Re X Mix/Part 2

At the bridge of what appeared to be a large airship docked somewhere underground, Verramortem buzzed around checking monitors and applying settings to what appeared to be a full network of programs. As he was doing this, Fuviquo walked onto the bridge with a scowl on his face/

"Are you almost done?" He growled. "We aren't doing ourselves any favors by wasting time here."

"I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand this, but high-class weaponry requires very precise fine-tuning." Verramortem huffed back.

"Then fine-tune faster." Fuviquo grunted. "We still need to get the last tower planted."

"I'm fully aware of that." Verramortem hissed. "I'm almost done here anyway, you simpleton."

"Wha- That's what I just asked you about!" Fuviquo snapped. "Why didn't you just lead with that?!"

Verramortem ignored the question and adjusted one last set of coordinates before finally turning away from the bridge's computers.

"Alright, the mainframe is almost finished, but we can't afford to have anyone show up and interfere with planting the last tower." Verramortem sucked air in through his teeth. "I guess it's time to use that."

"Use what?" Fuviquo scowled.

"THAT."

"I don't know what that is."

"How could you not know what that is? We went over it like fifteen times this morning at the briefing."

"Thirteen of those times were different objects you all labeled as being that." Fuviquo snapped.

"Oh, for the love of-" Verramortem hissed. "The Leviathan BootLock! What else would I be talking about here?!"

"We have numerous different kinds of BootLocks!" Fuviquo threw his arms into the air. "How could I possibly know you were talking about the LEVIATHAN BootLock, you moron?!"

"FUCK YOU!"

Isaac sat across from Lucius in the young CEO’s office, arms set behind his head in a rather careless stance. Lucius had offered him a buyout of EarthCo., the small tourism-themed company that Isaac had set up to facilitate his shop down south. Not content with the idea of just turning him down and walking out without learning anything, Isaac sighed and leaned forward to ask him something.

"Bit of a side question here, what do you know about the Obsidian Death?" Isaac asked.

"I know my father's organization had dealings with them prior to their dissolution." Lucius replied flatly. "Why?"

"A couple of operatives showed up in town earlier today before I came to meet you." Isaac explained. "Seems a bit coincidental, doesn't it?"

"If you're trying to imply I had anything to do with that, I can assure you I did not." Lucius stated. "What would I stand to gain by employing members of a failed organization that fell apart half a decade ago?"

"Who knows?" Isaac shrugged. "You just seem like the kind of guy who always has some background scheme going on."

"That is how business on my scale is conducted, Logical." Lucius replied. "If you don't have any plans for the future of your company, you're not going to get anywhere."

"I guess I can agree with that much." Isaac sniffed.

"Back to the topic at hand." Lucius tapped a finger on the contract. "Will you agree to a buyout or not?"

"Look, I'm gonna be real with you, chief." Isaac said. "I don't trust you of all people to handle my business responsibly after seeing what you do with the EvoLock system."

"What about the EvoLock system?" Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I assure you, my method of distribution complies with all legal-"

"Cut the shit, Raivent, we're all businessmen here." Isaac rolled his eyes. "Seems like every other day or so I'm hearing about some incident or other because your dumb ass keeps letting EvoLocks get taken by crazy people. One of these days, someone's going to get killed and your line of revenue there is up shit creek."

"Most people who receive an EvoLock are perfectly stable, and the rare exceptions that aren't are handled by the Global Police." Lucius said. "If I believe the situation is getting out of hand, then I will increase our safety standards to match."

"Your definition of 'out of hand' is pretty different from the general public's." Isaac snorted. "So how about you take this crappy little contract..." He took the contract paper and neatly folded it into an origami middle finger. "And shove it up your ass."

"You have quite the unmitigated gall." Lucius narrowed his eyes.

"I have gall?" Isaac snorted. "Do you have any idea what your products are doing out there? It's more difficult to get a gun than it is for anyone loaded enough to get one of these locks."

"Unlike guns, the locks are not weapons." Lucius stated. "Their own creator said as much."

"Neither are Omnitrixes, but they sure get used as weapons." Isaac tapped on the SpecTrix. "You really think most people aren't going to take advantage of them?"

"I'm not in the business of changing society, nor am I interested in dictating anyone's actions." Lucius said. "I simply provide tools. When Cain slew Abel with a stone, God was not held accountable to the act merely for placing the stone upon the Earth."

"Motherfucker, did you just use a metaphor that puts you on the level of 'God'?" Isaac stared at him incredulously.

"I'm not a particularly holy man, so I suppose it's not the most useful comparison." Lucius sniffed. "At any rate, I believe I still got the point across."

“Yeah, the point that this isn’t going anywhere, maybe.” Isaac grumbled, getting up from his seat. “I’m out of here.”

Lucius watched with an unamused expression as Isaac left the room, being unsure quite what to make of this obnoxious man.

Moranna and Napoleon stood just outside Raivent Enterprise’s office building as they waited for Isaac to get done with the meeting.

“I just don’t get it.” Napoleon crossed his arms with a puzzled expression. “We kick the Obsidian Death to the curb five years ago and they decide to show up again now? What for?”

“I’m assuming someone put them up to this.” Moranna said. “Their leader is long gone, and I doubt they came back together on their own.”

“Who would do that, though?” Napoleon furrowed his brow in thought. “They got wrecked pretty spectacularly last time.”

“From our perspective, maybe, but the only reason that happened is that they were sabotaged from the inside.” Moranna pointed out. “Before that, they were known as a force to be reckoned with in the Milky Way. We were able to beat some members by ourselves, but stopping any of the higher-ups always took all three of us.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Napoleon nodded, putting his hand up to his chin. “I guess if I was a criminal mastermind, recruiting some pretty reputable gangsters would be an obvious choice.”

“That still leaves the question of who’s responsible for this in the first place.” Moranna stated. “We need to start doing some digging.”

“Now that’s something I can get behind!” Napoleon formed a drill around his leg and slammed it into the concrete.

“Are you going to fix that?” Moranna raised an eyebrow, jabbing a thumb at the massive crack the drill had put into the sidewalk.

“I would, but I have no idea how concrete works.”

Moranna started to say something in an attempt to get Napoleon to elaborate on that statement but was interrupted as the glass door to the office building suddenly slammed open, having been kicked from the inside.

"Well, that was a load of shit." Isaac grunted as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Come on guys, let's head back-"

Isaac was in turn interrupted by the sudden introduction of complete chaos. People screamed and ran as a giant reptilian beast suddenly appeared downtown, stomping its way through the streets and flattening cars with a vengeance.

"Oh, what the fuck is that?" Isaac groaned.

"Something less boring than a business meeting!" Napoleon grinned, punching a fist into the palm of his hand. "Let's get 'em!"

"Hold on a minute." Moranna ordered. "None of us have anything large enough to take that thing without casualties, so unless you want a body count, we need to plan something first."

"Hey Isaac, you wanna do that thing again?" Napoleon said.

"That thing we specifically said we were never going to do again?" Isaac sighed.

"Exactly!"

"Fine."

Isaac pulled up the SpecTrix and transformed into Golurth before evolving into Ultimate Golurth, which Napoleon fused with Swarm 1 to create the robotic giant known as Heaving Piercing Ultimate Golurth.

The enormous being sprang into action, tackling the rampaging Leviathan and delivering a hard-hitting uppercut to the reptilian’s jaw at a speed completely ludicrous for an alien of its size.

"As long as they're distracting that thing, I might be able to get behind it and sever a tendon to make it stop moving." Moranna muttered. "Assuming it has that kind of biology..."

Before she fully decided on a plan of action, several corrupted mana blasts came at her from the side, which she swiftly deflected using the taydenite blade stored in her holster.

"Damn, nice reflexes." Her assaulter clapped as they walked forward, revealing themselves to be a ten-foot golem-like creature made of black and white earth.

"Isn't it a little stereotypical for a Japanese person to be a ninja, though?"

"I'm not a ninja, I'm a cyborg assassin, there's a difference." Moranna replied flatly. "Who are you? You look like the old leader of the Obsidian Death, but he's frozen underneath the southern ice cap at the moment."

"The resemblance is uncanny, right?" Cursed Earth tapped her horn. "Anyway, you're right, Prelude's still on ice. Or under it, I guess."

"Just answer the question."

"Name's Zetium." Cursed Earth gestured at herself. "I was commander of the Obsidian Death's Mana division. Jumped ship when they decided to launch a full invasion on Earth like a bunch of idiots, though."

"It was a suicide mission, technically." Moranna stated. "Prelude told us as much when we fought him at the south pole."

"'We'?" Cursed Earth paused before suddenly snapping her fingers. "Wait a minute, now I remember you! You were that other kid Tech had with him at the village we were researching."

"I don't seem to recall you being an Animam Creari." Moranna said. "Let me guess, EvoLock?"

"Nah, too spendy to get and too hard to steal." Cursed Earth waved her off. "Verramortem swiped some data off Raivent Enterprise's computers and started building bootleg locks. BootLocks, if you will."

"I will not."

"Too bad, because that's what he's calling them." Cursed Earth sighed. "Once he gets mass-production started, they're gonna be all over the underworld."

"Why would you tell me that?" Moranna scowled. "You can't think we're not going to try to stop him."

"Because I'm bad at small talk and I figured info like that would keep you invested in our conversation." Cursed Earth shrugged. "That said, I'm pretty much out of topics now, so uh...how's the weather?"

"We are in the middle of the same weather right now." Moranna pointed out.

"So we are." Cursed Earth nodded. "So we are."

There was a momentary pause in the conversation.

"What exactly are you trying to do here?" Moranna demanded.

"Keep you distracted." Cursed Earth said. "Is it working?"

"I'm leaving."

Moranna started bolting away toward Leviathan, only to skid to a halt as a large earthen golem exploded out of the asphalt to block her path.

"Can't let you do that." Cursed Earth tsked. "I'm not a huge fan of fighting, but with the power of this Evolvyrn..."

More golems erupted from the Earth, quickly surrounding Moranna, who quietly observed the situation.

"I don't have to!" Cursed Earth declared.

Moranna jumped forward and swung her blade through the air, effortlessly dismembering the golems in front of her. Just as quickly as they went down, however, more earth flowed up from the ground to restore them, blocking her path again.

"This should be obvious, but they aren't alive, so you can't exactly kill them." Cursed Earth stated. "Pretty solid counter for an assassin, if I do say so myself."

Before Moranna could reply, a flood of water suddenly shot up from the ground, washing the golems into the air while carefully avoiding her body. She turned to find Lunaqua racing towards her, with her back tendrils extended as she controlled the water.

"I saw the fight going on downtown and got here as fast as I could!" Lunaqua said. "Is everyone alright?!"

"As far as I know." Moranna replied, pausing as she noticed the CrossTrix symbol on Lunaqua's chest. "You're that kid from the park, aren't you?"

"Right!" Lunaqua nodded. "Teresa Challi-"

"I remember your name." Moranna interrupted her. "Is there anything shorter I can call you?"

"Oh, um...Tech, I guess." Lunaqua shrugged.

"Hang on a minute, you can't be 'Tech', he's already 'Tech'!" Cursed Earth snapped, pointing up at the armored Ultimate Golurth.

"He just goes by 'Isaac' now, actually." Moranna corrected.

"Isaac went by 'Tech' too?" Lunaqua tilted her head in confusion.

"Right." Moranna nodded. "He was 'Tech' but now he's just 'Isaac'."

"So you're saying 'Isaac' was 'Tech' but now 'Tech' is 'Isaac' and 'Teresa' is 'Tech'?" Cursed Earth counted out the names on her fingers. "That's too confusing! Pick one person to be 'Tech' and stick with it, dammit!"

"She's 'Tech'." Moranna pointed at Lunaqua.

"That's all you had to say to start with!" Cursed Earth snapped.

"That is what I said, though..." Lunaqua mumbled.

"I've wasted enough time here." Moranna said, pulling up the bracelet on her left wrist and activating it, creating a holographic screen with a control interface. "Tech, take care of the golems. I'm going to melt down the Evolvyrn."

She stepped forward and hit a large button on the hologram interface, activating the Omnitrix dial on her hip with a flash and transforming into a 6 1/2-foot tall blue-skinned alien wearing multicolored armor.

“Melt me down?” Cursed Earth questioned. “The hell is that supposed to mea-”

She was interrupted as Conveshift abruptly charged, slamming an open-faced palm into her torso and twisting it to the side. The earth comprising the golem-like alien’s body began to liquefy, breaking down her body until the transformation was too damaged to maintain, forcibly reverting her to her standard form.

Lunaqua, meanwhile, made short work of the actual golems by using waves of high-pressure water to slice them apart and drench the remains. She ran over to Conveshift’s side as the two of them detransformed, while Zetium simply stayed where she had fallen on the ground, facing up at the sky.

“Welp, you killed me.” Zetium grunted. “I’m dead.”

“You’re very clearly not.” Moranna scowled.

“On all levels except physical, I am dead.” Zetium replied. “I’m done. I am so fucking done. This is bullshit.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You think I wanna be here, lady?” Zetium sat up and jabbed a thumb at herself. “I only joined the Obsidian Death in the first place to get out of the shitty war zone I lived in, and now that the organization is gone, you know what my job prospects look like? Nothing! Nobody wants to hire a former gang member except other gang members!”

“You could always speak to Dr. Krauze.” The CrossTrix beeped. “She specializes in finding career paths for alien immigrants.”

“Never heard of her.” Zetium looked at the CrossTrix suspiciously. “And why would you even be offering advice to me in the first place, huh? We literally just fought.”

“Having you act as part of regular society would cause less trouble in the future for everyone here.” The CrossTrix pointed out.

“You know what, fair point.” Zetium got up and began dusting herself off. “Fair point. Can’t argue with that. I mean I could but I just kinda wanna get out of here.”

“Good luck doing that while all of that’s still going on.” Moranna replied flatly, jabbing a thumb at the clashing giants a few blocks behind them.

“What, you serious?” Zetium laughed. “I’ve seen that mech in action. The poor guy they sent out with the Leviathan BootLock is fucked.”

“What do you mean?” Teresa asked curiously.

As if in response, Heaven-Piercing Ultimate Golurth raised an arm into the air, constructing a massive sword burning with a combination of Void Energy and Dark Mana.

“CONDEMNATION BLADE!”

The giant fusion jumped into the air, growing their already massive weapon to double the size and bringing it down on Levithian as they fell to the ground, impaling it and then hoisting the weapon up to slice it in half. Leviathan’s bisected body slowly slid apart for a few seconds before suddenly being consumed in a massive explosion as its opponent coolly turned away and folded its arms together.

“Oh.” Teresa’s pupils shrunk. “Th-that’s what you meant.”

“Hey!” Zetium yelled up at Heaven-Piercing Ultimate Golurth. “Is there an actual reason you don’t look at explosions, or is it just supposed to make you look cool?!”

“Looking at explosions...” Heaven-Piercing Ultimate Golurth replied in a deep, confident voice with a cool smoothness to it. “Hurts my eyes.”

“Oh my god.”

Moranna and Teresa ran over to the street where Isaac and Napoleon had detransformed, finding them about halfway up the block and surrounded by wrecked pavement.

“You think we can blame all of it on the other guy or nah?” Isaac put a hand on his chin in thought as he surveyed their surroundings.

“It may have been easier to avoid breaking things if you hadn’t done that finisher with the giant sword.” Moranna pointed out in a flat tone. “Was that strictly necessary?”

“Hell YES it was!” Napoleon pumped his fist in the air, then pointed at Teresa. “Come on, that was awesome, right?!”

“I-I guess so.” Teresa stammered, caught off-guard by suddenly being put on the spot.

“If I ever make my own Omnitrix playlist, remind me to add an alien that can undo property damage.” Isaac grunted. “I don’t feel like dealing with this right now.”

“Neither do I, but it looks like we’re both going to be disappointed.” Fuviquo’s voice suddenly sounded from down the street.

The four Omnitrix users turned to find Fuviquo marching at them with a small army comprised of people wearing Obsidian Death armor alongside one group equipped with black and purple assassin’s uniforms and another who appeared to just be simple street-level thugs.

“Well, well, well, looks like someone’s managed to scrape up quite the cavalry of tomfuckery.” Isaac snorted. “The hell’s with this blend of cannon fodder, huh?”

“You of all people should know the Obsidian Death no longer exists as its own organization.” Fuviquo tsked. “A man from Earth reached out to us and the near-defunct assassin’s guild your purple friend over there came from with an offer to combine our forces with his own arms-dealing racket...as I understand it, one that you interfered with personally.”

“Oh yeah, I did do that.” Isaac snickered. “So, what, this is just one big casserole of failures?”

“The name of this new organization is the Triumvirate.” Fuviquo growled. “You’d do well not to take us lightly.”

“See, you say that, but I’m gonna do it anyway.”

“Dragging out our encounter with insults only benefits me in this case, you idiot.” Fuviquo sneered.

“They’re trying to keep us distracted from something.” Moranna informed Isaac. “If I had to guess, they’re probably trying to plant another tower. This whole thing is a stalling tactic.”

“Shoulda just told me that to begin with.” Isaac pulled up the SpecTrix. “Let’s get these guys out of the way.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Fuviquo interjected. “Have you checked on your little tag-along in the last few seconds?”

“What-” Isaac turned around, only to find that a member of the assassin’s group had grabbed Teresa from behind, covering her mouth and holding a knife up to her neck. “Oh, goddammit.”

“Transform and the new kid gets it.” Fuviquo cackled. “Got any good quips for me now, asshole?”

“Did you get dropped on your head as a fetus?” Isaac knocked on the side of his head mockingly. “She’s got an Omnitrix on. Even if she gets her throat slit, she can just transform before she bleeds out and she’ll be fine.”

Teresa’s eyes widened as a chill went down her spine, followed by the CrossTrix beeping angrily.

“While technically correct, that is not a proper solution to this situation!” The CrossTrix snapped. “What if she goes into shock and can’t transform?!”

“I’m just pointing it out as a possibility.” Isaac huffed. “I’m not saying it should actually escalate to that point.”

“No, no, I think you had a good train of thought going.” Fuviquo’s face curled up into a sadistic grin. “Let’s see what happens.”

Fuviquo made a slitting motion across his throat, ordering the execution. The assassin holding the knife to Teresa’s throat plunged it into her neck and swiped it across faster than the eye could see. Her brief attempt to scream was choked out by the blood gurgling down her throat, with the assassin releasing her and kicking her to the ground.

“MOTHERFUCKER!” Isaac snapped.

Moranna moved faster than anyone else, jumping over to Teresa and shooting the assassin several times in the chest before grabbing a hold of the CrossTrix.

“Tell me how to activate a transformation.” Moranna ordered CROSS. “We don’t have much time.”

“Set the combination lock to 0-1-0 and twist the dial to pick an alien.” The CrossTrix replied urgently. “It doesn’t matter which one. From there, just slam down the dial.”

Moranna followed the CrossTrix’s instructions, transforming Teresa in a teal flash. She got to her feet as Teresa’s new form slowly forced itself off the ground.

“Are you alright?” Moranna asked.

Before she could answer, the new alien suddenly doubled over, clutching at its head as neon sparks began flying from its body.

“Not...this one...” NeOhm muttered under her breath, sounding strained. “I...I can’t...”

As NeOhm struggled with herself, the assassin Moranna had shot abruptly shot back up, aiming to land another knife strike on Teresa.

"Get...out..."

NeOhm suddenly grabbed the assassin and smashed their head into the asphalt beneath them, knocking them unconscious.

"OF MY WAY!" NeOhm yelled.

"Uh...this is different." Isaac noted.

"Come at me then!" NeOhm turned at the remaining army. "I know you want to kill me, so just try it already! I'll bury you all in the ground!"

"And concerning." Moranna’s brow furrowed.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit, I'm not going to take this anymore!" NeOhm clutched at her head again. "I'm not going to let you hurt me or anyone else! I...I..."

NeOhm began laughing and crying at the same time, chuckling as tears slid down her face.

"I want..." NeOhm shook as she heaved a deep breath. "To kill you."

"Alright, time-out, new kid's obviously snapped, we need to take care of this." Isaac interjected.

"This is a fight, moron, you can't just call a time-out!" Fuviquo snapped, then turned to his soldiers. "Kill them!"

Fuviquo's division began to move forward. None of them were given time to comprehend what was going on before bolts of neon-colored chain lightning shot through the regiment at top speed, knocking them out in record time. Fuviquo reached for his whip, only to be charged by NeOhm, who lunged at him with electrified fists.

Too slow to run, he ended up being brutally clotheslined by NeOhm and skidding across the road. Before he could recover, NeOhm was already on top of him, punching at the glass-like armor protecting his head.

"Time-out, time-out, time-out!" Fuviquo yelled, trying to raise his arms in a futile attempt to block the blows.

"Should we..." Napoleon gestured at the scene in front of them.

"I'm always up for this guy getting the piss beat out of him, but from what I've seen so far this is definitely out of the ordinary." Isaac tsked, pulling up the SpecTrix. "I guess I should do something."

"Teresa, he's down!" The CrossTrix beeped. "You can stop now! It's safe!"

"What if he's just faking it?!" NeOhm's voice grew increasingly shaky. "What happens if I let him go and he turns around and kills us?! I can't- I won't- I-"

NeOhm suddenly found herself pulled back by Isaac, who had transformed into a lightning-white electric alien and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"I get that, but I'm not too keen on letting you actually kill someone, even if you're scared of them." Electrolite stated. "I'd like to think being anti-murder is one of my few redeeming qualities."

"...Change me back." NeOhm spoke through gritted teeth.

"Huh?" Electrolite raised an eyebrow.

"There was a reason I didn't want to use this alien." NeOhm muttered. "Just change me back."

"Uh...can't you just-"

"Don't you think I would have done it already if I could?!" NeOhm yelled. "Just hit the dial, please!"

Electrolite complied and hit the CrossTrix symbol on NeOhm's chest, reverting her to human. Teresa fell onto her arms and knees and began hyperventilating over the ground, prompting an odd look from Electrolite.

"So...can we get an explanation on what the hell that was all about?" Electrolite prompted.

"NeOhm's species lacks a proper 'fear' instinct, resulting in a general lift of any boundaries the user might have." The CrossTrix replied. "Thus, any emotions the user suppresses may overwhelm them during the initial phase of the transformation."

"Emotions like going batshit insane?" Electrolite asked skeptically.

"It's not...like that..." Teresa finally began to catch her breath. "To be honest...anywhere I go...I never feel safe."

"What does that-"

"I try to avoid any kind of conflict with other people unless someone needs my help." She continued. "I'm terrified that if I make one wrong move, everyone's going to turn on me."

Teresa slowly pulled herself to her feet, facing away from the others.

"And even though I...I don't want to live, there's just this primordial part of me that constantly tries to tell me to rip and tear and kill and just...do anything to survive, and when all the fear holding it down slips away, it feels like it just explodes. And after what just happened..."

Teresa turned around to face Electrolite with tears running down her cheeks.

"I didn't want to use that form because it makes it easy." She choked out. "It makes it so easy to hurt people."

"Well, I don't know how to respond to that since I have zero issues with hurting people." Electrolite sniffed. "I guess what you gotta do is learn how to hurt people moderately; like, the appropriate amount of hurt for the situation. For example:"

Electrolite pointed at Fuviquo, who was carefully trying to sneak away from the situation. A bolt of electricity shot out from his index finger, hitting the would-be escapee and knocking him unconscious.

"See? No longer a threat but also not dead probably." Electrolite said. "Remember, excessive violence is bad, but appropriate violence within the right context is rad as hell."

"But wanting to hurt people..." Teresa mumbled. "Doesn't that make me a bad person?"

"Do you really want to hurt people, or do you want to keep yourself safe?" Electrolite questioned. "All of your reactions to literally everything so far have been super defensive. If you feel like everything around you is out to get you, no shit you're gonna be wired all the time."

"Defensive?" Teresa questioned.

"Excessively." Electrolite nodded. "Hell, when I broke up that fight you were in, it looked like you were about to get decked and all you did was prepare to get hit. You've got an Omnitrix for God's sake, there's no way you couldn't have whooped that other person's ass."

"I just told you I don't want to hurt anyone!" Teresa protested. "What else was I supposed to do?!"

"Man, you're really not getting this." Electrolite grumbled. "If someone is trying to hurt you, or anyone else for that matter, then you can hurt them. As soon as someone starts attacking, they lose their right to not be attacked. If you can't work up the resolve to fight someone when you need to, then why the fuck are you wearing that Omnitrix in the first place?"

"CROSS!" Teresa yelled, throwing her arm up in the air.

The CrossTrix suddenly smashed through a nearby wall, whirling through the air until it landed on her wrist, generating its gauntlet form.

"You made up your mind yet?" The CrossTrix asked.

"Yeah." Teresa gulped. "I really don't want to, but if it'll let me save everyone here...then I'll do it!"

"I...wanted to save people." Teresa looked down at the floor. "There was an Evolvyrn rampaging, and I didn't want anyone to die."

"And how did you protect them from the Evolvyrn?" Electrolite pushed.

"I transformed and went for her head as Skyjack." Teresa answered. "But that...that's different. If you hurt an Evolvyrn, they'll just transform back and be fine, but if you hurt someone who can't transform..." Teresa unconsciously rubbed the scar running down the underside of her left arm. "...You can't ever take that back."

"If you had a healing alien, you totally could, actually." Electrolite mused. "Still, I get your point. That's why you just have to use moderate violence like I said."

"I don't want to use any violence!" Teresa suddenly snapped. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I know a few people who could probably write a full list, but-"

"This isn't the time for more of your stupid quips!" Teresa had been pushed thoroughly past the breaking point by all of this. "You can't just be so flippant about everything!"

"I can be and I will." Electrolite tsked.

"Uh, Isaac?" Napoleon interjected. "This really isn't the time for-"

"'Appropriate amount of violence'? What is that even supposed to mean?!" Teresa continued, clenching her eyes closed and fists together as she yelled. "Who gets to decide what that is? You?! I am not going to start hurting people whenever I feel like it! I'm not going to be that kind of person! I refuse! I AM NOT GOING TO TURN INTO MY-"

Teresa was interrupted as the ground began shaking beneath them. A massive airship broke through the roads above it and lifted into the air a few blocks away from them, with pieces of earth falling from its frame.

“What is that?” Electrolite grumbled.

“Probably something related to those towers.” Moranna pulled up her bracelet and transformed into a gray phantom-like alien whose lowered half appeared to be made up of dark clouds. “Let’s find out.”

“Tech.” Briiz turned to Teresa. “You can sit this one out.”

“Wh-what?” Teresa looked worried. “But...what if something happens and you need help?!”

“We’re more experienced with this, and, from what I can tell, more comfortable with it.” Briiz replied. “We can handle this ourselves.”

“I-I can still help you, though!” Teresa said. “I won’t hold you back!”

“That’s not what she’s worried about.” Electrolite interjected with a sigh, turning back to Teresa. “Look, it’s pretty obvious I crossed a line just now, and it’s not like you were doing great before that either.”

“Was I doing something wrong?” Teresa asked nervously.

“Not like that.” Electrolite shook his head. “You aren’t in a healthy state of mind, like...at all right now. Take some time to yourself. You’re not gonna be able to help anyone if you neglect yourself.”

“But-”

“One more thing.” Electrolite interrupted. “I don’t like apologizing since it just seems weird coming from me, but I shouldn’t have worn you down like that just now, so uh...yeah, I apologize for that.”

There was an awkward pause in the conversation.

“We, uh, should probably go take care of that.” Electrolite coughed, gesturing to the airship looming ominously in the sky behind him. “Let’s talk later, okay? You know, like, for real.”

Teresa nodded hesitantly.

“Alrighty then, we’re headed out.” Electrolite cracked his knuckles. “Take care of yourself and try not to die or anything, got it?”

With that, Electrolite and Briiz took to the air, shortly followed by Napoleon using a pair of rocket boots. It didn’t take long for them to reach the airship and punch a hole into it that they were able to enter through. They expected some resistance as they boarded the ship, only to find themselves in a hallway lined with unconscious bodies and broken BootLocks.

“The shit happened here?” Electrolite’s brow furrowed. “Looks like they got hit by a goddamn tornado.”

“If it were a tornado, they may have stood a chance.” A raspy voice echoed from down the hall, drawing the group’s attention.

A hulking humanoid alien with a single rhombus-shaped eye in the middle of its torso and wire-like legs in place of a head walked towards them, revealing its identity as it approached.

“Those who cross my company...” Plague stated. “Will be given no quarter.”

“CROSS...” Teresa asked. “Was leaving them by themselves really a good idea?”

Teresa had taken shelter in the nearest parking garage, leaning against a concrete pillar for support as the air outside shook from the presence of the airship.

“I think it was the right decision.” The CrossTrix beeped. “You need some time to recover from today.”

“But I barely did anything.” Teresa slid down the pillar into a sitting position. “...I’m pathetic.”

“Nobody starts out being the perfect hero.” The CrossTrix said. “Not being able to do everything doesn’t make you pathetic. They have years of experience and all of this just started for you a few days ago. Of course you’re going to need time to adjust and grow into it.”

“I know, but I can’t help feeling awful about it.” Teresa hung her head in her hands. “I can’t believe I exploded like that too.”

“You’ve been under a lot of stress lately, especially today.” The CrossTrix pointed out. “The obnoxious one was right when he said you need to take some time to yourself.”

“You really think that’ll help?”

“It couldn’t hurt.” The CrossTrix’s dial displayed a shrugging animation.

“I guess you’re right.” Teresa wiped away some tears forming across her eyes with a sniffle. “But I’m still meeting with Officer Eldridge later, remember?”

“I didn’t forget.” The CrossTrix tsked. “She seems like a dependable person, so it may be worth talking to her about all this too.”

“Yeah...” Teresa got to her feet and walked away from the pillar. “By the way, CROSS?”

“Huh?”

Teresa pulled up the CrossTrix and looked at it with a weary smile.

“Thanks for being here for me.”

“Well, the exact circumstances under which I’m here are a bit odd, but I’m happy to help.” The CrossTrix replied. “It’s why I was made.”

Teresa nodded and smiled in response. She began walking towards the garage’s entrance, only to be blocked by Malincious Crow as Blitzkrieg stepping out from behind the corner she was headed for.

“Teresa Challice, age 17, current user of the CrossTrix.” Blitzkrieg turned to look at her. “Am I safe in assuming all of that is correct?”

"Wh-who are you?" Teresa gulped.

"Malincious Crow." Blitzkrieg replied. "I'm what you might call a hitman."

He raised a finger at Teresa.

"And right now, my target is you."

"What?!" Teresa began backing away. "B-but why?! I haven't done anything!"

"I know." Blitzkrieg tsked. "That's what makes this job such a pain in the ass."

Teresa began to reach for the CrossTrix, only for Blitzkrieg to suddenly fly over and stomp down on her torso, pinning her to the ground and knocking the wind out of her.

"You think I'm gonna be dumb enough to let you transform?" Blitzkrieg hissed, grabbing Teresa's left arm. "Let's make sure you don't try that again."

Blitzkrieg moved his foot to pin down Teresa's left shoulder and began to pull. In one smooth motion, he ripped off her arm and threw it off to the side, with the metal of the CrossTrix creating a clanking sound as it hit the concrete floor, cracking its dial. Teresa screamed in pain as blood gushed from the wound, splattering across the ground in an uneven pattern.

"Shut it." Blitzkrieg snapped, leaning down and cauterizing the wound with his flames. "Sorry, kid, but I haven't even started with you yet."

Blitzkrieg kicked Teresa in the side of the head, knocking her out. He threw her over his shoulder and left the parking garage, leaving the flickering CrossTrix right where it had landed.