Ascendant Androids
Epilogue 4 - Dark Clouds Overhead (Part 1)
Written By: Crys (A.K.A CrystalGirl)
Concept/Idea By: Vulcan (A.K.A StarMan)

[Scene: The secret base of the Ascendant Androids. Crys, Kevin, Patrick, Vulcan, Matt, Johnny and Nick are all sitting on various furniture in the room, ranging from the Easy Chair to the television. There is a noticeable lack of Tommy, and everyone is in low spirits due to extreme hunger.]

Makenshi: -Stomach growls- I’m hungry…

Johnny: Nyaaaah… me too! Where’s Tommy at?

Matt: We sent him to get food two days ago. With the last of our money, no less!

Vulcan: He probably went to Vegas.

Patrick: There goes any hope of food, if he did.

[At that particular moment, Tommy enters the room, carting a vast amount of various foodstuffs with him. The other seven team members hit the floor, and then crowd him for an explanation.]

Nick: Holy…. Wow! There are foods here I’ve never even heard of!

Johnny: Myah! Catnip! He got me catnip!

Vulcan: Why did you get the kitty catnip?

Crys: Where did you get all this?

Tommy: -Grins- I struck it big in Vegas!

Everyone Else: ………..

Patrick: I stand corrected, then.

[Suddenly, the alarm goes off in the Base, and everyone, momentarily forgetting the ironic situation at hand, rushes to the Briefing Room. Once there, they are informed that in three towns of New Jersey, crime is happening. To be more specific, in Ablett Village, there are reports of a rouge robot smashing into all the buildings. In Hoboken, a mysterious robot is using an electrical barrier to allow them to rob various banks in the town. And in Middlesex, yet another robot is seemingly paralyzing various townsfolk and important people such as the mayor, and holding them hostage.]

Patrick: Oh my…

Matt: This is a major situation!

Tommy: What should we do?!

Crys: Everyone split up. Nick and Makenshi, you go to Ablett Village. Tommy and Patrick, take care of whoever’s causing havoc in Hoboken. Matt and I will go to Middlesex. Vulcan and Johnny will stay here, and let us know if anything else comes up. Any questions?

[The group shakes their heads, although Vulcan gives a somewhat defeated sigh, and the six who are going to fight take off. ]

[Scene: In Ablett Village. Nick and Makenshi teleport in, and gasp as the sight before them. Surrounding the area is complete devastation. Buildings have been reduced to rubble, and a thick layer of dust is in the air. Screams and cries can be heard from the few survivors of the unexpected attack, and sirens can also be heard in the distance. Sickened, the duo looks around for the mysterious robot. ]

Nick: Where is that sick bastard?

Makenshi: There he is! -Points to a figure rushing towards them on tank treads. It’s one of the DarkMan Sentinels. -

Nick: -Swears and grabs Makenshi, pulling him out of the speeding tank’s way- You alright little buddy?

Makenshi: Don’t call me little. -Pivots around quickly, launching his Harpoon Blaster at the offender. -

[The projectile harpoon flies true, embedding itself between what would be the Sentinel’s shoulders, if it were human. Outraged, the personality-less machine turns, and rushes towards the duo again. ]

Nick: I’ve got him! -Rushes at the sentinel at full speed. As he chugs forward, his right arm morphs into a gatling gun, which he fires at the sentinel as a distraction. When he’s within a close enough vicinity, he spins quickly, kicking the enemy in the back, right where Makenshi’s harpoon is. The harpoon sinks in deeper, and he unleashes another round from his gun into the sentinel’s “face”. -

Sentinel 1: -Falls backwards without a sound. As Nick and Makenshi close in for the kill, he speaks in an emotionless voice- Don’t think you’ve won yet. -With that, he teleports out-

Nick: What was that all about…?

Makenshi: Let’s get back to the base, and let the others know we’re fine.

Nick: Right.

[The duo teleport out. ]

[Meanwhile, while Nick’s and Makenshi's battle is going on, Tommy and Patrick arrive in Hoboken. There, the destruction of the town in minimal, however the people are in pandemonium. It takes a while, but the duo eventually gets the streets cleared, as everyone takes refuge in various buildings. Once this is done, they hunt down the only bank that hasn’t been robbed, and wait for their victim. ]

Tommy: I wonder how the others are doing right now…

Patrick: We can’t worry about them right now. It seems our little friend as decided to come and play.

Tommy: -Spots the second Sentinel heading their way- Looks like it.

Sentinel 2: -Stops when he sees StoneMan and GyroMan are in his path. He speaks with the same emotionless voice as the first sentinel- Leave the premises now, interlopers, before I do you in myself.

Patrick: First, tell us why you’re here.

Sentinel 2: Leave the premises now, interlopers, before I do you in myself.

Tommy: I don’t think he’s going to talk…

Patrick: Probably not. Ah well, let’s get this over with.

Tommy: -Nods, reaching back and releasing his Gyro Blade. In one swift movement, he brings it forward and disassembles it, holding the pieces like one would hold throwing knives- Shall you go first, or shall I?

Patrick: He’s all yours, boss.

Tommy: -Stands completely still for a moment, then jumps up into the air. Grabbing hold of one of the disassembled blades, he throws it at the sentinel. Repeating the process with the other pieces, he lands on his feet once more. Calling the pieces back quickly, he reassembles the blade to its original form, and throws it at the unmoving sentinel, who is knocked back. The blade returns, and he replaces it on his back- Time?

Patrick: Fifty-five seconds.

Tommy: Awesome.

[They fall silent as they watch the sentinel attempt to stand again. After it struggles to regain its footing for a bit, the sentinel simply teleports off. Soon after, the two Androids teleport back to Base as well. ]

[Meanwhile, in Middlesex, Crys and Matt arrive at the warehouse, where the third Sentinel is holed up. After a brief conversation with several Police, in hopes of learning something, the two are permitted to go in and take care of the situation. Once they go in, they are greeted by the sight of a large group of people, ranging from small children to the elderly, from the poor to the rich, and from the healthy to the sickly. This group is gathered in the back of the room, with the third Sentinel standing before them. ]

Matt: What’s going on here?

Sentinel 3: -Speaking in the same, monotonous voice as his brothers- I am one of the three DarkMan Sentinels. I have been given special orders by DarkMan himself to defeat you, and take hostages so that we can begin our domination plot.

Crys: Bah. You’re just trying to copy Wily, now.

Sentinel 3: While DarkMan formed the idea of world domination from Wily, we plan to do things a little… differently.

Matt: But, why are you guys attacking New Jersey?

Sentinel 3: Because we wanted to defeat our “brothers” in their element!

Matt: How did you know we- -

[Before Matt can say anymore, he suddenly finds himself unable to move. Try as he might, he can’t move. While the Sentinel is preoccupied with him, Crys directs the hostages out of the building, then returns to fight. ]

Crys: So that’s your game, hmm? Cheap tactics will get you nowhere! -Forms a Crystal Eye, and throws it at the wall behind the Sentinel. The Eye bounces up, making impact with the ceiling where it bounces again, and smashes into the Sentinel, exploding in shrapnel-

Matt: -Becomes able to move again, and starts to ready several of his missiles- Nice shot!

Sentinel 3: -Snarls slightly, but doesn’t have time to do much else, as Matt unleashes a volley of explosives at him, causing the warehouse to collapse under them-

Crys: -Coughs loudly as the dust begins to settle after the collapse- You okay, Matt?

Matt: -Somehow has managed to stand through the whole ordeal- I’m fine, but our little friend got away.

Crys: Doesn’t matter. The people are safe, so let’s get back to base and see what we can’t find out.

[The duo smile and wave at the group of people, and teleport back home as well. ]

[Scene: Back at the Base. All eight of the Androids are present and sitting around the table. Information has been given by the teams who were sent out to fight, and now one thought hangs on everyone’s mind. ]

Patrick: Where the heck could DarkMan be?

Makenshi: Who knows? He could be anywhere, really.

Vulcan: What I want to know is… what exactly is he planning? Leveling a city, taking hostages, robbing banks… it doesn’t add up.

Nick: Maybe he’s going to set up a base of operations in Ablett Village? He needs funding for it, and a few hostages would definitely make things easier for him.

Johnny: Myu… Nick has a point.

Tommy: What I’m wondering is… how does he know we’re in New Jersey? And if he knows that much, what’s to say he doesn’t know more?

Matt: I have a feeling we’re going to find out soon enough… until then, what do we do?

Crys: We wait for him to strike next. It’s all we can do.

Makenshi: But what if more people’s lives are put in danger?!

Crys: We’ll have to act quicker than we did, then.

Nick: But…

Tommy: I agree with Crys. We don’t know any more than what we’ve been told. It’d be best if we waited it out for now.

Nick: …Fine.

To Be Continued