After destroying the drone, I sensed with my Mind's Eye, the door to the ominous building opened. I went inside, and there was nothing special about the large room. There were stairs leading up to an elevator, and on the side of the walls were destroyed remains of a turret equipped with a machine gun. There were several of them; their broken parts littered the floor. I anxiously looked around the room.
Despite knowing there isn't anyone here, I can't help but feel someone's eyes on me. I steadied my erratic breath before going forward carefully, going up the stairs and pressing the button which led to the elevator doors opening.
"Be careful, Red. I tried accessing the cameras, but something is interfering with me."
"G-Got it." With some hesitation, I stepped inside the elevator.
It turns out, this elevator could only go down. There were a couple of floors below, but I pressed for the deepest one. After all, that's where the core is being held. I mean, I would place an important thing on the deepest floor of the earth, too. The elevator drops down, true, I didn't really need to use that since I could just tunnel below, but I wanted to save up on my CE. Something tells me that I'm going to fight soon.
And it's not going to be as easy as with the soldiers. As I waited for the elevator to reach my destination, I began to think about the cores and all the other bases. There are about three cores to fuel the SURVIVOR, and what I'm told there are some false bases also to throw off anyone who wants them. And since this base was probably raided a few hours ago, at least I think it's in that time frame, did Arc's other soldiers secure or attack any other bases? I grit my teeth, wondering if they are executed just like those poor soldiers from above.
Am I too late to potentially save them? I clench my fist, and I hurry quickly. Not long after my musing, the elevator shook to a stop. The door opened, I stepped out.
"Whoa…" I was now in some sort of large room.
Well, 'Large' is a bit of understatement. You could fit a whole town in this room, for goodness' sake! It wasn't just that the room was big; the ceiling was incredibly high. The room was grey, and the walls and floor had a square shape pattern to them.
"Just what is this place?" I whispered under my breath.
"This is a training room, this is the kind of place to train Super Soldiers, that's why the room is so huge. It's similar to the place where you and Atlas fought. Still, this room is far bigger than normal. Look there."
My SEE Goggles zoomed in on the middle of the room, where there lay a circular mechanical thingy on the floor. I could see some wires and several gears littering the floor. I may not be a genius, but it looked like someone tore out something contained here. Was it the core? My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Welcome, boy." The voice came from a speaker from somewhere; the man's voice echoed throughout the room.
I jumped up, floating in a single place while turning around to find the speaker. My Mind's Eye showed me the silhouette of a man below the floor, and judging from the outline, he was riding something massive.
"I knew firing those flares every thirty minutes would get your attention. You took out my squad easily, either you got stronger or you got better control of your powers the last time we fought."
I blinked. The last time we fought? Then it hit me. I clenched my fist.
"I'm guessing you came back for round 2, Atlas?"
This earned me a chuckle from the speaker.
"You bet your freaky little alien ass, I do."
I crossed my arms; he's no doubt watching me from a camera somewhere. I faked yawning and stretching to get under his skin.
"You know this is just going to end up just like last time. Just give it up before you embarrass yourself even more." I said confidently.
I'm stronger than I was before, better prepared, too. If he couldn't beat me while I was low on CE when I fought him, what hope did he have of taking me on at 100% CE?
"This isn't the last time." He said in an ominous tone.
Almost instantly, the floor popped open, the mechanical whirl filled my ears as I watched as something BIG came out of the abyss. It was a humanoid mech, though this one seems more human-looking than the Paladins. Its armour was coloured a sickly green and had orange outlines at the edge of the armour. The least armoured parts were colored black. Its head, looking similar to the NWO Soldiers' helmet, its glowing, round eyes staring at me with vengeance.
On its right arm, it had a black cannon, its large, nearly bigger than the arm itself. Once it crawls out of the hole, the floor covers up, and the thing stands up. My SEE Goggles tell me it's about fifty meters tall. Its humanoid build shares a similarity to a skinny human.
"They rebuilt it…" Gavin growled out.
I felt a cold sweat trail down my neck. Gavin didn't just sound angry, he sounded scared, too. Just what is this thing?
"Nice, new gear, eh? Luckily, I found it lying around here. Feast your eyes, boy! This is the last thing you will see! It may not be as powerful as its successor, but it's more than enough to kill you…Behold, SURVIVOR VERSION 3!"
The SV3 clench its fist, throwing air jabs in the air before going to a fighting position. Those jabs were fast, too.
"Wait, I thought it was destroyed!?"
"No, it wasn't destroyed. I told you, I couldn't even damage that thing even with grenades, missiles and multiple Sars Bomba level explosions dropping on the thing; we had to wait for the core to run out. Still, we damaged it enough to be unusable. Idiots, what were they thinking, repairing it!?"
Darn, if this thing could shrug off nukes like no problem, then this might actually trouble me.
"You really think your new toy would help you? Too bad your muscles aren't as big as your brain!" I say that, but I was worried.
Atlas scoffed at the speaker of the SV3. "I had enough of your taunts. After I kill you, I will bring your head back to Canada and show everyone why Atlas is even mightier than their hero!!"
The SV3 pulls back their arm before swinging it, aimed at me.
"Keep dreaming!" I pulled back my own arm before taking a swing.
Our fists collided, creating a shockwave that pushed both of us back. It only pushed the machines several inches while I was tumbling back out of control in the air. I eventually recovered, my arm shaking. I didn't just feel that; it hurt. Atlas grunted within the machine before being brought to a fighting position once more.
"Any advice?" I mumbled, as I glared at the machine.
"The SURVIVORS Series aren't meant to deal with small targets such as yourself, especially a fast one. Keep moving and don't get caught. Be careful, this version 3 seems different from the one I fought; it's most likely upgraded, which would explain that new railgun." Gavin explains, clicking his tongue in frustration.
I nodded my head and zoomed, aiming for the head. The SV3 threw a jab, but I was already anticipating the counter, quickly dropping down to the floor before pushing myself off, my hands raised in the air as I collided with the machine's chin. This made it stumble, but not before it tried to swat me like a fly. While the machine was surprisingly fast, it was still slow compared to me. I opened my visor and shot my laser eyes at its chest. I did nothing but make a dark spot for the machine.
I clicked my tongue in frustration. I was forced to dodge another strike, this time going high into the air. My visor opened once again, and this time, I shot my optic blasts with more juice. The bigger red laser slammed into its chest, causing it to be pushed back. It uses his hands to block the beam, but it is still pushing it back. I instantly shut off my beam, and before Atlas could recover, I zoomed to its face, bringing my hand all the way back.
I amped my fist with Cosmic Energy and punched, creating a shockwave when my fist collided with the head. This made the SV3 take a few steps backwards; in fact, the metal bent from my blow. Looks like I will win this fight again. I smirked, expecting the fall of the machine any second now.
"Red, move now!"
What? Before I could say anything, miraculously, the machine managed to regain its balance, and I was so stunned that I foolishly stood there when a large green metallic fist hit me so hard, I crashed deep into the wall. I grunted as I got back up.
"Don't get cocky, I'll admit you landed something crispy, but never let your guard down even when they are seemingly helpless."
"Y-Yeah, okay." Honestly, that was embarrassing than it hurt. I can't believe I let myself get hit by that telegraph punch.
I shook my head and left the large crater formed from crashing there. I flew close to him, crossing my arms.
"If that's all you got, then you'd better give up on killing me. Tell you what, if you do, I'll help you get a proper job. I heard Giga Burgers is hiring."
My taunt was successful; he growled like a dog. Before changing his tune to a chuckle.
"I wish you were as quiet as when we first fought. Though I have to admit, fighting you head-on is too troublesome." As soon as he finishes, a green barrier forms around the SV3 covering its whole body.
Meanwhile, the shoulders were popped open to see missiles, all pointed at my head. And they were huge. I could tell, if I got caught by one of them, it would hurt.
"That's new, a forcefield?" Gavin questions.
The missiles fired passed through the shield and came towards me. I ducked and flew around to evade it, but it was following me. I frowned, in that case. I maneuvered in the air before flying straight to the SV3. I yelled and punched the force field, which created a huge crack.
I pulled up at the last moment as the missiles exploded where I had been a second ago. The smoke clears, but the barrier was barely damaged by the missiles. This earned an irritating laugh from Atlas.
"You're going to do better than that, boy!"
This time, the SV3 points his arm cannon at me.
"Red, dodge it!" His alarmed tone made me flinch.
But it was too late, he fired it, and I had no choice but to shell up to guard. A white hot beam came out. The power was intense; it felt extremely hot and painful. The force sent me crashing to the ceiling and even higher than before. I was now out of the building.
The beam faded to nothing as my body was covered in smoke.
"What was that?" I said between heavy breaths.
"Give me a second, I'm trying to hack the database for more info."
Just then, the SV3 crawled out of the roof, sending large pieces of the building everywhere. The machine didn't waste any time, jumping high in the air to grab me. I grabbed its arm before it could grab me, holding it in the air. This thing is quite heavy, possibly the heaviest thing I've ever lifted. I roared as I began to swing around the large machine. I then let it go, sending the SV3 to crash in the rain forest.
This made me wince. I silently apologize for any animal or creature that got flattened by this thing. While the SV3 tried to get up, that barrier appeared again. I slammed my fist on it, which created big cracks, but not enough to break it.
"Crap!"
I was forced to dodge when the machine aimed its arm cannon at me again. This time, I dodged just in time as the white beam vaporized the trees and the ground nearby.
"Got it, this weapon is a railgun, but a super advanced version one. Instead of firing projectiles at high velocity, from uses electric power. It uses nuclear power and electric power to create some sort of antimatter. It might be even more destructive than any nuclear bomb created!" Gavin explains.
Seriously, no wonder it hurts. That means I should avoid getting hit by that thing at all costs. I looked to see how much CE I still have.
[CE : 57%]
I would have to eat soon, but for now, I should have enough for the time being. The SV3 popped missiles again, firing at me, but I easily took care of them with one swift blast from my laser eyes.
"Red, you need to keep striking the shield into the same place you punched, that way it would break easier, don't worry about the railgun, with a powerful weapon like that, it must have a cooldown, no wonder Atlas isn't spamming it!"
I nod my head before charging at the SV3, firing my optic blasts once more, hitting the cracks, weakening them even further. I roared as I slammed both fists into the green forcefield, successfully shattering it. I didn't have time to admire my handiwork as I delivered a barrage of punches to the machine's chest, the armour dents and cracks from my blows. I felt the SV3 trying to grab me, so I flew back up. It uses its other hand for another haymaker, which I dodge again.
"Stand still, you brat!!" Atlas screamed at the speaker, trying to punch me, but I was too quick and nimble; it's also hard to hit a small target like me.
"Aww, are you crying to mommy for being slow?" I mocked this earned me a furious roar from Atlas.
He points his railgun cannon at me.
"Red, dodge!" Gavin shouts.
But I suddenly got an idea. Not sure if it's going to work, but it's worth trying. I pulled back my head, feeling extreme heat in my eye before firing my optic blast at max power just before the SV3's white beam released from the cannon. The two powerful energies collided, creating a powerful explosion which made me soar in the air uncontrollably for a few moments. I pant, as I managed to get control of myself.
I am tired and running low on CE. I just have about 20%. While all my burns and wounds have already healed, I still feel like crap. Still, it was all worth it, as when my beam collided with his, the explosion did significant damage to the SV3. Mainly its arm, it had been blown to smithereens with only wires and a large metal screw hanging off being left. The railgun was only pieces of metal scrap which lay uselessly in the ground.
Atlas roars in fury.
"RED JUSTICE!!"
"Yeah, this is Red Justice."
"You might have taken my greatest weapon, but I have more than enough firepower to take you on, you freak!!"
I frowned before zooming to his head, drawing back my arms filled with red lightning and my optic blasters ready to fire.
"Shoutgun Breaker!"
I slammed my fist and my beam at the same time into the machine's head, which caused a powerful shockwave that sent the SV3 knocking it to the ground. One of its red eyes was shattered, and its head was badly mangled, showing me the metal wires and metal underneath.
"The only freak here is you. I'm not the one who wanted to blow up all of Toronto because I'm insecure about my place in the world."
"You…you…" Atlas growled out, trying to get his machine to get back up.
Though it's difficult since he only has one arm to pull himself up. Still, it's way too durable, and my powers aren't good for a prolonged fight. Amidst him getting it, I grabbed another chocolate bar and ate it dramatically, my eyes never leaving the SV3.
"That was a good move, Red, even I didn't expect that!" Gavin complimented.
I remained silent. I formulated a plan to take it down. None of my special moves will be useful. Machine-Gun, Cyclone Breaker and Cleave Breaker aren't good for dealing with huge opponents. There is nothing in my arsenal that could beat this thing without wasting any more CE. My eyes drifted to the sky, and an idea popped into my head.
It sounded dangerous and kind of stupid, but it's the kind of thing that it just might work. Finally, the SV3 stood back on its two legs, damaged but enough to keep fighting. It tries to swat me away, but I quickly pull back.
"You little punk, there is nothing you can do to bring this godlike machine down. Just make it easier for both of us and die!"
I snorted. "Are you sure?"
I said before vibrating at high speed to the point my form was invisible. This caused Atlas to shout in alarm.
"What!? Where are you!?"
The machine then flinches before suddenly landing face-first in the dirt. I reappeared with my hands grabbing the huge metal leg of the machine.
"Hope you throw up, butthole!" I shout before launching to the sky with the SV3 on tow.
As I flew upwards, Gavin spoke up in alarm. "Red, what are you doing!?"
"Don't worry about it, just trust me!"
The SV3 could only move around aggressively, trying to get its leg off my grip.
"RED JUSTICE!! YOU BETTER LET ME GO RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR-"
"What, sorry, can't hear you!" I interrupted whatever he was saying by spinning him around, still flying higher in the air.
I prayed to the god all mighty, he's puking in his pilot's cockpit. It didn't take long for us to reach space, and that's where I let him go, the SV3 floating helplessly in space as ice formed around its metal armour. It was completely helpless; it could no longer move. I could only imagine the look of expression on Atlas's has. But I wasn't done yet, I gave the SV3 a wink, hoping Atlas saw it before I zoomed past it and headed for the moon.
I landed softly on the moon, and the quietness gave me a sense of peace. I took a deep inhale despite the fact that there was no air to breathe. Red cosmic lightning wrapped around my form before glaring in the direction where the floating SV3 is, before jumping off the moon, gaining speed quickly. I roared to the heavens as my two fists collided with its chest. I pushed it down, and we returned back to the Earth's atmosphere.
It didn't take long for the SV3 to catch on fire due to how fast we were going. I pushed even harder, which caused our fall to be even faster. And eventually, a loud explosion was created as a result of our landing. I was pushed back, crashing to the dirt, hissing at my broken arms and scratches on my cheek.
"Ow, that hurt more than I thought," I say as I struggle to get up.
"Well, that was reckless, but good job, Red."
I grunted, feeling my wounds and arm repair themselves to a normal state. I grabbed whatever food was left in my utility belt and consumed it, which returned my CE to nearly max percent. I looked at the sign before me. We landed near a lake, so thankfully, there weren't any fires caused by the explosion. I didn't need the rainforest to be a wasteland; I already did a crap ton of damage to it, even if unintentionally. I floated near the machine, which was badly damaged.
Actually, no, it's an understatement, cause I doubt anyone is going to repair that anytime soon. I doubt Atlas would even pilot that thing. All of its limbs are torn off or beyond repair, and half of its head is missing. And there was a lot of stuff to tell me that I won this fight. I let out a sigh of relief.
The fight against the SV3 is over, and damaged to the point where it would never be repaired. But the real fight wasn't over, I could feel someone's silhouette dragging themselves on top of the machine, he stood up to the destroyed head of the SV3, glaring at me fiercely. I put on a cocky smile, but I clench my fist. The hard part may be over, but fighting Atlas isn't a walk in the park either. I see him touch his bleeding head and look at it.
He clenches his fist and bares his teeth at me.
"You…motherf-"
"Language!" I quickly called out, but it only irritated him further. Good.
He was ready to fight, and so was I. And this time, I'm planning to give him a bigger bruise.