These events take place in a long-forgotten town. It was the perfect place for what happened there. Among the ruins, only one landmark remains. This would be Zenith Labs. It was a run-down facility surrounded by a rusty gate. A massive tower stood at the center. It was the facility’s last standing building. Those who dared go near the labs often saw forms and heard voices coming from the tower.
One night, the long-shut doors of the tower were thrown open. A hooded man ran out. He weaved between crumbling warehouses and ruined labs. He jumped onto the rusty gate and scrambled to escape. Something was chasing him in the darkness.
The hooded man ran through the forgotten town’s empty streets. Black and silver energy waves slithered along the flickering streetlights. Soon the waves lunged at the man. He tried to fight them, but he couldn’t stop them. The waves fused with his body. They took control of him. They led the man to his destination.
The hooded man’s own lab sat in the hills just north of town. This lab was a small outpost meant to help keep people out of town. Scanners on the door made sure only the hooded man could be let in. Now his body would be his enemy’s key. The door opened, and the intruder entered. The fiend began to laugh. Thankfully, the laughter distracted the man’s enemy for one critical second.
The man used all his energy. He broke free and screamed, “Code Red!”
Alarms blared. Metal cables spread over the windows, and laser grids blocked the doors. The man’s enemy grunted and left his body. Black and silver energy waves crashed together. They became a bubbling ball of black liquid. From the liquid, a spiked silver helmet with red goggles formed. The helmet rose into the air to lift the liquid and form a blog with two long, scrawny arms. Some of the liquid dried to form gnarled claws and razor-sharp teeth.
The blob grinned. “I almost thought tonight would be too easy Professor.”
The professor struggled to stand against his foe and say, “You’re done Shadow Glob. You’re not going to get a single step further.”
Shadow Glob laughed. “This place may have decent outer defenses, but I should still be able to tear the inside to shreds.”
Silver energy waves flowed from Shadow Glob’s helmet. His liquid body hardened into a metal exoskeleton. Shadow Glob knocked the professor to the ground and ripped a window from the wall. The armored parasite slammed the window into a door to knock it loose. He grabbed the door and raced into the hallway. Laser turrets appeared and pointed at him. Shadow Glob smirked. He used the window’s cables and the door’s laser grid to shield himself. They took every blow with ease.
Shadow Glob reached the hall’s end and found a metal vault. He charged power through his arms and used the window and door to smash open the entrance. A large silver pod sat in the vault. The words “PROJECT ZENITH” were stamped in its side. Shadow Glob laughed. He threw the window and door into the pod. He rushed to a nearby terminal where he pushed all kinds of buttons and pulled all sorts of levers.
“Don’t do it!”
Shadow Glob turned around. The professor was struggling to stand along the vault’s entrance. Shadow Glob smirked and returned to pressing buttons. He even replied, “I’m just making some new friends.”
Shadow Glob activated the silver pod. Loud noises roared and bright lights flashed. The professor fell to his knees terrified. Shadow Glob laughed and grabbed his foe. The pod soon beeped, and a cloud of smoke surged from the open doors.
Two human-like machines left the pod. The first was tall. He had long metal limbs, a thin green body, and a small red window for a head. The second had a white stocky body with red shoulder pads and blue knee pads. Laser turrets rested on his shoulder pads. His head a small yellow door with a blue frame. The two new creatures opened their eyes lodged into the center of their strange faces. They saw Shadow Glob holding the professor into the air.
Shadow Glob laughed. “Welcome to the world fellow Zenites!”
The window Zenite began moving forward. The door Zenite stopped him and asked Shadow Glob, “What are you talking about?”
Shadow Glob blinked. He tossed aside the professor and answered, “You must know what we are. The chamber should’ve programmed you two with that information. The vile professor must have tampered with it.”
The window Zenite tilted his head. “So, what’s a Zenite then?”
Shadow Glob smirked. “Zenites are the next rulers of the world. Humans made us to be mere weapons, but they could never see our true power. With this creation chamber, we can prove we’re better than them. We can become true weapons for justice and make the greatest empire the world’s ever seen!”
The window Zenite nodded. “That’s good to know.”
The door Zenite shook his head. “Wait. We don’t know the full story here. He just told us what he wants us to know.”
The window Zenite shrugged his shoulders. “I know what I see. That’s good enough for me.”
Shadow Glob laughed. Then the window Zenite struck the parasite with an uppercut. In fact, the window Zenite punched and kicked Shadow Glob a few times. One strike even knocked the parasite back a few feet.
Shadow Glob shouted, “What are you doing? Are you really defending a human?”
The window Zenite tilted his head. “Humans never did anything to me. You were beating up a helpless guy right in front of me.”
Shadow Glob yelled, “Helpless? This is Professor Orion! He’s one of the fools who made us and saw us as weapons!”
The window Zenite went to punch Shadow Glob again. This time, the parasite grabbed his foe’s fist.
The window Zenite called to the door Zenite, “Can I get some help here?”
The door Zenite paused before finally firing his lasers. Shadow Glob yelped and stepped back to dodge. The window Zenite took the chance to punch a hole straight through his foe’s armor. Silver energy raced from Shadow Glob’s helmet to mend the gap right away. Shadow Glob’s enemies grunted. They wondered how they could win.
Professor Orion shouted, “The helmet! Break it to destabilize him!”
The two new Zenites nodded. The window Zenite ran ahead to distract Shadow Glob. The door Zenite charged his lasers to full power. When the window Zenite managed to back Shadow Glob into a corner, the door Zenite blasted apart the parasite’s helmet. The shattered helmet exposed metal frames keeping Shadow Glob’s liquid body together from the inside. The window Zenite leapt into the air. He slammed his full weight into Shadow Glob’s weak point. Shadow Glob screamed and poured everywhere. His body and helmet soon dissolved into black and silver energy. The energies swirled around each other. A strange black cartridge appeared. When the two new Zenites tried to get a closer look, the whole thing disappeared in a bright purple flash.
The two new Zenites heard the professor groaning behind them. They ran to check on him and ask what was going on.
Professor Orion raised his hand to stop the two new Zenites. He said, I’ll answer as soon as I can, but for now, I need to lay down for a bit. I guess I can give you two some proper names first though.”
Both Zenites nodded.
Professor Orion continued, “How about Winzow and Dooz? You’ll each have a “Z” for Zenite. That should be easy enough to remember.
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