The Good Doctor: Retaliation Ch. 02

To keep the narrative straight and alleviate confusion, I'm making a small style change and labeling each section by character, location, and time.

Hope that helps keep things straight!

Not a lot of action in this one but a good deal of set up for bigger things to come. I also threw in a few sex scenes because...you know...what the hell?

THE GOOD DOCTOR: RETALIATION

CHAPTER TWO

SUBLIME, FOREST SURROUNDING ARK CHEMICALS, 7:30PM

By the time night fell, the Corps' tracking party of Sublime, Turbo, and Nimbus had had no luck in finding the animal mutilator they had been hunting for most of the day. It was going to be a moonless night so Turbo, had suggested they make camp and continue following the trail in the morning. Sublime had agreed and radioed Nimbus, who was flying high above them, before turning on her tracking beacon so he could find them.

It was only after two small tents had been pitched and a fire started that Nimbus had finally shown up.

"Didn't see a damn thing all day." He complained as he landed, "What about you?"

Turbo was busy preparing dinner so Sublime filled him on the bear they had found stripped of its flesh, the trees with the razor-thin scratches...and their lack of answers. When she finished relating the day's events, dinner was ready and the three sat around the small fire, eating in peaceful silence.

"We should check in with the Base." Sublime said after they were full.

She grabbed the radio from her belt and tuned into the Mobile Base's secure frequency while Nimbus and Turbo packed up their dinner supplies. It was fully dark by then and the woods had taken on an eerie quality.

"Base, this is Sublime, come in."

After about thirty seconds Hax's nerdy voice came through the static, "Sublime, this is Base...was it aliens?"

Sublime laughed before answering, running her hands through her spiky white hair, "No, Hax, it wasn't aliens. We don't know what it was, but we have a trail we've picked up."

"So you're camping for the night?"

"We'll continue tracking when it's light out. How are things at the Base? Did Wraith kick Rob's ass yet?"

Sublime had been joking, but Hax's voice took on a serious tone, "No, but she's about an inch from doing just that."

"Why's that?" Sublime asked, gesturing for Turbo and Nimbus to come listen in, "Rob's in trouble again." She mouthed.

Turbo grunted, indicating he was not at all surprised while Nimbus looked deeply concerned.

"Wraith, Brick, and I went to City Hall today," Hax said over the radio, "We had a grand old time; Mortar showed up and I guess Raid's in town too."

"What!?" Nimbus exclaimed, shocked.

Public attacks were not a good sign, and Nimbus seemed concerned about these two. It was more than enough to make her a little wary. The sooner they finished with this mission the sooner they could get back to assist the Corps if another attack came.

"Yeh, be on the lookout...but that's not important." Hax said impatiently.

"I'd say it is..." Nimbus grumbled, but he let Hax continue uninterrupted.

"Well we...Wraith and Brick, really...kicked Mortar's ass and the Mayor offered the Corps the full support of the Dallas Government in exchange for our protection..."

"That a girl!" Turbo praised, meaning Wraith.

"...so the day was going pretty good," Hax said, ignoring interruptions, "Until we got back to the Base. Apparently Rob had another rage attack...and this time it got embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than attacking Wraith?" Turbo snorted, feeding the fire a few sticks so it wouldn't die.

"Way more!" Hax said, "SLADE came to his bedroom and got all up in his face."

Stunned silence was the only reaction Radio-Hax got from the trio.

"Yeh I know, right!" Hax said, seemingly enjoying the gossip, "So Slade comes, gets him all mad...and guess what he does?"

Sublime could only imagine, "Kicked her ass I hope!" But she knew that wasn't it.

"I said it was embarrassing." Hax said, annoyed...dramatic pause, then, "He FUCKED her! Right there in his room for the entire Base to hear!"

"Oh my God!" Nimbus groaned, "The Corps has always been one tight community of hormones...but this!?"

Sublime and Turbo exchanged a look of horror. How could Rob do that? The Good Doctor himself...sleeping with the enemy.

"And get this...when Wraith found him after Echo told her what happened..." Hax paused again for effect, "He was naked...in Nurse Sweet's bed!"

"Good. Lord." Nimbus grumbled.

"That is the definition of an unhealthy relationship." Turbo shook his head in disapproval.

"Here's the clincher," Hax had apparently saved the best for last, "Nurse Sweet had seen the whole thing! Walked in on Slade and Rob right in the middle of it! She was all up in arms when Wraith nearly tore Rob's head off for letting Slade escape."

"She's clearly insane!" Nimbus exclaimed.

"Nurse Sweet? You're telling me. Anyway, Rob is insisting that he's broken and should be locked up and Nurse Sweet is all about fixing him." Hax sounded very doubtful, "So as you can see, it's kind of a mess over here. Wraith decided to quarantine them in Nurse Sweet's room until I can take a look around inside him; you know, see if any wires are crossed." Hax was silent for a moment, and then in very Hax-like fashion, switched gears completely by saying, "We're also moving to our new Headquarters...possibly tomorrow."

"New Headquarters!? Tomorrow?" Turbo seemed to have forgotten the Rob and Nurse Sweet debacle.

"Yeh, turns out the Mayor has been waiting for us for years but Giovanni was too distrustful after the war to seek outside assistance again." Hax concluded.

"Wow." Sublime said, having been mostly silent during Hax's story, "Well, anything else we should be aware of?"

"Just that I picked up an aircraft flying over the forest where the old HQ used to be, but I don't think it was anything note-worthy."

"Sounds good, Hax." Sublime said, "Thanks for filling us in. Over and out."

The radio went silent and the trio took a moment to exchange looks of surprise, disapproval, and worry. Rob had officially gone off the deep-end and it looked like he was taking Nurse Sweet right along with him.

"We lost the Doctor and Nurse Sweet," Nimbus said solemnly, "And the Party gained Mortar and Raid...not good."

Sublime silently agreed. Losing the Doctor was a huge loss, and one that she hoped would soon be reversed. Nurse Sweet was a healer...but this might be out of her league. As far as Mortar and Raid were concerned, Sublime knew only about them from a few scouting missions she did for Giovanni back when she had first joined the Corps. It was long after the War and they were still chasing after some of the Party members that had survived Slade's defeat. Apparently Mortar was as big as a house and Raid could shoot a hair off a fly from a mile away. However, it seemed that the Corps' biggest threat was Rob.

In any case, the Corps needed to even the score, and quick, or the Party was going to have a grand old time bulldozing right over them...

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BIO-B0T ON3, FOREST SURROUNDING ARK CHEMICALS, 5:00PM

The animal corpses had baffled Bio-B0t On3 when he first encountered them a few weeks before. They had been peeled of their skin like a person peels a potato; in one continuous piece. Even with his vast stores of knowledge the rogue Bio-B0t couldn't comprehend why someone would do that to the animals...or why he cared about it, but he had been tracking the creature for a month now ever since he had lost his commander, Engineer.

After seeing his troops of Bio-B0ts get cut down by the invading super humans, On3 had sought out Engineer. He (for he was programmed as a male) had fought his way back to the place he had left Engineer and found him hurrying into a helicopter with Trapjaw and what appeared to be an unconscious woman. On3 had shouted out for commands but Engineer did not return and the helicopter was soon long gone.

After, On3 had heard a cheer coming from the humans...he had lost the battle as well as his troops within hours. In that moment some kind of invisible bond seemed to snap in On3's brain and he found himself faced with making a completely autonomous decision, something he had never been faced with before. Sure, he could operate independent from outside control, but when it came to what to do with himself, On3 had always turned to Engineer. He could have either stayed where he was or run away from the super humans.

Knowing the humans were his enemy, On3 had decided to flee into the woods where he would wait for Engineer to return for him. He had waited all night and when he heard the humans coming toward his hiding spot On3 had retreated further into the thick vegetation and trees. That night he heard the sounds of trees being rustled and what sounded like a woman panting, but he had stayed where he was, not knowing if the creature was friend or foe.

It was not as if On3 feared the creature, just that he was unsure of how well he'd be able to handle a combat situation by himself. Engineer had given him and the other Bio-B0ts all major battle orders through his control panel, but now that he had left...

The day after hearing the noise On3 had started to track the creature from a safe distance, thinking that perhaps Engineer would have wanted it for studying. After a week of neither seeing nor hearing the creature again, he had stumbled across the first animal corpse. Another week brought another corpse, but still the creature had stayed one step ahead of On3.

As the weeks continued, On3 thought less and less about Engineer until one day he decided on his own that he was now a rogue agent, a soldier without a commander. Something else drove him to continue the hunt, though, and for a month he followed the creature's trail all throughout the woods.

Now, on a rainy afternoon, he stood before the carcass of a freshly mutilated bear, the creature's usual markers were present...as well as something else's.

Tire tracks lead up to and away from the bear, and fresh boot prints surrounded it, indicating On3 was not alone in tracking the creature.

For the rest of the day, On3 had followed the newcomers' trail, wondering who they were and what they wanted with the creature. Whoever they were, they did not seem to fear being followed and made no attempt at stealth. Deep tracks in the mud left by the recent rain were all On3 needed to follow, making his job too easy.

Because they were on some kind of vehicle, the other trackers managed to pull ahead of On3, but he knew they would camp once darkness fell. The dark was no obstacle to a Bio-B0t so he planned on catching up with them then and discovering who they were and what they wanted.

A couple hours after and fifteen minutes after total darkness engulfed the forest, On3 heard a voice about a half a mile off. Using his enhanced hearing, he was able to track the voices to a small fire where two tents had been pitched nearby.

"Finally." On3 said to himself as he slipped silently forward to get a better look at the people.

"Oh my God!" Someone said loudly, a man with a deep voice.

On3 crept closer, his black body blending into the dark forest around him. Even his glowing red eyes had been dimmed so as not to give away his position. He was built for power as well as stealth and the people he had been following did not hear or see him approach. When he was close enough to make out the people's features On3 was silently surprised. He recognized the woman with the short, spiked hair as well as the man with the white lightning bolt on his chest. They were members of the Corps, the people who had attacked Ark Chemicals and destroyed the Bio-B0ts.

They were the enemy. Well...they used to be. Were they still?

On3 had no desire to harm the people, so he decided to wait for them to go to sleep before investigating their camp further.

The people stopped talking and On3 watched as they silently watched the fire burn out before retiring to their tents; the girl with the spiked hair and the tall, thin man shared one tent while the lighting-man occupied the other.

On3 did not move until the soft sounds of grunting and sighing stopped coming from the tent with the man and the woman. He started to move silently into the Corps' camp when he heard the sound of metal on metal a quarter mile to the east.

"The creature!" He exclaimed before silently running toward the noise, completely forgetting about the people and their camp.

As he got closer, the sounds of metal on metal turned to metal on flesh. The creature was mutilating another animal. Excited, On3 closed in on his prize, a month of tracking was about to pay off.

Fifty feet from where he knew the creature was, On3 slowed, deciding to air on the side of caution. As he approached the sounds ceased and the forest became silent. On3 strained to hear the creature, but all he could detect were the sounds of nighttime animals and the slow drip of water off the soaked leaves.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" A voice demanded from behind him.

On3 whirled around and was faced with a woman in a black skirt and stockings paired with a red pullover. From behind her sprouted eight, ten-foot metal legs which held her six feet off the forest floor. Her eyes were hidden behind a mirrored visor, but On3 could tell she was angry because of the gun that extended from behind her, currently aimed at his head.

"I know you." On3 responded.

This was the woman that Engineer had played with.

What had started out as a side experiment performed on one of Trapjaw's castoffs had turned into a dangerous woman, who had torn apart Bio-B0ts like they were mere flesh. She must have been what was mutilating the animals; her metal legs were razor sharp.

The gun twitched behind her, "Well I don't know you."

She clearly had no memory of when she woke up from her operation in a fit of rage. She had only been calmed when On3 injected her with a powerful sedative. The whole affair was quite memorable and On3 wondered what else the woman had forgotten.

"You were a project of Engineer's." On3 explained, "Do you remember the attack on Ark Chemicals?"

"Engineer? Ark..." The woman was confused and her visor flashed red, "All I remember is Trapjaw," She spat the name, "And then waking up on the floor of some basement that was falling apart around me and these...things...attached to me." She raised two the metal legs and clanged them together.

"Turn around." On3 wanted to see if her control chip was still attached at the base of her skull.

The woman...Melody, On3 recalled...laughed, "Not likely! Now tell me why you're following me."

On3 wished she would keep her voice down, they were not too far from the Corps' camp that they could not be overheard, "The animal corpses," He said quietly, "That was you, wasn't it?"

A brief looks of embarrassment crossed the woman's face, "Just practice..."

"For what?" On3 was genuinely curious.

"For when I get my hands on Trapjaw!" The woman said angrily, "He's going to pay for doing this to me!"

On3 figured as much. Trapjaw had raped Melody before handing her off to Engineer. It would make sense that she had a personal score to settle.

"That sounds reasonable...seeing what he did to you." On3 said matter-of-factly.

"You don't know the half of it," Melody bit, "Or maybe you do...were you sent by him? You seem to know an awful lot about me."

"I was under Engineer's command, but now I'm free." On3 explained as Melody's visor flashed red, "You could say I'm a rogue agent...I have no ties to the Party anymore."

Melody still looked suspicious, "How do I know you're not lying?"

On3 shrugged, "I am not programmed to lie."

"What are you, some kind of robot?" Melody came closer to try to get a good look at On3. In the darkness he must have looked like an ordinary man to her.

"I am a Bio-B0t; part mechanical, part biological." On3 explained proudly, "I too was built by Engineer as was the Bio-B0t army and another rogue named Robert."

"Well, I guess I can add this Engineer guy to my list of targets then." Melody said, "But I don't trust you, so stop following me."

Even though On3 had found the animal mutilator and completed his mission, he could not help but feel like leaving the woman was a bad idea. She needed his help...

"I can help you find them." On3 offered, unsure of why he would betray his previous commander.

"I don't need your help." Melody snapped, "Now leave me alone."

On3 made no move to leave, "You are living alone in a forest, stripping animals and starving by the look of your vital signs."

"Don't read my vital signs!" Melody yelled, "I'm perfectly fine, thank you! Now LEAVE!"

"No, I wish to..." On3 heard a sound, "Shh."

Melody seemed to have heard something too because she slowly looked around, her gun swiveling from side to side.

With his night-vision, On3 was able to see the forest as plain as day, but there were trees and thick vegetation that anything could hide in...*thwang*...something slammed into On3's shoulder. He looked down to see a long spear of ice lying on the ground as his feet where it had bounced off his exterior armor.

"Melody, watch..." On3 started to say, but it was too late.

The forest was suddenly lit by a blinding flash of white light and Melody let out a scream as her metal legs started to flail wildly. Razor sharp limbs were everywhere and On3 had to dodge and block to prevent them from knocking him to the ground where he would be most vulnerable. Unable to keep her balance with the malfunctioning extremities, Melody crashed into the ground.

When the flailing stopped and the blinding light subsided, On3 noticed she was face down and unconscious, her extra legs sprawled uselessly around her.

"Please, we mean you no harm!" On3 yelled at his unseen attackers.

The temperature of the air around On3 suddenly dropped dramatically. Within seconds, frost had already formed on all the vegetation within a three-foot radius of where he stood.

"Please...stop...th...is..." On3 tried to speak, but his words were becoming sluggish as the circuitry in his brain started to shut down.

The cold was making him malfunction. Soon his hard-drive would go into emergency standby.

"It's a Bio-B0t." A man with a Mississippi accent was saying, but his voice sounded distant to On3, "I thought we killed them all?"

Someone responded to the man, but the air temperature continued to drop and On3's body started going into standby mode. 'Please don't harm her...' was the last thought Bio-B0t On3 thought before he shut down completely...

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MORTAR, DOWNTOWN DALLAS, 9:00PM

Finding the building had proved to more difficult than Mortar expected. It had been twenty six years since he last holed up in the Party's secret base and his memory had never been the best. Raid had complained most of the day as they wandered the city streets, trying to be inconspicuous but failing due to Mortar's huge size. People stared at the odd couple and Mortar was sure at least a few recognized him from the highly publicized fight in the Mayor's office earlier that afternoon.

"Someone's going to call the police." Raid had whispered after spying a couple whispering and pointing in Mortar's direction.

"What the fuck are the police going to do? Arrest me?" Mortar growled.

The tiny Asian woman with the purple hair had given him an annoyed look, "More like shoot you."

Mortar just rolled his eyes. He had taken a lot worse than a bullet and survived and Raid knew that, she just wanted to bitch. They had walked in silence after that and it was well past dark before Mortar finally said "We're here."