Chapter Six: Wattz Up
"So…Shall we "dance"…?"Mandark teased as he loosened his tie and moved to remove it from his neck.
Ben looked around at the KND operatives that were watching from the doors and entry ways of the atrium. "You sure it's ok to spar here…..?"
Mandark smirked, tossing his blood red tie to Dexter, who stood at the gateway arch of the atrium. "Of course…..I want everyone to witness your defeat at the hands of a "nerd"….as you would so mildly put it…"
"Cheeky bastard…" Ben chuckled. "Alright then…..Let's "dance"!"
Dexter could only smirk from the atrium door as he watched the spectacle, catching Mandark's tie with a short flourish of his gloved hand.
Either teen circled the other, both just watching and circling slowly.
Mandark smiled wickedly, adjusting his ridiculous glasses a bit before he slowly spun his hands outward, moving his body into a low crouch, left leg extended forward, his body poised to block any movement, loose and fluid. Crane style blocking position in place, he smirked, awaiting Ben's movement to incite his own.
Ben snorted. "Dude….I just can't take you seriously in those glasses…..Never have been able to….You look like my grandma," he chuckled.
Mandark glared. "That so?…"
Nigel, who was watching from the sidelines, standing beside Dexter, snorted. "Here it comes…" he hinted, alerting Dexter's curiosity.
"Oh?" Dexter asked as he watched his lover's dangerous and beautiful display of flexibility and grace that he so accustomed to Mandark's posture and motions. Now, he could associate it with his ability to attack and defend as well.
Mandark snapped forward, turning crane fluidly to tiger, as he moved stances, hands curled like claws, eyes locked with Ben's. Magic erupted from his pupils, flashing in those eyes, spewing sparks of fury and fire as he set the steady gaze upon wavering green eyes.
Ben back pedaled; startled at the sudden ferocity in the lanky teen before him, finally aware that he SHOULD take the teen seriously.
"Shit…"
Then, Mandark lunged, leaving Ben little to do, but block the sloping arch of his gnarled fingers by jumping backwards and out of harm's way.
"SHIT!"
Ben was amazed. He would have thought that Mandark would be sluggish, especially due to the bout of Mono. But, Mandark was amazingly athletic and powerful.
Barely able to dodge, the attacks kept nearly missing as Ben kept on the defensive. Once or twice, he managed to stop a chop, or push Mandark away, but he was losing ground, and fast.
Mandark definitely knew how to press an advantage.
Spinning his body about and around, he dropped low, leg outstretched. The side-swipe caught Ben square in the legs, knocking him to the ground, knocking the wind right out of the boy. While gasping, Ben could do little, and could not rise to his feet as fast as he needed to.
Panicking, Ben watched as Mandark rose like lightening, and moved to slam the open heel of his foot down upon him after he managed to raise his leg high enough to do so.
Thinking fast, Ben caught his leg as it came down, then forcefully shoved his arms out and away, grappling and throwing Mandark.
Yet, Mandark flipped the motion to his advantage, arching his back enough to where he was able to land on his left hand, spinning and twisting his spine like a cat, then arching again into a back flip that landed him square on his feet, poised to strike again.
The crowd erupted into applause, obviously either amused or awed by the display.
Dexter clapped and cheered right along with them, smiling as Mandark evaded catastrophe with delicate ease.
"Can you take me seriously now….?"Mandark asked calmly, though Dexter definitely caught signs of tiring in his drawl.
Nigel noticed as well.
"He's still not recovered…" Nigel whispered.
"I noticed too….I hope Ben doesn't get lucky…" Dexter whispered back, starting to chew his lip in worry.
Ben stood up, a little winded. "…..Hell yeah…..How the HECK did you get so fast! I can barely keep up…."
Mandark smirked, popping the bones in his knuckles as he relaxed his static position, moving into a low crouch, arms far away in either direction. His moves were slow, deliberate, hands tilted in opposition to their movements.
Tiger moved into snake.
Nigel smirked. "I think he knows…He's going to let Ben on the offensive…"
Dexter hissed. "He'll get tired out more swiftly!"
Nigel shook his head."Not in snake stance, he won't…..That move set is deliberately formed to take an opponent's power and turn it against themselves…Mandark's always beating me at my own game with that set…"
Mandark's smile widened as he gazed at his opponent. "Practice, Benjamin….lots, and lots of practice…." He drawled silkily.
"Practice makes perfect, eh? Guess it was kinda foolhardy of me to think that all this was natural talent, eh?" Ben teased, catching his breath.
Mandark growled. "I was just thinking the same of you, Benji…Wasn't it you who said that nerds could not fight?..."
Ben returned the gesture and growled right back. "Yeah well, you aren't what I'd consider a regular nerd…."
Mandark smiled. "Oh, but I am…and if you don't want to be humiliated, you might want to start fighting back…."
Ben glared, cracking his knuckles. "Alright! You want it….Here it comes!"
The irritation and baiting succeeded in riling Ben, ruffling his feathers the wrong way. Ben snapped his Omnitrix into action, moving the dial to Rath, then slapping the dial downwards, allowing the watch to transform his human body into the bulky form of the Appolexian anthropomorphic tiger.
Mandark's smirk widened. "Here, kitty kitty kitty….." he cooed, staying stock still.
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT RATH!" the anthro bellowed, a little of the original Rath's personality overtaking Ben's as his irritation and anger rose due to the teasing.
Ben then charged forward, his long claws extended outwards, jaw widened by rage. Closer and closer, fast as lightening the anthro approached, his massive paws slamming down into the concrete floor, causing large cracks and holes as he went.
Sweat beaded down Mandark's brow, his eyes snapping towards the charging behemoth. The world around him slowed to an almost halt as he stared, all his focus upon the rampaging hulk that worked paw over paw to ram him. The Appolexian charged slowly now, allowing Mandark's mind to process exactly what was going on. Every movement, every miniscule detail, was open to Mandark's sight.
A split second.
That was all that it took.
Ben came within range.
Mandark's muscles flexed.
Then….
It was over.
Mandark snapped his arms out to grasp onto Benjamin's massive furred forearm, startling the anthro half to death. Then, using the momentum to aide in the movement, Mandark easily flipped Rath right over his body, slamming him directly into the concrete below, causing a massive tremor to rumble throughout the atrium as Rath slammed headlong into the flooring.
Dazed and confused, Rath lay upon to ground, blinking his beady eyes up at the glass ceiling of the atrium.
Silence followed the thump.
Mandark took in long ragged breaths as he waited for Rath to approach, to get up, to do anything, exhaustion taking its hold.
Dexter smirked as applause sounded throughout the hall, announcing the stunning upset. "YES! That's how you do it, my love!" he cheered, pumping his fist.
Nigel smiled. "Close….But like I said…Mandark's one tough son of a-"
ROAR!
Terror overtook the crowd as they watched Ben lash out, his massive hand catching Mandark directly in his left side, throwing him backwards into the wall just beyond. The young genius hit with a deafening crack, his body arching back to become pinned to the wall for a split second.
Julie, Ben's current girlfriend, who had been watching the fight from the opposite end of the atrium gasped as Mandark crumpled to the ground just near her. She'd seen Ben get taken over by some of the aliens before. It was never pretty.
She ran forward, trying to get close to talk sense into Ben, and help to calm him down. Little did she know that this new form of alien became intoxicated by the rage and thrill of a fight, and Ben merely saw her as another threat.
Rath snapped his hand out again.
The hit connected with Julie's right side, and tossed her back a good ways, causing her to scream in pain and shock.
It was the scream that broke Ben through the stupor.
But the damage had been done.
Dexter was screaming, running towards Mandark, Nigel at his heels, while Gwen and Kevin were heading to Julie.
Ben looked on in horror as Kevin helped Julie to her feet.
She was fine….but her expression….
Ben knew at once that he'd gone too far…That he'd allowed an alien to cross the line….
He knew that it was more than likely over with Julie…
Slowly and like a beaten dog, he got up as the watch powered down, and knowing that Julie was a lost cause, he ran towards the wall where Dexter and Nigel were helping Mandark to his feet slowly.
"Dude! I am SO sorry…..I didn't-….I mean…I swear! I didn't-… I would never…" Ben apologized as he approached his friends.
Mandark, though dazed, offered a weak grin. "I'm fine, Ben….No harm-Ah!"
Dexter had puffed out his cheeks in anger as he poked Mandark in the ribs. "No harm, eh!"
Mandark smiled lightly after the pain subsided. "Yes, well…..I do believe that I still won the bout…"
Ben nodded. "Kicked my ass, for sure…But I blew it, guys…I attacked you and Julie! I let Rath get control of me!"
Mandark glanced over in Julie, Gwen, and Kevin's general direction, and winced. "I see…"
Ben flopped back against the wall, sliding down the metal surface until he sat upon the floor, a hand resting over his eyes. "I fucked up big….Julie is SO going to break it off now…"
"It was an accident Ben…." Dexter sighed, helping Mandark to the wall again so they all could talk.
"No…..Even if it was…This is the third time something like this has happened….and she warned me last time…" Ben sighed.
Dexter and Nigel winced.
"Poor guy…" Nigel breathed.
Ben leaned back, thumping his head lightly on the metal of the wall. "Yeah….poor me…"
"Well…..I have a good friend I could introduce you to….."Dexter suggested. "I mean, you haven't been with Julie for too long, anyway…."
Ben looked up. "Yeah…..yeah, I guess your right…Who's your friend, Dex? Do I know her?"
"Him…..And….I don't think so…."
Ben blinked, but then smiled. "New experience I guess…Mandark's pretty hot…..and you have great taste…..so how bad can it be…..?" Ben chuckled.
Mandark blushed red at the comment, and Dexter snorted quietly.
"Oh, I guarantee you'll like him…His name is Douglas…..You too have a lot in common…."
Ben's eyebrow quirked up. "Really, like what?"
"Well…..for one….He loves videogames…." Dexter suggested.
Ben smiled. "Cool!...Yeah…..I'll meet him, and we'll see where it goes…..eh?"
Dexter smiled. "Sounds like a plan…..Shall we?"
Dexter motioned from Mandark to the hallway, silently suggesting that they should move before the crowd realized that they were alright, and flash mobbed them while they spoke.
"Oh, right! Dude, I really hope I didn't break anything…." Ben apologized again moving to loop his arm gently under Mandark's own so that he could help hoist him to his feet once more.
Mandark grunted. "Nothing broken….just bruised…..And I'm really tired."
"A rest and some TLC will do wonders…." Ben teased, waggling his eyebrows over in Dexter's direction.
"BEN!" Dexter squawked, glaring daggers at the sexual insinuation in that comment.
Again, Mandark turned red, but this time, he allowed a spark of electrical magic arch up his side, where it arched into Ben's hand.
"OUCH!" Ben squeaked, pulling sharply away from Mandark.
Dexter snorted.
"What was that for!" Ben squeaked.
"You deserved it….." Mandark snickered, leaning lightly into Dexter as they walked to the Med Bay, followed by a rousing cacophony of sound as the crowd erupted once more into stunning applause.
~*~*~* =(^3^)= *~*~*~
"How are your ribs, dude?"
Mandark rotated his arm a bit, smiling. "A lot better! Did you meet Douglas?..."
"Yeah! He was…..very sweet…."
Mandark smirked over at Ben, watching as a light blush appeared over the teen's cheeks. "Oh…Dexter does know how to pick them…Are you dating yet?"
Ben smiled. "Yep! I'm taking him to that little place at the edge of the grid, you know…..The one where we met!"
"The Smoothie Shack? ...Good choice!"
Ben smirked. "I wanted to ask you if you'd like to make it a double date?...You and Dex haven't had a break…..or a date, for that matter…..in weeks…"
Mandark pondered the idea, placing one of his willowy hands upon his chin as he thought it through. "That sounds like a great idea….I'll inform Dexter as soon as we finish up the grid work on the FF-FDMT today…..sound good to you?"
"Sounds great! I'll tell Dougy to meet me here in the atrium in a two hours…..that enough time?..."
Mandark nodded. "Sounds perfect…Casual, I assume….."
"Isn't it always…" Ben chuckled.
Mandark smiled. "Always if it's you…"
~*~*~* =(^3^)= *~*~*~
Douglas Eugene Mordecai the Third sat alone in the emptying atrium, watching as everyone piled out in droves.
"Where the heck is Ben…?" Mordecai mused, scanning his watch.
Ben was late.
"MORDECAI!"
Startled, the poor teen "eeped" in fear, not expecting a voice to call out to him after being alone for a while. He turned around and about, looking for the person that had used his name. He could swear he recognized that voice!
"D-Dexter!"
The said teen smiled happily, breaking out in a run as he ventured forth. Dexter then hugged his long lost friend fiercely. "Mordecai! I've missed you so!"
"DEX! I missed you too! Did you get the book!" Mordecai asked, suddenly very elated.
Dexter smirked. "Yes! I finished it last week. It was riveting!...You….Your braces!" Dexter was now staring at Mordecai in disbelief.
Mordecai blinked. "What! What about-"
"They're gone…"
Mordecai turned sharply, coming face to face with a grinning Mandark.
Mordecai back-pedaled, fully in his internal freak-out mode. "M-m-mandark!"
Dexter smirked, then looped his arm around Mandark's waist, hugging him lovingly. "I forgot to tell you about that…Mordecai…..Mandark has been my boyfriend for going on four months….."
"You had braces, Dougy?"
Mordecai turned again, and smiled happily. "BEN!"
Dexter raised a delicate eyebrow. "Dougy?..."he murmured.
Ben smiled and hugged Douglas lovingly. "Hey, you look great…"
Douglas smiled, turning bright red as he looked down at his own attire; a simple long sleeved brown sweater and a pair of brown Tripp pants. "Th-thank you….."
Ben smirked, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Dex and Mandark.
Dressed normally.
Ben's jaw dropped.
Mandark blinked, and then looked himself over. He was wearing a pair of light gray skinny-jeans, black high-top converses, and a loose fitting black button down, with the top two buttons unbuttoned. "What….? Too casual?"
Ben shook his head. "Damn…..Um. No….No, you look great! Just didn't think you owned anything normal looking, ya know…..? Let alone a pair of converses!...And, De-….HOLY SHIT! YOU GOT HIM OUT OF THE LABCOAT!"
Dexter smirked. He was wearing a pair of black jeans, his tell-tale boots, a form fitting purple t-shirt, and a wristband that stated: "I only date nerds! XP".
Mordecai gaped. "Yo- You don't have your gloves on!" he squeaked in amazement. In all the years he had known Dexter, he had never once removed those gloves.
Dexter smiled up at Mandark."I had a little help from Mandark and the Professor…." He admitted sheepishly. "Do I look alright?"
Ben smiled and nodded. "Suits you!"
Mandark smirked. "And to think….he's all mine…" he teased lovingly.
Dexter blushed hard. "Mandark!" he squeaked, thumping Mandark in the chest.
Mandark chuckled. "Sorry! It's true!"
Ben nodded, then pulled Mordecai close. "I got my nerd!"
Mordecai thumped Ben in the chest this time. "BEN!"
"What!" Ben teased.
Mordecai smiled, blushing lightly. "I'm not a nerd….I'm a geek."
Ben blinked. "There's a difference?"
The other three in Ben's company turned on him and shouted in unison. "YES!"
Ben flinched. "Ok! Ok!...Um…..Smoothies?" He smiled sheepishly, trying to change the subject, and again, he was answered with a chorus of a resoundly happy, "YES!".
~*~*~* =(^3^)= *~*~*~
"What flavor did you get, Mandark?"
"Chocolate Banana….You?"
"Strawberry, of course!"
Mandark smiled down at Dexter, taking a sip of his own smoothie as he did. Just behind the pair, Ben and Mordecai we're exiting the Smoothie Shack, a smoothie to share in Ben's hand.
Dexter smirked. "That's romantic. Ben's thinking for once…"
Mandark nodded. "He heard that we did that on our first date here…I think he wanted it to be special."
Dexter smiled. "I believe he succeeded," Dexter chuckled, nodding back over his shoulder.
Mandark turned his peripheral vision upon the pair just behind him and watched as they shared a sip, then smirked as Ben received a happy peck on the cheek that effectively silenced Ben and made him turn bright red and shy.
"Mission Accomplished?" Mandark asked, smirking down at his own lover, remembering the plan that they had hatched to get Mordecai and Ben closer.
Dexter smirked in response. "Mission Complete."
~*~*~* =(^3^)= *~*~*~
Later that night, Dexter awoke alone in his and Mandark's bed, startled from sleep by the odd alone feeling that came with Mandark's absence from his side.
"Mandark?..." Dexter mumbled tiredly, looking blindly about the room. Slowly, he groped for his glasses that rested to his left on the bedroom nightstand.
In the dark he could tell that the door to the bedroom was open, and once he had his glasses in hand, he was able to slip them on and affirm what he thought. The door was open, and a low light was shining faintly through the crack.
Slowly getting up, Dexter yawned and made his way to the door. Through the crack, Dexter could see Mandark slumped over the table, sleeping atop the plans for the FF-FDMT, obviously having had tried to work a bit more so that tomorrow's experiment wouldn't be for naught.
"Idiot…." Dexter sighed lovingly, moving to the table to lightly shake Mandark awake.
"Huh! Whuzz-"
Mandark shot awake, frantically looking around in sleepy confusion, a piece of the schematics stuck to his cheek.
Dexter smiled and slowly ran a hand from Mandark's shoulder up the other's jaw line to his cheek, where he peeled the paper free. "It's me, my love…..It's time for bed…."
Mandark purred, humming lightly in his half-asleep daze.
Smirking at the loving reaction, Dexter gently coaxed Mandark to his feet.
Mandark stumbled a bit in his half asleep daze.
"Dexter?..."
Dexter smiled, leading Mandark towards their room. "Follow me, love….Bed…"
Mandark smiled, nodding. He plodded behind, diligently following, shuffling his bare feet across the carpet.
Dexter then helped Mandark to find the bed in the dark, humming lightly to himself.
"Dexter…? What are you…-?"
A sudden finger pressed to his lips silenced Mandark's questioning.
Dexter smirked, climbing up onto the bed. A bit of maneuvering later, and he was straddling Mandark's waist. "Sleep can wait a while longer, love…I believe I owe you something…for that beautiful display of raw magic before…"
Mandark adopted a look of confusion, turning a light shade of pink as Dexter straddled his waist. "Oh…?...The Flower?"
"That's right…" Dexter purred, leaning down to nuzzle into Mandark's throat, causing him to arch. "And I owe you a debt…A good teasing ought to be sufficient…..yes?"
Mandark groaned. He hated being teased!
Dexter smirked. "Oh, yes…That seems perfect…" he murmered, leaning low to nibble at Mandark's collarbone.
A long shudder rippled up Mandark's spine, causing him to squirm. His breathing hitched. "N-not fair!" he gasped, his breathing hot and ragged.
Dexter smirked. "All is fair in love and war….." he purred, slowly making his way up Mandark's jaw line, then down again to his bare chest, peppering the exposed flesh with tender kisses.
Again, a groan was all Mandark could muster as he arched and enjoyed the attention he was receiving. "D-Dexter…" he pleaded.
Dexter smiled, and relented, moving upwards again to snatch away a kiss, pushing Mandark back into the bed with ease as he took what he wanted.
Mandark relented, and slowly pulled Dexter to his own body, yanking him closer into the loving embrace.
Dexter, although temporarily startled, took to the added intensity and redoubled his efforts, hugging Mandark's neck as he feverishly kissed Mandark in return, deepening the passionate embrace.
Arching into Mandark, Dexter tried to illicit further action from his beloved, but as he trialed his hands down Mandark's body, he traced the deep bruises on Mandark's side, causing the kiss to break and Mandark to hiss in pain.
"Mandark?" Dexter whispered, his voice a little husky from the lust from moments before.
Mandark groaned. "I'm alright…..Sore…but alright…"
Dexter pouted. "I'm sorry, love…." He then glanced over to the clock at their bedside, gasping quietly.
3:56 PM
"It's late…We need to get to bed…"
Mandark yanked Dexter down, pulling him close. "Stay here….."
Dexter blinked feverishly. "Huh!"
"Snuggle with me….." Mandark sighed, smiling tiredly down at the startled Dexter atop his chest.
Dexter paused for merely a moment before he gently snuggled down into Mandark's body, being gentle and loving as he did. "Then I will…"
Mandark sighed happily, letting his body sink into the bed below them both.
Dexter took the blanket and draped it over them both and then laid back down upon Mandark's chest, falling asleep to the gentle thump of his beloved's heart beat.
And when he awoke again, Dexter was ensnared in Mandark's gentle arms, awoken by that same gentle beat that had lulled him to sleep.
~*~*~* =(^3^)= *~*~*~
"Are you ready for this, Dexter….?"
"Most definitely, father….Mandark is finishing the preparations on his end in Boiler Room's Three and Four…Are you sure it is alright if we use some of the Chemical X for the experiment?" Dexter asked as he checked the last few wires in the FF-FDMT's core paneling.
Utonium smirked, moving to help the boy stand as he finished replacing the panel cover. "I'm quite sure….You and Mandark have done all the calculations, all of which are sound, and you are taking all the necessary precautions….I think that it will be alright…"
Dexter exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand through his own hair nervously.
"Don't be nervous…It'll work…." Utonium urged, offering a bit of encouragement.
"There are multitudes of things to be nervous about….I hope that everything will go without a hitch…." Dexter murmered.
"And Mandark?"
Dexter's breath hitched. "Yes….I have him to worry about too…he isn't fully healed from the close encounter with Ben…..and …..well….He's still getting tired easily…"
"Understandable after all that he's gone through…Again….Dexter, don't worry yourself. It will all be fine…Just focus on what needs to be done….."
Dexter looked up at the Professor and the smile that the man offered him was all that he needed. His eyes set, and he lifted a mini two-way communicator. "Mandark, is everything all right on your end?"
The com fizzled to life, revealing Mandark's oil spattered face in the unit. "All set on our end! I had to reroute some pipe work, but the boilers are all ready for us to proceed. Shall I stay here and oversee?"
Dexter smiled into the com. "Yes. Stay there…..We don't need any foul ups…."
"Understood, my love…"
The com fizzled out, and then shut itself off. Pocketing the com unit, Dexter then smiled as he overlooked the room from the scaffold.
"Get to your stations!" he commanded, motioning sharply away from himself with his arm.
Below, lab techs and KND operatives scattered around the room, scrambling to their positions.
"Open all valves on Levels Three and Four! Get the pressure up!"
More scrambling, and three operatives began to spin two massive valves at the far end of the room. Squeaking and hissing was now a constant, creating a cacophony of sound throughout the hanger.
"Sir….Pressure is almost to the max….We're waiting on Mandark to release the valves on his end….Shall we add the catalyst?" asked a lab tech, shouting up at Dexter from below the scaffold.
Whirring and beeping started to sound, signaling the climax of the power cells energizing climb to half its power capacity.
Dexter smirked. "It's working!...YES! Add the catalyst! Start the reactor! We're almost there!"
More scattering.
The reactor at the far end to the complex was signaled to start up, and through the set-up connecting it to the back of the FF-FDMT, started to create a metallic hum from the energy sparking up the creature and into the core panel.
As the enegy bar started to ascend, Dexter started to show more and more excitement at his near triumph. "YES! IT'S WORKING! ALMOST!"
The alarms sounded. Blaring and screeching over the beeping and whizzing of energy and movement, causing all to come to a standstill. All the monitors flashed red in warning.
Dexter whirled around. "What is happening!"
The com flashed to life, causing Mandark's paniced voice to erupt from Dexter's pocket. "DEXTER! SHUT OFF THE VALVES!"
Dexter snapped the com out of his pocket.
"What's happening, Mandark?" the Professor asked, kneeling beside Dexter.
"The boilers are malfunctioning! Billy knocked a pipe free and now we can't get to Boiler Six to shut off the pressure!"
"WHAT!" Dexter shrieked. "SHUT THE VALVES! SHUT THEM NOW!"
"WE CAN'T!" came the answer from many lab techs down on the floor.
"Why not!" the Professor shouted angrily.
"The pressure is too high! The valve won't turn!"
On the com, Mandark was shouting orders to his own techs in Boiler Room Four. "OUT! EVERYONE!"
A loud popping noise, almost like a gunshot sounded from the com.
Dexter whirled around. "Mandark!"
Mandark hissed through the link. "It's gunna blow…."
Dexter snatched the com from where he had left it and started to freak, his eyes wide with worry. "Get out of there!"
"The boiler is going to blow Dexter….Stop the power in the Routing Tower in Sector A!" Mandark replied.
"I SAID GET OUT OF-"
Dexter was cut off by the boiler having a catastrophic meltdown, exploding in a rain of chaos, causing the com to frazzle and die on Mandark's end.
"MANDARK!"
All around the alarms blared.
DANGER! DANGER! OVERLOAD IMMINENT!
"Mandark!"
"Dexter! We're losing power in Switching Stations B-F! What should we do!"
The Professor leapt to his feet. "Route the power from Sector G through L!"
"The Routing Tower is fried!" screamed one of the KND officers.
"Dexter. Look at me!" the Professor urged, moving to take the com from him.
"He can't be-…..HE CAN'T B-"
The com frizzled for a moment, then came to life, startling the two that were staring at it.
"D-Dex..?"
"Mandark!" Dexter gasped, scrambling to his knees, clutching the com for dear life.
"Dex…the Power Grid….It's dying…..We're going to lose-"
And it was at this moment that darkness descended upon the entire complex.
The Central Power Grid died, taking all the power in the complex with it.
~*~*~* =(^3^)= *~*~*~
One of my longer chapters, I must say. And a big thanks to all of my fans! Your comments are SOOOO LOVED! Don't forget to check out my pics! You can reach my deviant art through the link on my profile.