Happy Wednesday everyone!
I hope everyone's having a good week so far! If you aren't, look at it this way: You've only got two days until Friday! Unless you have a big test worth 77% of your final grade in a class because your teacher is a horrible person that also looks like they crawled out of the deepest circle of hell specifically to give you that one test. I actually had a teacher like that back in middle school. And that's the oddly worded story about why I hate math.
Thanks go out to everyone who has been reviewing so far! I'm glad you all like the story so far and I hope I don't disappoint with this latest addition!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or the character from Black Cat that makes an appearance. I do however own my plot, my original characters, and a brand spanking new tv to replace the one I lost last week when my friend dropped his end to reply to a text.
Enjoy!
Edit: Timeline corrected.
Chapter Sixteen: Omnidroid Version Ten
Friday, June 4th 4794 P.C.
"The ship's unique design suggests-" With a click, the channel on the TV in the cell block changed. On the screen was displayed an aerial view of what appeared to be the City Hall of some city. A large, triangularly shaped, jet-black plane with a large orb set into its center had crash landed right on the front steps of the building. Military personnel were forming a perimeter around it.
"There were no fatalities," A news reporter's voice said before Syndrome hit the mute button and turned to face the captured family of Supers and the Keyblade Master.
"Huh? Huh?" Syndrome said, eagerly gesturing at the screen. "Oh, come on! You gotta admit, this is cool!" His prisoners glared at him. "The robot will emerge dramatically, do some damage. Throngs of screaming people! And just when all hope is lost, Syndrome will save the day!" He jabbed a finger at Mr. Incredible. "I'll be a bigger hero than you ever were!"
"You mean that you killed off real heroes so you could pretend to be one?" Mr. Incredible demanded, clearly outraged. Syndrome chuckled.
"Oh, I'm real alright," he said smugly. "Real enough to defeat you! And I did it without your precious gifts, your oh-so special powers. I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics anyone's ever seen!" He turned his back on the captives to face the door, his tone mellowing out. "And when I'm old and I've had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so that everyone can be superheroes. Everyone can be Super. And when everyone's Super…" He chuckled evilly, "No one will be." His chuckle broke into a round of maniacal laughter as the door to the cell block slammed shut.
Riku's eyes flickered up to the screen in time to watch the ship carrying the Omnidroid split in half. The soldiers on the screen all raised their weapons. The Omnidroid's five legs emerged from inside its body, crushing cars beneath it as it planted its feet. The soldiers all began shooting, only for their bullets to deflect harmlessly off of the Omnidroid's armor plating. A tank rolled into view on screen and fired a mortar round at the Omnidroid. The round exploded near one of the joints connecting a leg to the main body, but the Omnidroid wasn't fazed by it.
The Omnidroid's red visual sensor emerged from the top of its body. An energy canon unfolded from the side of its sensor and fired a round of bright blue energy into one of the tanks, which exploded into a ball of flame. That seemed to be the last straw for some of the soldiers. Their morale broke and they scattered as the Omnidroid fired more energy rounds into nearby vehicles. The Incredible family and Riku watched in defeat. Mr. Incredible hung his head low.
"I'm sorry," he said, the others glancing over at him as he spoke. "This is my fault. I've been a lousy father and a lousy human being. Blind to what I have. So obsessed with being undervalued that I undervalued all of you." Out of the corner of his eye, Riku saw Violet create a force field around herself, cutting off the energy connection holding her in place as she rolled towards one of the guard stations that controlled the zero-point cell.
"Um, Dad?" Dash began, as he realized his sister was free. Mrs. Incredible shushed him.
"Don't interrupt," she whispered, clearly intent on what her husband had to say.
"So caught up in the past that I-" Mr. Incredible seemed to be struggling to find the right words to convey his emotions, something Riku assumed might happen often with him. "You are my greatest adventure. And I almost missed it. I swear, I'm gonna get us out of this safely if I-"
"Well, I think Dad has made some excellent progress today," Violet said, drawing everyone's attention over to her. "But, I think it's time we unwind now." She brought the orb that covered her right hand down on the release button. All power to the zero-point cell was cut off and the others fell to the ground. With a hiss, all of their bonds split in half, freeing them. Mr. Incredible gave his daughter a hug and the five of them ran out of the cell block.
"We need to get to the mainland," Mr. Incredible said as they ran through the halls. Riku was mildly surprised by the lack of guards.
"I saw an aircraft hangar on my way in," Mrs. Incredible said. Riku felt his stomach twist in a nervous knot. "Straight ahead, I think."
"It wasn't the one I blew up was it?" He asked hesitantly. Mrs. Incredible shook her head.
"No, this one is still intact." Riku breathed a sigh of relief.
LD
Mirage stared at the large screen that the guards had set up in the security center. All of the guards were laughing as the news broadcast showed people running in terror from the Omnidroid. There was a heavy feeling of guilt pooling in her stomach. She forced herself to turn away from the screen. She glanced over at one of the security monitors and watched in surprise as the escaped Supers and Keyblade Master ran through the halls in plain view of the camera.
LD
Mr. Incredible forced his way through the reinforced door to the hangar, which was completely empty of all vehicles with the exception of a blue and white RV that seemed out of place.
"Where are all the guards?" Mr. Incredible asked aloud. His answer came in the form of muffled laughter emanating from the RV. "Go, go!" He whispered to the others. They all dashed into the hangar while Mr. Incredible held the door open for them.
They ran across the hangar and pressed themselves up against the back of the RV, doing their best to stay hidden. Mr. Incredible pressed a finger to his lips and he slipped inside the RV. A few moments of silence passed quickly while He trashed the few guards inside the vehicle. He stepped back outside and whistled to the others, signaling the all-clear. The others darted out from their cover and continued running across the hangar, looking desperately for anything that could fly.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Riku's vision was filled with gold as something metallic swung towards his face. Reacting on instinct, he rolled backwards, barely dodging the blow. The Way to Dawn appeared in his hand in time to counter the second strike. His mouth dropped open in surprise as he stared at the Inverse Kingdom Key. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the Wielder. Her eyes were a familiar cerulean and her caramel colored hair sent shivers down his spine. The girl glared up at him. A feeling of déjà vu filled Riku. It was like he was staring at a female version of Sora. The girl leapt back, putting several feet between her and Riku. The Incredible family stopped as they heard the clash of metal on metal.
"Don't worry about me!" Riku called out to them, his eyes remaining locked onto the other Wielder. "I can handle her. Just find us a way out of here!" Mr. Incredible nodded towards him.
"Good luck, kid!" He said, turning to keep looking. Riku narrowed his eyes and shifted his feet so he was standing in his signature fighting stance.
"Who are you and what do you want?" He demanded. The girl grinned.
"Name's Keila, Wielder of shadows," she said, flourishing her Keyblade with unnecessary flamboyance. "And I'm going to kill you. It's nothing personal, Maleficent just wants you dead." She lunged at Riku, the tip of her Keyblade aimed at his sternum. Riku easily side-stepped the attack. The Way to Dawn lashed out, knocking Keila's feet from under her. She let out a cry of surprise. Riku didn't give her time to hit the ground. He unleashed a long string of blows, knocking her higher and higher into the air. They were almost at the ceiling when Riku delivered one final blow across her chest and sent her crashing back down to the ground.
"That was my boob, you jerk!" Keila groaned, clutching her chest. Riku fell back to the ground with a thud. He glanced up to glare at her and felt his face grow warm as he got a perfect up-skirt view of her red and black striped underwear. Keila's face blushed crimson as she realized where he was looking. She quickly righted herself and lashed out at Riku with her foot, which caught Riku squarely in the jaw. "Perv!"
"Hey!" Riku growled. "It's not my fault you're wearing a skirt while fighting!"
"That doesn't mean you have to look!" Keila snapped back.
"Try wearing some pants, and then I won't accidentally see anything!" Riku retorted. Keila opened her mouth to say something but was stopped as the flat of Riku's Keyblade slammed against the back of her head before she had time to realize that the silver-haired teen had moved. She collapsed to her knees as blinding pain erupted from the base of her skull. Darkness quickly clouded her vision as she fell; face first, onto the floor.
"Nothing personal," Riku said, "but we're in a bit of a rush. Let's save this for another time, shall we?" He turned away from the unconscious Wielder and ran to catch up to the Incredible family.
"This is the right hangar," Mrs. Incredible was saying. "But I don't see any jets."
"A jet's not fast enough," Mr. Incredible replied.
"What's faster than a jet?" Riku asked as he reached them.
"Hey," Dash called from a large pair of doors. "How about a rocket?" The others ran over to him and saw a gleaming white rocket identical to the one used to send the Omnidroid to Metroville.
"Great!" Mrs. Incredible said. "I don't know how to fly a rocket."
"You don't have to," Violet said. The others turned to look at her. She shrugged. "Just use the coordinates from the last launch." Mr. and Mrs. Incredible smiled proudly at their daughter's intuition.
"Wait. I bet Syndrome's changed the password by now," Mr. Incredible said. "How am I supposed to get into the computer?"
"Say please," Mirage's voice said over the PA system. The escapees all looked up at the flight control deck, where the platinum-blonde was smiling down at them.
LD
Lucius Best smiled at his reflection in the mirror as he dabbed cologne onto his neck. Tonight was going to be a great night. He and his wife had been planning this night for weeks; an opportunity for them to reconnect in their marriage. Nothing was going to ruin it. Not even Bob.
Lucius sighed. It had been over two months since he had last been able to see his best friend. The last time they had seen each other, they had been reliving their glory days as Supers by listening to a police scanner and saving a bunch of people from a burning building. Since then, he hadn't heard so much as a peep from the former Mr. Incredible. He glanced at a picture on his nightstand. Mr. Incredible and Frozone. Bob and Lucius. Even though they rarely worked together in the old days, they were still known as best friends. He turned back to the mirror to finish working on his appearance.
Outside of his window, a large, round robot on five legs stomped past, closely followed by three military grade helicopters that were unleashing a torrential rain of lead on the robot, but to no avail. Lucius ran to the window to make sure he wasn't seeing things before darting over to his dresser. He rifled around in one of his drawers before producing a remote with a single, blue button in its center. He spun around to his bed and pressed the button.
The bed and bookcases folded up into the wall, revealing a detailed map of the city, a police scanner and an indent in the shape of a man. Lucius stared at the indent for a few seconds before calling out to his wife.
"Honey?"
"What?" His wife replied from the other room. Lucius ran back to his dresser and began digging through his clothes.
"Where's my super suit?" He asked desperately.
"What?" His wife repeated, clearly confused.
"Where is my super suit?" Lucius repeated slowly as he dug through the laundry basket in the corner of the room.
"I uh… put it away," his wife said. Outside of the window, Lucius watched one of the helicopters spin out of control and explode
"Where?" Lucius asked, his temper rising.
"Why do you need to know?"
"I need it!"
"Uh-uh!" His wife shouted angrily. "Don't you think about running off doing no
derrin'-do! We've been planning this dinner for two months!"
"The public is in danger!" Lucius said as he ran out into the hall to search the closet.
"My evening's in danger!" His wife said.
"You tell me where my suit is, woman!" Lucius demanded. "We are talking about the greater good!"
"'Greater good'?" His wife repeated in an irritated tone. "I am your wife! I am the greatest good you are ever going to get!" Lucius sighed. He could already tell this was going to take awhile.
LD
The driver of a gas tanker practically threw himself from the vehicle as the Omnidroid reached for it. All around civilians were running around in a panic. The Omnidroid grabbed the tanker and hurled it into the air. A mother snatched her child up from its stroller and took off running as the tanker spun through the air towards her and her child. She clutched her child tight as the tanker's shadow loomed over her, seconds away from impact.
A bright blue energy surrounded the tanker and it lifted high into the air. The mother slowly opened her eyes and saw her rescuer, Syndrome, as he lifted the tanker into the air with his zero-point energy beam.
"The Supers have returned!" A man exclaimed as a small crowd formed below Syndrome, who was smiling proudly. The crowd below him was beginning to applaud.
"Is that Fironic?" One woman asked. Syndrome's face fell slightly.
"No, Fironic has a different outfit," another woman explained. Syndrome shook his head.
"No, no," he said kindly. "I'm a new superhero!" He flung the tanker behind him where it exploded against the ground. "I'm Syndrome!" The Omnidroid quickly advanced on Syndrome, extending one of its clawed arms to grab the 'super'. Syndrome smirked.
"All right. Stand back." He pressed a button on his gauntlet and the arm froze in place less than a foot from him. Syndrome flew up and behind the Omnidroid. He fired off a couple of harmless energy beams against its armor plating. "Someone needs to teach this hunk of metal a few manners!" He pressed another button on his gauntlet before punching one of the leg joints. The connecting leg popped off with a loud hiss and dropped heavily to the ground. "Ha ha!" Syndrome held his arms up proudly as he faced the crowd.
The Omnidroid's visual sensor followed Syndrome before staring at its arm. Its artificial intelligence quickly analyzed how it had lost its arm and locked onto Syndrome's gauntlet. The laser cannon on the side of its sensor fired a single burst of blue energy that knocked the gauntlet off of Syndrome's wrist. Syndrome let out a cry of shock and stared up at the Omnidroid in disbelief. He narrowly dodged another of the Omnidroid's arms and took off as fast as he could, weaving his way in and out of the retreating crowd. The Omnidroid fired several more beams of energy at him. One managed to strike one of Syndrome's rocket boots, causing it to malfunction. Syndrome let out a cry as he was sent spinning out of control. He slammed into the side of a building and collapsed onto a balcony. He struggled in an attempt to get back up before passing out.
LD
High in the atmosphere, the rocket carrying the Incredible family and Riku split apart as the black jet built inside took over. Instead of transporting an Omnidroid, this jet carried the RV from the hangar, supported by Mrs. Incredible stretching her body to the maximum. Violet and Dash drummed their fingers on the small table barely large enough for one person, let alone two, that was built inside. Mr. Incredible sat in the driver's seat while Riku napped on the bed in the back.
"Are we there yet?" Dash groaned.
"We get there when we get there!"Mr. Incredible snapped. He had heard that question too many times in the past couple of hours. He forced his window open, and leaned his head out of the window into the intense wind. "How you doing, honey?"
"Do I have to answer?" Mrs. Incredible shouted back, clearly exhausted. Mr. Incredible stared back out of the windshield. The clouds were beginning to thin and he could see that the jet was quickly approaching the city.
"Kids, strap yourselves down like I told you," he called into the back. Violet and Dash both secured themselves in place as Riku snored softly. Mr. Incredible leaned his head back out of the window. "Here we go, honey!" He glanced back at his kids. "Ready, Violet?" Violet nodded and placed her hand over a button. "Ready, now!" Violet's palm slammed down on the button. The jet split in half and Mrs. Incredible let out a groan of pain as her body stretched for a moment before releasing her grip on the plane to climb inside the RV. Mr. Incredible slammed the gas pedal down onto the floor. "This is gonna be rough!" He warned the others. The RV slammed back down to solid ground, directly onto an interstate full of cars, which swerved out of the way of the now speeding RV.
The impact knocked Riku from the bed and into the ceiling. He let out a cry of shock and pain as he missed the bed coming back down and slammed into the floor. Clutching his now throbbing goose egg, Riku stumbled up towards the front of the RV.
"The robot's in the financial district," Mr. Incredible was saying. "Which exit do I take?"
"Traction Avenue," Mrs. Incredible replied.
"That'll take me downtown," Mr. Incredible replied as he veered towards a different exit. "I take Seventh, don't I?"
"Don't take Seventh!" Mrs. Incredible shouted. The RV, which had been feet from being on the exit ramp, swerved back into traffic, eliciting a chorus of car horns from angry drivers.
"Great, we missed it!"
"You asked me how to get there and I told you. Exit at Traction!"
"That'll take me downtown!"
"He's coming up! Get in the right lane! Signal!"
"We don't exit at Traction!"
"You're going to miss it!" Mrs. Incredible shouted angrily. Riku suddenly felt glad that there were no cars back on Destiny Islands. They only created tension on the roads. Mr. Incredible let out an angry groan and swerved onto the Traction Avenue exit, cutting several people off and causing more than a few cars to spin out of control. The RV slammed into the sides of the winding exit ramp and narrowly missed an oncoming gas tanker as it sped through a red light. Mr. Incredible slammed his foot on the brake, causing the vehicle to fishtail and collide with several of the cars parked alongside of the road. They continued to speed along at a dangerous speed.
Desperately, Mr. Incredible slammed both feet on the brake, bringing the RV's wheels to a complete stop. The RV spun to its side and began to roll down the road. Violet let out a scream. Riku swore under his breath as a shard of a shattered window sliced open his forearm. The RV rolled to a stop, perfectly parked, in the only free spot at the end of the street.
"Is everybody okay back there?" Mr. Incredible asked as he turned around in his seat. Violet and Dash were both giggling.
"Super-duper, Dad!" said Violet.
"Let's do that again," Dash said with a large grin plastered on his face.
"Please don't leave me with the horrible doctor," Riku said, sounding somewhat dazed. The Omnidroid emerged from behind a pair of buildings, making its way towards them.
"Wait here, and stay hidden," Mr. Incredible said. "I'm going in." He climbed out of the hole where the driver's side door used to be and began to make his way towards the Omnidroid. Mrs. Incredible followed suit. Her arm stretched out and spun her husband around to face her.
"While what?" She demanded. "I watch helplessly from the sidelines? I don't think so."
"I'm asking you to stay with the kids," Mr. Incredible explained.
"And I'm telling you not a chance," Mrs. Incredible said. "You're my husband. I'm with you for better or worse."
"I have to do this alone," Mr. Incredible said, turning back towards the Omnidroid. Riku, feeling capable of movement again, hopped out of the trashed RV.
"You can't stop me," he said. Mr. Incredible stared down at him.
"No, but I'm going to ask you to stay put," he said. "That thing trashed me in the jungle, you saw it." Riku nodded.
"And then I sliced it into pieces," he reminded the Super as the Way to Dawn appeared in his hand. "Or did you forget?" Mr. Incredible placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Please, just stay here," he asked, his eyes almost pleading. Several onlookers were pointing at the supers and whispering. Riku glanced down at his feet and noticed a black mask similar to the ones the Incredible family was wearing. He quickly bent down and put it on. If he was going to be fighting alongside superheroes, he needed to at least look the part. There was a bright flash of light that temporarily engulfed him. It faded to show that his clothes had changed.
His outfit now resembled the Darkness boosting outfit Maleficent had given him, only now, rather than being mainly purple in color, it was a bright orange with gold and red accents, like the sky at dawn. The Heartless symbol in the center of his chest had been replaced with an elegant, blue heart emblazoned on a golden shield. The useless belts on his upper thighs as well as the white tufts of fur had been removed. Riku smiled down at his new attire approvingly.
"What is this to you?" Mrs. Incredible asked. "Playtime?"
"No," Mr. Incredible replied.
"So you can be Mr. Incredible again?"
"No!"
"Then what? What is it?"
"I'm not…"
"Not what?"
"I'm not strong enough." Violet and Dash watched their parents arguing with nervous expressions.
"Strong enough? And this will make you stronger?"
"Yes. No!"
"That's what this is? Some sort of workout?"
"I can't lose you again!" Mr. Incredible grabbed his wife desperately by the shoulders. He hung his head while she stared at him in mild surprise. "I can't. Not again. I'm not… strong enough." Mrs. Incredible looked sadly at her downtrodden husband for a moment before pulling him into a kiss. Violet and Dash averted their eyes while Riku whistled innocently. They broke apart after a few moments.
"If we work together, you won't have to be," Mrs. Incredible said softly.
"I don't know what'll happen," Mr. Incredible said, apprehension evident on his face.
"Hey, we're superheroes," Mrs. Incredible said comfortingly. "What could happen?" Behind her, Violet let out a scream as she and Dash ran from the RV. One of the Omnidroid's legs crushed it a split second later. The Supers and Riku ran across the street in an attempt to gain some distance. Another of the Omnidroid's legs crashed into the ground, stopping Violet and Dash from catching up with their parents.
"Vi! Dash! No!" Mrs. Incredible cried out. Mr. Incredible and Riku turned back. The Omnidroid brought its leg back down on the two children. Dash covered his head and prepared for the inevitable, but it never came. He looked up and saw that Violet had created a force field around them. The Omnidroid pounded twice more against the force field before repositioning itself over it. It slammed its body down, finally breaking the force field and almost knocking Violet out. The Omnidroid raised its body again. Dash covered his head as the body dropped, only to be stopped by Mr. Incredible's strength.
"Dad!" Dash exclaimed in relief.
"Go! Go!" Mr. Incredible groaned. Mrs. Incredible ran up and pulled the kids out from under the Omnidroid and carried them to safety. Mr. Incredible forced the Omnidroid further off of the ground. His eyes widened in shock as one of its four pointed claws reached under itself and grabbed hold of the Super. With a cry, Mr. Incredible was thrown into the upper floors of a nearby office building.
Riku charged the Omnidroid, dodging the claws that came crashing down around him. With a shout, he leapt onto one of the arms and quickly ran along its length before stopping at the joint. He raised the Way to Dawn above his head and brought it down on the joint with as much strength as he could muster. He had expected his blade to slice through the metal like it had with the last one. The last thing he had expected was the bone-jarring clang that went along with the impact, causing him to lose his balance and fall off of the Omnidroid. One of the Omnidroid's claws grabbed hold of him and slammed him into the ground several times. Light formed along the Way to Dawn's edge, sharpening it with magic and allowing Riku to slice his way free of the claw. The leg whipped around and slammed into Riku, hurling him through the side of a nearby parked bus.
The Omnidroid ignored Riku and turned its attention back on Mr. Incredible, who leapt from the office building and knocked the Omnidroid off balance. The ground shook violently from the Omnidroid's fall. Mr. Incredible rolled to a stop and grinned victoriously up at the Omnidroid. A patch of ice quickly formed alongside of him as a Super, dressed in a white and baby blue super suit skated along past him.
"Frozone!" Mr. Incredible cheered as his best friend attempted to freeze the Omnidroid's joints as it stood back up. The Omnidroid grabbed Frozone and hurled him into the roof of a nearby car. Another of the Omnidroid's legs crashed into Mr. Incredible and sent him flying into the side of another building. Riku stumbled to his feet with a groan.
"I hate robots," he growled. He swung his Keyblade back, ready to go for another strike when he was grabbed from behind by one of the Omnidroid's claws and thrown straight up into the air. The Omnidroid turned its attention on Mrs. Incredible as she bounded up the side of a nearby building. It narrowed one of its claws into a point and stabbed at the building in an attempt to impale her. Mrs. Incredible easily dodged the blow.
Frozone, supported on a thick patch of ice he had formed into a slide in midair, slid by and covered the claw in as much ice as he could before moving out of harm's way. The Omnidroid pulled its claw from the building and opened it, easily shattering the ice. Its visual sensor locked onto Mrs. Incredible and fired off several bursts of energy as she ran across the street. Several cars exploded into thick columns of smoke and flame.
Mr. Incredible shook his head as he slipped back into consciousness and immediately spotted Syndrome's gauntlet. He had a momentary flashback to when he had met Syndrome on Nomanisan Island and Syndrome controlled the Omnidroid version Nine with this same remote. He snatched it up and held it above his head victoriously.
"Syndrome's remote!" He exclaimed, turning to grin at the others. The Omnidroid's visual sensor spun around and locked onto the remote before making Mr. Incredible its primary target. Mr. Incredible's face fell. One of the Omnidroid's claws slammed Mr. Incredible into the ground and grabbed hold of him. Mr. Incredible almost dropped the remote, but managed to save it by the tips of his fingers. Desperately, he pressed the buttons on the remote randomly until the arm that had a grip on him ejected itself from the joint. Violet and Dash, both hiding around the corner of a building like their mother had told them to, managed to see what their dad had been so excited about.
"The remote controls the robot!"Violet exclaimed. Dash gave her a glance that clearly told her she was stating the obvious. Violet grinned sheepishly. The Omnidroid fired several bursts of energy at Mr. Incredible, who barely succeeded in dodging them.
"Dad!" Dash called out. Mr. Incredible looked around for his son and spotted him as he appeared in a red and gold blur behind the Omnidroid, waving his arms above his head. "Throw it, throw it!" Mr. Incredible nodded and hefted the remote like it was a football.
"Go long!" He shouted to his son as he used all of his strength to hurl the remote over the Omnidroid. Dash spun around and ran directly underneath the remote. The Omnidroid's attention turned to Dash as it began firing off an endless stream of energy blasts at him. Dash effortlessly avoided the blasts and exploding concrete around him. He kept running, straight into the city's largest park, complete with manmade lake. Dash increased his speed so that he didn't sink into the water. He caught the remote in his outstretched hands as he reached the opposite shore.
"I got it!" He shouted back to the others, he kept on running, intent on coming around full circle and bringing the remote back to his parents. The road in front of him exploded into fire and debris as one of the Omnidroid's blasts struck a gas line, igniting it and blowing a crater in the concrete. Dash turned around to change course only for his only other exit to be blocked off by a secondary explosion. Riku sat up on the roof of the building where he had landed, groaning in pain. He ran to the edge and peered down. Forty-three stories directly below him was the Omnidroid. Riku took a moment to steel himself before he jumped headfirst over the edge.
"Honey! Take out its gun!" Mr. Incredible shouted to his wife. The Omnidroid's visual sensor spun around long enough to fire a blast at Mr. Incredible's feet, knocking the Super onto his back. At the same time, Mrs. Incredible had grabbed a manhole cover and was utilizing a light pole and her rubber-like arm to create a make shift sling shot. She carefully aimed and released the cover, which spun rapidly towards the narrow band of metal that supported the gun, and missed. Mrs. Incredible's eyes widened in disbelief as the Omnidroid's visual sensor locked onto her. With a roar, Riku crashed into the Omnidroid, leaving a massive dent in its armor while the Way to Dawn easily sliced off the gun.
"You're welcome!" He shouted down to Mrs. Incredible as he leapt off of the Omnidroid in time to avoid a sweeping blow from one of its arms. Riku channeled as much energy as he could muster into the palm of his hand. An orb of Light quickly formed. "Take this!" The orb burst from his hand and collided with one of the Omnidroid's remaining legs, which was obliterated as the orb exploded.
Riku let out a victorious laugh and attempted to create another orb of Light to attack with. Nothing happened. Riku groaned as he realized he needed to focus on increasing his Light-wielding skills. As of now, he was only good for one decent sized shot.
Frozone quickly came to Dash's rescue, scooping the kid up in his arms and skating away from the fires. The Omnidroid locked onto the remote again. Its legs and sensor retracted back into its body as it started to roll in pursuit of the remote. Frozone created the ice path for him and Dash to skate on as quickly as he could, but the Omnidroid was gaining on them a lot faster than he had expected. Thinking quickly, he changed course and veered out onto the lake where he was able to make a path quicker. The Omnidroid's legs and sensors reemerged and it leapt high into the air, crashing down on the water and creating a massive wave that sent Frozone and Dash flying into the air.
With seconds to spare, Frozone froze the wave, turning it into a massive pile of snow that a quickly gave him and Dash a soft spot to land. The remote skidded across the road. Mr. Incredible chased after it as the Omnidroid emerged from the water. It spotted Mr. Incredible and aimed one of its claws for him. A set of rockets built into the claw propelled it away from the Omnidroid and into the Super, trapping him and knocking him away from the remote. The Omnidroid turned to destroy the remote.
Frozone skated himself ahead of the Omnidroid and froze the ground beneath it, causing it to slip and slide in an attempt to keep its balance. Mrs. Incredible stretched herself between a pair of light posts, tripping the Omnidroid as it stumbled forward. Riku leapt out of the way of the collapsing hunk of metal just in time as it crashed to the ground. Even though it had been downed, the Omnidroid was still determined to destroy the remote. One of its clawed legs lashed out and missed as the remote floated up into the air, seemingly of its own accord.
Violet, in her invisible form, ran with the remote as the Omnidroid stood back up. Its legs crossed as it attempted to crush the invisible Super and the remote, which caused it to collapse again now that it was missing the majority of its legs.
"Mom, I've got it!" Violet exclaimed as she ran over to where Mrs. Incredible, Dash, Frozone and Riku were all standing. "I've got the remote!" Behind them the Omnidroid was getting back on its feet.
"A remote?" Frozone asked in confusion. Violet saw the Omnidroid get back up and began to press buttons in a panic. "A remote that controls what?" Violet pressed one of the larger buttons on the remote and activated the rocket propellers built into the Omnidroid's claws. "The robot?" The five of them ducked as the Omnidroid went sailing over their heads and into the stonework of a nearby skyscraper. The Omnidroid slowly got back up.
"It's coming back!" Dash said. He grabbed the remote from his sister and pressed random button. Mr. Incredible let out a cry of surprise as the claw that had trapped him suddenly opened up, vaulting him several dozen feet into the air. "That wasn't right."
"Give me that!" Violet snapped, taking the remote back. Mr. Incredible got back to his feet. He stared hopelessly at the Omnidroid.
"We can't stop it," he realized. "The only thing hard enough to penetrate it is…" He paused, as he flashed back to the time he had fought the Omnidroid version Eight and how he had managed to trick it into ripping out its own power source. He glanced at the claw, lying uselessly on the ground next to him. "Is itself." He grabbed hold of the claw and hoisted it.
"It's getting closer!" Riku said, readying his Keyblade.
"It doesn't work!" Violet said angrily, slamming her fist down on the buttons. The rockets on the claw in Mr. Incredible's hands. Helen grabbed the remote from Violet and glanced at Riku and Frozone.
"Lucius, Riku, try to buy us some time!" She said.
"You got it!" Riku shouted as he charged towards the Omnidroid.
"Try the one next to it!" Frozone shouted as he created an ice path. A pair of skis emerged from the bottom of his boots and transformed into a sled-like object, increasing his speed and mobility as he attempted to create a wall of ice to slow down the Omnidroid.
The Way to Dawn spun through the air and impaled itself in the center of the Omnidroid's visual sensor. Bits of machinery and red glass rained down as Riku shouted triumphantly, grabbing his Keyblade from midair as it sailed back to him of its own accord.
Frozone's wall was unable to stand up to the Omnidroid's strength; it effortlessly walked straight through it. The rockets on the claw Mr. Incredible was holding shut off as Mrs. Incredible pressed a random button.
"Wait a minute," Mr. Incredible muttered slowly as he realized he wasn't being dragged across the ground anymore. "Press that button again!" Mrs. Incredible complied but hit a different button by mistake, causing the four 'fingers' that made the claw begin to rotate at a high velocity. "No, the other one! The first one!" He shouted. Mrs. Incredible quickly scanned the remote and found the button her husband wanted her to press.
"First button! Got it!" She shouted. Riku let out a cry of shock as one of the Omnidroid's limbs knocked him back to lay at the feet of Mrs. Incredible and the kids. "Get out of here kids, find a safe spot!" She ordered.
"We're not going anywhere!" Violet shouted back.
"Press the button!" Mr. Incredible shouted desperately as Riku got back to his feet.
"Not yet!" Mrs. Incredible shouted at him.
"Helen!" Frozone shouted as the Omnidroid broke through another ice wall.
"What are you waiting for?" Mr. Incredible asked.
"A closer target!" Mrs. Incredible shouted in explanation. "You got one shot!" Frozone was right up next to them and the Omnidroid burst through the last wall. Mrs. Incredible's finger slammed down on the button, igniting the rockets.
"Everybody duck!" Mr. Incredible shouted, as he released the claw from his grasp. The five of them threw themselves to the ground, narrowly avoiding the low flying claw as it burst through one side of the Omnidroid and out of the other, dragging the main power core with it. The Omnidroid remained standing for a few moments before it collapsed sideways into the lake, where it promptly exploded in a cloud of bright orange flame. They all stared at the smoking ruins of the Omnidroid for a moment before breaking out into a fit of relieved laughter.
"You see that?" An old man said to his companion as the two watched from a nearby bench, somehow having miraculously avoiding the battle. "That's how you do it. That's old school."
"Yup," his companion agreed. "No school like the old school."
High above them, Syndrome came to. He peered over the edge and saw, to his horror, the ruins of his Omnidroid and a crowd of people beginning to form around the Supers, all applauding and praising their heroes. Rage quickly consumed Syndrome.
"Just like old times," Frozone said as the six of them waved around for the flashing cameras and smiling citizens. Mr. Incredible chuckled and gave Frozone a heavy pat on the back.
"Just like old times," he agreed. Frozone let out a small groan and rolled his shoulders and neck.
"Yeah, hurt then too," he teased. Riku chuckled and winked at a group of teenage girls who couldn't stop staring at him. The entire group swooned comically and collapsed to the ground. Riku grinned. He and Sora had used to pretend they were superheroes back when they were younger, and today, he was one. He just couldn't stop smiling.
Keila stared down at the crowd from her vantage point in one of the offices high above the gathering crowd. Darkness swirled around her and she vanished.
Next time. She silently vowed to herself.
LD
Several hours and countless handshakes and photograph poses later, the Incredible family and Riku were sitting in the back of a limo that was en route to their home in the suburbs, all provided by their fellow passenger, Rick. A gentleman in his early forties, the stress from Rick's job in a government agency that didn't exist made him seem like he was in his fifties. He and Mr. Incredible spoke in low tones as Mrs. Incredible checked her voicemail. Riku hummed softly to himself as he examined his reflection in the window.
"We've frozen all of Syndrome's assets," Rick was explaining to Mr. Incredible. "If he even sneezes, we'll be there with a hanky and a pair of handcuffs. The people of this country are indebted to you."
"Does this mean we can come out of hiding?" Mr. Incredible asked.
"Let the politicians figure that one out" Rick suggested. "But, I've been asked to assure you we'll take care of everything else. You did good, Bob." Mr. Incredible smiled and leaned back in his seat. Dash, Riku realized, seemed to have an excessive amount of energy and was enthusiastically re-describing their battle.
"That was the best vacation ever!" He cried out before collapsing back into his seat. "I love our family." Riku chuckled softly and stared out of the window as the limo slowly began to slow. Mrs. Incredible motioned for her husband to listen in on the phone with her. They were silent for a few moments as the limo pulled up in front of their home, a quaint looking, one story building with tasteful masonry adorning the exterior.
"Here we are," Rick said. He extended a hand towards Riku. "Pleasure to meet you, my boy." Riku took his hand and shook it briefly.
"The pleasure's all mine," he said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Incredible share a worried glance over something they had heard on one of the voicemail messagaes.
"Replacement?" Mrs. Incredible said fearfully. "I didn't call a replacement." She and her husband burst from the car and sprinted towards the door to their home. Violet and Dash shared a confused glance before taking off after them. The hairs on the back of Riku's neck stood up.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," he muttered as he bolted from the limo after the family. He caught up to them as they burst through the door, barely having time to spot Syndrome, standing in the Incredible family's living room, holding the sleeping form of Mr. and Mrs. Incredible's infant son, Jack-Jack, in one hand before the villain spun around and trapped all five of them with a beam of zero-point energy. Syndrome grinned evilly at them.
"Shh. The baby is sleeping," Syndrome whispered before laughing. "You took away my future. I'm simply returning the favor. Oh, don't worry, I'll be a good mentor. Supportive, encouraging. Everything you weren't." He glared up at Mr. Incredible as he spoke. And in time, who knows, he might make a good sidekick." With a nasty grin decorating his face, Syndrome flicked his wrist and sent the five of them crashing through a nearby bookcase. He raised his fist and blasted a hole through the roof, waking the sleeping child in his arms by accident.
"He's getting away, Bob!" Mrs. Incredible cried as she scrambled to her feet. "We have to do something! We have to do something now!" Syndrome's rocket boots roared to life and Syndrome took off into the sky. Directly above the house, a jet that was shaped like a manta ray hovered, waiting for Syndrome's return. In the villain's arms, Jack-Jack began to cry loudly. His wailing turned into a growl as his entire body turned into a bright yellow flame.
Syndrome let out a cry of shock and almost dropped the child. The flames vanished as Jack-Jack's body turned to steel. The sudden increase in weight caused Syndrome to plummet several feet, his rockets barely able to compensate the additional weight. Down below, the five heroes ran out of the house and stared up at the fleeing figure of Syndrome desperately.
"Something's happening," Mrs. Incredible said in a panic. She turned to her husband. "What's happening?" Mr. Incredible shook his head, unable to tear his eyes off of his infant son. Jack-Jack's whole body shook as it became bright red. The tiny spike of hair he had became a horn as his hands grew claws. The imp-like Jack-Jack began pounding its fists against Syndrome and wrapped his arms tightly around the villain's neck.
"We have to stop him!" Mrs. Incredible cried. "Throw something!"
"I can't!" Mr. Incredible retorted. "I might hit Jack-Jack!" Jack-Jack was climbing all over Syndrome, punching every inch of him he could reach and ripping out his flame like wig.
"Throw me," Mrs. Incredible said softly as the idea occurred to her. Jack-Jack climbed down Syndrome's leg and ripped one of his rocket boots off. Syndrome spun out of control and slammed into the underside of one of the jet's wings, causing him to drop Jack-Jack, who fell, crying back towards the ground.
"Bob, throw me!" Mrs. Incredible shouted. Mr. Incredible grabbed her by the waist and threw her into the air like he would a javelin. Mrs. Incredible sailed through the air and grabbed hold of her falling son, who immediately stopped crying in the safety of his mother's arms. Mrs. Incredible stretched her body, changing its shape so she quickly became a human parachute.
"This isn't the end of it!" Syndrome shouted down to the family as he managed to land himself in an open doorway on the side of the jet. He grinned like a deranged madman. "I will get your son, eventually! I'll get your son!" He laughed like lunatic for a brief moment before he saw something flying right at him. Mr. Incredible had thrown Riku, the Way to Dawn glinting in the light from the setting sun. "Oh no."
"No you won't!" Riku shouted as he sliced the front of the jet off with one fluid motion. "It's over!" The resulting explosion knocked Syndrome off of his feet and onto the top of the jet's remaining wing, feet from the engine. Syndrome's cape snagged on one of the rotating blades. He struggled desperately for a few moments before he was dragged, feet first into the engine, causing the rest of the jet to explode violently. Riku plummeted back to earth, creating a barrier of light to land softly on, only to bounce off and land on his face. He cracked his knuckles as he stood up and gave Mr. Incredible a high five as Mrs. Incredible and Jack-Jack landed next to them.
A split-second later, fire and debris rained down on top of them in a secondary explosion that completely leveled the Incredible family's home. They were spared from certain doom by a dome of bright purple energy created by Violet.
"That's my girl," Mrs. Incredible said proudly.
"Does this mean we have to move again?" Dash said. The others all chuckled for a few moments, all grateful to be alive. The smoke cleared, revealing the rubble that used to be their home. In the middle of a street, a small boy on his tricycle watched the family and Riku with open-mouthed amazement.
"Oh man. That was totally wicked!" He shouted. The six of them all glanced at the kid with bemused smirks.
"Well, that's it for me, I guess," Riku said. "Time for me to hit the road."
"You're leaving?" Dash asked, sounding slightly disappointed. Riku chuckled.
"Yup," he said, glancing out at the setting sun. "I've got places to go. You know? But I'll be back, don't worry." He gave the speedster a thumbs up and received one in return. Mrs. Incredible gave him a hug.
"Thanks for your help, Riku," she said. Riku hugged her back briefly.
"It was my pleasure," he said. "How often do you get to fight alongside superheroes?" Mr. Incredible held out his hand and Riku took it, wincing slightly at the Supers' grip.
"Take care of yourself, kid," he said. "Thanks for helping us stop Syndrome." Riku smiled up at him.
"No problem," he said as he turned away from them. "See you guys around!" The Incredible family all waved him goodbye and immediately fell into a group hug, thankful to have each other. Riku smirked and pressed the button on the Gummi ship remote in his pocket. As the light surrounded him, Riku spotted a Keyhole in the middle of the street. In the instant before the light surrounded him, Riku quickly summoned his Keyblade and sealed the Keyhole, remembering what Sora had told him about how sealing a Keyhole prevented it from being lost to the Darkness. And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
LD
Twilight Town
Olette suppressed a bored yawn and straightened her silver dress. Sometimes, she hated when her parents got invited to these major social events. Especially when they dragged her along with them, just like tonight. Some great archeological find was on display at the Twilight Town Natural History and Science Museum. Her parents had been close friends with the Museum curator for many years so she invited them and Olette to attend a formal gala to celebrate the find. The worst part of it all was there was no one around her age she could talk to. Everyone around her was at least ten years older than her if not more.
She took a sip of the sparkling cider from her glass and made her way lazily through the numerous glass displays hosting pots and tools and several ancient swords that miraculously seemed to have retained their beauty after being buried for thousands of years. After several minutes of wandering, she found herself drawn to the one artifact that had captured nearly everyone's attention, a jet-black orb the size of her head, covered with some form of ancient writing that seemed to glow, even in the bright lights. She found herself captivated by the writing. What could possibly make the letters glow on their own?
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice said from just over her shoulder. Olette gave a start and spun around. A man in his early twenties was standing just behind her. His long bronze hair was tied behind his head and the base of his skull and his silver eyes seemed to be filled with awed wonder as he stared at the artifact. Olette's eyes were drawn to the multiple x-shaped scars on the man's face. She couldn't help but wonder what could have caused them. The man's silver eyes locked onto her emerald ones. Olette felt her face grow slightly warm from embarrassment. She nodded in agreement and turned her back on the man, looking back down at the orb.
"Yeah, it is," she said. "What do you suppose these markings mean?" The man stepped around her and leaned in close to the display to get a better look. He spent several minutes muttering under his breath as he examined the writing. Out of nowhere, a grin broke across his face.
"You old geezer, you actually got all thirteen of us," he took a step back from the display. "Now I can finally have my revenge. Thanks old man."
"You can read this?" Olette asked the silver-eyed man, who nodded in response.
"You got it," he said. "I'm probably one of the few people who can. This writing hasn't been seen in almost a five thousand years."
"What language is it?" Olette asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. The man shook his head.
"It's not a language, well, technically it isn't. It's a code," he gestured at the orb. "You can't speak it, only read and write it. It's 'Chaser Dialect'."
"'Chaser Dialect'?" Olette's brow furrowed in confusion. "What's a Chaser?"
"A person that possesses the ability to make a very powerful weapon," the man answered. "How am I going to get this out of here without anyone noticing?" Olette did a double take.
"You're going to steal it?" She whispered in shock.
"Of course," the man answered with a grin. "This is the map I've been looking for. It's going to help me get some answers." Olette's confusion level was steadily rising.
"Answers about what?" She asked. "And it's a map? Seriously?" The man opened his mouth to answer but was cut off as a woman nearby let out a shriek of terror. Dozens of Neoshadows were rising from the ground while countless Soldiers burst through the Museum's front doors.
"Heartless," Olette said in breathless whisper. She remembered seeing the inky black denizens of Darkness back when Sora, Donald and Goofy had last been here. A shiver ran up her spine. The man standing next to her grinned.
"That'll work," he said as the crowd of party-goers began to break into panic. His elbow slammed into the glass display case protecting the orb, shattering it.
LD
Onboard the Dawn's First Light
Riku let out a sigh as he climbed the stairs leading to the bridge onboard the Dawn's First Light. Now that the adrenaline from the almost non-stop action from the past couple of days was rapidly fading, his muscles were beginning to scream at him. He couldn't wait to take a nice, hot shower and crawl into bed. A faint orange glow filled the bridge as the holographic avatar of Dawn carefully examined a large projection of a star chart. Dawn glanced behind her as Riku entered.
"You look like you've had fun," she commented as Riku practically dropped himself into the pilot's chair. Riku grunted in response as he set himself to powering on the systems Dawn had shut off in his absence. Riku glanced down at himself as the engines roared to life. He was still dressed like a superhero. A flash of light illuminated him for a brief instant as his outfit changed back into his usual attire. He peeled the black mask off of his face and placed it on top of the center console.
"Did you bring me a present?" Dawn asked with a tiny bit of sarcasm. Riku chuckled.
"I can tell you a story, does that count?" He asked. Dawn rolled her eyes.
"I can also tell you a story," she said, gesturing with one hand at the star chart surrounding her. "Only my story is all about the observations I've made over the past few days about the worlds." Riku yawned widely.
"Tell you what, I'm going to go shower and sleep now and we can swap stories in the morning," Riku suggested. Dawn shrugged.
"Fine by me, I'm busy recording the movement of the worlds at the moment anyways and that's taking up more of my processing power than I had anticipated," she said. Riku noticed that her body was covered with innumerable rows of zeros and ones moving at a high speed as she worked. "And did I mention we have a guest?"
"A what?" Riku asked as he spun his seat around to stare at Dawn. Instead, he found himself face to face with a woman dressed in a pink skirt and suit jacket combination. Her long blonde hair fell neatly behind her shoulders and her short bangs parted down the center, placing emphasis on the tattoo of the numeral I framed by a pair of lightning bolts in the center of her forehead. Her lavender colored eyes were fixated on Riku's aquamarine ones. In her left hand, she carried a golden sword by its scabbard. The woman bowed to Riku.
"Greetings, Master Riku," she said in a professional tone. "My name is Sephiria Arks. I am Number I of the Chronos Numbers. We need your help."
LD
Well, that's it for this week.
As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. Your opinions do matter, people! I'd especially love to hear everyone's theories on Keila and her meddling.
Until next time!
Aspicio, diluculo Infinitas Noctis.
-Shadow Horizons
P.S. I know there's more than thirteen of you out there reading this. So please go vote in the pole on mt profile page. It's very important and will only be open for another week or so.