CHAPTER 7

Alarms blared off all of a sudden around the Sinister Six base. Tim who actually was sleeping on duty awoke quickly and rose to his feet. IRA was already on the case.

"Sorry I let you sleep. But you needed it man!" IRA said trying to yell over the alarm blaring off. Tim did not respond however but moved to the Sinister Six's security defense room. Andon was already there.

"We've got an intruder for the first time Tim!" Andon spoke with mouth wide open and wide worry filled eyes. Although The Six had had villains raid their base before, but nothing to this extent.

The base shuddered as Thunderman crashed through all the Six's defenses. For some reason the automated weapons refused to respond! Thunderman was determined to get to his goal. To right those who have wronged. The automatic phasers shaped out, and the rest of the security system short circuited.

"The intruder must be an electric type." Andon quoted. "Cause I used my abilities to get them going. Only another electric controller could shut them down." He had finished.

"Thunderman..." The three of them bellowed with worry. But how did he find their base...and worst of all. How did he find his way through the Castle. It didn't add up.

Before the Sinister Six could think more on the issue the lights had gone out and the entire fortress had suffered a black out.

The Mechs gathered into the common room and expressed a lot of worry. "What the hell's goin' on!" Yelled out Hadrian. "What the hell happened to your security system!"

"It's been knocked out." Andon came in shining the room with his fists of electric blaze. Sparkman as well lit his arms and they glowed with electricity.

Fireman's stove top head could be seen easily along with it reflecting off Jason's scissors and Lennon's body armor.

"Well, looks like we all are okay." Tim said. "Thunderman is trying to breach into the base soo..." He was interrupted by Magnetman.

"Who..?" Said the little red guy. "Who's Thunderman?"

The six raised their shoulders in question. "We donno, but we do know that he's very intelligent. Due to the fact that he found his way in here." Tim concluded.

Seconds later a crash was heard a few rooms down. The members crowded together in a large pile of robotic mold and walked together to the next room. The entire palace was dark. Sparkman, Fireman, and Elecman were the only ones illuminating the way. Scott stood close to Tim as Hadrian followed from behind. The crew made their way slowly into the next room. And then they saw a large flash of light being shot straight at them.

The group quickly split apart as the blast hit them and separated them in all directions. "Shit! He already found us!" Shouted a fallen Mech. Another blast came shortly after the first. Hitting the first darkened figure Thunderman saw. Unfortunately it was Magnetman who was weak against electric attacks. He fell to the floor knocked out.

"Crap! I can't see a blasted thing!" Yelled another voice. Separated and frightened, the crews were left at a disadvantage. Clearly Thunderman could see with his electric and glowing golden armor.

Another blast came and missed the third intended target. It had destroyed a piece of wooden furniture. "You're paying for that you home wrecker!" Shouted out Tim in the darkness.

Silence followed shortly after but not a moment later another electric blast came. Only this time on the other side of the room. A yell was heard as it hit head on and knocked the person through the wall and into the next room. The voice sounded like Snakeman's.

"Damn! He's whipping us good!" Jason blurted out. Which was a mistake. He quickly heard another blast. And it was coming right at him. He jumped as he felt the electric snapping up at him from below his feet. It had blown up the sofa in which he hid behind.

Jason turned and fired a Rolling Cutter into the darkness. The source of the blast. It tour into something metallic and he heard a grunt. He had hoped he didn't hurt a fellow friend.

"Nice shot....Jason." Said the voice with a nasty snarl and stern. Jason heard him pull the blade out from something. He knew he had hit home.

Before Jason could respond he heard a large thumping sound coming from Thunderman's right and yet another grunt let off as it sounded like two bodies had hit the floor. Gutsman was able to sneak up behind the warrior and tackle him to the ground. Hardman helped as Thunderman couldn't suppress both their strengths. He attempted to shock Hadrian, but thanks to his reinforced armor, he only laughed at the attempt. The other Mechs and S6 members joined in on the fray.

Fireman's flame lit as Jason saw the Mechs and Sinister Six Members working together to subdue Thunderman. He was greatly outnumbered and overpowered. . With the Mechs help they were able to subdue their intruder and tie him up.

"I would have won if these clowns weren't here." Thunderman waved off angrily towards the five Mechanical Manic members. It was true. The golden clad armored cretin didn't expect there to be help for the Sinister Six. So the odds of him winning were indeed against him. Though not all the Mechs were present. Gauntlet was still gone. Needlegal still down. But another was missing.

Clearly Topman was missing from them, but they all figured he was still soured up in his room.

Gutsman wanted answers as he loomed over the hog tied Thunderman. "Who are you and how do you know who we are!?" He jolted face to face with the maniac who had recognized them at the restaurant some time ago.

"How do you know where we live and how to breach our base!" Jolted out Andon shortly after. Andon had perfected the Sinister Six Security System for ages. He had hand tested the system himself. Nobody could have learned how to penetrate it.

The Sinister Six minus Iceman surrounded the lug. They wanted answers. Thunderman was indeed to smart for his own good. It made The Six quiver at the sheer luck the villain has had with them. It's almost like he was 2 steps ahead of them every time!

"And how is it you know all our moves in advance..." Jason spoke. Jason had thought about the entire problem. "Penetrated Sinister Six Head Quarters. Able to tell them apart! Even in their civilian outfits! Knew all their weaknesses and attacks like the back of his hand." Then he pieced it all together. He didn't believe it at first...but only one person could know this much knowledge of the Sinister Six.

Knowing their identities, knowing all their moves, knowing how to access their base. Only a Sinister Six member would know this information.

"Edward..." Jason mouthed off suddenly. Grabbing everyone's attention in the Mess hall. Even the Mechs who didn't know Edward head on was surprised. They had heard about him before.

"Yeah! It's me!" The mask around the body of Thunderman faded off and what took place after that struck fear and horror in the occupants of the room. A blond haired teenager's face took the place of Thunderman's mask.

It was indeed Edward.

****************************************

The system continued working without a master. Electricity snapped, And another Neo Dragoon Clone was spat into a capsule. Nearly six thousand Neo Dragoon Clones sat with heads down. Claws extended out. Floating in a green liquid that gave them life and purpose. Anticipating their next battle assault. Waiting to be awaken to wreak havoc on the Earth.

Iceman couldn't stand to watch this 'Army of Darkness' being created right before his eyes. The Megaman world would not stand a chance against nasty warriors like these. Especially since the original Neo Dragoon was Magma Dragoon's son! A Maverick 100 years in the future! Even though Gary was close friends with Magma Dragoon (Ben), he knew what power he could unleash. And it was anything far beyond this time era could ever dream up. Red's army would be invincible.

Iceman eye struck knew what he had to do. Stop this process before it was too late. Another twenty Neo Dragoon's or so were created in a blink of an eye as Iceman started to head for the master control program. "Crap! These things move at lightning speeds!" He crabbed about the speed of the machines. "Red's Army will be ready within hours!" He yelped. It was a shame he didn't find out about this earlier and he could have stopped it before these clones had mass reproduced.

Gary attempted at the Master Control Program. "If I can destroy this, then the clones should stop reproducing madly like this." He said silently to himself as he pulled out a sharp Ice Pick from his hands. "THIS ENDS NOW!" He yelled out as he attempted to stab the machine with the iced over shrapnel.

Two claws immediately lashed out and latched upon both of Iceman's hands. Iceman was pulled back by the sudden eruption and the machine escaped unscathed. "NOOOOO!" Gary yelled out in frustration. "What else can go wrong!!" He yelped angrily.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! UNFAMILER VOICE READING!" The computer shouted out in red alerts after Iceman blurted out angrily.

"Dammit!" Gary yelled loudly as he slashed the two claws shackling him into smithereens. Before Gary could edge at the computer a blast knocked him away from it and he landed with a metallic thud against the back wall. Gary winked with a painful motion to get a look at the attacker.

Standing eleven feet tall was Pulzar. Glowing White eyes, large insect-like pincers, and a jaw that could crush titanium. Pulzar clipped his claws loudly, like he was itching for a battle.

"It's the beast..." Gary could say in fear. He knew that if he looked it into the eyes, that he would be a sitting duck. But what was it doing here? Was it working for Red?

Gary remembered the images he got from the meteorite. It showed him Pulzar battling some invisible force. Something stronger. It shocked Pulzar with Energy Vibrations and took control. It was Red who subdued the beast. It all made sense. THAT was the connection!

Before Gary could congratulate himself for puzzling the pieces together Pulzar had attempted to swipe at Gary with his enormous Beetle Pincers. It had missed by inches as Gary ducked out of the way.

However as his claw hit the machinery a large hovering device fell by Iceman's side. Gary knew that this device could save his life from being clawed down. Without much hesitation and before the next blow could chop off his little Blue head, Iceman was off.

He was practically flying. The Hover Device which was used to transport tools and such was now a flying skateboard. Iceman flew smoothly through the laboratory air as he swished and swayed every which way.

He enjoyed the air rustling through his face and how his Parka was fraying against the wind. "Eat your heart out Erik...." He motioned to his flying Wind buddy. Gary knew that he still had to stop the production of the Neo Dragoons. Now that he finally had blown Pulzar away by flying out of his reach, he still had a chance.

Gary turned the Hover Craft around and headed back towards the lab. He could feel the energy of flying in his veins. "It's awesome!" He closed his eyes and let the wind play with his face. Gary drifted off and flew a few circles around some of the machines for fun. "All work and no play makes Iceman...."

A large roar erupted right behind Iceman as Pulzar took to the skies and swiped various machines out of his way to get at the flying Eskimo. Iceman couldn't believe his eyes! The monster could fly! Large insect beetle wings made the monster capable of flight. And Beetles were known for their flying speed. Iceman found himself dodging for his very life. Pulzar continued its assault only this time firing large dark blasts of energy at him.

Iceman moved the Hover Craft in and out of heavy traffic of Machinery and devices with Pulzar on heavy pursuit. With the monster closing in at every turn, Gary had to use some fancy flying tricks to keep Pulzar at bay. Again another swipe from the creature’s mighty claws closed in on Gary, but he was able barley sweep out of its reach.

Again Gary took another sharp turn around a corridor and Pulzar followed shortly after. Dodging Blackened blasts of dark energy wasn't making things easier either. Some of the blasts would nearly miss Gary and destroy something ahead of him. Making yet another piece of debris to lie in his wake.

"Ah! Follow me in here you bastard!" Gary yelled at the pursuing Pulzar as he flew into a small crevice. Pulzar's obvious large size would be too big to fit into the small, narrow Crevice. Pulzar flew upwards narrowly missing the small hole.

Gary grinned to himself as he flew further down the passageway. "Gotcha!" He joked happily as he stuck his tongue out behind him. Gary's smile grew wider until a large crash came from above.

Sure enough Pulzar made his way into the passage way and swiped at Gary again. Gary's smile quickly vanished as the monster once again continued his chase. Roaring the whole way.

More electric buzzing was heard nearing ahead as Gary flew as fast as the hover craft could go.

"Oh no...not that.." Gary recognized the sound before. It was used back at the Sinister Six Head Quarters.

Security Lasers popped out ahead of Gary. These were designed to shoot down anything that didn't belong. Gary now just realized that he was in the security tunnel system.

"Shit..." He mouthed off foully.

****************************************

The sun rose above Sinister Six H.Q., and unlike other days since the Meteorite fell, it seemed peaceful and serene. Though a lot was being discussed over night. Since Edward was proven to be Thunderman, the Six tired and worn out figured to ask him all the details in the morning. Though half of the team couldn't sleep anyway. Edward died sometime ago! During the first meeting with The X-Force. How can it be that he's still living and breathing! Plus he didn't age a bit since they last saw him!

"I told you...you abandoned me!" Shouted out Edward at the top of his lungs. Edward showed no respect or concern for his past team members. He especially showed disrespect towards Andon. The 'new' Elecman.

"But we saw you blow up on the Space Station." Tim spoke in. He was badly hurt. One of his old Team members. Totally disowning the fact that he was on his side. "You have to believe us...we'd never abandon you!" A small tear swelled up on his left eye.

"Don't cry...it'll make your face rust." Edward saying staring off away from Tim's concerned face.

The Sinister Six confirmed a meeting while the Mechs were still sleeping. "I think he escaped somehow...and someone or something had totally convinced him that we abandoned them." Andon spoke with intellect.

"Hah! Show's what you know! Iceman Red showed me the right path! And I intend to see it!" He shouted with glee after hearing their whispers. It all added up from there. How Thunderman just NOW made his appearance. It all fits. Pulzar, The Meteorite. And now Thunderman says the very name that is the cause of all this.

"Iceman Red is Evil. He's nothing but a..." Jason started to talk but was interrupted and finished by Edward.

"Prophet." Edward finished. "He's right you know. Humans are a hypocritical plaque. Judge those who are different, but want to be treated specially. Cause they are different from everyone else." Edward finished with satisfaction.

Red has indeed brainwashed Edward. The old Edward would never think like that. Never! Humans weren’t perfect. Tim agrees there. But there's always the kind, and pure hearted souls that made the difference in every race.

"So how did you escape that Space Station." Jason wondered slightly. "And how did you escape Scorpion's poison?" He concluded.

"Bah...might as well tell you eh?" The blond teenager warrior let off. Still trapped and tied down to his seat. "Before the explosion I was transported to a strange lab. There I was dying fast by the poison that green robot inserted into me." Edward continued talking, not making any eye contact to the others.

"A reddish figure had somehow used his god-like powers and healed me. Even made me nearly twice as strong as I originally was. At first I thought it was Gary, but soon he proved he wasn't." Edward's smile grew thicker as he continued talking.

"He led me in the right direction! That humans hated anything different from what they are! And how you all abandoned me to my fate!" He said with eyes glaring and smoking hatred.

"THAT IS NOT TRUE DAMNIT!" Tim couldn't take it anymore. Tim didn't want to listen to the nonsense any longer. Red has really outdone himself this time. Not only did he seemingly kill Gauntlet's sister, completely destroyed the Mechanical Maniacs, and is killing the entire planet. Now he's turned one of his old loyal team mates against him. Edward was better off dead.

"Team meeting has been finished! We have to go search for Pulzar and stop this before the planet gets any worse!" Tim said turning his back to the surprised Edward.

The other Sinister Six also stared at Tim with surprise. They don't think they've ever seen the large armored robot so angry. "Ummm...Tim. What should we do about Edward..." Andon said motioning a hand towards the tied down Edward.

"Leave him there." Tim said plainly and coldly. "Let the traitor sit there alone." Tim said as he walked out of the room.

IRA, Jason, Scott, and Andon were left starting blankly at each other then at Edward who still didn't look them in the eye. "Well, surprised the water works didn't start." Edward said with a grin.

"Listen here you bastard!" Jason yelled out suddenly. "You should be grateful that we didn't throw your electric ass in prison! Keep it up and we just might you little prick!" Jason also blurted off and left the room in anger.

"I'm so scared. Haul me off to jail...I'll just be back..." He spurted off after Jason. It was Andon who grabbed Edward this time. "I'd advice you to shut up...and this coming from me is quite serious!" He gagged Edward as the remaining members fled the room.

Edward mouthed off gibberish as they left. Nobody really understood him, but in translation he motioned off "Pansies."

About 10 minutes later five beams of light shot down at the coordinates of Pulzar's set pattern of attacks. His next attack pointed out was East Megalopolis. Near Forte-Chan's Cooking House. They had figured that Pulzar's plan was to attack her and drain her of her energy.

Tim walked around impatiently around the targeted area. "Well...where the hell is Pulzar at!?" He grumbled.

***********************************************

With another slash Pulzar nearly nicked Gary by his backside. Gary had nearly dodged that move when a laser shot for his head. "Crap! This is what I need!" shouted the little Eskimo. Though he knew if he got past this defense hazard he'd clear the building and be able to fly around easier. He was very surprised such a large interior fit in such a small warehouse. By the looks of the building on the outside, you'd think all this was an illusion.

Another laser had shot Gary in his arm. "To bad it's not an illusion...cause that HURT!" He shouted dodging a blast from Pulzar. Gary had flown through the air slicing through layer and layer of thick laser beams. He slanted to the side to brush off a pair of lasers that shot towards his feet. Another pair of lasers continued shooting for his backside, and nearly shot down Pulzar in the process.

Gary then got an idea. He neared the next pair of laser guns and flew to an upright angle. The lasers immediately fired, but Gary was already well out of their reach and they had blasted Pulzar's big enormous body right in the chest.

Pulzar flew off course and bounced off the side of the walls. Since his body was so large he had less room to move around and the lasers knocked him straight into the wall. Iceman looked back quickly as he avoided more laser power.

Pulzar continued bouncing off walls until he crashed right through one and tumbled into another room of the warehouse. Gary flew faster as he left the monster behind in his mist. Without Pulzar continuing his pursuit Gary could now concentrate on the fire power being blasted at him.

Though victory was shout out again as Pulzar blasted through a wall ahead of him leering his enormous bulk in the way of Iceman's flight path. Gary gestured the middle finger to the lingering beast who awaited Iceman to fly into his claws.

Gary knew that Pulzar would use its size to its advantage so he shot Pulzar down with an Ice Blast from his hands and shot right through the beast without looking it in the eyes.

Again the lasers shot Pulzar down and this time he fell through the floor. Gary saw light up ahead and he quickly shot for it. Pulzar this time was down and the exit was coming up. He was almost there! He had to get out and warn the others of Red's plans.

A laser beam had hit Iceman's hover board and Gary's victory plan again was shout out from under him. Iceman didn't feel like 'Peter Pan' anymore as his Hover Board was lazily scuttling on the ground. Causing sparks to fly up every which way. It was now a Skate board. Without wheels.

Gary had hit a patch of wires and tubes sticking out from the ground, and the Hover Board sent him flying into the light.