Mechanical Minds

A Shocking Battle

    "I bet you're wondering how this is possible," Parallel gloated, putting her free hand on her hip. She was more rugged than Susie, with darker blue eyes and a burn scar marring the exposed part of one of her shoulders. Meta only folded his arms, giving her an unimpressed look.

"Mirror-World, correct?" he deadpanned.

"Hmph. Well, there goes my introduction," Parallel muttered. She raised her gloved hand as Meta strode towards her, fire in his eyes.

"You will not be leaving with the reactor cores," he hissed. Parallel flexed her gauntlet and fired a small beam of energy at Meta which was deftly dodged.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," she cackled, firing several more volleys. Meta wove his way through the projectiles, grabbing onto Susie along the way and depositing her behind a nearby stack of crates.

"Stay here," he said, giving her an impassioned look. Susie sighed heavily.

"Fine, I'll sit this one out since my mech is out of commission," she acquiesced.

"Thank you," Meta said, before hurling himself back into the fray. He easily hopped over the shot that greeted him as soon as he emerged from cover. His cape fluidly transformed into his wings as he dodged several more bursts of energy.

"Hold still!" Parallel growled, sweeping her glove in an arc to create a crescent of energy. Meta took to the air to avoid the blast, whipping up a whirlwind and sending it flying at his foe. Parallel was sent sprawling to the ground and Meta darted towards her.

"You are going to deeply regret your thievery!" he barked, raising Galaxia in preparation to break the gauntlet. Parallel fired again, and Meta braced himself for the energy beam. Instead, a thin wire flew towards him and wrapped around his leg. She yanked at it, sending Meta into the ground.

"Am I?," she laughed, watching Meta spring back to his feet and pull at the wire. Parallel flipped a switch on her weapon, and Meta could only scream as a pulse of electricity flowed into his entrapped limb. He desperately fought his spasming muscles, managing to sever the cord with a swipe of his blade and retreating higher into the air.

"Damn," he whispered, his injured leg limp and twitching beneath him. A few more powerful wingbeats sent him high enough to exceed the range of Parallel's weapon. Meta performed a graceful backwards loop and dove at an incredible speed, allowing Galaxia to build up her power. He pulled up, flaring out his wings and sending a powerful sword beam at his foe. Parallel raised her weapon to block the attack, but quickly thought better of it and dodged out of the way.

The sword beam slammed into the ground, sparks of energy spraying out around the impact. It made it a foot into the concrete ground before shattering like glass and dissipating.

"Shit," Parallel muttered, surveying the smoking gash in the ground. She collected herself and fired another wire, whipping it towards Meta. The wire barely contacted his arm, but the shock was enough to motivate him to put more distance between the two. He hovered several feet above the ground and formulated a plan. His thoughts were shattered when another electrified cord managed to bridge the gap between the two, contacting his wing and bruising the membranes. The shock rendered his wing capable of merely twitching, and he performed a barely-controlled landing. He spotted a nearby broom laying by the exit from his base.

"Excellent," he quipped, darted towards the item and snatching it. Another wire came whipping towards him, and he deftly blocked it with the wooden handle, allowing the cable to firmly wrap around it. He powered through the small amount of electricity that managed to jump along the wood and yanked as hard as he could. Parallel had just enough time to cry out before being pulled from her feet and hurled into the air. Meta swung the broom downwards, slamming her into the ground. He straightened himself, striding towards his downed enemy.

"It appears as if I will be reclaiming those cores," Meta said, his tone dripping with smugness. Parallel groaned and shifted slightly.

"Not so fast!" she snarled, jamming a hidden taser into Meta's leg. Meta cried out and swiftly swung the broom handle, striking Parallel harshly across the cheek and cutting off the surprise attack. She slumped backwards, shock on her face and blood in her mouth.

"You hit women?!" she shrieked, spitting blood. Meta gave her a supremely unamused look.

"I hit thieves," he hissed, taking care to keep his weight off his still spasming leg.

"Don't even try that angle lady," Susie growled, walking up to the two with the briefcase of pilfered cores in hand. Parallel eyed them both, and stood, swaying slightly. Meta raised the broom handle again and she backed away.

"Just retreat back to the Mirror-World. You have lost," Meta huffed, stepping forward. Parallel retreated further and raised her gauntlet, causing Meta to quickly exchange the broom for Galaxia.

"I won't be leaving without those cores," she shot back. Meta suddenly lunged forward, becoming a blur and he focused in on his target. One swipe of Galaxia left the gauntlet with a sparking slash along its length. "Damn!" Parallel cried, quickly disengaging the weapon and allowing it to drop to the ground. She was left with only her small taser now.

"Now you're gonna get it- Meta!" Susie shouted, scrambling away. Meta barely dodged the incoming object in time, bounding forward on all fours. The newly arrived mech was a carbon copy of Susie's, save for the color scheme and the Dark Mind symbols on the arms.

"You little...!" Meta hissed, lunging towards Parallel. The mech reacted first, using a floating arm to slap Meta away from its owner. The man hurtled through the air, slamming against a tree and falling to the ground. He picked himself up with some effort, surveying the situation. The mech laid one of it's arms on the ground, lifting Parallel into the cockpit. She cackled wildly as she grasped the controls and turned to face Meta.

"A little basic A.I. goes a long way, huh?" she gloated. Meta grimaced, and braced himself for a more difficult fight than anticipated.

(Finally moving more of this story over from my AO3)