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[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A NEW DESTINY: PART 12

Bound By Hate


Previously: Cell and TK had gone in search of the Blue Goblin, who has sneaked away to find and defeat his old enemy the Stryker Symbiote once and for all. The Symbiote, meanwhile, grows tired of his host Davis Hibiki, and plans to acquire a new one. Back at the mega Mansion, Tetsuo awakens to tell Freddie and the Rose that he had a vision of Stryker gaining a more powerful host, which leads Kari to fear for TK's safety. While two shadowy characters enter the city limits of Tokyo, TK rushes into what is sure to be a trap at Furinkan High. Stryker is waiting for him there, with his pregnant Aunt Nodoka as a hostage...


From far away, one would easily mistake a bright golden streak of light as a shooting star. From very far away, one would never imagine how actually close the streak was to the city. Even if people in the city could see it, it moved too fast for anyone to really see what it was.

All TK could see was red. Davis/Stryker was holding his aunt against her will. Her and her unborn daughter, his new cousin.

Ranma's baby sister.

<I won't lose anyone else,> he thought, fighting the urge to go up to Super Human level 2. <Ranma and Burter were the last ones! No one I care about dies on my watch!>

Suddenly, the high school came into view, and he flew straight at the roof. He was still Super Human once his feet touched the floor of the roof, but his golden aura was gone.

There was no one in sight. His eyes glanced over to the left, and to the right. Nothing. Only shadows and the moonlight could be seen, giving color to the rooftop.

"I'm here, Davis," TK said. "Or Stryker... or whatever you choose to call yourself. Come out!"

"All in good time, Saotome," a voice called from seemingly out of nowhere. "I must admit, you came here much sooner than I expected. Truthfully, you beat me up here by thirty seconds."

TK tried to calm down, but made sure it was not enough to lose his raised power. "Where's my aunt?"

As if on cue, Nodoka Saotome was thrust forward, still bound by the symbiote in several places. Her eyes were closed, appearing almost dead. The symbiote moved so that her body was now lying several feet in front of TK.

TK looked at the body, then glared at the shadow that Stryker was hiding in. "If you've harmed her-!"

"She's alive," Stryker cut him off quickly. "And the baby, too." One of the thin blue extensions moved up and pointed down at Nodoka's stomach. The end quickly became pointed and sharpened. "But only if you do as I say. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." The word came out through grit teeth.

"Gooooood! Now... power down!"

TK closed his eyes, and lowered his ki. His hair fell back down and turned back into its natural, dirty blonde color.

"Remove your sword, and place it at your feet!"

This task was slow, since TK kept his eyes on the symbiote holding his aunt. He undid the strap carefully, then pulled the sword and sheath around to his front and placed it down in front of him. "Anything else?"

His answer came as a blue, clawed hand reach out and snatched the sword, pulling it into the shadows. It took a few seconds before the silence was broken by Stryker's voice. "Nice craftsmanship. No wonder you killed this Friezor person Davis told me about so easily."

"Now will you let Aunt Nodoka go?"

There was a heavy and annoyed sigh. "Very well! She's free." With that, the bounds slipped off Nodoka and fled back to the shadow to rejoin the symbiote. "And I assure you again no harm has fallen her or the child in her belly. Lucky for her, you're not a real Mega Avenger, or she'd be in worse trouble than she was."

TK rushed to Nodoka's side and knelt down. Her upper body and head were soon in his arms, gently cradling her. "Auntie," he said to her. "Can you hear me? It's Takeru." Relief washed over him when he saw her slowly open her eyes and gaze into his.

"Takeru... you..."

"Ssh! It's okay. I'm taking you home." TK started to help Nodoka stand up.

"No... you shouldn't... you shouldn't have come here..."

Just then, the Blue Goblin appeared near the roof's edge. His eyes widened in fear and surprise. "TK, LOOK OUT!"

The warning came too late. At that moment, Stryker jumped out towards TK. A split second later, the symbiote itself launched off of Davis at slammed into TK's body like a tidal wave. The force of impact knocked the boy several feet from Nodoka, putting him between her and Blue.

Cell appeared from above, and his jaw hung open. "Oh no, we're too late!"

Getting up from his knees, Davis watched in horror, along did the others, as the symbiote began to cover itself over TK's entire being. <Just like with me,> he thought. <It's consuming him with not just its mass, but its obsession and rage against the Mega Avengers.>

TK was afraid. Never before had he been so afraid of anything, not since facing the Dark Masters so long ago with the other Digi-Destined. Not since he first met Friezor. Frantically, defiantly, he tried to pull the symbiote from him, yet it yielded no success. Even powering up to Super Human 2 was not effective. It only made the symbiote hunger for the power TK's body would provide for it.

"Fight it, TK," Cell yelled out in desperation. "FIGHT IT!"

The cries were in vain, however. In a matter of seconds, Stryker finished covering all of TK's being. Unlike with Davis, TK didn't scream out. He didn't have time to.

"Ah," Stryker said with much satisfaction. "Much, much better than the last host! A pity Kris was unable to achieve this kind of power."

"LET HIM GO," Blue shouted, charging headlong at his foe. Unfortunately, Stryker's speed had increased thanks to TK's years of training. He blocked an incoming punch, as well as other numerous blows. Blue was horrified that Stryker had quickly gained control over TK's strengths. His moves were being matched, almost effortlessly.

"Sorry, Robbie," Stryker sneered. His voice was a mixture of the symbiote's and TK's. "It looks like Cell was quite right about you... you have fallen behind in your training since becoming king! Or, perhaps your wife's been keeping you busy. How is Mercury, by the way?"

All this made Blue's blood boil even more. Yet, Stryker had a point: his training had waned since he became a king. Drastically. "Leave TK out of this," he snarled. "This is between you, me, and the team!"

"Oh believe me, I would have... if I hadn't chosen that young fool Davis as my previous host. He had lots to tell me, mostly concerning this Kari chick he's so smitten with. But, oh, the parts about the Hibikis and the Saotomes were so interesting."

Then, without warning, Stryker's blue color changed into gold, a matching battle aura surrounding him right after. It was the edge he needed to start pummeling Blue.

"And this... this is just superb! I can see into TK's mind, access his memories and secrets. ...Actually, he's more pathetic than you are. Six years of crying for his dead cousin, who got what he deserved. What a baby!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

Stryker looked to see Cell lunging at him. A nerve was struck in the Android's mind when Stryker had started badmouthing TK and Ranma.

"Don't lose your head over this," he said calmly. His arm rose up and his palm faced Cell's head before he fired a ki blast, vaporizing the head completely. "Oops," he said in a mocking tone. "Too late."

Cell's body dropped to the floor of the rooftop with a sickening thud.

That was enough. Blue summoned his ki for the first time in years and turned into a Super Goblin: blue skin turning gold, and eyes turning blood red. A voice in his head reminded him that Cell was still alive since he could regenerate even if he was reduced to one single blood cell. Yet, that was beside the point. Stryker had to be stopped, and TK had to be freed.

However, Stryker quickly extended a finger to gently prick a pressure point at Blue's neck. The golden Goblin froze in his tracks, unable to move, nor speak. The only thing he could do, however, was power down. It wouldn't do any good from him if he used up his energy like that.

Stryker grinned, his pointed gold teeth an intimidating sight. "Another plus with this body. Seems TK learned about pressure points from some old witch named Cologne." He loomed close until he was mere inches from Blue's face. "Don't worry, Rob. I won't kill you... yet. When TK first hit me with his Kamehameha attack, it actually hurt me. I was annoyed, but I chose to shrug it off. Then, after he hit me with it again, I felt he deserved to be punished for his interfering."

Davis' eyes widened with fright. "LEAVE KARI OUT OF THIS!" He tried to charge at Stryker, but was held back by Nodoka.

Stryker powered down and faced the two humans. "This Kari must be some girl to have TWO boys devoted to her. But, come now, who said anything about my going after Kari, hm? I just found out TK made a promise to his dying cousin, to neither hate nor seek revenge against Akane and Ryoga for what they did to Ranma. Too bad for him I never made such a dumb promise." With that, Stryker leapt off the roof and flew off into the night.

Seconds later, the headless Cell began to stand up on its own. This sight scared Davis out of his wits, and Nodoka watched in fright. Suddenly, Cell sprouted a new head from the stubble that was his neck, covered in green goo in some parts of his head. "I don't care what galaxy you're from," he said, facing the two humans. "That HURT!"

"You have to do something," Davis stated, watching Cell touch the correct pressure point to free Blue from his frozen state. "That... that monster Stryker's going to use Saotome kill my cousins, like it used me to kidnap his aunt!"

"I have an idea," Blue said. "There's something I've kept in cold storage for such an emergency, but we may not have enough time to get it before Ryoga and Akane are attacked."

"I'll head Stryker and TK off," Cell said bluntly. "You contact the others and work your plan out!" Quickly, he faced Nodoka. "I'll get TK back," he told her. "Alive." With that, he put his two fingers to his forehead, and vanished.


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


"Are you okay, your highness?"

Amy sighed a bit, sitting on Rob's old bed. "Please, Kari, there's no need for formalities here. Amy will do nicely. And, yes, I'm fine."

The two were still in Rob's old room in the Mega Mansion: Amy on the bed, and Kari sitting in a desk chair. After overhearing what Tetsuo, Freddie, and Rose had said, Kari decided to talk with Amy, thinking it would help calm her down.

"It's just that... your hand touches that bed every few minutes."

"I... I'm just worried about my husband. He told me how he killed Kris after... after he threatened to 'have his way' with me. Stryker always did bother me for some reason, and I was glad he got expelled form the team."

"I know how you must feel." Kari shifted in her seat a little. "TK means just as much to me. We've been best friends for about eight years, and I finally found him again after five years of separation... only to have all this fighting happen."

"He'll be fine," Amy assured her. "Cell's with him."

Kari frowned a bit. "Cell was there when Ranma died, too."

"Please don't judge Cell like that, Kari! Besides, even if somehow TK died tonight, there is a way to revive him. The Mega Avengers are not just heroes, but are guardians of a great secret..."


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


A small keypad flipped out of a secret panel on the wall of Rusty's lab. After punching in a few keys, another secret pad appeared next to the keypad. This time, it had the outline f a hand with three fingers on it. Rusty placed one of his few good hands on it, one that had no metallic replacement parts on it. The yellow pad turned blue, gave a chime, and caused a large door to open further down the same wall.

"Vault's open," he said, turning to face the Rose, ALF, Freddie, and Tetsuo. The last of the four was in a hoverchair, since his strength had yet to return to his legs. The Rose was pushing it from behind.

"You go on in," Rusty quickly added. "I have to break the news to Kari."

The four walked into the hidden room, looking about at the contents within. On one large platform were the goblin gliders, each once belonging to Rob or his fellow Goblins long since retired: Black Goblin, Green Goblin, and Hobgoblin. On the wall behind them were several strapbags, each hung behind a particular glider and containing bat blades and pumpkin bombs.

Several large cryotubes were lined up against the opposite wall. Each one contained the original mobile suits used by test pilots Amuro Ray, Char Aznable, and Frao Bo. Among them were the original Gundam suit, Char's custom Zaku, and the mass-production type Ground (G) Gundam. At the end, however, was the suit that ALF and the others had come to find: the GM Blue Destiny suit. It was custom made for the Blue Goblin for mobile suit battles since it was becoming harder for fighters like him to hold out against mobile suits at the time. Though it had been completed and fully tested, never once had it been used in battle.

"If I had known you guys were creating these things," ALF commented. "I'd have come back to the team much sooner."

Freddie and Tetsuo then moved past the others towards a smaller container, where Rose quickly moved to intercept them. "Now way," he said. "Cell's already on TK's trail, so there's no need for you to do this, Freddie!"

Tetsuo made gesture, and used his telepathy to move the Rose away so Freddie could step forward. He picked up the container

"I think it is time," he said calmly. "For a little symbiote family reunion, no? I have nothing against Cell, but he will need help. Each time he regenerates, he loses some of his energy. He won't last long against Stryker now that TK is his host."

Turning the lid, Freddie opened the container up and looked inside. He slowly put one hand into it.

"I am so sorry to disturb your rest... but I am in need of your assistance. Touch me to read my thoughts, and you will understand why."

There was a momentary pause before the contents ran up Freddie's arm, covering it in blood red.

"Send a maniac to catch a maniac," Tetsuo said, blinking his now sightless eyes. "As the Demolition Man once said."

"Indeed," the now possessed Freddie agreed, turning to the others. "Now, before we get the suit out, how do I get to the Tendo Dojo?" His red and black fingers became razor sharp claws as he said this.


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


Rusty found Amy and Kari still in Rob's old bedroom, talking. He wasn't sure how he should do this. <I may be a doppelganger of Spider-man,> he thought. <But since I know how Kari feels about TK, I'm scared as to what she'll do to me.>

Suddenly, Blue came in through the window. Rusty sighed with relief. <What luck!>

Amy immediately got, went over to Blue, and slapped him across the face. Before Blue could say anything after that, Amy hugged him and kissed him deeply. Tears ran down her face as she did these things. "Don't ever do that to me again," she said. Her voice was a mixture of anger and relief.

Kari sat still, shocked at Amy's reactions. <First she hits him, and then she kisses him. Is that what love really is?> Then, she realized something and got up. "Where's TK?"

Blue looked at her. "Stryker led him into a trap at Furinkan High, with his aunt Nodoka as bait. By the time Cell and I got there, Stryker had already switched hosts."

Fear gripped Kari like a vice. "Then TK's-?!"

"Possessed by Stryker," Rusty finished for her, entering the room. "ALF's bringing out your suit so we can apply the necessary weapons. Stryker dies for good this time."

Blue reluctantly let go of his wife and made for the door. "Let's hurry," he said. "Cell's going to need help."


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


Akane slammed the phone back onto the holder, and then stomped off to the dojo. She needed to break bricks and badly.

Davis was missing. He hadn't come home from school, and the police said he needed to be missing for twenty-four hours before they could start a search. If it wasn't for the fact that there was a killer on the loose, she wouldn't be so worried.

<I'll bet TK has something to do with this,> she snarled in her mind as she changed into her gi. <That has to be it!>

Ryoga was startled as the door to the dojo slammed open and in came his wife in one of her moods. He had been shadowboxing for a while now, trying not to worry about his missing cousin. "The police won't help?"

Akane got out a double amount of bricks. "He needs to be missing for twenty-four hours, they said. Stupid cops! What if he's hurt, or kidnapped, or-?!"

Ryoga held her close. "He'll be fine. We taught him most of our skills, after all. Even if he's not even close to a level of someone's like... like Rob's, it would be suicide for someone to try and attack him." He had to be careful with what he said around his wife. He had almost said TK's name, and that would remind Akane of Ranma. That was the last thing she needed at the moment.

"It wouldn't be suicide if he ran into someone like me!"

Both Hibikis were startled at the familiar voice. Ryoga was more shocked at the icy tone. They turned to see TK standing at the far end of the dojo, smiling almost sinisterly. His arms were crossed in front of him.

Akane's anger rose. Letting go of Ryoga, she took a step towards TK. "I knew it! What have you done to Davis, you... you... disciple of Ranma?!"

TK just grinned. "Nothing. I have no quarrel with him. You two, on the other hand..." He uncrossed one arm and raised it, pointing at Akane. "You've had this coming for years. Especially you Akane-!

"Normally, I would agree."

TK looked to see Cell appear right beside him in midair just before he was kicked across the room and right through the wall.

"I've never forgiven Akane for hurting Ranma, but death is too good for the bitch."

Ryoga quickly asked, "Cell, what the hell is going on?!"

Cell answered, but never took his eye off TK, who was starting to stand up outside. "TK's been possessed by an evil symbiote called Stryker, one of the MA's deadliest and oldest foes. Since TK interfered with its revenge on the Mega Avengers, Stryker chose to possess him and force him to break the promise he made to Ranma: not seek revenge against the two of you."

Then, something blue and fast stretched in and ran through Cell's chest. Stryker stepped back in. "I don't know how you could regenerate without your head," he snarled. "But that just means I'll have to vaporize more than just that!"

Akane and Ryoga gasped. Rob had mentioned Stryker once before, during his brief stay at the dojo. If TK was indeed possessed by the symbiote, they were in serious trouble.

Cell quickly changed his body's form into liquid and slid out of Stryker's extended grasp. "Others have tried," he stated simply. "And even with TK's powers at your command, you'll have a tough time with me. Rob's been lazy over the years... but not me!" <No thanks to that bastard Dabura.>

Stryker took a fighting stance, waving two fingers at Cell to come at him. "Fine by me. I think since you were so useless to save Ranma, TK should show you his appreciation for it."

<He's playing head games,> Cell thought. <I know TK's never blamed anyone but himself and Friezor for Ranma's passing... so why do I think he hates me for it anyway?>

"Not so fast, 'cousin!'"

Everyone looked to see a red and black figure walk in from the hole Stryker had made when he went through it. This one looked like Stryker: same claws, teeth, eyes, but the feet were bigger than a human's. Cell knew right away that it was the Carnage or Spider-Carnage symbiote. He also knew that Spider-Carnage's host was on assignment for the Rose, and the real Carnage lost in the Negative Zone. <So who is this?>

The red figure pointed at Stryker. "Since we're both spawns of Carnage, it is my duty to take you down. However, I'll give you just one chance to surrender and release Takeru Saotome."

Stryker shot a look that said "yeah, right." He studied the figure carefully, then grinned. "Almost didn't recognize you for a moment... Freddie the Frog!"

The red symbiote melted away to uncover Freddie's head. To cell's surprise, Freddie's eyes were back to normal. "Aw," he said in mock disappointment. "You've been peeking!"

Stryker grinned evilly. "That was funny... coming from a blind frog!"

"Oh? Then you should be able to take me down rather easily, no? No powering up to Super level 2?"

"Ha! I can kill you with just one arm!"

This made Freddie smile. <Sucker!> "I'll that that bet," he said before the symbiote covered his head again, and he got into a fighting stance. "Stryker versus Carnage-Frog! Round one!"



To Be Continued...


A/N: 1) How is it Tetsuo's blind and Freddie can see again? You'll see later in the following chapters.

2) The side story on Cell I mentioned before is where he met Dabura. Be patient and I'll work on it later.

3) For Gundam fanboys, you'll see how the aforementioned suits and test pilots came into the MA's lives in book 3. Promise!

4) The two mystery characters mentioned in the last chapter will show up in in the remaining chapters.

5) read and review, please!