[California || Mean Beans Coffee: Underground Area]
"Breaking news a strange robot has attacked a weather monitoring outpost in Nevada. We are still looking for details from the authorities on why this machine attacked but-"
Rouge shut off the TV before the news could continue letting out a short huff and walking over to Stone. Currently they were in a very large observation room underneath Stone's coffee shop that was already equipped with everything it needed to test any human or otherwise abilities. Stonen was sitting in a chair with Rouge now looking over his shoulder as monitors calculated Shadows' speed that just passed Mach 20. After the incident with Emerl a few days ago they returned to Stone so Omega could get repairs but also to figure out what was going on with Shadow. Rouge looked out of the on-way mirror and into the room Shadow was currently occupying as he was running on a sideways runway going in a circle. The only thing seen was… well the only way Rouge could describe it was like seeing lightning that's covered by clouds and rain during a thunderstorm with multiple pillars sparking from the excess energy being produced. He's been running for the last hour so Stone could track what energy Shadow was releasing as he ran.
"So did you find anything on our little friend Stone?" Rouge asked as she continued to watch the storm of energy her hands crossed under her chest.
"Well, after taking multiple DNA samples I was able to deduce that he does have a X-Gene though almost impossible to find in his Genetic coding."
"What exactly do you mean? What's wrong with Shadow Genetics."
Stone kept his eyes on the monitors, typing a few more commands before swiveling his chair halfway toward Rouge.
"Nothing is wrong, per se," he began, voice calm but carrying that edge of clinical concern. "It's… hidden. Buried. Normally with mutants the X-Gene lights up like a beacon after awakening due to stress or purity. But with Shadow—" He tapped the screen, showing the genetic chart. "—it's woven into his code like camouflage. Almost as if his other genes are trying to suppress it as much as it could. If it wasn't for my resources, I might have not caught it this soon."
The monitor beeped. Shadow blurred past again, trails of chaotic lightning snapping against the reinforced runway. A chart spiked in red.
"Alright Shadow, that's enough!" Stone called from a mic on his shoulder and in a split-second Shadow was in the same observation room making Rouge jump from the sudden appearance. After a few days of testing and constant training they learned that Shadow had some type of Short-Range teleportation among other things already seen like the energy projectiles and unnatural speed.
"Okay, so I've managed to analyze the energy you are producing while you run. But I would like to test my theory before I give my conclusion." Stone spoke as he got up and walked over to a vault. He typed in a code and the vault opened. Then Stone took out what looked to be a drive with a small red crystal inside of it. Shadow eyes were glued to the site, something in him said to snatch it, to take it from Stone. Before he could act on those instincts Stone tossed the drive and Shadow caught it and looked down at the small drive.
"Why does my body want this so much… It's like it's a piece of me." He thought as he clenched the drive as the stone vibrant red slowly began to dull, becoming a pitch black.
"As I suspected, you're absorbing Chaos Energy." Stone spoke, closing the vault and relocking it not needing a use for the rest. Shadow threw the drive away landing in a garbage can with Rouge staring at Stone, clearly curious about what Stone was talking about.
"And what exactly is that?" Rouge asked and Stone pulled out a small flash drive Rouge got from the facility and placed it into his computer as multiple folders were pulled up most about research on Chaos Emeralds.
"Well, from what I know Chaos Energy is an obscured type of energy being related to Chaos Magic. I managed to get more information from the drive. Apparently, Chaos Energy is just residual energy from something called the Chaos Emerald which has the most potent and concentrated signature of Chaos Energy that I've seen compared to you Shadow, it's like comparing a small planet to a universe. Currently most of the files are corrupted so it will take weeks to get the rest."
"An emerald you say?" Rouge asked with a small amount of glee at the prospect of such an emerald, her thought turning to how beautiful the emerald must be.
"Don't Rouge, these are not simple jewels. They're just as powerful if not exceptionally stronger than the Infinity Stones. They are raw concentrated energy formed into seven emeralds older than human history and have the potential to have control over all of Space-Time. Most can't even use it without catastrophic cellular breakdown. But whoever designed Shadow specifically made him to absorb this energy in particular."
"...And the location of these emeralds is unknown; the last time any emerald was seen was fifty years ago. Apparently used for a secret project that GUN was conducting back then." Stone told the two with Rouge head dropping in disappointment. But Shadow paid attention to the last thing Stone said and frowned.
"So, what you're saying is that I might be over fifty years old?"
"Most likely especially since the Project Name was Project: Shadow. It seems they wanted an Ultimate Lifeform using the DNA of mutants to stabilize your Chaos Energy but also messed up your X-Gene in the process."
"Wait if that's the case then how come Xavier or Emma didn't detect him?" Rouge asked after all when the Scarlet Witch wiped out most of the mutant race it would make sense to find as many mutants as possible. They even came to her, but she declined for sanctuary in Utopia.
"Prison Island had multiple layers of security specifically to keep Shadow hidden including multiple Psychic barriers to block out any Telepaths psychic meddling. It was honestly a miracle that you managed to get in completely undetected." Stone told Rouge who placed a hand on her hip.
"I.R told me because of the whole 'working with SWORD' that their defenses were slightly down even when it was still one of the most guarded. It was simple enough to take out a few guards, steal their key cards and shut down some of the more… deadly security measures. But I never noticed any Psychic barriers and even then, how strong was it to avoid Cerebro?"
"They were created by… someone the file never clarified who did it or where they came from."
"Didn't like that pause Stone. Are you hiding something~?"
"No Rouge."
"Was it created… on the ARK?"
"...Yes, how did you know Shadow?"
"I don't but something gave me a hunch it came from… whatever the ARK is."
"Hmm, seems as if your memory is only coming back by certain triggers I'll keep that in mind."
"Hmph…"
"But I do want to speak about your X-gene. From what I've analyzed from the sample I acquired you should be able to absorb any type of energy and release to either enhance your own physical capabilities, create weaponry out of that said energy, or release it all as more of an explosion. But because of the Chaos Energy bound to your cells it will be way more difficult for you to absorb other energy sources like Anti-Matter or Gamma Radiation."
"Well, we won't need to worry about handsome here turning into the hulk huh?"
"Don't use that nickname, Rouge."
"Would you rather me call you something way more embarrassing?"
"..."
"Exactly."
"Anyways if you two are done the files I found also had a mention of Emerl in the files nicknamed Project: Gizoid but unfortunately there wasn't as much information I could use just about him being found by Rim Robotnik." Stone said and Shadow eyes widened at the last name, something in him stiffen but he didn't know.
"Now, Now, we still need a solid plan here. Stone got any good ideas?" Rouge asked as Stone turned his attention back to her.
Shadow just nodded silently letting Rouge and Stone continue the talk. He looked down at his hand as he could finally process a few things… Fifty years that's how long he was in stasis and yet he didn't feel a day over twenty. From the other test his physical body was only about seventeen years old for a human but even then, his body felt too large… too old and those memories he was way younger, but he couldn't question that. But how dangerous was he in the past to be trapped for Fifty years, what did he do beforehand and why couldn't he remember, it was frustrating.
He opened his mouth to speak but paused for a second not knowing if he should tell Stone this, but he had to trust the man. He's been a good ally so far so he should be able to trust him for now. He could keep his secrets the same as Stone so this will be fine. "When I fought Emerl… I felt something familiar. It was like he was a beacon of energy and if it wasn't for flying off so suddenly, I would have followed. I think he has one of the Emeralds implanted in his chest. Maybe a power core?"
"Most likely the case since it reacted so well to your Chaos Energy flowing into its system. Emerl is able to copy anything whether it be skills or powers. It also seems to have components to absorb different weaponry and artifacts into its body and utilize it with precision compared to the original." Stone replied, standing up and stretching, taking a look at the time, realizing that he had to open the shop before his customers would come in.
"If you felt Chaos Energy rippling out of Emerl then either he already copied your abilities or absorbed the Emeralds and along with its power. We should find him as soon as possible and find a way to remove it before someone else gets their hands on him."
"Like Stark or Richards." Rouge commented expecting her nails as Stone nodded knowing they both would want to research such a robot and to examine the Chaos Emeralds. He pulled out a tracker and tossed it to Rouge who easily caught it.
"Good work placing that tracker I gave you on Emerl. It has been moving around the country stopping at multiple prisons, but he never attacked. Currently Emerl stopped in New York." Stone said and Rouge groaned in annoyance.
"Seriously is that damn city always the center of destruction." She muttered. Rouge avoided New York like the plague because unlike most she didn't see worth in getting herself thrown in Prison by Spider-Man for one of her heists or killed during a random alien invasion that seemed to appear every month.
"Well, if you want to confirm that Emerl does have a Chaos Emerald, I suggest you start moving." Stone replied, knowing that Rouge still wanted her regular payment.
"Okay fine." Rouge grumbled as she walked towards the elevator waving to Shadow. "Alright Handsome let's get on the road."
"What about Omega?" Shadow asked, tilting his head slightly while Stone sighed, getting up and putting a hand on Shadow flinch slightly.
"Sorry but Omega wills be staying here. Not only will it be impossible to hide him in New York, but I already began to give him upgrades and repairs. If he goes out now, he might shut down by accident. All I can say is good luck and try not to get killed." Stone told the two with Shadow nodding, brushing off Stone's hand and walking to the Elevator as it opened and both stepped in.
On the other side Rouge chuckled at how Stone voiced it. "Don't worry Stone we'll be back with I.R toy back before you know it" Rouge replied as the Elevator closed as they went to the higher levels.
Stone nodded to himself as he walked to his phone as he made a call as the person on the other end.
"Sir, Shadow and Rouge are on their way to New York when shall I send Emerl to the Raft."
"Oh-Ho-Ho, excellent Stone, it's about time I had a 'proper' family reunion. Unfortunately, from what I heard a X-man was brought in and if I know anything about those excuses for genetic evolution they run in packs like wolves." Ivo said.
"So once another Mutant nuisance decides to come to the Raft, send Emerl in. Maybe pick one off before Shadow arrives. Keep me updated on Shadows location." Ivo finished and before Stone could respond he hung up.
"...Yes sir." Stone said to himself as he put the phone down and pressed a button on his computer shutting down his observation room as he walked over to his laboratory ready to add his upgrades to Omega before the day starts. That robot was extremely stubborn about staying out of this fight.
On the higher levels Rouge and Shadow walked out to the cold air of the night air slowly turning to dawn with first signs of light beginning to shine over the city.
"Alright handsome, so two things you need to know in New York. One hero, roam the streets of New York like it's a playground so don't do anything too suspicious and two it's a city that never sleeps so stay alert and be careful out there." Rouge said with a mischievous grin, glancing over at Shadow. They made it to the back of Mena Bean Coffee for their new rides. One a Cruiser Motorcycle and a Sports Bike. It was easy to see which one was which with the cruiser having red markings and the Sport Bike having purple markings.
Rouge got on the Sport Bike while Shadow got on the Cruiser as both started them up, the city's neon glow reflected off the slick pavement, casting flickering shadows across their faces. Rouge took a deep breath, her wings fluttering slightly. Shadow hesitated for a moment, glancing at the bustling streets ahead,
"Alright Handsome let's get on the road huh?" Rouge told her companion as she drove off and Shadow followed closed by.
[43 hours later || The Raft: Maximum Security Super Prison]
Abraham Towerstook a long breath as he walked through the halls of the Prison his guards taking point at different parts of the facility to make sure no one disturbed the conversation about to happen. Abraham continued thinking of how he would start the conversation but decided to be blunt about this topic as he made it to the cell he wanted to visit. "Ivo Robotnik."
The man inside sat on his bed with a bored and almost casual face if you ignored his bald man with a bushy mustache as he wore the normal Raft attire.
"Abraham Tower, for what do I owe the pleasure of being in your oh so great presence?" Ivo asked with enough sarcasm to fill a pool. Abraham, not affected by his sarcasm, crossed his arms behind his back as he stared at the mustached man in front of him.
"No jokes Ivo. What do you know about Project: Shadow."
"Huh, why would I give such confidential information to you after all you should have the information already?"
"You've been in the raft ever since the return of Hope Summers and Cable and still have two years left and that's being generous you deserve at least 12 more years but you are a clever man to hide your tracks carefully and your research on mechanics have been useful to GUN as a whole. I can shorten your prison time by 14 months."
"Ha, I can escape this place anytime I want. This is more of a vacation until those walking biohazards get their ranks back up. It's no fun to fight a nearly dead race. Honestly the Scarlet Witch really messed up my timeline for my test on Mutants. But now I got a new one to get fixated on until I get bored."
"Wait… you were the one to release Shadow?!" Abraham accused his eyes widening in surprise, but Ivo just laughed it off.
"Me, Nah but I did have a little bat doing some Aarons for the last few years in return my Agent would pay her in advance."
"Rouge."
"Bingo! Seriously, it was easy to take advantage of her Kleptomania. All it took was a few priceless jewels to have her do a few jobs like getting Shadow and Emerl out of stasis and also tipping S.W.O.R.D on information about the two and the ARK. I can see why you hire her so often. So loyal when you give her the right reward."
"Why?"
"Because I'm bored out of my mind. While those Mutants get their act together, mind as well play with you and the rest of GUN, I'm disappointed that you didn't know it was me messing with you this entire time." Ivo said as he stood up and walked to stand in front of his holding cell with a smirk.
"You see Towers ever since I was young, I've always envied what my grandfather managed to achieve and being compared to him my entire life had truly infuriated me to a degree that it made me want to vomit and yet… I always wanted to be a great scientist just like him. I needed something big to surpass him. Not only to assess my own intelligence but also to get rid of this eternal boredom that comes with being better than everyone else. So, then I figured it out… Why not do the exact opposite of what my grandfather wanted to achieve." Ivo turned back to his bed and walked over, sitting back down.
"I dived my brilliant mind into mechanics so I could test those excuses for human evolution. I want to prove that my mechanics is beyond any form of genetic evolution whether it be Mutant or Inhuman. But the Witch swept them all away leaving only about 200 mutants alive. Years have passed and now I have a new thing to feed my curiosity. Shadow the so-called Ultimate Lifeform and my grandfather's greatest creation. If anyone could satisfy that itch to test the limits of those mutated humans against my robotics it would be him. And with Mutants slowly returning because of that girl Hope's birth I might find someone better very soon.
"Your absolute maniac."
"Oh and you just realized that Towers. What type of sane man would kill over a hundred Mutants just to test the power of his own spawns? If you thought, I was sane then you're an idiot. But don't worry about that as my vacation here is coming to an unsatisfactory end."
"Excuse me and what makes you think I will allow that."
"HoOhOh, you sweet naive boy if only you knew."
A few miles out Rouge circled around the Raft just out of view of any snipers or cameras. She has been at it for the last hour after Stone had informed them that Emerl made his way to the Raft and was waiting for any signs of Emerl but nothing. Shadow meanwhile was on a small rock construct waiting for his chance to get past the security field that surrounded the perimeter.
"Dammit this is taking too long." Shadow told Rouge through their coms.
"Chill handsome, we just need a distraction."
"Hmph, and you expect someone to be stupid enough to try and get passed the-"
"BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE."
[Cable and X-Force #6]
Rouge and Shadow both were startled at the voice they both heard. Rouge flew around then noticed a woman wearing a pink bikini on a jet ski with such good hearing she could hear the conversation.
"Huh why is Boom Boom here?"
"Who?"
"Oh, an old friend when I helped… Nevermind but we got our distraction. Let's go!" Rouge then swept down faster than she could be tracked and landed behind a few boulders. In a second Shadow appeared in a flash of orange lightning making Rouge jump slightly.
"I won't get used to you teleporting like that." Rouge muttered and Shadow just huffed as they made their way into the base knocking out a pair of guards as they continued their way in.
So where does the tracker lead?" Shadow asked as they knocked out a few guards and dragged their bodies to a janitor closet. Rouge dropped him and rummaged through his clothing.
"We'll just have to wait for Emerl to show himself. But I still wonder why it came here."
"It did say something about a master so maybe its master is imprisoned here."
"Maybe… wait I.R was the one to give me the information and with him giving me the information about you and Emerl… By my guess I.R is somewhere in here probably a prisoner." Rouge induced rubbing her chin as they then heard a resounding 'BOOM'.
"What was that?" Shadow asked, ducking out the way as a few guards ran past them.
"Don't know. You keep going, I'm going to figure out what exploded." Rouge said handing over Stone tracker to Shadow as she took off while Shadow went the other way.
Ivo stared at Abraham who continued to glare at him. "What did you think a prison like this could hold me in? I had over hundred and seventeen ways to get out of this prison, but I decided to let you think you had me. So now if you excuse me, I will be leaving."
Ivo said tapping a button on his glasses and then another resounding 'BOOM' as Abraham was sent flying back from the explosion. Abraham shook his head and coughed as he slowly recovered, pulling out the gun at his hip only to get grabbed by the neck. Emerl held him up by the throat holding up the commander with ease, causing Abraham to drop his gun in the process as he grasped for air struggling against Emerl grip.
"Towers I will like you to meet my father's biggest find and my grandfather's second-best pet project Emerl." Ivo said walking out his cell casually as Emerl slowly but more force onto Abraham neck.
"Honestly, your predecessor was a fool. Not only did he leave such a capable Gizoid that rivals and could even surpass the Nimrod sealed away in such an old and dingy facility, but he also kept a being of immense power locked away instead of terminating him. Now fifty years later you now must deal with it. It's funny how life works ay old friend." Ivo said with a evil grin as Abraham continued to struggle but before Emerl could snap his neck an amber blur slammed into it sending both through multiple walls.
"There he is!" Ivo said, looking through the multiple walls that were destroyed with a grin of anticipation.
"Shadow…" Abraham muttered as he turned to Ivo only to get a kick to the face by the man.
Meanwhile Shadow and Emerl fell to the ground as both rolled to their feet staring at each other. Shadow began to circle and Emerl did the same copy every single move Shadow made.
"Hmph, you're nothing but a copycat huh." Shadow commented as he stopped moving and Emerl followed and tilted its head while Shadow huffed as he stretched slowly Emerl following his movements.
"You might know what I'm going to do but that won't help you since I will know everything you are going to do. Funny how that works huh?!" Shadow said as he immediately rushed at Emerl who did the same both slamming into each other in a hand lock as they pushed to overpower the other.
"Y-y-you m-m-might know what I'm g-going to do but t-that won't help you since I will know e-e-everything you are going to do. Funny how that works huh." Emerl repeated and Shadow scowled as he immediately turned to the left and tossed Emerl through a wall running into the same room only to get a left hook to the face. Before Shadow could retract his fist Emerl grabbed his hand, and judo flipped him to the ground. Shadow rolled out the way of another punch only for the ground to collapse causing both to fall deeper into the Raft.
Ivo and Abrham fought over the gun as both continued to speak.
"How did you get so strong?" Abraham questioned as he dodged another punch, his nose bloody. He then grabbed his gun from the ground only to meet Ivo fist his face snapping to the side and dropping the gun again as he put up a block.
"You think I would threaten Mutant society without having the ability to protect myself, you naive government pet?!" Ivo replied as Abraham managed to land a solid strike to Ivo's stomach, making him cough out saliva as he pushed Abraham off him and punched the other man in the face.
"You released two extremely dangerous and unstable beings on the world just for the fuck of it!"
"When you're just as smart as me you get bored of this world, even Reed Richards understood this and decided to focus on space transversal then actual world problems. Tony Stark arc reactor alone can power a city but no he uses it for armored suits! I'm doing the same in shacking up the world."
"This is why you were locked here in the first place, you egotistical fool!"
"No, you were just afraid of my advances. You've always been jealous of people with higher authority and higher power that's why you came here to find a way to lock away the beings that clearly were always better than you since you were a brat in diapers." As the chaos erupted deeper within the collapsing structure of the Raft, the fight between Ivo and Abraham intensified, each man throwing accusations as much as punches.
Rouge ran through the facility using her keen sense of hearing to find what she was looking for only to run into someone. She immediately got ready for a fight only to see an old friend.
"Domino?"
"Rouge?"
Both women stared at each other with surprise, not seeing each other for years.
"Why are you here Rouge?"
"I could ask the same thing: I'm here for a destructive robot, why are you here?"
"To save my teammate from this place, nothing that special."
"Seriously aren't you a wanted woman right now?
"Well can't blame me for liking a little danger."
As two women caught up while dealing with the guards and moving through the halls. Until they made it to a room and Domino smiled while Rouge licked her lips at the hunk of a man painting half of his skin currently having a lair of what looked to be steel.
"Oh, the famous Colossus you sly fox." Rouge whispered leaning against a wall while Domino rolled her eyes motioning Rouge to let her do the talking.
Meanwhile Shadow and Emerl fell through another layer of concrete into a cell. The inmate screamed and ran as Shadow pinned down the Gizoid in a vice grip that Emerl tried to struggle out, but Shadow managed to keep him pinned for a moment to collect his thoughts until he felt a grip on his arm and was tossed away. He flipped to his feet only to see… another Emerl with a blue aura surrounding it. He looked between the two Emerls as they began to circle him like sharks until both stopped and both rushed at him.
"Shit…" Shadow thought as he began defending against the two Emerl and falling spectacularly as both overwhelmed him. One Emerl was enough but two was way more than he could chew. It only took a few seconds for him to have blood in his mouth as he wiped it away.
"That's all you got." Shadow asked as he spit out more blood. As he did, he analyzed the two. He knew that the one glowing like a light stick was a clone full of Chaos Energy constructed into a physical form. What interested him more was the blue light illuminating Emerl's chest that only he could see. It was like staring into the heart of a Star full of power and life.
Chaos energy pulsed out of it like a fountain that illuminated the area. Then two more clones appeared and started circling him like a pack of wolves. But Shadow kept his eyes on the real one even as they took turns beating him, but he was just waiting for a moment needed to wait until he got it.
"That's a-all you got?" Emerl asked as he took a turn but then Shadow disappeared. Emerl immediately turned, throwing a punch that Shadow caught, then hit a well-placed palm strike straight into Emerl's chest as an emerald came out of his chest.
Emerl crashed into a wall while Shadow grabbed the emerald. Seconds later all the Gizoid clones went away, fading away their Chaos energy returned to the Emerald. The emerald was magnificent, an ocean blue palm-sized and brilliant-cut gemstones. Emerl got up as its chest sealed up from a massive dent when Shadow had hit him. Shadow turned as he clenched the emerald, and it slowly lost its form, turning into a glowing pile of gravel and eventually disappeared into his body. Emerl rushed back in, and Shadow muttered two words. Two words with such confidence that would change his world… for the better or for worse.
"Chaos Control."
For the world it was only an attosecond but for Shadow it was five minutes of laying into Emerl until time resumed sending Emerl to the ground as its metal dented and circuits popping off it as it slowly got up shaking its head. Slowly Emerl metal repaired itself while circuits spasmed from its eyes and slowly fade away. Emerl looked up only for Shadow to step on his head forcing it back to the ground.
"That felt… great." Shadow told Emerl a blissful smile on his face as his body sparked. He then stomped on Emerl's head causing its metallic face to be dug deeper into the concrete. Shadow lifted his foot and got off Emerl grabbing the recovering robot by the neck holding it up.
"You know… I might not have my memories back… and I might never get them but thanks…" Shadow said as his other hand sparked as his eyes glowed an electric amber. "Thanks for bringing back some muscle memory." Shadow finished as he slammed a punch into Emerl sending it flying into another wall. Shadow sighed in content as he stretched his limbs again, this time feeling better than he ever had since he woke up as a fully recovered Emerl walked through the wall he was sent through shaking its head.
They circled one another once again now that things were back to being fair one on one. Then both stop just staring for a second before Shadow begins to speak. "Alrighty then you tin head lets finish this up shall we." Shadow told Emerl as they both stood there before both rushed back in ready to finish this fight.