Chapter 5

Las Vegas, Nevada

Maverick set down by the service entrance, of the Bellagio. The black nanosuit actually fit, quite well. He had red boots, with matching gauntlets, the palms of which, had been cut out, for his circular hand nodes. His blonde hair was tucked up into the jet-black helmet, that matched the style of Megaman's and Protoman's, only with short, red fins, curving over the top. His chest and stomach armor was, surprisingly, light, and tinted a bright red, as well.

Placing his hands on the steel door, it melted into molten liquid, as he stepped through. The nodes sparked, as all of the machinery shut down. The central sector of the building went black, as he took the stairs leading to the kitchen. Approaching the door, he could hear the clanks of security droids, patrolling the Ballroom. He counted ten of them, from listening to their patterns, he grinned, anticipating his first fight in over a decade.

Pushing the doors open, he ran in, as the droids fired on him. He spun, grabbing one's arm, ripping off, while grabbing it's head, twisting it free. He threw the skull at another droid, knocking it's gun upward, and bashed it's head in with the severed arm. Rolling to the floor, he snatched the legs out from under a set of foes, putting a palm to each one's face, melting them.

He jumped to his feet, running at another machine, rolling over it's back, breaking it in half, while electrocuting the face of the sixth droid, beside him. Two charged him, from each side. Sidestepping, he grabbed one, smashing it's head into the wall, while planting a roundhouse kick under the other's chin, beheading it.

The last two opened fire on him, as he put up his hands, pulling the bolts into his nodes. Walking up, he gripped each by the neck. He turned, tossing them into the air, putting up his palms he released their bolts back upon them. He slowly turned, exiting the room.

Crossing the lobby, gargoyle droids dropped from the ceiling, and began flocking around him. Maverick grabbed the foot of one of the machines, bashing it to the floor. He dodged and kicked at the monsters, as they swooped down, clawing at him. Jumping, he caught one by the wings, flinging it into a group, gathered to the right. His nodes sparked again, as the gargoyles plummeted to the marble, smoking.

It felt good to know that he hadn't lost his edge. If he knew Airman, the hotel rooms would be filled with humans, that he would suffocate, by removing the air supply. He was deranged, to say the least. And being that he didn't need to get his hands dirty, doing this task, he would most likely be basking in the night sky, on the rooftop.

Pulsing his nodes, the power came back on, he calmly took the elevator to the top floor. Alarms began to howl, as he smirked. The doors opened to a hail of fusion bolts. Extending his hands, he absorbed them with the left node, and sprayed them back from the right. The security droids exploded, peppering the walls with scorch marks, and metal shrapnel. He walked toward the remaining foe, as it backed away. Under-hooking both arms, he snapped them at the elbows, and flipped the droid to it's back, rolling on top of it. He proceeded to bash the skull of the machine, until it was flat.

Entering the stairwell to the roof, he stopped, and listened carefully. Airman was barking orders to his personal security, to stack up, on the door. Maverick chuckled to himself, ascending the steps. Opening the door, his eyes flashed a red color, and the armored goons turned their attention to their commanding officer.

Airman stood, baffled. He hadn't changed at all, Maverick was thinking. He wore the same black nanosuit, with dark blue boots, gauntlets, and front armor. In the center of his chest, he had a large, circular, exhaust vent. While his helmet outlined his face, his brown hair spiked out of the top.

"What the hell is this?!" He exclaimed.

"Temporary Targeting Reallocation." Maverick said, "Got it from my maker."

Airman flung both arms, in a swiping motion, sending the machines airborne, over the edge of the roof. He tilted his head, staring skeptically. "That can't be." He said, in disbelief, "King Wily killed you."

"He didn't." The android replied. "Yet here I stand. And you know why I'm here."

Airman panicked, "We didn't have any choice! You were going to ruin everything we were working for!"

"I was trying to better us!" Maverick yelled, "And you betrayed me, personally and objectively!" He calmed himself, "I am going to kill you. You understand this, right?"

Airman nodded, slowly. "I do. But I won't go easy, I hope you understand that."

Maverick smiled, "I was hoping that would be the case."

Airman put out his hands, and activated his chest port, pulling his foe across the roof. Maverick crouched as he slid toward him, with his feet flat. When the officer threw a hard, right hook, the android ducked it, springing into a forward flip. The bottom of the red boot smashed into Airman's face, knocking him to his back. Looking up, his rival had landed on his feet, and spun, snatching him up by his hair. After two straight punches, to the face, Maverick hooked his right arm and drove a knee into his sternum, doubling him over. He draped a leg over the back of Airman's neck, flipping himself with the other.

The two flipped to the ground, as the officer's arm snapped free, in three places. The android screamed wildly, as Maverick stood. He circled the downed machine, "Get up, Major!" He shouted. After a moment, he pulled him to his feet, "We aren't finished yet!" Grabbing Airman's leg, he pulled it up, planting a palm on his chest. He lifted the android into the air, then crashed him down, cracking the rooftop. Maverick stepped over the leg and twisted around, breaking it, at the knee. The officer screamed harder, now.

Out of desperation, the android blasted his assailant with a hard wind gust, sending him into the air. But his foe sparked his hand node, shorting out his equipment. Maverick turned his body, flipping backward, and landing down to one knee. He slowly raised his head to Airman, looking him in the eyes. He walked over, shoving a hand into the exhaust port, ripping out bloody metal. The Major let out an electronic wail of agony.

Picking him up, Maverick straight-kicked him, through the access door, sending him tumbling down the stairwell. Airman crawled, bleeding, across the scrap covered floor, as his attacker approached. Grabbing him by the hair, he pulled the android to his knees. Airman tried to throw a punch back at Maverick, but the arm was caught, and snatched downward, dislocating it. More cries of pain rang out, as Maverick dragged his foe to the elevator doors, opening them.

Picking Airman up, he shoved him into the lift, stomping his ribs, as he climbed through the hatch. On top of the elevator, he grabbed the cable. He crouched down, looking into the opening. "It didn't have to be this way." Maverick said, "You chose a madman over me! I was trying to help us!" He yelled.

Airman smiled, weakly, "You're all madmen. We're all doomed in some way or another. Even you." He spit out a mass of red fluid, "Now, get this over with, so I don't have to deal with this shit anymore."

Maverick clenched his jaw, angrily, as he stood up. He pulled a combat knife from his boot and sliced the cable. The box pulled away from his feet, he dangled looking down, as the elevator disappeared into the dark shaft. Airman's broken body pushed to the ceiling, while the metal screaming grew louder, on the outside walls. He closed his eyes, the impact crushed him, instantly.

While waiting for The Phantom, the crowd of people stood in the lobby, as Maverick dug through the crushed mess, digging out the core chip. Why the hell did I decide to terminate him, in this manner? He thought. The loud eruption of joyous cheers, must have meant that his ride was here.

Scott stood at the top of the loading ramp, wearing grey cargo pants and a black "Ghostbusters" t-shirt. He had his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, "So, how'd that go?" He asked, grinning.

Maverick tossed him the chip, as he removed his helmet, "I dropped him down an elevator shaft." He responded.

Scott chuckled, "I tossed Woodman out of a thirty-story window." He scratched his chin, "Seemed like a good idea, at the time."

Maverick nodded, "Yeah, in retrospect, I should've just broken his neck. Made it easier on me."

"Hey, it could be worse. You could have come back looking like Jack the Ripper." He replied shrugging. "C'mon, me and the Vampire Overlord, himself, wanted to speak with you, about a few things."

Maverick walked forward, "Wait. You aren't going to punch me, are you?" He asked, jokingly.

"Probably, at some point." Scott replied, "But that's not what this is about."

In the lounge, the two met with Alex, who was watching cartoons on the holovision. He stood up, "Darren, how'd it go?" He asked.

"Piece of cake." He replied.

"So Alex and I wanted to run an idea by you." Scott said, "We're thinking about going after Gutsman, immediately. Now I'm all for a suicide mission, but if you don't want to..."

"Sounds great." Darren interrupted.

"Just like that?" Alex asked.

"Sure." He responded. "I know Guts seems unstoppable. He was made to seem unstoppable. But I programmed his armor, and it's abilities. With the three of us, and knowing how to get past his defenses, we could take him out of play, pretty easily, actually."

Dr. Light came in, it still caught him off guard, seeing his former best friend, standing in his presence. "Um, Darren, would you mind if we looked over your files? It won't take long." He asked.

"No problem. I'll get changed and meet you guys in the Command Center." Darren responded.

As he hooked on the headgear, Darren explained his plan. "So, the General's armor is comprised of a state-changing steel, that responds to his neural inhibitor. What makes it indestructable is a substance called 'graphene'. It is interlaced into the metal."

"So how do we get past graphene?" Alex asked.

"The only thing that could crack something coated with graphene, is diamond, real diamond." Darren answered.

"Diamond has been exhausted for decades, though." Scott said, "We won't find any, let alone, enough to coat a weapon."

"There is one way." He replied, "There is an officer named Jewelman. He can transmute any type of rock elements. Since you guys can inherit an androids abilities, with it's chip, kill Jewelman, make diamond at will." He removed the headgear, when Tracy tapped his shoulder.

"Tracy," Alex said, "can you find the last known location of this Jewelman officer?"

"I can find anything." She replied. And after a few clicks, she did. "Washington, D.C., The Smithsonian. He transmitted a signal from there several times."

The three looked to each other, and Scott broke the silence, "Well, let's go gear up, I'll grab my camera."