Hey everyone! It's been quite a while since I last touched this story. I extend a heartfelt thanks towards all of those who've struck to this and kept reading. I've waffled back and forth as to what to do with this story, and have decided to continue it. I want to focus on this thing being a good story on its own merits, so I'll work on it at my own pace. Enough of my diatribe… Enjoy!

Chapter 15

The Maverick Hunters led the way into a room that Zero called "The Armory". What the Suite Life Gang saw was not what they expected. In fact, instead of a cadre of weapons, they saw a very different sort of scanner, not unlike one from an airport. Other than that, it was fairly barren.

Zack scratched his head. "This is the armory? Am I missing something here?"

"Looks can be deceiving." X walked ahead to the scanner, and after a scanning period similar to what they'd just experienced in the navigation room, he walked out as if nothing had happened. He closed his eyes, apparently focusing, before opening them again.

"Rising Fire!"

He pounded his buster to the ground, releasing a pillar of red-orange flame that surrounded him and rose skyward before dissipating into smoke. The twins, London, and Bailey were awestruck, while the Hunters looked as if they'd seen this 1000 times.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Axl mused, clearly taking pleasure in the looks on the rookies' faces.

"Not the adjective I'd use…" Bailey scanned X visually for any injuries, but he looked unharmed.

Apparently, Cody had done the same, as he asked, "That doesn't hurt?"

"Nope." X couldn't have looked more unfazed. He'd clearly been around the block. He gestured toward the scanner. "Go on."

Not one of the four teens-turned-reploids moved.

"Come on, we don't have all day." Zero walked through himself, as if to provide another example. "See? No harm, no foul. Let's go."

Zack and Cody exchanged looks, engaging in a sort of wordless conversation that they'd honed over the years. As Axl went through and promptly showed off a flamethrower like weapon, the conversation ended with the former throwing his hands up and heading off.

At first, the shorter twin felt as if nothing had changed. "Okay, then. How's this supposed to work?"

"Just concentrate," X instructed. "It should come to you naturally soon enough."

The brunette gave the Blue Bomber an odd look. "Telling Zack Martin to concentrate? You'd have better luck convincing Cody to go to some no-name community college."

"I heard that." The boy in question closed his eyes, but was unsure about one thing: what was he supposed to be visualizing? He made himself focus harder, and visions of fire entered his head. Then he opened his eyes.

"Speed Burner."

As he heard himself say the words, the shorter twin lunged forward a few feet, wreathed in flames before skidding to a stop. Any bitter thoughts he'd went in with vanished at that moment.

"That. Was. AWESOME!"

Mixed feelings abounded inside the taller twin's head as he watched his brother subsequent joyride with these new fire powers. On the one hand, he denied that he should logically be nothing else but terrified at the prospect of him essentially being a living meteor. In a way, you could say that Mr. Moseby's worst, if not somewhat exaggerated, fears had come true. On a less logical level, he could appreciate that he was probably seeing one of the few glimpses of Zack's carefree attitude he'd seen in what felt like forever. It was a far cry from the eerily cold and distant behavior that they'd all dealt with the past month. Maybe there was a chance of actually getting through to…

"Wall. Wall! WALL!"

Everybody collectively cringed at the ensuing collision. When the smoke cleared, the shorter twin was in a crater of his own making, once again unconscious.

The swordsman shook his head in a sort of mock pity. "Poor kid. He must really love walls." After the resulting stickers died down, Zero's eagle eyed gaze focused on Cody. "Well? Come on, let's move it."

Going through the scanner himself, he learned his ability was called Fire Wave, essentially a flamethrower weapon. It simultaneously terrified and fascinated him every time he used it. The inevitable "packing heat" joke flashed in his mind, but he was sure that even in unconsciousness, his brother would find a way to berate him for that joke.

London almost had to be carried through a scanner for the second time in a row. At the last second though, she reluctantly agreed to go through. She got Fire Arrows that she could apparently shoot other one at a time or, after a brief charging period, three at a time. To say that she adapted quickly would be a huge understatement. She went wild with the weapons, to the point that a few stray shots narrowly missed the spectating Maverick Hunters.

"Quite the aim on that one, eh, boy?"

Cody immediately recognize the voice. "Black? I didn't see you come in."

"Yeah, I had some business to attend to." He took a cursory look at the unconscious body mind a few feet away, outside of the barricades. "He's okay, right."

"Yeah." The boy responded in kind. He was getting strangely used to these sorts of situations, and wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. "If what Zero said, and what happened last time's any indication, he should be back with us in about 5 to 10 minutes."

"Mmm." the elderly looking reploid stared off into space for a brief moment before opening his mouth to speak. "Any time you'd like to talk; I'd be fair game."

Cody's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. His mind buzzed with the possibilities of what he could learn from Black. In fact, he had to work to keep himself from giggling like a schoolgirl as he responded.

"Sir, I will absolutely take you up on that offer!" As the two shook hands, X called out to Cody.

"You're coming with me, Cody. We're going to pay a visit to an old friend of mine."