Chapter 9

Willis Tower- Chicago, IL

Quickman was never known for his patience. Things had gone dark in New York, when the Bonnes attacked, and he wasn't sure what the outcome even was. Guts was AWOL but he doubted the General had been defeated, that was laughable. He didn't like not being in the know, he continued to reach out to both Gutsman and Crashman, to no avail. "Goddammit!" He shouted, dashing over to his drone interface console. The flying sentries in New York weren't picking up much, the entire area around Electronics Park was radiating with an electromagnetic field. His anger was unspeakable.

Aboard The Phantom

"I'm just saying," Scott was protesting from behind Tracy, "I'm not comfortable with Robbie flying The Phantom, when my life will be on the line."

Tron was settling into the weapons console, "Look, he's linked into the system and knows how to operate the controls, calm down." She put on her headset and noded gloves, "Besides, don't you want me down here to save your ass when things get hairy?" She asked sarcastically.

He shook his head, "I hope you're right." He replied.

Tron changed the subject, switching her display to electronic view. "Okay, we got here just in time. Alex just touched down on the roof." She clicked at the air, enhancing the view. "Robbie, approach the east side of the tower." She said, over comms. "Alright Scott, go open the exit port and wait for my signal." She sat patiently, waiting for Megaman to get exactly where she predicted he would go, directly to the maintenance shaft. "Ready Proto?" She asked.

"Looking at the wall now." He responded. He thought of the odds of pulling this off without a hitch. Shaking his head he knew it was a long shot, but hey, why not.

"He's on the ladder, go!" Tron shouted.

Raising his arm, Protoman fired twelve crash bombs, outlining Quickman's room. The force of the explosion was enough to rock the building like a massive sledgehammer. "Alex is down, move now!" Tracy yelled over comms, as Proto leaped from the ship, into a rolling landing inside the compound. "You've got about ten minutes, Scott. Get this done." He heard as he spotted his prey. Scott opened fire, as Quickman hastily disappeared from view.

Minute One

The bladed boomerang came from his left, too fast to completely avoid. Scott dropped to his right, only taking a deep gash across his shoulder. He deployed his shield, hurling it toward his foe, who dashed away. The shield bounced off the walls and equipment, only vandalizing the room a bit. He unloaded fully automatic fusion fire, trying to lead the android and catch him mid-run. Scorching the walls, he heard the swoosh of the boomerang returning, from behind. He rolled forward, being slashed up the back. Catching his shield on the rebound, he decided to hold onto it from now on, as he reached out grabbing the boomerang magnetically and throwing it out of the building.

Minute Two

Tracy aimed the underbelly gattling and opened up across the room. The fusion rounds peppered the room as Scott covered up behind his shield. Quick darted all over, avoiding tens of thousands of bolts.

Quick ran along the room, the fusion seeming to be in slow motion, he ducked and hopped through the rounds like a game. Planting a foot on the wall, he pushed himself off, leaping a small desk. When he turned his head to check his footing, his foe came up, red shield in hand, and planted him with it. The sudden reverse of momentum sent his sensors into a frenzy, as Scott Bonne stood over his grounded body, preparing to unload on him. Planting his palms, he propelled his body upward, slamming against the android and sending them both airborne.

Minute Three

Proto was taken by surprise, being knocked off his feet. Quickman had struck him with a number of lightning-fast punches before the two of them had even hit the ground. When they finally did land, the officer was gone in a blink. Scott rolled to his feet, firing at the blur. Nothing even came close. He heard the familiar swoosh of the second boomerang, as he quickly deflected it magnetically, deep into the south wall.

Quickman was suddenly in front of him, striking away at his head and chest. He retracted the shield while blocking the blows and deployed his baton. Proto sparked his EMP, which barely had an effect on the android, but gave him the millisecond he needed to retaliate. The baton struck hard, meeting with Quick's jaw and spinning him on his feet. Before a follow-up hit could connect, the android was gone again. Scott looked around, not seeing him.

Minute Four

"You said you wanted us alive!" Protoman shouted, putting his hands out, "Here we are!"

"You think I'm afraid of you?!" Quickman responded. "I'm just enjoying our little game, Scott!"

Tracy used sonar to track the voice, finding him in a small dark corner behind Scott. She lobbed three fusion grenades from the pipe launchers. The small explosions were close but only made Quick skitter away.

"It's gonna take a lot more than the two of you and your pathetic toys to put me down, Bonnes!" Quick laughed.

Minute Five

"Scott," Tracy said, "Alex is stirring, we don't have long."

"I'm working on it, Tracy." He responded, deploying his staff.

Quickman came from behind, knocking his legs out from under him and kicking his abdomen as he fell. Soaring through the room, he turned his staff horizontally, catching on two computer servers on either side of him. Scott held the staff and brought both his feet up, catching Quickman in the chest as he pursued him. The kick sent Quick flying against the opposite wall, where Proto threw his weapon like a javelin, narrowly missing the android's head as he ducked.

Minute Six

Proto was fast enough to follow up the throw with a volley of fusion bolts, making numerous contacts with his foe, as he ducked the staff. Quickman let out a series of yelps as he darted away, like a wounded animal.

"Where ya off to, Quick?!" Scott shouted as he scanned the room. He heard a faint chuckling from the corner. He turned to unload, only to be met with several smaller boomerangs raining in on him. They sliced away at his nanosuit as he let out a frustrating grunt and made a break toward their origin.

Quickman lowered his arm and decided to meet him head-on, deflecting his attacks and throwing fast punches of his own. The two circled in a frantic boxing match before a flash sparked, jolting his display slightly.

Minute Seven

The EMP shot was a dirty move, made especially infuriating considering how Scott Bonne had acquired it. Before Quick could gather himself and lash out, Protoman had wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted him. The impact of being slammed down on a steel table was new to him, it threw him off his defenses, letting his nemesis drive an elbow down on his jaw.

Scott held the android in place for a moment, trying to beat him unconscious so he could end the frenzy before his "old pal" arrived. In the middle of his assault, Quick brought his knees around, catching him in the ribs. He was slightly staggered but his foe made it to his feet turning to escape.

Minute Eight

Quickman's feet met the floor and he immediately pushed for retreat. But the yellow scarf was fast to slip over his head, and around his neck. Protoman yanked back as Quick tried to accelerate, bringing him directly to his back.

"I've had enough of that shit!" Scott said through gritted teeth, as he called his hilt to his hand. Deploying his shield, as he done many times before, he drove it down to behead the officer. The concrete cracked, but Quickman was gone, along with Protoman's patience.

"Megaman's on the move!" Tron shouted over comms, as Proto sprayed the room with fusion, frustratedly. He scanned again for his prey, seeing nothing.

Minute Nine

The small boomerangs descended on Scott from all sides, as he struggled to shield himself. He turned, receiving a lightning-fast boot to his chest. The blow sent him out the wall, sailing into the night. The weightless feeling was short-lived, as Rush was quickly under foot, stopping his fall. Pushing off the dog's back, he sprung back into the room, landing a fierce right cross on the android, who had come to watch him plummet. The two rolled on the floor, but Quickman had already made it to his feet, kicking Proto in the gut, and fleeing the scene.

Minute Ten

Scott struggled to his feet, "Enough of this cat and mouse shit." He muttered over comms. "Where is he?" He asked.

Tron scanned the room with electronic sensory. "South wall, right corner."

"Gonna see how stupid he is." He said, limping to the left corner, as he filled the room with thick, black dust.

Quickman was hurt, bleeding and all around ready to end this encounter. The dust filled the windy room making it impossible to see. Planning on sneaking up on me? He thought to himself, as he fired boomerangs in an arch through the black.

"How fast you gonna move on me now?!" Scott shouted. "When you got no guidance!"

Quickman grinned, he didn't need to see the android to kill him, following his voice worked just fine. He dashed, as fast as he could, along the south wall to meet his hated foe. Halfway there, he ceased to exist in the world.

The officer's headless body slid at Protoman's feet, as the dust was quickly sucked into the windy city. Scott limped over to Quickman's head, lying on the floor, just below the bladed boomerang that he had lodged in the wall earlier. "Seems I was right." He said over comms, before running and leaping back to The Phantom as it departed. Just in time to see Alex come rushing into the room, before they were gone amongst the clouds.

Scott looked over to his sister, who had awaited him by the loading bay, "Piece of cake." He said, tossing the androids head to her.