Graviton and the Space Pirates

4- Shootout

One Month Ago

As the blasts of fire, electricity, and light collided with Graviton's body, the force of the attacks from the heroes sent him flying into the outer reaches of space. With his body hurtling through the dark vacuum, he'd begin suffocating due to the lack of oxygen around him. Suddenly, something began happening.

As his body flew through the void, he watched as rocks from all around him began to fly toward him. Asteroids that surrounded planets or that were adrift in space began crashing into his body. And due to the force of the asteroids, each hit would veer him off his course, putting him in a different direction each time.

Holding his breath for as long as he could, Graviton put up his hands and attempted to use his powers. He couldn't let the rocks prevent him from getting back to Earth. He needed to win.

However, something was off, he felt as if his powers were shut off, yet inside his body he could feel his powers being used, but it was a different feeling. A feeling he had felt before. Remembering back, he quickly realized this feeling was exactly what he felt when he and his sister had fought the first time.

Trying to shake off the feeling, Graviton once again thrust his hands out to prevent the rocks from surrounding him, but it proved useless. As the rocks began to collide with him and other rocks, Graviton felt weak. His body started to fall limp. Not only was he running out of oxygen, but he was running out of energy.

After some time, the final rock would close in on him, locking him in a dark prison of stone. His eyes shut after time due to Graviton falling unconscious, and he seemed to enter a state of torpor as the large meteor flew through space, waiting to collide with something else...

- - -

"Onyx! ONYX!" the unknown voice yelled.

As the villain's eyes slowly opened, the rest of his senses gradually began returning. Quickly, he started hearing the sounds of blaster fire, explosions, and yelling. In terms of smell, sulfur, and smoke began filling his nose. Suddenly, something would enter his neck, and out of nowhere, injected into his body, causing him to immediately sit up.

"Wha- huh, what?!" Onyx yelled, instantly feeling the effects of whatever was put into his body.

"Adrenaline shot!" Lux responded, occasionally firing his blaster pistol over the rock they were hiding behind. "What the hell happened back there?!"

"With what?" Onyx questioned, trying to keep himself hidden behind the rock as lasers collided with it.

"YOUR ABILITIES, BONEHEAD!" the pirate captain screamed, halting his firing and grabbing Onyx by the shoulders. "WHAT HAPPENED!"

"I- I don't know!" Onyx cried. "Let me try again!"

Standing up, the Rockatrayen stuck out his hands and went to use his powers on the soldiers shooting at them. But... nothing happened. Looking at his hands, he went to try again and just like the first time, nothing happened.

Ducking behind the rock again, Onyx had a look of horror. His powers seemed to just be gone, and if his powers were gone, then he lost all of his authority and had no way of fighting against his sister and her friends.

"Jag Arrik!" Lux exclaimed, seeming to be swearing in his native language. "Well if your powers don't work, use the blaster I gave you and give 'em hell!" He began shooting at the guards once again, followed by Onyx who used the pistol that Lux handed him before.

As the two fired, along with Guardian Babe and Ser who were hiding at their points, Onyx looked at Lux and the guards that just kept coming. Looking at his chest that had been shot at before, he turned towards Lux and knelt.

"You need to get to that vault and I know how you can!" Onyx informed.

"What?! How!" Lux responded, not taking his eyes off the enemies.

"I can distract them while you three rush inside!" Onyx recommended. "That way they're focused on me and it'll give you time to open the vault and get what you need!"

Finally looking at Onyx, Lux gave him a look of surprise. "Are you insane!" he asked, seeming to not like the idea. But to Graviton's relief, his next words changed that thought. "That might just work!" Lux exclaimed.

Reaching around his neck, the white alien handed Onyx a large blaster rifle. "Use this to help distract them and keep them away from us. Stay safe though, don't need you dying and then them coming for us," he said, holstering his pistols.

Graviton gripped the blaster that was in his own hands and closed his eyes. He never had to defend himself this much before, but when he did last, he had the powers to do so. He was able to do incredible things. But now that was all gone. He only had this weapon and that was it. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes, and a look of determination swept over his face.

Standing up from behind the rock, he placed both hands around the handle of the weapon and aimed it forward, nodding to Lux who was kneeling nearby. With that signal, the leader motioned for Ser and Guardian Babe to follow him inside the facility, shooting any guard that blocked their way. Onyx started shooting as well, attempting to distract the guards from his three teammates while they got inside the building.

And it worked, Onyx was able to knock a few guards unconscious and grab enough of their attention for the three aliens to sneak into the facility without any of the guards hurting them. Now it was up to Graviton to keep them out there until they were done inside.

Inside the facility, the three began walking down the corridor that led from the entrance. It was cold and dark, with flickering lights emitting the hallways, but most seemed broken. The atmosphere of the place was creepy, and if you hadn't known about it, you would've thought it was abandoned.

Lux didn't like this feeling. The eeriness unsettled him. As the three walked further into the complex, he began to feel uneasy, as if something was watching them, but as far as he could look, there wasn't anyone but himself.

"Stay alert," Lux announced, his voice echoing through the dark corridor.

Suddenly, a noise was heard from above, coming from the vents. Ser and Guardian Babe looked at each other, but Lux was ready, his pistol aimed at a vent cover.

After waiting a few short minutes, nothing seemed to happen, but they were still freaked out. Cautious, the three pirates made their way through the hallways quicker than before. Eventually, they reached the vault.

Standing in front of the vault were two heavily armored guards. Their armor was much more bulky and heavy than the armor the other soldiers wore, and their weapons were more gun-like compared to the spear-like weapons the guards they fought outside were wielding.

Looking at each other and nodding, Lux pulled out three other blasters and turned the corner, beginning to fire at the guards.

As suspected, the blasts didn't do much, and the guards tanked the hits. But that's what he hoped for.

"Come on you stupid lunks!" Lux yelled, firing two at each guard.

As they got closer, Lux backed up more and more until finally reaching a point where they could get ambushed. Ducking behind an adjacent wall, he watched as Guardian Babe flew out from behind the wall, followed by Ser who jumped out.

Grabbing the first guard, Guardian Babe aimed her hand at him. Almost instantly, a blade extended from her arm, managing to impale the guard's neck which wasn't fully covered.

Ser, on the other hand, used his strength to his advantage. Grappling onto the guard, he ripped off his helmet and sank his fangs into the grey-skinned man. He struggled for a bit, but after a while, he fainted due to the fast venom Ser released into his body.

With both guards down, Lux came back into view and stood in the middle of the hallway, staring down the vault door. Grinning, he pulled out a circular device. Pressing the button on its shell, he walked up to the door and pressed it against its metal surface. Instantly, the device began working, with two long lasers extending out and beginning to cut through the door.

Suddenly, another crash was heard, this time, it was much, much closer.