[M][Namek] The Tempest

[Prototype]

Robert's heart beat in his chest as if a furious death-metal drummer was slamming it repeatedly. His mind was buzzing, attempting to process the hair raising event that just happened to him. A moment ago he was sitting, peacefully but restless, next to the almost mute Vad on their way to the foreboding alien cruiser ominously looming in the sky, and the next, a fluorescent green beam of energy cleaved the ship in two like it was constructed of gun metal grey jelly. With his power suit foolishly stored in the cargo unit of the transport ship, it seemed obvious that he was doomed before the adventure had even begun. He had a hover disc within a capsule pressed beneath his belt, but the power module within it could not hope to overcome the sheer force of gravity from their altitude.

He watched as the lime sheen of death carved the hull in twain, just to the right of him, and experienced what he assumed it was like to be within a giant rockmelon as it was cut in two. The solid, sturdy metal of the transport vessel melted like hot butter and snapped cleanly apart. A monstrous gust of wind broke into the pried open ship and abrasively slammed into Robert. Terror rushed through his mind. That uncaring gale had the force to lift him from his seat and toss him into the great blue yonder. His fingers clawed into the armrests of the chair, but the winds whipped at him with unrelenting power, and he knew his grip was slipping.

With a desperate but futile scream, Falconer was rushed off the seat and hurled like a discarded piece of paper into the infinite sky. He watched for an instant the space vessel parting ways, each side falling to the earth separately, before succumbing to the unrestrained horror of freefall. Robert grasped for his belt, hoping that his priceless Prototype armour wasn't on the sinking ship and still safely stored in capsules attached to his body, but all he found were the capsules for his ki bow and hover disc, neither of which could save his life.

For ten seconds, Robert experienced sheer terror. The wind slapped wildly into his face, tussling his hair sporadically. He spun around and around, a useless human inventor plummeting from the sky without a parachute. Every step of the way, his deluded dreams of grandeur had warned him not to proceed, but he didn't listen. He fell for the charm and allure of the vigilante lifestyle, of engaging enemies and protecting the innocent with powers that regular men only dreamt about. As he watched the marshmellow-like clouds shrink further away from him, he wished he could take it all away. At least he would've survived, even if he was a bored and joyless senior executive.

Like a bat out of hell, a silver streak shot into his vision. Vad, fully healed from the defense of the space port, his contoured armour plating shimmering in the sunlight, fell steadily at the same speed as Robert. His eyes were calm and still; he obviously didn't fear splattering all over the surface of Namek like Falconer did. Battle must have tempered this man's core to an amazing degree.

"Help me!" the Capsule Corporation inventor shrieked. "I wasn't supposed to die! Not like this!"

"Your suit can fly, can't it?" Vad inquired, his voice stoic yet strong enough to overcome the muffling winds.

"Yes! But it's in the damn ship that's falling to the ground!" Robert yelled frantically.

Vad looked down, spotting the haphazard arrangement of the Prototype suit components spinning downward at a fantastic velocity. The helmet, chestpiece, and four limb-pieces were all intact and undamaged from the explosion, at least from the outside. At the very least, the propulsion system upon the shoulder blades of the chestpiece was ostensibly functional.

"Let's get it, then," Vad said coolly.

"O ... OK!" Robert answered, trying to acclimatise to the sensation of freefalling. Thinking through, he needed his nervo-suit in order to interact with any parts of the Prototype armour, including the jet-pack. He grabbed the spare capsule he kept in his pocket that contained the artificial nervous system and compressed the button. "One moment!"

Robert was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, but the vicious breeze removed the shroud quickly. Falconer was clad in a full body suit, black in colour, with what appeared to be a tree-like structure of white fibres, imitating the human nervous system. With this suit, he could synchronise his brain waves to the power suit, controlling it with a mere thought.

"Now! Let's get them!"

Vad swooped down, snatching each segment of the power suit in succession. He grabbed the forearm components as well as the legs before his arms were full. Tossing them to Robert, he procured the helmet and chest plate, including the attached shoulder plates, and ascended back to the falling scientist. Robert's forearms and legs were housed safely within the armour already, and he eagerly accepted the final sections. The chest plate sunk comfortably over his torso, the shoulder plates snapping into place. With a confident smirk, he affixed the helmet, and the green visor shone for a moment as his internal android power core aligned with the power core within the power suit. His eyes widened as he tangibly felt the sensation, the armour now part of his own nervous system.

"Is that it?" Vad asked.

"Yes!" Robert, now Prototype in the technological armour, yelled enthusiastically. A bright blue flame burst out of his back, the jet-pack earnestly struggling to halt the progress of the fall. Falconer's rate of descent slowed rapidly, and as the expelled fire changed to a cooler orange-red, he floated motionless in the sky.

He was alive!

"Yes!" he shouted emphatically. "I'm not going to die! I'm still here! Yahooo!"

"Calm down," Vad said, somewhat perturbed by Robert's vigor for such a simple task. "We have work to do."

If all the crazy shenanigans that Prototype had seen thus far weren't enough, he was about to see something scientifically unexplainable. From what looked like from within Vad, a figure coalesced, as if born from him. He instantly recognised it to be Trixie, the red headed vixen from earlier, and Vad's wife.

"Wha-?!" Robert exclaimed, his own amazement cutting him off. "How did she ... did you know that?!"

"Focus," Vad chastised. "There are more important matters."

Robert's scientific curiosity was screaming for satisfaction. What the hell just happened? How can two people cohabit one body? He heard that marriage was 'two bodies becoming one flesh', but he always assumed it was symbolic. It was, wasn't it?

But Vad was right. There weren't time for questions, no matter how deliciously absurd and quirky the situation was. He had to roll with the punches, something that Vad seemed well versed in. Perhaps it was a trait of successful warriors and heroes. Robert narrowed his eyes. He could do that.

It was then that the power suit alerted him to a new feature. A red text message floated in his vision, displaying 'Mimic processing complete.' A sudden excitement flared in his stomach. The Mimic function! It was working! He recalled absorbing a part of Vad's energy back at the space port in the hopes that the power suit could examine and reverse engineer the uncanny manipulation of metals that the assassin had displayed earlier. With a short excerpt of video recorded and the extracted energy, the Mimic function, while being it's first test, should've learned and cracked the secret of that exact talent.

Upload, Robert thought. The power suit reacted instantly, flowing data into his brain. He grimaced as new knowledge was forcibly integrated with his own. It was a trial technology, but several years of testing on willing subjects showed there to be no detrimental effects, as long as it was used sparingly. Still, it was an uncomfortable, evasive sensation. Adding information to the brain was done on a physical level, which involved a light electric current. Furthermore, the information was a jumbled mess until it was inserted, decoded, and burnt into the synapses. Trying to focus upon the uploading data was headache inducing, but the stream was so intrusive and alien that it was impossible to do anything else. Perhaps with time, he would learn to subjugate the unpleasant feeling.

In a few moments, it was over. Robert felt a renewed humming in his android core. Not only had the knowledge been passed to his organic brain, but the identified ki had entered the power conduit installed in his chest. Theoretically, he should be able to exhibit the incredible ability without the power suit, but for now that wasn't important. It all made sense in his head, and he understood how to direct and transmute his artificial ki into a malleable form for Metal Binding, as he dubbed it, through the suit. He needed a way to
test it out.

Fortunately, there was an abundant supply of metal buzzing around the sky. Drones, although much different to the spherical robots that decorated the skies above the space port, had been dispatched to intercept the hopeful heroes. His power suit scanned their constituent materials, affirming that they could be indeed manipulated by the new ability in his possession. Robert smirked, his heart beating with apprehensive anticipation. Would this work?
Prototype’s thrusters increased forward movement in a warm burst, launching him towards one of the skeletal drones.

Even in the thick of battle, Robert's mind was making notes on the performance of his suit, and what alterations would benefit the Metal Binding ability, but he shook it from his mind. The thoughts of an inventor did not belong on the battlefield. Prototype suddenly halted, thrusting an arm towards one of the drones.

"Hey! Come here! I'm trying to invade your ship!" Robert taunted. The drone turned and charged him with hungry immediacy. He just needed the antagonistic automaton to close the distance a little more ...

The power suit beeped and a visible marker indicated that the target was within range. From either side of Prototype's extended forearm, a small barrel-like device slid out. A basic look suggested twin guns, but it was a sensitive transmitter designed for an ability that required a wireless, incorporeal release of energy, exactly like the Metal Binding ability. He focused, allowing the waves to extend to the advancing drone.

It stopped inches from Prototype's face and cocked a fist. Vad started towards him, but halted in his tracks. The drone swung down its metallic fist, but it froze just before Robert's helmet as if an invisible force field held it at bay. He smiled.

"It works," he commented. "Thanks for the power, Vad."

The drone, struggling against an unseen will, moved away from Prototype. Its balled fist oscillated madly for a moment before ramming itself into its own stomach, shattering the metal casing and lodging within it. Robert was startled how easily the substance yielded to his commands. With the drone's free hand, Prototype commanded it to grasp tightly around its neck and squeeze until his head or fingers broke off, whichever came first. Robert hoped it would be the head, and to his good fortune, it popped off like a champagne cork amidst a shower of sparks. The drone fell limply out of the sky, the rest of the group wondering just why the alien aggressor chose to commit suicide.

All but Vad.

There were a few drones left, but Prototype no longer feared them. His vision looked past them and settled upon the Grand Ship Myreen. If it was composed of a similar material, procuring an entrance would be a snap.

Today was going to be a good day after all.