MASK 2:The Next Generation

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Making Ourselves At Home
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AN:I know. I updated two weeks ago. Well, the thing is I promised myself I'd have this done by the end of the year. I've got two chapters after this and only one month, so I decided to get cracking. However, I decided to take my time and try to make this as good as possible. After all, it wouldn't do good to rush the work and have the end result be garbage. I've seen rushed works and they weren't good.
Well, here we go.

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A couple of hours after MASK 2 had landed on George Island...

"Okay, recap." said Jeremy. "Scooter's checking to find out the source of that energy wave."

"Check." said Rocky.

"Max and Sven are on a reconaissance mission." said Jeremy.

"Check." said Rocky.

"Everyone else is preparing to move out on a moment's notice." said Jeremy.

"Check." said Rocky.

"I guess we're good then." said Jeremy.

----------

Out on an access road, Max drove along in the Bear while looking for possible dangers with Sven.

"I think that overlooking cliff could be used as a lookout." said Max.

"I'll keep that in mind." said Sven.

"Hey, you want to talk?" asked Max. "It should break up the monotony and help us to get to know each other."

"Talk about what?" asked Sven.

"Anything you like, your call." said Max.

"Well, I was testing out my mask earlier." said Sven. "It has a thermal imager and I noticed something."

"What's that?" asked Max.

"I noticed your body temperature tends to increase slightly when ever Laura enters the room." said Sven. "Either she reminds you of a test you didn't study for or..."

"Knock it off, wiseguy!" snapped Max.

"Does she know you care for her?" asked Sven.

"No." said Max. "No, I haven't told her yet."

"I think you'd better." said Sven. "Trust me."

"When I get the chance." said Max.

----------

At the disposal facility, Gearbox laughed as he looked at one of the zombified soldiers and threw punches at the man's face, stopping just short of hitting him.

----------

Deep underground, Skull and Crossbones led Darwood into the storage room they were inat the timeDarwood activated the Mind's Pencil.

"What were you looking for?" asked Darwood. "It had better be important."

"It is." said Skull. "If the directory was correct, it should be...WHOA!"

The three men stared at a giant dark green off-road transport.

"It didn't look that big in the directory." said Skull.

"That thing is huge." said Crossbones. "What is it?"

"It's the XM-130 Juggernaut." said Skull. "It was originally designed back in 1984 as part of a squad of seemingly ordinary vehicles that transformed into combat machines."

"The original MASK team." said Darwood.

"And VENOM by extention." said Crossbones.

"It was rejected from the MASK program because it was too large and required too much manpower to operate." said Skull. "However, the too much manpower problem can be solved with Frankenstein's help."

"And the too large problem is not a problem for my purposes." said Darwood. "Get this thing ready. We might be able to use it. Now if you don't mind, Frankenstein wanted me to see something."

----------

Max parked the Bear on a bend in the road with a good view of the disposal facility.

"How close are we?" asked Sven as he climbed out of the bear.

"A mile." said Max as he did the same. "That's as close as Jeremy wanted us to get."

"Want me to take some pictures?" asked Sven.

"Why do you think I brought you out here?" asked Max. "Go right ahead."

Sven and Max donned their masks. "I'll see if the viewfinder works at this distance." said Sven. "What about you?"

"I've got these." said Max as he took out a pair of binoculars. He started to scan the area for anything worth noting. "Hey, Sven. Check out the runway."

"What's going on?" asked Sven.

"Looks like a race." said Max.

----------

On the runway, Flash was racing along in the Rocket while a silver Porsche Boxster was keeping pace with her. She took a turn onto the taxiway and let the car's tail end drift out. The Porsche followed her, performing the same drift.

"So, this is what you wanted to show me." said Darwood as he walked over to Frankenstein, who was watching the race.

"Flash is doing her usual best, but her opponent isn't too bad." said Frankenstein.

Flash raced across the designated finish line and parked. The Porsche parked next to her.

"Nice work, Flash." said Darwood. "But your competition wasn't too shabby either."

Darwood walked over and looked at Flash's opponent: one of Dr. Frankenstein's Wasps.

"I take it the Wasp Mark 2 and Deviator were a success, then?" asked Frankenstein.

"Indeed." said Darwood. "Bring whatever you have left off the plane."

----------

"Get a shot of that." said Max.

"I'll use the techno-scan function." said Sven as he retracted his right middle finger. "Freezeframe, fire!"

His visor flashed yellow for an instant. He saw the image of the Deviator complete with a full technological scan and mapping of its transformation scheme.

"What's next?" asked Sven.

"Let's see what's going on in the commandant's house." said Max as he redirected the binoculars towards Gates' house on the overlooking hill.

----------

Inside the house...

"Nice place you got here." said Blades.

"I'm only letting you stay here so nothing bad happens to...to..." said Gates. He was unable to finish his sentence because of his emotional stress.

"We're not your roommates, pal." said Rocks. "Think of us as your babysitters."

"Do you really need to be here?" asked Gates. "You've already disconnected my phone and cut me off from the rest of the world."

"Sorry, but..." said Blades. "Actually, I'm not sorry. I like being in this position of power."

"Enjoy it while it lasts." said Gates. He had a hint of foul temper in his voice.

----------

"I can't make out squat from here." said Max. "How about you?"

"No problem." said Sven as he retracted his right index finger. "Freezeframe, fire!"

The visor on his mask flashed yellow for a second. He was presented with a thermal image of the house. The heat signatures of Gates, Blades, and Rocks were clearly defined against the heat signatures of the house itself.

"There are three people in there." said Sven as Max redirected his binoculars. "Gender, race, I couldn't tell you unless I got closer." He noticed Max looking towards the base. "What's up?"

"Take a look at those soldiers." said Max. "I think we might need a shot of that."

----------

Hack and Slash looked over the mind controlled troops. "Got ourselves a little army." said Hack.

"I'm coming up with some things I'd like to try." said Slash. "You know, things I'd do if I had a private army."

"Let me know when you're finished with your list." said Hack.

"Hey, Hack." said Slash. "I've got an idea. Maybe we should mount the Mind's Pencil to one of our vehicles and when MASK comes, zappo!"

"Problem solved permanently." said Hack. "I like it."

"Hey, Gearbox!" called Slash. "Where are you keeping the Monster?"

----------

"They didn't move a muscle...literally!" said Max.

"Want a shot of that?" asked Sven.

"Knock yourself out." said Max.

Sven retracted his ring finger and pinkie and called "Freezeframe, fire!"

His visor flashed yellow for a second and he was shown an image of the soldiers, complete with a medical scan.

"Any more?" asked Sven.

"Nah." said Max. "J also wanted us to scout out a location for a base camp."

"I think I know a good place." said Sven. "Come on, I'll show you."

Little did they know, they were being watched themselves. Gilford was looking at them through the scope on his rifle. "Flash, can you give me a ride?" he asked.

----------

Sometime later, Max and Sven found an area that could be used for a base camp.

"Let's go report this to Jeremy." said Max. "This place is perfect."

"I see what you mean." said Sven. "It's secluded, easy to defend, not far from the disposal facility."

"You got it." said Max.

----------

The Rocket drove down a nearby access road slowly.

"What are we looking for?" asked Flash.

"I know I saw someone I didn't recognize." said Marcus. "Probably one of Sanchez's spies scouting out the facility. Now, where did he go?"

Just then, the Bear raced out of a side road and headed back to the others.

"Follow him." said Marcus. "But don't get too close."

"I know. I've done tails before." said Flash.

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Scooter groaned. "I just can't get past the password for the faclity's computer system." he said.

"There's a lot of high technology at the facility, useful or otherwise." said Jeremy. "It shouldn't be a surprise that the computer systems are heavily protected as well."

"Sorry, I'm just used to cracking the system easily." said Scooter. "This is a little beyond my abilities."

"How could Darwood access the facility's computer systems?" asked Jeremy. "You know, if he had to."

"He's got many a method." said Scooter. "He could force one of the base personel to access it for him. He could have Frankenstein or one of his robots work on it. He might have something else up his sleeve."

"Hold on, Max and Sven just got back." said Jeremy as he climbed out of the Behemoth.

Max and Sven got out of the Bear. "I'm going to show my pictures to Jeremy." said Sven. "Are you going to talk to Laura?"

"Yeah, if I can find her." said Max.

"How did it go?" asked Jeremy.

"Come on, I'll show you." said Sven.

No one noticed the Rocket parking just down the road.

"Looks like the entire team is here." said Flash.

"Malcolm was right." said Marcus. "Sanchez did come. I wish I knew where his scout went when we lost him."

"Maybe you should call Darwood." said Flash.

"I will." said Marcus as he picked up the radio.

----------

"Look alive, people." said Darwood. "I just received a radio call from Marcus. He's found a MASK battalion and we need to stomp them out. Hack and Slash, take your new wheels and take them down. Gearbox, you're going with them. Dr. Frankenstein, you ride with Gearbox in the Monster. Take a squadron of Deviators with you."

"But I've only completed six of them!" said Frankenstein.

"Then bring three." said Darwood. "Oh, one last thing. Bring this to Marcus." he added as he handed a box to Gearbox.

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Sven entered the Behemoth. "I think you'll see some things Darwood doesn't want you to see." hesaid.

"Okay, show us." said Jeremy.

"Freezeframe, on!" called Sven. The technical scan image of the Deviator was projected onto the wall.

"Looks like Darwood's got a new toy." said Scooter.

"And it's up to us to break it." said Jeremy.

"Looks more like he's got two new toys." said Rocky. "Why does the technical scan include the driver?"

"Must be one of Frankenstein's androids." said Scooter.

"Next picture, Sven." said Jeremy.

Sven quickly moved his thumb. The thermal image of the commandant's house came up. "This is where Gates was staying." said Sven.

"Who're the blobs?" asked Scooter.

"I have no idea." said Sven. "I couldn't get a positive I.D."

"The house has no relevance to the base." said Jeremy. "There's nothing you can do there that can't be done in the base itself. If they're using it as a lookout, they'd only need one agent there. My guess is one of those blobs is Gates and the other two are Foxes guarding him."

"We can try to see if your theory is correct later." said Sven as he moved his thumb again. "This one, there's something wrong, but I can't figure it out." The medical scan image of the soldiers was seen.

"I can't see it either." said Jeremy. "But I can't figure out how Darwood is controling these troops."

"How is a normal person supposed to look on this thing?" asked Rocky.

"I don't know." said Sven. "I've never used this function before. Maybe we should get a shot of a normal person as reference."

"I think we should get Laura as well." said Scooter. "This is her department."

"Sven, get Laura." said Jeremy. "Get a shot of her as well. Kill two birds with one stone."

----------

Laura was in the Dove checking on her medical supplies. The sliding door opened and Max leaned in.

"There you are!" he said. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"How hard were you looking?" asked Laura. "I was in here the whole time."

"Good point." said Max.

"Are you okay?" asked Laura. "Do you need a doctor?"

"No, I'm fine." said Max. "I guess. Laura, there's something I need to tell you. You see, I..."

"Freezeframe, fire!" called Sven. Max and Laura turned to see him with his ring finger and pinky retracted.

"Sven!" yelled Max.

"Sorry to interupt the moment, but Jeremy needs you, Laura." said Sven.

"Okay." said Laura as she got up. "We'll finish this later. Okay, Max?"

"Take your time." said Max. "I could use the breather."

----------

Laura and Sven joined Jeremy, Scooter, and Rocky in the Behemoth.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Sven, show us that picture again." said Jeremy.

"Got it." said Sven. "Freezeframe, on!"

The medical scan image of the soldiers came up again.

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing." said Laura.

"I'll bring up the shot of her and Max." said Sven. He moved his thumb a couple of times and brought up the medical scan of Max and Laura.

"This appears to be normal." said Laura. "But why is Max's heart rate so high?"

"Come on, do the math!" whispered Sven.

"Wait! Go back!" said Laura. Sven moved his thumb a few times and brought back the image of the soldiers.

"I see it now!" said Laura. "Something's wrong with their heads. But what is it? I've never seen anything like this."

"I think we might need reshoots." said Jeremy.

"You got it." said Sven. "I might need to get closer, though."

"If you gotta." said Rocky.

Laura climbed out of the Behemoth and walked back to the Dove.

"Now, this is the spot Max suggested for our base camp." said Sven.

----------

Marcus and Flash were leaning against the Rocket when the Doberman, Ram, Monster, three Deviators, and four Rats pulled up.

"No base personel?" asked Marcus.

"None of them have the mental capacity to operate a vehicle." said Gearbox.

"Can this group take out all of them?" asked Marcus as he pointed out the MASK force.

"No sweat." said Slash.

"By the way, I got a present for ya!" said Gearbox as he tossed the box to Marcus.

Marcus caught the box, opened it, and pulled out a mask. There was a note attached. Marcus took it out and read it. "Marcus, you can't be a part of the Foxes without a mask. While wearing this, call 'Shockwave, fire!' for a pleasant surprise. Malcolm." He put on the mask.

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"Chris, what's that?" asked Kenny as he saw the top of the Monster through the tops of the trees.

"I dunno." said Chris. "I think we should investigate."

While they went to investigate, Laura got back into the Dove.

"Max, what were you saying?" asked Laura.

"Oh, yeah." said Max. "As I was saying..."

"It's right up there." said Kenny as he pointed to the trees.

"I see it." said Chris. "It's..." He cut himself off with a gasp.

"Shockwave, fire!" called Marcus. A blue fireball fired from his mask towards Chris and Kenny.

"Incoming!" yelled Kenny. He and Chris ran for cover. Liam was walking over to see what the fuss was about, but he too ran for cover.

The fireball hit the ground and sent the three men flying. Liam landed on his shoulder not far from the Ferret. Chris quickly rolled into a somersault and sprung back to his feet. Kenny was thrown into the side of the Behemoth.

Jeremy, Scooter, and Rocky jumped out of the Behemoth. "What was that?" asked Jeremy.

"The Foxes!" yelled Kenny as he tried to get up. "They found us!"

"Everybody saddle up!" yelled Jeremy. "We've got barbarians at the gate!"

Laura gasped and ran out of the Dove. Max grumbled at his luck.

"Everybody to your vehicles!" yelled Jeremy. "We gotta move!"

"I don't think I can drive!" yelled Kenny. "I think my wrist is broken!"

Laura put on her mask and plugged in the cable. She grabbed Kenny's injured and called "Doctor, on!"

Her glove glowed with white energy. Kenny flexed his fingers and said "Thanks!"

"Sven, you're in the Mammoth." said Jeremy. "Scooter, you're in the Behemoth."

Within seconds, all agents had gotten into their respective vehicles and started them. They had managed to get moving within a minute.

Scooter checked his watch and said "Wow, we make good time."

Marcus watched them leave and said "Don't just stand there! After them!"

----------

The MASK vehicles raced along the road.

"I think it would be a pretty bad idea to lead them to our base camp." said Caitlin from behind the wheel of the Lightning.

"Good point." said Jeremy. "Everybody head to the alternate location. And put your masks on. We might need them."

"Got it!" said Liam as he rubbed his shoulder. He and his teammates hit their mask buttons and put on their masks.

"Can you see where they're going?" asked Gearbox.

"Yes." said Frankenstein. "I'll try to send the Wasps after them." He worked a few switches on the control console.

Enzo, who was bringing up the rear, looked in his rearview mirror. He saw two Deviators and two Rats. "Jeremy, we've got company!" he said.

The Rats and Deviators caught up quickly and started intermingling with the MASK vehicles. A Deviator pulled alongside the Mammoth and Wei got a look at the driver.

"The Porsches are being driven by Wasp droids." he reported.

"I'll handle this." said Rocky as he pulled off to the side and stopped. He watched his teammates drive by him until he saw the Mammoth. Then, he gave chase.

Rocky pulled alongside the Deviator and pulled out his shotgun. "Kiss it goodbye!" he said, then fired.

The shot hit the android in the head, decapitating it. However, the Deviator did something completely unexpected. It exploded.

The explosion threw Rocky off balance and he had to slow down to correct himself. He almost dropped his shotgun.

Chris was following behind the Deviator when it exploded and when the dust cleared, the explosion had left a huge crater. Chris had no chance of avoiding it and drove right into it. The Roc flew ten feet before hitting the road again. Chris let out a squeal of excitement.

"Jeremy, the Wasps are rigged to blow!" yelled Wei into his communicator. "Repeat, the Wasps are rigged to blow!"

"I copy!" yelled Jeremy. "Guys, the Wasps' Achilles' Heel no longer applies!"

"So, now what?" asked Scooter.

"Watch!" said Kenny. "Guys, I'm going to try something! Hit your brakes after that next turn!"

Jeremy looked at the next turn which went around a hill and out of his view. "I think you should listen to him." he said.

The agents drove around the turn. Kenny was the last of the first half and pulled his emergency brake as he rounded the turn. The trailer swung around until it blocked the road. Inside, Scooter held on for dear life.

"Kenny, what was that?" he yelled.

"Just laying a trap." said Kenny.

"Okay, but if you jacknife, I'm gonna kill you!" said Scooter.

The Bear, Dove, and other Deviator rounded the turn. Max and Laura hit their brakes. The Wasp wasn't as lucky and went under the Behemoth's trailer, shearing the windshield off and the android's head and shoulder as well.

Kenny started moving again and Max and Laura drove around him. Enzo, Michael, and Liam caught up and joined them.

The Rats extended their guns and started attacking Chris and Rocky. "I'm going into battle mode!" said Chris.

"I read you!" said Jeremy.

Chris pushed the transformation button on his dashboard. The front bumper lowered to reveal a chain gun. A plane's tail boom flipped out of the bed just before the side walls flipped up and a pair of jet engines extended into position.

Chris stomped on the brakes and let the Rats pass him. He then got back on the accelerator and got one of them in his sights. "Sayanora." he said. He pulled the trigger and shredded the Rat along with the Wasp that was riding it.

"Nice shootin', Tex." said Wei.

"Thanks, pardner." said Chris.

Just then, the Rocket pulled in front of them and parked. Marcus climbed out and watched the MASK vehicles drive around him. Then he saw a target: the Bear.

"Scratch one MASK." he said. "Shockwave, fire!"

A blue fireball fired from his mask and hit the side of the Bear, knocking it over. Max tried to correct, but the Bear started to fall over regardless.

"I'm doomed." muttered Max. Suddenly, he stopped falling over and looked to see what had happened. Michael had pulled up next to him and placed the Wolverine under the falling Bear.

"Mikey!" yelled Max. "Boy, I'm glad to see you."

"Turn towards me and you'll be back on your wheels." said Michael.

Max did as Michael told him and the Bear landed on its wheels.

"Now, let's get that guy." said Michael.

Max tapped the Bear's transformation button a few times. "Michael, I can't transform the Bear!" he said. "That shot must've taken out my transformation control computer!"

"Looks like I do this solo, then." said Michael as he hit his transformation button.

The Wolverine's front and rear ends folded down and tank treads extended from the bottoms. The roof split lengthwise and opened inward. The seats extended outward to become gun turrets. Missile banks extended from the doors.

"Sweet!" yelled Max.

"Bruce said it was the next evolution of an earlier design." said Michael as he turned his turret towards the Rocket. Flash jumped out when she saw where Michael was aiming. He opened fire on the car and shot out the front tire, headlight, and part of the controls.

"Let's go!" he said. He and Max joined the chase again.

Gilford looked over the shot-up Rocket and asked "Can you get this thing going again?"

"Looks like it." said Flash as she looked over the damage. "I'll have to go into battle mode, though. Although, I was probably going to do that anyway."

Frankenstein looked at his computer in complete dismay. "My Wasps are getting pasted." he groaned.

"Oh, gee. Isn't that just too bad?" said Gearbox.

"Wait, why didn't that one self destruct?" asked Frankenstein when he discovered the Deviator that had gone under the Behemoth's trailer.

"Maybe it forgot." joked Gearbox.

"Its operating system is still functioning." said Frankenstein. "It's alive! It's heavily damaged, but it's still working!"

----------

The MASK team reached a clearing with a pond next to it.

"This looks like a good place to stand our ground." said Jeremy. "Everybody stop and fight here. Liam, Chris, you now have permission to take off."

"About bloody time." said Liam as he hit his transformation button.

The Ferret's rear hatch split lengthwise and slid to the sides. A tail boom and a pair of rotor blades extended into place. The rear doors rotated up to reveal a rocket launcher and a winch. The side skirts lowered to become landing skids. Laser cannons extended from the headlights. The car turned helicopter then took off.

"Initiating phase two." said Chris as he hit his second transformation button. The Roc parked, a pair of wings folded out of the sides, and the jet engines roared to life. A pair of launch rails elevated into position and the plane took off.

Jeremy was next. He hit his transformation button and the Skyhawk went into battle mode.

Laura parked next to the pond and hit the Dove's transformation button. The roof section elevated and split into a missile bank and a gun turret. The wheels lowered into stabilizers. The side wall opened backwards to reveal the medical bay.

Rocky rolled to a stop on the Warhorse and hit the transformation button. The front forks raised into guns. The sides split and lowered revealing tank treads.

"Think that was cool?" said Kenny. "How about this?" He pushed the transformation button. The truck's grill lowered, revealing a pair of guns. The top of the cab folded down revealing a radar dish. The rear wheels rotated to reveal guns attached. Panels on the sides and top of the trailer rotated to reveal gun turrets and a command pod.

Wei was next to transform his vehicle. The sides of the tanker extendedoutward revealing laser cannons. The front wheels rotated up to reveal tank treads. The hood elevated to reveal a pair of guns on the front and a radar dish.

Then the Foxes showed up with the surviving Rats and Deviator.

"Time to party!" said Hack as he transformed the Doberman. Slash followed suit with the Ram. Flash flew in with the transformed Rocket.

Gearbox then transformed the Monster. Its forward section split down the middle and opened to reveal a small turret/cockpit with two guns. The rear section elevated and a radar dish swung up. However, the cannons had been replaced by the Mind's Pencil.

"Looks like they rearmed themselves." said Caitlin as she transformed the Lightning.

"Guess we should take some extra precautions, eh?" said Kenny.

"Stand by for docking." said Wei as he threw the Mammoth into reverse. He backed the rig up until it interlocked with the Behemoth's trailer.

Wei then separated the Mammoth's cab from its tanker and the tanker opened up to reveal a command center, a pair of vehicle bays, and a missile launcher.

Kenny detached the Behemoth's trailer which opened up itself to reveal its own command center, vehicle bays, and missile launchers. The Behemoth's tractor lowered its sleeper cab, raising the radar dish and revealing its own missile bank.

"All that firepower." said Gearbox. "And it's all about to amount to zilch. Can you get that thing going?"

"Working on it now." said Frankenstein as he started powering up the Mind's Pencil.

Just then, Marcus noticed the Monster's change of weaponry and was shocked. "What the..?" he said. "I don't think Malcolm's gonna like this." He activated his communicator.

"Marcus, what's going on?" asked Darwood.

"Did you tell Gearbox he could mount the Mind's Pencil on the Monster?" asked Marcus.

"No, but that sounds like a good idea." said Darwood. "That way, we can use it on someone away from the base."

"Apparently, Gearbox thought the same thing." said Marcus. "He's using it on MASK!"

"What?" asked Darwood. "Put him on!"

"I'm trying, but he's not answering his communicator." said Flash.

"I'm going to need someone to man the extra guns." said Scooter.

Just after he said that, the Bear and Marlin pulled up and Max and Enzo climbed out.

"The Bear's transformation is shot." said Max as he jumped into one of the gun turrets.

"The Marlin is useless on land." said Enzo as he jumped in the other.

They started firing on the Foxes. The Ram performed a strafing run, but missed anything worth hitting. As Slash was angling for a return pass, the Ram was hit by a missile.

"What the..?" he asked. "Who did that?"

"Ha! Score one for the Bostonian." said Laura as she watched the aftermath of her missile shot. The Ram had lost an engine.

Caitlin made a strafing run of her own on the Deviator. After her pass, the Deviator separated. The front fenders and hood became a flying drone. The front bumper and wheels became a miniature tank. The passenger compartment became a jet glider. The rear fenders and rear deck became another flying drone and the rear bumper and wheels became another tank.

"Heads up!" said Caitlin. "The Porsche has separated into WHOA!" She swerved to avoid colliding with another drone. "Apparently, they can clone themselves as well!"

"Wait, look at the damage on that thing." said Chris.

"It must have come from the one that went under the trailer." said Kenny.

Chris and Caitlin started shooting the drones out of the air. "Not much of a problem." said Caitlin.

Just then, the computer in the Monster went off. "The Pencil is ready!" called Frankenstein.

"Hit it!" yelled Gearbox. Frankenstein hit the firing button for the Pencil and started broadcasting the mind-altering beam at the MASK agents.

"Is something supposed to be happening?" asked Max.

"I dunno." said Enzo. "I've never seen one of those in use before."

"Jeremy, this energy wave is the same frequency as the one I picked up just after we landed." said Scooter.

"What is it used for?" asked Jeremy.

"I won't know until I can properly analyze it." said Scooter. "Until then, I think we should shut it down."

Finally, Darwood managed to establish communications with Gearbox. "Gearbox, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Check it out!" said Gearbox. "I'm putting the MASK team under our spell!"

"Great plan, except for one thing." said Darwood. "The Pencil cannot penetrate masks!"

Gearbox's face dropped when he realized he wasn't doing anything. "That would've been good to know beforehand." he said.

"Torque, on!" called Enzo.

A blue beam was broadcast from his mask. It hit the barrel of the Pencil and twisted it around. A second later, the barrel broke off of the Pencil in a shower of sparks and tumbled to the ground.

"Go to plan B?" asked Frankenstein.

"What plan B?" asked Gearbox. "We gotta get outta here! Hack, you're deatmeat when we get back!"

"Both of us are when Darwood gets us." said Hack, very scared.

"Gearbox called a retreat." said Flash.

"I've got a plan to keep MASK busy." said Marcus. "Shockwave, fire!"

A blue fireball shot from his mask and flew straight towards the Dove. It hit the Dove and knocked it into the pond.

"Laura!" yelled Max as he jumped out of the gun turret. He ran over to the pond.

His teammates parked and landed their vehicles and joined him. They saw the Dove sinking fast. Max ripped off his mask and boots and dove into the pond.

"Max!" yelled Liam.

"We need to do something!" yelled Michael.

Max swam into the sinking Dove and found Laura panicking. He helped her get her mask off and found she was still concious. He took one of the Dove's oxygen tanks and placed the oxygen mask over Laura's face. After pushing the water out, Laura took a couple of deep breaths. Max took the oxygen mask next and took a couple of breaths himself. Then, he pulled her out of the Dove and swam for the surface.

They both surfaced to the cheers of their teammates. Laura was still panicking, so Max helped her to the shore.

"Laura, are you alright?" said Caitlin.

"I...I think so." said Laura.

Jeremy ran over and looked at her. "Laura, I think you should rest up a little." he said. "I also think you should thank Max for saving your life."

"Thank you." gasped Laura. "Thank you."

"Okay, guys." said Jeremy. "As soon as we're ready to move out, we're going to the real base camp. Max rides in the Bear, Sven drives. Laura rides in the Behemoth and we're towing the Dove. Be on guard. The Foxes aren't going to leave us alone right now. Oh, and Max, nice save."

Scooter walked back to the Behemoth's trailer. Wei joined him. "So, what do you think of Kenny's driving?"

"Wei, I take back every bad thing I ever said about your driving." said Scooter. "Kenny's a thousand times worse."

Sven helped Max into the Bear. "I didn't get chance to talk to Laura." said Max. "Think I should try again soon?"

"Max, you were first in before anyone suggested anything." said Sven. "You said a mouthful!"

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AN:I don't like to compare my works to others, but I think this was definitely one of the best things I've written. In case you're wondering, the Wolverine's transformation was based off that of the Razorback and modified.
We're four chapters into the second half of the fic and I still haven't profiled Darwood's new guys. Sorry about that. I'll fix that now.

Skull

Real Name:Leonard Norris

Allegiance:The Foxes

Position:Strategist

Birthplace:Buffalo

Mask:Hacker (allows him to bypass computer security systems)

Vehicle Code Name:Juggernaut (off-road transport/mobile base)

Bio:Leonard was tops in his class at Yale, but found few job opportunities when he graduated. He eventually went into managing underground street fighters. He took part in a criminal deal with future Fox Calvin "Gearbox" Lucas and was left with one client, Dennis Paulsen, when it went wrong. Gearbox later came to recruit him for the Foxes and he accepted after some convincing.

Crossbones

Real Name:Dennis Paulsen

Allegiance:The Foxes

Position:Martial Artist

Birthplace:Las Vegas

Mask:Chi (generates energy projectiles which can be thrown)

Vehicle Code Name:Beluga (Chevy Express plumber's van/assault sub)

Bio:Dennis is trained in four styles of kung fu, a feat which got him accepted into the World Styles Confederation, a martial arts organization specializing in mulitple styles. He left the WSC after a controversial loss in a competition. He has since turned to underground fighting, but has been involved with at least one criminal act. After some urging, he joined the Foxes.

There's a couple more chapters to come and I promise there will be a surprise in the next one.