Bug hunter
Part 1: God of war
He sat in the back of a smoky bar in the middle of some small village in
a South American jungle. It was a crude and disgusting establishment
complete with old and decrepit bar whores. His finger slowly rubbed at a
water stain on the sloppily varnished tabletop. His appointment was late,
not unusual really; but he found himself growing more impatient by the
moment. He adjusted his dirty and torn camouflage uniform idly and
shifted again frowning at the prostitute at the bar who tried in vain to
gain his attention. She muttered something under her breath in her native
language and he snorted in disgust. Then his appointment waltzed through
the door.
He was a strong looking bearded man with two armed guards standing
firmly on either side of him; both armed with M-16 rifles. All three of
the men were dressed in camouflage that was slightly different from the
man waiting for them. It was darker and closer to the jungle climate
around them. He waltzed over to the table without stopping and smiled as
he sat.
"You're late," growled the man who had waited patiently.
"Come now Curtis, you know how it goes; for all I know you were sent to
find me," replied the man with a shrug. His guards kept their guns
pointed towards the other man.
"I don't work for anyone but me anymore," was the reply.
"Ah, but I don't know that. You know how it is commander; my business is
dangerous and I can't afford to take chances," said the burly man as he
leaned back in his chair casually.
"You have what I want?" asked Curtis with a strange smile.
"It's going to cost quite a bit; but I can easily acquire it from my
contacts with the old Soviet Republic," said the man. "Honestly though
Commander Curtis; I never figured you for a deserter."
"Stow it Hardaway. I don't need to explain things to the likes of you,"
growled the man. "Don't think I didn't try this with my command. They
were a bit uncooperative to say the least, I dealt with them rather
messily," growled the man casually.
"I understand your whole Unit is now a rather hot commodity with the US
Government," said Hardaway with a smile. The two men at his side raised
their rifles to a firing position and smirked at the man.
The man leaned forward into the light and frowned. "You're trying to
double cross me?"
"Of course, you understand Curtis; Its business. I like the new look by
the way, the military must have really slackened up on the hairstyle,"
said Hardaway with a smile.
"Fool, Curtis is dead," said the man with a smile. His hair was standing
up straight in a rather odd, and yet strangely familiar, style that rose
about a foot over his head.
"Of course he is, won't it be a surprise when they find you delivered to
them alive and kicking?" laughed Hardaway roughly as he leaned forward
with a vicious look on his face.
"Good bye Hardaway," said the man as he raised his hand and pointed his
palm towards Hardaway's face. A white bolt of energy formed and blasted
the poor man point blank; it all happened in a split second and the men
gasped as they tried to react. Their target seemed to vanish and they
glanced around the bar nervously as they backed towards the door. They
never made it as the man appeared between them and grabbed them by their
shoulders. Both men dropped their guns and screamed in pain as he
squeezed and broke both of their shoulders easily; with that he dropped
them on the ground and turned towards the door. He stopped and faced the
prostitute at the bar and shot his hand forward before any of the shocked
patrons could react. He walked on with her larynx in his hand and idly
tossed it over his shoulder. She fell to the ground dead after a few
moments of gagging and the man smiled.
"Nobody calls me gay," he snorted. He glanced at the remains of
Hardaway's head as it sat just beside the door and squat down beside it.
"Curtis is dead Hardaway, you can call me Vegita now," he said with an
evil chuckle. With that he waltzed out into the jungle with his tail
wagging slowly behind him.
A few moments later he met a tall figure in the shadows. "Did you get
it?" asked the man.
"He tried to double cross me; we'll have to buy directly," answered
Vegita.
"Do we really need them?" asked the man as he kicked at the dirt in
slight frustration.
"No, on our own any one of us could cause more destruction; but they'll
listen much harder if we have some," said Vegita.
"I don't like it, seems like too much trouble for something like this. I
mean, why can't we just go in and destroy a city or something?" said the
man angrily.
"Calm down Nappa. We'll get our chance; someone will resist. We might
lose the support of some of the others if we try to just attack. Sooner
or later we'll rule this place," said Vegita as the tall bald man walked
out into the light finally.
"I don't trust some of them. The Saffron and Herb units are trustworthy,
but what about Kagato and Bison? Even Sagat and Ryoga might betray us;
and the rouge units, Ryu and Morrigan worry me too," growled Nappa.
"Don't worry, soon we'll have the good Doctor in our possession; with
the Washu unit in place they can't betray us," said Vegita calmly.
"All right, but I still won't be satisfied until we have him," said
Nappa reluctantly.
"Come on, isn't all this power worth it?" asked Vegita in a joking tone.
"Sure, but I miss my hair," answered Nappa as he followed Vegita and
disappeared into the foliage.
It was two a.m. in the morning and twenty-year old John Stockton was not
a happy person. His brown hair was messed up badly and his face was
unshaven; it was obvious he had just been awoken a short time ago. He had
been dragged out of bed and forced to come by some oversized brutes in
military uniforms. "Could someone tell me why I'm here?" he asked lazily
as they handed him a cup of obviously watered down coffee.
"Just follow me sir," said one of the soldiers. John reluctantly
complied and staggered after the man down a long hallway.
They ended up in a dark room with various strategic planning boards and
computer consoles. Standing in the center of the room was a military
officer of some sort. John was too tired and cranky to care at the moment
what his rank was.
"Look there's a reason I never joined the army; so I could sleep in
every day of my life if I wanted. Tell me why I've been kidnapped so I
can say no and go home," he muttered angrily.
"It's good to see he picked such a stand up citizen," said the man
sarcastically.
"Whatever, why am I here?" repeated John.
"We have a little problem, it seems an old friend of yours has requested
some assistance; are you familiar with the Cyntech system?" asked the man
John had now Identified as a Captain.
"Maybe, why?"
"Do you know a Carl Markson?" asked the Captain.
"Yea, we where best friends in high school," said John warily.
"Do you know what Cyntech is?"
"Yea, it's something we talked a lot about back then, kind of like a
fake nervous system; S' been a dream of his for a long time. Why? Did he
get it working or something?"
"Excellent, then I suppose you played a part in the system after all,"
said the man as he turned towards one of the screens.
John was confused but didn't say so. He and Carl had been friends a long
time. He knew he was trying to design something like that and that he was
an important doctor for some tech firm in California. He kept quiet
because he knew if Carl had lied to these men about his involvement it
would be important.
"A few weeks ago several of our experimental soldiers escaped during the
testing phase of the Cyntech bug. They where wearing the units when it
happened. They've gone AWOL and have not been heard from since; that is
until last week. Two of them where reported in South America near Panama,
they were trying to buy nuclear warheads. Fortunately the deal went sour
and the arms dealers were killed. There are ten units missing now," said
the man calmly. Several photos of soldiers were shown on the screen, most
of them male.
"Where is Curtis?" asked John, as his condition seemed to improve almost
instantly.
"We'll take you down to him. I only pray to god that you'll find a way
to stop these things," said the Captain.
John was lead down a long corridor and given some anti-static clothing.
The hallway was brightly lit and extremely white; at the end were a pair
of swinging doors that lead to a darkened lab where a single person sat.
It was obvious that many people had worked in the lab; most had long
since gone home. The man turned and smiled at John warmly as he was left
alone with him.
"Who the hell?" stammered John in confusion.
"Hello John it's been a while hasn't it?" said Curtis as he stood from
the stool he had been sitting on and walked over to his old friend with
his arm extended.
"Curtis?" stammered the thoroughly confused man.
"So what's it like seeing someone standing on his own two legs for the
first time?" asked Curtis dryly.
"How?!!" stammered John in complete shock. He knew Curtis had been in a
wheelchair since he was three years old. There was no way he could be
walking around like he was.
"This is what Cyntech was originally for, unfortunately I modified the
technology for a few extras and got the militaries attention. That's how
this whole mess started," said the man with a sigh.
"You got it working?" whispered John hoarsely as he grabbed his old
friend roughly by the arm.
"It's a long story and I want you to hear it so sit down," said Curtis
as he slapped John on the back. He felt as if a bee had stung him.
"Jeezus!" exclaimed the man as he almost jumped out of his seat.
"I'm sorry; I had to do it; I just need someone I can trust on this one
John, that's why I did it," he said apologetically.
"That's why I was woke up at one a.m.?" grumbled John as he rubbed at
the strange bump on his back.
"No, that was for what I just did," said Curtis with a sigh.
John screamed in pain as he heard a beep and felt something tear through
his flesh and bone starting from where John had slapped him. His heart
was torn apart and stopped completely sending him in to cardiac arrest.
He writhed on the floor as his neck was ripped apart on the inside and
his air passageways and lungs were completely shredded. Finally his hands
were stiffened as if someone had slammed a car door on them and shattered
the bone completely.
"I know it hurts but it'll stop in a few moments," said Curtis to the
unhearing John. The man had stopped moving and lay on the floor silently.
He awoke a few minutes later on a couch in the hallway he had passed
through on the way to the labs. Curtis was sitting beside him and
frowning. The Commander was with them and he did not look happy.
"What's this all about, he wasn't actually one of the developers was he?"
growled the Lt. Kernel.
"I needed someone I could trust on this. I'm sorry but the unit can't be
retrieved without killing him and destroying it," said Curtis angrily.
"Are you saying my men can't be trusted?!!" cried the Commander
indignantly.
"It was your men who stole the units Commander," replied Curtis calmly.
"I remind you that the units are my property and I am a civilian. It was
your blunder that caused this. Those units were untested and deemed unfit
for use. They were experimental and meant for the animal test. A human
would have had a different program slate."
The Commander turned and faced John angrily. "It seems your man is
awake. Congratulations son, you've been drafted... Specialist. Your lucky
I managed to get you that since your basically being shanghaied."
"The units I installed were programmed to take orders from him before
they were implanted Commander. It was my call," said Curtis with an
arrogant smirk.
"We'll discuss this later Curtis," said the Commander with a scowl
appearing on his face.
"No we won't; he has knowledge about those units no one else on your
team has, I tested them about it earlier. Without him your team would be
slaughtered, plus we have two rouge units out there that could go either
way; besides that, the programming is locked in after installation. It
can't be changed by anyone; not even me, it's a safety feature; That's
why we have to stop Vegita," said Curtis angrily.
"What the hell is going on here?" said John after a moment.
"Two years ago I created the Cyntech system as a way to walk. That's all
it was. Then I discovered something called a Callaway battery. It's a
self generating energy capacitor, it has the same power as a nuclear
power plant and is roughly the size of a dollar bill; the best part is it
has a half life of about ten thousand years. I incorporated it into the
system and discovered that it wasn't really a battery at all, but a
material that creates a constant and incredible energy field around it
that can be manipulated by the mind of the subject by direct contact with
the electrodes in the brain. I used the programming to limit it somewhat
but it's still highly volatile stuff," said Curtis as he sat next to John
in the hallway. He sighed and glanced at the Commander nervously. "I had
ten units for animal testing, and I got creative with the programming.
They system was created to have a direct link with the human brain and
take commands directly from there. I decided to see if I could implant
personality traits with it as well during the animal testing phase; I had
several chimps ready when the military decided to visit me."
John frowned and said nothing as he listened, "I don't like the way this
is going."
"It worked like this, the unit is placed on your back near the base of
the spine. It works like a parasite in 'the puppet masters' Tendrils move
through your nervous system and all around your body. They take over
central systems and create a synthetic system of nerves. It's hard to
describe, but on the end of each tendril is a tiny piece of the metal we
use in the Callaway batteries. It acts as a relay to the main battery and
creates the field," explained the man as John sat uncomfortably on the
bench.
"Sounds like you created a Molediver unit to me." John rubbed the sore
spot on his back tenderly and glared at his old friend.
"Basically, but it reacts with your nervous system directly and last
longer than ten minutes or so."
"That's dangerous isn't it? What if something goes wrong?"
"I might have become more paralyzed?" answered Curtis calmly.
"Or dead," said John angrily.
"Well, I didn't die so I got a big government grant and put off the
testing for a while so I could develop extra features. You won't believe
the amount of stuff I've got in these things; the very best and latest in
micro technology was incorporated. I'm still unsure how they found out
about the program to begin with; probably the university told them.
Unfortunately they jumped the gun and used implants I had originally
intended for the animals on test soldiers," said Curtis as he hung his
head in shame.
"What happened?" said John as a slow comprehending look formed on his
face.
"The soldiers slowly took on the personalities of the programming. It
was messy when they finally decided to leave. A lot of men died trying to
stop them," the poor man looked completely pale as he said this.
"What did you do Curtis?" asked John angrily as he grabbed the man by
his coat and shook him. The commander stood and watched silently nearby.
"I used the personalities of Dragon ball, Ranma, Darkstalkers, and
Streetfighter. It was never intended for use on humans! It was sort of a
private joke for when I had the monkeys!" said Curtis with a pathetic
whine. "They have all the powers of the real thing thanks to the Callaway
energy system."
Something registered in John's mind and he dropped Curtis on the floor.
"What did you do to me?" he asked lamely.
"You've been implanted with the Goku System. It's the most advanced one
I've built. We're counting on you to stop them," said Curtis as he stood
shakily.
"I'll have your head for this when this is all over Curtis. I didn't
authorize any of this," growled the Kernel half-heartedly from his
corner.
"It won't matter in the end, the Saiyan units are programmed to destroy
or take over the planet. Most of the other units have at least one of the
same directives. They'll probably try to double cross each other so his
job is less difficult than it seems," said Curtis calmly.
"Why?" asked John with a haunted look on his face, he was still in mild
shock.
"Because I know you well, you haven't changed since high school; I can
see that much now. I can trust you, your familiar with the powers, and
you know the stories and personalities behind all the units. It won't
take over your body, but it will give you little nuances and personality
quirks behind the character programmed into the unit," said Curtis calmly
as he turned away from his friend.
"Am I dreaming?" wondered John out loud.
"You'll wish you where, your opponents are trained military
professionals son. They'll be out for blood," said the Commander curtly.
"I have to make a report, I'll see you later," he said to Curtis as he
turned away and left them alone.
"Why not just make another Unit? Enough to just overpower them; without
the personalities?" asked John.
"The material behind the Callaway batteries is difficult to synthesize;
it'll takes five years to create more. Besides they can't understand the
programming I had to use to work with the brain. Even their best minds
and super computers will take years to completely understand it," said
Curtis proudly.
"Yea, right. There goes that ego of yours," said John a little bitterly.
"John listen carefully. They need me and they know it. If the units
break down I am the only man who can repair them; it will be that way for
twenty years at least. You have a distinct advantage as long as you have
me around. I wanted you because I know you can help protect me," said
Curtis with a little fear in his voice.
"Curtis, I don't feel any different," said John honestly.
"I know, you have to train the unit. That's our biggest disadvantage,
they have experience with the units that we don't," said his friend a
little reluctantly.
"Train?" said John unhappily.
"All the powers aren't available immediately, it's another safety
feature. You learn them one at a time and the more you use them the more
powerful they become," said Curtis with a small cough.
"Oh I get it, this was supposed to be a part of your little monkey game
wasn't it?" said John smugly.
"Yea," answered the man as he led John down the hallway. They rounded a
corner and John stopped cold as he turned. He felt something brush up
against the wall behind him and turned to see a three foot long tail
wagging slowly behind him.
"How close to the real thing are these units of yours?" asked John
nervously.
"You won't change if that's what you mean. We experimented with changing
forms in the Ranma unit, it was never completed. She's the only one who
actually changes, her and the Herb unit."
"She?" asked John cautiously.
"Yes, they gave the unit to a woman. You'll meet her; she's one of the
few units who remained loyal. Her and the Musaki unit," said Curtis with
a smile. "The change is physically painful, rather like what you felt
when if first happened. So you can imagine how she feels about it. It's
why I abandoned the morphing process completely."
"Bummer." said John. He wasn't sure what to say at the moment. "I
suppose it's lucky she didn't turn into a lesbian with that unit."
"How did you know she didn't?" asked Curtis.
"Because that would have been the first thing out of your mouth if she
did you pervert," said John with a smirk.
"Touch�," said Curtis with a small laugh. "I'm glad you have accepted
this."
"Accepted what? Every Otaku's dream?" snorted John playfully.
"It could become a nightmare John, I'm sorry I had to involve you," said
Curtis solemnly. "Come in I'll introduce you to the others."
"Why do you keep calling them by their 'Unit name'?" asked John.
"That's the way they want it, I imagine you'll start calling yourself
'Son Goku' in a few hours," said Curtis.
"Hours?" said John in surprise.
"Yes, it's that quick. You'll even start to look like him a bit," said
Curtis with a chuckle. "I was kind enough not to program the hair into
that unit though."
"Gee...thanks." said John sarcastically.
TBC...
I've finally classed this, it's a reverse self-insertion. Instead of the
author's personality being placed into the characters. I had the
characters implanted on my world!
Neat idea Huh?
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com