Failure to Launch (ID)

[ThePopcornFairy]

Jack's face flushed a deep red the moment Lydia's lips touched his cheek. His smile turned completely, ridiculously enormous, and he barely even noticed Lydia shoving her bag and booklet into his hands. Once it occurred to him that she was boarding the pod, Jack hastily scrambled up the ladder after her. "Y-Yes, muh'nam...!"

After Lydia had climbed into her seat and Jack had reached the top of the ladder, he gently lowered the suitcase inside the pod, followed by the booklet. Then he offered her one last nod of encouragement before closing the door, generating an audible hiss as the hatch sealed shut...

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Lydia shot Jack a thumbs-up, keeping her gaze on him up until the hatch was closed. Soon enough, she was sealed inside the minuscule cabin of her air-tight pod, completely shut away from the outside world.

After tucking her suitcase and manual in a small space near her legs, she turned to the instruments lining her dashboard, turning each of them on and examining them one by one with well-practiced ease. Her various monitors came to life. Her oxygen supply was at 100%. All systems were online. Once Proteus II was fully up and running, Lydia slipped on her headset, looking out her window as Jack scurried back onto the balcony and the chamber doors started to close around her ship...

[ThePopcornFairy]

Jack took a seat at his computer next to Dr. Pendleton, watching intently as the pod was locked down and they began Phase 2 alignment. One shield door slowly gravitated towards the other, swallowing Proteus II and its pilot whole. The two halves of the chamber met and locked together, encasing the pod inside. Soon enough, Jack had to look to the monitor in front of him to see Lydia's face as it was broadcasted through the camera inside her pod.

"Lydia?" Upon donning his own headset, Dr. Pendleton looked to the monitor and addressed the pilot inside the sealed-off ship. "Do you read me?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Rock 'n roll," Lydia promptly responded.

While the scientists and technicians went over their final procedures and confirmations through the radio network, Lydia strapped herself into her chair as tight as she could manage and slipped on her helmet, her face completely hidden behind its tinted visor. This first part of the process was never pleasant, but at least it was mercifully short from her perspective.

Soon, everyone in the lab had given the green light and donned protective goggles. There was just one more step before they could truly begin...

"Commencing PEM Number 1 insertion."

A robotic arm on Dr. Pendleton's desk gently opened a small case containing two identical computer chips, each one no bigger than a dime. It picked one up in its two metallic pincers while a complex circuit board slid out of the doctor's computer, providing a place for the arm to insert the chip before slinking back into place.

"Commencing PEM Number 2 insertion."

A small slot opened in the chamber door, revealing an empty socket on the side of Proteus II. The robot arm grabbed the second chip and slowly, ever so slowly extended inside the chamber, reaching out and inserting the chip in its proper place. Once the chip had clicked, the socket was sealed away, the arm retracted, and the shield closed itself fully once again.

"PROTEUS II ACTIVATED. MICROCHIP INTERLOCK COMPLETE."

Lydia nodded to the computerized voice. Then she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the wild ride to come.

"COMMENCING HYPERSLEEP."

The chamber roared to life as intense yellow lights illuminated the cooker shield's interior and the turntable in the floor slowly started to rotate, spinning the pod in place. It quickly picked up speed, the world outside the pod growing blurrier with each passing millisecond. As the pod started to spin at a nauseating rate, as usual, Lydia didn't feel sick. All she felt was sleepy, the intense cabin pressure pushing her deeper into her seat, the rapid motions lulling her rather than disorienting her.

"COMMENCING MOLECULAR ISOLATION AND DISPLACEMENT."

The pod was spinning like a top. Lydia limply flopped back in her chair with only her seatbelts stopping her from collapsing altogether. The yellow lights inside the chamber turned blindingly white. Electricity arced through the chamber's machinery, striking the rapidly rotating pod from all angles, shaking the very foundations of the laboratory.

The last thing Lydia felt before passing out completely was a tingling sensation coursing through every cell in her body.

And just like that, the chamber was empty. Proteus II was gone.

Once the thunderclap and the blinding light had died down, the scientists removed their goggles and watched their monitors as the compression and reconstruction phase took place. Those nearest Dr. Pendleton's station kept their eyes on the single tube that connected the chamber to the little cartridge on the table, watching as a speck made its way out of the machine and into its casing.

That speck was a tiny pellet, no bigger than a mustard seed. Inside that pellet, reduced to the size of a microbe, was Proteus II. And inside the shrunken submersible pod, Lydia was sound asleep.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Outside the laboratory, two identical vans bearing the logo of Void City's local cable company pulled up to the building, followed by a jet black Mercedes. Once all three vehicles had parked side-by-side, a total of ten men piled out of the vans, each one dressed in orange jumpsuits with bags slung over their shoulders. They briskly approached the front entrance, though only one entered the facility, the other nine lingering outside just out of view of the glass doors.

As the man entered the lobby, the security guard sitting behind the counter to his right looked up from his computer. "Can I help you, sir?"

"5D Cable. Got a call about a faulty Wi-Fi signal," the man in the jumpsuit responded.

"Wi-Fi... One moment." The guard hadn't heard anything about Wi-Fi problems, so he promptly picked up the phone to ask one of the lead technicians who had made the call.

Before he could enter the extension, the man in the jumpsuit pulled a gas mask and canister out of his bag. After putting on the former, he squeezed the handle on the latter, spraying gas like one would coolant from a fire extinguisher directly in the guard's face. The guard's head immediately dropped onto the desk, out cold, his phone hanging off the hook.

The man in the jumpsuit quickly moved over to the door to signal to the rest of his group. The other jumpsuited men hastily filed in, donning gas masks and knockout gas canisters of their own. The leader reached over the front desk and nabbed the guard's badge, then he led the team down the hall and towards their designated target.

[ThePopcornFairy]

Once the cartridge had been loaded with the pellet containing the miniaturized pod, Dr. Pendleton detached it from the tube connecting it to the chamber and closed it up. All the while, Jack was anxiously looking between the cartridge and the doctor. "H-How is she?"

"She's stable," Dr. Pendleton responded after looking over the readings sent to his computer from the Bio-Med crew. He picked up the black glove sitting on the table, delicately clicked the cartridge into a slot on the index finger, then concealed it beneath the attached flap of fabric. In time, with a push of the button hidden near the knuckle, the glove's built-in airsoft gun would fire the tiny pellet out the fingertip with just enough force to penetrate a few layers of clothes and skin.

With the gun glove loaded, Dr. Pendleton spoke into his headset, "Surveillance, how's our guy?"

"Satellite feed shows that he hasn't changed location, sir."

"Good." He stood up out of his seat, lightly clutching the glove in his hand. "Duval, let's get her out there before that manic trio decides to move on us.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Right about then, the crew of men in jumpsuits and gas masks arrived right outside the main laboratory's door. The leader waved the security guard's confiscated badge in front of the door's badge reader, resulting in a prominent click as the door was unlocked. And just like that, they were in.

The moment they stepped inside the lab, the group started spraying their knockout gas on every Mexus scientist and technician they saw. When the first six or seven quickly dropped like flies, the rest of the staff in the room took notice and quickly sprung into action. Most of them desperately tried to hide or escape, but the narrow space along the balcony offered very few places to duck into or maneuver through, and there were only two exits available to them. As such, most of them were gassed soon enough as the intruders spread out to cut them off.

[ThePopcornFairy]

The laboratory descended into chaos before anyone even knew how or why. When Dr. Pendleton noticed the orange jumpsuits charging inside, knocking out his technicians with ease, his first instinct was to throw himself behind the maze of towering supercomputer hard drives that stood opposite his desk. As he made a mad dash for them, another scientist bumped into him, causing the gun glove to slip out of his hand and flop to the floor. He didn't risk going back for it, instead hiding himself behind the wall of hardware and software.

To his relief, the intruders passed Dr. Pendleton by, taking no notice of him as he ducked behind the hard drives. Surprisingly, they didn't seem to notice Jack either, who was huddled beneath their shared desk and very clearly trying not to have a heart attack. All too soon, though, they had completely swarmed the laboratory and rendered every worker except the two of them unconscious.

Both the boss and the intern's eyes were locked on the discarded gun glove.

Dr. Pendleton steeled his nerves and stuck his head out just far enough to get a good look around. It didn't seem like anyone was looking his way. Quietly, cautiously, he inched out from behind his hiding place, moving towards the glove as stealthily as he could.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Heh." After knocking out the last technician still up and moving, one of the jumpsuited men gazed up at the miniaturization chamber that stood in the center of the room. One could almost feel his smarmy grin beneath the mask. "Wouldja look at this thing? I was expecting something a little flashier than this piece of junk."

"Tell me about it. This place may as well be a garage, it's so primitive," the team's designated leader chuckled as he approached Dr. Pendleton's computer. The gas mask must have obscured his peripheral vision, as even now he didn't seem to notice the intern crouched beneath the desk. He simply typed away on the keyboard, prompting the computer's circuit board to slide out into the open. "This, on the other hand..."

He activated the computer's robotic arm. With steady, well-oiled, pre-programmed movements, the pincers reached into the circuit board, plucked the microchip out of it socket, and dropped it into the man's waiting hand.

"Alright, boys!" he declared. "Trash 'em!"

At his order, the men reach into their bags, pulling out crowbars, hammers and all other manner of blunt weapons. Then they promptly got to work smashing the computers and every other piece of hardware in sight.

The leader turned away from the computer. The moment he did, he noticed one particular scientist who happened to evade them, stepping closer to stop the man dead in his tracks.

"Dr. David Pendleton..." His tone was one of malicious admiration. The kind usually reserved for supervillains with a love-hate relationship with their heroic rival. "We've heard so much about you. You seem to be doing well for yourself in this dump."

[ThePopcornFairy]

So close...!

Dr. Pendleton flinched when the leader of the gang stepped in between him and the gun glove, finding himself looking up from his crouched position into the man's mask-covered face. He hid his frustrations and his concerns well behind an expression of scrutiny and annoyance. If this fool was more interested in taunting him than gassing him, he may as well take advantage of the opportunity given to him. "Heard of me, have you? Don't suppose you could explain who was kind enough to tell you enough about my work to compel you to steal it."

As his boss engaged in his conversation, Jack's gaze continuously flicked between Dr. Pendleton and the glove still lying on the floor not five feet away from him. The intruders' leader was preoccupied with the doctor. The others were busy destroying the lab. The glove was right there. The pod was right there. Lydia was right there.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"That's really none of your concern, now is it, doctor?" the leader chided, pointing his knockout gas canister in Dr. Pendleton's face. "What's the point in going to all this trouble breaking into your little shack if I told where to find our establishment so you can do the same? Now why don't you be a dear and tell us where the other chip is? We know you need two to get your fancy little submarine big again. Tell us and we may just leave the rest of your toys alone."

When the doctor didn't respond, only offering him an indignant, stubborn scowl, the leader let out a knowing chuckle. "You've already shrunken it, haven't you? That was on your schedule today, wasn't it? You'd have an easier time finding something that small than we would, I'm sure."

[ThePopcornFairy]

Dr. Pendleton didn't speak. He simply squatted in place, breathing deeply through his nose, glaring up at the man demanding to know where his microchip was. His life's work. His daughter. He looked down at the floor with a hard frown, his eyes darting this way and that as if we was weighing his options.

For one brief moment, the doctor's eyes landed on Jack. He offered the tiniest hint of a nod before looking up at the leader again.

Jack was rigid, only barely managing to keep his ragged breaths inaudible. This was it, wasn't it? His window of opportunity. No one knew he was there, and there was no telling how much longer it would take them to figure it out. The only other person in the room who could prevent disaster was a few short inches away from the thug's canister of noxious gas. And there Jack was, untouched, unnoticed, the very thing these monsters needed within his reach.

His heart was pounding. His head was spinning. He didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he had to do it. For Dr. Pendleton. For Mexus. For Lydia.

Without a second thought, Jack threw himself out from under the desk. He scooped the gun glove up off the floor, scrambled upright, then ran like hell towards the exit, shoving aside every orange jumpsuit in his path until he was bolting out the door.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"ACK-! HEY!!!" By the time the leader even noticed Jack, he was already well out of reach. He saw the glove in the boy's hand, hastily recalled his boss's description of Mexus's equipment, and immediately realized what it was.

When the rest of his team failed to stop the adrenaline-fueled intern, the leader abandoned Dr. Pendleton in a fit of panic, lowering his sleeve to reveal a chrome communicator around his wrist. "STONE! THERE'S A KID EXITING THE LAB NOW! STOP HIM! WE NEED THAT GLOVE!"

---------------------------

Outside the building, the man behind the wheel of the black Mercedes cast a cold, hard look at his own wrist communicator, his chilling black eyes obscured behind his sunglasses. Without responding to the man on the other end, the driver looked up to examine the premises, scanning for any signs of life exiting the laboratory.

[ThePopcornFairy]

Heart pounding, lungs wheezing, bright hazel eyes wide with terror and trepidation, Jack dashed down the hall and pushed his way through the first door to the outside world he could find. Once he had escaped the lab, he resumed his full sprint, making his way towards the city. He wasn't sure where to go or who to run to. He just needed some sort of salvation. Someplace he could keep Lydia safe until this crisis blew over.

As he ran, Jack slipped the gun glove over his right hand. No better way to ensure it stayed securely on his person, right? Whatever it took to keep Lydia out of these mooks' reach.

He just had to get away...

He just had to keep running...

He just had to save her...

[ParamountKeymaster]

The moment he saw Jack step outside, the driver started his car back up and pulled out of the Mexus parking lot, closely tailing the escaping intern. The labyrinthine network of downtown Void City's streets and buildings forced him to stick to the road while Jack weaved through the alleys and sprinted down the sidewalks. Surprisingly spry, this one was. Nonetheless, he was almost never out of sight, and the man in the dark suit, shades and car relentlessly pursued the intern deeper into the city.

His objective was clear: retrieve the glove containing the submersible pod and the microchip by any means necessary. And Mr. Stone wasn't going to stop until he completed that objective.