Bubble
Gum Fury
Disclaimer:
Bubble Gum Crisis and Fatal Fury don't belong to me,
though
I wish they did so I can get some money out of them!
In
an age of scientific wonders, the human body is still the world's
most
dangerous machine. TM
<
>: Thoughts
Chapter 4
Part 2
Bubble Gum
Bash!
Linna
frowned as she looked for any sign of Terry Bogard.
Unfortunately,
the longhaired streetfighter was nowhere in sight
and
Knight Saber had to chalk up the encounter as a loss. She was
about
to turn around and head back to the bar when she heard a
huge
explosion that came from a hotel just down the street. Looking
up,
she saw something being smashed through a sixth story window
and
judging from its enormous size, Linna could only guess that it
was
a Boomer. Her suspicions were confirmed as the robotic
creation
came crashing down onto the pavement on its back,
making
a huge depression in the pavement.
The
shorthaired brunette blanched as she saw a gaping and smoking
hole
in the Boomer's chest. No doubt about it, she was going to need
her
Hardsuit and alert the others. She ducked into an alley and
tapped
the signaling button on her wrist communicator.
A
few minutes earlier in Terry's hotel room…
"Please
Mr. Bogard, don't make things any harder. If you would just
come
quietly with us, then all will be well." Reginald stated as his
three
Boomers took up positions and had Terry backed up toward
the
window.
"And
if I were to say no?" Terry said as he tensed up into a ready
position.
"Well,
saying no is not an option. My employer wishes to meet with
you
and learn about your extraordinary abilities, and I have been
given
full permission to bring you to him by any means possible."
Reginald
gestured to the disguised Boomers. "You'll find that these
Boomers
are much more formidable than what you had encountered
before.
Let's not start any difficulties shall we?"
Terry
began assessing his opponents as he took another step back.
He
was in a relatively small room with very little space for
maneuvering.
If he wanted to get out, he'd have to take out his
would-be
kidnappers in the first few seconds. At first he had
thought
about going to Genom quietly. After all, he did want to
know
about the company and their connection to the Boomer that
had
brought him to this world. However, he didn't like the way that
Reginald
person was looking at him, like he was some kind of
human
guinea pig. They had also broken into his hotel room and
were
threatening him with Boomers with the intent on kidnapping
him.
Furthermore, he wouldn't be guaranteed his safety. No, he
would
see this Genom, but on his terms!
"As
much as I would like to accept your invitation, I'm afraid that
I'm
going to have to decline." Terry took his ready stance.
"I
was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but so be it." Reginald
signaled
to one of the Boomers to take Terry down.
The
machine moved forward with startling speed with its arms
spread
out, intent on grabbing Terry in a bear hug. The Lone Wolf
moved
inside of the Boomer's reach and slammed a fist into the
robot's
abdomen. The machine barely seemed to feel the blow as it
began
to close its arms around Terry. Before it could secure a tight
grip
on its prey, Terry lashed out with a knee into its gut, causing it
to
loosen its hold. Reacting quickly, the streetfighter used the
Boomer's
chest as a springboard and hopped over it, landing behind
its
back. As the machine turned around, Terry reared back with a
fist
and focused his ki.
"BURN
KNUCKLE!"
The
ki-powered fist slammed into the Boomer's chest causing it to
buckle
under the impact. The force of the blow sent it flying
backward
and smashed through the window to fall to the streets
below.
Terry then turned to face his two other adversaries as
Reginald
backed off toward the door. After seeing Terry smash
through
the Boomer's reinforced chest plating with ease, he decided
that
more drastic measures might be required. He began reaching
for
a small signaling device on his wrist.
Back
at the bar…
"Ooh,
that smarts!" Leon Nichols said as Priss applied a swab of
iodine
to a small cut on his head.
"Aw,
stop your whining, you big baby." Priss remarked as she put a
small
bandage on the cut, using the bar's first aid kit. "Those guys
only
hit you in the head. It's not like they hurt something
important."
"Well,
in any case, thanks for the first aid, Priss. You're my angel of
mercy."
Leon gave her a lopsided smile. "So are we still on for
dinner?"
Priss
frowned as she replied, "I told you before Leon. I like you, but
as
a friend! I'm not interested!"
It
was then that her signaling device went off. Priss looked down at
her
wrist, nodded and turned back to Leon. "Are you going to be
okay?"
"Yeah,
I'll be fine. You have to go right?" Leon gave her the silent
implication
that he knew she had Boomer business as a Knight
Saber.
Priss
gazed at him, then nodded. Though she was almost certain
that
Leon knew about her identity as an armored vigilante, the AD
cop
made no move to reveal her secret or stop her activities. She
then
got up and ran out of the bar.
Leon
sighed as he watched the object of his affections disappear
around
a corner. Then he got up to get on the horn with AD
headquarters,
as he was sure that Boomers would soon be
rampaging
in MegaTokyo once again.
Priss
raced down the street and then caught sight of the Silky Doll
truck
parked underneath an overpass. As she got into the back of
the
truck, she saw Linna, Sylia and Nene already getting into their
Hardsuits.
She nodded as she began stripping her clothes.
"So
what's going on?"
"Boomers
were spotted near where I was chasing after that Terry
Bogard
guy. I think they may be connected." Linna replied as she
finished
strapping herself into her suit and placing her helmet over
her
head. It was at that time that a huge explosion was heard in the
distance,
followed by several more. The Knight Sabers then started
heading
toward the scene of the battle.
Meanwhile,
in the streets of MegaTokyo…
"BURN
KNUCKLE!"
Terry
was breathing hard as his ki-powered punch smashed through
the
chest of another Boomer as it tried to attack him from behind.
After
dispatching the first Boomer in his hotel room, Terry had
exited
the building via the broken window to get more fighting
room.
The two other Boomers that Reginald had brought with him
followed
him and were now battling him on the streets. They had
long
since shed their human disguises and had expanded to their
full
sizes. They were upgraded BU-55Cs and had more armor
plating
and firepower than the standard models. They were also
faster
and programmed with new battle tactics.
As
the second Boomer's back exploded out ward from Terry's Burn
Knuckle
technique, the Lone Wolf stepped back to avoid being hit
by
debris and then faced off against the last of his adversaries. The
third
Boomer raised an arm and a gun barrel popped out of it.
Expecting
some kind of laser blast or projectile weapon, the Lone
Wolf
was caught off guard when the Boomer launched a canister
that
exploded before him and released a cloud of knockout gas. Its
programmed
directives were to take Terry in alive.
Terry
coughed violently as his lungs got a full dose of the gas. He
shook
his head to try and clear it, but his vision had begun to swim
and
his limbs had started to take on the consistency of limp
spaghetti.
He tried to valiantly remain on his feet but he then keeled
forward
onto his face and was out like a light.
It
was at that time that the Knight Sabers arrived on the scene and
saw
Terry go down. As they saw the last remaining Boomer began
to
advance on his helpless form, they sprang into action.
Up
in Terry's hotel room, Reginald's eyes widened as he saw the
Knight
Sabers appear on the scene and started to attack his Boomer.
He
had been glad to see Terry Bogard taken down and saw that he
did
not to have called in the reinforcements. Now those armored
vigilantes
were going to spoil everything! He tapped the
communicator
on his wrist and called for the extra support he had
in
waiting. They would take care of those Knight Sabers!
On
the streets, Priss leapt up and delivered one of her rocket-
powered
kicks to the Boomer's head. The Leg Bombers on her foot
detonated
and caused the top of the machine to explode, and
scattering
debris everywhere. With no head, the decapitated
machine
started flailing and randomly swinging its arms.
Sylia
engaged her laser-edged sword and sliced into the chest of the
Boomer,
carving up its inner mechanisms before shooting off her
laser
in the other armored gauntlet. Priss added to the damage by
firing
off the rail guns in her gauntlet. The explosive needles shot
into
the holes made by Sylia's laser and detonated. The Boomer
blew
apart, leaving a smoking heap of debris on the pavement.
"Is
he all right?" Sylia asked as she turned toward the fallen form of
Terry
Bogard.
Linna
and Nene crouched down and began taking his vital signs
through
the scanners built into their helmets. Linna nodded as the
readouts
came to her. "He's okay. He just inhaled a large amount of
knockout
gas. He'll be out for a few hours at least."
"All
right. Let's get him out of here before something else comes
along."
As
if on cue, a heavy-duty transport aircraft came onto the scene
and
hovered above where Terry and the Knight Sabers were. The
craft
had no markings, but Sylia suspected that it was from Genom.
The
Boomer they had just destroyed was a modified version of the
standard
BU-55C. The corporation was going through an awful lot
of
trouble to get their hands on this man and now things were
getting
even more complicated.
The
transport opened up its lower doors and four heavy-duty combat
Boomer
were let out. Two were BU-12Bs while the other two were
the
new Devastator models. Sylia and the others got ready to battle
as
the Boomers touched down.
"Nene!
Get Terry to the truck! We'll handle these Boomers!"
The
youngest member of the Knight Sabers nodded as she went to
haul
the Lone Wolf over to where Mackie was parked.
"Man!
This guy is heavy!" Nene complained. Though her Hardsuit
did
increase her physical strength, she was still the weakest of all of
the
Knight Sabers. Her suit boosted her strength by nine to ten
times,
but her natural physical strength wasn't much. Linna and
Priss
had constantly teased her to get more exercise and to cut back
on
those sweets that she was so fond of. She groaned as she half-
carried
and dragged the unconscious streetfighter to the truck.
Priss
evaded several shots from one of the Devastators, and then
fired
off her beam cannon. Ever since their last encounter with this
type
of Boomer, Sylia had all the Hardsuits upgraded for better
firepower
and more speed. Priss' beam cannon was far more
powerful
and her rail guns packed far more power. Her Knuckle
and
Leg Bombers were packing more explosive charges. The blasts
and
explosive needles hit home and made several holes in the upper
torso
of the Devastator. Priss then followed through with another
rocket-powered
kick to the chest and when the Leg Bombers went
off,
the entire Boomer was blown in half!
Linna
was easily dodging the autocannons of one of the BU-12Bs
and
then got in close with the Boomer. With a sharp flick of her
head,
the ribbon cutters that were attached to her helmet were
activated
and slashed across the heavy armor of the machine. The
monomolecular
ribbons sliced into the Boomer's outer casing and
then
into the more delicate circuits beneath. Malfunctions began to
arise
as the Boomer began to emit sparks and fluids from the
gashes.
Linna then reared back and slammed her armored gauntlet
into
the largest of the gashes. Her Knuckle Bomber went off and the
BU-12
exploded apart as the shaped charges tore though its innards.
She
then turned her attention on the other BU-12B and after a few
more
slashes with her ribbon cutters and another Knuckle Bomber
sandwich,
had reduced the Boomer to scrap.
The
leader of the Knight Sabers was engaging the remaining
Devastator
as she took out her laser-edged swords. Evading a
withering
barrage, Sylia got in close and slashed at the junction
where
the gatling cannons joined the shoulders. The guns went
silent
after their ammo belts were disconnected. She then used the
latest
addition in her Hardsuit's arsenal. She had recently added a
special
plasma grenade launcher to each gauntlet. She slashed again
with
her swords and created a huge gaping rip in the Devastator's
chest.
She then fired off her grenade launchers, which sent two
projectiles
containing a very volatile mixture into the tear. The
grenades
exploded, releasing a superheated liquid that was twenty
times
hotter than napalm. The Boomer began spasming as its
insides
were being melted into slag. The ammunition it contained
within
its form exploded when the liquid touched it, causing even
more
damage to the Boomer. In less than ten seconds, the
Devastator
was reduced to a heap of melted and shredded parts.
After
seeing that her comrades had dispatched the other Boomers
with
no problems, Sylia signaled for them to pull back to the truck.
Once
they were all inside, Mackie activated a device, which
released
a kind of smokescreen to cover their escape. He gunned the
engine
and the Knight Sabers with their unconscious passenger
were
gone in a few minutes. It was just at that time that Leon and
the
ADP arrived at the scene, late as usual.
In
the damaged hotel room, Reginald gulped after witnessing the
battle.
Not only had Terry Bogard slipped through his fingers, but
also
the Knight Sabers had destroyed four Boomers and now had
the
streetfighter in their custody. Mr. Quincy was not going to like
this.
At
Dr. Raven's Garage…
"Are
you sure it's a good idea to have him here?" Linna asked as she
and
the other Knight Sabers looked at Terry's form as he was laid
out
on a cot.
"It
was the closest place we could bring him to." Sylia replied. "In
any
case, we'll just keep him here and let Dr. Raven take care of
him
until he comes to." She then turned to the man in question.
"Can
you take care of him until he regains consciousness?"
The
old man that Priss called Pops nodded and said, "No problem.
It's
not like he's going anywhere. When he comes to, I'll just give
him
some excuse about finding him on the street and bringing him
here."
"Right."
Sylia said. "While you're at it, try to get as much
information
about him as you can. I'd like to know just who he is
and
why Genom was after him, though I suspect it's because of
those
strange abilities of his. We will be back to check up on him
later."
As
Sylia was speaking with Pops, neither she nor the other Knight
Sabers
had noticed Terry's eyes begin to flutter and slowly open.
The
Lone Wolf's vision was blurry at first, but then began to clear
as
he focused on the brightly colored images in front of him. As his
eyesight
began to improve, he recognized the armored suits of the
Knight
Sabers…. without their helmets! Terry's eyes caught sight of
a
cute redhead, a girl with a headband, an older female with a kind
of
cropped hairstyle and he then recognized Priss. He then felt his
head
pounding again and couldn't hold in the groan.
The
Knight Sabers and Pops turned their heads at the sounds and
became
pale as Terry sat up and looked at them.
Oh
no!
Meanwhile
at Genom…
"So
you lost him?" Quincy asked with irritation.
"I'm
afraid so, My. Quincy." Reginald admitted. "The Knight
Sabers
now have him."
"I
sent you out for a simple retrieval assignment and you botched it
up!"
"It
wasn't my fault sir! Even though the Boomers I brought with me
were
upgraded, Terry Bogard still destroyed two of them!"
"What
about those other Boomers you had on standby?"
"All
destroyed I'm afraid. The Knight Sabers arrived on the scene
and…"
"I
don't want to hear it." Quincy cut him off. "A prime opportunity
has
been missed and we have nothing to show for it."
"Not
quite sir." Reginald said quietly.
"What
do you mean?"
The
technician swallowed hard and said, "Well sir, I've just gotten a
hold
on the latest analysis on the previous data we had on Terry
Bogard
and well, we found something very unusual."
"What
do you mean?"
"Well,
remember those energy readings that we had on him from
before?
I ran them through the spectrographic analyzer and we
found
traces of quantum field particles."
"Quantum
field particles?" That got Quincy's attention. "Does this
have
something to do with the XR-4000 project that was scrapped a
few
months back?"
"I
think so sir. Just remember that the XR-4000 was designed to
travel
through subspace, literally transporting itself through other
dimensions."
"What
are you saying…"
"Well
sir… based on all available data and this new information,
we
have reason to believe that this Terry Bogard is from another
world.
That would explain why we have no records of this man ever
existing
and also those extraordinary powers of his. We have a
hypothesis
that when the XR-4000 imploded during that final
testing
sequence, it may have transported to that other world, then
somehow
brought Bogard to our reality."
"Are
you saying that this Terry Bogard is some kind of alien?"
"No
sir." Reginald replied. "The scans did report him as human. It's
very
likely that he comes from a parallel world to ours. And this
also
raises some more possibilities. That world where Terry Bogard
came
from may have other individuals with powers like him. And if
we
were able to access that world again…"
"Yes,
that does have possibilities. Can we do it?"
"It
is theoretically possible to reconstruct the quantum field
generator
and recreate the accident that occurred again, but in a
more
controlled environment."
"Excellent!"
Quincy said as he began thinking of what he could do
with
this information. Why settle for just one world, when he had
the
chance of conquering two?
To
be continued…
Author's
notes
Well,
that does it for chapter 4. Next chapter, Terry and the Knight
Sabers
will find themselves in deep trouble as Terry's past and
enemies
start crossing over to the BGC world. There will also be
some
interaction between Terry and our favorite female vigilantes.