In memory of Kevin Conroy (30th November 1955 - 10th November 2022) & In memory of Jason David Frank (4th September 1973 - 19th November 2022)
It was midnight, and in the SHED, A-Bomb was lying in his bed, wide awake and staring at the ceiling, with a straight face,
"Today's my Birthday..." A-Bomb said to himself, as he just turned 17 a few minutes ago, but there was nothing to celebrate,
Giving everything that was happening, the fight against Taskmaster, a powerful creature that Taskmaster wants to release into their Universe, finding out that their friend Alice is Red X, and the fact that he hasn't spoken to his mother in weeks, how couldn't anyone be happy about a Birthday with all of that going on.
A-Bomb couldn't sleep; he gets out of bed and walks over to a box that had a tag written on it that readied, 'Happy Birthday, signed Blukia and Driba',
He opens the present and inside was some clothes, A-Bomb takes them out and puts them on,
A-Bomb was now wearing a black t-shirt with the number 23 written on the left upper corner; the shirt hugged his body frame as A-Bomb then puts on a navy blue jacket, and puts on dark blue jeans.
He was surprised, due to him hardly ever finding clothes that fit his large body, he noticed that the clothes weren't made with normal fabric; it was something Blukic and Driba specially made for A-Bomb.
Sometime later, A-Bomb was now sitting on top of one of the highest skyscrapers in Jump City, sitting on the ledge as he stared at the city,
So much has happened over these past few months, Taskmaster, Alice, Kyoya, Reese, and of course Randy, he's beginning to feel the pressure of all of this.
A-Bomb sighed as he shifted himself and lays down on the ledge and stares at the stars, he just wished he didn't have to leave this roof.
But then, coming into his view, was Galatea, as she smiled at him, "Nice treads, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't gonna really miss the hot pants." She tells him, complementing A-Bomb new clothes.
A-Bomb was caught off-guard as he quickly sits up and looked at her, "What are you doing here?" He asked,
Galatea had an innocent face as she shrugged her shoulders, "Nothin', just thought I'd take a nice little flyby, what about you?" She asked, wonder why A-Bomb is sitting around looking all glum.
A-Bomb sighed as he turned away from her, "You wouldn't understand..." He said,
Galatea then floats down and sits next to A-Bomb, "What? You think I'm some major ice queen that can't comprehend feelings? Try me," Galatea replies,
A-Bomb turned to look at her again, and was hesitant but he felt like he needed to vent, "Today's my birthday and I'm not happy in the slightest..." He tells her,
But Galatea stared at A-Bomb, Blank White Eyes and a question mark appears over her head, "That's it?" She asked, as she was confused because usually when a guy sits on top of a really tall building, it means he's really, REALLY upset because of something a little more depressing than not being happy on his birthday.
"It's not so much the fact that it's my birthday, but more of everything that's been happening in my family lately." A-Bomb said,
Galatea's eyes goes back to normal and the question mark disappears, "Okay... Explain..." She asked,
A-Bomb turned away and stared down at the streets below, "My brother, whom I haven't seen or heard from in four years, and I find out that my only mother knew that he was in prison the whole time and never told me." He explained, recapping what happen between Kyoka and Reese.
Galatea now understood, "So, problems with the mother, I see..." She mentioned,
"She kept something as important as that from me, her own son, for four years... I honestly don't know if I can trust her again..." A-Bomb said, as he turned to face Galatea, with a depressed look.
Galatea stared at him, with a straight face, as she turned away and looked down, "Well, life's too short to be upset with your mom; you should at least try and mend things with her." Galatea tells him, with a deep tone in her voice,
A-Bomb was engaged to what Galatea was talking about; as it sounded that she was speaking from personal experience.
Galatea's face had a sad expression, "My mom die when I was eight... There was a lot I didn't get to tell her..." She tells A-Bomb, as she turned to look at him again, "So I know how it feels to have so much to say and never getting to say it..." Galatea finished,
A-Bomb stared at Galatea, what she said actually helped him get some perspective,
Galatea shrugged her shoulders, "Look, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, I'm just saying, I mean, I can understand you being upset with her, but if she was my mom, after some time to cool off, I'd try and patch things up with her." She said,
A-Bomb then turned to look at the street below again, as Galatea has given him a lot to think about.
Galatea then turned as she heard something with her hyper-hearing, Galatea then smiled as she pushes herself off the ledge and flies over to face A-Bomb, who looked confused on why she was smiling.
"I know something that's gonna cheer you up, I just picked up chatter from a police radio that there's a gang of street racers who just stole a big number of high priced cars, and is currently shredding downtown as we speak, wanna go stop them, trust me; it'll make you feel so much better." Galatea explained to him, suggesting them go down there and stop them.
A-Bomb thought about it, before looking Galatea right in the eyes, with confidences, "Lead the way," He said, feeling it will make his birthday start with something positive, and to him, taking down scumbags is something positive.
Galatea smiled, as she gives a gently punch to A-Bomb's right shoulder, "Alright! Showtime, Baby," She said, as she flies off,
And A-Bomb stands up and super jumps off the ledge, A-Bomb reaches Galatea's level and gives her an annoyed look, "And for the record, they weren't hot pants, they were normal, long legged shorts!" A-Bomb told her, referring to his old shorts.
As A-Bomb began falling to the ground below, Galatea still had a sly smile, "'Potato, Potahto', either way, you're butt looked cute in them..."She said, under-breath, as she flies down,
(A/N: A-Bomb's shorts... You will be missed… (T-T))
And the two super powered teens headed to where the crime was taking place.
Sometime later, in deep space, in Taskmaster's main warship,
In the training room, Garnet was flying around the room, as there were training drones chasing her, as they were shooting at her, but as she was evading the shots, she quickly shifted around and aimed her spear at them and fires a blast that destroys a number of them.
In the observation deck, Mistral was watching Garnet's training, recording everything, entering the room was Taskmaster, Mistral turned to see him, and she smiled.
"If you're here to see Garnet results, her evasion and flight speed has increased by 23%." Mistral tells Taskmaster,
"I came to see you because I believe Red X's treatments needs to be intensified." Taskmaster tells Mistral,
Mistral raised an left eyebrow, "If you referring to the fact Red X heard someone call her Alice, I can assure you, I have double monitoring her and the treatment has been keeping her in check, there is not doubt that her hearing 'Alice' could affect her in the slightest." The cyborg explained to Taskmaster,
"I'm not taking any chance, we're finally at where we need to be, I wouldn't want it to be halted because you say it's faultless." Taskmaster told Mistral, as he was suggesting, he was giving her an order.
Mistral was offended but she complied, "Fine, I will begin increasing the treatment immediately." She tells Taskmaster, with a straight expression,
Taskmaster then turned and exits the room, outside the room, waiting for Taskmaster, was Robin, Taskmaster turned to see Robin, who had a calm look on her face,
"Is there something you need?" Taskmaster asked Robin,
Robin looked at Taskmaster, "I'm curious on Mistral's treatments, I've been doing some research on the methods and they all seem quite... Unorthodox..." She mentioned, seeing the ways Mistral treats Red X and Black Velocity, it was inhumane.
"Why do you care?" Taskmaster asked Robin, as she hardly ever voices concern for Mistral's experiments.
Robin stared at Taskmaster, with an unshaken expression on her face, "I don't bat an eye on what happens around here, but with this, it just makes me feel unsettled." Robin explained to Taskmaster,
But Taskmaster leans in towards her, getting close to her face, "You are a soldier, Ms. All Sunday, it's not you're place to voice opinions on means for victory." Taskmaster told Robin, coldly as he turned around and walked away,
Leaving Robin standing there, with a calm but irritated look, she has followed Taskmaster since he saved her, turned a blind eye on what Taskmaster ordered her to do many times, but she wasn't a Taskbot that had no voice.
Back on Earth, it was around 8:00 AM, and on the Triskelion's Island,
Inside the building, A-Bomb was walking down the hallway, as he was in a slightly better mood than before, after stopping some criminals with Galatea, help a lot than he thought.
A-Bomb was on his way to the morning, he reaches Nick's office , but as he opens the door, he sees inside the room, Julie and Metabee, in-front of them was holographic projections of the World Security Council, with Nick was in-between them.
"No! You can't do this!" Julie yelled at Nick with concerned look,
"We're now facing a threat that's unknown and dangerous, and you're merely focus all attention on a classmate who is working for a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, turned interdimensional crazed terrorist." One of the Council members said to Julie, in a serious tone,
Nick turned to look at the trio, "We're not going to ignore an capture a double-agent of Taskmaster, because she's your friend." He tells them, looking dead serious.
Metabee stood on the table, glaring angrily at Nick, "Alice is our friend, there's no way she could be a part of any of this, this gotta be a trick of Taskmaster!" He said, before turning to stare at the Council, "You try going after her, and you'll answer to me..." Metabee threaten them, if they go after Alice, he was gonna make them sorry.
One of the Council members turned to look at Nick, "Control your team, Director, we have pressing matter than trying to act like the biggest kid on the playground..." She told Fury, as they didn't have time to waste with the team fighting what needs to be done.
A-Bomb then takes a few steps forward, joining the team, as he had a straight face, "Council members," He greeted the Council,
Julie turned to look at A-Bomb, "Rick, they're ordering an arrest on Alice; you can't let them do this!" She tells A-Bomb,
After the team found out that Alice was Red X, Nick sees this as an opportunity to capture an soldier of Taskmaster's to extract information, mainly information on where Taskmaster is and where the portal is being built.
"We waste a chance like this and the portal will be completed and it's game over," Nick told them,
Metabee turned to glare at Nick, "Well, you can't just sent a strike team to raid Alice's place and drag her out, with her kicking and screaming." He said,
"He's not sending a strike team..." The sound of Ava's voice was heard, getting A-Bomb, Metabee and Julie's attention, as Ava takes a step forward, with a serious look, "He's sending me." She tells them,
Julie, Metabee and A-Bomb all looked shocked that hearing this,
"Nick knew you'd be against it, so I agreed to be the one to take Alice in." Ava explained,
"Ava, Alice is our friend, how could you agree to arrest her?" Julie asked Ava, looking confused and hurt.
Ava narrowed her eyes, "Julie, we've only known Alice for a few months, we have to focus on the bigger picture, Taskmaster plans to unleash something that can spell the end of millions on lives, we can't let personal feelings cloud the fact that we're heroes, and we must do what needs to be done for the greater good, even if we don't understand." Ava explained, that's way Ava volunteered to get Alice, she knows when to puts aside her feeling and do what needs to be done to protect others.
Ava walks passed Julie, "Hate me if you want, Julie, but I have a job to do." She told Julie as she exits the room,
Julie stood there, not knowing what to feel about all of this, Metabee and A-Bomb looked at her with concern, as Julie turned and walked out of the room.
A-Bomb watches with deep empathy,
Now on the roof, Julie was stand near the edge, as the wind was blowing her side ponytail around, she stares at the city,
A-Bomb walked towards her, with a straight face,
"I don't like this either, Julie, but Nick and Ava are right, we have to think rational about this, stopping Taskmaster has to be our top priority, and maybe Alice wasn't who we thought she was, we have to bring her in for answers." A-Bomb said to Julie, with a straight tone of voice,
Julie kept staring at the city, "Has this side of our work always been here, Rick..? The side of where the line between enemy and friend becomes so un-seeable... It's not like it was before... But now it's been pain, suffering, betrayal... Death..." Julie said, as she turned to look at A-Bomb, with a grim and sadden expression,
A-Bomb looked at Julie with a look of empathy, he didn't know what to say, things were so much simpler back then, the whole 'Villain causing trouble, the heroes spring into action and save the day...' thing that used to be how it was for them, now things have gotten so complex, it was so simple.
A-Bomb turned and looked at the city with Julie,
Meanwhile, in the street of Jump City, standing on the rooftops, was Randy, who had a dour and lost look on his face,
"Alice..." He uttered to himself,
Randy stared over the edge of the roof, in his mind, the thought of Alice and Red X being one in the same was so hard pressed,
"Brooding alone, what is it with children these days and acting so uncommunicative?" The sound of Ninjor's voice was heard from behind Randy, but he doesn't turn to look at the ninja master,
Randy didn't say anything, as he stared at the street below,
Ninjor walked up to the edge and looked with Randy, "Julie told me that this girl was special, a gentle, compassionate soul, having such a spark of life... She's a special girl... A girl who's very special to you..." Ninjor explained,
Randy remained silent, as he closed his eyes,
"Everything Julie told me about her, this Alice girl doesn't seem like a vicious, ruthless, deceiving warrior." Ninjor stated,
Randy was still silent, he has never felt so betrayed, Alice wasn't like any other girl he's met, for a lot of girls, he acted like some showboating, ladies-man, but with Alice, he acted differently with, somebody who had confidence in just being kind and good-natured, but now he didn't know if how he felt with Alice was real either.
Ninjor turned to look at Randy, "You're being uncharacteristically quiet, no wise comment, no quip or anything, you really are lost, aren't you (?)" He mocked a bit,
Randy immediately got angry as he faces towards Ninjor, "Do you enjoy watchin' me suffer!?" He yelled at Ninjor,
Ninjor stood his ground and didn't say anything,
"Since the moment you got here, you have made it a mission to make me doubt myself, remind me that I'm not strong enough, that people are getting hurt became I'm not fast enough, and now I find out that someone I thought was my friend is working for my most hated enemy and played me like a cheap violin!" Randy ranted in rage, as he gets into Ninjor's face,
"Well, also you have been wasting all of my time with your constant complaining (!)" Ninjor joked, as he crosses his arms,
Randy then got so angry, he turned and lifted up both his fists and with a quick swing downward, Randy smashes the roof's bricked edge, cracking the bricks and completely ignoring the pain.
Randy was breathing heavily, as he turned; Ninjor was gone, leaving Randy alone on that rooftop,
In space, in Taskmaster's main battleship, inside Mistral's lab, Black Velocity was standing on a platform, wearing his helmet, with wires connected to it,
While Mistal was sitting on what appears to be tripods, cobbled together to a chair for Mistral, as they were struggling to carry Mistral up, as Mistal was facing Black Velocity,
Mistral crosses her legs, "I've reviewed you're latest training report, it is... Disappointing..." Mistral told Black Velocity,
Black Velocity lifted his head up to look at Mistral, "It's not my fault, my head's been killin' me for weeks, this images flashing in my mind over and over again, when that happens, it's like my brain is trying to block it all out..." Black Velocity explained, as Mistral kept looking at him with a straight face, "... What does that mean?" Black Velocity asked,
Mistral then stands up, and walks up to Black Velocity, "Only minor side-effects of the new procedure, after a few more sessions, you're performance will be back to optimal." She assures him,
"It feels like it's more than side-effects, like pieces of memories that I don't remember, but yet it feels like I do..." Black Velocity mentioned, feeling that this side-effects aren't what Mistral says.
Mistral's eyes widen slightly after hearing that, before turning to the console and presses a few buttons, then the wires disconnects from Black Velocity, Mistral turned to look at Black Velocity having a serious look on her face.
"The exam is over, you're free to leave." Mistral told Black Velocity, bluntly,
Black Velocity was confused, as she never cuts an examination short, but he complied and left the lab using his super speed, Mistral was left alone, as she grabs a device from off the console and presses a button on it.
"Log: Day 318. Subject's condition has worsened; his mind is beginning to resist the procedure and is slowly piecing his memories... Subject has yet to begin questioning origins, he still reminds loyal, but best to prepare a failsafe when he no longer has use for Taskmaster." Mistral said into the recorder, beginning to plan a contingency for Black Velocity, as she walked over to another part of her lab.
Unknown to Mistral, behind the console, was an arm attached to the back of it, as it takes out a device from the console ports.
In Robin's quarters, she was sitting on her bed, legs crossed and a laptop sitting on her lap, as that arm was cause of her, and the device sent copies of Mistral's records of her experiments.
Robin have a straight and calm look, as she didn't know why she was so curious on what Mistral was doing, she didn't care about Red X or Black Velocity, and she knew she'd be in a great deal of trouble for doing this, but there was something about this made her feel uneased.
Robin began reading the files,
Meanwhile, in Red X's room, she was pacing around the room, annoyed and frustrated as she was waiting for someone,
Then, opening the door and entering the room was Taskmaster, Red X quickly turned to face him,
Red X glared at Taskmaster, "I've been patient enough, Taskmaster, now it's time I'm given what rightfully belongs to me." She said to him, as the voice modifier in her mask was removed and she sounded like Alice.
Taskmaster looked at Red X, "You're performance in the field have been exemplary," He explained as he began to walk around Red X, "... You've been in my army for a few months and you've been the soldier I envisioned..." He said,
Red X narrowed her eyes, "Yes... I'm your good little soldier (!)" She said sarcastically, "Now, like any good soldier, I've earned my medal..!" She told Taskmaster,
Taskmaster stopped walking and had his back turned from Red X, "That's the problem... You're too good, thus too valuable an asset to let go." He told Red X,
Red X's eyes quickly flare up with rage at hearing Taskmaster isn't going to hold his end of their deal, she raised up both arms and extends her X blades, ready to fight Taskmaster, in a fit of fury.
But Taskmaster kept his back turned from her, "Kill me and your prize goes with me." He mentioned, calmly,
Red X narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists tightly, "I've everything you asked from me, I trained, I fought, I've excelled pass you're expectations, and I deserve what's rightfully mine!" She yelled at Taskmaster,
Taskmaster then turned his head to look over his right shoulder at her, "It's not a matter of whether or not you deserve it; it's a matter of keeping you in this army until the mission is complete." Taskmaster explained to Red X,
"What more do you want from me? You're stupid portal is almost finished, S.P.D. and S.H.I.E.L.D. aren't even close to stopping you, you've basically won, there is no reason to hold my end of the deal over my head!" She retorted,
"Never claim victory before you've actually won, and I don't understatement any of my enemies, like I said before, when the mission is complete, then I will give you what you want." Taskmaster stated, making it clear,
Taskmaster turned and walked towards the door, with Red X glaring daggers at him,
"Don't you dare walk away from me, Taskmaster! I did everything you wanted, give me back my memories!" Red X yelled in fury, as she was about to throw her X blades at Taskmaster.
Just before Taskmaster could walk out the door, he stops, having his back facing her, "If you really wanted extract the information of your past through forceful and violent means, you would have done it by now, that's how I know you're not going to harm me and how I know you'll stay in line until I decide when your services are no longer required." Taskmaster told Red X, in a calm tone of voice.
Red X held up her X blades, ready to throw them, but yet, her hands were shaking with anger and hesitation, Taskmaster holding something as treasured as her memories and past over her head like some kind of pet.
All she wants is her memories, all of this, becoming Taskmaster's personal toy soldier, all for her to remember her past,
Red X then lowers her blades and retracts them into her gloves, Taskmaster, who still had his back turned, continued walking, leaving the room, and leaving a fuming Red X alone in her room.
As then door closes, Red X clenches her fists so tightly, "RRRAHHH!" She roared out in fury as she punches her left fist into the wall, smashing a small crater in it; her breathing was heavy, as she lifted up her head and got an idea.
Somewhere, in another part of the battleship, Black Velocity was walking down the hallway,
"V," The sound of Red X voice was heard from a second hallway; he turned and sees Red X, with a dead serious look in her eyes, "It's time to earn our debts..." She told him,
Back on Earth, it was noon, on the Triskelion Island and in a hanger, A-Bomb was working on the Quinjet, he had his shirt off and had a white tank top on, as he was working on the engine, he pulls himself off the Quinjet, he takes a few minutes to breath, he turned and sees, entering the hanger, was Julie, who was wearing her bleached rainbow half-shirt with red shorts, she was holding a present in her hands, she had a smile on her face.
She calmed down after what happened this morning, and remembers that it was A-Bomb's birthday,
A-Bomb gave a small smile at seeing Julie, as she reaches him,
Julie gave him a sheep smile, "Sorry it took so long, but Happy Birthday!" She tells him, as she hands him a present,
A-Bomb takes it and gave her a smile, "Thanks, Jule," He thanked her,
He held the present in his hands and begins opening it, and inside, was a small model of a vehicle that had multi colored and had so many unique designs on it, the model vehicle was a Jeepney (A/N: A very popular and well-known mode of public transportation in the Philippines)
A-Bomb takes the present out of the box and held it in his right hand, "Where did you get this?
Julie shrugged his shoulders, "Special ordered on line, I knew you'd like something simple and that reminded you of home." She explained to A-Bomb, she closed her eyes as she rubbed the back of her head with her left hand.
But when she opened her eyes, she saw that A-Bomb was hanging his head down, as he had a sadden frown on his face, Julie's smile drops and looked confused as she moves towards A-Bomb with a concerned look, "Rick, are you alright?" She asked, but A-Bomb, didn't respond, "Rick?" She asked again, sounding more urgent, feeling that the present upset A-Bomb.
But then A-Bomb lifted his head and gave Julie a smug smile, "Made you look," He joked,
Julie looked annoyed, "You... Meanie!" She said, he made her worry for nothing, as she hits A-Bomb's chest with his hands.
A-Bomb started laughing as Julie couldn't help but giggle with him as well,
But the second the laughing died down, A-Bomb looked down and catches a glimpse of Julie's top, noticing that it really hugged her chest, and he catches a small peek of Julie's cleavage.
A-Bomb's smile disappeared and he blushes a little, Julie noticed A-Bomb's staring, she followed the direction of where A-Bomb was staring at and she sees he was looking at her chest.
Julie quickly turned her body to side, crossing her arms over her chest, giving A-Bomb a cold and suspicious glare. "What are you staring at..?" She said at A-Bomb, with a serious tone voice,
A-Bomb quickly panics, as his face goes completely red, as his nose disappears and flailing his arms, "Ah, Julie, I-I wasn't- Uh, I mean I n-noticed-" He panics, trying to explain but couldn't think of the works,
Julie narrowed her eyes at A-Bomb, "I get it… you're a pervert, aren't you..." Julie said to A-Bomb, in a cold and disgusted tone of voice,
A-Bomb leans down to at Julie having a more panicked look, "No, Julie, I-I didn't mean to-" He tries to apologise to her, with his nose reappears, but then he stopped talking as Julie turned around to face him, as she gave A-Bomb a playful smile as she reaches her right index finger and boops him on his nose.
"Made you look," Julie joked, getting him back for that joke A-Bomb did, she starts laughing, and at seeing that Julie was kidding, started laughing a little too,
Their laughter dies down and A-Bomb held up his model Jeepney and gave Julie a small smile, "Thanks for the present, Julie, I love it." He thanked Julie,
Julie shrugged her shoulders, "Well, I figured you'd like something simple yet meaningful," She mentioned,
"Yeah, but don't expect me to start crying for the meaningfulness (!)" A-Bomb joked,
Then Julie gave A-Bomb a look, "Do I have to mention a certain someone's complete crying fit after watching 'It's Time to Dance' from 'The Prom'?" Julie tells A-Bomb, crossing her arms and shoots him a smug look,
A-Bomb's smile then dropped and his face goes red at being reminded that he cried at a musical, "Well, it was a powerful and emotional journey, ending with a great song number..." He said, embarrassed,
(A/N: I always get teary-eyed when I watch the ending to 'The Prom'; I love the musical and the movie, despite James Corden)
Julie and A-Bomb started laughing a little, before it dies down,
"I figured that you'd like a small piece to remind you of home," Julie said, as it serves as a piece of Manila for A-Bomb,
A-Bomb shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, well, it's nice to have a small piece of home," A-Bomb said,
Julie looked at A-Bomb, as her face changed to a look of concern, "Have you... talk to you're mom yet?" She asked A-Bomb,
A-Bomb's smile then drops, as he's already had this conversation with Galatea, he shook his head, "No... but I'm thinking about call her later, just to say hi, have her wish a happy Birthday... And maybe talk things out with her..." A-Bomb explained to Julie,
Julie smiled at bit, A-Bomb was going to make an effort to try and patch things up with Reese, "That makes me happy to hear that, Rick," She tells him,
A-Bomb smiled at Julie, as she smiled back as the two of them stared into each other's eyes, but then, both their watches started to beep, snapping them out of it, as they lifted up their wrists and looked at their watches.
"Trouble at the city amusement park," A-Bomb said, looked at Julie with a serious look,
"Who's the perp?" Julie asking who the bad guy causing trouble is,
A-Bomb looked at his watch again, and his eyes widen in shock, "You're never gonna believe it." He said to her, as he readied who the perp was.
Meanwhile, at the city amusement park, it was now sunset, and scared citizens were fleeing for their lives as 'X' shaped shuriken were thrown and hits a couple of stands, exploding on contact,
Standing on top of a carousel, with a fierce look in her eyes, was Red X, as her cape was blowing in the wind,
Speeding up and stopping in-front of the carousel, was Black Velocity, as he turned and looked up at Red X,
"You sure this is a good idea, X? Tasky isn't gonna be happy when he finds out we're gone," Black Velocity mentioned to Red X,
Red X then looked down at Black Velocity, with a scowl, "I have full intentions on finishing this, so keep causing mayhem until they get here!" She told Black Velocity, with venom in her tone, as she wants to cause some destruction to get S.P.D.'s attention.
"RED X!" The sound of White Tiger was heard getting Red X and Black Velocity's attention, as the two Vanguards turned and sees, standing on top of the high point of the roller coasters tracks, was White Tiger.
Red X narrowed her eyes at White Tiger; Black Velocity crossed his arms,
"Well, speak of the devil," Black Velocity said,
White Tiger then leas off the track and lands on a tent and bounces off it, doing a front flip and landing on her feet, as she glares at the two villains, "I don't know what kind of plan you have, but all that matter to me is that tonight, it ends here!" She told Red X, still focused on her mission on taking Red X down.
Red X held up both her fists, as her X Blades deploy, as she got into a readied stance, "I couldn't agree with you more." She replied back to Tiger,
The two masked individuals stared at each other, both waiting for who would make the first move, then, with a burst of speed, both Tiger and Red X charged at each other, Tiger leap up and slashes her right claw at Red X, but Red X quickly ducks and slides on the ground, dodging Tiger's attack, and moves passed her, she quickly get back up on her feet and turned towards White Tiger and threw a shuriken at her, Tiger quickly swings her left claw and deflects the shuriken away, Red X charges on and threw her left fist at Tiger, but she quickly catches the fist in her right palm, Red X then threw her right fist and Tiger catches it in her left palm, Tiger then pushes both their hands down and White Tiger and Red X were face to face with each other.
Tiger narrowed her eyes at Red X, "You are an enigma; do you know that?" She told Red X,
Red X then got angry by that, "Don't call me that! All of this is for me to understand who I am!" She yelled at Tiger, as she doesn't like being called a mystery as she wants nothing but her memories back.
Red X then delivers a head-butt to Tiger's head, causing her to let go of Red X's fists, and she perform a backflip, gaining distance between her and White Tiger, as she lands on her feet,
White Tiger glared at Red X, as she stands up straight, "Why shouldn't I (?) You fooled everyone... You even fooled me and that's no easy task..." She tells her,
Red X clenches her fists, "I don't know what you're talking about!?" She yelled at her,
White Tiger began to walk, circling Red X, as her sights didn't leave her, "You're whole mission to claim your lost memories, but yet you don't fight with any personal feeling towards me or the rest of S.P.D., why is that?" She asked,
Red X stood her ground as she watches Tiger walk around her, "What do you mean..?" She asked,
White Tiger stopped walking and stood before Red X, "I don't believe you were acting at all when you were Alice, you're trustful and have nothing to hide, you say Taskmaster has your memories but I think he keep a whole lot more from you..." She explained, before she accepted the mission to take Red X down, Tiger took the time to analyze both the personalities of Alice and Red X, and she noticed that something was off-completely, something more than some double agent thing.
"Red X!" The sound of woman's voice was heard, getting White Tiger and Red X and the two of them turned to where the voice came from, revealing Giganta and Robin,
Tiger has a wary look in her eyes, as have two of Taskmaster's lieutenants here, complicates things,
Red X narrowed her eyes at the two women, "What are you doing here..?" She asked,
Giganta steps forward, glaring at Red X, "Taskmaster ordered us to bring you and Black Velocity back." She tell her, as Taskmaster immediately found out that Red X and Black Velocity left and wanted them bought back to him.
Red X turned her head away from her, facing White Tiger again, "I'll go back as soon as I wipe all of S.P.D. off the face of the planet." She told Giganta,
Giganta narrowed her eyes, "That wasn't a request!" She said, as she began to grow, becoming giant and aiming to take Red X and Black Velocity back by force,
Red X then takes out some shurikens and held them at the ready to fight Giganta, but then, landing in-between them, was A-Bomb, as he had his flight gear on, and he stood up and turned to look at Giganta.
"How about we all calmed down and discuss the matter over some cotton candy, huh (?)" A-Bomb joked, as Giganta clenches her right fist and threw it down at A-Bomb, he quickly flies upward, dodging it and her fist smashes into the ground, "Guessing that's a no on the cotton candy (!)" He said,
With Giganta distracted, Red X then turned to White Tiger and threw her shurikens at her, Tiger quickly reached and leans and spins, dodging the shurikens but when she lands on her feet, Red X leaps in and delivers a power left kick to Tiger's face, knocking her off her feet and she falls to the ground, Red X then takes out an X blade in her left and swings it down at Tiger, but then, a right hand quickly reaches out and grabs Red X's wrist, stopping her strike.
Red X turned and sees that the hand belongs to Julie, who looked at Red X with a concerned look on her face,
"Alice, please stop this, we're your friends," Julie pleaded with Red X, trying to appeal to the humanity that Alice has,
But Red X scowls at Julie, "I don't know who you're talking about!" She yelled at Julie, as she slaps her right on Julie's right hand, and Red X teleports away, out of Julie's hold,
Julie suddenly heard beeping, she then looked at her hand and saw on the back of Julie's hand, was a small red X mark that was beeping, and then the little mark explodes, standing Julie flying and crashing into a booth.
White Tiger gets up and quickly scans around to see where Red X went, but then, coming towards her at high speed, was Black Velocity delivers a speeding left Clothesline, hitting her in and knocking her back into the ground,
As everyone was fighting; Robin had a straight face as she slips into the shadows, deciding to let them work it out.
A-Bomb flies around Giganta, as the giantess was trying to swat him away, A-Bomb was firing his gauntlets at her, but then shots were just bouncing off her,
Meanwhile, Julie gets up and looked around and she sees Red X was gone, she then looked up and sees A-Bomb going up against Giganta, Julie actives her jetpack and flies up to help A-Bomb,
White Tiger gets back up and quickly scanned around the area for Red X and Black Velocity, but then, from out of the blue, she gets a high-speed punch to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her, but she recovers and slashes her right claw at Black Velocity, but he speeds away and Tiger's attack misses him, then Black Velocity runs up and grabs White Tiger's right ankle, flipping her and tossing her to the ground.
Tiger tries to get up, as Black Velocity appeared in-front of her, looking down at her with his arms crossed,
"Come on, Kittycat (!) I know you're faster than that!" Black Velocity mocked White Tiger, as she got angry and quickly jumps up off the ground, performing a spin and landing on her feet, as she lunges towards Black Velocity,
But Black Velocity zips away again, as he went inside the Funhouse, as White Tiger ran in pursuit.
Meanwhile, standing on top of the highest point of the amusement park's roller coaster track, Red X teleported to the top and watches the fight go on, she was frustrated as this wasn't how she wanted things to go.
"Alice!" A familiar voice was heard, getting Red X's attention, as she turned and sees, on the track across from her, was Ninja, who had a grim look in his eyes as he looked at Red X.
Red X was unfazed at the sight of Ninja, "Hmm, I would have thought you'd be resting after the punishment I gave you; you are a lot tougher than I expected, Randy Cunningham..." She told him,
Ninja then had a pleading look in his eyes, filled with emotions, "Alice, this isn't you, this can't be the real you..." He said to her, with much concern, trying to speak to her better nature.
Red X narrowed her eyes, why is everyone calling her Alice? A few months ago, her and S.P.D. were enemies, but now their acting like she's some innocent victim who needs help, "What are you talking about? You're not making sense!" She yelled at Ninja, as she takes her X blades and leaps at Ninja, to strike.
Ninja quickly reacted and takes his sais and the X blades and sais clash, Red X pushes against Ninja, with ferocity in her eyes while Ninja had a look of struggle in his eyes, he didn't know if he could fight Red X now.
Red X pushes her right blade to the side, catching Ninja off-guard as Red X spun to the right and slashes her right blade, grazing his stomach, Ninja shut in eyes in pain, as he takes a step back from Red X.
Red X stands up and looked confused, Ninja could have blocked that attack, yet he's so distracted, he's not even trying to fight back, like what Red X would do didn't have impact in the slightest, this of course made her angrier.
"Come on! Where's the fire in your eyes!? I want a real fight!" Red X yelled out in rage, as she then charges towards Ninja and threw her X blades at him; Ninja quickly performs a backflip and dodges the blades.
As Ninja lands on his feet, Red X threw her right fist at Ninja, he blocks it with his left forearm; Red X lifted up and does a left upper kick where Ninja quickly grab her ankle in his right hand, Red X then pulls back away from Ninja.
"Alice, there's something deep within you that's trying to tell you that what you're doing is wrong." Ninja pleaded to her again,
"Grrr! STOP IT, STOP CALLING ME ALICE!" Red X roared out in fury, as she getting annoyed at being called Alice,
Red X charges and throws her left fist but Ninja catches her wrist and spins her around, holding her from behind,
"You're name is Alice, you go to Jump City High, you're a Russian born transfer student, you great at math, you love flowers and dream about becoming a florist!" Ninja continued,
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Red X screamed out, as her head was beginning to hurt, as she then shoves her and Ninja off the roller coaster track and the two falls down below, towards the house of mirrors, and crashes through the roof.
Meanwhile, A-Bomb was still flying around Giganta, as she was still trying to swat him with her hands, while dodging another swipe, A-Bomb flies towards Giganta's face, clenching his right fist, preparing to deliver a punch to her.
Giganta then had a worried look on her face, as she looked at A-Bomb, "YOU WOULDN'T HURT A GIRL, WOULD YOU?" She asked A-Bomb, trying to use A-Bomb's better nature against him.
A-Bomb stops flying towards her, right fist still up, but he had a hesitant look on his face, Giganta is villain but A-Bomb was raised the better than that, he didn't have the edge to hurt a woman, even a villainess,
Giganta then smile smugly, until...
"He can't, but I can!" The sound of Julie's voice was heard from behind Giganta, she turned and sees Julie, as she flies towards her and delivers a powerful left punch to Giganta's face,
"GAH!" Giganta yelled out, after being punched, she began to topple over and she crashes down onto a few booths, as the dust cleared, Giganta lay there, unconscious from that punch.
Meanwhile, inside the funhouse, White Tiger was walking in the middle of a room, as the lights were on, with a cautious look in her eyes, prepared for an attack,
The room was completely silent, Tiger scanned around the room; she was uneased,
She closed her eyes, and her tiger amulet heightens her hearing, as she waited and held up her hands at the ready,
Then suddenly, the sound of a small footstep was heard, a few feet behind her, Tiger's eyes immediately open and she turned around and held up her right hand, as Black Velocity's left fist flies towards her and she catches it, stopping the punch, but Black Velocity quickly threw his right fist and punches White Tiger in the stomach, she drops Black Velocity's fist and he then grabbed both of Tiger's shoulders in each hand, and using his super speed, pushes her across the room, with Tiger's feet being dragged across the floor, until Black Velocity slams her into a wall, before darting away again.
Tiger slides down the wall, with a look of great pain in her eyes,
"Face it, Kitten; cat-like reflexes can only get you so far." Black Velocity told White Tiger, mocking her,
Tiger then struggled to get back, hating to admit it but Black Velocity was right, her tiger powers are useless if they can't keep up with Black Velocity's super speed, she knew she needed to think of another way to beat him.
As she stands up, the wall she was slammed into begins cracking to pieces, revealing the power cables to the funhouse, Tiger sees the cables and then quickly looked at the ceiling lights in the room, she now had an idea.
Then, Tiger leaps up and smashes a ceiling light with her right claw, she lands and ran to jump up and smash another light, she continues smashing up all the lights in the room, until the entire room was pitch black, with all the lights destroyed, White Tiger then sneaks away.
While Black Velocity standing the in middle of the dark room, he started to chuckle,
"Ha! What? Did ya think my helmet didn't have night-vision?" He said, as he presses the right side of his helmet, and actives his helmet's night-vision.
Black Velocity could now see the dark and sees White Tiger; her back facing him, Black Velocity started walking quietly towards her, planning to get the jump on her, as he almost reaches her.
"Actually... I was counting on it!" Tiger said, as she quickly turn around, holding severed power cables in her hands, as she connects the sparking ends together and held the huge flash of electricity at Black Velocity's face.
With his night-vision, the flash was 50 times brighter, "AAAHHHH!" Black Velocity yelled out in pain, as the flash blinds him, causing him to step back and cover his visor with his arms,
Black Velocity was distracted, White Tiger now had an opportunity, she then leaps up and lands a left kick to Black Velocity's head, she lands and quickly threw right fist to his stomach, Tiger delivered a barrage of powerful punches to Black Velocity, not giving him a chance to recover, pushing him back toward the wall, Tiger jumps and does a double kick, hitting Black Velocity in the chest and sends him hitting into the wall, Black Velocity's sight began to return, but White Tiger then held but her right fist, and putting all of her strength and body into it, she tossed and lands a powerful punch to his stomach, so strong, Black Velocity smashes through the wall and out of the funhouse, as he hits the ground hard.
Black Velocity lay on his back, as he struggled to get back up, groaning in pain, but his body goes limp and he slips into unconsciousness.
Emerging from the hold in the wall, White Tiger looked at the KO'd Black Velocity, she looked around to see where Red X was, but she knew in her stomach that Ninja was here and something bad is about to happen.
Now in the house of mirrors, Ninja and Red X were lying on the floor with mirrors surrounding them, Ninja pushes himself up, as he turned to look at Red X, who was struggling to get back up, as she had pain in her eyes, because a shard of broken wood was stabbed into her left leg.
Red X then grabbed the shard and pulls it out of her leg, "RAAH!" She roared in pain, as blood began trailing down her leg, she ignored the pain and gets back up on her feet.
Ninja watches her, as he gets back on his feet, he had a look of concern at Red X, as she angrily threw the broken shard away, breathing heavily with a wary look in her eyes,
"Come on... This is what you want... I'm wounded... Fair-fight!" Red X yelled, tried and frustrated, as she still aims to fight.
Ninja looked so conflicted, as he didn't even want to fight, he just wanted answers, and Red X didn't care about her wellbeing,
Ninja then gives Red X a straight look, "No, I don't want to fight you anymore," He told her, making it cleared,
Red X was confused by this, but she quickly gets more anger, "COWARD!" She yelled out, as she charges at Ninja, with her right fist up, and throws it at Ninja at full force,
Ninja quickly jumps up, flips and dodges Red X, and in mid-air, Ninja grabs hold of her mask and pulls it off, her fist hits a mirror, breaking it.
With her mask gone, Alice looked up at the broken mirror, and sees her reflection; she looked confused at the sight,
"Wha..?" Alice said, surprised and confused, as she takes a step back and turned around to look at the other mirrors, she sees her face in all of them, with all the reflections having her look of confusion.
Alice quickly walked towards a mirror, with an anger expression, "What is this?! Whose face is that?!" She asked, as she didn't know who the face that was looking back at her was.
"It really isn't an act, is it?" The sound of Nico Robin's voices was heard, getting Alice and ninja's attention, as they turned to where the voice came from, as the woman emerges from out of the shadows, as she looked at Alice.
"Two personalities in one body, both completely unaware of the other," Robin said to Alice,
Alice narrowed her eyes at Robin, "What are you talking about?!" She said, not knowing what she was saying,
Alice turned to look at the mirror and looks at her reflection, as Robin kept walking towards her, "You're real name is Alice Gehabich, and your grandfather constructed a gateway to another world, only it ended with an explosion that you were caught in the middle of." Robin explained to Alice; now tell her everything Robin learned from Mistral's files,
"You survived but was put in a coma for 7 years, after you woke up, Taskmaster found you and took you to be the subject of Mistral's experiments, where you were psychologically tortured..." Robin continued explaining,
As Alice looked at her face, as her face had a look of speechlessness on it, as to what Robin was saying to her, some part of her felt like it made sense,
"... Abused until a second personality was created, being Red X, with that, Taskmaster trained your other half to be a skilled and ruthless double agent, with Taskmaster using a false promise to keep you loyal to him." Robin finished explained,
Alice became more confused and frustrated, she refused to accept that she (I.E.: Red X) is a personality created by Taskmaster, being lied to, having no memories or a past.
Ninja hears all of this, looked speechless,
Alice then turned too looked at Robin with fury on her face, "No, lies! I am who I've always been!" She yelled out at Robin,
Red X then turned to Ninja, "And the only thing standing between me and what's mine!" She yelled out as she takes out a X blade and charges at Ninja to strike him.
But Ninja stood there, as he didn't look like he was going to jump out of the way, block or defend himself, he was so confused on conflicted with everything that he had now learned, he froze up.
And as Red X leaps up in the air to strike Ninja down, in mid-air, she felt a sharp pain on her ankle, she fells to the floor and lands on her feet, she quickly turned to look down at her left ankle and she sees, an arm created bay Robin, on her leg, as it held a syringe, with the needle being injected into her leg, Red X's eyes widen, as the arm disappears, she then quickly pulls the syringe out, but she then began to feel dizzy and loses her balance, she tried to stay conscious, she glares at Ninja, who looked surprised at what happen.
Then Red X loses consciousness and topples over, as Robin quickly catches her in her arms, and picks her up, bridle style,
Ninja then snaps out of it and looked at Robin with a serious look, in his eyes, "Put her down! You're not taking her back to Taskmaster!" He yelled, as he was now more motivated to keep Alice from Taskmaster.
But Robin still had her straight face as she was unfazed by Ninja, "I have a mission and I aim to complete it." She told him, bluntly, as she turned around and began to walk away.
"NO!" Ninja yelled out, as he was about to charge to stop her, but then, chains of arms suddenly appears and restraints Ninja's arms and legs, holding him in place, as he angrily struggles to get free, as Robin stopped walking and turned to face him.
"Don't waste energy trying to stop the inevitable, and stop searching for hope when there isn't any." Robin told Ninja, as she turned around and continued walking into the shadows, as Ninja watches the unconscious Red X disappear into the shadows.
Ninja was now all alone in the room of mirrors, as the arms disappear, releasing him and Ninja drops to his knees, with a lost look,
Unknown to Ninja, outside and high above the house of mirror, sitting on his cloud, looking at Ninja through the hole in the roof, was Ninjor, who watched the whole thing, with his arms crossed.
Sometime later, in space, in Taskmaster's main star-cruiser, in Taskmaster's office, he was sitting at his desk, with a dark aura surrounding him, until then, entering the room, was Dish, with a straight look in her eyes, as she walked towards Taskmaster.
"Report," Taskmaster told Dish, with a dead serious tone of voice,
Dish puts her hands behind her back and looked at Taskmaster, "Ms. All Sunday was successful in retrieving Red X." She debriefed him on the mission,
"And..?" He added, sensing hesitation in her tone,
Dish then looked down, "Black Velocity and Giganta are now in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody." She regretfully informs Taskmaster that Giganta and Black Velocity has been defeated and is now captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Hearing that, Taskmaster suddenly felt a surge of rage flowing through his body, as he began to breath and growl heavily as he stands up and clenches his fists and then grabs the edge of his desk with his left hand and then, with great strength, tosses the desk, sending it flying, as Dish ducks and the desk flies over her and smashes to pieces.
Dish stands up and then Taskmaster angrily marches towards her, getting straight into her face, as she looked scared,
Taskmaster stared at the android, heavily breathing, "Where's Red X..?" He said, demanding,
In the ship's med bay, Red X in a hospital bed, as she was out of her suit and Red X was in being sedated, with his wrists handcuffed to the bed's railings.
Observing her, was Mistral, as Taskmaster enters the med-bay, moving towards Mistral,
"What happened?!" Taskmaster asked Mistral, as he stared at the unconscious Red X,
Mistral had a straight face, as she turned to look at him, "She was looking for a fight from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lap dogs, one thing led to another, those children manage to take down Giganta and capture Black Velocity; this is a major blow in our rankings." Mistral explained,
Taskmaster then turned to look at Mistral, "Again..?" He asked, knowing that there's more bad news.
Mistral then looked at Taskmaster, as her eyes iris began to glow red, as there was a hint of anger in her expression, "My network was hacked and someone readied the Red X flies." She explained as well,
Taskmaster wasn't as angry, as he knew who hacked Mistral's files, he would deal with her later as he then turned to looked at Red X,
Now entering the main bridge, Taskmaster enters and walks to Jack, who was still overseeing the portal's construction via the monitors, Taskmaster walks up to Jack and, without warning, he grabs then back of his head and tosses him aside, and Taskmaster then begins to presses some buttons.
Jack gets back up, rubbing the back of his head, as he looked at Taskmaster, confused on why he just did that.
Taskmaster's sights didn't leave the monitors, "We need to triple production construction, it has to be completed," He told Jack,
Jack gets up, looking nervous, "We're 96% completed, it'll be up and running at the end of the two weeks." He tells him the progress, with completion coming closer and closer.
"Good, with that, it's time to retrieve the last component." Taskmaster mentioned,
As he still looked at the monitor, as on the screen, reveals an image of Julie...
Back on Earth,
At the night at inside the Triskelion, in Nick's office, Ava was standing in the middle of the room, as she was facing the World Defense Council holograms, giving her report, as Nick was sitting at his desk, as Washington and Centorea were standing behind Ava.
"The mission didn't yeld the results we were hoping for, but we did manage to arrest and contain not one, but two of Taskmaster's forces," Ava explained to the council, with a straight face, assuring them that some good came from this mission.
"Giganta is being sent to S.H.I.E.L.D. Maximum Security Prison questioning, as for Black Velocity, he's being kept here for questioning as well but also for study, to better prepare for enemy speedsters." Centorea mentioned to the council,
'Mm, well, two soldiers is better than one, I'd say that this mission is somewhat of a success,' One of the council members told them,
'We will want updates on the interrogation and any information given by them.' Another member of the council told them, as they sign-off and the holograms turns off.
Ava then sighed as she closed her eyes, feeling so depressed, Randy told her and the team what happen Alice and what Taskmaster did to her and turned her into, at that point, Ava made a vow that S.P.D. would save Alice and help her.
Exiting the building, was Randy, after a checkup with Dr. Grey, but had had some much anguish on his face, he looked up and sees, standing before him, was Ninjor and in his right hand, was the Ninja Mask, Randy's eyes widen in shock, what was he doing with his Ninja Mask?
"What are you doing with my Mask?!" Randy asked, shocked and confused,
Ninjor had a tight hold on the Ninja Mask, and he looked at Randy, "Before you dragged me all the way here, there has been a thought that had been flying in my head since we started training, and after today, my thought is correct. You're not ready to truly wear the mask and you likely never will be." Ninjor told Randy, coldly,
Randy was outraged by what Ninjor just said, "What are you talkin' about?" He asked, with rage raising, after what Randy endured today, Ninjor had the nerve to do this!
"You believe you know the answers, but you haven't even attempted to learn the questions." Ninjor tells Randy,
Randy clenches his fists so tight, "I've helped, fought and saved countless lives as the Ninja, I've trained day in and day out, did everything you told me, got strong enough to weld that stupid sword, proved myself time and again! And I was chosen to be the Ninja and you have no right to say I don't!" Randy ranted at Ninjor in anger,
Randy endured everything Ninjor threw at him with open arms, yet to Ninjor, it still isn't good enough,
But Ninjor stood, unfazed by what Randy yelled at him, "I am sorry, Randall, but you are greatly unbalanced, if you continue down this spiral, you'll never reach you're true potential and unlock the ultimate power that lays dormant within the Ninja Mask." He explained to him,
Randy gritted his teeth in rage, "NO! I AM THE NINJA!" He yelled out, as he charges at Ninjor to grab the mask, as he wasn't going to let Ninjor take away his mask and a part of who Randy was.
But Ninjor quickly pulls his left hand, holding out his index and middle fingers, and then with a swift thrust, Ninjor's fingers stops near Randy's forehead, then suddenly, a huge blast of wind, hits Randy and knocks him off his feet, flying a few feet away from Ninjor, Randy slams to the ground.
Randy groan in pain, but he pushes himself up, but then, hitting Randy's forehead and holding him down, was Ninjor's scabbard, as he stood over Randy.
"When you decide to listen, you may find me back in my temple." Ninjor told Randy, as he removes his scabbard from Randy's forehead and leaps high into the air, then Ninjor's cloud flies in and Ninjor lands on it.
Randy quickly stood up, and watches with shock on his face, as Ninjor quickly flies away, with his Ninja Mask.
He was speechless, Randy drops to his knees in lost and defeat, he was now at his lowest point, he had felt like a part of himself has been taken and now, he didn't know where to go.
Sitting on top of one of the highest skyscrapers in Jump City, sitting on the ledge again, A-Bomb had a deep look on his face; he takes out his phone from his jacket pocket and looked at it, thinking back at what happened and his talks with Julie and Galatea.
A-Bomb then hits call on his phone and puts the phone up to his right ear, as he had a straight face and waited,
In Manila, in Reese's house, Reese's phone was sitting on the kitchen table, ringing, Reese walks in, as she was wearing a green V-neck shirt and blue jeans, as she takes her phone and answers it, "Kamusta?" She answered in Tagalog,
(Translate: Hello?)
'Hi, Nay…' The sound of A-Bomb's voice came from the phone,
(Hey, Mom)
Reese's eyes widen in surprise at hearing A-Bomb's voice, she didn't expect him to call her, considering the fact that they having talked in months.
Reese then gathered her bearings and answered back, "Rick? Akala ko hindi ka no tatawag." She said, not expecting A-Bomb to reach out after the way they left things last they saw each other.
(Rick? I didn't think you were going to call)
Back to A-Bomb in Jump City, A-Bomb had an awkward look, as he rubbed that back on his head with his right hand, "Um… Sa totoo lang, hindi ko rin inaasahan na makakatawag ako." He replied back, not expecting it himself
(Yeah, well, to be perfectly honest, I didn't think I was going to call.)
Reese puts a small smile on her face, "Um… Maligayang kaarawan nag padala ako ng regalo parasa uyo, darating bukas." She said, showing that she didn't forget his Birthday,
(Well, Happy Birthday, I sent your present to you, it'll arrive tomorrow.)
'Salamat…' A-Bomb thanked her,
(Thanks...)
A-Bomb now had a slightly saddened look on his face,
"Ikaw palagi ang unang tumatawag sa akin para batiin ako, 'Maligayang kaarawan,'" He mentioned,
(You're always the first one to call me on my Birthday)
Reese now looked sadden by that; she felt a great sense of guilt,
"Giusto ko kayong Tawagan, kaya lang baka ayaw ninyo akong kausapin," She explained to A-Bomb, wanting to talk to him, but felt she had not right to speak to him after how angry and resentful A-Bomb after the last they saw each other.
(… I wanted to call, but I felt that you didn't want to talk with me.)
A-Bomb now felt guilty, making his mom feel like she didn't have a right to reach out to him and mend thing with this other, A-Bomb sees that he may have been too tough on Reese,
"Nay, hindi sa ayaw ko kayong kausapin, kaya Lang hindi ko alam kung anong sasabihin ko sa inyo…" A-Bomb tells her, making that clear he knows the words.
(Mom, it's no that I didn't want to talk to you, it's that I didn't know what to say, until now…)
Reese sits down and had a straight face, "Umm, sige simulan ko sa pagsasabi nito." She said, as she needs to say her piece first, as she's been thinking of it for months.
(Well, let me start with saying this…)
A-Bomb listened at full attention,
Reese closed her eyes and takes a deep breath, she breaths out and opens her eyes,
"Rick, Meron akong sasabihin saiyo tungkol sa kapatid mo, na dapat mong malaman, patawarin mo ako." Reese apologized to A-Bomb, about keeping everything with Kyoya from A-Bomb,
(Rick, I should have told you about your brother, you had every right to know, and I am so sorry.)
A-bomb shook his head, "Okey lang, nay…" He told her, as he's now moved passed it,
(It's alright, Mom…)
Reese now gave a serious look,
"Hindi, tama, bago ang lahat ng ito sa akin, ikaw pa rin ang maliit na batang lalaki na natutulog na may kasamang Snoopy na laruan at gumagala, naghahanap ng mga pakikipagsapalaran kahit saan niya ito mahanap…" Reese exclaimed, with a small smile appearing on her face,
(No, it's not alright, before all of this, to me, you were still that little boy who uses to sleep with a Snoopy toy, and who would wander off, looking for adventures anywhere he could find it...)
A-Bomb broke into a smile to at hearing Reese list down how he was when he was just a kid,
"… Bago ko pa nalaman, na lumdi ka na nabata, isa ka nang ginoo. Ginoo na maipagmama laki ko bilang iyong nanay." Reese finished, with a look of pride for her son,
(…. Before I knew it, you weren't that curious, little boy anymore; you've become a man, a man who makes me proud to be your mother)
A-Bomb felt touched that his Mom now sees him as a man, but he felt empathy,
"Nay… gusto ko sanang maging maayos ang mga bagay sa pagitan natin, dahan dahan lang." A-Bomb explained to Reese, as it was going to take time to make things right between the two of them,
(… Mom, I want things to be good between us, but it's gonna take time)
Reese understood and can respect that,
"Naintindihan kita, gawin amg lahat ng oras na kailangan mo." Reese replied, with a calm and happy look, pleased that they're going to mend things, she didn't care how long it would take, it will be worth the journey.
(I understand, take all the time you need)
'Salamat nay…' A-Bomb thanked his mom for respecting his decision,
(Thanks, Mom…)
Reese looked curious as she leaned on her left arm, "So… Anong pinagkakaabalahan ninyo?" She asked, wondering what A-Bomb and his team have been up to.
(So, what's been happening with you?)
A-Bomb sighed as that was a good question, but he felt like a long talk about it would help him rap his head around all of it,
"Mabuti pong maging komportable muna kayo, dahil ito ay mahabang kuwento." He exclaimed, with a tired expression,
(You'd best get comportable, it's a long story)
(Author Notes - This one was a real doozy, had some issues with translation but I think this episode turned out great, I've been working on a side project so keep an eye out for that, hard work on this one but completely worth it, hope you enjoyed it)
(Please give feedback, comment and review, thank you)
Randy Cunningham/The Ninja - Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja
A-Bomb - Hulk And The Agents Of SMASH
Ava Ayala/White Tiger - Ultimate Spider-man
Julie Hayward - Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Red X/Alice Gehabich - Teen Titans/Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Taskmaster - Ultimate Spider-man
Nico Robin - One Piece
Black Velocity - OC
Giganta - Justice League Unlimited
Mistral - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Ninjor - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Galatea - Justice League Unlimited
Dr. Reese Drake - Dinosaur King
Dish - Duck Dodgers