Chapter 14: Chapter 3
"In other news, the terrorist known as Nightwing has once again destroyed another one of Silph's buildings. As per usual he says its true owner is affiliated with Team Rocket the nefarious criminal organization. However, after many investigations it was discovered to only be a rum..."
"Tch. Is he really a terrorist if he's doing good?" Polaris asks as Harley turns off the T.V.
"Yes, the law is the law. They are doing their best and he is only making their job harder." Harley says.
"But Team Rocket really does own Silph Company. I think they should leave him be. I'd help him myself if I could."
"And why doncha?"
"Because there's this insufferable woman who would try and kill me if I did."
"She sounds like a great woman to me." She says as she sits sideways on his lap with her arms around his neck.
"If only." He tells her with a chuckle. "I'm going to head to bed. Go check on your friend."
"I'll be right up afterwards." She replies getting up and stretching. She walks into the room and looks at the still-unconscious Robin. "Evenin' birdo. how are ya? I'm doing well myself. Huh? Oh Naevia? She's fine. Should be back in Cerulean or somewhere in that area. Yeah, she's still with Agron...". Harley spends about an hour and a half talking to the unconscious boy in bed. Finally, a yawn escapes her lips, and she rubs her eyes. "Okey dokey. Welp, I'm off to bed." She doubles checks all of his stats once more and finally leaves.
SAME TIME 1200 KILOMETERS ABOVE MT. MOON
"Hey, Infinity?"
"Yes, Richard?"
"Tch. Still?"
"Would you prefer Dick? Nightwing? Maybe your alternative Robin, yes?"
"Huuuh. Fine. Whatever works for you." Nightwing sighs as he taps his right middle finger on his starships console. Sometimes he just couldn't with his little AI.
"Thank you, Richard. What was your inquiry?" Infinity asks as she populates in front of him. In her current form, she was 20 centimeters. She glowed an olive green. (her base color was blue, but she didn't like it and reprogrammed herself.) She ran her left middle and index finger through her shoulder-length hair and tucked it behind her left ear. In her right hand was a little digital clipboard complete with paper and pen. She was wearing a crop top, skintight mini skirt, and some thigh thigh-high boots
"How is the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon coming along?"
"Oh that?" The little clipboard transforms into a tablet, and she swipes through it. "Ah, here we go. At its current level we can fire it 206 times off of the S. S. Quinzel's own energy. I estimate 2 more weeks and we can fire as many times as we please as long as we maintain proper maintenance."
"That so?"
"It's so."
"Wanna wait?"
"Honestly, I kind of wanna see it in action myself. Your memories are the only thing I know of it." Infinity answers. This was a reason he loved her. She was truly a smart AI. She was made from his memories so everything he knew, she knew and since she was essentially a direct copy of him, she could also learn (albeit at a significantly faster pace due to her AI origins) on her own accord. And she did.
"Will firing affect the estimated time?"
"Negative... Well technically, yes. By roughly 18 minutes." She corrects herself.
"Very well. Pick a spot with no population within 90 Kilometers." He says swiping a terminal her way.
"OOOOOOH! This is legit." She beams as she transfers herself to the terminal and starts skimming locations. "Found one!"
"That quick?"
"Yes. After roughly 2 weeks of research, I am 34% certain that there is a Team Rocket base approximately 1,000 meters below the water here. Even if it is not one round from the Quinzel at full power will still destroy any base in the area up to 120 kilometers. And as requested the nearest civilian populace issss... 301 kilometers away. Now, re—running the stats one more time for my boo, taking in the water threat and seismic quakes. Max damage is a sudden rise and fall in water level by 13%, not even enough to get past the sand. Also due to the newly installed state-of-the-art Tsunami alert system and distance from the site, no one will be hurt." She says with a smile.
"Very well. Launch whenever you please."
"Yes. Buckle up Richard. We're going full power." She says making a fist and pulling her elbow back.
"System. Brace for impact. Protocol 7/13/22." He says as his chair transforms into a giant chair-shaped shock absorber.
WHIIIIIIIIIIIRL WHIP, WHIP, WHIP, WHIP... THOOM
"Firing."
Just as the mouthpiece to keep him from biting his tongue was placed, there was a deafening roar as the ship leans and lurks backwards. From the front of the ship, a massive 25,000 kg chunk of steel is launched.
"WHOOOOOOOO!" Infinity yells as she flies off the terminal due to not locking her position. After a couple of seconds she repopulates. All the screens on his command follow the projectile.
Then an automated voice from the ship activates. "18 seconds to impact. 10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1."
They watch as the round hits the spot as expected and the giant wall of water is sucked in from the force and then expelled. Luckily Infinity had confirmed there were no ships in the 120-kilometer radius, but if they were... Well, they would be gone now.
"Oh my gosh! You see that! Such beauty!" Infinity is over the moon with her results. Then after about 10 minutes later roughly 25 km from the impact sight, the water turns black. "Oooh, interesting. Zooming in now." She says as the impact reducer for Nightwing continues to de-arm. "OOOH. Looky, looky. Team Rocket members!"
And sure, enough as the video clears up it is indeed Team Rocket bodies being to float to the surface.
"Great job Infinity." He says watching more bodies pop up. Just then an emergency request comes through.
KEEERSH, KER
"... Jenny to all available units... Team Rocket... Viridian... Can't hold out... please... reinfo..."
"Infinity..."
"On it boo." She says triangulating the position. ETA is 3 minutes. Which fighter shall I prepare?"
"Do the X-Wing and the T21 Blaster."
"Oh my. Big boy toy today?"
"Yeah."
"I'm so excited." She says playing with her tablet and then a wall opens, and the gun is displayed.
"Prechecks are all green. Open the bay."
"Roger. The location is about 2km away from the city. Watch your fire yeah?"
"Of course. I'll be careful."
"Okay, make sure you return to me."
"Always." He says with a soft smile. "Launching."
He raises the ship from the ground and slowly pushes it forward and then turning left towards the bay door. After a 5 second warm-up he shoots forward.
"Jenny this is command. Help is 11 minutes away. Please hang on."
"11 minutes!? I've barely survived 2!" POP, POP "Jenny is down as well! I can't even treat her properly!"
"We understand. We are scrambling to the best of our ability. Help is on way."
"FUCK!" POP, POP, POP, POP click "Huh?"
She looks at the locked back slide of her trusty M9 and even more tears fall. "I don't want to die." Tink tink. She looks over the car at what made the sound, and her eyes widen just as it detonates.
BOOOOOM
Crunch roll, roll, roll
"Wheeze, wheeze." She desperately gasped for air. Her body was burning all over. There was a gods-awful ringing in her ears. She couldn't move either. "Please gods, I don't wanna die. If I do at least save Jenny." Her tears roll down her cheeks as she looks back to the car and sees 4 Team Rocket grunts making their way to her. "I guess the gods are on break."
Just as she thought that; even with the ringing, she could hear it. The sharp crack is heard, similar to a jet breaking the sound barrier followed by the audible screams of bodies and cement being ripped apart. It was just a glimpse, but she could have sworn it was an X-Shape jet that strafed the area. However, she knew no one had that kind of aircraft. TINK, TINK, TINK, TINK
A sudden rapid tinking, made her realize her hearing was returning. That's when she noticed a few survivors trying to finish her but there was a dazzling ocean-blue bubble surrounding her. She looked over to her other side and saw a shiny black figure kneeling over Jenny. "Please... leave...her...alone." She whispers and trying to reach out, but her body wouldn't respond.
She watches as he puts a clear mask over her nose and mouth. He then pulls out a small lighter-sized capsule and after tossing it a couple of arms lengths away and small domed bed appears. He picks up Jenny and places her in it. Then he turns his attention to her and she starts to panic.
She desperately tries to force her body to move but it was useless. He places another capsule down and then places a mask over her nose and mouth too. She feels her body lifted off the ground and helplessly lets him place her in the container.
TSSS
She inhales deeply as an ice-cold mist covers her. Then her pain starts to subside.
"Don't worry. You're going to be okay. Nanobots are working on you." The man says standing over her then picking up a big round-looking gun she had never seen before and turns towards the grunts. The grunts (now about 10 or so) were all spraying the now-cracking bubble shield.
A glass dome then covers her. She was so happy, she had been patiently waiting to make it through all the shooting, debating' whether or not she could even weather the storm. As she lay in the container, she could feel the little stings from the nanobots as they were operating to save her, it was like an angel came to her sent from the heavens above.
Then she saw the shield shatter and when it did the faint rapid pews of the mans machine filled her ears. She watched as he made about 4 or 5 left to right motions while lightly swinging the gun. He flinched a few times obviously getting hit by some rounds. But by his last sway, everyone seemed to be dead or dying. Then he gave himself a satisfied nod and turned back to her.
"Ah, I'm tired now." She thinks to herself looking away.
Dink, dink. She looks over in annoyance at the man as he tapped her window. "Your people won't be able to save your friend. You two are coming with me." Then the low rumble followed by the tremendous shaking caught her attention. Up above her was a giant arrowhead-shaped ship. The front tip was cutout like a rectangle.
She heard the faint whirling as a circular triangular ship with wings at about 45 degrees pointed downward and two ball-like gun turrets lands a couple of meters away. "That's the Low Altitude Assault Transport or LAAT for short. It's from one of my favourite movies." Her eyes look over the man one more time as he begins to push her towards it. "Ah, I'm tired. I don't care." After that final thought, she closes her eyes and lets the darkness take her.
"Two days after massive underwater explosion roughly 300 kilometers off the coast of Trainer Tower an investigation has finally revealed that it was actually from a Team Rocket base malfunction. Authorities are still baffled by how this happened as it seems there were absolutely no survivors to question."
"That's tragic." Beast Boy says chewing his thumbnail.
"Villains get what villains deserve." Raven agrees.
"Isn't that a little harsh?" Dawn asks looking at the two.
"Not really. This isn't even newsworthy where we're from." Cyborg answers.
"Indeed. Only the most heinous of crimes are newsworthy in Jump City." Starfire adds and Dawn can stare at them shocked.
"Wow. I wonder what Ash and them, would think about that." Dawns says to herself. "Then again, Misty did say that Ash had a new secret job and has kinda gotten darker."
"Speaking of where we're from. Isn't it like crazy we've been here for almost 2 years and haven't aged or anything?" Beast Boy asks to no one in particular.
"What are you talking about?" Raven asks looking at him like he's more dumb than normal.
"Nah, nah Rach, he got a point. Now that I'm looking at my own diagnostics, they all are still from my last Jump City update. But my most current update from last week has replaced it.
"Impossible." Raven says thinking it over. "But then again time does differ depending on where you are from. My own home world has slow time so maybe this is just a really slowed-down version of that."
"Dawn, does one age here?"
"SHE JUST STRAIGHT ASKED!" The three all think in unison as Starfire just blatantly asks Dawn.
"Huh? I'm not sure really. Like we do start out as babies obviously but once we hit 10 we kind of just stop. Then we venture out on our own and kind of just... go with the flow. Sometimes people age sometimes people don't." Dawn tells them as she thinks back on it herself.
"So... How old are you?" Raven asks as she goes into the fridge and picks up a jug of pinap juice.
"Oh I'm …."
CRASH
"Hey guys! Doesn't that look like a Star Destroyer?" Beast Boy yells from the back porch.
"What's that?" Dawn asks as they all step out and look at where he is pointing.
"By golly it is." Cyborg confirms after zooming in with his robotic eye. "It's like the name implies. A ship capable of destroying stars. Oh, this is exciting. This is dope!"
"Idiots." Raven mumbles while looking down and rubbing the bridge of her nose as the two males get excited.
"Do you not find it interesting Raven?" Starfire asks looking at her friend.
"It is. But at the end of the day it's basically just a oversized plane." Raven answers and Beast Boy and Cyborg stare at her in disbelief.
"Blasphemy." Beast Boy gasps.
"Blasphemy indeed." Cyborg agrees.
"Hey Volcano." Comes the light whisper through the earpiece.
"Yeah?"
"I got 6 tangos to the right. Lightly armed. Should I dispose of them?"
"Can you avoid?"
"Negative."
"Roger. Do what you must. Remember Forest, no alarms."
"Understood."