Chapter 8: Unwanted Fiend
Five minutes later, on the dot, the green light came on again and Shego and the teens jumped out of the plane. They jumped right into a snowstorm, which hid the ground below them. Ron had a little trouble while he came out of the plane, but he was able to correct himself before he entered the storm. He fought through the storm and snow to catch up with Shego and Kim while they fell to the earth. When they passed three miles, Kim tapped on her attitude device and pulled her cord, disappearing above Shego and Ron.
Shego and Ron followed her led by pulling their cords and were jerked into a slow descent. After they came out the clouds and were closer to the ground, they saw a flashing bluish white light, which they all moved to while they fought the strong wind gusts. All three landed within feet of one another, by shear luck, in a clearing surrounded by trees and in snow that made a crunching sound the second their feet touched the ground. They all cut their parachutes with a quick pull of a cord, causing the chutes to be carried away in the burly winds. Shego and the teens moved up to each another as quietly and quickly as possible through the dry snow, crunching all the way.
When they neared one another, there came a sound out of the dark while they pulled off their oxygen masks. It sounded like someone was clearing their throat. Shego and the teens froze where they were, but a voice came over their headsets, "It's me. Move up."
After Shego and the teens heard the voice, they moved up toward the sound with caution until they saw Cleburne, through the falling snow, half kneeling with his back up against a tree while he held a different gun in his hands.
After they got to him, Cleburne whispered, "Something's not right."
Shego whispered back, "What's not right," while she fought off a shiver, but Cleburne held up a hand to her.
He kept the hand held out to Shego while he pressed a finger, with his free hand, against his temple before he whispered, "General, something's not right here. I'm holding a Russian-made AK-74 and the two guards I subdued were speaking with a German accent."
"It seems so, but your missions still the same. Destroy the WMD and rescue the scientist," the general replied over the headsets and to Cleburne.
"All right, general. Still don't like this, out," Cleburne said while he took his finger off his temple and stood up.
He handed the rifle he was holding to Kim, who gave him a displeased look, which cause Cleburne to whisper, "Look, at least hold it for me. I can't very well lug every gun around myself. You too, Shego, there's another one on the other side of the tree."
Kim shook her head and slung the gun onto her back while Shego went around the tree and put the other gun on her back.
After Shego came back around the tree, Cleburne said, "Alright, goggles still working," which everyone nodded a yes. "Good, everyone move quick and quiet. Stay 40 meters apart and stay on channel four. If you see anything click twice. Let's go."
When Cleburne went quiet, he picked up his M-29 and went into the cold dark woods with everyone else to the side of him. They moved along at a steady pace until they came to an opening in the woods. Cleburne stopped just outside the opening and kneeled down in the snow while he motioned with a hand held up for everyone else to stop. After a few seconds, Cleburne waved everyone to move to him.
When they got to him, Cleburne whispered sadly, "We're here," before he got up and motioned the others to follow him while he ran across the opening to a rock cliff and slipped into a crack that was in the cliff.
After the others went through the crack, they came into a poor lit room with its walls, ceiling, and floor made of concrete. Shego and the teens looked at Cleburne in the poor lighting, but they could see him plain as day because of their goggles. When Cleburne seen the others looking at him, he tapped on the side of his head where his ear would be, hinting to Shego and the teens to listen to their headsets.
A moment later, they heard Cleburne whispering, "Well, we have to head east up this corridor, then turn left at the intersection there and head up that corridor turn right, then head down that corridor, which will lead us to the large room I told you about. Stay sharp. Notice anything click or whisper into your mic. to get the attention of the rest of us. Alright if everyone is ready. Let's go."
After Cleburne's statement, he started down the dark corridor with his gun up to his shoulder and everyone else following behind. The group traveled down the dark corridor until they came in sight of the intersection that was well lit. In this corridor stood two men in urban camo fatigues. Cleburne was the first to noticed them while the group was still in the dark corridor.
He halted everyone with a hand help up and motioned them to be quiet. He laid his gun down while he stared at the two men and he started punching buttons on his wrist. While Shego and the teens watched Cleburne, they wondered what he was doing until Cleburne disappeared, which surprised the teens for a second, but not Shego. After Cleburne disappeared, they turned and watched the two men in the intersection.
In the next instant, one of the men acted like someone stuck him in the head and the man fell to the ground unconscious. The other man turned and saw this with a bewildered look. He pulled his gun off his shoulder and started pointing it in every direction.
When the man pointed his gun down the dark corridor, Shego and the teens dropped down on the floor. They still watched the man while they lay on the floor and they saw an indent formed in his stomach as if something struck him there, causing him to bend over at the waist. In the next moment, his head snapped to the side like something struck him in the head, causing him to collapse unconscious.
Shego and the teens were still laying on the floor when Cleburne came over the headset and said, "Its safe now, move on up," which they did while Cleburne reappeared standing over the men.
After Ron got to Cleburne, Cleburne picked up one of the rifles the men had and handed it to him, which Ron slung over his shoulder with a look of not being happy about having to carry the gun.
Cleburne said then only loud enough for the others to hear, "Well, this was unexpected. I knew something was up. We weren't suppose to see any soldiers here. I'm really starting not to like this. Either way we need to keep moving."
After he spoke, Cleburne turned and started down the next corridor while Shego and the teens followed behind, looking back at the men laying in the floor.
Shego thought while they went by the men, Well at least he didn't kill them. They'll live for now. Until they level this place.
The group made it down this new corridor without any trouble. They went down the next corridor that will lead them to the large room and to where they were suppose to split off. In this corridor they didn't meet any trouble either. While the group neared the door leading into the large room, Cleburne slowed and stopped at the door. He inched up to the door at a painfully slow pace and he leaned his head into the doorway, peeking into the large well-lit room with a large vent fan turning in the ceiling. After brought his head back out of the doorway, he turned his look back at Shego and the teens, nodded to them and entered the room.
Shego and the teens followed along behind and while they all entered the room and started across the room, they saw a flash appear across the room and disappeared. Seeing this caused the group to stop in their tracks and they froze in their stance
The only thing heard was Cleburne saying, "Oh hell," before he was struck by an unseen force that caused him to drop his gun while his suit activated.
The strike sent him flying across the room, slamming into the wall on the opposite side, and him fall to the ground. In an instant Cleburne was back on his feet and was looking around the room as were Shego and the teens while Shego flamed up her talons.
After a moment of stillness and silence in the room, Cleburne screamed out nearly at the top of his lungs with his choking voice, "Alright, Warwick! You made your point! We know you're here! Now show yourself."
After Cleburne's scream, there came a sinister laughter that sounded like it was coming from right in front of Shego and the teens.
In the next second, there appeared a figure right in front of them, who said in a hissing voice as he appeared, "Gladly."
The figure looked like he was wearing the same kind of suit Cleburne had on, but was black with red stripes, that started at his ankles and ran up his legs and sides ending at his chest.
The figure was staring at Cleburne, but turned his stare to Shego and the teens, looking at them with glowing blue eyes. Shego turned her head away from this gaze and looked at Cleburne, who was still standing where he got up at.
She asked, "I thought you said you were the only one, Cleburne?"
Shego's statement got a laugh out of the figure and he said in his hissing voice, "So, its Cleburne this week? Well Cleburne, care to answer her question? I will if you want me to."
"You keep out of this, Warwick! I am the only one. He's not from the Orion Project. He's from the German's Panzer Faust Project, and it doesn't surprise me to see you here, Warwick," Cleburne stated while anger filled his choking voice.
"And it doesn't surprise me you're here either. I always wondered when you will come back to this god awful place. Now, though, the question is what shall I do with your friends here," Warwick said with a laugh.
"You leave them alone," Cleburne screamed while he took off running right at Warwick.
"I think I won't, I fe...," Warwick started to say but before Warwick could finish, Cleburne closed the distance between him and Warwick and struck Warwick in the chest with a fist, sending the man crashing through the wall on the other side of the room.
After Warwick disappeared into the wall, Cleburne turned to Shego and the teens and said, "Get going! There's nothing you can do to him. Only I can stop him or at least slow him down."
Cleburne's command got a nod out of Shego and the teens before they started racing across the room. While they crossed the room, they heard sounds of Warwick striking the wall, cracking it with every hit. Before Shego and the teens got half way across the room, Warwick came crashing back through the wall right in front of Cleburne.
When Warwick stood back up, he said, "Your always ruining my fun."
"Well, this time I'm going to do more than ruin your fun, Warwick," Cleburne snapped while he went into a Hap Ki Do fighting stance.
"It's a pity, Cleburne. We could have anything we want...but, oh no, brother here wants to be all good guy," Warwick replied while he went into a dragon style fighting stance.
"Why do you keep calling me brother," Cleburne questioned while he froze in his stance for a moment.
"Because brother, we're one in the same. Two of a kind. People should be bowing to us like gods but you refuse to be like me," Warwick explained while he and Cleburne moved in a circle right as Shego and the teens made it to the other door.
Shego stopped at the door and watched the two circle one another before she slipped down the corridor to her tasks set for her, whispering while she went out of sight, "Be careful, Cleburne."
Kim and Ron left the room also but went on to their part of the mission without looking back.
"I don't know why you're involved with all this, but I'm going to make your boss disappointed in you," Cleburne spat while he rushed Warwick, who dodged the punch Cleburne threw at him and swung one of his own, which Cleburne blocked.
"My dear, Cleburne, you got it all wrong. I am the boss here. The one that flips the bill," Warwick replied happily while he pushed Cleburne away from him.
"What," Cleburne questioned with confusion while he dodged a kick from Warwick before he spun around and grabbed Warwick by his metal neck.
"I lead the Sons of Rah. Who were once the werewolves after World War two," Warwick said after he sighed at Cleburne's question.
After his statement, Warwick jabbed Cleburne in the head, causing him to lose his grip on Warwick.
"I really don't care about any of that. All I care about is stopping you," Cleburne spat while he grabbed Warwick by the neck again and then jumped up in the air, holding on to Warwick by the neck.
Once he was airborne, Cleburne raised Warwick above his head and threw Warwick to the floor. When Warwick impacted the floor, he left a crater around him. Warwick started to laugh while he laid in the crater. Hearing this laughter after Cleburne landed on his feet, he rushed Warwick only to be met by Warwick's hand slapping on Cleburne's chest a small magnetic device with a blue blinking light. Cleburne looked at the device for a second before he reached down for Warwick.
Before he grabbed Warwick, the light cracked and electricity shot from the crack and wrapped around Cleburne, causing him to scream in agony. Cleburne stepped back from Warwick while he started holding his head and he still screaming from the pain. Warwick was still laughing while Cleburne dropped down to his knees, still holding his head, but he wasn't screaming anymore instead he was moaning.
In the next instant, Cleburne's suit melted back into him and he fell down on his hands and knees gasping for breathe, while trails of smoke rose off of him. A feeling of fatigue and hunger washed over him and his vision wasn't red and black anymore, but full of every color in the room. Cleburne struggled to raise his head through the weakness, only to see Warwick standing up in the crater.
"Wh...wha…what did you do to me," said Cleburne while he continued to look at Warwick, who was now standing straight up in the crater.
"I forgot to tell you, brother. Since you never went through your fifth phase of the project, your nanos weren't protected by a large dose of electricity," Warwick said while he walked out of the crater
"An EMP," said Cleburne while he tried to get up.
"Yes, deal brothers. Its one of the things I learned for you. Here's another," Warwick said while he snapped his right arm down and a metal whip shot out of his hand.
The whip had like a life of its own, twisting and thrashing about. Warwick lashed the whip back behind him and swung it at Cleburne, whose instinct was for his suit to take the blunt of the assault. However, no suit activated while the whip struck across Cleburne's head, cutting a gash through his mask, cutting into his scalp and sent him reeling backwards, causing him to fall onto his back.
Cleburne fought to sit up while his head stung of pain and he felt blood running down his face, streaming into his eyes, while he sat up, only for him to see Warwick swinging the whip at him again. This time Cleburne tried to block the whip with his right arm but he felt a sharp pain in his arm and heard a cracking sound while the whip struck his arm.
Cleburne screamed out at this new pain and grabbed his broke arm with his good arm before he tried to stand up with his free arm, only to feel the whip wrap around his left leg. With a quick jerk on the whip, Warwick caused Cleburne to spin around in mid air and fall face down to the ground. Cleburne still tried to get up with a one handed push up but he felt pain in his left knee and he collapsed onto the floor. He tried to get up again while he fought through the pain he was feeling.
When Cleburne managed to get up into a kneeling position, he felt the whip wrap around his chest and picking him up off the ground and turned him to face Warwick, who was manipulating the whip into bringing Cleburne to him, stopping Cleburne inches from his face. Cleburne stared at Warwick's glowing blue eyes with his now normal sky blue eyes while his eyes winced from the pain he felt rocking his body.
"You're nothing but a regular man now, Cleburne. There is nothing you can do to me as long as your nanos are dead and they will stay dead because there is nothing you can to about it," said Warwick then he laughed another sinister laugh.
"I'm…normal," said Cleburne in a half whisper while he struggled to speak because the whip around his chest was tightening its grip around him and was causing sounds of ribs cracking as it tightened.
"Yes, you're normal. A mere man now. I'll have my way with your friends then I come back and finish you," Warwick said while he lifted Cleburne by the whip over his head and slung Cleburne across the room.
When Cleburne hit the floor, he bounced on impact and rolled to a stop, facing Warwick. Cleburne watched as Warwick turned from him and went to the door which would lead to where Shego and the teens were. All Cleburne could do was lift his left arm in a vain attempt to grab a, now, distance Warwick and he watched as Warwick turned and headed the way Shego went. All Cleburne said before he passed out was a whispered, "no."