4 Enter the Alien of Destruction

The next morning, Nero wakes up. Someone knocks on his door, and he goes to open it. It appears to be Barbara.

"Good Morning, Nero!" she says with a very friendly smile on her face.

"Morning, Barbara. You're fully dressed. Are you going somewhere?" he asks her. She tells him that school resumes today. Nero had no idea. The Galactic Academy resumes Mondays to Thursdays of each week, and today is Monday. Nero panics as he thinks he'll be late if he doesn't get dressed soon.

"Now just calm down. Our School begins at 10 am. And it's only 8:59." she said. "Just take your time and slow down. Bubo's waiting for us in the kitchen."

"Right sorry! Thanks, Barbara. I'll meet you guys there."

Barbara leaves the room while Nero changes from his pajamas into his everyday clothes. They see Budo and the Professor as they walk into the kitchen.

"Mornin', Nero." greeted Budo. So does Franklin as he puts Nero's plate in front of him. Nero starts eating his Sunnyside eggs and bacon.

"That was delish! Thanks, Professor!" said Nero as he drinks his orange juice after eating. After breakfast, the three head to the elevator after waving bye at Franklin. Telling him that they'll be back soon.

"Take care!" said Franklin.

They arrived a bit too early for school.

"It looks like the classroom door is locked." Nero speculated.

"Well, we did get here too early," said Budo.

Barbara suggests that they should study to kill time while being too early.

"Seriously?! Okay…" said Budo, disappointed at the suggestion.

"Come on, Nero. You're studying too," said Barbara.

"But where are we supposed to do our schoolwork before class begins? We could just do it in there when it starts," Nero suggests.

Although Barbara agrees with him, it's 9:25. That gives them more than enough time. "Let's head to the library. I'll lead the way." she offers.

When they go to the library, it appears they're not the only kids who arrived early.

It's Barbara's good friend, Nicole. And a boy named, Lumen.

"Hi, Barbara! Good Morning!" said Nicole. "Hey, Barbara," said Lumen.

"Hi, guys!" Barbara greets back. She introduces Nero and Budo to them.

"You never told us about them before," said Budo.

"Right sorry! These are my friends, Nicole and Lumen. We met during our school field trip last year."

"Nice to meet you!" Nicole happily greets them.

"How are you doing?" Lumen greets as well.

"Hey there," said Nero.

He and Budo shake hands with them.

"Hey, we were about to study together. Would you two care to join?" asked Barbara.

Nicole and Lumen nod.

While the four kids are studying before class, Dr. Z is using the Dark Crystal to create an alien. But he first puts the crystal down, then adds chemical into a bowl. After that, he adds a giant scorpion's tail, a Terrian's claws and horns, as well as the razor-sharp teeth and a heart. He mixes all the ingredients and red chemicals into a bowl and begins to stir it intensely.

"Bahahaha! Let's see how you deal with this, Nero. You're not the only alien with supernatural abilities." he says evilly.

"Hmm… Looking at Nero's powers, he reminds me a bit of that failed experiment I created twelve years ago. I don't know how the thought didn't cross my mind until now. Perhaps I was a little oblivious. But that's unlike me because I'm the incredible Dr. Z! Bwahahahahahaha!" he laughs terrifyingly after he talks.

At 5 pm back on the ship, everyone is having stew.

Budo finishes his bowl, "By the way? Shouldn't we keep looking for the Infinite Crystals?" he asks.

Barbara agrees with him. "I hope we can find another one soon. Let's try looking around in space again to see if there's any crystal around." Nero suggests.

Franklin assumes that Dr. Z might have some of the crystals. "Then let's steal his!" said Budo.

"Hehe. Budo, you're starting to sound like a robber. But we could be at an advantage that way." said Barbara.

Nero states that they need to see if Z has the crystals or not, so he and the gang fly towards his base. But they head above where Z can't see them. The professor uses the scanner as its light shines at Z's base. It seems Nero was right!

"Barbara, can you stay here with the professor? Budo and I will head inside the base," said Nero as he puts on his spacesuit.

"I can't come with you guys?" Barbara asks.

"Well, no offense. But you're not much of a fighter. You can navigate us though." Budo said concernedly.

"I'll navigate you two as well," said Franklin. He gives them their communicators so they can contact them about the status of their infiltration.

The two jump from the roof of the ship and slowly jump down onto Z's base. Nero tries to open the window slowly. But it was impossible. So Budo had to smash the glass with his bare fist. Z notices the noise so Nero and Budo quickly had to hide behind the bookshelves as they get in from the window. Z didn't notice them and went away, which made them sigh in relief. They slowly and quietly exit the bookroom while Z heads downstairs to his lab. Their communicators start ringing.

"How's it going?" Barbara calls.

"We're in the hallway of Z's base," said Nero as he whispers.

"Great! Just keep going. Dr. Z should have the Infinite Crystals in his lab. Go inside very carefully and quietly. Hide behind any object when you go into his lab." she said.

"And if he turns his back around and notices you, you two will need to get out of there quickly," said Franklin.

"Roger," said Nero and Budo in unison.

They quietly sneak inside the lab.

They hide behind the green generators while trying to proceed forward. What they see astonishes them. Their eyes spot a demon-looking alien being stored inside an experiment capsule. Budo heads to the closest desk where he sees the Force Crystal. As he tries to grab it, he accidentally knocks a few chemical classes. The noise alerted Z. He notices Budo trying to get the Infinite Crystal.

"I remember you! You're one of Nero's bratty friends! Well, you won't get the Force Crystal on my watch!" said Z.

He presses the button on his left watch to summon the robots. Nero and Budo have no other choice but to fight. Budo punches the four-legged bot that was about to attack him. But another one attacks him from behind. Nero uses Cosmic Flare to blast the robots while Budo thrashes the one that hit him. Two bots are destroyed but more come their way. As all of them blast multiple lasers, Nero and Budo take cover behind the desk.

"Nero, can you try using this?" Budo asks him.

"It should work. I'll blast those bots into next week!" said Nero as he takes the Force Crystal from Budo.

He absorbs the energy from it and powers up. He becomes Force Nero! His eyes and hair glow red. He takes off his spacesuit first. Then destroys the robots with Force Wave! He controls the force of the wave to target only the robots and not everything else. Otherwise, that would've destroyed their spacesuits and Budo. He controls it by making a small glowing red, sphere that has enhanced energy. Then releases a shockwave.

All the robots are destroyed, and Nero reverts to normal.

"We'll be taking this, if you don't mind!" said Nero. Budo blows raspberries at Z as he grabs the space suits.

"Get back here, you rats!" said the infuriated doctor chasing them.

Budo kicks a broken robot's head into Z's face, trying to slow him down. Nero puts the Force Crystal in his pocket and uses his communicator to call Barbara.

"Mission complete! Well almost." said Nero. Barbara praises them for their hard work. Nero and Budo jump from the entrance of Z's base to Home Base.

"Argh! Those sniveling pieces of garbage! They got my Force Crystal! I will get my revenge on them! At least they didn't damage my ultimate creation. Just you wait, my new friend. You will be completed soon!" said Z, looking at the alien in the capsule.

They arrived back on the ship.

"So, you two only got the Force Crystal, huh?" said Franklin.

"Yeah, but also…" said Nero as he explains fully what he and Budo saw in Z's lab.

"There was another alien in Dr. Z's lab?!" asked the surprise Barbara.

"Yeah, and it looked scary, too." said Budo.

"I see. So, he was using the Dark Crystal to make a more powerful creature." speculated Franklin. He suggests that Nero should be prepared to face more stronger foe. As it is 9pm according to the ship's clock, the gang head to their rooms to get some rest. Nero is still thinking about that alien in Z's lab.

"Just what kind of creature is it going to be? I'm nervous just thinking about it." Nero says in his head thinking deeply. He tries to shrug it off and close his eyes. They all sleep through the night.

Then they wake up in the morning. Nero gets up and gets dress. He heads to the elevator to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth. After that, he goes to the kitchen floor by heading to the elevator again. He arrives in the kitchen with Budo and Barbara.

"Is the professor not here?" asked Nero.

"I think he might be in his lab. But he usually shows up in the morning." said Barbara.

"Hey Nero, were you having thoughts about that weird alien we just saw?" asked Budo.

Nero tells him that he was having nervous thoughts about it. He worries if he'll never be ready for what enemy comes next.

"Don't worry. We know you always succeed against Z. And you'll do the same again against experiment he's making." Budo says as he encourages Nero.

Nero thanks him. Now he feels motivated to take on this new foe. Everyone eats breakfast while making and saving a plate for Franklin to eat. Barbara puts a napkin over his food. Now they're off to school.

After class, Nero and Budo invite Lumen to the school gym. So, the three boys head there now before their next period starts. Budo lifts some weights while Nero does sit-ups and pull ups.

"So, this is where guys like to exercise after your first period?" Lumen asks.

"Well, it's where I like to exercise. This is Nero's first time here. I wanna exercise everyday in order to burn off calories and get stronger!" Budo says, sounding devoted.

"In that case, how about I lift up weights with you?" Lumen happily offers. Budo accepts it. Nero lifts dumbbells with them.

The three exercise until the bell rings again for their math class.

"Well, we'd better get going. See you, Lumen!" Nero says. "Yeah! Seeya!" Budo says as he and Nero wave at him as they're all exiting the gym. Lumen waves at them too with a smile.

It's now 11am. And Nero and Budo arrived in class along with Barbara.

"You two seem really jolly. Are you having fun with Lumen?" Barbara says. Nero and Budo answered yes in happy tone.

"We trained at the gym together with him." said Nero.

Meanwhile, at Dr. Z's base, he waits for the alien's restoration. Looking at the glass capsule.

"Tomorrow, you will be born, my new creation." said Z as he does the evil laugh.

He is ready to take on Nero again in hopes of capturing him tomorrow with his new alien. The way Nero transforms made him remember that day he got rid of the past alien years ago.

"Now I see… It all comes together." said Z as he does another creepy laugh.

Nero, Budo and Barbara decided to head home while waving bye to their new friends as it is 3 pm. Franklin drives Home Base to Galactic Academy. He picks up the kids. They arrived home.

It's dinnertime, as Franklin begins to prepare the feast.

"Hey, Professor? You weren't at the table this morning. What were you up to?" asked Nero.

"Well, I was just working on an invention. Sorry to worry you guys." said Franklin.

"That's okay. Whatever it is you're working must be important. I can't wait to see it." said Barbara.

The professor agrees. But with a sad and nervous face. This worries Nero and the others.

"Are you okay, prof?" asked Budo.

Franklin says yes and starts eating. The others eat too. They finally finished.

"Excuse me for minute. I'm going to the bathroom floor." Franklin says as he walks out of the kitchen and onto the elevator.

While on the elevator, he digs into his pocket. It appears to be a piece of paper.

"I can't let Nero find out about this. If this file is exposed, he'll be in a severe shock." he said

Nero and Barbara worry about the professor. But Budo tells them that he might be just tired from working too hard in the lab.

"I hope you're right." said Barbara.

The trio head to the elevator to go to their rooms.

"We need to get started on our homework." she says.

Budo feels unenthusiastic about it. They've reached the floor.

"Follow me to my room. We could work together there." said Barbara. Unlike Budo, Nero is interested in learning about different planets. So, astronomy is his favorite class. The three begin to work in Barbara's room.

Cutting back to Dr. Z, the progress of his new creation is finally complete. He releases it from the capsule. The creature is confused, wondering where it is and everything. It knows nothing yet.

"Who are you?" the alien asked Z.

"I am Dr. Z. Your creator. As well as your master." Z said.

He tells the alien its purpose for its existence. To serve under him and prove its loyalty to him. By helping him conquer the galaxy. Also, the reason for the Dark Crystal stored in the creature's chest is to use its power to defeat any who get in the doctor's way. Nero especially, who Z wants captured.

"Understood, Master Z." said the creature.

"Master Z, hmm? I like it. Your name will be known as Infamous. Now that you can use the powers of the Dark Crystal, I'll dub you as the Alien of Destruction!" said the nefarious doctor with an evil laugh at the end.

Infamous likes the name Z gave him and happily submits to his every order.

The next day, Nero and his friends wake up in the morning to eat breakfast the Franklin made for them and to head of to school.

And they do arrive. But as they're about to head to class, they hear a loud sound coming from the school lab. They run over there to check it out.

"What happened here?! Is everything okay?!" asked Barbara.

They cough a little from the smoke. The scientist in the lab made a little mistake with the chemicals. It blew up in front of his face.

"Do you need us to escort you to the nurse?!" asked Barbara with a concerned expression.

"No, I'll be fine. I need to clean up in here. Sorry to alarm you kids." the scientist said.

The three offered to help him clean up the lab. But he replies that he can take care of it. Nero and the others say bye to him before they start getting back to class. The day passes to the afternoon.

Nero and his friends head on home. But before they walk out of the gates, they are stopped by the scientist this morning. He reveals himself to be actually Dr. Z.

"Z?! What are you doing here?!" asked Nero.

"Just to see if there are any Infinite Crystals around here. I decided to investigate the lab of this school first." Z said.

"There aren't any here, moron! You should do a better job searching!" said Budo.

Barbara asks the doctor why he caused an explosion in the lab. "Just to get your attention! Right after you brats left the lab, I planted a tracking bug to check what you have on your bags and look what I've found!" said Z as he reveals the Force Crystal.

Z explains that he saw them through them coming into school as he looked them through the window of the lab. So he used his shapeshifting device on his wrist to disguise himself as the scientist.

"Who brought an Infinite Crystal to school?! asked Barbara.

Budo states that it's his fault. He thought it would be cool to show it to the class but wasn't sure if it was okay to show it to them or not.

"Budo! The crystals we've found were supposed to be a secret! What are you thinking?!" Barbara yells furiously at him.

"Sorry. I'm such an idiot." said Budo.

"Indeed, you are. Who's the moron now?" mocked Z.

He calls for Infamous. Who appears behind him.

"It's that alien from before! When it was in that capsule!" said Nero as he recognizes him.

"Ah, so you've already seen him before. Let me introduce him anyway! Meet your doom: Infamous, the Alien of Destruction!" Nero and the others are shocked to see Infamous.

Some random janitor appears and is scared as he looks at Infamous and a human. He quickly runs away but Infamous shot him with a purple laser beam. Killing him before he could escape. The teacher from the other room sounds the alarm and evacuates everyone as possible.

"I'll be taking this!" said Z, looking at the Force Crystal in his hand.

"You probably don't know yet. But..... I created you." said Dr. Z with a creepy laugh. He and Infamous take their leave.

"Liar!!!" yelled Nero as he tries to blast them with Cosmic Flare. But he misses due to his overwhelming emotion. He couldn't calm down.

"You're wrong. You're wrong. You're wrong! You're definitely wrong!!!!" said Nero emotionally.

Budo and Barbara are shocked to hear the truth about Nero's origin as well.

"Don't believe me? Ask that darling professor of yours. Infamous, let's go." said Z as he goes outside to his ship.

"Yes, Master Z." he follows him. The gang heads home to discuss the shocking news.

"Professor, tell me this isn't true.." said Nero with a shocked and upset look on his face. "Did Z create me?" he asks. Nero told him the full story about what happened today.

"He was just trying to psyche me out, right?! Right?!"

Franklin sadly says no. He hesitantly shows Nero the paper he had in his pocket. It revealed an experiment file. It showed its biological date when Nero was created. It was twelve years ago.

"Is …..that me as a baby?" asked Nero. Franklin tells him that his experiment name on the file is 'Absorber'. Franklin tells Nero the truth of his existence no matter how much Nero didn't want to believe it.

"You see, I just found out this paper recently when I was in my lab. I had no idea you were one of Dr. Z's creations." said the professor. Before Franklin could talk to him, Nero storms out of the room.

"Nero, wait!" said Franklin. He and the others run after him.

Nero takes the elevator and runs to his room.

"Nero! It's alright! You're not with the doctor anymore!" said Franklin.

"But he made me! I'm another of his pawns! That means I'm just a tool! A monster!" said Nero with tears streaming down his face.

Franklin, Budo, and Barbara are extremely worried about him. Barbara cries when she emotionally says that Nero is their friend.

"Nero, look! Just step outside!" said Budo.

Nero refuses as he states that he is their enemy and will only harm them.

"You're not our enemy! You're our friend! Who cares if that lousy doctor created you or not?! We don't! Because we love and trust you! You've even done some good things. Like saving Barbara and helping Shapu. Those deeds proof that you are a great person!" said Budo emotionally.

"Nero, how or where you were created doesn't matter. You belong to us, not the doctor. It's where you live and what you do with your life now that counts. You're your own person, not a puppet! Now please come out of your room!" said Franklin.

Nero finally gets off his bed and wipes his tears away.

Nero thanks them for making him feel better. They all give Nero a hug.

"Let's get that Force Crystal back!" said Nero now motivated.

"You wanna try sneaking in like we did last time?" Budo asks.

Nero has a better idea in mind. A distraction. The rest of the day passes.

It's now 10:30 am. Nero and friends walk towards the gym towards the gym to take a snack break. But also to discuss the plan Nero was talking about.

"So what do we do? He has Infamous. And he's a threat." said Budo.

Nero will pretend to be captured by Budo and Barbara. And if they get into Z's lab, they will look around the place in search of the Force Crystal.

"It's not the worst plan ever. But won't it come with huge risks?" asked Barbara.

"Well, we might get suspected and get captured if either Z or Infamous finds out that you guys are taking the Force Crystal. And Infamous is way too much for you to handle. Realistically speaking, he could destroy you both in an instant if he wanted to." says Nero.

"Well, let's just hope this plan works. I'm scared of Infamous!" said Barbara. They all agree. Nero suggest they will have to be ready for anything Z throws at them.

The day passes. And it is now 3pm. The kids head outside to where Franklin picks them up. At the entrance.

And now that they're back at Home Base, Nero consults with the professor about their plan.

"Alright." said Franklin. "But Budo and Barbara might need some disguises."

The three follow Franklin to his lab. Budo and Barbara put on the space suits. The helmets are covered with a lot of blackness. It should be dark enough to conceal their faces.

"Um, you don't think Dr. Z will recognize us now, do you?" asked Barbara. Franklin confidently assures her that it will work.

"Okay guys! Let's go!" said Nero. They are prepared to execute the plan.

They float above the roof of the ship and down into Dr's Z base. They ring the doorbell and Dr. Z sees two astronauts holding Nero hostage.

"Ah, did you two strangers capture this alien? I've been trying to capture him for ages!" Z asked.

Budo does an impression of the mysterious astronaut he's dressed as with his voice. "Ahem. That's right. You're the famous Dr. Z, correct? Our associates told us a lot about you. Especially about your secret base, in which we knew where to find you." he said.

"Really? Are your fellow workers fans of mine?"

They both nodded.

"We are too. What inspires us to be better scientists was your brilliant mind and your knack for making robots. We have this alien begin held captive and we're giving him to you as a gift." said Barbara.

"Well, to return the favor for bringing Nero for me, I'll invite you both in to have some tea. Then we could chat about ruling the Galaxy!"

They come into his base.

"Before we have a nice chat, doctor, we'd like to look around your amazing base. And we could put Nero in your lab for you." said Barbara.

"Sure! Thank you!" said Z.

Budo, Barbara and Nero head into Z's lab to find the Force Crystal. They see Infamous in there which worries them. Infamous rushes towards them and sees them as invaders.

"We're Dr. Z's fans! Don't mind us!" said Budo with a nervous laugh. Infamous leaves them be but is still suspicious of them.

"Okay, we're in! Let's find that Force Crystal." Barbara whispered.

"Never mind, I just found it." said Nero, instantly identifying the Force Crystal.

He quickly grabs it from the desk. Infamous looks back surprised as he sees Nero grab the Force Crystal. So, he stops him with a dark laser beam before he could even absorb the crystal. Nero gets injured by the attack as is slammed into the wall by the attack. Z runs in and notices the situation. Before Budo and Barbara could run towards Nero, worried about their friend, Z orders Infamous to hold them down. The doctor takes off their helmets. He recognizes them.

"Nero!" they screamed.

"What should I do with them, master?" asked Infamous.

"Take them to the vault! I'll take good care of our little friend." said Z.

Infamous does as ordered while his master imprisons an unconscious Nero at his lab.