Ch 914 - Cybernetic Self-Defense 101

Yvonne, Debbie, Christopher and Louis were all chained up in Riley's torture chamber. After the cyborgs had found the women during their attempt to escape, Riley decided to lock everyone up for good.

Occasionally, he would send the cyborgs in to terrorize the crew, but other than that, they were left to their own devices. The grew weaker every second they had to wait for Alex to save them.

Yvonne was bored out of her mind. The only thing that she could do was take note of the guard who had been positioned to watch them. He was massive, but nowhere near as big as the super soldiers. His dark hair was shaved in a buzz cut, and he had beady blue eyes. Like all the other guards they had seen, he wore a black Naysmith Security uniform, complete with various decorations along the arms and a massive automatic rifle.

"I like your rifle," Yvonne said to the guard.

The guard scowled at her and hefted his gun, aiming at her. He put his finger on the trigger, ready to fire. Yvonne screamed in fear. When the guard was satisfied with watching her squirm, he lowered the gun and returned to his position. Yvonne gulped, then turned her head around to face the others.

Christopher was on her right, his mouth slowly moving as if he were talking to someone. Yvonne looked away. She didn't want to think of any of her friends as stir crazy just yet. She preferred to think of them as innocent people who were unjustly imprisoned.

"I'm going crazy," Debbie mumbled.

"How long have you guys been here?" Yvonne asked Christopher.

Christopher shrugged. "A day? Ten minutes? It all feels the same."

Yvonne let the topic drop. Things were bad enough without her trying to lighten the mood.

Just then, Riley entered the torture chamber with John the Executioner. He spread his arms as if he were greeting old friends. "How are my favorite captives doing?"

No one responded. Yvonne looked the two up and down. She realized something was missing. "Where's the little, ugly, stupid French robot?"

Riley shot Yvonne a devious grin. "Oh, you won't believe it! That's exactly what I came in here to tell you! I had my assistant send our dear cyborg friend, Robespierre, to pay your precious, perfect Alex a little visit."

The crew all exchanged hopeful glances.

Well, Yvonne thought. Au revoir, Robespierre.

***

Alex stood, alone, in the empty building enraged. Riley tricked him. He sent Alex a fake address, and Alex bought it.

Riley had Yvonne, Debbie, Christopher and Louis held prisoner, and Alex had no clue where they were.

He stood in the empty pharmacy, feeling totally dejected and helpless.

"If they aren't here, I'm going to have to check every Naysmith Pharmacy in Baltimore. And Kylie said he has eyes everywhere. I'm going to have to tear the city down to find him."

However, Alex would not have to look to far. Riley was already sending trouble his way.

[SFX: smashing glass]

Alex spun on his heels, landing in a defensive stance, his arms out, prepared to strike.The fake shelves blocked the windows, not allowing any light through. He couldn't find the source of the glass. As his vision adjusted to the darkness, he saw a shape. It was tall, and human-shaped. Alex relaxed a little, pulling his arms down.

"Hello?" he asked.

The shape said nothing, and Alex wondered if he was seeing things.

"Are you the person who messaged me?" he asked,

Again, no response. Now was not the time to test Alex's patience.

"One more time," Alex said, starting to get angry. "Who. Are. You?"

The room suddenly filled with bright white light. Alex shut his eyes and threw his arms up against the glare.

The glaring light faded to a reasonable level, and Alex opened his eyes. Standing in front of him was a man dressed in a standard issue military uniform, only he wore a powdered wig instead of a beret or helmet. Alex knew by the glowing red eyes that the man was a cyborg, and he was reminded of something Kylie had said about Riley:

"He got really into French history."

"Robespierre," Alex whispered.

At the mention of his name, the cyborg snapped to attention.

"You are Alex Ambrose," said the cyborg. "An honor to make your acquaintance. And to end your life."

Before Alex could say anything, a massive burst of energy hit him in his core. He flew backwards and crashed hard against the wall, smacking his head. He fell to the floor, dazed and confused. There was a brief, terrifying moment of blackness as he lost his vision. When it returned, he blinked to find Robespierre standing above him, his glowing red eyes full of fury.

"I have been sent to end you," he said in a robotic French accent. "Please comply."

He held up both of his robotic hands, which retracted into his arms. Two circular saws replaced them, and they whirred viciously.

Alex swallowed and tried to think, but his mind was fuzzy. He was struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. Robespierre leaned in, his red eyes bright in the darkness, and he reached out toward Alex, mini chainsaws grinding horribly.

The door flew open, and Gary raced in, tackling the cyborg Robespierre in a flash. The mighty steed stood with his hooves pressed against the cyborg, pinning him to the ground. Robespierre's glowing red eyes flared with simulated rage as he struggled against the horse's strength. Gary raised one hoof and knocked him hard in the head. That only enraged the cyborg further, and he gripped Gary's forlocks in his strong cyborg grip.

Gary neighed wildly, thrashing with his back legs. Rosepierre thrust against Gary's weight and threw him back. Gary toppled, falling to his side, then he stood up, and rounded once more on the cyborg. He rushed Robespierre, circling him and kicking with his back legs. Robespierre was ready, and deflected the super horse's attacks with a heavy push. Gary skidded forward, barely catching himself. He stood, shaking from exertion, and cast an apologetic look at Alex. Then, he ran out the door as fast as he could, leaving Alex alone with the crazed cyborg.

Alex flew to his feet and made for the door. He crashed against it. Behind him, Robespierre pieced himself back together, turning his head and recalibrating his hands. Robespierre turned his evil head toward Alex, and Alex became panicked. He threw his shoulder against the door, and pain radiated through his body. He tried again, yielding the same result.

Then he felt a sudden urge of strength. He felt something inside him telling him to try again. Was it intuition? It certainly wasn't the very aggravated Robespierre.

Alex gathered all his bodily strength and threw himself against the door, throwing his weight behind it for good measure. The door broke open into the street in a shower of glass shards and broken wood.

People on the street stopped and stared. Some had walked right into it and were nursing wounds. Bent over and feeling on high alert, Alex looked around. The woman next to him had fallen to the ground and was nursing a cut on her arm. A glass shard stuck out of it. Alex felt a twinge of guilt and knelt down to help her.

She shied away, crying and terrified.

"It's okay," he said. "I won't hurt you. I'm a pharmacist, let me look at it."

Alex was many things, and a pharmacist was just one of them. He gently pulled the glass shard out of the wound. Blood poured out at a steady pace.

"Anyone have a scarf or a bandage?" he asked, looking around at the onlookers. "Quick!"

A nearby man gave him the red scarf he was wearing, and Alex tied it around the woman's arm as a makeshift bandage. She looked up at him with teary, grateful eyes.

"Thank you," she whimpered. "What was that?" She looked toward the pharmacy, with its broken door. A few people were looking inside, perplexed. Alex caught a slight glimpse of red light.

"Get to a hospital," he told the woman. "You'll need stitches." Then, louder, he ordered, "EVERYONE RUN!"

Robespierre burst into the street, bringing down the front wall of the pharmacy. The whole building collapsed, leaving a pile of ruble in between the takeout place and the dry cleaners. At Alex's command, the people had started to run, although several got lost in the cloud of dust and debris that rose around them. Roebspierre stood among the debris like a sentinel of death.

Alex stood, quelling the fear that threatened to overtake him.

"It's me you want," he said, puffing out his chest. "Leave the innocent people of Baltimore alone."

Robespierre lowered his head. "As you wish."

The fight began.

Alex looked around frantically for a weapon, but found nothing. He found himself wishing for a fire extinguisher as Robespierre's right hand turned into a gun. Robespierre aimed and fired at Alex's head. Alex ducked just in the nick of time. The bullet landed in a streetlight. The light flashed several times, then winked out.

The same feeling came over Alex again. He felt stronger than ever. It was like an adrenaline rushing through his whole body. He found himself focusing all his energy inward. There was something within him that felt warm and sharp, something that was ready to come out. That feeling was familiar.

Robespierre lunged for Alex, and Alex grabbed Robespierre by both arms. He wrenched them backward, not quite tearing them, but temporarily disabling the cyborg. Alex landed a strong kick in the cyborg's abdomen, sending him flying backwards.

Alex stood still and blinked a few times. Robespierre had flown at least twenty feet, crashing into, and breaking open, a fire hydrant. Water spurted into the open sky, flooring the road and sidewalk. Robespierre stood up. There was a massive dent in his head from where he had smacked into the hydrant.

What the hell did I just do? He thought, surprised.

The cyborg made a bunch of clanking noises, and the gun grew to three times its size. People began to run like mad in all directions when they realized what was happening. Nobody wanted to be around when the cyborg started shooting up the street. Robespierre stood up and aimed his gun hand once more at Alex. He let rip, unleashing a hail of bullets on Alex. Several innocent people got caught in the crossfire, and Alex roared with rage.

"NO INNOCENTS!" he screamed, barging through the crowd. He dodged people as best he could, deflecting bullets with a simple wave of his hand. A bullet grazed his side, and he grimaced as something warm spilled down his skin.

"NO PROMISE WAS MADE!" Robespierre declared, recharging his gun.

Alex braced himself as he made for Robespierre, determined to put an end to the miserable robot once and for all. He almost tripped over a dog that was running away from the cyborg, and he was almost swallowed by the swarm of people.

He reached Robespierre and grabbed the gun, trying to turn it back on the cyborg. Robespierre resisted, yanking his arm back from Alex. He struck Alex in the side, right where the bullet had grazed him. Alex cried in pain, then kicked Robespierre in the ribs. The two continued to grapple, but Robespierre pulled out and rounded on Alex. The cyborg wrapped his arms about Alex's neck and applied pressure. Alex hardened himself and grabbed Robespierre's arms, yanking hard. The cyborg's arms came away as easily as two puzzle pieces.

Robespierre fell away from Alex, looking confused. His red eyes wavered as he looked at the two holes where his arms should be. Then, he looked back at Alex, glaring with rage.

He barrelled toward Alex, head down and screaming metallically.

Alex landed one final punch on the cyborg, square in the chest. The force of the impact sent the cyborg flying backwards, almost to the end of the street.

Alex blinked, trying to process what he had just done.

It's like I have super strength, Alex realized.

Feeling depleted, Alex stood stock still for a moment. Panting for breath, he leaned against a nearby wall. His hair fell down his dust-smeared face. His designed clothes had become filthy in the fighting, and his shirt was so torn it exposed his muscular frame.

He was aware of a presence standing near him. He gave a sidelong glance at the man who stood a few feet from him. The man was maybe in his fifties, had graying hair, and thick-framed black glasses obscured most of his lean face. He wore a pressed white shirt and a sleek blue suit with a pocket protector that had a colorful array of pens.

"Hello," he said. "Ken Stokes. Baltimore City News. That was quite the show."

"Thanks," Alex said, panting. "Give me a minute, maybe I have the energy for act two."

Ken blinked, confused. "You're getting ready for another fight?" he asked.

"No," said Alex, turning so that he was facing Ken Stokes. "I was trying to be funny."

"Ah, I see," said Ken. "At any rate, that was incredibly impressive."

"What do you want?" Alex demanded, turning his gaze toward the horizon. There was a black dot flying fast toward him.

"An interview," Ken said excitedly. "A television special. We have a ton of footage of your exploits, helping the woman with glass in her arm, and tearing the arms off the robot. You're truly the hero Baltimore needs in a time of crisis. I want to put you on national television. Make you the face of safety and security. Clearly there's something huge going on, and you're trying to stop it."

The dot on the horizon was getting closer, and it took the form of an armless cyborg running at full speed toward them. Alex knew he had a matter of minutes, if not seconds, before Robespierre caught up to him, and they got into round two. Alex barely had time to catch his breath.

"Hold that thought," said Alex.

Alex positioned himself as Robespierre crashed into him. The propulsion jets in his military boots fired up, pushing them both off the ground.

"Somebody get a camera!" Ken Stokes yelled.

Holding on for dear life, Alex tried to steer Robespierre. They crash landed on a nearby rooftop, where their final battle began.