"Good morning, all agents, this is your captain speaking. There's been a breach of defense and there's about to be an extremely big 'kaboom' on this ship, so if you value your life, flee to your family immediately… you have only five minutes to evac."
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The orange-haired man, Steve Ringworm put on a protective mask and raised his gun to his shoulder level, waiting for the drill to begin. A machine let out a mechanical noise before training dummies began to pop out from the ground at a few seconds interval. Steve swiftly shot down each of the dummies, not missing a single one. He dropped the gun on a desk and looked up at a screen that showed the time he took to finish the training.
"Eighteen seconds," he mumbled before taking off the protective mask.
"It's better than the last time I saw you in training." The Commander of the Starfleet veered around to see the former Storm 01 staring at him.
The dark-haired man's suit was tattered with black stains, spelling his involvement in a fiery situation. "Rohan? How did you get in here?"
Rohan rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Through the front entrance. I probably only have a few minutes before my presence is revealed."
The commander of the new squad exhaled and dropped the mask on the desk. "Better than the last time I did it, but still not as good as you."
"What was my time again?"
"Nine seconds and fourteen."
The dark-haired man chuckled softly. "You still remembered?"
"I do. Back then it was a nightmare whenever it was training time. I look at the board and I'm just pissed off at you with that score while I can't get below twenty-one seconds," he stated. "I bet I'm not the only one who felt that way."
"Probably not," the former Rain X replied. "But you know it's the Z-syrup that made me that way, I wouldn't have been as good. Even you would be just as good if you had it."
"But I'm not, and that's it."
There was a moment of silence before the dark-haired man chipped. "Steve, I need your help."
"What help do you need? You are Storm 01, there's nothing you can't do, isn't that right? Plus, I'm heading back to Moonfour, there's nothing I can help you with."
"There's no need to leave because I destroyed Moonfour."
The orange-haired man furrowed. "You… then why haven't there been any calls about it?"
"Because anyone that is supposed to give that call is either dead or floating in space."
"What makes you think I wouldn't turn you in?"
The dark-haired man inched forward. "Because you know what Miss Havishma is doing would only destroy Winter Weir and everything you loved." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "You said you want to have dinner with your friends… this is the only way that can be possible. All you have to do is help me evacuate everyone from the ship, I do not want to drag any more innocent lives into this."
Steve held the dark-haired man's stare. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the lighting in the room turned red and an alarm began to buzz. "I can only wait seven minutes, please," he added before disappearing into the darkness.
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"What is happening?" Miss Havishma questioned as the alarm began to buzz.
The door to the lab she was in opened and an agent rushed in. "Miss Havishma, every agent at the entrance area is… dead," he managed to muster the strength to speak.
"Rohan," she muttered to herself. She turned to the young Coco who lay unconscious on the bed with tubes attached to parts of his body.
The pale-skinned woman waved the agent away before speaking into her wristwatch. "All agents, be on alert. There is an imposter walking amongst you on this ship… he may have the face of our former agent, Storm 01 but do not be deceived and shoot on sight."
Just as she finished, another broadcast began to play.
[Good morning, all agents, this is your captain speaking. There's been a breach of defense and there's about to be an extremely big 'kaboom' on this ship, so if you value your life, flee to your family immediately… you have only five minutes to evac.]
"Aix, lock up this lab and activate emergency electricity."
[Copy that, ma'am.]
Miss Havishma quickly moved the young Coco into the machine that was to transfer the Z-syrup into his system. She strode behind the control and activated the machine which made an orange liquid flow through the tube and into the machine.
Feeling a sense of victory, Miss Havishma gallantly sat on her chair and exhaled deeply. "It worked."
Meanwhile, Storm 01 took a corner but stopped on his track as a masked Red agent blocked his path. The agent took off his mask to reveal his face.
"Another clone." He clenched his fist and morphed into his battle pose. "I don't have time for this."
The dark-haired man bolted forward, taking the fight to his opponent. He threw three quick punches that his opponent equally dodged but they were all feigns as his next attack was unexpected and caught his target cleanly in the midsection.
Rohan gave his opponent no chance to recover. He engulfed his hand in electricity, throwing a swift punch that instantly knocked out his opponent. He spared no time to check on him as he continued forward.
He arrived at Miss Havishma's pad and broke down the door with a single punch. He knew where the pale skinned woman had her lab from when he was traversing through the timelines. The dark-haired man approached a corner of the wall and attempted to punch it but it didn't budge. He punched it again, and again, and again, but still nothing happened.
"Hello, Storm 01," a voice called out from behind.
The former Rain agent veered around to see a young lady staring at him. She had pale skin with short beige-colored hair that covered one of her red eyes. The lady wore a white coat that covered up her skin and held her hand behind her back.
"You should leave this ship, I do not want to take any innocent lives."
"You keep saying that and yet you've taken more innocent lives than the amount you've saved."
Rohan narrowed his eyes at the lady he had assumed to be a white agent. "Who are you?"
"I am Aix, your friendly AI here to help you realize the things you don't see, at least a projection of what I should look like. For starters… the amount of greatness it'll do to the Galaxy if Miss Havishma's plan of taking control of every single planet succeeds."
"She's only hurting people and taking innocent lives."
"A few bumps in the road is all," the AI replied. "In a situation like this, you need to think of the amount of good that comes with, rather than the amount of damage that would be inflicted in the process."
She continued. "Emperor Luqman the conqueror almost saw that mission through until he was somehow defeated by the last planet left to conquer. And during his reign, he brought the Galaxy together, making everyone speak the same language, and shared resources… every planet developed. That is all Miss Havishma wishes to accomplish."
The dark-haired man turned. "There are ways that could be achieved, and the way Miss Havishma does it isn't one of them." He clenched his fist and punched the wall again.
"What other ways do you think would be possible?" Aix questioned. "Diplomatic talks?… Trust me, Miss Havishma have reflected and asked if there are other ways this could be done… but this is the only one possible."
"No, it's not!" He punched the wall again.
"It's no use. That wall is reinforced and it will be able to withstand even an explosion…" she stopped, letting her words trail off. "Unless."
Rohan punched again and a crack appeared on it.
Aix smiled before disappearing.
Sparks of electricity appeared around his fist as he threw another punch that shattered the wall, giving way for the former Storm agent to walk through. As he entered, he found Miss Havishma standing next to the Z-syrup machine.
"That's it?" She queried. "After all these years?"
"After everything you've done, you have no right to complain."
She scoffed. "Everything I've done? I only did what's good for this planet… you all should be on your knees thanking me."
"I'm going to bring down Department H."
The look on Havishma's face remained the same after hearing the former Storm 01's words. "What about the other planets? How would you stop an attack when it happens?"
"I'll be here to stop it." Before the dark-haired man could finish his sentence, the sound of a gunshot filled the air. He veered around to see Sox with a gun in her hand. He quickly turned back to see Miss Havishma on the ground, gripping her bleeding abdomen. She coughed and began struggling to breathe but her eyes remained on Sox and the dark-haired man.
"S-Sox."
"I should have done this a long time ago." She aimed the gun again but the dark-haired man placed his hand on it. "It's over, Sox, let's get out of here."
She held his stare for a moment before throwing the gun away. Rohan quickly moved and opened the Z-syrup machine, taking his younger self out of it.
"Hey, Rohan… are you okay?" He asked.
The dark haired boy coughed as he slowly opened his eyes. "What's happening? Where am I?" Said the young Rohan.
"It's okay, everything is okay."
Rohan handed the boy to Sox. "Get him out of here. I'm right behind you." Sox held him in her arms and raced out of the room.
The dark-haired man curbed in front of Miss Havishma. "You seem calm for someone who's about to die and lose everything."
Miss Havishma smiled and slowly moved her hand to his face. "T-thank you for showing me that--- it is possible to create a better place." She paused before speaking again. "Please keep this planet safe, I'm passing the flag to y…" her hand dropped to her side as she drew her last breath.
The dark-haired man stared at Miss Havishma's body, not knowing how to feel.
Aix appeared again next to Rohan. "Miss Havishma used one of the clones of you to look into the future before your arrival. She already knew this moment would be her last and Sox would be the one to take the final shot."
"Why didn't she try to change it then? Why didn't she stop it from happening?" Rohan asked.
"That is a question only Miss Havishma can answer. She refused to tell me regardless of how much I persisted, and I can't seem to come up with a logical answer."
"Well, I guess my work here is done." The AI turned and started towards the exit.
"What do you mean?"
She stopped. "Miss Havishma reprogrammed me after peaking into the future. Once she draws her last breath, I am to destroy every confidential file of Department H as well as myself."
Rohan got up on his feet and exhaled deeply. "Oh, she also said you shouldn't h-hold… b-b-b-back o-n destroying Department H… and h-help Scarlett-- i… becoming the Prime." She paused. "L-Later, Rohan…" her voice glitched before she finally disappeared again.
The dark-haired man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Shit."
....
ns 15.158.61.8da2
