AN: Sorry its been a bit since I last updated. But I've always been pretty transparent about the fact that I only write when time and stress allows me to do so, and this was a difficult chapter to finish. Also, some sadist involved in the creation of my school curriculum somehow managed to design a 1-unit class that gets to give out a whole bunch of lengthy projects, and getting a handle on that has been difficult. But I managed to get this done, and hopefully I'll be able to figure out a better work flow going forward.
lucifer black: I think there was an official comic along those lines. But yeah, that's certainly one way things could go.
Tombstone50: Maybe. It always depends on whether I can think up something to do with her.
Skully13: It's probably going to happen at some point.
Luna had only moments to feel dismayed at the sight of her girlfriend being launched into the stratosphere before the large, scaly tail she'd been clinging to began flailing around again, very nearly sending her on a similar trip before she managed to get her head back in the game and dig in once more. It was just in time too, because perhaps, emboldened by his minor victory, Geon's thrashing became even more erratic, as he began slamming his tail into the ground and leaping around in his renewed attempts to dislodge Luna. Fortunately, his mobility was severely hampered by what Luna decided to believe was all the dense muscle she'd packed on with her transformation, and not anything to do with the kaiju-sized fro-yo machine Lynn had back at the Fort.
As her grip began to falter, Luna felt a powerful temptation to simply let go and allow nature to take its course. But...Lynn was still there, and given the severe lack of ass-kickings being dolled out by her little sis, it was extremely likely that she was still unconscious. And without Luna there to draw the beast's attention—!
Another ear-piercing roar drew Luna's attention back to her own imminent peril, and as she was flung about she began scrabbling for purchase, tightening her grip as best she could and scraping her fingernails across the beast's hide, seeking even the slightest chink in its scaly armor.
And it was in that moment, holding on for dear life as she was, that something began to awaken within her. There was...a feeling, a sensation, a pressure that began building deep within her core, and gradually radiating outward, her every nerve ending alighting as it did so and leaving a strange, but not unpleasant tingling in its wake. That split-second of diversion was nearly all it took to send her flying from her perch, but Luna managed to master herself, and figuratively dig her heels in, refusing to yield as she silently willed whatever it was that her body was doing, to hurry the hell up!
Because she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on…
"Come on, Lisa!" Lincoln pleaded with the scientist in between shooting helpless glances at the situation that was playing out on their view screens. "There's got to be something we can do to help! What about your laser satellite?"
"You might recall, dear brother, that I no longer have access to that particular bit of hardware," Lisa replied, as she pinched the bridge of her nose in obvious irritation. "I had to hand it over to the government and sign an agreement stating that I wouldn't make any more to get my security clearance."
"And you expect me to believe that's actually stopped you from building more?"
"I...uh…" The scientist let out a nervous cough before she managed to regain her composure. "I'm both hurt and offended by your wild speculation as to my character. Regardless, obviously I would have explored that possibility the last time Geon attacked, both in the interest of humanity as a whole, and as a potential avenue to get the military to renegotiate that particular albatross around my neck. Based on my strictly hypothetical data, I determined that my existing design simply wasn't up to the task. Kaiju hides are extraordinarily tough, and based on my calculations, the kind of output I would need to be able to even damage Geon from orbit would likely incinerate the Earth's atmosphere. Which, obviously isn't an acceptable consequence."
"Oh," Lincoln replied, his shoulder sagging.
"I have been exploring alternatives when time permits," Lisa added. "There's been some fascinating research as of late pertaining to the only recently discovered Minovsky particle, and it's also occurred to me that I might strip out the conventional laser entirely and replace it with something ion-based. An...ion cannon, if you will. But neither possibility is much help to our current problem."
Rather than reply, Lincoln instead turned his attention to the monitors, focusing on Luna's plight.
"Oh, it appears I've managed to locate Sam," Lisa continued, the clattering of computer keys filling the air as her fingers furiously danced upon her keyboard. "Fortunately, her flight seems to have been more vertical than horizontal. Which...wouldn't be a positive in any other situation, as she flew quite high before landing. But among the many benefits of my titan serum are extreme durability and a substantial healing factor, so she should be fine. Even so, I'll notify...a med team...to...Lincoln?"
"Hmm?" Lincoln turned at the utterance of his name. To his surprise, his little sister was looking at him with concern.
"Look, Big Brother, I know what you're feeling," She said. "It's natural to feel...powerless in a situation like this. I went through the same thing when I supported Lynn during her previous fight. It felt horrible to watch her fight all on her own, and have nothing to contribute but words and sentiments that I scarcely believed myself. But we need to trust—"
"Lisa?" Lincoln interjected
"—in...huh," The scientist looked uncharacteristically flummoxed as the interruption caused her to stumble over her words. "Err...yes?"
Lincoln gestured at the monitor. "These drones that we're getting the video feed from. How many do you have?"
"Well…" Lisa frowned in concentration. "If I gave you the exact amount it would sound like a lot. But a complete swarm is needed to transmit proper audio and visual under these sorts of battlefield conditions. So under the assumption that we're quantifying them as such, I suppose my answer would be...a few? I attempted to secure more than was strictly necessary in anticipation of the very likely possibility that the drones might come under fire, friendly or otherwise."
"And this was the console you had me use to maneuver them into position, right?" Lincoln asked, stepping over to the console in question.
"That's correct," Lisa replied. "But since they're on-site, my surveillance algorithm should ensure that the drones continue to operate—Err, Lincoln? LINCOLN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
A wordsmith with a flair for the dramatic, like Lucy, or even Lincoln when he had the right flow going, might have been able to come up with a really cool way to describe Luna's situation. But the plain truth of the matter was that whether she stayed or retreated, both prospects were looking pretty grim.
On the one hand, whatever was going on with her body was absolutely wild. Every one of her cells felt more alive than ever before as raw, unmitigated power coursed through every inch of her body. All at once, she wanted to run for miles, bench-press a mountain, and finally get started on the rock opera she'd been putting off for months. But the rational part of her brain realized that what she actually needed to do, was find a way to apply all that power to her current predicament, and preferably in a way that let her smack down the giant lizard that was currently making her body relive every single theme park ride she'd ever experienced at the same time. She knew, on some instinctual level, that whatever was happening was rapidly building towards some kind of climax, she just needed to hold out long enough to get there. Problem was, her arms were getting really tired, and she wasn't sure how much longer she had left…
Mercifully, the rare brand of unwanted rocking and rolling she was being subjected to came to an abrupt halt. Geon's thrashing ceased, the sound of its massive body landing heavily upon the ground reverberated through the air ad it simply stood there, its great, scaly chest inflating and deflating in rapid succession as it sucked in deep lungfuls of air. Had the beast possessed skin, Luna was certain that it would have been sweating profusely, and the accompanying mental image was almost enough to make her crack a smile, in spite of her predicament.
That impulse was firmly kept in check by the furious, baleful gaze the creature leveled at her. To give in would almost certainly send the beast over the edge, and that was something she couldn't afford. Not now! Not when she was so close!
Again, the creature breathed deep, but this time, it didn't exhale. Luna's momentary confusion was dispelled in an instant as she saw the tendrils of red-hot flame that began to overflow from the beast's maw. To say that this was not a comforting revelation would be an understatement of epic proportions.
Luna watched, helplessly as Geon reared its head, clearly intending on unleashing the blaze that could very well spell doom for the gigantfied rocker. And it was in that moment, her senses heightened by her impending, fiery demise, that Luna saw something strike the beast.
It was a small thing, doubly so at Luna's size, and even considerably more for the even larger kaiju, but nevertheless, while Luna had no idea where it came from, or what it was that she was even looking at, her eyes latched onto the tiny object the instant it flew into her field of view, and followed it as it charged onward, and struck the creature right in its snoot. A barely audible crack was all that could be heard as the thing shattered, its already tiny form separating into even smaller fragments that were utterly beyond her ability to perceive. The moment came and went so quickly, so utterly unacknowledged by the greater world around them, that Luna was almost ready to write the whole thing off as a panic-induced hallucination.
Crack!
At least, until it happened a second time.
Crack!
And a third.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrack—!
In a matter of moments, that singular occurrence had become a concurrence. Like raindrops giving way to a deluge, the air was suddenly thick with the tiny objects, angrily buzzing like insects as they tore through the air and slammed into the kaiju's jaw. A torrent of micro-assaults that relentlessly laid into the creature. They could not harm the beast. Compared to its mountainous form, they were but gnats, if not less than that. But the sheer weight of their tiny, eager sacrifices sparked a reaction from the creature. A twitch, one that began in its reptilian eyes, and slowly began to spread from there. Whether it was the intentional act of her unknown ally, or the result of some strange, unforeseen causal chain of events, possibly exacerbated by the fatigue and fury the kaiju was already under, Luna couldn't say. All she had to rely on were her own two eyes, and what she saw was the creature suffer a single, emphatic, full-body twitch—
KABOOM!
—before the air literally exploded, the reptilian let out a roar of pain and outrage as its face was engulfed by the very fire it had meant to hurl her way. Gobsmacked by this turn of events, all Luna could do was stare, mouth agape, as Geon began to claw at its own scaly maw.
And it was then in that brief respite from fearing for her life, that Luna was finally able to focus on the buzzing that was going on in her ears.
"You IDIOT!" Screeched a voice that Luna's stress-addled brain only barely recognized as Lisa's. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH HARDWARE LIKE THAT COSTS? THE BOARD IS GOING TO HAVE MY—"
And then that momentary diversion was quickly discarded as Luna felt her body seizing up. The rocker let out a strangled cry as the pressure that had been building within her, reached its crescendo and forced its way outward. A sharp crack split the air as her vision went white, and a deafening boom filled her ears…
"What...was...that?" Lincoln croaked, finding it difficult to force words past the small, but surprisingly strong hands that were firmly clamped around his throat.
"...I don't know," Replied Lisa, blinking in confusion. Her ire seemingly forgotten, the scientist leaped down off the chair she'd been standing on, allowing Lincoln an opportunity to fill his lungs with the life-saving air they so desperately needed, and scurried to her command console.
The majority of the monitors they'd been using to observe the fight were now dark, but one remained operational. Striking the attached keyboard, Lisa caused the video feed to briefly reverse, and then playback. There was only a brief smattering of audio before the feed went silent, but the video was more than sufficient to tell the story. Luna, still clinging to Geon's tail, seized up, and let out a guttural roar, and a blinding flash of light obscured the feed. When the image snapped back into focus, Luna remained in the exact same spot, panting heavily as she continued to cling to the now-blackened, sizzling hide of the great beast.
"Fascinating," Lisa murmured, running the footage through another loop. "Another mutation. Like Lynn's, but different. Some sort of...electrical discharge, from the looks of things."
"I must catalog this!" The scientist suddenly announced, dashing towards the rear of her command center, and frantically began digging through a pile of books, notebooks, and documents, until she presumably found what she was looking for. A thin binder, of some kind, one which she began excitedly scribbling in. Still wary of the...displeasure, Lisa had expressed only minutes earlier, but curious in spite of himself, Lincoln tip-toed toward the distracted scientist and peered over her shoulder.
"Is that...a bingo card?" Lincoln asked.
"Indeed," Lisa replied, not looking up from her work. "I'm a fan of this thing called 'pattern recognition.' And this seemed like an efficient way of getting a jump on things."