Chapter 4

"Hey Volcano." Comes the light whisper through the earpiece.

"Yeah?"

"I got 6 tangos to the right. Lightly armed. Should I dispose of them?"

"Can you avoid em'?"

"Negative."

"Roger. Do what you must. Remember Forest, no alarms."

"Understood."

"Professor to all Phantoms. Something seems off. Security is too loose. Recommending fallback."

"All clear on my side. Had some heavy security near the network room. Got some meaty intel downloading now. ETA 4 minutes." Volcano reports.

"Pidgeot to Professor, nothing unusual topside." Pidgeot responds as he overlooks the plateaued research facility through the lens of his M40A6.

"Fearow here. Same on my end. Underground how's it looking?"

"This is Forest. Nothing seems wrong to me."

"Snorlax here. Nothing seems wro… Wait a few."

The entire team goes silent as Snorlax cuts himself mid-sentence. Volcano bites the corner of his bottom lip as the silence remains.

One minute… two minutes…

"FUCK. LIVE BOMB! 5 MINUTES! ALL MEMBERS…. BRRRAAAAT"

"ALL MEMBERS FALLBACK! FIRE AT WILL!" Volcano commands to his team. He looks down at the file and bites his lip again as the file slowed down and was now at 2:51 remaining on the download. "FUCK!" He yells to himself as he yanks the stick out and begins running to the bottom most floor to assist Snorlax. POP, POP

"PROFESSOR TO ALL UNDERGROUND, SITREP OVER?"

"BRRRRING, BRRRAAAT, PINK, PINK, PINK… Forest and Onyx here… Heavy resistance met… stairwell… Going around."

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM

"Pidgeot to underground, enemy forces attempting to destroy front exit. Delaying as long as possible."

"Understood. We'll be out soon." Volcano answers for the team as he nears Snorlax's location. "This is bad, intel said this was a laboratory for Pokemon and Human experimentation."

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAT

Volcano gets halfway down the last flight of stairs when he hears SAW letting loose. He looks over the rail and sees his teammate spraying down a hallway. "SNORLAX, FALLBACK! I'll COVER YOU!" He yells down and Snorlax throws a thumbs up with his non-firing hand, grabs the SAW, gets up and start running up the stairs. As soon as grunts entered his view Volcano sprays them with his M4.

"Forest to Volcano and Snorlax… Route to fallback point Charlie secured. Helo inbound, in 2 minutes. Double time."

"Roger. Moving now." Snorlax answers as the two run to the fallback point.

WHOOOOOSH

The two instinctively duck as the Sea Hawk flies past them. They continue to the rally point as the Sea Hawk circles around and comes in for the landing. "PILOT! PULL UP! RPG!"

The pilots jerk the joystick towards them as they try and evade the incoming rocket.

TEW, TEW, TEW, TEW, PATIIIST, VRREEEEEEEWM

The Sea Hawk jerks to the side and wobbles midair as a strong torrent of wind hits it and almost destabilizes it and the rocket fires of in a completely different direction. The five men and pilots didn't even have time to get a look at what saved the didn't even have time to as the soft explosions fill the air, and the ground begins to crumble.

"GO, GO, GO!" The Professor yells as the Sea Hawk hovers about a foot off the ground.

The five men start to run but the ground splits open all around them and the air released from the ground destabilize the helo so they pullback and restabilize. The Professor hooks a rope and throws it over the side as the helo come back down.

"Y'all can make it!" He yells as the team starts to jump onto the rope. But then just as Fearow grabs hold the ground splits and a huge chunk of earth hits the pilots under side causing it jolt and forcefully tilt backwards.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

The Sea Hawks alarm begins screaming as the pilots try and regain control of helo as it starts to spin in a circle.

"WAAAAH!" "AAAAH!" "NOOOO!" "EEEAAH!" "FUUUCK!"

The Professor's eye widens in horror as all he gets is a glimpse of his teammates all getting shaken off the rope and have all hit the ground.

"Shit. White Knight to Omega, fuselage has been hit. We're losing fuel fast, returning back to the ship before our fuel runs out. Requesting immediate search and rescue unit for Olive Team." One of the pilots' relays to the command ship.

"Omega to White Knight. Copy that. Jester is preparing to sortie as we speak. ETA 14 minutes." Comes the response.

BRRRRRRROOOOOOM, CLINK, CLINK, CLINK

"What the?" All three Phantoms are awe struck as they barely catch the massive Arrowhead shaped ship that was resting right between the clouds. Then four funny looking rounded triangular type ships in a diamond formation begin to descend. "Omega, 14 is too long. Unknown forces moving in." The pilot relays immediately.

"Copy. Sortieing as quickly as possible. Winds have picked up. We cannot launch recklessly lest we want two search parties." Omega responds.

"Fuck. Understood. We're approaching bingo fuel. Heading back." The pilot says slowly as the fuel light pings on.

The three LAAT's all make their descent and hover above the collapse area.

"Hmmm. Reading 5 signatures that are different from the rest." Infinity says sitting in the palm of Nightwing's hand as he looks down at her. She was currently stored in his left forearm so all he had to do was open his palm towards the sky and she could populate. "One signature is fading. Recommend immediate rescue."

"Y'all heard the lady. Save the signatures with frequency 56 Foxtrot." He tells his troops as the middle ship lands on a stable part of the collapse area. The remaining three remain in the air and six ropes from each ship drops simultaneously. Then six by six the troops slide down.

"Mmhm." Pidgeot groans to herself as her cracked hud struggles and fail auto adjust to the light. As her vision fades in and out she barely makes out the bulky white armored soldiers messing with her. "Hck." Red liquid splats onto her mask. Just as her vision finally fades, she sees the troops rapidly start moving.

"Five pods secured sir." One of the men report as Nightwing watches the last pod get loaded.

"Thanks 21. Once the last trooper has boarded well dust-off." Nightwing says reaching out and helping him in the gunship.

"Priest here. Last trooper loaded." Comes about a minute later.

"All units. Back to the Quinzel Protect these five at all costs." Nightwing commands and he gets a thunderous response.

"Doesn't these guys look familiar?" Infinity asks pointing to the third one.

"Your right. They do look familiar. Kinda looks like the soldiers from the… Harley incident."

"Something wrong? There was a spike in your heart rate."

"Nah. I just kinda got excited about seeing a potential familiar face."

"That so?"

"Yeah."

"Mhhm." Jenny groans as her vision and memories flicker and fade.

"Jenny? Jenny, can you hear my voice?" The man in black says.

….

"Okay, she's not responding." A man in toned white armor with a red cross on his bicep.

….

"I'm gonna need an eighteen-guage, left A-C right away." The black clad man says.

….

"B-P is ninety over twelve. Respirations at eight. Okay, I'm tubing her." A female in a white long coat with green shoulder length hair says.

….

"We're losing her." The armored man says as the room turns red.

"NOOO!" Jenny screams shooting up but is jerked back by restraints.

"Aah. You're awake." Nightwing says looking at the woman.

"W-who are you? Where is Jen?" Jenny asks carefully trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"Right there." He answers pointing across the room. "She had us scared for a minute. She flatlined even with the help of the nanobots working in addition to her body."

She looks at where he pointed and sees her partner sleeping with various tubes and fluids hooked up to her. She looks back at the man and takes in his suit. It was a jet black with a blue bird on the chest with a round blue bird cover his eyes and nose. He was really well built now that she looked at him up close. "Why are we restrained?"

"You two were having horrible nightmares and would fight in your sleep. You were a danger to yourselves. You've been here for about a week." He says un-restraining her. "Ah, my apologies. I am Nightwing. And yes. I am, whatever you say or think I am."

"That's not funny." She says rubbing her arms and getting up. It was only now she realized she was only wearing a hospital gown.

"Nor was I joking." He says walking towards the door. He takes the white coat off the rack and tosses it to her. She eyes him suspiciously but puts it on. He opens the door and gestures for her to go first. Not really having much of a choice she steps outside and is awe-struck. All around her is a mass of technology and men in white armor. A couple were maskless but not many. One thing they all had was a same-colored obsidian black rifle of different variations. Nightwing steps past her and starts walking down a hall that what she read as West Wing back to Bridge.

"Are we on a ship?" She wonders as they walk. They walk they pass by a series of bay windows, and she stops when she sees nothing but black and stars. "What the hell? Where am I?" She looks over and up at Nightwing who is smiling.

"Yes. We are in space. Just me, you, and my clone Legion. Oh, are your feet cold?" He asks and she timidly nods. Her feet were freezing. She watches as he looks at five or so different capsules and then activates one. From the tiny ring pop sized capsule a pair of long socks appear. There's a soft crack as he crumples them and uncrumples them. After a few seconds he hands it to her.

"They're warm."

"Indeed. They are meant for cold climates. I thought I had shoes but was wrong."

He offers her his arm to stabilize herself as she puts them off. Immediately she began think how good they felt. They were thigh high so a good portion of her legs were covered.

She gulps nervously as he turns and keeps walking. She timidly follows him knowing she is truly alone whether they were in space or not. She surrounded by armed troops everywhere she looked. "Ooof. I'm sorry." She says bowing really quick. She looks and sees where've they stopped. It was in front of what looked like a locked door.

"Put your hand on that green pad."

She slowly places her hand on the warm device and watches as a brighter green slowly scans down then back up three times followed by the screen turning into a bright green as well.

HISSSSSS

She jumps as compressed air is released and the door opens. She can only stare in shock. It was an exact replica of her room back in her apartment. She slowly looks up at him and he gestures her in. She walks in and looks around. After walking through a small hallway, she finds in front of her, her navy-blue sofa, Rako Smart TV, and small kitchen. To her right was the bedroom, everything was exactly how she remembered it. Then she swallows at a realization. She slowly walk over to her nightstand by the bed and opens it. Embarrassment fills her face as she buried her head in her hands. She looks back to see what sort of face he was making and notices he isn't there. She backtracks all the way back to the front door to find him still there. "Are you not following me?" She asks trying to get her confidence back.

"You didn't invite me in. I'm not so shrewd as to walk into your home." He responds flatly.

She presses the green pad and the door hisses shut. A small red laser hits her eye and a few seconds later a peep hole appears. She looks into to see what he is doing is surprised to find him walking away. She presses her face against the door even more and gasps in awe as the eye extends to how she wanted. And sure, enough he is walking down the hall. "Huuuh. Didn't think that would work." She thinks to herself as she walks back in her apartment.

"Sadfjk...Sabar...Sabrina."

Sabrina slowly turns her head towards the sound of her name. Her eyes flutter open and she finds herself in a well-lit room. She starts to sit up and pain floods her body.

"Whoah there. Easy. Your still recovering from surgery."

"Ash? What happened? Where are we?" She asks looking around. Brock, Tracy, and Joy were just off in a little corner kicking rocks. Last thing she remembered was being picked up by armored troops. Brock looks over at her and waves before getting up and walking out.

"Uh, well first off... We're in space. Second... We're alive... Third Nightwing is taking care of us..."

"Whoah, whoah, whoah. Repeat that." She says eyeing him. "Space and who?"

PATISSS

"Oh, your awake." A man clad in black with a blue bird on his chest followed by Brock walks in as if on cue. "How are you feeling? Any pains? Are you hungry? It's been about three days since you've arrived."

"Who are you?" She asks coldly eyeing the man.

"I'm Nightwing. And this is my ship the S.S Harleen Quinzel. Like it or not you are now one of my prisoners. However, I have no intention of harming you. If anything, I have something you all want, you all have something I want." He explains and she continues to glare at him.

"Ahem... Nightwing we are low on instant ramen. When will we get more?" Joy asks tapping on his shoulder.

"Already? What else do you need?"

She hands him a small list and line by line he reads the items. "Also, most of our gear is irreparable. The only things we have are our two M4's one of which the sight is busted, one M40A6 with a shattered scope, three medkits, 200 rounds of ammo, 173 for the M4's and 27 for the M40, and one Pizza MRE."

"YO, PARKS!" He yells looking over his shoulder and a white armored man walks in. "Take Ms. Joy to get whatever they need."

"Roger. Budget sir?" Parks asks.

"... None. If it's not procurable from the ship take her Celadon or something for the rest." He says after thinking for a few seconds.

"Curfew?"

"None. Just ensure she returns safely."

"But I'm a shock troop sir. I'm carrying the Z-6 Rotary Blaster."

"That's why I'm trusting you to ensure she makes it back."

"Understood sir. Shall we ma'am?" He asks offering his arm.

"Of course." She says happily taking it.

"Hey, are they...uuuh, you know... A thing?" Nightwing asks as they leave, and Joy seemed to be closer than necessary.

"I was just about to ask you." Brock responds just as confused.

"As long as she's happy right?" Ash says.

"HEY!" Sabrina yells as everyone seems to be getting along fine. "Why are you all being so chummy with a wanted terrorist?"

"I mean is he really a terrorist? By definition he hasn't really done anything wrong. At most he's like us."

"He is not he kills innocent people under the pretense of looking for Team Rocket."

"And you haven't?" He asks looking at her.

"Never."

"So, you've never had any bystanders get caught in your crossfire?"

"Of course. Not everything goes as planned."

"So, you're a terrorist as well, right?"

"What?"

"Based off your words, you're a terrorist. You do the exact same thing I do. What makes us different hmm? Your backed by your government and I'm not? People don't know about you, but they do me?"

"Hey that's not..." Tracey starts to speak up, but Nightwing just gives him a quick glare.

"You should look at yourself in the mirror before making such accusations Ms. Sabrina." Nightwing tells her and she just coldly glares at him. "Anyway. I'm busy planning my next attack. You know where to find me if you need anything.

And with that Nightwing starts to walk off.

"Why that..."

"Sabrina calm down. He has a point. You can't accuse him of anything when we do the exact same thing."

"But..."

"No buts. Try and get along with him. He did save your life after all."

"Hey Nightwing!" Tracey says calling out to Nightwing.

"Whassup?" He asks turning around.

"Why didn't you correct her? You're not really..."

"Thank you, Tracey. However, people only believe what they want to believe. Trying to force it will only have the opposite effect."

"I suppose that's true." Tracey says sadly. "She'll come around though. I'm sure of it."

"I'm sure she will."

8 Hours Later Viridian Forest on the Outskirts of Celadon City

"Shh." Agron shushes Naevia as they hid in some underbrush

"Find them!", "That girl definitely belongs to him.", "They can't be far."

"Come on lets go." He whispers as the voices and footsteps fade away. The two begin to run as quickly as they can away from where they heard the voices.

"There they are!"

"Crap! This way!"

"Ahahaha. That's so funny." Joy laughs leaning against Parks arm.

"Right? Who would ever think of trying to swallow that many berries whole?"

"That is so true." She chuckles. "Thanks again for today. Because of my job I seldom go out much and the few times I do, I don't often find it easy to make conversation."

"The pleasure is all mine. I'd happily bring you back out an... "Oof." "Ow." The fuck?" Parks wonders looking down at the two children looking back up at him terrified.

"Oh my. Are you two all right?" Joy asks squatting down.

"Nurse Joy!" Both kids cry hugging her.

"Team Rocket is chasing after us. I think their after Naevia. They said she was definitely his kid or something like that." Agron explains.

BOING, BRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE

TINK, TINK, TINK, TINK

"AAAAAAAAH!" All three scream as a blue bubble surrounded them and a loud electric thunder sounds followed by the ricochet of projectiles fills the bubble.

"Joy! Take them back to the gunship now! I'll hold them off!" Parks yells and the bubble shatters.

BRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE

"Come on kids." Joys says grabbing their hands and running. "You better be right behind me!" She yells back to him.

"TAKE COVER!" A grunt yells as blue lasers fills the entire area.

"START THE GUNSHIP!" Joy yells as they burst from the tree line. The two clones on the left side immediately crouch and become alert waiting for enemies to appear.

BANG, BANG, BANG

"START ER' UP!" One on the right sides yells after he bangs on the window. The second one runs slightly past them and posts ready to provide cover.

"Where's Parks?" The co-pilot asks looking back at them.

"He should have been right behind me." Joy replies.

"COVERING!"

PEW, PEW, PEW, PEW

Just as Parks explodes from the tree line the clone who moved to cover Joy and the children opens fire.

"GUNNERS COVER!" The pilot yells.

BOPBOPBOPBOPBOPBOP

Both of the LAAT's gun bubbles swivel and begin firing into the forest.

"GET IN!" The co-pilot commands as Parks climbs in and it starts to lift off. The last three clones climb in and the LAAT begins pulling away.

BOOM

LUUUURCH

"AAAAAAHHH!"

"I GOTCHA!"

"SIR!"

"WAAAAAAAAH!"

Agron, Joy and the remaining two Clones can only watch as after something hits the ship and causes it to lurch sideways and Naevia start to slide out and Parks slides to catch her but misses the door, so Dict grabs him but loses grip. Just before the door closed one of the Clones slides out the Z-6 and a Blaster Rifle out.

"PEPPER 1 TO QUINZEL, PEPPER 1 TO QUINZEL. REQUESTING IMMEDIATE DESCENT, I REPEAT, REQUESTING IMMEDIATE DESCENT. LEFT THRUSTER AND BOOSTER HEAVILY DAMAGED. WILL NOT ACHIEVE ALTITUDE REQUIRED. TWO CLONES AND 1 CHILD MIA. TEAM ROCKET IN HOT PURSUIT. QRF IMMEDIATE SORTIE REQUESTED." The co-pilot yells into the radio. They were currently redirecting as much power to the left wing as possible. The ship was screaming in protest as they kept ascending.

"Quinzel to Pepper 1. All request approved. Quinzel making immediate descent. Two, Tow LAAT's preparing to sortie as well." Comes Nightwing's calm response.

PEW, PEW, PEW, PEW, PEW

"Come kid get up. We gotta go." Parks tells Naevia as Dict covers him. After seeing her to scared to move he scoops her up and then sticks his heavy blaster on his back. CLINK. "DICT, COME ON!" He yells and the two dart off in the forest.