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---Several Hours Later---
James screeches the car to a stop just outside Indiana First national bank. He exits the car,but leaves it running,instructing Tony and Lizzie to remain inside,that he will only be a moment. James walks into the bank and up to the tellers window,a small relief that no one else was in the bank at the time. Just as he begins to inquire about his account,out of the corner of his eye,he sees a man walk into the bank. Dressed in a floor-length blood red duster buttoned up the front,with spiked up bleach-blond hair,orange sunglasses,and with his left arm wrapped in dark brown leather,the man was a strange sight to see in such a place. James ignores his presence and continues speaking with the teller,until the man says something.
“Are you...James White?”
James gets a bad feeling,knowing that he hadn't been in his home town for more than fifteen years. He slowly turns around,answering the man as he does.
“Who wants to know?”
The man looks at him,his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses,face a mask of indifference.
“James White,you are instructed to come with me. Do not put up a fight. If you do not come quietly,I will be forced to cause you great injury.”
James raises an eyebrow at this comment. The man didn't look like much,in fact,he looked plain goofy,hardly as if he'd be able to even defend himself against James.
“Look,I'm just trying to get some money out of my account,leave me alone,okay pal?”
The man takes off his sunglasses,sliding them into a jacket pocket,before responding.
“I am not your pal,now,Mr. White,please,come with me. I do not wish to harm you.”
James immediately recognizes the face under the glasses,having fought beside it for many years.
“Jeff? What are you doing here?”
The man quickly whips out a Mateba AutoRevolver and aims it at James' head,a questioning look on his face.
“You know my name. For the final time,I beseech you,come with me,do not cause trouble. You will not like the results if you do.”
James stares at the gun,not recognizing the model. Must be new. Knowing that his armor will stop any sort of bullet,James begins to formulate a plan.
“Chill man,just chill. Okay,I'll come quietly,lets go.”
Jeff motions for James to head towards the door with his gun,and James obeys,exiting the bank,with Jeff hot on his heels. As soon as the two of them are out of the bank,James whips around to face Jeff and knocks the gun out of his hands. James grabs Jeff's wrist and attempts to toss him,only to have Jeff slip out of his grip,twist behind him,and grab James' neck in a choke hold. As Jeff squeezes tighter and tighter,he speaks to James again.
“I told you you wouldn't like the results.”
James is able to squeeze out a single sentence in response.
“Kiss my ass!”
James elbows Jeff in the gut several times,finally forcing him to break the choke hold. James rips his clothing off,revealing his Yautja armor underneath. He fishes his mask out of his bag and clamps it into place,quickly activating it. He extends his right wrist blades and slashes at Jeff,who simply raises his arm. The blades clang onto his arm and stops,hitting metal,sparks flying from the contact points. James,confused,is knocked backwards by a boot from Jeff. Jeff quickly unbuttons his coat,throwing it off to the side,revealing a suit of armor resembling James; own,but looking less alien. Jeff slips a mask onto his face,locking it in as well. Instead of an alien face,his mask is styled like a metal hockey mask,minus the holes. The mask covers his head completely,and is without dreadlocks. Its eyes light up red,and Jeff extends two sets of wrist blades,similar to James' own.
At a speed James could never hope to reach,Jeff lunges forwards,slashing at James with his blades. James attempts to block the attack with his own blades,extending his left blades as he does,only to have Jeff's blades slice through his own like a hot knife through butter. James dodges another slash from Jeff,finally able to grab his PlasmaCaster pistol. He aims it at Jeff and fires. The plasma shot speeds towards Jeff,only to be slapped aside as if it were made of paper. The plasma shot slams into the wall of the bank,blowing a massive hole in the side of it. James' PlasmaCaster begins to beep,signaling that it must recharge. Knowing it was now useless to him,James tosses it aside,resorting to his old shotgun,which he removes from his back. He takes aim,and fires two shells at Jeff. The two shots slam into Jeff's armor and ricochet off,slamming into the side of the car Lizzy and Tony were still in,watching the fight,both fearing for James' safety,wondering who the man was attacking him,and where he had acquired the armor.
James tosses his shotgun aside after seeing that it cant damage his armor. James fires three shurikens at him,only to have them sliced into pieces by Jeff's blades. Now out of weapons,James is forced to use his last ditch option. He removes the nuclear device from his wrist,punching in the necessary combination to activate it,and watches as it begins to count down. He hurls it at Jeff,who catches it,after retracting his blades. He looks down at it,before hurling it at the ground. He slams his boot on it,crushing it flat as a pancake,stopping the explosion sequence.
“You are out of weapons. I advise you to give up,while you can still breath.”
In response,James rushes forwards and throws a punch at Jeff,who catches James' fist in his hand. Jeff slams his leftover fist against James' mask,knocking it off of him,ripping the circuitry attaching it to the armor to shreds. He keeps hold of James' fist and again slams his fist into James' torso,caving in the armor there. He continues on in this fashion,until James' armor is nearly destroyed. He releases James' fist and kicks his boot into the concaved portion of James' armor,sending him flying backwards,slamming into the side of the car James drove there,nearly knocking it onto its side. The impact nearly shatters James' spine and knocks him unconscious.
Jeff removes his mask,storing it within his armor. He picks his coat up from the ground and puts it back on,buttoning it back up to hide his armor. He removes his sunglasses and puts them on,before picking his revolver up from where James knocked it. He holsters the gun inside his jacket,before walking up to James' body. Just as he reaches for him,Jeff feels the cold of a gun barrel against his head. He turns around and finds that Lizzie has gotten out of the car and has the barrel of her Longshot Rifle in his face. Off to her left,he sees that Tony has expanded his armor and is prepared to fight him. Jeff quickly knocks the gun out of his face and chops Lizzie in the neck,instantly knocking her out cold. Tony rushes forwards and slams his fist against Jeff's face. Jeff stumbles a bit,before knocking Tony back with a boot. Jeff whips out his revolver and fires a single shot at Tony. The bullet rips through Tony's armor,cutting into his right shoulder,knocking him against the bank wall. Jeff aims the gun at his head.
“Retract your armor,or you and the girl die.”
Tony quickly obeys,retracting his armor,allowing his blood to trickle from the wound,staining the sidewalk. Tony,with his face growing more pale by the second,questions Jeff's motives.
“What do you want from us?
“I tried to get him to come peacefully,but he wouldn't have it. I'm taking him to the White House,the President would like to speak with him. If you are so inclined,you are allowed to return with us. If not,you may stay here,and I will not kill you,I give you my word.”
Tony doesn't even have to think about his answer,he knew it as soon as Jeff said it.
“We're coming with you,no way we're leaving James with you people again.”
“Very well. Get in the car.”
As Tony walks past Jeff,Jeff slams the butt of his gun into the back of Tony's head,knocking him out as well. Unconscious people were much easier to deal with. Jeff piles the three bodies into the car,James in the passenger seat,Lizzie and Tony in the back. He climbs into the drivers side and pulls out a cell phone. He pushes a number and the phone dials a number. After a few rings,a southern voice answers the phone.
“You have him?”
“Of course.”
“Did he put up a fight?”
“Of course.”
“I knew he would. Bring him to me.”
“Very well.”
Jeff closes the phone,putting it back in his pocket,before starting the car. He pulls away from the bank,which is still smoking from the plasma blast.
---Several Hours Later---
With the group of four almost to the White House,Lizzie and Tony have awoken,due to the severity of his injuries,James has yet to wake,though his limbs and head move sporadically,his eyelids flicker,signifying that he is dreaming.
---Dream World---
Darkness all around him. Pain,lots of pain. Nothing new there. Suddenly,light,everywhere. James shields his eyes from the harsh light. Once his eyes focus themselves,he looks around,finding himself back in his hallucination world. More precisely,he is back at the night Sarah was killed. He can see The Joker taunting himself,as well as Sarah. He sees Joker fire the rod that kills her. He tries to stop it this time,but his hand passes through the rod with ease,like he was a ghost. He sees his other self run to help her,watches her die in his arms. He watches as his other self kills the Joker,knowing that none of this was real,while at the same time thinking that it felt real enough. Maybe he would rather be here,in a world where he had family,rather than in a world that condemned him to a life in an insane asylum.
---Real World---
With James' movements growing more erratic by the minute,Jeff speeds the car up,a few minutes later,he pulls into the White House driveway,stopping as he reaches the front door. Two men dressed in black suits and dark sunglasses,both a part of the Secret Service,rush to assist them. They pull James' body out of the car and carry him between them,one with his legs,the other under his shoulders. They carry him into the White House,straight into the Oval Office. They set him down on the Presidential Seal and leave the room,just as Jeff,Lizzie,and Tony enter it,shutting the door behind them. Tony and Lizzie take a seat in two chairs off to the side,while Jeff stands near one of the walls. President Bush looks down at James' body,which is still twitching every few seconds.
“You really beat the hell out of him. We need him awake for this,by the looks of it,we'll have to fix him up first.”
He presses a button on a nearby intercom and a sharp BUZZ reverberates through the building. A few seconds later,a man walks into the room,dressed in the white lab coat of a Doctor. He is carrying a single black case. He kneels down next to James and opens the case,removing a syringe with a nearly black liquid in it. He stabs the needle into James' neck and pushes the plunger,slowly injecting the liquid into James' system. He removes the needle and stows it back in the bag,staring down at James,apparently waiting for something. After a few seconds,James' numerous injuries begin to fade away,leaving only streaks of blood where there were previously gaping wounds. The doctor removes the broken pieces of armor,leaving James in black pants and a black sleeveless shirt. After all of James' wounds are finished healing,the doctor slaps him a few times,attempting to wake him up,but to no avail.
“Must be the Soleon still in his system. Hes still trapped in his hallucinations. Inject him with some Lunareon,that should flush it out. Everyone be prepared for a very angry person when he wakes up. The Lunareon will restore his memories of everything and everyone,while erasing the memories he created in his own mind.”
The doctor removes another syringe from his bag,this one filled with a deep purple liquid. He stabs the needle into James' neck and injects him with the Lunareon. Mere seconds after the needle is removed,James' eyes flash open. He jumps up and looks around,eyes wild.
“Bathrooms through that door,near Lincolns head.”
James nods in thanks and rushes towards Lincolns head. He throws the door open and,seconds later,violent retching an be heard. This goes on for minutes,cleaning the system out of a years worth of Soleon is a rough process.
“He'll be fine. Soleon roots itself deep within the bloodstream. This is the only way to clear it all out,besides a full on blood transfusion. If my timing is right,he'll be walking through that door feeling one of two ways: He'll either be relieved,happy that his memory has been restored and that he is no longer being plagued by hallucinations,or he'll be extremely pissed off bout how things unfolded.”
While everyone is waiting for James,Tony motions for the doctor. About a mile away from the Bank,Tony had been able to stop his wound from bleeding,but only temporarily. The doctor sees the bullet wound,as well as the exit wound,and pulls out a needle full of the same black liquid he injected James with. He injects this liquid into Tony via his neck,and,a few seconds later,the hole closes up,leaving only a light,nearly invisible,scar behind.
A few minutes later,James wearily walks through the door,nearly drained of all his energy due to the process. He sits down on the last chair in the room,leaning his head back against the wall,his eyes closed. As his brain begins to assimilate his newly recovered memories,a wave of understanding washes over him. The aliens weren't the creatures from DOOM,his mind had warped them into something familiar. Tony want Tony Stark,Iron Man,he was Anthony Starch,German scientist. His armor was made up of a body suit used primarily for giving paraplegics and amputees their movement back,he had just added body armor and a few weapons. His own armor wasn't Yautja based,he had encountered one of the aliens who had dissented from the group. It had given him a suit of armor that even they were afraid to use. It was all clear to him now,none of the amazing creatures or people he met existed. He tries to recall another memory from his hallucinations,but finds that he is unable to remember anything after his attack on the White House. He tries to remember how the aliens were able to take hold so easily,and when he does,his eyes flash open,his face contorts in anger and he dives over Georges desk,lifts him out of his chair,and slams him against the wall,holding him off the ground by his jacket.
“You gave us to them! I should kill you where you stand!”
Instead of killing him,James releases him and walks out from behind the desk. He walks around the office for a few seconds,before kicking Lincolns head,shattering the plaster,leaving only a pile of rubble and some dust. James finally regains his composure and now looks back at The President.
“Why did you have him bring me here?”
George straightens his jacket and sits back down,before answering.
“I had him bring you here because you must not reveal to anyone what happened in the past. If they found out,chaos would ensue.”
“People are smart,they could handle it.”
“No,a person is smart,people are dumb,panicky animals and you know it.”
After a moment of silence,James begrudgingly agrees.
“Good point. So now what? You gonna try and stick me and Lizzie back in the crazy house? Thats your plan,Ive got some news for you,it ain't gonna happen. You can get your little warped version of my old friend here to try and kick my ass again,but I don't care,no matter what you do,I will not be going back to the insane asylum.”
'I never planned to send you back there. It would be useless now that you've developed an immunity to most of the effects of the Soleon. You know,if it hadn't been for me,you'd still be trapped within your own mind,seeing who knows what kind of things. You should be grateful I didn't leave you to die like that. The current plan for you is to go on living your life. As long as you don't attempt to inform people about the true events,we will have no problem. If you do,however,you will be dealt with,as will your friends,remaining family,and whoever you informed.”
“Look here,I'm still gonna tell people. They have a right to know. If you don't like it,you do what you have to do,and I'll do what I have to do,but for right now,we're leaving.”
As James makes for the door,Jeff stops him. James tries to push past him,only to have Jeff spin him around,kick him in the back,grab hold of his neck,and run him back to Georges desk. Jeff slams James' head down on the desk,narrowly missing a miniature flagpole as he does. Jeff holds James in place,a questioning look aimed at George.
“I'm sorry James,but you brought this on yourself. Remove him from my office,take the other two with you. Take them somewhere nice and quiet. Kill them,then leave the bodies. Make it look like He killed the other two. We should be able to cover this up as three escapes from the insane asylum that turned on each other.”
As Jeff begins to lead James out of the room,now restraining his arms,a massive shadow is cast over the White House. George looks out his window and sees a ship,one that reminded him of the past. Suddenly ,a television screen in the wall flashes on,and the face of a grotesque alien appears on it.It begins to speak in an incomprehensible language,made up of screeches and clicks. At the bottom of the screen,its words are translated to English. Everyone reads them,wondering just what was going on.
“ We attempted to make our takeover mostly peaceful,but you were able to kill our convoy. We do not take kindly to losing. You will be given the chance to bow down to your new overlords,you may even live to be our pets. Do not resist,or your planet will be destroyed. Send out the one known as James White. As our defeater,we wish to destroy him first. You have two minutes until we begin destruction.”
“Oh good,the aliens are back. You still wanna kill me? I think you're gonna need all the help you can get.”
George motions for Jeff to release him,and he does.
“Thats better. Since Jiffy here tore up my armor,I'll need a new set,and weapons,lots and lots of weapons. I don't think we have that kind of time though,we need a way to stall them.”
“I'll go. I feel like I've known you for years,I couldn't place it,until now. When that face came up on that screen,everything came flooding back. I remember killing beside you,i remember it all now. I think its the least I could do,after nearly killing you.”
“Bout damn time you remember. You go kick some more ass,I'm gonna get me some weapons.”
Jeff & James leave the room,with Jeff heading towards the front door,and James being led to the weapons room by one of the guys from the Secret Service. As Jeff leaves the White House,James enters the room. Following instructions,James steps into a pod that stretches from the floor to the ceiling. It closes around him and fills up with a thick blue smoke. He inhales the smoke,feeling its effects immediately. It enhances his every attribute 5 fold. He starts to feel like he had done this before,but dismissed it,not recalling a time when it happened. A red light begins to wash over him,scanning his size and dimensions. The machine informs him that the process will take ten minutes to complete,and that he must hold still for it to work properly.
---Outside---
Jeff has made his way outside and is now awaiting whatever the aliens had planned. The ship hovers over the building,before it lowers a platform. A door slides open,revealing the alien he saw on the screen before. It walks down the ramp,stopping about thirty feet from Jeff. It sizes him up,before speaking,in English,thanks to a translation device.
“You are not the one called James. Be gone! We demand James!”
Jeff removes his revolver from its holster,before removing his jacket altogether. He powers up his armor,locking the mask into place,before responding.
“You'll have to deal with me first!”
Jeff fires off the six shots his pistol holds,hoping to end things quickly. The alien creature raises its right arm and the bullets bounce off of a plate of rusted armor. The alien raises the massive gun it carries,its fingers,more than even inches long,curl around the trigger. It fires off a bust of green goo at Jeff. He dodges the goo,watching as it splashes against the ground,which immediately begins to smoke. Seconds later,there is a smoking crater where the grass formerly was. Jeff tosses his revolver aside and extends his wrist blades,before charging the alien. He slashes and hacks at it,but his shots are blocked every time. The alien tosses its gun aside,before catching the two sets of blades in its hands. It crushes the blades together,before snapping them in half entirely. It tosses the broken blades down,before sending a double fisted punch into Jeff's gut,knocking him backwards a few feet. Jeff regains his balance and charges the creature yet again,this time,however,the creature disappears from view,forcing Jeff to skid to a stop,lest he slam into the ships ramp. The creature reappears behind Jeff,gun in-hand. It fires off a burst of the goo. This time,it connects with Jeff,slamming into the back of his armor. It quickly eats through it. Jeff attempts to rip his armor off,but its too late. The goo begins to dissolve his skin,eating away flesh and muscle,until finally,just seconds later,he is nothing but a pile of bones,stained blood red in some spots. The alien creature turns towards the White House,now intent on searching it for James. A shout from behind it causes it to look to the side.
“HEY! I'm over here you ugly son of a bitch! Come get some!”
It sees James dressed in similar armor to Jeff,though,unlike Jeff's,James' armor is laden with dozens of weapons,each one more deadly than the last. James puts up his hands,balling them into fists,preparing to avenge Jeff's death. The alien creature raises its gun,at the same time,James grabs one of the many guns from his arsenal,leveling it at the alien. The two of them fire,James' gun shooting a burst of red flames,the alien shooting the green goo.
Edited by Coca Cola King, 31 August 2008 - 05:08 PM.
