Rebel 2

by Riker Kane

  He walked into the arena and the loud blare of trumpets filled the speakers. Shortly after, a rock guitar riff ripped through the air followed by golden sparks showering down from the lights above.

  “Proxy…” He turned around and looked up at the blond in the Operator booth.

  “It’s your last battle in Santa Fe,” Proxy said in his earpiece. “Time to go out with a bang.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen! It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The main event of the evening right here in the Vicious Sanctum! The battle has finally arrived! Introducing first… stepping onto the southern end of the grid. Undefeated in the Sanctum, we have the dynamic duo of Zigzag and the Rebel!”

  The audience cheered as the heavy metal continued thumping through the speakers. Max ignored the pageantry and looked down at the blue and green bars on his ACE display.

  HP: 160%

  Energy: 175%

  “Sabrina told me what you were up to,” Proxy said. “I can’t say I’m a big fan of overstimulating…”

  “I got twenty minutes to take ‘em out. After that, it’s up to Zigzag.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to that.”

  “And introducing their opponents! Coming in from the north side of the arena, the most formidable group the Sanctum has ever seen. Slug! Lotto! Venom! Osiris! They are the Gears of Destruction!”

  The audience shouted over the heavy metal blaring through the speakers. Max kept his composure, ignoring the music, cheers and explosions above him. He locked his focus on the three opponents he’d seen before. Slug stood in his black armor, while Lotto wore his golden armor, and Venom wore green.

  Max looked past all of them and narrowed his eyes at the towering figure making his appearance. “Is that… He’s not wearing armor…”

  Osiris stood tall in the white suit Max had always seen him in.

  “Suit could be reinforced with something underneath.” Proxy said. “Be ready for anything.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen! It’s time for the main event! Let the battle… begin!”

  The crowd erupted as the electronic bass and synths filled the speakers. Max charged forward across the red steel grid with Zigzag right behind him.

  “Take the center tower,” Max said. “That’s where they’re all heading.”

  Just as he said it, Venom and Slug moved forward together to the center while Lotto moved to the western tower. But Osiris remained on the northern end of the battlefield.

  “What’s he doing?” Proxy said.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Max said. “I got bigger problems to deal with.”

  Max pointed his ACE to the sky and activated his Rocket Barrage. A stream of missiles zoomed from the ACE and spiraled into the air with smoke trailing behind them.

  “No chance!” Slug rushed up in front of Venom and took the brunt of the rockets as they rained down on him. Despite staying on his feet, the explosions were enough to chip away at his armor.

  “He blocked it,” Proxy said. “But he still took 20-percent. Not a bad start.”

  Max charged to the central tower as Venom tried to activate it. Zigzag zoomed up from behind him and leaped into the air.

  “No, you don’t!” Slug jumped up to meet her, his arm reared back. His fist turned red-hot just as he swung at her. The android twirled in the air at the last second and sliced at his wrist, forcing him to fall back to the ground and brace himself.

  Undeterred, Max rushed up to Venom and fired a Colossal Blast. She rolled out of the way as the blast slammed into the tower.

  “You can’t beat all of us!” Venom said. “You won’t even be able to beat me!”

  She raised her arm up and fired a blast of green mist.

  “It’ll take more than that.” Max gritted his teeth and rushed forward into the mist. As soon as it hit his nostrils, the noxious feeling flooded his head. He held his breath and pushed forward until he was right in front of Venom. A hard right hand cracked her in the jaw and sent her tumbling back. He ran out of the green mist to follow up.

  “Max! Look out!”

  Proxy’s warning came at the last moment. Max raised an Energy Barrier and blocked the missile coming from seemingly nowhere.

  “Didn’t anybody ever tell you it’s not polite to hit a lady?” Lotto stepped forward with his ACE held high.

  “I don’t see any around here.” Max fired a Colossal Blast and forced Lotto to roll out of the way.

  “Max! Zigzag could use some help.”

  Max turned and saw Zigzag dancing around the Flame Fists Slug was launching at her. At the same time, Lotto moved to bring Venom back up to her feet.

  The sidewalls of the arena began to rise and mechanical droids stepped forward. The robots had rifles equipped to their hands while the ones with heavier artillery had cannons strapped to their shoulders. Drones ascended into the air, ready to swoop down and attack.

  “Shit…” Max muttered with indecision.

  He activated his Plasma Cutter and ran to help Zigzag. The two quickly engaged with Slug. He raised his Flame Fists and blocked each of their swipes from both sides. The crowd watched in awe as the sparks and energy flew from every clash.

  “Pathetic!” Slug yelled. “Two of you and you can’t even get a hit on me!”

  “We don’t need to get a hit on you,” Max said. “It’s a trick I learned back in the War Zone.”

  “What?” Slug furrowed his brow in anger.

  “Zigzag! Out of the way!”

  The android quickly jumped into the air. Max disengaged and moved off to the side.

  Slug turned around in confusion only to see the heavy artillery droids activating the massive heavy cannons resting on their shoulders.

  “Shit—” Slug took the full brunt of a blast from five separate droids. The beams of white light brightened the entire arena. They ripped through his black armor, splintering it into pieces and tearing up his skin underneath.

  After taking the full brunt of the blast, Slug fell to his knees, his fists in the grid as he struggled to stay up.

  “Wow!” Proxy said. “That did 70-percent. He’s down to 43-percent and dropping.”

  Max was too busy to join Proxy in her enthusiasm, moving around the droids descending upon him. He dodged the blasts from their rifles and cut off their arms to stop them from attacking.

  Zigzag jumped through the sky and sliced at the drones before they could continue their ascent.

  But as the duo dealt with the attacks from all of the droids around them, Venom and Lotto worked together on the central tower.

  “They’ve got the western turret,” Proxy said. “They’re closing in on their second tower.”

  “Not if I can help it.” Max fired another Rocket Barrage into the air. The missiles zoomed into the sky then locked on Venom and Lotto down below.

  “Get my back!” Venom said as she kept her hand on the control panel.

  Lotto activated his Energy Barrier and took the hail of rockets. But his barrier could only take so much. He gritted his teeth as the explosions pounded his shield and eventually pushed their way through. The explosion was enough to knock both Venom and Lotto away from the control panel.

  “Zigzag!” Max shouted. “Let’s go!”

  The android descended from the sky with her sword pointed down.

  “Not fast enough!” Lotto fired a missile right at her. Zigzag was able to sink her blade into his right arm before the explosion sent her flying back thirty meters. Zigzag tumbled along the steel grid, her blade falling from her hands.

  “Shit…” Lotto whined in pain as he clutched the blood leaking from the split in his armor.

  “I said watch my back!” Venom raised her ACE up and launched another cloud of green mist, forcing Max to back away.

  “How am I looking, Proxy?” Max said.

  “HP is at 150-percent. Energy is at 123. Stimulants are doing their work.”

  “Just what I wanted to hear… These assholes can’t handle it. Might as well
hit ‘em again.”

  He fired a Rocket Barrage into the sky.

  “Not this time,” Lotto muttered as he jumped into the air. He activated his ACE and a white barrier absorbed all of the rockets. “See how you like it.” He charged his weapon and fired everything back in Max’s direction.

  “Shit…” Max quickly turned his back and activated his Energy Barrier. The missiles bombarded his shield. He held on for as long as he could before the explosions got through and knocked him onto his stomach. “Oh… Fuck…”

  “You’re still at 112-percent. Energy’s down to 93-percent.”

  “Zigzag…” He looked up at the android slowly beginning to recover. “Go after the eastern tower.”

  “Understood.” Zigzag gathered her sword and quickly cut through all of the droids blocking her path.

  “She’s going after the tower,” Venom said. “Get her!”

  Lotto raced to the east to chase after her.

  Max caught his breath and got back up to his feet.

  “Venom’s got the tower, Max!”

  Venom turned around just as the tower activated, a sinister smirk on her lips. “There’s no escaping this.”

  The turrets rotated and aimed in his direction. Max moved out of the proximity but the blast was too fast to get away from. It caught him right in the chest, sending him tumbling back on the steel grid.

  Venom cackled as she walked forward with her ACE raised. “Two towers. And Lotto is taking the third. There’s no escape from this, Rebel. You should’ve taken Osiris’s offer when you had the chance.”

  She filled the air with her noxious green smoke. Max got to his feet and moved back to avoid getting caught in it.

  He pointed his weapon at her as she continued to move forward.

  “What are you gonna do?” she said. “Even if you take me out, you’ll never win this battle. We control the entire arena.”

  “That’s your mistake, Venom. You’re only looking out for yourself. Sometimes, you have to make a few sacrifices.”

  He fired a Rocket Barrage right at her. Her eyes widened just before the explosion sent her flying back and crashing into the walls of the arena.

  Max ran forward through the green mist she’d made.

  “Max? What are you doing?” Proxy pleaded with him. “She took the whole barrage. She’s already under 20-percent and dropping.”

  “If she’s still got HP, she’s still alive.”

  Max cleared the mist and walked up to Venom as she tried to get back to her feet. He stomped on her ACE then kicked her over onto her back. She grimaced in pain before giggling maniacally.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “You’ll never beat all of us.”

  “Maybe. But I can still make you suffer.” He took a knee down next to her and held his ACE against her stomach. His teeth gritted, he looked her right in the eye. “It seems I didn’t get my point across the first time I blew your head off. One more time… for Sammy.”

  A point-blank Colossal Blast ripped through her armor and made a hole in her torso, blood splattering in every direction. Max stumbled back but stayed on his feet so he could look her in the eye. She glared back at Max before the rest of her HP drained and her eyes fell lifeless. Attendants rushed in to take her BioHarness while the audience cheered.

  “Venom’s down,” Proxy said. “Zigzag’s still busy—”

  “I’m on it.” Max moved through the droids attempting to take him down. He found Zigzag twirling around the combination of Sound Blasts and electrical charges Lotto continuously fired at her.

  “Stop moving!”

  Max ran up with his Plasma Cutter and swung at Lotto, forcing him to back away. “There’s no escape from this,” Max said. “It’s two-on-one.”

  Lotto smirked. “No… It’s not.”

  “Behind you!” Proxy shouted.

  Max and Zigzag turned around to see Slug charging at them. Despite his compromised armor, he moved too fast for either one of them to get out of the way. His shoulder lowered, Slug slammed into them and sent both of them violently tumbling along the ground.

  Max’s eyes rolled in the back of his head as the pain throbbed through the rest of his body.

  “Steady… Steady…”

  He focused on the voice in his head as he tried to get his equilibrium back.

  “Max, he’s activating the last tower.”

  Max looked up to see Zigzag slowly beginning to stir. Lotto was pressing his hand on the control panel while Slug stood guarding him.

  Max fired another Rocket Barrage in their direction.

  “Take care of that!” Lotto said.

  “I don’t have anything left,” Slug muttered. “You better finish this before they get to Osiris.”

  Slug turned his back and stood in front of Lotto as the barrage slammed into him. The explosion tore through the last remnants of Slug’s black armor.

  The crowd gasped in disgust as Slug’s torso was separated from his legs. His arms tried to pointlessly push himself up before he fell lifeless to the ground. Attendants ran into the Sanctum to collect his remains.

  “Zigzag…” Max said. “Last chance to stop him. I can’t…”

  Zigzag got back up to her feet. Her sword on the ground, she pumped her legs as fast as she could to get to Lotto. Just before the meter to control the tower filled, Lotto turned around and caught a left fist right to his jaw. He stumbled back as he fired at Zigzag. But the android effortlessly dodged the Sound Blast and cracked him with another punch across the jaw. Another punch split his lips. Another punch shattered his teeth.

  “Zig-zag! Zig-zag! Zig-zag!”

  Max watched in amusement as Lotto flailed in an attempt to defend himself.

  The android continued pounding Lotto with repeated fists. His face a bloody, unrecognizable mess, Lotto spit up through his broken mouth and put his hands up.

  “Please… Please…”

  Zigzag stood above him, one fist raised and the other around his collar. Max walked up and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “He’s a GOD,” Max said. “But I think he learned his lesson. Asshole can’t fight without his ACE.”

  “Execute! Execute! Execute!” The deafening chants from the crowd shook the Sanctum.

  Max sighed a deep breath and nodded. “Give ‘em what they want.”

  Zigzag didn’t hesitate and reared back with a lightning-fast punch that whipped the back of his head against his shoulder blades, snapping his neck in two. She dropped his lifeless body to the ground, his eyes still wide and frozen in fear. The crowd cheered at the sight of attendants moving in to usher Lotto’s BioHarness to a regenerator.

  Max walked up to the tower control panel and placed his hand down on it. “Watch my back.”

  “Understood.” Zigzag picked her sword back up and fought off the approaching droids.

  Max watched the meter on the display slowly fill. He shifted his eyes toward the northern end of the arena.

  “Has Osiris been standing there this whole time?” Max asked.

  “Unless he’s a hologram, he hasn’t moved,” Proxy said.

  “Bastard’s up to something…”

  The meter filled completely and the tower fell under Max’s control. He looked at the turrets and watched them blast away all of the approaching droids and drones.

  Zigzag moved back to his side with her sword resting upon her shoulder. “I await your next orders.”

  Max took a deep breath. “Sabrina said I have twenty minutes… How long has it been?”

  “It’s been about nine minutes,” Proxy said. “Just past halfway.”

  “…That’ll have to do.”

  Max ran forward with Zigzag right behind him. They kept moving until Osiris stood twenty meters away from them.

  “Impressive.” Osiris slowly clapped his hands together. “A formidable duo. I’d be more than willing to bring the android into the fold as well. With the two of you, nobody would dare challenge the GODs or our Disciples. Your performa
nce warrants another chance. My offer still stands, Rebel.”

  “If you think I’m gonna join you now after you just let me beat your three cronies, you’re as dumb as you look.”

  “I was never one to get my hands dirty. What’s an operation if you have to do the work yourself? It appears I was mistaken thinking the three of them would be able to defeat you.”

  “It’s over, Osiris. Don’t think you can talk your way out of this.”

  Osiris slicked his hair back over his head and straightened his tie. He took his jacket off then tossed it to the side, revealing the chrome ACE hugging his swollen left forearm.

  “No, the time for talking is done,” Osiris said. “It’s time to show you the true power of a GOD.”

  Max fired a Rocket Barrage at Osiris while Zigzag charged with her sword up.

  Osiris quickly raised his ACE up with surprising speed. A white barrier absorbed the missiles headed right for him. He quickly fired them back and caught Zigzag in a fiery explosion, knocking the android back along the red grid.

  “Zigzag!” Max called out.

  Osiris nonchalantly raised his ACE up and fired a charge of electrical energy. The blue lightning fired from the compartments of his weapon caught Zigzag while she struggled on the ground. Her body twitched then suddenly seized up.

  Max quickly rushed up to her. He held her in his arms and saw the lifelessness in her blank stare.

  “It must’ve been some type of EMP Blast,” Proxy said. “It short-circuited her. Her system has to reboot.”

  “How long is she out?”

  “I don’t know… Five minutes or so?”

  “That’s the problem with androids,” Osiris sighed. “It’s so easy to turn them off.” He slicked his hand back over his head and held his hands out. “Go ahead, Rebel. Say what I already know you’re going to say.”

  Max clenched his jaw as he got back up to his feet. He held up his index finger. “If it was up to me, I’d make you suffer for as long as I could. Then I’d regenerate you and make you suffer again. But I’ll have to settle for the few minutes I’ve got left with you. You better believe they’re gonna be hell for you.”