The Suite Life X

47 - Thunder Brawl

Of course, the remainder of the Hunters were concerned about what they'd seen of London's outburst...

...not that they had any time to dwell on it.

For Cody and Axl, they immediately found themselves at a futuristic-looking airport in the middle of a harsh thunderstorm.

To the taller twin, this had to be about 10 times worse than the air fleet.

At least there, he could see a few feet in front of his face.

"Thunder and lightning's rampant throughout this area. You guys will need to keep on the move and take cover if you can." Layer's low and professional tone hid well any nerves she might've had.

For the first time that he'd seen, there was no cocky or bored expression on Axl's face. He was all business.

"Stay close to me," he ordered.

The deluge was so loud that he barely heard him. Both of them figured out quickly that direct verbal communication would be almost impossible.

Platforming was effortless for both of them. Given what they had been through, why wouldn't it be? No, their real challenge came when the lightning started flashing.

Both the sky and the path before them were illuminated by brilliant yet deadly forks of light. Despite the appropriately themed enemies and sentient cannons, this was their true enemy because neither could withstand a direct strike.

As they kept going, the ground that they did touch and even the walls became just as hazardous, occasionally coursing with electricity. Mercifully, they weren't the only ones at risk, for the element didn't exactly distinguish between Hunter and Maverick.

It was Cody who managed to spot the hidden alcove situated just below one of the towers. Even as he followed along Axl was far from pleased with this impromptu detour.

“What the heck are you doing, kid?!”

Before the boy could answer, Layer was filling in with an answer. “Hold it, Axl. I’m pretty sure he’s onto something, actually. Based on my research, I think that one of Dr. Light’s Capsules might be over there. See any flammable-looking objects?”

“Y-Yeah!”

“Shoot them until they’re destroyed.”

Both of them wound up doing so, with the mentor reluctantly joining in only after realizing he'd been out-voted.

One explosion later, and they were face to face with a blue capsule that opened up to reveal a hologram of an old man in a lab coat somewhat resembling Santa Claus.

“Axl and… Cody, is it?”

The former just answered in the affirmative while the latter was simply in awe.

“This is so cool…”

“Really?”

The holographic man had to clear his throat to stop the giddy rambling that followed. “Anyway, I have the necessary programming for X’s armor, as much as I wish that we never had to use these. Go get Alia, or who were they…Layer and Pallette…? Get them to analyze this.”

Axl had the data sent away and turned to leave and call the teen to do the same, only for Light to keep talking.

“Hm… I do respect your desire to learn, young one. That, and the fact that you’re out here on its own speaks volumes about how far you’ve come. In that spirit, I have something for you. Step in the capsule.”

The boy was more hesitant now. Okay… Is this gonna hurt or something?”

“No.”

Slowly doing as instructed, Cody would be bather in a warm light for about a second or two before it stopped. He stepped off feeling…stronger somehow.