Chapter Ten: Mewtwo

Finally, a situation Mewtwo could handle himself. He didn't have to concern himself with humans catching sight of him, because there were only a small handful of the invasive species for miles around. No need to be 'stealthy,' as the boy called it. No need to scour through infinite hiding places for his cells, for they were directly ahead of him, in the little human vehicle, conveniently along with the human responsible for hiding them.

Mewtwo caught up with the car in seconds. He glided above it like a bird of prey, watching the vehicle swirl along the road as a little panicked Rattata would ,thinking it was escaping while really it was right where Mewtwo wanted it. Nothing restricting him, nothing holding him back.

But then another source of light caught Mewtwo's eye. He glanced behind him, and there was anotherhuman vehicle, its headlights speeding down the road. He stared at it confusedly for a moment before he realized it could only be the child.

Whatwas the child thinking? Even from here, Mewtwo could sense the boy's determination and worry. But such concern was pointless. Mewtwo could handle this himself. He didn't need any kind of help, this would be easy.But the boy's vehicle was persistently gaining ground, trying to pursue.

Mewtwo shook his head and refocused on the fleeing car. He couldn't worry about the human now, he had a different one to focus on.

He observed his panicked prey and considered his options. He couldn't tip the vehicle over or cause too much damage; he needed this human alive, in case it could lead him to the rest of his cells. So, then, a little scare might be just enough spook the human off the road and trap the vehicle in the trees. Charging a small, dark Shadow Ball in his hands, barely the size of his fingertips, Mewtwo flung it down at the road. His aim was true, and it landed precisely besides the human's car.

The vehicle jerked to the side and Mewtwo let himself smile. He charged up another miniature Shadow Ball in his hands, preparing to aim at the same side so that the car might jerk again and overbalance.

But then there was a flash of red light from below, and Mewtwo paused as he saw four Pokémon burst from the car. They all flew out of the window at once as if their Pokéballs had been hastily jammed in that direction, but they took to the air like Dewgong to water. A Beedrill, flying with its claw-stingers poised forward, a Haunter, its body a dark cloud in the air, a Golbat with frantic flaps, and a Honchkrow on wide wings. They all quickly began to gain altitude and formed up. Right after them, there was an even brighter flash of red light, and this time, a whole horde of Zubats, at least two dozen of them, scuttled into the air. Mewtwo stared, admittedly nonplussed, as the Zubats bumped into each other blindly, crying out with their echolocation. But once these Pokémon managed to get their bearings, they all swooped in one flock and began to head straight for Mewtwo.

The Haunter was the fastest and came at him first with Shadow Punch with its ghoulish, detached fist—Mewtwo easily dodged it and the ghost-type swung past him. But Mewtwo had just managed to get out of the way when the Golbat charged at him with Wing Attack. The bat wings sliced his side and Mewtwo gasped, unused to physical attacks. It barely did any damage…but how had he been so negligent as to allow that?

Honchkrow was flying at him next. Mewtwo instinctively tried to grab it with his psychic powers, but to his alarm, his energy wouldn't touch the Pokémon.

Dark-type, he realized as he evaded to the side again. His psychic attacks wouldn't have any effect on its kind. Mewtwo grimaced in frustration. But he was the clone of Mew, the ancestor of allPokémon, and that genetic advantage gave him a wide diversity of moves to choose from.

In his hands, he charged the blue orb of Aura Sphere. This was a fighting-type move he had only figured out a few years ago, and was still tricky to use. Rather than using energy of the mind, like the psychic moves that Mewtwo favored, this one used energy from the body. Nonetheless, it was fairly powerful, remarkably similar to his Shadow Ball in many ways, and would be super-effective against a dark-type like Honchkrow.

Mewtwo swung the Sphere at Honchkrow, but the black Pokémon dived down to avoid it. Mewtwo was just about to charge after it when he was stabbed from behind by two stingers. The Beedrill—he'd forgotten about it, and now it had dug its stingers into his back with Poison Jab. They were drenched in acidic liquid that seeped into Mewtwo's skin, and he hissed at the stinging pain. He swung his tail behind him and slapped the other Pokémon away.

But one attack after another, the flock of Zubats caught up with him just then, swarming him all at once. They were blind and weak, but their numbers created chaos as they attacked Mewtwo in a cluster of wings and fangs. This must be the purpose the human below had planned—to overwhelmed Mewtwo with numbers, rather than attempting a one-on-one battle. Undeniably, it gave them an important advantage. Mewtwo knew he was faster though, and shot forward to escape the dense crowd.

Enough of this!No matter the strategy, he was far stronger than all these Pokémon put together. They may be ganging up on him, but Mewtwo had faced hordes of Pokémon at once before. As the Golbat charged at him again from below, Mewtwo froze it midair with his psychic powers. He struggled in alarm before he beat it down with Ice Punch. Thatought to be super-effective.

But as he looked down at the earth, Mewtwo realized the human vehicles were getting away from him. He could barely see the lights up the road already. He didn't have time for a twenty-on-one battle, he needed to catch the human responsible for this.

Dodging around the Haunter as it came at him again, Mewtwo shot off after the lights. The human boy was chasing after culprit, his own vehicle soon below Mewtwo as he caught up. The cars had already travelled a great distance from the laboratory, nearing mountainous areas of the forests, with jagged cliffs on the sides of the roads. As the escaping human's vehicle made a speedy jerk through a sharp turn, Mewtwo almost worried it would fall of the cliff. But it managed to keep on the road.

Realizing that the boy was only moments behind the other vehicle and driving at a similar speed, Mewtwo flew down to the side of the car, gliding beside it. He glanced through the window and saw the boy glance back, but the human's focus was on the road—it needed to be, if he was going to make the turn. But Mewtwo was going to provide the boy a little security.

"What are you doing?!" the boy's muffled shout came from within the car.

Don't slow down,Mewtwo said instead of answering. Make the turn. He pressed his hand to the window, staying alongside the vehicle.

The turn came, and the boy jerked the car to the right. As expected, it began to overbalance, leaning dangerously to the side. Mewtwo pushed back against the increasing pressure of the vehicle, keeping it from tipping over. Once the road went straight again, all that pressure vanished.

Mewtwo was about to regain altitude when he heard the human start to laugh. Mewtwo glanced through the window and, sure enough, the boy held one hand to his face as he laughed. Nervous laughter, from what Mewtwo sensed. If it weren't for his intervention, the boy's car would have tipped over the turn and fallen down the mountain.

Mewtwo realized he had just saved the human's life without any consideration at all. He hadn't thought about how he might owe this human, or what consequences this human's death might leave him to face; he had just—just done it, without thought. Like it was the natural thing to do. Like how when Ash had dragged Mewtwo's limp body across an island to save his life.

Mewtwo barely had time to realize this when he was pounded from above with Shadow Punch. He gasped, only just kept himself from falling headfirst into the speeding road below and lurching away from the car before he accidentally ran into it. He swung his head up to look at his attacker and saw the Haunter, smirking at him with its huge mouth. The Pokémon dared to stick its tongue out at him, waggling it raucously. Mewtwo was purely aghast at the audacity for a moment, then swiftly became outraged. Livid, he swung Psycho Cut at the irreverent Pokémon, a slice of energy that tore through the air. It hit the Haunter directly in its open mouth, and the Pokémon spiraled out of control into the woods. Admittedly Mewtwo took some satisfaction from the act.

Mewtwo had no idea if the uncouth Haunter was knocked out or merely hurt and would return to the battle soon, but was quickly distracted as the other Pokémon he had left behind caught up with him. Beedrill came at him, and Mewtwo summoned two bright energy swords into his hands to counter Beedrill's stringers. They locked blades, and Mewtwo forced the bug-type Pokémon back. It tried to slip its stingers past his swords to dig into him, but Mewtwo met each strike with his blades, beating the Beedrill away.

But then both Golbat and Honchkrow pushed in with Leech Life and Night Slash, coming at Mewtwo from his other sides. Blocking Beedrill's stingers on one side with one blade, Mewtwo swung his other arm behind him and used Icy Wind. At his summons, freezing air sprang into existence and stormed its way towards the two attacking Pokémon. Honchkrow squawked and flapped upwards, escaping the brunt of the Wind with a few frosty feathers, but Golbat was hit with the full force of the cold. It screeched in alarm and beat its ice-covered wings wildly to stay in the air.

But then the Beedrill took advantage of Mewtwo's distraction and managed to dig both of its stingers into his side. Fell Stinger, Mewtwo recognized darkly—the bug-type move hurt.He grunted and kicked the other Pokémon away. Then the Honchkrow reappeared suddenly, and flew at him with Night Slash again. Mewtwo managed to dodge, only to see the Golbat charging at him now too.

This was getting ridiculous. Mewtwo could take on any of these foes on their own, but this was too much at once. Infuriated, Mewtwo used Psychic on the Golbat, grabbing it in an untouchable hold and then ramming its body into the Honchkrow. The two Pokémon tumbled in the sky, falling behind into the night. Then Mewtwo whirled around and used Flamethrower, targeting the Beedrill, roaring the fire into existence. The Beedrill turned around and flew away as fast as it could. Knowing there were still the Zubats, Mewtwo glanced behind. The little Pokemon were slow and disorganized, but still trying to catch up with him. Mewtwo shot a Shadow Ball in their direction, and they scattered again in their attempt to dodge.

If he wanted to chase off this flock, he needed a move that could handle several Pokémon at once. A classic came to mind. Yellow electricity, with sparks of blue, discharged off his body as he called Thunderbolt up, and then he released its nimble bolts on the tenuous creatures. The lighting was immediately drawn to them, grasping for their small bodies—Mewtwo watched them jumble to escape. A few were caught by the bolts and fell to the earth, while a handful of others managed to escape into the open sky.

Mewtwo didn't bother to fight further, but used the opening to chase down the runaway vehicle again.

It didn't take him long to catch up with it, and he fired another Shadow Ball at its side. The car jerked again but still didn't slow down. The human in there had daring, and was determined not to get caught.

After a moment's consideration, Mewtwo aimed at the car's back wheels and summoned small stars in his palm. The move Swift could not miss; so long as he aimed true, the vehicle would be disabled. Mewtwo fired the small, twinkling stars after the car, waiting for the wheels to burst—

The Beedrill flew into the stars' path, taking the hits to protect its master. Mewtwo watched in both stunned shock and wrathful anger. The stars pelted the Beedrill and its wings stuttered, before its eyes fell closed and its unconscious body fell back into the forest, thankfully away from the road.

But the Pokémon's effort was for nothing. Mewtwo could use Swift more than enough times to finally hit his target. He charged up the move again and began to take aim, but then—a fifthflash of red light came from the vehicle. It was the telltale sign of a Pokéball, but rather than taking to the air like the four others, this Pokémon crawled on its several insectoid legs and powerful, long arms onto the roof of the car. A Drapion perched itself on top and turned its fanged face towards Mewtwo.

Mewtwo only paused a moment to calculate this new foe, but it could not attack him from this distance. He fired his Swift at the wheels again, but the Drapion was fast to defend its master. It shot Pin Missile from its tail at Mewtwo's oncoming stars, destroying them before they got close. Then it aimed Pin Missile at him,and Mewtwo ducked to dodge, flying closer to the road, the boy's headlights shining behind him.

Honchkrow and Golbat had managed to catch up with him again as well. On either side of him, they began to use Wing Attack and dived down towards him. Mewtwo waited, trying to appear that he was focused on Drapion while watching both their moves, before swooping up at the last minute to let them strike each other. Their moves clashed in a burst of smoke, their wings tangled, and they spiraled onto the road.

The boy's vehicle wrenched to the side to avoid hitting them, getting dangerously close to edge of the mountain. Mewtwo felt a brief moment of panic—frozen for a second as he thought, for sure, the child was going to tumble over the edge.

But after twiddling on the brink for a moment, the boy started to correct the car and get it back in the center of the path. Mewtwo barely had a second of relief before the Drapion suddenly directed the charged Pin Missile on its tail at the boy.

Immediately Mewtwo swung an Aura Sphere at the Drapion, right as the large Pokémon fired at the child's vehicle. Aura Sphere managed to hit the Drapion on the shoulder. It grunted and gripped the car it was perched on with a groan of bending metal, trying not to fall off. Mewtwo swung his attention to the boy's own vehicle, saw it swerving to avoid the Pin Missile, and then it began to fall over the edge as it sped out of control.

Mewtwo could feelthe fear spike from the boy's mind. His own heart skipped a beat, knowing how dangerous a crash could be, especiallyif it fell from such a height. Mewtwo broke off from his chase of the researcher's vehicle, diving towards the boy's. Still speeding along the road, Mewtwo flew around the car's side and pushed his side against the metal, trying to rebalance it.

Honchkrow suddenly reappeared and rammed into the car's other side. The impact even sent Mewtwo back a few inches. He grunted and glared across the now-cracked glass of the window. Across the car, the bird Pokémon glided alongside the human's vehicle, watching Mewtwo from underneath its hat-like feather crest. It turned in the air and kicked its talons against the car again, and Mewtwo struggled as more of the car's weight fell on him.

Knowing he had to chase the black bird away, Mewtwo flew over the car and shot an Aura Sphere at it. The Honchkrow was unprepared, and it was a direct hit. It cried out in pain and tumbled away.

Mewtwo glanced down at the boy's vehicle. The child had been slowing it down to regain control, and the other human's car lights were getting further and further away. Would the boy be able to catch up?

Perhaps Mewtwo should leave the boy behind and chase after his cells alone. Was the boy much help in this pursuit anyway? Wasn't he just in danger as long as he followed? Mewtwo had already been distracted from the chase by having to save the boy twice—

Golbat suddenly shot out of the darkness and rammed into the boy's car, giving it the final push…down the hill. Mewtwo could see the human struggling within the car, hear the screeched of its tires and groan of its metal as it tipped over the side. The boy's fear was in the air like poisonous gas.

For a brief moment, Mewtwo was on his own precipice. Leave the boy, go after his cells, and likely let the child die? Or save the boy, and let his cells slip through his fingers?

"Do you always need a reason to help somebody?"Ash had once asked Mewtwo.

Mewtwo may have a reason notto save the boy…but it wasn't good enough.

Mewtwo dived after the rapidly falling car. All the recent rain had left the mountain slick and muddy, the unstable ground easily slid under the car's heavy weight. Mewtwo stretched out a hand and reached for it with his psychic powers. The momentum was difficult to grasp but soon it glowed blue with his hold. Its fall froze as if paused on a screen, and Mewtwo vaguely felt the boy's terror transform into confusion. Ignoring that, Mewtwo released a small breath of relief and began pulling it back up the mountain. Carefully he manipulated it not to run into the tree branches, back to the road. He moved as fast as he was able, feeling each second tick by and knowing the other human with his cells was getting away.

Finally he set the vehicle back on the road. But the human could have still been injured; Mewtwo briefly flew beside the window and glanced inside to see the boy unharmed, gripping the wheel with white hands.

Stay here, Mewtwo instructed firmly, and then flew down the road after the other car. He couldn't see its lights, and the road was dark. He followed the asphalt path beaten through the forest, staying in the gap of the trees, eyes locked ahead to see any flicker of movement. His mind was open, feeling the lives and energy of the wild Pokémon around him…but he couldn't sense his cells.

No.

Mewtwo knew he was already leaving a trail of blue light behind him with his speed, and he only pressed himself to fly faster. The scientist had to have followed this road, so as long as Mewtwo stayed on it, eventuallyhe would catch up with him. The road wound and wove around the slim path through the mountains, turning and rising and falling and—

Splitting.

Mewtwo went from his top speed to a complete stop in the span of a millisecond. He stood before a division in the road. Three paths were before him. There was no sign of which one the culprit may have taken. Not even psychic echoes of it.

Snarling, Mewtwo flew straight up into the sky. Several feet above ground, he scoured the earth below from his new vantage point. But he saw no headlights from within the leaves, no sign of human vehicles. There was nothing.

Mewtwo's fists clenched and wind picked up as his emotions lashed out on the physical world, tearing at the sky. The clouds drifting high overhead grew heavier and darker. The trees below rustled, shook, and groaned with the pressure of his rage as if a storm was pressing down upon them. His ears were pounding with the force of his anger, and he barely heard the alarmed cries of wild Pokemon below as they scurried away in fear.

The human had escaped…with his cells.