Episode 3 - Worthy
After weeks of trial and error, constant practice, and sleepless nights, the now acolyte of Cattus, Venomous, suited in his One Blade attire, stepped into the middle of the stormy weather atop a roof where the King stood firm at the end. This is the night when their training pays off. They gaze at each other silently waiting for one of them to make the first move for what feels like an eternity when Venomous finally has enough. He's eager to get this done so he can prove to himself that he can overthrow Black Hat. Quickly, he draws out his Blowdryer Magisword hoping to push Cattus off the edge, but he doesn't activate it. The king doesn't even flinch; rather he raised an eyebrow and grimaces. Perhaps knowing he would bounce back up with his Magisword, Venomous placed the weapon back in his pouch.
So he charged him. The human booked it being fast enough not to slip in the water and feigned throwing a punch. Cattus stepped aside, but Venomous grappled him with a Yarn Magisword on the way down and made a steady landing on his feet on the roof of the next building. Cattus was disoriented for a moment but it wasn't long before he recovered to guard against a wet hook to the face! They traded blows, though the king was able to dodge each strike until Venomous uses his surroundings to his advantage. He kicked a puddle into his face and successfully landed a single punch to the stomach! But with this opening, the anthro grabs the professor by the arm and tosses him back-first into the nearest chimney!
The distance it took before impact surely would've knocked him unconscious months ago. Venomous, however, bounces back up as soon as he's down. To his shock, one flash of lightning shields him from seeing Cattus vanish without a trace! The storm truly is the king's ally. Suddenly…
CRASH!
From the skies after the loud boom of thunder, the Professor's opponent descends to deliver slashes with his Magisword! Finally, Venomous pulled out his own. A Wood Shield Magisword shattering to pieces with every strike! This buys him time to hop back and draw another weapon from his Magis-System: A Homing Beacon targeting the king's exact position. From the heavens, a flurry of missiles come rocketing down on him and nuke a hole in the very foundation they stand on! But just as the Professor seemed victorious, Cattus came shooting up from behind him through the roof for an attempted blade chop!
Venomous is slick, however, able to move fast enough that the attack doesn't even land an inch near him. That's when he made his first mistake. He didn't realize Cattus had severed the Magis-System in half and couldn't use it as a weapon in of itself without the blade end. Worse, the anthro flung his red cape at him to blind him from an incoming punch to the nose, sending him flying back into a brick wall!
Perhaps commending him, Cattus said, "You are outmatched, and yet you fight."
Cranking up the difficulty, he summons a whirlwind too large even for the building to handle. It evolves fast into a self-contained tornado eating the structure underneath and sending Venomous hurdling within! Through sheer luck by now, he lands on one of the floors floating in the heart of the twister as Cattus begins throwing stones and metal his way! His borderline angelic style from hovering perfectly well nearly intimidates the Professor, though not my much as he hops from piece to piece to reach the king's head! He headbutts him, but it accidentally leads to the twister no longer becoming self-sustaining. It dissipates and the two plummet to ground level while debris falls from the sky! Their landing is swift and their attacks come from every possible angle until Cattus attempts to kick the man followed by him getting grabbed by the tail! This trick isn't new to him. He's once been thrown across a room by Glori and he does the same to Venomous in this situation using his tail to whip him into the oncoming rubble! Although he hasn't suffered too many bruises, the internal damage is severe to the point where he coughs blood from the next impact. But his iron will and thoughts of Fink and K.O. getting hurt keep him from conceding.
Desperately, he grabs Cattus' hand when he gets close to him, but he's headbutted off and stumbles into a pipe! With no other weapons, Venomous pries it off and takes a swing, which is shielded by the king's arm. The next swing leads to him grabbing and snapping the whole thing in half like a twig. Luckily, it gave the Professor enough time to make a tactical retreat into the ruins.
"You have spirit, Professor," Cattus commented. "Your resolve has made you stronger, though not strong enough. The more you rely on old tactics, the more likely you will fail and you'll never have your mission complete."
"About that," said Venomous, "I was actually taking a page from your book."
The feline reached for his magisword, but all he gets is the broken half of the Magi-System disk. Darting back to the Professor though, he noticed HE had the Whirlwind Magisword wielded. But with it in his hands, he uses it to slam Cattus against the rubble with a powerful storm of wind! Cattus tries to remove himself by moving to the side, but he's sent flying through the bricks and stones and into the muddy ground!
"Now you know how I've felt every day since I've come here," the human gloated. "I hate being the learner. But if I wasn't, I wouldn't have discovered how to beat one of the most powerful beings in the universe! And soon…Black Hat will be next."
Forgetting he's only training momentarily, Venomous prepares to slay the Ultimate with a more powerful gust of wind strong enough to slice through his body. But the king was prepared and was barely beaten. He lifted himself to stand firm in the whirlwind and guard his face as he took large steps to the human, not even phased by the sharp bits of metal beating into him.
"Indeed," he smiled and snatched his Magsiword. "You CAN defeat Black Hat now. I on the other hand…"
There is no winning against him. Venomous could see that now. While he's been trained to his absolute peak performance, there is still much he does not know; perhaps withheld to prevent him from killing the king. Though in hindsight, even if he could destroy him, he would only incur the wrath of his son and his cosmically powerful queen. He and Fink have destroyed many things in the past masterfully. But this final test has truly humbled the Professor. He has to be careful and recognize his target and the consequences of their defeat.
"You're right…" Venomous admitted. "I can't defeat you. Not that I couldn't, but it would be suicide. I should've thought of that from the very beginning and said…thank you…for everything."
Quietly, as the rain settled, Cattus the Ultimate grasped the man's shoulder and purred. "And that is why you'll win."
A few days have passed giving Venomous and Cosma enough time to unwind after months of preparation for their private initiative. In the present, both of them knelt before the king, prince, and the queen at the throne. Vambre, Prohyas, and Simone were surprised but couldn't help but feel proud of the two of them. Oddly, rather than the Whirlwind Magisword, Cattus wields the mythical Final Magisword to knight the pair, stepping forward as they remain knelt to the floor and take a bow.
"Over these past months, the both of you have shown great courage, skill, and integrity," said the King. "You arrived imbalanced as enemies. But now, you have become something greater. A force that which your world truly needs in these dire times."
In two taps by the tip of his blade, he proudly proclaimed, "Arise my acolytes. For you are now One Blades!"
They stood up and took a bow. "Master."
"Ooooh, the goosebumps," Cosma shook with excitement.
"Warriors, let them choose their Magisword."
Prohyas tilted, "Huh? OH! Right…"
He reached for his pocket and pulled out not a standard stylized Magisword but a broadsword with the same hilt as Cattus' signature weapon. Likewise, Vambre grabbed an identical blade to the one holding Bimm's ball of yarn. The two handed it to the acolytes standing in front of them and they knew perfectly which ones to get. Venomous was a student of The Ultimate. He chose the one suited to him while Cosma picked Bimm's to match her new magenta-colored suit. She flexed the hilt around to test its balance and brought it forth once mastered.
"Cool," she commented.
"I understand the power that sword you have possesses Cattus," Venomous began, "But why not let us borrow it?"
"Unfortunately, it only functions for the worthy," said the King. "And Cosma was uninterested after she tried it for herself."
"Yeah, it does its job, but it's too much responsibility," she stated. "Hate to break it if Bimm needs it to flip a burger or something."
Again, Venomous accepted his role. He desired more power but he knew what he had would be enough on its own.
Cattus smiled, "Now that you both have your weapons, your mission is now your own. You're free to return here whenever you like. But remember, not everyone is as charitable as I am."
"Yes my lord," Venomous bowed. "Rest assured, Black Hat will be mine."
The Professor began to leave the castle's main hall with Cosma behind him when he paused and briefly turned back.
"Oh, and keep me up to date if your son catches wind of anything."
When he exited, Familiar faced the king and questioned him. "You don't think he'll just take over the crime circuit when he's done with the guy?"
"That remains to be seen," Cattus hunched. "If that is the case, surely he'll think over it in time. He'll come around."
Finally after months within the walls and its outskirts, Venomous stood firm at the long stone trail looking on at the pretty blue skies and the warm sun.
Having already taken the scenery in, Cosma asked, "Ok, so what now Mr. Venom?"
He replied with a sigh, "As much as I'd hate to admit it, Cattus just taught me how to be a hero again. And I think this can be used to our advantage. Well…mine that is. We'll hide from the Toon Force as planned so they don't ruin our operations. And once they see all the good we'll do, they're gonna think twice about turning me in. After all, they have a war to end, and we're the only ones capable of doing their job for them."
"Oooooh," Cosma's eyes widened. "Sounds like phase 1 of an evil scheme."
"Of course," Venomous grinned with his teeth. "Don't fret. Black Hat will be dealt with. But his forces belong to me."
"Aaaaaaaaaaand…?"
The One Blade Professor paused. "Yes. I'll give you a full buffet of planets to snack on."
"Actually, I was thinking you'd let cute Fink come join us. But that's legal. Let's git it!"
Cosma began to hover and prepares to take off when Venomous stopped her!
"Wait wait, Cosma!"
She paused herself completely in mid-air with a silly grin on her face. The Professor explained, "We can't hope to take this syndicate on by ourselves. We need to form our own."
"Oh. My bad. But won't the good guys find out if we grab folk who work with them? There's a loooooootta people who do."
"And there's plenty of those who don't. We just need to find the right person to point them out. And I know exactly who to call…"
From the highest point in her humble tower in the bustling metropolis of Toon City, Fink sat in her personal office. But not the Fink Venomous remembers. This alternate was a copy created during the final stages of the Toon Wars when a virus consumed reality. She was rescued by forces outside of time and brought into a different timeline for a period before her return, met by her prime self and her step father. After defeating Shadowy, she has taken his likeness and spun it into an idealized version of what Venomous sought to be at the top of society.
She watches something at her computer accompanied by two little robots, the blue Robotboy and pink Robotgirl, who both seem interested. She leaned forward, licking her lips before the door was abruptly opened by Lincoln Loud.
"Ooooh yeah," the Shadowy Fink moaned.
"Mrs. Fink," Lincoln interrupted.
"HOOAAAAAAGH!"
Both the robots deployed their guns from their arms and aimed directly for the human! Annoyed, the mouse growled, "Oh for the love of… Learn to use the stinkin' intercom, Lincoln!"
He stuttered, "I-I'm sorry ma'am, but your father is here to see you."
"Oh, let him in," she waved. "Don't mention him to anyone or you're fired. And Robotboy, Robotgirl, you can lower your weapons."
"Yes Ms. Fink," the two responded.
"Activate Cloaking field…"
Outside, the window behind her pulses with energy. A cloaking mechanism shielding those inside from the rest of the world activated right on time when a long rainbow unicorn flew by with Finn in tow. Lincoln left the room and Venomous and Cosma both entered shutting the door behind them.
"Hey, Fink," the Professor bowed.
"Well, well, well... If it isn't old boss an' Cosma," Shadowy smirked and interlocked her fingers. "Albeit shiny and new. I take it your training was a success, was it now?"
Venomous' eyes darted, "I-I'm sorry…?"
"I've known since your first day with Cattus. You can thank Bimm for letting me in on her end of the project in the event of another cosmic crisis or confusing. timeline shenanigans."
Cosma spoke up, "Ooooh yeah! Sorry V. Ya missed out on all the cool stuff."
"Ooooooooh," Robotboy beamed.
"Well at least I know where you've been this whole time." Venomous continued, "Anyway, how's everything been going for you compared to your other self?"
Fink cracked her neck, "If Lincoln is any example, I'd say I'm having a blast because I get to fulfill my dream of randomly yelling at people! And the best part is, I'm the CEO in addition to being the largest shareholder in the Toonverse besides Anais. If ya want somethin' from us, go ahead and entertain me."
Her former boss chuckled, "Heh. Sure boss. But this is a serious matter."
"It usually is. That's business 101."
He palmed his hands on the table and leaned forward, "I need a base and a competent team that will avoid having the Toon Force crack down on us. Some connections to the underworld would be a plus as well."
"Not to worry, Professor. I already have one in motion. You'll have to visit your other Son for details."
It quickly dawned on him that he forgot like having two step daughters, he has two sons. Both a perfected meld of a hero and their strength in K.O., and the purely destructive form of Turbo. Speaking to K.O. would be suicide knowing how much the Toon Force want him. But Turbo is different. He isn't like the regular heroes.
"Better hustle. He's been waiting."
…
Venomous was warped to a field of scraps on a distant world neighboring Ooo. It was hot and musty in the air, almost compelling the man to remove his trench coat. He announced, "K.O., you there?! Aren't you gonna give your old man a visit?!"
No response. Only the gust of wind made noise to alert the man of his son's presence.
Suddenly, "K.O…?"
Another voice chimed in the distance, followed by a van getting shot into the sky and falling in Venomous' direction! He leapt out the way just before it could smash down and burst into pieces by way of a flaming hot pink fist! Turbo, the long-haired, more aggressive version of K.O. given a life of its own the same way Fink had has arrived!
"I'm TURBO!"
"Well now," the father smirked.
Turbo warped in front of the man with his sharp eyes drawn directly at him! He was a good few inches away from chomping his face off and pinning him to the ground. But instead, he knelt down and smirked back.
"So, you still a skinny ol' man, huh Pops?"
"And you're still a brute with intelligence," Venomous said back.
They both shared a laugh and Turbo quickly got to helping his father up, brushing off his new duds.
"An' here I thought you'd never come see me," Turbo mentioned. "Y'know, since the nicer one's back home."
"Nicer…? Please. There is a difference between being soft and cowardly. Sometimes, to be firm, you've gotta take matters into your own hands."
"It's about Lakewood, isn't it," Turbo asked.
Venomous wrapped his arms behind his back, "More. I take it Fink already told you about Black Hat. He wants me dead and I need a crew to help me send him to the next dimension."
"You've come to the right place. I've got K.O.'s memories, remember? He knew some folk who didn't wanna join the Toon Force; both Finks included. I can go ahead an' message the head hancho mouse the details and find the others."
His father nodded, "That'd be fantastic."
As Turbo grabbed his phone from his pocket, he asked, "Just why does BH have you on his hitlist besides all the crap your Shadowy half did?"
"He doesn't want anyone else taking over his enterprise," Venomous answered. "Absolute power, a bit of insurance to avoid competition, so forth. Not to mention covering his losses when it came to the Horde."
"Sure it ain't just cause you're still a villain either?"
Holding his arm and stuttering, he said, "W-well, I'm not technically a villain anymore. I'm sort of…in the middle?"
Turbo shook his head when he finished texting, "Middle never seemed like an option if I'm being honest. Especially now."
"In retrospect, I was neither good nor bad," Venomous hunched with his hands. "I could be a father one second, then try to kill you the next. I'd be a victim of a split personality, then a bit of a con man. Rinse and repeat."
"One thing's obvious," Turbo replied. "You've got a knack for lettin' your actions speak louder than words."
"I suppose I do…" A question immediately formed in his head. "You hear anything from your Mother lately? Does she even know you exist?"
Turbo looked surprised. "She does. So does little me. We just don't talk all that much. Not since that whole crisis in the big city. Why you ask?"
"I was going to speak to them, father to son and ex. But considering the stakes here, and all the things I did, it's safe to say I'd make things worse."
"Doesn't K.O. still look up to you as his baby daddy?"
Venomous shook, "Not anymore. Not since before I turned into that monster, I think."
"Maybe it's time you paid him a visit to find out."
The Professor considered it. He knew K.O. and Carol better than anyone. He knows how much he upset Carol for lying about his death all those decades ago. And he especially understood the disdain K.O. may have for him for unleashing his evil side on the world regardless if Shadowy was a separate being or not.
"…Could be. You don't think you can lend your old man a hand yourself, huh?"
Turbo looked at him and smiled, "Was that even a question?"