"Hey Evan?" Yang asked aloud as she finished drinking from her water bottle.
"Yeah? What's up?" Evan questioned mid-exercise.
"I got a joke for you." Yang said with a growing smile on her face.
"Ok. Hit me with it." Evan replied as he continued exercising.
"What does a cloud use to scratch its back?" Yang inquired as Evan tried to think of an answer.
"I don't know." Evan stated.
"A skyscraper." Yang answered.
For a moment, Evan's body shook with laughter as he thought more and more about the joke. Composing himself, the teen kept himself from collapsing to the ground during his exercises.
"Heh heh. A skyscraper, oh my God…You almost made me lose my concentration." Evan added with a chuckle in his voice.
As Evan finished up a set of one-arm push-ups, the teen got back on his feet. As he did so, a set of bandages on both of his wrists began to loosen and slip off.
"Come on, you can take attacks that can destroy moons, but a joke is what gets you in shambles?" Yang joked.
Tightening both bandages, Evan did a quick stretch as he looked back at Yang.
"Cut me some slack, my exercise routine isn't exactly normal." Evan argued.
"None of ours are. Not since we've started doing gravity training." Ren pointed out as he gestured to the purple tint of gravity dust in the air and the powered on gravity machine.
"Speaking of which, how's Nora doing?" Yang asked with concern in her voice as she looked toward Ren.
"She's well on her way to recovering, and I know that something like that whole incident won't keep her down. At least now she knows not to crank the gravity machine up way past her level anymore." Ren explained calmly as Oscar stopped exercising and approached the group.
"True enough. I guess even when doing gravity training, you still need a spotter to keep an eye on ya." Yang said aloud.
"This still feels so weird. It's as if my whole body has weights on it!" Oscar explained in a cheerful tone as he held out his arm and rotated it back and forth.
"And this is only three times gravity? I can't even begin to understand how your body can handle even higher levels of gravity!" Oscar continued as looked at Evan in bewilderment.
"It's just a process. You'll get there eventually too if you keep up your training." Evan argued.
"Heh…That'll be the day." Oscar pondered out loud.
"Hey, He's got a point Oscar. I mean, if I was told a few months ago that we all would be able to fly and shoot lasers out of our hands, after doing just a few weeks of training, I would've called you nuts." Yang stated.
"What are the Ace Ops teaching you now if you're this far along?" Evan inquired.
"We've already learned a lot of the basic stuff already: Flying, creating and launching Ki blasts, channeling Ki into energy beams, Ki sensing, things like that." Yang explained as she started casually listing them all one by one with her hand.
"Right now though, they're teaching us how to channel Ki through every part of our own weapons, even down to the bullets inside the magazines!" Yang continued enthusiastically.
"After all, why learn a whole new fighting style just to use Ki, when we can incorporate our newfound strength into our existing ones?" Yang said to the Saiyan.
"We're also learning how to incorporate Ki into our semblances, making them stronger in the process." Ren added.
"Yeah, but we're still quite a ways off from being able to actually use it." Yang pointed out.
"Why specifically?" Evan asked, intrigued by Yang's words.
"Using either Ki or a semblance separately is simple enough to do. It's like, like…" Yang explained as she snapped her fingers, trying to find the right words.
"It's like when you have a regular garden hose that's turned on. You can control how you move it very easily. But, when you use both simultaneously, it's like you're trying to use a firehose that's at full blast. Not only is it difficult to control without proper training, but it wastes a lot of Ki and stamina very quickly." Oscar interjected.
"You nailed that Oscar! You spelled it out pretty well, I'd say." Yang added enthusiastically.
"But yeah, at the moment, while we can do a lot with Ki, we aren't able to easily use our semblances and Ki at the same time. And we certainly can't do it on command in the middle of a fight like how the Ace Ops can." Yang pointed out as she stared at Evan.
"I must admit, it is wild seeing you in that getup now, but it does fit you." Yang complimented as she looked at Evan's outfit.
The Saiyan's ensemble consisted of a blue, elastic, long sleeved shirt, a white coat that was half zipped up, blue pants, red gloves, and white shoes.
"Thanks. I'm glad that I'm able to wear it." Evan replied back.
Hearing a heavy pounding on the metal shutter, Evan flipped the gravity machine off and saw Penny outside.
"Hey Penny, what's going on?" Evan asked.
"I just got a message from the General. He wanted to have the two of us come to his office for an important briefing!" Penny explained.
"Seems like I'll have to come back later so I can do some personal training." Evan thought to himself.
"Alright. Let's get going then! Don't want to keep Ironwood waiting." Evan replied back as he turned toward Yang, Ren, and Oscar.
"Sorry guys, but I gotta split." Evan shouted out as he gave them a wave goodbye.
"See ya around Sparkler Hands!" Yang said happily as she waved back.
As Penny and Evan left the gravity room, Evan noticed a bright silver light coming from the training room next to it.
"Ruby's doing more training with her silver eyes?" Evan asked his friend as the two teens continued down the hallway.
"From what I saw earlier, yes. I believe that nice lady Maria's been guiding Ruby through some exercises that she used to do before she lost her own silver eyes years ago." Penny answered as Evan smiled.
"Good on her." Evan said proudly as the duo entered an elevator.
"I'm glad that she's been putting in the work to perfect that silver-eyed power of hers." Evan continued as the elevator carried them upward.
"It's not just her." Penny pointed out as she leaned forward in the enclosed space.
"You should see how far all of her friends have come too." Penny continued as she looked toward her friend.
"I know. I just want to give credit where credit's due." Evan replied back.
As the duo entered the General's office, James Ironwood got up from his neatly organized desk.
"Evan. Penny. It's good to see you both." Ironwood said warmly as he walked around his desk to stand tall next to the two teens.
"It's always a pleasure. So what's going on General?" Evan inquired.
"If you weren't aware, most of the ballots for the upcoming election have been counted, and the results are going to be revealed tonight. From what I've seen regarding popular opinion, Robyn Hill's victory is all but assured." Ironwood stated.
"How did Jacques Schnee end up fairing? I heard from Harriet that he joined the race rather deep into that whole thing." Evan asked aloud.
"While he did accumulate some voters to his side, it's mostly just a vocal minority of people who are upset regarding the Argus refugees. I'm honestly very thankful he isn't going to win. I know that man, and if he had secured a seat on the council alongside me and the other two representatives…" Ironwood said, instinctively starting to message one of the temples on the side of his face as he imagined the scenario.
"Besides, I've heard construction on Argus' walls has been going quite well, and in only a few months time, Argus's populace will be able to return to their great city and Jacque would have no one to support him anyway." Ironwood continued as Evan smiled as he heard the news regarding Argus.
"That's great news!" Penny exclaimed.
"Wow Penny, I didn't know you wanted Jacque to lose all his political supporters." Evan joked as he pretended to harshly criticize his friend.
"What?! No, that's not what I was getting at! I merely meant…" Penny muttered out quickly as she shook her head. As she tried to correct herself, the robot girl then noticed the wide grin on Evan's face.
"Oh, I see..." Penny said aloud as her face filled with embarrassment.
"I apologize, I'm still not entirely accustomed to the tiny intricacies of humor." Penny mumbled out.
"You'll get there. I know you will." Evan added sympathetically as put a comforting hand on her back. As Penny looked away bashfully, Evan noticed a grateful smile emerging on her face.
Looking back at the General, Evan straightened up.
"I'm sorry General, I know your time's important. You can keep going with the briefing." Evan apologized as the General waved it off.
"You're quite alright." Ironwood added as addressed the duo.
"Robyn Hill will be hosting a party tonight in Mantle to celebrate her victory. As a show of good faith, I want the two of you to attend the party. It's been quite some time since we've had a member of Mantle in the Atlas Council. Since both of you are well regarded there, I would like you both to talk with and get to know her, and act as extra security for the event." Ironwood continued.
"Sure, consider it done." Evan stated casually.
"Excellent. Then you're both excused. Good luck, Miss Polendina. Specialist Anderson." Ironwood said proudly, causing Evan to smile warmly.
"The outfit's one thing, but I don't know if I'll ever get over hearing that name." Evan replied cheerfully as the duo left the office.
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As the spaceship came to a stop, Raisk got up from the pilot's seat.
"Alright, the ship's cloaking tech is up and I set us right above Terra's outer orbit." Raisk explained.
"Any signs of Turles' ship?" Prunze hesitantly asked.
"Yeah, but it's turned off from it seems like. On the bright side, no life signs are approaching the ship." Raisk replied back, causing Prunze to nearly collapse in his chair.
"*Sigh* Thank fuck. At least we're not in immediate danger of getting blown out of the sky…" Prunze added, his voice full of relief.
Before he could continue, Prunze's stomach began to grumble loudly.
"I really hope we can just get this over with and leave. Any self-respecting guy should not let his last meal be one of these shitty nutrition slabs." Prunze said aloud as he tossed one of the food wrappers into a wastebasket built into the wall, where it was then immediately burned away by a miniature incinerator.
"Oh what I wouldn't give for a steamin' hot Zog on a roll right now..." Raisk muttered out hungrily.
Shaking his head, Raisk composed himself as he looked over at his friend.
"Is the scout robo secured and ready to be launched?" Raisk asked.
"Yep. Double checked it and everything." Prunze replied back with a thumbs up, causing Raisk to walk back over to the ship's main console.
"Then let's get this show on the road." Raisk declared as he leaned forward and pressed a button on the terminal.
As the spaceship rumbled slightly, a small circular sphere the size of a volleyball was launched from the bottom of the vessel. Flying through space, the metal orb continued its course even as the exterior casings was burned upon entering the planet's atmosphere. Like a comet, the device soared until it crash landed in a remote forest.
"Alright. I got the controller right here. Work your magic." Prunze said as he lifted a large metal box down onto Raisk's lap.
Opening the contents, the two aging soldiers were bombarded by a cloud of dust. Coughing loudly, both men tried desperately to wave away the dust.
"*Cough* Gross. Geez, this is ancient tech right here. Who even uses Zeta Drives these days? This stuff was already becoming outdated back when my grandparents were young!" Raisk questioned aloud as he looked at the machinery in front of him.
The scout robo controller was built into the wide metal box with all sorts of buttons, knobs, switches, and joysticks. Near the top of the controller was a turned off screen.
"Makes sense to me. Half the machinery back at the outpost is barely functional too. With how big Frieza's empire is, they have to cut corners in some places." Prunze said as he pulled out a paper manual that was secured in the roof of the metal box's interior.
Handing it over to Raisk, the alien opened the manual up.
"Thanks." Raisk added as he quickly got to work reading over the instructions.
"Ok. So if I do this…" Raisk continued as he flipped a switch and started pressing buttons.
Back on the planet, as the icy winter winds blew on the
hot metal pod, the device opened up as a miniature metal drone flew out of the sphere. The little robot was about the size of an insect, and thanks to its cloaking technology, invisible to both the observable eye and machines alike.
As a small digital screen came to life, Raisk raised a fist in the air.
"There we go!" Raisk exclaimed.
"Now then, if I switch this thing into scanning mode, we can track Turles and his gang via their high power levels!" Raisk said as he turned a knob on the controller.
As the colorful vision of the landscape shifted to a green hue on the display, various power levels and their distance from the robot started popping up on the screen.
"Seems like most of the highest power levels are accumulated near the planet's northern pole…" Raisk determined as he looked at the power levels and their distance from the robot.
"Woah! The largest one just surged up like crazy!" Prunze exclaimed as he got up from his seat and leaned forward to point at the screen.
"That's got to be Turles! Go check it out." Prunze added.
"I will once you stop breathing down my neck! This is sensitive equipment here!" Raisk yelled back as he put his hands around two joysticks, raising the robot into the air.
Responding to Raisk's commands, the machine charged toward the sea and the icy north that lay beyond it at immense speeds.
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Entering the auditorium, Evan and Penny looked around the tightly packed room. The ceiling was decorated with multiple banners saying: "Robyn for Council" while posters covered the walls with similar slogans and images of Robyn Hill. The air resonated with catchy jazz music unfamiliar to Evan. On the sides of the room were various tables with people casually chatting and enjoying refreshments. Most of the people were congregated in the middle of the room, looking up toward the empty stage which showed a hologram of countdown with 15 minutes left on the clock.
Below it were holographic images of multiple candidates and the percentage of voters who had picked them. The two biggest candidates were Robyn at 84% of the votes, Jacques at 12% of the votes. The other 4% were for various other candidates that Evan couldn't make out the names of from where he was standing.
Walking down the sides of the building, Evan and Penny saw the popular candidate on the other side of the room, talking with some of the voters.
Robyn was a woman with purple eyes, tanned skin and light-blond hair done up in a ponytail. Wearing a red vest, gray shirt, brown pants, and an olive green scarf around her neck.
Noticing them both, Robyn finished her conversation with the voters as they walked back over to the main crowd.
"Evan Anderson and Penny Polendina. I've heard a lot about you two, but I never got the chance to meet either of you. Regardless, I do respect the work you've both done to protect Mantle." Robyn said with a look of appreciation on her face.
Extending a hand out, Evan took Robyn's hand as the two shook hands.
"How you enjoying the music selection? It's one of my personal favorites." Robyn asked the young Saiyan.
"Oh, um…it's nice. I'm a big fan of the artist." Evan lied as he tried to make small talk.
"Hmm…I'm not so sure of that." Robyn said with a chuckle as her eyes gestured downward.
Looking down, both sides still shaking hands, Evan saw that Robyn's aura had extended all the way to the teen's own hand. The most glaring detail however was how Robyn's aura was a bright red.
"How do you like my semblance? I can tell if people are telling the truth or not based on the color of the aura. Green means it's the truth, and you can guess what red meant…" Robyn explained as she pulled her hand aura, causing her aura to vanish from Evan's own hand.
"I'm sorry, I was just…" Evan stumbled out as he tried to apologize, only for Robyn to casually brush it off.
"It's ok. You think you're the first person to tell a white lie to me?" Robyn argued as three more people approached the candidate.
"These people giving you any trouble? Hold on aren't you two-" A tall woman with tanned skin questioned, as her face quickly morphed into one of realization.
"Oh my gosh!" A woman with white hair interjected as she jumped and down giddily.
"I never thought I'd see you guys here!" The woman continued.
"These are the huntresses on my squad. We're known as the Happy Huntresses. We try to do our best to help out Mantle when we can." Robyn explained.
"This is Joanna and May." Robyn continued as she first gestured to the tall woman and then to another lady with blue hair.
"And that's Fiona." Robyn finished as Fiona took a step back toward the rest of her team.
May Marigold was a woman with blue hair and amber eyes in a large brown coat and silver ensemble
Fiona Thyme was a short, sheep, faunus woman with white scruffy hair, white sheep ears, and olive eyes in a green and gray ensemble.
Joanna Greenleaf was a tall woman with tanned skin, beige eyes, and dark green hair in a brown and gray ensemble with various green highlights.
On each of their backs, Evan noticed a metal staff with a metal crossbow attached to a loaded magazine on either side. Each crossbow's arms had bladed attachments built into them. On top of that, the underside of both crossbows had a folded up bayonet.
"You're on the Ace Ops now?" May said as she pointed at his new outfit.
"And just when I was starting to think you were on our side…" May said bitterly as she turned away from him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Evan asked accusingly.
"It's nothing. May just doesn't have the best view on Atlas, that's all." Robyn added, trying her best to mediate the situation as Robyn's scroll started to vibrate.
"Look, it's just about time for my speech. We're all adults here, so can you two at least just put this on hold until after everyone's cleared out for the night." Robyn said quietly as she got up on stage.
/-/
"Hello everyone!" Robyn announced as she waved to the cheering crowd.
"I can't believe the day has finally come…" Robyn continued to announce to the hundreds of people attending the event.
Everyone listened on with great interest, all with the sole exception of a man in a large brown cloak. If someone had managed to notice his manic face and his ear to ear smile, then they would have surely been disturbed by the man.
Ignoring the politician's speech, the man kept his eyes squarely on another figure, a teen with spiky black hair and a brown monkey tail.
"You better pay attention Tyrian! Once I shut off the building's power, you'll only have 30 seconds to complete your task before the emergency generators come on. Just get in, kill the boy, and get out before anyone sees you." Watts explained through the metal earpiece.
"It will be done. I'd do anything if it were to please our goddess." Tyrian whispered back as Watts audibly groaned through the earpiece.
"Whatever. Remember, Evan is your top priority! I am turning off the power in 10…9…" Watts said aloud.
/-/
"And I just wanted to thank all of you for…" Robyn continued only for all of the lights in the building to suddenly go off.
As the crowd began to murmur and fill with confusion, Evan, with the senses of a highly trained Saiyan warrior, made out the sound of people being pushed aside and clothes getting rustled as a figure rapidly approached the teen. As a cloaked figure lunged forward, Evan could see a large limb swing out from the back of the coat and reach for his neck.
Holding a single Ki channeled finger out, Evan parried the attack, forcing the foe to be pushed back.
"Evan!" Penny called out worriedly.
"Get back! I got this!" Evan blurted out.
Rushing forward, Tyrian took to the air, swinging his arms and legs like a top. Pulling his body back, Evan easily dodged the attack as his opponent landed back on the floor only to crouch down and immediately spring toward the teen's jugular.
Noticing a set of bladed weapons coming out of the man's long sleeved cloak, Evan brought an arm out to block the attack. As steel met Ki imbued flesh, Tyrian looked on in disbelief as the metal of his blades cracked, broke, and shattered against the teen's seemingly normal looking arm. Leaping away, Tyrian prepared another attack just as the lights suddenly turned back on.
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Piloting the robot high above the city streets, Raisk concentrated as the machine approached their destination.
"Hey Prunze, get up!" Raisk shouted as he used on of his arms to shake Prunze out of his mild slumber.
"Wh-What's happening?" Prunze mumbled out.
"I'm just about to reach Turles' location. Although, from what I can gather from the other power levels, none of Turles's goons are still alive." Raisk explained as he returned his focus back to the console.
"What are you on about?" Prunze mumbled out, still half asleep.
"Look at all of these other readings, they're all way too low to be them." Raisk pointed out.
"You think there was a mutiny, and Turles just killed 'em all?" Prunze speculated.
"I don't know, but Turles himself is Command's main concern anyway. Regardless, if anyone on this planet is Turles, it's got to be the person in that building." Raisk said as the robot slipped through an open glass window and into the building.
"Their power level may have gone back down to its original levels, but that doesn't mean they can hide from us!" Raisk exclaimed as the robot recorded the scene in front of them.
"Hold on…That's not Turles!" Prunze yelled out in surprise.
"Who the hell is that?!" Raisk muttered out, his voice full of confusion as he flew the robot closer for a better look.
Getting a full body view of the mystery warrior, Prunze and Raisk looked on in disbelief.
"Is that another Saiyan?!" Both men shouted out.
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As the lights of the room illuminated the opponent, Evan noticed how his foe had a moving mechanical scorpion tail with a tank of purple liquid right above where the stinger was.
As Evan stared down the enemy, Tyrian began to giggle manically.
"You're a tenacious one, aren't you?" Tyrian questioned as he tilted his head to the side in curiosity before rapidly shaking it side to side.
"It doesn't matter though. I'll still sow some chaos tonight, one way or the other. You may be tough enough to survive my blows, but are they?" Tyrian shouted out with a sadistic smile as he shifted his weapons into their gun form and pointed them out toward the innocent crowd.
Upon seeing the drawn weapons, the crowd desperately tried to run for the exits, while Robyn's teammates instinctively rushed toward them to try and block the oncoming attack with their aura. Just as they began to pull out their weapons, Tyrian opened fire.
Reveling in the sound of gunshots, Tyrian briefly closed his eyes and laughed hysterically as he sprayed his shots in a sweeping pattern, trying to hit as many people as possible in the process.
However, the screams of the crowd did not increase, much to his displeasure. As he opened his eyes, he found Evan and Penny standing in front of the Happy Huntresses and the uninjured crowd.
"What? How did that not work?!" Tyrian yelled out angrily.
"These people are under our protection. I will not let you hurt them, you heartless fiend!" Penny replied back confidently as both teens opened their hands up, revealing all of Tyrian's ammunition as it began to fall toward the ground.
"I'll end-" Tyrian began to declare as Evan shot forward at incredible speeds.
Punching Tyrian right in the face with a mighty KRAK, the maniac was knocked out cold in a single blow just as Tyrian's bullets touched the floor and rolled about harmlessly. Falling over like a cut down tree in a forest, Tyrian collapsed to the floor with zero fight left in him.
"Is…Is it over?" A lady in the crowd asked hesitantly.
"I believe so." May muttered out as she kicked Tyrian in the side to make sure.
"People of Mantle, I deeply apologize for the events that transpired here tonight! To think that something like this could happen right under our noses…" Robyn announced as she stepped down from the stage.
"But it's horrific things like this that help us realize that enough is enough! It is only through camaraderie, trust, community, and determination that we can rise above and work together towards a better future." Robyn continued as the crowd began to rally behind her words.
"And as the newest elected council member, I vow to make real changes and put an end to chaos like what you've just seen! I will strive to make Mantle a truly great city to live in, one that matches its wonderful people!" Robyn declared as the crowd started to clap and cheer for her.
As Evan looked on at the cheering crowd, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, Evan was face to face with May.
"I don't know what you and your friend did to stop all those bullets, but thank you." May said in a sincere and grateful tone.
"No problem." Evan simply stated with a smile as his gaze shifted to the knocked out criminal.
"Who the heck was that guy though?" Evan inquired.
"I'm not sure either, but we'll move him down to the station, get him secured and find out." Joanna announced as she lifted Tyrian up and placed him on her shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
As the crowd gave way for Joanna with Fiona right beside her, Evan turned toward his robotic friend.
"Thanks for the assist, Penny!" Evan said happily.
"Of course!" Penny replied back as her face soon changed to one of curiosity.
"But what did you think of my declaration to the enemy? I've been trying out some new phrases to better instill a sense of peace and safety in the citizens that I'm aiding. I thought it was very effective!" Penny explained.
"It could use some workshopping, but you're on the right track." Evan added with a friendly nod of approval.
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As Prunze and Raisk stared slack-jawed at the screen, Raisk tried to process what he was seeing.
"How the hell is another Saiyan still alive?!" Raisk pondered out loud.
"How the heck should I know!?" Prunze replied back, equally as confused.
"Wh-What if it's just a native? I did notice a few individuals in the city streets that had animal extremities. Maybe he's just one of them?" Raisk argued.
"No, that was a Saiyan alright. The spiky ass hair, the eyes, the brown tail, that high power level too." Prunze said as he shook his head vehemently.
"Heavens above, if that super high power level from earlier was that Saiyan's maximum…I don't think there's ever been a Saiyan with a power level that massive before. Why if Frieza knew…" Prunze continued only to stop himself mid-sentence as he got up from his seat and proceeded to pace around the room.
"If Frieza knew he'd do what?" Raisk questioned in a confused tone as Prunze simply ignored him and started muttering to himself.
"Come on Prunze, just spit it out!" Raisk exclaimed, as Prunze spun on a dime and turned toward Raisk.
"Where's the data from the scout robo stored?" Prunze inquired with a growing smile on his face.
"It's on the drone itself, but the data can only be played back on a Zeta Drive player, and that's back at base." Raisk explained.
"Ok. Ok. I need you to show me how to pilot the scout robo. That way while you lower the ship down into Terra's skies, I can help get the scout robo onto the ship itself." Prunze said excitedly, his brain firing at a mile a minute.
"What is this all about? What's got you all riled up?" Raisk questioned his companion.
"Because I know a sure-fire way to have both of us enter our retirement filthy stinking rich! And it all depends on us getting back that scout robo!" Prunze declared.
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