"Now, when you say number one fan. . ."

"Chase, she figured the ZBC had forgotten where they came from."

". . . a bunch of war vets who couldn't stop blowing things up?"

"No, I meant the battles."

". . . then why me? Why not have Max make a comeback?"

". . . he's retired. . . Eve owes him a bit."

"Are we talking about a Goddess here or the Neo-Mafia?"

"I honestly think they're connected."

I'll spare you twenty minutes of dumb questions.

". . . well, what about you?"

"What about?"

"Why didn't she just fix you instead of turning you into. . .?"

". . . personal request. . ."

". . . um, I can imagine wanting some firepower but the design. . ."

". . . seems a bit unusual?"

"Why the blades AND the speed boost?"

"Figured they went nice together. The paint job was Eve's idea, though."

Hm, all jet black with dark mauve thrown in, sky blue eyes, and detailed fangs, real elegant.

"That seems a bit odd. . ."

"Well, it's better than some of her other creations. . ."

"Yeah. Honestly, Ligers look really bad with that natural shade of blue."

"And the Shield liger is like the younger sibling nobody cares about."

"And what was the deal with the Bloody DeathSaurer?"

". . . well, the last guy who made a joke about 'time of the month' got struck by lighting. In a bad way."

". . . eep."

"But back on track, Eve has sent me a few messages since the change. The other Reckless zoids are nice, but they need a little oomph."

"Sue's snipe is a freakin' pocket knife. . ."

"I mean image, kid."

". . . dear god, do we have to leave them out in a storm like the last time?"

"There are other ways to induce evolution. . ."

". . . are those two even alive?"

"They will be. . ."

"What causes a zoid to change, anyway?"

"A little thing called psychology. . ."

Two hours later.

". . . and like I said, there's no rent."

Sue and Rax stared at me from the couch.

"So. . . have the Whale float out on the Bay like a houseboat. . ."

Rax liked fishing, Sue could care less.

"No rent. . ."

". . . sure, could work."

These guys would move to outer space if it weren't all commercial retail.

"How about after the battle tomorrow we check out good anchor points?"

They agreed. Stage one complete. Well, actually it wasn't part of the plan. I just hated the fans in the Hanger swarming whenever we went out for lunch.

The Next Day

Well, here's our little friend in the bar again. His wife just came home with her hair dyed blonde. Two hours later he's out in the bar giving his friends details like a kid after his first date. Right as he's getting to the part with the ceiling fan, everyone is glued to the screen where a battle is starting. Poor little guy.

But hey, it's a battle. Walking up is Megadeath, the Raptor, Wolf, and a little fin marking the War Shark's position. It's a canyon battle, a club favorite. The gray Whale floats by, shooting off the three challengers. There's the Snipe, the tattooed Liger, and of course the Saix. They land in a triangle formation. The Jude lands, calls out the stats, and it starts. Usually Reckless only sends out one zoid, that's all they need. Not this time. Literally a millisecond later the Liger is tearing the Raptor in half, the Wolf is a pile of parts and the Saix is braking before it hits the sound barrier, and the Shark flops down after being shot down in mid-air.

A thirty second battle. The Judge shakes its visor-head and calls it, the bar is staring lifelessly at the screen. One guy starts to slowly clap, then stops after no one joins in. Our little executive looks at the bar tender, who nods.

"Those guys aren't playing around anymore. . ."

The zoids jump back into the Whale, but hang back, watching the battlefield from the open ramp. They stay like that for a few minutes before flying off. This C class thing isn't hilarious anymore, not it's entertaining.

Actually, it was twenty nine seconds according to the Judge. Yeah, we actually tried this time. But we had reasons. That team kind of sent us a letter before the battle. Never seen so many misspelled insults. I as usual was looking over the zoids after the bout, tightening the rare loose part and painting the chipped sections.

But we had a new project, a gray Command Wolf sitting in the Hanger. It was just delivered. Next to it were the parts I salvaged from that old base, all lined up. It was going to be a long night.

I spent a day taking the armor and add-ons off the Wolf, stripping it completely. The next day I rewired the entire system and added a few of the old parts to the back supports.

Day three, I dismantle the legs and rebuild them.

Four, I add the 'main attraction' to the back.

Five, start putting the armor back on.

Six, rebuild cockpit.

Last day. We have a new toy in from the company that made our Whale. A Surface Modification Center. Basically a cage that completely paints and details a zoid automatically, no more spray-paint guns and splotched. I dial in the specs for what it has to look like, and leave it to be painted while I catch twenty hours of sleep.

I was woken up by Rax, Sue was too busy staring at it. I walked in and took yet another look at it. The first thing you noticed was the paint job. At first look it was dark gray, but if you looked up-close it was a digital camouflage pattern that would blend in with most major landscapes. Then you looked up. Guns. Huge, numerous guns covering the back. At least eight chain-style cannons mounted onto the back instead of a little rifle. The elgs were next, they went from skinny and light to mock-muscular and covered with molded armor plates similar to the saix, making them impossible to snap off. Then the head, teeth, lots of teeth. And an odd cage built into the cockpit glass, like an old fighter plane. It was hopefully shatter-proof, and looked scary as hell.

"Introducing, the Command Wolf Urban Assault. . .also known as the Juggernaut. . ."

Sue was laughing to herself.

"That thing should be illegal. . ."

"It is, it is. . ."

Rax was staring at the camouflage.

"It even blends in with the metal floor. . ."

"It's an illusion created by the human eye. "

"The guns are. . ."

". . . essential. . ."

Sue finally made a negative comment.

"This thing has to be slower than a cow. . ."

"Actually, it's nearly as fast as a Konig Wolf."

Insert the two staring at me like I was on fire.

"So. . . it's a speed demon with guns and armor. . ."

". . . and it has an artificial intelligence module to help out the pilot. . . Riz will be able to learn normally while this thing covers for her."

"Is it alive?"

"No, just a computer program."

I explained the gun system, ammo-less lasers. Then every other feature built into it.

"It saved the Republic back in the War, should save Riz from a beating."

As we talked a rocking was felt gently. We were now floating on the Bay, no more Hanger roof rent. We could have just went under the surface and lived underwater but this seemed less cliché. I heard some storm clouds rumble outside, I hadn't gone outside since I started working on this thing. Sue brought in the occasional meal so I was still alive.

We went out into the city for shopping, and to get me out in the real world for a change. We even stopped by Riz's place to show her a picture of her new zoid. After reviving her at the emergency room she loved it. Even the paint-job, strangely. She gave me a list of casual features to add when I healed from the last week, programs, luxuries, nothing major. We had arranged that we'd pick her up when she battled with us, she hated flying so we don't have to clean out a spare room. Good thing, too. That room lined with zoid models is half the décor.

When we got back to the whale and floated out to the center of the Bay again, everything went fine until Rax went into the Hanger. He pulled me in there and pointed, the poor guy was in shock. His Blade Liger with all its graffiti, was covered in a huge blue crystal.

". . . okay. . . three, two, one. . ."

In harmony we both freaked out and called Max, confirming that yes, the Blade Liger was evolving. The bad side, it wouldn't come out of there for three days. And Rax left his super ball in the cockpit. Sue kind of retreated to her room, later we heard glass clinking and drunken folk songs about Geno Saurers. Some day, Sue. Some day.

Author's Notes

Thanks again for the reviews! No, Trey/Chase isn't related to Van. As for the Liger evolving, this is actually common in this zoid world. Some people only buy Shield Ligers because it's cheap, and eventually it turns into a Blade Liger. Any suggestions, ideas, anything, go ahead. As for the Command Wolf Juggernaut, it is a real zoid. Just an under-rated one. And what is Rax's Blade turning into? Come on, this is an easy one.