Hunter dashed across the outside of the satellite wearing his special space suit with the team he had wearing similar ones. Blitz looked intense as they got to a door.
"Exile, you're on.", Hunter stated.
Exile went up to the door and focused his eye beams one time to heat the door and then again to freeze them making the door brittle.
"Blitz, get us in.", Hunter informed.
Blitz nodded and with a couple slashes, the door fell apart as he retracted his razor nails and Scout looked Hunter's way.
"Want me to take a look?", he asked.
Hunter nodded and held up the little gizmo that allowed the rest of the group to see what he did. Scout then shimmered and was invisible before the others heard his footsteps into the door and grow quiet. Blitz then radioed Colleen and the rest of the group.
"Colleen, any luck down there?"
The other end radioed in, but the sound of fighting was heard.
"If you're going to get to Marauder, you should do it now!", Colleen answered, "Marauder seems to be having those receivers on Earth turn into some kind of firing antennae. I don't want to see what he's going to do if those go off."
Now Hunter was especially worried, but luckily Scout radioed in.
"Alarm system deactivated.", Scout reported, "All clear."
Hunter, Blitz, and Exile all dashed in and were soon met up with Scout who had become visible again and ran alongside them.
"You think we can make it in time?", Exile asked.
Hunter frowned as the hall ended in a door that opened and they found themselves in a large room with a monitor overlooking the whole pandemonium happening on Earth.
"Marauder?!", Hunter called out with his voice echoing off the walls, "Where are you?!"
No answer came at first, but then the monitor then switched to showing Marauder's face.
"Hello, my short sighted, two-shoes opponents.", the Rogue cackled, "You came as you claimed and yet you still fight what can't be stopped."
"Enough games Marauder!", Blitz sneered, "Face us and let's see how tough you really are!"
Marauder's smile grew bigger and more ghoulish.
"If you insist.", he snickered, "But before we do, let's play a game and if you win, I'll let you get away with stopping me."
Hunter raised an eyebrow.
"A game?", he asked.
Marauder's gaze fell on him instantly.
"Around my satellite, I have three switches. Press each one in time and you win the day, but fail and all will be lost."
The screen then showed a timer set to thirty minutes and started counting down as an alarm went off.
"Self-destruct sequence activated! Thirty minutes and counting."
Hunter radioed Colleen to inform her about the threat, but no answer but static.
"We have to find the team and those switches.", Hunter said, "I'll check the upper levels and the rest of you try the middle and lower parts."
"Got it sir.", the other three reported.
The group split and Hunter used his speed ability to get around quickly. There wasn't a moment to lose!
/
While his teammates headed off, Blitz had a feeling that he heeded. He turned off his communicator and made his way to a chamber near the outer middle area where he waited in the shadows just in time for Marauder soon came out and started walking down a hall.
"Not so fast."
Marauder paused as Blitz came out of the shadows while looking his way firmly.
"Your team will soon be caught up with fighting my own team.", Marauder stated plainly as he looked Blitz's way, "And the large tanks I had deployed will finish off the human race that has taken refuge in their precious little arks."
Blitz's expression hardened.
"Was all of this worth it?", he asked, "All this slaughter, all this chaos, and violence? What kind of revelation is this? It doesn't make us superior, it makes us look like an invasive species."
Marauder's smile grew bigger while the satellite shook violently.
"You've let your teammates get to you.", he snickered, "You're not the guard dog you used to be."
Blitz's expression flinched, but only slightly.
"Yes, I am.", he admitted, "But now I'm saving my bite for those who deserve it."
Marauder removed his face mask revealing his real face as his eyebrow raised.
"Then let's do this. You and me, and to the death or submission."
Blitz sighed as he extended his razor nails out.
"If that's how it has to be."
Marauder looked amused as he then split his mask which then slid to his hands and shifted into a set of blades on his wrists. With another sudden jerk of the room, the Rovers charged each other. Though it was just one on one, the fight was not even. Marauder was clearly more experienced and Blitz could hold his own barely as Marauder pinned him to a wall with a blade to his opponent's neck.
"You've lost your touch."
Blitz knew that his ex-partner wasn't lying as the blade's edge was barely touching his neck, but he also knew that arrogance could be one's downfall and when the satellite violently lurched again, the blade was off his neck long enough to have him knock his thick skull against Marauder's head making the vicious dog back off a bit and Blitz swung his clawed hand which managed to cut Marauder across the face as the Rover stumbled back. Marauder looked a bit shocked as the fresh cut across his eye had a thin stream of blood dripping down the side. Marauder then went on the offensive again, but Blitz slashed a nearby pipe spraying Marauder's face with steam making him stumble again and Blitz was able to get in close enough to spray some chloroform into Marauder's face making the Rover drop to the ground while Blitz breathed as he caught his breath and slapped on a pair of cuffs on Marauder and pulled the criminal up to when he was carrying him.
"Your crimes are unforgivable, but I'm not your executioner.", Blitz said calmly as he staggered towards the escape pods area, "But I will see that you are held accountable for them. It's the least I can do."
/
Hunter and the Rovers rushed to the escape bay a bit later while explosions and fires erupted around them.
"Self-destruct in two minutes."
That only made them run faster. Once they got to the bay, one of the capsules had already launched as they all filed in. Shag and Colleen helped Adam limp into the escape pod as they recalled what had transpired back when Adam was getting saved. Earlier, before the sequence was initiated, Parvo had led them into the lower layers where Adam was being kept. Unfortunately for them, it seemed that Marauder's Rouge Rovers were ready and engaged them when they got too close. One by one, they all got caught though Parvo and Groomer had gotten away though Colleen expected foul play.
"Traitors!", she remembered herself yelling.
Whatever happened next Colleen and the Rovers didn't know, but she had found herself being bound somewhere followed by fighting soon after before her blindfold was removed and she found herself facing Hunter as he unbound her hands.
"Hunty?"
Hunter gave her a shy smile despite the bruising on his face.
"Would you marry me after this?"
Colleen was a little taken aback as her arms came undone.
"Hunty, did you just-"
The place rocked violently and as Hunter managed to get her out, they made their way back to Adam's place just in time to see Parvo and Groomer laying on the ground dead. They got down just as the rest of the Rovers showed up and inspected the panel.
"Booby trapped panel.", Exile informed.
"And clearly a fight.", Scout put in as he pointed out some slash wounds among their bodies.
A loud tapping drew their attention and they saw Adam slump to the bottom of his containment. Shag was battered, but was still able as he got over and wrenched the side of the container open. Exile and Scout helped Adam up and found out that Adam wasn't making their alterations reversed.
"Must not work as good when he's not awake.", Hunter guessed before looking around, "Hey, where's Blitz?"
Colleen sighed harshly.
"He'll just have to catch up."
Hunter came back to reality as the voice rang out again.
"Self-destruct in thirty seconds."
Hunter followed the rest inside though he looked out into the hallway with no sign of Blitz at all.
"Blitz, where are you?", he asked.
Just then, the door went shut and Hunter turned to see Scout had activated the door mechanism with an expression that told Hunter that if Blitz couldn't make it, he at least died honorably. The Rovers strapped down and the pod launched off the satellite and got a good distance away before the thing exploded making the inside of the pod light up for a while and vibrate as the resulting shockwave came their way.
"Prepare for reentry.", Scout informed as the pod started entering Earth's atmosphere.
/
When they landed in the ocean. The hatch opened and Hunter radioed Dale.
"Dale, you there?"
Static answered him and the other Rovers grew a bit anxious.
"No signal?", Exile asked.
Hunter sighed. He had no idea what had happened on Earth, but Marauder made it sound pretty severe. Did he do his dirty deed and wiped the human race off the face of the Earth as he claimed he would? Just then, a beep came on the communicator.
"Guys, you okay out there?"
Hunter instantly responded back when he heard the voice.
"Blitz? Is that you?"
"Jah, it's me.", Blitz answered back.
Exile's eyes went wide.
"How can you be here?", he asked, "He's dead."
"I made it on an escape pod before any of you showed up.", Blitz answered, "And don't worry about Marauder. He's in custody and caught."
Colleen frowned.
"Blitz, you reckless, crazy Rover! Don't you ever ditch us like that again or Heaven forbid me I will skin you alive and leave you in Siberia for a week!", she yelled.
There was a pause before Blitz spoke again.
"Are you finished?"
Colleen took a few deep breaths as she calmed down while Scout radioed back.
"Blitz, how soon can you come get us?"
Just then, the pod rocked as the surrounding waters suddenly churned. Then the pod was elevated as what seemed like a huge submarine came up from the depths and made enough room for the Rovers to file out and stand. A large hatch opened up and Blitz came out smiling.
"Hey guys. Glad you made it back.", he said as he came over and looked around, "Where's Parvo and Groomer?"
Scout sighed.
"They didn't make it.", he admitted, "They gave their lives to disable Adam from that infernal machine."
Blitz looked to see Shag and Exile help lift him up though the Rover looked like he was still unconscious. Scout felt Adam's chest and looked alarmed.
"There's no pulse!"
Hunter waisted no time and sped Adam inside and straight to the medical bay where the medics were hard at work tending to what looked like a room full of injured soldiers, civilians, or officials. Hunter carried Adam to the doctors who were just finishing up.
"Doc, we need you!"
The doctor looked annoyed.
"Hey, I don't care if you're Clinton's dog, I'm too overworked to-"
"I can give him a look."
Hunter saw Dale and smiled as Adam was placed on a bed and Dale got a defibrillator just as the rest of the Rovers showed up.
"Clear!"
/
Hunter stood before the crowd of people and Rovers that had been gathered. His team was alongside him while a large picture of Dr. Shepherd was behind him and the White House behind that. And with the television crews around, Hunter knew the whole world was watching what he was going to say.
"People and Rovers of America and of the world, I stand before you not just as the loyal Rover of President Clinton and as the leader of the team that helps keep the world safe. I stand before you as an individual who has something that I think the world should hear. The threat of Marauder and his Rogues is contained at least for the time being. When Marauder sought to change the world, he sought to eliminate it to do so. But our world has changed even though Marauder has left it scarred, our unity cracked, but with the right help and understanding, we can learn to mend our broken fences, repair our trust and lead this new age of peace and harmony. From this day on, man and Rovers must learn to not just accept each other, but learn to live alongside each other. Some may accept what I say, others may go against it, but if we can persevere, we can overcome those differences and make the world into something more."
A whole round of applause rang out over the air. Adam watched from a wheelchair that Shag was pushing due to him still being weak from being used as a living battery and recovering rather slowly. Still, he was alive and was in care of the Rovers. As the festivities got underway, Blitz made his way to a helicopter which airlifted him to a special prison that was inside an active volcano and clearly heated to almost suffocation. After landing, Blitz was led to a special cell near the bottom where Blitz saw Marauder in an orange prison uniform, but the Rogue didn't look so disappointed behind the special electrified bars which Blitz paused in front of.
"You know that this special cell of yours won't cage me forever.", Marauder said as if to offer a warning, "There will always be another evil in the world. You can't stop what is inevitable."
Blitz frowned.
"We'll keep fighting as long as we're able.", he assured, "Maybe someday you can turn from your evil ways and see the light as I had."
Back at the White House, the Rovers were celebrating with a whole bunch of people when Hunter noticed a familiar Rover near the back who beckoned him toward him.
"Well, you did it Hunter.", Theo told him smiling, "It now up to you and the Rovers to keep Marauder and his Rogues in check along with the other criminals of the world. Can you do that for me?"
Hunter nodded and shook Theo's hand.
"Thanks for the help Theo.", he said smiling, "Where will you go now?"
"Where I'm needed most.", Theo answered as their hands parted, "Take care Hunter."
As Theo left through a mirror, he found himself back in Subspace where the book that was open to him closed revealing the title; "Road Rovers" before it flew back into the bookshelf and Theo settled into his chair as he turned to the one book that now only had one last piece of its gem still unlit.
"One more series.", Theo said as if the book was able to understand him, "One more."