Chapter 11: A Memory Best Left Forgotten
The Nordren Research Facility was located relatively close to North City. Surrounded by snowy wastelands and icy mountains, the facility itself housed a variety of different projects. They were all independently run but funded by a corporation specializing in Reploid technology and Force Metal refinement. The structure itself was layered. Each group of five floors shrank to occupy less of a footprint than the preceding floors. High fences circled the facility's terrain, with numerous armed patrols providing security from outside threats. Human guards wore thick clothing to protect themselves from the cold, while Reploids had been outfitted with the necessary protection to prevent damage to more fragile internal systems. Low temperatures were nowhere near as potentially lethal to a Reploid than a human, but that didn't mean they couldn't be slowed down or otherwise affected by it.
The north end of the structure had been built into the mountain, and was used to house the more dangerous experiments. The natural wall helped protect them from the environment, exposure, intruders and prying eyes.
Vile watched the building from inside a hover car he and Nana had rented in the nearby city. They didn't have the clearance to transfer directly into the facility, despite the invitation Nana had been able to get from her old friend. So, they had been forced to drive the last few miles to the remote facility. What little plant life that still survived out there was covered in snow.
The renegade lowered a pair of binoculars while Nana opened the passenger door and got out of the vehicle.
"You just stay right here. I don't think anything will go wrong. He seemed delighted to hear from me again after so long. Don't be alarmed if communications break down once I'm inside. I might not be able to keep a stable one open. I wasn't able to fine-tune the protocol to account for any security and jamming countermeasures they have in place."
"Fine. Whatever. Bored already," Vile grumbled as he lifted his boots up onto the dashboard of the car and lazily tossed the binoculars onto the passenger seat.
The pink-haired operator could only shake her head at his behavior, though she had come to expect as much. She shut the door and started walking down the hill towards the main entrance. They might have a few questions about why she was on foot and why her transportation kept its distance, but she would be able to talk her way out of that without too much trouble.
Vile sighed as he looked out over the snowy landscape. He hoped that Spectrum would show up soon, if only so he had something to do.
The moment Nana reached the front gate, it opened, allowing her access to the inner courtyard, past the fences and patrols. A young scientist on the other side immediately approached her upon seeing her.
"Nana! It's been too long!" He hugged the operator with a wide smile on his lips.
"It's good to see you, Nett. You look well."
"Thank you, life's been treating me well. Come on, let's get you out of the cold," Nett motioned with his hand for her to follow as he began to guide the way into the facility. He wasn't much taller than Nana, making him rather short for a male Reploid. His frame was mostly basic, functional and generic, as with many science models. His boots, lower arms and chest were colored dark grey while his upper arms, legs and waist were a much lighter, almost white hue. His eyes were a soft brown and his synthetic skin was quite pale. Short black locks of messy hair were swept up by a high-tech visor covering his ears, which was currently offline and in an upright tilt.
"I understand from your message you were interested in applying for one of the open positions here?"
Nana nodded as she looked up at the approaching building. "This is one of the most advanced research facilities in the world. What better place to work at? Of course, I'd never apply without first investigating a little. As soon as I heard you were working here as a team leader in the Force Metal department, well... I just had to ask for a tour; and your candid opinion."
They walked briskly through one of the many hallways of the compound. Work was obviously in full swing as scientists and other members of staff hurried from post to post. Some were in a clear rush, while others seemed to have their heads permanently in the clouds; their research the ultimate distraction.
"You're right to do so. A new job is a big step. The better prepared you are, the more successful you'll be. Sadly, I can only show you my department, but being from Giga City, I think you'll appreciate what we've accomplished with the Force Metal that made that city so amazing," Once Nana had been signed in as a guest, Nett held his access card to a reader next to a reinforced, steel door. The painted lines on the floor and walls changed from the neutral grey of the earlier corridors, to a soft green. Several signs helped point employees in the correct direction to their designated work stations. Other signs also made it abundantly clear that they had now entered the Force Metal R&D department.
"That's perfect, I just want to get a feel for the place more than anything else. I know the open positions aren't on your department's teams, but that's not my forte anyway," Nana was able to look through several windows into the various laboratories on that floor.
"Many of our projects are top secret, so I can't really elaborate on them, but I can still give you a nice overview," Nett stopped as they passed by one of the labs.
"This is an interesting one," with a slight nod in the direction of the room, Nett urged his guest to take a closer look. Inside the chamber a researcher was monitoring various energy readings and other statistics on his workstation. A bog standard, small Mechaniloid intended for clearing smaller debris from construction yards, rested on a metal table. The mindless drone had been opened and hooked up to a device attached to the head of the table.
"What are they doing in there?"
"They're studying the effects of Force Metal on Mechaniloids. The unique properties of Force Metal allow the mineral to increase the potential of Reploids. We're still quite foggy on how it works, exactly, but we're hoping that by engineering ways to make Force Metal affect the much simpler Mechaniloids, we can expand our understanding of the workings of the process. Kind of like starting from an easy example and working your way up," Nett then moved on.
Nana had to admit to herself that it was hard for her not to forget the real reason why she was there. Each of these projects were fields of great interest to her. But, there were more important things at stake. Nett had said many of the research labs were off-limits to guests, but for some reason, he was guiding her deeper into the compound. She began to suspect he was going to break more than a few rules to show her the more impressive projects they had going on. It made her feel guilty to think that Nett was risking his job for her; for a lie.
"I'm not supposed to show you this, it's all very hush-hush," he whispered as he touched his key card to another wall-mounted sensor, and punched in a 24-digit code. After verifying the input, the thick blast door slowly opened, allowing them entry into one of the labs built deeper into the mountain.
"What are you-?" Nana was interrupted by a quiet 'sshh' from her friend.
"You'll see. Just keep up," he was clearly enthusiastic about this particular study, as well as anxious to see her reaction.
After passing several more secure blast doors, they entered a large room. It was a good twenty meters across, with thick columns rising up to the ceiling. Electric currents raced through the inside of the poles, as they fed power to the copious instruments in the room. The walls were lined with computers, desks, displays and massive databanks used to process the information gathered from experiments. Tables covered by and cabinets filled with research equipment were scattered throughout the room, while in the center stood what appeared to be a massive super computer. It towered over the two as they approached it. The sound of their boots on the cold, steel floor echoed through the room for quite some time. It only stopped when they halted before the gigantic computer.
"This room... It's amazing. What on Earth are you studying here?" Despite asking, Nana already knew what the answer was.
"Supra Force Metal. The last processed fragment remaining," Nett didn't appear to be aware of the government's fragment, or its theft. "We started the initial studies and tests only a couple of days ago. What we've gathered from that preliminary research alone will take us weeks to sort through. Once we get into the thick of it, we'll be set for years if funding keeps flowing in. The fragment is inside the computer right now, being continually analyzed as we raise or lower the power output demand of the super-dense mineral," the young researcher turned to face his old friend before reaching for a datapad resting on a table right behind her. He tapped the screen a few times before handing over an up-to-date graph of some of the readings they were getting.
"I might be able to pull some strings and get your application considered for this study. You might not be able to help with the direct research, but we could use a brilliant operator to handle this influx of data and fine-tune the algorithms we're using to put the Force Metal under strain. With you on the team, our efficiency would skyrocket."
Nana smiled softly at the offer, but did not look up from the pad. The readings were all off the charts, just as she had expected. The way in which it had changed Redips' body, how it had turned a skilled Hunter officer into an almost unstoppable killing machine... It was terrifying, yet intriguing at the same time. The scientist in her wanted to know more, but the rest of her got a chilling feeling that Supra Force Metal might be something best left a mystery. Buried somewhere deep underground or shot into outer space, never to be used.
She put down the pad and brushed her single lock of white hair aside, before looking up at the slightly taller Reploid. "This is amazing. I'm speechless."
"I was like that too when they first told me about the project. And in a lot of ways, I still am every time I realize what this research could mean. If we can harness this Force Metal and use its properties in a controlled and proportionate manner, well... There would be no limits to what we can accomplish. An inexhaustible energy source. Personal energy shields capable of withstanding massive amounts of heat, cold and radiation allowing for the study of places we never dared hope we would reach. The production of Reploid central processors capable of thought far beyond what we are capable of now. The ability to produce machines that can research diseases so fast that cures for the most lethal of today's ailments are synthesized in a matter of days. The possibilities are truly endless," Nett shook his head as he looked up at the machine in awe.
Nana smiled at the man's passion, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. He was naive. All of his ideas were noble, but all of those advances would only be used for one thing: causing harm to others in the pursuit of personal gain. Humans had passed on their worst flaws to their creations. Colonel Redips' insanity had proven it, and the Hunter traitors who had helped him, only further confirmed it. There would always be a difference between a madman with a gun, and a madman with limitless power.
"An inexhaustible energy source," she repeated the words under her breath.
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"Just like some Force Metals can harden and shield materials and normal Reploid frames, is it safe to assume Supra Force Metal can do the same?"
The young scientist nodded almost immediately. "Sure. Though, like we learned with the incident in Giga City, direct exposure to the powers of Supra Force Metal is lethal to most Reploids. Without further study into ways of actually harnessing it, other Reploids will just end up like Colonel Repids probably would have, even if you hadn't stopped him when you did. Well, not before inflicting terrible harm on the planet, of course. Why do you ask? You have an idea?" he wondered if the genius operator already had theories and valuable input brewing in her head. She wasn't even working there yet!
However, Nana shook her head. "No, I was just wondering."
'No way of knowing for sure, but it's a good bet that whoever stole the Supra Force Metal, knows it would be lethal to use directly on a Reploid. It's much more likely they need it for a weapon of some sort. Something that requires an energy source so massive it'd be bulky, unwieldy, enormous and prone to mechanical failure. But, with a fragment of Supra Force Metal there would no longer be a need for it to be so large or contain a power plant-sized generator,' Nana continued to think to herself, her eyes trained on the computer as if she was just studying it, even though her mind was miles away. 'No need for materials and components that can withstand the massive pressure and recoil of such a weapon. The Force Metal would just reinforce it all.'
She suppressed a shiver at those thoughts and instead bit her lower lip nervously. She noticed Nett's lips part as he was about to speak up when the entire structure suddenly trembled.
"What was that?! An earthquake?!" Nett had reached out to a nearby table to prevent himself from falling over.
"No! Listen! Explosions!" Nana had to shout to be heard over incredibly loud explosions coming from above them.
The instant the first explosion echoed through the mountains, Vile opened the car door and got out of the vehicle to better look for the source of the noise. The facility was in complete chaos. Several powerful bombs had been set off in several rooms all across the upper sections of the building, as well as the courtyard. Many Reploids and staff members were covered under fallen debris. Alarms began sounding and security switched over to full alert. As far as the renegade could tell, they were armed and ready to use even lethal force to keep the premises safe. Search and rescue Mechaniloids poured from their hangars to provide immediate aid to any injured, and to put out the numerous fires that had broken out.
"What's going on?!" Vile gritted his teeth as the flames reflected on his visor. This was definitely not the way Spectrum operated. This was loud. This was destructive. And this was showy. Frostbite lacked the firepower and brute force, and he couldn't imagine Onslaught being stealthy enough to plant all of those bombs. This was a distraction by someone crafty. And that someone was probably already en route to what they were really after.
'Supra Force Metal...'
"Nana, what the hell is going on down there?!" The only answer Vile received from the other end of the communications line was static. This angered the purple Reploid, who took it out on the rented car by punching a hole in the passenger door. He turned his attention back to the buiding. Security was on high alert and was most likely under orders to shoot any unauthorized personnel on sight, given the severity of the explosions. And if caught, he would probably be blamed for the bombings. But, he had to get to Nana, so it all became moot in his mind.
Vile activated his jet boots and took to the air, straight for the structure.
The deeper sections of the facility began auto-lockdown procedures in an attempt to protect the company's most important secrets. Impenetrable blast doors closed, locking Nana and Nett in.
"We can't stay in here! If the fires spread, we'll be burned alive!" Nana, despite panic being present in her voice, was keeping a far more level head than she ever thought she would in a situation like that.
"No! Whoever is attacking is out there, and most likely after what's in here. This room is completely sealed. Nothing gets in, or out, certainly not a few fires," Nett released a heavy sigh and started circling a table while running a hand through his hair. Abruptly, he slammed a fist onto the piece of furniture. "This is exactly why we'd hired him. He's supposed to prevent incidents like this from happening," Nett growled under his breath. "Damn washed-up hero..."
Nana furrowed her brow in concern, not merely at the situation, but at Nett's state of mind as well. She raised a hand up to the side of her head. "Vi- Hm," she cut herself off from giving away the renegade's name. She was certain Nett wouldn't appreciate that revelation. "Come in..." She left out a name altogether, but just as her readings were telling her, something was jamming outgoing communications, at least from that deep in the facility. She was on her own for now.
She then turned her attention to one of the terminals in the large room and brought up the security feed from the cameras in the hallway outside.
"Nett. Why aren't there any patrols out there? If this is a likely place the assailant would come for, shouldn't there be armed guards on their way here?"
"I- I don't know. I'm guessing they're chasing down the attacker already? They know what they're doing!" the scientist was rapidly losing his nerve and starting to panic.
The female operator's concerns weren't assuaged by this and she stared at the monitor in worry. She hoped he was right. One thing she never thought she would wish for, was for Vile to be there.
It was exactly like the renegade had predicted. The security forces were authorized to use lethal force. Seeing as how Vile – one of the world's most wanted criminals – was speeding through their checkpoints, they quickly made him their primary target. He was going to have to fight his way through. Fortunately, the directions inside of the compound were crystal-clear and abundant. Finding his way to the Supra Force Metal lab would be easy enough, provided he survived the army of private guards the corporation had hired.
It didn't take long for the guards to form a defensive formation against Vile. They took cover behind parked vehicles and rubble, opening fire from that relative safety. Energy blasts raced past the renegade, forcing him to take evasive action. The explosions had badly damaged the entrance to the facility, so security had been unable to properly shut off the structure's innards from the outside world.
Flying low, Vile approached the line of guards. He didn't have time to dispatch them, so he hoped to simply rush right past their makeshift barricade. He fired several shots from his shoulder cannon, aimed for the two Reploids unfortunate enough to be right in his path. The leftmost wasn't even able to cry out as his head was blasted apart. The Reploid on the right received a shot to his chest, which rend the plates and inner circuits apart. With the way clear, Vile switched over to his dash boots to give him that extra bit of speed he needed to get in. He managed to pass under the semi-opened shutter before it collapsed entirely from the damage it had sustained.
The small unit of guards waiting for him on the other side was caught completely by surprise due to the speed with which the purple Reploid had entered the structure. He skid across the floor, sparks flying from his metal boots, to reduce his speed dramatically. He made sure to retain enough momentum to knock a guard aside with a powerful bash of his fists before coming to a brief stop. A second guard was caught in Vile's continuing warpath, as he was dazed by a punch and then hurled into his sergeant violently. A quick dash to Vile's left allowed him to effectively avoid being pelted by the buster fire from the only two guards still upright. Vile threw a grenade at them, with the ensuing explosion reducing them to scrap metal, along with the two he had knocked down moments earlier.
Many of the hallways had sustained heavy, structural damage near the front of the facility due to their proximity to the blasts. So, Vile lost quite a lot of time by being forced to take detours around collapsed corridors. When he finally did reach the main corridor for the Force Metal department, he narrowly dodged incoming fire from a team of guards by taking cover behind a thick, concrete column. The unit was using similar cover and had been waiting for him on the other end of the hallway.
Vile almost growled in anger and frustration at the lack of progress, and began readying the rocket pack on his left shoulder. He braced himself and slowly peeked around the corner, needing only a glance to pick out his targets and memorize their locations. As if it was nothing more than instinct, he burst from behind the column and fired the prepared explosives. Before another shot could be fired, each rocket hit home with the ensuing explosions ridding the renegade of his opposition.
Satisfied with his handiwork, Vile pressed onward. He vaulted over a toppled column the guards had been hiding behind and returned to following the signs. It didn't take him long to find the Supra Force Metal lab. But, as he reached the last corner he had to turn, he heard voices from around it. They didn't belong to guards planning the defense of the place, though. The renegade pressed his back against the wall and peered around the corner.
"All you need is this key card... Please... Don't hurt me!" a guard was begging for his life. His right hand clutched the stump where his left arm had once been. Vile's red eyes looked to his right briefly, spotting dispatched guards displaying similar injuries. They were saber wounds, but didn't resemble Spectrum's style. The attacks were... showy, not at all featuring the mercenary's efficiency. He then returned his attention to the pleading guard.
"Relaaa-ax. You're getting worked up over nothing. This is all just business, right? You're a guard on a payroll. And I'm a mercenary on a payroll. It's the way things go in our line of work. Sorry," the voice was calm and patronizingly friendly. The condescending apology was punctuated by a light shrug of the speaker's shoulders.
The Reploid standing in front of the wounded guard was definitely no employee of the corporation. The armored parts of his body were colored a dark blue, while his shoulders, hands, feet and pelvis were a pristine silver. The rest of his body was jet black with gold trimmings and details across the armor. A red visor covered his eyes and a heavy helmet protected his head. Apart from the see-through visor, the headgear left his face visible. Long, white-blue hair cascaded from the back of the helmet, and his right hand slowly transformed into a buster.
"Please-" the guard was ruthlessly terminated with a point-blank buster shot. Vile had seen more than enough to know that this was the Reploid behind the attack. The renegade walked out onto the hallway, Front Runner ready to open fire.
"You like to make a big entrance, don't you? You part of the Revenants?"
The tall Reploid was startled by the newcomer and turned to face him. His expression of surprise quickly shifted back into a charming smile that bared a set of perfect, white teeth.
"Revenants?" the Reploid chuckled and placed one hand in his side while aiming his buster upward nonchalantly. "Nah. They're all too hot-headed for my tastes. I work alone. Lets me get the job done the way I like it. Believe it or not, bombs aren't really my thing, but it was the only way I could get in easily," the smirk gave way to a slight frown. "Wait. You mean you don't know who I am?"
"Am I supposed to?" Vile crossed his arms confidently.
"Hehehe. You should. I just happen to be the greatest bounty hunter, slash mercenary, in the world. The name's Dynamo," his introduction came with the slightest of bows for effect.
"Never heard of ya. Guessing you've been hired to steal the Supra Force Metal?"
Dynamo was visibly shocked by the other's ignorance. "You wha-? You serious? Oh well, I only pulled off the biggest, freakin' hijack in history; why on Earth would you have heard of me?" The black Reploid shook his head slowly. "I was the one who took control of the Eurasia Colony and sent it plummeting down." The mercenary was referring to the catastrophe that resulted in the Sigma Virus being spread across the globe, as well as having the colony's crash result in the deaths of hundreds of millions of humans and Reploids.
Vile kept his arms crossed and shrugged lightly. "Pft. That just makes you even crazier than I am," the renegade was starting to lose his patience with the braggart in front of him.
Dynamo sighed as he reached around to his back with his left hand. "But yeah, you're right. I am here for the Supra Force Metal. Sent by the same guy who is footing the Revenants' checks. I guess he needed a real expert for this task, and not that troupe of washed-up morons."
"More like a new face would draw less attention. You put a lot of stock in your skills, Dynamo," Vile's tone of voice was coated in condescension as he had been extremely close to putting air quotes around the name he was supposed to recognize. "Care to see if they match up to mine, though?" Mirth was audible now, as Vile uncrossed his arms and the Front Runner hummed to life. He wasn't interested in the Reploid's past or future accolades. He knew a good fight when he saw one, and he was going to enjoy wiping that smirk off of Dynamo's face.
Dynamo grinned as his left hand grabbed an energy saber grip attached to his belt. It was roughly twice as long as normal emitters of that kind, which made sense once the weapon was activated. Two energy streams burst from both ends of the hilt. The beams were a bright violet, which made the ensuing flurry Dynamo performed an even more dazzling light show. "Now I know who you are... The helmet, the cannon, the attitude..."a single digit indicated Vile's helmet, shoulder cannon and then his chest in turn. "You're Vile. I've always wondered what it would be like to square off against you," the mercenary grinned widely. "Sigma mentioned you once, you know."
"We ain't exactly on good terms, so I couldn't care less," the purple Reploid found it insulting to be mentioned in the same breath as the insane demagogue.
"Too bad, we could have used you during the Eurasia Incident. But than again, you're always too angry and rash. You need to keep your cool at all times; take it easy. If you let the fight and the circumstances get to you, you'll lose perspective," Dynamo smiled brightly as he began rotating his left hand, which caused the double-bladed saber to spin rapidly and form a barrier of sorts. "Disagree? Well, I'll gladly prove my point, as I take you up on your offer!"
With the saber still spinning, Dynamo threw it at his opponent, hoping to cut him in half. Vile's reflexes were good enough for him to duck under the attack. The purple Reploid straightened himself to counterattack when he heard the familiar buzzing sound of an energy saber coming back from behind him. Dynamo's violet weapon worked like a boomerang and while on its return course to its owner it failed to connect completely with Vile, it still cut a deep gash in his right arm. The mercenary snatched it out of the air as it threatened to pass by him and returned to rotating it rapidly. He held it out in front of him and began to approach Vile.
"Take this!" Vile shouted as he opened fire. A spray of bullets spewed forth from the vulcans installed in his forearms, while his shoulder cannon fired energy shots less powered than usual, but in quicker succession. Each projectile that collided with Dynamo's shield was blocked and the force of the impacts were not enough to push him back. Once the mercenary had approached close enough to the former Maverick Hunter, he began lashing out with a rapid flurry of elegant strikes.
Vile was forced to halt his attack to dodge the lethal slashes. The violet saber effortlessly made deep grooves in the walls and floor, cutting through several pipes in the process. Vile continually took steps backwards to avoid the attacks. Once he saw an opening, Vile bashed his fist into Dynamo's face, which caused his opponent to stumble back. Pushing his advantage, the renegade then took aim with his shoulder cannon and fired more powerful energy shots.
The ceiling of the corridor wasn't low enough to hamper the mercenary's acrobatics, as he leaped up and over Vile to dodge the shot. The blast reduced a crate on the far end of the hallway to rubble. Vile pivoted on the tips of his boots to face Dynamo again, who had landed behind him. The mercenary's right hand retracted into his forearm to reveal a buster arm cannon. He aimed the weapon and fired several blue energy shots. After traveling a certain distance, each of the shots split into multiple, smaller and less powerful spheres. What they lacked in punch, though, they made up for in quantity and unpredictability.
'Split shots!' Vile identified the projectiles and quickly side-stepped to press his back to a column. The wide spread of the shots added plenty of scorch marks to the floor, ceiling and walls of the hallway.
"Hey! You're pretty good. Your reputation isn't undeserved, that's for sure. Bu-ut, like I said, you're way too hotheaded. You're like a berserker. All I have to do is just pummel you hard enough to make you understand you're fighting an uphill battle," Dynamo opened fire again, keeping his opponent pinned while he closed the distance, one step at a time.
Nana was watching the security feed from the cameras outside. Pearly teeth sunk into her lower lip, while her hands clenched into fists.
"What's going on out there? Who are they?" Nett looked at the same monitor from over her shoulder.
"Vile and Dynamo," her eyes were glued to the screen as she responded. She couldn't believe she was actually rooting for the renegade to win and get them out of trouble.
"What? Are you serious?! And they're both after the Supra Force Metal?!" Nett's hand ran across his face as he started pacing back and forth fast and in evident duress. "You have got to be kidding me! This is a disaster, neither of those lunatics can get their hands on the Force Metal! It'd be disastrous!"
"Not both, no. Just Dynamo," Nana no longer cared what Nett would be able to deduce from her knowing that.
"And how would you know that?"
The female operator just shook her head. She was too engrossed in the fight outside to be bothered with giving her friend an explanation.
"Come on, Vile..."
Vile grunted as a projectile hit the side of his cover, which scattered small debris from the impact.
'Come on you arrogant son of a bitch... Throw your toy sword. You know you want to...'
Sure enough, once Dynamo was satisfied with the shortened distance between him and his apparent prey, he began spinning his saber before throwing the weapon down the corridor. At the current range and trajectory, it would be able to cleanly cut through the half-column Vile was hiding behind and nearly slice him in two. The instant the saber left Dynamo's hand, though, Vile appeared from cover and dashed under the spinning blade. As he passed underneath it, he knocked his elbow up into the hilt, which sent the weapon spinning out of control. The saber knocked against the nearest wall and dropped to the floor, stopping it from returning to its owner's grip as intended.
"What?!" Dynamo's surprise almost prevented him from putting his arms up in a proper defensive stance, not that it mattered. Vile closed the rest of the gap between them rapidly and struck the first of several blows of his fists with his usual, merciless ferocity. After two punches, Dynamo's guard was forced open, causing a third, right straight to hit him square in the face. Another hit connected sharply as Vile bobbed under a wild blow from Dynamo and hit him across the jaw with a left hook. Without losing a beat, Vile's steel heel then dug into his opponent's gut as the result of a hard side kick. The impact caused Dynamo to double over and back away in pain.
"Just shut up!" Vile drew back and threw his entire body behind a powerful uppercut to Dynamo's dropped chin, which sent the mercenary flying up and away from him. However, the renegade hadn't expected Dynamo to be as sturdy as he was. The black Reploid somersaulted in mid-air to recover and landed in a crouched position. The entire room was spinning from his perspective, causing him to almost lose his balance.
"You're insane..." he raised his buster in an attempt to open fire, but didn't get a shot in.
Vile preemptively shot back with the Front Runner, which caused some damage to his enemy's upper body.
The talkative Reploid's right hand started glowing as he recalled his saber. Fortunately for Vile, the weapon passed by him harmlessly, though it proved enough of a distraction to stop him from firing. Dynamo grabbed the hilt of the weapon and fired several split shots from his buster. The blasts pelted Vile's armor, while another gash was added to his body when the violet saber cut into his chest. It was then Vile's turn to get knocked airborne as the mercenary flexibly kicked upwards hard.
Before hitting the ground, the former Hunter activated his jet boots, which allowed him to recover. His left knee opened up in mid-air and his entire body proceeded to crackle with a sheathe of blue electricity. From that position – pressed against the ceiling – Vile fired an electric orb from his knee down to the ground. As soon as it hit the steel floor, it burst into arcing bolts of lightning that traveled rapidly across the tiles.
The instant one of those bolts connected with Dynamo, the mercenary cried out in pain. He could feel the shocks creeping up his legs. "I- I can't move!" His legs had stopped responding, as if he had been frozen to the ground.
"This ends now!" Vile's shout was followed immediately by the rocket pack on one of his shoulders opening up and releasing several of the explosive projectiles.
They never reached their target, though, as a barrage of energy shots from Dynamo's buster made quick work of them.
A slight beeping noise alerted Dynamo to something and the Reploid narrowed his eyes. "Looks like I don't have the time to end this fair and square, so..." he smiled brightly as he reached for the back of his belt and removed what appeared to be some kind of rectangular device. Vile immediately recognized it as a powerful explosive that was horrendously illegal to own. It was most likely the same kind he had been planting all over the facility. Dynamo proceeded to click a small button in the middle of the bomb, activating it.
"Remember. Stay cool," Dynamo winked playfully before laughing as he hurled the device at the wall near Vile.
"Shit!" Vile cursed a he quickly dove back to the ground. The ensuing explosion was massive and caused an entire section of the corridor to collapse.
Dynamo was forced to protect himself as well, which he did by spinning his saber to cut up any chunks of debris that threatened to hurt or even crush him. As the dust settled, the mercenary was pleased to see only rubble. Even if Vile had survived the explosion, he'd be forced to take quite the detour, or dig a way through. Either way, Dynamo was rid of the nuisance.
The white-haired Reploid further counted his blessings when he noticed that he had regained the use of his legs. He flexed them with a slight groan before turning away from the mess he'd made. He needed to hurry if he wanted to get paid, so he quickly ran for one of the blast doors that separated him from the Supra Force Metal lab. Using the key card he had gotten from one of the guards he'd killed, he started bypassing the lockdown.
Nana gasped as the massive explosion destroyed the camera she'd been using to keep track of what was going on. She pressed her hands against her chest and took a step back from the monitor. "No. Vile..."
"He's coming in! I can't let him steal the Supra Force Metal. Who knows what that madman wants it for?!" Nett proclaimed as he rushed over to a wall-mounted locker. He punched in a code and let the attached device scan his unique Reploid DNA Soul, after which the locker opened. The scientist claimed the buster pistol from inside and made sure it was ready for use.
"Don't be a fool, Nett. You don't stand a chance. He's going to kill you!" The operator urged as she turned away from the monitor that now only showed static, to face her friend.
"You of all people should understand what'll happen should this fragment fall into the wrong hands, Nana. It'll be Giga City all over again. What if they use it to make a bomb? What if they set that bomb off in the middle of Central City? Do you know how many people would die?" The sound of one of the last blast doors into the department's inner sanctum warned them of the impending danger. Nett lifted the pistol and took aim at the final door, ready for it to open.
"You're a scientist, not a soldier, Nett! What you know about the Supra Force Metal would be invaluable to find out where they'd take it. You might be able to prevent them from ever having the time they even need to misuse the fragment. None of that will be possible if you get yourself killed right now!" she was hoping she would get through to him. She didn't want to see Nett harmed, especially not since she could have warned him about the dangers presented by being anywhere near Supra Force Metal a long time prior.
Their discussion was interrupted by the sound of an energy saber cutting through the final door like a blow torch through metal. The violet saber of Dynamo cut a triangular pattern in the barrier, allowing for a solid kick of his right boot to knock the solid chunk from its secure place.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" Dynamo smirked as he seemed entirely unimpressed by the pistol aiming for him.
"Nett, please. Put it down."
"You should listen to your lady friend, tough guy. Just sit down. Take a load off. Relax," the mercenary chimed in as he walked into the room and began making his way over to the pair. Despite his persistent, laid-back attitude, a trained fighter would be able to tell from his body language that he was ready to dodge and attack at a moment's notice.
"S-Stay back!" Nett's threat was undermined by how his hands shook. Even if he were able to pull the trigger, he would surely miss.
"Dynamo. What are you doing here? Was killing all those people on Eurasia and the poor people in South City not enough?" Nana stared at the Maverick with nothing but loathing in her blue eyes.
"It was a job like any other," Dynamo just shrugged at being reminded of how many lives were lost because he took the job offered by Sigma. "I did what I had to to get paid."
"You monster... What does your employer want with the Force Metal? Is it a weapon?"
"I dunno. Don't care too. I learned a long time ago that in my line of work, you better not ask too many questions. Just ask what needs doing, and get it done. Quite simple, really."
"Don't take a single step closer! I will fire this weapon!" Nett's voice was starting to show more resolve as he stepped between the mercenary and Nana.
Dynamo was quite clearly unfazed as he did not slow down at all. Once he'd approached the scientist enough, he nonchalantly swiped his saber once. The motion sliced off most of the barrel of the buster pistol, rendering the weapon useless. Nett could only gasp and stutter speechlessly.
"Tut tut tut," Dynamo grinned as he wagged his index finger at Nett, before kicking the scientist aside hard. He was knocked into a table that collapsed under the impact. Lab equipment and copious datapads all tumbled to the floor around the injured Reploid. "Now for you. I don't particularly enjoy harming beautiful women, but if you don't get out of my way, I might have to just suck it up and live with the guilt," the threat was real, as the Reploid's voice darkened somewhat compared to his usual, almost cheerful tone.
The operator showed her uncanny resolve, however, and refused to take a single step. Instead, she spread her arms in defiance. Nett's knowledge was necessary. Hers? She'd rather go down fighting and delaying the mercenary for as long as possible. Maybe they'd get lucky and Vile would spring to the rescue? "I refuse to let you just take it. It's better to try and fail than to just sit idly by and watch you help another maniac cause nothing but misery for people."
Dynamo sighed and shook his head, before simply shrugging. "Alright than. But you brought this on yourself."
He lifted his saber, ready to deal a lethal blow, but before he could bring the saber down on the defenseless operator, something crashed into him hard. The powerful hit sent the Reploid flying across the room and right into one of the power columns. The tower didn't crumble, but coming down had most definitely not been a good experience for the mercenary. He groaned in pain and crawled to his knees to look back at the center of the room and find the source of the attack.
"There's gonna be hell to pay for whoever did that to me!" for once, Dynamo was shouting, seemingly angered by the sudden appearance of an interloper.
Nana had closed her eyes in fear, but as her execution seemed to be delayed, she opened them. Immediately, they fell onto the massive Reploid that stood before her, his body still contorted into the stance of someone who had just executed a bone-crushing shoulder tackle.
"Attacking a defenseless lady? You have no honor! I am going to bring you to justice, murderer! If it's the last thing I do!"
"Y-You?" Nana's expression turned to a bright smile at the sight of a Reploid she knew all too well.