Battle Heroes X Vetera: S01E16

Another Story is the sixteenth episode of Battle Heroes X Vetera. The episode's plot is about Rufus and his team springing to action when a tech expo is attacked.

## The Episode

Burnell was seated in a confrence room, unamused. Sitting next to him were two other businessmen. This year had been awful, and things were going to get a whole lot worse.

"Richard! So glad to see you!"

The CEO looked up and saw a red-headed man with a full beard and dark blue suit escorted into the room by an employee. He was followed by a quartet of equally as well dressed men. Swallowing his emotions, Burnell got up and greeted the men.

"Gentlemen, welcome to Revolutech headquarters," He began, forcing a smile.

The redhead took off his sunglasses and looked around the interior. "...Not for long, it is! I could do some work with all that marble out there."

Despite his best efforts, Burnell was struggling against the urge to begin strangling this man. "Let's get right into it."

"How about a quick refresher, for my benefit?" The bearded man interrupted, grinning from ear to ear.

Burnell begrudgingly sighed and turned to one of his men, who began to talk. "As we all know, Revolutech has been at the forefront of developing solutions for clean energy. However, the company has fallen on hard times."

"Pfft, hard times? You flopped, simple as! And now you need Borden Pyrotechnics to pick up the pieces!"

It was true. Revolutech had put everything it had behind Michael Mortem's expedition. It had cost a fortune to construct the space ship, the mining assistants, supplies, equipment, everything. And what did he do with this opportunity? Get himself killed and his ship stolen by this Bane character. "That's the situation, in a manner of speaking," Burnell agreed, still fighting his primal urges.

Borden took notice of Burnell's struggle and smiled. "Always love getting bankrupt companies on a fire sale!" He turned to one of his people, who reached into his suit and pulled out an envelope. The man handed it to Borden, who slid it across the table Burnell picked it up and opened it, reading it's cotents. His eyes narrowed.

"This isn't what we agreed on," He hissed.

"When you do the math, I think I'm on track. Also helps to know that you're desparate. You have to bring something to the shareholders, and fast."

Burnell handed the envelope to one of his associates, who grimaced. "Yes, this is certainly less than expected for a company of this caliber."

Borden kicked his feet up on the table. "Take it or leave it, Burny. I'm sure someone else will make an offer on this wreck!"

Burnell leaned in with his people so they could quietly converse. "There's no way I'm taking this. It's an insult!"

"No one else has wanted to touch the company," The second man pointed out. "Everything we had, including public interest, was in our work with sustainable energy. We don't have that anymore. I think it's time that you cut your losses and come out with something."

Burnell mulled over the words before giving his answer. "...Fine. We have a deal. Revolutech will be sold for the amount specified in that envelope."

Borden and his people got up. He extended his hand out towards Burnell. "You did your best, pal. Even if it did lead to the collapse of your company."

Burnell kept it classy and shook the hand. "Pleasure doing business with you." He wanted nothing more than to see that man broken and peniless.

...

"Alright, everyone! Here's your food!"

Inside a busy chinese restaurant, a waiter made his way to their table with a platter holding four plates of food. He put one dish down in front of a young man with gray hair and a fade. "Here's your white rice and shrimp!"

"Thank you," He replied, looking over his food intently.

The waiter placed two more dishes on the table infront of two girls. "Here are your beef and chicken broccolis!"

"Yummy yummy!" One of the girls rejoiced.

"Wow, look at the presentation! I have to get a picture of this!" The other girl said, digging into her pocket for her phone.

Finally, the waiter took the biggest plate and put it in front of a man with a mane of blonde hair. "And here's your shrimp fried rice with a side of pork dumplings!"

"Saved the best for last, I see!"

The waiter departed and the group dug into their meals. The blonde man looked up and saw his friend still taking photos. "Marge, you better start eating before I eat it for you!"

Marge rolled her eyes. "Has anyone ever told you how much of a glutton you are, Eddie?"

"What can I say, I'm on a seafood diet! I see food, I eat it!"

As Marge shook her head at his joke, Roger looked around. "How're you guys enjoying your food?"

"It's pretty good! Chicken's just the right amount of salty and spicy!" Tina commented.

Eddie gave a chef's kiss. "Perfect! I don't know what they put in this stuff, but it's got me wrapped around its finger!"

"That would be monosodium glutamate, or MSG," Roger answered. "It's a food additive that is used to enhance flavor. However, it is unhealthy and even toxic in large amounts."

Everyone looked at Roger, speechless. Tina gulped. "Thanks for the lesson, Roger."

Eddie quickly got back to eating. "So what if it's unhealthy? We'll work it off when we're in the field!"

"Speaking of work..." Marge began. "What's the deal with Rufus? Is he gonna show up tonight?"

Roger chewed and swallowed a bite of rice. "I have my doubts. He's always been reclusive, and for good reason."

"But things have changed around here!" Tina argued. People are a lot more welcoming now! One of these days, we're gonna have to drag him out of that place."

"That guy is nothing but muscle. Trying to move him anywhere would be my workout for the day," Eddie commented.

The team continued to eat for a while longer before Eddie felt a familiar buzzing in his pocket. He reached in and brought out his morpher, answering it.

"Hwllo?" He asked with a mouthful of food.

"Rufus here," His leader said. "Are you home right now?"

"Rufus! I'm hanging out with the team at White Dragon! Gonna swing by for a bite to eat?"

A pause. "Can't, we have a mission. Commander called, I need everyone to come over ASAP."

"How about after the mission? There are some food stands that are open late!"

"We'll see. Rufus out," The call ended. Eddie got up, looking at his food longingly.

"We gotta bounce, we have a mission on our hands."

As Roger waved over the waiter, Marge looked at Eddie. "What did he say about going out later?"

He shrugged. "I got a 'we'll see'. So no dice. Fingers crossed this mission works up an appetite in him."

...

Thomas Borden sat in his office, watching a flat screen TV on the wall. A news broadcast was going on.

"I'm standing here at the Candor City Expo Center, where tech companies from around the world are gathering for the annual Science and Technology Development Showcase! They have come to present their products and put them in the public eye! Many major institutes are set to appear, including Revolutech!"

Upon hearing the name, Borden picked up his remote and threw it at the wall. It left a dent in it. That name. He hated it and everything it stood for. Thanks to that company, Borden Pyrotechnics and its prospects were dashed. It was the night before the papers were supposed to be signed. He was lounging in front of the tv in his high rise condo when someone burst through his $10,000 windows. Before he could even react, it was on him. Dark grey skin, even darker clothes. It grabbed his legs and dragged him to the condo's balcony, where he was dangled over the edge.

"Tomorrow, you'll be signing the document that will make you wildly rich. I want you to pull out of the deal."

"W-why?!" Borden yelled over the air whipping around him.

"Because I'm bigger than you, I'm stronger than you, and if you don't, you'll be begging for me to drop you off this building," The monster had threatened, lifting him back up and dropping him unceremoniously on the floor of the balcony. "I'll be watching you."

And with that, the menace jumped over the railing, gone just as quick as he was there. No one had ever made him feel so weak. So little. But what could he do? There wasn't any way out of it, so he was forced to comply. And just like that, the first domino fell. Borden Pyrotechnics was relying on Revolutech's propellant system research and without that, it was his turn to be left helpless. But Borden was going to have to last laugh.

A computer on Borden's desk lit up. He was recieving a video call. He answered the call and a window opened up displaying an alien in sleek purple armor. yellow lights flowed around its body. He appeared to be in the cockpit of an aircraft not of Earth design.

"We're getting into position. My team's set to drop in when your Revolutech friends get on stage."

"Perfect. Remember, I want total chaos down there. Blow things up, blast them, make sure this is an absolute failure for them."

"Long as you have our payment ready, we'll make the place look like the aftermath of a nuclear warhead."

"Don't let me down, and it's all yours," Borden promised before hanging up and continuing to watch the news unfold on his TV.

...

Eddie and the team stood at the door to Rufus' apartment. Roger knocked on the door and a few seconds later, it unlocked. The team walked into the apartment. There was a couch and TV near the door, along with dumbells and a jump rope lying on the floor.

"Rufus, we're hoooome!" Eddie announced.

"Is the door closed?" A voice replied from a door on the right.

"It's closed. You can come out," Tina answered.

The door opened and Rufus stepped out. He was wearing a black tank top and shorts, exposing his muscles. The red ranger's skin was a dark green and his head resembled that of a toad. His eyes were mostly yellow with black irises. "Good timing, I was about to call the commander back."

Eddie whistled innocently. "Speaking of timing, were you running late to White Dragon?"

Rufus was dialing a number into his morpher. "After the mission, alright?" He put it down on the table and the voice of Commander Roy filled the room.

"Good evening, rangers. I need you five for an assignment tonight. It has to do with the void you encountered on the train a few weeks ago."

The team looked amongst each other, the memory clear in their minds. Rufus shook off the haze first. "What's the assignment, sir?"

"The company that has been marketing it as clean energy is attending the Candor City technology showcase. I need you to keep an eye on the event. I don't know if Revolutech has any viral marketing in mind, but I'd rather not wait and find out."

"Understood, sir. We'll set up overwatch on the rooftops and a ground team to scope out the crowd," Rufus put together. "Rufus out."

The call ended and Rufus turned to walk back into the room he came out of. "You know the drill. I'll meet you at the expo center."

"We could all just go together, you know," Tina offered. But Rufus was already through the door, closing it behind him.

...

The Candor City Expo Center was a massive dome shaped stadium. There was a hole at the top of the dome, exposing the inside to the night. People had gathered from far and wide to get admission into the center, and the packed stadium showed it. On the center stage, a man in a business suit was presenting his company.

"Prometheus is the future and tonight, I'm going to show its power!" He declared, spreading his arms wide as two groups of scientists wheeled both a large strobe light machine and a massive see-through vat of a purple misty energy. Eddie and Roger were taking their seats as the presentation went on.

"How's it feel being here with all this tech flying around?" Eddie asked his teammate.

"How would you feel if you were at an all you can eat buffet?" Roger compared.

A doopy grin formed on Eddie's face. "That good, huh?"

Eddie's morpher rang and he answered it. Rufus began talking. "Eddie, Roger, are you in position? How's it look down there?"

"Good so far. You?"

On the roof of a building near the Expo Center, Rufus surveyed the area. He gave the horizon a scan with his binoculars before answering. "Sky's clear. Marge and Tina said that the streets are clear as well."

"Who knows, maybe we'll have ourselves a normal night," Eddie said hopefully. "With enough time to grab a midnight snack! Huh, Rufus?"

"Mm...I have some extra work to go over at home."

"You said that last week!"

"Actually, last week was house cleaning," Roger pointed out.

"We'll talk about this when..."

"Everything alright up there?" Roger checked.

Outside the dome, Rufus was looking up at the sky as an aircraft zooomed by. It had the body of a helicopter, with four boosters attached to the sides that stabilized its flight. "Unidentified flying object is approaching the Expo Center."

Eddie and Roger looked up at the open hole and saw the aircraft as well. As it lowered into the stadium, the crowd looked on, half confused and half excited. "Hey, maybe it's part of the showcase!" Eddie suggested optimistically.

His question was answered when the bottom of the aircraft opened, an object shaped like a laser cannon dropping down attached to the ship. It buzzed to life and fired a blue laser beam, blasting the ground under it. The crowd was now in a frenzy, screaming and running away to get out of the Expo Center.

"...Or not," Eddie regarded regretfully. The laser beam began to rotate, blasting in a bigger and bigger radius.

Roger took his morpher and morphered into the Blue Ranger. "Eddie, we need to neutralize that laser!" He summoned his sniper rifle and a large red bullet. "Aim for the metal rod connecting the cannon to the ship!

Eddie morphed as well, summoning a blaster with a long barrel. He looked through the scope and fired, sending a bolt of green energy at the rod. By itself, it made a glowing green dent in the rod, but coupled with Roger firing his own explosive shot, the rod melted and severed the cannon from the ship. The laser beam was cut short as it was about to cut through the main stage. Eddie and Roger jumped from row to row of seats until they were on the stadium floor. Above them, the aircraft lowered to the ground, its hatch opening up.

Rufus entered the expo center through the dugout. Behind him were Marge and Tina. "Is everything alright? Give me a sit-rep."

Eddie spun his gun on his finger before dismissing it. "The airship started firing its laser, then Roger and I shot it off."

The aircraft's landing pad dropped to the ground and four figures stepped out. They all wore purple armor with glowing yellow stripes running along it. One of them stepped forward, the top of his helmet having two holes to make room for horns.

"Wonderful. He never mentioned anything about SPD appearing," He said.

Tina pointed at them. "Whoever 'he' is, hope he's paying your bail, because you're under arrest!"

Another one of the invaders stepped next to her colleague. "We messed up the joint, job's done. Let's get out of here."

"You heard the client. He asked for an absolute failure. Which means getting that purple stuff and setting it ablaze," The leader countered, jerking his head behind him, where Revolutech's scientists were still struggling to remove the vats and evacuate. Burnell was nowhere to be found. "Besides, it's the perfect opportunity to add another notch on my belt."

The third figure, who was at least nine feet tall and built like a brick wall, cracked his knuckles giddily. He spoke in a garbled language to the others.

The final one loudly huffed. He was skinnier than the rest, his armor having triangle shaped attachments running along his arms. "Let's make this quick. I have money to spend."

The invaders summoned their weapons. An elongated metal blade emerged from the leader's arm. The second one stomped her feet, metallic braces forming around her legs. The big one summoned a massive rocket launcher and the fourth one simply stretched.

The leader turned to the big one and spoke in an alien language. He turned around and trudged in the direction of the scientists.

"I got him!" Rufus volunteered, summoning his gauntlets and running after the giant. However, the female mercenary ran into his path and caught him with a kick to the face. The leader locked on Tina and got on all fours, leaping at the yellow ranger like a wild animal. He landed in front of her and swung his arm, Tina summoning her sword and blocking. Marge summoned her own sword and ran at the last mercenary, who offered no resistance. She raised her sword and slashed down diagonally, slicing him. To her surprise though, his body fizzled like a hologram. Before she could express her shock, another mercenary emerged from behind the fizzling one and hit her with a flying kick to the chest. Marge fell down and watched her opponent. The new fighter looked exactly like the first one.

She stabbed her sword into the ground and used it to help herself up. "Don't tell me, twins?"

Two more stepped out from behind him. All three pulled swords out from scabbards and sauntered towards here. "Something like that."

The biggest mercenary had his targets in his sights. He raised his rocket and prepared to fire. Before he pulled the trigger, a barrage of shots aimed at his back forced him to turn around. Eddie was charging head on with two blasters.

"One gun man to another, that's a sick launcher!" He called out, continuing to fire on him. His opponent raised his launcher to block the shots. When Eddie got close enough, he slammed it like a hammer to squash him. Eddie pivoted on his left foot to the left and kept on firing on him. The shots seemed to only annoy him. Sweeping his launcher to the right, he batted Eddie, who was sent tumbling away. He quickly rose to his feet, tossing the blasters away and summoning two bulkier ones.

"Time for a little more kick..."

Tina and the mercenary leader were dodging and block each other's attacks. Her downward chop was intercepted by his arm blade and pushed away to try to put her off balance. She kept steady and came back with another chop, which was avoided and countered with an overhead attack of his own. Tina raised her blade hoizontally and locked blades with him. As she got the upper hand, she noticed that the mercenary was pulling his left hand back. A second arm blade protruded from his arm and Tina jumped back in time to avoid being cut through the midsection. The leader ran his two arm blades across each other menaceingly before running back at his opponent.

Rufus was struggling with the lady mercenary. Her leg braces seemed to amplify the strength and speed of her kicks, making it impossible to get in punching range. He stepped forward, ready to swing a right hook, but was forced to block a kick from her left leg. She hopped off her free leg and landed a kick on the side of his head. He staggered back, shaking off the hit as she taunted him with a few kick aimed at the air. Rufus cracked his neck and crouched, jumping into the air with supernatural strength and landing behind her. Throwing a left jab, he was surprised when she raised her leg up and blocked the punch. She then planted her foot on his chest and kicked him in the chest, sending the red ranger skidding backwards. Rufus put a hand to his chest, recovering too late as the mercenary took a large step forward and jumped at him. She landed on his shoulder with her left leg, then backflip kicked him with her right. Rufus felt his feet come off the ground as he got hit. As he looked to the sky, he heard his opponent speaking.

"You have an oddly shaped head for a human," She pointed out, laughing.

When he got up, Rufus found his vision shattered. The kick had damaged his helmet. He dismissed it, revealing his non-human face to her. She laughed even more.

"A Bufonian? You people are detestable, such an ugly sight," She jeered, leaping towards him again.

While Eddie was fighting the giant, Roger took the opportunity to reach the scientists and assist them in moving their equipment into the backstage and the exit. A large truck was waiting for them, other employees swooping in to lift the vat into the back.

"T-thank you, sir!" One of the scientists expressed.

"Not a problem. I would love to pick your brains regarding this fascniating power sour--"

"We have to move, pronto!" One of the lifters fiercely exclaimed. Roger hastily nodded an apology and ran back into the fray. The giant was firing what appeared to be massive grenades at Eddie, who was running and gunning. He slid across the floor, a grenade detonating behind him. Roger summoned his sniper, loading in another red bullet and aiming. He fired and watched the explosive round go off on his chest. To his shock, the explosion didn't seem to affect him at all, although there was now a hole in his chestplate. Letting out a gargled laugh, He aimed his launcher at Roger. From behind, Eddie sprinted as fast as he could and slid under him between his legs. Aiming upwards, his blasters glowed and let off two heavy rounds directly into the hole Roger made. The mercenary roared in pain and toppled to the ground. Eddie had to run to avoid being squashed. Looking to Roger, he gave a thumbs up.

Marge felt like she was in an endless game of whack-a-mole. No matter how many of the mercenaries she cut down, two more took his place. Four of them surrounded her, taking turns attacking her. Marge felt herself tiring out as she blocked one horizontal slash then shifted to block another.

"We got you, Marge!" Eddie shouted. One by one, the mercenaries surrounding her were shot down by her two teammates. She took the chance to catch her breath.

"Roger...it's like a clown car full of bad guys! Please tell me you've got a solution for this in that big brain of yours!"

Roger examined the fizzling out mercenaries. "They appear to be holographs made of hard light. Hmm, If I were to harness this technology, I would be far away from the action, sending my decoys to tire out the enemy."

Marge looked up at the ship, another group of five mercenaries stepping out. "Cover me, I'm going in!"

Eddie and Roger provided covering fire as Marge ran in through the landing pad. After a pause, Eddie and Roger heard a high pitched scream and blows being landed. Eventually, Marge emerged, dragging an unarmored alien behind her by the leg. He had light blue skin and three eyes.

"That felt really good," Marge commented, dropping the leg and taking a deep breath. "Thanks, Roger."

He gulped. "No problem."

Tina swayed and avoided her opponent's attacks gracefully. The addition of the second blade made him deadlier, but also slower. She watched as he swung his right arm to his left, then stepped forward and grabbed his right arm, hold it in front of his chest. The blade on his right arm blocked his left from moving and Tina flipped her grip on her sword, plunging it downward into the mercenary's foot. He shouted in pain and Tina cut him off with a gut punch, then pulled her sword out to slice him in the thigh. He fell down, clutching his injured leg and still crying in pain. However, an even louder scream made her turn around.

Rufus was blocking kick after kick, each one trying to get him in the head. The backflip kick had already made him sluggish. The mercenary feinted with her right knee up to get Rufus to block. When he saw no attack come in, he caught a kick to the side of the face, spinning him around and putting on one knee.

"You went down easily. Just like the rest of your kind," She cackled, rearing her left leg back for a finishing blow.

Rufus narrowed his eyes, his caution being replaced with rage. The kick came flying in at breakneck speed, but Rufus got up a little, taking the blow in the side instead of his head. He then wrapped his right arm around her leg, preventing it from moving. With all the strength he could muster, he rose to his feet, lifting her up by her leg and slamming her on the ground. Pulling his left arm back, Rufus released his own breakneck blow and landed a direct hit on the side of her knee. He could hear the bone crack and shatter as she screamed in agony. He let go of the now useless leg and stood over his fallen opponent. He breathed in and out deeply, still seeing red.

"You alright, Rufus?"

He snapped out of his angry trance and looked up, Tina running towards him. She looked at his foe, then quickly back to him.

He flexed his shoulder. "I'm fine."

Soon, Eddie, Roger and Marge joined the two. Eddie threw his hands up. "Why didn't anyone tell me it was 'who can make their bad guy scream the loudest' day? Because I think Rufus won."

The red ranger dismissed his gauntlets and put a hand to his head, immediately recoiling in pain. "Could someone call this in? My head's killing me."

As Roger summoned his morpher, a spotlight in the sky lit up. Rufus shielded his eyes and when they adjusted to the light, looked up to see a news chopper overhead.

"Looks like we'll be on the news again," Roger pointed out.

"For a good reason this time, at least!" Marge offered, waving to the camera and blowing a kiss.

Rufus grimaced at the helicopter. "I'll be backstage if you need me." Rufus briskly turned and jogged towards the stage.

"Come on, enjoy the limelight!" Eddie offered. But Rufus kept moving, wanting to avoid any more exposure.