The Good Doctor: Origins Ch. 07

Rob did not realize he ever closed them, but he opened them then and saw they were in the middle of a forest.

"Not much room." Rob observed, surveying the thick layer of trees for some kind of hidden road big enough for the Base travel on, "Where's the road?"

"What road?" Hax said as he pushed buttons and pulled levers. He pushed the intercom again, "Alright guys, we're out of the bunker and own our way. ETA is two hours from now. Buckle up."

The Base lurched violently again, but this time Rob was ready and he braced himself against it. Through the window, Rob could see trees looming closer and closer, and Hax showed no sign of turning.

"What are you..." the Base ran into a tree...and kept going, the tree falling before it like it was nothing but a twig, "Whoa."

"Impressive, huh? This thing can withstand any impact short of a nuclear bomb. Back during the War, the Rebels tried hitting us with everything they had...didn't make a scratch."

"Very impressive." Rob said with genuine awe, "How fast can it go?" He had noticed the Base was picking up speed, and trees came and went faster and faster. Rob knew he could search his mind for the answer, but making conversation calmed his nerves.

"Top speed is around one hundred and fifty miles per hour; we'll be going at one hundred for this trip."

For something that large to go that fast required an enormous amount of power and an enormous amount of engineering skill. More and more Rob began to think that perhaps it wasn't Trapjaw they had to worry about...but Engineer.

"I'm going to go check on everyone." Rob said as he got up.

"I'll be alright here. I'll let you know when we're close to the spot."

"Thanks." Rob said before heading off.

First he stopped by the weapons and practice rooms. Each member of the Corps had a weapon or weapons they preferred to fight with and the Base carried enough extras to last for one hundred fights. Only Sublime and Turbo preferred standard firearms, the rest of the Corps relied on their powers or melee weapons.

"How's the wrench handling?" Rob asked Brick, who was practicing against a couple of dummies.

Rob had modified Brick's old cast iron wrench to include a rather useful feature. Using highly concentrated energy, the wrench could temporarily destabilize the molecular organization of whatever it hit. For organic things like flesh, the effect was minimalistic, but for inorganic materials like iron, it could be devastating.

To demonstrate, Brick hit a steel dummy. A high pitched ring issued from the impact and the dummy crumpled into a ball of useless scrap.

"That's how!" Brick said excitedly.

"That'll do some damage to the Bio-B0ts, but nothing that severe, so stay on your toes."

Turbo and Sublime were selecting guns and strapping them along with ammo to various body parts. Sublime could remove the heat from any substance and was a dangerous weapon herself, but give her a gun and she became lethal.

"You two ready?" Rob asked.

"As we'll ever be." Turbo growled as he strapped a small handgun to his bicep.

Rob nodded and moved on. He passed by Nimbus in another training room just as a bolt of lightning blew the head off of a dummy. 'Good,' Rob thought, 'He won't miss.'

Deciding to leave Wraith and Echo alone, Rob went to the medical bay to check up on Nurse Sweet. He found her sitting on the examining table, making a small ball of fire fly around her head. Rob had only seen Nurse Sweet use her power once; on the stairs in the mansion as she explained to him he wasn't alone in this world. The fire cast an orange glow over her skin which made her look absolutely stunning.

"I've been thinking." She said suddenly, the flame sputtering out, "I was a mole for Giovanni up until a few weeks ago, right?"

"Yeh..." Rob said, coming to sit next to her.

"Well, maybe Trapjaw's got his own mole. No one stopped to think about it, but how else did the Bio-B0ts find us?"

Rob smiled, "I think Giovanni would have thought about that. Obviously he doesn't think there's a mole, or he'd have found them already."

"He may have missed them. He had a lot on his mind these past few days."

Rob paused to think. Maybe Nurse Sweet had a point; Trapjaw could conceivably have planted a mole in the Corps in order to gain access to information.

"I'll keep my eyes out, ok? But right now we have to concentrate on the plan; we'll be arriving before you know it."

"Let's just hope we won't need this room." Nurse Sweet said quietly.

Rob nodded his approval and decided to lay down, bringing Nurse Sweet with him. She draped on leg over his and laid her head on his chest, enjoying the warmth of his bare skin. The contact soothed her, and the couple laid there for some time before Hax's voice came over the intercom, "Fifteen minutes, Rob. Get your ass down here."

Nurse Sweet giggled and Rob rolled his eyes, "Got to go."

Just as he was about to leave a pair of hands wrapped themselves around his thick chest, "Be careful, Rob." Nurse Sweet said.

He gripped her hands reassuringly, "You too." And made his way to the Control Room.

**********************************

"There, to the west." Bio-B0t On3 said, pointing.

Sure enough, a huge vehicle was making its way towards Ark Chemicals.

"Inform Engineer, looks like we have a battle on our hands today." Trapjaw said, turning from the window in his office, "I will meet him outside."

"Right away, Sir...what of the girl?" Bio-B0t On3 asked, referring to Melody.

"Make sure she's ready for a fight...the Corps will not give up easily."

Bio-B0t On3 nodded and went to complete his duties. After it departed, Trapjaw returned to his window to watch the progress of the Mobile Base as it started to slow down. His mole had only been able to report who would be attacking and when, but the specifics of the plan were kept on a "need to know" basis. None of that mattered anyway; Trapjaw would have his victory through sheer numbers alone.

The Mobile Base was almost at a stop now, about a quarter of mile from the building. 'So it begins...' Trapjaw thought and swept out of his office to meet the attackers.

******************************

"Trapjaw says the Corps has arrived. You are to meet him outside as soon as possible, I will gather the Bio-B0ts and await your command." Bio-B0t On3 was saying.

"They brought the Mobile Base?" Engineer asked, picking up his bag of tools.

"It appears so."

"Fools...I built the damn thing, do they think I don't know how to bring it down?" Engineer laughed as he made his way out of the Lab, "I'll be in touch."

***********************************

Trapjaw stood just outside of Ark Chemicals. The building was built on the outskirts of Dallas and was surrounded by fields of grass on three sides and a forest to the rear, an ideal place to maneuver troops of Bio-B0ts. The Mobile Base had come to a complete stop and Trapjaw was watching it closely when Engineer arrived.

"Do you know how to infiltrate this thing?" Trapjaw asked, knowing that Engineer had been the one who built it.

"Absolutely...should I give the order?" Engineer asked, reaching for the com system that would connect him to Bio-B0t On3.

"Not quite yet...I want to hear what they have to say first. ROBERT? ARE YOU IN THERE?" he shouted.

A static-y voice came from an external speaker on the Mobile Base, "I'm here, Trapjaw...you miss me?"

"IT WOULD BE IN YOUR BEST INTEREST IF YOU STAND DOWN." Trapjaw threatened.

"And miss the fight of the year? I don't think so. Tell me, Trapjaw, what exactly are you planning on doing with those toys of yours?"

"WELL, FIRST I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU...AFTER THAT IT WON'T MATTER BECAUSE YOU WILL BE DEAD."

"We'll see about that." Rob's voice said and the sound of the speaker clicking off echoed through the fields.

"Give the order, Engineer, I'm getting annoyed with his arrogance."

Engineer nodded and said into the com system, "Send them out, Bio-B0t On3."

A hanger door to the left of where Trapjaw and Engineer were standing opened up slowly. The Mobile Base showed no signs of activity. Clearly they thought they were safe inside the Base.

Engineer had a tablet out and was punching commands into the touch screen. The Bio-B0ts would receive them and work as a single unit to bring down the Base based what Engineer told them about it. They were truly a marvel of engineering and the world would bend to their might before long and with little resistance.

As they exited the hanger, the Bio-B0ts split into smaller groups and headed towards the Base, taking their positions and awaiting the command to strike.

"LAST CHANCE, ROB!" Trapjaw called as the last of the Bio-B0ts took their positions; one hundred and fifty strong and with replacements being made as they stood.

Trapjaw received no answer so he nodded at Engineer, who entered and sent the command to the Bio-B0ts. Immediately they charged the Mobile Base all at once. Within a matter of seconds they would be inside. Trapjaw looked on as the Bio-B0ts rushed....and immediately stopped as the Mobile Base flickered out of existence.

"Wha..." but the word got caught in his throat as a resounding CRASH sounded from behind him. Debris rained down around Engineer and him and Trapjaw barely escaped being crushed by a huge piece of concrete.

Once the rain of rubble ended, Trapjaw ran to a position where he could see what had happened. There, sticking half in and half out of Ark Chemicals, was the Mobile Base. The building was falling apart around it and employees were streaming out in a panic.

"Hey there!" a voice called from the Base, "Sorry about the mess."

*****************************

Giovanni knew someone was coming....he also knew he would have no warning of their arrival. Ever since the Bio-B0ts had found his mansion, he had been reading people to see if they were moles for Trapjaw. Giovanni purposely kept the extent of his powers a secret from others for situations just like this and sure enough he had found a mole, though it wasn't he who had informed Trapjaw of their location. Giovanni manipulated all the minds of the Corps members whenever they left the base so that, although they could find their way back, they would be unable to tell others where the base was or allow others to follow them back.

No, someone else had told Trapjaw where the base was and that meant that someone else could find it again.

Giovanni made his way to the surveillance room where he knew Sleuth would no longer be. Sleuth had always been a slimy bastard, and it was no surprise when Giovanni discovered he was the mole. 'No big loss' Giovanni had thought at the time; the man was a glorified private eye, useful but not vital.

Just as he suspected, the surveillance room was empty; Sleuth would be far gone by now, although Giovanni doubted Trapjaw would let him live much longer. The screens and sensors were all blank, meaning the intruder was already here and had cut the lines to the surveillance equipment. Trapjaw would have sent a skilled assassin to kill him and to....

"All alone?" a female voice said from behind him.

Giovanni did a quick read on the owner of the voice, "Rachel White, dream projector and expert spy and assassin." He said, introducing her to himself as he turned to face her.

"Mind reader, huh? So tell me, what am I here for?" Miss. White said, he hand resting on a handgun strapped to her waist.

"Don't need to read minds for that one, Rachel." Giovanni said as he took a seat in the chair at the control station, trying to look relaxed, "You're here to kill me and free Slade."

"How'd you know!" she said feigning shock.

"Well Sleuth's been feeding you information for some time now about the prison and where it's kept so naturally I assume you're here to free its occupant." Giovanni said matter-of-factly.

"Know why we want him?" Miss. White asked, seeming to enjoy the Q and A.

"I can only assume so he can finish what he started thirty years ago; world domination and the like."

"Are we that predictable?"

"Yes. Now enough of this...you're not getting Slade."

The gem on Giovanni's cane flashed and Miss. White found herself pushed against the wall of the room, unable to move. Giovanni stood and came closer, his cane held out in front of him.

"Didn't you do you're research on me?" he asked as Miss. White struggled against the invisible bonds that held her.

"I did, but..." She said, her muscles straining.

"But you assumed I was too old to still use them? Stupid girl..." a flick of his cane and she was thrown across the room where she hit the wall.

Lightning quick she recovered and pulled her gun on Giovanni, but another movement and the gun sailed across the room to land harmlessly behind him.

"The problem with you people is you're so arrogant. You think no one can stand up to your power, but you're so very wrong. I've defeated scum before and I'll do it again." Giovanni advanced, anger in his eyes.

"Please...don't kill me." Miss. White said as an invisible force lifted her from the ground and shoved her against the wall, choking her.

"You come into MY house and attempt to destroy everything I've worked to achieve and expect MERCY?" the invisible hand wrapped itself tighter around Rachel's throat as fury coursed through Giovanni. These people had taken advantage of his good-nature for the last time...

"Yesssss.....gooooood.....give innnnn Gioooovannnniiiii...." A voice echoed through his head.

"Slade..." he gasped, his power over Rachel slackening.

"Dooooo iiiiit....she is weakkkkk...."

Rachel gasped for breath as Giovanni released his control and she slumped to the floor.

"No..." he said, the rage he had been feeling subsiding.

"You are weeeakkkk toooooo, Gioooovanniiii....I always knewwwww ittttt...."

"I'm not the one who's imprisoned for all eternity." Giovanni mocked, looking up from the piece of tile he had been staring at while he regained his composure.

"Funnyyyy....eternityyyyyy doesn't seeeem to beee for much longerrrrr...." The voice said gleefully.

"What do you..." Giovanni noticed too late that Rachel was no longer on the floor in front of him.

He whirled around just in time to see the gun go off in her hands and then knew no more.

****************************

While Echo projected the image of the Base with Wraith's help, Hax maneuvered the actual base into position in the woods behind Ark Chemicals. The giant vehicle could be surprisingly quiet and had escaped any unwanted attention. They had waited as Trapjaw had ordered the Bio-B0ts to attack the dummy Base and rammed the building after they were sure the bulk of Trapjaw's forces were concentrated on the distraction.

"Ok, guys, we're in, you know what to do." He told the Corps after they had quickly gathered on the roof of the Base. Hax had stayed behind in order to make a quick escape if need be.

With one last look at Nurse Sweet, Rob headed down the ladder and into the wreckage that had been the offices of Ark Chemicals. Bodies were sprawled here and there and moans could be heard from all around. Rob had no time to think of the casualties, he had a job to complete.

Brick and Wraith had just come down the ladder and the three of them wasted no time and searching for the nearest stairwell. Once they discovered it, Brick blew in the locked door with one swing of his wrench and they started to make their descent.

On the bottom of the stairs there was a long hallway that stretched to the left and the right.

"I'll go left, you two go right." Rob said, and the others nodded, "Keep your eyes out for danger...good luck."

The party split, and Rob ran down the hallway, searching for a door that would take him to the production facility of the Bio-B0ts. Nurse Sweet's reports indicated that production would be in the basement, but because the actual experiments had taken place at a facility in the city, she did not know the layout of this particular building.

As he searched, Rob's thoughts turned to Nurse Sweet and he hoped that she and the others were ok. The main objective was to destroy the production facility, but they needed time so the remaining members of the Corps were keeping the Bio-B0ts and Trapjaw at bay.

Distracted, Rob almost didn't see the metal object flying at his face. He ducked just in time and jumped back to get a better view of what had attacked him.

A girl...or what used to be a girl...was advancing rapidly towards him. She wore black stockings and a black skirt with a red long-sleeve shirt with a black gear design on the front. A mirrored visor surrounded her eyes and a strange metal gizmo could be seen sneaking out from between her shoulders. What caught Rob off guard were the eight metal legs that extended from the backpack and kept her suspended in the air. Each was at least ten feet long and shaped to resemble insect legs.

Rob could only stare for a second before the sharp point of one of the legs came hurtling at him, he avoided that one to be met with another three all coming from different directions. He avoided two and caught the other one in his hands, pushing back against it, trying to throw the gizmo lady off balance. With a hard shove he managed to send her staggering back a few feet, but she was on the advance again in seconds.

"Fuck this." Rob said and grabbed his sword from where it was strapped to his waist. The sword came to life as he sent energy coursing through the handle. The Lady was on him again, swinging a leg that was razor-sharp at his head. He raised the sword and swung it at the oncoming leg. The blade slid through the leg like butter, slicing the first third off. The Lady yelled in frustration and another three legs came rushing towards him. Quick as lighting, Rob went on the defense, ducking to avoid one leg and slicing off the other two in one smooth motion.

"Give up?" he said.

The Gizmo Lady backed up, holding one leg out defensively while the remaining four steadied her, "Not yet, Corps." She said, her visor flashing red.

There was a whirring noise and Rob saw something start to emerge from the top of the Gizmo on her back. It came up and then leveled out over her shoulder and Rob noticed what it was almost too late. The gun opened fire and Rob dove out of the way just in time, reaching for his own gun as he did. It swiveled and Rob rolled away from the onslaught of bullets and aimed his gun at the turret. His aim was true and one blue bullet through the neck of the turret sent the business end clanging to the floor. With a scream, the Gizmo Lady launched herself quicker than Rob could react. She collided with him and the two fell to the floor in a flurry of limbs...metal and flesh.

**************************

"I think this might be it..." Brick said once he and Wraith reached the end of the hallway.

"Genius." Wraith said and smiled at him.

Sounds of industry could be heard coming through the huge pair of double doors, indicating that something was being made behind them. Brick pushed them open, and the pair entered a massive room filled with all sorts of machinery. A huge metal pillar stood in the middle and Brick recognized it as the same design as the Mainframe.

"Yep, this is it. Come on, let's get to work." He said and hefted his wrench in his hands.

"You start smashing, I'll fry the computer." Wraith said and drifted over to the pillar.

With a grunt, Brick heaved his wrench and laid waste to the nearest piece of equipment. The modified weapon caused the entire structure to crumple like a piece of paper. Satisfied, Brick moved onto the next, hoping that Rob hadn't encountered any trouble at the other end of the hall.

Wraith placed her palms flat on the pillar and sensed for the electrical energy running through it. Once she found it, she started manipulating it so that the computer would become muddled and fry. As she worked, her thoughts drifted to Echo and the marvelous feat he had performed.