Reminders of the Past

A Tenchi Muyo and Invinsible Crossover

Chapter 11 - No Need For Demonstrations

To look at the Reanimen one might would believe that there was a clear thought in their heads. Anyone on the outside would likely think that the person, or persons, that made up the cybernetic monstrosities were somehow still there. Physically they would be right. Some part of the person they had been was present in the forms of the bodies being used. But every single one of the Reanimen had everything that had been part of who they were stripped away. There was nothing left that would identity them as human beings. They were reduced down to their most basic instincts and those were driven by miles and miles of code and programming that directed their behavior.

They were, in essence, nothing more or less than violent machines designed for war. Weapons to be brought out and used when the chips were down. Expendable soldiers capable of working like a pack of wolves in order to destroy their objective. It was no wonder the first of the Juraians attempted to communicate with them, to reach them, hoping beyond hope that like their Crown Prince's own bride they were simply under control. Not since Ryoko's attack had so many Imperial Force been so gravely wounded.

Death, the word had little meaning to Royalty or Imperial Forces. They were bounded to their trees, and as such they would live unless there was a power great enough to end their existence. Only overwhelming force could be considered powerful enough to end them. When the first of the Juraian Imperial Force fell before the Reanimen it was the first sign that Death could potentially reach them.

For Tenchi, seeing them attacking near him, seeing them attacking his beloved wives, his mind began to scream in rage. Memories of Kagato's indifference toward killing Ryoko plagued him. He could see her, lying on the floor of the Soja, and he could hear her begging Kagato for his life. Pleading that he please spare her Tenchi. That she'd give him her life, she would willingly let him take all of her energy, but to please spare him.

That moment had been the first time the power inside of him had awakened. It had been the first moment he had witnessed the absolute power that resided deep inside of his being. It'd nearly frightened him at first, but he grew to understand it. It wasn't until after he fought Z that he truly understood. His grandfather's chasing of Ryoko had been an unexpected variable, but regardless the seed had been planted in his grandfather.

It was a seed that would lead to one that would be over Tsunami, Tokimi, and Washu. One that would be able to undo, or preserve, the universe as it stood. Normally, without reaching this reserve of power, Ryoko was far more powerful than he was. If he simply used his Juraian strength she outshined him. If he unlocked what he was going to be the roles would be reversed. His beloved Ryoko was powerful, and truly she was her mother's daughter.

Most men claimed that their wives or girlfriends were goddesses. Tenchi's claim wasn't merely from affection. Ryoko was a demigoddess, and he knew that. She was ultimately divinity made flesh, and who she was supposed to be was far removed from who she was. Kagato had set her back so far that she would never catch up. She had been broken, and he knew that. He helped her pick herself up, repair the damage, and with each step forward there was a dozen steps back.

Trauma, horrific trauma would bring itself out at every turn. Memories of being forced to destroy cities, people, and reign havoc on those unable to defend themselves filled her mind. He knew this because she would often wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, pleading for him to forgive her, to not hate her, to never stop loving her. All too often she would attempt to overcompensate for things she had done under Kagato's control. An off handed comment about some fantasy he had when he was barely a teenager was made, and she would desperately attempt to perform that fantasy.

She'd once created a duplicate of herself, going so far as to change the duplicate enough so that he could experience what it would have been like to make love to twins. And that had been because he made some comment about seeing a dojin years before where the protagonist dated two girls that happened to be twins, and finally they ended up in bed together. She wanted to please him, to keep him interested, to give him every desire, and it was because she was so sure that it would all be stripped away. He'd seen so many of these instances, and he knew that there were more he didn't know about.

And for the first time he fully understood her fear. His eyes began to turn white, the Juraian Royal armor begant to change, and what covered him was pure white lite. The very essence of life itself, the power of creation and destruction, the power that had been placed inside of him so long ago, was now open. He stretched his hand forward, and watched as the Reanimen began to simply return to their base components. He didn't want to fully destroy them, it wasn't their fault that they were what they were.

Each one he reached for simply ceased being what it was and returned to what it had been beforehand. Corpses along with advanced mechanical cybernetics littered the ground where they had been, and he wasn't done. What he was doing wasn't measurable in known scientific measurements. It wasn't quantifiable by current standards. It was truly as if magic, or perhaps a deity, was undoing realty by its mere presence.

Far above him, above the world, the one that unlocked the Reanimen watched in horror at what had come to pass. He had expected this to work, but this unknown variable was beyond what he understood. He watched, in absolute horror, as this being undid everything. Viltrumites were to be respected for their near invulnerability, Martians were to be respected for their shape shifting and telepathic abilities, and humanity was respected for their adaptability. Yet, for the respect each of them had weaknesses, and each of them could be stopped.

This was something beyond all he'd calculated for, and no longer was his plan to attempt to bring everlasting peace to the world. It had moved, morphed, and changed into how to keep from being noticed by something that could undo his entire existence with a mere thought. He wasn't seeing a hero or a warrior valiantly defending those he loved. He was seeing what he could only describe as a literal god changing reality around himself to simply suit what he believed to be correct.

He wanted to preserve the world, to make it better, but he couldn't, not with that. His entire plan had been under the simple intention of ensuring that he could win, and his calculations had involved what he knew. His shortsightedness was going to be his downfall. He watched as the Reanimen the world over began to fall, the few remaining drones of his were gone, and he was in a place he could only hope would never be discovered.

For all of his intelligence, all of his intellect, and all of his brilliance Rudolph fell victim to the fact that he was still just a man. He was fallible. His hubris, his arrogance, had further condemned him. He had planned for Invincible, and he even planned, to some degree, for Omni Man, but he hadn't planned on something like this. Even if it had just been the Juraians that had come to assist then the Reanimen could have handled them. Instead, he had witnessed the kind of power that was truly set aside for gods.

He would have to lay low, and perhaps the one thing he could do would be to disappear. Find a different world to make into the peaceful paradise that he so desired. It would be a world that he could give to Amanda. As of this minute he had to cut all communications with Earth. There would be absolutely no contact with the planet unless it was beyond an emergency. The decision was made, he prepared himself, and then he saw the lights fluctuate. There shouldn't have been any fluctuation at all. Nothing should have interrupted the power within the compound, and instead something had. He prepared to look around when he heard a slight clearing of a throat.

"Over here," a young voice said, "Yeah, right over here."

He looked to see a girl that was likely around fourteen, her red hair was spiky, similar to the teal headed woman that had destroyed the spy drone earlier, and she was leaning against a wall. Her smile was the kind of arrogance that he was surprised to see. He began to move and found that a forcefield had been erected around him. He looked at her, and saw a hard light console that was gently glowing.

"Now, I believed it was time for us to have a talk," she said as she looked at him, "Because honestly, you don't give me evil tyrant vibes."

He looked at her, "I heard you say that you hacked the programs so that we could understand each other," he said as he looked at her, "There's no need. I'm able to process information well above most supercomputers."

She smiled, "So, you want to speak in my native language?" she asked as she studied him, "interesting, but no, I will not do that. That is reserved for someone special, and during a night of passion."

Her smile was lecherous, "But that doesn't matter. You see, I understand that you're not really evil, but then again you're not good either. You are someone who believes that the problems of the world can be controlled. That through your direct actions you can cull the bad elements and ensure that there is nothing left but a safe world for everyone to enjoy" she said as she neared him, "And the problem with that is that eventually all you will have is mindless slaves. There will be no creativity, no intelligence, and instead it will merely be animals awaiting their master's orders. Not really a world at all, but instead a single owner with all of his pets."

He looked at her, "I wouldn't stop creativity."

She shook her head, "Of course you would," she replied as she neared Amanda, "You would because that would ensure peace. You'd do everything in the name of peace, and eventually it would be little more than livestock surrounding you. Maybe it would take a few centuries, maybe longer, but it would happen."

She released Amanda and he slammed his fist against the force-field, "No!" he shouted as to small drones flew out of a portal and gently lifted her, "You can't take her!"

She looked toward him, "I'm sure that you care for her, but she deserves a chance to make up her own mind," Washu replied as she looked at him, "And I'm going to give your location to your authorities. I am certain that they will decide what is best to do with you."

He looked at her, his eyes burning with hate, "You might as well kill me now," he replied, his voice nicely acidic, "Because that will be the best response. I'm too much of a liability."

She looked back at him, "And perhaps that is the proper response. I can't say for certain, but I can tell you this," she replied as she began to walk into the portal, "We all reap the fruits of our decisions. Sometimes, those fruits are watching a child suffer for our hubris, sometimes it's watching our plans fall apart, and sometimes it is as simple as realizing that we were deeply mistaken."

He watched as she left, and struck the force-field again. It didn't budge, and he couldn't reach anything. He was trapped, in place, and unable to move until he was released. The best case scenario was that he would be taken into custody, and he would be forced to work for the Global Defense Agency until such time that he was no longer useful. He'd be made to be like Sinclair. That was if they left him alive. Cecil could decide that the best possible option would be to simply kill him.

Somehow he doubted that would be the route that would be taken. Cecil would believe that his intelligence would be useful, but he doubted that he would be given the chance to move around. Seconds turned to minutes, and he simply wondered how long it would take for them to come. Perhaps he would end up simply being left to slowly die of thirst. If that was the case, depending on the size of the force-field, he could potentially drink his own urine to survive for a while longer.

It wouldn't be ideal, but it would grant him a slightly longer life. He questioned if he really wanted to do so, and the answer was no. It didn't matter though. The human body would do all it could to continue. And he didn't doubt for a moment that if it came down to it he would end up doing exactly that thing. Part of him wondered if he would ever see anything again when the room lit up.

He saw Cecil standing there, and flashing into sight were multiple GDA agents. He lifted his hands, and Cecil touched his ear piece, "Lower the force field."

It disappeared, but he understood not to make any moves. Instead he watched as Cecil neared him, "Not going to lie, I never really expected it," he said as he neared him, "I mean you're a pretty straight laced kid. I've never known you to be irrational, so I'm going to go with what Invincible said likely happened. That you were gone longer than you said when you ended up in the Flaxian dimension."

He didn't answer, but instead he held his hands out. A moment later a zip tie, like he was a common criminal, was put around his wrists, "Just so you know, we're not putting you to death."

He didn't answer, and simply held his breath as the light covered him and he was teleported along with everyone else. A moment later he saw the destruction in Washington D.C. Buildings were destroyed, roads torn up, and he knew that all of it rested on his shoulders. He again didn't say a word as he was escorted toward what was left of the pentagon. A moment later they entered the area that was reserved for the GDA, and he rode the longest elevator ride of his life. Stepping out he saw Sinclair, and he could see the plastic holding cell that had been prepared. There was no electronics, nothing more than a pad of paper beside what looked like a molded bed.

There was nothing to build, nothing to create, just a place for him to sit and sleep. He entered and the zip tie was removed. He turned around as the cell door closed. He looked at Cecil, for the first time since he attempted to bring peace to the world he looked at the man that had been his boss, "I wasn't wrong," he said, his voice was calm, but broken, "I wasn't wrong. I was going to save the world, I would have given it peace."

Cecil looked at him, "Yeah, and at the cost of everything."

He watched as Cecil turned around, "There's going to be times we're going to ask questions, get calculations, and at those times you will be given something to write with. Until then, enjoy your room with a view."

Cecil left, and he saw the world for what it was. He was left to his own devices, and he understood all too well what it meant. The world he wanted to give Amanda was gone. The life he would have had was gone, and in its place was a life of servitude. He would be little more than a glorified computer. Sitting down, he considered his options. The pad of paper would do nothing to help him. It wouldn't even grant him a dignified death. The best he could possibly hope for would be to stuff as much of it into his mouth as possible attempt to swallow, and potentially suffocate before he was reached. There was little doubt in his mind that he was being monitored at all times, and that meant that there was no way that he could do so without the pad being removed.

The bed itself was little more than a molded foam mattress with a slightly higher place in the place of a pillow. Again, there was nothing for him to use to either consider escape or death. The plastic of the cell had no advanced electronics, it was likely lined to prevent him the chance to clearly see the outer world. His guess was that even if he saw electronics there would be a chance that he could plan on how to best utilize them once he had the chance to escape.

It was a cell designed specifically for him. It was designed to hold him, and he would be a guest here for the rest of his life. He walked toward the bed, sat down, and began to do the only thing he could. Looking ahead at the empty cell he closed his eyes.

"Pawn to E4."

He began to play a classic game of chess, one of the many he had memorized, and visioned the board perfectly. He did so knowing he was being watched, but not knowing that above him, in the streets, the remaining heroes were attempting to pick up the pieces. Together with the Juraian Imperial Force they were working toward repairing what had been destroyed.