The Good Doctor: Retaliation Ch. 01

"Step away from me, Robert. You're hurt and angry and about to start something you'll regret." Wraith's eyes glowed a soft purple.

"You know what?" Rob stepped away from Wraith, his hands held up in defeat, "Fuck you, fuck the Corps; fuck all of this." He started to walk away, "Make sure Nurse Sweet is ok and tell her I'm sorry."

"Robert!" Wraith held out a hand, her eyes flashed and Rob suddenly froze in midstride, "Don't."

With a howl, Rob tore away from Wraith's weak bonds and whirled around, his eyes glowing blue. He reached for the sword he wore at his side and with a *bzzz* the blue blade appeared. The half-man advanced toward Wraith, fury in his eyes.

Just in time, Wraith whirled away from a swinging blow from the sword, her own eyes glowing brightly. The blade slide through the wall like it was butter. Rob tried to yank it out but Wraith held onto it tightly with her mind. Frustrated, Rob reached for his gun and had it pointed at Wraith in one swift movement. He fired, the blue energy bullet narrowly missing Wraith's shoulder.

"You spoiled little..." The usually reserved Wraith yelled.

Some invisible force was making Wraith's white cloak to swirl around her as she raised her hands above her head. What started out as a small white orb quickly grew to become a ball of energy as big as a beach ball in between Wraith's hands. Before Rob could react, she hurled the ball at him, hitting him square in the chest.

Rob flew backward with an "oomph", crashing straight through the haul and into the air outside.

In a flash, Wraith was outside the Base, looking down where Rob had somehow managed to land on his feet. She was too late to dodge the shot of blue energy and it hit her square in the shoulder. A burning pain spread across Wraith's arm and she clutched it angrily. The second shot missed and Wraith disappeared into thin air, reappearing behind Rob.

As he swung around, Wraith kicked Rob's feet out from under him. He went down with a crash, but managed to grab Wraith by the wrist and pull her down with him. She landed on top of him, her check making contact with the hard plane of his chest. In one motion, Rob flipped Wraith on her back and pinned her hands above her head, his knees pinning her body down.

Rob's eyes were still glowing blue when he hissed, "I told you to leave me alone. I didn't want to hurt you."

Wraith, who's own eyes were glowing a bright purple, responded, "And I told YOU to get a hold of yourself."

"Well it looks like you're in no position to be telling me anything."

Wraith didn't like this Rob. The Rob she had grown to respect would never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. This was an angry, hurt, confused Rob...who needed to be taught a lesson.

With a scream, Wraith's eyes became so bright Rob had to shield his eyes with one hand while the other continued to pin Wraith down. When the light became so bright that even Rob's arm didn't stop it from burning his retinas there was a sound like a cannon and Rob was thrown back a few hundred feet. He landed with a *thud* and left a sizable crater at the impact sight.

Weak from her efforts, Wraith struggled to her feet to stand on unsure footing. She had only done thtat once before, and the receiver had not gotten up so Wraith gasped when she saw Rob leap to his feet like nothing had happened, his eyes now glowing a menacing red...red like the Bi0-Bots.

"Rob, no." Wraith said weakly, holding her hand out.

The energy shield Wraith created was much too weak to stop the huge glowing ball of red energy Rob sent hurtling at her. It made contact and sent her flying even further than Rob had flown, but Wraith did not get up as easily.

Blackness crept at the corners of Wraith's consciousness as she weakly lifted her head to see Rob sauntering toward her, his eyes still on fire with the red glow. He raised his hand, another red orb forming in front of it...

"ROB! ENOUGH!" A female voice yelled.

A huge wall of flame leapt from the ground, forming a secure barrier between Wraith and Rob. Between the flickering flames, Wraith could just make out Rob as he turned first his head, then his body toward whoever had made the flames.

Flames...Nurse Sweet.

"Rob, what are you doing?!" Nurse Sweet's voice called.

Wraith could see Rob lower his hand, his eyes fading from red to blue before returning to normal.

Rob stared at the ground, "I...I don't know."

"Wraith, are you ok?" Nurse Sweet brushed the flames aside. She seemed remarkably healthy for someone who, just few minutes ago, had been lying unconscious in bed. The healing ability of Supers never ceased to amaze Wraith. She had seen Giovanni come from the brink of death and back within hours during the War on more than one occasion.

Wraith herself was recovering rapidly from Rob's attack and managed to get weakly to her feet, "Yes, I'm fine."

Rob was still staring at the ground, apparently confused about the way he had acted.

"Robert, get yourself to the Base, we'll talk later." Wraith commanded.

"You're not in charge." He protested softly.

"You just completely lost control of your emotions and tried to kill me; something is definitely wrong with you." Wraith persisted, "Until we know more about what exactly it is, you are temporarily relieved of leadership. I will lead in your place."

Glancing first at Nurse Sweet then Wraith, Rob turned heel and made his way to the ladder leading to the top of the Base.

Once he had left, Nurse Sweet turned to Wraith, "What the hell happened? One minute I was asleep and next I hear fighting and someone crashing into a wall!"

"He lost control of his feelings." Wraith stated simply.

"Lost control...why..." a look of terror appeared on Nurse Sweet's face, "Oh, God!" her hands covered her mouth, "Did he see the..."

"Nurse Sweet, I suggest you get some rest. Do not concern yourself with the DVD or Robert, you've had a terrible ordeal and need to take care of yourself."

"I'm fine, I..."

Wraith interrupted, "Nurse Sweet, please, I already have to deal with the mess that is Robert. Do not give me a hard time about this; go get some rest."

Instead of protesting, Nurse Sweet rolled her eyes and headed toward the Base. When she had left, Wraith let out a loud sigh and ran her fingers through her long, brown hair. Things were getting out of hand. Slade was loose, Nurse Sweet had been raped, the Good Doctor wasn't being very good, and the Corps had done nothing in response for a month and Party's trail had gone stone cold.

"Disaster..." Wraith whispered into the air, "Giovanni, what were you thinking? Putting him in charge?"

When Wraith and the others had formed the Corps all those years ago it had stood for something. Now they were nothing but vigilantes lead by an angry youth. The Party was planning something big. They had to be, now that Slade was loose once more. If the Corps didn't regain its former status as heroes, the Party was bound to win.

"Not on my watch." Wraith vowed, gliding toward the Base, "Not again."

*************************************************************************************

No matter how many switches Rob tinkered with in his mind, he could not manage to turn off his emotions. Normally he liked to feel like he was still human, but now all he felt was pain and regret. His attack on Wraith was unanticipated and definitely not a good example of strong leadership. If Nurse Sweet hadn't shown up when she did, Rob was sure that he would have killed Wraith and probably would have been hunted down by the Corps while the Party made their next move.

Something was seriously wrong and as much as Rob hated to admit it; he was scared.

Rob was still searching for the "Emotion Switch" when Nurse Sweet came to see him. She slipped into his wrecked room silently and gave Rob a weak smile.

"Wraith told me to get some rest, but I didn't want to leave you in here all by yourself." Nurse Sweet said as she hopped up onto the bed where Rob was sitting.

"She was right, you need rest. And I'm fine." Rob said without looking at her. He was staring at his lap, clearly avoiding eye contact with Nurse Sweet.

"You're not fine and everyone knows it now." Sweet said.

Rob raised his head but still did not make eye contact with her, "I saw the video..."

It was Nurse Sweet's turn to look down at her lap, "That was almost a month ago now..."

"That long?" Rob had thought it couldn't have been that long ago, why would the Party wait so long to send it?

"They held me in a cell for the rest of the time. I didn't see Slade or Trapjaw again since the...incident...and all I saw of Engineer was when he brought my food." Nurse Sweet shook her head, "I never meant to be so...so..." Tears were streaming down her face.

"It's not your fault, they drugged you." Rob made no move to comfort Nurse Sweet and his tone was unconvincing.

"I could have tried harder; it was just...easier...to give in." Nurse Sweet lowered her chin to her chest and tangled her fingers in her hair.

Still, Rob made no gesture of comfort, "You should get some rest now, Wraith will want to talk to you eventually."

Nurse Sweet raised her head and looked at Rob with tear streaked eyes, "I'm sorry..." She said, lightly touching his arm.

"Me too." Was his reply.

Without another word, Nurse Sweet slid down from the bed and slipped out as quietly as she had come. If she had looked back, Nurse Sweet would have seen that Rob's eyes were once again glowing bright, angry red.

*************************************************************************************

The Conference Room was buzzing with noise and activity when Wraith walked in. Immediately, Brick broke off his conversation he was having with Hax and walked over to Wraith where had proceeded to give her a tight hug.

"Are you ok?" Brick asked after Wraith gently released herself from his grasp, "We saw the whole thing. I wanted to help but Nurse Sweet told everyone to stay back."

"I'm fine. Rob's not hurt and neither is Nurse Sweet." Wraith assured, "I've got Rob in the Sick Bay and I will be taking over as leader until further notice. Any objections?"

There were none. Everyone agreed that Wraith should have been Giovanni's successor anyway seeing how Wraith was the last cofounder of the Corps still on their side.

"Good. I think we can all agree it's time for a little action." Wraith continued, eying the eager look on more than one member's face. "Now, I..."

"Wraith!" Hax interrupted, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Yes, Hax?" Wraith asked politely.

Excitedly Hax conveyed his seemingly important message, "I've been monitoring police scanners and other radio frequencies and have picked up a very recent report of a mutilated animal corpse in the forest surrounding us. The ranger who made the call sounded a little shaken up. Said it didn't look like an animal or a human did it."

"So, what? Aliens?" Turbo mocked in his southern drawl.

"Doubt it." Hax continued, unaware of the joke, "I think it may be something worth checking out though."

"I don't see why." Wraith said honestly, "Unless you think the Party diabolical plan is mutilating animals, it doesn't seem worth our time."

"Now Hax and I were talking," Brick interjected, coming to Hax's defense, "And we think that it may have been that chick Rob knocked out while we were fighting the Bio-B0ts. You know; the one with the weird metal legs?"

"What makes you think that?" Wraith asked, remembering the strange woman she had last seen lying unconscious in the basement of Ark Chemicals.

"Well, we never found her body when we searched the wreckage." Hax explained, "And the reports from the ranger said the animals were cut with razor precision. Didn't Rob say her legs were razor sharp?"

"Yes, but," Wraith still doubted the attacks were relevant, "These attacks sound like another animal, not a person."

"Who knows how fucked up the mind of this woman is?" It was Turbo who spoke up now, "People can be capable of some pretty messed up things."

"I've noticed..." Wraith said, remembering the War as well as Nurse Sweet's recent ordeal, "Well, if you think its worth checking out I can spare a few of you. Sublime, Turbo, and Nimbus; are you up for it?"

"Sure thing, boss." Turbo said, clearly glad to be doing something at last.

Sublime and Nimbus agreed and the trio wasted no time in leaving. Wraith seriously doubted their efforts would be rewarded, but she figured having a mission would boost their morale.

Hax, Brick, and the boy Echo remained after the others had left.

"So, what do we do? Can't send those three off on OUR mission and have us sit around and twiddle our thumbs." Hax demanded, slightly annoyed at missing out on some action.

"Don't worry, I've got a more important job for us." Wraith assured him.

"What's that?" Brick asked.

"You, Hax and I are going to take a trip. Echo, you stay here and keep an eye on things. Practice the techniques we've been working on. Rob is here so you shouldn't be in any danger."

The boy nodded and made a quick departure, never one to stick around.

"So where are we taking a trip to exactly?" Hax asked, his previous annoyance apparently forgotten.

"City Hall," Wraith explained, "I think it's time we make friends instead of more enemies."

************************************************************************************

Nimbus had decided to take his search to the air (as always) while Turbo and Wraith drove ATVs designed and built by Turbo himself through the forest. Hax had told them all about the ranger's reports before Wraith had shown up and they had coordinates to the latest mutilated animal. Once Turbo and Sublime located the animal using the ATVs' built in GPS they were to send up a flare. Nimbus would sweep the area while Turbo and Sublime would try and track whatever had killed the animal from the ground.

It didn't take long for the trio to come up with the plan. All three were veteran members of the Corps and had sought out potential super humans using some of the same methods many times before while serving under Giovanni. The only fruitful expedition made in more recent times was when Brick and Turbo successfully tracked down Echo. A series of strange sightings lead them to the twelve year old youth huddled in a city ally surrounded by monstrous images he had unknowingly created. It had been two years since then, but Echo was still emotionally scarred by the trauma.

Now they were on the hunt again, and Sublime couldn't help but feel like this was what she was meant to be doing. Life before the Corps had been bar fight after another after being discharged from the Marines. Giovanni had taught her how to control her powers and now her life had purpose. As far as she was concerned, Rob wasn't even half the man Giovanni had been. Sure, he had proved himself an effective enough leader during the attack against the Corps, but as soon as things went south he had shut down and lost control.

"What are you so lost in thought about?" Turbo asked over the engines from where he rode next to her.

Sublime smiled at him while keeping her eyes on the forest in front of her, "Just about Rob...What the hell happened to the strong leader that led that attack?"

Turbo shrugged and checked the GPS, "Bear right; and guy just couldn't take pressure, some people can't."

"Too bad Giovanni didn't see that coming. I know he had faith in him."

"Giovanni had a big heart, baby." Turbo smiled from behind the aviators he always wore when driving.

"Don't call me that!"

"Sure thing, honey." Turbo chided.

Sublime rolled her eyes and checked her GPS, "We're almost there. Try to focus on the mission."

"Too busy focusing on the after mission." Turbo growled seductively.

Sublime slowed her ATV, "Well that might cool you down, big boy."She was pointing at the mutilated corpse of a bear.

The bear was covered with flies and Sublime and Turbo had to cover their noses from the stench as they dismounted. Sublime grabbed the flare gun that was attached to her belt and fired a flare into the sky. A small flash of lighting signaled that Nimbus had seen it while Turbo and Sublime approached the body for a closer look.

It was immediately clear that no animal had mutilated the bear. Strips of flesh had been methodically peeled off in straight, even lines giving the corpse a striped pattern of pink muscle and black fur. Upon closer inspection it was evident that the skin had been peeled off with surgical precision.

"Dear God," Sublime said, "It looks like a peeled apple."

"Well thank you for ruining apples for me forever." Turbo said, leaning in close to the head, "It looks like it started right at the snout and continued to peel all the way down the body."

"But why?" Sublime wondered, reaching for her radio.

"Well not for food, the meat's all still here," Turbo noticed a heap of fur not one foot from the bear's head, "And apparently not for the fur either."

Sublime brought her radio to her mouth, "Nimbus, it looks like whatever did this was definitely intelligent. Don't engage with anything you find without waiting for us."

"Copy, Sublime." Nimbus' voice came crackling through the radio, "How bad is it?"

"It's pretty gruesome. Turbo and I are going to see if we can't pick up a trail. We'll keep you posted."

"Sure thing, Sublime; be careful."

The radio went silent and Sublime placed it back on her belt before leaving the corpse to examine the surrounding trees. Some of them had razor thin slices in their bark that the untrained eye would have missed.

"How old do you think they are?" Turbo asked, coming over to lend a hand.

"Too fine to tell...but based on the freshness of that bear I doubt this happened too long ago."

"Hax intercepted the call this morning; whatever did this couldn't have gotten far. I say we follow the cuts in the trees that lead away from the body."

Sublime nodded her approval and the pair mounted their ATVs and rode off to track the creature that had mutilated the bear. Sublime just hoped that when they found her/it that they would be able to deal with it...

*************************************************************************************

Slade pulled herself off of Trapjaw with a soft *pop* and stretched as she lie down next to him on her enormous bed. Sex with the muscular Russian was always a treat and afterword Slade felt relaxed and content, something she had hardly ever felt in the past. There was something about this new body that made living actually bearable; that and the satisfying notion that as she lie there, the Corps was imploding.

Sending the tape to Rob and then sending Nurse Sweet back before his emotions could settle would surely push the Good Doctor over the edge. She had seen his instability when she met him outside the burning Headquarters. He had been filled with such rage so quickly; Slade knew that hitting him in just the right spot would put that rage to good use.

"Are we finished here?" Trapjaw asked, sitting up on his elbows.

"Please, don't act like you don't like it when I ride you like a wild horse." Slade teased, playing with her breasts at the thought.

"It's a great time, but I need to be going soon. The longer we wait..."

Slade interrupted him, sitting up, "The longer we wait, the more unstable the Corps becomes. I fail to see how that's a bad thing?"

Trapjaw turned and got out of the bed and found his pants on the floor, "While you may be content spending your days fucking me," he pulled them on, "I would like to see our ambitions come to fruition."

Slade stretched again before leaping out of bed and coming around to stand before Trapjaw, "Our ambitions will be met and more." She assured, placing a palm on his chest, "You just have to trust me." Her fingers started to drift down his stomach.