In the brief moment between the waves of attackers, Voyager was sort of surprised that Wanderer was able to tell who they were, perhaps from the Psionic signature he’d mentioned before in passing. It was comforting to a degree, since it indicated that they were still the same Voyager as before, even with the new coat of paint.
”It’s fortunate that you survived the wave, but we need to start taking down whatever these things are and protect the people within the city. At least until that thing…” Wanderer went on, jabbing a thumb towards the large alien ship.
”… Is taken out. Any suggestions?”“Well technically I did not survive the wave, but-” she began before Hound Dog descended in a bolt of lightning to join the duo.
”I’m assuming you ain’t like those greenies who are such a drag, though yet somehow oddly familiar. You a relative of Voyager? Cause man, the more I eyeball you the more I see her. But first we got more friends joining our shindig here.””Rest assured, this person and Voyager are one and the same. Just that her dive into the water as the wave hit caused the change,” Wanderer said on their behalf.
“I think that I was lethally incapacitated,” Voyager said, figuring she should said something to prove their identity.
“But I assure you I am still the same Voyager who fought alongside you in New Haven against the Hounds of Humanity.””leat.. Hold on youse died, guess the only constant in life is just taxes then. That blows for us, suppose the squares can now tax the dead.”Voyager nodded, tilting their head slightly.
“Does it still count though? I did get better!””Youse certainly did. Right-O then dunno about the two of you, but taking that thing on my own would be a tall order. Maybe if I got inside. I can fire off some wicked powerful blasts but the big ones nah.” With ships firing down and blasts shattering skyscrapers the trio as it currently was found themselves scrambling. While most civilians had evacuated, cries could be heard in the far distance and distinct gunfire and police sirens seemed to indicate just about every hero was on the scene.
" We rightfully can't be standing around heres. Not when all this commotion is happening right under our noses. I think the plan should be breaking into the big one, take out the air support and give the rest of the heroes a bit of breathing room. Anyone here got a bunker buster!? Because I need Voyager to pop a hole and show them how we dos down Earth side with a payload to send these beatnicks packin.”“Ooh, I don’t know about a bunker buster but I have an idea!” Taking a moment to plant their feet, Voyager held out a hand towards the main ship bearing down on them. Focusing as clearly as the could on the ship, Voyager moved their hand in a circle, and a portal directly into the ship opened up, right beneath Hound Dog’s feet.
“Do you think you could...oh, where did Hound Dog go?” Voyager asked as they looked behind them, then putting on a confident smirk.
“Ha, probably off to kick some alien tail! Wait, I AM alien tail, maybe that’s the wrong phrasing…oh gosh that’s REALLY the wrong phrasing…”The Wanderer turns to the two that had been talking, his psionic blade still active.
”While the mannerisms in your speech is different, could we get on wi…”His eyes catch sight of the flying figure firing an attack towards Voyager, with Hound Dog having disappeared. Wasting no time, he phased away from where he stood and reappeared in the path of the beam heading towards as Voyager leapt out of the way. He braced his arms in front of him as the beam hit him. His coat flapped in the gust from the impact. He grit his teeth as he took the full brunt of the attack on the sides of his forearms.
When the beam disappeared, the mutant remained in place, his arms scorched from the attack. While he still had strength in his body, the toll from the barrier and the giant beam strained him as his body heaved with each breath. Despite this, fury was etched on his face as he stared at the flying figure, backed up by Voyager standing in an offensive posture.
”What the fuck was that all about?!” he roared at the figure, his voice guttural with the rage.
Verge's eyebrow lifted slightly on seeing his beam being intercepted by The Wanderer. First he had done what he could to save the humans of the city, and now he was saving an alien?
"Temper, temper... That's my line... why are you getting in the way? These invaders do not belong in this world, she is one of them isn't she? Why do you protect an invasive species? Whose side are you on?" Verge asked the Wanderer, his voice calm yet cold. He might as well had spoken about tending to a garden and pulling up weeds. Voyager seemed to pick up on this sentiment as she reached out psionically to find something to fight with.
"The earth is screaming, can you not feel it's pain? Humans and these invaders are the reason why. Why raise your hand to protect them? Join me and the earthmother, save this world from the looming apocalypse they seek to bring." Verge continued, his hair blowing slightly in the wind, his suit flickering in the wind.
“My scumbag senses are tingling,” Voyager growled.
“What is this ‘scumbag sense? Since when did you get it?” Wanderer shot back, not taking his eyes off of the intruder.
"You are one of the few chosen, why waste your power for those who seek to destroy everything? All this destruction, whose fault is that? The answer, whilst you might not like it... is undoubtedly true!" The young man began to softly laugh, one of his hands reaching to his own face, before he wiped his facial expression into a more serious one.
“I’ve heard better monologues out of TNG’s first season,” Voyager shot back. Fuming, she levitated up and over Wanderer’s head.
“Look Q-Lite, I don’t know what your deal is, but I’m not one of the aliens you need to worry about right now. If you really want to save your Earth Mom, either get on our side or get out of the way.” There was a loud wrenching sound as steel poles tore themselves from the rooftops with the movement of Voyager’s hands, aligning to point at Verge like arrows waiting to fire.
"What are you talking about? And what did you call me?" Verge's eyebrows furrowed in unison to his narrowing eyes. The young man's gaze darted slightly to the sides as Voyager's hands had begun to move.
“Q-Lite. Like the obnoxious imp from Star Trek but lamer,” Voyager sniped back.
"So -it- speaks our tongue. Not surprising for an infiltrator or a spy. And you can bend the metal to your whim, but that is nothing compared to what a son of the earthmother can do." Verge's wings flared up in a stronger light, but there was still no attack being readied nor hurled towards the pair ahead.
The mutant gritted his teeth.
”This one fought to save this world - this time - from those who deem to destroy it! The Hounds of Humanity had wanted to destroy it to remove anyone who was deemed a traitor. That, in my eyes, is why I saved her: she protected everyone so that they see the future they deserve.”Blue and purple flames started to whip up around him.
”I raise my hand to prevent the fate of this world from the apocalypse that will come to pass in my world 200 years from now. Where every man, woman and child, whether they have powers or not, struggle to survive day by day in a dead world of nightmares you won’t even begin to comprehend. I will fight to stop that nightmare from coming to pass, beginning with this ‘alien invasion’.”"This time? Are you saying you are some kind of traveller in time? Hah! Who would believe that fairytale?!" Verge's voice almost echoed out, there was a sense of amusement mixed with bewilderment. Had this man truly travelled through time itself? If that was the case, then it was indeed a scary thing, but it also opened up other possibilities to be explored. Although at a later time.
A green bolt whizzed over everyone’s head as the aliens The Wanderer was planning on taking down began to fire. Training his focus off Verge for one moment, he raised his hand and fired a ball of psionic energy towards them. When it came close, he clenched the raised hand. The ball suddenly erupted, sending the invading aliens flying. His eyes return back to Verge, purple flames starting to lick from his psionic eye.
“And somehow he doesn’t believe time travel is feasible,” Voyager said, rolling their eyes.
”I don’t know who is at fault for the destruction, but I am here to fight to prevent it. It started with the death of the Esper family. But I need the help to prevent these aliens from destroying this world for the families of the future and if you stand in the way of that, then I will be forced to erase you from the pages of time.”"The Hounds of Humanity were the result of people having chosen the wrong path, the path taken by doctor Diplodoc was the right path to take for humankind and the world! Look upon the world and tell me! Had it not been more safe if more of our kind were there to defend it? All this destruction could have been prevented with his master plan. I know this! Because I am a result of it! That's right, I am one of those who were given the power because of that man's action. He is my father and the earth is my mother." The young man explained, briefly taking the time to look over the smaller alien ships being shred to pieces.
"Erase me? If you are from the future as you say, how could you be so certain you wouldn't undo yourself with such a move? We are so alike after all... Ahh... but I do believe there's more to it than that, wanderer in time. I think you are one of -those- soldiers... instead of no memories, they gave you false ones in that lab of theirs where they played gods. Superhuman project Alpha-4CU. What you seek isn't the future nor the past, but the truth. Don't you?" Verge said in a softer voice, looking down to Wanderer and momentarily to Voyager. His facial expression became more relaxed but also calculating.
"I do believe you have a ship to catch. I will catch you later... hopefully you have disposed of this alien invader by then." Verge said in a slightly amused tone.
“At least when John De Lancie spouted out nonsense it was fun,” Voyager grumbled as the intruding ‘hero’ thundered off, leaving her to take out her frustrations on some incoming ships by launching the steel beams at them.
"You sound almost human... but it doesn't matter. You are a weed that must be pluck out of the garden and thrown into the fire." Verge replied back swiftly in a snarling manner to Voyager.
The Wanderer thought to himself when the man spoke to him about the possible paths that humanity could have followed if someone managed to give more people the powers to defend it.
”I was not in this time when this Doctor Diplodoc did what he did. But it doesn’t matter as this world remained intact and the desolation of my time happened. No matter if you are a regular human being or someone with the gifts to control their own destiny, nothing matters in the wastelands. So it doesn’t matter if he is your creator or if his plans were for the greater good, they will all come to naught if the flow of time doesn’t change.”When the man questioned the validity of him being from the future and whether his memories were his own, the mutant began to self-reflect. All the pain from being tortured from the mutated monsters. The banishment from Settlement 149 when he got his powers. The cold nights in the wastelands just for him to survive. It was a lot for one person to experience in their lifetime. Almost too coincidental. Maybe the figure had a point about the memories being from another.
As a small gust of wind washed over the group, a faint tinge of a copper smell wafted through his nose. It was the memory of the sight of the trapped survivors of Settlement 149 that perished from the mutant raid. The ravaged corpses, while gruesome in appearance, was nothing new to him and his ‘memories’, but the sight of the arm of a child that didn’t survive stuck with him.
That was real.His eyes narrowed at the flying man.
”I do seek the truth alright… the truth of the origins of the nightmare of the future. Your future.”"Who do you think put that nightmare in your mind and is leading the world towards self destruction. It is none other than humankind. And when you are no longer of any use to them they are going to throw you away. Such is the nature of man. They are envious, fear one another and seek to destroy each other. To kill them is the right thing to do, the merciful thing. And for the preservation of our world, it must be done." The blonde young man replied swiftly to The Wanderer,
Click.While making his retort, The Wanderer’s arm reached across his body and under the coat, hand grasping something that seemed to unlock.
”As I have no one to return to and I want to change the course of history for the better of all., I am willing to give my life to secure it. And as long as I have this to remind me of what lies for everyone…”In one fluid motion, he ripped the body armour off of his body. The tearing of fabric was audible as he revealed the flesh underneath. On the side that his psionic eye was, mottled skin of purple and red ran ragged all the way along with rippled muscle as if something burnt him. On his right, jagged scars ran along with it of various sized gashes that covered every inch of his body, all pockmarked with various injuries from bullets.
With a brooding guise to his face after the reveal, his eyes glared at the man.
“Then I will do everything necessary to achieve it. And that includes protecting those who save others. No matter who or what they are. For as long as I draw breath, this ‘alien’ you want dead is under my protection. If you want to get to her, you will have to deal with me.” His gaze shifted towards Voyager, keeping the flying man in his sights.
”But now is not the time to bicker about who wants to kill who. We have an invasion to stop and a ship to destroy. And we have to do this together.”"You should join me, Wanderer of nightmares! Not fight alongside the ones who are the source of all this suffering. You are like the wife of an abuser, protecting him despite what evil he does. As if it has been programmed into your very being, Alpha-4CU. To alter a mind and body is a small price to pay for their continued warmongering, harvesting and leeching of this world. And if they could do it, why wouldn't they do it?" It was with a softer tone that Verge began speaking in, as if it was but one of many sentences which flew around in his head.
"Hahah... did you think it would stop with their attempts to clone animals? To artificially alter plants or their own genes? Humankind is like a virus, trying to survive no matter what. Crawling away from the hot needle. Alpha-4CU, you are one of them clones they bred in that one lab. An artificial warrior created for the army of humankind, a weapon to be exploited and then disposed of when your purpose is over with. Like a puppet on a string. A wanderer lost in time, but a wanderer is only a wanderer until he finds his place of belonging. Your destiny is to join with me, let me help you find the peace you seek. The end of your nightmare." Verge held out his hand in an offering manner down towards Wanderer, the young man's face serious and his body appearing tense. This man couldn’t be from the future, it had to be some tinkering with his mind. But if this wasn’t the case and the man came from the future itself, then no matter what they would do there would be surely no way to change the future. Something like that didn’t sit well with Verge at all.
“-I- am the future of this world…” The young blonde finally said, awaiting The Wanderer’s answer.
--------
Meanwhile on board the Alien ship
Energy pulsed through the hull of the ship if Sinclaire couldn’t see the electromagnetic spectrum he would be completely unaware of the sheer power around his person. It was far more than he alone could produce and it was all his.
”Is this? Oh ho man I dig this. OH it’s rad as hell. They used the metal itself as a battery, I know carbon fiber can be used to store a charge but this is a whole new level. I can’t even tell where the power source is coming from, no wait is there even one on board?”As Hound Dog inspected the ship’s hull his fingers pressed against the temperate metal blasters fired upon him to no avail, all this free energy tapped into like a wine barrel overflowing into Sinclaire has left him with far more versatility to wield his powers as he saw fit. Creating a barrier disrupting light and energy based weapons essentially a wall of plasma with supercharged air.
”Right things are getting a bit warm around here Here’s a bit of a parting present for all youse; enjoy the tan.” Electricity zapped around his feet and Hound Dog moved with impressive speed as the wall of plasma inched down the opposite end of the hallway slowly and steadily moving towards the aliens as the air shimmered and sweat dripped from their brows.
Panicked the Aliens could tell something was wrong, the engines were being starved of power and heat spikes of undocumented scale began popping up all over the ship forcing the ship to vent heat overwhelming the cooling systems and boiling super coolant until it evaporated. Suddenly as two maintenance engineers looked up from the displays a solid wall of energy melted the door.
”You know youse probably don’t understands me but on the off chance you do I’d run. Though the thing about all this electricity running through this ship is that it’s hot approximately 30,000 kelvins. From the looks of it you all handle the heat pretty well with quite a robust and effective system that both cools the air and distributes any heat spikes. But every system has a point of failure and dealing with heat half as hot as a Wolf-Rayet star is definitely overkill.”--------
Wanderer’s eyes shot towards the large ship in the sky as the falling ship began to explode on the outside, as if something ruptured from the inside. Probably the work of the other hero that was with them, the mutant’s eyes returned to the flying hero.
”We can talk about this later. We still got these hostile aliens to take care of and as long as I’m fighting for the protection of this world, Voyager is my charge and is to not be harmed by you during this. Agreed?”Verge’s teeth clenched on seeing the ship above, had something gone astray?
“Tch..” Such misfortune. He scoffed slightly on hearing Wanderer’s words, before replying to him.
“We may speak later, but I expect you to have disposed of this alien, this Voyager by then... or I will do it myself. This is a promise.” The young man waited, hovering in the air for a few moments if Wanderer wanted to add something more before he dashed away at high speed in the air, moving away from the city.
”Well, you better hope you can accomplish your promise,” the mutant retorted, reaching across the clip the armour back together. He watched as the man took off into the distance, presumably out of the fight for Pacific Point.
When the man disappeared into the sky, The Wanderer turned to Voyager.
”Come on. We’ve got some invaders to kill…””Good, I have an inexplicable need to vent right about now,” Voyager grumbled.
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Shienvien
