(A/N: sorry for being late, i fell asleep while typing chap 8 last night. But next chapter we have an action packed fight scene, which I am not very good at writing. Hopefully it will be as good as i think this chapter came out! And also thanks to The Hightech Redneck for giving first review! I really appreciate it! Enjoy the chappie!)

Chapter 8: unexpected visitors

"Hello twins, are you guys okay?" Ichiro asked as he waved his hand in front of their faces.

"Y...yeah, we're fine." Gina shook off the trance like state she was in. Gerry seem to wake up as well, beginning to stare at his laptop intently.

"how do you guys feel?" he wondered looking them over with a concerned face.

"Great." Rio smiled.

"I should think so, your readings are off the charts!" Gina inform them, ecstatic.

"She's right, everything from physical strength to reaction time has doubled, even tripled, from normal standards." The boy agreed, furiously typing on his laptop.

"Well...now that we have this power, what are we going to do with it?" The blue-armored teen wondered aloud. The group looked at each other a bit awkwardly. No one had really ever thought this far, what were they going to do with it.

"I was thinking space travel, confirming the existence of life on other pieces of earth, like my father has been suspecting." Ichiro offered. "With some modifications these suits would be perfect for it." This made Rio's mind wander back to the two people in the abandoned facility, were they after the same thing? But if so, why were they so hostile?

"I say we should lay low. Those people from the abandoned lab might still be looking for us. We don't want any unwanted attention." Rio reminded the group.

"Yeah they might still be looking for you guys and-!" Gina was cut off in mid-sentence by a large explosion coming from behind them, sounding alarmingly close to their hometown nearby.

"What the heck was that!?" Gerry exclaimed, shocked from the loud noise.

"It couldn't have been the Research Center, they're not conducting any explosive test." the blonde ruled that out.

"Then what if..." Rio's stomach churned. What if it was that couple? Had they already found them? Did they already know who they were where they lived? Another explosion shook the air and the ground underneath their feet. Gina winced at the sound.

"Whatever it is we should go check it out. It might be connected to the suits, and if it is as powerful as it sounds you two are the town's only hope." Gerry pointed out.

"Just because we have these suits you think were equipped to deal with a crisis?" Ichiro raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh come on, what happened to that Hunter confidence you just had two minutes ago? Technically you guys are seasoned pros. This should be a piece of cake."

"They're right, we are the only hope the town has and it's our responsibility to make sure everything is alright. Let's at least take a peek okay?" Rio pleaded a little, trying to be reasonable. It was understandable Ichiro was nervous about getting involved, seeing as in reality they were inexperienced, but in his eyes this was Rio's first real chance to do some good, however big or small the task.

"Okay, but it's evacuate everyone first no questions later got it? No reason to get cocky just because we think we are Maverick Hunters." the boy in red armor warned his friend.

"Have it your way." Rio smirked.

...

"Can you guys hear me? Give me a signal." Gerry's voice came through the duo's headsets.

"Loud and clear." Ichiro grunted as his booted feet pushed off the ground with tremendous power, launching him into the air.

"Do you guys have a visual on the bogey?"

"Nope, just a bunch of dust." Rio informed. It was true, the whole town was covered in a thick, undulating cloud of the stuff.

"Don't these helmets have some sort of infared ability?" The blonde wondered as the two landed in front of the dust cloud.

"They do, but I don't have enough time to unlock it, the encryption is to complicated. You'll have to go in blind."

"Well try anyway! It's way too dangerous to go in there without-!" Ichiro's rant was cut short by a powerful wave of air that whipped down the main street, clearing the town of the dust cloud.

"Well that's not good." Rio observed. At the other side of the street, two figures stood. One, decidedly female to Rio, looked like a mixture betwwen a human and a snake. A cobra like hood extended from her head, her body covered with scale shaped armor that had an emerald sheen. If she had legs, you couldn't tell, because the armor from her torso down was shaped like a snakes tail. The second looked male, and stood about a head taller than the woman. His armor looked more streamlined, which made sense once they notices the sharp segmented wings on his back. His boots and gloves looked like deadly claws, and his helmet had a visor that was shaped like a hooked beak. Rio and Ichiro automatically scowled, these must be the jerks that attacked their home. Fueled by rage, Rio was about to shout a taunt at the two enemies, but the man moved faster than he could blink his eye. In that one instant he was in Rio's face, a sinister grin etched across his own.

"Welcome to the neighborhood." He whispered, kneeing the red head in the gut at the same time. Rio was launched back at rocket speed, slamming into the house behond him, twenty yards away from where he was originally standing. Ichiro just stood there, completely stunned to silence.

"Guys!?" Gerry yelled through the headset, obviously having heard the commotion, "What's going on, is everything ok!? GUYS!?"