Akillian
Once evergreen, now an icy, cold planet.
Corso knew Sonny blamed himself for the disaster.
Coming back here felt strange. Still, if Sonny's hunch was correct, they had to be here. The desolate planet was the perfect hiding place for an army.
Corso looked at his maps, while he decided on what groups to put up. It was better to keep them small.
He ordered everyone to wear white to blend in with the snow if their cloaking devices failed..
"We're here to gather information, nothing else. If you find it, send it to the main computer of the Black Manta. I'll send it to Sonny to parse." Corso said.
Once he was done sending off the teams, he looked at Davison and Kuun. "We'll head to Mount Tustra. Technoid used to have some old labs there. Sounds like the perfect place to hide something."
The other two nodded.
Kuun grinned.
"Just like the old days." He said.
Corso nodded.
"Let's make sure we'll do it better this time." He said.
Kuun nodded.
"For all of us." He said, patting his older brother's shoulder.
D'Jok was in the training facility of the Flux Masters.
Being used as fuel for The Weapon drained him more than he let on.
The Paladins managed to restore his flux to some degree, but he was still weakened.
He should have told his dad, he would have known what to do.
But he had to be stubborn. Had to try it on his own. And now he was weak at the worst time possible.
He kept practicing, Stayed at it for several hours, tiring himself out.
He wouldn't disappoint his father. He couldn't.
He went to check his weren't good.
"That can't be it, I gave it all I have." He said, checking the numbers again.
"It's not your fault. They took it from you." He heard Sonny's voice say behind him.
"Dad? How long have you been watching?" He asked as he felt Sonny's hand on his shoulder.
"Long enough. This must be so frustrating for you. It's like with Rocket and the Sphere. Which leads me to think, they use a similar technology. Just remember that you can get back to old levels eventually. You just need to rest and maybe a dose of Life Force. Until then, try some other approaches." Sonny explained.
D'Jok looked at him.
"Like what?" He asked.
Sonny chuckled.
"Get creative. Don't just rely on your Flux. You've got a brain, don't you?" Sonny told him.
D'Jok nodded.
"Do you think my Flux will ever return to normal?" He asked.
Sonny sighed.
"Only time will tell." He said, before smiling. "Enough of that, let's play some ball, I bet you still can't stop me from scoring."
D'Jok grinned.
"Challenge accepted, Dad".
Callie was getting ready for a walk with the twins and Mei. She really had to fight for it, eventually telling them that young kids needed fresh air.
Sonny finally gave in, after Callie agreed to have armed guards with them.
Callie paid attention to the surroundings, making sure she and the twins never got near any place someone could abduct them.
Callie finally found a nice, safe and quiet spot.
Once everyone was settled, Callie lifted little Adrianna and Marco out of their stroller and onto a blanket.
Mei and Iris joined her.
Mei looked at the twins.
"I'd like a second one, too. Wonder if D'Jok would." She said,
"I'm sure you two could handle it." Callie said.
Mei nodded, before she frowned.
"Do you think everyone can stop all this from turning into a war? I'm scared for our children, and how we will leave the world to them." She said,
Callie was silent.
She was thinking the same things. She wanted her children to grow up happy. Safe. She just hoped that they could make that happen.
Corso studied the map in the freezing cold.
Sonny had marked the entrances and some escape routes. Corso wouldn't be surprised if Sonny worked at this place.
The group of three made their way to the entrance Sonny suggested, if all went well, there would be no alarms. Still, Corso put his jammers on.
On Corso's signal, Kuun cracked the code on the door.
They quietly entered the premises.
The light was dim, almost nonexistent. It also looked abandoned.
Corso checked the map again.
Sonny had marked a briefing room not too far away.
Corso let his cybernetic eye scan the surroundings, to check for hidden cameras. Didn't look like there were any. Still, Corso decided to use the vents. They crawled into them, until they could see into a room, with many computer screens and a holo projector in the middle of the room.
This had to be the base.
Corso considered calling Sonny, but as he heard voices approaching, he decided for telepathy.
"Try to find out as much as you can." Sonny told him.
"Understood." Corso sent back before he focused on what was happening inside the room.
A single person entered the room.
Corso pulled back slightly, to avoid detection. He could still see it was Professor Benson.
He was about to report to Sonny, when he noticed a black grayish cloud of smoke built up behind Professor Benson. A shadowy figure formed in front of him.
"You're growing weak. How about you find me a new Host?" It asked.
Professor Benson looked scared, and exhausted.
"Master, Please. I… promise to do better. There's no one better." He begged.
Corso felt a chill race through his body as the shadow took form. It was the Warlord himself.
The Warlord had Professor Benson bring up a list of suitable candidates, all of them Flux Masters.
As they studied the list, one by one, the files on the screen were removed, until only two remained, until there was just one.
Corso leaned in, trying to see who it was.
That tripped the alarm, the sudden noise startling him.
"Get out!" He yelled at his companions. Kuun wanted to protest, but Davison took charge.
"We got to go." He said. Kuun solemnly nodded and followed him as Corso was dragged out of the vent.
"Fancy seeing you here. Perhaps you could actually be useful this time around." The Warlord said.
Corso spat at his feet.
"You'll just piss off the wrong people." He hissed.
The Warlord laughed darkly.
"That is precisely what I'm counting on." He said. Corso felt a gush of fear, but hid it.
"You won't get away with this." He said.
The Warlord looked at him mockingly.
"With you as my bait, I already have."
Oh my, this is not good.
Let's hope Sonny will save him in time.
As always, a big thank you to Paranoidgirl, for taking the time to Beta this story.
Happy reading everyone.