Doing short ones, but I might make a longer one later.
Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread, and dancing dolls are bad
#13: The Green Controller
Jack had recovered full use of body by now, and was hard at work to get back into the routine of becoming proficient at using his skills, which was necessary after not being able to move much for almost 6 weeks. He accosted Duero when after the first two weeks he could only move three fingers on his right hand. Duero explained that he had said that he would be able to move again, but only a bit at a time. Jack was unhappy, but using his new ability to use his powers without harming what he was using them on, he was at least able to feed himself. That had been a problem, and it Barnette made it a point to rub the fact that he couldn't move in his face every time she visited. She had often come in with a heaping plate of food, and use jacks motionless body as a table. He could do nothing but watch her eat, and on several occasions, walk off, leaving the plate, still stacked with food, on his chest, for him to stare at, until Duero decided to take notice, and take the food away. He know why Barnette was doing this, he could see it in her eyes the first couple of days. She had been stretched to the emotional breaking point, and was slowly recovering. That was one of the things that Jack found he loved about her, She was persistent, and was doing it to try and wear Jack out. He couldn't blame her, but he couldn't let her get away clean from the things she had done. He wasn't going to do anything harmful, he was just going to antagonize her a bit.
He ran down the corridor. He had just hit her room, and made off with the smallest pair of panties he could find. He was going to use it against her some how. But everything went wrong the moment he stepped out of her room. He came face to face with Barnette as he made a left out of her room, stuffing the Panties in his cloak. She caught sight of them, and he took of running, seeing the color of her face. It wasn't an embarrassed red, But one of anger so hot, he felt the heat radiating from her face.
He burst into the mess hall and dashed across it, jumped, and dug his gauntleted fingers into the wall above the door, and scurried up into the shadow of a light fixture. If all went right she would run right through the room and keep looking. She exploded into the mess hall after about another 12 seconds.
"Where the hell did he go?" She roared at the room, the ones closest getting up and running away, as all the other fingers pointed up at his location. "Give them back, NOW!"
He climbed onto the light and wrapped his legs around so that he hung upside down.
"If you insist." He said, and strung the Panties like shooting a rubber band. Here was his chance, and he wasn't going to pass it up. He fired the Panties off, and to his great delight, landed on her face. They slid of, to reveal her normally beautiful face the most disturbing color red anyone had ever seen from her. She unclipped the silver gun and pointed it at him.
"Whoa! Hey what the hel…" A single retort from the pistol cut him off, and he fell to occupied table below him, making the dishes he didn't land on clatter. Barnette picked up her underwear and left the room. Jack was lying on his back in the middle of Victor, Bart, Belvedere and Celtic. The room exploded in laughter as soon as Barnette was out of earshot. Celtic was seated where his head rested, and stared down at him, Giggling.
"What's so funny." Jack asked, ignoring the wound that wasn't really all that bad, just a pain shot.
"You should learn not to mess with girls when it's their time of the month." She said.
"What time, today's nothing special." He asked, to which her and Belvedere giggled even more, and went off to the bridge, leaving the three guys with bewildered looks. Jack flipped of the table and grabbed an empty seat, and started eating whatever was in front of him. "Women are so weird."
"What do you think that meant? Time of the month?" Victor said, and the other two shook their heads.
"But Celtic did say I had better watch out, because she knew my weak spot." Bart said, scratching his bald scalp.
"Oh, yeah, Barnette probably told her, because she found out about the family jewels, so you had better be on you guard, or, be a wimp, and don't do anything to piss them off." Bart and Victor looked at him, worried looks in their eyes, and they continued eating. They were thinking that they would need to keep a watch about what they did around their female friends.
"Hey, when Misty first arrived on the ship, she asked if Dita was Hibiki's girlfriend." Bart said, realization hitting him.
"What's that?" The other two asked, Jack shoving a dressing over the gunshot wound.
"I just figured it out, we all have friends that are really close, and that are female. What if that is what a girlfriend is? A female that has strong feelings for a man?"
"Than that would mean that a man with a similar condition would be the boyfriend?" Victor asked, but it was obvious by Bart's face that he hadn't thought that far ahead.
"Makes sense." Jack said, and continued shoveling down another dish he hadn't fallen on.
"So we are like you?" Meia had hunted down John and found him in the hospital getting real treatment for the gunshot wound.
"No, I am the product of several years forced service to the military, and am from Earth." He said as the doctor swabbed the entry wound with a disinfectant. "You are just a person who the Blue Paexis deemed worth to give it's power to, along with the other three. The people of Earth didn't get to bond a controller with it, and it seemed to favor you four."
"Why can't we use the energy like you can?"
"You can, you just don't know how."
"Than how do I use it?" She wanted to know, but she didn't really know why.
"You just extend your arm, spread your fingers, and envision what you want it to do." He showed her as explained, and a lance of purple energy shot into the wall, and spread across it, then vanished, leaving no paint behind. "If you want, I'll take all of you down to the holo-training room and show you how. Just come with me to my room, because you are new with the energy, everything it touches will be damaged, including your own body. I've got a rather generous supply of the metal that is undamaged by Paexis energy, and I will make you each a set of gloves that you can wield the energy with." She nodded, and followed him through the ship. They met John outside his room, and seeing Meia with Jack, started questioning them.
"What are you two up to?" He said kindly, but there was a worried sound in the back of his voice. Meia grew uneasy, and excuse began flashing through her mind.
"Meia here is a controller. I am going to make her a set of gloves, and teach her to use her power, along with Hibiki, Dita, and Jura. Wanna come along?" Jack's voice was level, and even though John could keep his thoughts from showing in his eyes, he wasn't able to keep the suspicion out know. John smiled, and his eyes went back to their normal, unreadable state, his mind eased.
"Sure, I've always wanted to see how you make some of that stuff you make."
A half-hour later, Meia walked out, a pair of chain-mesh, white gloves, with small emeralds and rubies dotting it, for a rare look of flashiness that she had afforded herself. She went off, hand in hand with John, to go tell Jura about this, and have her come for her own pair of special gloves. She excepted this right away, always looking for ways to be the best, most beautiful, of anything to make her seem special. And got to Jack's room about seven minutes after Meia left. She was going to meet them at the holo room in three hours for a lesson on using Paexis energy. Jura burst into the room, dragging Vinn along, and another half-hour later, came out with elegant pair of skin colored gloves, encrusted with small diamonds and pearls. She then went off, also with instruction to meet at the holo room, and to tell Hibiki and Dita to meet him their.
"I fell sorry for Vinn." Jack said, as John returned, and Jura waked past, Vinn following. "I mean Jura is good looking and stuff, but, under that, there's not much else."
"Yeah, but he does seem happy, and he was already good at taking orders." John said, nodding, agreeing with Jack. Jura was good looking, and she wasn't shy about it, and her normal outfit was attention grabbing, to say the least. Dita waked into the room, Hibiki following.
"Can we get this over with?" Hibiki asked roughly, clearly wanting to be somewhere else. Jack nodded and got to work, and an hour later both left, Dita sporting a white silk gloves with a single sapphire on the back of each. Hibiki's were yellow and white, but no gem's adorned the gloves. Jack told them to meet him in the holo room with the rest. After they left, Jack said good bye to John, and went to see if he couldn't get the Power of the blue Paexis.
Jack got to the holo room ten minute's before he told the rest to meet him, but was still the last one to arrive. They all filled into the room, and waited for Jack to tell them what to do. He walled over to a wall, and slid a small disk into a slot. Four male figures flickered into view, and solidified.
"These are what you will be practicing on, because the walls of this room are made of the same metal that is not effected by the Paexis energy. I will show what can be done with enough practice. Before we start." He snapped his fingers and the first figure exploded, showering the room with blood. The other three moved, pulling out lead pipes to use as weapons. The next in line advanced, and jack flung headfirst at him. He grabbed the man's head and flipped over him. Before Jack let go, the man's head exploded with a purple flash, and the body crumpled. The third was lifted of the ground, flung against the wall and then ripped in half. The final one swung a blow at Jack, but he grabbed the pipe, twisted the man's arm behind his back, and turned the pipe into a rod of purple energy. He then drove it through the man's back, and swung it upward, bisecting him. "That is a small example, with enough practice you will be able to use the energy to aid your movement, allowing you to move faster, jump higher and put more strength behind physical attacks." He kicked one of the pipes into his hand, swung his arm sideways, burying the pipe two feet into the wall. He pushed a button, and the carnage vanished, and the scene reset.
By the time they finished, all four were able to kill with a single energy beam, but they still were having trouble. They left and went their separate ways, back to find their men, or just to go get food. The training continued for another two weeks before they needed to get ready to try and recover the red Paexis. The last session before then was devoted to lifting objects with the power.
"Wow Jura, you use that like your used to it." Jack said, after watching her perform the hand movement, which was holding you hand palm up, and then flicking it upward at the wrist. The man she was working on rose into the air, and his skin began to blister. She snapped her hand to the side, and the man flew into the wall with a dull thud. "Just make sure you don't motion for Vinn to rise anymore, after he's done kissing your shoes." This comment made her mad, and she turned and fired a beam of energy at Jack, which he just knocked of its course and into the wall behind him. The captain's voice rang over the intercom as she issued her orders.
"Hibiki and Jura report to the launch bay, we will be entering the magnetic storm as soon as your ready, and Jack, get your gear ready, we'll be ready to launch you about 20 minutes after we enter the storm. They headed of, Jack toward his room, Meia to find John, and Hibiki and Jura to the bay. Dita decide to follow Jack, because she didn't want to get in Hibiki's way while they launched. She walked next to Jack, looking put out. She always was mildly upset when Hibiki combined with someone other than her, and got especially edgy when he was combing with Jura. She saw Jura as a threat to her relation ship with Hibiki, because, after all, Jura was very pretty, and had little discretion.
"What's wrong?" Jack said, catching a glimpse at Dita, noticing her cheery dispassion missing.
"I just don't like it when Mr. Alien spends time with Jura." She sighed, as Jack opened his door, and she followed him in.
"Why is that?" he said, as he opened a cabinet, to reveal several large guns and small boxes of assorted ammunition.
"I don't know, I just get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach." She replied timidly, staring at the firepower in the cabinet.
"Are you jealous because he is spending time with another girl?" Jack said, pulling down his favorite assault rifle, and grabbing an extended barrel that could be screwed on.
"well, maybe…" Dita said, staring at the floor.
"Is it because you see Jura as older and with less inhibition than yourself so your worried she might make a move on him?" He sad, grabbing a box of shells that were about 11 inches long. Dita was a bit shocked, because he had guessed her exact feelings. She just sat without saying anything, so jack went on. "You got nothing to worry about. For one, that boy is likes you allot, even if he won't admit it. And for another, form what Vinn says, she likes him, even if it's just because he'll do anything she asks him to." He said kindly, grabbing a large scope from the top shelf. Dita just stared at the floor, wallowing in self-doubt. Jack just sighed, familiar with the Self-doubt and thoughts of inferiority that played across her face. He sat on the bed next to her and patted her on the back. "Look, if you worried, go and show him you're you'll be waiting for him when he gets back, and that will show him that you are confident in yourself, and he will like that, because he's the kind of guy who want's a confidant person by his side." He said, as comforting as he could.
"You really think so?" she said, looking into Jack's eyes.
"Yeah, and it might not hurt to promise him some food upon his return, because nothing keep's a man's spirit's high like the thought of a nice hot meal waiting for them." He said. Dita's eyes lit up.
"Thank you." She said, and gave him a small hug. And, just to prove that the universe was stacked against Jack, Barnette happened to open the door on the scene. Dita broke off, and rushed out the door, leaving Barnette staring at jack with a mixture of thought work through her face.
"Hi Barnette." He said with a smile as he stood. She just continued to stare at him with a confused look as he picked up the assault rifle, and stashed it in his cloak.
"I've noticed you've been spending allot of time with her lately." She said accusingly.
"Yeah, I have." He said, realizing what she was thinking, and playing off it, as he opened a drawer in the cabinet. "Her, Meia, Jura, and Hibiki." But Barnette wasn't going to let that pass.
"I didn't see them just know!" she said, her voice rising slightly.
"Because the weren't here at that very moment." He said, his voice the same as ever.
"Well, it sure looked like you were enjoying your self!" She said, her voice rising more. Jack stopped pulling explosive charges out of the drawer, and turned to face Barnette.
"Are you jealous?" he said in mock surprise.
"N…No, of course not!" She said, turning away as her cheeks tinged with pink. She started to walk away, but was stopped as a metal gauntlet rested on her shoulder.
"Come sit down." He said, making it clear that he wasn't asking. She sat on the bed, and looked at the floor, and Jack sat next to her. She didn't look up as he slid his arm around her shoulders. "I bet you'd like to know what that was about." She didn't look up, but simply nodded. "Dita was just a little bummed that Hibiki was going of for some alone time with Jura. She feels a little bit inferior to her, and I gave her some advice." Barnette looked up slightly.
"Then what was the hug all about." She said bitterly.
"I just told gave her a couple of tips, and made her feel good about herself." Barnette looked into his face and he suspicions vanished a bit.
"Ok, but I'm going to ask her, and if I don't like her explanation, your really going to get it." She said, and jack smiled.
"Looking forward to it." He said, and the intercom came on.
"Jack, please report to the bay, we will be launching you shortly." He stood, and so did Barnette. He walked over, finished stuffing explosives into his cloak and walked close to Barnette. The just stared at each other for a few seconds, and than Jack made his move. He move his face in, and wrapped his arms around Barnette's back, pulling her closer, and gave her a nice, long kiss. After a while he let go, and Barnette was shocked.
"Wh…what was… was that for?" She stammered.
"I just figured that since there's a good chance that I won't be coming back in one piece, that I'd give you something good to remember me by." He said, with a wide smile. Barnette grabbed him, and gave him a similar kiss. This time, Jack was shocked, because it was the last reaction he would have thought possible. She just grinned slyly.
"Well, then consider that incentive to come back then." And she walked out of the room.
Jack walked into the bay, and for the first time saw what his new Vanguard, altered by the Paexis, looked like. It was mostly the same, except that two large spikes extended from above the engines, as well as a series of small spikes on the fists. Fins extended backwards from the side of the head. He hopped in, and fired it up. He was cycled through the air lock, and flew out into the protective shield provided by Vandread Jura. He left the field, and then the storm. He headed to the orange planet directly in front of him, shifting most of his mind from Barnette, to the task at hand.
The computers in the sensor station picked up a contact as it emerged from the magnetic storm. Data scrolled next to the image of the black and purple Vanguard.
"It say's it's one of ours sir. What should we do?" A man said.
"Mark were it came out of the storm at, and run a scan that eliminates the interference from the magnetism." Another man said, than pointed at a different man. "Call general Horn, and tell him that his protégé has returned, and by the look of his craft, he succeeded with his mission.
Well, the end of chapter 13. My MSN won't let me reply to any messages, but still send me stuff if you want, I like the advice. I also have MSN and yahoo messenger, so email me your screen names, or however it works, and I can chat that way. Hope you enjoyed.