
Possibly 'The End'
The Threshold of Victory
By: Kerro Starbane
The predawn light turned the low hanging clouds a faint powder blue under- hued with bits of orange, red and pink. The still air in the upper atmosphere was calm and cooling raging tempers that were brewing out control. The stars still gleamed with their eternal fires and burning souls of desire, doing their best to hold darkness in its place.
No one stirred on the craft, everything was quiet and silent, all for the trilobugs skirting about with their semi-random acts of business. The gray cloak was splayed out around the person sitting on the floor of the bridge, staring out at the sunrise, powder blue eyes mirroring the clouds.
"I did what I did... because I had too. Because it was my obligation to, because... because I'm not better than anyone here." Came the near whimpering whisper. Knees were drawn up, and thin arms wrapped around, head buried into the denim fabric, all stifling choked back sobs. There was no decent explanation for what she did... it was all a mass of confusion, and instinct, and emotions...
"What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn't be thinking about my actions... I should just take what I do in stride, and... and... I lost who I was... The fire is under the surface, but it isn't who I am anymore. I would never have attacked Alex, I would... I would have hugged him for rescuing me... but..." she was going to run herself in circles before she ever came to a decent answer. A glance to the windows showed that the sun was continuing its rise over the eastern horizon. A reflection showed that she wasn't alone, and it wasn't the person she was expecting.
The figure knelt down next to her, resting on the balls of his feet, perfectly balanced that not even the strongest of winds could knock him over.
The words he spoke told he knew exactly what was going on in her head, and everything she feared that would eventually come true. Inwardly, she was horrified that he had logically foreseen her defecting from the Team, and becoming his ally. All because of the misdirection of them believing that she was dead. He spoke as though he knew it was going to happen, and going to come true. And yet, he never predicted her getting hit with lightning, her becoming like Tempest, or Alex and Rikki coming to try and find her. Many things he couldn't predict, or even logically perceive happening, did. He told her that the notions of him being a psychotic mad-man was not far from the truth, but that he was slowly pulling away from that path, but still furthering his goal.
"... and it is that goal that I want you to be apart of. I need someone like you, who knows what the people that I cannot understand are saying, and thinking. There are aspects to them that even the most intelligent of people cannot fathom. If you accept this... and along with your past actions, you will be a member of the Council. There is one place still open, and right now, it is reserved for you." He dismissed himself at that time, and let the woman think about it.
Many months later...
Fidget sat at the desk, poring over papers. One part of her screamed that it never imagined her with a desk job for the most evilest person in the world, but that part was very small, and to the point that it was soon going to be gone. Her eyes strained over the report papers, taking in all the information that came through on the printed sheets.
In a grunt of pure frustration, she pushed away from her desk, and tilted back, letting her arms hand over the arms of the black leather chair.
"I can't believe this... month of this hunt after Team Extreme, and still no word from them. I wonder if they just jumped down a hole and vanished."
The young man that had been sitting on the floor, leaning back against the bed, just shrugged. "It could be worse, you know. We could have InterCEPT still chasing us, and that pseudo government agency on our tails..."
"Jeezus, don't remind me!"
The two wielders of lightning flew down the corridors of the building. Dark sun glasses reflected the light, and gray cape nearly hid them from view, but their blond hair gave them away. They took a corner sharply, each braced a palm against it, and swung, the magnets grabbing the metal and throwing them around the corner, and out of the line of gunfire.
Tempest aimed his hand like a gun at a large vent in the wall, and fired a bolt of lightning. The vent shattered, and they both jumped through it, falling into the large ventilation shaft. Then both fell, Tempest held Fidget close, while a quick movement caught the cape on her heels, and it opened like a parachute, the wind sending them upwards.
Lightning arched a crossed the point of the upper shaft and his fingers, the vent and fan up there exploding outward, and sending them sailing into the sky. They both landed gracefully on the back of the Airship, Fidget pulling out the small black disk.
"Run this inside.. I think we have a tail."
Shortly, he was gone, but someone else glided to the back of the Airship as it started lumbering a crossed the sky.
"How did I guess that you would so soon be caught up in their antics?"
A grin slowly spread a crossed her face, easing a lightning rod out of its holster at her waist. "And I feel bad for you to, Alex... having to go against the new world order. Tell Rikki I said good-bye." She spun around; unleashing a series of bolts right at him.
Alex ducked, rolling a crossed the back of the ship. He jumped to his feet, and ran in close, no longer caring that this person used to be his friend. Fist up and under, missed. He fell, legs swept out from under him. He never saw her crouch. Landing on a well placed hand, he repeated her trick, bringing her down to the deck next to him. He didn't expect her cape to fall on him, causing momentary blindness, but in that time, he felt the attack of her power, every bolt coursing along...
He jumped back to his feet, catching a punch aimed at his face, and stopping a kick aimed a little to low for comfort with his other hand. Her free hand, a pale white and fragile, lashed out, connecting solidly with the side of his face, sending him with much ado to the deck.
The star speckled night, half moon lighting the battle ground with eerie white light. A gray, ghostly cape few off into the night, the wind carrying it away to some far off place.
The night was pierced with a scream of pain and surprised.
"AHH!!!"
A blue figure went tumbling off the back of the ship, spiraling down with bolts of lightning chasing him. There was no one to catch him, but everyone to see his fall. The next moment, he was gone, vanishing into the same air that stretched its arms to embrace him.
The grin re-emerged, wind lightly tugging at her vest and pants.
"Finally..."
Pain welled up again in her midsection, guilt for killing someone. But it was someone who should have died along time ago, and someone she was all too happy to take care of.
Sneakers squeaked as she walked down a corridor, headed for the Bridge where X should have the disk, and was accessing its contents. Hopefully it had the information they wanted and needed.
"Then again, it really wasn't that bad... I mean. We got the info, got it back, took care of Action jock, and all without getting caught. But I did loose my cape..."
A low laugh came from the teen. "A cape is a cape. It made you look sexy, though, and I think you should get a new one. But... you taking care of Action Jock was good. I wish I could have stayed to see it—"
"Ah-ah-ahh, Hon, you had to get that disk to X." She got out of her chair, and sat next to him on the floor of their room. She wasn't the type to lean against someone... so him slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her a little closer prompted resistance, but it was only a reaction that was as habitual as breathing for her.
Right after the first meeting with Alex and Rikki, after X offered her the place on the council and she accepted, her relationship with Tempest had grown. Really grown. Neither of them could describe the feelings they had, it was just a silent love. Each complimented the other, and after a few squabbles, it settled, and they got along perfectly.
Tempest seemed more like someone who was far older than her, but he was only 17... birthday was last month, and hers was still a while away. But between each of them, age didn't really matter; it was what they felt that they both believed in.
"It doesn't matter... mission was completed, and we got some time to relax."
"Yeah, then the shit hit the fan."
"What do you mean, 'you can't find them'? You are a hired bounty hunter and Assassin, yet you can't even find a simple group of ingrates! Asazi, you have 3 days to find where Team Extreme went into hiding, or, God help you, I'll throw you out that airlock with cinder blocks tied to your feet!"
Common threat made by X. simple for even his tastes, but sometimes his mind gets a little cloudy, and he can't really think straight.
Asazi had been ordered to hunt down Team, which was comprised of Rikki, Darla, Grinder, Brandon and Alex.
Action Man had survived the fall, using the AMP Factor when body, mind, and soul realized that he was going to die. None of the affects could have been monitored; since he moved so fast that not even X's optical implant could follow him.
Everyone was pissed off that he survived, but that just started this hunt for him.
The last transmission they received was in pure coding, and the tape was scrambled. It had taken X and Tempest 2 full days to figure it out. The message was that Team would never be found, and no matter how hard they (the Council) tried, they would fail. It also said that Alex was dead, but they were inclined to disbelieve that, since they saw him appear a while later.
But with Asazi's increasing failure, and the longer she spent away from the ship, they were becoming suspicious. Dr. X had every reason to believe that she was going to defect, and he stopped short of using manipulation to get the truth from her.
It was right after the Pseudo Government stuff that they started.
Shit hit the fan when a small group of Agents, Brandon and Alex, and some Ex-Military came after them all. They had docked at New Berg for a few things when they had been found, and only quick work of lightning, laser fire, and exploding arrows saved them. Since then, they had been on the run, only sending out Asazi in a mini-chopper to do what needed to be done. Major damage had been done to the ship during that fray, but it could all be repaired. It took a lot of time, and a lot of hiding.
They needed Asazi to take out Alex; he was getting way to close for comfort, always seeming one step behind them. He was getting way to close... and only a quick storm whipped away any trace that they had been in that spot.
They took the initiative when they got a chance too, turning around and attacking Team out right, and sending them into hiding... and that started the prey hunting the predator. They sent the team running, too. Airship had been equipped with more weapons, and unleashed hell on them. They didn't know the casualty rate, but they hoped that someone had died.
That had been about three weeks ago. Asazi had pinpointed where they had camped out at, and the route they had been taking and a possible destination. They had jumped hundreds of steps ahead, closing in on the strike. Master Trilobugs had been dropped at strategic locations in a half circle around the camp, and would keep them from running away. It was all set up.
Now they sat on the threshold of victory.
Possibly 'The End'