Hunting With My Brother
A Metroid/Sonic The Hedgehog Crossover Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Chapter 1: Mission Debriefing
Planet MB-105, low orbit...
The starship came out of warp, Donald blinking as his eyes readjusted to the sight through the front viewport... below was the curve of a planet that looked quite similar to Earth, albeit with the continents in different shapes and positions. Off in the distance, he could make out a lone moon, and over to the left appeared to be some sort of space station, though there were no indications that it was currently active. (Wonder what happened there...) Putting that thought out of his mind, he glanced toward the back of the ship, where Daniel was asleep, most of his suit parts floating around him, save the legs which he was still wearing. "WAKE UP!" Donald shouted.
"Huh-GAH-! Wha! Huh?!" Danny jerked, before shaking himself awake. "Dangit, Donny, what...?!"
"We're here," Donald responded bluntly. "I wanted to give you enough time to get your suit back on before we initiate re-entry..."
"Oh. Right..." Daniel grunted, yawning loudly before unbuckling himself so he could grab his chest armor. "If there's one thing I've learned about long trips... you never sleep in your armor suit... leaves you sore when you wake up."
"I'll take your word for it," Donald shrugged, before getting an alert. "We're being hailed. Be quiet while I talk, okay?"
"No problem." So the hunter opened the comm-link...
"Unknown starship, this is MASA Headquarters. Please identify yourself and your purpose. If you do not respond, we will assume you are hostile and order the army to open fire..."
"MASA HQ, this is codename Righteous Ice, space hunter for the Galactic Federation," Donald responded. "My partner and I are here for a job from army Major Forte Torres..."
"One moment... ah, yes, here's the request from Major Torres. Please hold your position while we make arrangements for you to land..."
"Roger that," Donald acknowledged. Looking back, he saw that Danny had donned the body and arms of his suit, currently trying to get his welder gun in the proper position on his right arm. "Need any help?"
"I got it," Danny grunted as he got his gun strapped down properly, then reaching for his Grapple Beam and Power Grip floating nearby.
Not long after, the comm-link was opened again. "Righteous Ice, you are cleared for re-entry and landing. Please fly to the coordinates we are sending you, then disembark your ship and wait for further instruction."
"Acknowledged. Preparing for re-entry. Standby," Donny said, closing the link and looking back at Danny. "You ready?"
"Almost-" Daniel said as he attached the Nova power pack to his welder gun. "There, I'll get my helmet on when we land." He promptly sat down and strapped back in. "Take us down, Donny."
"Okay, here we go..." Donald said as he directed the ship to begin re-entry...
Surface of Planet MB-105
The black starship dropped out of the sky, flying over the ocean and heading toward the nearest shore, being careful not to dip too low and surprise the locals... further inland was a military base with an airstrip and a landing area for helicopters, the ship heading for the latter, soon slowing to a stop and gently setting down in one of the chopper landing areas, far away from the choppers currently sitting inactive.
Once the ship had landed and shut down, the hatch on top opened, Daniel and Donald emerging into open air, stepping off the hatch lift and looking around. "Seems kinda primitive compared to home, huh?" the former spoke up.
"There are plenty of 'primitive' bases that are still active back on Earth, you know," Donald pointed out. Walking to the edge of the ship, he slid down the side with practiced ease, landing easily on his feet. Daniel, however, used his Space Jump Boots to launch off the ship's roof, turning a flip in midair before coming down on the pavement in a three-point landing. "Show-off."
"Just trying to make a good first impression, Donny," Danny grunted as he stood to his feet.
"There's no one out here to impress," his brother sighed in mild exasperation. "Anyway, make sure you only refer to me by my codename when we talk with our employers, got it? We gotta act professional."
"I know, Donny," Danny sighed in annoyance. "I still say my codename is too lame, though."
"There are plenty of worse names I could've come up with for you," Donny pointed out... then he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, here they come. Remember, leave the talking to me, don't speak unless spoken to."
"Not the first time I've done this," Danny shot back, shifting to an at-ease pose with his arms behind his back, while Donny stood straight and crossed his arms as the group approached... it appeared to be two ranking officers escorted by a couple of soldiers armed with assault rifles.
"Major Torres, I presume?" Donald spoke to the man leading the group.
"That's right. And you must be Righteous Ice," the major nodded, his gaze then shifting to Daniel. "I was under the impression you were a lone wolf..."
"Most of the time. This is my engineer, Soldier Fire. As you can see, he utilizes a modified version of Federation Marine armor," Donald said.
"But he's not a Federation soldier?" Torres gave Daniel a critical eye.
"This armor is from a Marine who gave his life to save mine," the engineer spoke up. "I wear this armor to honor his memory, sir."
"Ah, I see... a true soldier he was, then," Major Torres nodded.
"Anyway, the reason I brought him along is because his helmet is equipped with advanced detection systems, such as a scanner and an x-ray visor," Donald stated. "If this thief is someone who can evade even trained soldiers, then I need every advantage I can get when trying to track him down."
"An x-ray visor? That's impressive," the other ranking officer spoke up. "We only have night-vision goggles and infrared on occasion..."
"Oh, yes, this is my current second-in-command, Lieutenant Carper," Torres introduced him. "He used to serve in the air division, but he was transferred to my command after being injured in a crash landing."
"Indeed, and I would kill to be able to fly a craft like yours," Carper indicated the starship.
"Trust me, this wasn't an easy acquisition," Donald shook his head. "But we're getting off-topic. Shall we head in for the debriefing on our quarry?"
"Of course, right this way," Torres nodded, he and Carper turning and walking off with the armed soldiers flanking them, Donald and Daniel following at a short distance.
GUN Military Base, Briefing Room
As the group filed into the room, the armed soldiers remaining outside as guards, Daniel took a look at the chairs around the table... "Major, no disrespect, but I think I'll remain standing, it'll be more comfortable for me in my armor."
"Do what you gotta do, as long as you pay attention," Torres replied. "I've had armored soldiers fall asleep during briefings by using their helmets to try and avoid getting caught napping..."
"I'll take sure he stays awake," Donald assured him as he took his seat.
"I'm not sleepy, sir; I woke up just before we landed," Daniel pointed out, moving to stand at the wall nearby his brother.
"As long as you're not still groggy, Soldier Fire," Lt. Carper said, heading for the projector screen and setting a laptop on the nearby podium, hooking the wires in and booting up the necessary files.
"So, as you might imagine, this thief isn't your run-of-the-mill petty pickpocket," Major Torres began as the projector booted up. A still shot from a security camera was displayed, showing a human male with black hair and a visor over his eyes, dressed in sleek dark clothes and sporting a cocky grin. "He calls himself the Black Phantom, and the only reason we got this shot is because he was deliberately taunting his pursuers. He's been responsible for several thefts in this nation, easily bypassing security systems and swiping his ill-gotten gains and leaving a calling card behind, but no other evidence."
"With a cape like that, you'd think it would eventually get caught on something," Danny spoke up.
"Well, it hasn't," Torres replied bluntly. "Anyway, two weeks ago this base got a card in the mail which matched the style of the Black Phantom's calling cards..." The projector then displayed a shot of the card in question, which read:
"Hello Guardian Units of Nations,
I recently heard about a precious gem that has come into your possession. Since I'm fairly certain the military has no need of such a bauble, I will be coming by in a week or two to take it off your hands. I hope you'll be more of a challenge than the mansions and museums I've hit so far...
The Black Phantom"
"And six days later, our vault was breached," the major said. "Even though we thought his timeline might've been a lie to throw us off, and thus we beefed up our security immediately..."
"That's what he wanted you to do," Donald cut in. "He used those six days to observe your patrol routes, and find gaps to evade the guards' detection. Then he made his move a day earlier than expected..."
"He probably has a cloaking device of some sort," Daniel added. "And the fact he could get into your vault without triggering the alarm suggests that he's likely a former security company employee..."
"Thank you for telling us what we already figured out, Soldier Fire," Major Torres deadpanned. "And Lt. Carper told the guards to switch up their patrols to try and throw off the Black Phantom..."
"For what it's worth, I didn't consider the possibility of a cloaking device until after the fact," Carper admitted in mild shame. "But that won't work with your x-ray visor, will it?"
"He'll stick out like a sore thumb," Daniel nodded. "But I'm not exactly fast on my feet, so Do- (ahem) Righteous Ice will have to do the chasing once we pinpoint him..."
"You think you'll be fast enough to catch him?" Lt. Carper inquired to Donald.
"My brother back home says I move like the ancient ninjas," the hunter responded. "I've caught plenty of nimble dirtbags who thought they could use fancy parkour tricks to evade me; a few of them even missed their jumps and ended up with broken bones. Easy collar."
"Well, don't get cocky," Torres cautioned him. "We thought there was no way this thief could get past our security, and we paid the price..."
"We understand, sir," Daniel said, glancing at the lieutenant. "I assume you want him brought in alive..."
"Yes, so we can interrogate him about where he's stashed his ill-gotten gains," Torres concurred. "We'd especially like to get back that gem he stole from us; we were under direct orders from Commander Tower to keep it secure..."
"With all due respect, Major, why is your commander so interested in a precious gem?" Donald asked.
"I'm afraid that information's classified," the officer shook his head. "On the off-chance you do come across that gem, we'd like to have it returned to us immediately. You are the kind of hunter that prefers cash payment, correct?"
"You needn't worry, sir; unlike some hunters, we do have standards," Donald said pointedly. "If we find your gem, you'll get it back, no ifs, ands, or buts."
"Well, we'll be counting on you both, Righteous Ice, Soldier Fire," Lt. Carper nodded. "Now then, we'll show you a map of the area, and places where the Black Phantom could possibly be hiding out..."
After going over all their evidence and speculation, the hunters and officers exited the conference room, Danny briefly pulling Donny aside and whispering something into his ear... nodding grimly, Donny then ran up to Lt. Carper... "Ah excuse me, Lieutenant, do you mind showing me where the bathroom is?"
"Oh, sure, right this way," Carper nodded, he and Donald heading through a nearby door, Daniel stopping and looking at said door...
"You're not going to follow them, Soldier Fire?" Torres asked curiously.
"Don't need to," Daniel said. Not long after, there was a loud thud, and a yelp of pain from beyond the door belonging to Lt. Carper. Torres started marching for the door, only for Daniel to grab him by the arm. "Hold up just a moment, major. He knows what he's doing."
"Attacking my officer?!" the major said in anger, trying to pull away to no avail, thanks to Daniel's Power Grip.
"All right, all right!"Lt. Carper's voice was heard, followed by some muted conversation between him and Donald... soon after, the door opened again, Donald dragging a slightly disheveled Carper by the collar.
"Major, I regret to inform you that your lieutenant took a bribe from the Phantom to disarm the security system," Donald stated bluntly. "Thankfully he was nice enough to tell me where they met to make the deal..."
"What...?! Carper?!" Torres said in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, sir! I needed the money!" Carper confessed in anguish. "I don't know how he found out, but-!"
"But nothing, lieutenant! How could you do this to us?!" Torres cut him off. "You're looking at a court-martial and dishonorable discharge, soldier!" He signaled to the armed soldiers, who came and took Carper off Donald's hands, marching the disgraced officer away. That done, the major turned back to the brothers... "How did you know?"
"When you were talking about how you believed no one could get through your security, your lieutenant averted his gaze," Daniel answered. "Down and to the left, sure-fire sign of a liar. Don't need a special visor for that, sir."
"And once I started pressing him, it became obvious he was hiding something," Donald appended. "Good catch, Soldier Fire."
"Maybe you'll start considering giving me a better code name, Righteous Ice?" Daniel requested sardonically.
"I'll think about it," his brother said non-committedly. "Now then, major, we'll be heading out to capture your thief..."
"Yes, and thank you for exposing this insubordination in my ranks," Major Torres nodded. "Good luck finding that dirtbag..."
Back outside...
"Figures our thief had a man on the inside," Donald said as he and his brother walked back to their ship.
"Yep, Occam's razor," Daniel nodded. "The explanation with the fewest leaps in logic is usually the correct one. And how much you wanna bet this Black Phantom has been bribing security personnel in other places? At least for the high-profile heists."
"However he does it, it comes to an end tonight," Donald asserted.
"So where are we going next?" Danny asked as they reached the starship, the engineer Space Jumping up to the hatch.
"The nearest city," Donny replied as he climbed up after his brother. "We'll do a quick recon of the area in civvies, then tonight we make our move."
"Sounds good to me," Danny nodded as they went down the hatch, the ship starting up and flying off soon after...
To be continued...