Galerians: Ron
Of Man, Machine and God
Kim ran ignoring the burning in her lungs. As soon as her ride had landed at Middleton Airport she had taken off full tilt towards Ron's place. The only thing that kept her from avoiding people in the highly crowded airport was the reflexes she had trained long and hard for.
Cars honked their horns as she crossed streets, never bothering to wait at the crosswalks. She had nearly been hit eight times and caused one minor fender bender by the time she reached Ron's.
She rang the doorbell with vigour. After a good five minutes of ringing and banging the door Kim finally stopped. His parents weren't here. She could accept that. They did seem to travel a lot. But Ron wasn't the type to leave without telling anyone. Especially her.
Not giving up she went around back to the tree outside Ron's window. They both had used it a great deal as kids to sneak in and out of his room. Now she was just using it to see if he was there. It wasn't uncommon for him to just not bother answering the door, no matter how persistent the person outside.
Climbing up to his room her hopes were crushed to find him nowhere in sight. She had no reason to believe that whoever killed Drakken would go after Ron, but it didn't ease her worries. It was just her gut. Something didn't feel right, like something big was going on. A missing Ron only escalated her worry.
"Where are you Ron?"
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Ron pulled up to the large house secluded in the forest sector of Michelangelo City. It was run down, having been abandoned years ago, but no so much that it wasn't safe to enter. Not that it would have stopped Ron at this point. This was his old home, there had to be some answers here. Right?
As he got out of the car he opted to leave the duffel behind, having pocketed a few Delmeter just in case. For the most part the other contents were useless to him anyways. He had only been able to understand a little bit of what was on the laptop, much of the scientific terminology went straight over his head. He had decided to give it to Wade later though, he'd probably have a field day with it.
The part he was able to understand was what it said about the other drugs he had… acquired. The green was called Nalcon and the red… well Red. Both of which were pretty much useless to him since he had already been injected with them during his first stay at Michelangelo Memorial. They had permanently altered his system to allow for certain powers to develop. The Nalcon created a telekinetic force blast, like the one he used on that scientist when he woke up in the lab, and Red for the fire.
What was a mystery though was the lone yellow vial he had found amongst his goods. All he could get from the laptop was that the drug was currently untested. He wasn't about to change that.
Ron entered the building slowly with some trepidation. The building that in another life he would still have called home. As he entered the main foyer he realized he wouldn't have to wait long for his fears to be justified.
The room started out looking empty and rundown. After a moment Ron felt a dull throbbing in his head and the room changed. It was no longer rundown but just as clean and awe inspiring as it had been in his early childhood. No longer was it empty either. He could only stare in horror as it was occupied by armed men and Dr. Lem himself.
Lem had his father by the throat as a gunshot rang out and his mother crumbled to the floor. Ron screamed even as his younger self gasped from upstairs. Lem crushed his father's throat and went after the boy.
It was his nightmare replaying all over again. Only this time he saw something he had missed. His mother hadn't died right away from the gunshot. Unseen by anyone she slipped a ring off her finger and slipped it under a loose tile on the floor.
Just as fast as it had happened the room changed back to as it was before. Ron sank to his knees as tears slipped down his face. Twice now he had been forced to relive this moment, and it was no easier the second time. Wiping the tears away he stood slowly. He knew this place might dredge up memories and emotions. But he also knew he couldn't afford to let them slow him down too much.
He walked over to the spot his mother had died, determined to fight back the tears. Moving the loose tile he saw the ring still there. A little worse for wear, but still there. He looked at it for a moment as emotions swam through him. Taking off the silver chain Kim had given him for his birthday he slipped it through the ring and hung it around his neck.
With a look of determination he went to explore the house. As he went room to room Ron had more visions of the past. Most were only of day to day things, but some all were important in their own way. Even if he couldn't always figure it out. It was like the memories, moments in time, were locked within the walls of the house waiting for the right person to come and unlock them. And with his power and connection he was just the person to do it.
It was when he entered his old bedroom that another vision really peaked his interest. He expected it to be when Lem came after him, which why he was especially scared to enter. Ron was wrong though.
The vision showed his younger self laying in bed with a large bandage covering his head. His skin was covered in sweat, soaking straight through his pj's. His mother sat beside him wiping his face with a damp cloth.
"His fever isn't breaking." She said, the worry clearly evident in her tone.
His father placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It will break by morning."
"We never should have done this!" She exclaimed looking up at her husband. "He'll never have a future!"
"I had nowhere else to hide it. If this doesn't work he won't have a future, no one will."
She seemed to ignore him as she grabbed her son's hand. "We shouldn't have done this Rion! Please forgive us!"
With that the vision ended leaving a thoroughly confused Ron in an empty room. Shaking it off he figured he wouldn't find answers just standing around here all day. Having checked all the upstairs he returned to the main floor. Eventually he made his way to his father's office.
At first glance he didn't see anything of importance, not even a vision. It was when he was about to leave that he saw the strange indention on the plaque attached to the far wall. Walking over he pulled out the ring he picked up earlier. Sure enough they matched. Placing the ring in the indention he turned it like a key. The wall slide away to reveal a small room.
Inside looked like it was used as a lab at some point and was lined wall to wall with computer banks. At the back was a small wooden table. On it was a set of speakers and a console with a single button. As Ron pushed the button his birth father's voice rang through the room.
"Rion, my son. I pray that by now you already know what is on this tape. That I have told you myself and we have succeeded in our goal. Realistically I don't think that is likely the case. Most likely I am dead. I can only hope that by recording this message you will find it and let it guide you.
"You see Rion, my partner Dr. Pascalle and I develop a state of the art computer and AI system called Dorothy. It was a mother computer with revolutionary capabilities for self judgment and self replication. Dorothy learned and grew until it achieved sentience. Soon it began to develop its capabilities even further and quickly became the mother computer of all Michelangelo City.
"But a fundamental doubt crept into Dorothy's mind. 'Why is it wrong to destroy humans and other inferior systems? Why, if humans kill each other, is it wrong for me to kill them?' She asked.
"So I taught her of the existence of God. I told her that each human has a fate and destiny that is decided by God who created humankind. That we can't go against that fate. I told her that humans are her creators and that she must live as they decide.
"It seemed she understood and accepted this explanation and returned to her work. I was a fool. I should have known that it wouldn't be that simple. Dorothy didn't accept anything. Instead she ran simulations on the existence of God. Her conclusions birthed the Family Program.
"She began to use her full control of Michelangelo Memorial to experiment with human genes. Her first creations were the R series. Rabbits we have come to call them since they can practically come off an assembly line. At first they were just identical mindless drones with peak him physical condition. Now she is developing them further, new kinds with different capabilities, although I am unsure exactly what.
"These were just a stepping stone however. Dorothy's real pride was in the G series, a breed with powerful psychic abilities. Unlike the R series they are not mindless drones. That and their power make them far more dangerous. Galerians they are called. A race for which Dorothy would replace humanity and be their sole creator and God.
"Dorothy had begun to see herself as a deity and the Family Program was her means of attaining Godhood. Dr. Pascalle and I discovered what she was doing and began to work in secret. We created a virus program to destroy her. No matter how much Dorothy upgraded herself there were still some core components that could not be changed or removed. Unfortunately we had no way of getting to Dorothy to implement the virus. We needed to hide it as she began to grow suspicious.
"So Dr. Pascalle and I did the unthinkable. We hide the program in the one place we didn't think Dorothy would look. The virus program was placed in the mind of Dr. Pascalle's daughter, Lilia. There was a launch program needed for the virus to work. That we placed in your mind Rion.
"Dr. Pascalle has already taken Lilia somewhere safe until we can figure out a plan to get past the Mushroom Tower security and to Dorothy. Tomorrow your mother and I are taking you away as well. If something goes wrong we pray that we are able to at least get you out of here. That we manage to get you safely to a good home before we die. You need to live Rion! You need to grow. You are humankinds last hope for survival and for this I am eternally sorry my son.
"Always remember that we love you Rion. Be safe and good luck."
For the second time that day Ron sank to his knees. He tried to take in all he was told. He thought of the part were his parents wanted him to be safe and have a good home. They loved him, they really loved him.
"I had a good home Dad." He whispered. "Even if you weren't the one to deliver me there, I had a good home."
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Kim got home to find her mother in the kitchen finishing up on tonight's dinner. How she managed to do it every night with her schedule Kim would never understand.
"Hi Kimmie." She greeted cheerily but quickly grew serious as she saw the look on Kim's face. "What's wrong honey?"
"Nothing." Kim tried to brush it off. Her mother gave her that look parents have that just screams 'do you really expect me to buy that?' "It's Ron."
"What about him?"
Kim sighed as she sat down at the kitchen table. "He wasn't in school today and he wasn't at home. I can't find him anywhere. I can't even reach him on his communicator. I'm worried. I have a bad feeling."
"Kim." Her mother said reassuringly as she sat down beside her. "This is Ron we're talking about. He always did march to the beat of a different drum. I'm sure he's fine. He can take care of himself you know."
Before Kim could respond the tweebs came into the room.
"Are you guys talking about Ron?" Jim asked.
"Because he was here last night." Tim finished.
"What!?" Kim exclaimed. "When, why?"
"He said he was going out of town for a couple days."
"He said he couldn't take Rufus with him."
"So he asked if we could watch him."
At the mention of his name the naked mole rat in question poked his head out of Tim's pocket. He squeaked something that sounded an awful lot like 'No more rockets. Please no more rockets'.
Kim and her mother shared a look. Something really was wrong. Ron never went anywhere without Rufus. And he certainly wouldn't leave town without telling Kim.
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Ron finished searching the inside and went out the back door to see if there were any clues outside. While the interior of the house had yielded information that he needed, it didn't give him any clues as to Lilia's whereabouts.
The garage only had an old car in it that had probably been a classic at one point, not that it was identifiable anymore. It had been stripped clean over the years. Probably kids selling the parts.
On the other side of the yard was an old shed. Not much was left inside but off in the back was a box of old toys. Ron was drawn to one in particular. An old ragged doll. Somehow he just knew that it belonged to Lilia. As he held the doll he hear Lilia's call again.
Help me Rion!
This time something was different though. This time he was able to call back.
"Lilia!"
Who is that? Is it really you Rion?
"Ya, it's me. Where are you Lilia? Are you safe?"
I'm hiding at the Babylon Hotel. I don't know how much longer it will be safe here!
"Alright, I'm coming to get you! Just hold on!" Ron told her as he ran out of the shed. He stopped dead as he head laughter behind him. Turning around he saw a shirtless man in overalls sitting on the shed roof. He had one blue eye and one brown eye. A sinister grin played on his lips as his long dark hair blew in the wind.
"Haha! Mother was right. Then again she's always right." The mystery man said more to himself that Ron. "Follow Rion and he will lead you to Lilia."
"Who are you?!"
The man laughed as he stood. "My name is Birdman. Now tell me where Lilia is. I know you've had contact with her!"
"Like hell!" Ron spat.
The sinister grin on the man's face grew deeper. "I was hoping you would say that."
Ron could only watch in shock as Birdman faded from view only to reappear on the ground in front of him. As soon as he appeared he shot his hand out towards Ron. The short distance between them rippled as a psychic force shot out and struck Ron knocking him back a good twenty feet.
He could only look at his attacker in shock as he pulled himself to his feet. "What are you!?!"
Birdman let loose an insane, mightier than thou laugh. "Didn't your dear old dad just tell you? I'm a Galerian! Want to reconsider?"
"Not a chance!" Ron yelled as he sent a blast of psychic energy at him. Birdman quickly flew up into the air and hovered there as the blast sailed below him. It struck the shed completely obliterating it in a shower of wood and dust.
Birdman disappeared again, but Ron was ready this time. As soon as he began to materialize Ron struck out. The force of the blow sent Birdman flying back straight through a wall of the house. He landed unceremoniously in the dining room.
He was laughing as he shakily stood up. "I've never had this much fun!"
Again he appeared before Ron, dodging his predictable attack.
"You don't get it!" He said as a copy of himself split from him.
"You're no match for me!" The copy told him as he too split another copy.
"There is no way for you to win!" The final copy finished as they began to surround him.
Ron desperately tried to strike out at one of the Birdmen only to be blasted in the side by another. He felt like a pinball as he was being bounce around from blast to blast. Finally he was able to turn with one of the blasts and ended up facing the original Birdman. In an instant he released as much power as he could muster. Birdman was knocked onto his back. As he slid across the yard the copies merged back into him.
"Enough!" Birdman yelled as he shot up into the air. His eyes began to glow white with power as the air around him crackled with blue energy. "I tried to be nice about this but you had to be a pain in the ass!"
Thrusting his hand towards the ground he sent out a telekinetic shockwave. It hit Ron head on and drove him to his knees as it created a small crater around him. Wave after wave was sent, constantly driving Ron back to his knees. The crater grew bigger with each attack.
On shaky knees Ron looked up to the sky and concentrated on creating a barrier between himself and the assault. The air turned blue where the energy met energy and Ron struggle to bring himself to his feet. Birdman flew towards him only stopping a few feet away as his energy collided with Ron's. Both combatants screamed in rage and pain as they released the totality of their power. The energy surrounding them grew brighter and brighter, filling the darkening sky like a second sun. Soon it was so blinding that neither man could be seen through its intensity.
Then the light was gone in an instant as Ron collapsed onto the ground and Birdman was thrown back through the air. As he neared the house the psychic force collided with the building causing it to explode from the sheer power. The shockwave from the explosion hit Birdman and sent him back the way he came where he landed with a sickening thud.
Slowly Ron stood, his face covered in blood from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He made his way over to the fallen Birdman and stood before him.
"Am… I… dying?" The prone Birdman struggled to say.
"Yah, I think so."
Birdman chuckled slightly causing some blood to be spit from his mouth. "… be careful Rion..."
"Of what?"
"Of… yourself…." With one last chuckle the Galerian known as Birdman died.
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Kim was checking Buenos Nachos again in her continued search for Ron when her Kimmunicator went off. She answered it quickly praying that Wade had found something.
"Anything on Ron, Wade?"
"Not yet." The young genius told her sadly. "But Shego has been spotted in Michelangelo City. I can get someone else if…"
"No." Kim said cutting him off. "I'll go. I need… I need to do something at least."