It is Saturday now as Zita takes inventory of what they’ll need for food and drink, and some essentials for her personally.
“I don’t think your nail paint counts as ‘essential,’”
Zorb says as he looks at her list.
“You know you like how they look,” Zita says as she
models both hands and feet to show the sparkling purples and pinks she put
together in unique nebula patterns.
“We’ll worry about non-essentials
later,” Zorb says. “We have priorities we have to take care of.”
Zorb goes to Siro where he sits on the couch.
“Are you finished reading about the pretty actress?” Zorb
says to him. “We’ve got to get going.”
“I’m reading to learn your language,” Siro grumbles. “And
yes, I’m done learning that your celebrities are no different than ours.”
Siro tosses the magazine onto the coffee table and stands
up. He hobbles over while Zita checks on their destination with the big screen.
“How’s the leg?” Zorb asks.
Siro turns Yellow and Analyzes his knee.
“Using Overdrive might be out of the question,” he says,
“but it’ll be fine.”
“Looks like they’ve all gathered,” Zita says.
“Perfect,” Zorb says. “Let’s go join them.”
Zita and Zorb walk to the teleporter platform while Siro
uses what he’s learned to work the machine. He then puts his mask back on and
joins them before the teleporter sends them down to Earth with a *WHOOMF!*
The trio arrives at a massive stone warehouse, worn and
dirty from age and lack of maintenance. Dark colored cars are all parked out
front, so Siro simply leads the way as they walk inside.
It was Wednesday, January 25th. The day Siro
went after the four crime big organizations and recorded it for the world to
see. But there was a part edited out that only Mr. Shǒuxiān, Mr. Vtoroy, Mr.
Tercero and Mr. Perascorso heard. Where it fits in the final edit is after
addressing each of them in their territory.
“You will go to the Red Hook Grain Terminal this
Saturday, the 28th, at 11 PM,” he said before tossing a nicely
designed business card at them.
Each man got a different colored card matching Siro’s
Code, but they all had the slashed circle embedded into the center, and the
terminal’s address printed in black.
“Don’t be alarmed by other criminals like yourself
showing up, you’ve all been invited.”
“And if I refuse to show up?” Shǒuxiān, Vtoroy and
Tercero each said; in Perascorso’s case, he was in too much pain to ask.
“You saw what I did by myself,” Siro told them all.
“Imagine if my new friends from space helped out.”
Shǒuxiān, Vtoroy, and Tercero accepted the business
cards, and in Perascorso’s case, he just stared at it where it landed on the
ground.
“We’re through here,” Siro said to Shǒuxiān, Vtoroy, and
Tercero, just as he did to Perascorso.
Siro then left,
the only evidence of this arrangement left on the harddrive of the camera that
recorded it.
Inside the abandoned grain processing plant, Zorb’s team
had already set up a lot of lights and seating before hand. The room is
therefore moderately lit, so that Shǒuxiān, Vtoroy, Tercero and Perascorso could
be easily identified as they sat at the wood round table. Each man had a
righthand man and at least a couple bodyguards. However, the order they sat
from left to right was a little different. Going from left to right around the
table, it was Tercero, Shǒuxiān, Vtoroy then Perascorso.
“Gentlemen,” Siro says to the gangsters and crime lords
gathered there, his voice echoing. “Thank you for coming. Now we won’t have to
make good on our threat. Allow me to introduce you to your new bosses.”
Zorb helps Zita take a seat then sits in the last chair
at the round table. Siro stands nearby as Zorb’s righthand man.
“What is this?” Tercero says as he points a whole hand at
Zorb and Zita. “What are these college kids doing here?”
“I thought this ‘Zorb’ person was a man,” Vtoroy scowls.
“Not some boy.”
“Well, looking at some of you, I can see why you
associate silver hair with ‘age’ on this planet,” Zorb says, offending the mob
bosses. “But I assure you, I’m a man, an adult, and a boss.”
“Wait, I’m confused,” Perascorso says, leaning an elbow
on the table.
Perascorso points at Siro.
“If he beat you,” he says as he moves his finger to point
at Zorb, “then why is he listening to you?”
“We’re working together,” Siro says before he can respond
for himself.
“We’re…” Zorb says, searching for the words. “We’re
equals now. There’s no reason for us to fight when it was never personal, and
especially not when we can help each other out.
“You see, he has helped explain some things to us,” Zorb
says as he motions to himself and Zita. “He’s helped us understand that your
planet is no different than all the other planets we’ve been to. He’s helped us
understand that humans aren’t all that different from the many species on those
planets. Our societies have all come to value the same things: wealth, and
power. And our societies all have those who don’t care how they come by those
two things, so long as they get them. That’s us!”
Zorb looks at each mob boss in the eye, but they still
seem to be skeptical, which disappoints Zorb.
“Let’s put it another way, then,” Zorb says. “Just
because you all showed up here doesn’t mean our threat is gone. We can ruin
your lives right here and now, just the two of us.”
The crime bosses look at each other as they laugh.
“The one in the mask maybe,” Shǒuxiān chuckles. “But he
can’t protect you while fighting all
of-”
*BANG* A gun goes off under the table! The mobsters look
themselves over, and Shǒuxiān looks down to see a bullet lodged in the floor
between his feet. Everyone realizes the shot came from Zorb when he smiles.
“I’m pretty sure I can protect the lady and myself just
fine,” he says. “I didn’t miss, by the way. My father trained me better than
that.”
“Enough of this!” the man standing by Perascorso shouts.
“They’re just two punks! We should just kill them-”
Siro turns Red and uses Overdrive to get around behind
the man. Siro shoves the man face first into the table while pulling his left
arm back.
“Kill who?” Siro says, now Code Black. “Kill who?!”
“No!” Perascorso says. “Please! Spare my son. He is just
upset, over what you did to my foot.”
“Your son?” Siro says as he looked at the man he’s
shoving into the table. “What is it with brats growing up to be idiots?”
Siro pulls Perascorso’s son off the table and lets him
go. Perascorso’s son stumbles but stays standing. He straightens up while Siro
Black’s red eye glares at him.
“Gentlemen,” Zorb says as Siro walks back over. “Let’s
please get to the business we came here to discuss. If we work together, we can
all benefit. All I ask is for a fair share of the profits.”
“Oh?” Tercero says. “How much were you thinking?”
“20%,” Siro says.
The four mobsters all protest, even shouting in their
respective languages of Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Italian.
“That is outrageous!” Tercero says. “20% is far too
much.”
“I agree,” Shǒuxiān says. “Plus, Vtoroy and Perascorso
make far more than us! They need to pay more.”
“We would already pay more because we make more!” Vtoroy counters.
“You’ll all be making more with this partnership,” Zorb
says. “If you haven’t put it together, I can offer you what no one else on this
planet has: my teleporter.”
The mob bosses all have a moment of realization.
“Teleporter,” Vtoroy says. “As in that stuff on Star
Trek?”
The others look at him strangely.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he says. “You all knew
that, you just won’t admit it.”
“Yes, it’s just like Star Trek,” Siro says. “We can use
it to transport people or product anywhere that’s outside of a building. That
seems like a fair trade for 20%, now doesn’t it?”
The mob bosses look at each other, and it’s clear they’re
all interested in a powerful technology like that. Each of them starts to stand
up, when canisters are thrown into the room.
*BWIZ* Siro Blue puts up force field paneling between the
gangsters and the canisters. The canisters explode with a *BAMF* to reveal
they’re “flashbang” stun grenades! But the blue force field filters enough of
the light so that no one is completely blinded. The sound, however, still gets
through and ears are ringing.
“Hands up!” several men in riot gear shout as they all
rush in.
The riot gear men have guns drawn, but see the force
field in their way. Siro recognizes the emblem on their gear as
Anonymous/Reciprocity Inc’s.
“Where are you, Homeboy?” Siro shouts. “I know you’re the
one who brought them here.”
Siro looks around, and Homeboy shows himself from around
one of the many pillars opposite of the entrance.
“And I’m surprised you brought them here,” Homeboy says. “You beat up their men and yet invite
them to hang out?”
“We were putting the hostile in ‘hostile takeover’,” Siro
jokes. “Now, please, we were just about to put pen to paper.”
“I can’t let you do that,” Homeboy says. “I don’t know
what the deal is, but that doesn’t matter. We’re taking all of them in, and all
of you in.”
*BANG!* Someone shoots Homeboy in the chest and he falls
right over!
Everyone looks over and sees Zita holding up a compact
model of gun made with rose gold.
“You like?” Zita asks. “Custom made.”
“Oww…!” Homeboy says as he sits back up.
Homeboy looks to his chest plate and sees the bullet
lodged in the cross section of the letter H.
“Damn, girl!” he says. “Not even a warning?”
The Reciprocity agents start hammering the force field
with the backs of their rifles, and Siro is growing annoyed.
“Gentlemen,” Zorb says to the gangsters as he stands up.
“If you would be so kind as to take care of the young man in the hood, we can
take care of these men in the helmets.”
Shǒuxiān, Vtoroy and Tercero each nod to their men and
the Chinese, Russian and Latin henchmen head for Homeboy, who is just getting
back to his feet.
“Screw that!” Perascorso’s son says as he grabs at Zita.
“Hey!” Zorb shouts at him as he drags Zita out of her
chair by her hair.
“Marco, what’re you doing?!” Perascorso shouts.
“You get my father and me out of here right now with that
teleporter thing of yours!” Marco demands as he traps her arm behind her back,
keeping the gun pointed away from him.
“Well, we didn’t exactly have time to explain all the
details of how it works,” Zorb says. “Otherwise you’d know right now, that’s
not possible. Also, let her go before you get hurt.”
“You’re not going to do anything while I’ve got your
girl,” Marco says with a wild-eyed grin. “Now get us out of here!”
“Does your son not listen?” Zorb asks Perascorso. “Because
for one, I didn’t say I’d be the one to hurt him.”
Zita starts moving her trapped arm, and she’s starting to
overpower Marco! The shock is clear on his face as she keeps raising her arm,
no matter how hard he tries to bring it back down. She still holds tight to her
rose gold gun as she gets her arm up, and she aims at Marco. He lets go of her
hair to try and use both hands now, but he’s still not strong enough. She
stands up straight now, and smirks at him as she continues to push. Marco ends
up bending back as far as he can before losing his balance and falling on his
back. Zita, however, stays on her feet without even wobbling.
“I won’t accuse you of being biased against females,”
Zita says as she fixes her hair. “I’ll just accuse you of being stupid.
Seriously, think it through. If my Zorb is stronger than the average human male
like yourself, and we’re both from another planet, what makes you think that
I’d be as weak as the average human female?”
“Ugh, stop banging on the barrier!” Siro shouts at the
Reciprocity troopers. “You’re not getting in.”
“I think we should shut them up,” Zorb says as Zita
returns to his side.
At the same time, Homeboy takes a few steps back as the
mobsters close in.
“Come on, guys,” he says to
them. “You can’t really want to be working for some intergalactic jackass and
the Xerox copy of some kid from California.”
“If it means making more money, then hell yes we are,”
the Chinese man says as he pulls out a knife.
At the same time, the Latino mobster brings out brass knuckles
and slips them on his right hand while the Russian simply brings out a couple
pistols.
“I say we just end this quickly, yes?” the Russian says.
But before he can aim at Homeboy, Homeboy runs and
shotgun dropkicks him in the chest! He falls forward and loses grip on his
guns, and Homeboy kicks him in the head from the side. The Latino gangster,
Ignacio, swings a big right cross but Homeboy ducks it. The Chinese man, Quon,
thrusts his knife but Homeboy deflects it with a kick. Homeboy backs up as Quon
backhand slashes at him.
The Russian, Gavriil, starts to get up, and sees one of
his guns nearby. He crawls, but Homeboy sees that. Homeboy swats Ignacio’s bare
hand away to stop from getting grabbed. Homeboy again kicks away Quon’s knife
thrust and then pulls Ignacio out of the way by his fancy shirt. Homeboy then
runs and kicks the gun out of Gavriil’s reach. The gun slides under the table,
and Homeboy stands between it and Gavriil.
Gavriil gets up on his feet, a full 6’3” to Homeboy’s
5’10”, and grabs him by the shoulders! Gavriil lifts and throws Homeboy back,
and Homeboy lands on his back between Quon and Ignacio. They both raise their
feet up but Homeboy rolls away to avoid their stomps.
On the other end of the room, Siro drops the barriers as
one of the troopers goes to smack his rifle butt on it. That trooper staggers
forward, and Siro goes Red to SPEAR the man off his feet! The other troopers
hurry to aim with their guns, but Zorb and Zita each shoot the men in their
hands, not a single miss between them. Each trooper clutches their bleeding
hands, and Siro gets back to his feet.
Siro grabs the trooper on his right and throws him head
long into the trooper on his left. The two topple over, and Siro steps on them
to use as a boost to jump onto the next trooper. Siro topples this man over and
grabs the helmet to slam his head into the ground again and again and again and
again!
Zorb picks up one of the chairs from the table and swings
it into the hip of the closest trooper. The chair breaks apart and the trooper
falls over from the impact and pain. Zita shoots warning shots at the troopers on
the far side, and they back away to cover. Siro gets up and turns around to
those troopers, and picks up one of the other trooper’s rifles. Spectralization
changes it from an M16 into a Tommy Gun!
“Nice,” Siro says as he looks it up the weapon, its
traditional wood handle and butt a bright red.
Siro aims and fires *TATATATATATATAT* but only shoots at
the troopers’ feet. Ricochets and stone chips get them in their shins and
calves but Siro never intentionally shoots at them as they go running.
Back to Homeboy, he leads the thugs a bit deeper into the
grain terminal. Gavriil picks up his other gun before he follows Ignacio and
Quon. They fan out a little as they and Homeboy end up in the middle of four
pillars. Homeboy stops before tripping on the tracks meant for grain carts. He
watches Gavriil take aim, but Homeboy quickly crouches and springs forward to
somersault. Homeboy gets in between Gavriil’s legs, and uses his head like a
shovel to lift Gavriil up by his groin. Homeboy holds onto Gavriil’s legs and
starts spinning around. Gavriil ends up being Homeboy’s weapon, keeping Quon
and Ignacio away.
After spinning around about four times, Homeboy lets go
of Gavriil, and Gavriil flies off and tumbles into a pillar. Homeboy is a bit
dizzy, but he stays up as Ignacio rushes in. Ignacio throws a body shot that
hits Homeboy’s side and follows it up with a right cross that gets Homeboy in
the cheek. Homeboy is really dizzy now, and can see why a lot of states don’t
let brass knuckles just fly off the shelves.
“Now you’re done!” Quon says as he grabs Homeboy by the
face.
Quon gets ready to stab but Homeboy grabs him by the
shoulders. Homeboy headbutts Quon, but with Quon’s hand in the way, it’s a bit
like Quon punches himself in the face.
Ignacio reels back his fist while Quon staggers back.
Homeboy ducks the punch then comes back with his own right hand. Ignacio
staggers away but Homeboy follows up behind and in one motion, jumps and grabs
Ignacio in a headlock. Homeboy lets himself fall and his weight brings Ignacio
head first into the ground for a classic “bulldog” takedown!
Homeboy turns around to see Quon shaking out the
imaginary stars flying around his head and standing up straight. Quon grabs his
suit jacket by the lapels and stiffly yanks once to shake the dust off. Quon
twirls the knife in his fingers then passes it between his hands. He’s clearly
trying to keep Homeboy off balance. At the same time, Gavriil and Ignacio are
getting back up, grumbling the entire time.
Siro drags one Reciprocity trooper up and lifts him high
overhead as Silver, to then toss at three others and bowl them all out the
door. Then the last two he drags up by one hand each and brings them over to
the round table. He lifts them both for a DOUBLE Choke Slam! The table legs
break from the combined impacts, and it’s a sloppy fall for the body and the
two men. Siro walks around the mess while looking over at Homeboy and the
henchmen.
Quon has the knife in his left hand as he slashes forehand,
which Homeboy hops back to avoid, then backhand, which Homeboy intercepts with
a kick. Quon stumbles but Gavriil runs over. Quon turns around while Gavriil
reaches for Homeboy, but Homeboy leaps away, and Quon ends up stabbing Gavriil in the side!
“Oh crap, I’m so sorry!” Quon shouts while Gavriil shouts
in both pain and horror.
“What the Hell, man?” Ignacio shouts at Quon.
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Quon defends.
“W-What do I do?!” Gavriil shouts. “Do I pull it out or
leave it in?”
“Uh, I-I think you leave it in,” Quon says. “Right?”
Quon looks at Homeboy for confirmation.
“Uh, y-yeah, that’s right, actually,” Homeboy says. “No
blood getting out and stuff. But, uh, damn, that’s still gotta come out at some
point, but that needs a doctor or something.”
“Then get out of here,” Siro says as he walks over. “I’ll
hold him off.”
“Hold him off?” Homeboy repeats while Quon and Ignacio
help Gavriil get away. “That’s usually something the good guy says about fighting
the bad guy. Also, are you sure that knee’s okay?”
“You shouldn’t complain,” Siro says. “You had a handicap
before with those pretty ladies showing up. Were they your babysitters?”
“Aha ha ha,” Homeboy says sarcastically. “If you’re going
to fight me, let’s fight.”
Siro walks into the four pillars space, and suddenly
feels a familiar tingling in the arms again. He looks around, and the light
ropes are very visible, stretching from pillar to pillar to make a square, just
like a wrestling ring.
“This match,” Computer’s voice echoes.
“Ah hell,” Siro says at the same as Homeboy shouts, “What
the hell!?”
“Is scheduled for one fall,” Computer continues, “and
is a singles match between Siro and Homeboy!”
“This must be because you’re wrestling game, too,” Siro
says to Homeboy. “Well, whatever.”
Siro walks forward at Homeboy, and Homeboy puts up his
dukes. Homeboy throws a right but Siro goes Yellow to catch that by the wrist.
Siro twists the arm as he steps and spins under. Homeboy stays on his feet as
Siro wrenches on the wristlock tighter. Siro uses the wrist control to lead
Homeboy around their little “ring,” but Homeboy rolls forward to relieve
pressure. Homeboy then kip-ups and pulls Siro towards ropes. Siro goes with the
Irish Whip to rebound off the ropes, and after turning Silver, he body checks
Homeboy off his feet.
Homeboy kip-ups again, so Siro comes back, aiming a boot
at his head. Homeboy bobs ‘n’ weaves under to use that outstretched leg to push
Siro off balance. Siro turns Red to do his own kip-up, but that aggravates the
bad right knee. Homeboy basement dropkicks that leg out, and Siro falls
forward.
Siro catches himself with his hands, but Homeboy gets up
fast to basement dropkick him in the head. Siro rolls to the ropes, and then
laces himself between them as Homeboy hurries after him.
“Ropebreak,” Computer says. “Ropebreak.”
“Lumayo! <Stay back!>” Siro shouts at Homeboy as he
sticks his foot out in front of him.
Homeboy stays back and Siro slowly lowers his foot. But
Homeboy quickly grabs the leg and pulls Siro from the ropes!
Homeboy sweeps Siro’s good leg out from under him and
Siro falls on his back. Homeboy pulls on the bad leg, but Siro turns Yellow as
he uses his good leg to hook his bad leg and pull it down.
Siro and Homeboy struggle against each other, but Siro
gets his bad leg back on the ground. Siro then spins around and rolls, bringing
Homeboy forward. Siro then grabs at Homeboy’s leg and uses both hands to push
from behind the knee. Homeboy’s leg folds naturally, but that takes away his
balance. Homeboy lets go of Siro’s leg in order to catch himself from hitting
the ground. Siro turns Black as he stands up, and goes after Homeboy’s foot for
an Ankle Lock! Homeboy grunts in pain but he kicks at Siro’s bad knee. Siro
becomes more worried about his leg and Homeboy kicks free of Siro’s grip.
Homeboy rebounds off the ropes and runs back at Siro, but
Siro ducks the clothesline to also run at the ropes. Siro rebounds on the ropes
and leaps, but Homeboy catches him for a spine buster! Homeboy goes after the
bad leg again, using it to turn Siro over. Siro resists, and the two struggle
against each other again. Siro then lets up and they roll through and Siro ends
up back on his back. He kicks Homeboy away again, and rolls backward to get
back to his feet.
“I still don’t get it,” Homeboy says as the two stand
back up. “Why are you working all these criminals if you keep going on about making
examples out of all the worst people?”
“It’s a bit more complicated than you think,” Siro says.
“Like playing chess to your checkers, if you will.”
“Don’t talk down to me, you masked maniac,” Homeboy
snarls. “And you forget that chess and checkers have something in common.
Someone loses!”
Homeboy rushes at Siro and the two grapple, hand to hand
with interlocked fingers.
“How long were you working on that ‘masked maniac’ line?”
Siro asks, the sneer on his face clear in his voice.
Siro goes Silver to use super strength to push Homeboy
back. But Homeboy turns and lets the momentum turn things around, and Homeboy
now has Siro backed up against one of the pillars. Siro pushes his way out of
the corner, but then uses the same trick on Homeboy! Homeboy grunts as he goes
shoulder first into the pillar.
“Corner trapping,” Computer says. “Five.”
Siro kicks Homeboy in the stomach, then reels him in to
pick him up around the waist. Siro powerbombs Homeboy into the pillar! Homeboy ends up folded up while skidding down to
the floor. He grunts and grumbles in pain as he tries to sit back up. Siro turns
Blue to bring Homeboy back up, for a second
powerbomb, to the floor! Homeboy now
writhes in pain from his head and neck hitting concrete.
“Starting to feel like the person losing is you,” Siro
taunts.
Siro drags Homeboy up off the ground, and brings him into
position for a third powerbomb. But Homeboy wraps his arms around Siro’s bad
leg to prevent the lift. Siro clubs Homeboy on the back, then again, and again,
and again and again and again! But Homeboy holds on, and works to up-end Siro.
Siro hops on his one good leg but Homeboy gets him up like he did Gavriil. Siro
changes to Red as he kicks and flails to escape. He starts sliding forward, and
he gets free of Homeboy’s grip. Siro arches and springs to land on his feet,
but pain shoots up the bad leg! Homeboy turns around and reels back to CLOBBER
Siro with a clothesline to the back of his head!
Homeboy sits and catches his breath while Siro clutches
his head and kicks a leg in pain.
“I’m sorry, did you say something?” Homeboy says.
At this time, the mobsters have all regrouped, Zorb and
some of the others giving cover fire. Quon and Ignacio get Gavriil into one of
the cars belonging to the Russian mobsters and have that car hurry away.
“We’ll arrange the rest of things later,” Zita tells the
mob bosses. “Don’t worry about finding us, we’ll find you. After all, we did
find you the first time.”
The mobsters drive away, but Reciprocity’s troopers stay
on the scene. They start regrouping and heading back for the terminal, which
means heading for Zorb and Zita.
“Time to get out,” Zorb says to Zita.
The two touch the teleporter buttons in their collars,
and a *WHOOMF* takes them away. The troopers are confused, but they continue
going forward, into the building.
Homeboy gets up as he hears troopers coming.
“Agent Homeboy,” one says.
“What happened to the other two?” he asks back.
“They split. But I don’t know why without him.”
Homeboy looks over at Siro as he gets up.
“Then he’s coming with us,” Homeboy says.
Homeboy carefully walks over to Siro with dukes up.
“Your buddies left you behind,” Homeboy says. “What’s
that about?”
But Homeboy notices too late that Siro turned Red! Siro uses
Overdrive as he throws a slapping
right left right left right! Homeboy wobbles and Siro turns Overdrive off. They
both know Siro can’t do much with the right leg, but Overdrive isn’t just about
running fast.
“Stand down!” the troopers shout at Siro.
“No!” Homeboy says as he steadies himself. “One of us has
to win first.”
“That doesn’t make sense!” one of the troopers says.
Homeboy spins back with a backhand fist but Siro turns
Yellow to catch it and use that arm to throw Homeboy down. Homeboy kips up,
rolls back, and he whips Siro at a pillar. Siro braces himself with his hands
and pushes himself back, but has to hobble on the right leg as he turns.
Homeboy runs in but Siro pushes off on his left leg, attempting a Red Light!
Homeboy catches Siro and keeps him up, to then wrap his
arms around Siro’s head in a sleeper hold! Siro flails then claws at Homeboy’s
arm. Homeboy holds on tight, so Siro drops as dead weight, bringing Homeboy
with him. This helps Siro slip out of the sleeper and then he reaches up to
grab Homeboy around his head. Siro rolls and gets Homeboy down on the ground in
a dragon sleeper! Homeboy kicks and flails but Siro gets his legs under and
around to get the body scissors on.
“Let him go!” the lead trooper shouts as he and the
others aim their guns.
“You won’t shoot!” Siro says as he cranks back on
Homeboy’s neck. “You’re not good enough to only get me.”
Siro bridges his back to bend Homeboy back more. This
also positions Homeboy in the way of the troopers’ aim. The troopers concede
that with all the thrashing, there is no clear shot.
Homeboy kicks back, but Siro keeps cranking and twisting
his neck. Homeboy grabs blindly for Siro’s head and face, but Siro uses his
right arm to grab and trap Homeboy’s own right arm, and pulls it back. Siro’s
hands meet under Homeboy’s shoulder blade and grip tight to now add pressure to
Homeboy’s back as Siro bridges. Siro even gets a full extension, using his own
head and neck in the bridge!
Homeboy shouts and gargles in pain, but he can’t kick any
harder with his legs in this position, and giving up any ground, so to speak,
would only make it easier for Siro. Homeboy uses his free left hand to tap out!
“Homeboy submits!” Computer says. “Your
winner: Siro!”
Siro lets go of Homeboy, and Homeboy can breathe easy
again. Siro gets up and the light ropes disappear. The troopers rush in now but
Siro turns Red. However, before Siro can run away, Homeboy clubs him in the
side of the bad leg! Siro barks in pain as he falls to his knees, and Homeboy
jumps on him.
“Put on the cuffs!” Homeboy shouts at the troopers.
The troopers move in while Homeboy hammers Siro in the
head and shoulders, and they clamp on big shackles on Siro’s legs. They keep
his feet close together and weighed down, but that doesn’t stop him from trying
to kick back. Homeboy gets up and stomps Siro in the head a few times. That
dazes Siro enough for them to put matching shackles on his wrists. Those keep
his arms close together, and then magnets bring his hands and feet together.
Siro tries to pull his hands away from his feet, but the magnetic attraction is
strong, even for Silver. The troopers drag him out but he struggles the whole
way, so Homeboy takes a rifle and SMACKS Siro in the head with the butt.
When Siro comes to, he’s in the back of a van, and the
shackles are chained to the floor of the vehicle. Siro’s eyes adjust to the
lack of light in the back, and he sees four troopers guarding him, guns at the
ready. Siro doesn’t struggle this time.
“I still won,” Siro says.
The van drives to an airport, and the troopers drag Siro
up and out of the back to bring him to an airplane.
“I recognize this,” Siro says. “The last time I was there
feels so long ago. Or, no, The Spektrum
went there. This’ll be my first time
at your headquarters.”
“What’re you talking about?” one of the troopers asks,
annoyed as he drags Siro up into the plane.
“What do you mean what am I talking about?” Siro asks.
“Don’t you know how human clones work? There’re a number of things that
theorize clones keep the memories of the person they’re made from.”
“That’s all science fiction,” another troop says as they
get Siro in a seat.
“So were superpowers,” Siro counters, “and aliens. And
secret government organizations that no one knows about.”
“Well he’s got us there,” the first trooper says.
“Just sit put for the flight or you get zapped,” the
second trooper says as he sits across from Siro.
“With what?” Siro says. “I don’t see a taser.”
The shackles give Siro a *ZAP!*
“AH!” he lets out.
“And that was just a three out of ten,” the third trooper
smirks as he holds out a small remote.
The troopers all take their seats and the plane takes
off, headed west.
The plane flies for a couple hours, passing into a new
timeznoe. In New York, it would be 1 AM but that means it is only midnight in
the Midwest. Of course, Siro’s body is still on West Coast time, so he’s still
wide awake as the plane finally arrives at Reciprocity HQ. The only lights are
runway lights and one little light over the entrance.
Meanwhile, down in the Reciprocity HQ medical floor,
Hayden is slumped over in a chair in Craig’s room, having dozed off a half hour
ago. He was born and raised in the Midwest, so he’s on Central time. But then
Alan barging into the room startles him, and he looks at Alan with wide eyes.
“Wuzapenen?” he says in a drowsy panic.
“They caught Siro,” Alan says.
Hayden’s eyes are still wide, but he sits up now. Then he
gets up, and both of them head upstairs. As they arrive at the surface, the
troopers drag Siro out of the plane. Hayden and Alan applaud and laugh as the
troopers bring Siro over. But as Siro recognizes them and recognizes the
hangar, he starts to laugh, too.
“They brought me to the base,” he laughs. “They actually
brought me to the base!”
“They?” one of the troopers repeats. “What’re you talking
about now?”
Siro keeps laughing, and *WHOOMF* light hits, and Zorb
returns! But he has the Masqueraders and two big metal devices. The devices
turn on and shine bright light on the runway and hangar! The troopers, Alan and
Hayden shield their eyes after being blinded! Siro only stops laughing because
he’s dropped on the ground.
Duha runs in with his speed and knocks two troopers into
each other. Usa throws Upat again and Upat collides into the other two.
“Get the remote!” Siro shouts. “There’s a remote!”
Duha searches all the troopers and finds the remote. He
looks at the buttons and presses one.
*ZAP*
“UGOK! <STUPID!>” Siro shouts at him.
Duha presses another button and the electromagnets
stopped. Siro didn’t bother waiting for him to press another button, he uses
Silver’s strength to smash the shackles on his hands into the ground. It takes
a couple times but they break. Then he rips up the shackles on his feet as the
Masqueraders and Zorb come up behind him.
“Who’re those two?” Zorb ask as he points over at Hayden
and Alan.
“I’ll take care of them,” Siro says as he gets up.
Hayden and Alan put their arms down, their eyes having
adjusted a bit. They see Siro run up as a red blur, and he tackles them both!
The three practically fly into the hangar, and then slide on the ground.
“C’mon,” Siro says to Zorb and the Masqueraders. “We’ll
head downstairs.”
But then Siro sees the doorway to the stairs, and the
size of Usa.
“Actually,” he says. “Zorb, you and big red should stay
here to keep an eye on those two. If they start transforming, uh, I dunno,
throw them into a wall.”
“Transforming?” Zorb says. “What do you mean,
‘transforming’?”
“The rest of you come with me,” Siro says as he heads to
the stairs.
Upat, Tulo, Upat and Lima follow Siro down into the dimly
lit depths.
Reciprocity Inc’s forces scramble down below, having
learned they’re under attack.
“Recruits,” Smart Mouth shouts. “Get in gear. This is
real.”
“Finish gearing up and get to at least the third floor,”
Axe Tootell says.
Axe Tootell—which he insists is pronounced Too-Tell, not
Toot-All—was one of the three members of the trio that refused to fight amongst
each other back during the final test over the holidays. He’s actually become a
respected leader among the recruits, and has his original teammates, Ms. Emma
Weigly—pronounced Way-glee, not Wiggly—and Garth Apathy—who no one believes
that’s his real last name—as lieutenants of sorts among them.
Axe does not use an ax as a weapon, but he does have a
shotgun by his side. Emma sticks to a pistol while Garth has a slightly
modified rifle.
“Swole Sabina” straps on heavy gloves, Kevlar body gear,
with a big billy club on her hip and a rifle on her back. Lanky and logical Hartwell
has a smaller club and a simple revolver, mostly for his own protection. Brody
Bridge’s old teammates, Louie Bolafka and Aaron Fletcher, have bulked up after
Brody’s passing. But even so, they’re still only carrying standard gear, like
the many other troopers.
Smart Mouth and Axe lead the way up the stairs.
“Tommy, Joey,” Smart Mouth tells Craig’s old friends.
“You guys get to the medical level, keep an eye on Hardwire.”
Tommy and Joey nod and split off from the rest.
“What’s keeping these guys from just casually walking
their way down here?” Axe asks Smart Mouth.
“Security on the second floor,” Smart Mouth replies. “A
few solid steel doors will at least slow them down.”
Siro and the Masqueraders arrive at that very door as
it’s sealed up tight. Siro turns Yellow to use Analyze. The door is solid steel
and three feet thick.
“If only we had big red Usa,” Lima says with some
sarcasm.
“Shut up,” Siro says as he goes back to Silver.
Siro steps up, but not to the door. Siro rams his
shoulder into the wall beside the
door! The concrete wall cracks and Siro rolls his shoulder to ease away the
pain.
“Upat,” he says to M4.
The yellow Masquerader steps up, and Siro puts a hand
behind his head. Siro rams Upat’s head into the crack! The crack grows, but
Siro hits it with Upat’s head again. The crack grows even more, and Siro lets
Upat stand up straight.
“Good?” Siro asks as he pats Upat’s shoulder.
“Good,” Upat says and nods.
Siro turns Black to grab inside the growing crack in the
wall, and rip pieces away. He makes a gap big enough for the five of them to
fit through one at a time.
Siro walks out in front on the second floor, but there
are already more troopers waiting just down the hall, in front of a second yet
less thick steel door. The troopers take position, the front row kneeling while
the second row stands, but all guns pointed at the Masqueraders.
“Stop right there!” a trooper in the back row shouts.
“How about not?” Siro says.
Siro turns Red, and together with Duha, he runs forward
at superspeed to bowl through the troopers! The troopers scramble to their feet
while the other three Masqueraders run over. Tulo and Lima pin some rifles down
while kicking troopers in their helmets. Duha and Upat toss rifles away while
Siro Silver barrels several troopers over at once.
Other troopers stand up and bring out billy clubs. Siro
Red dodges one swing to shoulder tackle another trooper. The first trooper
comes back but Siro quickly boots his swinging arm away. Another trooper creeps
up but Siro mule kicks him back. The trooper doubles over and Siro rolls off
his back. Siro dropkicks the troopers into each other, then kips up to double
spear them like he did Alan and Hayden!
Other troopers run up but Siro somersaults backwards to
dodge. Siro uppercuts the one on his right, then blocks a kick from the one on
his left. Siro gives that trooper the Dragon Screw! The trooper clutches at his
knee while sitting up, and Siro mule kicks him in the head!
Duha uses his speed to pinball into other troopers,
knocking them around the room. Upat takes a billy club right to that bronze
forehead of his but doesn’t flinch before coming back with a headbutt into the
trooper’s chest!
Tulo slips out of a trooper’s grip thanks to his greasy
skin, and gets around them for a judo-like throw over the side. Lima uses his
crazy number of joints to wrap around a couple troopers’ legs and trip them up
together. He then tightens like a boa constrictor and starts to crush their
ankles! The troopers shout in pain until Lima swings them by those ankles, and
tosses them into more troopers.
“Don’t bother killing them,” Siro says. “They’re just
grunts. We’re after the bigger fish.”
Tulo kicks a trooper as the group heads for the second
steel door. The hallway narrows here so that the wall is almost flush with the
doorframe. But that doesn’t stop Siro from attacking the wall. He breaks it
open on the right side and reaches inside for any wires that are there. He rips
it all out, and the door opens with a shudder. Siro gets his hands inside the
gap and shoves the door open halfway, revealing the other staircase.
A couple troopers get up and have their guns back. They
aim at Siro and the Masqueraders and open fire! The bullets bounce off Siro
Blue’s force field with *PLINK PLINK PLINK PLINK*
Siro looks at the troopers as they shoot at him in vain,
chuckles, and flips them off before stepping through the doorway. The troopers
stop shooting, Siro turns Black and he digs his fingers into the door to drag
it closed. Now the steel door keeps Reciprocity’s troopers trapped on the
second floor.
Siro and the Masqueraders reach the second floor, and the conference room. The very conference room all of the known Power Surger teens first met each other. Siro sees the long table they all sat around. He remembers exactly where he and Catgirl sat.
No,
that was The Spektrum that sat there. He met her in person, flew on a plane
with her, and sat so close to her that he could see so much detail in her
adorable smile. And yet, those memories are so clear in Siro’s mind. As are
those feelings.
“Well that took less time than I expected,” a ridiculing
voice says.
Siro looks at the other end of the room and sees Smart
Mouth standing there with the Reciprocity recruits.
“I would’ve thought after what you did to Hardwire and
Tiger, you would’ve taken the time to kill the security team,” Smart Mouth says
as he turns and twists a Rubik’s Cube without looking at it.
“I didn’t know those people, so I couldn’t judge them,”
Siro says.
Smart Mouth finishes solving the cube then tosses it onto
the table with a *CLONK*.
“That’s what you are now, huh?” Smart Mouth says. “Judge,
jury and executioner?”
Smart Mouth starts walking forward.
“What was there to judge?” Siro says as he starts to walk
forward. “Craig is a dick. Tiger is a predator. It’s all plain as the zero on
my chest.”
As Siro and Smart Mouth approach each other, the others
on their team start fanning out around the room. Axe uses subtle hand signals
to coordinate the others.
Siro and Smart Mouth are just a few feet away from each
other, and Siro waits for Computer to speak, only to hear nothing.
“Huh,” Siro says. “Guess it only happens with Surgers
now.”
Siro kicks Smart Mouth in the shin! And as Smart Mouth
hops on one leg, Siro steps to get behind him and jumps up. Siro grabs Smart
Mouth around the head and brings him down for a neckbreaker! And that sparks
the rest of the fighting!
Duha runs at Sabina and they collide, and she stays
standing! She puts both hands together to hammer Duha in the head! He staggers
around but Upat comes running up, leading with his head. Sabina steps to the
side and uses a hand to push Upat along so that he goes flying.
On the other side of the table, Lima brings arm chairs in
as shields as Emma and Garth take shots. Emma’s pistol doesn’t do much, but
Garth’s rifle takes a chunk out of the stuffing. Lima shoves the chairs
forward, but they’re easily knocked aside.
Siro gets to his feet and stomps away on Smart Mouth’s
shoulder! But Axe tackles Siro down to the ground! Hartwell stands guard by the
door, gun at the ready but palms sweaty.
Siro shoves Axe off him but Smart Mouth is up. Smart
Mouth brings out a ball on an elastic band. The elastic band has a ring and
Smart Mouth slips it on his right index finger. He starts swinging the
yoyo-like ball around, left and right in front of his body in a figure eight.
Axe runs at Siro and tackles him again, but Siro stands his ground as Blue. Axe
manages to turn Siro slightly away from Smart Mouth as Smart Mouth spins to
swing the yoyo-ball in a wide arc! The yoyo-ball smacks Siro in the head, and
it hits hard! Siro staggers and leans against the table, head ringing from the
impact.
What is that ball
made out of?! Siro shouts in his mind.
Tulo spins with constant back hands and back kicks,
keeping Emma and Garth at a distance. Tulo stops spinning and Emma moves in, but
Tulo spins again to slap Emma with his greasy, almost slimy hair!
“Yuck!” she says as she reels back.
Tulo kicks Emma in the stomach and into the arm chairs. Garth
aims but Tulo moves around a lot. Tulo then drops down to get under the table.
Garth aims at the table but Lima swats the rifle barrel. Garth lifts his rifle
so he isn’t aiming at his own teammates, and he continues to spin, aiming the
rifle butt at Lima. But Lima ducks and wraps a leg around Garth’s in an inhuman
way, touching shin to thigh. Using this backwards hook, Lima rolls and trips
Garth. Garth loses grip of his rifle as he has to catch himself in the fall.
Lima then slithers up to pull Garth’s arms back while digging his knees into
Garth’s lower back.
Emma kicks Lima in the face! But he holds on! She aims
her pistol, but Tulo trips her! She spins around to aim at him but he’s already
on her! Tulo slaps her with his sloppy hair again, and she sputters and spits
from the slimy feeling on her lips. Tulo stomps Garth’s head down and Lima
switches over to constrict Emma’s legs!
Back on the other end, Louie and Aaron try to aim at Duha
but he moves way too fast for that. Upat gets up and runs at Sabina again, but
she sends him flying into a wall this time. His bronze forehead bounces off and
he hits the ground running, headed back for Sabina! Sabina gets up under him to
body slam him on the table! Sabina then uses her billy club to WHACK Upat in
the leg!
Axe comes up behind Siro with his shotgun at the ready.
Siro turns Yellow and spins right around as Axe pumps it. Siro grabs the gun
with his left to push the barrel away and then elbow Axe in the head with his
right. Axe staggers and leans against the table. Axe tries to bring the shotgun
back up, but Siro waits for the momentum to build. Siro lets up and Axel ends
up bringing the gun way up to point at the ceiling. Siro stays under the
shotgun now and pushes Axe against the table.
Smart Mouth swings the yoyo-ball around and sends it at
Siro again! Siro turns to the side and brings Axe into the ball’s path! Axe
manages to hop out of the way in time and the ball smacks against the table’s
rectangular base. Smart Mouth reels it back in, lets it go past him, and spins
with it to let all of the slack be stretch out. He pulls it back in with a hard
underhand, and the ball reaches pro pitcher speeds as it flies in!
But Siro Yellow keeps an eye on it the whole time thanks
to Analyze. He keeps grip of the shotgun with his right as he steps through, then
changes to Blue and stomps at the right time to stop the ball dead in its
tracks!
“Impossible!” Smart Mouth shouts.
Axe pulls the gun free of Siro’s grip and brings it back
up to aim at Siro’s head!
SLAP! *BLAM*
Siro knocks the gun away as Red just as Axe pulls the
trigger! The shotgun accidentally gets Sabina in the shoulder and she falls to
the ground!
“Oh God!!” Hartwell shouts. “Sabina!!”
Sabina cusses, the gear could only do so much to protect
her arm so she’s bleeding and in serious pain.
Axe growls as he turns back towards Siro, but he gets a
Red Light cutter!
“Gadammit!” Smart Mouth says as he yanks his yoyo-ball
back to him.
Downstairs, on the 4th floor, Tommy and Joey
can hear the noises of the fight, especially the gunshots. They both gulp in
nervousness as they stand at the door of Craig’s room.
“D-Do you think they’ll win?” Tommy asks.
“I-I-I don’t know, man,” Joey says. “It sounds pretty crazy
up there.”
Tommy starts to sweat nervously. He looks back at Craig,
still in his coma. But as he looks closer, Tommy’s eyes widen, because he sees
Craig’s eyelids start to flutter, and his body starts to stir.
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