Chapter 3 – Challenge of the Speed Demon! Form the head Volt Beta!

One month earlier:

"You're dismissing us?"

"Heavens no, Jeff!" Professor Wade answered. "You, Cliff, Cric, you've all been invaluable to this team. It's just…the direction we need to go in, it's so different, that I won't need you all to act as pilots."

"Well that sounds more like we're all being put out to pasture," answered a man in a thick Australian accent.

"Not to mention your design is composed of three jets, right?" added another with a thick Indian accent.

"Hardly Cliff. You're all going to be needed for monitoring and the like. But the new design will need air pilots. And the vehicle will need to fight underwater Cric. Your expertise will be invaluable."

"So," began the first man, "when do I get to pilot it?"

"As soon as it's built Jeff. And when it is, you're going to be the first man I trust with it!"

Present Day

The morning sun shone over the Galaxy Garrison facility even as its students peacefully slept, roll call and opening classes set to begin in roughly half an hour, with only the very brave that had chosen 7:35 classes on their schedule arising. Those that did witnessed a sight that made their early rise worth it.

Three jets, moving inhumanely fast, moved away from the Garrison base and into the nearby desert. Inside the jets, three tired pilots manned their controls; paying little mind to the school below they had technically graduated from with honors the day prior.

"This is Volt Alpha," Daniel began. "Volt team is in formation and ready to begin the training exercise…under duress."

Objection noted to our start time, replied the familiar voice of Professor Wade from the intercom. And ignored. Now if you're done whining about a lack of beauty sleep, we can begin.

"Volt Gamma here," Larmina answered. "Let's get started."

"Volt Beta. I'm with Larmina," added Vince. "Sooner we start, sooner we can finish and maybe go back to bed."

That's the spirit. Now, Voltron is designed to quickly combine from jet mode to robot mode. You're familiar with Voltron's Alpha formation, which is the all-around unit, a nice mixture of speed and power, and probably has the widest variety of weapon systems. However, there are two other modes, triggered by whoever forms the head.

"The head?" Daniel asked.

Yes. Each Volt Unit can form the head of the machine while the other two form the legs and body. Volt Beta is designed for maximum speed at the cost of armor and power, but is capable of flight at amazing speeds and with incredible agility. Volt Gamma is essentially a tank designed for ground battle and undersea operations. It's much slower than Alpha and Beta, but far more heavily armored, relying primarily on distance weapons.

"Sounds cool," Larmina noted. "So what do we do now?"

Mission this morning is simple. Combine your robot into Beta and Gamma formation. Once you do you can go home.

"Let's start with Beta then," Vince began. "Ready to form Voltron. Activate interlock. Dynotherms connected. Infra…

WHOOSH!

BEEP! BEEP!

"We have missiles!" Daniel yelled. "Break formation!"

"The Galra?!"

Oh what? The voice of Professor Wade sarcastically quipped through the intercom. You think the enemy is going to stand still and let you form the robot without resistance? Cut the whining!

Five fighter jets, appearing to be Galaxy Garrison in origin, rushed towards the three Volt units even as they attempted to scatter from the missiles. Larmina however, was unaware of the fourth jet breaking from its formation and following behind, launching an errant missile.

"What the quiznak?!"

A cloud of pink smoke exploded harmlessly around the fighter, covering it in the soot.

Gamma, you're KIA because you didn't keep your eyes open. Return to base Lieutenant.

"Roger." The acknowledgment carried with it a tone of frustration, the woman clearly unaware of what had just been pulled on her. The remaining two fighters however, were not in a hurry to leave.

"Blindside me, will you?" Daniel shouted.

"Uh, Dan, we need Larmina to form Voltron, don't we? Why are we still here?"

"Because these jerkasses ambushed us! Besides, the Volts run circles around the old ASF's. This'll be a snap."

Will it now? Responded a voice from the other end of the line. Alright team, let's show these rookies how a real Air team fights!

The five jets broke formation and attempted to attack from multiple angles. Seeing this, Daniel dropped his jet towards the ground, preparing to swoop up and attack.

Nice thinking with the angle mate. Just one problem, you forgot about us!"

"WHAT?!"

Emerging from the ground were several vehicles lying in wait under camouflage. Immediately they began to open fire on the low flying jet, covering it in pink soot.

Confirmed kill of Volt Alpha. Come home Lieutenant.

Groaning heavily, Daniel turned his jet away from the battlefield, muttering "This isn't over" under his breath. No one heard the threat over the silenced intercom.

With both of his friends out of action, Vince continued to move his jet as quickly as possible, unsure of what to do next. He began to breathe heavily.

"OK, there's five fighters on my right, some ground units, do I move…wait, no, I need to…"

THWOOSH!

A bright pink cloud exploded around Vince's fighter, causing him to sigh heavily.

Return to base. We need to have a long talk about what's expected of you.

"I trust you have something to show me, Maahox, and it isn't a waste of my time?"

Throk wasn't nearly as happy as he should have been; at least before he realized what he was dealing with. The initial invasion, expected to occur without casualties or even any but the most token resistance, had been repelled with significant fighter casualties! At least the blame was easy to place.

"A waste? Nonsense sir," Maahox answered. "I've observed footage of the battle of our first Robeast with Voltron and I've figured out an approach that can defeat him. May I introduce you to my latest creation."

Inside the massive hangar was a machine floating in the air, with three arms, two o the sides and one on its back. Each arm extended in claws while having a barrel where the palm would normally be present. Most notably, on the machine's sides and back were massive propulsion engines, designed to move the oval shaped machined to and fro.

"This is the fastest design I've ever come up with," Maahox boasted. "Its engines will let it run circles around Voltron, while laying down proximity mines and blasting it with distance weaponry. Voltron will be turned to scrap before it can land a shot.

"I like it. So what do we do? Just send it to Earth?"

"Not by itself," Maahox answered. "For all of the human's blind luck with Voltron, there's only one of them, and dozens of cities that need to be protected. To maximize our chances of victory…"

"We divide and conqueror!" Throk exclaimed. "Of course! While the human's Voltron is busy being destroyed, we can just march a battlecruiser halfway across the planet free of any fear of reprisal!"

"So, mind explaining what happened during that disaster?"

Professor Wade stared at his three charges with a look that crossed between disappointment and annoyance, like a teacher at wit's end with a student. Finally, Larmina spoke.

"Sir! We were ambushed by…"

"Ambushes happen in the field Lt. Kent. You have to be prepared at all times. This exercise was designed to show you that."

"Sir! We were given bad intel!"

"We're facing an alien enemy, in every sense of the word," Wade shot back. "If you expect to know everything about them, then you're setting yourselves up for failure. First, you Lt. Kent, for expecting no interference. Then instead of falling back or attempting to analyze the situation, Lt. Tong chose to engage air targets unaware of ground opposition."

"Sir! I'd like to get a good look at who set me up!"

I was hoping he'd ask that.

Turning around, the trio saw a group of men and women, their expressions smug.

"So these are our replacements Professor? They didn't seem very impressive this morning!"

"You wanna try again?" Daniel shouted. "How we just go now?"

"Anytime rookie!"

"JEFF!" Professor Wade shouted. "We're all on the same team here. This is Major Jeff Manabu, head of recon air team, Captain Cliff Jack", he continued, pointing at a blond man with a disarming smile, "Land Team commander, and Captain Milanda Cric, Sea Team commander. These men were part of the original project to create a Voltron…"

"You mean roller skate for tr…"

"DON'T SPEAK OF IT!" Wade shot at Larmina out of pure embarrassment. "But these men and women are an invaluable resource, and should be used."

"Good to be working with ya!" Cliff began, extending his hand to the pilots. Both Larmina and Vince shook it, but Daniel remained aloof.

"Don't mind ol Jeff there," Cliff answered. "That's just his way. He's got a bit of a short fuse."

"Maybe that's why Daniel doesn't like him," Larmina replied. "They have a lot in common."

"WHAT?!" yelled both Jeff and Daniel, but before anything else could be said, Professor Wade interrupted.

"Look, we're going to try this again. Get used to these faces, because you're all part of the same team. You should at least learn to tolerate each other."

"Are we dismissed sir?" Vince asked.

"Not yet, because I haven't addressed you yet. Vince, you took your sweet time, in one of, if not the fastest fighter craft ever assembled by human hands, and your indecision led to you being shot down. If you're going to be entrusted with the sole thing protecting Earth from the Galra, you need to be able to make decisions quickly and clearly. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Vince answered before walking off.

Even as the words continued to nestle themselves into his head, Vince couldn't help but think of the bizarre two days. Now here he stood, unpacking the items from his dorm, which had been carried from the student, barracks to his new digs, an apartment inside the officer's barracks. If nothing else it was significantly larger than his old place, and there was no roommate to share it with either. That wasn't entirely fair though, his old roommate Pidge had seemingly vanished into thin air a month ago, and the Garrison had yet to assign him a replacement.

But still, he thought, even as he looked at accommodations that seemed absolutely luxurious by the standards he had been living with, was he really up for this? Wasn't he supposed to be here in a support role? He hadn't even explained the situation to his mother yet. Looking on at his cell phone, atop a pile of books, Vince sighed and dialed a number.

"Yeah, Mom? It's me, Vince. No, I haven't flunked out! Why do you keep asking me that? Look, this is gonna sound really weird but…I graduated. I'm an officer now, 1st Lt.. No, I'm not lying! Why would I lie about that?! Yes, I have proof! You want to see it that bad, huh? Oh, don't go bringing my brother into this! Maybe I didn't want to study accounting! Yeah, bye! No, I'm not a liar!"

Angrily slamming the phone off, Vince grimaced, looking on at the open door. The sight irritated him.

"Sorry about that mate. I wasn't trying to listen in. Rough go?"

"What do you want?" Vince asked the waiting form of Cliff. "Rub in this morning?"

"What? No. Look, may I come in?"

Looking around, Vince nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"Good man. Look, I wanna apologize for how Jeff acted. He's been a bit upset lately. That's just his way. We're really just trying to help."

"I know," Vince answered, even as he sat down on a chair that had been bought into the apartment. "Still doesn't feel like it"

"You wanna know the truth? We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't think you were all up for it. And Jeff knows it."

"If Jeff thinks he can do better, then why isn't he piloting Voltron?"

Sighing, Cliff answered "because he can't." The response piqued Vince's ears.

"Why not?"

"He tried. Believe me. He tried. So did everyone else in the Air Team."

AAAAAAH!

Jeff! Wendy!

There's no response! Alpha and Beta are going down!

Do something Doc! Hurry!

"The stress on the pilots is way past your average fighter, or even a deep space probe. It's why Professor Wade had to start looking for potential candidates that could handle the stress."

"Really?"

"You've got a gift boy. You can handle a machine that if there wasn't an autopilot on when it flew, would have killed two of my best friends. Don't squander it by doubting yourself. And don't underestimate us either. We may not have a giant robot to fight the bad guys with, but we're not exactly going to sit back and let you do everything. When the chips are down, we're here to help."

Vince nodded, smiling and shaking Cliff's hand. But as if on cue, an alarm began blaring.

Voltron Force, Priority 1 alert! Scramble! Repeat: Voltron Force! Priority 1 alert! Scramble!

"Bloody hell," Cliff exclaimed.

"Well," Vince answered with a tense chuckle, "I guess it's time to go to work."

"Give em hell mate!" Cliff yelled even as Vince ran out of the barracks and towards the lab. "Remember, you've got a gift! Use it!"

"Enemy craft was sighted around the Panama Canal gates," Daniel noted as he looked out from the cockpit of Volt Alpha, recalling the briefing he had received before boarding Volt Alpha. "It's definitely Galra."

"How can we be sure?" Larmina asked, only to look ahead from her craft at the giant robot floating above the ground, watching it blasting equipment with a trio of laser cannon arms."

"Call it an educated guess," Daniel answered. "Let's form Voltron! Alpha form!"

"Right! FORM VOLTRON!"

"Gamma, form feet and legs! Beta, form arms and body! And I'll form the head!"

With nothing interfering, the trio of machines combined into the form of a massive robot humanoid. It soon landed in front of the machine causing the destruction.

Daniel, it's Cric! We've been observing the situation, and it appears that the Robeast is trying to target the canal gates! You must lure it away before it can destroy those gates!

"Leave it to me!" Daniel shouted as the machine dashed towards its target, only to see it rapidly accelerate away, firing all the while.

"This thing is fast!" Larmina exclaimed.

"Yeah, well look at the size of those engines!" Vince answered, pointing at the massive engines, one on each side of its body as it continued to move away from its target.

"VOLT BEAM!"

The laser beams fired as quickly as possible, but to no avail, as the machine kept moving out of the way, pelting Voltron with fire all the while. Taking the offensive, Daniel charged forward, only to stop when he heard a loud beeping next to him.

"What the…"

"MINES!"

Numerous explosions riddled Voltron, knocking it to the ground. The trio looked on at the robot as it prepared to fire again.

"SHIELD!"

A shield formed, barely deflecting the blasts in time, even as the group looked at the fleeing Robeast.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it appears that we have a more serious problem than a giant robot attacking the Panama Canal."

Looking on at the screen, Commander Hawkins pointed towards the footage of the Galra battlecruiser descending from space. "They're trying to re-establish their beachhead on Los Angeles. They know that the surrounding bases are weak and vulnerable as a result."

"We must recall Voltron!" Captain Newley said. "Our forces in that area are already crippled from the last Galra assault, and standard fighters are no match for a Galra battlecruiser."

"Even if we do recall Voltron, it may not get here in time at the rate they're descending!"

"Maybe we don't need to recall Voltron."

"Jeff?" asked a woman next to him.

"It's OK Wendy. I know what I'm doing. Commander, do we still have those MOAB bombs at this base?"

"The massive ordinance bomb? Uh, yes, we do. How come?"

"I've got an idea. We can't beat a Galra battlecruiser with brute frontal force, but we can with a bit of ingenuity."

"Dammit! Another mine!" Daniel yelled, even as the robot moved forward, checking Voltron and knocking it and its shield to the ground before dashing away.

"We can't take much more of this!" Larmina shouted. "We need a new plan!"

Finally, after a moment of silence, Vince's voice shouted, "Separate!" Immediately Voltron split back into three fighter jets and flew off away from the enemy robot. Daniel was livid.

"Vince! We're running?!"

"Daniel," Vince answered with an exasperated sigh, "shut up and listen to someone besides yourself for a change!" The yell was enough to get Daniel to quiet down, while Vince continued his explanation.

"Beta formation is designed for speed and agility, right? Well we're far away enough to not get hit, so let's form that and go after him before he does any more damage!"

"Works for me," Larmina answered.

"Fine," added Daniel. FORM VOLTRON!"

"Alpha, form feet and legs!" Vince shouted. "Gamma, form arms and body! And I'll form the head!"

Standing on the battlefield was a machine similar yet different to Voltron's 'Alpha' form, a sleek machine standing on two spindly legs with a massive jet engine on its back. On its right arm was a standard hand while its left was instead a massive spear.

"Alright," Vince declared, "now let's try this again!"

Like before, the Robeast attempted to generate as much space as possible while firing blasts from its three arms and laying down a path of mines. This time however, the much sleeker, slimmer machine effortlessly dodged and darted through roads and streets, leaping over mines and catching up to the fleeing enemy in no time at all.

"Gotcha!"

The spear on the left arm drove through the machine, destroying one of the jet engines and causing it to stagger backwards, its movement compromised. Wasting no time, Voltron leapt into the air, its right hand replaced with a long chainsaw blade.

"BLAZING SAWBLADE!"

In one slash, the blade ripped through the remainder of the machine, causing it to explode, thankfully far away enough from the canal gates to cause any damage.

"Gotta hand it to you Vince," Daniel quipped. "You really came through for us."

"Let's just say I had some good advice."

"Viceroy! We are currently descending upon the human settlement! We should be landing in approximately five clicks! So far there is no sign of any human resistance, including Voltron!"

Excellent! Destroy everything in that city and establish our front! The world will learn to accept us as their rightful rulers or realize their suffering will be infinite at our hands!"

With seemingly nothing in the way, the ship continued to descend, until a faint blip came across the enemy scanners.

"Sir, we're picking up a single craft. Looks like it dropped something."

"One fighter? Is that a joke? How did we miss it?

"It's so small sir. Not to mention it's leaving!"

"Coward."

"Sir, whatever it is just a metal shell, but it's going to fall on us!"

"Is it a missile?"

"Sir, impact AAAAAHHHH!"

The massive ordinance of the seemingly harmless metallic shell, unnoticed until it was too late by the high flying craft, exploded on the battlecruiser with the force of 11 tons of TNT. The front section of the ship was annihilated as the remainder began to fall upon the California desert. Flying away, the single craft began to return to base.

"This is Jeff. I know the ASF was never designed to drop something that big, but it kept us hidden right till the last moment."

Your plan worked flawlessly Jeff. You're the hero of the hour.

"I'm not the only one," Jeff answered. "Returning home."

Packing the remaining books onto the shelf, Vince smiled. Even with all the craziness that had occurred, he had proven that he was capable of helping the team. In fact, he had officially helped save the world twice now. When being debriefed by Commander Hawkins, both Daniel and Jeff went out of their way to credit Vince with stopping the Robeast in Panama, earning the collective praise of the group and the senior officialls.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a song he liked, a reminder to pick up his phone.

"Hello? Dad? Uh, did Mom tell you that I lied to her? No, really, I was graduated two semesters early. Yes, I'm an officer of the Galaxy Garrison. 1st Lieutenant. Of course I have a photo to show you. No it's not a photoshop Dad, if I was lying to Mom about graduating, why would I tell her that I was being paid? How would that help me get money from you telling you I'm pulling down a paycheck?! Are you two even listening to yourselves?"

If only his parents could see what his co-workers saw him do.

Adding more classic characters, and hoping I can get the balance between them all correct. It's a struggle to use characters from previous shows and not make them either override the current characters, or be seen as worthless to shill the value of the new group. Hopefully that balance is achieved here.

For those of you wondering, the "multi-mode" idea is taken from the never made Gladiator Voltron, a show called Albegas. Albegas also happens to be considered a pretty bald face ripoff of Getter Robo, the first manga/anime about a combining robot, so naturally there's a lot of influence taken from that as well.

As always, enjoy and review!