//------------------------------// // Strike 60- From Crossing Fate // Story: When lightning strikes... // by FrostTheWolf //------------------------------// When Lightning Strikes- From Crossing Fate Elsewhere         Katy had begun to awaken again, but began to feel the same pain as before on her left arm, but she couldn’t move as she was now strapped to a metal table and as she searched the room, there stood Hit leaning his back against the wall with Zoom walking up to her with a familiar Jester right next to him.         “Hello my dear Exuberant… I take it that weak adept took care of you while I was gone?” Yellow Radio asked politely as Katy scowled at him.         “That isn’t my name anymore! It’s Katy, and when I get of here I’ll make your regret ever turning me into a killing machine!” She threatened, but Yellow simply scuffed as he slapped her.         “You should be thanking me! I made you almost human, otherwise that boy wouldn’t have even looked at you that way. Your machine that was made to serve it’s master and deep down you know it… Tell me have you even once had your own idea that didn’t involve helping Lance or his team. Or that didn’t involved Lance?” Yellow Radio explained as he placed his hand on top of her head and as much as she wanted to tell him he was wrong, he was right.         “Y-your wrong… I can think for myself!”         “You know I’m right, which is why I am giving you a choice right now… you see I never actually intended to give you to the Beast King… Your mind is just too precious and with the body I created for you it would have been a complete waste. However you have something in you that I added that makes you almost human, but I can make you human.” He said.         “I’m not as dumb as you think Radio, there’s always a catch with you. What is it?” She asked, gritting her teeth as Yellow Radio began to walk around the table she was strapped to.         “It’s quite simple really, we want you to marry a certain client of mine and Hit’s, so we can expand our little group. Hit, and Zoom are the first to be recruited by him and let’s say that I’m not exactly on his good side at the moment, but if you marry him, I’ll be apart of this and together all of us can have anything we ever desired. Doesn’t that sound nice?” He explained with excitement in his voice, but it only irritated Katy as she wanted nothing to do with Yellow Radio.         “Hit! Why the hell would you help a creep like him?! Shouldn’t your assassin code be against this!” Katy shouted towards the assassin as she struggled to free herself.         “I don’t work for him… I’m simply here to make sure he doesn’t go against his promise. I was ordered to kill him if he refused, but I would assist him so long as he doesn’t back out of my client’s deal.” He explained as Zoom simply scuffed at him.         “You didn’t do sh*t! I was able to get in and out of there with ease, while your ass was handed to you by a woman.” Zoom argued, but Hit simply ignored him as he focused on Katy.         “We’re here for the same reason, to have a better life and that’s what siding with us will grant you. If you chose to join us, then none of your friends will have to die, but refuse and there will be consequences, especially if they refuse to offer one of their own female team members to save you.” Hit explained before Yellow Radio walked up to the two.         “Now, now, why don’t you two go rest up, I’ll keep the young lady company for the time being, after all. She still hasn’t decided.”         “Fine, but be aware that if they all refuse to cooperate, we’ll kill them.” Hit explained he and Zoom left the room.         “So… Let me see if I get this straight, Amigo… In the short time that we left, an assassin that’s able to manipulate time at will, attacked you, tried to take off with your team mate and failed… only for some speedster freak to then kidnap her and she’s being held hostage by a perverted jester…” It was only a few moments after Lance had called Sombra and right now, she was trying to discuss a plan with both him and Bayonetta. Vixen, even though she wanted to help, found that it would be easier if she just maintained the base while the three of them were to come up with a plan. “And just when I thought I’ve had strange days…”         “So you’ll help?” Lance then asked, a little bit nervous by her response to it.         “Of course… but for it… let me kill that Radio pinchazo,” Sombra grit her teeth. “He reminds me of one of my uncles who would always set up arranged marriages for my cousins even though it was entirely inhumane… So I want to be the one to kill him.”         “Pray tell… and how exactly do you plan to do that now?” Bayonetta asked.         “Simple… anything can be hacked… and anyone,” Sombra smirked, before looking towards the sphere that was used as a communications device. “You said that he reached you using this, correcto?”         All Lance did was just nod as Sombra began to tinker with it. Datapads at her fingertips as she looked at it and soon began to experiment with a few things. Then… she asked a question. “Amigo… you said that you’ve encountered this freak before, right?”         “Yes, I wiped his data center and stole all the information he had the first time around, why?” He asked.         “Well, I’m going to need it.” At first, Lance looked at Bayonetta, a little puzzled by the response early on. But soon, he held out his datapad and allowed for her to get the files she needed while she had them spread out across multiple holographic screens. When she was surfing through them though… that when she noticed something. “Huh… Well, this is going to be much easier than I originally thought it would be.”         “How so?”         “Who says I’m telling?” Sombra asked. “Besides… from this, I already have an idea of what to do…” She then tossed him the sphere as the Adept caught it in his hands. “First things first though, contact him.”         Nodding, Lance held the sphere out and pressed the center of it as it began to glow again. Projecting the holographic jester once more as he began to speak. “Radio… I’m ready to bargain. On the condition that Katy remains unharmed.”         “Excellent… I’m sending you the coordinates to my location. And before I do go, I don’t really appreciate my own tech being hacked… So whoever it is… Tell them that I’ll deal with them personally. Ta, Ta!” He replied before ending the transmission. The coordinates soon appeared on his gauntlet as he looked back at her.         “Heh… just wait til yellow payaso cabron gets a kick of what I have in store for him,” Sombra smirked as Lance handed back the sphere. “If you don’t mind, I’ll be in your workshop…”         With that, Sombra left in order to plan something out as she left the two of them in the hallway… shortly before Bayonetta said something to her son, which ended up leaving him facepalming himself. “I like your friend. Her rebellious nature really stands out.”         As the transmission ended on Yellow Radio’s end, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he looked back towards Katy who was now hooked to a bunch of wires and cables, hanging over a tube of a strange blue liquid. “Having fun up there, my dear?”         “You sick prick! If you do anything to me, I swear I’ll make you regret it!” Katy shouted at the top of her lungs.         “Now who said anything about harming you?~” He replied as Katy looked at him confused. “Oh no… I plan to do what I should have done in the beginning, I’m making you human… and all that memory of the displaced, the wars, your relationships will be mostly gone… All except for your will to live and a few hints of that ignorant adept will linger in your poor mind, but you’ll still be you. And that’s what really matters.” He explained as he released the lever holding her up and she fell in the tube, as she tried to struggle to free herself. Not wanting to forget her past, but at the same time, the human side of her wanted to forget everything, the pain, loss, suffering she had to endure in her long life.         “I do hope you’ll enjoy your stay, it’ll take them quite a while to reach here.” He said as he left Katy alone, but as Yellow Radio walked down the halls, there stood Hit and Zoom at the doorway with unpleasant expressions that sent chills down the jester’s spine. “And what do you two want now?”         “The chip, do you have it?” Hit asked.         “Oh for pete’s sake have some patience.” He said, pulling out a bloody microchip from his pocket and handed over to the assassin. “And you can tell the King that he’ll get his bride, I take it this makes us even now?”         “For now… However I shall still remain here to see the deal go through, you better hope that you get his highness’s bride by the end of this, otherwise… your head is mine.” Hit replied as he put the Microchip into his pocket and left Yellow Radio alone with Zoom.         “Are you sure I can’t just kill those pests when they come? I’m certain that they won’t cooperate with you and you already have the girl being wiped clean of her memories for his highness. Why give them any sort of hope?” Zoom asked as he cracked his knuckles. Yellow simply laughed as he patted the speedster’s shoulder.         “Zoom, Zoom, the point of giving them hope is so we can take it away… And I now know they have a hacker, soooo… I am working on something that will make her and that adept useless and you and Hit can just kill all of them.” Yellow explained as the two laughed together.         Two hours had passed since the original time that Yellow Radio has proposed and at the meeting location, Lance and Bayonetta stood by themselves. Waiting for the arrival of the ones who originally had kidnapped Katy to come on out. “And they’re late…”         “Dear, if anything… it’s possible that they’re preparing to make a grand entrance.” The witch replied to her son as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Show some patience…”         “My patience is running thin with this jackass as is.” Lance grumbled, but after waiting another five minutes, the ground beneath them began to move and a large plate form began to rise high into the air and there stood Hit, Zoom and Yellow Radio, holding Katy in chains and even though they were high up, Lance could tell that the Jester had done something to her as she was now wearing nothing but ragged clothes and her hair was now pure white.         “Hello! So glad you could come! Sorry, but as you can tell, this worlds generation on tech really isn’t the best and we had to get the backup generators working so we could make OUR GRAND ENTRANCE!!!” Yellow Radio said as fireworks shot up into the air.         “I thought I told you that one of the conditions I had for this deal was that Katy was unharmed,” Lance sternly shot back at him. “You seem to not be someone to listen to the rules of an agreement.”         “Hmm… Well if I recall, those agreements were made after I had harmed her. I needed to pull out something that my friend here needed, but other then that I had caused her no such harm… I simply made her… a real woman.” He explained to the adept as he placed his hands on Katy’s shoulders, but she didn’t react. “Ohh… right, she’s still a bit fresh from the tank, but I can promise you she’ll be perfectly fine once she meet with Hit’s client.”         “I told you, I’ve come to bargain… so, will you come down here to negotiate or back out like the spineless swine that you’re known for?” Lance asked, folding his arms and waiting for a response. “Because I already have someone to trade…”         “Hmm… as tempting as that is, I feel more comfortable up here, but I have a little something for that hacker you brought with you.” He said, pulling out another orb, similar to that of the one Lance had, but he threw it up into the air. And as it opened up, a massive field of energy exploded from it, forming a barrier around the entire warehouse with everyone in it, and most of the tech in the surrounding area began to fail. “I know that this hacker had been sabotaging my tech for awhile now, many of my buyers told me how she hacks it, so I created this barrier to… keep her out in the open, ruining any tech she has equip, including yours!”         All Lance could do was facepalm himself… before laughing at him. “You… really are an idiot now, are you?”         “Why’s that?” He asked.         “Your plan was to keep her out…” Lance replied, but as Yellow Radio continued to listen, the cloak Sombra had was beginning to dissipate. And She was right behind him with her weapon at the ready. “But instead… all it did was lead to you being brought down to earth.”         Without warning, Sombra opened fire as she sprayed a barrage of bullets in Yellow Radio’s chest and neck, while also using the orb she had to throw it at the one in the sky. Both of them detonating as Yellow Radio was now back on the ground. Shortly before Sombra tore off the chains and used her translocator to arrive next to Bayonetta and give her Katy.         “Childs play…” Sombra smirked, walking over to where Yellow Radio’s body was and stepped on one of his hands. “Okay… Cody, you’re up.”         “They really are fools…” Zoom said as he ran down there and stuck Sombra in the back, sending her crashing into a bunch of crates and grabbing Bayonetta by the throat. However, the hairs on Bayonetta’s clothes began to attach itself to Zoom “Nice try… But even that wench’s tricks won’t kill Radio so easily.”         “Who said that was meant to kill him~?” She replied, before looking back at him. “With your attention on us… Where do you think she is?”         “We don’t need her… We can take either of you females.” He said, taking Bayonetta with him as he rammed her body into the wall. “He should have left you at home.”         “And I’ll be sure to have Labolas eat your soul after this…” Bayonetta replied, shooting one of the rounds of her guns to have Zoom let go. But, as Zoom regrouped with Hit soon entered the arena… they all noticed something.         Katy was gone. “Heh… Figures he would copy the Lightspeed septima from that adept in Seaddle,” Lance grinned as he looked back at them. “Sorry, but you need to handle us before you get anywhere close to her…”         “Is that so?” Hit asked, before vanishing and striking Lance in the chest again and throwing him into the same crates as Sombra. “You can’t defeat me, no matter how strong you get boy… Besides, that woman laying next to, Bayonetta, or even that other female you called Vixen would make great brides to my client… and even so, Exuberant Witness isn’t a threat to anyone anymore, she’s vulnerable and she would be in better hands of my client then with a worthless punk like you!” He shouted as he fired off invisible ki blasts that sent both Lance and Sombra flying in the air and landing next to Yellow Radio’s body.         Seconds later though… Lance’s body began to pulse. Letting out his hands, all the electricity from every device in the warehouse and Yellow’s generator was charging him up with power. That… was followed by two words.         “Lumen… Anthem.” He said. Soon, a bright neon colored aura began to pulse as the energy began to have some of the room around them crumble. Glaring at Hit now in his overcharged state.         “Guess you’ve gotten stronger since the last time we met, but what you don’t know is… my strength surpasses that of your mentor… Lord Suicune’s.” Hit said.         Meanwhile as Sombra struggled to get up, two large yellow hands grabbed her and lifted her off the ground. “Hate to break it to you sweet lips, but bullets don’t work on me anymore!” Yellow Radio said throwing her into the now broken control panels, slamming her head against it repeatedly. “Ruin my plans! And you’ll DIE!”         At one point though, Sombra used her translocator device to disappear as Yellow Radio slammed his hand into the control board. Shortly before using her hand to grab the jester’s cane and smash it across his face. “That… is where you are wrong. I’m a shadow… a Sombra… and Shadow’s never die… As for you.” She said as blood trickled down her forehead.         At this point, Sombra began to use the jester’s cane like a crowbar as she placed it where the jesters mask met his face. “I think I want to make sure to see your face before killing you, payaso cobran.”         But as she removed his broken mask what she was met with was a what looked like a bunch of circuits and clay mushed together as Yellow Radio’s hand pulled his cane out of his head. “Ohhhhh… Now I remember… The real me died two years back… How could I forget such a silly protocol?”         All that did though… was make Sombra grin devilishly. “So you do bleed…”         “Well… the real me made me completely out of clay, it’s his last attempt of remaining as his living memory… I just hope I can cause as much chaos as him!” He shouted pulling the cane away from Sombra and striking her in the head with it. He was able to do this a few times… but not before she grabbed his wrist with one hand and the loose circuits with another.         “Well… How about we do a grand finale?” Yanking on the circuits, Sombra slammed Radio’s head into the computer he was slamming her in earlier. Shortly before using her tech to fuse the inner workings of the computer with the lose circuits. While also adding a few more steps. “Let me ask you something…” She grinned, before getting closer to him as the wires were fused all the way. “Have you seen Scanners?”         “I see what your doing… But before I go, beware of Frostmou-!” That was when Sombra threw Yellow Radio backwards and used her Translocator to get far away from the blast as the computer that was fused to Yellow Radio’s head blew up. Causing the jester’s body to fall lifeless on the ground.         All while the hacker looked at the body with a satisfied grin. “Adios…”         Meanwhile, Hit held Lance in his hands before seeing Yellow Radio go up in flames. He couldn’t help but sigh as he dropped Lance’s beaten body to the ground and began to walk off. “It seems that our business is done for now, but be aware that if I don’t come back, it means he’ll be coming. However, thanks for the warm up, that wasn’t half bad.”         “What’s with the attitude shift?” He then heard the Adept get up slowly as he turned around and looked back at him. His wounds slowly healing on their own. “You worked for him, but now you just walk off?”         “I never really worked for him, I was merely here to make sure he didn’t back out of his deal with my client… He’ll be very disappointed that he died again.” Hit said before vanishing once again from Lance’s view, not knowing where he had gone, the adept struggled to stand on his feet again with his eye now bruised and many sore muscles, but he soon saw Bayonetta struggling against the speedster as he kept throwing her around.         Yet, Bayonetta still looked like she had a lot of damage to her. “I’ve had enough with playing around…” Soon, red lightning began to churn around the room as Zoom found himself stuck in what looked like a circle as shadows began to flourish around the room. The hairs on her body beginning to weave in and out as she performed a small dance… and then shouted one thing.         “ARGEDCO!!”         “What is this?!” Zoom demanded to know, but immediately, he got his answer once a pitch black infernal hellhound emerged and sunk it’s fangs into the speedster. Ripping it’s muscles apart and dragging him down under the darkness that lead straight to hell. “This won’t… be our last meeting… you can’t lock up the darkness.”         “And you can’t change your fate… now that Labolas has you it it’s jaws.” With that, Zoom was dragged down to the depths of the infernal abyss as the settings began to die down and her clothes soon returned to her. “Well, I must say, that was a lot of fun…”         Shortly after that though was when the umbra witch went over to help her son stand up and gave him a lollipop. Before he could say anything though, Bayonetta interjected. “Eat it… It’ll restore your body and heal your wounds.”         “Can’t argue with that… even though the whole philosophy of candy being good for the body is a little bit crazy,” Lance thought, before beginning to eat the treat as he felt his body being restored. And when the Adept was able to stand again, he noticed that Sombra herself had already taken off. Leaving just him and his mother.         Shortly before his mother suggested something. “Now… let’s go see if your friend is okay.”         By the time that Lance had finally returned to HQ, his mother was already gone and Cody was already focusing on trying to repair some of the other things that were in the headquarters. But he and Vixen did allow for Lance to be able to watch over Katy… especially since they left her in his room for him.         As he shut the door, he immediately could see a few things… one, the rags she had before were gone and replaced with actual clothes. And two, the chains that were originally around her were now gone. But, her hair was still white as he closed the door behind her. “Hey Katy…”         “W-What… Where am I?” The girl asked, rubbing her head as she looked around the room.         “Katy, it’s okay…” He assured her, taking off his coat now as she finally noticed him. “You’re safe now…”         “You’re… Lance? Right?” She asked as she groaned. “Ow… My head hurts.”         Lance slowly approached her, sitting next to her on the bed and trying to help her. “Yes… it’s me. Are you okay?”         “I was kidnapped… Dumped into a tank… And chained up with splitting headache… What do you think genius?” She said, playfully punching his shoulder.         “Yeah, I’m sorry…” He apologized while taking the hit from her. “Well, you don’t have a lot to worry about… my mother had a hellhound drag Zoom down to hell, Hit left and Yellow Radio’s dead.”         “Well… who were those guys again?” She asked sheepishly. “I barely remember who they were, but Hit does ring a bell.”         That had Lance raise an eyebrow before looking back at her and sighing. “Just don’t worry about it…” He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “I’m here for you… and if you’re okay with it, I would like to spend some time with you.”         “Not right now… I just need a bit of time to myself for a bit… I’m trying to remember something.” She said, trying to think really hard as she scrunched up her nose.         At first, the adept left her be so she could think… but after watching her for a few minutes and seeing her face scrunch up more than once, he then decided to speak up. “Any luck?”         “Would you give a girl some time to herself… You really should learn something called patience.” She said, rolling her eyes at him, but she smiled at him. “I think I should probably sleep on it.”         “Would you like some company?” He then asked her, smiling a small bit as Katy looked back at him.         “No… Like I said, I need time to myself, but I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” She smiled, waving to him. Taking the cue, Lance took his coat and began to walk to the door. Allowing for Katy to have the space that she really wanted.         “Looks like I’ll find out tomorrow then.” The Adept told himself as he proceeded to the couch in the living room and began to lay down. Drifting off to sleep as well. The following morning…         “So, how is she?” Vixen asked the Adept as he began to take a drink from a cup of coffee. After he woke up, it turned out that Saffron had decided to stay on watch and was there to assist him that morning.         “Well, she told me that she wanted to have some time to think to herself, so I just decided to leave her be,” He replied back after finishing his sip of coffee. “Then told me that she wanted to sleep on it.”         “Dear, just give the girl some time to think…” Oh yeah, Bayonetta was here too this morning. “You can’t just rush her.”         “I know, but I wanted to be there to help in case-” But before he could even finish his sentence, Katy came rushing into the room, almost jumping on the adept and kisses him hard on the lips, surprising everyone in the room that was awake at the time, even Lance himself. “W-wha-?”         “I remembered we didn’t have our first kiss~” She said, smiling at him. “Oh, and I also remembered we needed to have sex-.” She said aloud, forgetting that Lance’s mother was in the room, embarrassing the adept as his face turned bright red.         “Hey… how about you kids go somewhere more private~” Bayonetta suggested, all while Vixen facehoofed herself.         “Oh, right… sorry… I sorta forgot you were there.” Katy replied, before she and Lance left the living room. Leaving Vixen to look back at Bayonetta.         “And why did you have to say that?”         “What can I say? I’m a fan of young love~” Bayonetta teased as she left for the door. Leaving Vixen wanting to get herself some tea to clear her up her head now. End Strike 60