Bubblegum Fury

Disclaimer: Dammit Jim, I'm a writer, not a lawyer!

In an age of scientific wonders, the human body is still the world's most
dangerous machine. TM

Chapter Two

The New Boomer?

Five weeks.

It had taken five weeks for Terry Bogard to finally face facts that not
only was he in the future, but on an alternate Earth. It had been a rough
month for the Lone Wolf after he had entered the city called MegaTokyo. The
first few days, Terry had to survive on the food and supplies he had in his
bag, living on the streets and parks like a vagrant. Since he didn't have
any of what the city used for currency, (he only had U.S. dollars at the
time), Terry had made it a priority to somehow get a job. It wasn't easy
though, since he had no identification that could help him, nor was the
name Terry Bogard listed on any of the city's databases. It seemed that
Terry might have to resort to stealing to survive when an opportunity
presented itself.

Four weeks, two days ago...

Terry had been starving after eating last of his food the day before.
During that evening, he came across a hidden area that was surrounded by
some rundown buildings in the slums. In the center of the open area, a
crowd was gathered around two fighters as the spectators wagered on the
outcome.

Terry pulled down his red baseball cap as he moved into the crowd. He was
horrified to see a much smaller and weaker man being mercilessly pummeled
by some big bruiser with a bald head. The smaller man was only of slightly
medium build with short brown hair, while his foe was twice his size and
more than double his weight. He also had large fists that resembled the
heads of sledgehammers. The larger man sneered as he continued to beat the
living daylights out of his opponent. Without a second thought, the Lone
Wolf dropped his bag and ran in to stop the slaughter.

The large man smiled as he raised a fist to deliver the killing blow. His
opponent was barely alive, as he lay on the ground in a broken and bloodied
heap. His expression turned to surprise when he felt something grip his
wrist like an iron vise. He looked to his side and saw Terry glaring at him
like a wolf: a very hungry wolf. And everyone knows a hungry wolf is the
most dangerous kind.

"Hey! What are you doing? This is none of your business!" The big man said
as he tried to pull his arm away from Terry's grip. To his surprise, he
couldn't free his arm, nor budge Terry an inch as the bare-knuckle street
fighter continued to glare at him.

"You've already won the fight." Terry said in an even tone as he gestured
to the injured man, who was just starting to lapse into unconsciousness.
"There's no point in hitting him any more."

"Oh yeah?" The big man smirked as he looked down at his beaten foe, who
moaned before blacking out. "Heh, maybe you're right. He's unconscious and
won't feel a thing. So how's about I start beating on YOU!" With these
words, the thug swung his other fist toward Terry's face.

Terry however, had been expecting something like this and titled his head
slightly to avoid the haymaker. With his right hand still gripped firmly on
his opponent's wrist, he twisted into him and put the larger man into a
throw. The man went flying over Terry's shoulders and landed hard on his
back a few meters away.

Instantly, the crowd's attention turned on new fight and more bets were
being made.

"Two hundred on the new guy!"

"Three hundred on the new guy!"

"Five hundred on Hammer Hand!"

The man called Hammer Hand shook his head as he got up and whirled to face
his opponent. "So you know some fancy martial arts stuff huh? That won't
save you when get my hands on you! They don't call me Hammer Hand for
nothin'!" As if to accentuate his point, he slammed a fist into a nearby
street light. The steel post buckled under the impact and nearly snapped as
it bent over to one side.

This got everyone's attention as many of the spectators whispered among
themselves.

"I'm telling you, Hammer Hand is some kind of Boomer!"

"Naw! I heard that he takes some kind of illegal strength-boosting drugs
that triple his strength and makes his hands grow big!"

"Whoever that new guy is, he's in deep trouble now!"

Terry was unimpressed by the show of strength. He had defeated much
stronger opponents than this showoff. He reached into one of his jacket's
pockets and took out his leather, fingerless gloves. He slowly put them on
and nodded. "So you want to fight? Fine then. I guess I'll oblige you."

Hammer Hand smirked as he couched down a bit while flexing and unflexing
his hands. "Heh. You won't be so cocky after I pound that pretty boy face
of yours into a pulp!"

"Come on." Terry growled as he got into a ready stance.

Hammer Hand wasted no time as he lunged at Terry with the intent of
smashing him into the pavement. Terry however had already assessed his
opponent as nothing more than a bully with very little skills and only
relied on brute force to win. As Hammer Hand charged in for the kill, Terry
crouched down and focused his ki.

"Goodbye chump!"

That's when Terry made his move.

"RISING TACKLE!"

Before the shocked eyes of the crowds, the Lone Wolf suddenly made an
inverted handspring and flew up upside-down like a rocket. One leg was
extended while the other was bent. The foot smacked into Hammer Hand's
glass jaw and knocked him back. At the same time, Terry's body spun and as
he delivered several hard punches to Hammer Hand's midsection. Since his
opponent had been charging, the blows were even more devastating. 

As Terry went shooting upward, Hammer Hand went crashing down onto his back
in a daze. As he shook his head to clear it, he caught a glimpse of
something flipping into the air and coming back down on top of him.

WHOMP!

The big man's breath was driven out of him as Terry drove his knees into
his chest. He coughed once and then blacked out.

Terry smiled as he got back to his feet, used his cap to dust off his pants
before throwing it up into the air and shouted out his victory. "OKAY!!!!"

The crowds were absolutely flabbergasted, as they had just witnessed Hammer
Hand defeated by a single move. Their eyes all turned toward Terry and many
all began to wonder if he was really a Boomer. No ordinary person could do
what he just did. The people began to get very nervous as they continued to
stare at him.

Terry however, didn't notice them staring as he went to help the man he had
rescued. He knelt down beside him and checked for a pulse. He was relieved
to find one and that the man was still breathing. He then heard some voices
crying out and saw two people pushing through the crowds toward Terry and
the fallen man.

"Daddy! Daddy!" 

"Jonathan!"

Terry looked up and saw a woman in her mid-thirties, had blonde hair, and
was dressed in a plain, brown housedress. The little girl looked to be
about seven years old, had blonde hair, and was dressed in a simple blue
sundress. It was at that time that people started hearing explosions in the
distance and police sirens. The crowds began to scatter as the noises began
getting closer.

Terry wondered what was going on, but no one was stopping to give him any
explanations. That is no one but the woman and her child as they came to
side of the fallen man and began hugging him fiercely while weeping. The
little girl held onto her father and refused to let go. The man's wife
looked up at Terry with sad, questioning eyes.

"Don't worry. He'll live." Terry answered her silent question. "Now's not
the time though. We have to get him someplace where he can be treated. Is
there a hospital nearby?"

The woman shook her head and said, "No there isn't. The nearest one is more
than forty blocks away and I'm afraid that we couldn't afford it. Look, we
have to get him home. I don't want the police to find out that Jonathan was
involved in an illegal street-fighting tournament. Please, you've got to
help us!"

Terry was unsure what to do at the moment, but the woman sounded really
desperate so he nodded and gently picked up the man and followed the woman
as she led him and her daughter down an alley.

"Hurry! We have to get out of here before the AD Police show up. It sounds
like they're after another renegade Boomer and they're getting closer!"

"Boomer? What's a Boomer?"

The woman paid no attention to Terry's question as she led him down a maze
of twisting alleyways and corridors, finally stopping at a small,
dilapidated building that had a coffee shop in front. By that time, the
place where Terry had fought was more than five blocks away and Terry
looked back to see a series of explosions and heard the sounds of gunfire.
He wondered just what was going on back there, but decided to table those
thoughts for later.

Sometime later, in the living quarters of the building above the coffee
shop, Terry had finished binding the man's wounds and laid him out on the
bed, when the woman came in with a small tray of food and a glass of water.

"Here we are. I know it's not much, but it's the least we can offer you for
saving my husband's life." She offered the tray to Terry as he turned to
face her.

"It's okay." Terry said, waving her off. "You don't have to repay me or
anything." It was at that moment that his stomach growled at being empty
for so long.

The woman chuckled a bit and said, "Please take it. We have enough food to
spare for you and it sounds like you could use it. We must repay you for
your kindness, Mr....?"

"Terry. Terry Bogard... and thanks." Terry took the offered tray and began
to eat. As he munched on the meager meal, he looked back at the man whom he
had saved. It was a lucky thing that he had come when he did. None of the
man's bones was broken, and he only suffered a mild concussion. As Terry
finished off the meal, he turned back toward the woman. "What was he doing
fighting against someone like Hammer Hand...er?"

The woman sighed as she said, "My name is Amanda Renolos. My husband was
trying to get money to help pay our mortgage. Business has been very bad
since those Boomers started rampaging in this area. Jonathan used to be a
prizefighter before he retired and opened the coffee shop below. I told him
not to get involved with those people, but he just wouldn't listen! He was
a very good fighter back then, but he can't compete with black market
super-steroids and cybernetic implants. It would have been even worse if he
went up against a Boomer. Slime like those people you fought would
sometimes use a Boomer to cheat in those tournaments."

Terry nodded, although he still had no idea what a Boomer was. He gazed
toward a nearby table and saw a small calendar on it. When he saw what the
date was printed on it, his eyes bugged out.

"Excuse me... Amanda, but what is today?"

Amanda looked over to where Terry was staring and shrugged. "November 17th,
2033."

Three days after that incident...

Terry shook his head as he rose from his bed. The Renolos family was kind
enough to let him stay while Jonathan recovered from his injuries. In
return, Terry helped with running the coffee shop. Though he received no
money, Terry was glad to help Amanda take care of her business and her
daughter Katie. However, as the days passed on, Terry became drawn into a
deeper depression as he learned more about the world he had suddenly found
himself in. He had learned that this place was indeed Japan and the city he
was in was formally Tokyo. However, during 2025 it had suffered a major
earthquake, which devastated most of the city. The city that now stood in
its place, MegaTokyo, had been built by a high-tech corporation called
Genom. Genom was also responsible for producing robotic constructs called
Boomers. These inventions were used widely for construction, demolitions
and various private and civilian uses. Of course, they were also perfectly
suited for combat and many were deemed too dangerous and illegal to have
around. As a result, a section of the law-enforcement agencies called the
AD Police was formed to deal with these kinds of Boomers. Unfortunately,
the AD Police was not enough to meet the growing Boomer menace, and Terry
began hearing stories about a band of female mercenaries, using high-tech
weapons called Hardsuits to battle these Boomers. 

Terry wondered just what he was going to do in a world such as this. He
knew that he could not stay with the Renolos family indefinitely. Just
having him here was putting a strain on their resources as is. They had
very little money and now the utility bills and mortgage payments were due.
He had to get this family out of debt as well as earn some money for
himself. The only problem was, he very few skills outside of fighting in
which to generate income. He had considerable construction and repair
experience from his time on the docks, but with Boomers doing most of the
heavy work, such skills were unnecessary. No, he could only see one way for
him to get some money. Unlike Jonathan, he stood a much better chance in
the street-fighting tournaments.

A week later...

"Terry! Where have you been? We were so worried about you when you
disappeared days ago." Amanda said as Terry walked into the coffee shop
with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Katie was sitting on a stool
nearby.

Terry smiled as he replied. "I'm sorry about running off without telling
you, but I had to take care of some... business. Anyway, I think that it is
time I got going and I wanted to thank you for putting me up for a while.
How's Jonathan doing?"

"He's gotten better. But where have you been?"

"Oh, here and there. In any case, this should be enough to pay off your
bills for a year and take care of that mortgage. There should be enough to
pay for some groceries and Jonathan's hospital bills too. However, it would
be a better idea for you if you used that money to move out of this place.
I hear that the country is a great place to raise Katie here." Terry
removed a huge amount of money from his duffel bag and placed it on the
counter.

Amanda's eyes widened at the sight of all those yen notes, all of them in
large denominations. "B-B-But how did you...?"

Terry shrugged as he said, "Let's just say that I finished what your
husband started when we first met. In any case, it's been great being with
you. So long."

Before Amanda had anything more to say, Terry turned and walked out of the
coffee shop and then around the corner. Amanda went running after him, but
as she turned the corner, Terry was nowhere in sight.

Up on a nearby rooftop, Terry smiled as he watched Amanda walk back to her
establishment. It felt good to see that she and her family were going to be
fine and now Terry was free to explore this new world. Though he did not
know what to expect, he knew that he would be able to handle it.

Genom Headquarters, Quincy's private office, present time...

"Mr. Quincy, I have just received an interesting report from one of our
operatives in sector XB-47." 

"What is it?" The CEO of Genom asked as he looked up from his desk.

"Well sir. Remember that BU-55C Boomer that was stolen from last month's
shipment? Well, our operative had tracked it down and found that it was
being used in the illegal street-fighting tournaments that are held in
those slum areas. Apparently the thieves has reprogrammed it as a
prizefighter and used it to fix fights."

"So was it recovered?"

The aide shook his head and replied. "No sir, it was destroyed."

"How?" 

It was at that time that the aide became extremely edgy as he tried to
think of the best way to explain it to his superior. "Sir, I... really
can't explain this clearly enough. I think it would be best if I were to
show you the footage. Our operative had taken along one of our XK-11
surveillance Boomers with him and it recorded the entire event."

The aide produced a small videodisc and inserted it into a viewing device
on Quincy's desk. The holographic projector began replaying the events
recorded.

The scene showed an underground arena with crowds of people cheering on as
a tall, handsome man with long blonde hair in a ponytail entered the ring.
An announcer could be heard in the background.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight's match is between the newcomer to the
street-fighting circuit, Terry 'the Lone Wolf' Bogard..." 

The crowd cheered as Terry took off his cap and waved it to the crowds
before going into a loose stance.

"... and the current champion, the Demolisher!"

At this announcement, a huge, muscular man of over six feet came into the
ring from the other side, wearing black pants and a white shirt.

"Is that our Boomer?" Quincy asked.

"Yes sir. The surveillance Boomer confirmed it."

Both men turned their attention back to the hologram.

"The odds of Bogard winning against the Demolisher is more than 200 to 1."
The announcer said. "The Demolisher has remained undefeated since his
appearance last month! Looks like he will be adding Bogard's head to his
collection! Let the battle begin!"

At the start of the fight, Terry let loose with a hard punch to the
Demolisher's head. The Boomer reacted with lightning speed, had Terry's
fist in its left hand, and started crushing it.

Quincy naturally assumed that the fight was over. No ordinary human had the
power to free themselves once a Boomer got a grip on them. Then in the next
instant, the unthinkable happened.

Terry winced a bit as he realized that his opponent was a lot stronger than
he thought. Then again, after his battle against Geese Howard, Wolfgang
Kauser and the God of War, so was he. With one mighty pull, he wrenched his
fist from the Boomer's grip, then delivered a fast spin kick to the
Demolisher's head.

There was a metallic clang heard throughout the arena when Terry's foot
slammed into the Boomer's head. The CPU of the machine was busy analyzing
the data that its scanners were giving it about its opponent. Apparently,
it had underestimated the strength and speed of its foe and decided to up
the level. It began throwing fast punches at Terry with same force as a
jackhammer.

However, Terry easily evaded each blow and began landing punches and kicks
on his opponent with increasing force. Soon, he was hitting with enough
force to crack concrete. The Boomer soon found itself being driven back:
though its creators considered the feat impossible.

Quincy and his aide stared in amazement as they saw a killing machine that
was capable of destroying an entire platoon being forced back by an unarmed
human being. They began to suspect that Terry was not human.

"How is he doing it?"

"We're not sure sir. The surveillance Boomer gauged his performance against
the BU-55C and it's nothing short of phenomenal!"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at the data readouts at the bottom, sir. Look at the force in which
he's hitting the Boomer. Even a top-notch heavyweight boxer can only
average around 700 to 800psi."

Quincy looked down at the readouts and his eyes widened in shock.
"Twenty-one hundred fifty pounds per square inch?!" He looked back up to
his aide. "Is he taking any kind of strength-boosting drugs?"

"No sir. The XK-11 detected no trace of any kind of enhancement drugs or
steroids. What you're seeing is his natural strength and analysis of the
data leads us to suspect that he was holding back. His reflexes have been
also measured. Look at the way he's dodging and countering each of the
BU-55C's attacks. The XK-11 gauged his reaction time to be at least
nineteen to twenty times faster than even an Olympic athlete's."

It was when Terry put the machine into a throw that all hell broke loose.
The machine slammed headfirst into the walls of the arena and when it stood
up, half of its synthetic skin had been torn off, revealing the Boomer's
face.

"It's a goddamned Boomer!' Someone in the crowds shouted.

The Boomer however, was not listening to anyone. Its CPU had now determined
that Terry was too powerful to face in its current form and began to
expand. The crowds began to panic as they saw the machine grow and tear off
its clothes and human skin. They started to run toward the exits as Terry
found himself facing off against his first Boomer opponent.

When the Boomer reached its maximum size, it opened up its mouth and began
firing its built-in laser. Terry nimbly dodged out of the way, then slammed
into the machine with a shoulder charge. This drove the Boomer off balance
and that was when Quincy got a real shock. Terry swung his right leg upward
in a vertical, reverse spin kick. The foot came upward and was surrounded
in a blue light and smacked hard against the Boomer's head.

"CRACK SHOT!"

The Bu-55C's staggered as Terry knocked its block off. The decapitated head
went bouncing away like a soccer ball.

"What was that?!" Quincy gasped. The move that Terry had performed
resembled the booster-kicks of the Knight Sabers, but they had to use their
Hardsuits to accomplish it. 

On the hologram, Terry then charged into the Boomer to deliver the final
blow. Cocking back his fist, the Lone Wolf began focusing his power and
rage into it, then struck the Boomer in the middle of its chest.

"BURN KNUCKLE!"

Terry hit with enough force to pulverize a tank. The Boomer's chest caved
in like wet newspaper and its back exploded outward. The machine reeled
back with a huge hole in its torso, fell backward onto the ground and then
blew up into a huge fireball, sending parts and debris flying everywhere.

That was when the hologram ended its recording.

"What happened?" Quincy asked.

"The XK-11's optics were damaged by flying shrapnel after the Boomer
exploded. However, you can understand the importance of this data."
"Indeed. And what do you think about all this?"

"Frankly sir, all the technicians and scientists who had seen this footage
agree. Whatever destroyed the Boomer COULDN'T have been human. The XK-11's
scanners had picked up massive energy readings from this 'Terry Bogard'
before its optic scanners were damaged. The physical skills and energy
output could only have been achieved by…"
"A Boomer of some new type." Quincy finished.

"Yes sir."

"Interesting. Usually our Boomers need to expand to maximum size in order
to utilize their full capabilities, but this one defeated a military-grade
Boomer with considerably little effort. It also seems to have an advanced
AI in order to fit into society so easily. What other data have you been
able to piece together from this?"
"Well sir, this is just a conservative estimate, but we can rate this new
type of Boomer as far superior to the BU-33Cs in speed, maneuverability and
hand-to-hand combat. As for physical power, we can estimate Terry Bogard on
a par with the Hyper-Boomers that Largo created to discredit the Knight
Sabers. In fact, we could assume that this new Boomer could take on the
Knight Sabers and win. We're not too sure about this Boomer's energy
source; given what little data we got on it. So far, it is unidentifiable."

"I see." Quincy drummed his fingers on the desk, then asked, "Does anyone
know where this Terry Bogard is now?"

"No sir. After the fight, the AD Police had arrived to investigate the
explosion. The Boomer disappeared and we haven't been able to locate it
since then."

"All right then. Have all of our field agents keep an eye out for this new
Boomer and collect any new data on it. I want it brought to me. Intact,
understand?"

"Yes sir."

Quincy was left alone in his office with his thoughts about the appearance
of this new Boomer. From what his aide had told him, Terry Bogard may be
just the key to destroying the Knight Sabers once and for all.

Meanwhile, at the Silky Doll lingerie shop that was also a meeting place
for the Knight Sabers, three of the four mercenaries in question were
gathered in the backroom, discussing the events of a few days ago.

Sylia, the leader of the group, took a sip of her tea and addressed their
youngest member. "So what did the AD Police turn up in their investigation
of that illegal street-fighting tournament and the remains of that Boomer?"

"Not much." Nene replied. The redhead sighed as she twiddled her thumbs.
"Leon told me that the serial number of that destroyed Boomer matched the
one that was stolen from Genom a month ago. It looked like the thieves were
using it to fix the odds of the betting pools. However, no one knows what
happened after the Boomer's face got torn off. Everyone panicked and left
the building. A few minutes later, there was a huge explosion and the AD
Police arrived to find nothing but a pile of twisted metal. Someone or
something did a real number on that Boomer and it was supposed to be one of
the heavy-duty military models! It looked like it got hit by one of our
Knuckle Bombers in the chest, but a lot more powerful. I've never seen a
Boomer get so trashed. The forensics department could barely find a quarter
of its parts that were still intact!"

"I see." Sylia remarked.

"It's probably none of our business." Linna said nonchalantly. "Let those
idiots at the AD Police handle it. It's nothing for us to worry about."

"By the way, where's Priss?" Nene asked.

"She told me on the phone that her current gig is running a little long.
She'll be here." Sylia replied.

 

Ten blocks away, Priss was gunning her motorcycle down the street as she
hurried to meet up with the other Knight Sabers. As usual, she was pushing
her cycle past its normal limits and causing excessive wear and tear on it,
which meant more work for Sylia's brother Mackie.

As she saw that she was getting close to the shop, she started to put on
her brakes. It was at that time that her front tire hit a wet spot in the
road while she was still doing better than 75 mph. This caused her to start
skidding out of control. She managed to lean over to one side to aid in
decelerating, but her momentum still carried her forward. 

"Oh shit!"

She pushed off from her bike as it skidded toward a traffic light and went
tumbling to a stop. Other than a few bruises, Priss was relatively
unharmed. Her cycle however slammed into the traffic light. The steel post
snapped off and started falling toward her.

At that moment, Terry was on the other side of the intersection when he saw
the traffic light fall toward Priss. As if he was experiencing déjà vu, he
immediately ran over and leapt up to deflect it. As he had done to save a
friend from being crushed by falling girders, the Lone Wolf delivered a
well-placed strike with his fist to make the traffic light fall away from
the woman.

Priss was still a bit dazed when she heard a massive metallic clang and the
ground shook a bit beside her. When she shook her head to clear it and
looked up, she saw the well-muscled form of her savior as he crouched down
toward her.

"Are all you all right?" Terry asked.

To be continued…

Author's notes.

Well, I never expected that Bubble Gum Fury would get so much response, but
since this story does have a lot of potential, I've decided to finish what
I started with it. Bubble Gum Fury was actually drafted as an eight-part
miniseries that I never got around to writing when I got caught up in Dual
Destinies. I only put up the first chapter to amuse the readers, but now
with all the encouragement I received, I will be posting up the remaining
chapters. (Eventually). They've already been written, but need to be
revised and have some gaps filled in before being posted. I may also add in
some changes and such to the general storyline. As for who Terry ends up
with, well you'll just have to wait and see.