by Project Kyle
Rolling his shoulder and grinning, Henry found himself back in the game and ready to play. He charged toward Unit 1587. Unit 1587 aimed its acid gun at Henry and fired. Henry leapt over both the attack and Unit 1587 itself. Following the curve of Henry’s lunge, the unit found itself disoriented, gravity working against it as the trail of acid fell on it instead of hitting the thug. While the units armor protected it from the worst, the caustic acid hissed and devoured the lens of its welding mask. It was blind.
Henry flung himself back up the ramp, lunged towards Unit 1587’s gun, feet first, and grabbed the gun between his legs. Gravity pulled his hands to the floor, and as soon as Henry’s hands hit the floor, he pulled his legs back and ripped the gun right out of Unit 1587’s hand. He then did a somersault backward, disconnecting the hose that fed the acid to the gun.
Henry did a barrel roll all the way down to the second floor, springing to his feet at the base and realizing with nervousness that acid was still spewing everywhere like water from an out of control fireman’s hose. So Henry ran to a spot where he felt safe. He smiled as a hole burned through the platform that Unit 1587 was standing on. It fell through to the second level, which also dissolved. Then it fell through to the first. Finally, Unit 1587’s acid depleted. The last fall knocked it unconscious, and it lay there in a pool of its own acid. Henry felt a rush of adrenaline fill his brain as it sank in that he had defeated his menace without the aid of a weapon.
Sophia, on the other hand, was starting to ware down. Though she had started strong, the battle had taken a turn in Smiley’s favor, and Sophia was now the one being pushed back across the long bridge leading to the ship’s engine. She was tiring out, while Smiley seemed to gain more and more energy the longer he fought.
Now she had been pushed all the way back to the ship’s engine, and Smiley forcefully pushed her as close as he could to the burning ball of fire. Sophia could feel the heat behind her. Her skin was starting to burn, and she knew she did not have much time left. Smiley laughed at Sophia’s hopeless state.
“You are such a disappointment!” he said to her. “And here I thought you were going to give me a fight worth remembering. But in the end, you let me down just as all my other victims did. You are worthless. Do you hear me? Worthless!”
You are worthless! You are beyond hope! You are no daughter of mine! Get out!
A chord deep within Sophia was struck as her unpleasant flashback faded away. That word, it was the same word her dad used on her after her parents disowned her from their family. She looked at the sword in her hand, then lifted her line of vision to gaze into the eyes of the insane madman that wanted to kill her. He was trying to manipulate her emotions, he was trying to get her angry and up until now, Sophia had played right into his hands. Smiley was physically a stronger opponent then her, he was fearless, vigilant, and never tired out. Yet, he was also unorganized and didn’t strategize his attacks. It seemed his only strategy was to wear his opponent down and kill them when their energy had depleted. Meaning the last thing he wanted was Sophia to pace herself and fight smart.
Her memories of all the people who had let her down flowed through her mind. Was this why they picked her apart? Did they really feel that she was such a disappointment? Or…were they afraid? Terrified over how strong she would become. Discouraging her so she would become too frustrated and angry to ever reach her full potential?
Things began to fall into place, and the hurtful words she had to endure through her life began to burn within her like wild fire. But this time, she did not crumble. This time, she did not break down or give in… She was focused.
Sophia caught her second wind, and an overwhelming sense of peace flowed through her mind. She was ready to finish the job.
Smiley was still attempting to push her into the fiery engine, but his opponents’ tactics had changed. She was shifting her weight, searching for Smileys center point of gravity, and eventually, she found it. Sophia shifted to her right, causing Smiley to lose his balance, and then pushed off from her opponent, driving Smiley to stumble back. Sophia was now free and ready to fight. She went back on the offensive and began attacking with her sword, but it was different this time. Her attacks were not as near as aggressive, they were controlled, and even a little graceful. Her stance became poised, and her movements were very calculated. Her training as a warrior had come back to her, and not a moment too soon.
Smiley desperately deflected her blows, but Sophia now was planning her attacks, something Smileys damaged mind struggled to comprehend. It was now him who was being driven back. Sparks were starting to fly from the blades meeting, and Smiley knew that he had made a horrible mistake in taunting Sophia. But he got what he wanted—a fight worth remembering. So, he continued laughing as Sophia dominated him in battle.
Sophia delivered an attack that met Smiley’s face. He laughed again as the sharp pain from the slice began to burn. Sophia took another shot at his leg. Again, Smiley failed to deflect it. He fell against the railing of the bridge, leaning over it. The railing was weak and rusty and was starting to break apart under his bulk. Again, Smiley was laughing, knowing that he could’ve fallen four stories to the ground. He was clearly winded and was helpless to defend himself. Sophia seized the opportunity, as she did not want him to catch his second wind. She delivered a kick to Smiley’s stomach. The railing broke, and Smiley was sent plummeting downward to the hard metal floor four stories below him. But he was not done. He pressed a button on his rocket launcher; there was a grappling hook built into it. It launched and attached itself to the room’s ceiling, and Smiley was able to save himself. However, his momentum caused him to swing headfirst into the ledge of the second level.
Disoriented, Smiley did not realize Nerd and Henry were waiting for him. Henry walked over to Smiley and detached the wrist device that contained his flamethrower. He strapped it to his left wrist and was thrilled to see there was another grappling hook build into it. Then he calmly detached the device on Smiley’s other wrist that contained the rocket launcher and grappling hook. Smiley went tumbling to the ground, landing hard following the two-story drop. He blacked out and was no longer a threat.
Henry attached the device to his right wrist and told Nerd to grab onto him. Nerd did so, and the two were lifted to the fourth level.
Upon reaching the level, Nerd caught sight of Sophia, who was panting in the distance. He let go of Henry and walked up to her. In a rare moment, Nerd hugged Sophia, but very awkwardly and distantly, given the fact that he still hated hugs.
“You’re amazing!” he said to her.
“I told you I was a fighter.” she responded with a grin.
“That clown is going to feel it when he wakes up.”
Henry lifted both his hands. Nerd laughed upon seeing his response.
“Yes, Henry,” Nerd acknowledged. “You were amazing too, and now you have both of Smiley’s lead weapons. I think our chances of escaping have just gone up!”
“Yeah, bro!” he shouted. “But who else do we have to worry about?”
Nerd calculated who their final opponents were and groaned when he realized that there were still three opponents left, one of them being the team’s leader.
“Jake Roberts,” he started. “He will be the easiest out of all of them. However, the other two pose a deadly challenge. Manic is a well-known sniper; he could be anywhere right now, and we wouldn’t know until it was too late. But Drake…Drake is the sneaky one. He will be a little easier to beat now that half his team has been neutralized. But until he’s out of the picture, we’re going to need to keep our guard up.” Nerd looked towards the room’s exit and smiled. “It’s time for us to go.”
The three left the room and navigated themselves through the long hallways of the giant spacecraft, staying alert, hoping that none of the Menace team would catch them off guard.
Finally, after a few minutes of running, the three found the docking bay. The doors were now closed, but the Iron Heart was visible in the
large room. This was encouraging. What was discouraging was what stood between them and their chance of escaping.
Drake Robinson and Jake Roberts stood side by side. They knew where the three were headed and had decided to guard the area, knowing it would only be a matter of time before they would meet.
“Well done, mate!” Drake stated. “But I’m afraid your little escape ends here. In about ten minutes, Dr. Crimson’s ship will be meeting us, and your pretty little friend there is going to be his. I would recommend surrendering now. If you do so, I’ll offer you two blokes a spot on my team. You’ve earned it today, and you have proven to me that—”
Henry had grown tired of Drake’s speech. He aimed his rocket launcher at the two men; it still had one rocket left in it. He fired, and both men seemed to be vaporized by the explosion that consumed the two of them. But as the dust settled, he realized he had made a huge mistake. An energy field was covering the two of them, one that was activated from a device on Jake’s armor—the same Jake they initially thought wouldn’t be much of a threat.
“Guess you blokes like doing things the hard way,” Drake continued. “Very well. Game on!”
As soon as Drake got the words out of his mouth, a red dot became visible on the top of Henry’s head. Nerd turned in the direction the dot was coming from and caught a glimpse of Manic sniping Henry from the cargo bay’s top level.
Nerd again went into analysis mode and calculated his options. Henry was precisely 6’4”. Nerd was 5’9”. Manic had just pulled the trigger, but the two men were close enough for Nerd to make a move. Nerd quickly made his decision and ran into Henry Smith with all his body weight. He took Henry’s place, standing where the sniper shot was headed. Nerd smiled as the shot just barely went over his head, saving Henry Smith, and not sacrificing himself in the process.
“Everyone spread out!” Nerd ordered.
He ran around and did his best to distract Manic, yelling out several cunning remarks about his top hat, thinking maybe Manic would try to kill him rather than Henry and Sofia. It worked, and Nerd was able to dodge the attacks of Manic Blackheart. Henry seized the opportunity and activated his grappling hook. He carried himself to the ledge Manic was sniping from and closed in to make his attack.
Sophia, on the other hand, ignored Nerd’s command. She drew her sword, ready to attack the shield with it. Knowing that Manic would not go after her, Drake used his weapon’s stun setting against her. He fired a shot, and in a futile attempt to defend herself, Sophia raised her sword, hoping that it would protect her from the attack…and oddly enough, it did. The sword absorbed the blast of energy and began to glow blue. Drake kept firing on her, but she continued to deflect the shots. Her sword glowed brighter and brighter with blue energy. It was now getting to the point of being lethal, as many shots on stun could easily do damage to a human being.
Meanwhile, Henry had made his way up to the top level. He detached the grappling hook and aimed his flamethrower at Manic. Manic caught sight of him, swiveled and ran up, grabbing Henry’s left arm and forcing it upward. A huge ball of fire went soaring through the air.
Nerd realized that the sniper shots had stopped. He was now able to focus on Drake and Jake, who were still trying to stun Sophia.
Nerd took note of Sophia’s sword and how it was radiating blue energy. He remembered the note that had been attached to the sword, claiming it had belonged to Karla Nelson. Who was one of the founders when the humans discovered Zecarah. Could Sophia be of her family’s dissent? There was only one way to find out.
The blue energy was now starting to get blinding, and Sophia was worried that her vision would be impaired. Nerd called out to her and revealed something about the sword that she had not considered.
“Thrust it out like a sling at their shield!” he shouted. “The energy will leave your sword!”
Sophia did so, and the energy crashed into the shield that was protecting the two men. The energy overloaded the device on Jake’s armor, and the shield dropped. Nerd ran towards his opponent and took a swing at Drake. He made contact with Drake’s rib cage and managed to break three of Drake’s ribs. Drake howled in pain and dropped his gun. Nerd was ready to take another shot at him but noticed that Jake had equipped himself with what looked like a small laser cannon. A beam of energy flowed from the cannon to Drake, and Drake’s ribs immediately started healing themselves. Drake was now at full health, and he took a swing at Nerd, decking him in the face. Nerd took the hit surprisingly well, and the two men began fighting each other hand to hand.
“Jake!” Drake yelled out. “Go get the other men; we’re gonna need ’em!”
With blinding speed, Jake left the room, and Nerd realized they needed to act fast.
Sophia was tempted to shoot an arrow at Drake, but she caught sight of Henry and Manic struggling on the top level. Manic had managed to aim the flamethrower towards Henry’s face.
Manic was reaching for the trigger, and Sophia knew that her new ally was in danger. She reached for an arrow and drew her bow, and the tip of the arrow burst into flames. She realized she had activated another special arrow. She released it, and the arrow flew through the air and embedded itself in Manic’s shoulder.
Manic was now on fire. He panicked and lost his footing, falling off the edge and plummeting five stories down to the ground. He landed hard on the metal floor, but amazingly, he was still breathing after he hit the ground. The man was tough, certainly tougher than the average human, as even a fall from five stories would not kill him.
Sophia turned her attention to Drake, who had just knocked Nerd to the ground. Drake noticed she had her bow and arrows in her hand. He charged at her, hoping to get to her before she could fire another shot or draw her sword. Sophia responded by dropping her bow and took a swing with her fist right at Drake’s nose. Drake cried out in pain again as his nose broke. Sophia wasted no time and continued to attacked Drake. He was unable to get his fists up in time and she delivered several hard blows to his head.
He was now disoriented, so much so that he didn’t even know where he was, and Sophia knew it. She took one final shot at Drake’s face, and the blow knocked him clean out.
He lay on the ground, defeated by his own prey. Sophia stood over him, the roaring of adrenalin shouting in her ears. She turned to face Nerd. The innocent look in her eyes had faded, and a vicious look of hostility overcame them. It was as if she was about to attack him. Nerd was not intimidated however, as this gaze had met him many times in his field of expertise. He smiled, walked over to her, and gently put his hand on her right shoulder.
“You really are an amazing fighter.” he said to her in a calm, reassuring voice. “But please, don’t ever lose sight of the things that truly make you strong.”
Sophia didn’t understand what Nerd meant by that, but the tone of his voice was soothing to her. She took a deep breath and regained her composer.
Using his new grappling hook to reach the bottom floor, Henry ran toward Nerd and Sophia, jerking his thumb at the ship.
“We gonna go now or what?”
Nerd nodded his head in agreement. The three ran over to the Iron Heart, and Nerd pressed an icon on the screen of his communicator. The platform used to enter the ship opened, and the three ran up the ramp and into the starship. Nerd closed the ramp and headed straight to the bridge. He approached the science station, which Sophia had never seen him use, since he always piloted the ship.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Downloading a virus into the freighter’s database,” Nerd responded. “And it will be ready right…about…now.”
Suddenly the freighter’s lights started flashing on and off, the massive cargo bay door started to open, and the freighter’s computer began mouthing off announcements at random. Nerd activated his ship’s engine and fired up the thrusters. As soon as the door was open wide enough for them to escape, he flew the ship out. He panicked when he caught sight of a Cosmic 5 science ship in the distance. He quickl
y set a course for the nearest space station and activated the hyperdrive.
The Iron Heart vanished into the depths of hyperspace. Just like that, it was over. He and his friends had won; they had gotten home safe.
Nerd reclined back in his pilot’s chair as his mind aggressively processed everything that had happened to him in just one day.
#
Dr. Crimson made his way out of his starship. He noticed Drake and Manic lying on the ground and ordered his men to examine them.
“He is still alive!” the man examining Drake answered.
“So is he!” the man examining Manic added. Dr. Crimson smiled at the news, pleased to find they were still alive.
“Well then,” he said. “It looks like Nerd got the best of them! Oh well, I was going to sedate and capture Drake as soon as he delivered Sophia anyways. He will make a fine specimen to experiment on. At least this makes half my job a little easier now.”
Dr. Crimson started laughing and ordered his men to carry the mercenary crew to his starship…but as soon as the men began to do so, a wave of laser fire came flooding through the room. It hit Crimson’s starship, and the starship blew up, destroying Crimson’s opportunity to escape. He looked over and noticed Star-Creeper holding a laser cannon. It was he who had fired the shots and destroyed his spacecraft. Dr. Crimson gritted his teeth and held his fist up at Star-Creeper.
“Men!” he ordered his remaining staff members. “Attack!” The remaining five men charged at Star-Creeper. However, they were overtaken by the remaining members of Menace. First came Unit 1578, which had just repaired its acid gun. He fired upon the first member of Crimson’s band. The man screamed as he was slowly dissolved by the orange acid that came out of Unit 1578’s gun.
Next came Jungle Boy, who was running in a fury. He picked off the second member of Crimson’s band and diced him into little tiny pieces within seconds.
