The Action Man Series

X’s Dream

Author Note: This chapter is rated PG-13

Chapter 7

Grinder and Fidget entered airport grounds. Grinder was eyeing a small plane in the distance; it looked like a private commercial plane but it had very large engines for a plane its size. It would probably get them to Greenland in about two hours and to Alex’s position in about two-and-a-half.

Fidget pointed in front of him, a little to the left and said, "Check that one out!" Grinder followed her gaze and his eyes widened. It was a supersonic jet; a Concorde. He grinned a devilish smile.

"That would get us to Alex is less than an hour. But…how do we get it without being detected?"

Fidget grinned and said, "Hehe, leave that to me!"

Grinder rolled his eyes and put his head in his hands. Yep, she’s back to normal.

Fidget pulled out her heli-cam (her small camera with helicopter rotor-blades) and activated it.

She then smiled her usual, cheerful ‘happy-day’ smile and said, "Time to have some fun!" The camera flew up and away, heading straight for a hanger with lots of people walking in and out. She flew the camera in and Grinder immediately tore forward in the convertible, the wheels screeching.

Fidget watched through her manual camera as she caused a huge ruckus in the hangar. In the hangar was a 737 plane, its right engine burning. So that’s why so many people are in there, she thought.

Grinder rammed the brake pedal to the floor and they stopped in an instant. "Well, hope you’re packed because this trip might be a little tweaked." Fidget gave him the ‘let’s-go-blow-something-up’ look and Grinder thought God, she looks great when she does that. Her perfect, insane hair, her smile…

"C’mon Grinder," she was saying.

He nodded and got out of the convertible, snatching up their lab-top and Alex’s power-suit. The suit that had roller blades in various places and had other capabilities. The only thing Grinder didn’t like was that they had to leave the convertible. They’re brand-new convertible, the other one had been destroyed while fighting the Swarm, when Brandon was still a trilibug. Grinder shivered at the memory.

Fidget somehow opened the door and Grinder gave her a strange look. "How’d you do that," he asked, the obvious ‘huh’ in his voice.

Fidget smiled and perked her head up. "Me no know," she replied, then giggled.

Grinder shook his head but laughed with her as they got on the plan. Then Grinder laughed again as he realized how she did; she didn’t. It was already open; the plane had probably landed so its mechanics could help the 737.

"Uh…uh, oh," Fidget said, staring at the remote control on her camera. "They fixed the 737!"

"…Oh." Grinder blinked for a few seconds, wondering why she said anything. Then it hit him. "OH SH…That’s tweaked! Come on, we need to hurry." Grinder ran to the cockpit, mentally checking the plane’s typical checks. Engines are probably already warm; I can fly it; should be more than enough fuel… When he reached the cockpit, he switched a few levers and said, "That’s not too bad!"

Fidget was looking out a window when she yelled, "EEK! There’re coming for us! And they’re RUNNING!"

Grinder looked out the window. Yep, she was right. As if she wouldn’t be.

Grinder started the plane’s wheels when he remembered that he hadn’t shut the cabin door. "Fidg, go shut the door that we came through!"

She ran back down to another part of the plan and Grinder focused on the flying. Just like Big Air, just like Big Air…dammit! It is NOT!

They started gaining speed and Grinder turned onto a runway. "Prepare for take-off!" When he reached the other end, he turned around and pushed the throttle up far. The plane gained speed and sped down the runway. Fidget came back into the cockpit. "Time to go," she said, waving at the people chasing after them.

Grinder laughed and eased the joystick back, lifting the plane off the ground.

Alex felt his head roll to the left a little bit. He slowly started waking up. He was tied to a chair, shadows all around him except upon him, as if a spotlight were watching him. "Greetings Mr. Man," said a familiar voice.

Alex’s face turned into a frown. "Dr. X," he said grimly.

X stepped into the light. It was he, only he was in Brandon’s body. Somehow.

"I thought you were dead," Alex said, a glare on his face, penetrating Dr. X.

X’s shoulder’s shook with slight laughter. "No, no, I’m not dead, Mr. Man. Merrily…was dead. You see, I really like Mr. Grey’s cloning lab, don’t you?" He hesitated, a silence filling the cold air.

And then it clicked. "So that’s how Asazi and Tempest are still alive. None of the ones I saw in the past two days were the real one!" X smiled as Alex continued. "And that’s how Brandon fell for Asazi! He’s not the real Brandon! Brandon would even be in the Council of Thirteen!"

X nodded in agreement. "Yes, we had to use…seduction to get him to join us so we could use him. He’s still in the building somewhere, screaming your name and hunting like a wild pig…but that’s okay. Eventually Tempest will find him and kill him."

"You see, Mr. Man. You’ve given us our fun, turning my clone against us, but since you are a threat to us, we just can’t let you live. I also note that your friend Ricky got away. No worries; we’ll have Tempest hunt him down for you."

"Oh, and one last thing. Would you like to meet the Council of Thirteen? I’m sure that there would be a few…surprises in store. I mean, those you might trust and…you know, things like that."

Alex looked into the shadows, trying to see past the dark blanket that seemed to be wrapped around him. "Yes, I would like to meet the insane, sadistic idiots that want to ruin the world." X glared at him but he said, "Asazi, the lights."

Lights immediately lit up the room, blinding Alex for a few seconds. When his eyes adjusted, he could see several people. "Forgive me Mr. Man," X was saying. "Some have…duties throughout the building and are not available at the time, but will be shortly. Let me introduce to you, the first member of our Council."

"Her name is Asazi, and she is one of the three members in the Council that are admitted to carry out the Council’s…desires, or wishes, if you would." Asazi grinned at Alex and said, "Hey lover-boy. Your friend liked my clone. I wish you’d like me too," she added, very seductively.

Alex looked around the room, noting a security camera a few feet to his right, in the corner.

Asazi stepped away as X continued, "Member 12, step away. Alex, Member 3 is Ms. Hash." A woman in a skin-revealing dress stepped forward. Alex caught himself staring at her chest and area below and shook his head. She’s pretty but not as pretty as Fidget is. His eyes widened at his own thoughts. As Fidget…

X was saying something as Ms. Hash stepped away. "Member 2 is our dear boy Tempest, but he’s out chasing unpleasentries so you’ll have to meet him later…Member 1 is Mr. Rukikirara, a Japanese man out of Hong-Kong. He will be running for…President as you would call it, Mr. Man, at the next election. He will give us a strong world position and hopefully increases Japan’s stability so he can…"

The members went on and on until they came to the last two members. The others were people Alex had never heard of or knew but the last two…

"And now we come to Member 9, the man called Nick Masters."

Alex’s eyes widened as Nick Masters stepped into view. "Hey Alex," he said happily. A fan turned on somewhere and blew off his wig. "Dammit," Masters shouted. X glared at him. "Sorry about that rude gesture, Mr. Man," X said.

Alex snorted. "I would rather have you all rude to me than the world." Alex looked at Masters and said, "I always knew something was wrong with you. I knew you were some kind of…asshole."

X’s glare went from Masters to Alex. Alex only smiled. But X would definitely have the last laugh. "And Member 11 is…someone I believe you trusted Mr. Man…Simon Grey."

Grey stepped out from behind a doorway. "Good evening Alex. Hope you are…enjoying your stay…" Grey stopped, turned to X and shook hands with him. "And good evening to you, Dr. X."

"I thought you said you didn’t work for X. I thought—," Alex started to say but Grey’s laughter cut him off.

"And you, Alex, are easily deceived. You hand out trust like a ticket to getting to know you. You are a fool, Alex. No offense intended, but it’s true."

Alex didn’t say anything. He had betrayed him. Even Simon Grey…

"Well Mr. Man, goodbye, and have a nice day…enjoy each other’s company." With that, X left the room, shutting off the lights behind him.

Alex immediately looked at the ropes he was strapped in. Nope, they couldn’t be budged. "He said that you would immediately look for a way out," came a playful, seductive voice from somewhere in the shadows.

‘Enjoy each other’s company’, X had said. Uh oh, thought Alex. This might not be very pretty. The woman stepped out of the shadows and into the light. It was Ms. Hash, the pretty woman wearing see-through clothing. Alex looked her up and down and thought easy escape.

"Ah, Ms. Hash," he said, sounding as if he were surprised. He wasn’t. "Nice to see you again."

She giggled and replied, "I bet you like to…see…me, don’t you?"

"It would be lie to say I didn’t," Alex said, acting like he liked her. This isn’t going to be pretty. "You…like to…show-off, don’t you Ms. Hash," Alex said, his voice sounding a little playful.

She grinned and got real close to his lips, so close that if Alex moved, he would be kissing her. She said is a low whisper, "Do you like to show-off?"

Alex pushed his head forward and started to kiss her. She thought defeat and started to undress. She pulled the ropes away from his chair and he kept kissing her, planning carefully. After all, there was a security camera watching them.

Alex slowly turned and pushed her toward the wall under the security camera. Perfect, he thought. A couple more feet…soon, they were kissing right under the security camera, and it couldn’t see them. Alex suddenly wheeled around and punched Hash in the stomach. She dropped to the floor, trying to breathe because Alex had knocked the wind out of her. He then karate-chopped the back of her neck and she lost consciousness.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Had no choice," he mumbled again and made his way out of the room, sticking to the walls in case the security camera turned. It didn’t and he was out of there!

They were closing in one Greenland. "Only fifteen to twenty minutes until we reach Alex," Grinder said quietly. Fidget nodded. She was worried. She didn’t know why, but boy, she was worried. Alex, please be okay…I…I…love you Alex. The word sounded gross, and unfamiliar… but the more she thought about Alex, the more comfortable she got with it. She snuggled back into her seat…and fell asleep despite the excitement…her dreams taking her to places with Alex that she’d never dreamed of…

Alex ran through the hallways.

BOOM! The explosion’s force through him off the ground and tumbling through the air. Damn, that hurts, he thought as he hit the ground. It was his arm. He hadn’t felt it for awhile, but now the pain had returned.

He got up and started running again. This time he had no luck…as if I had any to begin with, he thought. He looked down one end of the hallway and saw Asazi, at least fifty paces away; he looked down the other end of the hallway and saw the infamous Tempest, at least twenty yards away. Both were out of reach for any stunts now. All Alex could do was dodge bullets; as if he could.

Action Man had tripped an alarm earlier, telling everyone in the building his location…and hopefully Brandon.

Alex ducked as Tempest hurtled lightning at him. The lightning ran over him, heating his back a little. Hot! Oh man, I hope that somebody helps me out or I’m dead.

Alex dived to the left as Asazi launched an arrow at him. The arrow flew overhead but didn’t hit Tempest; they had worked long enough to master their arts and get their act together. These two were definitely the originals.

Alex dodged another one and noticed that Asazi was changing darts to some other kind of dart. My only chance…GO! Alex ran forward, his pace getting faster as he ran. Asazi saw him coming and tried to go faster. She dropped an arrow. Alex’s face grew grim; he didn’t know if he could make it…, "AAAARRRR!"

A sudden searing pain overwhelmed his back and he fell to the ground…unconscious…

Alex woke up with a start.

He was tied to a chair, surrounded in blackness. No light, anywhere. "Well, this isn’t the greatest place," he said loudly, testing to see if anyone would reply. No reply, but there was a echo, and he would have to make a note of that…

He sighed. I’m gonna die…they finally got me…hopefully the Fidg’ll be okay. He jerked his head, surprised at his own thoughts…the Fidg? Where did that come from? Then Alex smiled…it would make a lot of sense about how he always acted strange when they were in Team Xtreme’s meetings and during Master Vision games…he always acted tough…Alex laughed at himself. "I like Fidget…a lot." The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He always thought she was beautiful and spunky, with her crazy hair and amazing cameras and personality.

He nodded. I…I’ve been in love with her since…since I met her…