Booker hears his own sigh before the end of the shuffling footsteps behind him.
"Professor, Professor, Professor… .. ….," he pauses in his instrumentation and leans back from the bench console. "These frequent interruptions MUST stop…."
"Eh heheheh.. …Oh, but this time, Booker, I am not the one interrupting."
"… ….?" Booker turns to look back at him. And there is a betrayingly gray look to his suspicious eye. Not a second later, he swivels back and flicks a wrist across a switch that summons a miniature video screen to arise from the console bench and flicker forth a security grid layout of the Facility. "Mmmm… …I don't see any disturbance that we need to be aware of. Stop wasting my time—"
"Stop living in your own, precious little world for once, my good man," Chang smiles a hissing breath. He gestures with a plump, gloved hand. "Think a bit more.. ….. …geographically…. …"
"… …. ….," Booker flicks his wrist again. The security layout draws out into a map of the region. And—indeed—a series of lights are flickering across a splotch of topography uncomfortably close to the west of the facility. It almost makes Booker stand up from his seat. Almost. "What the devil?"
"They are most adamant on continuing their trip towards this very facility, on the trails of a certain Amy Blendon," Chang speaks with a neary-twinkle in his red goggles. "Or 'Fraust', as you may know her."
Booker's fists clench momentarily… …then relax as he forthwith murmurs: "No matter. Mercenary bands like that are of very little concern to our Headmistress, hence they should be of no concern to us." He returns to his violent, behind-the-glass experimentation. "Let those pathetic rebel-rousers bang their heads against your tin-can security droids. It won't do them many good."
"About these 'them'," Chang pleasantly sneers. "Did I fail to mention that three of them are Titans?"
"Hrmmph… …young blood… …"
"… … …and the other three are Hull, Pulsade, and Silverflare? Former students of yours?"
Booker's fingers stumble on a switch. He pauses. A bead of sweat rolls down his brow in sudden suddenness.
"OH…. …and furthermore," Chang's expression turns bitterly to a frown as he frustratingly growls: "The other four are a good deal closer. Two MORE Titans.. ….and a certain Victor Fries."
Booker finally swivels around. He looks at Chang squarely, his lips somewhat agape.
".. … …THE Fries?"
Chang nods and folds his arms. "My 'tin cans' are soon to run out, Mister Optimistic. Because… ..a certain bad boyyyy… …spent all of our resourcessss on torturing the Red X and not heightening the pathetic defenses of this remote laboratory!"
"… … …"
Booker gazes at Chang. Then he gazes at the video screen once more. For a split second, his eyes jerk towards the smoking Red X in the wirings beyond the glass. And then he swivels again to glare Chang's way. He firmly throats:
"Wake Zillah… .. …NOW."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
CHIIIIIING!
I streak through a line of laser-toting hoverbots. I end in a murking glide with my sword raised up high.
SLK-SLK-SLK-SLKKKKKTT!.!.!
A beat----CLANGGGGG! All of the robots fall to pieces.
I let out a breath—
"DOWN, KID!" Simon plows into me and raises a metal gauntlet in time to block the onslaught of a giant walker droid with cannons a'blazing. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! "Dayum!" He sweats while acting as a human shield. "You deaf or somethin'?"
I sweatdrop while pinned under him.
What's with the compassion all of the sudden?
As we both scamper away from the clamoring droids, I glance over at Robin and Pulsade who are dueling with a nimble set of robotic assassins at the mouth of the cave.
CLANG! CL-CLACK! Robin smashes android skulls with his bo-staff and sweats, back to back with Pulsade. "So why are you rogues doing something so heroic for once?.!.?.! I've seen the type of people Fraust works with! Miist.. …Polaar… …Acyd… … ..They have no compassion for their comrades! HIYAA!"
CRACK! FL-FLASSSH! Pulsade smashes and burns a few hulking automatons with fists of solar fury. "Nnnngh! Those poor sods still left under Booker's control have no hearts left! They are zombies—the whole lot of them! Except—"
"Fraust?"
"HAAA!" Pulsade jumpkicks one robot into another. SMASH! She lands, seething, and raises her fists sweatily at more oncoming foes. "She's different! She and all the rest that the madman hasn't gotten to entirely! Not every disaster is so much white or red as it is gray!"
"Any reason why this Booker freak would be after someone named Red X?" Robin snarls while spinning around with his bo-staff outstretched. CL-CL-CLANG! He twirls to a stop in a fighting pose. "Technology? Revenge?" Th-Thwp-SMASH! "……pleasure?"
CALAAAANG! "Who the bloody Hell is Red X?" Pulsade sweats and stands back-to-back with Robin again. ".. …and for that matter, why do you care?"
"Let's just say that if rogues like you three can show compassion today…," Robin tenses at an insurmountable wave of robots circling the two and whips out a fan of birdarangs. Snkkkt! "… …then so can I."
"Well, if that isn't the bee's knees…."
"Right," Robin prepares to toss his projectiles—
POW! P-P-POW! Half of the wave of robots is graciously obliterated by gunfire before his masked eyes.
Robin pants, and glances aside.
Bard salutes him, twirling a pistol.
Robin smirks, salutes back, and charges the remaining droids with a furious Pulsade. "Yaaugh!" "Hiyaaa!"
BANG! B-BANG! BANG! Hull is unleashing dual pistols' worth of ammunition into a cloud of copter-bots circling him and the cowboy. Shell casings and bullet fragments litter the floor as the robots fall and explode one at a time. Click!Click!Click! Hull cusses, disappears the pistols with a flick of his silver fingers, and produces a shotgun out of midair. Flash! Ch-Chtung! BLAM! BLAM!
Fragments fall all around Bard who hop-skotches his way frightfully to Hull's side. "Carn sarn it! Watch where you aim that bullseye, slick!"
"Save your sweet talk for when a pot-bellied-pig waltzes in on the fight scene, Howdy-Dipshit!" Hull grins amidst shotgun discharge. BLAM! BLAM!
"Okay, THAT'S IT!" Bard barely contains himself as he fires at a squadron of hoverbots overhead. "The second we're out of this nuts-and-bolts party, I'm gonna get all High Noon on your ass!"
"You name the caliber bitch!" Hull growls. BLAM! "I'll name your burial site!"
"You talk a lot of smack for some bastard child of Keanu Reeves and a Refrigerator!" Bard hisses. "Were your fingers born with them silvery-diamond stuff? Or did you just feel like sticking them up your ass over summer break?"
"Hardy har har—Hey, ass clown!" Hull suddenly twirls around and flicks a flashing wrist at Bard's face. "Special Delivery!"
"Huh?" Bard turns to look—
SPLUTTT! A paper bag full of dog manure bounces slimily off of the cowboy's head of hair.
"AAAUGH! YOU SONUVA—"
"Hahahaha! I was savin' that for a rainy day!" Hull grins and pumps his shotgun. "How's THAT for a Spaghetti Western, bitch? Ha ha ha!"
Cl-Clik! Bard abandons the fight to aim his pistol dead into Hull's neck. "Have yourself a new mouth to laugh out of, boot-licker—"
SWOOOOOSSSSH! I suddenly streak in and whistle and wave and dance madly in front of Bard. Panicked. Sweating—
"Whoah-Whoah-Whoah—WAIT, Noirry!" Bard breathes and holds my shoulder steady. "What is it? Is Robin down for the count or… ..some-… … …thing… … …"
POUND!
P-POUND!
POUND!
Hull and Bard and I look up from within the shadow of a huge, twenty-foot tall robot with its summit reaching the height of the surrounding trees. It is growing and growing as the last remaining robots soar in and pile together to form the conglomerated automaton.
WHURRRRRRR-CL-CLANK! It aims two bundles of combined laser cannons at all six of us.
I gulp.
Simon leaps in and peers up. "… …." He blinks. "Dayum."
"That's your answer to everything." "That's your answer to everything." Both Hull and Bard drone at the same time, summoning a double-take of confuzzled shock and embarrassment from the two of them.
Pulsade rolls her eyes.
"God, I hate you."
"Who said that?"
"You damn well know who, Fonze."
"Ah. Screw you too."
WHURRRRR-POW!.!.!.!
"MOVE!" Robin shouts and leads us into a suicide dive.
FWOOOOOOOMB!
