​     He'd forgotten about the Silver Scorpion. ​The second the Stargod disappeared into the sky, Katy and Gramps inside, Alacran came up behind Adam to slam him hard in the kidney with one massive, armored fist. 

     "Bastard!" 

​     Adam dropped to his knees, distracted by the agony that lanced through him. Alacran pounded Adam's shoulder again, again, again in an effort to drive Adam to the floor. With that initial sonic blast, Adam had broken him somehow, had damaged the Silver Scorpion's inner technology in some manner. There were parts of his battle uniform that no longer responded to his commands. It was like he felt an inner clankety-clank within himself, like some pieces were destroyed to where they no longer worked the way they should. 

     That pissed him off. 

     That pissed him off so badly he wanted to kill somebody. He wanted to kill Adam Forwarder. Now he pounded on Adam's skull, hoping that he'd be able to crack it open and rid the planet Earth of him once and for all. 

     "Die!" 

     Alacran raised both arms at once. He intended to put everything he had, all the power that the Silver Scorpion contained, into smashing Adam right into the floor until there was nothing left but gore and splintered bone.  

​     It didn't happen. 

     Incredibly, Adam came up off the floor back to his feet, and, as he did, he used his arms to push back at the Silver Scorpion. He jarred Alacran enough so that the now clanking metal man-boy lost his balance. Once again, standing tall, Adam pummeled Alacran as he had before, smacking Alacran in all of his most vulnerable areas, elbows, neck, waist, ankles. His blows began to have a real effect. Alacran's armor began to come completely apart. 

     No!   

​     All the fight went out of Alacran then. He didn't want to play Super-Bad-Boy anymore. What he wanted, really, and he never thought he'd think this or feel this, but what he really wanted right then was to go back to his bed at home and sleep. Leave me alone, he thought. Just leave me alone. 

     "NO!" This from inside of Alacran, inside of his armor, a voice from over his com unit.    

     Valtair's voice. 

     "ATTACK HIM! DESTROY HIM! DO IT NOW!"

​     No. No. Axel didn't want to. He didn't want, in any manner, to hurt Adam Forwarder. He'd always admired Adam Forwarder, had always followed his exploits on TV and over the web. "N-No, please."  

     "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?" 

​     And then there was the pain, and here Axel couldn't even feel below his neck. It was like his soul, his entire being, got hit by a bristling shock so intense it became almost a color, a bright, searing white. "STOP! PLEASE! STOP! STOP!" 

     "HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME!" Valtair roared into his ear. "HOW DARE YOU ASSUME ANY LONGER THAT YOU HAVE ANY FREE WILL WHATSOEVER! WHEN I TELL YOU TO ATTACK, YOU ATTACK! I TELL YOU TO KILL, YOU KILL! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" More searing, white pain. "DO YOU?" More. "DO YOU?" 

​     "Y-Yes." 

     But by then Adam had already gone. He'd turned and ran for the smashed open window, then dove out into the night. 

​     "He's...He's..."

​     "GO FIND HIM! GO FIND HIM AND DESTROY HIM!"

​     "B-But..."

     Once again the searing white pain. 

​     "NOW!"

CONTINUE