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Dystopia: Endgame	By : Pyramid Category: +1 through F > Alpha Teens On Machines Views: 2558 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Alpha Teens on Machines, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 5

Axel, Shark, Lioness, King, Hawk, Paine, Spydah and all other characters in this story are copyright of Disney or Jetix. I did not create any of them and none of them are my intellectual property.

Lee paced in the control room of his new hideout, frustrated at how much of a failure his plans had been. Oh, true, it would be impossible for them to turn Shark back into a human but the rest of the ATOM team should have been killed in that base. To make it worse, Shark had somehow disrupted his tests so there was no way to know if his atmospheric genetic mutation system would work. Paine was also in a grumpy mood, true, he had likely ruined Axel’s love life, but now he wanted Manning dead and he wasn’t. In order for his plan to succeed, Lee needed the ATOM team removed, permanently. He could not afford their interference.
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It had been several weeks since the ATOM team had rescued Shark and the team had finally gotten used to the presence of the towering blond minotaur (although Hawk still frequently wound up screaming when he first saw Shark in the morning). Various tests conducted by the staff at Lee Industries had developed a sort of immunization for the process, but no way to reverse the process without killing Shark. Further genetic mutation was not recommended since the process that Lee had used on Shark had altered the very basics of human DNA, Shark likely would only get his correct human form back after thousands of such alterations and that would degrade his DNA to a dangerous degree.
Over the past weeks, Shark and Axel had also grown closer together, although King and Hawk seemed not to notice and Lioness certainly wasn’t going to tell them. Shark, for some odd reason, had decided to grow a little “brush” of a beard on his chin, more of a goatee or tuft of tan-blond hair-fur really than an actual beard. Axel seemed to think it made Shark cuter, although Lioness wasn’t really sure. With some exceptions, the two of them were quite good at keeping the others from learning about their affair. It wouldn’t be too long though, the two of them were spending more time together, remaining here at the center while the rest of the team went and enjoyed the various attractions the city had to offer. Then again… Axel always had been rather insular and Shark really couldn’t go out that often considering his appearance. That would probably help maintain their secret a little longer. Oh well, it wasn’t really her problem, besides, they had other issues to deal with…
After nearly two months of hiding, Lee had finally been found in a remote jungle launch base. Shark’s explanation of what Lee had been working on led the agency that had discovered this installation to conclude that Lee was nearing the end phase of his project and they did not want to risk him getting anywhere near completion. So they had agreed to work with Lee Industries in preparing the ATOM team for this assignment. Thankfully they still had a couple months before the critical date. This time though, they did not have orders to bring in Lee or Paine, both had proven too dangerous and had shown their capability for escaping jail. The agency wanted Lee and Paine to never leave that base alive. Needless to say, no one was really comfortable with the whole concept, even though they understand the reasoning. But understanding and actual action were quite different concepts and none of them had actually had to kill before. Hence why they were having this meeting, since the agency wanted to train them to kill. It really was not something they were trained to do, they more of viewed their team as a sort of police squad… not a covert ops team. If they had to, so be it, but they would prefer that some one else do the killing; if it had to be done, it may as well be done right by a professional.
“Look, I’m sorry, but we cannot send any agents with your team… operational procedure. Besides, your team has had the most experience, you know what Lee and Paine are capable of.” a rather prim and proper woman in a black suit, tie and miniskirt was explaining in a rather bland tone.
“Then maybe you can coordinate a missile strike or something, I’m sure the country in question would not mind too much and all we would have to do is infiltrate and take down any anti-air defenses they might have.” Shark countered, shifting position slightly to lay out more on the couch he was sitting on. Lioness felt a little sorry for Shark, that couch was too short for him to sit in normally… he was just too big, even for most normal clothes or the suits the rest of the team wore. At least they had designed him a pair of jeans to wear so he wasn’t indecent.
“Excuse me, mister… mister…”
“Shark.”
“Yes, Mister Shark, you don’t understand the position we are in. We have no missiles to spare since they might be needed should Lee attempt to deploy his mutation weapons before you can terminate him. And even if we did, a missile strike might not kill them, we need bodies or at least eye-witness testimony we can rely on.”
“Hence why we have to do it.” Shark said in an exasperated tone which surprised Lioness. Didn’t Shark want revenge for what Lee had done to him? Or maybe he didn’t want to face Lee again because of what Lee had done last time they met. This could be bad for them, even if it would help Shark face his fear, Lioness could attest to the duality of that as she remembered her first encounter with the touch of Paine and how she couldn’t face Paine for awhile afterward. This could be a very bumpy ride if Shark couldn’t face his fears the way Lioness had… maybe she should talk to him later.
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Shark gently stroked, pushing the water behind him as he swam his way across the Olympic-sized pool that was the main pool in the fitness center they lived in. Over the past few weeks, he had been practicing his stroke, trying to regain his previous prowess in the water. He still had a bit to go, although he was the best swimmer on the ATOM team again so at least he had regained that proverbial feather in his cap. The kick was the real problem, his pull was better than ever at least.
‘Stupid hooves…’ he groused to himself as he grabbed a kickboard from the poolside. He started off with the easiest kick to recover, the butterfly or dolphin kick. Quickly covering the distance to the other end, Shark turned around and headed back to the other end using the front crawl. Still fairly quick, but not as fast as he was used to, it was especially difficult considering how dependent these kicks were on his feet, which he no longer had.
“We really need to find you some better swim shorts.” Lioness said, indicating the revealing spandex shorts that were stretched around Shark’s waist.
“Axel likes them, at least as far as shorts go.” Shark replied, smiling back at her.
Lioness decided to let the comment pass, she had not come here to talk about preferred clothing choices. “We need to talk… About this mission that we’re going to be heading out on before too long.”
Shark let go of his kickboard and drifted over to where Lioness was standing on the side of the pool, grapping the lip of the pool so he didn’t have to tread water to stay afloat. “What about it? We’re going to get rid of Paine and Lee one way or another. The idea of having to kill them is not comforting mind you, but it is better than having to deal with their constant plots and plans.”
“You don’t want to face Lee or Paine again; you’re nervous or frightened of something they did you, obviously in this case it was being mutated into a minotaur.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Women’s intuition. You need to face this Shark or it will haunt you long after Lee and Paine are gone.” Lioness continued as Shark hauled himself out of the pool, water slashing to the deck in a torrent as it ran out of Shark’s fur.
“Thank you for your concern Lioness, but I can assure you it’s not what you think. I’m fine, don’t worry… Axel does that enough for the both of you, although he won’t admit to it.” Shark said softly, patting Lioness on the shoulder a couple times before he walked off to one of the changing booths.
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Shark stripped off his “swim shorts” and started drying himself off. Lioness and Axel were both worried about him, but really, they were worrying about the wrong thing. He wasn’t afraid to face Lee or Paine, at least as long as the rest of the team was there. He just didn’t want to be caught alone in that base. As he finished drying off, he grabbed his pants and pulled them on, taking care not to get anything vital caught in the zipper. He stepped out of the booth to be greeted by Axel.
“Finished swimming for the day?”
“No, but Lioness wanted to talk about a topic I’d rather avoid right now…” Shark responded flatly, not really wanting to talk about his fears.
“Don’t worry, I won’t bother you, I already know.” Axel said, giving Shark a light kiss on the cheek, “I just wanted to ask if you’d like to go out to eat tonight.”
“Where would we go?”
“A newer restaurant in the downtown area. There’s a parking ramp next to the restaurant and since they’re new they shouldn’t be too busy. Or they’ll be really busy, but they haven’t advertised in the paper so I’m guessing not so busy.”
“Sure, I’ll give it a try, but the second an angry mob forms we’re leaving, okay?”
“No one is going to hurt you, you know that. Besides, you’re hardly the only mutant around Landmark City, especially since Recombo’s Gene Factory attack turned about a tenth of the population into mutants of some type.”
“Yes, but Lee Industries managed to fix that and change everyone back to normal.”
“Stop worrying, everything will be fine.”
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Paine sat in his “office” at the base he was currently hiding at, staring blankly at a partially burned picture of Samantha Paine. His daughter had been missing for almost nineteen months now, and Paine had not even gotten around to searching for her. While to two had grown further apart in the months prior to her disappearance, Paine still wanted her to take over for him; not likely considering circumstances. He had vowed to find her, but run-ins with the ATOM team and Lee’s hold over him prevented that promise from being fulfilled. It occurred to him that if Lee went through with his plan, then he would no longer need Paine around. Then he could look for his daughter, if Lee let him survive he thought, knocking his hand against his metal covered chest. Lee could kill him at any time… he had let this slip for too long and it was time to find a way out.
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“See, I told you everything would be fine.” Axel said as he and Shark returned from their dinner. A few people had stared, but then again Recombo had attacked the city with his Gene Factory just four months ago so no one really thought too much of it. And if Lee managed to carry through with his plan, Shark wouldn’t be the only mutant around. Axel shook his head to clear away such thoughts, he had just returned from a great dinner with his boyfriend, now was not the time for such musings.
“Yeah, you did.” Shark responded distantly, as though he were deep in thought.
“What are you thinking about?”
“We really should tell the rest of the team that we’re dating.” Shark said simply as he crossed his arms behind his head. Outside the car window, streetlights flickered on as the dusk became deeper. The streets were decidedly empty considering the time of day, but then again, years of constant attacks by Paine, Lee and other criminals had worn down the populace and the nightlife had suffered for it. The bar district was still lively as people enjoyed their favorite vices, but the ATOM team never really had a reason to head there. As they drove along their route took them past one of the many downtown areas that had been attacked by the Gene Factory, massive holes in the buildings indicated where extraction tubes had entered the building to suck the inhabitants into the factory for genetic mutation. Other parts of the ruined section showed where various other attacks on the city had laid waste to areas. So much of the city had been ruined during the so-called Year of Lee and the city government just did not have the time or money to repair all the damage. Still, progress had been made; the downtown had largely been rebuilt after the detonation of Lee’s Light-Wave Core which had solidified the photons in the downtown area into billions of high-velocity hard light bullets.
“Are you sure about that?” Axel asked after a long minute of thought.
“It’s better that we tell them now rather than them accidentally finding out later on or something worse.”
“Alright, but not tonight, after all, I have some favors to repay you for.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t dream of interrupting your fun with me.”
“That’s my good little minotaur.” Axel said happily, reaching over to ruffle Shark’s head-fur.
“Little?! I’ll show you little!” Shark responded in mock shock as he tried to pat his hair back into some semblance of order, eventually giving up. The rest of the drive back to the center was spent mostly in small talk, discussions about surfing, martial arts and other topics of interest to either of them.
“So… do you think that we will have to eliminate Lee and Paine soon?” Shark asked as Axel punched in the code to let them into their home. Axel stopped and turned to face Shark.
“You know, I don’t think it really matters… We will have to strike soon but until C.W.O.T. gets more information about the layout of their installation, I doubt they will send us in unless there is an emergency.” Axel said, clearly hesitant to answer lest he upset his mate.
“You don’t need to worry about me you know, I’m not afraid to face Lee and Paine again.” Shark said with perhaps some measure of false bravado, although Axel wasn’t certain how false it was. Without further delay, Axel quietly opened the door and walked inside. Most everyone would probably be out, but Hawk might still be around since the boisterous pilot could rarely keep a girlfriend for more than a week. At the rate he was striking out, the rest of the team figured he’d have to resort to internet dating within a few more weeks. As Axel wandered through the hallways, he heard a quiet, constant thumping sound coming from the direction of King’s room. Sounded like Lioness and King were engaged in some late night exercise, much like he intended to shortly with Shark.
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Paine awoke with a start, something sounded off and it wasn’t just that the climate control system was broken again. Looking around the room he was using as his quarters, he didn’t see anything out of place. He quietly walked over to the door and opened it, looking both ways down the hall before he quietly snuck out.
The darkened hall appeared to be devoid of life, as it should be for this time of night. A quiet rushing sound echoed through the halls, a hallmark of the waterfall this auxiliary base was located near. Otherwise, the corridors were silent as Paine crept down onto the factory floor where various rocket and satellite components were manufactured for Lee’s plan. A sudden clattering noise caught his attention and he quickly drew his weapon, aiming it at the area the sound had emanated from. Some small jungle cat ran out of the machinery, stopping to look at Paine before running off to some other portion of the factory… likely the kitchen. Paine relaxed as he lowered his weapon and continued to search the factory floor. Something more than a feline had caught his attention, now that he had time to think about it, he had been woken by the sound of a window latch being blown. Or at least, that’s what it had sounded like. After finally completing a search of the facility, Paine reluctantly returned to bed.
What he had not noticed was that someone had taken his picture of Samantha…
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Dystopia: Endgame