Post by Leukocyte on Mar 7, 2015 22:20:58 GMT
Bio-Android Leukocyte! Go forth!
Blue Banner Compound
11:32 AM
Aged and wrinkled hands picked the paper from the desk, and Doctor Arthur Eisenstern frowned at the trend in the data. He’d known his son had been getting antsy, too much energy and not enough outlets. Before now, though, he’d guessed the root cause had been, in not scientifically accurate but metaphorically valid terms, adolescence. Data from the sensor arrays he’d installed painted another picture, one where the conditioning was starting to peter out in overall effectiveness. Making the most of that accelerated maturation had been rewarding beyond projections.
Once things settled, though, data fell in line with “normal” expectations. It simply wasn’t as challenging anymore, wasn’t as difficult. Arthur frowned, putting the data down and tried to put aside the trepidation crawling in his gut. This point was not just inevitable, they’d been planning for it since the start. But that had been when he was still gene splicing and cooking test cultures, it was another matter entirely to watch your son march to war. Preparations had already been made, one phone call was all it would take and they’d be ready in the morning tomorrow. First, however, Luke needed to be properly informed.
On the outskirts of the compound was the doctors living dome. It was a medium sized prefabricated building like every other, its only distinguishing features being his things moved in and the occupants themselves. Opening the front with a clank of cheap hinges, he realized the interior was completely pitch black. Folding his arms, and in his best stern professor voice, he called out “Leukocyte, this isn’t the time for games.”
In the darkness, an insectile form slithered and dropped into the light. Pearlescent white plating gleamed in the light streaming from the window. Limbs just a bit too long to be human, a crest of bony horns and no face to speak of, only ridged plates. Even standing bent, it met most men easily foot for foot. Arthur threw up the lightswitch, throwing the room in full lighting. The bio-android drew his height up… and sighed.
“Awww.” Leucocyte, or Luke, whined. “I found a good hiding spot, too.”
“Luke, we need to talk. I just finished looking and its… time. Time for you to fulfill the purpose I created you for. When I began this, perhaps I didn't fully understand the ramifications of what it would mean. To create life, then set it upon a road without simple consent. Your destiny was decided before you were born, to be a protector of the earth -“
“Dad, I don’t mean to be rude here, but I am TOTALLY down with that!” Luke pumped his fists, entirely too upbeat for a man-bug.
Arthur blinked. “Not even… a little resentful?”
“Hey, I’m one of the people living on this planet, right? Besides, this basically makes me like Kamen Rider. Only way that could be sweeter is if I had a giant robot made of other, smaller, robots.”
With the remorseful and resigned air of meeting destiny fists first and his speech utterly derailed, Doctor Arthur Eisenstern stalled a moment. Not exactly a common occurrence for someone with degrees in high level physics, biology and technology. Then he took out a paper from his coat pocket. “These papers will authorize you to join the Blue Banners. Despite their predecessors actions, I believe them to be a force for the better. With your skills and ki powers, you would be assigned to KAOS squad.”
“Oh, they even have a cool name!”
“Each one is a formidable combatant, and entrusted with wide operating freedom. Work with them, and you will learn a great deal. I cannot say whom you will work with, or doing what. Operational security, and their means of work, prevent me from giving any foresight. I am only certain that you will make me pr-“ Arthur turned to look his adoptive son in the eye… and only saw an empty kitchen area. Not far, the front door hung open and wide.
“I am not having any more children after this.”
City, Craters Landing
11:38 AM
“This may actually be the best day ever.”
Luke had never been in the city before now. Watching movies, looking at pictures or listening to the news simply did not compare to the real thing. Someone must have set up a food stand, because he could smell salted meat on the breeze, tangy and strong. Even the buildings were a treat. The newest ones were definitely built off the same design template, definite Capsule Corp work. Some had been done in different styles, though, by different architects and with different materials.
A cry from afar caught his attention as he was looking at a flyer. A child, no older than ten, in the park. In the tree he could see a diamond shape of blue and white, tailed with string. Too high up for the poor kid to climb up, from the look of it. A surge of power, though, and he was over and just high enough to pick the object from the branches. Easing down, he handed the kite back to its owner. Naturally, the child could only look perplexed at the creature who was assuredly not any known lifeform he might have been familiar with.
Which was when he noticed the other people staring.
At first, he assumed it was just the kids parents. Then looking up a bit, he saw more people had completely stopped in their tracks. In fact, the entire park was deathly quiet. One man, pouring a drink, had soaked the table under his cup. And far off, back their? That looked like a police officer having a panic attack.
“Um. Hi?”
Which started everyone to screaming. It started with the people closer, and spread like a wave. One person, to the next, to the next in a cascade of bewilderment. In fact, the only one to not join in was the child still holding his kite and an expression of total confusion.
“Guess the whole world wasn’t ready for me line wasn’t totally off the mark.”
Orbit, High
11:40 AM
Light burned out of the dark side of the moon. Four spheroid craft, one in the front and three behind. Skimming close to the lunar surface, they were practically invisible to traditional sensor arrays. They shot past the early warning satellites, coasting on the slingshot effect. In less than a minute, they were burning into the stratosphere, aligned to their target.
Craters Landing
11:41 AM
Lightning crossed Luke’s brain, lighting up his sixth sense like never before. It was like smelling blood and tasting hate at the same time. Ki was more than a convenient power source, it was an extension of the soul and the character of a person. All he could feel was cruelty coming from the sky.
With a flash, and a rush of air, Luke took to the sky. Slowly, but surely, the screaming in the park petered down, like a small dying rodent. In the quiet that followed, a low boom heralded the space pods above travelling past the sound barrier. Finally, the child piped up. “I didn’t know Kamen Rider could fly.”
Unclaimed land, near Landings Forest
11:48AM
Smoke rose from the crater, dirt settling toward the bottom of the new pit. Hydraulics pushed, and the fronts of each pod opened wide. From each crater came a warrior. Clad in armor, fierce in manner and each bearing a tail. The first was a man, wide and short with a shaven head. The second was a woman, hair worn in a mohawk. Third was a tall man, covered in scars. Last out of his pod was a man, more balanced in stature, with messy hair.
“Well, we’re here. What now, Boss?” Shorty grunted.
“Now, we find the Dragonballs. If the stories are true, their are seven across this planet.” The messy haired man tapped his scouter. It beeped back, still taking in new geographic data.
“What, you mean we don’t know where they are?” Scars started, shoulders raising. “You mean we’ll have to comb every inch of this planet before we even know if these stories are even true?”
“We’ll just find some locals. Not like the earthlings haven’t been looking for them, right?” Mohawk folded her arms.
“Quiet.” Boss snapped. “We have a visitor incoming. No doubt a human come t-“
Which is when a white-armored bug-man came to an abrupt landing in front of them.
The saiyan leader froze on the spot. What is this alien thing? It looked like a dozen different things smashed together into one unrecognizable mess. Definitely not human, though, which meant he had nothing on them. Nothing except sheer crass confidence.
“Ah, you must be the diplomatic escort! You’re late! Now, take us to your leadership and-“
“No.” Luke flatly denied.
“What?”
“No. You came in unannounced, in undeclared craft. If you were expecting an escort, you wouldn’t need to guess who it is. Plus, if you were legitimate, you could have landed at an actual port of landing instead of a random field outside of town.”
The leaders jaw seized in boiling indignation.
“So… how did you think that was gonna work?”
The boss narrowed his eyes. “Get him.”
At once, all three of the warriors dashed forward. It was a storm of kicks and punches, a wall of offense that threatened to trample anything that got caught in it. Luke backpedalled, just angling away enough of the assault to keep going. They were simply everywhere, giving him no room to attack himself from this angle. If they kept it up, they would wear him down eventually and just overwhelm.
Luke launched back with a burst of ki flight and, as the three saiyans rushed to fill the gap, he jumped forward. Landing on the short ones head, he launched off, the force to send him flying also enough to slam shorty into the dirt. Ground rushed beneath him, then dipped, and he landed on one of the saiyans pods. Scars and Mohawk leaped in after him and swung for his legs. Launching up again, Luke threw a ki blast for the pod and punctured the minimal armor plating with ease. The fuel tank burst and detonated, shrapnel and fire concussing anything standing close. Like two saiyans.
Scars flew up, bleeding from where the hot shrapnel had sliced into him. His scouter hadn’t been as lucky, the force alone having shattered the pane of the optic. Without a means to sense energy, he peered close, attempting to find the insectile warrior. “You think its that easy to kill a saiyan?!” Scars called out.
From the smoke below, a blur shot out and swiftly punted the saiyan higher. As he tumbled, unable to course-correct, Luke focused. Ki crackled and flowed, electrifying his hands, his feet. With a cry, he launched above and came down at Scars like a righteous meteor.
“Bio-Kick!”
In an instant, Leukocyte was through, and the ki detonated. Fire lit the sky, a great clap thundering the air. Nothing smaller than chunks of armor fell from the ruin and the smoke, hissing against the dirt.
“Well, look at that.” Boss groused. “One less load to share the miracle of the Dragon with. How will I ever go on.”
Vengeful roars cut in, and Luke turned. Hurtling toward him at top speed were Mohawk and Shorty. Shorty still had an impressive red mark on his face, but Mohawk had powered through the detonation of the pod without heed to the cuts. With only two pairs of fists, Luke had a room to breathe in their assault. Shorty didn’t have much reach, so he just had to pivot and angle nearer to Mohawk to make him work the more, giving him another second. Enough to give back some hits, slugging Mohawk hard in the ribs and kicking Shorty in the head as he tried closing the gap yet again.
Growing frustrated, both saiyans took a space back and close range blasted with ki. In the moment Luke brought his arms up to tank the hits, both warriors lunged and struck at once. Luke was sent sailing, spiraling wildly in the air. Eager for the kill and desperate for an opening, both flew in for the follow through.
Clockwise, Luke thought. He just had to “fly” clockwise, just enough force to overcome inertia. With a surge, his flight suddenly came to a complete halt. Just before both saiyans could stop themselves, he spun and snapped out with both legs. The split kick had both his force, and the saiyans flying right into it. Both ricocheted wildly, with Shorty getting his bearings first. With a shout, he fired a thin beam of light at Luke. Coating his arm in energy, Luke drew back and swung, redirecting the beam directly at Mohawk. As she fell crashing to the earth, Luke charged Shorty, driving him back with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. An overhead kick sent Luke back on solid ground, landing hard enough on his feet to force him to his knees. Shorty pressed the attack, hammering at raised arms and chest armor.
Luke circled an arm around one of Shorty’s punches, flipping over his head and bringing the captive wrist with it. A swift kick to the back of one knee buckled his support, planting it kept it their. Grabbing the other arm as Shorty thrashed, he put his free foot on the base of his back. Then he pulled both arms and shoved as hard as he could with his foot. With a wet snap, Shorty’s spine gave in.
“Bastard!” Came a shout and before he could catch his breath, Luke was sent on his back. Above him, Mohawk was throttling at full speed. Drawing in both legs, Luke pushed out and flipped, righting himself and throwing Mohawk at a solid line of trees. She bounced back, though, the force of the energy turning an oak into a cloud of splinters. A hammer strike sunk Luke in the dirt to the waist. Grabbing hold of both horns, she slammed her head into Luke’s bony brow. And again. And again. He could feel the exoskeleton begin to crack, fragmenting under her brutality.
He had only so many options, and so many things to focus on. With his vision blurring from the bludgeoning, he aimed for the one thing he could always see: Her head. Lukes hands grabbed hold of both sides of her head as she pulled back for another hit. His palms glowed a moment before unleashing a blast of power. At close range, from both sides of her skull, she never stood a chance. Mohawk’s head was pulverized.
Mohawks decapitated body fell back and Luke took the second to breathe without his lungs being hammered. He pulled himself from the dirt, the soil powdering around his grip as he tried to get a good footing. Then a shadow crossed him, blocking the noontime sun. The saiyan leader stood on the rise above him.
“Not bad, bug man. Not many beings can say they killed a saiyan warrior.” Boss folded his arms, looking down on him literally and metaphorically.
“You do realize I just killed your allies? I think that’d be a setback of some kind.” Luke pointed out. “Why not fight with them, you know?”
“When I found what I’d wanted, I’d have had to kill them anyways. All you did was save me the trouble, insect.”
“Seriously, how do you guys function?”
Energy burst his body, and Luke could feel the saiyans power rising above his underlings. “The strongest rule the weak! Those who cannot enforce their will are allowed none!” He rose to the air, energy balling in his fists. “Allow me to demonstrate saiyan supremacy in action!”
Both hands fired, twin beams of energy slicing in to the earth. Luke sped right, narrowly dodging what was an oversized ki blade. Undeterred, the saiyan simply turned the beam, churning the earth as his aim chased Luke as he bobbed and weaved, keeping ahead by not letting him get a straight angle and just swipe. Soon what was once a meadow had been carved into deep trenches and massive furrows.
Luke rolled, taking him over the tree line and beyond the saiyans sight. Flying over them to correct this, the saiyan lashed out in reflex as something came hurtling for him. In the moment his arm slammed it aside, he recognized it as a tree. In the same, he saw the young creature coming in for the momentary opening in his guard. A heavy punch hit him square in the jaw, loosening teeth.
With Luke too close to charge up another beam barrage, the saiyan was forced to return in melee. They both threw punches, shot out kicks and more. They jockeyed for position, angling and trying to make an opening. When Luke went low, the saiyan went high.
With a burst of speed, he rammed into Luke, sending them into the ground hard enough to splinter it. For a moment, dirt rained from the impact. Then the saiyan stood to full, and walked away from the carnage.
“Now, with that out of the way, I have one less thing in my way. Soon, now, I shall have what I came for. Then, I shall become the most powerful of all. Those who once mocked me won’t laugh anym-“
“Who are you talking to?”
He turned, and from the fissure stood Leukocyte. His armor was cracked, and blood ran freely from the splintered plates and the flesh beneath. But his will was unbroken, and he lowered into a combat stance. “Seriously, for someone so casual about losing your friends, you seem really lonely.”
With a roar, the fight was back on and with just as much fervor. But despite everything, Luke was managing to land solid hits as they traded blows. The saiyan was simply too angry, too focused on striking down his opponent to care much for evasion. Though after a successive kick to the gut and a rain of blows across the face, he realized he was being pushed back. It was time for another trick.
Making another rush, both warriors began to close in for another clash. Then, all of a sudden, the saiyan disappeared into thin air. Before Luke could think, a blow from behind sent him tumbling, rolling across the dirt. Rolling with the blow, he came to his feet just in time to catch another set of hits from the saiyan. With a cry, he kicked out and the saiyan disappeared again. Another blow from behind sent him flying. Once was an instance. Twice was a coincidence. Three times was a pattern, but somehow Luke didn’t think he’d have to wait that long.
Standing his ground, Luke braced for another attack. He didn’t have to feint being weak enough to slow down his ability to dodge. He watched, waited as the saiyan careened in, and then vanished from sight. Now was the time to strike.
“Bio-Kick!”
Turning sharply on his heel, he brought his foot in a reverse round house kick. Ki and kinetic force struck the saiyan with crushing force in unison, sending him flying back. He boggled, completely baffled as to what had happened. The saiyan looked up, seeing the creature walking toward him.
“How? How did you counter me so easily?!”
“Kinda easy when your pattern is so obvious. You always attack from behind.”
With one last desperate effort, the saiyan charged. Both combatants pulled back a fist, ready to finish the battle with one climactic strike. They swung at the same time, mirrors of each other as they struck. But Luke angled his face in, the saiyans fist just missing by a hair, snapping the one horn as it passed.
“Bio-Punch!”
Energy rushed forward, then out, and exploded. Fist met skull, and the skull lost. Meat and bone turned to nothing, annihilated in shining force. The last saiyan warrior staggered back, one step, then another and collapsed. Lukes chest heaved as he waited before he finally allowed himself to believe it was over. Adrenaline began to peter out of his system, and for a moment he just felt shaky.
Arthurs grip on the wheel was white knuckled and trembling as he drove the truck up the road. The battle had, apparently, just ceased going by the lack of ki blasts and explosions. He crested the hill, and beheld a torn and ruined landscape. Smoke wafted from furrows and rifts and the smell of burning grass choked his nose. Stopping the engine, he jumped out, ignoring the spacepod and the truck of soldiers that had insisted on coming with.
“Luke! Luke, where are you?”
From the smoke, a figure lurched into view. It bled freely, armored carapace cracked and bent from the battle before. Still, their was no mistaking Leukocyte. He waved weakly, his other hand held at his side. It felt a little too much like something had cracked. “You would not believe the afternoon I just had.”
Arthur went to his side and took Lukes good arm around his shoulder. Luke stumbled a second before managing to recover. His legs felt like jelly and virtually everything ached at this point, but the fight was over. Arther led Luke to the truck while the soldiers secured the area.
“Confirmed, three working order Saiyan pods.” One soldier said over the radio. “I know some people in R&D whose day would be made with one of these to play with. Some of these parts you just can’t find.” The soldier turned to her fellows. “Call in a chopper with a hook, and we can haul these home.”
Luke collapsed back into the seat, and just thought it would be amazing if he didn’t have to do much more than nap the rest of the day. Arthur got into the driver seat and started the engine. “Don’t worry, son. We’ll get you home and have you patched up by the morning, good as new.”
“Is it always so… interesting out here?” Luke groaned.
“You haven’t seen anything quite yet.”
“Awesome.”