CHAPTER 12

HUNTER LOG 3863

Under the conditions, we're going to have to use stealth to get close enough to the tanks. We're currently at the entrance to the ruins, which really hadn't changed a lot since I was here last. It's just as quiet as I left it. Now it's time to get down to business.

Samus out…

Samus and Lita trudged though the dark tunnels of the ruins.

"Samus, remember what I asked you to do?"

"To take you back to the ship if something happens to you?" Samus asked.

"Okay, I was just checking," Lita confirmed.

"You sure seem worried about something. You know it's not good to go into a battle with worries. You have to clear your head…" Samus started.

"…and focus on the task at hand. Yes, I know," Lita finished.

Samus nodded in approval. Lita had learned well.

Before long, the duo came to a large room, over which were the tanks and catwalks. Posts and rails zigzagged and crossed the area, supporting the massive units.

"It'll have to be from here," Samus said.

"I think I have an idea of what we might do," Lita replied.

"What's that?" Samus asked.

"You'll see. Come on, let's climb," Lita said back.

The two quietly shimmied up the steel trellis until they were just under the catwalks.

Samus looked at Lita, who made a hand motion for Samus to get ready.

After a thumbs-up signal from Samus, Lita unhooked a small hose from one of the nitrogen tanks.

Small amounts of nitrogen began freezing a portion of the catwalks.

After a few moments, the frozen area was nearly as large as a manhole cover.

Lita motioned to move back.

They both crossed to the next brace and waited.

Samus watched as one of the men wearing black approached on the catwalk above. Unwittingly, he crossed onto the frozen section. It collapsed and shattered under his weight, the jagged steel ripped at his skin and tore his flesh as his bloody body fell through the hole and landed twenty feet below on solid rock.

Samus heard another noise behind her. She turned and saw that another man had fallen through yet another hole, next to which Lita was perched.

The two swung up through the holes and began their assault.

Other guards were already rushing to the catwalks to suppress the intruders.

Lita turned to her left; three men were running toward her.

In mid-stride, the bodies of the men shifted to that of the metroid hybrid beasts.

Lita stood her ground.

The front monster leapt at Lita, who fired a blast of liquid nitrogen directly into its gaping, fang-bearing mouth.

The guard flopped to the ground and shook with convulsions.

The other beasts stopped in their tracks and decided to approach their adversary with more caution.

One jumped onto the top of one of the containers while the other remained in front of Lita.

Both monsters pounced at Lita at once.

Lita fired three blasts in front of her, connecting with the beast in the shoulder, the stomach, and the neck.

The beast from above swung his claw, but missed as Lita tilted her head.

In one motion, Lita swung around and shoved one of the injectors directly into the monster's side.

Like the first one, it immediately went into convulsions and collapsed to the ground.

Rather than watch, Lita turned to scan the catwalks. Two of the beasts lie on the catwalks in seizures, and the other had fallen over the edge and into the pit. Her area was clear. She immediately ran toward Samus' location.

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Samus cleared the hole and was immediately grabbed from behind in a full nelson. From around the corner, Marcusson emerged.

"My, my, what have we here? A little Samus? And where's your little friend? I'm willing to bet that she's a bit tied up at the moment. You thought you were being so sly, sneaking through the ruins and coming up through the catwalks. The truth is that I knew you were here the whole time, from the moment you left the lab. What? You didn't think that my ship would have let you pass if it were actually activated, did you? I let you get here. Against you, I absolutely have to get the last word," Marcusson said.

"Are you done? I almost went to sleep," Samus shot back.

"Defiant until the end. You never did listen well. That's why I stuck you with Malkovich. He was the only man that had the patience enough to deal with you, and I knew I could count on him to keep his complaints to himself, even when I gave him orders to go to that god-forsaken chunk of ice," Marcusson smirked.

"You…you sent us there?" Samus asked.

"Of course. You were too busy being a boil on the military's ass to realize what was going on at the top. I gained my status as a military tactician. I organized the takeover of the Eta sector and the extermination of the pirates in the Mu sector. I also contributed to the acquisitions of many other areas of the Federation. As far as expansion, I was invaluable. Pretty soon, my military clout became political clout, and that made me into the man I am today. I took great joy in sending you and Malkovich there. I knew that one of you would probably end up dead. Either way, I'd come out ahead. Malkovich was in line to be retired from service. With his status as a hero, we would have challenged my authority with the backing of the people and most of the Federation. Losing him assured my position in leadership. If you had died, I would have brought charges against him for careless maneuvers, along with that, his men would have been killed in 'a tragic misfortune'. His respect would have been lost, and he would have been discharged in shame. Wow…I am good," Marcusson winked at Samus.

Samus was overwhelmed. She didn't know whether to believe this man or accept the morbid truth.

"How could a man like you get so much power?" Samus asked.

"They made me a tactician for a reason. I made a plan, and I executed it. It's a concrete system, and a brilliant science, one you could never understand. There's really no use in trying to explain it to you. Now, unless you have any more stupid questions, I'll have to remove that helmet of yours so I can see the expression on your face as you meet your demise," Marcusson said as he reached for the release.

Gasses hissed as the pressure lock released.

"Ah, I forgot how beautiful you were…too bad you were ignorant, you would have been nice to have along as a figurehead at my side," Marcusson said as he rubbed the side of Samus' face.

There was a twinkle in Samus' eyes.

"Sounds like a great plan to me. Since I'm going to die and all, how about you pucker up and lay one on me," Samus said looking Marcusson directly in his face.

A blast connected with Marcusson's back. He screamed in agony.

Samus flexed her arms and flipped backwards, kicking Marcusson in the chin on the way over. She landed behind her assailant and pushed him forward. One blast connected with his forehead as he fell over Marcusson.

"So what are you going to do now, Marcusson?" Samus asked.

"There's nowhere to go now," Lita said, "you're cornered."

"Heh, heh, heh, ha ha ha HAHAHA! Lita, you immature fool. You thought you could do things differently this time. You thought things would turn out better. HA! You can't outsmart me! You might as well give up!" Marcusson cackled.

"It's not over yet, Marcusson. I've been chasing you for too long, and you thought you had found refuge in the past. Time after time, I jumped after you, but you were always one step ahead of me. This time, though…this time's different. This time, I have Samus," Lita said.

"She can't help you now, little girl," Marcusson breathed.

He stood as his suit altered him into his beast form. He jumped indirectly toward Lita. As he got nearer, his claws screeched across the side of one of the containers. Slash after slash, he left gashes in the exterior of the tanks. Then he ceased.

"Stop me now, maggot!" Marcusson yelled in a bestial voice.

"I will," Lita said.

She shot one blast at the tank, causing it to crack, then she immediately fired three blasts at Marcusson's chest. His head kicked back as he howled and reverted to his human form.

"W-what! What's this! What have you done!" Marcusson screamed.

"Metroids don't like the cold. Your suit couldn't handle the liquid nitrogen. Now it's your turn to say goodbye," Lita said as she pointed at the tank.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Marcusson screamed as the glass tank gave way.

The brownish yellow liquid burst through the cracks and engulfed Marcusson. Samus jumped back to avoid getting caught in the vomit colored torrent.

Samus heard a scream from the other side.

She quickly ran around the section of tanks to the other side to see Lita propped on the railing.

"It got on my leg! You've got to get me back to the ship! NOW!" Lita exclaimed.

"Can you run?" Samus asked.

"No, I can't feel it. I can't go anywhere," Lita said as tears started to well in her eyes.

"Don't worry. I can bring the ship here," Samus said as she pushed a button on her wrist.

Within moments, the ship was touching down just outside of the tank area.

Samus loaded Lita onto her shoulders in a fireman's carry and took her up to the ship.

"Lay me down out here," Lita said.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Samus asked, concerned.

"Get that backpack that I put in there. Also, put in these coordinates for your destination for when you leave," Lita said as she handed Samus a piece of paper.

Within a minute, Samus had returned with the backpack.

"Here you go. And what did you mean by 'when you leave'. You don't expect me to leave you here, do you?" Samus asked.

"You won't leave me here, but I'm not going with you," Lita said.

"What are you talking about?" Samus asked.

"Sit down, Samus. This will be a little much to handle," Lita started, "Samus, when I said that I'm not from here, I meant that I am not from this time. I came here from the future. When the MAC at the Beta Outpost blasted my ship, it destroyed my means of time travel. I had to find a way to get home. At the lab, I found a fully functional flux capacitor unit, which is inside that backpack. I rigged it for a one time, one way, one person trip back to my time. That's so I can get home…"

"That's why you knew about everything…it had already happened…" Samus responded.

"Everything but this. I wasn't supposed to get the parasite on me. We were supposed to destroy this place and Marcusson, then get away. You didn't know much about him because he's a fugitive from my time. He stole a travel unit from the Federation and hid in the past, warping it to affect the future," Lita explained.

Samus sat and stared.

"I have so many questions now…I…" Samus began to choke up a bit.

"I only have time to give you a goodbye. I have to get back so I can be treated," Lita said, "Samus, you have truly saved my life so many times, but none is as memorable as the first. In the future, you will give birth to a baby girl,"

"I…will?" Samus forced the words out.

"Yes, but there will be a complication in the birth. The child will only live for a few brief minutes after leaving your womb. I was in that hospital at the time of the birth. I had just been born, but my heart and lungs were undersized, and I had been hooked up to machines in order to live. Because of your kind heart, you told the doctors to remove your daughter's heart and lungs, and to give them to me so that I could live a normal life. Samus, you are my reason for being here, and my reason for living. There is no way I could ever thank you for giving me the gift of life…" Lita started crying.

"I…no….it can't…" Tears were streaming down Samus' face.

"Listen to me, Samus. You have to go on. I have a way for you to continue doing good. When I use this device, the waves emitted will disrupt nearby neural patterns. If you're close to me when I jump, your short-term memory will be wiped out. You will remember nothing of the past week. Do you want that to happen, or do you want to keep your memories?" Lita said sniffling.

"I…don't want to know about all of that. I want to remember you, but I don't want to have any knowledge of my future. I don't want to have to experience it twice…I couldn't handle that…I can barely handle it now…" Samus replied, wiping her tears.

"Good…I hoped you would say that," Lita smiled, "Here, take this, and put it somewhere where you can read it later. It's not totally important, but I wanted you to have it in case you couldn't remember anything."

Samus took a folded piece of paper from Lita and stuck it into a small compartment on her suit.

"I wish I could say I'll never forget you…" Samus said.

"But you won't. Goodbye, Samus. I WILL remember you," Lita hit the button on the flux capacitor.

A buzzing noise seemingly engulfed the world and a bright light flashed.

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"Ugh! It's like static! What the heck happened?" Samus said.

Suddenly the ground began to rumble and an explosion rocketed a fireball into the air.

Samus shifted her vision behind her and saw a large structure engulfed in flames, with several massive tanks under it.

"This doesn't look good," Samus thought as she ran to her ship and jumped inside.

"Should I proceed to the pre-entered coordinates, ma'am?"

"Uh, sure, Grady," Samus replied.

As the ship was taking off, Samus stretched in her seat, but felt something poking her in the side. She reached down and found that one of her suit compartments had been left partially open. She reached inside and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it. It read:

Samus,

Remember what you do is very important to a lot of people, especially me. Please, keep doing good things.

Thanks always,

Lita

"Who is Lita?" Samus thought.