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High Tech Stephanie wandered the halls of the Quantum Saviors Headquarters. Her hair was disheveled and clothing torn as she had been thoroughly roughed up in her last fight. The walls here were different from the walls in other parts of the building, as they were covered in gold and silver wallpaper. There were also almost no windows. By now, Steph had had been here so long she had lost track of time. Finally, she came to a window. "Hmm..." she said to herself as she peered through it. "Those lights on the ground are so far away. I must be really high up." After wandering a while longer, she came to a door, the only door she had seen in the last half hour. Slowly, she opened it. Inside was a room with golden walls and a smooth, polished floor--apparently a ballroom. She walked across the room, gazing at her surroundings in awe. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind her. Stephanie spun around. Standing at the door was a man in a black leather jacket and dark pants. "Hello," he said. "Stephanie Chen, right?" Stephanie merely stared. "I've been watching you since you got to the tenth floor. I cross-referenced your photo with the government records. You realize that you're not supposed to be here, right?" Again, Stephanie did not reply. "You know what's nice about technology? You can take hidden cameras--virtually undetectable--and put them pretty much anywhere." Something small and black suddenly appeared in the air above him, and the man caught it in his hand. "Mechanical stealth flies. With my cameras in these, I have the ultimate spy network." The fly flew out of his hand and vanished into the air again. "With my flies, I can see into any complex, any facility. It would become child's play to break their security system. That's why they called me the Breaker." "What's your point?" Stephanie asked, slowly backing away. "Have you wondered how we were able to launch the missiles even without the password?" Breaker asked. "I've written a computer program similar to my camera flies--more of a worm, actually, but it's the same idea. The passwords are hard-coded into the launch program itself, as all security systems are, encrypted of course, but my worms simply broke the program down into parts, isolated the password, and decoded it. Quite simple, but elegant." "What does it matter?" Steph asked. "I don't care how you launched the nukes. All I'm concerned about is how to stop it." Breaker laughed. "Practical one, aren't you?" he said. "All right, here's something practical technology can do." Right next to him, a giant, black machine with legs and heavy weapons dropped from the ceiling, landing with a thud on the polished ballroom floor. "Machines are getting better and better at killing," he explained. "Let me introduce the Zeromega Mechwalker." With that, Breaker jumped into a hatch at the top of the machine. The Mechwalker began to move. Stephanie held up her staff and fired several Holy Bolts, but the Zeromega simply absorbed all the shots. Steph swore as the machine started firing at her. She dove out of the way as bullets tore through ballroom floor. Then, she tried a shield spell. The Mechwalker extended an arm-like projection, which pulled away the Holy shield and absorbed its energy. This sudden magic drain caught Stephanie by surprise, and the next bullet grazed her side before she started running again. The machine fired. Steph dove to the floor, and the bullets shattered a series of glass sliding doors, opening the way to a marble balcony outside. Without stopping to think, she ran for the balcony, running away from the heavily armed machine. "By the Heavens, how am I supposed to beat this guy?" she thought. "Magic doesn't work, and magic's practically the only thing I got." The machine bashed through the rest of the glass and walked onto the balcony. "Maybe if I hit it with enough magic, I can overload the Zeromega," Stephanie thought. "It's worth a shot." She raised her staff, channeling the Holy energies into it. At the top of the staff, the symbolic Scales of Justice appeared and fired a beam of light, but the Mechwalker absorbed the entire attack. A cannon on its front began to glow. Then, it fired out a bright orange beam. Stephanie dove backward, to the end of the balcony, and the beam tore through the floor, leaving a large gap and breaking the balcony in half. "You still don't get it, do you?" came Breaker's voice over a loudspeaker. "The Zeromega Mechwalker is invincible. I can take anything you hit me with." The Mechwalker leapt over the gap. Steph was cornered now. The machine stood on one end of what was left of the balcony and she sat on the other. In panic, she threw a cluster of feathers into the air. Stephanie had left the feathers floating between them. Yet, somehow, the Zeromega slowly pulled them over and absorbed them. "He sucked them over?" Stephanie asked in her mind. "That Zeromega... it's like a magic gravity well. I know! I can use it to bend my attacks." She raised her staff again to summon the Scales, then fired the beam. However, this time, she didn't aim at the Mechwalker. She fired over the edge of the balcony and aimed a little downwards. The Zeromega pulled on the Scales, curving the beam. "What was that?" Breaker asked. "A complete miss!" "I wasn't aiming at you," Stephanie replied. "You see, since I can't attack you directly, I just found a way to attack you indirectly." The beam curved under the balcony and smashed a support pillar. Cracks quickly formed between the balcony and the building wall. "And actually, you helped me," Stephanie continued. "That Zeromega might have helped you, but it also killed you." As Breaker shouted in agony over the loudspeaker, the Mechwalker fired its machine guns, but Stephanie leapt over the edge of the balcony. The balcony collapsed. Both the Mechwalker and Stephanie fell, and it was a long drop. Quickly, Stephanie closed her eyes and concentrated. It was a prayer. As Breaker and the Mechwalker fell into the darkness below, white angel wings sprouted from Stephanie's back, and she slowly glided to the ground. A moment later, she landed gently on the floor, and her wings faded away. There was a pile of flaming wreckage nearby. "A machine's only as good as the person using it," Stephanie commented. Then, she walked back to the building, determined to find Robert and Alice. The dead bodies of black-armored soldiers littered the hallway. A lone soldier stood, guarding a door at the end of the hall. His helmet was off, and his face was pale with fear. Motarius faced him. His silver Ophelia rested in his hands, covered in blood. "Please, don't kill me!" the soldier shouted, dropping his gun. "Sorry," Motarius replied. The Mystic slashed at the soldier, cutting him in half at the abdomen. Then, Motarius walked to the door and pressed a few buttons on the nearby control panel. When the door didn't open, he shouted in frustration and moved to stab the panel with his blade. "Wait!" It was Vince's voice. Motarius spun around. "The Dark Fiend of the Inferno," he said. "Are you here to stop me, too?" Without even waiting for Vince's reply, Motarius charged at the Dark Fiend and slashed at him. Vince quickly blocked with his gauntlets. "Wait, I'm not your enemy," Vince yelled as he dodged another one of Motarius's attacks. "I'm here to stop the Quantum Saviors. We're on the same side." "What are you talking about?" Motarius replied as he struck again with his sword. "When Mandragon betrayed me, I saw him take you along." "I'll admit I was working for them before," Vince replied, "but after I found out about the nuclear launch, I realized that I needed to stop them." Motarius's next attack knocked Vince to the floor, but the Dark Fiend simply rolled backwards and came back onto his feet. "I know you're upset about how Mandragon betrayed you and stole all your MMH's, but I can help you stop him. That's why you're here, right?" Motarius didn't attack. "Why should I trust you?" he simply asked. "You're a Dark Fiend, a destroyer." "Think about it logically," Vince said. "If you fight me, even if you kill me, it'll still take a lot of your energy and you might not have any left to fight the Mandragon brothers and Stacie in the control room. If we ally up, not only will we both have plenty of strength to fight, but two of us will give us a better chance than if we fight alone." "I don't need your help," Motarius replied. He turned and went back to the door. "I know the password to the door," Vince said. "If I can at least help you on that." Motarius stopped. Slowly, he turned to Vince and gestured for him to come. The Inferno Fiend ran to the door and pressed a series of buttons, and the door opened. "Come on, let's go!" Vince said to the Mystic, and they ran through the door. Alice sat with Robert in the closet on the ground floor. She had wrapped up his wound with several rolls of paper towels, but Robert was still bleeding badly. Alice's hands were stained with Robert's blood, and she was still crying. Suddenly, the door opened. It was Stephanie. "I thought I'd find you in here," she said. "Steph!" Alice cried as she ran to Stephanie. "Robert's been stabbed and he's bleeding like heck. I don't know how much longer he'll last. You have to do something." "Don't worry," Stephanie said. "I'll help him." Stephanie knelt by Robert and waved her staff over him. Sparks of light energy came off the staff and flew into the wound in Robert's belly. Then, slowly, she tore off the paper towels. The wound in Robert's abdomen was gone, replaced by solid flesh. "Oh, thank you, Steph!" Alice cried as she hugged her. "Thank you! Thank you!" Robert groaned and sat up, and Alice turned her attention to him. "Robert, why did you take that stab for me?" she asked, her eyes still full of tears. Robert smiled. "Because I wanted to protect your life with mine," he said slowly. Suddenly, Alice wrapped her arms around Robert and held him close. Robert hugged her back and said, "Alice, I love you." Alice simply smiled as she cried in Robert's arms. Thalloric Motarius and the Dark Fiend of the Inferno ran into a large room filled with computers. A large window on the other side gave them a view of a cluster of six Cobalt Bombs. In the center of the room stood Brian Mandragon and Stacie Smith. "You two must be really skilled in order to get past my guards and my sorcerers," Brian said. "It doesn't matter. You won't stop the Quantum Saviors. I will simply have to kill you myself." He turned to Stacie. "Stay out of this. I want to see how good my Zeromega Battle Armor is. Maybe I'll have a little fun." Brian ran to one end of the room as Stacie ran to the other. He came to a machine and pressed a button on it. The machine opened into a suit of black and red armor, complete with a helmet and gauntlets. Brian stepped inside, and the armor closed upon him and locked into place. Immediately, he leapt into the air. The armor produced green energy, which formed a sword in his hand. Vince threw a fireball, but the Zeromega Battle Armor simply absorbed the flame. Then, the Inferno Fiend and the Mystic ran out of the way as Brian hit the ground, slashing at the air with his energy blade. "What the hell are you doing?" Motarius shouted at Vince. "That's Zeromega. Magic won't work on him." "I was trying to see where the Zeromega is," Vince explained. "If we know where the Zeromega machine is, we can target it and destroy it, and then, magic will work." "You fools!" Brian shouted. "The whole suit is Zeromega." With that, he charged at the two of them, readying his sword in front of him. Vince leapt out of the way, but Motarius simply sidestepped, moving just barely out of Brian's range. Then, powering his sword with Holy energy, he swung at Brian from behind. The Mystic's blade was blocked. Brian's energy sword had transformed into a spear, and he had extended it behind him to block. Then, Brian twirled around, twisting the spear's tip into Motarius's chest. The energy spear tore across the Mystic's silver armor, knocking him to the floor and sending him sliding across the room. Brian Mandragon then turned his attention to the Inferno Fiend. Extending his arm, he fired a series of small, green energy shots. Vince ran out of the way, but the shots exploded on the floor behind him. This forced the Inferno Fiend to keep running to stay away from the shots and to avoid the explosions. Unfortunately, after Vince ran a quarter way around the room, Brian fired a little ahead of him, and an explosion caught his leg, tripping him to the floor. As more energy shots came at him, the Inferno Fiend put up a fire shield. Although it protected him from a direct hit, the explosions of the energy shots sent him flying across the room. Slowly, Vince climbed to his feet. However, as he ran to attack Brian, Motarius grabbed him by the arm. "What do you think you're doing?" Motarius yelled at him. "Your whole body is magic. There's no way you can beat him just by charging at him and attacking randomly." Brian fired more energy shots at them. Motarius and Vince put up shields together, and their combined might both the shots and the explosions. Brian stopped firing and began draining the two shields' magic energies with the Zeromega. "We'll need a plan," Motarius shouted over the explosions. "My sword might be able to hurt him, but he blocks everything I try to hit him with. You go distract him, and I'll surprise attack him from behind." The fire shield and the Holy shield faded away, and Brian began firing green energy shots again. Vince and Motarius sprinted away in opposite directions. However, Brian simply pointed a hand at each of them and continued firing at both of them. In an attempt to draw attention away from Motarius, the Inferno Fiend ran at Brian, shouting a primal warcry. He busily rolled to the side twice to avoid being shot. Soon, Vince was in striking distance and was ready to attack. Suddenly, Brian formed two green energy blades on each of his wrists and slashed twice at the Inferno Fiend. Fragments of red armor and drops of red blood scattered in the air. Vince fell to the floor, two fresh wounds across his torso. Brian then pointed one of his blades at Vince's neck. "Now, the question becomes," Brian said, "should I simply kill you now, or should I drain all the magic from your body until you become a helpless weakling?" Motarius struck. He had silently ran up to Brian from behind and swung downward with his sword. However, the Zeromega Battle Armor simply formed spines on its back, each spine two feet long, trapping the blade just inches from Brian's body. Then, the wrist blades transformed into an energy whip, which Brian swung backward. Motarius quickly raised his arms, and the whip cut into them, drawing blood. Vince quickly climbed to his feet, but immediately, Brian swung the whip at him. Vince dove to the side, avoiding a fatal blow, but the whip cut into his bicep. Then, Brian swung the whip around him, and the tip of the energy weapon cut another gash in Vince's torso and cut through Motarius's chestplate. Both fell to the floor, dripping blood. Brian's energy whip dissipated, returning the Battle Armor. "Get up, weaklings!" Brian yelled. "This battle was way too short, way too easy." Vince slowly climbed to his feet. Brian laughed, then grabbed Vince by the neck, slowly draining away the Dark Fiend's energy. Vince shouted, but instead of a cry of pain, it was a cry of anger. Yelling his warcry, Vince bashed Brian's Battle Armor with his gauntlets. From behind, Motarius groaned as he climbed to his feet. With a swing of his blade, he knocked Brian down. Vince broke free from his grip. Brian quickly rolled back to his feet and formed a seven-foot energy staff in his hands. Vince and Motarius looked at each other, nodded, then approached Brian. Suddenly, Stacie Smith's wristwatch beeped loudly. The girl waved her hands and cast a spell. Black, twisted vines emerged from the air and wrapped around Vince and Motarius, ensnaring them on the spot. The two of them struggled, but they could not break free. "Nice spell," Brian said, "but I thought the idea was for me to have fun." "Oh, no, it's not about you," Stacie commented. She pulled a device out of her pocket and pressed a button. Suddenly, sparks and arcs of electricity shot out of Brian's Battle Armor. The energy staff faded away. "What?" Brian said with great effort. "I can't move." "This time, it's all about me," Stacie said. She waved her hands again, and more black vines tangled themselves about Brian. She waved her hands yet again, and they dragged him through the air, smashed him through the window, and brought them to the Cobalt Bomb cluster, where they tied Brian down against the missiles. "Stacie! What the hell's going on?" Brian shouted. "What the hell are you doing?" |