<Episode 51>

Outside of the occasional murmur their van was relatively quiet. Sparky and the others kept glancing back back at him with some concern. Although the chimp glances were filled with contempt. Right now he wasn’t paying them any attention. His thoughts were back at the Habitat, with Rachel. With what he did to keep her out of this one. Leaning back against the van he voiced the only thought going through his head, “She’s going to kill me.”

“More than likely she’ll thank God your alive,” Sparky spoke up, “then she’ll kill you.” He was joking but nobody was laughing, although a couple of them did groan. Jack didn’t respond at all. “I know, I know shut up Sparky.”

“You did what you had to do,” Arron said. “Rachel wasn’t listening to reason.”

“It doesn’t make me feel any better,” Jack said softly.

“Don’t worry man,” Sparky told him. “She’ll get over it sooner or later. She’ll never let you forget it but she’ll get over it.”

“How much longer to the rendezvous point,” Jason barked.

“About twenty minutes,” their driver announced.

“How much resistance do you think we’re going to get?”, Sparky asked out loud.

“I guess you’ll find out when we get there,” Arron told him.

“I wasn’t really looking for an answer.”

Again Jack tuned them out and his mind went back to her.

***

“Uh,” Rachel grunted as she came to her senses. It took her a couple of moments to realize where she was. She was a little confused to find Jack’s jacket on top of her. Trying to sit up she felt a small patch of pain on her stomach. Putting a hand on it she remembered everything. “If he’s survives I’m going to kill him.”

“I don’t think he’ll try and stop you.” She looked around to find Melissa sitting beside her. “He took the foil with him in case you’re wondering.” It took her a moment to process what she meant. Then she looked inside the hood, it was empty. “I told Jaime to find him a cap or something to hold it place when he sees him.”

“So Jaime knows.”

“I didn’t give him the whole story, or go into any details.” Rachel held the jacket tightly in her hands. “So have you have come back to your senses now or am I going to have to get Emily to beat some into you?”

“There’s no point now is there?”, she said bitterly.

“Well it’s hard to blame Jack for what he did when you weren’t giving him much of a choice. Seriously Rachel what was going through your head?”

“I had to be there for him,” was all she said.

“You do realize how dangerous this is going to be right?”, she asked. “Jack doesn’t need to be worrying about you getting hurt in the chaos.”

“I know all right, I know,” she snapped. “I just can’t shake this feeling he’s not going to make it. And I didn’t want him to be alone if he…,” she couldn’t finish it. Melissa put a comforting arm around her and held her as the tears started to fall.

***

When they got there several vans and trucks clogged the road, all of them had Drakan rebels inside of them and standing around. Peering out the window Sparky whistled, “When they said full assault they weren’t kidding.” Jamie made his way through the crowd with a couple of his men following. They opened the door to let him in, he looked around until he found Jack.

“Melissa said you’d be bear headed.” Reaching into a pocket he pulled out a ski cap and handed it to him. “It’s the best I could do, sorry.”

“It’s better than nothing,” he told him as he took it and started lining the inside with the foil. “And we don’t want them to know I’m coming.”

Jack put it on as they piled out of the van. Jaime pulled him aside as he stepped out. “Melissa really didn’t say what happened but are you going to be all right?”

“I moped on the way here,” he answered. “Don’t worry my head’s in the game. Speaking of what’s the final plan?”

“They’re going to give us a thirty minute head start to get to the vent. We should be inside by the time they hit the front gate.”

“That sounds a little tight,” Arron said.

“Unfortunately we don’t know what type of lockdown procedures they have in case of attack. If the vents are sealed off as part of that procedure we’re screwed.”

“Where’s the device?”, Jason asked.

Jaime and one of the guys with behind him readjusted the backpack they were wearing. “It’s in here. We’ll make the final connections once we’re near the new Fusion. Jack it goes without saying I don’t want you anywhere near this thing when it goes off.”

“I hear you, but I’m not making any promises I can’t keep in the heat of the moment,” he answered. Jaime looked like he didn’t want to hear that but he nodded.

“The clock’s ticking,” Jaime said, “we better get going.” He took the lead as the crowd started honking their horns in support. None of them looked in their direction as they concentrated on their task. Jack felt eerily calm the entire time. He knew this path he was one was nearing its end, and he was ready for it. Jack just had to get to Anderson before somebody stopped him from getting there.

After a twenty minute hike they found the vent they were supposed to be using. Making sure there wasn’t any sensors on it Jaime and Sparky carefully took it off. Jaime hopped in first, followed by the other guy with a backpack, Jack, Sparky, Jason, Arron and the other one. It took them eight minutes to find an opening into the base. A set of guards on the other side was the only thing keeping him from breaking it out. They could wait a couple of minutes, as long as neither of those two were Drakan and had already smelled them. Seconds felt like minutes as they ticked by. Jaime checked his watch a second time when the alarm claxon rang out. One of the guards ran leaving the one just below the vent. Jaime kicked it out and landed on top of the guy knocking him out. He looked around and saw the coast was clear before signally for the rest of them to come out.

***

The security room for the complex reminded him of the control room back at World Inc. in many ways. Anderson found it comforting for some reason. Which is why he only arched an eyebrow when the alarms went off. The men around him scrambled to their station as a result calling out their station. “So they finally come,” he said to no one in particular.

“They’re coming right at the front door,” Perez said. “They got a huge set. I’ll give them credit for that.”

“Is Mr. Davidson with them?”

“Is Davidson out there?”, he barked into a mic. After a moment he answered, “Nobody has a visual and none of the ones with a hand scanner has gotten hit.”

“Strange,” Anderson said rubbing his chin, “I’d pictured he would be leading the charge.”

“He has more brains then I gave him credit for,” Taylor muttered.

“Perhaps he does,” Anderson agreed, but he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Could he have misjudged the man that much? One of the men grabbed Perez’s attention and said something. He uttered a small, quiet curse. “Is there a problem Mr. Perez.?”

“Maybe,” he said. “A post didn’t report in when the alarm sounded. We can’t seem to hail them either.”

“Is this person usually dependable?”, Anderson asked.

“Very dependable,” Perez said.

“Have any of the internal scanners picked up a hit yet?”

Taylor looked confused, “You don’t really think…?”

“It makes sense does it not Mr. Taylor?”, Anderson replied. “We have a major rebel offensive right at our doorstep, yet Mr. Davidson is nowhere to be found. Now we have a man missing at his post. While there are probably several ways to interpret the information only one scenario seems to fit the facts, to my mind any way. With one goal I would imagine.”

“They’re going to try and take out the Fusion operatives,” Taylor said in understanding.

“I’ll have the guard upped around the chamber,” Perez announced.

“As quietly as possible,” Mr. Perez,” Anderson told him. “Let’s not alert Mr. Davidson that we’re on to him just yet.”

“I don’t think he’s stupid enough to come in alone,” Taylor said. “I’m aware the Fusion system is designed to act solo but everything has its limits.”

“You’re probably right Mr. Taylor. Find General Rhodes and take some men down there. I’m sure Dr. Armstrong is already aware of what is going on.” Anderson left the security room right after Taylor. He wondered how far Davidson would get to his target. Well there was only one way to find out.

***

Like when they were trying to save Friedman Jack couldn’t shake the feeling he was broadcasting their location like a lighthouse on a foggy night. So he was looking around more than everybody else to make sure nobody else was coming. Jaime made them stop once to check out a map on the wall. There was some grumbling from Sparky and Jason about it but they would have a better time finding their target if they knew where it was. “It looks like this place is only one level,” Arron commented. “That’s good for us, we won’t have to worry about getting trapped in a stairwell.”

“So where is the freak at?” Jason snapped.

“The big section here labeled ‘lab’ might be a good starting point,” Arron said.

“How far is it?”, Jaime asked.

“Down this hall a ways if I’m reading this right,” he replied. “It looks like most of the hallways connect to it.”

“Then we won’t get lost,” Jack commented.

“But we could still get ambushed from one of these connecting corridors,” Jaime pointed out. “So everybody keep your eyes open.”

“What if I wanted to walk backwards with my eyes closed?”, Jack asked. Everybody just looked at him. “Hey I’m nervous as hell right now. So it’s either cracking crappy jokes or beating up the chimp. Take your pick.”

“I’d like to see you try bug,” Jason sneered.

“One more time, dead to rights twice,” Jack shot back.

“Put a clamp on it you two,” Jaime ordered. “This is going to be close to impossible as it is without us making the job easier for them. Let’s go, the job’s not getting done any faster.”

***

Melissa left Rachel alone when Angie came by and started talking to her. Right now they could probably help each other get through this better than she could at the moment. She was going over her own worst case scenarios as it was. And a couple of them ended up with Anderson’s troops busting down the doors in a few hours. She really needed to talk to one person in particular, fortunately she was right there in plain sight. “How are you doing child?”, Emily asked as she started walking with her.

“I’ve been better,” she said truthfully. “I’m trying to keep positive in front of the others but I can’t shake the feeling I sent some good men to their deaths.”

“They knew the risks when they volunteered,” she said.

“I know. I haven’t felt like this since we were forced to move from the first Habitat. Or when Chris went to face Jack in the Arena.” Melissa started chuckling to herself. “Oh God Chris would be right there in the middle of it wouldn’t he? Leading the charge, trying to inspire them when they’re at their lowest. Being the biggest target out there, outside of Jack that is.”

“I think that would be debatable in Anderson’s eyes child,” Emily joined in.

“True,’ Melissa agreed. “Maybe if Chris was still around it would give them a better chance of survival. Of course if Chris was still here I doubt Jack would be on our side.”

“Maybe not as soon as he was,” Emily said, “but Anderson would have made a mistake somewhere. The results would have been the same child. Of that I have no doubt. We all have a part in this particular drama,” she gave her a knowing look, “even after it is over.” Melissa nodded as they continued walking.

***

They ran into a couple of guards in the halls but they were able to get them before they could sound any type of alarm as they continued on. Jack turned the last corner first and came to a dead stop. “I knew this was going a little too smoothly,” he muttered as the others did the same. On the other end a group of men stood in their way. Jack recognized Taylor and Armstrong in front of the group. The general beside them he’d never seen before. And the combined World Inc. and army troopers looked like it was just one big blob. Jack didn’t hesitate in activating the system, “Henshin!” While the armor formed around him Arron, Sparky and Jason reverted into their wolf, eel and monkey forms. Jaime changed into a blue badger while him men turned into a red tiger and frog. On the other end Taylor, Armstrong and the general turned into a green cougar, tarantula and rhino respectively.

Snapping the staff to its full length Jack ran at them with Arron and Jaime right behind him while Jason, Sparky and the others soon followed. Jack immediately targeted the rhino as it did the same. He went low at the last second and was able to knock its leather like legs out from under it. Arron and Taylor went at it tooth and nail while Armstrong ordered the troops to get involved as he went in. Jason and the rest took them on eagerly. A couple of World Inc. troopers jumped on top of Jack that he quickly flung off. It was enough time for the rhino to pick him up and ram him into the wall, “Oof,” and he dropped the staff. Sparky came in shocked the rhino enough to get it off of him. A couple of troopers that hung back opened fired. Sparky took a shot to the shoulder while one of Jaime’s men went down dead to a shot in the head. “No!”, Jack forced himself off the wall and got in the line of fire to deflect some of the bullets. It was enough of a distraction for Jaime and Jason to break away and take out the gunmen.

Taylor batted around Arron with no apparent problem. The young wolf put up a valiant fight but the cougar was too experienced and much stronger. “I’m going to deal with you personally traitor,” Taylor told him bearing his claws.

Grimacing through the pain Sparky grabbed the staff on the floor and turned the dial all the way. “Arron!”, he shouted and threw it.

The wolf got away from Taylor just long enough to grab it. Jamming the end into the cougar’s chest he popped the electrode. The charge went through him, Taylor backed up a couple of feet before exploding. Arron turned and ran toward Sparky who was staring at a World Inc. trooper come at him with that spike extended from his club. “No you don’t!” he said as he cracked the human in the face with the end of the staff. Arron got in front of Sparky to ward off anybody else as the eel slowly got to his feet. “Hang in there man.”

“You kidding,” he grunted, “it’s only a flesh wound.”

“With a whole lot of blood.”

“Let me live in denial will ya.”

Armstrong bit the other man in Jaime’s group and ejected his poison into him and let him drop. Jason pounced on him in the next second. Jack and the rhino pounded on each other. Jack just being able to stay one step ahead of him. Then a trooper snuck up behind him and slashed him in the arm with the spike, “Argh.” He grabbed it on instinct as he kicked the man hard in the chest. Another one came up and stabbed him in the leg. Jack grunted in pain as he dropped to a knee.

“Perez finish him off now!” the rhino ordered. He raised the staff for the kill. Jaime came out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. “If you want anything done right,” the rhino said as he hauled Jack up and pushed him away. Then it tried to run his horn through his chest armor. The armor held but he was still went flying back. “I don’t see what Anderson ever saw in you,” the Drakan sneered as Jack slowly got back to his feet.

Armstrong tried to bite Jason the entire time they fought. Jason sneered, for a green this one was no fighter. Grabbing one of the soldiers he threw him into the tarantula stunning it momentarily. Jason took the opportunity to grab his head and snap his neck. “Ha!” he said relishing the fact he killed a green bastard with his own hands. He grabbed the soldier again, raised him over his head and threw him into a group of World Inc. troopers.

Jack did everything to avoid that horn. The armor was holding up but he was getting battered around like crazy. The rhino charged again. He stood his ground as he grabbed him around the neck and fell back and planted it’s head into the floor. A couple of more World Inc. troopers pulled him back before he could follow up. Again Jack fought them off as the rhino got back up. Twisting the pod up he ran at the Drakan as the charged ran down his arm. Jack punched him in the chest and the rhino flew back before exploding. He held his leg trying to will the pain he was feeling away.

“We got to get to the operative!” Jaime shouted. Running for the fallen packs he tossed one to Arron and one to Jason. “Me and Sparky have the rest of them, go!”

“Come on Fido,” Jack said as he took the staff back. “Let’s finish this.”

***

Jason didn’t have the time to register the disgust he was feeling as they ran for the door. The bug was hobbling but he was keeping up with them. The green whelp offered to help him but he turned it down. Jason had no doubt he would be playing the sympathy card as soon as this was over. The wolf opened the door and they ran in. Then they stopped. There were humans floating in tubes inside. Those tubes filled the entire room. The bug cursed under his breath as he looked at them. “I think we got a problem,” the wolf said.

“A beautiful sight,” Anderson said as he walked into view, “is it not?” He stood in front of a diamond shaped device encased in glass. “I’m actually glad some of you made it this far, especially you Mr. Davidson. I wanted you to see this, the mark ones, the mark twos. I do believe there is a mark three or two in here somewhere. Those were the plans you took the other day by the way.”

“I don’t really care,” the bug said. “We’re finishing this now.”

“I’m sure you think so,” Anderson said. “But there is something I want to show you first.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a remote. A press of a button and the device behind him started making a duel level sound.

“What the…?”, the bug muttered. They looked at him as his armor started to phase in and out before disappearing completely. He was stunned momentarily before saying, “Ah crap.”

Anderson stepped forward saying, “As I told you oh so long ago Mr. Davidson, do you really think I would have a weapon designed and not have a way to counter act it?” Eyes going cat like he changed into a green cheetah with various shades of green spots. “But you are correct about one thing. This does end today.” Before anybody could react Anderson ran in and grabbed the bug and threw him into a wall. He hit hard and slowly slid to the ground. The whelp was his next target. The wolf tried to combat him but the combination of lack of experience and the previous battle had him knocked out too. Then he turned toward him.

“I’ve been waiting for this,” Jason sneered.

“I’m sure you have,” Anderson said. “Although I do want to thank you. If it wasn’t for you I never would have discovered that the Fusion system would work as soon as I did. All of this,” he gestured around the room, “is the result of your action.”

“Then I’ll rectify that mistake.” Jason charged at him and was able to kick him in the gut. Anderson went back a couple of steps and Jason pressed his advantage. The monkey punched and kicked with everything he had to keep Anderson on the ropes. Then the cheetah jumped up and kicked him under the chin. Jason staggered back trying to clear the stars from his vision when he realized Anderson wasn’t attacking. In fact he was he was standing there with his hands behind his back. “You smug bastard!”

Jason went at him again, this time the cheetah blocked his initial attack, biding his time. Then he took it, a straight shot to the throat. Jason gagged briefly as he struggled for air. He never had another chance to regroup. Anderson pounced on him, swiping his claws on his face as he knocked him down. Picking him up he threw him at one of the tubes, it broke on impact as he and the occupant fell to the floor. “Oh well,” Anderson said, “he was only human. Plenty more where he came from.” Jason tried to get to his feet but Anderson was already there, pulling him off the human and pounding him down again. Jason was a heap on the floor as Anderson walked away. Getting to his knees Jason saw him go over to the bug’s fallen staff and picked it up. “I do believe it works like this,” he twisted the dial all the way and popped the electrode. Looking over at him and walked back over he said, “Now, renounce your little rebellion and tell me where the rest are and I might spare you.”

“Go to hell,” Jason grunted, unable to move.

“Have it your way then.” The next thing Jason knew the staff was being jammed into his neck.

***

Turning away as the rebel exploded he studied the weapon in his hand. Just like the one they developed by twisting it near the center it retracted to its original size. He was amazed that the rebels were able to create such a variant to their design. He was even more amazed that the people under him never thought of it first. Questions would have to be asked. That was for later though. Dropping the staff he turned toward the young wolf. “Your father would be so disappointed in you. I should remove this disgrace to his family line.”

“Anderson,” Davidson grunted as he slowly got to his feet. Ripping that ridicules cap off his head he glared at him.

He sighed as he said, “Come now Mr. Davidson, is this really necessary? The day is lost, just surrender gracefully.”

“Not going to happen,” he said. Like he thought Davidson ran at him. Anderson easily swatted him away. Davidson tried to sweep his legs out from under him but he easily jumped over the attempt. Davidson got up punching, he stood there and took them just to show him how futile the attempt really was. This particular human either refused or was too stubborn to notice. Again he swatted him with a back hand and Davidson went down hard. Yet he still tried to get back up.

“I’m surprised you had that apparent breakdown Mr. Davidson, if you’re putting up this type of fight.” Davidson staggered to his feet and took a swing at him. Easily dodging the blow Anderson extended the claws on his right hand, if the human wanted to fight then he was going to give him one. Davidson saw it coming and tried to get out of the way. He wasn’t fast enough as he was able to slash his cheek. Four lines of blood formed as he went down. He examined his claws seeing the blood on them as well. Davidson crawled over to the staff on the ground. Anderson let him amused at the fight still in him. Grabbing it he got back on his feet and extended it back to the full length. Then he turned the ring all the way. “Do you think there’s enough of a charge in there to defeat me?”

“Who says I’m going after you?” taking a moment too long to ponder that statement he didn’t react in time as he turned and ran toward the diamond device. Anderson couldn’t stop him as he smashed the glass and jammed the other end into the device. Squeezing the handle the device exploded a moment later. The charge that went through cause a feedback in the system and things in the ceiling started exploding as well as some other things. Anderson covered his eyes from the sparks. “Henshin!” He looked at Davidson as the sparks fell and the Fusion armor formed around him.