The Rise of the Fat Mogul (The Defenders Saga Book 2) (24 page)

“D.A.W.N.!” Oscar yelled again, “open up the damned elevator!”

“Oh, she won't hear you,” Arthur laughed again.  “She’s gone,” he said as the lights went out, “and I’m in charge now.”

The screens were the only light left in the room, showing the crazed visage of Arthur Flores as he typed away maniacally on a keyboard in front of him. 

“Arthur...” Oscar said slowly, “what are you doing?”

“You know, Oscar, you really did develop some amazing technology in here.  The things I can do with the push of a button from this very console, well, it's just plain fantastic.  Did you know that we have found a way to use your teleportation technology to be able to transport anything to any location?  Like,” he grinned as he looked at the camera, “perhaps bringing an old friend home in the blink of an eye?”

The room glowed blue for just a moment, and then filled with glaring light, followed shortly thereafter with a brilliant heat which burned like the sun.

“Um, Buddy,” Alexa said anxiously.  “Is that--”

“Oh yes, Miss Rose,” Arthur cackled.  “It's your old friend Dominion, or is it Agent Murphy now?  I can never seem to keep these things straight.  Looks like he's about to go supernova.”  Arthur's laughter filled the room over the sound of the burning foyer.

“Buddy,” Alexa continued anxiously, “I don't have a way of protecting myself from fire like the rest of you.”

“Neither do I!” Talmadge yelled.

“Right, so, um, do you have any ideas on what you can do to--”

A loud crashing sound came from the doorway just as the walls crumbled down around it, followed by the entrance of a large tank-like vehicle skidding into the room.

“D.A.W.N.!” Ryan yelled.

“What?” Oscar questioned.

“It's D.A.W.N.'s mobile unit,” Ryan answered.

“Carl designed it,” Alexa added.

“Hold please for another available teller,” D.A.W.N. said as a blue light enveloped the form of Damon and he disappeared once again.  The room went dark momentarily before D.A.W.N. switched on her headlights and drove slowly forward.

“Stop!” Oscar yelled at the moving vehicle.  “The structure integrity of the floor could be compromised from Damon's fire.  We don't want to risk collapsing the entire complex here.”

“Don't we?” Buddy asked.  “That would at least take care of Arthur.”

“Yeah,” Oscar agreed, “and also get rid of our only possible chance of stopping his army.”

“Good point,” Buddy agreed.  Then, not sure why he agreed, followed up with, “Wait, is it?”

“Don’t worry, boys,” D.A.W.N. spoke gently, “I believe I may have a solution to your troubles.”

“At this point, darlin',” Oscar smiled, “I'd be happy if you could just get us out of this hole in the ground.”

“I could most definitely do that, Oscar, dear.  However, I believe you were right before when you stated Arthur should be our first order of business.”

“Well, yeah, but he seems to have gotten control of the base,” Oscar said dejectedly.  “I mean, unless you have some way of regaining control.”

“Unfortunately I do not,” D.A.W.N. said matter-of-factly.  “Arthur attempted to delete my program altogether, as his paranoia is reaching an all-time-high.  He was certain I was assisting you in your attempts to get in through the back door.”

“Well, weren't you?”  Alexa asked.

“I wish I could have, Alexa, honey.  But your father had locked me out of those systems years ago.”

“So,” Oscar continued, “if Arthur tried to delete your program, how is it that you're still around.”

“Well, he actually succeeded in deleting me.  However, it would appear that he was unaware that Carl had inserted a back-up version of my system within the XM1202, which activated as soon as Zero turned me on.”

“Zero?” Buddy yelled in surprise.  “He’s still alive?”

“Alive and safe within my tank here,” D.A.W.N. answered.  “Although he’s definitely seen some better days.”

“So, you're mobile now?” Oscar asked.

“Oh, yes dear, and loving it!”

“I'm sorry folks,” Buddy cut in once again, “but I'm really not digging the whole hanging out in the dark within a collapsing underground cavern vibe we have going on here.  Could we get to D.A.W.N.'s plan on dealing with the situation?”  The ground creaked beneath them.  “And could we do it quickly?”

“Of course, Buddy,” D.A.W.N. replied.  “As you probably already know, I have access to a full arsenal of weaponry within my mobile unit, including missiles, flame-throwers, Gatling guns--”

Another loud creak.  “I've read your specs, D.A.W.N., get to the point!” Ryan said agitatedly.

“Right, well, in addition, I also have the ability to use Oscar's teleportation technology to transport people from--”

“Yeah, we saw that with Damon already,” Alexa cut D.A.W.N. off.  “We don't have much time left.”

D.A.W.N. huffed, “My word.  Have all of your lost your manners?  This is no way to ask for someone's--”

“D.A.W.N.,” Buddy said clearly and slowly, “please help us get out of here.  Now!”

The room filled with a blue light and morphed instantly into a room walled with concrete blocks and gray as far as the eye could see.

C
HAPTER 26

“There,” D.A.W.N. said quickly.  “Was that so hard?”

“Where are we?” Talmadge asked, looking off into the dark distance.  The only light in the room came from the headlights of the XM1202, which showed just far enough to see a boxing ring in the distance.

“We're in the heart of The Bunker,” Oscar answered.  “The proving grounds, the gym, the barracks, whatever you want to call it.  This, down here, is where all of the true work happened.  This is where we would train, where we would sleep.  We didn't need any of that extra flowery crap down here, just space.”

“But, why are we down here?” Talmadge continued as a faint creaking sounded from above them.  “Shouldn't we be back above-ground, away from the collapsing building?”

“We should be safe, for now,” Oscar responded.  “The structural damage is quite a ways up and should take a while before it causes us any trouble.  We should have enough time to find Arthur, at least.”

“Per my biorhythm scanner, Arthur is immediately in front of us,” D.A.W.N. added.

“Dammit,” Oscar scowled.  “That bastard's probably shrunk himself down to the sub-atomic level.  Maybe we won’t be able to find him in time.”

“So, what do we do now?” Buddy asked.  “Just sit around until Arthur gets bored and jumps out at us?”

“Arthur will never show his face, not as long as he doesn't have to.  No, we have to do something much more drastic.  D.A.W.N., do you think you can access The Bunker's operating system and take back control?”

“Like I said before, I don’t think I can.  But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“Do it,” Oscar replied.  “Fast.”

“What are you up to, Dad?”  Ryan asked.

“We're going to lock Arthur up down here.  Make sure he doesn't have any power to do anything whatsoever.”

“Okay,” Alexa responded.  “But what does that do?”

“I have a feeling we'll find out pretty fast,” Oscar smiled.

“Ooh,” D.A.W.N. chimed.  “That was a lot easier than I thought.  I guess it pays to have been the sole operating system down here for so long.  I’ve managed to regain control and I'm seeing severe structural damage to all floors.  The entire building will collapse in on itself within the next ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?” Talmadge yelled.  “I thought you said we had time.  You've got to get us out of here.”

“You're right,” Oscar said softly.  “D.A.W.N., please teleport them all back to the surface, yourself included.  Oh, and Agent Kent should be down here somewhere.  Find him and bring him topside as well, if you can.  And anyone else you can find.  Just leave me and Arthur.”

“But Oscar--” D.A.W.N. began.

“Do it, now!” Oscar yelled.

The room glowed blue and morphed back into the exterior of the Sun City Convention Center. 

Buddy instantly jumped into action.  “D.A.W.N., what the hell?  Take me back down there now.  We can't let Oscar face off against Arthur alone.  Not in his condition.”

“But, Buddy, Oscar explicitly told me that--”

“Take me down there, now!” Buddy screamed. 

“Okay,” D.A.W.N. said softly. 

Buddy glowed blue and found himself standing in the middle of the barracks, once again.  He looked around in the darkness and saw the lights of Oscar’s suit, illuminating Oscar as he was laid out flat.  He ran to Oscar's side. 

“What happened?  Are you okay?”  Buddy asked.

“Arthur,” he said through a hard exhale.

“What about him?” Buddy asked.  “Did you see him?  Did he do this?”

“Oh, I did that, alright,” Arthur's voice came from above Buddy's head.  “And I'll do much more if you don't return the control of this complex over to me.”

Buddy looked up and saw Arthur staring down at him.  His head touched the ceiling twenty-feet above them.  He scowled down at Buddy in intense rage.  His hands were up on the ceiling, keeping it from collapsing in on them.

“You know I can't do that Flores.  You've gone too far.  This ends here.”

“I don't think so, Buddy,” Arthur laughed.  “Don't you understand?  I planned all of this from the beginning.  I was the one who brought Memphis back from the dead.  I was the one who brought you back to fight him.  Aren't you even the slightest bit curious as to why I would find it necessary to bring you back?”

“We don't have time for this,” Buddy yelled up to the crazed man.  “This building's going to collapse any minute now.  If you just give up, call off your army, we can end this.  We don't have to fight anymore.”

“But it's all come down to this very moment, Buddy,” Arthur laughed again.  “This is the precise moment I've been waiting for all these years.  You in the grips of death, the world above prepared to pay the price for all that's been done.  Once you are removed from the picture entirely, it will be only I who can save the world from Damon Memphis, only I who can be seen as the true protector of all that is here.  Then I shall finally have true control.”

“This is crazy,” Buddy said as he looked around the room for something he could use to leverage this moment in his favor.  “You understand that right?”

“Is it?” Arthur asked back.  “Is it crazy to wish to be recognized for what I am, for what we all are?”

“And what's that?”

“Gods!” Arthur said as the ceiling rumbled in his hands.  The room tremored with his words as his eyes flashed brighter.  “And once I've rid myself of the likes of you,” he smirked, “I shall be declared God Supreme!”

“Only one problem there, bub,” Buddy said, walking closer to the giant in front of him.  “I'm pretty hard to kill.  And if you let that building drop down on top of us, it's got a better chance of killing you than little ol' Buddy Hero.”

“Ah, but that's where you're wrong.  I can’t be killed.  Even if this body were to pass away, I will continue.  I’ve made certain of that.  And although you may not die with the collapse of this structure, I can rest assured that even the ineffable Buddy Hero doesn’t stand a chance in digging himself out from under over a half mile of rubble.”

“What do you mean you will continue?” Oscar asked, struggling to return himself to a seated position.  Buddy ran to his side.

“Ah, Mr. Reed, the ever intrepid scientist, needs to know how everything works, does he?  Unfortunately for you, I’m not a villain from a bad action movie.  My master plan will not be revealed until it has been completed, which shall be long after you’re already dead, I’m afraid.  Die happy knowing that you allowed all this, that your silence created this beautiful moment.”

“You’re crazy,” Oscar yelled.  “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Oh, my dear, dear Oscar.  If only you had been paying attention, you would know that this is the only way it ever could have been.  This is how I designed it to be, right down to the death of both of you in this hole.”

“Well, Arthur, I guess that means you leave me no choice,” Oscar said, struggling to stand, but ultimately succeeding.  “Buddy, you may want to stand back a bit.”  Oscar pressed some buttons on his wrist device.

“What do you think you’re up to now, Oscar?” Arthur growled.  “Do you think you are going to save the day with some great heroic feat?  We both know you’re too much of a coward to ever do anything that dare encroach on your own comfortable life.  Every version of you I’ve ever fought against has been the same, too unwilling to do what needs to be done.”

“Every version?” Buddy asked.

“Ah, but you've never met the Oscar who knows he's about to die, have you?  D.A.W.N., activate new initiative Delta Omega Alpha.”  A blue light glowed around Buddy as Oscar's suit beamed a bright red.  Just as the world melted away around Buddy, he saw a flame burst out from the Red Rocketeer, causing the entire complex to shake terribly.  As Buddy reappeared on the grass outside the SCCC, he felt a violent rumble occurring beneath him. 

Alexa ran to Buddy's side and helped him regain his balance.  “Where's my dad?” she asked anxiously.

“No time,” Buddy yelled, pulling on Alexa's arm as he yelled to the rest of the group.  “Run!”

Buddy ran as fast as he could pulling Alexa behind him as the ground gave way.  Alexa finally recognized what was happening below and removed herself from Buddy's grip as she ran alongside him.

“Go,” Buddy yelled, “you're fast, get out of here.”

“Not without you,” she screamed back. 

Ryan lifted into the air, pulling Talmadge with him.  The two hovered above the newly crafted sinkhole. 

Buddy glanced over his shoulder and saw D.A.W.N.'s mobile unit being swallowed by the earth.  He tripped over the cracking ground and lost his balance.  Alexa grabbed his hand and he returned to his feet.  Buddy leaped into the air and landed twenty feet away, just outside of what was now a giant crater where the Sun City Convention Center used to be, reaching several hundred feet deep.  D.A.W.N.’s mobile unit glowed blue, disappeared, and reappeared behind the group.

“Whoa,” Buddy exhaled.  “That was quite the trip.”

“Doesn’t look like we’re out of trouble yet,” Ryan said from overhead. 

Buddy looked up and saw Jeff's army headed in their direction, looking as ominous as ever. 

“I thought the whole point in staying down there was so that you guys could end Artie's connection with these guys,” Alexa stated.

“Yeah, that was the idea,” Buddy replied, “and I have a hard time imagining that Flores actually lived through what happened down there.”

“So,” Talmadge asked, “what does that mean?  I definitely don't think we can fight them all off.”

“Yeah, especially not now that we're a couple men down.”

The army approached the hole in the ground and landed within, forming what appeared to be a search party.  Methodically, the men and women scanned the earth and dug into it, hunting for something within the wreckage.

“What are they doing?” Ryan asked.

“If I had to guess,” Alexa offered, “I’d say they’re looking for something.”

“Flores?” Ryan asked.

“Vaporized,” Buddy answered.  They ain’t gonna be finding anything of him anytime soon.”

“Well, at least it looks like they haven't noticed us quite yet.  How long do you think that's going to last?” Ryan asked.

“Well, they’ve got a long way to go if they’re going to dig all the way down to where Flores was.  If that’s what they’re doing anyways,” Buddy answered.  “So, let's do a quick recap of who's around and see if we can't come up with some idea as to why these black-suited robots are still all zombified or whatever.”

“Okay,” Alexa complied.  “Well, first, I think you need to answer the question of where my father is.”

“Um,” Buddy stammered, “well.”

“It’s a simple question, Buddy,” Alexa stared as a tear welled up within her right eye.  “Where’s my dad?”

“He’s in the same place as Flores,” Buddy said as he pointed to the center of the crater.

“But,” Alexa stumbled.  “But—“

“You said Flores was vaporized,” Ryan said slowly. 

“He saved the day,” Buddy added.  “After all is said and done, it was your father who managed to take care of Flores.”

“What happened down there, Buddy?” Alexa screamed.

“I couldn’t stop him.  I tried, but he had this whole thing set up where D.A.W.N. teleported me out right as he set his suit up to explode.  I—“

“His suit exploded?” Ryan asked.  “But I never set it up to be able to do that!”

“It was part of the initial design,” D.A.W.N. answered.  “He didn’t want his technology to fall into the wrong hands.  The whole Bunker was set up to do the same.”

“So, Dad’s—“ Alexa stopped.

“Sorry, kid,” Buddy said as he put an arm around Alexa’s shoulder.  She buried her face into his chest.

“But the whole reason we went down there—“

“I know, kid.  I know.  I think he was happy to go down like this.  I think he felt like it was his destiny, his payment for—“

“What the hell’s going on here?” Agent Kent yelled as he walked up to the group.

“Kent!” Ryan frowned.  “So you got out alive?”

“I guess so.  What’s up with those black-suited freaks out there?”

“We were just trying to figure that out,” Buddy answered.  “It seems like they’re under some sort of mind control.  We had thought it might be from Arthur, but well--”

“Nevermind,” Kent cut in.  “I don’t care.”  And with a
pop
he was gone.

“Ass,” Buddy muttered.

“There is another option available, chum,” Zero’s voice came from D.A.W.N.’s external speakers.

“Zero!” Buddy yelled.  “Are you alright?”

“Nothing time won’t heal.  I’ve been trying to get out of this damned contraption for what feels like hours now, but D.A.W.N.’s keeping me locked inside.”

“It’s for your own good, Zero, darling,” D.A.W.N.’s soft voice chimed.

“Thank God, you’re still alive,” Alexa added.

“So, what's the other option?” Ryan asked.

“Simple,” Zero answered.  “Perhaps the true nature of their current hypnotized state does not derive from the Flores family at all.”