Chapter VIII: Earthshock
#8 of The Outsiders
Koji opened his eyes waking up on a soft comfortable bed, soft blankets draped over his body, his head was on a comfortable and soft pillow. He looked up and knew he was in the headquarters. An IV was in his arm, the liquid dripping down into his bloodstream. The IV made him think for a second, and he remembered everything. His last memory was blanking out as the cyborg armor took over. He panicked, his hands moved to his chest and shoulders feeling them for any metal armor. He felt his back, two metal plates were attached to his back.
He thought back to what happened after that, he couldn't think back. No memories were in Koji's mind, he had nothing all he knew was that he was turned into a cyborg in Mexico and over the course of a unknown time he returned to the facility and turned back into normal.
He turned his head and looked to the left, there was no one around him and he was alone. He backed up on the bed and stood his back and head up. He clinched as the metal plates on his back clinked with the metal head stand. He looked around and saw a red button on a black box. He looked closer and read "press for nurse", he reached over, his arm burning in a sudden pain. He pulled his hand back and held it. He slowly put out his hand for the button and pressed down on it, a small bing from the device letting him now that someone was summon.
He looked to the left and saw a pile of presents on his left. He knew that could either mean one thing. He was out during Christmas and his friends had given him his presents. He hoped he wasn't out for so long they just stayed their and were never opened but he would have to find out.
Their were other clues, he still had an IV in his arm. This meant he was only in for a short time, feeding tubes would be only put in if the patient was expected to be out for a long time, the material in IVs able to give enough to support a life.
He heard the subtle knocks of footsteps around the corner and knew someone was approaching. They leaned in for a second to make sure it was real, Koji made eye contact and knew who it was. J.D ran in practically jumping towards the bed, he grabbed and squeezed Koji in a tight bear hug, placing kisses on his cheeks. He looked up in J.D's eyes and saw there were tears of joy.
"Oh Koji, I thought I never talk to you again, never hear you sweet voice.", He said cuddling up to Koji. They embraced, as if J.D was trying to make sure it was really him, "Before you ask you were out for one week, the metal plates on your back arethe remains of your cyborg armor, and Eric is back. Jackson will explain everything."
"Oh J.D, I never thought that once I went into that room that I'd see you again. That I would have killed you, but somehow I, no we pulled trough. I want to say I love you.", Koji blurted out.
"I love you too!", J.D said pulling him back into the hug. They continued to hug for what seemed on for minutes the two lovers just enjoying each other brace. J.D pulled away and flipped over on the bed. Koji laid down again and cuddled with J.D.
"Two questions, if I was only out for one week then its the 23rd, why are there presents?", Koji said looking back at then pointing at the pile of presents that acculated on the side of your bed.
"We might have got a little lazy and put them their a few days ago thing you'd be out at little longer.", J.D said rubbing the back of his head and laughing a bit, Koji joined into too.
"Second, so where is the orca?", Koji asked his curiosity getting the best of him. J.D looked at him not expecting that question. He though about the question for a second and how to best put it. "Well where's Jackson?", Koji said sounding worried.
"He's making sure Samantha is put away for ever.", He said returning to cuddling with Koji.
"Well, well, well Samantha look at this now this doesn't look so good at all.", Jackson said as taunted the tigress from the other side of a laser wall, "Your trapped in there, and you can never brother me or my team again, so now I have one question for you. Why?"
"You always liked to ask the big questions first. Well lets say Interpol has currently alined its interests with Bright and his group of dragons. Don't call them they won't answer.", She said before going over to her bed and laying down, "Now this is the part where you go."
"One last question, why me?", Jackson said sounding serious.
"Because after all these years you still can't say no to me. You're still the little Orca bitch I worked with.", She said closing her eyes and ignoring Jackson as he walked away, walking past countless prisoners, not noticing their wolf whistles and other methods of getting his attention. Those words sunk into him, and really made him think about himself.
Ignoring the other prisioners he walked out into the room before the lobby and passed trough the scanner, nothing on him setting it off. He grunted as he passed trough the lobby, it could be worse he looked at the crying parents and lonely wives and husbands of new inmates. He had it good, he wouldn't let what Samantha said bother him. He walked out of the glass doors of the Las Vegas High Security Prison and towards his car.
He walked to the other side of the car and got in the driver side. Eric leaned over and Jackson leaned over towards him as they kissed. In the last week Eric and Jackson had gotten together after many years of sexual tension towards each other.
"That was good.", Jackson said in a sexy voice, "Eric, can you get me infomation on Interpol." Jackson asked, Eric snapped out of it and began typing on the computer. Jackson put in his keys and pressed down on the gas petal.
"Interpol is a french run organization that bases itself on preventing international crime with as little political infuence as possible, I think Samantha might have broken that one.", Eric said as he read off his computer.
Jackson walked towards the infirmary, Eric behind him. He was nervous because he was afraid that Koji might feel some resentment to him because he couldn't remove the armor and left him with the cyborg armor. He was also worried that Koji would ask about what happened in Mexico and that was a question he couldn't answer, he had no memories of what happened after his bllood was taken, a complete day of no memories,
"Hey Koji how ya feeling?", He said peaking into the room, he walked over towards Koji's bed and pulled a chair over, next to the bed and sat down.
"Drained. What happened?', Koji asked getting back up on the bed, cringing when he heard the metal plates on his back
"Bright added nanobots into your blood stream and they replicated into a cyborg armor and took you over. We managed to get your back and Eric recoded the evil out of the system, and managed to get it back to its simplest state but it was to embedded into your spinal cord to remove without paralyzing you, I so sorry."
Koji stood silent as he took all that in.
"It seems that the nanobots were designed to increase your powers, it channels your energy lines and is able to drain and hold 20 times the amount of energy that you could normally do.", Eric said holding up a hologram of Koji with his armor.
"Not now Eric.", J.D said, "Let Koji rest, he's been trough a lot. We've been trough a lot."
Raoul Santos was running down a street, passing countless people, furs, and drunks. Behind him three members of Jack Ruby's gang running behind him and following him. He was a Black Panther, he was short only standing at 7ft 2inches, his large perky ears bounced as he ran down the street, his fluffy tail sung back and forth behind him.. His winter vest flew in the wind over his red and black plaid shirt, his dress pants the same.
He was being chased for unknown reasons. Five minutes ago he was at a party suddenly the gang members waltzed in and started to chase him, he ran out of the party and down the street. He looked around knowing that he would be a sitting duck to any gun fire they could use.
He looked around and realized he was in the section of the city with many appartments, he saw his escape in an alley quickly turning into. He stopped for only a second finding a fire escape. He jumped up, his hands clinging on to the later, he pulled his legs up and climbed onto the balcony.
He climbed up the fire escape stairs reaching the top floor. He was trapped the fire escape ended to low from him to jump to the roof. He looked across the alleyway and saw in the corner of his eye the gang members walking in. They pointed up and grabbed their guns, he acted quickly. He jumped up on to rail and jumped across, bullets speeding past him as he crossed the alley.
He climbed up another flight of stairs and jumped up on to the roof the building. He looked down on the gang members as they started to climb the fire escape on the buidling, "Come on, speed up give me a good chase!", He turned around and started to walk across the building trying to get a head start on his chasers.
He crossed the roof and noted the garden with lights. He came to a stop when he saw the alleyway too big for him to cross. "Crap, well time for Plan B.", He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He waited for a second and the three came up on the roof. He looked down at his phone as they approched him. They crossed into the garden, and he pressed down on a button of his phone.
With in a fraction of a millisecond, a signal was blasted out, it traveled into the network. A blast of electricity was shot into the electrical system, the lights exploded out in sparks as it was overloaded. The three fell to the ground as they were shocked. Raoul turned around again and jumped landing in another alley.
He looked around and was horrifed when he noticed he was trapped in. Four wall surrounded him in what would be a inside garden. He made his way over to a door and started to bang against it but it was locked from the inside. He stood silent as he heard the three get up and start to run towards the inside garden.
He stood silent not a breath as he saw the shadows look down into the garden searching for life. They backed off for a second and Raoul let out a sigh of relief. He prepared to find a way out of the garden, but he heard conversation. The three jumped down into the garden, and each pulled out a gun.
"Hey no need to get pushy.", Raoul said, "Just get away from me.", He said as he was backed up against the wall. They stood silent as they started to search his pockets. Two held his arms to thw building and the third backed up. The third put his hand to his hip and grabbed a gun. He slowly brought it up and pointed it towards Raoul.
Raoul started to breath heavy as he realized these would be his last moments in his life. His hands started to shake with fear as the gunman took aim at his head. It would have been his last breath, as if a miracle the ground started to shake, the shot missing as the gunman was off aim. The ground around him started to crack as the two gunmen to his side backed off.
Raoul's eyes changed from a deep blue into a brown-gold color as everything he need to know came to his knowledge. He raised his arms up and the ground started to shake. Pillars of rock shot up in the garden. Plants were teared up and fruits were oblitated by the pilars rising up from the ground.
Pillars rised up and the ground shook as an earthquake was unleashed upon Las Vegas and the surroudning areas and towns. The ground beneath him shook with a force Raoul released. Up and down the ground shook, metal in building started to collasped, windows started to break, people huddled under tables.
People ran as electrity accross the city was shut down to prevent fires; furs, people, and drunks all running in pitch black night trying to find somewhere to escape and live trough the earthquake.
One Hour Earlier
Koji and J.D sat together, across from each other at a table. A candle was lit between them, and a plate of food was between them, both of them were wearing suits, Koji was wearing a three piece suit; the coat and vest both black and the shirt white, a striped yellow and black tie. J.D, a double breasted suit, and a black tie.
Both awkwardly sat their chairs poking at their food, Koji silent because he didn't know what to say, J.D the same. Koji finally spoke up, "So J.D how was your day?", He said then poking at his meal.
"Fine, you woke up so that was great. Then I went out and got you another present.", J.D said taking a bite out of his meal.
"Ahh, now I feel bad. I still haven't gotten you anything. I'll go out tomorrow and get you something for Christmas. Wait your still a Kagen God, how do you know about Christmas?", Koji asked then taking another bite of his meal.
"Well the dimensional barrier can be passed through either with the Black Books witch is how i got here, or during a time of gravitational misbalance between the Sun, Moon, and Earth, such as caused by an Syzygy alinement, but this only last for a short day period and passing between the barrier is very painful and taxes a lot of energy from the person passing."
"So the Kagens studied the world in the short hours they had on Earth?", Koji said after swallowing his meal.
"No, we just hooked up Wikipedia, and then we found bad editing.", J.D said causing Koji to laugh.
"But wait how did you fight at the Bering Strait? Wait did you use your powers to recreate the same conditions and break the barrier.", Koji figured out.
"Guilty as charged.", J.D said causing Koji to laugh again.
"So then why didn't you help the humans when the the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse struck?", Koji asked then taking another bite out of his meal.
"Well we tried to pass the barriers when it happened but the mass rioting in the first prevented us from locking on one person to give, during the second robot apocalypse we could hide from the robots and during the third and fourth the nuclear radiation affected the Earth in such way that in compensated for the gravitation distortion during the aliment and the barrier was even stronger during normal times.", J.D said.
"And when the furs came you had furs you could lock onto and then could pass back through the barrier?", Koji reasoned.
"Your completely right, and your who I locked on to. You are who allowed me to pass through the black books and let me come here.", J.D said in the most romantic way possible, Koji felt wrong he didn't feel anything. He felt no love, no compassion, nothing. It was all blank for him, he didn't want to worry J.D so he leaned over and kissed him anyway
Koji started to freak out mentally, why did he not feel anything. He should feel love, lust, anything for this man that he was dating. He felt nothing. Instantly he felt like he was in a dark hole again, stuck and trapped. He looked outside and saw something he would think would bring back these feelings.
"Check please.", They left the resturant after paying and made their way back. "Wait I want to try something. Close your eyes I'll lead you.", Koji asked.
"Sure but don't think because I love you that trick will work.", J.D joked with Koji. J.D closed his eyes and Koji placed his hands around J.D's face. They walked over, with in time J.D was signaled to sit down, and Koji took his hands off and put them on J.D's feet. He pulled off J.D's shoes and placed another pair on.
"Let me ask you have you ever gone Hoverskating?", Koji said as they walked out on the floor, the hovershoes activated instantly and they started to float. Koji pushed his foot back slowly dragging J.D along with him. J.D was flimsy and clusmy at first slipping with his footwork. The two moved into a circle joining along with the numerous couples that were in the ring. They floated for a few minutes going along with the soft music.
Koji extended his arm out J.D floating out. Koji looked into J.D's eyes and felt the love shining out. He felt wrong he felt like this wasn't right, that it wasn't meant to be. He tried to emulate the love he felt but he couldn't. He did something he wasn't used to, he pulled J.D in, the two meeting and started to kiss. They continued but J.D started to sence something wasn't right.
J.D pulled back, "What's wrong?", He was so sincere and kind. Koji could stand it, he did something he would never done. He ran, he ran of the ring and dropped off his shoes and disappeared. He couldn't see J.D, he could bear to not feel love for J.D.
Koji walked down the street sulking in the lack of feelings, that he couldn't feel love or any other good emotion. That after getting filled with so many emotions, so many that he loved to leave, just rippped away. To be returned to the same state of a lonely, shallow shark that he once was.
As if the world wanted to make him feel worse the ground started to shake, an earthquake! Koji stopped in his tracks. He was nearly knocked off of his feet as the shaking increased. He knew that their was no way they would have an earthquake this strong, too far from the San Andreas Fault Line for them to have anything over a 5.0, this felt like a 6.0 to Koji. He regained his balance and pulled out his phone, he dialed Jackson.
"We have a new Super or a new Outsider. One of the two.", He said over the phone as he started to make his way towards his motorbike. He stumbled trough the monsterous shaking, trying to keep his balance. He had to suffle and not raise his feet to move.
"Its on the strip, I'm having Eric block of the roads and start to clear the area.", Jackson said over the phone. Koji got on the bike and struggled as he got out of the keys. He put it in ingition slot and the shaking stopped, The tires spun 90 degrees, and the back-up hover engine activating. Koji out his phone away and insteed put in the bluetooth.
"What do we got Jackson?", Koji said into his bluetooth. He drove off, the GPS automatically coming up and the directions towards the source of the quake. He drove into the street waiting for a reply.
"One second I'm phoning in Eric, he was closest to the source.", The line buzzed with static and Koji could tell Eric was on.
"Before you ask watch has Anti-Inertia Sheild so that won't affect me, I live near here and was illegally gambling, hang on a second.", Suddenly the phone line was overtaken with static. "Sorry had to taze a gang member, their flooding in. What's your ETA?"
"5 minutes.", Koji said returning to his dark emotionless voice he used before met Koji.
"Not asking about the tazing app, but we'll be their soon, keep the barriers up, keep the gang members out and figure out why Kost's gang is interested in the source.", Jackson said, suddenly two gun shots went over the line.
"Two in the legs.", Eric said, "Gonna hang up now, might go Were-Crocodile.", He said and his phone went off.
"Ok, so either way get to the source, and calm him or her down. Don't appear like any ememy and just calm them down.", Jackson said then hanging up himself.
Koji drove off making his way towards the strip.
Eric walked down the street, avoiding members of Kost's Gang gang that were running away or towards the origin of the shaking. Eric pressed his watch again and looked down on the holographic figure that was calculating. He turned to the left and stopped when he arrived near a building.
He looked to the left and made his way towards and alley. He entered the alley and climbed up the fire escape, taking the route Raoul took. He arrived on the roof and passed past the garden and wires sparking electricity.
He looked down and saw the shaking Black Panther alone in a corner. He placed his hand on the watch and turned off the shield. He started to shake again, and had to lower his center of weight. He made his way down into the garden climbing down, letting go of the roof and landing on the ground.
He looked over at the Black Panther, sitting alone in the corner, helpless as he unleashed his uncontrolable powers. It almost reminded Eric of himself, when he turned into the Werecrocodile. He made his way over to Raoul, the shaking increasing as he got closer.
He put his hand around Raoul's neck, pulling him closer. He pulled his other hand and pulled Raoul into a hug, conforting the Black Panther. In a moment Raoul noticed Eric hugging and opened his eyes.
"Calm down, your safe now. No one will hurt you anymore.", Eric whispered into Raoul's ear, "Calm youself, stop the earthquake. I'm your friend.", Raoul looked up and stared into Eric's eyes. The shaking slowed down and stopped eventually.
"It's ok, calm down were here to help.", Eric said as he let go of the Black Panther. "Now, come on you've been through alot lets get you home.", Eric said as the two got up, the ordeal over.
Two Days Later, December 25...
Samantha stood in cell outside, dragons flew out flying past and escaping. She waited patiently waiting for her escape, she opened her eyes. The stream of dragons stopped flying past, and instead the lasers on her door disappeared. She walked out to join Bright.
"Well, well, well. Look who've I found.", He said as they walked out towards the entrance. As if planned, four S.W.A.T guards jumped out pointing their guns at Samantha and Bright.
"Shall I sir.", Samantha asked Bright as they both put their hands in the air. Bright gave her look and she got the idea. "Good plan sir." The guards we knocked back as black matter materialized in front of them. All four guards were knocked down, and the black matter reappeared, Darkwing followed by StripeArmor walked out.
DarkWing looked different, his green scales stopping at his lower arm. Below that thick blue skin covered his arms down to his wrist. A blue fin stuck out of his wrist. The green scales continued again covering his hands. Out of his black two fins stuck out, a result of of a genetic mishap. His legs were the same like his arms, the scales covering the top, then shark skin and back to scales. A fin was on the back of his ankles. DarkWing's teeth were sharper and he seemed more aerodynamic.
"Samantha, meet my newest creation. A combination of the Dragon and Shark Viruses, The Orca's ability and the Shark's ability. Meet the Shargon.", Bright announced as DarkWing roared out.