Chapter 5 - Shock and Awe

The police officers on perimeter detail, were moving around in their places, trying to stay alert, unlike the negotiators that were talking to the criminals or the SWAT Team that was moving around the building checking for some advantage, the officers manning the perimeter were just waiting for orders to do something. Yes they were preventing people from crowding the scene and were there to make sure no one escaped from the scene, but that really didn't required much in the way of effort, so they just talked and moved around to keep busy. Some of them were drinking coffee, or eating, others were talking to each other and a few where just leaning on barricades or squad cars either looking a the Cheesecake Factory or at the crowd. Everything was just stagnant at that moment and so where they, stagnant and actually bored.

The lull that had fallen on the scene actually worked to Leonard's benefit as he approached out of the dark to the police line. One or two officers saw him come out of the shadows, their minds refusing to admit what they were seeing, it was just too incredible. Their jaws dropped, their eyes bulged, they dropped their coffee, but the main thing was they didn't move or make a sound, the shock to their minds so great. The police officers who weren't looking in that direction, never really heard it before they saw it move past their lines, a quarter ton of man and machine moving purposely past them, towards the Cheesecake Factory. The thump of each step, the whirl of servos, and mechanical noise of the metal exoskeleton, finally reaching their ears as it passed their line. It appearing out of no where was such a surprise, their senses were overwhelmed, some of them stayed rooted in place, others moving to put objects between them and it, but none of them doing anything aggressive to it when crossed their line. They would all remain in that trance, until the shattering noise brought them back, the doors being destroyed and the man-machine moving through the opening it created.

Leonard had walked past the police and was surprised that he was not shot at, really happy actually, however as he approached the Cheesecake Factory door, he realized he had another problem. The size of the doors, while plenty big for, what Sheldon would say, a homunculus like him, were too small for the suit he was in, he didn't even think he could squeeze through them. He hesitated for only a fraction of a second, Penny coming quickly to mind, so he lifted his arms straight up, like battering ram, and charged the Cheesecake Factory doors.

JT was had just left his watch at the door, Pony was getting up to take his place, when JT decided the blonde's time had come. As he walked past her he grabbed her ponytail and yanked her up, getting a yelp from her and a scream from the little brunette, he had fun with earlier. JT got a little smile on his face, he was going to have a special time with this little blonde bitch, a real special time, his conceit made it even more surprising when the blonde tried to punch him in the groin, but missed and hit his inner thigh, it actually hurt. "Bitch!" JT came down on the side of Penny's head with the side of his pistol, while letting go of her hair, she fell immediately back to the floor, temporarily dazed.

Penny had watched him approach, but did not expect the pain when he grabbed her hair and pulled her up, it terrified her. She was scared already, so him dragging her away, made her loose all reason, she lashed out and tried to hit him where it would do the most good, her shocked and screaming mind operating on pure instinct. She never expected the steel that hit the side of her head, suddenly she was senseless, had no control of herself, she felt pain and she knew she was falling but there was nothing she could do, she was helpless.

JT was pissed he almost shot Penny right then, but then quickly thought 'the bitch is going to pay', which made him smile, he would really make her regret what she just did, regret it up to the point he killed her. He smiled, after he was done with her, she would wish she was dead and she soon would be, because she would be the first hostage killed, JT would see to that. JT even chuckled as he reached down to drag her up again, but he didn't make it, his ears were assaulted with a noise that sounded like a bomb going off.

The noise of the shattering doors drew all their attention, but the sight of the man-machine coming up behind all the glass and metal, made them gasp, all of them, criminals and hostages alike. Everyone just stared, just like the police, no one moved, it was a sight no one had expected and their brains were having a hard time processing what was happening, it was like a scene out of a movie. The criminals were just standing there, however the problem was, so was Leonard, he hadn't really thought any of this through, what was he suppose to do now. He came there to rescue Penny, not take on men with guns, without any kind of plan, so he just stood there too, looking at the three men with guns, his helmet rotating back and forth the only movement.

Pony had just started to walk towards the door so he was closest to Leonard when he came in, therefore the most surprised. However, after a few seconds of shock Pony reacted, he was the quickest, and he backed up to his barricade grabbing a waitress off the floor and putting her in front of him as a shield. JT saw Pony move, it broke the shock he was in and he cursed himself for being so slow, and now thought he better do something himself. JT went to his first response, when there was a difficult situation and he was afraid, he brought up his automatic rifle to point it at the thing, then mashed down the trigger. The 30 round magazine emptied in a couple seconds and JT stared at the thing, after his gun was empty, he hoped it was dead, but it was still standing looking at him. JT felt a chill run up his spine, it didn't even look like it felt the bullets.

Leonard felt the bullets hit the suit but they didn't penetrate and they didn't even hurt, they felt more like gentle nudges against the coveralls he was wearing inside it. He turned to see the shooter as he emptied his gun at Leonard, then throw it away, grabbing a handgun from his belt. Leonard took a couple of steps forward, the tables and junk put there to block a person, pushed away by the suit like they were nothing. Leonard was in the middle of it, but he still didn't really know what to do, he hadn't thought that part out, instead he started to look for Penny..

The gun did nothing, JT was really shaken, the man-machine moved closer and seemed unfazed by being shot, they could not hurt it and JT was getting more scared, he was loosing control. He tried to think, this thing had to be something the police sent in, so it was like a cop, it should act like a cop. Suddenly Pony's idea seemed really good to JT and he turned and grabbed up the girl close behind him, the blonde, putting his pistol to her head, then looked to verify, Breaker had seen him and done the same. He was now feeling the fear subside, he was in charge again, he knew the police and their man-machine would not risk these girls and if they needed some education, he would kill this one and take another to shield him. "Stop asshole, or I'll kill her." he yelled almost laughing.

JT didn't know but he had just done the most stupid thing of his life, because now Leonard's attention was locked on him and the gun he had to Penny's head. Leonard lost all reason, the girl he loved, more than life itself, had a gun pointed at her head and he was being told she was to die. Primal rage welled up in Leonard, his mind now occupied with only hate in it for the man in front of him and it was increasing with each second. JT stopped being a human being to Leonard, he was a treat, a threat to Penny's life, he had to be eliminated, fast. No one was hurting Penny, not while he was alive, and he now became one with the machine he was in. He even didn't think about it, the word spilling automatically from his mouth, "Targeting" And the eyepiece crosshairs came alive.

JT thought he was winning so he pushed his gun against Penny's ear, to prove his point, the machine had stopped and it's helmet was turned towards him. "I am going to kill her and then another one, and then another one, until you leave." JT was smiling again in false confidence, he never noticed the little turret on the things shoulder, the little turret that moved in precise synchronization with the helmet.

JT was 6 foot 1 inch, so he was over six inches taller than Penny and that was all the target Leonard needed. The eyepiece cross hairs centered between the man's eyes, Leonard's mind now the computer for the laser. "Laser Quick Charge"

"Countdown"

"Three…..Abort."

Leonard's whole mind concentrated on the crosshairs.

"Two….Abort."

The targeting system laser dot appeared on the man's forehead, right between his eyes. JT felt a sudden warm sensation on his forehead and was trying to understand why. His concentration temporary lost for what was happening, 'why was his forehead warm' he thought, his pressure on the pistol trigger slacking.

"One….Abort."

Leonard's mind, was locked on like his laser.

"Ready"

"Fire" Leonard's word leaving his mouth almost before the 'Ready', his mind in its own countdown.

The chemical reaction had reached its peak and the electrical energy it created, from all the electrons stripped by the chemical reaction, was directed to the power storage circuits of the laser over the three second charge. The capacitors now full, the computer now released that stored electrical energy, with Leonard's command, to the laser for it to produce the beam of collated light, with all its energy. To everyone in the room, what happened was the laser fired, a half centimeter beam that lasted less that a half second, the beam finally being stopped by the concrete back wall of the Cheesecake factory, but that is all it took. The beam went completely through JT's head, at an downward angle, destroy his brain in that half second. JT's brain didn't even know it was dead and the automatic parts of his body functioned for a second or two without his brain after the beam ended, the muscles completing their function to make the look of surprise in JT's eyes, before his body, now absent of control, slowly fell backward away from Penny, his gun never going off. Leonard just stared, at the most horrible thing he had ever seen in his life, there was no blood, the heat sealing everything, but he had killed a man.

Penny had tried to prepare to die after the gun was put to her head, but she didn't want to die, she wanted to be home in Leonard's arms where she was safe, she so didn't want to die. She had a horrible headache and tears had been falling down her face, it would happen at any time now and she wondered how bad it would hurt, she hoped it didn't hurt. Her mind was in such terror and she thought she would collapse any second, and then she saw something suddenly, like a flash, that reminded her of one of Leonard's lasers, he once had showed her in his lab. Slowly that feeling of the metal she felt at her ear went away and the man's arm that held her fell away, she heard the thud of something falling and suddenly everything was quiet, her terrified mind asking 'was she dead?'

Pony and Breaker had seen the flash of the beam, the black spot on JT's head and the lifeless body. The machine didn't move for a few seconds, then the helmet turned to Pony and he noticed the box turret on the shoulder turn towards him, too, the thing of death. Pony didn't want to die, he didn't kill anyone, that was JT, he was now terrified, so he dropped his gun, and let go of the girl. "Please don't kill me." He stepped back away from the girls and put his hands on top of his head.

Leonard turned his head to the other man, and saw him staring at him. Breaker saw JT die and saw Pony begging for his life, it was too much for him and he wet his pants. Breaker dropped his gun and released the girl, putting his hands together on top of his head, to beg the machine to spare his life.

Leonard now didn't know what to do, again, he was reacting to this all by his gut feeling, he had never thought of anything but rescuing Penny, not what would happen if they shot at him or surrendered. He stood there, confused and shaken, looking at each man in-turn, watching them cringe as he looked at each of them, the shoulder turret following his eyes. Finally, the power system drove him to action. "System Power at 50 percent." Leonard had to do something, so he walked over and grabbed the first one by the front of his bullet proof vest and lifted him up and then picked up the second one the same way. With both men in his hands he took second and looked at Penny, he had to check that she was unhurt.

He looked directly at her for almost 10 seconds, studying the woman he loved, trying to determine if she was okay, she was looking at him with doe eyes and he saw the blood from a small cut on the side of her head. He just wanted to throw the two men currently in his hands, rush over to pick her up and take her out there, the need to protect her was so great in him. But reason finally forced its way into his mind, she was not in danger now and she needed someone to look at her head immediately, the police would do that as soon as things were safe again. Leonard had to make things safe again, so he turned his mind back to the problem in front of him.

Penny slowly realized she was alive, something had changed, the thing in front of her was moving and she watched it first pick up one of the horrible men, then another. However he didn't come after the man with her, it just looked at her, it was staring at her, she felt it was looking deep into her soul. She couldn't explain how it felt, it staring at her, but suddenly she knew she was okay, everything was going to be okay. It finally turned and walked out the door and all Penny could think of was to follow it, it had saved her, it was unbelievable. She took a step then turned back, to see the cruel murderer that held her, his eyes were dead and she didn't care, she turned back to walk towards the door her hero had just left through.

It had taken a couple seconds, but then he knew what he had to do, Leonard had walked out of the Cheesecake factory to the street outside and put both men on the ground 20 feet in front of almost 50 police officers. The next few seconds seemed to last forever, everybody just stared at each other, the police looked at the two men and then at the Leonard in the suit, the two men stared at the police and the man-machine and Leonard just stood there waiting for the police to do something. It finally ended when the hostages started to come out of the broken doorway and one of the officers yelled.

The police moved in and grabbed the men, but then some of them pointed their guns at him in the suit and Leonard realized he needed to get out of there quick. "Thruster"

"Thruster armed…..abort"

Leonard hit the fire button in his glove and tried to position himself into the jump, hoping the gyros would work and the suit jumped. Almost 50 police officers watched the machine jump over 100 yards, over their line and past their cars, then watched it jump again out of sight. It was gone, into the dark, as fast as it was there, and each police officer looked at the one next to him, trying to understand what they had just seen.

Penny, stood outside the broken doorway, watching her hero, disappear into the night, with awe. The thing had saved her life, she was saved by a real life super hero, like in the guys comic books, this was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her. And before the thing left, it looked at her, it had actually looked at her, she couldn't believe it. But she was tired and her head hurt, so she just slid down the side of the building to sit on the concrete, it took a police women a couple seconds of shaking to break Penny out of her trance and she spent the next 4 hours in the hospital being treated for her head injury, while the police questioned her on what happened. She told them everything, but it was only a distraction, her mind was only concerned about the super hero that saved her, she now knew how Superman's Lois Lane felt.

Howard and Leonard never talked all the way back to Cal Tech, and they were in the storage room before they said a word. "Man that was close. You got back with only 25 percent power, Leonard. I have to do something about the power."

"Howard, I killed a man."

Howard stopped to look at his friend, he didn't really know what happened in there and he thought Leonard would just tell him when it was over. He never thought someone would die, it had never crossed his mind and he didn't know what to say to Leonard, so he changed the subject. "Let me get you out of the suit."

Leonard however couldn't get it out of his mind, he didn't know it but he was experiencing post combat mental trauma, just like a soldier. Riding back in the van all he had been thinking about was if Penny was going to be okay and the face of the man he killed. He felt horrible, he felt like he was a bad person, and now he looked at Howard, like he was Leonard's confessor. "I killed him with the laser, it just sliced through his head and he was dead. He was dead, just like that. It took less than a second, to kill a man. Howard, I killed a man."