Story Notes:
This is the "other" Runaways story, the long one with more characters, plot, and some other stuff too.Okay, *clears throat* I do not own pokemon, or any of those characters. the events and characters of this story are all fictional and any resemblance to persons live or dead is purely coincidental, and not meant to be insulting.Also, the inclusion of Lucario and wave guidance is all Felix's fault. Go read "Luca"... it's good and it inspired some of this story.Also, categories will be updated as necessary. They will changeAlso, I will be changing the categories as they need to be changed. the main characters are all a bit young at this point for sex, but it will probably show up in some form or another later.Also, if you can guess what the title is talking about I'll give you a cookie! (And maybe a story request, if you want)
Ch 7: Island Aftermath
A Twisting Ladder to Heaven
Chp 7: Island Aftermath
Men move through the rubble that is all that remains of the east wing, putting out fires and picking out
survivors from the wreckage. One of the men pauses, picking up something red. He holds up the shaped
metal plate so that the sun glints off it. "So the boss is dead." he says slowly, "Looks like Team Helix is
under new management then."
The man turns and holds up the face plate so that everyone can see it. "Hey! Quit the search! Boss is
dead, so as second in command I'm taking over Team Helix! Gather everything together and relocate it
to Sigma V!"
Suddenly the pile of rubble shifts behind the man and a man rises out from underneath, twisted chunks
of metal slide off his back. His chest is bloody and laced with shrapnel. He clutches a hand to his face
glaring through his fingers at the man holding the red face plate. The first man turns as the bloody man
growls, "Give me back my face!"
The bloody man lunges forward, swinging a steel object like a club into the side of the man's head,
dropping him like a stone. He bends over, breathing heavily to pick up the red metal plate from the
ground. He moves his hand and the others watching catch a glimpse of severely disfigured flesh before
the red plate is covering his face, a new face permanently fixed with a disapproving frown. He looks back
down at the man on the ground, "Is that really as far as your loyalty goes?" the masked man's voice is
somehow amplified by the mask and carries his question to all in sight. "So you're the leader of Team
Helix now? I'm afraid there is only room for one in that position." He raises the steel cylinder in his hand
to point at the man at his feet who is just now stirring to look up at him. The man's eyes go wide just
moments before his head explodes with a sharp crack. The masked man looks around at the others,
"Well, what are you standing around for! Get moving! I want complete recovery of the data from our
last test, and I want it now before we depart!" he pauses as the men scramble to follow his orders. One
man in particular, a tall, powerfully built man with a short red beard and a bald head that shines brightly with sweat
and is smeared with dirt. His right arm is in a sling.
"Doctor Hector, sir."
The masked man turns away from the bald man, and runs a hand over his own heavily scarred head,
brushing a few wild tufts of hair that still grows here and there. "Yes Michael?"
"What are we going to do now?"
The masked man turns and you can hear the amusement in his voice as he ask, "Just what do you mean
by that?"
"Sir, the entire east wing has been destroyed and the test subject escaped." He pauses, wiping his face,
his fingers leaving dark smudges across his brow, "The police will definitely be here before long."
"And by that time, we should be long gone and only a smoking crater to show that we were ever here at
all." Dr. Hector replies with a chuckle. "A pity that we would have to lose this particular facility since it
was so nice and secluded. Never mind the wonderful weather!"
Dr. Hector laughs, an odd contrast to his frowning 'face'. Michael however seems much less pleased
with the situation. "Sir with all due respect, it would seem that the Ascension Project has suffered yet
another setback. Financially, we will be set back quite a ways. Replacing the material that was lost is
going to be quite challenging."
Dr. Hector begins walking away towards the edge of the rubble. "Michael, today the Ascension project
has taken a huge step forward, today we created our first functional human-legendary hybrid."
"Yes, a frightened young woman that we caught on the beach with her gyrados." Michael says, following
close behind, "But we don't know why she was successfully hybridized while our previous human
subjects were not. In fact besides that one chimeran we have-"
"But that means that the theory is proven to be usable!" Dr. Hector Interjects, holding up a
finger, "And I am sure the reason behind why the chimeran and this girl were successful integrations and
our men failed to successfully integrate the pokémon DNA into their bodies lies in the genomes. Perhaps
there is a correlation between the individual human genomes and the different pokémon genomes. That
is why I want all the data so that we can analyze it and find the secret that will enable the hybridization
process to be safely implemented as originally intended."
"I still believe that the Rhyperior Man Project is a more cost efficient way of making our men equipped
to take on any force." Michael replies with a huff.
"Yes, however that girl that escaped with the kind of power she exhibited in her unfocused panic easily
matched that of the final product of Project Mewtwo." Dr. Hector replies with a shudder that seems to
belie his apparent jubilance, "And that one was capable of crushing machines like those used in your
Rhyperior Man Project with ease. The ability to put that sort of power in the hands of elite troops is
without a price tag."
Michael nods and continues to follow Dr. Hector in silence. Then Dr. Hector stops, "What do you plan to
do about the escaped subject?"
"I was going to send a team after her to eliminate her. She will stand out quite a bit from the general
population, so it shouldn't be too hard to find her."
"Don't." Dr. Hector says shaking his head, "Unless she looks to be actively causing problems for us then
she is really not worth the risk that would come with our attempting to eliminate her. If we can get a
dark type hybrid, all it would take is one individual to get rid of her."
Michael looks off towards the ocean where a trio of largish boats are waiting. "Sir, there is something
else you may want to hear about."
Dr. Hector turns to face Michael, his dark brown eyes shining, "Yes?"
"A number of our men encountered a very powerful pair of individuals when trying to recover the test
subject after the initial lab break." Michael says slowly, "One was a lucario with the ability to speak as
well as a 'shiny' fur pattern. The other was a young man, late teens or early twenties, with some scarring
on his chest and carrying a large blade of some kind. This individual had most of the same powers as the
lucario, the use of extreme speed, above average strength, and aura spheres, not unlike the legendary
individual, Sir Aaron."
Dr. Hector nods, "Have our men keep an eye out both for the test subject and these two individuals. If
they find either, just observe passively until I decide whether or not they will be useful for bringing in for
further study. After all, although it is rare to have a speaking pokémon, it is not unheard of. Do not
engage them unless they move to actively resist us."
"What about the boy?" Michael asks, his tone tinged with impatience, "A human with the powers of a
pokémon is a prime example of what the Ascension Project is all about! We could have the answer to
creating the superhuman warrior you have dreamt of for so long right there!"
Dr Hector rolls his eyes behind his mask, "Michael, tell me, do you understand how aura works? The
energy that lucario use?" Michael shakes his head, "The science behind it is very sketchy, and it is based
more in the metaphysical than the physical. It is essentially life energy. Anything that lives has it, and
perhaps not just living things but inanimate things as well as confusing as that may seem. What this
means is that through constant training and meditation, a human can harness this aura in a way if not
identical then very similar to the way a lucario does, although it is considerably more difficult for the
human. There is nothing we can do to infuse a human with these sorts of powers. Also, even in legends
where this ability appears in humans, it is always linked to a lucario partner. As such a single human
would never be able to manifest these powers in any substantial way."
"How do you know all this?"
"It was one of the first things I looked into after I left Team Rocket to start Team Helix." Dr. Hector
replies with a dismissive wave of a hand, "However, it seems that not all lucarios that are paired with
humans can produce this sort of effect in their partners even with conscious effort on the human's part.
As such I thought it was merely myths and legends. But today's sightings clearly indicate otherwise." He
pauses and his eyes narrow, "However it seems odd that they would appear here only moments after
the test subject escaped. There may be other forces at work here. Which brings me back to my prior
order to keep tabs on them. be very discrete in your observations."
Suddenly a man dressed like so many of the other Team Helix grunts, a lab coat over white dress shirts
that conceal a tough armor plate, rushes up to them, "Sir everything has been made ready for
departure. Everything is ready to be loaded onto the boats."
"The charges have all been set?"
"Yes sir, set and primed." He replies holding out a detonator switch. Dr. Hector takes the detonator from
the man and places it in his pocket. The grunt pauses, "Uh, sir, shouldn't you get those injuries looked
at?"
Dr. Hector shrugs as he starts walking for the docks, "This isn't the first time I've had a lab be torn apart
around me. I'll be just fine until we reach Sigma V. Have everyone board the boats. We are leaving
now."
After nearly an hour the boats have all been loaded with material, men, and pokémon. Dr. Hector
watches from the bridge of the largest of the boats as they depart the island. Walking out onto the deck
he leans on the railing and pulls out the detonator. "Farewell Epsilon labs."
His thumb presses down on the switch and after a few brief moments a chain of explosions envelopes
the island and engulf everything in a massive fireball that can be seen for miles around. There will be
nothing left, because that is just how Dr. Hector wants it to be.Chapter End Notes:Did that guy have to die? Probably not, but I killed him anyway... BD
ALSO SALADBOMB! GO BUY COMMISSION SLOTS FORM HIM! DOOO EEEEET! DO IT NOAW! www.furaffinity.net/user/saladbom
Chp 7: Island Aftermath
Men move through the rubble that is all that remains of the east wing, putting out fires and picking out
survivors from the wreckage. One of the men pauses, picking up something red. He holds up the shaped
metal plate so that the sun glints off it. "So the boss is dead." he says slowly, "Looks like Team Helix is
under new management then."
The man turns and holds up the face plate so that everyone can see it. "Hey! Quit the search! Boss is
dead, so as second in command I'm taking over Team Helix! Gather everything together and relocate it
to Sigma V!"
Suddenly the pile of rubble shifts behind the man and a man rises out from underneath, twisted chunks
of metal slide off his back. His chest is bloody and laced with shrapnel. He clutches a hand to his face
glaring through his fingers at the man holding the red face plate. The first man turns as the bloody man
growls, "Give me back my face!"
The bloody man lunges forward, swinging a steel object like a club into the side of the man's head,
dropping him like a stone. He bends over, breathing heavily to pick up the red metal plate from the
ground. He moves his hand and the others watching catch a glimpse of severely disfigured flesh before
the red plate is covering his face, a new face permanently fixed with a disapproving frown. He looks back
down at the man on the ground, "Is that really as far as your loyalty goes?" the masked man's voice is
somehow amplified by the mask and carries his question to all in sight. "So you're the leader of Team
Helix now? I'm afraid there is only room for one in that position." He raises the steel cylinder in his hand
to point at the man at his feet who is just now stirring to look up at him. The man's eyes go wide just
moments before his head explodes with a sharp crack. The masked man looks around at the others,
"Well, what are you standing around for! Get moving! I want complete recovery of the data from our
last test, and I want it now before we depart!" he pauses as the men scramble to follow his orders. One
man in particular, a tall, powerfully built man with a short red beard and a bald head that shines brightly with sweat
and is smeared with dirt. His right arm is in a sling.
"Doctor Hector, sir."
The masked man turns away from the bald man, and runs a hand over his own heavily scarred head,
brushing a few wild tufts of hair that still grows here and there. "Yes Michael?"
"What are we going to do now?"
The masked man turns and you can hear the amusement in his voice as he ask, "Just what do you mean
by that?"
"Sir, the entire east wing has been destroyed and the test subject escaped." He pauses, wiping his face,
his fingers leaving dark smudges across his brow, "The police will definitely be here before long."
"And by that time, we should be long gone and only a smoking crater to show that we were ever here at
all." Dr. Hector replies with a chuckle. "A pity that we would have to lose this particular facility since it
was so nice and secluded. Never mind the wonderful weather!"
Dr. Hector laughs, an odd contrast to his frowning 'face'. Michael however seems much less pleased
with the situation. "Sir with all due respect, it would seem that the Ascension Project has suffered yet
another setback. Financially, we will be set back quite a ways. Replacing the material that was lost is
going to be quite challenging."
Dr. Hector begins walking away towards the edge of the rubble. "Michael, today the Ascension project
has taken a huge step forward, today we created our first functional human-legendary hybrid."
"Yes, a frightened young woman that we caught on the beach with her gyrados." Michael says, following
close behind, "But we don't know why she was successfully hybridized while our previous human
subjects were not. In fact besides that one chimeran we have-"
"But that means that the theory is proven to be usable!" Dr. Hector Interjects, holding up a
finger, "And I am sure the reason behind why the chimeran and this girl were successful integrations and
our men failed to successfully integrate the pokémon DNA into their bodies lies in the genomes. Perhaps
there is a correlation between the individual human genomes and the different pokémon genomes. That
is why I want all the data so that we can analyze it and find the secret that will enable the hybridization
process to be safely implemented as originally intended."
"I still believe that the Rhyperior Man Project is a more cost efficient way of making our men equipped
to take on any force." Michael replies with a huff.
"Yes, however that girl that escaped with the kind of power she exhibited in her unfocused panic easily
matched that of the final product of Project Mewtwo." Dr. Hector replies with a shudder that seems to
belie his apparent jubilance, "And that one was capable of crushing machines like those used in your
Rhyperior Man Project with ease. The ability to put that sort of power in the hands of elite troops is
without a price tag."
Michael nods and continues to follow Dr. Hector in silence. Then Dr. Hector stops, "What do you plan to
do about the escaped subject?"
"I was going to send a team after her to eliminate her. She will stand out quite a bit from the general
population, so it shouldn't be too hard to find her."
"Don't." Dr. Hector says shaking his head, "Unless she looks to be actively causing problems for us then
she is really not worth the risk that would come with our attempting to eliminate her. If we can get a
dark type hybrid, all it would take is one individual to get rid of her."
Michael looks off towards the ocean where a trio of largish boats are waiting. "Sir, there is something
else you may want to hear about."
Dr. Hector turns to face Michael, his dark brown eyes shining, "Yes?"
"A number of our men encountered a very powerful pair of individuals when trying to recover the test
subject after the initial lab break." Michael says slowly, "One was a lucario with the ability to speak as
well as a 'shiny' fur pattern. The other was a young man, late teens or early twenties, with some scarring
on his chest and carrying a large blade of some kind. This individual had most of the same powers as the
lucario, the use of extreme speed, above average strength, and aura spheres, not unlike the legendary
individual, Sir Aaron."
Dr. Hector nods, "Have our men keep an eye out both for the test subject and these two individuals. If
they find either, just observe passively until I decide whether or not they will be useful for bringing in for
further study. After all, although it is rare to have a speaking pokémon, it is not unheard of. Do not
engage them unless they move to actively resist us."
"What about the boy?" Michael asks, his tone tinged with impatience, "A human with the powers of a
pokémon is a prime example of what the Ascension Project is all about! We could have the answer to
creating the superhuman warrior you have dreamt of for so long right there!"
Dr Hector rolls his eyes behind his mask, "Michael, tell me, do you understand how aura works? The
energy that lucario use?" Michael shakes his head, "The science behind it is very sketchy, and it is based
more in the metaphysical than the physical. It is essentially life energy. Anything that lives has it, and
perhaps not just living things but inanimate things as well as confusing as that may seem. What this
means is that through constant training and meditation, a human can harness this aura in a way if not
identical then very similar to the way a lucario does, although it is considerably more difficult for the
human. There is nothing we can do to infuse a human with these sorts of powers. Also, even in legends
where this ability appears in humans, it is always linked to a lucario partner. As such a single human
would never be able to manifest these powers in any substantial way."
"How do you know all this?"
"It was one of the first things I looked into after I left Team Rocket to start Team Helix." Dr. Hector
replies with a dismissive wave of a hand, "However, it seems that not all lucarios that are paired with
humans can produce this sort of effect in their partners even with conscious effort on the human's part.
As such I thought it was merely myths and legends. But today's sightings clearly indicate otherwise." He
pauses and his eyes narrow, "However it seems odd that they would appear here only moments after
the test subject escaped. There may be other forces at work here. Which brings me back to my prior
order to keep tabs on them. be very discrete in your observations."
Suddenly a man dressed like so many of the other Team Helix grunts, a lab coat over white dress shirts
that conceal a tough armor plate, rushes up to them, "Sir everything has been made ready for
departure. Everything is ready to be loaded onto the boats."
"The charges have all been set?"
"Yes sir, set and primed." He replies holding out a detonator switch. Dr. Hector takes the detonator from
the man and places it in his pocket. The grunt pauses, "Uh, sir, shouldn't you get those injuries looked
at?"
Dr. Hector shrugs as he starts walking for the docks, "This isn't the first time I've had a lab be torn apart
around me. I'll be just fine until we reach Sigma V. Have everyone board the boats. We are leaving
now."
After nearly an hour the boats have all been loaded with material, men, and pokémon. Dr. Hector
watches from the bridge of the largest of the boats as they depart the island. Walking out onto the deck
he leans on the railing and pulls out the detonator. "Farewell Epsilon labs."
His thumb presses down on the switch and after a few brief moments a chain of explosions envelopes
the island and engulf everything in a massive fireball that can be seen for miles around. There will be
nothing left, because that is just how Dr. Hector wants it to be.Chapter End Notes:Did that guy have to die? Probably not, but I killed him anyway... BD
ALSO SALADBOMB! GO BUY COMMISSION SLOTS FORM HIM! DOOO EEEEET! DO IT NOAW! www.furaffinity.net/user/saladbom