Post by Swim on Apr 17, 2017 2:21:12 GMT -5
It's been a long time since I last updated this thread, and I've a new short story to share, the Tempest Clash! This one takes place directly after the battle with Olympus Team, and so if you haven't read over Faster, Higher, Stronger in awhile now is a good time to re-familiarize with the setting for this narrative. It was never explicitly stated in our RPs but I've dropped many hints about this encounter over the years. The Tempest Lord Alexandre has been Jet's oldest enemy, and has been manipulating events in his life since before he was even activated. This is the end of one of Jet's longest plot arcs, and a battle I've long wanted to share with you all.
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Tempest Clash
Jet limped onward, his feet eventually leading him to a heavy wooden door. He stopped for a moment, taking a series of deep breaths and collecting his wits, steeling himself for yet another battle. When he was ready he pushed against the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. He was clearly in the right place; there was a big commend table in the center of the room displaying various holographic images, large screens against the side wall and a black swivel chair currently facing the window. Jet quietly crept up behind it and reached around with one of his beam sabers hoping to assassinate the maverick lord, but no one was there.
"I'm over here, maverick hunter."
Jet spun around looking for the source of the voice. Lucian Alexandre was hovering outside the window, a dark shape plastered against the night sky. With a flap of his wings he propelled himself into the citadel where he stood before Jet.
"You continue to surprise me," he addressed Jet in greeting. "Amazing what individuals can do when properly motivated. They put you in a corner, with your back against the wall and you broke the mold. That is the way it should be, reploids evolving constantly, the strong emerging and elevating themselves from the pack and leading the way forward. I have watched you and your siblings for a long time, recognizing early on that you had potential for greatness. It is a shame that my forces were never successful in acquiring you. Your brothers needn't have died; each of you could have had a place in my organization, ushering in a new future for reploids the world over. Instead you were indoctrinated by those tiresome hunters and became wasted potential, but I can't help but lament on what could have been if my lieutenants hadn't messed up with Ziedler."
"So you've been trying to abduct me and brainwash me since before I was even created?" Jet asked incredulously. "If you're trying to win me over to your side you're doing a really bad job of it."
"Oh no," scoffed Alexandre, "As I said you're now wasted potential, you've crossed too far over the line and I'm sure I could never sway you with words. But at this point I have no need for subordinates that could ever rival me. I tried once to induce reploid evolution, to take a generic model and infuse him with more power than any living reploid. And I succeeded. In the end however there was no room left in him for cognitive thought, only a desire to consume and grow even stronger. When he began to harvest my own forces I realized that a better strategy would be to strengthen myself rather than rely on a number of powerful generals."
"You've gone mad!" Jet declared. Alexandre laughed and stared at him with hungry eyes.
"Mad? You should know better than anyone that there is truth in what I say. How many reploids have you killed and taken their power for yourself? How do your abilities now compare to those few you were created with? You've changed Jet, with every enemy that fell before you, you grew stronger."
"Every enemy I've killed was trying to kill me or innocent people," Jet protested.
Alexandre waved his hand dismissively. "It makes no difference. You stand here now because you climbed over a pile of corpses to elevate yourself. You will make an excellent stepping stool for my own ascension once I've destroyed you and taken your power for myself."
Without any more discussion Alexandre fired a blast of lightning from his fingertips. Jet tried to dive out of the way but the electricity kept pace with his movement and struck him, causing him to collapse and spasm on the floor. Then his sabers were in his hands, attracting the attack like a lightning rod and drinking in the energy. The flames grew dangerously high, and Jet worried his sabers would overload if they absorbed much more, but then he felt unexpected relief. The pain was ebbing away, the injuries he'd suffered getting here no longer hindered him. Jet got to his feet feeling refreshed and Alexandre ceased his lightning attack now that it was apparent that it had been ineffective.
"Why stand in the way of progress?" Alexandre asked, stepping forward and spreading his arms. "We are technology given sentience, our purpose is to develop and become better. You who walk the path of least resistance, tell me, is it really as simply as you claim it to be?"
"What are you talking about, I've never claimed anything of the sort," Jet protested. "I'll have you know my life is anything but simple."
Alexandre ignored him and began to unfurl a large flail. "Quiet your tongue, open your eyes. The truth is right in front of you, the lies you speak deceive only you."
Jet spotted the flail incoming and ducked under it. He'd never really had a problem dealing with flails, their trajectory was telegraphed ahead of time by watching the wrist movement and the base of the chain, it wasn't easy to perform feint attacks like you could with other weapons. But it could be used defensively, the trick was to wait for an opening. Jet dodged to the left as the flail crashed to the ground next to him, this was his chance.
He dashed into saber striking distance but was swatted away by Alexandre's clawed hand before he could do any real damage. Jet shook off the swat and came back in with a flurry of strikes which Alexandre blocked with the massive claw. He could have pressed the attack but he'd seen the flail whip around and he had to leap back. Alexandre lifted the claw hand and released a series of energy orbs. Jet engaged his thrusters to dodge them but the spheres tracked his movement and forced him to turn sharply before each one impacted. Alexandre had not stood idle while Jet dodged his attack, he had unfurled his wings and swept after Jet who now had to dodge the flail in addition to the energy orbs. He couldn't keep up, the flail caught him in the chest, crushing what remained of his armor there and knocking him to the floor.
Some of the rain had blown inside getting Jet wet, this gave him an idea. Knowing that he'd have more room to maneuver in the sky Jet kicked his thrusters on and flew out the window. Alexandre flapped his wings and followed him into the storm. Rain battered the fortress relentlessly but it was somehow refreshing. There was an energy in the air, which Jet found simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. Gale force winds made it hard to fly straight, but Alexandre was struggling alongside him as they battled the elements as well as each other.
Darkness had fallen by now, and though Alexandre was dressed in black the electric blue of his wings made him visible, Jet might actually be harder to track in the rain. Hoping to blend in with the storm, Jet flew in with sabers in hand but he did not ignite them until he was almost within striking range. It didn't matter though, Alexandre had seen him and brought the flail around which forced Jet to barrel roll out of the way and abandon the attack.
As he'd expected, the flail was a much less effective weapon out here, there was much more freedom to dodge and the wind was making it difficult to swing properly. It was probably for this reason that the maverick returned the flail to his side and drew the sword on his back. It was like he'd bottled lightning, although its light was diminished by the metallic sheen of the outer blade. Jet had never seen anything like it, except for his own sabers which were a living fire. Their own light had not been diminished by the rain, Jet knew by now that water would not stop their energy.
The combatants circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Alexandre suddenly extended his clawed hand and the air particles around Jet exploded, sending him into freefall. Jet only dropped about a hundred feet before he restored his flight but by that time the maverick lord was upon him, barreling into him with sword drawn. Their weapons clashed, but for each second of contact Jet was receiving electrical shocks. Gravity was against him as well, they were caught in the momentum of Alexandre's dive and the force kept Jet pinned.
Jet's sabers flared up, the flames burning Alexandre's face and body and forcing him to relent however slightly. That was all the room Jet needed to barrel roll out from under the maverick, even managing to clip one of his wings with a saber as he spun away. Alexandre appeared to have lost some of his cool demeanor and began launching a number of projectiles. First came the wave of energy spheres which were much easier to dodge around in the open sky, the danger was the plasma detonations that Alexandre kept mixing in. Several times Jet was forced to dip or dive to avoid the spheres, only for the air next to him to rupture and smoke.
Jet knew he had to get in close to inflict damage, he let the flames from his sabers engulf his body and streaked toward Alexandre as a massive blue fireball. The maverick hit him with several electric shocks but nothing that could stop Jet's momentum. At the last second there was a flash of lightning and Alexandre teleported away, appearing behind Jet and fired a blast of energy into the clouds. A moment later Jet was struck by a bolt of lightning and dropped out of the fireball, momentarily stunned. Alexandre was now moving his clawed hand around in a circle while the clouds overhead mimicked his movement. When he let his hand fall a funnel cloud dropped out of the sky, trapping Jet within it.
Jet knew it would do him no good to fight the tornado, the only thing to do was ride the momentum and build up sufficient speed to break free, but by this point Alexandre was now firing electric attacks into the cyclone. The shocks were starting to take their toll as Jet was spun around and around but he managed to keep his body in an upright position, and with a hard thruster burn he managed to push through the vortex of wind and fly for Alexandre. The maverick waved his clawed hand, as if beckoning Jet closer, but he was actually manipulating the trajectory of the tornado toward their position. Jet was once again sucked into the wind vacuum but this time Alexandre was with him. The combatants flailed about, each trying to gain favorable position and land a decisive blow on the other but the cyclone's spin allowed for glancing blows at best.
Jet rode the wind tunnel around for another strike, every so often engaging his thrusters to increase his speed. When he caught up with Alexandre the wind was at his back, adding speed and power to his attacks. Alexandre parried his strikes as best he could, but an upward slash from Jet's second saber popped Alexandre's sword out of his grasp. With his opponent disarmed Jet looked to push his advantage but Alexandre gave a mighty flap of his wings to push away, the tornado helping him to disengage. Jet burned his thrusters, trying to catch up but there was another flash of lightning and suddenly Alexandre's sword reappeared in his hand, apparently he had the ability to recall his weapon to him. Jet had a similar power and this gave him an idea.
He spun away, abandoning the frontal assault and hurled his sabers into the wind. The tornado picked them up and began to spin the blades as well as the combatants. Jet could normally recall the sabers to his hands, he used this now to influence their trajectory within the tornado, making the arena suddenly much more dangerous to Alexandre. The maverick swatted one of the sabers away with his claw but the other raked his back leaving a deep gash, and it was gone before he could react. A moment later the first saber had rotated back around, Alexandre made a grab for it but missed, the saber slipping underneath his outstretched hand and slashing him across the torso.
"Enough," shouted the maverick. Gradually the twister slowed and diminished in size but did not fade away completely. Instead the storm encircled Alexandre, morphing into some sort of protective battier and sparking with electrical power. "It's admirable the way you cling to life," Alexandre called over the wind. "But your power must be almost depleted, mine is inexhaustible."
"Look I think we're past words now," Jet shouted back at him as he recalled his sabers to his hands. "I'm not really interested in the gloating or the banter, my resolution will be my voice. I'm not giving in."
"Darkness falls," Alexandre said, smiling as Jet streaked toward him. "And tomorrow the world will be reborn."
As soon as Jet got close the maverick teleported away and began unleashing attack after electrical attack. Jet was battered relentlessly by energy spheres, plasma bombs and lightning blasts, Alexandre's shield was supplying him with limitless energy and he was using it to throw out one attack after another with no charge time at all. He continued to teleport as he discharged electricity, pelting Jet from all sides and leaving him with no room to dodge.
Zap after zap, jolt after jolt until a massive bolt of lightning pierced the clouds and electrocuted him. Jet began to fall, his thrusters had shorted out entirely and gravity began to take hold. Jet spread his arms and tried to glide to slow his descent, but without his thrusters he was going to lose altitude. His armor was in bad shape too, and he wasn't able to soar like he usually could. And then there was Alexandre, the Maverick Lord swooping in like a gigantic bird of prey to finish the job. Jet couldn't parry or fight back without falling, but if he did nothing he was a sitting duck.
Alexandre drew close, lightning sword in hand but as he tried to stab Jet through the back the hunter folded his arms and plummeted into a steep dive. Alexandre angled his wings and gave chase. When Jet had enough momentum he curled into a ball and flipped around, pulling out of his dive and using the momentum to shoot straight up, crashing into the maverick and entangling themselves with each other.
Jet clung to Alexandre's leg and wing as the maverick attempted to throw him off, looping and spinning and diving erratically but Jet managed to hand on, drawing one of his sabers and slashing at the maverick's wings. His eagerness to inflict damage made him vulnerable himself however, and Alexandre managed to grab him with the large clawed hand.
The maverick brought Jet around to his front and extended the lightning sword up to the sky, a look of triumph on his face. The clouds above them began to crackle and the rumble of distant thunder was heard. Just before the lightning struck Jet buried his free saber into Alexandre's claw forcing the maverick to weaken his grip and Jet flipped into open air. But instead of falling Jet floated, levitating a few yards away from Alexandre. And rather than the usual flame of his thruster a grey aura of anti gravity emanated from Jet's footpad giving off an otherworldly hum.
After being struck by the lightning Alexandre's sword was brimming with power, he gave a flap of his wings and made for Jet who met him in the air and caught the hilt of the sword. The pair of them struggled against one another, fighting for control of the weapon but as they fought the metal casing over the sword began to break off. Blinding light poured through the gaps in the metal, as more and more of the original blade was exposed both Jet and Alexandre were forced to avert their eyes. Then Alexandre let out a cry of pain, the metal had fallen away entirely and they were now each gripping the hilt of a bolt of lightning encased in a glass sleeve, and the electricity seemed to be shocking the maverick who finally wrenched his hand away.
As Alexandre recoiled Jet formed a buster with his free hand and fired a shot of grey energy, courtesy of Altius. The maverick was caught in a gravity well, squeezing him and holding him steady. Jet shot forward, lightning blade in hand and impaled Alexandre through the center of the chest and discharging all of the energy throughout his body. The maverick lord screamed again and began to fall. Jet flew up behind him and caught him around the shoulders, increasing their gravity and falling speed.
Just before they met the water Jet let the maverick go and banked away. Alexandre slammed into the surface, the impact unleashing another pulse of electricity, now amplified by the water. The reaction tore the maverick apart, Alexandre exploded and he and his lightning sword sank beneath the waves. Jet knew he could not have survived. In fact, he knew the exact instant the maverick lord had perished because of a sudden infusion of energy and raw power. Alexandre was crazy but he had not been wrong about inducing reploid evolution. Like it or not, Jet had been reborn again.
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Tempest Clash
Jet limped onward, his feet eventually leading him to a heavy wooden door. He stopped for a moment, taking a series of deep breaths and collecting his wits, steeling himself for yet another battle. When he was ready he pushed against the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. He was clearly in the right place; there was a big commend table in the center of the room displaying various holographic images, large screens against the side wall and a black swivel chair currently facing the window. Jet quietly crept up behind it and reached around with one of his beam sabers hoping to assassinate the maverick lord, but no one was there.
"I'm over here, maverick hunter."
Jet spun around looking for the source of the voice. Lucian Alexandre was hovering outside the window, a dark shape plastered against the night sky. With a flap of his wings he propelled himself into the citadel where he stood before Jet.
"You continue to surprise me," he addressed Jet in greeting. "Amazing what individuals can do when properly motivated. They put you in a corner, with your back against the wall and you broke the mold. That is the way it should be, reploids evolving constantly, the strong emerging and elevating themselves from the pack and leading the way forward. I have watched you and your siblings for a long time, recognizing early on that you had potential for greatness. It is a shame that my forces were never successful in acquiring you. Your brothers needn't have died; each of you could have had a place in my organization, ushering in a new future for reploids the world over. Instead you were indoctrinated by those tiresome hunters and became wasted potential, but I can't help but lament on what could have been if my lieutenants hadn't messed up with Ziedler."
"So you've been trying to abduct me and brainwash me since before I was even created?" Jet asked incredulously. "If you're trying to win me over to your side you're doing a really bad job of it."
"Oh no," scoffed Alexandre, "As I said you're now wasted potential, you've crossed too far over the line and I'm sure I could never sway you with words. But at this point I have no need for subordinates that could ever rival me. I tried once to induce reploid evolution, to take a generic model and infuse him with more power than any living reploid. And I succeeded. In the end however there was no room left in him for cognitive thought, only a desire to consume and grow even stronger. When he began to harvest my own forces I realized that a better strategy would be to strengthen myself rather than rely on a number of powerful generals."
"You've gone mad!" Jet declared. Alexandre laughed and stared at him with hungry eyes.
"Mad? You should know better than anyone that there is truth in what I say. How many reploids have you killed and taken their power for yourself? How do your abilities now compare to those few you were created with? You've changed Jet, with every enemy that fell before you, you grew stronger."
"Every enemy I've killed was trying to kill me or innocent people," Jet protested.
Alexandre waved his hand dismissively. "It makes no difference. You stand here now because you climbed over a pile of corpses to elevate yourself. You will make an excellent stepping stool for my own ascension once I've destroyed you and taken your power for myself."
Without any more discussion Alexandre fired a blast of lightning from his fingertips. Jet tried to dive out of the way but the electricity kept pace with his movement and struck him, causing him to collapse and spasm on the floor. Then his sabers were in his hands, attracting the attack like a lightning rod and drinking in the energy. The flames grew dangerously high, and Jet worried his sabers would overload if they absorbed much more, but then he felt unexpected relief. The pain was ebbing away, the injuries he'd suffered getting here no longer hindered him. Jet got to his feet feeling refreshed and Alexandre ceased his lightning attack now that it was apparent that it had been ineffective.
"Why stand in the way of progress?" Alexandre asked, stepping forward and spreading his arms. "We are technology given sentience, our purpose is to develop and become better. You who walk the path of least resistance, tell me, is it really as simply as you claim it to be?"
"What are you talking about, I've never claimed anything of the sort," Jet protested. "I'll have you know my life is anything but simple."
Alexandre ignored him and began to unfurl a large flail. "Quiet your tongue, open your eyes. The truth is right in front of you, the lies you speak deceive only you."
Jet spotted the flail incoming and ducked under it. He'd never really had a problem dealing with flails, their trajectory was telegraphed ahead of time by watching the wrist movement and the base of the chain, it wasn't easy to perform feint attacks like you could with other weapons. But it could be used defensively, the trick was to wait for an opening. Jet dodged to the left as the flail crashed to the ground next to him, this was his chance.
He dashed into saber striking distance but was swatted away by Alexandre's clawed hand before he could do any real damage. Jet shook off the swat and came back in with a flurry of strikes which Alexandre blocked with the massive claw. He could have pressed the attack but he'd seen the flail whip around and he had to leap back. Alexandre lifted the claw hand and released a series of energy orbs. Jet engaged his thrusters to dodge them but the spheres tracked his movement and forced him to turn sharply before each one impacted. Alexandre had not stood idle while Jet dodged his attack, he had unfurled his wings and swept after Jet who now had to dodge the flail in addition to the energy orbs. He couldn't keep up, the flail caught him in the chest, crushing what remained of his armor there and knocking him to the floor.
Some of the rain had blown inside getting Jet wet, this gave him an idea. Knowing that he'd have more room to maneuver in the sky Jet kicked his thrusters on and flew out the window. Alexandre flapped his wings and followed him into the storm. Rain battered the fortress relentlessly but it was somehow refreshing. There was an energy in the air, which Jet found simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. Gale force winds made it hard to fly straight, but Alexandre was struggling alongside him as they battled the elements as well as each other.
Darkness had fallen by now, and though Alexandre was dressed in black the electric blue of his wings made him visible, Jet might actually be harder to track in the rain. Hoping to blend in with the storm, Jet flew in with sabers in hand but he did not ignite them until he was almost within striking range. It didn't matter though, Alexandre had seen him and brought the flail around which forced Jet to barrel roll out of the way and abandon the attack.
As he'd expected, the flail was a much less effective weapon out here, there was much more freedom to dodge and the wind was making it difficult to swing properly. It was probably for this reason that the maverick returned the flail to his side and drew the sword on his back. It was like he'd bottled lightning, although its light was diminished by the metallic sheen of the outer blade. Jet had never seen anything like it, except for his own sabers which were a living fire. Their own light had not been diminished by the rain, Jet knew by now that water would not stop their energy.
The combatants circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Alexandre suddenly extended his clawed hand and the air particles around Jet exploded, sending him into freefall. Jet only dropped about a hundred feet before he restored his flight but by that time the maverick lord was upon him, barreling into him with sword drawn. Their weapons clashed, but for each second of contact Jet was receiving electrical shocks. Gravity was against him as well, they were caught in the momentum of Alexandre's dive and the force kept Jet pinned.
Jet's sabers flared up, the flames burning Alexandre's face and body and forcing him to relent however slightly. That was all the room Jet needed to barrel roll out from under the maverick, even managing to clip one of his wings with a saber as he spun away. Alexandre appeared to have lost some of his cool demeanor and began launching a number of projectiles. First came the wave of energy spheres which were much easier to dodge around in the open sky, the danger was the plasma detonations that Alexandre kept mixing in. Several times Jet was forced to dip or dive to avoid the spheres, only for the air next to him to rupture and smoke.
Jet knew he had to get in close to inflict damage, he let the flames from his sabers engulf his body and streaked toward Alexandre as a massive blue fireball. The maverick hit him with several electric shocks but nothing that could stop Jet's momentum. At the last second there was a flash of lightning and Alexandre teleported away, appearing behind Jet and fired a blast of energy into the clouds. A moment later Jet was struck by a bolt of lightning and dropped out of the fireball, momentarily stunned. Alexandre was now moving his clawed hand around in a circle while the clouds overhead mimicked his movement. When he let his hand fall a funnel cloud dropped out of the sky, trapping Jet within it.
Jet knew it would do him no good to fight the tornado, the only thing to do was ride the momentum and build up sufficient speed to break free, but by this point Alexandre was now firing electric attacks into the cyclone. The shocks were starting to take their toll as Jet was spun around and around but he managed to keep his body in an upright position, and with a hard thruster burn he managed to push through the vortex of wind and fly for Alexandre. The maverick waved his clawed hand, as if beckoning Jet closer, but he was actually manipulating the trajectory of the tornado toward their position. Jet was once again sucked into the wind vacuum but this time Alexandre was with him. The combatants flailed about, each trying to gain favorable position and land a decisive blow on the other but the cyclone's spin allowed for glancing blows at best.
Jet rode the wind tunnel around for another strike, every so often engaging his thrusters to increase his speed. When he caught up with Alexandre the wind was at his back, adding speed and power to his attacks. Alexandre parried his strikes as best he could, but an upward slash from Jet's second saber popped Alexandre's sword out of his grasp. With his opponent disarmed Jet looked to push his advantage but Alexandre gave a mighty flap of his wings to push away, the tornado helping him to disengage. Jet burned his thrusters, trying to catch up but there was another flash of lightning and suddenly Alexandre's sword reappeared in his hand, apparently he had the ability to recall his weapon to him. Jet had a similar power and this gave him an idea.
He spun away, abandoning the frontal assault and hurled his sabers into the wind. The tornado picked them up and began to spin the blades as well as the combatants. Jet could normally recall the sabers to his hands, he used this now to influence their trajectory within the tornado, making the arena suddenly much more dangerous to Alexandre. The maverick swatted one of the sabers away with his claw but the other raked his back leaving a deep gash, and it was gone before he could react. A moment later the first saber had rotated back around, Alexandre made a grab for it but missed, the saber slipping underneath his outstretched hand and slashing him across the torso.
"Enough," shouted the maverick. Gradually the twister slowed and diminished in size but did not fade away completely. Instead the storm encircled Alexandre, morphing into some sort of protective battier and sparking with electrical power. "It's admirable the way you cling to life," Alexandre called over the wind. "But your power must be almost depleted, mine is inexhaustible."
"Look I think we're past words now," Jet shouted back at him as he recalled his sabers to his hands. "I'm not really interested in the gloating or the banter, my resolution will be my voice. I'm not giving in."
"Darkness falls," Alexandre said, smiling as Jet streaked toward him. "And tomorrow the world will be reborn."
As soon as Jet got close the maverick teleported away and began unleashing attack after electrical attack. Jet was battered relentlessly by energy spheres, plasma bombs and lightning blasts, Alexandre's shield was supplying him with limitless energy and he was using it to throw out one attack after another with no charge time at all. He continued to teleport as he discharged electricity, pelting Jet from all sides and leaving him with no room to dodge.
Zap after zap, jolt after jolt until a massive bolt of lightning pierced the clouds and electrocuted him. Jet began to fall, his thrusters had shorted out entirely and gravity began to take hold. Jet spread his arms and tried to glide to slow his descent, but without his thrusters he was going to lose altitude. His armor was in bad shape too, and he wasn't able to soar like he usually could. And then there was Alexandre, the Maverick Lord swooping in like a gigantic bird of prey to finish the job. Jet couldn't parry or fight back without falling, but if he did nothing he was a sitting duck.
Alexandre drew close, lightning sword in hand but as he tried to stab Jet through the back the hunter folded his arms and plummeted into a steep dive. Alexandre angled his wings and gave chase. When Jet had enough momentum he curled into a ball and flipped around, pulling out of his dive and using the momentum to shoot straight up, crashing into the maverick and entangling themselves with each other.
Jet clung to Alexandre's leg and wing as the maverick attempted to throw him off, looping and spinning and diving erratically but Jet managed to hand on, drawing one of his sabers and slashing at the maverick's wings. His eagerness to inflict damage made him vulnerable himself however, and Alexandre managed to grab him with the large clawed hand.
The maverick brought Jet around to his front and extended the lightning sword up to the sky, a look of triumph on his face. The clouds above them began to crackle and the rumble of distant thunder was heard. Just before the lightning struck Jet buried his free saber into Alexandre's claw forcing the maverick to weaken his grip and Jet flipped into open air. But instead of falling Jet floated, levitating a few yards away from Alexandre. And rather than the usual flame of his thruster a grey aura of anti gravity emanated from Jet's footpad giving off an otherworldly hum.
After being struck by the lightning Alexandre's sword was brimming with power, he gave a flap of his wings and made for Jet who met him in the air and caught the hilt of the sword. The pair of them struggled against one another, fighting for control of the weapon but as they fought the metal casing over the sword began to break off. Blinding light poured through the gaps in the metal, as more and more of the original blade was exposed both Jet and Alexandre were forced to avert their eyes. Then Alexandre let out a cry of pain, the metal had fallen away entirely and they were now each gripping the hilt of a bolt of lightning encased in a glass sleeve, and the electricity seemed to be shocking the maverick who finally wrenched his hand away.
As Alexandre recoiled Jet formed a buster with his free hand and fired a shot of grey energy, courtesy of Altius. The maverick was caught in a gravity well, squeezing him and holding him steady. Jet shot forward, lightning blade in hand and impaled Alexandre through the center of the chest and discharging all of the energy throughout his body. The maverick lord screamed again and began to fall. Jet flew up behind him and caught him around the shoulders, increasing their gravity and falling speed.
Just before they met the water Jet let the maverick go and banked away. Alexandre slammed into the surface, the impact unleashing another pulse of electricity, now amplified by the water. The reaction tore the maverick apart, Alexandre exploded and he and his lightning sword sank beneath the waves. Jet knew he could not have survived. In fact, he knew the exact instant the maverick lord had perished because of a sudden infusion of energy and raw power. Alexandre was crazy but he had not been wrong about inducing reploid evolution. Like it or not, Jet had been reborn again.
