Powered Marines

Refuse to Fight

The Moon Palace

“Ra that last creature failed. Maybe your not a smart as you think you are.”

“Oh? Did you senses the impact those 4 destroyed buildings had on their moral.”

Reeva smiles a sinister smile “You have another plan?”

“A couple, they are only human they have lives let us see what happens when they are forced to fight in the middle of their day.”

Angel’s Basin High School – Earth

The bell rings Malcolm rising from his seat with his back pack heads with the other students of the class for the door. He’s stopped by the teacher. “Malcolm hold up a minute!”

“What’s up teach?”

“Your Friends with Kenny Olsen, where’s he been the last few days? I’ve find his homework on my desk in the morning but he hasn’t been to class not to long after these monsters showed up. Is he alright?”

Malcolm pauses looking for the words that wont reveal their secret “He met with a, I’m not sure the correct term, Doctor? Professor? Professional? In any case he met someone who was a master at making things some sort of inventor.”

“So a internship?”

“Of sorts.”

“Alright, give him my best.”

“I will.”

As Malcolm is exiting the class his new wrist communicator begins to ring. Looking around he hurries off to the bathroom tapping it.

“What is it Zardoz, I have….” Malcolm begins before his is transported along with the others to the Command Center, Kenny already there even though he was first to be ported “…class.”

“STOP THAT!” growls Tara “Stop just porting us away at your leisure!”

“There is trouble…” Zardoz begins “And when we teleport you we make sure that you are alone first so your secret life is not jeopardized.”

“That’s not the point!” interrupts Michael “We have lives, responsibilities, goals outside of city defending.”

“There is no time to talk!”

“Wait you big giant head you….” And again Claire along with the other 4 are teleported away into town in powered form when they land “…can’t just…oh forget it.”

The monster of the week resembles something made out of paper or some kind of mummy creature.

“This is getting ridiculous!”

“Let just end this quick, any objections to summoning the war beasts?”

“No!”

“Go for it!”

“I’m tired of this stuff.”

“Wait guys, how do you think they feel?” Kenny interjects “We can’t just summon them for something we can defeat.”

“Their war machines, extension of our power, tools.” Retorts a disbelieving Michael “You think they are alive?”

“They are, yes, in a sense.”

Michael disregards Kenny and the 4 sans Kenny call out for their mecha, after a long pause nothing happens.

“What the hell…”

“Apparently they don’t agree with the summon.” Retorts Kenny, feeling a bit vindicated.

Tara growls “Let’s end this quick!”

Unfortunately the battle was not quick, it was hard and grueling. They first attack for 5 points but their weapons seem to slip through the creature, it expanded, spaces between its pages form and the weapons fell though those spaces cutting thin air. Next they tried a flurry of ranged attack with their blasters but again the creature just opened itself so they hit air.

“This is ridiculous! How do we beat something that can do that.”

They rolled to dodge a counter attack of paper thing discs thrown at them.

“It’s like a sieve, attack just slip though the holes it makes in itself.” Musses Kenny.

“So how do we…” Michael starts “…Wait…Guys I have a idea pinpoint attacks don’t work we need…”

“Black Earth technique I get it!” Malcolm cuts in.

“Huh?” asks a confused Claire.

“It’s a simple idea we need to make a large area attack.” Kenny explains.

Michael hold his head, the other follow suit shortly looking pained for a moment “We will combine our weapons. That should work for a area attack.”

“Right!”

Rolling and dodging the counter attacks they each throw their weapons in turn to one another until finally they all gather around Kenny with the combined weapon. It charges, it fires. The massive beam of force radiates out. The creature tries to split itself again but it can not avoid the full beam. The pages catch fire and like a pile of kindling he goes up like a torch. In an instant the 5 are back in the command center.

“Zardoz! Why didn’t our war machines come to aid us when we called?” demands Michael

“I’m way late to like my next class, Cha!” babbles Claire.

Zardoz glares daggers “”They are more then machines as I have told you, they are your predecessors souls in solid form. They are not truly sentient yes, but they still have drives, instincts, morals that shape their personalities.”

“So basically we get thoughts put into our heads when we transform and have tools with their own minds?” asks an irate Malcolm.

“Yes, Exactly” Zardoz replies nonchalantly.

The 4, prepare to transport Kenny moving over beside Rotocope at the console.

“Coming Kenny?” ask a concerned Tara.

He pauses “No…I have work to do here.”

“Kenny, come back to us, we miss hanging out, training in the Youth Center, being with you. You always here.”

The other resonate the same emotion.

“No…” He pauses, “I…can’t.”

“What’s like so important that you like spend all your time like here?”

“…Rotoscope, he…scarified so much, the technology was designed to free his peoples souls and he turned it to the greater good. His people are still doomed to having their soul rot in a dead body. I can’t even begin to imagine what that would be like for a person. I have to help.”

The four pause taking in Kenny’s words.

“If like I knew the first thing about electronics I’d help Kenny. But like good luck.”

“Thanks Claire.”

“If you need something from us K-Man you can count on Malcolm and me.”

“Definity!”

“Thanks Michael, Malcolm.”

“I’m not the brain you are Kenny, but I know a little about computers. Can I help?” Tara ask walking over.

Kenny try to hid a tear as he embraces Tara, shivering. She holds him, reluctantly the other 3 teleport off.


Mind Games Part 1

Angel’s Basin – Kenny Olsen’s Garage
Kenny and Tara sit at his work table a strange device sitting before them, they weres rubber bloces and goggles, various electronic tools in their hands.Standing off to the side is Kenny father and mother, they are holding a small tray of food for the duo.

His father tries to anoucne their presnce softly “*Cough* Can you two take a break from your project and eat something.”

Kenny looks at Tara, she streches as he stands pulling kenny away from the table “A good meal will do us good!”

“Wait but, my work…”

“Can wait half a hour. Spend some time with your parent and let your mind relax for a second. You may end up getting a insight into the project when you take a moment away from it.”

Kenny protests by Tara is already dragging him into the house, eventually as he sits him down at his folks dinner table he gives up. They follow setting the meal they brought on the table.

“Tara? Why don’t you stay for dinner.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose Ms. Olsen.”

“”No imposition, besides if Kenny runs for the garage some needs to be there to drag him back.”

Tara and Kenny’s parents laughs, Kenny just sulks. The 4 of them settle into the dinner table and begin to eat.

Meanwhile in the garage, while the 4 of them eat Ra appears. Quietly he looks through the work room. Picking up the device he vanishes back to the moon returning moments later only to place the device back and leave as quietly as he arrived.

After school the 5 friends gather in the Youth Center, as they enjoy Smoothies and burgers they talk in low voices o as to not be overheard.

“Man that Apprentice guy was intense.”

“Ya but he was right, weather we like it or not were heroes now, and weather it’s a friend or family if some is out there killing folks we have to stop them.” Malcolm pauses the next bit caught in his throat “If we do not act more people will be killed, those the 4 buildings full.”

“At the same time we need to keep them out of the city so we can cut loose.”

“Totally,” Claire pauses looking to Tara and Kenny “So what are the 2 of you working on?”

Kenny is silent, obviously in thought so Tara speaks “I don’t understand the full detail of its inner working but its pretty amazing. Kenny is using a prototype of the Core that holds our powers and trying to perfect the soul transfer system to give Rotoscope’s people a way to move their living souls out of their dead bodies.”

The 3 take a deep breath.

“That is intense.”

“Well good luck if anyone can do it its you 2.”

“Totally!”

“I should get going,” Kenny says as he rises “I have this feeling I’m almost there”

Tara rises gathering their leftovers and walking with Kenny. As they exit Michael notices a concerned look on Claire’s face.

“Something wrong?”

“I just, I just feel I should be like helping out more, ya’know. You’re our big bad team leader, and if anything Malcolm is our conscious.”

Malcolm blushes “I’m no such thing, I’m just some ‘banger from the hood if anyone is the conscious its you Ms. Pink: Love-For-All-Life.”

Claire blushes, Michael placing a strong hand on her shoulder. “You do a lot, don’t sell yourself short.”

Claire rises looking at the boys “Thanks, but…”

“But?”

“But I think I’m like gonna do something special to help those 2 out. Can’t be easy with the fate of the eternal soul of a race on their shoulders.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Not sure, but I think I’m gonna like talk to some people.”

Back at Kenny’s garage Tara and Kenny huddle over their device “Are you ready Tara.”

“I’m a bit scarred, what do you think it will be like?”

“Dunno, but the problem Rotoscope had was that only those with the Power could be stored. So the first step is to see if we can detect and read other souls.”

“And you feel comfortable about doing this to your folks?”

Kenny pauses “No…but I’m out of ideas…”

“Why don’t you test it on me?”

Kenny blanks “What will that prove?”

“If you can read my soul it mean you able to at least breath the Blue Line and touch Yellow, if you can jump lines its more likely you can read a neutral line. Like phone wires getting crossed.”
“Brilliant!” Excited with Tara insight Kenny kisses her full on the lips. The 2 pause and blush profusely at each other for a few minutes after ward. Tara coughs drawing their attention back to the project. Flustered Kenny turns back to his device and activates it, pointing the receiver dish at Tara.

“Ready?”

“Ready!”

The device humms to life, their a building of energy, the two of them look at it and for a moment they both loose their vision and other senses before them come back into focus.

“Did it work? Can you hear my….” Kenny begins to ask “…thoughts…Kenny?”

Tara looks at him confused “Wait a second why am I sitting over there? Did I displace my own soul?”

Tara looks down, she sees her breasts and touches them apprehensively. Kenny touches his glasses in disbelief.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! We switched bodies!” they shout together.

Mind Games Part 2

Tara and Kenny look at each other and teleport to the command center via the communicators, taking the device with them.

“Welcome warriors, how comes the prototype?”

“That why where here…”

“…Theirs a problem!” ‘Tara’ says.

“Oh? Tell me maybe I can help.”

“I’m Kenny!”

“And I’m Tara.”

Rotoscope looks at them and then turns back to his console casually “That’s not a problem.”

“Not a problem? I’m a girl!”

“And I’m a geek!”

“It will wear off in a couple hours, a long time ago one of your predecessors enemies tried to switch around the minds of the team. The core was later upgraded to account or it. Once it detects the soul//body miss match it will begin to change your bodies to match the right soul.”

‘Kenny’ blinks several times “So Kenny is gonna turn into me with my soul in his body and me into him?”

“Precisely.”

“That’s weird, but I guess it works out in the end.” Says a confused Tara in Kenny’s body.

“Still can you help us work on this so we can switch ourselves back. I’m not looking forward to having my DNA rearranged.”

“Of course if that is what you want, I’ll be glad to help.”

“Thanks!” the say in unison.

The viewing field lights up, some kind of slime creature is grabbing people as one slip down its throat they watch as it smokes inside the translucent body as if effected by a acid.

“We have to go!” shouts Tara, she fumbles around for Kenny’s transformer.

She steps over “if I may?” Reaching into a front pocket Kenny removes the device while Tara grabs her own off of Kenny. They are about to switch off when Rotoscope interrupts.

“Hang onto them, you souls are bond to a particular power so stick to your color.”

They shrug and Tara shouts out Saber Tooth Tiger in the body of Kenny and Kenny does the reverse with Tara’s body. In an instant the female Triceratops and Male Saber Tooth Tiger marines are on the scene.

Triceratops charged forward weapon out, like a bull in a china shop she berreled through the creature, grabing the victim and coming out the other end in a explosion of goo. The goo was pooling on the group beginning to reform. Triceratops looked Tiger “Can you hold out?”

“I’ll try!”

In a flash of blue Triceratops was goon with the victim to get him to the hosptital for the acid burns. Tiger charges the jelly like humanoid taking shape strike out with a streching arm that slams into Tiger and hold like glue to him. Tiger strugles to pull free as the thing movies closer wrapping around him like it did the civilian. Tiger’s heart races as he can feel the actic slowly eating through the suit, he strugles to get through but every moviemlet is futile the goo thing remains around him.

“Someone help me!”

As Tiger strugles there for about a minute Tricera returns joined shortly but the other 3. The 3 gasp at the gender switch but are more concerned with their captured friend.

“How the heck do we get him out?” wonders Michael.

“It’s easy to destroy if you charge it!” Tricera says.

“Year but it regenerates.” Tiger amends.

Tricera charges into the creature once more pulling out Tiger and reducing the thing to goo that tries to pull back together.

Rolling the get back to their feet and the 5 stand united.

“Like why are you two wearing each others suits!?”

“Long story! Any ideas how to beat this thing?” asks Tricera.

“What destroys Jello?” asks Malcom as the thing charges at him.

“Don’t let him touch you he suck you in that way!” Tiger yells.

Malcolm roll to the side to avoid contact “Thanks!” as the jelly man swing around for another pass.

“Water can dilute Jello” Tricera muses.

Tiger extends his hand to the sky “Great Saber Tooth Tiger I call on your aid…”

“That won’t work!” Michael shouts.

“Sure it will!” Tiger retorts “I’m not asking her to fight for me! NOW! Great Saber Tooth Tiger please we need to drown this thing bring us some water!”

Tiger rolls to dodge the creature and all 6 combatant pause for a moment as the earth rumbles under them.

The jelly creature pauses as the large beasts shadow looms over it, the other pause in awe as it opens its maw and dumps a enormous flood of water onto the Jelly creature. It shivers and quakes but rises, The other 4 call their war beasts asking the same thing in moment the jelly creature lies as a green puddle on the ground then dissolves into nothing. Tiger looks up to the war beast.

“Thanks!”

The other 4 thank their own beasts.

Mind Games Part 3

Back at the command center the 5 power down, the change has already started ‘Tara’ skin is lighter and ‘Kenny’ has a darker more tanned tone. Additionally their features are a bit more like the other and Tara’s body has slightly smaller breasts. Her bra shifts uncomfortably for a moment.

“Nice tan Kenny but your looking a bit pale Tara.” Michael exclaims “Maybe you should get some rest Tara.”

‘Tara’ looks at her hands noticing the paler color “It has begun.”

“It’s a long story. See Kenny and I were working in his work show on a way to read minds. The first step into getting a working prototype of a soul transfer for Rotoscope’s race but something went wrong.”

“When I used it on Tara we blacked out for a second and found ourselves in each other’s body.”

“So wait your like Tara?” Claire says pointing to Kenny’s body.

“Yup, and I’m Kenny.” replies Kenny in Tara’s body. “We came here for advice from Rotoscope and he said the core would fix things up and change our new bodies into our old bodies to match our souls.”

“Yeah! But we don’t want to wait so if you don’t mind were going to get back to work to see about switching ourselves back.”

“Erm…uh…ok…” Malcolm stammers “This job just keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

Kenny fidgets a moment reaching into her shirt and fidgeting with her bra. Tara looks at her “Problem?”

“Ya your bra is loose, how do you tighten this thing.”

As Tara walks over Rotoscope trasports them and the device back to Kenny’s workshop. They are momentarily distracted by the teleport then clear their heads “They have got to stop doing that.”

“I know Tara, it’s disconcerting.”

“Stand still let me tighten that for you.”

Kenny’s voice cracks and Tara slips off her shirt “T…thanks.”

Tara stand their looking at the loose bra of her body and flusters “This is so weird.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Kenny says looking at himself.

“S….Sure.” stammers Tara.

“What does it say about me that looking at you in my body arouses me.”

Tara chokes having the exact same feeling looking at herself, “I…I was gonna say the same thing.”

“Hormones, has to be the conflicting and changing hormones.”

Tara coughs “Yeah…must be.”

Clearing her head Tara fidgets with sweaty hands with the clasp pulling the bra up and tightening it. Pulling taunt it rests firmly against Kenny’s breasts.

Kenny flusters and touches her breasts again “that’s just such a weird sensation, having breasts I mean.”

“What’s wrong with them, most boys like to touch a woman’s breasts!”

Kenny flusters again “No! NO! it’s not that it just weird to have equipment you don’t have normally!”

Tara flusters “I have to admit I’m a bit curious what your equipment is like…”

“Well…” Kenny pauses “We probably have a couple hours at this rate if you just want to let the change come naturally you can play around in my body.”

Tara flusters “Well if you wish you can play with myself.”

It started off simply enough with them show each other how to adjust each other clothes but with the hormones all mixed up they soon find themselves in the embrace of each other’s bodies, however mid love making they find themselves transported to the command center. Their forms almost indistinguishable at the half way mark the change from one to another makes them look virtually identical as they appear on the floor of the command center naked. Shortly Malcolm appears a spatula in one hand, next is Michael naked, soaking, wet and his hands in his the later of his soapy hair. Last to appear is Claire as if pulled out of a moving cat.

“Damn it you ported me out while I was cooking, the stove is still on!” Malcolm clutches his communicator and is gone.

“I was showering DAMN IT PORT ME BACK!” shouts Michael.

“I was driving!” shouts Claire.

The remaining two don’t need to say a word in a flash their all transported back to their original places. Several minutes later they transport back of their own accord.

“From now on your use the communicator to beep us first got it Zardoz?” Michael’s tare is cold and piercing, the holographic head is flustered, a first.

“Erm…yes…I…will.”

“Now…what was so important you risked me burning down my house and Claire having a car accident.”

Zardoz clears his throat “Ra was spotted in the rock query outside town.”

After a moments pause they power up and transport to the query where they meet Ra and his clay minions.

“Ra!” Michael shouts “What are you up to this time.”

“Oh I have what I need, I’ll be going now!”

And just like that Ra is gone leaving the 5 to wonder…

“Ok like what just happened here?”