Issue #4: Attack at GUN HQ

The Guardian Unit of Nations Headquarters was normally a prestige military building and practical fortress, but today it was under attack. A green troll-like figure rampaged through the building on his strange glider, throwing pumpkin-shaped bombs at the soldiers who dared fight back. Explosions were heard all around.

Investigating the attack was none other than GUN's elite team of agents, Team Dark. Shadow the Hedgehog led his comrades, Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega to battle in their own headquarters. Rouge said, "Commander Tower wants him away from the Chaos Emeralds here. Can't say I blame him for wanting to protect those precious gems."

"Focus on the mission at hand, Rouge." Shadow lightly scolded.

"Well you're a big bag of sunshine." Rouge quipped.

Omega primed his cannons, ready to attack whoever showed up. "I have found our target, that green meatbag flying. I shall maim him."

Shadow scowled, "Not yet, Omega. We still need to preserve the building."

Lowering his weapons, Omega allowed Shadow to lead. His instincts told him something was off, and he extended an arm, gesturing for his allies to remain still. Suddenly, a small explosion erupted on the floor, making the trio jump back in surprise except Shadow, who kept his cold stare at the source ot the random explosion.

"Well well, if it isn't Team Dark in the flesh." the stranger said.

Shadow said, "Who are you? And how do you know us?"

The stranger wagged a finger, "The second question is one I choose to not reveal yet, Shadow the Hedgehog. Just know that I am the Green Goblin. If you may, I insist you show me exactly where GUN keeps the Chaos Emeralds in their possession."

"Over my dead body!" Shadow snarled. He jumped to strike with a Homing Attack but the green figure caught him with one hand, holding him by the throat with ease. Shadow was choking.

Green Goblin laughed, "A tempting offer. But you are much more useful to my cause alive!" he used his free hand to drop an orange doll on the floor before yelling, "Chaos Control!"

Shadow gagged, "H-How?!"

Rouge and Omega were about to strike, but Green Goblin warped away. "Shadow!" Rouge yelled, landing on the floor in disappointment. She sighed and said, "Great." she looked at the doll, "Huh. It kinda looks like Tails. Why would the Green Goblin, whoever he may be, have a Tails doll?"

"Permission to vent disappointment on the unsuspecting merchandise?" Omega wondered.

"Sure. I might have a go at it to before we find Shadow."

Curiously, the doll's lifeless eyes began to glow red. Before Team Dark knew what happened, the doll began to morph and change shape. It started to transform into something bigger, metal claws appeared and it smacked Rouge and Omega aside. By the time it finished transforming, it turned into a robot version of Tails, one of their allies.

"I guess he got a hold of one of Eggman's toys. Literally." Rouge groaned.

Omega primed his weapons, "Finally. I can now to unleash destruction on this inferior lifeform."

Rouge put a finger to her ear, "Maybe I should make a call."

Meanwhile...

Two days have passed since the heroes got the emeralds. Peter had spent the last two days tinkering away at his new suit. Tails had yet to find the remaining emerald he knew was still out there. Sonic explained that three of the emeralds were kept in containment by GUN, two in their headquarters and one in someplace called Neo Prison Island. Peter was sure he could guess what kind of place that was.

But nothing happened as of yet. No sign of Osborn, Metal, the emerald, the fragment, or anything. As a plus, it allowed the man to work on his new suit in peace. With the aid of Tails, he managed to refine it and finish it faster than he normally would. He made one more tiny adjustment to the mask before finally putting down his tools. "It's finally done." Peter said before yawning. He stood up and decided to put it on.

Hearing the man move around, Sonic walked in and said, "Hey, Pete. We just got a call and—- What is that?"

Sonic was taken aback by Peter's new appearance. His new costume was a sleek metallic red. The lenses were narrowed and dark black, making him look angry and slightly menacing. His spider emblem was neon blue and covered his entire torso as opposed to being a small logo on his chest. His arms and legs were covered in black, with neon trimmings on his shoulders, his webshooters visible on his wrists.

"Huh. Not a bad look, Pete." Sonic complimented.

Spider-Man did a handstand to test how heavy the suit would be, and as expected it didn't feel any different. "Right? I call it the Velocity Armor. Tails pitched in with a few ideas. Basically, it lets me withstand blows from mooks like Metal Sonic, enhances my Spider-Sense to react better to faster foes like him, and gives me a quick boost of speed thanks to one of the Chaos Drives Tails lent me. I'm definitely sticking with this while I'm here."

Sonic smiled, "Nice."

"Did you come in here to ask something?" Peter asked while flipping back on his feet.

Sonic replied, "Yeah, we got a call from one of our friends, Rouge. Her and Omega need help holding off a robot doll Tails and said the Green Goblin attacked their base. That pretty much means we gotta go there and get answers."

The heroes walked out of the lab and Peter shrugged, "Well Osborn wouldn't attack the base without an ulterior motive."

Tails was waiting for them and held out his Miles Electric, "Sonic and I came to the conclusion that he's after the Chaos Emeralds GUN is holding."

"Is that a military organization or something?" Peter asked, earning a nod, "Okay, yeah that sounds familiar too. So GUN has their own Chaos Emeralds in possession?"

"Rouge, Omega, and Shadow are friends we can trust to hold them. After our last adventure we felt they were better off separated and guarded. I guess Osborn is more prepared for this than we expected." Sonic admitted.

Parker said, "Don't underestimate Norman. He's meticulous in every sense of the word. Knowing him, he's been somehow plotting this for a long while. Any word on if he gotten the emeralds?"

Shaking his head, Tails replied, "Not yet. According to Rouge, Green Goblin detained Shadow and used Chaos Control to warp away with no trace on their whereabouts. But he could be heading to Neo Prison Island, the most fortified harbor on the planet."

"Right now we should focus our efforts on stopping the robot Tails. Innocents could get hurt if he's anything like Metal Sonic. Huh, should we call him Metal Tails?" Spider-Man asked.

"Fits the naming scheme, I'll allow it." Sonic responded.

Peter adjusted the gauntlet on his costume a bit and said, "Good to know. So where is the GUN base at?"

Tails answered, "Central City. It's not a long flight."

Crossing his arms, Peter joked, "A speedster in Central City? Sounds kinds familiar..."

"Huh?" Sonic raised an eye ridge at that comment.

With a wave of hands Peter replied, "Just a reference. I tend to make a lot those."

"Well one day you should catch us up on those." Sonic suggested.

Peter said, "That'll take forever. Maybe I'll give you a lesson on making pop-culture quips when we get to Earth. Bad guys hate that just as much as the regular brand quips."

Sonic pointed at the wall-crawler, "I'll hold you to fulfill that offer."

Tails scratched his head cleared his throat, "I think we should head to the base. The two of you can continue this conversation on the Tornado."

"Good idea." Sonic said, "Get the Tornado prepped, bro. We got robot butt to kick again."

As Tails readied the plane, Sonic and Peter stepped outside and waitied for their friend to bring out the vehicle. Peter asked, "So Sonic. How many friends do you have? Because it sounds like you know a lot of people."

"I do know a lot of people. Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Vector, Charmy, Espio—" Sonic started to list.

"SONIC!"

Sonic groaned in disbelief, "...Amy..."

Peter raised a brow, "Who?"

Sonic only silently responded by raising three fingers, then two, then one. Suddenly a pink blur wrapped her arms around the blue hedgehog and she hugged him while saying, "I just knew you were here! It's been so long since your party!"

"Amy... what did we say... about personal space?" Sonic gagged.

The pink hedgehog relinquished her grasp on Sonic and blushed, "Oh sorry. It's just so great to see you here!"

"Same here I guess." Sonic grumbled.

Peter blinked in silence. He spoke up, "So uh... you're Amy?"

"That's right. And you are?" Amy asked.

"Name's Spider-Man. I'm kinda new around here. You... really seem to like Sonic I noticed." he muttered.

Amy proudly smiled and said, "Yep! I am his girlfriend after all!"

Curious, Peter glanced at Sonic, who quietly shook his head to dismiss that claim. 'Alright.' he thought. "Okay then I guess. I guess we have a few minutes to catch you up." he said. Sonic rolled his eye and tapped his foot, not wanting to deal with this right now.

The Tornado rolled out of the workshop and the path opened up, alowing the plane to take flight. Sonic grabbed Peter's wrist, "Whoops! Tornado's ready to go, come on Spidey!" he pulled his friend over and tossed him onto the plane's wing.

"Ow!" groaned Peter. Sonic jumped up next to him.

"Wait a minute!" Amy fumed as she chased after the moving plane to no avail. She stomped, "Sonic! When I get my hands on you..."

Tails said "Was that Amy?"

Sonic shrugged, "Yeah. Thanks for the quick save. I'm no mood to be a self-proclaimed boyfriend again."

Peter playfully nudged Sonic's shoulder, "You two could totally be a cute couple if she mellows out."

"Nah. The life I live is perfect, being as free as the wind? That's the dream for me. Romace would just slow me down." Sonic casually insisted.

Peter rolled his eyes, "If you say so."

Central City...

The Tornado landed next to GUN Headquarters, the heroes stepping out to deal with the problem immediately. Peter crouched to a knee as he jumped off the wing, his suit absorbing the impact. Sonic and Tails were beside him, "I'm following your leads." he said.

The trio walked into the base. They were greeted by a line of GUN soldiers confronting Metal Tails. Before any of them could react, the robot pushed everyone aside and threw one of the soldiers to a wall. Tails recoiled, "Whoa! He moves like Metal Sonic!" he didn't hesitate and ran foward, spinning his namesakes around to smack his robot doppelganger away and save the soldiers. He activated his Energy Ball and shot a sphere at the robot, Metal Tails catching it. Tails' eyes widened as the robot threw it right back at him with ease.

Spider-Man shot a web-line to Tails' back and yanked him back before he could get hit. "So does Dr. Eggman usually have a department line of robot doppelgangers lying around or something?" he asked his allies.

"N-No, this is the first time we've seen a Metal Tails." Tails revealed.

Metal Tails raised an arm, his hand transforming into a cannon. Peter's Spider-Sense tingled and instinctively leaned back. Metal Tails shot out a sharp projectile shaped like Tails' tails. Spider-Man managed to dodge the attack and used his reflexes to web it up and throw it back at the robot. Metal Tails merely moved its head slightly. "Is it possible to anger a robot? Well... anger a robot that isn't Ultron?" Peter gulped.

The robot zipped forward and drove his elbow onto Spider-Man's chest, knocking the wind out of him. Peter was grateful he built armor at that moment. Sonic kicked the robot and helped his friend up, "I think you just got your answer." Sonic quipped. Peter stood up and grumbled something to himself before shaking the cobwebs out of his head. He felt his Spider-Sense go off again.

Metal Tails was ready to attack again, but he was bombarded with bullets. Sonic, Tails, and Peter ducked for cover. Clanging was heard with each ihit as Metal Tails marched to the source, Omega. "I shall decimate you like your brethren." he boasted. Rouge smirked at that comment.

"Let me guess... Rouge and Omega?" Spider-Man asked.

"Lucky guess. I guess you're that new guy Sonic and Tails mentioned. Spider-Guy was it?" Rouge introduced.

"It's Spider-Man." Peter corrected. He felt his head ache, "And as much as I'm down for proper introductions I think we should focus on the killer robot attacking your base."

"With pleasure." Omega replied.

Tails watched Metal Tails get near Omega. He curled into a ball and struck his counterpart with a Spin-Dash, causing the robot to reel his head back. The fox got to his feet once he landed. Peter shot a web-line at Metal Tails and yanked him onto the ground before lifting him in the air. Sonic and Rouge leaped up as Sonic attacked him with a Homing Attack while Rouge performed a spin-kick. Metal Tails was launched to a wall, his body shattering it once he met the surface.

Omega grabbed Rouge, who curled into a ball and shot her out of his arm cannons. The bat was flung to the other side of the room and pushed Metal Tails through the wall into an office. Peter said, "This is the closest I'll ever get to seeing the Triskelion. Kind of a learning experience." he quipped leaping through the hole in the wall after Metal Tails.

Spider-Man performed a Web-Strike and kicked Metal Tails down before he could even stand up. The web-slinger flipped over the metal being and allowed Sonic and Tails a chance to get a hit in. Omega dashed into the room after the heroes and primed his weapons directly at the former doll. "Prepare for annihilation!" he declared before unloading everything onto Metal Tails.

"Wow. He's hardcore." Spider-Man admitted.

Omega hid his weapons once he was done, "My work here is finished."

"Is it now?" Metal Tails cackled with an all-too familiar voice.

"Osborn." Spider-Man, Sonic, and Tails hissed.

Rouge sighed, "Of course you already met."

"So what's the game here, Gobby? You just wanted to throw us off from your real plan?" Sonic asked.

"Precisely!" Norman laughed. "The Tails Doll provided the perfect distraction as I fulfilled the next step in my plan!"

Peter said, "Well you won't be ahead for long. We're gonna take you down, I'm taking you back to Earth and you can think about fulfilling another revenge scheme destined to fail in your cell."

Green Goblin sneered, "Oh no, it'll be very different this time, Spider-Man. The plan, the outcome is all in my favor. But again, I cannot spoil exactly what that is just yet!"

Spider-Man punched Metal Tails and pinned him to the floor, "Oh will you just shut up?!"

"Haha! Seeing you bothered gives me life!"

Sonic cringed, "That's creepy."

"Activate Self-Destruction Code 5!" Goblin ordered the robot before tuning out his call. Beeping was heard coming from the now unmoving robot.

"Get the robot out of here now!" Rouge demanded.

Tails said, "Got it."

Picking up the robot, Spider-Man ran by Sonic's side outside. Tails insisted they threw the robot in the air, which is exactly what Peter did. The wall-crawler began to shoot web-balls at Metal Tails in hopes of containing the imminent explosion better. Tails shot an energy ball at his counterpart and the heroes watched it combust in the sky away from any potential casualties. "That was a close one." Peter said in relief.

"No kiddin'." Sonic agreed.

"As much as I want to take a break. We have to get to Neo Prison Island and stop Osborn before he finds the remaining Chaos Emeralds." Tails said.

Peter nodded, "Yeah. And then we can focus on finding the tablet fragment to get me home."

"We're coming with you. Shadow's still MIA and Green Goblin came to our doorstep to get to us." Rouge decided.

Peter folded his arms, "No, you two should stay here and tend to the wounded."

Rouge smirked, "And you get to give orders now, new guy?"

Sonic said, "I'm with Spidey on this one, Rouge. You and Omega should tend to anyone injured. If we need any backup, we'll let you know. It's better to have some allies in waiting instead of pulling out all the cards at once."

"Look at you planning, Big Blue. I guess we'll play along, but find Shadow. Who knows what he's gotten himself into now." Rouge said.

"Maim the green meatbag in my honor." Omega suggested.

Peter blinked and said, "Alright then, I guess?"

Tails was already in the pilot's seat of the Tornado, "Then let's hurry before Osborn escapes. We're running out of time as it is."

"Right." Spider-Man agreed. Him and Sonic stepped onto the plane's wing and Tails started it, rolling the vehicle away before taking flight. Their next stop: Neo Prison Island.