Chapter Four: X-Factor-Part 1
"Hey, X." Shadow whispered to him, stepping back a tad as they walked.
"Yeah?" He whispered back.
"You can hotwire a car, right?"
X had to chuckle. "After tons of computer hacking, car hotwiring is like adding one and two."
"Okay. I think we should take two cars."
"Why?"
"If we're all caught together, it's all over. Two cars means two targets."
"I see."
"You and Pyro take one and Shade and I will take another."
X nodded, fully understanding. Shadow told Shade and they went off.
"Where are they going?" Pyro asked as X started working on another car.
"Shadow's idea. We're splitting up in order to make it harder to catch us all. They're taking one car, we're taking this one." The engine revved and they got in.
"You know he just wants to spend some alone time with Shade, don't you?"
"Yep."
"And you still let him go?"
"Could I really stop him?"
Pyro sighed. "Whatever. Follow 'em."
They began driving.
"So what happened?" X asked.
"What do you mean?"
"In the apartment. Apparently you ticked off a cop."
Pyro leaned back in his seat. "Her boyfriend had problems with me."
"Whose boyfriend?"
"Veronica's."
"The girl who took you in?"
Pyro nodded.
"So her boyfriend didn't like you? I guess I can see why, but that's no reason to call for backup police."
"That guy had problems period. He was one of those dominant boyfriend types. One thing lead to another, and before I knew it, he hit her. I told him to stop, but he turned on me."
"Did you hurt him?"
"Only a little." Pyro smiled. It soon vanished. "It was weird . . ."
"What was?"
"When Veronica first came in, she acted pretty tough. She showed no fear to the stranger she let in her home, much less anything else. She's a tai-kwon doe red belt."
"Tai-kwon doe? Hey, weren't you a black belt?"
"Yeah."
"Huh. Quite a coincidence."
"Maybe. Anyway, she seemed like she was alright. But as soon as Scott- her boyfriend-came in, she changed."
"Changed?"
"She wasn't fearless anymore. She was suddenly very afraid. Some of the stuff Scott did she didn't seem to really like, but she did nothing. All in all, she basically let him dominate her."
X didn't know what to say.
"That guy just made me angrier and angrier as the seconds passed. It was like everything he did was wrong."
"You pitied her?" X hit the spot.
"I guess. I wanted to help her, but she tries to handle it herself."
X shook his head. "Women." They both chuckled.
"Anyway, how did you guys find me?" Pyro wondered.
X had to smile. "We just followed the hot chick . . .which was a very easy task." He reminisced on the deep kiss she'd given him.
"So just how long were you following us?" Shadow asked.
"Morpheus made the call and told me to follow you three. It found you as you were leaving the alley with the programs."
"You knew there were programs?"
"I heard X."
"Ah. So why exactly did Morpheus chose you to watch us?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. Probably because watching over someone isn't exactly the most glorious job."
"Well, it could be." Shadow said. "You never know. The people you save now could become heroes. Heck, you could become a hero yourself."
"Maybe."
"So let me ask you a question: Were you assigned or did you volunteer?"
Shade's face went red, so she looked at the ground. "That obvious?"
"Nah, just a lucky guess. So why did you volunteer?"
She shrugged. "I dunno." She gave a slight truth. "You guys interest me."
"That so?" Shadow pulled into the lane next to his and ended up going off an exit ramp.
"Where are you going?" Shade asked. "You took the wrong exit!"
"Huh." Shadow smiled. "Look at that."
"What in the world?" Pyro asked, watching Shadow go into the wrong lane and off the highway. X continued on his own course.
"I don't believe this." He sighed. They went on and got to the exit.
Their eyes opened up back in the real world as Riley helped them out.
"Where did Shadow go?"
"We don't know." Pyro had to fight to sit up. "Ah . . ."
"You okay?"
"Over twelve hours in the Matrix. Gotta get used to the real thing again."
"I'll call Shadow." Hero said.
"Why did you two take two cars in the first place?" Riley wanted to know.
X shrugged. "Shadow's idea. He thought it would be more practical if we weren't in the same place, should an attack come."
"My foot he did." Riley snorted.
BBRRIIINNGG!!
"Yello." Shadow said.
"Where are you going?!" Hero demanded.
"My mistake. Wrong turn. I'll try to find a way back."
"Hurry up. X and Pyro are already here!" Click.
"He sounded ticked." Shade noted.
"Yeah, I'll probably get canned for this, unless they buy my story."
"Then why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Take the wrong turn?"
He shrugged. "I dunno."
"Sure." Shade rolled her eyes. "So are you actually going to look for a way back?"
He hesitated. "Soon enough . . .so how's your life?"
She had to laugh. "Changing the subject so easily?"
"Yup."
"Well . . .a little hectic, but whatever. It's okay. Yours?"
"Lotta fun, I'll give it that." He admitted. "You get to do a lotta cool stuff . . .course, there are downsides."
"Of course." Shade agreed. "I mean, your life is constantly in danger."
"Oh, that's nothing." Shadow said.
"Then what kind of downsides did you mean?"
"Well . . .the real world is a lot less convenient than the Matrix life was. Plus, you have to be stuck on a ship for who knows how long?" He made his move. "Kinda lonely."
"You've got the other guys there." Shade pointed out. She hadn't taken the bait.
"Well, yeah, but . . .um . . .well, you see, I mean . . ." Huh. This was more difficult than he thought. "Shade, what I'm trying to say is . . ." Brrriiingg!! "Dang it!" He hissed. "I'm looking for a place to turn around, alright?!"
"Left! To your left!" Hero shouted.
"The next turn?"
"NO!! Directly left!!" Shadow looked. His eyes widened.
"SHOOT!!" He slammed the brakes and cars around him swerved, as did his car. Bullets flew from the automatic weapon in the car that had been next to theirs. They hit their brakes. "Duck!" He told Shade. They both did so and Shadow gunned it. Bullets shattered the windows, but they received only a few scratches, miraculously. Shadow turned down the next road, which only had two lanes, so their enemies would have to get behind them, which bought them some time.
"Hero, what now?" Shadow spoke into the phone.
"Keep driving! Just get the heck outta there!"
Shade's dialed. "Link! Can you find an exit Shadow and I can use?"
"I'm working on it!" He responded. "But, Shade, it doesn't seem like- "
B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b!! Bullets flew again. Shade hung up and returned fire.
"I don't believe this." Riley hissed as he paced.
"C'mon, man!" Pyro told Hero. "Find something!"
"I'm trying, okay?! I can't just make an exit appear! I have to find a place they can get to-and alive! Plus, Shade has to use her own exit. It's a lot more difficult than you're making it out to be!"
"Then stop jabbering at me and work!"
X bit his lower lip, his hand wrapping around the flash drive hanging around his neck.
Shade ran out of ammo soon enough. "Shoot!" She shouted. "Get us outta here!"
"I'm trying!" Shadow swerved yet again. He was going around, taking random turns to keep the programs off his butt.
"Oh, no." Hero's eyes widened.
"What?!" Riley demanded, moving to the screens.
"Captain, look." He pointed to a spot.
"Oh, God."
"Oh my God!!" Shade exclaimed, looking out the window.
"What?!" Shadow demanded.
"We have to get out!"
"What?! Why!?"
"Now! Go!!"
Shadow slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to an awkward stop almost on the sidewalk. Shadow and Shade both jumped out of the car.
The program launched the missile from the sunroof of the car, which flew right into the vehicle Shade and Shadow had been in a second earlier.
The two of them flew from the impact. Shade was tossed onto the concrete in front of a building. Shadow was tossed into the street. The programs saw Shade first. The one from the sunroof started firing as she ran. Shadow pulled out a 9mm and began firing. The program turned and fired at him instead. Shadow turned on his cloak and ran back across the street.
"You have to get them out of there now!" Pyro shouted almost in Hero's ear.
Hero hesitated.
"Why are you stopping?!" He demanded. "Get them an exit!"
"I can't . . ." Hero said. "There's nothing I can do . . ."
Shadow and Shade met up again and Shadow turned off his cloak, seeing it was only useful for the element of surprise, which he'd already used up. They ran down an alley, where the car couldn't chase them, but the programs followed.
They kept running. They were fast, but the programs had split up and covered the alleys. Shadow and Shade kept running into them. Shadow shot at them, but his ammo quickly ran low. They were running out of options and time.
Finally, they hit a dead end. They skidded to a stop.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Shadow exclaimed. He spun around as the programs came around the corners and headed for them. Shadow fired his last three bullets and the programs ducked back. When he ran out, Shadow dropped his weapon and could only watch as the programs came back out with cocky grins on their faces. They came up slowly, strutting a little. This was their moment.
Shadow breathed heavily. "So . . ." He said. "This is it."
"Looks like it." Shade replied, also staring at her foes.
"This bites." Shadow said with no humor. "This really bites."
Suddenly, he felt a hand take his. He looked over at Shade.
"At least you're not alone." She pointed out. A sense of relief filled Shadow and he actually smiled a little, then looked back at the programs who spelled his doom.
"Can't you do anything?" Pyro asked weakly and desperately.
Hero shook his head. "Nothing . . .they're on their own." He looked down.
Riley sighed and also looked at the floor.
Pyro shook his head in disbelief and turned away, shouting in anger.
X stared at the screen, reading the situation over and over. There was nothing Shadow, Shade, or Hero could do now.
But . . .
"Hero, move." X ordered. He looked up.
"What?"
"MOVE!!" He shoved Hero from the Operator's chair and sat in it.
"What are you doing?" Pyro asked him.
"Shut up!!" He yanked off the flash drive and plugged it into the computer. He began working at the keyboard, pounding like a madman.
"Is that . . .?" Pyro asked.
"Yep." X answered, not taking his eyes off the screen. "That's my baby."
The programs took aim, each wanting a piece of the action. Shadow and Shade stood, defiant, unafraid of death.
"Alright." X said. "Say hello to my little friend." He gave one command:
DELETE
A program twitched suddenly. The others looked at it. It twitched again and then cried out. Its eyes glowed a deep crimson red as its body seemed to strain. With a scream, the program burst, sending nothing but tiny fragments of code scattering everywhere.
The other four programs looked at each other. Then, another program twitched. The same happened. Its eyes glowed and it wailed as it burst. The other three grew afraid.
"KILL THEM NOW!!" One shouted.
"Oh, no you don't!" X said.
A program twitched and its eyes glowed red, but instead of bursting, it turned on the other two programs and fired a barrage of bullets from its automatic weapon, screaming as it did so. The programs fell, then the other one twitched once more and let out another cry as it too was deleted.
Shadow and Shade looked at each other in disbelief.
Riley, Hero, and Pyro were speechless.
"It really works." Pyro whispered.
"What . . .was . . .THAT?!" Riley demanded.
"Can't talk." X said. He worked a little more.
"Hero, gimme that." X took the Operator's headset and dialed.
"Operator."
"Link. This is X from the Genesis. You watching?"
"Yeah! What happened?!"
"Can't say right now. Get ready. I'm making an exit. Get Shade outta there once I do."
Brriiinngg!!
Shade answered. "Y-yeah?" Her voice was shaky. "Where?"
Brriiinngg!! Both heads spun and beheld a payphone just ten feet from them.
"Link, that phone wasn't there before!"
"Yeah, I know." He replied. "X said he was gonna make an exit, but I didn't know he mean MAKE an exit! Whatever, just take it!"
Shade hung up and picked up the phone. Her body disappeared as she jacked out.
Shadow slowly hung up the phone, staring at it. It ran again. He answered and was gone. No one saw, but once Shadow had exited the Matrix, the phone vanished without a trace.
Shadow's eyes opened. His body was sweating greatly.
"You okay?" Pyro asked.
"Yeah . . ."
"Then let me ask WHAT WERE YOU THINKING BACK THERE?!"
Shadow didn't argue. It was all his fault. If he hadn't dawdled with Shade, they'd have been able to escape.
"You almost got yourself killed!! And Shade too! You're lucky X was able to wave a miracle at you and get your sorry butt outta there! What was going on in your head?!"
Shadow didn't give an answer because he didn't have one. Riley clenched his jaw. "But you're still new at this...so I'm only giving you a three-day suspension from the Matrix."
"Fair enough." Shadow said. "I'm sorry." There was silence.
Brriiinngg!!
"Genesis." X said, seeing as he still had the headset on.
"X!" Link said. "What happened? First, the programs go haywire, then a phone pops up out of nowhere, what did you do?"
"I'm afraid that's strictly confidential." X replied.
"Confidential?! You fried five programs without entering the Matrix!"
"That's only a smidgen of my ability, Link, but I can't go into detail, I'm afraid. You're just going to have to trust me."
Link sighed. "Whatever, X. Shade says thanks. Later." They both hung up.
"Confidential, eh?" Riley asked.
"Yep."
"Then as your captain, I order you to spill it."
"Alright." He pulled the flash drive out of the computer and held it up. "This baby has more computer power in it than any five ships combined."
"What is it?"
"I call it the X-virus, respectively. I designed it."
"YOU designed it?" Hero asked, amazed. "I knew you were good, but not THAT good!"
"It's a very powerful bug. I can use it to hack into any system, file, program, you name it. Once I'm in, they're all mine."
"That's how you controlled the third program." Riley noted.
"Yep. Then I deleted him as I did the others."
"Unbelievable!" Hero said in awe.
"So it really works." Pyro said.
"You knew about this?" Riley asked him.
"Yeah, he told Shadow and I about it, but I didn't think he was serious!"
"X, why didn't you tell us about this?"
"I try to save the virus as a last-resort."
"Why?"
"Well, I can't depend on it 100%!"
"Hm . . .well, good work, X."
"Thank you, sir."
"Hero, what time is it?"
"Uh, almost 8:30 A.M., sir."
"ONLY 8:30?!" Shadow exclaimed.
"And already we've had enough action for a day." Riley sighed. "We'll lay back for now." He walked out of the room. Hero followed.
Pyro, Shadow, and X went to get something to eat.
"Thanks for saving my butt back there." Shadow finally said. It had been awkwardly silent between them for a few minutes.
X didn't know what to say. Pyro finally said it for him.
"What were you thinking, Shadow?! You almost got yourself killed!"
"I wasn't thinking." He replied. "I know I screwed up, okay?"
"Then why did you do it?"
Shadow hesitated.
"We know it's about Shade, but why put your life on the line?"
"I didn't know I was putting my life on the line."
"But you knew you took the wrong exit." X put in.
"I just . . ." He hesitated. "I . . .wanted to be with her a little longer."
"That is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard." Pyro shook his head.
"I know it was stupid." Shadow sighed, full of regret. "And, again, I'm sorry."
They all got back to eating for a moment.
"So you like this girl, huh?" X asked him.
Shadow nodded. "Yep."
"Just out of curiosity, why?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just kind of attracted to her." He went on. "And you can't just call a girl up these days and ask her out, you know? And I don't get to see her that often, so . . .that's why I lingered. But, c'mon, X, can you honestly tell me you wouldn't do the same with Siren?"
X hesitated. "I don't know."
"Who's Siren?" Pyro asked.
"She's the person who helped us find you. She also saved my butt last night." He smiled. "She's hot . . .REAL hot."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." He chuckled at the thought of her. Quiet again.
"So," Shadow said. "That X-virus...incredible. Does it have any limits?"
X hesitated. "I don't know."
One week later . . .
It had long-since been assumed that all the rogue programs were being led by someone, especially by how they all worked en masse. But who would they be led by?
To those who'd been on the force for a while, they could only think of one name that could control such a large program force:
The Merovingian.
But they had to be sure. Several people from several ships were going in to a simple sort of stakeout mission. Shadow was going to take the other guys with him. He was a good spy, but he might need backup.
"Guns aren't allowed in the club." Shadow said as he pulled out his only weapon: a 9mm. Their uploads had been different this time. They'd only been given one weapon.
"So why did they give them to us in the first place?" Pyro asked, taking out his.
"Don't want to seem abnormal."
"Okay." Shadow said. "C'mon." The three of them each wore a black cloak over their usual clothes with bandanas covering their heads. They pulled masks up to their mouths as they walked. Four tough programs came up and looked at them. Each of them pulled out a counterfeit pass that Shadow had made for them and showed it to them. The program motioned towards the door with his head. They walked inside and found themselves in another room, where a man took their guns. The trio entered the club.
"We're in." X noted. "What now?"
"Just keep a sharp eye for anything unusual." Shadow said. "Split up." Shadow slid off into the shadows, virtually disappearing. The other two went off.
Shadow loved this job, slurking around silently as the music blasted and people danced all around them. There were many dangerous programs, but Shadow didn't fear them. They couldn't see him.
"Shadow?"
He jumped, then froze. How in the world?! He looked over at someone who took off their mask.
"Shade?!" He exclaimed.
Pyro's eyes were wide and scanning. Nothing out of the ordinary, as strange as this place was. Then . . .
Pyro shot her a double-take as he passed her.
"Veronica?"
She turned. "Who?" He took off his mask. "Pyro?!"
X could barely see in the dim lighting, so he turned on Neovision. Things got a little confusing with a lot of activity going on, but he soon got a grip on himself. His eyes caught something. He turned off Neovision to see it for himself.
"Siren?!"
She turned to him as he took off his mask. "Well, well, if it isn't X!"
Hero shook his head in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me."
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Author's Note: Women can have dangerous effects on the male mind, turning to much and causing them to deny themselves of reason. How will they be effected now? I'll show you in the next chapter. Until then, please review!
"Hey, X." Shadow whispered to him, stepping back a tad as they walked.
"Yeah?" He whispered back.
"You can hotwire a car, right?"
X had to chuckle. "After tons of computer hacking, car hotwiring is like adding one and two."
"Okay. I think we should take two cars."
"Why?"
"If we're all caught together, it's all over. Two cars means two targets."
"I see."
"You and Pyro take one and Shade and I will take another."
X nodded, fully understanding. Shadow told Shade and they went off.
"Where are they going?" Pyro asked as X started working on another car.
"Shadow's idea. We're splitting up in order to make it harder to catch us all. They're taking one car, we're taking this one." The engine revved and they got in.
"You know he just wants to spend some alone time with Shade, don't you?"
"Yep."
"And you still let him go?"
"Could I really stop him?"
Pyro sighed. "Whatever. Follow 'em."
They began driving.
"So what happened?" X asked.
"What do you mean?"
"In the apartment. Apparently you ticked off a cop."
Pyro leaned back in his seat. "Her boyfriend had problems with me."
"Whose boyfriend?"
"Veronica's."
"The girl who took you in?"
Pyro nodded.
"So her boyfriend didn't like you? I guess I can see why, but that's no reason to call for backup police."
"That guy had problems period. He was one of those dominant boyfriend types. One thing lead to another, and before I knew it, he hit her. I told him to stop, but he turned on me."
"Did you hurt him?"
"Only a little." Pyro smiled. It soon vanished. "It was weird . . ."
"What was?"
"When Veronica first came in, she acted pretty tough. She showed no fear to the stranger she let in her home, much less anything else. She's a tai-kwon doe red belt."
"Tai-kwon doe? Hey, weren't you a black belt?"
"Yeah."
"Huh. Quite a coincidence."
"Maybe. Anyway, she seemed like she was alright. But as soon as Scott- her boyfriend-came in, she changed."
"Changed?"
"She wasn't fearless anymore. She was suddenly very afraid. Some of the stuff Scott did she didn't seem to really like, but she did nothing. All in all, she basically let him dominate her."
X didn't know what to say.
"That guy just made me angrier and angrier as the seconds passed. It was like everything he did was wrong."
"You pitied her?" X hit the spot.
"I guess. I wanted to help her, but she tries to handle it herself."
X shook his head. "Women." They both chuckled.
"Anyway, how did you guys find me?" Pyro wondered.
X had to smile. "We just followed the hot chick . . .which was a very easy task." He reminisced on the deep kiss she'd given him.
"So just how long were you following us?" Shadow asked.
"Morpheus made the call and told me to follow you three. It found you as you were leaving the alley with the programs."
"You knew there were programs?"
"I heard X."
"Ah. So why exactly did Morpheus chose you to watch us?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. Probably because watching over someone isn't exactly the most glorious job."
"Well, it could be." Shadow said. "You never know. The people you save now could become heroes. Heck, you could become a hero yourself."
"Maybe."
"So let me ask you a question: Were you assigned or did you volunteer?"
Shade's face went red, so she looked at the ground. "That obvious?"
"Nah, just a lucky guess. So why did you volunteer?"
She shrugged. "I dunno." She gave a slight truth. "You guys interest me."
"That so?" Shadow pulled into the lane next to his and ended up going off an exit ramp.
"Where are you going?" Shade asked. "You took the wrong exit!"
"Huh." Shadow smiled. "Look at that."
"What in the world?" Pyro asked, watching Shadow go into the wrong lane and off the highway. X continued on his own course.
"I don't believe this." He sighed. They went on and got to the exit.
Their eyes opened up back in the real world as Riley helped them out.
"Where did Shadow go?"
"We don't know." Pyro had to fight to sit up. "Ah . . ."
"You okay?"
"Over twelve hours in the Matrix. Gotta get used to the real thing again."
"I'll call Shadow." Hero said.
"Why did you two take two cars in the first place?" Riley wanted to know.
X shrugged. "Shadow's idea. He thought it would be more practical if we weren't in the same place, should an attack come."
"My foot he did." Riley snorted.
BBRRIIINNGG!!
"Yello." Shadow said.
"Where are you going?!" Hero demanded.
"My mistake. Wrong turn. I'll try to find a way back."
"Hurry up. X and Pyro are already here!" Click.
"He sounded ticked." Shade noted.
"Yeah, I'll probably get canned for this, unless they buy my story."
"Then why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Take the wrong turn?"
He shrugged. "I dunno."
"Sure." Shade rolled her eyes. "So are you actually going to look for a way back?"
He hesitated. "Soon enough . . .so how's your life?"
She had to laugh. "Changing the subject so easily?"
"Yup."
"Well . . .a little hectic, but whatever. It's okay. Yours?"
"Lotta fun, I'll give it that." He admitted. "You get to do a lotta cool stuff . . .course, there are downsides."
"Of course." Shade agreed. "I mean, your life is constantly in danger."
"Oh, that's nothing." Shadow said.
"Then what kind of downsides did you mean?"
"Well . . .the real world is a lot less convenient than the Matrix life was. Plus, you have to be stuck on a ship for who knows how long?" He made his move. "Kinda lonely."
"You've got the other guys there." Shade pointed out. She hadn't taken the bait.
"Well, yeah, but . . .um . . .well, you see, I mean . . ." Huh. This was more difficult than he thought. "Shade, what I'm trying to say is . . ." Brrriiingg!! "Dang it!" He hissed. "I'm looking for a place to turn around, alright?!"
"Left! To your left!" Hero shouted.
"The next turn?"
"NO!! Directly left!!" Shadow looked. His eyes widened.
"SHOOT!!" He slammed the brakes and cars around him swerved, as did his car. Bullets flew from the automatic weapon in the car that had been next to theirs. They hit their brakes. "Duck!" He told Shade. They both did so and Shadow gunned it. Bullets shattered the windows, but they received only a few scratches, miraculously. Shadow turned down the next road, which only had two lanes, so their enemies would have to get behind them, which bought them some time.
"Hero, what now?" Shadow spoke into the phone.
"Keep driving! Just get the heck outta there!"
Shade's dialed. "Link! Can you find an exit Shadow and I can use?"
"I'm working on it!" He responded. "But, Shade, it doesn't seem like- "
B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b!! Bullets flew again. Shade hung up and returned fire.
"I don't believe this." Riley hissed as he paced.
"C'mon, man!" Pyro told Hero. "Find something!"
"I'm trying, okay?! I can't just make an exit appear! I have to find a place they can get to-and alive! Plus, Shade has to use her own exit. It's a lot more difficult than you're making it out to be!"
"Then stop jabbering at me and work!"
X bit his lower lip, his hand wrapping around the flash drive hanging around his neck.
Shade ran out of ammo soon enough. "Shoot!" She shouted. "Get us outta here!"
"I'm trying!" Shadow swerved yet again. He was going around, taking random turns to keep the programs off his butt.
"Oh, no." Hero's eyes widened.
"What?!" Riley demanded, moving to the screens.
"Captain, look." He pointed to a spot.
"Oh, God."
"Oh my God!!" Shade exclaimed, looking out the window.
"What?!" Shadow demanded.
"We have to get out!"
"What?! Why!?"
"Now! Go!!"
Shadow slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to an awkward stop almost on the sidewalk. Shadow and Shade both jumped out of the car.
The program launched the missile from the sunroof of the car, which flew right into the vehicle Shade and Shadow had been in a second earlier.
The two of them flew from the impact. Shade was tossed onto the concrete in front of a building. Shadow was tossed into the street. The programs saw Shade first. The one from the sunroof started firing as she ran. Shadow pulled out a 9mm and began firing. The program turned and fired at him instead. Shadow turned on his cloak and ran back across the street.
"You have to get them out of there now!" Pyro shouted almost in Hero's ear.
Hero hesitated.
"Why are you stopping?!" He demanded. "Get them an exit!"
"I can't . . ." Hero said. "There's nothing I can do . . ."
Shadow and Shade met up again and Shadow turned off his cloak, seeing it was only useful for the element of surprise, which he'd already used up. They ran down an alley, where the car couldn't chase them, but the programs followed.
They kept running. They were fast, but the programs had split up and covered the alleys. Shadow and Shade kept running into them. Shadow shot at them, but his ammo quickly ran low. They were running out of options and time.
Finally, they hit a dead end. They skidded to a stop.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Shadow exclaimed. He spun around as the programs came around the corners and headed for them. Shadow fired his last three bullets and the programs ducked back. When he ran out, Shadow dropped his weapon and could only watch as the programs came back out with cocky grins on their faces. They came up slowly, strutting a little. This was their moment.
Shadow breathed heavily. "So . . ." He said. "This is it."
"Looks like it." Shade replied, also staring at her foes.
"This bites." Shadow said with no humor. "This really bites."
Suddenly, he felt a hand take his. He looked over at Shade.
"At least you're not alone." She pointed out. A sense of relief filled Shadow and he actually smiled a little, then looked back at the programs who spelled his doom.
"Can't you do anything?" Pyro asked weakly and desperately.
Hero shook his head. "Nothing . . .they're on their own." He looked down.
Riley sighed and also looked at the floor.
Pyro shook his head in disbelief and turned away, shouting in anger.
X stared at the screen, reading the situation over and over. There was nothing Shadow, Shade, or Hero could do now.
But . . .
"Hero, move." X ordered. He looked up.
"What?"
"MOVE!!" He shoved Hero from the Operator's chair and sat in it.
"What are you doing?" Pyro asked him.
"Shut up!!" He yanked off the flash drive and plugged it into the computer. He began working at the keyboard, pounding like a madman.
"Is that . . .?" Pyro asked.
"Yep." X answered, not taking his eyes off the screen. "That's my baby."
The programs took aim, each wanting a piece of the action. Shadow and Shade stood, defiant, unafraid of death.
"Alright." X said. "Say hello to my little friend." He gave one command:
DELETE
A program twitched suddenly. The others looked at it. It twitched again and then cried out. Its eyes glowed a deep crimson red as its body seemed to strain. With a scream, the program burst, sending nothing but tiny fragments of code scattering everywhere.
The other four programs looked at each other. Then, another program twitched. The same happened. Its eyes glowed and it wailed as it burst. The other three grew afraid.
"KILL THEM NOW!!" One shouted.
"Oh, no you don't!" X said.
A program twitched and its eyes glowed red, but instead of bursting, it turned on the other two programs and fired a barrage of bullets from its automatic weapon, screaming as it did so. The programs fell, then the other one twitched once more and let out another cry as it too was deleted.
Shadow and Shade looked at each other in disbelief.
Riley, Hero, and Pyro were speechless.
"It really works." Pyro whispered.
"What . . .was . . .THAT?!" Riley demanded.
"Can't talk." X said. He worked a little more.
"Hero, gimme that." X took the Operator's headset and dialed.
"Operator."
"Link. This is X from the Genesis. You watching?"
"Yeah! What happened?!"
"Can't say right now. Get ready. I'm making an exit. Get Shade outta there once I do."
Brriiinngg!!
Shade answered. "Y-yeah?" Her voice was shaky. "Where?"
Brriiinngg!! Both heads spun and beheld a payphone just ten feet from them.
"Link, that phone wasn't there before!"
"Yeah, I know." He replied. "X said he was gonna make an exit, but I didn't know he mean MAKE an exit! Whatever, just take it!"
Shade hung up and picked up the phone. Her body disappeared as she jacked out.
Shadow slowly hung up the phone, staring at it. It ran again. He answered and was gone. No one saw, but once Shadow had exited the Matrix, the phone vanished without a trace.
Shadow's eyes opened. His body was sweating greatly.
"You okay?" Pyro asked.
"Yeah . . ."
"Then let me ask WHAT WERE YOU THINKING BACK THERE?!"
Shadow didn't argue. It was all his fault. If he hadn't dawdled with Shade, they'd have been able to escape.
"You almost got yourself killed!! And Shade too! You're lucky X was able to wave a miracle at you and get your sorry butt outta there! What was going on in your head?!"
Shadow didn't give an answer because he didn't have one. Riley clenched his jaw. "But you're still new at this...so I'm only giving you a three-day suspension from the Matrix."
"Fair enough." Shadow said. "I'm sorry." There was silence.
Brriiinngg!!
"Genesis." X said, seeing as he still had the headset on.
"X!" Link said. "What happened? First, the programs go haywire, then a phone pops up out of nowhere, what did you do?"
"I'm afraid that's strictly confidential." X replied.
"Confidential?! You fried five programs without entering the Matrix!"
"That's only a smidgen of my ability, Link, but I can't go into detail, I'm afraid. You're just going to have to trust me."
Link sighed. "Whatever, X. Shade says thanks. Later." They both hung up.
"Confidential, eh?" Riley asked.
"Yep."
"Then as your captain, I order you to spill it."
"Alright." He pulled the flash drive out of the computer and held it up. "This baby has more computer power in it than any five ships combined."
"What is it?"
"I call it the X-virus, respectively. I designed it."
"YOU designed it?" Hero asked, amazed. "I knew you were good, but not THAT good!"
"It's a very powerful bug. I can use it to hack into any system, file, program, you name it. Once I'm in, they're all mine."
"That's how you controlled the third program." Riley noted.
"Yep. Then I deleted him as I did the others."
"Unbelievable!" Hero said in awe.
"So it really works." Pyro said.
"You knew about this?" Riley asked him.
"Yeah, he told Shadow and I about it, but I didn't think he was serious!"
"X, why didn't you tell us about this?"
"I try to save the virus as a last-resort."
"Why?"
"Well, I can't depend on it 100%!"
"Hm . . .well, good work, X."
"Thank you, sir."
"Hero, what time is it?"
"Uh, almost 8:30 A.M., sir."
"ONLY 8:30?!" Shadow exclaimed.
"And already we've had enough action for a day." Riley sighed. "We'll lay back for now." He walked out of the room. Hero followed.
Pyro, Shadow, and X went to get something to eat.
"Thanks for saving my butt back there." Shadow finally said. It had been awkwardly silent between them for a few minutes.
X didn't know what to say. Pyro finally said it for him.
"What were you thinking, Shadow?! You almost got yourself killed!"
"I wasn't thinking." He replied. "I know I screwed up, okay?"
"Then why did you do it?"
Shadow hesitated.
"We know it's about Shade, but why put your life on the line?"
"I didn't know I was putting my life on the line."
"But you knew you took the wrong exit." X put in.
"I just . . ." He hesitated. "I . . .wanted to be with her a little longer."
"That is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard." Pyro shook his head.
"I know it was stupid." Shadow sighed, full of regret. "And, again, I'm sorry."
They all got back to eating for a moment.
"So you like this girl, huh?" X asked him.
Shadow nodded. "Yep."
"Just out of curiosity, why?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just kind of attracted to her." He went on. "And you can't just call a girl up these days and ask her out, you know? And I don't get to see her that often, so . . .that's why I lingered. But, c'mon, X, can you honestly tell me you wouldn't do the same with Siren?"
X hesitated. "I don't know."
"Who's Siren?" Pyro asked.
"She's the person who helped us find you. She also saved my butt last night." He smiled. "She's hot . . .REAL hot."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." He chuckled at the thought of her. Quiet again.
"So," Shadow said. "That X-virus...incredible. Does it have any limits?"
X hesitated. "I don't know."
One week later . . .
It had long-since been assumed that all the rogue programs were being led by someone, especially by how they all worked en masse. But who would they be led by?
To those who'd been on the force for a while, they could only think of one name that could control such a large program force:
The Merovingian.
But they had to be sure. Several people from several ships were going in to a simple sort of stakeout mission. Shadow was going to take the other guys with him. He was a good spy, but he might need backup.
"Guns aren't allowed in the club." Shadow said as he pulled out his only weapon: a 9mm. Their uploads had been different this time. They'd only been given one weapon.
"So why did they give them to us in the first place?" Pyro asked, taking out his.
"Don't want to seem abnormal."
"Okay." Shadow said. "C'mon." The three of them each wore a black cloak over their usual clothes with bandanas covering their heads. They pulled masks up to their mouths as they walked. Four tough programs came up and looked at them. Each of them pulled out a counterfeit pass that Shadow had made for them and showed it to them. The program motioned towards the door with his head. They walked inside and found themselves in another room, where a man took their guns. The trio entered the club.
"We're in." X noted. "What now?"
"Just keep a sharp eye for anything unusual." Shadow said. "Split up." Shadow slid off into the shadows, virtually disappearing. The other two went off.
Shadow loved this job, slurking around silently as the music blasted and people danced all around them. There were many dangerous programs, but Shadow didn't fear them. They couldn't see him.
"Shadow?"
He jumped, then froze. How in the world?! He looked over at someone who took off their mask.
"Shade?!" He exclaimed.
Pyro's eyes were wide and scanning. Nothing out of the ordinary, as strange as this place was. Then . . .
Pyro shot her a double-take as he passed her.
"Veronica?"
She turned. "Who?" He took off his mask. "Pyro?!"
X could barely see in the dim lighting, so he turned on Neovision. Things got a little confusing with a lot of activity going on, but he soon got a grip on himself. His eyes caught something. He turned off Neovision to see it for himself.
"Siren?!"
She turned to him as he took off his mask. "Well, well, if it isn't X!"
Hero shook his head in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me."
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Author's Note: Women can have dangerous effects on the male mind, turning to much and causing them to deny themselves of reason. How will they be effected now? I'll show you in the next chapter. Until then, please review!