Project S.T.A.R. (9) The android suddenly came back to the present. He reared his hand back and chucked me through the air. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" I screamed as I came to a violent landing 20 feet away. CRASH! "the Minister" was leaving the room. I staggered to my feet and tried to go after him. "Sorry Felix, gotta go! Bon Voyage!" He said as he ran through the double doors leading who-knows-where. Prototype 1 was still after me. I started grabbing various objects and tossing them at him. Computer screens on his head. Smash! Chairs. Crunch! Even trashcan pails. He easily knocked them all away. He threw a punch at my face. I blocked and countered with an elbow to his jaw. He picked me over his head and heaved me across the room! BRASH! I can't win this! I thought in pain. I stood up and started to run. He just walked, cool and calm. I pushed through another set of doors. I raced through the dark hallway leading into another room. I could hear the doors being knocked off of their hinges as he burst through, after me. When I entered the other room, it was another warehouse. But this one looked cooler. A crash test thingy was set up in the warehouse. But instead of cars, there were model spacecrafts mounted on the tracks, being tested before going into space. There was also a set of controls on the right side of the track, probably used for the crash test. I wasn't the smartest mechanical person in Anthrax, but I knew that when Prototype 1 appeared, I was going to put him out of his misery. Blam! Prototype 1 burst through the doors leading into another warehouse. The lights were on. All known equipment was operational. Millions of dollars worth of the most advanced technology was right in that room, but Prototype 1 only had eyes for one thing: Agent #27, Felix Alvarado. He had been commanded to go on a search and destroy mission of all known Anthrax students, starting with Felix. He searched the room for the hiding agent, soon he would find him, and kill him. Eradicate him and all of the other wretched experiments created by the damned Anthrax Co. Inside Prototype 1 was the host body of a young boy. Agent #94: thirteen-year old Eddie Macintosh. Once apart of the elusive Squad #16 a. k. a. the Dark Thunder. Eddie was an outcast. He was very gothic and dreary, never satisfied and yet never the one to complain. Hence, he never had any "true" friends. He lived in a foster home, his adoptive parents died of the fatal C4 bombings weeks ago. He became suicidal and very dangerous to his peers. His problems came into his Anthrax work, causing the failure of several missions. He wanted an escape, he wanted vengeance, he wanted to die. When he met "the Minister", head of Anthrax security, he had an outlet. He had someone that really listened to him. Like a father figure. "the Minister" promised him something every Anthrax student would want. Freedom. How could he resist? But "the Minister" was a conniving snake. He used young Eddie's despair for his own sick will. By luring Eddie into the Anthrax labs one night, Eddie was attacked by an entourage of armed radicals. There he was held and beat beyond recognition. He was still alive when the transformation took place. "the Minister" used his knowledge of Dr. Kraken's "suit bonding" plan on Eddie. Soon there was no more gentle, misunderstood Eddie Macintosh. All that was left was the cold, unforgiving, surreal killer known as "Prototype 1". Poor Eddie was just a pawn in "the Minister's" chess game. Prototype 1 used his heat seeking capabilities to search for Felix. He found him standing by a set of controls across the room. "You know what? I was just thinking that since you're a robot, do you have bolts instead of nuts?" Felix said with a laugh. Prototype 1 proceeded across the room. "I mean, it's something to debate about. How 'bout it, you fucking remote control! Want to kill me? Go right ahead." Felix kept saying. Prototype 1 paid no attention to the slurs. He stepped down into the tracks in the middle of the room and....could not move his feet. Prototype 1 kept jerking his feet up, but to no avail. He eyed Felix dangerously and would not stop trying. "Well, well, well! It looks like our friend is stuck on the tracks! Hmmm...did I forget to mention that NASA has this cool test track that works on electromagnetic currents? OH! That's why you can't move! Well, don't worry, I'll get you free!" Felix said as he punched in some controls in the console. Prototype 1 sensed an oncoming object, approximately 200 ft. away and approaching now, close to Mach 3 speed. Before Prototype 1 could even raise himself to see the object, a 5 ton test space craft slammed into him, knocking him loose from the tracks! The machine was so fast, Prototype 1 was still moving his feet, trying to free himself from the tracks when the craft slammed into the target wall at astounding speed. CRAAAAAAAASH! BOOOOM! The craft crashed, causing Prototype 1 to explode from the inside. Shards of Anthrax armor rained through the warehouse. Felix immediately ran for the door, but he could not help but notice a faint felling. A feeling of appreciation. Before he left, he heard an extremely faint voice, but it sounded like it said "Thank You". Satellite control center... "the Minister" was no where to be seen. I had wanted to get my revenge from him in the worst way, but he ran. Now I was running, but back towards the control center to see if Taylor had had any progress. I turned the hallway and towards the room. I burst into the room gasping. "Freeze! Where you are!" she said. "Taylor it's me, Felix." I gushed. She lowered her weapon. The room was very dark, with the exception of the lime-lights and an Anthrax flashlight. She eyed the small shattered parts of my armor "What happened to- but I cut her off. "We'll talk later. Now, who is this guy, and have you made any progress?" I asked her. "Felix this is Steve Brunner, he knows how to pilot the satellite. He knows how to deactivate it and shut it down also." She ended. "He does? Well what the hell are you waiting on?! Shut the damn thing down!" I said bewildered. She grabbed me by the shoulders and stared me right into the eyes of my helmet. "Felix, the satellite is controlled by the console. Both of them use microchips. The exact same that we use." She said. "And your point?" I asked annoyed. "Felix, we have found out a way to shut down OUR Anthrax microchips with help from the satellite!" She said anxiously. How could I have not seen it before? I thought with a mix of emotions. "Wow! Oh my god, that's fantastic! Do it now!" I urged. "Not so fast. There is a catch. See, to do it we need to send an emergency shut down signal to the satellite. This will cause the satellite's microchip shut down, but not before sending yet another emergency shut down signal back down to the control panel." She said pointing at the computer. I listened, trying to keep up. "The emergency shut down signal will go to the next microchip, and the next, and next, and next until all existing microchips of it's kind are shut down in a 100 mile radius." She ended. "So what you're saying is, the microchip will play tag with every other microchip of it's kind until it runs past 100 miles?" I asked. She nodded. "So that means when you guys do this, we won't be controlled by Anthrax any more." I stated. "Exactly." She nodded. I didn't know what to say or do. I had been waiting for something like this for three years. It had finally came and I didn't know how to react to it. "Well go ahead and do it." I told her. "Felix, there is yet another catch." She stammered. "Well, what?" I pressed her on. "Someone has to be here to put in the controls. After the signal is sent, the side-effect is that the laser will fire one last blast. We can't move the satellite because the signal has to come directly down and we can't harm any innocents so the only perfect place for the laser to fire is....here." she ended. "So you mean, one of us has to die so the rest live?" I asked, hoping for another answer. She disappointed me. She simply gave a sad nod. Now the dilemma, who was it going to be? "You know, this day has been long and hard for me. I have been the killer of 100,000 people. I don't know if I can live with the fact that I did something like that." Steve muttered. "Steve, as much as I want you to do it, I can't let you do this. You are a survivor man. I really think you should live." Taylor told him reassuringly. I really don't care if he does it. I thought grimly. No one said anything for a while. "Ok. Look we can't keep sitting here and wait for something to happen." I said as I walked over to the paper shredder. I shoved my hand into the wastebasket and pulled out a handful of paper clippings. "We draw straws...I mean we draw paper clippings. Whoever gets the long one lives to see their next birthday. Whoever gets the small one goes up in flames." I said darkly. I put the clippings behind my back and snipped the end off of one of them. I mixed them around and held them in my fist. It was impossible to tell which one was the short one or the long one. Three straws, three fates. We pulled them in the dark. Taylor went first. Steve second. And I held the third. Taylor switched the flashlight back on to reveal the clippings. Steve gasped in relief when he saw that he had a long one. Taylor waited for me to go, I did the same. "Same time." She said. I nodded. I thrust mine in the light. She thrust hers. No one moved. No one made eye contact. We all just KNEW. They apologized and gave their sympathies, but there are never enough words to express defeat. Five minutes later I was prepared to die. I had my helmet off, because I felt that I didn't have anything to hide anymore. Steve gave me specific instructions on what to do. I shook his hand and whispered in his ear, "You did what you had to do today Steve. Don't be ashamed of yourself. Ever." I reassured him. Taylor then came over and sat down beside me. By her voice I could tell that she had been crying. "Do you remember the time you thought I had a crush on you? You didn't talk to me for weeks." I laughed miserably. She removed her helmet also, and smiled. Tears clouded her face. I had never taken the chance to recognize how beautiful she was. "Taylor, I want you to get the guys from downstairs. I am going to wait a full five minutes for you guys to get as far away from here as you can before the blast. You will be free, you all will be." I said as I stroked her cheek. "Felix, I never got to say it..." she started. "Don't. I already knew. I feel the same." I said. We locked in a kiss. A sweet, sweet kiss. She smiled. "Thank you Felix. For everything." She ended. She put her helmet back on and carried Steve out the room, not before taking one last look at me. I watched them until they left the room. I turned to the clock and started the count down. Four minutes and fifty-nine seconds until Armageddon. Lobby... Taylor rushed downstairs with Steve. "Guys! Tim, Alex, Ray! Are you around!" she screamed as she lay Steve on the bed of the armored truck. She ran around the interior of the lobby looking for the guys. The bodies of dead guards were piled on the ground. She finally found them, war torn in the alley. There must have been a major battle. All three of the guys' armor was punctured here and there and Tim even had a visible gunshot wound to the thigh. But they were alive. She didn't waste time informing them of the problem. "Where's Felix? Talk to us Taylor?! What the hell is going on?" They asked, following her to the truck. "I'll tell you on the way! We don't have much time, we gotta go, NOW!" She roared with unmistakable authority. When they were all on the truck, she roared away, foot plastered on the accelerator. There she told them what had happened. She told them her plan. She told them they would be free. She told them Felix was going to die for them all. Satellite control center... The clock signaled 0:00. It was time. Just two more minutes, just to make sure they got away in time. I thought. But I knew that they were all gone. I was just stalling my own inevitable death. I fought back and forth with myself. I don't have to die! We can all just wage war on Anthrax! That way, more of us die instead of just me! I thought frantically. Suddenly, it seemed as if someone had grabbed my hand and thrust it on the control panel. I did it so fast that I shocked myself. Taylor said it only took thirty seconds for the microchip to shut down and the laser to fire, right down on me. I stared fearfully at the control panel. It's gonna blow! I thought. Then I felt a strong urge to get up and run. It was stupid, but I didn't want to just sit down and wait for the blast to burn me to ashes. I ran up and out of the room while counting down the seconds in my head. 28, 27, 26, 25. I burst through the stairway and stumbled over my feet, falling down two flights of stairs. 22, 21, 19, 18. I got back up to my feet and ran into the lobby. It was a warpath. Serious fighting had gone on here. 17, 16, 15. I ran up on the hill of debris and looked outside. It was daybreak. I wanted to see Antopolis. I wanted to see the damned city as I went up in flames. It wasn't worth it. The city was never worth fighting for. 14, 13, 12, 11, 10. Ten seconds. Ten seconds until the laser shot down, blowing everything within half a mile into ashes. My last ten seconds on Earth. My life didn't flash before my eyes like they say. I looked around, I didn't know what to do in my last few seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2. I jumped! I ran! I could make it! I could make it! 1.... 30 seconds earlier; launch pad... "the Minister" loaded his 500 million into the cargo bay of his stolen NASA portable craft. The craft was as large as a modern day charter bus. Mission accomplished. He thought with glee. As far as he knew it, all of his men were dead. But he didn't care at all. He wasn't going to pay them anyway. He sat and fired the hydraulic lift, aiming the shuttle towards the sky. He was headed for the human settlements of Mars, hide out there for a few years, and then come back to Earth. He fired the rockets and gripped the controls. FWOOOOOOOOSH! He was off! "Hahaha! Take that you Anthrax bastards!" He screamed joyfully. At about 20,000 ft. he had an amazing view of Antopolis. But what he noticed the most was the blackened parts. His handiwork. When he turned back towards the sky, he noticed a strange red dot. What? Oh, it must be a planet. He thought reassuringly. But the dot got bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER. The dot was so big, it filled up all the windows on the ship. "the Minister" knew very well what that was. He had only seen it before the satellite blew apart Central Park. He jerked the controls, trying to turn back towards Earth. But the spacecraft turned slowly. Then...FLASSSSSH! Blinding light! "the Minister" held his eyes in pain. He forced himself to look back up. When he did, all he could do was scream in terror as the deadly laser blew the spacecraft apart in less than a second. 1 1/2 miles away... Taylor floored the gas until she saw the incredible flash. She stopped the truck and ran out into the street. The remaining Green Dagger squad watched in silence as the satellites' laser fired down, straight into the NASA station. The impact was so loud Taylor could hear it from almost two miles away. No one spoke. Everyone knew that just then, their friend and squad leader, Felix Alvarado, was dead. Taylor didn't notice the tears until she felt them slide down her cheek. After 10 long seconds, the laser disappeared. A faint boom came from above. Taylor looked up and saw small specks of yellow and red from the satellite. The protective beam over the city disappeared. The satellite had exploded. The chips were down. Now let's see if the plan worked. Taylor thought with hope. She tried speaking to the guys through her microchip. It didn't work. She tried again. Nothing. They all took off their helmets and Taylor was the first to say, "We're free!" she screamed. They all yelled and roared in happiness. Soon every Anthrax agent would be free. Everyone, except Felix. An hour later, a large assembly of law enforcement met the remaining Green Dagger squad, still sitting on the truck. FBI, CIA, MIB, A. P. D. (Antopolis Police Department), Army, national guard, SWAT, and countless more lawmen and women went down to the former NASA station for clues. Steve was taken to the hospital, but not before thanking Taylor personally for saving his life. The Green Dagger squad didn't even try to make an escape. Everyone treated them with great respect and thankfulness for the things they did. For once we are being treated like the heroes we are. She thought happily. They were all questioned by many officials but the squad didn't give anything away. The only things they told the law people was that they destroyed the satellite threat. They did all of this by using their helmet speakers. Then, CLANG! Everyone froze with silence. The lid of a sewer opened from the middle of the street. A small army of SWAT members and soldiers gathered around the opening of the sewer, assault rifles pointed around the hole. Everyone gasped in shock as officers helped pull something out of the sewer. "FELIX!" screamed every member of the Green Dagger squad as they ran toward him in high spirits. He was battered and smoking. His armor was cracked and broken. He had been through hell and back. But he was alive. Alive to enjoy freedom. 2 weeks later... Ding-dong! They back already? Felix thought as he turned away from the t. v. to answer the door. Felix could still remember the last ten seconds before the blast. He had seen the open hole leading into the sewer. Once Felix jumped into it, he ran like hell. Then there was the blast. The sewer behind him started caving in with buildings. Felix made it to an adjourning pipe line just before the sewer caved in on him. From then, he walked through the sewer until he reached a manhole that wasn't blocked by debris. It was a miracle he survived. He never saw "the Minister" again. Every Anthrax agent was now 100% free. Shortly after Anthrax lost control of their subjects, they had completely booked out of town. It was as if they never even existed. Felix casually pulled open to door, but when he saw who was there, he almost stumbled on weak knees. Dr. Kraken stood in his doorway. "Hello Felix." He said. Felix responded with a simple "Hi." "Felix, I want to congratulate you. I am impressed with your skills. From now on, I will be forever indebted to you." He said. I had a mix of emotions. "You know, I hate you. I've hated you since the day you put this damned thing in my head. Have you failed to notice that 98 Anthrax students are now free, with the exception of Eddie Macintosh? The poor guy who was the first person to do your stupid suit bonding thing. I want you to leave me. I never want to see your ass again. I won't be able to control myself if I do..." I told him through clenched teeth. He looked to the ground and nodded. "Felix, I just wanted to say goodbye. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry." He spoke. "Well, what are you going to do now?" I asked suspiciously. He looked startled by that. "Hmmm...Let's see. I don't have any known records. I can't just get a real job. But I do have a sufficient amount of money. I really haven't thought on it. I've bothered you enough, goodbye young Felix. You never ceased to impress me." He said as he turned around and proceeded to walk back down the driveway towards his exclusive car. I felt a sudden urge to do something. This was a strange moment for us. "Dr. Kraken!" I yelled. He turned around. "Yes?" he asked. "Are you going to do this again?" I asked him, disbelief in my heart. He gave me a disturbing smile. "Young Felix, I don't want to give anything away, but Project S.T.A.R. was only the beginning." The End
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