Opps.....
After looking over Storm Warnings in responce to someone's Email, I found that
I had misnunbered the Chapters. I had two Chapter Threes, then Chapter Four.
So what I posted as Chapter Four over the weekend is actually Chapter Five.
Below is the real Chapter Four. I will post this, then Chapter Five again, AS
Chapter Five.
Sorry for any confusion......
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Bubble Gum Crisis is copyrighted Artmic Inc. and Youmex, Inc.
Highlander, the specific concepts of Immortality, the characters
of Duncan MacLeod, Amanda, Joe Dawson, and the Hunters are the
property of Rysher Entertainment. I am just borrowing the characters
for a little while, and promise not to bend, fold, or staple them
- unless I can come up with a good reason to do so. I can be
contacted at the Email address above. C&C will be accepted, out
and out flames will result in a Boomer or two being sent
after you.
Please, enjoy my take on the Bubble Gum Crisis universe.....
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Chapter 4
District 2
MegaTokyo, Japan
April 10, 2036
5:29am
Storm stepped to the side to avoid Marder's overhand cut,
and countered with a slash at Marder's front leg. Marder's Katana
flashed down to knock Storm's sword away, but not before the
slash drew blood.
The fight had been close and intense, with both men evenly
matched. Jason had the edge in skill and form. Marder, despite
Jason's insults, had more hard won experience. The result was a
stalemate of the deadliest kind. Neither could afford to make a
mistake now.
The slash Marder had inflicted across Jason's ribs early in
the fight hurt like hell, but it was healing. Marder had taken
some cuts of his own, but they were healing also. Now, they
circled each other, looking for a weakness in the other while
planing their next move.
In the back of his mind, Jason heard the sounds of
helicopters in the distance. The city was beginning to wake, and
it wouldn't be long before the sun came up. The fight couldn't
continue for much longer, at least not here. Despite the relative
isolation of the Badlands, it was fairly flat and surrounded by a
major city. There were plenty of helicopters in MegaTokyo, and
all it would take is one passing close by to spot the combat.
"Thinking about your upcoming death?" taunted Marder.
Jason shook his head, not wanting to waste his breath
speaking. He faked a lunge, then slashed at Marder's face.
Marder's head snapped back, the point of Jason's sword missing
his face by less then a finger's width. He stumbled back two
steps before he regained his balance, but Jason was on him with a
series of controlled cuts that put Marder completely on the
defensive.
The ringing of the swords and the sounds of heavy breathing
was slowly being drowned out by the whine of the approaching
helicopters. Jason risked a glance in the direction, and saw two
large helicopters heading towards them, coming in low and fast.
They would be on them in a matter of seconds.
"We've got trouble," he said to Marder, as he blocked a
thrust from the Englishman.
"I know," replied Marder with a snarl, recovering in time to
block a cut aimed at his ribs. "But I can still take your head
before they arrive."
The large side door of the lead helicopter opened, and
something was dropped, or pushed out into space. As the object
dropped, something flared to life and pushed the object towards
them. <A missile?> thought Jason, as he blocked several more
of Marder's hard cuts <No, too slow.> He dropped to one knee,
and slashed hard at Marder's ankles, forcing the Englishman to jump
back.
He reconized the object when it covered half the distance
between them and the helicopters <A Boomer!> his mind
screamed, as he leapt to his feet. <The Hunters have found
us!>
He reached out with his free hand and grabbed Marder by his
sword wrist. Looking into the other's surprised face, Jason
shouted, "Those are Hunters! They'll kill us as soon as look at
us!" He shoved the other Immortal away and started to run in the
opposite direction, stopping only long enough to reclaim his
backpack with his free hand. Then, with long fluid stride, he ran
off into the darkness.
He heard the sound of a machine gun open up behind him, but
he didn't slow up, and he didn't hear the sounds of bullets
striking near him. After about a minute, he heard the sounds of
thrusters, gradually becoming louder as they come closer to him.
<Sounds like at least two Boomers are chasing me. I can't outrun
them. I'm going to have to fight them, but where?>
A large mountain of junk rose out of the darkness ahead.
Without slowing down, he charged towards it. He slid to a stop in
the dark shadow of the junk heap. A tall chain link fence
separated him from the trash dump, and blocking his escape. There
were other piles of trash, junk, and other refuse beyond the
first, and smelled the gagging fragrance that only rotting
garbage can give off.
He glanced around, shouldered the backpack, and swiftly
climbed over the fence. Dropping lightly on the other side, he
pulled a large handgun from a holster concealed under his duster.
As he checked the cylinder, the words of the salesman echoed in
his mind. "This revolver will take down anyone, be they human
or Boomer," the wizened old man had told him with pride.
He gripped the handcannon in his left hand,
his sword in the right hand. <Now I know how a pirate feels,>
he thought sarcastically, as he listened for the Boomers.
The thrusters had died away in the early morning air, which
meant the Boomers were on the ground. He didn't wait for them
there, but moved farther into the trash dump. He stayed in the
deepest shadows, hoping the surrounding trash would help mask him
from the Boomer's sensors.
For the next ten minutes, it was a cat and mouse game, with
Jason in the role of the mouse. He heard the searching Boomers
occasially as they triggered small trashslides elsewhere in the
dump, but he couldn't pinpoint their exact location in the
darkness. He moved slowly, staying near the base of each trash
mound he passed.
Despite his wariness, the first Boomer he saw almost killed
him. As he made his way between two large mounds of trash,
something exploded out of the trash pile to his right, less the
two meters from him. Startled, his mind had enough time to note
the red glowing eyes and dark blue skin as the BU-55C Boomer
charged him. Storm heard a low hum as the Boomer swung a built-in
vibrosword at his head.
Jason threw himself onto his back, avoiding the deadly
blade. Even as he fell, the pistol in his hand was up and
tracking his target. Just before he hit the trash covered ground,
he fired three times.
All three found their mark. The Cyberdroid's head snapped
back as the bullets struck it. The first bullet struck under the
Boomer's chin and exploded inside its mouth, demolishing the
laser mirror before several fragments struck the main motion
processor and destroyed it. The second shot stuck the Boomer
below the left eye, while the third shot impacted above the right
eye. These two bullets shredded the Boomer's main CPU in less
then a heartbeat. Unable to absorb such damage, the Boomer's head
exploded in a shower of flame and smoke.
Jason didn't bother to make sure the Boomer was down for
good. He rolled to his feet and dashed off into the surrounding
darkness. Speed and distance were more important now then
stealth. The other Boomers would converge on the downed Boomer,
and start a new search from there.
He heard the sound of thrusters behind him, but he didn't
slow down. <It'll be daylight soon,> he thought. <And
unless the Hunters wanted exposure, they going to back off.
They're the ones running out of time...?>
Something told him to duck, and he did so. He felt the back
of his neck get hot and he was slightly dazzled as a blast from a
Boomer's mouth laser passed through the air where his head had
been a second before. <Damm, that was close! Those Boomers
reacted faster then I thought they would?>
He scrambled around a rusting refrigerator and stopped. He
felt his heart pounding, and his breaths came in huge gulps. He
propped his sword next to him, and broke open the cylinder on the
revolver. He quickly removed the three empty shells, and replace
them with fresh rounds. <Now, what am I going to do?>
He glanced around. He looked
up, and a desperate plan formed in his mind.
********** ********** **********
Unknown Location
MegaTokyo, Japan
April 10, 2036
5:39am
"Status!" snapped Hunter One, as she stepped out of the
elevator and into the control room.
Jager One turned. He was a short, thin man with craggy
features. "Wolfhound and Foxhound are at the location. Greyhound
and Bloodhound teams are on standby."
"What is the latest on the ground?" She asked him, sitting
in the command seat in the center of the room.
"Wolfhound has three BU-55Cs in pursuit of Storm. Foxhound
is tracking Marder with a pair of BU-55Cs. No signs that the ADP
is aware of the situation."
"Sir!" shouted a woman manning one of the control boards.
"Wolfhound 2 has been destroyed!"
"What?" roared Jager One. "How?"
"Storm shot it in the head with a heavy caliber pistol."
"What in the hell is he doing armed?"
"Storm isn't stupid," said Hunter One quietly. "Of course he
armed, you fool."
"The Game doesn't allow Immortals to use firearms against
each other."
Hunter One shook her head slowly. "He's not carrying the
pistol to use against other Immortals. He was ready for us."
Jager One turned to another control board. "I'll send
Greyhound in to reinforce Wolfhound. We'll get him."
Hunter One stood slowly. "Countermand that. Greyhound and
Bloodhound are to stand down."
The man's eyes bulged in anger. "We can get him!" One more
team and -"
"NO!" Her voice carried throughout the room, and everyone
turned to look at their leader. She looked at each of them,
making eye contact with each before moving on. "Look at the time,
Jager One," she said calmly. "It is too close to daybreak to take
more risks. We cannot afford the ADP or GENOM knowing of us, or
even suspecting our existence."
She turned to the woman who alerted them to Wolfhound 2's
destruction. "What is the latest on Marder?"
"He's close to the major highway. He'll be clear in three
minutes."
Hunter One nodded. "Recall Foxhound. Alert the network to be
on the lookout for him. What about Storm?"
"Wolfhound 1 and 3 have converged on 2's remains, and are
tracking him now."
"Activate 2's SDU. I don't want to leave anything
identifiable for the ADP."
"SDU activated. Self destruction confirmed."
Hunter One turned to Jager One. "Wolfhound has ten minutes
to eliminate Storm. If they haven't done so, recall them, and
we'll try another time."
"Is that wise?"
Her stare was searing, and Jager One withered under the
gaze. "You're allowing your emotions to over rule your reason,"
she said carefully. "We have to lucky only once. Storm has to
stay lucky, but his luck will run out, sooner or later."
The man nodded. "Ten minutes it is."
********** ********** **********
District 2
MegaTokyo, Japan
April 10, 2036
5:44am
The two BU-55C's cut their thrusters and landed heavily in
the area where their sensors had lost their quarry. They scanned
their surroundings slowly, their sensors sweeping the area with
the precision that only machines have. They advanced slowly
through the trash, their weapons ready to fire as soon as their
target was spotted.
Wolfhound 3 moved off towards the north, while Wolfhound 1
moved west. They had just receive their orders from their
master - if the target cannot be found and elimanated in ten
minutes, about mission, and return to base. Their internal clocks
were set and runing.
Wolfhound 1 stopped at the base of a large trash heap as
it's infrared sensors detected a moving heat source off to its
left. The Boomer's left arm snapped up, its laser tracking the
potental target. As it did so, it compared the heat pattren to
the ones stored in its memeory, and matched it to that of a small
cat. Satified it wasn't the target it was searching for, it lower
the laser and continued its search.
But the distraction was enough. Its seismic sensors felt a
vibration in the ground below its current location. As the
vibrations got louder, it tried to match the pattren to one in
its data banks. As it did so, its sensors detected movement
coming from above its current position.
Wolfhound 1's head snapped up, followed by its laser, but it
was too late. The avalance of trash and other junk smashed into
it. The Boomer managed a single shot with its arm laser before a
old, but solid, refrigarator crashed into it, and knocked it off
its feet. Before it could recover, it was buried under the rain
of refuse.
Though it was submersed under several hundred kilos of
trash, Wolfhound 1's sensors detected a human sliding down the
trash pile, following in the wake of the avalance. It quickly
decided it was hostile, and struggled to free itself from its
entombment. After several seconds of trying, the Boomer managed
to free its right arm, then its head and upper torso.
As it emurged from the refuse, Wolfhound 1 tracked the
rapidly approching target, and opened fire with its arm mounted
laser. Most of the barrage of shots missed, but two grazed the
target's left arm. The target suddenly shifted to the right, and
before the boomer could react, gained the cover of an old wooden
closet thirty meters from the trapped Boomer.
Wolfhound 1 sent a signal to Wolfhound 3, alerting the other
Boomer to the location of their target. As it did so, the trapped
cyberdroid opened its mouth to fire the more powerful laser at
the closet, and the target behind it. A brillant beam of light
shot from the Boomer's mouth and struck the closet.
The closet was old, the wood dry and cracked, and wasn't
much of a shelter. As soon as the laser struck it, the closet
exploded into flames, sending burning pieces of wood in every
direction. The sky lit up with the expanded fireball, and the
stillness was shattered by the thunderclap.
Wolfhound 1's sensors were overwhelmed by the sudden burst
of light and sound, so it failed to imediatly detect the figure
that flung itself through he fireball. Before the Boomer could
react, the figure rolled to a stop three meters away, pointed a
pistol at Wolfhound 1 and fired six shots into its torso and
head.
The heavy caliber bullets punched through the Boomer's
armor, shattering eletronics circuts and destroying internal
systems. In a matter of seconds, Wolfhound 1 was turned into a
pile of junk no different from the refuse it was burried in.
********** ********** **********
Jason closed his eyes as the next wave of pain hit him. He
gripped the now empty pistol tightly, not wanting to take the
chance of dropping it. he thought
grimly.
Between the boomer's lasers and the exploding closet, Jason
figured that maybe fifty per cent of his body was covered with
second and third degree burns. <At least I'm still alive - sort
of,> he thought, staring at the dead Boomer half burried in the
trash avalance he'd started just seconds before.
Only Master Chang's rigorous training over a century and a
quarter save Jason from Wolfhound 3's killing stroke. He heard
the hiss of the vibosword, and he threw himself forward. He
rolled to his feet, ignoring the tidal wave of pain from his
burnt body. He turned and flunged the now useless pistol at the
Boomer, and charged, both his hands gripping his sword.
The Cyberdroid reacted with extreme speed. After missing
with the first cut, it had lunged after Jason. Its left arm was
extended to drive the point of the vibrosword into Jason's chest.
The pistol distracted the Boomer for a fraction of a second, but
that's all Jason needed.
The Boomer's right arm snapped up and out, deflecting the
pistol. In that brief instant, Jason cover the distance between.
He stepped to his right, and avoided the stabbing vibosword by
spining to his left. His sword snapped down, the cut aimed at
Wolfhound 3's right knee.
The Boomer's armor had been designed to withstand lasers,
bullets, and other forms of ranged weaponry. But the joints of a
Boomer, by their very nature, have neither the armor thickness or
the structure to withstand a well placed sword cut. And Jason
Storm was an expert with the sword.
The sword passed through the knee, severing the cyberdroid's
lower leg. As Wolfhound 3 tried to compensate for the sudden loss
of a leg, Jason spun and swept his sword up and through the
Boomer's neck. The neck joint offered as much resistance as the
knee joint had. The Boomer's head jumped off its shoulders, and
fell away. Spurting fluid and sparking from live electrical
wires, the Boomer's body collasped into a heap.
Storm stood there for several seconds, breathing heavily. He
turned slowly and walked away. <What were you waiting for? A
Quicking from a Boomer? Time to move.>
He found the pistol, replaced it in its holster, then went
and picked up his backpack. He glanced at the horizon and smiled
weakly as the sun started to light up. <I'd better get the hell
out of here before the ADP show up. I not sure they'll accept my
reasons for being chased by three Boomers.>
He walked through the trash dump, carefully climbed the
chain linked fence that seperated the dump from the street, and
walked the several blocks to his car. He unlocked it, and got in,
thankful for the tinted windows. He drove away, making good time
on the still deserted highways. He still felt like hell, and his
body was ablaze with pain.
<First, I need a chance to rest, and heal. Then, I need to
find that girl before Marder does. After that, I can concentrate
on the Hunters - assuming they don't find me first. So much for a
simple search and destroy mission....>
********** ********** **********
Unknown Location
MegaTokyo, Japan
April 10, 2036
5:49am
"Check the reading again!" bellowed Jager One. "Wolfhound 1
and 3 couldn't have been destroyed!"
"I have checked the readings again," yelled the woman
monitering Wolfhound. "And thay indicate that both units are off
line! They are not responding to recall commands."
Hunter One said calmly, "Activate 1 and 3's SDU."
"Activating." There was silence for several seconds.
"Wolfhound 1's SDU has activated. Destruction confirmed."
"What about Wolfhound 3?"
The woman turned to look at her superiors, her face ashen.
"Wolfhound 3's SDU is not responding. I am not receving a SDU
destruction confimed signal."
"Try again."
The woman turned back to her control board, and tried again.
"Negative responce, Hunter One. The link with Wolfhound 3 is
definately non functional."
"Then there is nothing more we can do now." Hunter One
turned to Jager One. "Recall all units. I want them away from
there before anyone can find the Boomer's remains."
"What about Wolfhound 3?"
"Alert our agent inside the ADP. When Wolfhound 3 is found,
the ADP will be the ones to retreive and examine the remains. I
want that Boomer back in our hands, or destroyed - ASAP."
"Yes Hunter One."
Hunter One's hard features soften. "Don't blame yourself for
this failure. We knew that Jason Storm was Master Chang's best
student. We just didn't know how good he was. That mistake won't
happen again."
"Yes Hunter One. Are we going to look for Storm now?"
"We can't afford the manpower. Alert the sector leaders to
keep an eye out for him. If we can first narrow down the possible
search area to several blocks, then we can flood the area with
our people. But not until then." She turned and walked to the
elevator. "For now, we wait."
"What about the strikes against the other Immortals in
MegaTokyo?" asked Jager One forcefully. "Do we continue with
them?"
She turned to look at him. "They will be carried out, as
planned. No changes."
Jager One nodded. "Understood."
She entered the elevator, and allowed the doors to close
before she leaned forward and sobbed softly. "We had a chance to
kill two of them, Thomas," She whispered quietly in the empty
elevator. "And we failed. Can you forgive me?"
Only silence answered her.