There is only one more chapter after this, and then a pretty short epilogue. Next, watch out for the continuation of 'More Than Just Playing the Game'. I took the entire day to finish this (mostly), especially the battle scene.
Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters, but I do own Slash, John, and every other member of the Underground, Zetkik, and any other minor characters.
NORTH CAROLINA- SUPERHUMAN SHACK
Gwen and the others appeared inside the superhuman shack to find John, who was surprised by their sudden and quick appearance, and Trent, who was still on a couch. Gwen glared at John, but showed him the box, while the others stayed in the background during the exchange. John smirked, and looked carefully at the box.
"I knew you couldn't risk your beloved Trent, even for this powerful device," John commented, reaching out to grab it. Gwen yanked it out of his reach, and scowled at her arch-enemy.
"First, free Trent!" she demanded. John narrowed his eyes, and then pulled out a knife, bringing it towards Trent's neck. Gwen took in a short breath of panic.
"First the box," he demanded, holding out his hand. Gwen sighed, and placed the box in his hands. John smiled evilly, and then dropped the knife on the floor. He placed his hand over its apparent top, and began to push to pull. Much to everyone's surprise, the lid began to creak open slowly, and a bright green light exited the box. It began to enter John's body, all while he was laughing like a maniac. Finally, the light all went inside John, and he dropped the box. The ground began to shake, and John looked at his hand, feeling strength flow through it. He looked over at Trent, and then smirked at Gwen.
"You know what? I changed my mind. Trent's as good as gone!" he declared, watching Gwen's eyes grow wide.
"No!" she shouted, trying to rush over and save Trent. John grabbed her, and threw her into the other heroes. Grinning wickedly, he turned Trent to face him, and reared his fist back. Suddenly, the whole room grew quiet and John looked back at Gwen one more time with his evil smirk.
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Everyone heard the strange shout, and looked up. For some reason, they could also make out the sound of helicopter blades. Then, there was a loud CRASH!The heroes watched in awe as John was struck down to the ground by someone, and there was now a hole in the roof. Gwen ran over and untied Trent. The two embraced briefly before returning to the others. With that out of the way, they finally recognized who had landed on John.
"Slash!" Gwen shouted. The man stood up, groaning and holding his head.
"That's my name..." he answered, rubbing his head. A few seconds later, there was a loud crashing noise a little ways away, followed by an explosion. Slash suddenly looked wide-eyed.
"Ah crap! I forgot about the helicopter!" he shouted.
"Say what?" Owen asked. Slash sighed.
"It's a long story, but now I'm wanted by the RCMP for stealing a helicopter........ and wrecking it," he added. Izzy walked over to him, grinning like a madman...... madwoman.
"Really? Me too! Well, actually it's because I-" Izzy was cut off as Harold let out a shout.
"John's getting up guys!" he pointed to the shape slowly returning to its feet. He looked angry, and Slash was the first to say anything as John growled.
"RUN!!!" The thirteen heroes and Slash immediately took off out of the cabin, with John following close after. They managed to keep barely ahead by using the placement of trees. Finally, when they reached the road, Slash ran into the road, stopping the nearest car. When the driver screeched to a halt, Slash ran over to him, punched in the window, and grabbed the driver. He tossed the driver to the side, and hopped in the driver's seat. By then, the others had huddled over, and somehow all managed to fit into the car. Although it was very uncomfortable, and Duncan, Izzy, and Harold had to sit in the trunk while it was open. As they peeled out of there, John also stole someone's car, taking off after them.
Slash was the driver, and was keeping a pretty fast speed while maneuvering around the cars in front of him. Then, he looked in the mirror, and noticed John following after them. He pushed down harder on the gas, and honked at the cars to move out of the way. One car hadn't moved fast enough, and Slash had to act quickly. He spun the wheel, and the car began to lean toward one side. But, luckily, Owen's weight managed to keep it from tipping over. He grinned, when he saw John use his new found powers to fly over said car. He growled to himself, and kept driving on. It was a surprise that they hadn't gotten in trouble with the law yet, Slash thought, just managing to slide past another idiotic driver. He looked ahead and noticed that they were about to drive onto a bridge. He zoomed right through the toll, but Duncan managed to toss enough money at the person working the toll. Then, John sped right by, throwing the money at her as he drove. Slash looked at his mirror, and gulped. John was catching up fast, and there was no way to dodge him on the bridge. His only hope was to get to the other side, and take a tricky road. But, just then, Harold let out a shout.
"He's gonna hit! Brace yourselves!" Slash squinted his eyes tight. Then, there was a loud crash, and Slash felt the car jump a little. He had let go of the wheel by accident and gasped.
"Hold on!" he shouted. Then, as the car touched ground again, it shook to the side, turning toward the edge of the bridge. With it's high speed, the car broke through the bridge beam, and began plummeting into the water below. Slash panicked, and kicked the door open.
"Get out of the car!" he screamed at the others, before leaping off the side. Duncan, Izzy, and Harold had already fallen out, and Owen rolled out of the door. The others jumped soon after, all plopping into the water. Last, the van hit the surface. It began to fill up with water, and slowly sank to the bottom. The others resurfaced, and began swimming to the nearby shore. They all crawled up onto the shore, coughing and hacking. they noticed that the sun was going to set soon, and decided to just camp out there for the night.
Later that evening...
After another long day, most of the heroes had fallen asleep just as the sun was setting. Well, except for one, heart-broken, and vengeful soul. Lindsay made sure that everyone else had fallen asleep before standing up. She felt a pang of sadness looking at the other couples cuddle together in the cold night. She sighed, and began to walk back toward the bridge, alone. Although the walk was long, she reached it in no time. John had been standing there on the bridge, almost as if he knew that she was coming. Lindsay scowled, and ran at him, wanting to get him back for killing Tyler. But, John had punched her as soon as she had come near. With his awesome power, the blow had knocked Lindsay painfully to the ground. She stood up and tried to hit him again, but John kneed her in the stomach. Lindsay grabbed her stomach, and fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face from the massive pain. She tried to reach out and just grab his leg, but John kicked her down. Lindsay lied on her back, gasping in pain. John picked her up, and tossed her over the side of the bridge, watching as she fell down into the water. Satisfied, he smirked, and set his sights on the Wawanakwa City. In the time since the battle between the superhumans and Eva, it had been rebuilt. He decided to take care of that, and began walking over to it.
The next morning...
Bridgette was the first to wake up, slightly sore from sleeping on the ground. She yawned, and stretched her body out a little bit to get feeling in her body. She looked around at the other sleeping heroes (and Slash). She noticed that one of them was missing, Lindsay. She looked around, and decided that she had already woken up, or had fallen asleep invisible. She walked over to the water to splash some in her eyes to better wake her up. As she leaned down to scoop some of it in her hands, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned around, and her heart jumped.
"What the hell?! Lindsay!" she screeched, disturbing the calm peace in the air. The others slowly stirred, save for Slash, who had jumped up, knife in hand.
"Where's the guy at??!!" he shouted, looking around quickly. He saw Bridgette looking shocked, and then saw what she was looking at.
"Whoa, what happened?" he asked. By now, the others had woken up, and looked around.
"Whaz going on?" Duncan mumbled sleepily, his mohawk ruffled up on one side.
"Lindsay's dead," Slash replied bluntly. The others jumped right up, wide awake, and saw that Lindsay was indeed gone, based on the unmoving body just feet away. The heroes sighed, and looked down at the ground. Another hero dead. Even worse, they heard the sounds of destruction a little ways away. When they looked up to the source, they saw the newly rebuilt being knocked down, most likely due to John. It seemed that there was no hope for a good future now.
"Hey, dudes! Heads up!" The others looked up upon hearing Chris's voice, and were shocked to see a teenager like themselves. He was wearing a hat, although not a torque, with his blonde hair jutting out from under it. He had on skater clothes, and was slouching now.
"Chris?" Geoff asked. The teenager just chuckled.
"I'm going for a new look, and changed my name to Jude. How do I look?" Chris/ Jude asked (special treat for who gets the reference!). The heroes just looked him over.
"It looks...." Harold began. Jude looked at him intently. Harold scratched his chin, and then smiled. "Awesome!" Jude pumped his fist back.
"Alright! I told Chef it was awesome!" he exclaimed.
"Why are you here anyway Chris.... I mean Jude," Courtney corrected herself. Jude then looked confused, and scratched his head.... well, hat.
"Huh, why did I come down here?' he asked out loud. The others sighed in annoyance. finally, Jude snapped his fingers.
"Oh yeah, that's right! I came down to help you guys defeat John!" he exclaimed with realization. The others groaned.
"How are we supposed to do that? He's gotten the power from the ancient box? We're screwed," Duncan reminded him. Jude nodded.
"Well, even so, there is one way to take the power back and lock it up again," he revealed.
"How?" Ezekiel asked. Jude cleared his throat.
"Well, it's a very...... difficult task, to say the least. You have to fight and defeat this.... thing," he told them slowly.
"That doesn't sound so hard, eh" Ezekiel shrugged. The others nodded in agreement. Jude sighed.
"This isn't just anything you're fighting. It's a legendary machine created by our people as a secret weapon. But, it was too powerful, and we had to seal it in a special place. Still willing to try?" he asked. The others hesitated for a minute, but Ezekiel stepped up.
"Whatever it takes, eh. Take us to it," he ordered. Jude signaled for the others to surround him, and they began to float into the air.
"Oh yeah," Jude exclaimed while they were floating. "I forgot to mention its name! It's name is Zetsumei-Kikai, or Zetkik for short. When translated word-for-word, it literally means 'death-machine'. Yeah, I probably should have mentioned that before, heh heh," Jude chuckled lightly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Most of the other heroes and Slash looked horrified at having to fight this thing. They arrived in front of a large door, with 'Do Not Open!' written in large letters all across the door. The heroes were feeling like backing down right about now. But, it was a little late for that, as Jude had already pushed the door open a little, and ushered them inside.
"Good luck guys!" Jude shouted, before slamming the door shut.
The heroes gulped, and looked around. They were in a dark, circular room. Nothing could be seen in the vast darkness.
"Hellooooooooooo??!!" Izzy called out. The others jumped. Just after that, the lights flipped on, and the heroes were faced with a giant machine: Zetkik. It's head was an upside triangle, with a single fourth tip jutting out from the top. It had small, beady black eyes, that could barely be seen through a small opening. It's one arm was a long, shining claw, while the other had a large hammer on end. And, at the bottom, were dangerous treads, much like on a tank. On it's stomach was a complex and strange symbol. Zetkik let out a ferocious roar, causing the ground to shake. In the face of this massive danger, Slash only had one thing to say.
"Oh, shit."
The others slowly nodded in agreement, and were surprised when Zetkik began rolling towards them, ready to swing its hammer down. They all leaped out of the way, and prepared to fight the massive beast. Heather created a bunch of clones, and sent them to climb up the machine and look for a weak point. Realizing this, Trent also began to fly upwards.
"Trent! Look out!" Gwen shouted. Trent looked over, and saw Zetkik swinging its claw at him. He tried to move out of the way, but the very tips swiped him into the wall, which he slammed into face first. Then, he fell backwards, and hit the ground in pain. Gwen ran over and quickly healed him. Around the same time, Zetkik shook off the Heather clones, sending them falling to the ground and disappearing. Heather growled at her plan not working, when Zetkik began rolling towards her. She backed up, and realized that she was stuck against a wall. She let out a scream, when Ezekiel appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her, and they transported away from the spot. When Heather opened her eyes, she tightly hugged Ezekiel.
"My hero!" she shouted. Ezekiel gasped.
"Heather! Can't.... breathe!" Heather let him go, and he caught his breath. Gwen noticed, and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close," she commented. Then, she looked back over at Zetkik, and saw the hammer coming down towards her. She had no way of dodging the massive hammer, and was crushed into the ground, losing consciousness. Trent gasped, and then glared at Zetkik. He flew like a bullet towards its eyes, and held his fist out, punching one of its beady eyes. The monster let out a sound of distress, and began swinging its arms around, rolling around in a circle. Among the victims of this little tantrum were Trent, Courtney, and Cody, who were all knocked out by the painful strikes. Duncan growled, and let out an inferno at Zetkik's stomach. The monster roared in agony again, with the intense heat hitting it. Finally, Zetkik swiped its claws down, and smashed Duncan into a wall, and he fell to the ground. Now, its stomach was slightly melted, screwing up the symbol on it. Behind the machine, Bridgette had stretched herself out from wall-to-wall, and was waiting for an attack on Zetkik. Owen ran up, jumped, and threw his large stomach at the monster. The power of the move caused Owen to bounce backward, and roll a little bit, but it still worked. Zetkik was pushed back hard enough that it began to fall over Bridgette's outstretched body. The only real problem was that Geoff was standing back there at the time, and didn't see it falling until it was too late. Fortunately, Geoff was only smashed into the ground, and not killed. Bridgette snapped back into place, and grinned at her plan working. Then, she noticed that Zetkik was slowly standing up, and panicked. The angered machine swung its hammer down, and crushed Bridgette before she could escape. With over half the heroes knocked out, the last six fighters gathered together to face Zetkik.
"What are we going to do?" Harold asked. Ezekiel tapped his chin.
"We need to take care of his other eye, and maybe that'll blind him while we look for a way to take him out, eh," he suggested. Izzy looked up at Zetkik.
"I'll do it," she responded. The others just looked at her, but Owen looked worried. Izzy ran at the machine, and jumped on its treads as it stood still. She watched as Zetkik swung its hammer down to try and hit her. It missed, and created a good-sized dent in the treads. She continued running up the side of the machine, using her telekinesis to keep herself from falling. When Izzy arrived at the head, she brought her fist back, and punched Zetkik in its good eye. The monster let out another roar, reaching to grab its face. Izzy tried to jump out of the way, but the claw had teared at her leg, and she was now plummeting face-first towards the ground. Owen immediately ran over to catch her, and the two fell to the ground. The two smiled at each other, until the blinded Zetkik accidentally swung its hammer near them, knocking them into the wall. Zetkik continued swinging its arms around in a frenzy, hoping to hit another hero. But, then, it scraped across the symbol on its stomach and let out another screech. Slash quickly took notice.
"The symbol!" he shouted, before charging at the machine.
"Slash!" Harold called out. The former Underground member brought out a knife, and leaped up towards the symbol on Zetkik's stomach. Its claw swung by and scratched across his stomach, but Slash managed to keep calm. As he drew closer, Slash thrust the knife forward, and cut at Zetkik's body. The blow was so powerful, the knife went through, and Slash began sliding down the symbol, cutting it as he fell. Finally, he let go of the knife, and plummeted to the ground, holding his stomach in pain. Ezekiel, Heather, and Harold (being the only other conscious people there) ran over and huddled around him. They looked up as Zetkik began to shake from the critical hit it had taken. Finally, there was a loud whirring sound, and then silence. The four looked at the no longer active machine in awkward silence. Ezekiel finally spoke.
"So, is it-"
KABLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
The four heroes were now covered in soot from Zetkik. Except for its head, which clanked onto the ground.
".... over," Ezekiel finished, coughing a little. Jude opened the door, and looked inside. He noticed that Zetkik's head was all that remained, and let out a whoop.
"I can't believe it! You guys did it!" he shouted with joy. Harold looked confused.
"Yeah, but how does this help us defeat John?" he asked. Jude walked over, and picked up Zetkik's head, handing it to Harold.
"It can absorb the power from the box," he explained, grinning widely. The four exchanged glances. Jude looked over at the unconscious heroes, and chuckled.
"Pretty brutal battle, huh?" he asked. Slash sighed, and held his stomach.
"You have no idea. Even better is the fact that we're all going to be wiped out when we go and fight John," he added, managing to stand up. Jude snapped his fingers, and all of the knocked out heroes all floated right next to him. He snapped his fingers again, and little balls of light floated into each one of them, including the four that were still awake. Immediately, all of the heroes were up, and feeling re-energized. They were explained what Zetkik's head was for, and were now ready to face John. They all huddled around Jude, and disappeared from the room.
Well, next chapter is the final battle, along with one more little event that will lead to trouble. Oh yeah, and now Slash is wanted by the RCMP, along with Izzy, heh heh. Whoever can get the reference of Chris becoming Jude first gets a special, but small cameo next chapter. Well, I'm pretty tired now. R&R