The clash resonated in the air with Rex's impact against the metal frame.
The force of the collision caused the Russian contraption to forcefully tear through the asphalt of the city street for nearly a block's length before pinning all but one of its appendages into the ground like stakes, leaving the one free arm to throw Rex off. The teenage robot rebounded off of the robot before the tentacle could reach him, but did not expect for the mech to use the same arm to pin itself right before his feet. Using the point as an axis of rotation, the mercenary used the momentum of the robot's chassis to collide into Rex and send him careening into the air.
Launched towards a building with the speed of a bullet, Rex withdrew his Smack Hands in exchange for one of the Omega builds a glowing hoverboard aptly named the Sky Slyder to turn his force against his opponent. Performing a maneuver similar to the one Kenwyn had with the jet just moments ago, Rex glided through the air and and aligned his trajectory as he urged his build to shift one speed higher. He drew out his B.F.S to perform the finishing strike, the heavy blade causing sparks to fly as it drudged across the surface of the street. It wasn't long until Rex finally caught up with the dazed mercenary, who barely had a chance to command the mech off the ground before Rex had swung his weapon and made contact with the massive heap of metal.
A harsh grating noise was emitted while the sword tore through the frame, sparks flying off while several panels and wiring of the robot were sheared and torn in half. The slice took no more than a second and Rex appeared on the other side ceremoniously, stopping his movement with the technique of a snowboarder. Recalling the sword only, he hovered in place as he took off his goggles and glanced back at the machine to see its newly exposed top. Peering within the cockpit it seemed that the cut went right above the Russian, just as he had calculated.
He breathed out a sigh of relief, chastising himself for allowing his adrenaline to blind his guidance so. In spur of the moment, he had became oblivious to the fact that he was facing another human and that his attacks would actually be lethal to whoever was on the receiving end. He had to readjust the angle of his strike at the last moment possible in order to avoid being responsible for the mercenary's mortality, but unfortunately that action had come at the cost of the mech's continued functionality as even though it was the recipient to such a devastating blow, it was only directed to the upper portion and thus had not majorly impaired its usefulness.
Rex's attention seemed to be entirely focused on the man within the mech, eyeing him all over to ensure that no harm was done until his line of concentration was broke by Kenwyn's voice which finally broke through the transmission, her voice blaring at an incredible volume.
"Rex? Rex! Did you get what I said!" She questioned through the communicator, which Rex detached and held a a foot away from his head while the ring lingered on in his ear.
"Didn't before, but I'm hearing you loud and clear now. You wouldn't happen to be shouting on the other end, right Kenwyn?" He groaned.
"Sorry, none of this junk works properly anymore..." Kenwyn said with a whisper, suddenly recalling just how sensitive their faulty equipment was.
"But listen Rex, you've got to stop using your machines against that mech pilot!" She commanded right as the nightmarish frame began picking itself back up. It was a slow process as the control scheme was slightly unresponsive due to the dislocation of several pivotal components, but the mercenary was quick to adjust and was rapidly re-configuring the dashboard in order re-calibrate the system.
"Yeah, that might be a problem. He's already picking himself back up, and I have this feeling that he's not too happy with me right about now." Rex stated as the mech rose back up, already beginning to charge straight towards him. He willed his board to speed up once again and decided to lead the Russian on a chase. Though he was itching to fabricate another build and complete his job right then and there, he was willing to listen to whatever reason it was that prevented him from doing so.
"Just stall for time. I can get Bobo and the rest to rendezvous with you a couple of streets down since they're not that far away, but we can't chance you using your machines against another person. This is the third time you've used your builds on a mission these past two months, and you're still so much more powerful than anyone you're up against!"
"I know what restraint is Kenwyn, he'd already be dead if I didn't! You know I'm trying my best to hold back." He shouted over the winds while dodging the multiple arms that tried to piece him.
"But it's still not enough. We don't know why, but your powers have only been getting stronger and you just haven't had enough time to control your limits. Just let the rest of us take care of this. Please Rex."
He contemplated on her words while fighting against the temptation of falling back and, just for one moment, landing one solid hit to incapacitate the Russian. But he began considering the intentions of the young woman who was assigned as his commander, and eventually, caved in to her influence.
"...Fine." He begrudgingly sighed, not having the energy or reasoning to argue otherwise. It was true that his machines have gotten stronger as of recently: much more responsive, much more accurate, much more fast, and much, much more powerful...but in the end, all of those factors seemed to be more of a detriment since his abilities had thus become far too deadly to use on any other person. Rex understood this well, but refused to admit he didn't have full control over the abilities after nearly a full year of using them. He refused to sit on the sidelines while all of his friends were constantly put at risk dealing with threats that were far greater than common man, because he couldn't bear the though of losing them. Without them he was nothing. Isolated. Lost.
Alone.
Rex suddenly began to feel the internals of his Sky Slyder become weak, chastising himself for losing focus while commanding himself to keep it together. The board stabilized itself, but required Rex to reassure himself about the capability of his friends whom he was seriously undermining. It seemed that he had simply forgotten about how they survived on the streets all on their own for years on end, faced off against elite military organizations and gangs, broke free from the influence of mind control, and ultimately contributed to bringing the Nanite Event to a permanent end! Truthfully speaking, Rex's concern was unwarranted. Although it was natural for him to feel protective towards his friends, he knew he had to place their trust in him after all they've gone through. He couldn't let his emotions misguide him so!
With a reinvigorated spirit and a clear mind, he cracked a smirk as he put back on his goggles and shifted the build another speed higher to keep ahead of the mangled mech.
A Providence tank weaved between multiple lanes of incoming traffic in scramble to reach the rendezvous point as quickly as possible. Though most of the cars were able to swerve out of the way before colliding with the tank, some weren't entirely successful but thankfully had not suffered any sort of irreparable damage. The Providence issued vehicle itself had inflicted a fair amount of damage and received a portion of it back in collateral, it being nothing short of a miracle that the refurbished tank was able to venture as far as it had already.
"Maybe this is a bad time to bring it up Bobo, but are you aware that you're driving on the completely wrong side of the road!?" Noah shouted at the monkey as he narrowly dodged another car, sending Noah crashing into the opposite wall of the tank.
"Whoops. Sorry about that Chief," he unapologetically taunted as he grinned back at the blonde teenager. "Ye should really be buckled in, ya know. It's dangerous to go drivin' without the proper safety precautions."
"Oh, that's real funny." Noah growled as he was slammed into the opposite wall yet again. For some reason unbeknownst to himself, the only seats that were present in the entirety of Bobo's tank were the two that were in the front, and though the passenger seat next to Bobo was vacant, it's seat cushion was spotted with a splotch of some mysterious white substance that was yet to have been identified.
"Oh fer the love of stop bein' so immature! I'm tellin' ya, it's just ranch! Who doesn't eat their tacos without some ranch?"
"Who the hell eats their tacos with ranch!" He screeched back at the chimp, clinging onto the rails inside of the tank as it took another sharp turn to the right.
"We can argue semantics 'nother time." The sighed while shaking his head. "But we can't change course, the killer robot is only a few blocks away from us now, and we ain't about to lose 'em!" He stated with a viscous smile while shifting his weight on the pedal. Before Noah had the chance to object to the simian's recklessness, the buzz of a call was emitted by the tank's communication system. He pressed a button on the panel to hail the caller who was none other than their commander, Kenywyn, asking for their ETA.
"Bobo says we're closing in, right now we're only a couple dozen blocks away!" Noah chimed.
"What! You two are supposed to be less than a few streets away, and now you mean to tell me you're not even a block within range! What's taking so long?" Noah pieced together through the heavy static and several interruptions.
"It's the tank! It was practically falling apart when we tried starting it up this morning, and it wasn't doing that much better once we were out on patrol. I honestly have no idea how we're still afloat!"
"You can't expect the Kong trio to take on the mech on their own! They need support!" She said overhead, watching as the aforementioned group gradually caught up with Rex and the machine.
"Then why don't you just let Rex to take care of this? He could take care of this situation a lot faster than we could!"
"That's a negative, Nixon! We need that suspect alive and Rex is far too powerful to deal with him in a delicate manner!" Her pupils shook and she began biting at her lip after the fram leaped forward and took a swipe at Rex's build, with one of the tentacles pierce through a portion of Rex's hoverboard. He swiftly regenerated the missing piece, but being no more than a few feet away from his opponent at any given moment, he was in desperate need of backup or lest he be forced to retaliate.
"Are you sure you can't go any faster? At any given moment a confrontation could break loose! We need you here!" She pleaded.
"Sorry Kenwyn, but you're just gonna have to think of another plan for now! We go any faster an we're going to end up ramming into people! I mean into more people! Over people!"
"And as fun as that'd be, I don't want to be the one to clean up the mess afterwards!" Bobo added cynically.
"Dammit!" She managed to growl before shutting of communications. With one hand clutching the joysticks in a vice grip, her other hand was free to sink into her hair unkempt hair. She began brainstorming alternatives to her plan, but her mind only drew blank as she perused her mind for every single procedure there was.
"Kenwyn! Are you alright, Kenwyn? He's gonna tear Rex apart, what do we do!" Another voice broke through in her state of paranoia, causing her to promptly answer in desperation.
"Skwydd, is that you? I I don't know. We can't have Rex engage at the cost of a suspect, but we can't have you three become involved without backup at the risk of getting seriously hurt!"
"So where is Noah and Bobo at?! The both of our tanks should be able to flank the bastard!"
"They aren't going to be there in time!" She clamored.
"Come on Kenwyn, I know you can figure something out!" Skwydd tried reassuring her,
"Are you sure we have nobody else on the sideline?"
She began staring blankly down at the city below, watching Rex beginning struggle to keep ahead of the mech despite its damaged state. Even at her elevated altitude could she see the agent's fatigue as his hoverboard began swaying side to side, unable to regenerate his vehicle faster than the barrage of tentacles tore it apart. She withdrew coolly before closing her eyes tightly. After a couple of short, calculated breaths, she aimed her sights on the mech below and pressed her finger back on the communications button.
"If I get closer I should be able to provide supporting fire. I'll draw his attention long enough for Noah and Bobo to show up, and then you guys can take it from there." She commanded confidently.
"Kenwyn, are you crazy!" Cricket cried before Skwydd, Tuck, Noah, or Bobo had a chance to respond, everybody else simply awestruck at the audacity of her suggestion.
"You can't get in that close to the buildings, there's hardly enough room for you to maneuver in! We just have to call our losses and let Rex do his thing, there's still a good chance he won't accidentally kill him!" She shakily attempted to convince.
"Yea, think about what your doin' 'ere!" Bobo intervened,
"White Knight's gonna have your head if you do this!" It was rare that Haha attempted to be the voice of reason, so when he did choose to take up a mantle of responsibility, everyone else knew the situation was astray.
Kenwyn was listening to her friends advice, but refused to head their pleas and simply tightened her dominant hand around the joystick configuration with a vice grip, her eyebrows furrowed down with intensity as she began visualizing her path down.
"Rex, keep going down that path. And whatever you do, don't slow down! To hell with procedure!" She shouted as she tore her free hand away from the communication device and straight into the other joystick. Pushing down with all of her might, the jet dove down at a sharp incline as far as it could go without entering a stall. Within seconds she dropped to street level and was flying in-between buildings, and with the flick of two switches on top of the joysticks, she pressed on the buttons underneath and let the volley of bullets rain down on the backside of the mech.
It had an immediate effect on the Russian, who was alarmed by the sudden assault and ceased his attack on Rex to determine the location of his sudden aggressor.
"Kenwyn, what do you think you're doing?" Rex shrieked at his commander, so loud that she may have possibly heard him from the jet without the aid of the communication line. In the background of the intermission there was the whooping of the other group members cheering Kenwyn on, applauding her for daring maneuvering ability and resourcefulness.
"You said I can't touch him and now you're firing bullets at him? How is this helping the situation?"
"By kicking ass, that's how!" Tuck giddily squealed as a firsthand spectator of the scene, his tank only a few meters behind the entire confrontation. Kenwyn rolled her eyes in response, preparing to give her explanation to Rex which she was sure he was glad to hear.
"It's not like I planned to engage him in the first place, I'm just stalling! He's off of your tail for the moment, and now he's trying to figure out where I am. But I doubt he'll be able to figure out that I'm flying a jet behind him." She detailed while alternating fire, shooting from multiple angles to keep up the confusion.
"Noah, Bobo, how much further are you two now?"
"Funny you mention it Chief. Look up."
All of the members of the group followed Bobo's command, and witnessed the refurbished Providence tank on a bridge adjacent to the street they were on a street above. The tank steered to the left in preparation, and then suddenly veered off to the right as it rammed through the bridge's railings and right into the fray.
"The Calvary's here." Bobo snidely remarked while Noah desperately clung onto the rails for dear life, appearing mortified until he finally gave in and jumped to the seat next to the driver, quickly fastening the seat belt as he sunk into the chair with a stiff spine.
"Oh, and now that 'tcha here, mind turnin' on the weapons?"
Noah mechanically engaged the anti-vehicle system and began locking onto the mech.
"Weapons engaged." He whimpered.
Kenwyn grinned to herself as everything began falling into place. The Russian adopted an opposite countenance the moment Bobo's tanked entered the scene. He was quick to catch on the presence of a second Providence vehicle, but was still yet to understand who could have possibly fired upon him in so many angles. He was beginning to lose both his patience and his mind, feeling the possibility of a failed assignment becoming more imminent than ever. His eyes began stinging as he drew in sharp, broken breaths, unable to comprehend the reality of letting down his employers. Not in his many years of service, and certainly not to the like of Providence after having witnessed all of their failures and mishaps over the years, even if they were the ones responsible for ending the Nanite Event!
He growled with discontentment one final time, but after allowing for a moment to pass with his eyes tightened, he reopened them and felt a wave of serenity pass over him, his troubles past him and his fears eliminated entirely. Regaining his composure similarly to the manner Kenwyn had, he pulled a flip-phone from out of his pocket and made a call that picked up after exactly three rings.
"Hello. Is this Van Kliess? No? I see. Then be sure to pass message along to him, little girl. Mission is failed, Providence interfered. Tell him he can contact the pirate. He no longer will need my services."
He ended the call and tossed out the phone before the recipient had the chance to respond to the latter half, and drawing one last breath, he diverted his attention away from Rex entirely and glanced back at the three vehicles behind him.
"He's on to you now, Kenwyn, but he's stopped hitting me entirely. I think he's picked up on this situation." Rex cheerfully boasted.
"This certainly isn't how I planned for this to go down, but it's working out so far. Noah, Bobo, it seems we may not have needed your help after all. Stay armed but hold your fire, I'm going to see if I can negotiate with him now." Kenwyn's command was responded by a crowd of applause save for the Pania Pan that grumbled something about never getting to try out the big guns.
The cockpit of the mech rotated around while keeping its forward momentum, the Russian facing directly toward Kenwyn with his arms raised as she turned on the Jet's microphone system and began communicating with him. His eyes envisioned death, but he made no action, contemplating on his next course of action, and considering all of the life decisions he had made up to that point.
"Alright, don't try any sudden moves " Kenwyn began to command right before she was cut off. In the blink of an eye, the mech pilot slammed his hands back down launched the contraption toward her jet several meters into the air, and within a second there was a collision and both of the vehicles violently impacted each other in an explosion.
/NOTES
It's been a while. Funny how life keeps us all busy. Anyway, I temporarily lost interest in this piece (blame Miraculous Ladybug), but fear not! I have returned once again and I am now 100% dedicated to finishing what I have started.
But let's be honest: It might even take a couple of years, if you want to stick around that long.
I finished the second half of this chapter in about an hour, so please tell me if anything seems askew in the writing department. I really want to do right by the people remaining in this community. And speaking of which, if you'd like to see more GenRex content, I have a DA account by the same name where I post related art occasionally. I'd be willing to do more if requested, but once I find the time.
And sidenote, why are 's title lengths so restrictive? Sigh, oh well.