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(HS) Trials of Morality

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8/13/2011 21:11:16   
Vector
Member
 
Trials of Morality
Prologue


Once upon a time, in a far away land... wait a minute, that's not right. *ahem*


A rather interesting... thing is dormant inside a very large container. It certainly looked human by it's head, but otherwise impossible to tell since it's covered in heavy armor. The 'hands' are a liitle menacing: they resemble more like metal lobster claws. It almost seems like someone was wanting to make a living weapons platform. That's only partly true.
The ambition of an old scientist (and curiosity, he later admits) drove him into creating this... thing... that looks human, yet doesn't seem to be. One would certainly get an uneasy feeling on sight of it, yet won't help but wonder why. The old man pushes a few buttons and the fiberglass container opens while the entity slowly wakes...

"Come. It is time." He explains the intended purpose to the being as they relocate to a different section of the area: "You are meant to be the solution to our problem against Herospire; one that can withstand everything they will throw at us. Every one of us has spent a great fortune investing into you to make sure that was achieved, but there's no way to truly tell without sending you out there."

"There had to have been more conflict than that."

"I was about to get there. You, specifically."

"Go on."

"I personally intended to install my own little device that allowed you to... basically have free reign of your own actions. Rocker, however thought that meant I'd have you betray us all in the future."

"Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't exactly switch sides on just a few minor details. I'm sure he compromised."

"Else you wouldn't have responded like you just did. We both made a deal actually; I have to let him give you what he calls a 'special mission.' He'll explain it to you; we're almost there anyway." It didn't take them much longer to reach Rocker, who went straight to the point.

"You'll be spying on the goody-two-shoe heroes at Liberty City. If you really want to act like you're on their side, which I doubt they'll think that, you can help get rid of DaVinci; that arrogant brat insulted me too many times. Now go!"

'Quite the charmer, isn't he?' the enigma thought to itself.
Post #: 1
8/14/2011 15:12:22   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter I

Aurora Park... the last time Rocker saw Davinci, he said he was there, and that you could spot his hubris over a mile away as well as preferring to just barge in. The 'experiment' (truly it had no name) was smarter than that; such an action would alert the entire city's defense forces, including Herospire. Stealth was needed to safely arrive and succeed... in one piece, so the passive ECM was absolutely essential to remain 'under the radar'.

The park itself is in a bit of a war between a power trip, and desperation: Luigi Davinci vs. Demolicious. Of course you can't have a war without armies clashing each other, so they each brought their own swarm of robots to help them, along with a few heroes/villians. Davinci, however, literally swarmed and out numbered the valiant heroes by 3:1 at least. Something had to be done before they were hopelessly annihilated... and something was done.
Everyone heard a loud noise and a whole line of Davinci's destroyers had a gaping hole in the middle of them. They all looked around, attempting to locate the source, but failed. Another loud noise, and the same robots lost their heads... collapsing soon afterward. The war did continue, however, only this time everyone is keeping an extra eye out for whoever's out there intervening.

Eventually, in the long awaited aftermath, and despite the mysterious assistance, Davinci still managed to defeat the heroes and couldn't wait to boast his victory in Demolicious' face. But over in a hidden location not far from the battlefield, the sniper is devising one last attempt to ensure the maniac's victory was Pyrrhic; switching between vantage points to determine the best location, the target's weakness was finally revealed.
Davinci eventually ran out of things to brag about, so he ordered his minions to, in his own words, "Get rid of this trash."

"With pleasure" was the next thing he heard, but before he could react, his colossal tank suffered total devastation in a massive, yet very pretty, explosion.

He couldn't believe it, yet he saw it with his own eyes: his beloved tank that he cherished almost to obsession... gone. Gone! Countless hours wasted because of-- someone was closing in on him, and without his precious tank, Davinci was defenseless and thus had to run away, since all his other surviving minions fled after the blast.
Actually, as Demolicious soon realized, everyone disappeared... save one, who was approaching her rather casually. Either she's having a very strange dream or she hit her head somehow, because there was no way this villain actually helped her...

"I know exactly what you're thinking, and yes I did just save your hide."

"Well I hope you know he got away with the malachite..." She was implying that Davinci would manage to make something out of it, which was possible, but the cyborg just chuckled.

"I made him pay for it, at least. He's got a long walk back home."

"Well... I guess... but--"

"When anyone asks about this, I was doing a favor. That hoser has a lot of people that want to knock him upside down."

"...Right... but, what about--" The cyborg was already gone before she could finish, presumably to avoid further attention. She was a little disappointed, to be honest; if he, or whatever it was, actually went against Davinci... perhaps, she thought, she might be able to convince him somehow to turn against Skulldeep entirely. Alas, she has no idea how hard such a task would turn to be; she would more than likely have to rely on dumb luck to truly achieve such a feat.

Or maybe not.

< Message edited by Vector -- 8/17/2011 12:30:55 >
Post #: 2
8/15/2011 21:35:03   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter II

She had the craziest idea she would ever come up with, but if it meant turning this potential powerhouse against whoever had the bright idea to train this guy, she had to give it a shot... besides, she needs someone to help her with an important problem, even if she needed therapy afterwards. Either way, she has a lot of planning to do to make it work.
He didn't return to Skulldeep yet; his mission was to spy on or otherwise gain the trust of Super City. Dealing with Davinci was just a means to that end, though now that he has the chance, he might as well get to familiarize himself with the area. He wasn't surprised when the citizens started running away, so he just kept on walking like it didn't bother him. It didn't take long before a few patrolmen showed up, though. 'Ugh, and I just got here, too...' he thought to himself.

"Hold it right there! Stay where you are!"

"Six and a half seconds... I think that might be a new record." the cyborg announced sarcastically.

"We were waiting just for you."

"Wow, I didn't realize I had such a loyal fanbase already. You do realize I just got here, right?"

"We stop problems before they show up. That's how it works." Interesting: self-defense might actually be valid, though he'd rather not waste his time with it.

"That's a dangerous assumption, isn't it? What if you turn out to be wrong?"

"We're the best police force in Super City; we're never wrong. So if you want to resist arrest, you need to know that--"

"That won't be needed, sheriff. I know who this is." That voice seemed oddly familiar...

"You sure about that, ma'am?" Half the squad kept their eyes on the cyborg while said cyborg caught sight of who intervened: the same girl he helped back at the park. Of course her trademark wrecking ball is hard to miss, but he simply just met her there.

"Yes, sir. I was actually about to tell you guys about him back at the police station if he didn't show up so soon. He's the one who tried to help stop Davinci back at Aurora Park."

"You mean that crazy kid we picked up with a load of malachite?" One of the patrolman curiously asked.

"Yeah, that's... wait, you found him?"

"Huh. I guess he didn't win after all. Such a letdown for him, eh?" The sheriff turned to the cyborg, a little surprised it actually helped. "Yeah, I know, but I was doing everyone a favor; not very many people can tolerate that kid's full-of-himself kind of attitude. I was about ready to knock him upside the head to be honest."

"...Well, now that we settled this misunderstanding, we should be off." The patrolmen, and sheriff went back in their police cruisers and drove off into some other part of the city, splitting up in different directions.

"I'm a little surprised to see you here," the cyborg started.

"Look who's talking; I thought you'd head back over to Skulldeep for another round of mayhem and destruction or whatever it is you do there." He could tell she was just jesting, but it was possible that he could go back to being evil again.

"I wanted to clear up a few things with you first. Is the park still empty?" That surprised her, but then she remembered she had a few questions for him.

"Yeah. The city already marked it for repairs but we still got time before they officially close it off. Come on."

< Message edited by Vector -- 8/20/2011 20:25:15 >
Post #: 3
8/20/2011 0:32:54   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter III

It didn't take very long to reach the former battlefield of Aurora Park, since they were in the city square, but the closer they got, the more unhappy Demolicious became. When they maneuvered over to Pandora's statue, however, she couldn't hold back any longer and had to talk about it.

"Sometimes I can't help but regret how selfish I was... I mean, I never really cared about what happened to the malachite."

"Well, you cared enough to try to keep Davinci from it, right?" the cyborg asked, but Demolicious sighed.

"You don't get it. I only wanted to get the malachite so I could sell it. I wasn't really any better than he was. I just..." There was silence for a few seconds. "I'm not in the best shape with money right now."

"Why, what's wrong?" She sat on the nearest bench, which was surprisingly intact. It did seem odd that she's willing to talk about her problem, though.

"It's my dad. He started to get sick a few days ago and we wanted to get him better, but since we only make enough cash to support ourselves..." The cyborg had an idea where this went.

"You simply don't have enough for the doctor visit. Doesn't help when your only source of income hampers down." He sat on the bench a comfortable distance away from Demolicious; mostly to prevent accidents regarding his claw weapons.

"Right, and I'm starting to get desperate because of it. As far as I know, you could be the only one who might want to help... besides, you actually listened to what I needed to say and even let me explain." She was implying that he could turn against her if he wanted.

"Let's see you take a stroll down to Skulldeep and hope no one sees you. Then we'll play the blame game." the cyborg retorted, which made her chuckle a bit.

"Good point. If that's the case, then you'll have to rely on them a little if you wanna help out." The cyborg got up and was ready to leave but she interrupted him. "Hey..." Her voice seems a lot more calm than usual. "I might not know who you are, but it really meant something when you listened to me. I thought I was about to get a lecture."

"I can give you one after we help your dad if you want." She just smiles faintly.

"No, that's alright... well, you better get goin'; I don't know how much longer dad's got left." All the cyborg did was give a simple nod and he was already heading out of the park. 'Hard to believe someone like him came from Skulldeep..." she thought to herself, 'Then again, I don't expect the city to give that much leeway anyways.'

< Message edited by Vector -- 8/20/2011 20:16:47 >
Post #: 4
8/23/2011 15:20:28   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter IV

He wasn't sure if it might work, but he was going to try to use some of Skulldeep's stolen cash to help Demolicious out, just like that Ruby Soot guy or whatever his name was from that old tale. Even though he forgot to ask her how much she needed, it might be enough to bring her just one bag. Part of him actually started feeling bad for her... well, he was going to help rid the sickness, money or not.
*Bzzzt*...*Bzzzt*
His HAL droid was going off. Someone must have sent him a message. He takes off his shoulder pack and fumbles through everything in it to get his HAL Droid. No matter how many times he uses it, he'll just never be able to get used to holding the blasted thing.

'Might wanna come back to SD. Something you need to know.' He replies to the message:

'Why? Something go wrong?' About a minute passes, and he gets his reply.

'You won't believe it if I only told you. Just get over here and see for yourself.' It certainly seemed serious, so he put away his HAL Droid, after dropping it twice, and picked up the pace. 'God, I hate these things sometimes...' he thought to himself, referring to his embedded claw weapons.
The first thing he saw when he arrived was a strangely familiar body lying on the ground. There doesn't seem to be wounds of any kind, so it appears he could've simply passed out somehow. The cyborg soon realized who that body was: the very scientist who made him; the 'father', some might say. He quickly checked for any lifesigns...
but found nothing. He did notice a small drop of a dark fluid, so he collected it for later study. It would be a safe assumption that the scientist was poisoned somehow.

"Who... did this?" the cyborg asked.

"We're still looking into that." one of the villians said, "But he had to be pretty crafty to pull it off without a trace." That didn't make him any happier.

"They better be lucky enough not to run into me, whoever it is, or they'll go through hell twice."

"We'll keep an eye out for them if that's what you want." The cyborg already walked past the villian toward the storage vault, the new home of 'specially acquired' goods... mostly money. After entering the passcode-- it would be stupid not to have one-- he somehow managed to grab a bag of money and, remembering that his claw-like weapons aren't very dexterous, slowly walked out, locked the vault, and eventually out of Skulldeep entirely. No doubt he was asked what he was doing with the cash-- thrice, in fact-- but all he said about it was that it's for his mission.
Post #: 5
9/3/2011 11:28:17   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter V

It was going to be a long walk. Even if he took the shorter route by the fairgrounds, it would be at least two and a half hours before he would reach Super City. The weight of the bag was not a problem, but because of his hands, he can't just grab the end of it and fling it over the shoulder... at least he gets to enjoy the view along the way.
The flowing river, the trees swaying in the light breeze-- it all made a peaceful atmosphere, yet he couldn't help but think about Demolicious a little: why does he want to help her? Why didn't she call the heroes on him? Why does she even trust him in the first place? So many questions... and not a single answer. Maybe he could ask her about all of it, even though he doesn't know her that well...
He thought she would meet her in the park, but he didn't realize the city closed it off already, and that he was interrupted about halfway through by a familiar voice.

"Oh, there you a--" Immediate silence. The cyborg curiously turned toward the voice and saw a completely stunned Demolicious. She was staring at the above-average size bag of money that he just dropped. He only started to ask a question before Demolicious almost literally threw herself at him with no second thoughts, which startled him quite a bit.

"Er... I didn't know you needed it that much..."
She didn't seem to respond; she might not have paid attention. Well, at least he got the money for her, however dramatic the 'thank you' was. Seeing that she didn't move yet, he tried talking to her again: "Umm... hello?" That's when she snapped out of whatever trance she might have been in, realized what she's doing, and shyly distanced herself a little.

"Oh, uh... I... sorry." she managed to say, though bashfully.

"That's alright. You needed money, I gave you... well, a lot, and that's about when all this happened. I didn't realize you needed the money so badly."

"Well, I did tell you my dad was sick..."

"I meant that his illness was more serious than I was hoping for." He was just about to ask her a question when someone suddenly appeared, wearing a dark hooded robe.

"My, your're an interesting fellow..." The pair turned toward this figure and Demolicious slowly took a step back, noticing the scythe.

"Who are you talking to?" the cyborg curiously asked.

"Why you, of course," it replied matter-of-factly. "Born of flesh and steel in the fires of Skulldeep, yet acting as if you have little concern to the eternal battle of good and evil."

"Cast iron, actually, and I'm a little busy right at the moment. How 'bout I get back to you in about... a few minutes?"

"Ah, trying to win someone's heart, are we?" That actually startled them both. It wasn't exactly true, but a lot of people would react the same way in their position... and make the same claim too, now that the cyborg thought about it.

"It looks like it, but she's in a rough spot and I'm just trying to help get her out of it. I know it seems like something from a dream, now that you just blurted out where I was from, but it's real. You're both still awake as far as I can tell."

"You... weren't trying to hide that from me, I hope..." Demolicious solemnly asked, almost like she was feeling betrayed.

"Actually, I was just about to ask you about it before that guy showed up. Now I kinda wish I told you sooner." He then turned to the robed figure. "Look, I can see you want to talk with me, but I'm a little busy here. Let me help fix her problem and I'll get back to you later, all right?"

"...Very well." It opened a rift to what looked like a dark world, passed through, and the rift disappeared.

"Now, I think I've got a lot of explaining to do."
Post #: 6
9/8/2011 23:04:56   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter VI



She simply couldn't believe it. She figured this guy was from Skulldeep from how he looked, but she thought all the stuff about computers and robots being used like this was nothing but science fiction, and yet here it was before her eyes. She's not sure whether to be amazed or scared, considering that Skulldeep was the only one who could even think of such a thing, especially the prices involved.

"We can discuss all the details later. Right now we need to help get rid of your dad's sickness," the cyborg says, while assuming she had plenty of questions for him. "Did you at least get a hold of a doctor?"

"Well, not exactly..."

"Eh?"

"He kind of is a doctor since he knows all the medical stuff, it's just he hasn't got a job as a doctor yet." The cyborg picks up the bag of money, but not before almost dropping it.

"...Ok, I think I understand. I guess all we can do now is to go to your dad, then. You'll have to show me where to go though, since I don't know the city too well just yet."

"That's not a problem, is it?" Demolicious asked, somewhat hoping the question would distract him just a little bit longer.

"Er, no, it isn't. I just haven't been around the--" Seeing as that did distract him, Demolicious knocks the bag of money out of his grasp and stifles a laugh. "Hey! You're lucky I didn't tear a hole in that bag!" She just looks at him with a little pride in her eyes, believing she had just outsmarted what she thought was the smartest... computer, for the lack of a better term, she ever knew. "All right, you little joker, " he says while picking the bag up once again, "you better lead me to your dad before I start thinking of some payback." She wasn't threatened at all by that statement, even if he would give her payback. All she did was give him a faint, confident smile before moving toward the city. 'Well,' the cyborg thought to himself as he followed, 'I think it's safe to say that she trusts me at least a little bit.'
Sometime later they arrive in a neighborhood along the outskirts of the city, and without a doubt there were people staring at the cyborg.

"That's our house over there," Demolicious says to the cyborg, pointing at the relatively small house to their right. There was a white SUV parked behind a blue Geo Metro in the driveway, the SUV presumably belonging to the 'doctor' that Demolicious called earlier. When they went inside, there was a man in a doctor's uniform, complete with the trademark stethoscope, and the shirt sleeves rolled up a little.

"Ah, you're here," the 'doctor' says to Demolicious, then notices the cyborg, who had just set down the cash next to a table. "I'm guessing this is the unexpected helper you were talking about, Demolicious?" the doctor asked. She shifted uneasily, half-expecting some sort of disapproval.

"...Yes, sir..."

"Well, then, I don't suppose those villians will miss that bag you've taken from them?" the doctor asked the cyborg.

"They won't miss it at all; one bag leaving out of... who knows how many coming in, it'll hardly make a dent, especially if they had the guts to pull off something like me in the first place. But we'll talk about it later, we need to make sure her dad's gonna be ok."

"Already looked into it while I was waiting for her," the doctor almost immediately replied, "and it looks like he only has the flu. How long did he have this?"

"...About a week and a half, I think," she answered.

"Then I'll only remind you about what every 'real' doctor would say: make sure he keeps resting, drinking plenty of fluids and maybe use a painkiller if his muscles ache too much."

"Might wanna think about adding a little bit of orange juice too at this point, if you haven't already," the cyborg added, "just to be safe."

"Since the flu by itself is unaffected by antibiotics, I only gave him an extra glass of water for now," the doctor says. "A little extra boost of vitamin C from the juice would be a good idea, though."

"Well... alright, now that we at least slowed down the problem, I think we might have some time to introduce ourselves to this guy," Demolicious says, referring to the cyborg, "I'm Demolicious, and this doctor, so-to-speak, is Strebor Goldenstein." The cyborg simply bowed at Strebor, remembering that shaking hands wouldn't be a good idea.

"To be more accurate," Strebor explains, "I did attend a medical school back in the Ukraine a few years ago, which explains the assumption, more or less, that I could have been a doctor, but instead I became a teacher's assistant over at Sweeney University. The uniform is just to look more professional when I'm scheduled in the medical field."
The cyborg took his turn and explained to Strebor who, and what, he was; about how he was a long term project, however expensive, for Skulldeep. Essentially, he told Strebor the same information he told Demolicious, only now he had time to explain everything to them. Well, almost everything; he never told them, or to Demolicious before meeting Strebor, about how he was supposed to be a spy, instead saying that he wanted to explore the city before he made what he called 'big decisions.'

"Wow... I can't help but wonder just how much did it-- you-- exactly cost them," Demolicious said. Strebor was thinking the exact same thing.

"Oh, man, out of all the things I remember back there, it just has to be how much they all kept pestering me about that. I'd have to guess it would be about as steep as the Mariana Trench. They were serious when they wanted an inincible soldier, but they never truly did make me what they wanted... in case that little part that lets me make my own decisions somehow... 'malfunctioned', as they put it."

"In other words, they probably made a weapon to fully exploit your true weakness if you decided to switch sides," Strebor realized. "Since you are at least part machine I can fancy a guess as to what this weapon could be."

"Don't. It's bad enough to have a handful of control freaks threatening me with it if I ever do end up deciding to act brave." There was a noticable amount of despair in his eyes when the cyborg uttered those words.

"Well, you never did anything to tip off anyone yet, so I don't think you have to worry about that right now," Demolicious said, not realizing she was attempting to help him relax. It didn't really help much, but he won't forget that attempt anytime soon.

"That's only because I don't know what would exactly make them mad." And that's why it didn't help.

"Well then, miss Demolicious, now that we've settled on your father's condition, is there anything else you might need before I go?"

"Not really, Strebor, except that I'd like to know how I might be able to pay you," Demolicious says to Strebor.

"Oh, that won't really be necessary this time," Strebor replies, "I only looked to see what was really happening to your dad. Besides, I'm sure you'll need that money your new comrade gave you much better than I do. Now then, I'm afraid I have to leave before I end up falling behind. If either of you need me for anything, I'd suggest sending a message to my HAL Droid unless it's an absolute emergency; I'll probably be working most of the time, but I'll get to you when I can." He then promptly left the house, started his SUV, and drove out of the neighborhood.

"A teacher's assistant, huh?" the cyborg said, "you must've got him on one of his occasional times off. How do you know him, anyway?"

"I saw his mom a few times when she was visiting the country one week, and she told me a little bit about him when I was showed her around the city, Demolicious said, who notices that he's still a little shaken by that one device that can threaten him, and decided to ask him about it. "Do you know anything about that thing? The one you're so tense about?"

"Other than all those threats that it's powerful enough to destroy me? Only that it's some sort of ordnance; it's supposed to blow things up." Demolicious thought about this.

'This guy's supposed to be the best, but somebody claims that they have something that can stop him...' She pondered as much as she could, but wasn't able to figure it out. "I... I don't know if there really is something that could get past you. They could be lying for all we know." She figured that he wasn't listening since he didn't react, but she continued, regardless. "But... if... if you want, I could keep an eye out for these psychos if it helps you feel safer."

"I just..." Nothing could prepare her for the scientifically miraculous event that took place before her own eyes: the cybernetic experiment, that was exactly what he was, started to form tears around his eyes. Only then did she realize just how serious his problem is. "I don't want to die, Demo... but I want to help people, too."

"Then at least-- never mind, you still got that creepy, scythe-wielding guy to go to, so you should try to find him first." He started heading to the door, reluctantly, but Demolicious walks right up to him with her HALdroid. "Hey... seriously, if you ever need a little help with something or if you just wanna chat, gimme a buzz on the HAL, ok?" She then showed him her number and then Strebor's, in case he wanted to talk to him too, at some point.

"Thanks, Demo... I owe you one for this."

"Oh, please, it's only fair since you helped me with my problem... well, you better find that dude who wanted you earlier; I think you kept him waiting long enough. Maybe I'll see you later."

"Maybe," the now calm cyborg said as he opened the door, "But I hope so."
Post #: 7
9/10/2011 13:37:50   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter VII



He didn't even get to step off the small porch before someone started talking to him; almost like that person was waiting for him.

"Took you long enough. Any longer and I would've had to knock on the door." Turns out it was that same 'creepy guy' Demolicious called earlier, only this time he... it... had the hood down so the cyborg could see the entire skull.

"Well well, if it isn't the grim weeper himself," the cyborg blatantly taunted, "What are you doing waving your little farm tool around here for?"

"Just because you might not have a soul doesn't mean I can't take you down, you rust bucket. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, you know."

"So did that whiny brat, Davinci, and look where that got him. I know you're not here to cry a few rivers, though, so let's hear it." Death motions for the cyborg to follow him, and they start walking in the direction of the vacant fairgrounds.

"I'll get straight to the point: I've decided to jump off the fence in that oh-so-cliched struggle of good and evil, but there's so many things going on between both sides I just simply don't know which side to land on."

"Heh, that makes two of us. If we wait too long though, somebody might get impatient and knock the fence over." That actually got a laugh out of Death, for once.

"Or in your case, have an angry mob chase after you with toothpicks and silverware, which is why I came up with special challenges for those people that should strain their abilities. The results of those challenges should help make that decision... though I hope I don't have to wear those tights if I want to be a hero."

"Yeeaahh... let's hope they don't have you wear anything bright pink, either." Both of their eyes widened when the cyborg said that, having already thought of a horrendous image of Super Death in a ballet dress.

"...Did you really have to go there?"

"Ehh... probably not. How about you show me where these challenges are and we try to forget this happened."

"Yeah. Please." Death then created a portal to what looked like a dark realm. The area had an appearance similar to outer space, but with small 'island' type platforms scattered across the expanse rather than stars.

"So why do you need me for these challenges, anyway?"

"Not just you, really," Death admited, "I'm looking for a whole bunch of super-powered people, heroes and villians, for this sort of thing. The reason I wanted you to go through these is so you could test your capabilities, for lack of a better reason. I've heard quite a bit about you."

"Oh, really...?" The cyborg looked very concerned; if The Reaper himself actually knows about his potential achilles' heel, it might prove to make a disastrous confrontation if they don't make the same alignment decision. "Like what?"

"Your hesitation to cause problems kind of sticks out like a sore thumb. Some of the villians are even thinking that last minute decision of the late scientist was evidence of treason; including the ones who keep throwing seemingly empty threats at you. In fact--"

"Just get me to the challenges. I'm sure I'll deal with them eventually." Death nodded, understanding how sensitive the situation is to him.

"If you want to stay hidden while you attempt the challenges... well, I'll leave that up to you. On an unrelated note, though, it'd also be a good time to tell your friend that you wont be able to see her for a while."

'Better play it safe,' the cyborg thought to himself. He'll need to hide whatever identity he has somehow. Out of this entire conversation, though, he finally realized something: "You're not big on fancy words, are you?"

"I used to be, but half the time nobody knows what I just said to them, so I quit with it."
'BZZZZT.....BZZZZT!' The cyborg's HAL received a message, but he groaned with heavy annoyance.

"This is why I wanted the blasted thing embedded into my arm!"

"You want me to get that for you, or--"

"No, I'll get it.... eventually." He takes off his shoulder pack and starts fumbling through what's inside looking for the HAL.

"Somehow, you remind me of those 'crane game' machines or whatever they're called... Well, just remember to tell your friend about these challenges. I'll be waiting." Death then passes through the portal and it disappears. The cyborg manages to grab the HAL Droid faster than he expected, but that's not quite something to celebrate about.

'This is not a request.
You are hereby ordered to return to Skulldeep immediately.
Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action.'

There was only a HAL number since the sender wasn't on the cyborg's 'contact list', but he knew exactly who it was: one of those control freaks who wasn't happy about his 'father's' last minute upgrade for him. He needed to tell Demolicious about this, so he put everything back where they were-- except his HAL, he made sure to hold onto it-- grabbed his pack and rushed over to her house and, not wanting to feel rude, knocked on the door. Noone answered the door right away, so he used this extra time to send a message to Strebor about why the cyborg was able to trust Demolicious, and then knocked again. Demolicious answered the door just as soon as he got a reply.

"Well, you weren't gone long. Did you get to find that guy who wanted you?"

"Yeah, and he was nice enough to let me tell you I might not be back for a while. That's not the real reason I came back though." She let him inside and he showed her the demand he received not to long ago.

"...That came from those guys you're afraid of so much?" He wasn't sure if that was entirely true, but he couldn't deny feeling a little uneasy every time he was alone.

"Yeah. I just wish I had some idea about what this weapon is that they threaten me with..." That's when she thought of something, and she decided that he had to know it, though she is starting to believe he's hiding something from her.

"I... I think I might know why they're not telling you..." He did not like the sound of that at all, but he has to take everything he can get. "They don't want you finding a way to defend against it. They want to make sure that the one way to stop you cold is guaranteed to actually kill you, whatever it's supposed to be... and from what you--"

"They want me enslaved... and if they don't get their hands on me then they'll make sure noone does." That realization renewed his fear, although mitigated somewhat by Demolicious' promise to him earlier.

"Well, if that's the case, then they screwed that up, since you're here with me."

"Yeah... I guess you're right. Well, I better find that 'creepy dude' or whatever you called him so I can get started, so I'll see you later." The cyborg had just reached the door when Demolicious walks up to him with a familiar bag.

"Don't forget your purse," she happily teased with a smile.

"What the...? How did--"

"Must've dropped it when you were showing me that message. Here, lemme do it for ya." She puts his shoulder bag in a position where it won't fall off so easily, although it looks a little silly. "There. Just put it back in this spot and you won't have to worry about it so much."

"Are you serious, Demo? Now I feel like I just came from the circus!"

"Hey, don't start complaining now or I might make you start using some girl stuff... hmm maybe a little makeup will--"

"Uh-uh, I don't think so. There's nothing more humiliating than me looking like a little princess." Demolicious laughed hysterically.

"Are you sure? It might take plenty of eyeliner, but I can still--"

"No, just.... no. Not gonna happen." Now that they got their slightly crazy fun time wrapped up, the cyborg couldn't help but admit something somewhat comforting to her, although not without hesitation: "I... I'm gonna miss you, Demo."

"So will I. You've been so much fun I almost forgot about my dad being sick a couple of times."

"Hey, there's no reason to deny something so serious... but then again, there's no reason to let it take you down, either. To be honest, I'm--" that's when she took him by surprise and gave him a hug. The cyborg stood there for a moment, partially stunned.

"Seriously, I really do appreciate the help... just don't go telling everyone about this, ok?" He smiled briefly, believing he had just made a true friend... and came up with a witty response.

"Don't worry about that; I'll be busy enough where I won't even get the chance." She couldn't help but snicker a little at his reply.

"Well, alright then. You better get outta here before that dude starts looking for you." The cyborg nodded and smiled, then left the house and walked toward the empty fairgrounds while reading the 'new' message he got at the house. Hopefully 'Super' Death will show up when he gets there.

< Message edited by Vector -- 9/11/2011 19:11:18 >
Post #: 8
9/13/2011 20:30:31   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter VIII



Strebor: 'It had to have been something you did earlier. Did you notice anything particularly strange to you?'

Cyborg: 'Well, I'm not sure if it's outright trust, but I definitely do feel at least a little more calm every time I see Demolicious. Might be because she promised to help look for those crazy people who are after me, but I think that might be unusual to me.'

Strebor: 'Really? Could you be more specific about being calm around her?'

Cyborg: 'More like the tension going away. Now that I think about it, there was one point where I almost stuttered trying to talk to her.'

Strebor: 'Stuttered, you say? Now I think I know what's happening, though the way you decribed it makes me think you have no idea about it.'

Cyborg: 'Probably not, so don't be disappointed or anything if I act all surprised, or something.'

Strebor: 'Not to worry, you wouldn't be the only one who's confused when they experience it. You're starting to show some of the early signs of love.'

Cyborg: 'Err, love? Is that what it is? I thought that was the kind of feeling where you find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with.'

Strebor: 'It is, actually, though it doesn't usually just magically happen all of a sudden. Almost all of the time, it slowly builds up exactly like how you've earned her trust and possibly friendship, only it continues to build up.

Cyborg: 'So... kind of like filling up a glass of water, with trust only being a little bit, friendship about halfway, and love being almost completely full?'

Strebor: 'In a few ways, yes, just be careful not to spill it or you might have to start all over. Ha ha ha!'

Cyborg: 'Ok, I think I get it... only now I might end up making a complete fool of myself the next time I see her.'

Strebor: 'As long as she takes it light-heartedly, you have nothing to worry about... except maybe the chance of making it even more humiliating.'

Cyborg: 'Oh, don't remind me; she did that twice already. Anyway thanks for the help; I'll let you know if I need anything else.'

Strebor: 'Dasvidanya, and enjoy your time with Demolicious, comrade. I know you deserve it.'

That was the entire text message conversation while the cyborg was on his way to the fairgrounds. Now he's actually there, waiting for 'Super' Death to show up unexpectedly; but he didn't arrive. He waited and waited, but still no sign of the infamous Grim Reaper. Eventually, though, he heard a familiar voice coming from behind.

"Hey... Got a minute before you disappear?" It was Demolicious, of all people, but this time she seems to be acting a bit... odd. Almost like she's getting ready for a big speech in front of a crowd.

"...Yeah, I think so. I hope nothing went wrong with your dad."

"No, he's not getting worse... I just wanted... to chat. With you." Now he's starting to feel like he's in front of a crowd.

"Oh, uh... ok... what about?"

"Well... as soon as you left, I went over to my dad's room and started re-reading an old book my grandpa gave him... it was about a scientist who made what a lot of people called a monster, but it had just about the same feelings like a real human."

"I think I know that story. This so-called 'monster' wanted a friend and was even helpful a couple of times, but everybody kept thinking he was little more than a menace and pretty much hated him, which really flipped his lid."

"Yeah... sometimes I thought you could've been in the same situation if I wasn't there to help. I... I guess this is the one and only time we owe that little crybaby Davinci something, huh?" She started smiling as soon as she said that. It was true; Davinci actually had done a good deed for once in his life.

"You're right," the cyborg realized, "We should totally tell him about this, Demo. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds that out!" They both started laughing, but then she started to get a little curious about him.

"Hey... would you mind if... you... took off your helmet?" He thought about it for a moment, and decided to agree, but on one condition.

"Only if you take yours off, too." She nodded and removed her helmet, then watched as he struggled to take his helmet off. He tried and tried, almost suceeding a couple of times, but it just slid right back on, almost like it wanted to stay. Demolicious simply could not resist snickering at his misfortune, but was kind enough to help.

"Here, lemme get that for ya." She walks up to him and rather easily slides off the helmet, but it was impossible to just ignore the utterly disastrous hairstyles that were revealed. He only smiled while she chuckled at him; his hair almost looked like a jungle. "Helmet hair..."

"Look who's talkin'." He unknowingly started showing a bit of a magenta hue on his cheeks, but Demolicious, however, found it rather unavoidable.

"Aha! I knew you were hiding something..." He thought she figured out about Skulldeep's intended purpose for him, but Demolicious only smiled again and walked even closer to the now shy cyborg, making the already obvious facial embarrassment even more profound. "You love me, don't ya?" She had him cornered. He couldn't hide it anymore, no matter how much he kept trying, so he shyly put his arms behind his back as he unwillingly admits defeat.

"I... yeah, I do. I really do, Demo."

"That's what I thought... ya know what? I love you too, Psi." Immensely overjoyed, the daring cyborg took her by surprise and not only hugged her, but he kissed her, too. Part of him thought Demolicious would pull away as a purely reactionary response, but he was wrong; it actually made her hug tightly, instead. In fact, when he tried to let go to ask her why she called him 'Psi,' Demolicious put a hand right on the back of his head to prevent him. Naturally, some people would think that the cyborg could be setting a trap that Demolicious might have fallen into, but that would be a desperate lie, at best; there was no mistaking their slightly dramatic true love. Eventually, she decided to let him go because she had to go back and check on her dad. "Thanks a lot, Psi. I have to say that was really the best moment of my life so far."

"Wait a minute... Psi? Where did that come from?"

"Oh, yeah, that was just something I remember from history a while back. It's one of the weird looking letters of the Greek alphabet and I thought it could work for you... but now that you asked, I think it seems a little silly." He gave the idea a deep thought and eventually decided that it would work, considering how some people use some of the letters as a makeshift symbol of power.

"...Nah, it'll work. I kind of like it, actually."

"Ok then, but... I gotta go back home and make sure dad's feeling better, so..."

"I understand, Demo. Family's important too. Besides, that 'creepy dude' should be showing up anytime now." Demolicious couldn't help but smile at what she called 'Super' Death earlier, even though she still has no idea who it was.

"Alright. I'll see ya later... Psi."

"See ya, hon. You'll have to tell dad who I really am, but make sure he knows I'm helping you, ok?"

"I will... at least, I'll try." They gave each other one more heartfelt hug-- and Psi gave Demolicious a kiss-- before she started walking back home. Psi suddenly remembered that she didn't take her helmet with her and grabbed it.

"Hey, wait!" She turns around, slightly confused, but then she sees her helmet. "Don't forget this." She takes her helmet back and gives him a kiss, which instantly made him blush.

"Thanks. I never would've thought I could find someone like you." That made him blush even more, since he took it as a compliment, and she starts walking back home again. When she was no longer in sight, and when Psi's face returned to normal, Death opens a portal, as if on cue.

"Come... it is time." Psi grabs his helmet and puts it back on, then passes through the portal into what may seem to be Death's realm, curious as to what these challenges are that he has to face.

< Message edited by Vector -- 9/13/2011 20:31:06 >
Post #: 9
9/15/2011 23:10:08   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter IX



This new realm was completely strange... it was very hard to describe it, but there wasn't very much time to enjoy what view there seemed to be; 'Super' Death wanted to get started right away, so he opened the portal to the first of the challenges.

"I'll tell you the same thing like I told everyone else: the first challenge is all about bringing the heat. A volcano suddenly showed up in a high-traffic area of the city spewing lava monsters that are steaming mad and lighting the place up."

"Well aren't they just a bunch of hotheads," Psi said slyly. Death tries to ignore the remark.

"All you have to do is take out all the lava creatures you see, get to the volcano to find out what caused the whole mess and take care of it. Oh, one more thing..." Psi crosses his arms like he's getting impatient. "Normally the brave souls willing to attempt my challenges get the benefit of teamwork. You, however, will face them all alone. You will be... how do they say it... 'flying solo' through every challenge I give you." Death starts to show a devious smile.

"Looks like you've heard more about me than I thought," Psi realized. Now he can't help but wonder if the robed skeleton knows about his more personal matters.

"Nothing makes a challenge more interesting, and more true to its namesake, than charging through without backup. It would be the best condition to put you past your limits."

"I dunno, man. You know how serious they are about wanting me to be the best."

"But we both know they wouldn't dare keep that promise just in case you somehow manage to pull an about-face at a critical moment."

"Something they suspect already." Psi started walking to the portal, but Death interrupted just once. The cyborg paused just before the portal, but did not turn to face him.

"Just between us... Psi... I know about your little secret, and I quite happily disapprove of your actions." He does know. Death actually knows that he's in love with Demolicious. That could be a problem.

"You and at least half of Super City, I'll bet. Just remember that she's all that stands until you get a sudden, and brief, spike of income... unless you want to be first." Psi passed through the portal before the angered skeleton could react.
Lava flowed freely between parts of the street, monstrous things roamed freely destroying, or at least damaging, everything in their path under the watchful eye of an especially ominous figure atop the volcano. Psi wasted no time plowing through them; he just tore through the fire beasts like an excited child eager to unwrap his birthday presents. When there seemed to be no more, the volcano erupted and more powerful fire monsters started raining down, and the cyborg continued to take them all out with such ease that would easily make others quite envious. Actually, it just made that very large beast mad and leaped off of the volcano to stop him.

"Took you long enough, lughead. I was about ready to come up there and--" The giant beast roared right into his face and interrupted him briefly. "Yeah, yeah, quit your cryin' and I'll make it quick, alright?" It first tried to crush him with its fists, but the cyborg merely sidestepped out of the way and made a rather deep and noticable cut into the monster's solidified magma 'armor.' "You can't be serious. This is supposed to be a challenge?" It continued to try to smash the cyborg, but he was simply too agile for the lumbering behemoth. Blow after blow, it failed to even come close to making a solid contact. "Ugh, you're just wasting my time." He jumped up high, then slammed down as hard as he could on the beast, managing to bore a hole in its head. "Begone, wretched worm." He removed the claw forcefully and dashed back through the portal before the giant volcanic monster collapsed.
Instead of returning to Death like he expected, he was in a slime-infested mall. Something didn't seem right, though: the large meteorite thing that appeared to have crashed from the sky already had a gaping hole in it, and when he went inside the meteorite, there was the trademark symbol of the villains on two sides of the interior. Confused, and somewhat disappointed, he returned to the portal and made sure he re-entered Death's realm.

< Message edited by Vector -- 9/16/2011 6:43:30 >
Post #: 10
9/17/2011 23:01:17   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter X



He wasn't there. Death was nowhere to be found when Psi returned to get some answers. Fearing the worst, he managed to find a way back to the mortal realm and rushed over to Demolicious' house, looking all around the yards, but she couldn't be found either. As much as he would rather keep trying, he had to at least let her dad know what happened, so he went inside, walked to what he believed to be her dad's bedroom door, and knocked on it.

"Yes, my dear?" a sickly voice managed to say. It was fairly certain that it was her ill father.

"Actually, it's her friend," Psi said back. "The one who helped her in the park earlier and most likely the one you won't believe who he is."

"Oh, are you? Then where is my daughter?"

"That's what I came here to talk to you about. It's important."

"Important? Come in at once." He did so and didn't waste any time telling her dad what happened, despite the surprised look on the bedridden father's face. "You... you can't be--"

"Yes, I already know, but I'm here to tell you that your daughter's missing."

"Missing? W...where is she?"

"I don't know. I couldn't find her around the house, so I wanted to at least let you know before I kept looking. I know I have to bring her back, because... well, she means a lot to me, too."

"Who would--" The man had a bit of a coughing attack, then changed his question. "Tell me, stranger... how exactly is my beloved Megumi important to you?" That's when Psi started getting nervous and, naturally, the father started to get defensive, but the cyborg started to explain before an argument started.

"Well, I'm sure she told you about who I was and everything, but..." The cyborg started blushing, which made the dad's eyes very wide. "She didn't seem to care... about any of it. Not even the fact that I could've easily snatched her away like a vile snake and left you none the wiser... but I never did." He continued on about how Demolicious later asked him to help her with their financial problem, although after she contacted Strebor.

"No doubt she..." The dad coughed a couple times. "She told you that I have fallen ill."

"Yeah. She even sounded a little desperate trying to get you healthy again. Now that I think about it, though, I remember her telling me back in the park you only started getting sick a few days ago, but when we came back with Strebor, she told him it was a week and a half."

"Ah... a few days ago was when I actually got really ill, when the week before it I merely had an unusual coughing annoyance and thought little of it. It was after she returned from your second meeting in the park that I told her what I had realized about an hour after she had left at that time... I still don't understand how my Megumi felt somewhat confident in trusting you, though."

"Because she knows that she destroyed the threat I could have posed and offered kindness and understanding, single-handedly preventing a worldwide catastrophe that war and conquest would only provoke."

"But... if you're the threat and she destroyed it, how is it possible that we converse at this very moment?" Psi expected that question sooner.

"Do you not destroy your enemies when you make friends of them?"

"...Yes... yes, you do. I hope you realize, though, that--"

"She risks a lot by helping me, as do I. I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have to go find... Megumi, I think you said her name was, and bring her back safely. After giving the ailing father a solemn bow, Psi rushed outside and travelled in a random direction to find and question the Reaper, not above suspecting him of kidnapping Demolicious. "All right, you onion-eyed oaf!" he screamed, "Where is she?" He ended up running through a portal that suddenly appeared, and he was now in what looks to be the scarce remains of a colosseum, easily seeing that the area outside was a total wasteland. As he was looking around, he found a handful of heroes and villains that looked like they were sleeping, so he walked over to them and checked them out.
'Hmm... no pulses, but still warm. Could be that they've been in the sun, but otherwise it must've been recent,' he thought to himself. Whoever took them out must be pretty tough. He kept looking around this surprisingly large area, and he caught sight of a young woman who looked like she had a serious tan, but looked rather glamorous. Interestingly enough, though, was that this lady also saw Psi.

"Wait a minute, who are you? You're not another one of the guards, are you?" Before he could answer, someone else already started speaking.

"Hold on, Trina. This is the guy I was talking about earlier." That voice came from behind, so he turned around and found Demolicious, of all people, walking up to them from some section of the area.

"Demo," he said happily, "Good to see you're all right!"

"That's him?" Trina asked, surprised. "Dang, girl, you really were desperate."

"Yeah, well like I said, it worked out pretty well," Demolicious replied.

"I gue--"

"Hey! Stop him before he- AUGH!" Psi pierced the obvious guard with his claw and threw him at the other two guards before they even got close to them.

"Looks like the party's over. How 'bout we--"

"ROAR!" They see a very, very large, obviously mutated, and bulky monster thing coming straight at them... and rather fast, despite his massive size.

"Oh, no," Trina said, "That's BlasterMaster and he's coming right at us!"

"Must've set me up..." Psi said, "You two get outta here! I'll handle this fox beard!"
Post #: 11
9/19/2011 17:28:02   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter XI


Speed was obviously the best choice against this guy, so guerilla tactics could be very effective, though the chainsaw on its arm might be a bit of an issue if a mistake was made. Knowing this, Psi first went straight for the chainsaw arm and attacked it a few times, hoping to at least make Blastermaster use it less often from the added pain. The monstrosity tried to punch him away with its other hand, but Psi was too smart and jumped away at the last second, causing it to punch itself in the now damaged arm, making it even worse, and screamed in pain.

"Ha ha ha ha, just typical: very large and very strong, but still utterly stupid. Didn't I find someone like you back at the volcano?" The fight continued on and the cyborg found that no matter how many attacks he landed, Blastermaster just will not go down... it even looked almost like a zombie after so many hits. "Geez! Die, already!" That's when a rusty knife flew past Psi, missing him by just an inch, and lodged into Blastermaster's leg. He turned around and saw Demolicious with an equally rusty sword in one hand and a garbage can lid in the other, supposedly as a shield. "Watch where you're throwin'! You could've hit me with that thing!"

"Oh, quit cryin'," she teased, "It would've just smacked your helmet and dropped like a dead fly."

"Well, what are you doing back here? Is the other girl safe?"

"Yeah, she's with the other people who hate this big guy. Besides..." She gave him a sweet smile, almost like the one in the fairgrounds earlier. "I'm not letting you hog all the fun."

"Oh, fine," Psi whined sarcastically, "I guess you can--" Suddenly they heard a noticably loud 'TING' type noise, and Psi felt his helmet bump on the back of his head. "...He just threw that knife at me, didn't he?"

"Yep. Looks like it's still there too. Remind me to take it out after we toast this guy."

"Uh, Demo, if it's stuck in my helmet, there's no way you'll get it out. Best you can do is help guide me where it's at." They then continued their attack, but it didn't help make it faster. Minutes pass, and Demolicious starts to tire out, but at least she saw something-- someone-- behind Blastermaster.

"Hey, Psi... I think someone might be riding... riding this guy like a horse. We might be better off taking him out instead."

"Good, I'm getting tired of pounding this guy. I'll hold off the big one while you take him out." After taking a deep breath, she headed toward Blastermaster's controller who threw a few things at her, but she blocked them with her trash can lid, jabbed him with the weapon and shoved him off. After that, the leviathan fell surprisingly dormant, as if awaiting orders. Seeing that the threat was at least put on hold, Demolicious returned to Psi and leaned on him, breathing rather heavily from exhaustion.

"There... I got him..."

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I just... I'm so tired..."

"Alright, hon, just sit back for a while and lemme finish him off. I didn't realize it would take so long." She weakly gave him a hug.

"Me neither, Psi... just don't be surprised if you have to carry me all the way back." She then lied down in what little shade there was to finally get some long overdue rest.

"Surprised, with how tired you are? I half-expect it, actually."
*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
"Oh, you can't be serious!" the cyborg said angrily, "After making me the best so-called super soldier in the world, you'd think they'd give me an infinite power supply!... Better hurry this up then." After his angry rant, he jumped right on top of Blastermaster's head and thrust a claw into it, turned his claw like he's unlocking a door, then forcefully removed it, leaving an absolutely repulsive mess of things as the mutated beast fell over. "Tim-berrrrr!!" CRASH! The cyborg, elated in their victory, walked over to Demolicious and found that she fell asleep... even through the heavy fall of Blastermaster, so he just wiped off most of the mess on the now dead behemoth, carefully picked up Demolicious and walked out of the ruins.

"You... you actually did it," Trina said, "You actually took down Blastermaster... wait, is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She just wore herself out helping me, that's all."

"Ok, that's good... Now that he's out of the picture, maybe I can help make this town better again."

"I hope so. He took quite a lot of hits to take down. I'd hate to come back and find someone even more powerful usurping this town in a heartbeat."

"Heh, by then most of us wouldn't be around to see you, one way or the other. Well, thanks for helping us, anyway."

"No problem. Now, I need to get back to where I was; I got a lot of stuff to do. Take care, you guys." With that, Psi trekked over to what looked like the entrance of the town and surprisingly found a portal there. Curiously, he passed through it and found himself in Death's realm.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually impressed," Death says truthfully.

"Now you play nice after I almost singlehandedly took out a mutated monster dude. Be grateful I don't knock you into next Tuesday, you--"

"Same to you, scrap metal. I could've easily taken your oh-so-precious girlfriend away from you permanently and left you to rust. But, unforunately, my boss does not allow me to interfere with mortal lives so harshly, so all I could do was relocate her and let someone else take care of the problem. Obviously it failed." Psi went back to the mortal realm before the Grim 'Weeper' continued wasting his time and walked all the way back to Demolicious' house, which turned out to be not as far as he expected, set her on the living room couch and tried to find some way to recharge the unknown power supply he has, completely forgetting about the knife lodged in his helmet.

< Message edited by Vector -- 9/23/2011 22:54:28 >
Post #: 12
9/23/2011 22:53:48   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter XII



Demolicious eventually woke up some time later, though at first she was a little confused about where she was.

"Uhh, where am... home? Um, Psi, whe--"

"Over here, Demo." She turned around and saw him just stting on the floor next to an electrical outlet, with a small, thin cord coming from his left side.

"Heh, using your phone charger to recharge your battery, huh?"

"Hey, it's all I got, hon. I expected to have an infinite energy source, with how tough I'm supposed to be. Anyway, you might wanna get something to eat, you've been out for about a few hours."

"Yeah... good idea. You want anything too, or..." She hesitated to finish what she was saying, because she didn't want to accidentally offend him. "Will it mess up some of the machine parts in you?"

"I... I'm not sure, really. Maybe I should wait until I'm done running errands just in case." That made Demolicious remember something she wanted to ask the cyborg earlier.

"Speakin' of which... who was that guy, anyway?" He didn't respond right away. "Umm... Psi?"

"He's the Grim Reaper himself..." That opened her eyes so wide they might fall out of their sockets.

"Are you--"

"And to make things worse, he completely hates the fact that we're together like this. The only thing stopping him from interfering is someone that he calls his boss but that's no guarantee." She just stares at him for a moment, then walked into the kitchen to get some food. "I didn't really want to tell you, hon, but when you asked, you needed to know... we both should've known this was going to happen." She sighs.

"Yeah... now it looks like we need to keep our eyes open more." Suddenly Death appeared out of nowhere, but he didn't exactly get the chance to talk right away.

"What are you doing here?" Psi quickly asked, "Couldn't you at least knock at the door?"

"Oh, don't waste my time with that nonsense," Death angrily replied, "Just make sure you two are prepared for a special war that I'm setting up... actually, it may be better to just wait until you are ready, since everyone needs to be at their best."

"A war? I thought I--"

"The fourth has already been finished and even I was amazed at its outcome... but no matter. I suggest that you should find a few upgrades while you savor what little time you have left with your hopeless girlfriend who's quite obviously trying to hide from me... but even that won't save you."

"Small talk from such a big mouth," Demolicious taunted.

"Have either of you forgotten about his one weakness? Never mind, I'll tell you anyway: they were right that it's supposed to blow things to smithereens, but oh ho, nothing can withstand it... not even your boyfriend, mortal! Once they use it, you can kiss your so-called fairytale ending goodbye! Oh, and no, I will never reveal what it is; if you can't figure it out by the time it's used, you're guaranteed a one-way trip... to me!" With that scare tactic out of the way, Death laughed maniacally and disappeared. Demolicious then rushed over to her dad's room to tell him what happened while the 'Psi'borg once again thought deeply about his one possible threat; this time, however, there didn't seem to be any fear within him. When she came back to him sometime later, they worked together to attempt to find the elusive problem until it started to get dark outside.

"Well, might as well get ready for bed... heck, I might want to sleep early with how tired I was earlier."

"Yeah, maybe... well, I'll be outside for a bit if you need me." He unplugged the phone charger from his body and went outside (going out of his way to give her plenty of privacy) to continue pondering about the possible threat.

"Quite a hornet's nest you've managed to stir up, isn't it?" a mysterious voice says, seeming to come out of nowhere.

"Yeah, well, it's not my fault they don't see the fact that I just want to help."

"You do realize that you're actually putting her in danger by choosing to--"

"You think I don't know that already, human?" the cyborg quietly snapped, "Do you even care that she is the only person, human and otherwise, that gave me kindness and understanding that make my existence even worth trying; when everyone else just turns away like a recreation of the old Frankenstein novel?" He suddenly walked back inside before he finished what he was about to say, which made the mysteriously invisible person sigh.

'He is more sensitive about this than I had anticipated,' the being thought to itself, 'This could complicate things quite a bit.'
Back in the house, where Psi had already plugged his phone charger back where it was earlier, Demolicious (in her not surprisingly purple pajamas) cautiously walked up to him, since she overheard at least part of what happened.

"...Another one saying they don't want us together, huh?" she asked, looking almost half scared.

"Seems like it, Demo... almost feels the whole city is demanding us to be seperated." Realizing that she is beginning to feel truly terrified, he extended his arms out a little, and they hugged each other. "I can understand them not believing at first, but they should know by now..."

"Not everybody knows about this, Psi, and for right now, I want it to stay that way... please?"

"I... I'll try, at least." As the time passed on, day after day, they both became increasingly worried about the impending war that could happen at any time. Strebor noticed that fear when he returned to check up on Demolicious' father one day, but he wasn't able to settle them down, despite his best efforts. Psi eventually managed to replace his rather annoying pincer-like weapons, along with acquiring new weapons for use in the war, though they weren't actual prosthetic hands entirely; the replacements still had sharp claws, but it was still a well overdue improvement. The mysterious being also conversed with the cyborg whenever he and Demolicious were in seperate rooms, though his location, and who he was, remains unknown. A full week had passed before they felt that Death's war would start soon, which they discuss while laying on the grass and gazing at the stars.

"Well, I think this is it, Psi," Demolicious said, "I've got a feeling that the skeleton dude will show up tomorrow."

"Yeah, so do I. Every time I think about it though, I always worry about you... like I keep thinking you won't make it to the end of the war."

"I don't blame ya, hon. We could be going up against the toughest villians in Super City, maybe even the world. I'm worried about this as much as you are..." She holds his hand tightly. "Especially since they keep threatening you with that thing, whatever it is... and there's no way we'll be able to shake it off until the war's over, so we'll just have to go for gold, ya know?"

"I just... I really don't know what to do without you, Demo. You... you've been so helpful to me."

"Same to you," she says as she moves closer to him, "You've done so much more in just one day than anybody else did in the past two weeks. Sure, everyone helps me out once in a while, but you just blew 'em all out of the water. That means a lot to me and I'll never forget you for it, no matter what." That made Psi kiss Demolicious more passionately than he did at the fairgrounds, although he didn't make it last as long. "Ya know... maybe someday we could... well..." She couldn't finish what she wanted to say and started blushing, but he knew what she wanted to tell him.

"That's assuming we actually survive the war, hon," he says while blushing himself, "But even then I don't think the city would let us get married no matter how long we wait."

"Well, at least we can hope for it, right? Come on, sweetie, let's get some sleep before that bonehead guy catches us off guard, or whatever you called him... but take that stupid knife out of your helmet first."

"What the...?" He waved his hand at the back of his head and sure enough, he found that same rusty knife from Death's third trial still stuck there, which he promptly pulled out, though he doesn't remember how it got there. "Where'd this come from?"

"Remember that big freaky dude I was helping you with earlier? He threw that at you when I decided to come back and help. Obviously you don't remember."

"No, I guess not. Well, come on, you said we need to sleep Demo." He set the knife next to the trash container, blade in the ground, and they walked back in the house, holding hands the entire way, and went to sleep with the fear of the war still fresh in their minds.
Post #: 13
9/30/2011 16:17:09   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter XIII


They could feel it. They were pretty sure Death would show up at any time, and they were definitely worried that neither of them might make it through at all, especially since the villains continue to boast (and harrass them with) the claim that no one would survive their secret weapon, but Psi finally told them off... and said only three words about the secret weapon:

'Just don't miss.'
That made Demolicious even more worried, and slightly angry.

"Psi, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled, "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"And those tyrants want to make a freakin' slave out of me! If we really don't survive this war, then I have to make sure they don't get their hands on me no matter what... even if it makes Tradertown a reality. But you're the only reason it hasn't happened yet, Demo... you're the only human in the entire city, especially the ones who claimed to be desperate like you, who didn't run away screaming or otherwise refused to let me help them."

"Beggars can't be choosers," she realized, "But if you told me who you were, then I'm pretty sure--"

"No, Demo. You would've still thought about having me help you, since I helped you first, but..." Tears started rolling down his face as he started sobbing. "You'd still talk to me, even to get answers out of me, instead of what everyone else would do... I... I really thought..." He couldn't finish what he wanted to say, no matter how hard he tried, and just ended up crying on her shoulder, though Demolicious already knew what he was talking about.

"You thought you'd feel exactly like that monster from the story. I'm sorry, Psi, I just... I wanted you to actually enjoy the life you have instead of just throwing it away so quickly."

"I... I know, hon, but... you can't enjoy a-anything if... you don't have the freedom to enjoy it. That's what I wanted to tell you. That's what... the dead scientist gave me... the one I told you about last week."

"Then we both owe him more than we do to Davinci," she says as she wipes away his tears, "Oh, and by the way... you forgot about Strebor. He didn't lecture us on how this important relationship isn't supposed to happen." She kissed him before he got a chance to respond, and that's when they heard someone knock on the door. Psi didn't bother hiding, even after they hastily let go of each other; the city is going to find out about their love one way or another. "Come in!" It was only Strebor, which was a surprise, so Psi held Demolicious' hand.

"Didn't expect to see you right away, Strebor," he said as she holds his hand tighter, trying to calm himself down. "I thought it was... another three days before you'd come back to check up on her dad."

"Actually, I came to check on you two personally," Strebor replied, with notable concern, "The skeleton you mentioned last time is already summoning nearly everyone able to fight, even a startling portion of the military, and I wanted to make sure you felt ready in case it came for you, too."

"Not if, Strebor, but when," Demolicious said, "We may as well be the main attraction. Still, that secret weapon threat's bugging him pretty bad and I'm deathly afraid that he might go kamikaze to try to keep me alive when things go seriously pear-shaped. Needless to say, we're not a hundred percent confident right now, but it don't look like we have much options left."

"Might wanna tell dad that you'll be leaving soon," Psi says to her, "Maybe even remind him you might not come back."

"Psi, when you tell a parent something as sobering as that," she says back, "There's no way they'll forget it, even after the event's over... but yeah, I better tell 'im it's almost time."

"Shouldn't she have her wrecking ball with her?" Strebor asks as Demolicious goes to talk to her dad.

"Against an army of guns? She's much better off grabbing a gun herself, else she'd be nothing more than target practice... or swiss cheese."

"Hmm... you're right, I should have thought of that." He scratched his white hair as they brainstormed, attempting to find a suitable strategy against the villains in the war, when she comes back out.

"Dad wants to give you some extra motivation, Psi," she says as she gives a faint smile, "You better go see him." Strebor and Psi nod at each other, then the cyborg goes to her dad's room. He was showing some noticable improvement in his health, which is somewhat calming, but her dad still wouldn't want to leave the bed just yet.

"I don't need to remind you how important my daughter is, and I still believe I can't exactly... trust you, but if she truly believes you have indeed changed your allegiance, then I will give you but one chance."

"That's more than anyone has done ever since I left that cave... well, save Megumi, who's done far more than just that."

"So I've been told... If she doesn't come back safely, I don't ever want to see you in this city again."

"Just worry about your daughter; I'll make sure she comes back." It was obvious that her dad is uneasy having to rely on someone who's supposed to be evil, but the cyborg's abilities, along with the relationship between the two (which Demolicious revealed while they waited for the war to begin) could not be denied, much less ignored. There was no other option. After finishing the conversation, Psi went back to the living room and saw just Demolicious. He was about to ask where Strebor went, but she spoke first.

"Hey... I'm goin' with Strebor to be with the other heroes when it starts," she says as they take each others hands, "Make sure to tell the 'bonehead' that when he shows up, ok?" They both snickered.

"I will, hon... well, I guess this could be it. This might end up being our last time together. I know we don't want it to, but--"

"I know. We just can't be sure." He was about to give her a hug, but she quickly took the helmet off his head and put it on, just to fool around one more time.

"Hey, give that back! I need that, you know!" There was silence for a moment, but then they wrapped their arms around each other tightly and touched lips once more while she held one hand at the back of his messy hairdo just like they did at the fairgrounds, only this time there were tears rolling down their faces. Demolicious gave his helmet back when they let go, and they wished each other the best of luck as she walked out the door. Psi then went over to her closet in her room, , grabbed his new weapons that he stored there, then went back to the living room and waited... for another 20 minutes before Death finally passes through a portal he just made.

"There you are... I expected you to be at the fairgrounds a half--"

"Shut it, you gutless snake," Psi sharply interrupted, "Just get me to the battlefield so I can get this over with."

"Not yet. This is more than just a war; I've added a bit of... competition to the chaos. Everyone has to eliminate the enemy team's 'VIP', which was already chosen while I was setting things up, while keeping their own VIP alive, then that team's VIP has to leave the area before they themselves are eliminated." There was no need for asking who the heroes' VIP was; he already knew it was going to be Demolicious, but there was no point in saying it.

"Sounds like the VIP has to wait a while before they can get out. Do I need to ask when?"

"Even if you did, I wouldn't tell you anyway."

"Hmm... here's a thought: what if both VIP's are gone? What happens then?"

"About time you mentioned it... should that ever happen, it would be considered a draw and everything resets back to before the war starts and they try again; since the event is in my realm, those who were killed in the inconclusive match are brought back."

"And obviously, when there is a winner, whoever gets taken out by the time it ends is trapped with you, just like they actually died."

"Exactly." Death used a power to push Psi into the portal, which closed immediately afterward. 'Good thing I still have my weapons,' He thought to himself, though he expected one of them to be left behind. He was lucky enough to land in an area high enough to see most of the field, though he saw an equally elevated section on the opposite side. The two sides were already battling with everything they have-- including tanks and artillery, which was a wonder they could fit through whatever portal Death spawned-- just like a true war would be fought anywhere on the mortal realm.

"I can only hope you'll be able to keep your promise... if you're still willing to help Super City." Psi turned around to find out who spoke and saw the same person who was trying to calm him downm before this war started, with the dragon tattoo and the slim sunglasses an instant giveaway.

"Didn't I tell you six times already, human? Demo's the only reason that city isn't a copy of Tradertown right now because she ignored who I was supposed to be and treated me like a real human instead of... an abomination or something. Get it through your--"

"My name is Drakkoniss, and I just--" The cyborg managed to see a swarm of villains heading directly toward a small squad of soldiers, so he grabbed his sniper rifle and scoped out who was there... and found an unmistakable, but faint, glow of purple light.
That was not good.
He literally threw the rifle on the ground, grabbed the special prototype weapon he stole from Skulldeep, (which was too heavy to be carried by any normal person) and rushed over to the otherwise doomed squad and literally shredded the assault with the special weapon with demoralizing speed. The few villains who were smart enough to retreat were screaming in terror, now realizing that the experimental technology, both the weapon and the cyborg, are being used against them... except one, who was making a last-ditch effort to charge into them, wielding a knife, of all things, but Psi easily caught up to him and painfully disarmed the fool, then grabbed him by his neck.

"Don't you ever try that scrap again! Now get!" He threw him as hard as he could toward the other side, then Demolicious tackled him from behind and hugged him.

"I can't believe it... you actually made it just in time!" she said as the cyborg was having a surprisingly hard time trying to move.

"Yeah... that was way too close." Nobody could hide their surprise that he was helping the heroes in the war, but this was no time to start complaining. "Let me get up so I can go back to what I was doing; we can celebrate this later." She smiled and helped him stand, then quickly pecked his lips when nobody was looking.

"See ya later, hon," she says quietly, "...I hope."

"So do I." Since everyone else was still occupied, they gave each other one more hug before Psi returned to the prime sniping area where he was earlier. "I know you saw that, human," he says to Drakkoniss, who had just put something away. "You should know how much I mean to her and that it's no different than if she had a human boyfriend instead... or will your natural human insolence only let you understand if you yourself followed the same path we walk on? Think about that for a while before you answer that." Actually, Drakkoniss, despite his hyper-intelligence, could not come up with a definitive, immediate response to the question, (which is likely the first time that's ever happened) so he simply bowed his head and disappeared, then the cyborg set down the special weapon and loaded his sniper rifle. "Alright, Mr. 82," he says aloud as he turns his stealth on amd gets into position, "Time to get some work done."

< Message edited by Vector -- 9/30/2011 16:19:05 >
Post #: 14
10/7/2011 22:26:53   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter XIV


Psi scoped out the field to look for priority targets, including the villains' VIP, but all he seemed to find were just common soldiers and heavy weapon users. They were certainly smart enough to save the best for last... or at least, for later. Instead of wasting precious ammunition on these wimps, he waited for a while, hoping something better would show up in the crosshairs, but nothing special appeared. Minutes had passed (which in wartime would seem like days or even weeks) and not a single interesting event happened, but at least Demolicious decided to come up and chat with him.

"Hey, Psi... see anything important?" She was wearing a kevlar vest over her recognizable leotard.

"Nope... all I'm gettin' are these commoners... conscripts, even, and a few heavy weapons units that your side takes out without too much trouble. Hey wait. Where'd you get that vest?"

"Army had a spare that they let me use. Doesn't exactly fit me too well, but it's better than nothing."

"Don't need to say that twice. Well, since you're up here, do you have a minute?"

"Actually, hon, that's what I came for. I can't stay too long, though."

"No big deal, at least we get to be with each other." They both lay down side by side and hold hands while they look out towards the ensuing carnage. The cyborg resumes scoping the field. "So, what's up?"

"These villains are brutal. The few that actually manage to take out some of the soldiers don't do it quick and easy, almost like they're desperate to break our will to fight."

"If that's the case," the cyborg replied and smiled, "Then it looks like either we have the upper hand, or they're afraid I might come down there and kick 'em back out."

"Well, you're the one who threatened them so harshly. You might have actually punched a nasty hole in their morale just by revolting against them."

"That might explain why. It's too bad I never got to see Davinci though; I was hoping to see the look on his face when we show him our love..." Demolicious smiled widely.

"Don't worry, sweetie... we'll see that two year old soon enough. Oh, here, take this." She gives him a walkie-talkie so they could keep in touch when they need to. "I've already set it so just the two of us can talk to each other whenever we need to, so all ya gotta do is--"

"Yeah, I know how this new fangled contraption works." He sets the two-way radio on the ground and they both get up. "Well, hon, you better get back to the others before they start worrying about you."

"Two more things first... actually, three. The villain's special person or whatever they want to call it... it's your former leader. Lokos, I think his name is." He didn't like the sound of that. No doubt Death chose him to be the villains' VIP. Demo started to feel really down when she starts explaining the second part. "And... well... Death put me as the heroes' special person. He did it just so he could try to keep us from being together. That makes him a literally heartless villain, no matter how much he wants to say otherwise and we have to stop him, but... I don't think we'll be able to actually kill him, since, well, he's not really alive."

"How 'bout we trash his mortal skeleton and let his Boss take care of the rest? I'm sure whoever hired him can see that we wanna live happily just like everyone else."

"I hope so... Otherwise we'll have to deal with him for the rest of our lives."

"I'll make sure he gets it through his thick skull... but, what about the third thing you wanted to tell me?" She took a deep breath.

"Just in case we don't make it through, Psi..." That confused him, but before he started to ask, Demolicious held him as tight as she could and brought their lips together for what they hope would never be their last time. After he started holding her too, they put their foreheads together for a little longer, (more accurately, she placed her forehead on the part of the helmet that covered his forehead) then they reluctantly let go. "Thanks, Psi... for everything, especially for helping my dad try to get better."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you, dear. If you didn't give me a chance to help out, or at least, even been nice to me, the whole city could've been a barren wasteland in less than a day. You saved the whole city, maybe even the world, all by yourself, and you even got a sweet boyfriend at the same time! You can't get better than that!" Demolicious simply couldn't think of anything to say. All she managed to do was shyly put her hands behind her back and blushed heavily. She couldn't argue with the fact she saved the city, but saving the world all by herself and getting a boyfriend in one shot? Not even Davinci could be that crazy to think of something like that, but it was all real. "Come on, Demo, let's pay the heroes a visit... together." He held out his hand, and after a little hesitation from thinking no one might accept this situation, Demolicious smiles and grabs it, and they walk down the conveniently placed slope and over to the heroes' makeshift base. Meeting them at the base's left flank was Drakkoniss, who was very pleased to see them together and made no hesitation to show it to them, especially the cyborg, who is still a little distrustful of him.

"Before you say you still don't believe me," Drakkoniss started, "I could have easily taken Demolicious away from you if I didn't know that Skulldeep intended to force you back into that infernal 'cave,' as you called it, but instead I was only trying to prove that I know you mean well with her." Psi actually sighed.

"Yeah, and I feel really stupid for blowin' a fuse at you earlier... I just got so defensive that I thought everyone was out for us."

"Looks like I need to teach you a thing or two, hon," Demolicious said jokingly, "Anyway, we can argue about this later. Right now, we need to take these villains down once and for all." They both nodded and the cyborg immediately returned to his sniping spot, but he quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie when he saw something he couldn't believe.

"Demo... keep your head down, I see one of those mutant freaks we saw back at Tradertown." He sets the radio down and aims 'Mr. 82' at the colossal monster's head.

"Yeah, I saw 'im too, and he's coming straight at us. Take him out before--" He already fired the rifle and, with specialized ammunition, its head was literally in pieces. The mutant toppled over soon after, crushing a few more villains under its weight. Some of the other villains near the now dead mutant looked around to find out who was sniping, when a red beam flashed from the villains' 'base' to one of the army's tanks, destroying it completely. The noise it made was loud enough to send Psi scrambling behind the slope with his radio.

"Tell me you saw that too, Demo!" He said.

"I definitely saw that laser! You better stay out of sight in case that thing starts lookin for you!"

"Same to you Demo, but now would be a good time to start moving." Psi didn't move from the slope. He had to stay out of sight or that laser could turn him into roasted chicken dinner... or it might just scratch his armor a bit, but he's not willing to take that chance. Every once in a while he heard that laser fire and the more time passes, the more he believes that he needs to help Demolicious directly. Eventually, he just slowly went back to his spot, staying as low as possible, and scoped out the field again. This time, he was extra careful to choose his targets, but the war definitely looked like it was in the villains' favor. Even with the help of Drakkoniss and someone who looked human in a lot of ways but had angelic wings, the villains still had the numbers to hold them off, especially since they had a vampire in their ranks, of all things... and plenty of mutants. He knew the mutants had to be destroyed, or the heroes would be overwhelmed, so the genuinely scared cyborg took a deep breath, shot down every monster he saw, then ran halfway down the slope...

Only to find that his worst nightmare had come to life.
Post #: 15
10/12/2011 14:05:54   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter XV


Things could hardly get any worse... first, there's a laser that totally destroyed a tank, which doesn't really bode well for Psi, second, there's no doubt they'll actually use that thing on him, especially since he's sure they know where he is now... none of it would really matter to him, except there's one major complication, which Lokos seems to taunt the heroes with almost as bad as Davinci.

Demolicious had been kidnapped, and the villains were quite happily broadcasting this news with some help from a robed figure, who was interestingly nowhere to be found.

The laser was just a distraction to keep the cyborg from interfering long enough for those villains to plow through their opposition using a tactic similar to the blitzkrieg used in the early years of World War II. Psi now had no choice but to charge through enemy lines and get her back safely, or risk losing literally everything. It wasn't going to be even close to being easy, since every villain in the war had retreated back to their makeshift base, including the vampire who had mysteriously appeared sometime earlier. Of course, the heroes saw Lokos' ranting as an opportunity for a last ditch effort, although they don't realize that the villains are well prepared for it. Regardless, after a little pep talk from the military commander, they all charged into the enemy forces and clashed endlessly in a battle to the death... literally.
'If I don't get you back, Demo...' Psi says to himself, still behind the slope, 'Then I'll have to be with you some other way...' There was no denying it: Demolicious had literally become the only reason why he always hesitated to administer retribution to the villains; the cyborg just wanted to enjoy his existence with the only human who cared about who he wanted to be and not who he was supposed to be. Granted, she wasn't going to live forever and he knew it, but if anyone took her away at such an early time... there was no telling what might happen after that, since he would consider himself too 'unstable' to accurately predict a sudden reaction, but the negativity should not be ignored. He also knows that Death wouldn't reset the war if he managed to kill Lokos when Demolicious couldn't make it; the cruel skeleton would leave both corpses to rot while the cyborg suffered a tragic loss, so rescuing his tried and true girlfriend was the absolute top priority. Taking a deep breath, Psi set both of his weapons on the ground and steeled himself for what was definitely a suicide mission, then joined the heroes in their last ditch effort, literally mowing through every villain in his way like a lawn mower through grass, until he came upon the entrance guarded by the vampire he saw earlier.

"Certainly took you long enough," it said as it drew out a brutally wicked sword, "I was beginning to think the laser took you out already."

"I wasn't even near that Abrams when you cowards toasted that thing, though I'm a bit surprised to see you used a few Pattons which are long since piles of scrap."

" 48 or 60?" The vampire places a hand on its hip as Davinci manages to get his turn insulting the heroes, thankfully giving Psi at least a couple extra minutes.

"60, and A3's even. What'd you do, steal them from a local museum?"

"Heh heh, nope. Believe it or not, there's still some people who use those relics, so we decided to 'borrow' a few of them to thin you out a little."

"Breaking news, little vampire: M60A3's not as effective as once thought." The vampire almost immediately became irritated.

"Ugh, I have a name unlike you, trash compactor, so use it!"

"I'm not taking orders from any of you thugs, especially from the one who's so scared of people she has to terrorize the city at the dead of night so she can get away with it!" Psi then immediately stole her sword and ran off toward the base, but all the vampire did was smile evilly; she only wanted to delay the cyborg long enough for him to show up just as Lokos was about to finish her off... and it would've happened too, but Psi thought quickly and threw the sword into Lokos' leg before he made the final blow, making him kneel from loss of balance and drop the knife he had in his hand.

"Zafara," He slowly said, "You didn't... just betray me, did you?" Psi walked up to him and grabbed the back of his neck, lifting him up into the air.

"If she would've betrayed you," the cyborg furiously replied with a raging inferno in his eyes and tightening his grip, "She would've aimed the sword higher. You, little wretch, are getting your long overdue retribution for everything you've done to me..." Psi was secretly glad that they were still broadcasting the immediate area, so that everyone could see what the cyborg was truly capable of, and with the methods only the most evil villains would dare even consider, he unleashed said retribution on his former 'master'. By the end of it all, Lokos was emotionally pulverized and unsurprisingly begging for mercy, and everyone stood with their mouths agape, finally realizing just how close they were from utter annihilation; even Drakkoniss was awe-struck by, at the very least, his undying determination against near-impossible odds all for the sake of who he cared about... but Demolicious was truly all the cyborg had left. Ignoring the hopeless pleas for mercy, Psi walked over to Demolicious, who was at least unconscious, picked her up and carried her out of the villians' empty base, leaving Lokos in extreme pain as he slowly embraced his now inevitable demise.
The cyborg didn't expect Strebor to be waiting outside, but he didn't ask any questions and just simply gave Demolicious to the silent doctor, who nodded and took her into the nearby idling humvee and drove all the way to the heroes' base. Everything had fallen silent ever since the cyborg managed to rescue her; the heroes retreated to regroup and tend to their wounded and fatigued, but the villains never chased them... they seemed to have lost their will to fight and simply hoped that Demolicious was already dead, but there were no wounds to indicate even how she was unconscious, so her survival was likely.

"Don't think you're done yet, rustbucket." Psi knew exactly who it was and headed straight for his last known threat to her survival, and they battled fiercely.

"I thought I got it through your thick skull, you rump-fed chicken!"

"My, I haven't heard that since the Battle of Hastings in the 11th century... you must be quite an old-schooler." The cyborg managed to get a few solid hits into the relentless skeleton, but then they both briefly paused.

"Come on, that's all you got?" Psi taunted, "You should've stayed in the graveyard where you belong if you think you can beat me like that!"

"Then prepare yourself..." Death slowly transformed into a skeletal monstrosity seething with raw power. "...for Un-Death, my true power unfolds before you!"

"Yeah yeah, shut up and get this over with!" They clashed again, both of them not even bothering to dodge the other's attacks, just trying to overwhelm with sheer force, eventually forcing the cyborg to kneel in defeat.

"Ha ha ha! I knew you were no match for the full force of--" The cyborg suddenly lunged at the skeleton and drop-kicked him, unaware that a rumbling sound was slowly getting louder until, a minute later, he saw what it was, making his eyes widen. It was the exact weapon the villains were threatening him with long before the war started, but how they managed to get it inside the portal, he'll never know. There was no time to think, however, so Psi ran for the heroes' base and activated his jetpack at full power, moving at a speed rivalling a maglev train, but activating an emergency shutdown when he was in plain sight of the portal, hoping to save whatever energy was left. He has no idea if he actually made it past the portal safely... or if the internationally dreaded Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile made impact before he escaped.

< Message edited by Vector -- 10/12/2011 22:54:01 >
Post #: 16
10/16/2011 0:01:01   
Vector
Member
 
Chapter XVI/Epilogue


The cyborg woke up... in a familiar setting, almost like from a nightmare, but he knew in the back of his mind it was true. He was laying down in his usual spot when he had to recharge, again with the phone cord sticking out from his side and into the nearby outlet, but now he had a note humorously placed at the tip of his nose. He read the note that told him what happened after he escaped the war's final moments, but unfortunately, the news wasn't good:

'Let you recharge in the hospital near Demolicious for a couple hours, then had to transport you here (using a hand truck to load into and out of the car) for security reasons.
To be brief, and respectful, her condition is critical as was feared.'

He didn't bother read the rest of the note, with her critical condition being more than enough information than he wanted to know, but at least she was still alive for the moment. Psi unplugged the phone charger from his side, ignoring the wall outlet, and walked into the kitchen, finding a pen on the table. He sighed with heavy sadness, then picked up the pen and wrote on the opposite side of the note: 'Moved to the park,' drew the symbol his name came from, setting both items on the table as he left to walk all the way over to where he said he was going, ignoring everyone who tried getting his attention. Without her, he was almost literally nothing. She was the only human who, despite every assumption that labeled him as evil, disregarded said assumptions and gave him the one chance he needed to prove he was just as willing to help the city as he would terrorize it... but she also treated him much better than almost anyone else, (save Strebor, but that was because she told the good doctor who he was) and that was what he needed the most. Inside the cold and rigid shell of his armor was a warm and soft heart that needed to be taken care of, and Demolicious had done just that; she made him feel important, treated him like we was merely another human and shared her feelings when the time had come to confess his own. In return, he had become one of the most loyal and fiercest bodyguards any human would ever know, refusing to surrender even when the villains managed to capture her in the recent war, as well as exacting retribution for both what the villains had done to him all his time trapped in Skulldeep and for attempting to destroy the only support he truly had.

In the end... it was all worth the effort.

As the sun was beginning to set, after hours of non-stop pacing in front of the statue of Pandora, Psi finally saw Demolicious slowly walking toward him, with a cast on her left foot and using crutches to help her move. He was utterly stunned and speechless; he had nearly given up what little hope was left that she still lived, and yet here she was before his own eyes. When she was next to the statue leaning her crutches against it, he walked up to her and hugged her, not saying a word.

"Yeah it's me, Psi," she says solemnly as she hugs him back, knowing how easily he could have lost her in the blink of an eye, "I didn't think I'd make it either, but I guess neither of us would be able to understand just how happy we are that we can be with each other again... personally, I couldn't care less as long as I still have you with me, hon." The cyborg could only sob over her shoulder. He tried to laugh it off and make them both feel happier about the situation, but he ended up crying his eyes out instead, and Demolicious slowly started sobbing as well. "I know you... you don't want to h-hear about what happened, but... but... it c-couldn't get any closer." Now that she finally managed to tell him, she let herself cry over his shoulder as they both tighten their hold on each other. The cast on her ankle was the least of their worries, that was certain, but the cyborg certainly isn't willing to find out exactly what she went through. Eventually, they settled down and just held hands as Strebor appeared around the corner as if on cue.

"I'm truly glad to see the two of you together again," he said, smiling and turning to the cyborg, "You deserve so much more than this after coming so far from where you once were."

"Long as I have Demo with me, Strebor," the cyborg replies as Demolicious tightens the hold on his hand, "I'm not asking for anything. She's giving me everything I need." Strebor couldn't help but shed a few tears; not only did Demolicious save the entire city from total devestation, but she also helped make a scientific miracle a reality: a sentient machine that acted exactly like a human, even if the villains were the one to physically create him. "But... none of it would've happened if..." He had a sad look on his face like he's mourning a loss. "...If one of the Skulldeep scientists never went rogue."

"Pardon?"

"That special part that basically lets me make my own decisions... I wasn't supposed to have that installed, but one of the scientists made it and secretly put it in. Somebody eventually found out about it and it set 'em all off."

"And that was about when he was killed, if I remember right," Demolicious said.

"His death is quite certainly not in vain." Out of nowhere, Drakkoniss suddenly appeared, startling Strebor and almost making him jump. "In fact, the repercussions of his actions are far more positive than even I could predict."

"How so?" the cyborg quickly asked, sensing a possible city-wide trend.

"Technically, you two are the ones who started this, but some of the aquatians are starting to come to the surface of the nearby river."

"The aquatians?" Strebor and Demolicious exclaimed, then Strebor continued, "Are they not the reclusive nautical species?"

"They were," Drakkoniss replied, "Until we managed to defeat the villains in Death's special war he set up for us. It seems like we might have inspired them to brave the lands outside of their known territory."

"I think I might know why," Psi says as he and Demolicious look at each other, "Though I'm not really sure if they'd be able to stay on land like we can for very long."

"Hmm... perhaps this could open a new field of research that was previously thought too expensive to invest in," Strebor realized.

"Maybe," Demolicious says to Strebor, "But I'm pretty sure whoever's willing to try better be willing to make more than just that kind of commitment... I know I had to when I wanted to help turn Psi against Skulldeep."

"Point taken," Drakkoniss says, "However, I would suggest gathering the research data by eyewitness accounts first."

"Let the civilians get to the basics," Strebor thinks aloud, "Then the more advanced fields like their culture and society can be reached more easily when they are more willing to accept us into their daily lives... interesting indeed."

"Heck, if we get lucky," Psi says, "We might be able to get all the research really quick and only be spending money on extra scuba gear or rebreathers!"

"My goodness, think of all the possibilities!" Strebor says excitedly, "We could be even bigger heroes and not even a single ounce of violence would be used! Marvelous! I better tell this to the city governor right away!" With that, he walks quickly out of the park, and Drakkoniss bows his head slightly.

"Expect to get a letter of some sort in the future, possibly an apology, but for now I'll leave you to yourselves." He disappears as quickly as he arrived, then Psi and Demolicious turn toward each other, with Demolicious leaning on him because of the cast.

"I'm not going to tell you how close we were from losing each other, dear," she says to him, "But because I sprained my ankle a little bit, you just might have to carry me home..."

"Don't worry, hon, I'll carry ya... just don't forget the crutches." Psi picks her up and walks to the statue, then she grabs her crutches and lets them lay parallel to her body, making it look a little silly. He then carried her all the way back to her house and let her stand in the kitchen.

"I remember wanting to see if you'd be able to eat something without messing up something in you, hon... wanna give it a try?" The cyborg thought about that deeply, considering every possible outcome.

"....Yeah, I'll give it a shot, just make it something small to start with." She quickly hands him a white grape.

"Already got that covered." He looks at the grape like he doesn't know what it is, but somehow, he squeezed it a little too much when he was looking close at it and it squirted juice on his face. The sudden event startled him so much that the look on his face was absolutely priceless, and Demolicious laughed hysterically as a result. He laughs with her for a moment, then tosses the now crushed grape into his mouth. "Oh Psi... this is pretty much why I love you so much..."

"Yeah, and I really love how you treat me like a human, Demo," he says after he swallows the grape, "It might seem a little silly to you, but it makes me feel important in some way when you do it."

"Hey, it's all you ever wanted, right hon?" They stare into their eyes for a moment, then they take off their helmets and set them on the floor, hold each other and touch foreheads together.

"Yeah, you're right... and I got so much more because of it. I still have to thank you again for giving me that chance a while back, though."

"Don't thank me, dear, we both owe that scientist for all this." They smile faintly for a moment, then they bring their lips together as they stroke each other's hair. The rebellion of the now deceased scientist had ultimately caused not only the defection of Skulldeep's prized secret project, but also the eventual inter-relations with the Aquatian Empire, something thought impossible due to their highly reclusive nature. Super City improved dramatically, including the sharp decline in Skulldeep's villainous activities, and prospered far more than ever thought before.

All this, and much more, because of a last minute decision.
Post #: 17
10/21/2011 20:46:36   
Vector
Member
 
Extra
(not part of story)



The cyborg woke up... in a familiar setting, almost like from a nightmare, but he knew in the back of his mind it was true. He was laying down in his usual spot when he had to recharge, again with the phone cord sticking out from his side and into the nearby outlet, but now he had a note humorously placed at the tip of his nose. He read the note that told him what happened after he escaped the war's final moments, but unfortunately, the news wasn't good:

'Let you recharge in the hospital near Demolicious for a couple hours, then had to transport you here (using a hand truck to load into and out of the car) for security reasons.
To be brief, and respectful, her condition is critical as was feared.'

He didn't bother read the rest of the note, with her critical condition being more than enough information than he wanted to know, but at least she was still alive for the moment. Psi unplugged the phone charger from his side, ignoring the wall outlet, and walked into the kitchen, finding a pen on the table. He sighed with heavy sadness, then picked up the pen and wrote on the opposite side of the note: 'Moved to the park,' drew the symbol his name came from, setting both items on the table as he left to walk all the way over to where he said he was going, ignoring everyone who tried getting his attention. Without her, he was almost literally nothing. She was the only human who, despite every assumption that labeled him as evil, disregarded said assumptions and gave him the one chance he needed to prove he was just as willing to help the city as he would terrorize it... but she also treated him much better than almost anyone else, (save Strebor, but that was because she told the good doctor who he was) and that was what he needed the most. Inside the cold and rigid shell of his armor was a warm and soft heart that needed to be taken care of, and Demolicious had done just that; she made him feel important, treated him like we was merely another human and shared her feelings when the time had come to confess his own. In return, he had become one of the most loyal and fiercest bodyguards any human would ever know, refusing to surrender even when the villains managed to capture her in the recent war, as well as exacting retribution for both what the villains had done to him all his time trapped in Skulldeep and for attempting to destroy the only support he truly had.

But it was all or nothing to him. Either he and Demolicious would live happily together... or not.

Amidst the setting sun, Strebor reluctantly approached Psi with tears in his eyes, but the two words that the doctor managed to say tore through the cyborg's heart like an excited child opening a birthday present:

".....She's gone." Psi's eyes narrowed when he said that as well, and slowly dropped to one knee momentarily. Despite using every capability he had to bring her back, he had lost everything. He lost the only human who wanted to help him become who he wanted to be, which was little more than imitating a human, and now, there was nothing. Eventually the cyborg stood and, in an understandable rage, punched the base of the statue hard enough where it cracked viciously at the impact point, and cursed as he turned away from Strebor. "...I... I thought I would at least let you have something to remember all the good times... that you had with her." He extended a hand that held Demolicious' now vacant helmet, but the cyborg didn't even move.

"Give it to her dad," he eventually replied, although his cold response literally made Strebor shiver, "He'll make better use of it than I ever will." Strebor already made an assumption on what he was going to do, and couldn't help but try to talk him out of it.

"You... you're not going to--"

"Yes, I am. I'm making sure that those villians don't get a chance to recover. I will vaporize every last one of the rotting piles of flesh and bone in that cave... and you, human, sorely underestimate just how important Demo truly is to me. You will not be able to stop me, one way or another." Remembering what Psi is capable of and partially fearing he might be the unintended victim of the emotionally crippled machine's blind rage, Stebor wisely backed down.

"I... I see..." The cyborg left the park before Strebor could ask any more questions, and stopped just before the entrance to the cave where Skulldeep resides. Normally the cave itself would be heavily guarded, but since the end of the war, their numbers had vastly thinned to the point where what little defense remained had retreated inside in an attempt to make up for the severe losses.


COMMAND:

/ACTIVE LAST_RESORT

LAST_RESORTMASTERKEY1:

|237|21|3(_)710|\|

LAST_RESORTMASTERKEY2:

|)3\/4574710|\|

REASONING:

GUARDIAN CRITMISSION FAIL
GUARDIANTARGET 'DEMOLICIOUS'
STATUS: DOA


That was all the cyborg did on his internal computer. His unknown power supply started making noises that grew increasingly louder, and when an alarm started to sound, he shed a few tears and quietly said one last thing before plowing into the cave at full speed:

"I'm coming with you, Demo."


No one has heard from Skulldeep, or their rebellious creation, ever since.
Post #: 18
Page:   [1]
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