Battle Heroes X Vetera: S01E04

The Boogeyman is the fourth episode of the Battle Heroes X Vetera series. The plot involves the heroes facing off against a new threat with a strange connection to the void.

The heroes encounter a new foe with a deadly connection to the void.

## The Episode

It was a lazy day for our heroes. Julius, Zack, and Popple were sitting on the couch at the boys' house. They seemed to be waiting for something.

"So, what did Cloud want us all here for?" Popple asked curiously.

"I'm just as in the dark as you are, Popple," Julius replied. "This is Cloud we're talking about, it could be anything."

Finally, Cloud entered the room carrying a handful of papers, tape, a notepad, and a poster. "Glad you could make it, guys! Welcome to my presentation."

"Cloud, school starts tomorrow. Can't we do this then?" Zack questioned.

"Don't sweat, Zack. This is gonna be a presentation you'll like! Let's get started."

He began to pace the room as he talked. “As you all know, today is the last day of the summer. Tomorrow marks the beginning of our junior year. Now I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I think that this year could be the best year of our high school careers. I think...that we should become one of the popular kids.”

Julius, Zack, and Popple were taken aback. “Us? Become one of the popular kids?” Julius asked.

“Yeah, man. Think about it! This is the first year where we don’t have to deal with any world-destroying evils! Y’know, outside of the void, but the scientists are dealing with that one! We have more time on our hands, which we can use to become cool! What do you guys think?”

The others pondered this. “Cloud, you don’t just choose to become one of the popular kids," Popple explained. "It takes time. You gotta know the right people and kiss up them for even a fraction of a chance to be popular. We’d have to work our way up for years!”

Cloud reached for the coffee table and grabbed his notepad. “Not exactly.” He opened it up and flipped to a page, then displayed it to the others. It resembled a picture of a pyramid with labels on each layer. “I took the liberty of creating a visual chart of our school’s social hierarchy.”

“Popple, did you hit Cloud with a dictionary yesterday?” Zack said.

“At the top of the pyramid are the rich kids and the jocks. The rich kids are rich and the jocks are good at sports. Right below them are the brains. Those are the smart kids. After that, you’ve got the stoners. They’re always on drugs. And under the stoners is us.”

“Who’s below us?”

“The goths and emos, then at the bottom are the weirdos.” Cloud shuddered. “Anyway, according to the chart, we're not low enough for a tier shift to be impossible. We have a couple of advantages going for us. For one, we’re attractive and good-looking."

“Damn straight,” Zack agreed.

“Two, we haven’t really done anything to make our presence known, good or bad. We’re unknowns, but we can become knowns if we play our cards right.”

“What happens if we become one of the popular kids?” Julius queried.

“We’ll be part of the most exclusive clique in the school! Plus we’ll get invited to all the parties and stuff! Just think of all the pros!” He pointed at Popple. "If we were popular, you could get more girl friends!"

He pointed at Zack next. "When we're popular, the whole school will treat you like a king!"

Cloud pointed at Julius. "Haven't you ever wanted to be well-known? When we're popular, people will yell at you in the streets because they adore you, and not because you burnt dinner again!”

Julius stood up. “For the fifth time, it was supposed to look like that!”

“THE PASTA WAS CHARRED BLACK AND SMELLED LIKE A BURNING HOUSE!”

Julius scratched the back of his head nervously and looked away.

Popple shook her head. “Cloud, why would we want to change the way we are just to appease 1% of the people at school?”

Julius nodded. “Who cares about how people see us? As long as we’re okay with ourselves, I don’t think anything else matters.”

Cloud threw his hands up. " Alright, I think I get it now. You guys don't want to trade your morals and values for clout, and I understand completely."

The other three teens looked at each other, confused at this un-Cloudlike statement.

"But if you're not gonna do it for yourselves, how about doing it for me? Please?" Cloud inhaled. "Pleaseeeee.....?"

"You may be on to something, Cloud. Being popular has its benefits." Zack said. "Nobody'll give me crap. Plus, I can get away with more things."

Popple mulled it over. "Well...It would be nice to have some more girl friends. I'm always hanging out with you three, no offense."

"What you said really hit me, Cloud," Julius said.

"So you're not gonna burn dinner again?" Zack inquired innocently.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean, that's not the point!" Julius stammered. "To be honest, I've always wanted to be that one guy from high school you never forget about. Years later, people would be saying 'Hey, remember Julius Vladmire? That guy was crazy!'"

Cloud perked up. "So, you guys are in?"

"For sure," Zack confirmed.

Cloud fist pumped. "Hell yeah! We got a lot of planning to do, so let's get to the next part of the presentation!" He picked up the poster and taped it to the wall. On it were the faces of five people. "These are the five most popular kids in school. Ronnie Jacobs, Martin Rolofski, Steven Madden, Rick Jackson, and Chris Castle. Under any other circumstances, we would have absolutely zero chance of becoming popular, but the stars are aligned this year. Martin changed schools, Steven got expelled, Rick caught mono, and Chris...we don't talk about Chris."

Zack perked up. "What happened to him?"

"Bad haircut. He came to school with a..." Cloud grimaced. "A bowl cut. It was awful. Ruined his career instantly. Bad for him, but great for us! Since they're all gone in one way or another, we have the perfect opportunity to claim their spots. Ronnie's our ticket in. We'll buy some new clothes, learn the cool kid lingo, and the rest will be history! Any questions?"

"I got one," Popple said. "How did you get all this information?"

Cloud looked away. "It doesn't matter who I may or may not have had to spy on, we have the info, let's move on! Now follow me. We got to get to the mall for some research!"

All of a sudden, the teens felt something buzz in their pockets. They took out their morphers and answered the call.

A frantic voice began to speak. "Rangers, we have a problem here! The M.Tea is under attack! We don't know what it is, but it's--it's coming this way! Run!" There was a scream, then the call went dead.

"Looks like our trip to the mall is gonna have to wait," Zack stated.

"Yeah. Let's get to that teashop!" Julius said. The heroes left the house and moved as fast as they could towards the M.Tea.

The shop was covered in yellow tape when the heroes arrived on the scene. It was from the day after they took down Bane's operation. As of then, the M.Tea was close indefinitely and SPD set up shop in the underground facility to continue research. Walking around to the back of the shop, the heroes unlocked the back door and entered.

"Woah..." Cloud said when he got inside. "Yup. Someone was here, and they left a mess!"

The inside of the shop had been completely ransacked. Tables were overturned, chairs flung against the wall. As they walked past the counter and entered the back, they began to hear the loud blaring of an alarm. They doubled their pace and rushed down the stairs by two. As they got closer and closer, the sounds of the alarm were complimented with the sound of yelling. Finally, they were in the lab, the source of all the noise. The lab was alternating between the normal light and a red light. Things were in total disarray, the floor littered with bodies.

"Alright, let's spread out and try to help everyone up! Hopefully we'll get some answers!" Julius commanded.

Cloud ran to the nearest scientist, who was struggling to get up. He offered his hand and got him up.

"What's going on here?!" Cloud asked the scientist.

The scientist groaned. "It was...I don't know...they came through the ceiling and attacked us!"

"They?"

The scientist pointed to the front of the lab, where the canister of void were. "After it attacked us, it started moving over there!"

"Got it. Don't you sweat a thing, whatever attacked you is going down. Downtown pound town!"

"Wait! There's one more thing! The monster...it--" Cloud started running to the front of the lab. Around him, the others were helping the scientists up and guiding them towards the exit back up the stairs.

"Alright, whoever is doing this, come on out and I promise I won't beat you up too much!" Cloud announced once he arrived at the canister.

"Who're you yelling at?" Popple asked, walking over. Zack and Julius soon joined her.

"The guy who broke in here! A scientist said they were at the canister," Cloud explained. Popple looked at the canister.

She put a hand on the container. "Looks like intruder didn't get to it yet."

Zack nodded. "We came just in time. Too late to catch our perp, but early enough to stop them from knocking the scientists around too much."

Behind the heroes, footsteps could be heard. They turned around and were met face to face with a ghastly figure. Blank eyes without pupils or irises looked back at them. Their mouth was covered by a black mask. Purple veins were visibly pulsating on their face and cracks in the skin revealed purple underneath. Hair like grey dead grass grew from their head in the shape of a mohawk. They wore a damaged and baggy all black jumpsuit. With a gray finger, they pointed at the canister.

"...Mine..." It uttered in a gravelly tone.

"Doesn't look like it belongs to you," Zack said, on guard.

The intruder took a step forward and the heroes stepped to them as well, armoring up.

"One more step and you're history," Cloud threatened. They all stood in a stalemate, watching each other like hawks.

Cloud realized something. "Hey, guys! Know what I just remembered? We never figured out who won that bet last time!"

"Yeah, we didn't..." Julius responded, recalling the events of that day.

"So what, whoever takes this guy down wins?" Zack asked.

"Bingo. And it looks like it's gonna be ME!" Cloud shouted before advancing on the intruder. Seeing him rush up, the others also advanced.

The intruder was prepared, however. When Cloud threw a straight punch, they sidestepped the attack and grabbed his forearm, yanking him forward and out of the way. Moving past Cloud, the intruder sprinted towards the wall on the right side of the lab. Zack and Julius gave chase. Once they got close enough, the intruder leapt to the wall and back-flipped over the two of them, continuing to run straight at the canister. Only Popple stood in the way. She threw a right hook and caught the intruder in the face, sending them falling over on the ground. The others caught up with her and stood over the downed intruder.

"Wait, what?! It was that easy?!" Cloud asked, slightly annoyed.

Popple pumped her fist. "Yup! Looks like you three owe me lunch! I think I want some--"

The intruder rolled on their side away from the heroes and got up. They cracked their neck to both sides.

"Hell yeah!" Cloud celebrated when he saw the intruder recover. "I-I mean oh no, we have to fight him again you guys...Nah, I'm glad he got up. Looks like there's still a chance for me to score some tacos!"

"...Mine..." The intruder said again in the same gravelly voice.

"For the last time, it's not yours!"

The intruder pointed at the canister...which was now directly behind them. The heroes were now the ones facing the canister.

Julius groaned. "I think we just got played..."

The intruder raised a fist and struck the canister. The void gas in the canister leaked out and instead of filling the lab, it was being absorbed by the intruder. They body began to transform. Muscle mass developed and the jumpsuit that originally seemed baggy was now fitting like a glove. The transformation ended when there was no more void left to absorb. By the end, the figure now stood a couple more feet above everyone else.

"Did you guys see that?! He straight up sucked all of it in!" Cloud exclaimed.

The intruder examined their upgraded body, flexing their muscles.

Zack opened up his weapons database. "I think we're gonna need more than just our fists to take this one down!" Slowly, a grin crept on his face. "Guys, check your databases. I think our new weapons are ready."

The others opened their databases and saw that indeed, their new weapons had been created.

Cloud rejoiced. "It's a done deal. I'm winning this thing!" He opened his palm and raised his hand up. In a flash of blue light, a tomahawk appeared in his outstretched hand.

"All I know is that you're never going to clown me again, because *I'm* winning this bet!" Julius declared, A whip appearing in his hand.

"I beat them once, I'll beat them again!" Popple said, summoning a bostaff and twirling it in the air.

Zack looked at the others with their weapons and held his hands out. A green sword scabbard materialized in his hands. He unsheathed the sword, revealing his new katana. He laughed. "You four know too well what's about to happen."

The intruder crackled their knuckles and got into a fighting stance.

"Round two..." Cloud said, also getting into a stance with his tomahawk. "Fight!"

The intruder took to the offense first this time. With newly found speed, they leapt sky high into the air and threatened to crush the heroes if they didn't move. Julius and Cloud jumped back to one side while Zack and Popple moved to the other. As soon as he landed, Zack swung his katana and successfully hit the intruder. A gash opened up in their arm. Seemingly unfazed, they swung their other arm and caught Zack in the chest, knocking him away. Popple avoided the flying Zack and stepped forward, swinging her bostaff in a forward strike. The hit was blocked by the intruder's forearm. Twirling it in the air, she transitioned into an overhead strike, which was again blocked. This time, the intruder pushed back and Popple recoiled from the force. Behind them, Cloud and Julius joined the melee. The former sprinted at the intruder's behind and swept his tomahawk low, cutting their calf. Julius swung his whip and struck the back of the intruder's knee, causing them to fall on it. Popple gripped her staff like a bat and hit them in the head. Julius raised his whip hand and brought it back down to strike the intruder. They turned around and caught the end of the whip in mid-air. The intruder yanked Julius towards them. The other arm grabbed Popple and swung her behind them. The two collided and crumbled on the ground. The intruder got up, stretching once more. The open wounds on their arm and leg slowly mended themselves.

Zack recovered and strolled towards them. "So you can heal yourself, huh? Great, looks like I don't have to hold back."

Zack accelerated his pace and got to work. he slashed upwards, catching the intruder in their chest. He followed up with a diagonal slash downwards and one aimed at their stomach. The intruder took the entire attack and staggered back, their body covered in slashes and wounds. Zack could see purple inside of the gashes, but nothing spilled out. Like the others, the wounds mended themselves and soon it was as if they never existed. The intruder cocked their head sideways.

Zack was flabbergasted. "What? You took that, too?!" He lowered his weapon and thrusted forward, piercing the intruder. He had his blade stabbed deep into the intruder's stomach. The intruder looked down for a moment before reaching, as quick as a snake, for Zack's throat and lifting him up. Zack's feet were now dangling in the air. The hold wasn't strong enough for him to be suffocating, but it was hard enough for him to grunt in pain. Raising Zack high over their head, they slammed the ranger on the ground. They stood up and turned to face Cloud. He raised his tomahawk and pointed at the intruder.

"Lights out, bud!" Cloud said triumphantly, throwing his tomahawk at the intruder. He put his entire body into the throw. The tomahawk travelled in a wonky arc and landed on the ground uselessly.

"Aw, come on! That was supposed to hit him!" Cloud complained. Summoning his blaster now, he fired shots, which hit the intruder in the chest. They barely recoiled from the shots and moved towards Cloud.

Julius' whip came down on the intruder's back twice and they flinched slightly. When they turned around, they were met with two side to side hits from Popple's staff. She twisted her grip on her staff and thrusted the circular end at their chin. The attack had the intruder stumbling back. Their skin began to glow pitch black. Zack managed to get up and reached for his sword, which was still in the intruder's chest. Taking the hilt, he pulled it out and aimed higher, stabbing the intruder where the heart was located. They swayed and fell to their knees, their head drooping. Zack breathed heavily, continuing to watch for any signs of movement.

Julius inched closer to the intruder. "Is it down for the count?"

After a few more seconds without movement, Zack withdrew his blade. The intruder's body fell on the ground face down. "It seems so. It can regenerate, but not from a heart wound.”

The others gathered around. "So, I think we know who's the winner now," Cloud said reluctantly.

Zack deactivated his helmet and laughed. "Yup, and you're looking at him! I'm in the mood for a T-bone steak! Maybe two, winning gives me a huge appetite."

Popple deactivated hers and huffed. "So we're just gonna ignore how I totally got robbed?"

"You know the rule, and so do I. I took him down, so I get the prize."

"But technically, I did it first, so where does that put you?"

"Uh, getting an all-expense paid meal at Roger's Steakhouse?'

Unbeknownst to the four, the intruder was getting up on their knees. The stab wound to the chest healed as fast as the others. The black glow had caused its skin to appear pitch black as well. Popple noticed first, activating her helmet. "It's up again!"

Zack's helmet reactivated as well and he raised his sword once more to slash at the intruder. In one motion, they got to their feet, crossed their arms in an x shape in front of their chest, and pushed them out to their sides. Black wind pulsed from its entire body and instantaneously expanded, knocking every hero far away. Julius and Popple tumbled through the air and landed in a heap on the ground. Zack and Cloud were knocked into the wall on the right side of the room. Getting back on its feet, the intruder ran towards the canister and hugged its bottom, pulling as hard as it could.

Zack leaned on the wall, grasping his side. Slowly but surely, cracks began to appear in the wall and the canister was broken off from the wall. The intruder held the canister, raising it up a little. It now touched the ceiling of the lab, scraping the lights and taking out a few. Turning around and bending its knees, the intruder lugged the canister as far as it could. The canister continued to scrape the ceiling and take out lights until the underground facility was almost cast into darkness. The canister kept going and was finally stopped by the lap equipment at the front of the room next to the stairs. Sparks relit the room and the ear-splitting sound of machines being crushed and damaged overwhelmed the air.

The intruder gazed upon the destruction it had caused. It turned and looked at Zack silently, then raised its right arm. Purple gas exhumed from it and surrounded its body. When the smoke faded, the intruder was gone.

Much later on, the four heroes sat in the presentation room where they had first seen Silas. The latter was sitting at the table with them, scribbling down notes on a notepad.

You were attacked by what?!" He said incredulously.

"It was this monster that was all skinny at first, but got buff when it absorbed the void!" Cloud answered.

"Yeah. They had super-strength, just like the shark!" Julius added.

Silas raised both eyebrows. "Wait, it absorbed the void? From the canister?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, but something was different. It did it voluntarily. And it wasn't a feeding frenzy like the shark. It had full control of its body. After it threw the canister, it disappeared without a trace. A few minutes later, reinforcements arrived to evacuate us and try to salvage data."

Silas rubbed his temple. "Wonderful. Not only have we possibly lost data on the void, but now we have that thing out there to deal with," He calmed down and looked at his friends. "Are you guys okay, at least?"

The other four teens nodded their heads. Zack rubbed his. "As good as can be. I have a huge headache, though. But I know just what to fix it with." He looked at Julius, Cloud and Popple. "Some steak!"

"Actually, since he wasn't defeat even after you stabbed him, we still don't have a winner yet," Cloud stated.

Zack rolled his eyes and grumbled. "Lame."

Popple laughed. "Ha! It's still anyone's game!"

"Well, I got the closest to taking him down. So I'm still the winner."

"In your dreams, Zack."

Silas continued to write down notes in his notepad and got up. "I gotta get back to running some tests. I'll catch you guys later, alright?"

"Yeah, see ya, man," Cloud said. Silas pocketed his pen and returned to the lab.

Cloud got up shortly after. "Let's get home. School's on tomorrow and we need to go over the secret handshakes."

The four teens got up as well and exited the room, walking home.