Martin Mystery: New Allies
By: Ominae
Rating: PG-13
NOTE:
All characters of Martin Mystery are under the copyright of Marathon; Yu Ominae is a copyright of Striker/Spriggan; John Vattic is a copyright of Codemasters and Free Radical. The character Mark Sy is under my jurisdiction and some parts of his life are based from my experience. The character Patrick Chan is also under my jurisdiction.
Previously:
With the destruction of the Berserker robot and the apprehension of terrorist leader Gio Valdez, the task force has been congratulated by the Center for accomplishing their mission. What will happen to them next? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 11: Farewells
En route to ARCAM apartments - 1:40 P.M.
Everyone was onboard the 2004 Land Rover Range Rover SUV, which had already departed from the former excavation site, now cordoned off by the Center. All of their equipment and gear was already stowed away at the SUV's trunk. Mark was still the driver since he knew his way around the country. Diana decided to sit beside him because Martin was still picky over what M.O.M. did to him. He was seated in the second row with Java and Patrick. John and Yu were in the rest of the guys at the back decided to spend the time by chatting with one another instead of just being in their seats and doing nothing. Mark tuned up the radio to Campus Radio 97.1 as he wanted to catch up on the latest music waves ever since he left the country for the past few months.
"Hey Mark." asked Diana. "About what happened a while ago... did you really like it?" Diana then had a big grin on her face.
(Sweat drop) "Errr... I'd rather not say, Di!"
"MARK!" shouted Martin. "Traitor! How dare you get that kiss from M.O.M.!" He was about to stand from his seat and strangle his neck. But...
Help came along the way in the forms of both Java and Patrick, who restrained Martin so as to shut him up temporarily with a little help from John, who used his Charm technique as to help him calm down.
Mark didn't decide to bother with Martin and instead, chose to concentrate on their driving. By that time, they were already on the main highway that would lead them back to the metropolitan area.
"So what do we do now that we're able to save the world?" asked Yu. He pillowed his head by placing his arms behind his head.
"We could do around tomorrow. It's been a while since I've visited Manila."suggested John while he adjusted his eyeglasses.
"Yea! I'd like to go around Manila. Marrrrkkk, maybe you can show us around,right?" asked Diana dreamily.
(Sweat drop) "Why not? It's been a while since I've left the country. Heck, I'd like to see the changes around for myself. We can head to Makati city tomorrow anyway, that's the best place to have a look around."
"Good idea my man!" added Patrick. "I can help give the guys the tour around."
Martin already recovered from John's charm technique and had heard about thetalk on spending some time around Makati.
"Well, that's fine with me. Anything to get my mind off things for a change."
"That's settled then! For now, let's head back to the apartments and have us a pizza take out." suggested Mark.
Everyone in the vehicle cheered in unison as Mark continued his drive down the main highway, with the exception of Martin. By then, they were almost near the outskirts of the urban cities.
Apartments, ARCAM Philippines, Makati, Philippines - 3:00 P.M.
The agents had arrived at the doorsteps of their apartment after parking the Range Rover SUV at the underground garage. On the door was a taped note addressed to the team.
"Who's it from?" inquired Martin.
Mark hastily grabbed the note from the door, took off the scotch tape sticking to it and opened the note. It was addressed to them from M.O.M.
Salutations agents,
As you may or may not know, the Berserker robots that are in the statis tanks are already shipped back to our base. Professor Martinez is okay and should be reporting back to work at Simon Fraser University one day after this letter was completely written. We've checked on anyone who may know on your activities, such as some of Mark's friends back in the University of the Philippines. One of our moles, who was a security guard to Palma Hall, reported to me that they were two students who were suspicious of Mark's sudden appearance in the Philippines. They've been "taken care" of already. I'm terribly sorry, but I had to do the same thing with Professor Martinez for security reasons.
We've checked on reports of any presence of other Berserker statis chamber rooms hidden throughout the world. So far, the Philippines in the only confirmed location of the other Berserker robots hidden in Philippine territory based on research compiled by the University of the Philippines History Class research expedition. The Berserker transponder is also taken care and is stored in a safe place; I've taken the liberty of using a hard glass case to store it, such as the one used when Martin, Diana and Java were able to recover the Nazca Book of the Dead back in Peru a few months ago.
Anyway, you agents need to take a break. The plane tickets will be delivered to you after a few days. Go on, you guys deserve a rest.
Take care of yourselves and enjoy the Philippine nightlife for now.
Regards,
M.O.M.
PS:
Martin, Diana, Java, Mark - Report back soon after you land in Vancouver and Quebec.
"Wow! Never knew M.O.M. would send a letter like this before." said Martin in shock.
"At least she still cares." replied Mark as he folded the letter and placed it
in his pocket.
"We should get in and get some rest." commented Yu while he got the apartment keys out. He then inserted the key inside the keyhole and unlocked the door.
"After you." said Mark as he held the door for Diana.
"Thanks, Mark. You're such a gentleman. I think that's why M.O.M. likes you." giggled Diana.
"Yeah! Whatever!" said Martin in anger.
The rest followed Martin and Diana inside the apartment room with the duffel bags in tow. Patrick and Yu had already returned their weapons to the armory, which was located in the basements like in all ARCAM buildings.
The gang spent their time relaxing inside while waiting for the food to arrive. Martin and Java were in the couch, watching some cartoons on the tube. Yu and Patrick were inside the game room to play billiards. John took some time to visit the refrigerator and get some frozen chinese food for snacking while waiting for pizza. Mark was on the phone speaking with a Pizza Hut customer representative as he was preparing to order their dinner. He placed his hand on the phone's speaker while he consulted the gang on what kind of pizza to order.
"Hey you guys! You want Super Supreme?"
The only response that was heard was mostly filled with yeas. Mark smiled and went back on the phone and continued to talk with the customer representative while Diana just simply peered through the glass window overlooking the bustling traffic of Makati city. When Mark was done, he replaced the handset back in the cradle and joined Martin and Java in watching TV. Time passed by and it was 6 in the evening when the gang heard the doorbell. Yu opened the door and took the pizza from his hand while Patrick paid the man,
courtesy of some assistance from ARCAM Philippines. The gang went to the dining room and spent the rest of the evening munching down on the pizzas before they went back to their respective quarters in order to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be their R&R day from work.
Makati City - 10:00 A.M.
"Here we are."
Mark was driving the 2004 Land Rover Range Rover SUV, showing the gang the sights of Makati city with help from Patrick. They eventually entered Rockwell, which wasa site of recent development in the city in order to attract both local and foreign visitors to the city. They soon came to a stop at Power Plant Mall, which was one of the most recently made malls in the city. After finding a suitable parking spot, he turned off the engine and took the key from the ignition and unlocked the doors simultaneously. Everyone got out of the vehicle and took the time to admire the building (except Mark and Patrick since they were Philippine nationals!)
"Wow! So this is the Power Plant mall!" exclaimed Diana in awe.
"Well, it hasn't changed a bit." said Mark.
"You said it pal. Only major change is with the arcades." answered Patrick.
"The arcades? Oh what the heck? Let's go!" yelled Martin as he ran for the mall entrance.
"Oh well! If you can 't beat him, join him." said Yu as he walked behind him, with everyone else following him.
Power Station, Power Plant Mall, Makati City, Philippines - 12:30 P.M.
The former members of the joint task force had a blast in the arcade scene. Martin and Java played a 2-player game with Ghost Squad, the latest virtual gun game from Sega's AM-2 Studios. Java had some problems handling the prop HK UMP submachine gun (After all, he was a caveman!), but Martin took his time out to help Java handle it and even taught him some shooting skills that netted him higher points than Martin. John tried out Power Stone 2 with Patrick in tow. Patrick personally chose Falcon while John went for Accel. Both men were busy pummeling each other so hard with vigor that a small crowd formed behind them while Patrick utilized Falcon's Power Missile move after commencing the Power Change move. John responded with Accel's Power Drive.
The two former task force members were irritated at their losses that they tapped their fingers so hard on the buttons that they didn't notice their fingers aching for help. Yu had his luck with Dance Dance Revolution. For an ARCAM operative who had not much contact with females that much, his dancing moves soon won the admiration of many female arcade players, who could only gaze at he tried to dance faster to beat the computer. Mark and Diana teamed up to play Lethal Enforcers 3, otherwise known as Seigi no Hero (Heroes of Justice). They kinda enjoyed their time teaming up to beat the living hell out of the virtual gunmen. Mark chose the first stage, getting in the role of Junsas. Diana didn't know much about the game's Dead Heat System used to move around, but Mark showed her the tricks. Soon, the two became a team, gunning for one another if one of them takes the heat from enemy gunfire.
Yu then decided to test his driving skills with Initial D, Version 3. Martin soon noticed it and challenged Yu to a match one on one while Java cheered for Martin.
After Mark and Diana finished the game together, he took his time to glance at his modified U-Watch's digital clock and realized that it was 4 in the afternoon, which was almost dark. He gestured to the rest of the guys to cease whatever they're doing and come along with him since they need to look for a place to eat for dinner.
"Well Mark. Looks like we make a good team back there." said Diana while placing her arm around Mark's shoulders.
"Yep! I'm a veteran of light gun games, so that helped." replied Mark.
Mark tilted his head around and saw Martin and Java with grins on their faces.
"So what did our top operators play today?"
"Ghost Squad. I just loved the game that I actually finished it twice. I also played Initial D with Yu a while ago" answered Martin.
"Really?" inquired Diana with a raised eyebrow."Game good." said Java gleefully.
"Yep! Here's our Ghost Squad IC cards." Martin and Java showed the stunned teens their IC cards that they bought for the game. "Oh yeah, I also bought an IC card for Initial D." He shoved his hand in his right pocket and presented his Initial D IC card, which showed Keisuke Takahashi in it.
"Java like game." commented Java while clapping his hands.
"I see that Martin's a good adversary. Let me show you my Initial D IC card." He shoved his hand in his right pocket and showed his IC card, which had Ryousuke Takahashi standing next to his FC3S.
"Wooahh! Nice IC! Yu, can I have it?" pleaded Martin.
"No! It's mine." responded Yu as he replaced his IC card back in his wallet.
"You know back there, you were pretty good handling the Mazda RX7."
"Thanks, you weren't so bad yourself when you handled the Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec." chuckled Martin in reply.
A few minutes later, John and Patrick arrived last, grumbling over their play in Power Stone 2.
"Who won?" asked Yu.
"It was a tie for a few rounds, but he did in the end." said John pointing his thumb at Patrick.
"Yep! For an MIT academic, he's pretty good." added Patrick.
"You're not so bad yourself." commented John.
"Anyway, let's go get something to eat first." ordered Mark. The gang left Power Station and followed Mark as they walked around the mall to look for a place to eat in Power Plant.
Cafe Via Mare, Power Plant Mall, Makati City, Philippines - 6:00 P.M.
Dinner was quite good for the team. Mark and Patrick ordered Pancit Luglug, noodles with squid, spring onions, crushed pork cracklings or chicarons, slices of hard boiled egg and slices of kinchay or chinese celery with orange shrimpy sauce smothered all over it. Martin wanted to have a go with Milkfish Bellies in Soy Calamansi sauce, which he had developed a taste for already. Yu ordered Kare-Kare, which was Oxtail, tripe and vegetables with peanut sauce. Diana went for Prawns in Coconut cream. John chose Braised Pork Belly and Java wanted the Beef Stew in Tomato Sauce.
Everyone had a good time with their dinner, but Mark was the one who enjoyed the most since he hasn't visited his homeland for a few months now.
"Ah! That was a good dinner." said Martin patting his stomach.
"Watch it Martin! You might make your stomach painful. HE HE!" chuckled Patrick under his breath.
"I must admit, it's been a long time since I tried Filipino food. Well it still has it's taste for me." said John as he drank his glass of cold water.
"Java like food." added Java.
"Man! The Kare-Kare sure is excellent." commented Yu with his arm on the chair's back support while grabbing his regular Coke glass.
"Well, it's a long night for us. At least we got the time to rest." added Mark as he drank his regular Sprite.
"Thanks for recommending this place to us, Mark!" said Diana with a smile.
"No problem. It's one of my favorite places." replied Mark.
"Well," Patrick unfurled his sleeve to look at his wristwatch. "We better get back to the apartments, it's pretty late."
Mark called the waiter for the check. He paid it in cash before he told the rest of the gang that they can leave at once. They walked back to the parking lot to get into their car. Patrick took the helm as Mark was tired for the night; they drove back all the way to the ARCAM apartments, where they turned in for the night.
Apartments, ARCAM Philippines, Makati, Philippines - 8:00 A.M.
"Hey guys! We got our plane tickets, courtesy of M.O.M.!"
This was the yelling of Martin when he checked a piece ofenvelope that was slipped under their door. Martin tore it open to reveal plane tickets for Martin, Diana, Java, Yu and John. Of course, Patrick would stay behind in order to spend some time in Ateneo de Manila University since he was training as an ROTC cadet.
"When do we leave?" asked Diana excitedly.
"We got various flights. I'll hand them out later when we're done. But I know we leave in the afternoon, starting with 3 PM, which is the earliest"
"That gives up time to pack our gear and prepare for our trip to the airport. Let's go." suggested Yu as he went back to his room to pack up. The rest did so and Patrick chose to assist them in packing their luggages.
The gang decided to spend the time lounging in the living room while killing time. At the sound of the doorbell, Patrick opened the door and saw Jeff Cruz standing in the doorway. He informed the agents that he'll be helping them get their baggage in their bus for the ride to the the time eventually came, Patrick lead the team in heading to the elevator. After getting inside, Patrick selected the ground level button with his finger and they watched the elevator doors close before them. It was the last time that they'll be together
in the Philippines, and it'll be the last time that Mark will ever set foot in Philippine soil as he has to go back and assume his duties as a Center Shadow agent in Vancouver.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Centennial Terminal, Departure Area, Parañaque, Philippines - 2:20 P.M.
The ARCAM 2004 Toyota Coaster Bus came to a full stop near the sidewalk leadingto one of the main entrance to the Centennial Terminal. Martin, Diana, Java, Mark, Yu and John came down and exited from the bus. Patrick went down also and helped Jeff and the driver in carrying their luggage to them. Once they were done, Mark shook hands with Patrick with a goodbye.
"Thanks man. I owe you one."
"Nah! I was glad to help. I gotta get back to HQ and debrief Rodriguez. You guys take care now."
The gang waved goodbye as he went inside the bus before it came to life and drove away, heading back to Makati.
"Let's get inside so's we don't miss our flights." commanded Martin as they picked up their bags and went inside the terminal.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Centennial Terminal, Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge, Parañaque, Philippines - 2:50 P.M.
The team had managed to clear their papers with Philippine Immigration. Theywere now inside the Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge. They were now drinking varous softdrinks from their glasses while waiting for their flights. John wastyping in his laptop while Yu observed what he was was chatting with Java and Diana and Mark was taking his time out just to drink his regular Coke.
"Flight PR 103 for Tokyo, Japan now boarding at Gate 60. I repeat, Flight PR 103 for Tokyo, Japan now boarding at Gate 60."
"That's me flight." Yu grabbed his duffel bag and slinged it on his shoulder.
"I'll see you guys next time." He gave a mock salute before he walked out of the lounge.
"See ya Yu!" Mark gave a high five as he stood up from his chair.
"Well, what next?" asked Diana.
"I'm suppose to leave for San Francisco at 3 also." replied John.
"Really?" asked Martin.
"Yea. I'm invited to discuss my research on the Berserker at Stanford University." answered John.
"WOW!" added Mark in shock.
"Flight PR 113 for San Francisco, California now boarding at Gate 62. I repeat, Flight PR 113 for San Francisco, California now boarding at Gate 62."
"Gotta go! Maybe in our next adventure, we'll stick together." John grabbed his backpack and his briefcase which was placed near his chair.
"Right John! Bon voyage." said Mark.
"Keep it real!" added Martin with a thumbs up.
"Good luck with your report." commented Diana.
Java merely waved goodbye at John, who replied back by waving goodbye also as heopened the lounge door, leading back to the terminal waiting area.
"I guess we wait for a while. We leave at 3:30." said Mark glancing at his modified U-Watch.
"If we can only use the portal." complained Martin.
"Stop complaining. It's as if we can use it everytime you know." said Diana.
"Diana right." commented Java.
"Well, we better wait." suggested Mark as they continued to drink their refreshments in their table.
After 30 minutes...
"Flight PR 106 for Vancouver, Canada now boarding at Gate 70. I repeat, Flight PR 106 for Vancouver, Canada now boarding at Gate 70."
"Let's do it." said Mark as he picked up his O Pack 3.0 backpack.
"Finally!" replied Martin as he grabbed his share of the team's baggage.
"Java can't wait for movie time!" added Java as he grabbed the main luggages and tucking them under his arms.
(Sweat drop) "I don't think you need to do that." advised Diana. She slinged her purse on her shoulder while taking another piece of baggage with the retractable handle on her hand.
"I guess it's the last time I'm back home for a while." said Mark with a sad tone.
"Don't worry." Diana lifted his face by placing her hand on his chin facing hers. "You'll be able to come home soon. I'm sure of that." She then gave a big smile to Mark.
"Thanks." Mark smiled back at Diana. "I hope that I can go home for a while and get some real R&R."
"I'm with you pal!" smirked Martin. "We better head to the plane. It won't wait for us forever you know."
"Diana right, Mark." assured Java.
"Thanks Javs!" replied Mark. "Let's leg it to the gate now."
The remaining members of the former task force left their table and departed from the Mabuhay Lounge. As they walked to the plane with their tickets being cleared out, each of them felt relieved that their job in Manila is now over. They're anonymous heroes for saving the Philippines from chaos. Now they'll need some time off once they were in the plane for some sleep and some R&R four Center agents were already seated in first class as they waited for take off.
Once the members were in their respective seats, the Boeing 747 plane decked in Philippine Airlines markings taxied from its parked space in the tarmac to the main runway. The pilots were given clearance from control tower to begin takeoff. Slowly, the plane roared from the runway, building up speed and momentum just before it began its ascension towards the clear, blue sky as its landing gear retracted itself back into the hull.
The view of the Boeing 747 slowly became smaller and smaller from the sight of people inside the terminal as the plane tried to ascend some 10,000 feet from the ground. It made its ascension just before it completely disappeared from normal view, which can only be seen by a bright sparkle. It was a new day for the former members of the task force. They had a job done, a job that was successfully well done in the eyes of the Center and ARCAM. This mission would forever be enshrined as this was one of the few missions that two organizations "officially" teamed up in order to stop one common enemy as they had saved a nation from total anarchy and chaos.
THE END
Note - There will be an epilogue for this fanfic. As for the "official thing", I'll have some stories up soon! Maybe a cross of my main people with Street Fighter perhaps so as to give more background on Martin and Mark working together in the past before Diana showed up!