What Could Possibly Go Wrong

Gavin cuts across the track by jumping down from the upper track, almost breaking his board. "What kind of wheels are under this thing. At this rate I may not be able to make it in time. This thing is just too damn slow" he says out loud to himself as he goes on. He loops down, then slides on a railing into a curved tube.

Seeing a skater speeding ahead, he knocks the skater off his feet.

"Get out of here. The place is about to blow" he says and moves on without waiting for a response.

"This is an emergency evacuation order. Everyone within this park and around must leave this vicinity with immediate effect. I repeat everyone is to vacate this vicinity with immediate effect" comes a voice booming from the speakers.

Alex had taken control of the system and is ordering the evacuation.

The place becomes so noisy as people run out of the park. But the crowd is too far way for the concentrated racers to hear the commotion. Some bags are still left hanging; some people's shoes are all over the place as they desert the park. Gavin goes through a cave like structure almost crashing into its walls at a point.

Passing over some rumps and sliding up an inclined plane, he speeds on however halfway through a loop ahead, he is hit by a strong shock wave and an intense heat sweeps over his entire body sending him crashing into the top of the loop, then the lower part of the loop before finally dropping to the floor and sliding to a stop. He lay motionless as his skin begins to peel of slowly as the heat continuously sweeps over him.

***

In a busy street blocks away, a motorcycle speeds on weaving between cars at incredible speed, one that caused its tires to shake violently as though they will pop off at any moment. A speeding car pulls into the road all of a sudden causing the speeding bike to brake suddenly as its rider is sent flying into the curb as he loses balance from braking too sharply.

The bike comes sliding to a stop a few meters away from the rider. Suddenly, there was violent quake followed by thick black smoke rising into the air in the distance.

"Gavin!" he lets out a scream forcefully trying to stand but drops back down in pain.

"Sir, your ankle has been fractured" Alex's voice booms in his helmet.

"Well that's not good. Contact the police and the ambulance services. Alert the rest of my team members. Tell them it's Black Alert. I will meet them at the lair."

"Yes sir. What about Gavin?"

"I can't go there in this condition. connect me to XIA industries."

After a moment, Alex announces "You are connected sir"

"Sorry dad, but I have to break my promise. Code access, access XIA industries file number 34, override order 556 code 44689welcometocamcot. Unlock section 12 deploy Doctor Drone"

[Access granted. Deploying drone...] comes a voice from his helmet "Alex, take control of Doctor Drone and get Gavin out of there. I will meet the rest at the lair". He is helped to his feet by a man.

"You okay kid?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Thank you"

He reinforces his ankle with his armor and leaves.

XIA INDUSTRIES

A man stares at the spiral skyscrapers circling a dome structure and atop is what resembles an egg made of pure crystals. He looks about 40 and has an athletic build. His forehead however is covered in spots. "So when can we be expecting the goods" he enquires of another.

"They would be delivered by tomorrow" the other says.

"It's been an honour doing business with you Mr. Wells"

"Likewise Mr. Kagawa"

Mr. Kagawa stares at the building once more and leaves in a pickup truck. Mr. Wells turns to leave when he sees the jet like drone speed away.

"Ian, what is going on in there?" he speaks into his comms

"I'm not sure sir, seems order 556 was overridden by someone" Ian says gasping for air.

"I want everyone working to find that drone now"

"Yes sir".

"Zarx" Mr. Wells says running inside.

OBSTACLE COURSE SKATE PARK

"Gavin!" Gideon shouts as he makes his way through the smoke and debris not stopping for a moment to catch his breath. "Gavin" he shouts rushing over, panting heavily. "Hey man, you okay? Wake up man, wake up". His eyes begin to tear up. He couldn't bring himself to touch him. Sirens are wailing all round. "Somebody help! help! You gotta get up man".

He lifts his head as a gust clears the smoke around him. Doctor Drone which was in cloaking mode descends lightly onto the ground. A gurney rolled out of it with Alex's hologram behind. It pulls to a stop next to Gavin. Gideon looks on alarmed.

"Don't worry, he going to be okay" Alex assures him. The gurney reduces in height. Robot arms from it carefully lifts Gavin and places him on the gurney.

"You must be Gideon" Alex inquires.

"Yes"

"Can I trust you?"

"Erm… yeah"

"Come with me"

"Wait, but how did…"

"I would tell you on the way. For now, please come with me" the gurney raises its height again and a translucent pod covers it.

"Sure" he says hesitantly, walking slowly behind.

"Gideon, please pick up the pace". He jogs alongside as they get in and cloaking is activated once more. A gust of wind erupts the dust around as they take off.

LAIR

9:00 AM

"This is all just too much to take in. So you guys are the one's moving around and busting all those warehouses and drug dens?" Gideon asks, his face blank with utter confusion.

"Yeah, precisely" Shiro answers.

"So, erm… how long till Gavin wakes up?"

"In about an hour time. I'm not too sure but by then, he should be completely healed"

"This is supposed to be your lair right?"

"Yeah"

"Then why don't I see any computers here?"

"We don't have those yet"

"Well so far, I think I like what you've done with this place. Training arena, air conditioning, ping pong table, you even furnished this place in less than a month. It's impressive. Look I'm just gonna trust that Gavin would be alright in whatever that is. Just make sure nothing happens to him…"

"Guys, sorry I'm late. What happened" Melanie questions as she walks in, staring at the drone in the arena.

"I'm sure you heard the explosion. It was at the obstacle course skate park. Gavin got caught up in it" Zarx answers.

"Oh my God. Is he okay? Where is he? Is he in the hospital?"

"One question at a time Melanie. He is okay and he is not in the hospital. He is right here. In that" he says pointing to the drone.

"Wait why didn't you send him to a hospital? Why is he here instead of the hospital?"

"Because if he was sent to the hospital, he would have lost his life before getting there and I'm not ready to say goodbye to a friend. Not again"

"And how on earth is bringing him here going to keep him alive?"

"As I said, he is in there. That right there is Doctor Drone. It's a special medical drone developed by XIA industries. As the name suggests, Doctor Drone was designed to aid the military in battle where they don't have access to healthcare. It is equipped with an AI which acts as a doctor and heals very severe and life threatening wounds using all the technology at its disposal"

"So how long is he going to be in there?"

"For about an hour. Most of his wounds should be completely healed now. He would completely recover in an hour time"

"And his parents, do they know…"

"Oh ok, so you expect me to call his parents and be like 'hello Gavin's mom, there was an explosion and Gavin got caught in it, I didn't want him to die, so I put him in a drone a brought him to a secret lair. Don't worry, he's going to fine' Is that it?"

"That's not what I mean…" she sighs "What I'm trying to says is are his parents aware he had an accident"

"Of cause not" Zarx says "I got Gideon to call them and tell them he was okay"

"And who's Gideon?"

"Hi" Gideon says with a wave. She looks at him for a while without a word and turns away.

"I got to say, you did a great job. You saved Gavin. But let me ask you a question. Did you consider the fact that this could have gone wrong? Did you?"

He lifts his head without a word.

"I didn't think so. The way I see that thing over there, with incomplete paint job, and all those figures and numbers all over it, if I'm not mistaken, I would say that is an incomplete prototype. And you knew about that, and yet you decided to risk it, knowing way too well how dangerous it was. One miscalculation and that could have ended his life instead of saving it"

"Like I had a choice!" he blew his top

"Of course you had a choice. Zarx I don't know what is up with you, but the rush decisions you've been making and the unnecessary risks, I think this should be the last time you did something like that"

"I totally agree with what she said" Shiro comes in. Ace nods in agreement as well.

"What? So now you guys are…"

"We are doing nothing Zarx, and it looks like you are still taking this lightly forgetting anything could have happened" Shiro snaps walking towards the arena.

"And what could possibly go wrong?"

"What could possibly go wrong you asks. Gavin could have died or worse. I told you before Zarx, if you don't let go of whatever happened in the past and that sentiment of yours and continue to use that as a basis to take decisions, you are going get yourself killed or us..."

Turning to the others, he continues "I think he needs time to get himself together, ponder over a few things and clear his mind. So I say we exempt him from today's missions so that he can use the time to clear his head." The others agree to his suggestion.

"That's ridiculous, you seem to be forgetting something. I formed…"

"If that's how you want to play it, then you've got two choices. It's either you stay out of today's missions or we are disbanding this team right here, right now. Your choice" Shiro adds.

"What? Well screw you. Do whatever the hell you want" Zarx barks and walks towards the elevator.

"And where do you think you are off to?" Shiro demands blocking the elevator entrance.

"That's none of your business"

"Then I'm making it mine. You aren't leaving here until Gavin wakes up"

"Just get out of my way" Zarx says and tries shoving him out of the way. Shiro redirects his hands and sends him to the side.

A glint of light flashes across Zarx's eyes and his armor activates, covering him almost instantly. "Get out of my way Shiro, your final warning"

"Whoa guys…" Gideon protests.

"Don't get involved Gideon, you would only make things worse; allow them to settle this on their own" Ace says walking to Gideon who is by Melanie.

"So you are just going to watch them fight?"

"Well there's not much we can do. Gavin is the only able to stop these two at the moment. Let's just hope he wakes up earlier than expected"

"So you won't even make an attempt?"

"Try anything, you're dead. I'm not much of a fighter. She doesn't have her guns. So for now, we just hope for a miracle".

A faint smile appears on Shiro's face as he hits a button on the wall. His sword drops from above like a flash of lightning and he unsheathes the sword midair before it reaches the ground. "If this is what it takes to stop you, then be my guest" Shiro roars.

"Enough from the both of you" comes a firm voice from the arena as Gavin walks up to them. "I have been out for a few hours and you guys can't even get along?". Shiro sheathes his sword.

"Looks like he is awake" Zarx says and pushes past Shiro.

"What's up with you guys; fighting all the time?" Gavin asks. Doctor drone takes off as well. The others run over to him.

"Hey Gav are you okay"

"Gideon? Yeah I think so. Wait how did you get here"

"The drone that just left brought me with you"

"Wait, that was a drone??"

"I'm sure you have lots of questions" Melanie says.

"Yeah I do. For starters, how are the victims of the blast doing?"

"So far, not so good. The number of casualties just keeps going up"

"And Zarx? Why did he storm out?"

"Let's not talk about that now. For now, we need to know more about what happened and what help we can offer"

"Yeah. And I also need to know more about what happened here. How I'm fully healed when I was a victim of that blast just a few hours ago" he says in a serious tone

LAIR

FRI. DEC. 6

3:00 PM

Ace is sparing with robots in the training arena.

"Take it easy on the bots, Ace" Shiro advice's. Ace punches one's head off with an uppercut. It falls to the ground with a thud. He picks a towel from the stairs and walks out of the arena. "If you keep busting them like that, then they would certainly be damaged beyond repairs and that won't be good" Shiro adds.

"Then make them stronger"

"Leave that to me. I would be making brand new ones soon" Zarx says walking in with Gavin.

"Zarx" Ace calls in a surprised tone. "Busting them again huh?"

"Couldn't help it" he says with a cheeky smile.

"What is that" Shiro inquires as Zarx and Gavin drop the box they are holding by a semicircular desk.

"The screens" Zarx replies.

"Hold on a moment, you said you would be making brand new ones very soon, does that mean..." Ace enquires.

"Yeah, I have gotten everything back" he replies.

"That's great news. Finally, we are getting set"

"Yep. We certainly are".

They unpack the three transparent curved screens and set them up on the table. Zarx dips his hands into his pocket and brings out three devices the size of pills. He fixes them at their respective places; the top left corner of the screens.

"Alex" Zarx says.

"Right away sir" Alex replies. Alex boots the computer. Files on their previous missions along with related information as well as news channels appear on the screens simultaneously. A laser keyboard is projected onto the table.

"Alright guys, Melanie and I have got something to take care of; we will meet at 5:30 pm" Zarx says.

"Okay" Ace says. The two leave. 'just what do those two have to take care off?' Ace thinks to himself

COFFEE SHOP

3:30 PM

"So he calls you this morning and is like 'I forgive you' then gives everything back to you?" Melanie asks.

"Well, not exactly but yeah. Also not until I made another promise. And if I break this one, he's not going to give me anything back" Zarx answers.

She smiles and follows up "Not that it should, but what would you do if something similar is to happen again?"

"I would do the same as i did before. Actually he figured I would go back on my words if something like that should happen again. So he's going to give us or own version of Doctor Drone once the prototype is completed. One that would be upgraded to be able to transport a maximum of seven passengers."

"Oh, that's cool. You plan on telling the others?"

"No, not yet. Maybe after it has been completed. Don't want to get anyone's hopes high". She smiles.

"I love this place. They make really good coffee. You do come here a lot don't you?"

"Well once in a while…"

"I wish I had known about this place earlier. I would literally fly here just have coffee"

She laughs. "You can't be serious"

"Oh I am very serious"

"Yeah, so I wanted to ask a question, it's a bit personal but I hope you don't mind"

"Ask away"

"Is there any special reason why you joined the military?"

"Well, that depends on your definition of special, but for me let's just say I enjoyed what my dad was doing as a kid, and wanted to have a feel of it"

"So I can assume your dad is your hero"

"Well kinds of" she smiles.

"What was it like growing up? You know being in the military and schooling at the same time, it must have been very hectic"

"Yeah, it was hectic from the start but I soon got used to it. It was the kind of life I dreamed about as a kid but after realizing I could actually live it; it was a dream come true for me. I…" she pauses as her phone rings. "Sorry, I gotta take this". She pulls it out of her purse. Her eyes shoot wide open as she stares at the phone screen.

[How is this possible? No one should be able to phone through this line. This…]

"Hey, is anything the problem?" Zarx asks breaking her thoughts.

[Is it okay if I tell him?] she stares at him without a word. [maybe I should trust him with this. We are team mates after all and maybe …more…] she ponders

"It's just that, this phone is a special phone for all covert military members and only official calls come through this line hence all contacts have been saved for convenience but this is from an unknown caller. Calls are only allowed through after going through several channels and you always get a call ahead before any calls are forwarded. Only the president of the covert division can call directly. Yet someone is calling directly. This is not possible, unless…"

"Someone just figured a way to call through this line without being detected by the system"

"Yes"

"If you don't mind, I would have Alex track the origin of this call"

[If I try to track the person directly from the system, the person would notice much quickly and it could expose my location as well. I guess I have no choice then] she ponders then answers "Sure you can go ahead"

"Alex, please id the location of the caller"

"Sir the call is heavily encrypted. It would take a while. For now, our location is currently being masked. Perhaps if she answers the call I might be able to do the tracking a little bit faster"

"Melanie could you please answer the phone? Alex says she might be able to track the caller faster that way"

She nods and answers the call "Number one speaking" Melanie says.

"Melanie, how are you?" comes the voice from the phone.

"I'm good. Who is this if I may ask?"

"It's me, Lee"

"General?"

"Are you busy?"

"No, not at the moment"

"I want to have a word with you if you don't mind"

"Okay, I'm listening"

"No. Not over the phone. Come by my office I want to talk to you in person"

"Okay, but I would be coming with a friend, if you don't mind"

"You know that is not allowed here"

"This one is different..." she says in a lower tone.

"If that's the case, then go ahead. This isn't official duty anyway so feel free"

"Alright then, I would be on my way"

"See you then". The call disconnects.

"Why would the general call through here anonymously and not through your personal line?" Zarx questions.

"I'm not sure either. Moreover, his contact is here so why would he go through all that trouble? Not that I forgive him for what he did to my dad, but if I was in his place, with all that power, I wouldn't go through all that trouble just to make a call. Also the way I see it, he doesn't know that I was the one who rescued my dad. His minions probably didn't have the chance to report back before we took them out"

"So what are you planning to do now?"

"I'm just going to play along. Maybe we could find out why he betrayed him, almost resulting in his death"

"Yeah good idea. Let's go then". They walk briskly out of the coffee shop, mount the bike and speed off.