DISCLAIMER: I don't own any copyrighted properties. But I do own all original aspects of this story. They're really starting to stack up.

I took meticulous care welding the last crack in the metal, wiped off the excess molten metal with my steel-impregnated glove, and cut the power on my torch. I stepped back, flipping up my face shield to admire the completed Geno experiment. I nodded to myself in victory and set down my tools on the counter. Behind my, a black and mauve Lightning Saix stood watch.

"So you finally started working in stages. This the first time you finish a zoid and not pass out afterwards?"

I shrugged, mumbling as I walked over to the elevators. I didn't have anyone to explain the new design to, so why give you a summary of something even I find confusing? I hummed to myself as the elevator coasted to the top floor , shuffling out the doorway into the kitchen for the hundredth time and into the living room beyond. Waiting for me was a pile of suitcases and shopping bags in the center of the floor. I looked around for their owners and just saw two closed doors. Well, Rax and Clara must back.

I shook my head at the pile of dirty clothes and souvenirs as I went on my way to my room, pressing the close door button behind me and plopping down at my desk. A few new messages. Vega and Sarah are staying down with Max, his brat nephew is still at it. The Geno Rangers have gone through eight sets of zoids, each one more expensive and jacked up than the last. He sent some scanned pictures of the latest line up.

I was an amateur photograph at best, but it gave a great view of the four (soon to be five, they want to add a pink one) Geno Saurers that had been custom-made for this purpose. To replace the last customs. This new generation sported frames twice the size of an average Geno. At first glance they were just was weapon-loaded with their genre of weaponry. And get this, if the pilot sticks a key in a slot and calls out a catchphrase even more weapons pop out.

And their color schemes are even worse. They went from pastels to extremely dark tones. Every inch of the zoid is colored, even the eyes and inner joint sections. And the names of the pilots have been replaced with their 'pilot names'. For instance, the red one (Max's nephew, the leader of course) is 'Geno Red' and the others follow suit.

They also redesigned their flight suits to have helmets that look like Geno heads. And gloves that look like claws. And chest plates with a Geno head engraved on them. Deep down, my inner fashion-wise-homosexual is screaming like a little girl at a freak show. And to top it all off their Great Whale King is painted all five colors. I sent the pictures to my trash folder and went to my next message, the one with the ZBC logo next to the subject line.

The letter itself is an invitation to a graduation party the Pres is throwing. Oh yeah, and they have more sightings of the Negative Liger and I need to analyze possible additions to its arsenal. The party is RSVP, the possible terrorist super weapon is written as a side note. Don't you love this branch of government?

They just got some hidden camera footage of the Liger going on another test run. The first film showed its blades deploying from a possibly remodeled compartment and a close-up of the flimsy-looking things cutting through a canyon wall. Those babes aren't ZBC compatible, I'll tell you that much. The next piece of footage shows a satellite view of the black cat using its boosters somewhere out in the desert. Judging by the camera blur, they work.

I watch the films a few time each before doing idea notes on what that thing is packing. I noticed a distinct energy pattern from the boosters, visible due to the atmosphere the satellite saw it through. That saves me a heat scan and a heck of a loading screen. The way the initial aftershock fades out quickly without hanging still…Layon. The Shadow Fox has that same quirk. No questions about, this guy either has a gun to his head, or he's taking the project under his wing like a homeless orphan.

Why ever he's taking it this far, this thing has gone from being classified as a prototype model to an actual threat. It can't take out a ZBC army, of course. But if a squadron gets separated or jumped by the Backdraft, and that thing comes out from under them…I shook off that possibility. This thing was probably geared towards the ZBC Battles. It could take out the freelance do-gooders before moving onto the Government.

Which would be my plan to take over Zi, if I had the weight to pull and the influence. Take out the S Class powerhouses and the world will be a walk through the park in an Elephander by comparison. I rubbed my aching brow as the blurry form of the Liger Zero X loomed on my desk screen. I spun in my chair to take off my shoes and sweat-drenched socks. I wrung out my ancient socks onto the carpet as my feet finally got some air.

As I wrung out the other woolen carcass I heard my door open. I looked up to see a tired, slightly thinner Clara leaning against my doorway and smiling weakly at my sock washing.

"Saw your new zoid. Sue gave me the story on it. So, I'm qualified for S Class…"

I smirked, leaning back in my chair while taking a second look at her. She really did look thinner. That climate she'd been battling at had a hotter air temperature than ours even, she lost weight due to the increased work load, and the fact it leaked right out of her pores the poor thing. I stood up after seeing her black hair dripping with sweat, taking her by the arm and walking her over to the kitchen.

"…that's great. But before you even think of getting back in a zoid you're going to take it easy for a night with the AC on full blast, drink your weight in ice water, have a few milk shakes and for Eve's Sake take a shower."

I plopped her down at the counter, got her a pre-made milk shake from the freezer and a bottle of water and shooed her off to her room. Call me old fashioned, but I can't stand a starved looking female. I don't care if they're supermodels, those girls should lose the stilettos and hit the drive through.

I got myself a shake to beat the heat and retreated back to my office/lair/bedroom/theater/bachelor pad/cocoon chamber. I closed the glaring window of the Liger of the Night and kicked back on my futon to watch the news. The anchors rattled off a poorly researched blurb on the trial case for my zoid designs.

Good thing about being a zoid designer, you don't have to represent your creations in the court room. I chuckled at the court room sketches of a lawyer pointing to a zoid picture, and then a political cartoon of a referee instructing my caricature-form zoids to do something in a plastic cup each one is holding. I cracked up at the very funny, but accurate portrayal of the Pierced Sniper looking at his urine sample cup upside down.

In fact the next story was a collection of cartoons featuring this issue. Most portrayed my little creations as victims of pointless standards (symbolized by a ZBC official counting their teeth in a dentist chair) and one showed the Geno Reaper spread against the wall next to a metal detector as a security guard pulled out a hidden knife and tossed it at the growing pile of lethal weapons behind them. Ha, that's so true…wait…that's not…meh, it's more or less true.

I flicked the news channel off in favor of a rather humorous zoid-news-only show that made fun of the day's events. These funny political cartoons made good use of curse words, which made them even funnier. I recorded them for later and enjoyed my shake while flipping channels. Hey, somebody saw Zoid Eve in a water stain under an underpass. Her nose is completely different, but if you squint while drunk it looks like her. From behind.

I won't bore you with the details of my lack of a life. In fact I'll cut away to an event of interest. Sue wandered away from her air conditioner and her booze cabinet to look at what I'd done to Sam's Geno. She looked it over before dragging me in to explain it. At ten minutes after midnight, oh joy.

Now, you can tell what this thing is at first look. A slightly sturdier, lighter, longer, and overall slightly larger Geno Saurer, no gimmicks or mutations here. Except the paint color. It was a two-toned beauty. Eggshell and ivory white plating covering most of the outside, with blue rim and secondary paneling. Looks like a police zoid.

Once you look over the red eyed, blue and white saurian you notice the size difference. Some may notice it's a half head taller than its former form. A full spinal column longer too. I'd added extra joints, which were visible as dark blue cracks in the white plating along the neck, back and tail. Why? Well, a little more flexibility goes a long way. In fact this is probably the first zoid of its build to make use of excessive agility. It can dance around like a Rev Raptor when it has to.

How about the big guns? Well, the standard guns on the back were no streamlined against the extended spine, no protruding rifles here. I'd adapted some for close range use, while increasing the range of the long range ones. Just a little improvement over the average gunner.

How about the jets? Well, the smaller than usual jets I'd added to the legs and underbelly were completely hidden in a Reaper-like manner. This gave the legs a more realistic lean look. I found later the jets were a slight improvement over advanced sock models. It will never fly or glide, but this would make a fine battle partner.

So, why hadn't I jacked this thing off the charts and added extra heads? All it gave us was an upgraded, more effective Geno with a more friendly looking color scheme. Well, this wasn't a science experiment. I'd gotten some battle footage from the archives and custom-tailored this darling to Sam's exact battle style. Nothing unorthodox or groundbreaking. Just good old fashioned skill like pop used to dish out back home. Sue seemed impressed with the job after I'd explained the benefits. She was probably proud her Geno was still deadlier. To tell the truth Sam could probably use this thing as a ticket to the next class, he's put enough into this game and it's about time it gave back.

Now, this zoid as it is, can't battle. Sure, it looks fine and dandy parked in the high-profile area and sporting a new color scheme, but this is much more than it seems. My fancy little add-on is actually an intensive, constant life support system for the damaged and comatose zoid core wrapped up in that shiny new body. It isn't moving because I haven't woken up the core from the coma I put it in out of mercy, my estimates on its vitals dictate that my giving it a solid body and the support systems that are just starting to work on their own are helping. This thing is like a doctor and team of nurses. It will rebuild this core, and later on will merge with its systems creating a superior defense system for future injuries.

Well, it's a lot more than a police zoid now that I've given you the whole story, eh? It's like a classic cyborg film, cut down in battle and rebuilt to seek revenge and protect the innocent. Speaking of cut down warriors, Sam is nearly ready to leave the hospital. I plan on not waking up this old zoid core until its master is here to comfort it and help it ease into this. Poor thing is going to have some bad memories, it may be a while before it realizes its life support system is also a new body. Sue, who I explained all this to, eventually left for bed, leaving me alone in the lighted hanger with my creations.

So, what does Sam have to pay? How much? He signed those party battle alliance forms, this pays off the debt on both sides. What, can't you imagine this thing running the ranks with the Lighting Team and Team Reckless? Actually, Sue has joked about booking the Blitz Team but I'm not so sure. Hunter, and the crazy fly boy I can imagine. The Shadow Fox, let alone Brad's piloting, is enough to get my vote. That Jamie kid? Dang good aerial maneuvering. Bit of a cowboy, but who isn't?

That Albino Liger is too high-profile for us. People would be ordering screenings just to see which armor it'd use, not how the battle is going. But I wouldn't mind having Toros and Fleugal backing us up. A deadpan sniper and a Red Liger. Enough said. Then again, I doubt Sue has connections that powerful. Sure, I've personally talked with the sniper herself about possibly working on the Red Comet, but a grease monkey and a team captain are very different roles. Well, they were before I came around.

But booking allies isn't that easy. Sure, I'm getting to be friends with Naomi and Leon and I are really hitting it off, but would I just ask them to join our draft list? That's like asking a guy you barely know to help you move to a new apartment. Besides, we have enough blade zoids in a regular battle. The Psycho Saix is actually equipped with some great guns for its breed, which I have never used. I can't aim a water gun, let alone a turret-less mid-range plasma cannon. I think Rax has used that 'boomstick' cannon on his Slash from time to time.

So let's say right as standing here in the dark, we get a ZBC call saying we have a party battle in a week. Who would I have on call to come out? Well, some of them have to recover first but here's the roster. We're up to eight, passing up the five-member minimum. What are they? Who are they?

Let's count. Three Lightning Saixes, al LS models with constantly upgraded and updated technology. Piloted by the Tasker Sisters and Jack Cisco in the flesh. One Psycho Saix armed with a knowledge of Western films. Oh yeah, he's extremely fast for a Saix and has blades capable of literally tearing the sound barrier before they hit another zoid. Piloted by some guy in a hat. The Geno Reaper, a loaded pocket knife with an ace in both sleeves. Ridden by a bounty hunter with a sterling military record. An urban Slash Liger suited for Urban Combat. Eh, it's Rax. Need I say more? The Shadow Wolf, the near perfect extension of the human mind. Mastered by Sectors zoid athlete Clara Truant. And now, the Geno Hunter. Patent Pending. Piloted by Sam Hunter himself.

"...why are you standing around here in the middle of the night? I'm trying to make a move on Clara's Liger, buzz off."

I sigh.

"...Psy...you don't have any sexual parts. Save yourself a lifetime and leave the girl alone."

Author's Notes

I'm back from Washington DC, and done updating some one-shot fic I did that may become a series. I'm also working on a flurry of one shots I'm going to put in several genres of this site. Anyone a fan of Danny Phantom (Cartoon), Pendragon (book series), Phantasy Star (Game), or Star Wars (…eh, religion?), and of course Super Smash Brothers? If so, look out, I'm coming your way.