“Well, that’s the thing, sir, I was hoping to use the field test to our advantage,” Matt said.
“Explain,” the general asked.
“Cassandra seems to be operating under some kind of delusion that if she bests Jennifer in a fight, she will automatically replace her and inherit her status, her fame, and everything that goes along with that,” Matt said.
“If it were that easy, I might have just given it to her had she asked nicely,” Jennifer said.
“She’s not really out to attack the town, just Jennifer. That’s why she hit the theater yesterday, everybody knew we were going to be there,” Matt continued. “I’m sure she expected that would be all she needed. But then last night she showed she was capable of attacking us in our homes. She kidnaped me to draw Jennifer out. Next time she might do worse. Both of our families, and Theresa and hers, could be at risk. We have to take control of the situation back. So we announce that instead of just Panther and me tomorrow, Cheer Raider will be with us to oversee the test. Cassandra will have to take the bait of another public appearance. She and Jennifer will fight, I make sure Cassandra doesn’t escape afterwards, and the test run continues unabated.”
“I don’t like it,” the general said. “But you’re right, there’s not going to be a better excuse than this to stage your little showdown. I’ll have the word put out about Cheer Raider’s participation. I’m letting you have this opportunity, make sure it’s worth it.”
“Oh, don’t worry, General, I intend to settle things with Cassandra once and for all,” Jennifer promised.
– – –
“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this demonstration of the prototype mecha weapons and reconnaissance system, designation MCH-X01, built by Crosby Robotics and known as the ‘Wolf Pack’. Lieutenant Ricketts here has been training with the system and will be the operator for our test today. I’ll let him take things from here. Lieutenant,” General Alvarez said.
“Thank you, General,” Ricketts began. “The Wolf Pack is the product of cutting edge technology, augmented by limited reverse engineering of the extraterrestrial mecha SABRE Panther. Each Wolf unit is about 15 feet long not counting the tail, and 9 feet tall. They are unmanned, remote-piloted drones. The major innovation involved is the artificial intelligence that allows the standard control system to be goal-oriented. Rather than directly controlling the drone’s movement, the operator tells the system where to go and what to do. This allows the unit to remain in operation during signal drops, and allows one operator to control several units together at one time. However, when the situation calls for it, additional operators can be brought in on the fly for individual unit control, and they can be switched to a direct control mode.
“For our field trial today, we have pack comprised of seven units. We will begin in the forest preserve with a live-fire demonstration on a few old trucks that have been placed there for our use. We will then bring the pack through the center of Bensonville, demonstrating their viability for urban operations with minimal impact on the resident population. The townspeople have agreed to cooperate with this phase of the demonstration and we expect at least a few of them to be out and about on their normal Sunday afternoon business. The pack will finish here at Artemis Base, where we will refit the unit guns with paintball ammunition for a combat exercise with base personnel in order to show the pack’s anti-personnel capabilities.
“For the purposes of the demonstration, the Wolf Pack units have been painted white for high visibility. We have some men in the field with them, who will be our cameramen for today. As an added safety measure, Matt Peterson in the SABER Panther and Cheer Raider will also be accompanying the pack. Matt, your status?”
“We read you loud and clear, Lieutenant Ricketts. I think we’re all set to go out here, at your convenience,” Matt replied.
“General?” Ricketts asked.
“You may commence the trial, Lieutenant,” Alvarez said.
Out in the forest, the seven giant robotic wolves stirred to life and began moving. “There they go,” said Jennifer, who was sitting on Panther’s left shoulder.
“Yep. Hold on tight!” Matt said as he set Panther in motion to follow. The pack ran deftly through the trees, pursued by Panther and the cameramen on ATVs. They soon arrived at the designated location where the scrapped trucks were set out. The wolves surrounded one of the trucks. The back of each one opened up, and a double barreled cannon rose into place. Machine gun fire erupted from the guns, riddling the truck with holes. Then one of the wolves fired an artillery shot, obliterating the truck. They repeated this process while running in a circle around the second truck, and while running past the third in two rows, with the final wolf taking the kill shot. “Not bad at all. Artemis Base, phase one complete,” Matt said.
– – –
“No sign of her yet, but she’s got to be here somewhere,” Sugarshine said. “Oh, that was Jennifer checking in. She says they just hit the edge of town and will be here soon,” she said to Theresa.
“Yeah, I figured. I thought we’d be able to spot her by now. That glory hog wouldn’t lie in wait for this anywhere other than downtown. So much for taking away her element of surprise,” Theresa replied.
“Yes, but even so, I’m sure it won’t matter in the— wait. I’m starting to sense danger. There’s something close by,” said Sugarshine.
“I’m right here!” shouted a boyish voice as a small form tackled Sugarshine out of the air and brought her plummeting to the ground.
“Sugarshine!” Theresa yelled as she ran over to find a plush rabbit with bluish-gray fur pinning the alicorn to the ground and drawing a glowing energy out of her and into his mouth. Theresa grabbed him by the ears and pulled him off of Sugarshine.
“Unhand me, you stupid girl!” the rabbit demanded.
“Bad rabbit! What did you do to her? Wait… aren’t you Mr. Hoppers from that cartoon movie a few years back?” Theresa asked.
Mr. Hoppers laughed maniacally. “Yes, and her magic power tastes so good! I can feel it surging inside me!”
“You!” Sugarshine said weakly, struggling to get back to her feet. “That’s impossible. The guardian destroyed you.”
“Oh, no, not quite. I survived, just barely, and I’ve been biding my time ever since, building my power back up, waiting for my chance to triumph!” Mr. Hoppers proclaimed.
“What the hell’s going on? You know him?” Theresa asked.
“One of Jennifer’s predecessors fought against him, a long time ago. He draws strength from war, violence, hatred, that sort of thing, and then reveals himself to conquer and destroy,” Sugarshine explained.
“And let me tell you, the wars have just been getting better and better over the centuries! And the battles here in your quiet little town three years back? Fantastic! Fortunately I learned how to shield myself from your detection. Alas, it was over all too soon, and your wretched guardian triumphed again. I thought my fun was over. Then I found Cassandra.”
– – –
While the Wolf Pack walked slowly and carefully though the downtown streets and sent a stream of data back to the base detailing threat assessments on every building, vehicle, and pedestrian, Matt and Jennifer were scanning the area for one threat in particular. “Oh, shit. There she is,” Jennifer said.
“Where?” asked Matt.
“Two o’clock high. Standing up on top of that street light,” Jennifer replied. Matt looked and saw her perched atop the wooden pole. She held her glaive in her hand, pointed downward at an angle. Her ponytail and skirt blew in the breeze, along with bits of frost from the glaive’s frozen blade. She glared at Panther and Jennifer, calmly waiting.
“Oh, nice. Classic pose,” Matt said.
“Matt!” Jennifer scolded.
“Sorry!” Matt said, and walked Panther closer, stopping with the two girls facing each other eye to eye, about fifteen feet apart.
“Cheer Raider, good afternoon! Nice day, don’t you think?” Cassandra said cheerfully.
“I’m not going to keep putting up with your bullshit, Cassandra. I’m putting an end to it, right now,” Jennifer said.
“Oh, agreed! One final, decisive battle to show the world once and for all that you’re nothing compared to me.”
Jennifer rolled her eyes and called forth her weapon. “Baton! Spinning… Ignition… Burning… Pike!”
“One more thing,” Cassandra said. “If your pet dork and his wind-up toy come to your rescue, you’ve admitted defeat.”
“He won’t interfere,” Jennifer assured.
“Let’s make sure of that, shall we?” Cassandra said.
“Ah, there’s my cue. So sorry, but I’m needed elsewhere,” Mr. Hoppers said. Theresa dropped the plush rabbit in surprise as a huge black serpent-shaped form emerged from it and streaked away across the ground. Matt caught it out of the corner of his eye as it split into seven pieces and each leaped into one of the wolf robots. They all stopped, and then turned and advanced towards Panther, with a red glow in their eyes that hadn’t been there before.
“What the hell? The Wolf Pack just stopped responding to commands! Matt, what’s going on out there?” said Ricketts.
“Oh, shit,” Matt said, as the pack ran at him at full speed.
Jennifer raised her pike and bent her legs into a fighting stance. Cassandra did the same. “Let’s finish this!” Jennifer shouted. The two girls leaped forwards towards each other. As they passed each other in the air, Jennifer used her pike to parry Cassandra’s glaive, deflecting it away from plunging into her chest. She continued falling, and landed with a rolling stop on a shop roof. Cassandra did the same across the street.
“Nice doggies, good doggies, easy now,” Matt said as the wolf pack reached Panther. Two of them jumped and slammed into him, knocking him down. The rest of them quickly piled on to the fallen mech. “Gah! Get of me, get off, geez!” Matt shouted.
Jennifer and Cassandra, having jumped down to street level, ran towards each other again. This time rather than trying to run Jennifer through, Cassandra swung her glaive in an arc, and managed to slash several of the pleats on her skirt in half, also cutting her legs just enough to draw a little blood. “Dammit! Bitch!” Jennifer yelled as she counterattacked with her pike.
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