Ride On Chapter 3 (Original chapter Chapter 139)
3rd of January, 2011
Taylor's Lab
Ordinarily, I would be heading back to school today…but since I'm homeschooled now, I don't have to worry about that. To celebrate the fact I was no long forced to go to the purgatorial school known as Winslow, I'd headed out to my base and entered it via the secret entrance I'd installed in a nearby abandoned house. It had actually been trivial to dig a tunnel to my base using a gun I'd thrown together that used my 'Solar Fire Energy' to power it. It had taken less than a day to make and it took me barely five minutes to charge, and the charge was good for over three hours of consecutive use!
Something which was good was that it flipped the Manton Limit of my Shaker Field's fire, making it so it could only affect nonliving things. I had a vague idea to make a belt that did that for my actual field, but I then had the image of being utterly naked from having my clothes burned off and rather swiftly shelved the plan.
"OK then…" I muttered and cracked my knuckles as I approached a bench. "Let's see about getting another one of you up and running."
The experiment after Christmas in regards to the Solar/Wind Energy Converter had been a resounding success, much to my delight. Now that the Typhoon Grasshopper was fully charged with the right kind of energy, I could remain transformed as Masked Rider [The First] for three days and nights straight without needing to take it off…or I would if it were not for the fact I would need to use the toilet during that time and my suit lacked a way to deal with that little issue.
Now though, I was determined to make another transforming insect device. I didn't care what element it was; if it wasn't directly powered by my Solar Energy, I would just build another converter, although I was really hoping for at least one that worked with my field with 100% compatibility.
Part of the reason, I was betting, for the lack of compatibility with my Solar Energy was the fact that I had been working with very few proper tools and poorly compatible parts when I had built the Typhoon Grasshopper. Now I had a proper workshop and far better tools, I was willing to bet that I'd get a better result.
It took me a couple of hours, but I finally finished my next transformation device. It was…another grasshopper. It had crimson eyes this time, as opposed to the dull red eyes that the Typhoon Grasshopper had, but I didn't think that this one was a success either. I'd be able to tell tonight when I went to the junkyard tonight.
Shrugging, I pulled on my belt and headed over to my fixed bike. It had taken a while to secure the last part needed to bring it up to standard, but now it was fixed. I'd been waiting until today so I'd have something good to happen, even if my little experiment with the new insect transformation device fell through.
Straddling the bike, I looked expectantly at the Typhoon Grasshopper, which was bouncing around my workshop like it had no care in the world. Why was it so…flighty? Was it because it was now fully powered by the wind or something?
"Hey, Typhoon! It's time to ride!" I called out to it and damn me if it didn't respond immediately! The grasshopper leapt over to me and landed on the handlebars of the bike almost complacently.
"Show off." I informed it tartly before grabbing it and pressing the central button.
[Masked Rider Pantheon!]
Slamming it onto my belt, I then pressed the flashing middle button once it declared [Wind Charge!] loudly.
As the light of transformation appeared around me, I looked down to see that it was also encompassing the bike.
[Reach to the HEAVENS, Masked Rider! Stand and FIGHT! As of this moment, the SCYTHING WIND is at your command!]
When the light faded, I was Masked Rider [The First] and the bike…had changed. It wasn't whatever kind of bike it had been before…it had a curved, aerodynamic shell, with air intakes open along the front. A large '1' character had appeared on the front in black, while the rest of it was blue.
Hurricane Cycle Statistics:
Power: 200 horsepower
Top Speed: 400 km/h
Attacks: - Rider Hurricane Break
- Hurricane Crusher
Defenses: - Hurricane Barrier
Auxiliary Systems: - Portable Wind Energy Transformer
- Squall Platform
I had to whistle as my suit gave me the information on the newly-transformed Hurricane Cycle. It was powerful, I could tell that even if motorbikes weren't my thing.
The attack I'd seen in the HUD of [The First], Rider Hurricane Break, was there, but so was another one called Hurricane Crusher. I had to assume that this one was one that was built into the bike.
Defensively, the Hurricane Barrier basically noped any conventional ranged fire, but bizarrely did absolute diddly-squat for close combat attacks. What the heck? I'd need to think about an upgrade at some point…
The auxiliary systems were also pretty damn good. The Portable Wind Energy Transformer sucked in wind as the bike moved and converted it into Wind Energy, both to power the bike and to recharge my suit as I rode, while the Squall Platform allowed the bike to basically repeal the law of gravity and let me ride it in midair, literally making the air beneath the tires of the bike solid enough for it to ride on.
Tinkers are such bullshit.
Problem was, I couldn't ride out of the garage on my bike if I didn't want to expose my base's location to everyone and their grandmother. I'd have to make a secret tunnel leading elsewhere in order to keep my base's location secure. It wouldn't be hard, as the sewers made for a pretty good ersatz tunnel system, but I'd have to put in a secret exit, probably several, in order to leave them. That meant a heck of a lot of work.
Sighing, I de-transformed…and the Hurricane Cycle vanished along with my armor. I landed on my ass with a slight yelp of pain as my tailbone was jarred by the landing on the concrete floor.
Blinking, I looked around in bewilderment. The Typhoon Grasshopper looked at me from the belt for a moment before hopping off and away somewhere.
"Okaaaay….well, that makes things a bit simpler." I managed faintly. Presuming that I could call the bike out and dismiss it whenever I needed to, I had now solved my transportation problem. I could leave here on foot, transform and then kick ass as Masked Rider [The First].
A smile crossed my face. "Awesome."
That Night
Smilin' Sam's Junkyard
Dropping back into the junkyard, I smiled grimly. The outfit I was wearing was a costume that I decided needed to be worn even if I was going to transform. While it might seem like an overly cautious idea, some of my research suggested that if the Rider Suit (as I had taken to calling my armor) was damaged to a certain point, it would automatically disengage and start repairing itself inside whatever dimensional pocket it was stored in when not in use.
So I had made this costume. It was black all over and had armored paneling in key locations for protection. It also had some useful little electro-stimulators for my muscles, increasing my strength, speed and reaction time while I wore it. The helmet was patterned after the apparent insect theme that my Masked Riders were taking, and thus looked like a grasshopper's head. It had its own HUD and could help me see in the dark thanks to the special lenses it had installed. Special microphones let me hear far better and far more accurately than normal and I could even use a pulse of sound to echolocate in a similar manner to radar.
All in all, it was the kind of protective clothing that I considered the absolute bare minimum for walking around the streets at night.
Eying the grasshopper that I had built today, which I had charged up back at my base and had refused to let me carry it, I was feeling a bit uncertain about it. After being charged, it had turned black and dark green and it had hopped alongside me quite easily as I made my way here.
"OK, let's get this over and done with." I sighed and crooked a finger at the grasshopper.
Silently, it hopped into my hand and I was about to press the button on it when lights flashed on around me! Fortunately, one of the many uses of those lenses of mine was that they polarized with the light, preventing me from being overly flash-blinded. So when I saw a bunch of ABB assholes approaching me, I knew that I had walked right into a trap.
"That's the one! The guy looks different, but it's definitely the same guy who smashed Rokuro's ribs!" one angry-looking guy exclaimed. He vaguely looked familiar…oh, right; he was one of the losers that had tried to rob a couple on my first night out.
I quickly pressed the middle button on my grasshopper.
[Masked Rider Pantheon!]
"What the fuck?!" one exclaimed, looking around for the source of the voice. I eyed them; there were about ten of them, far more than I could fight in just this suit, but maybe…
I slammed the grasshopper into the cradle on my belt, earning a [Sunshine Charge!] exclamation. What the fuck?
"Get the bastard!" one shouted and raised a length of pipe. Very quickly, I hit the middle button again to transform, causing a golden light to blast out, sending the idiots flying as metal flew towards me, including a katana dropped by one of the ABB thugs.
[Stand in the HEAVENS, Masked Rider! Reign as a KING! As of this moment, the RAYS OF THE SUN are at your command!]
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the golden light vanished, leaving me standing in my new Rider Suit. It was sleek and formfitting, although it did exaggerate my muscles...by a lot. Dark green on the chest, most of the abdomen, the groin area, upper arms and down to the knees, black on the lower arms, bottom of the legs and on the helmet, the grasshopper had also transformed into a stylized belt buckle of a golden grasshopper with three buttons on it.
With a mental nudge, I hastily looked up how strong this one made me.
Masked Rider [Black Sun]: Physical Abilities Chart
- Eyesight: 3 KM
- Punching Power: 70 tons
- Lifting Power: 1 ton
- Grip Strength: 50X Human Average
- Kicking Power: 150 tons
- Maximum Jumping Height: 60m
- Maximum Running Speed: 315km/h
…eh? What? Was I…seeing things?! What the hell?! This was even MORE powerful than [The First] was! What the hell!? Seventy tons punching power?! A HUNDRED AND FIFTY tons kicking power?! WHAT. THE. HELL!?
OK…calm down. Let's see what this bad boy had offensively.
Masked Rider [Black Sun]: Offensive Ability/Equipment List
-{Barehanded}
Sunlight Glare
Rider Photon Punch
Rider Photon Kick
Rider Photon Chop
-{With Photon Cane Sword} (Available)
Rider Photonic Crash
Rider Photon Energy Slash
Rider Photonic Lightning Impalement
-{With Photonic Power Pistol} (Not Available)
Rider Hard Light Shot
Rider Photon Wave Barrage
-{With Lightspeed Cycle} (Not Available)
Rider Lightspeed Crash
Rider Sunshine Break
It had less in the way of overall options than [The First] did, but it did seem to focus on close combat with a sword…something which I had access to, probably from absorbing that katana during the initial transformation process.
The ten idiots were staggering to their feet and I was left with a choice here. I could just turn and run, or I could stay and kick their asses. Given that kicking their asses the last time had resulted in this situation to begin with, I was tempted to just run…but I was pissed at being ambushed, not to mention the fact I needed to get my hands on a gun to subsume into this particular Rider Suit, and a nickel got you a dollar that one of these idiots would have one on them.
So kicking ass for fun and profit it is.
"You ten have two choices here." I drawled, my voice thankfully scrambled as it was in Masked Rider [The First]. "Choice One: fight me and get your asses kicked. Choice Two: leave behind all of your weapons and run away. We can do this the real easy way or we can do this the easy way. Completely up to you idiots which way we go."
"Don't underestimate us, bitch!" the one whose ass I had kicked over a month ago shouted and drew a real hand cannon from his jacket; a Smith and Wesson Model 629-8 Magnum if my HUD's pop-up was to be believed. How the hell had he gotten his hands on such a powerful revolver? Did this guy watch too many reruns of Dirty Harry or something?
Rather quickly, he squeezed off all six bullets at me, the load retort of the gun echoing throughout the junkyard, as did the sound of the bullets, once again, bouncing off or pancaking on my armor.
"Ow." I deadpanned sarcastically. "Seriously, didn't you learn anything last time? I'm bulletproof."
"N-No fuckin' way…th-those were AP rounds!" the idiot stammered in disbelief.
"Get the bastard!" his friend shouted. Sheesh. Some people are just too damned stubborn for words. They had bats, clubs, steel pipes and one even had a two-by-four with nails hammered into it. Cliché much?
Well, I probably should get some experience using a sword, so this was a good opportunity. I hit the middle button on my belt. "Photon Cane Sword, deploy."
[Photon Cane Sword!]
In a flash of golden light, the sword appeared floating in front of me. It was about the same length as a standard sword, but it had a thin blade, and only down one side; the other side was blunt and rounded.
Perfect for using to bash idiots on the head without cutting them in other words.
Grabbing it out of the air, I pointed it at the nearest man threateningly.
"Last chance to not wake up tomorrow covered in bruises." I warned them.
As you might expect, they didn't listen. Well, you can't save idiots from being idiots, and I HAD given them more than sufficient warning, so whatever happened from here on out was on their heads, not mine.
The first was armed with a length of pipe that he swung at my head. I sliced it in half so quickly that the guy didn't register it until he completed his swing. While he looked at it stupidly and had a 'duh?' moment, I flipped my weapon around and whacked him in the stomach with its blunt side.
As he collapsed and vomited his dinner onto the ground, the two-by-four guy tried to get a hit in at my side. I dodged back and backhanded the wood, smashing it into splinters, before I grabbed him and threw him into a nearby car wreck's windscreen. After that, it proved to be all over barring the mop up, and by 'mop-up,' I mean 'looting the bastards of everything they had of value, including the contents of their wallets before throwing them in another dumpster.'
"This should make a good base for the Photonic Power Pistol." I muttered as I held up the revolver I'd taken from the idiot who had been on the receiving end of my first beating a month ago. I'd taken all of the guns they'd had on them, but I'd use the S&W 629-8 for the PPP. I figured that as I'd used a gun from that asshole for the Typhoon Pistol of [The First], [Black Sun] could use the one I'd taken from him this time.
It just seemed right.
I left shortly after that as some people were starting to poke around, having heard the gunshots, so I quickly leapt atop the house nearby and started making my way back to my base. While I did that, I decided to see what kind of equipment this Rider Suit had equipped. Here's a summery.
Masked Rider [Black Sun]: Auxiliary Equipment List
- Helmet-Mounted Alarms Sensor
- Ripple-Form Armor
- File-Bron Artificial Muscles
- Grasshopper Multi-vision Eyes
- Resonating Microphones
- Rider Sensor Antennae
- Ultimate Cleaning Coating
- Sunshine Grasshopper Transformation Unit
- Sunshine Absorbing Transformer
- Wristwatch Communicator – Not Available; needs Base Unit.
…the last one was a surprise, but it wasn't as if working wristwatches were that expensive. I'd have to buy one at some point; the secondhand shops should have at least one. If all else failed, I'd use my newly acquired cash to buy a new one.
Sunshine…that was the 'element' that [Black Sun] was bound to. As soon as I arrived back in my base, I sat down and trawled through the onboard systems of the [Black Sun] Rider Suit until I finally found what I was looking for…an estimated compatibility percentage between [Black Sun] and my Shaker power. For some strange reason, it also included [The First] as well.
Masked Rider Suit: [The First] – Compatibility 15%
Masked Rider Suit: [Black Sun] – 65%
So, I'd managed to jump up the compatibility of my suit-to-Shaker power ratio by 50%, which made sense; sunshine was a product, albeit a heavily diluted and distant one, of the nuclear furnace that was the sun itself. Obviously the compatibility of the Sunshine Energy of [Black Sun] was going to be better than the Wind Energy of [The First].
Still, I was obviously missing something to have the compatibility of the energy miss by 35%. Hmm…how frustrating.
Opening the little bag that I'd stashed the guns in, I pulled out the revolver and had [Black Sun] generate a holster for it before I dismissed the transformation. I was then treated to the sight of my two grasshopper transformation devices staring each other down for a couple of tense moments, their eyes glowing red before hopping away and basically ignoring one another.
"What the hell was that all about?" I muttered in confusion.
A Couple of Days Later
Taylor's Bedroom, Hebert Residence
I still kept glancing at Mom's flute from its place on the small shelf next to my bed, as it was going to go missing if I didn't constantly check on it. Stupid bitch Sophia…
A question that had plagued me since it had gone missing, as well as during the other incidents over the time that I had been Sophia's punching bag, was how the bitch had gotten into my locker? I had changed my locker combination almost twice a week and she'd still managed to get into it as if she was the owner of the damned thing rather than me!
The revelation of Sophia's alter ego as Shadow Stalker had let me know about the ways that bitch misused and abused her powers in such petty and stupid ways, just to bully me. Grrr…she pissed me off so badly I wanted to SCREAM sometimes!
I would never do what she did. I would never abuse my powers just to make myself feel good about myself like she did.
According to Emma, in my occasional talk with her as we slowly, carefully and cautiously rebuilt our friendship, things were getting tense between her and Sophia, so she was looking into moving to another school, although she didn't have good enough grades to go to Arcadia or Immaculata, so it would likely be Jefferson, which was basically the same as Winslow, except it had less of a gang presence because it was on the outskirts of Brockton Bay.
As for Madison…well, she was a nonentity; a hanger on who kissed Emma and Sophia's feet because she wanted to protect herself from them. I could care less about her, frankly.
Things were still a bit awkward over in the Barnes Household as well. Alan still doesn't quite get the whole 'Emma needs discipline as well as cuddles' thing, so he was still sleeping on the couch…or rather, in the guest bedroom. Aunt Zoë really took no prisoners…
Anne Barnes, Emma's older sister, didn't know about Sophia's alternate identity, but she was shocked and horrified by what she saw Emma had done and was on her Mom's side, berating Alan and scolding Emma, as well as saying how proud she was that her sister had actually turned over a new leaf.
It was…odd…to have the support of almost all of the Barnes family. Alan…I didn't get his deal, but I suspect that he needed to see a shrink, as Emma clearly wasn't the only one who was traumatized that day.
Lying back on my bed, I was in the middle of brooding about a couple of things. One was the continued problem of Sophia Hess. I was not happy to have her running free after what the bitch had done to me. Unfortunately, what I had said to Dad applied still; even if we did manage to prove what she'd done, there was nothing stopping the PRT from going into cover-their-asses mode and burying us in legalese until the cows come home.
That aside, I was also thinking about starting to patrol at night, now that I'd gotten a handle on my armor situation. For the moment, until I could scrape together parts for another bike, I'd use [The First], as it let me get around quickly on the Hurricane Cycle. Once I had a proper motorbike to use for the Lightspeed Cycle though, I'd retire [The First], as it was a prototype, and switch to using [Black Sun].
I'd have to change which scrapyard I used though. Obviously, I had gotten complacent regarding that particular scrapyard; I hadn't even given in a cursory once over before jumping in. Even that would have alerted me to the stupid little ambush. Live and learn.
Another issue I was going to consider was that I needed to actually secure my base. Most of what I had done to the place involved cleaning it up, taking out the rotting crap and replacing and reinforcing the already present structure. Oh sure, I'd made it basically impossible for anyone to casually break in or hear any odd noises coming from the equipment within. Something I had done also was to build a device that masked the energy signatures of all my equipment from detection.
Still, if someone was to find my base, it currently wouldn't be any harder to get in than your average abandoned garage. I needed to reinforce the walls and ceiling, replace the glass in the windows with something strong enough to take an RPG without cracking and then add some internal/external active defenses. Against Parahuman attackers, they'd possibly worse than useless, but the Second Parahuman, Vikare, had been killed with a club to the head, so surely they'd at least slow people down.
Grabbing a sketch pad, I started to draw my plans, unaware of the events to follow the next week…
So yeah, more build up to the other shoe dropping.
In case you missed it, Masked Rider [Black Sun] is actually Kamen Rider Black RX, which is the same one used in the Saban show Masked Rider. I chose to use Black RX rather than Black because I prefer Black RX's look. Plus I quite liked Masked Rider as a kid, even if it was a bad show for Saban to try and 'westernize' like they did with Power Rangers.
In other news, the poll results came in and I expected the result: most of you like chapters in blocks of consecutively linked chapter, which I will try to honour. I will occasionally write more chapters for the piecemeal ficlets I've written in the past though.
Read and review please. ^_^