The Alliance, Part 5

When the team of Villains, led by Barah, returned to The Castle to report on their supposed killing of 3 Hunters…

The Captain of the City Guard and Searchers, who is known as The Captian, listened to the Searcher team’s report. 

Barah was concluding her oral report. “And this, Captain, is all that is left of that sorry band of Hunters.” She motioned for one of her team members to show the Captain the scorched blue armor plating they found in the wreckage of the missile blast zone. He did so.

The Captain reached out and took it in his hands, and inspected it.

“Hmmm. Are you certain this is all that was left? That there weren’t any others who saw the whole thing and got away?” The Captain asked of Barah.

“Have I ever failed a mission before, Captain?” She responded.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” He shot back.       

“I had my team search out the area thoroughly. In fact, some even went back to the scene at a later time and looked around, just in case anyone was planning to come back to see what was left of their incinerated Hunter friends. We came up with nothing.”

“Alright. Good. But, I do have something to say. And, I want to make myself clear. The Leaders did not call for a war against all Hunters. They wanted to find only the ones who killed my troopers, and terminate those ones in particular. Not all Hunters are necessarily enemies. Some might never cause a problem with us, and I don’t want to deal with unnecessary conflict. From now on, we need not engage Hunters in every circumstance. Only in cases where they are hostile towards us. If that happens, you have my personal permission to engage. But, if you see a gang walking down the street during a patrol, and they carry on or run away, let them go for now, unless otherwise instructed. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Captain.” Barah said.

“Good.” The Captain then stepped toward Barah, and said in a hushed tone so that only she could hear was about to be said, “Now, if I were speaking to any other Searcher, I’d be direr with my consequence. You’re a well-respected Villain, and you’re too good to let go.” He leaned in closer, squinting his eyes slightly. “But, don’t let that get to your head.” He stepped back and looked at Barah’s squad.

“Understood.” She said, also whispering.

“Alright. I think I’ve said quite enough. Be on your way now.”  He saluted Barah, she and her squad did the same, and were dismissed.

--

Inside their cells, the Team Alpha Heroes looked at the screens that had come down from the ceilings. All that remained of Team Alpha were Stormer, Furno, Breeze, Rocka, Stringer, Surge, and Nex, who was now inside the Chamber. Evo died at the hands of Ahaz and Bulk fought valiantly against the mighty Anak during the Villain’s takeover of the Hero Factory, but lost. The last thing these Heroes want to see was another one of their team mates leave them.

--

Nex walked around, still wondering what was going on. He knew something wasn’t right. Something was wrong about this. Very wrong.

For a split second, he felt a presence off to his right, just out of the line of sight. He turned to see nothing. He did an about face, trying to see if there was someone or something behind him. Nothing. He knew there had to be something there, though. 

A bit of fear creeped into his mind. He quickly pushed it away. I can’t be frightened that easily, He thought to himself, walking towards a smashed house. Maybe he could stay here. It probably wouldn’t make him as vulnerable compared to being in the open.

He was nearing the door of the house when… It came again. That presence. It felt like it was from... behind!

He spun around. Nothing at all. All he saw was a wrecked city. A building that looked like it could collapse any day now.

--

The machine kept its eyes locked on Nex from the shadows, moving to and fro. There was no sign that its target, Nex, was aware of its presence. As soon as the target entered the house it was heading into, Decim8r walked into a big building that looked very unstable. He then looked up at the ceiling and saw what it was looking for. 

--

Nex saw a chair under a bunch of clutter, and decided to clear it off and rest for a little while. Finally, something better than a cement floor and metal beds! He sat down and relaxed a bit. He tried his hardest, but couldn’t keep from closing his eyes. He felt a sudden sense of tiredness. Wow. He thought. I never thought a chair like this would be so comfy.

RUMBLE!

Nex’s eyes shot open, frightened at the sound he just heard. He tore towards a window to see the cause of the noise.

“Oh No!” He exclaimed.

--

The Heroes in their cells saw everything Nex saw. They were all scared for Nex too.

--

The Alliance was gathered together once again, also having the rest of their crew who were in The Hatch listen and watch their meeting on a video call. It was the only video call system they had set up, but it was thanks to Oran’s handy work.

Jerin stood before everyone and the camera feeding to the Hatch.

“Alright.  I hope everyone is rested up. Now that we have the new Square system set up, and radar surrounding our posts, we can begin the next major phase of The Plan: setting up underground tunnels to save and release families for the Villain’s cities. We’ll start by targeting smaller cities, without as large of security teams. Having scouted many areas over time, thanks to our wonderful and brave scouting teams, our first place will be a city east of here. We have to do it slowly, that way these Villains won’t notice.

Now, these tunnels cannot start in our hideouts. They must be a distance from here, just in case a Villain discovers our tunnels. For security reasons. We’ll have to make a way to seal them off from both sides, that way the tunnels are not so easily accessible. Now that everyone is here, you all are free to pitch ideas about how this will work.”

The Alliance carried on for quite a while. Having many present at this meeting provided quite a few viewpoints and perspectives. Bouncing the ideas off of a lot of bots helped in making a more concrete plan of action, having covered ways to deal with different scenarios. It went quite smoothly. They would soon begin the next phase.

--

Days after the meeting between Drack and Cain with the Fire Lord and Witch Doctor…

Cain was driving the patrol vehicle today.

“Hmmm. Still no sign of any dangerous Hunters.” Cain said.

“Nope. I haven’t heard anything from The Captain.” Drack said.

Drack’s mind suddenly went to a thought of Sheer. He hadn’t thought about her in a while now. Hmm… He wondered. It must have been because he was thinking about bots who were against the Leaders. He was slightly surprised he hadn’t seen her anywhere. Ever. But, because he always had Cain with him on patrols, he never had the chance to look for her.

“Hey! I think I see something!” Cain said. He slowed the cruiser down. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Whaaa…” Drack shook his head, clearing it. “What is it?”

As soon as he asked the question, it was answered for him.

“A Stray!” Cain said.

“Alright. Pull ahead a little further. Once we park, we’ll try to intercept the bot.”

Cain did just that.

Drack picked up the Searcher communicator, pressed the talk button and then said, “There has been a potential Stray sighting. My partner and I are attempting to engage. Here are my coordinates.” He named them off. “Get here as soon as you can. Over and out.”

The receiver beeped and a voice came from it saying, “Copy that. Back up is on the way.” Another voice said, “We hear you. We’re heading your direction as well. Over.”

The two Searchers took off toward where they saw the Stray last, inside a house. They exited the patrol vehicle, and brandished their rifles. They were nearing the house they saw the Stray in.

“Okay. Listen carefully. The Stray may know we were coming back for him. So, I’ll go around this side of the house while you go around the other. I will enter through the front. You stay outside, just in case he tries to make a run for it. Maybe we can catch him in his attempt to escape.”

“Good plan.” Cain said. “Let’s do it.”

So, Cain circled around the back of the house as Drack circled the front. He looked around and stayed as quiet as possible. He ducked under a window to avoid being seen.

The front door was only a couple of steps away now. 

He entered the house.

“Okay. I know you’re in here. Come on out. You can make this easy for the both of us and just come towards my voice and turn yourself in. I promise not to hurt you, if you do that for me.”

Silence.

“Don’t make me use force.”

He stepped further in.

“Come on out!” He called as he entered a hallway with three doors.

He opened one of the doors, and turned on his flashlight. Nothing in that one.

He stepped in front of the second door and waited. He then called, “If you have some sort of weapon, I’ll have no choice but to use force against you!”  He cocked his gun slowly, intentionally. Click… click.

He connected the light to his rifle and pushed the door open. Still nothing.

He entered the hallway again.

“I’ll give you one last chance! Come on out, unarmed, and I won’t hurt you. You have my word!”

He waited a moment. The house was quiet.

He walked in front of the third door, adrenaline starting to rush.

He kicked the door open. Smash!

There was the Stray, sitting in a corner of the dark room. The only room in the house without a window.

“Come on out, and keep your hands where I can see them.”

The Stray sat there, scared.

“Did you hear me? Get up, I said!”

He got up and stepped toward Drack.

“Hands in the air.” The Stray put his hands up. “Alright. Stand right there. Your hands are to remain up!” He pulled up the small com link from his belt. “Alright Cain, I have the Stray right here. Come on in. I have him in a room. I’m cuffing him right now.

The Stray followed all of Drack’s orders as he cuffed him.

Drack noticed Cain had not responded.

“Hey, Cain, I now have him cuffed. He didn’t put up a fight. I’m taking him to our cruiser now.”

No response still.

“Say,” Drack said to the Stray, “How have you been able to survive for so long?”

“I just found enough to get by,” he responded.

The Searcher and Stray stepped outside.

“I’m impressed. Thank you for not putting up a fight. That would have been a very bad choice. By the way, what might your name be?”

“My name is Brey.”

To Be Continued in Part 6

The Alliance, Part 4

In the facility where the Fire Lord and Witch Doctor were conversing…

“What are you doing here?” Fire Lord asked Drack and Cain, who had just entered their chamber, with his and Witch Doctor’s cautious permission. They both had their gang members in ready positions for and attack, just in case, but to not look like it. They didn’t want Cain and Drack to be threatened pre-maturely.

“Yes, what brings you two here?” Witch Doctor asked.

Drack said, “I was hoping both of you would be here. We are here to confirm our alliance with you two. Well, for Cain and I, anyway.”

“Exactly,” Cain said. “We both received word from the Capitol that a gang of Hunters had killed a platoon of Searchers. We wanted to make sure that you knew that, even in this major event, we do not plan to take any actions against you or your gangs. We’ve done our best to avoid conflicts of this sort.”

The Witch Doctor asked, “What did the Leaders have to say about this incident?”

Drack replied, “The Black Phantom was furious!”

As Drack was speaking, The Fire Lord and Witch Doctor made a subtle signal for their gangs to be at ease.

“He and the other Leaders agreed to have the Searchers deviate from their typical patrols to try and catch the culprits off guard. But, the Captain of the City Guard and Searchers did not want us to attack just any Hunter we see. We have been, and will continue to keep a war against all Hunters from happening as best as we can.”

Fire Lord then said, “Alright. Thank you both. We will also do our best to keep Hunters, whether it be our gangs or neighboring gangs, from recklessly engaging in quarrels with Searchers or City Guards. But, we can only do so much. As you know, a lot of the other Hunters want to avoid being under the control of a large governing body.”

Witch Doctor also said, “I’m glad you came here to give us this report, and that we could set up these parameters of our agreement. Thank you. If there is anything else, let us know as soon as you can. We hope to be prepared for whatever happens.”

“We’re glad to help.” Cain said.

            “But, we had better be on our way now,” Drack said. “We have a lot of ground to cover today, thanks to those rogue Hunters. Farewell.”

            Cain and Drack left the facility satisfied at how well the meeting went.

            “Well, back at it again.” Drack commented as he and Cain stepped into their patrol vehicle. Then, they took off, nodding their heads in a respectful manor towards the Hunters who were stationed outside the chamber.

--

Bang Bang Bang!

“What is that?” Sheer thought. The sound was coming from the back door of The House.

The Stray put in charge of the Radar monitoring pressed a button. A window popped up on the computer monitor showing live feed from the camera at the back door.

There was a collective ‘Gasp!’

“It… its Jerin, Oran and Callibur!” Sheer said loudly.

“Let them in!” Aleck said.

The Stray pressed the unlock button.

Sheer sprinted there and arrived at the door first. Opening it up, she found the three to be very worn out. But, something appeared wrong with Callibur. Jerin and Oran were holding him since he could barely walk.

Aleck, after observing this said, “What can we do to help you guys?”

Jerein responded, “Get him to a table so he can get worked on.”

Aleck and Sheer quickly took the place of Oran and Jerin.

Cheering could be heard from behind the group. The Alliance was very, very happy to see their leader Jerin, the Hero, Callibur and one of their greatest hopes, Oran.

Sheer insisted that Jerin and Oran get some rest, and that things would be fine. Aleck assured to them that he would see how things went with Callibur. So, after Jerin shared what happened with Aleck and Sheer, and informed them of the injuries that Callibur had, he watched as Callibur was brought to a room to be cared for. The operators decided to Callibur under while they performed repairs. The main operator came out and told Jerin and Oran that Callibur would be fine, they were relieved enough to head to their quarters to get some rest. Aleck walked into Jerin’s room and chatted for a little bit. He left with, “Get some rest, friend. You’ve done well!”

Aleck emereged from the room to make an announcement. “Well, they are all doing okay. Callibur is injured, so he will need some rest and repairs. Also, I think rest is a little something all of us need right about now. So, let’s all call it a day and get some rest too. Though, we will still need someone to take watch. We mustn’t leave our guard down.”

There was a general agreement, and a few Alliance members went to their posts for the watch. 

Eventually, after the two Strays and Hero who braved their mission were rested enough, and Callibur got the necessary repairs, they would tell the tale of their dangerous return.

Jerin spoke first, “It began with us just finishing with the installation of the radar dome. Once we began heading back here very cautiously, we were all alarmed to see a missile heading our way.”

Oran then said, “I saw it heading our way on the Square module, and turned around.

“Then,” Callibur began, “the missile barely missed us. We got down justtttt in time to feel the heat of it go right over our bodies and smash into the ground a few yards from us. But, one giant chunk of rock was launched form the impact, and crushed my leg.” He said this while pointing to his newly repaired leg. Fortunately, the Alliance had the proper materials to give him some new armor plating.

A young Stray asked, “How did you escape?”

Oran responded with, “As soon as we realized we were all still alive, I began thinking of a rout of escape. If Searcher procedures were still the same, they would be closing in on the blast zone soon. We had little time to get through. Fortunately for us, the rubble that was blown up also threw a lot of dust into the air, giving us more cover. But, still, not much time remained. We then realized Callibur was injured greatly. So, Jerin and I had to lift him off the ground. We moved as fast as we could. Callibur used his good leg to help move us faster. The smoke and dust was clearing fast. I was afraid we would be spotted.”

“So,” Jerin said, “as we were only a few yards from the blast zone, a massive wave of heat hit our backs. The missile, we came to find out, was an incendiary round, a projectile that also releases an additional wave of fire. The shock of it nearly knocked us on our faces. The flames continued blazing, giving us a little more time to escape. Deathly black smoke rose from the flames.”

Callibur then said, “If we had left a moment too late, that could have been us in those flames… Wow.”

“It really is crazy.” Oran said. “Thankfully, Jerin had the idea to head to a building nearby to get out of sight. So, we got in as fast as we could. We had to make it through the whole city, avoiding Villains. Fortunately for us, there weren’t any Searchers on patrol. My guess is the group of Searchers trying to kill us had been assigned to that area.”

Callibur then concluded with, “After our long trek, we arrived to the back door of the House. We didn’t have our Square unit, so it would have been hard to track us. It was destroyed in the blaze.”

“Thank goodness you all are okay!” Sheer said.

“I’d have to say the same!” Aleck also said.

The Alliance held a small applause.

Sheer and Aleck looked at the two Strays and Hero, smiled, and clapped along.

Sheer then walked up and embraced Jerin. Aleck stepped up to Oran and hugged him along with Callibur, bringing the three close, in a brotherly embrace.

For the first time in a while, Oran felt real comfort.

--

Back at the Villain Researcher’s Laboratory…

Darkon read off the list from his electronic tablet. “Cameras?”

“Check!” a researcher said.

“Hero in place?”

“Check!”

“Decim8r in place?”

“Check!”

“Very good, then. Let us begin the simulation.”

The giant tube where Nex was held opened, revealing the virtual biome to him. The electronic hand cuffs were remotely released from his hands, and fell to the ground. Clink!

The tube and cuffs disappeared and Nex was awakened. He looked around, wondering what was going one. Where he was. All he remembered was seeing a massive Villain, likely the dreaded Anak staring at him through the small barred window of his cell, then being shocked and knocked out from electricity coming from the cell walls. Now it appeared he was in a vast landscape. It looked like he was outside the Castle. Houses were left in piles of rubble. Nothing lively seemed to be around. It was as if he was on the outskirts of the Capitol City. He looked to his left and his right. Nothing. Then, when he looked down, he saw his weapon. He cautiously picked it up. It was the very blaster he had during the Villain Breakout. He cocked the blaster. It was fully loaded. He started walking around, confused and still slightly dazed. He stopped, closed his eyes and shook his head, clearing his mind, opened them again. He continued looking around and behind him, wondering what was going on.

The Villain Leaders and Researchers along with Anak watched the clueless Hero.

Darkon smiled a wicked grin.

The Leaders were intrigued, wanting to know when the action would hit. The camera view switched to where Project Weapon was, hiding inside a destroyed house, awaiting instructions.

Darkon called the Leaders over a microphone he had. “What do you wish for Decim8r to do?”

The Leaders took a few moments to respond.

Von Nebula suggested, “How about we have it kill the sorry Hero?”

“Or,” Black Phantom said, “We could have the machine capture, injure, but not kill the Hero?”

“I have an idea,” Voltix said. “How about we give all the Heroes a live feed of what’s going on in the Test Chamber right now.”

“I like that one,” Von Nebula said.

“As do I.” Black Phantom replied.

“Very well. We’ll decide as we watch the carnage. We won’t have him killed just yet,” Voltix said.

“Have him captured, for now, don’t kill the Hero yet. Make the Weapon have some fun with it first. We plan to give the Heroes in detainment a live feed of the whole thing.”

“It shall be done.” Darkon said in response. He soon gave the orders to Decim8r.

Stormer heard something in his cell. The TV was coming down. Strange. Then he saw his comrade Nex on the monitor, all alone. All the rest of the Team Alpha Heroes saw their partner on their own screen as well, wondering what this was all about.

To Be Continued in Part 5 

The Alliance, Part 3

Aleck, while waiting in the House, realized he hadn’t heard from any of the ones who had left to place the new radar booster in a while. He headed toward the room where the main communication gear and radar monitor were located. The Stray put in charge of the gear was monitoring the systems suddenly bursted out of the room, colliding with Alek.

Thud. They both hit the ground with a grunt.

“What’s the matter?!” Aleck said, alarmed.

The Stray responded in a loud voice, eyes widened, while the both of them righted themselves. “Something has happened to the team out there!”

“What do you mean?” Aleck said back.

Sheer overheard the conversation. “What’s going on?” She ran toward the two.

“Come!” The other Stray shouted.

The three of them dashed into the Communication room.

Aleck ran to communicator, picked up the microphone and pressed the talk button.

“Hello! Jerin! Callibur! Oran!” He released the button. “Anyone? Give me an answer!”

“Sir, I’ve already tried to talk to -“ The Stray was cut off.

“Let me try!” Sheer said with disparity in her voice.

Aleck handed the mic over to her.

“But -“ He was cut off once again.

“Hey, guys! Can you hear me!?” Sheer said.

When she released the button, static was the only reply.

Sheer and Aleck looked up at the radar screen. No sign of the team’s Square unit was visible.

“Ma-am, I’ve already tried. As soon as the explosion happened, I tried to see if they were okay.”

Sheer and Aleck’s eyes darted towards the Stray who was about to deliver stunning news.

“Explosion?!” Aleck and Sheer said simultaneously.

“Yes! I was watching the monitor when they went off the grid. I called over the com link, but . . .  nothing.”

Aleck and Sheer looked at the monitor.

The Stray hit a key on the board in front of the monitor. “Here’s where they were seen last.”

One blip on the screen showed where they were standing, before an explosion occurred.

“What caused the explosion?” Aleck asked

“Are they still alive?!” Sheer said.

“Well,” the Stray said, “it’s possible their unit may be damaged and that they are still alive.”

“We have to go out and find them, now!” Sheer exclaimed.  “Oh, why did Jerin AND Oran have to go?”

“Jerin did say he wanted to see the final radar dome be put in place, and Oran was the only one who knew how to properly install the system. Plus, Callibur is a Hero, so he wanted to be the security for their mission. But, remember what Jerin said, Sheer.” Aleck said back.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. If something happens, don’t come after them. It would jeopardize The Plan. But, part of the Plan was for Jerin and Oran to be reunited with their families.”

A voice came from the door way, “We mustn’t. I’m very sorry, Sheer.”

All three looked at the doorway. It was Zakor.

“If they are gone, I cannot loose either of you, too.”

His voice began to waiver, “You’re the ones that saved me. If anything, it should have been me with them. I should have gone. Maybe this would not have happened. My advanced senses could probably have prevented something like this from ever happening. Why didn’t I go?”

“Oh, Zakor, come here.” Sheer and Zakor embraced. Aleck bowed his head, trying to take it all in. Trying to find a way to see if his friends were okay. But, he just couldn’t.

BEEP

“Oh no!” the Stray said in front of the monitor. Everyone looked up at the radar monitor.

“Villains! They’re nearing the area our bots were seen last!”

All of them gasped.

--

Darkon got the attention of his crew and motioned for them to come close. “I have a plan! Our next target will be…”

The other villain researchers closed in to hear what Darkon had to say.

“… A real Hero!”

“That sounds wonderful!” one of the Researchers said.

“Astounding, even!” said another.

Not long after this, Darkon presented the results of his first test with Decim8r to the Leaders. He also requested that a real Hero be used next. After a discussion, the Leaders agreed to his request. But, the giant, sinister Villain, Anak would oversee the whole transportation of the Hero and observe the test.

“Also,” the Black Phantom said, just as Anak and Darkon were leaving towards the prison, “provide us with a live feed of the test. I want to see how this creation of yours can handle this situation.” The main reason the Leaders wished to stay in the throne room was for protection, in case the Hero was to escape.

“Yes sir!” Darkon said, and bowed his head. Then, Anak and Darkon left the Throne Room and headed to the prison.

On the way, even though Darkon was intimidated by Anak, he tried to throw out an idea of which Hero they would use for the test, since Anak was given the final say as to which could be used. “How about we use Stormer, or even Furno? I think that would be --“

“No,” Anak replied sternly, never looking at Darkon. “There are plans for those two later.”

“Oh…” Darkon said.

They left the main Castle, and approached the maximum-security prison. It was quite ironic how the Heroes and Villains had changed places in this situation. Darkon couldn’t help but smirk at this fact.

They both remained silent until they reached the prison, then entered the front door. The prison guard who sat at a desk, behind a thick glass wall with a hole in it for speaking, looked up from his computer monitor to ask for clearance for entry to Darkon.

Darkon stepped to the side and said, “Shall this suffice?” and motioned a hand toward Anak. The prison guard looked up, very surprised, and said “Uhh, uhh, yes, of course, my apologies sir. Come right in!” He pressed a button to open the main prison gates. The guards inside the prison immediately stood at attention and saluted as Anak entered. The prison warden did the same and then said, “How may I help you two? Is there anything--”

“We need a Hero for a test,” Anak responded abruptly.

“Very well. I’ll show you all we currently have in custody. Follow me sirs.”

The three Villains entered a room with a computer that monitored every inch of the prison, and the data base of all the detainees was accessible as well. “Is there any Hero you had in mind?” the warden asked as he pulled up the list on the computer monitor.

“Let us take a look at the list,” Anak said, squinting, carefully looking at the list.

“How about Breez, or Nex?” Darkon asked.

“Hmmmm.” Anak paused for a moment.

“We’ll take Nex,” he finally said.

“Right away sir. I’ll alert the Leaders and we’ll have him transported to...?” The warden asked.

Darkon relied with, “The Research Lab’s Testing Chamber.”

--

“Keep me updated,” Barah commanded over the Villain’s com link.

“Yes ma’am.” One of the Searchers responded.

As the smoke began to clear, The Searchers closed in on the blast site.

“How many of those Hunters did you see when blasting?” Barah asked the Villain who shot the rocket.

“At least three. Who knows if more were around here, but were scared off.” He said back.

“That’s what I thought.”

“That would be a good thing too. Those traitors have a reason to be scared! They will pay for this treachery.”

“Precisely!” She paused, and pressed the talk button on her com, peering at the Villains who closed in on the scene. “Anything?”

“No Ma’am. No movement yet.”

“Okay. But, before you approach any further, we will ignite the secondary incendiary portion of the rocket. Whatever is left of those bots will be obliterated!”

She nodded towards the rocket Villain. He pressed a button in his launcher and the blast zone burst into flames. The Searchers near the zone were set aback at the heat from the burst of flames.

“No one will have survived that!” The rocket Villain said, peering through the scope of the launcher to see the extent of the damage.

Dark smoke rose immensely from the raging flames. It raged for a few long moments.

It then came to a stop. Nothing but black scorches of what was once there remained. Not even the rubble was left unscathed.

“Close in to inspect,” Barah said over the Villain’s com links. So, they did. All they could see where scorches, ashes and coals, still glowing with heat.

Nothing much to see, really, one Villain thought.

“I found something!” one of them said.

“What is it?” Barah asked over the com.

“It looks like a piece of armor. Or, what’s left of it, rather.”

“Very good. All of you, continue searching the blast zone and the surrounding area. We will not let those worthless Hunters get away with this treachery! They MUST pay!”

A collective agreement.

 To Be Continued... 

Set Review: Chewbacca

Here is my review over one of Lego's latest Constraction sets. 

Personally, if you can get a hold of the set, I'd recommend buying it. Plus, buying these constraction sets at retail price tells Lego to continue producing them. If they keep making them, they will be able to refine the building system even more, and we get more parts for MOCs and such. If not this one, maybe one of the cheaper sets. 

Well, that's all I have for right now. Hope you like the set review! Have a great day! 

The Alliance, Part 2

The Witch Doctor and the Fire Lord were in the Fire Lord’s chamber, discussing the report they had recently heard.

“Well, I know it wasn’t somebot from my group. We’ve been trying to stay away from the Searchers and Guards,” The Fire Lord said.

“I’ve been doing the same,” the Witch Doctor said. “I’ve been able to get my Quaza from abandoned mines, so I haven’t had any need for interaction with the Leaders. But, if it comes down to it, we might have to strike a deal with the Leaders to give us Quaza and Fuel we both need. I would dread to have to do so, though.” He shook his head.

“Yes,” Fire Lord replied. “But, because of the actions of one gang of Hunters, it may be hard for us to do that.”

“Will this mean Drack may reveal our location to the Leaders?” Witch Doctor asked.

“He had better not. We may be accused for it, and the whole City Guard could be waiting at our back door.” The Fire Lord said.

Just as soon as Fire Lord finished saying that, Drack and Cain arrived at the facility. It didn’t appear that there were other Villains from the Capitol City with them, but nowadays, you never knew.

--

In the Villain Reasearch Labs . . .

The finishing touches were added to the prototype robot named “Decim8r”, the first model from Project: Weapon.

Darkon rubbed his hands together, grinning, staring at his and his teams’ new creation.

“Magnificent!” Darkon exclaimed. “Let us take it to the new testing chamber!” he then said, referring to the recently made Test Chamber, something similar to the Training Spheres the Heroes once used some time ago.

--

Someone from The House shouted over the com link, "Oran, Jerin, Callibur, can you hear me?!" 

No response. 

"Helllloooo!" They shouted. 

The Stray who was calling let go of the talk button. 

Still, nothing. 

“Are you all okay?”

The buzzing of static.

He began to panic, and dashed out of the room.

--

Brey sat in the cold dark lair where Ahaz decided he and the Hunter gang would stay for the night. 

Ahaz thought to himself, as he stared at the frightened Stray, "I've just toyed with and killed all the Heroes and Stays I've ever found. Maybe I should do something else with this. . . Bray."

He decided to let Brey know what he was thinking.

"I think I've found something for you to do for me," he said with a wicked grin. 

The Stray reluctantly replied, with wide eyes, "like, what?"

Ahaz continued smiling and tilted his head toward the Stray, then said, "Would you like to live?"

Bray's eyes bounced around, his discomfort very evident, "Uhh, yes?"

Bray cocked his head slightly, turning away from Ahaz, while his eyes remained on him.

In his mind he thought, "What kind of question is that? Why such a question now?" Other thoughts whirled in his mind also. 

Ahaz didn't speak for a moment, for he was devising a plan as he spoke. 

"How about this one? Would you like to be free from those cuffs?" 

Bray looked down at his shackled hands, then looked back up. "Yes… I would."

"Excellent! The boy has chosen wisely, my friends," Ahaz said to his gang. "Gather around, all of you. I have a plan! " He waved his arms, signaling for all to come close.

--

Decim8r was inside the Training Chamber, hunting down a target. The Chamber was able to generate physical objects for specific training, along with virtual reality. 

  The Researchers deployed the dummy Hero. It had its own artificial intelligence, but nothing compared to an actual Hero. 

The deadly machine crept behind a broken down wall, ready to capture the unsuspecting artificial Hero. 

The Hero/dummy looked around, unaware of Decim8r. As the dummy moved along, the machine was not far behind. 

Soon, the dummy turned around, facing the opposite direction of the machine. It took advantage of the situation. 

Bam! 

The dummy Hero was apprehended. 

"You're coming with me," the menacing bot proclaimed. 

Decim8r, using its powerful arms, knocked out the squirming dummy. 

"Mission success!" the bot said in a creepy, robotic tone.

Darkon and the other Villain Researchers got exited!

Darkon’s eyes widened, then he smirked, because he had just come up with an idea. 

He then said, "Our next target for Decim8r will be. . ."

He paused for suspense. The rest of the Villains in the room anxiously waited for him to continue. 

He opened his mouth to say what it would be.

To Be Continued...

The Alliance, Part 1

The Villain Researcher’s new project, dubbed “Weapon” was in full swing, with a prototype in development, codenamed “Decim8r.” This creepy looking monster of a robot had six arms, an extremity that looked like yet another arm that came over its head, two legs and a weaponized tail. There wasn’t much of a color scheme, since it was still in the development stage. The dark grey and metallic black form looked eerie, especially with its flickering red eyes.

Just as the Villain Leaders had said, Darkon, the head of the Villain Researchers was given any materials he deemed necessary for this undertaking. The reasoning for this project was mostly to create an extremely powerful, intimidating robot capable of hunting down targets and bringing said targets back to the Villains; dead or alive. It was planned for the creation to be tall, armed to the teeth, able to withstand powerful blows to any part of the body and to take down and/or apprehend any subject. The Researchers had hopes that this creation would help them sniff out the Experiment, if it was still alive, roaming the outskirts of the Capitol City, somehow. But, this fact was not revealed to the Villain Leaders. The Leaders had hopes that the completion of Project Weapon would assist in taking down the very Hunters who had killed a squadron of Searchers.

In the end, this… thing… was going to be deadly! Heroes and Strays alike would be extremely lucky to survive an attack from this monstrosity.

--

In response to the death of the Searcher squadron, the Searchers and City Guards were on high alert, deviating from their normal searches from time to time to see if they could catch anyone off guard. This was done by the request of the Leaders. But, this became a concern for the Alliance. They now had to make full use of their Square system, keeping an eye out at all times. They had to be more cautious then they had before. Rumor eventually came around as to why the deviations in patrols came about, and that made Drack, Sheer’s former partner, start fearing a battle might ensue. Drack and his current partner, Cain occasionally spoke about such things. But, for now, there was only one flare between a gang of Hunters and the Searchers.

--

Jerin, Oran and Callibur had just left the Hatch and were heading out to set up a new radar scanner. Oran was able to get the parts needed to build the scanner from a house and a shop quite a ways away from the House. It was a dangerous mission, since it was outside the range of the Square radar scanners. But, Oran and Callibur made it back home safely. A gang of Hunters had been scouring the area the two Alliance members had been in, so they had to be extra cautious. Fortunately, a squad of Searchers was on their regular patrol, and scared them off. The Searchers took off after them, keeping that whole group of Villains distracted while the Stray and Hero picked up what they needed and got back to the Hatch as quickly as they could. Now, they had to take a risk to plant this scanner in an inconspicuous place in order to keep track of the areas surrounding Alliance hideouts. They’d been successful so far. If they’re able to place this last scanner, they would have “eyes” completely surrounding the Hatch and the House, helping them know who was where at all times in those particular areas.

The two Strays were setting up the radar detector under some rubble inside an abandoned garage. One of the other perks of having this scanner was to also keep Villains from detecting the presence of Strays and Heroes. It would not simply jam their machines. That would be far too obvious. No, this would keep the blips of anyone, except other Villains, from showing up on the Villain’s scanner display. A much more strategic way.

Minutes passed, and there seemed to be no Villain presence, according to the Square module Oran was holding. Oran, Jerin and Callibur felt relief in that fact. But, then again, the small module itself didn’t scan as far as the radar domes they had been secretly placing could scan. So, there was still a possibility of a surprise. The three Alliance members knew that the City Guards and Searchers, if they were on their usual patrols, would not be passing by for a little while. But, there was always the possibility of a patrol deviation, because of the recent actions of a Hunter gang. If those Hunters were low enough to have killed other Villains, then who know what atrocities would be done to the Alliance.

“We just have to set up the solar panel to give this baby power,” Oran stated, in a hushed tone. “Then, when this is set up, we’ll be able to track other things, plus have communication abilities as well, since the domes boost radio and radar waves. But, we had better get out of here as soon as I hook it up, and we know it works. Hmm… I feel like someone is lurking around here somewhere…”

His words trailed off as the three looked all around to see if there truly was anyone watching. Oran plugged the solar panel in to the radar dome, which was covered up, and hid the panel as well, but put it in a position where it would not be spotted easily at all. The dome would run from battery power at night and the battery would charge from the solar panel provided by day light.

“Alright. Powering up in 3… 2… 1… Annnnndddd…. There we go! We have power. Let’s get out of here, now.” Oran said.

The Strays and Hero stepped out of the crumbled garage and into the open. Even though they now had the radar hooked up to the Square devices, Jerin still felt a sense of exposure. But, they could never be too careful. Snooping around was still the option Jerin thought best.

“Though we now have the radar, we should remain cautious during our venture to the House. Who knows what might happen.” Jerin said as soon as they stepped out of the garage.

“Wise decision,” Callibur responded.

“Very well then,” Oran also said.

So that’s what they did.

Moments later, Oran looked down at the monitor of the Square in his hand. Red blips began appearing from their rear. A yellow dot, which indicates a projectile, was heading straight for the three of them.

Oran said to himself on the inside, “No, no, no! This isn’t supposed to happen yet!”

Oran stated in an alarmed voice, “Incoming!”

Oran turned around just in time to see a missile heading right for his face. The Hero and other Stray did the same thing.

“AGGHHH!” The three simultaneously shouted.

BOOM!!

Debris was blasted everywhere.

--

Smoke arose from the blasted zone.

“It looks like the target was hit, Ma’am.” A City Guard stated, missile launcher still in his hands, eyes still on where the missile struck.

“Very good. But, you know how those Hunters scatter like frightened creatures. Send in a squad to give me a full report of the damage and to see if we can catch any of those sorry traitors,” Barah, a City Guard commander instructed. Though there were few female Villains in commanding positions, she was seen as one of the cruelest of the Guards. She rarely failed a mission, and was determined to keep it that way. She was quite the strategist as well, depending as little as possible on technologies such as radar to track down her targets. 

“Move it!” Barah commanded.

“Right away, Ma’am!” her underlings said.

The squad of Guards began running towards the targets, thinking they had just blasted away a gang of Hunters.

“The Leaders will be pleased to hear of this victory, Ma’am,” the Villain who launched the missile said, as he rose from his crouched position.

“Indeed they would be!” Barah said, with an evil smile, yellow eyes glimmering.

To Be Continued