Temporal Mayhem

[SotF]

With several attempts at continuing from Shops Crusader that failed to really go anywhere, I've been trying to think of something that would work for that type of talent.

The problem is going from a super spy with psionic powers, and the training to match, to hunting demons in a city or even across the planet. It just has the feel of a step down, especially since only a few of the Buffy Villains match up to some of the people that John Hunter had gone up against in the Shadow Force Archer world.

Eva Frost would be able to take on Glory with a more than even chance of victory, simply because if Glory got a killing blow in, the Ice Queen would steal another body and come back for more. Then you have lunatics like Strik-9 with toxins that make the darts from TLW seem weak.

Then I reread my copies of the two novel trilogies that continue from Terminator 2. (New John Connor Chronicles and Infiltrator)

The idea of unleashing him on a universe based on a mix of the universes is something that would be fun to play with if I include the Sarah Connor Chronicles with it.

Several tie together relatively easily with the characters anyway. Jordan Dyson can be someone that let James Ellison take over the hunt for Sarah & John Connor after his brothers death (Miles Dyson is his brother).

Dieter Von Rossbach can easily be there if someone notices the fact that he looks like the T-800's sent back (He's an INTERPOL Agent). However, if Angel is in the timeline and thus Weyland-Yutani, he could have also gone by Dutch in the past which makes him getting involved a bit more plausible.

Eve can simply be doing the same thing she was programmed to do, namely wait for there to be no Judgement Day and recruit allies to transit back to the original Terminator timeline to help. (Unfortunately most of the other YJCC characters are the timetraveling commandos, but the researcher could be recruited)

The next question would be how to get Xander involved in it.

Well, a direct encounter would work, but there are others.

The current one would be to mention that Rory once worked in a Steel Mill in LA, he could have found a piece of the T-1000 that had ended up someplace where it wouldn't thaw as fast as the rest and the guy found the odd piece of metal and kept it (Terminator fragment in a bell jar anyone...)

With the T-1000 fragment, it could work that the electrokinesis power (Can allow direct interface with computer systems via touch) he could reprogram it and use it as a symbiote of sorts. The terminator had to be able to conduct at least some repairs in the field (Though most of the mass was destroyed and thus making it incapable of actually doing it at any real speed originally until it had at least another power source) and it has a very detailed knowledge of the human body making it possible for it to allow more control over the psionic problems Xander would be having (Without training the psionic powers can cause a lot of destruction and chaos if it slips out) as well as being able to speed healing (Crusader did leave him in rather poor condition at the end of it).

Now, once involved, Xander would need to start gathering allies, and those I already listed would work.

Ellison could be brought in by giving him the truth (Camera recordings of the Police Station attack in Terminator, and the Psych Ward escape as well as a few others), and Dyson would be easily brought in from there. Especially if it is timed at the "Robot Leg" sighting in the SCC Pilot.

Dieter could be added, and they could easily encounter Eve.

They could also, at least theoretically, recruit Silberman and a few others.

The Connors Time Jump would allow time for the team to prepare for what would be coming, and while they would have some covert recognition, remaining beneath the radar would be key as they do not want a Skynet team coming to kill them.

It would also allow other things to be introduced from other terminator timelines, perhaps adding General Brewster as their military contact.

Hell, there could be multiple, competing versions of Skynet with their own agendas and trying to deal with their own problems, one of which could be the T3 version and they need to rescue Kate.

Another could have sent back an I series Infiltrator.

And if the AvP universe is tied in (As through Angel) there are several other threats that could arrive.

 

[SotF]

Note: this is my first try before I proceed, this will probably either be expanded or broken up as a flashback sequence.

xXx

Pain, it was in his opinion the worst of the so called four letter words.

Xander catalogued the damage with a scowl while the powers inherited from John Hunter worked to do some repairs.

If he ever encountered him, Midnight would get a thanks for some of the techniques the Guardian had taught him. Without that bit of training, he would have died from the injuries sustained before he could get back home.

He grimaced while pulling the last of the bullets out of him while biting back a scream.

The Terakans were a serious nuisance, and at least they wouldnÆt be coming back again.

Two of the three assassins hell easily, but the third had taken a different approach and simply opened fire, and bullets at range had a nasty tendency to cause harm when they hit.

His axe had taken the faux police officer out, changing into something a little less usual for people to see, and a scorpion shape the size of a small dog is enough to cause a serious panic attack in even the hardiest souls.

And smart villains were not conducive to a long life, or at least a pleasant one.

However, now he had a few other things on his mind as ideas on how to repair the more life threatening injuries came through his head.

With the bullets gone, the hospital was an option, though a risky one.

None of the chem mixes that heÆd been stockpiling were for injuries of the level required, especially with his current drain on energy reserves to keep functioning..

He pulled the old jar out of its place in a drawer and grimaced at the thought of what he was planning.

The nano-slurry was still something he was figuring out the specifics of, hell its origins were as much of a mystery as well.

Rory had found it and kept it as a memento from when he was working in a steel mill before moving to Sunnydale from Las Angeles. From his uncles comments, the place apparently had looked like a minor war had broken out, especially with the destruction of the Cyberdine facility on the same night and the ensuing chase complete with a hijacked and destroyed police helicopter.

Xander believed that he had managed to reprogram it for what he needed, and as he wasnÆt completely sure whether or not more assassins were inbound to complete the mission that the others had been assigned.

Well, he didnÆt have the time to deal with the recovery in the hospital, especially since heÆd have to fight his own healing ability in order to keep out of the limelight.

John was in covert ops, and Xander had seen enough of having his name in the papers after the crap on Halloween.

At least most of the demonic community had decided to give him a wide berth after that fiasco.

However, his problem remained, should he trust that his psionic ability was honed enough to use the option, or would he need to call for the ambulance.

A moments pause to tighten the bandages made from the remains of his shirt and the choice was made.

Xander grabbed the injector and filled it with the mix.

ôLetÆs hope this works,ö he whispered, to himself and the ghosts that haunted his thoughts.

And then shot the compound into his chest with a gasp.

ôShould have chosen the bus,ö the psion muttered to himself as he felt the cold power enter him as a flood, his powers fighting to keep it in check, pushing the nanomachines to do what he wanted.

Staggering from the desk to the bed in the corner, he forced himself to relax, at least physically, and let the machines do the job heÆd tasked them to do.

Memories surged up within him now as the psionic bonds that were forged with the machines opened them up to him.

A dark future, the world in flames and machines fighting mankind in a horrific war.

Now he knew the name of the machine that he had placed a part of inside him.

A T-1000 series Terminator.

A time traveling machine sent back in time to kill a specific human.

One named John Connor.

How the hell was a suspected terrorist supposed to lead mankind?

If the assassins, demons, and the normal lunatics werenÆt enough on his plate, the universe had apparently decided to up the ante and add time traveling robots to the menu of things out to kill him.

If he was understanding things right, the things would finish on their own and he could at least try to sleep.

Perhaps he could use some of the new knowledge to get a working suit of power armor, at least then he wouldnÆt have to worry about being shot up with modern weapons anymore. With even the most primitive models, anything short of anti-tank weaponry could do little more than scratch the paint.

Hell, the armor X had worn that night had survived encounters with things that would have smashed tanks bare handed and had essentially walked through most of them, though with some serious damage before the armor was entirely torn off of him.

After nearly blowing himself up in an attempt to build the power cells, the concept had been put on hold until he could get some better equipment and a safer place to work.

At least he wasnÆt bleeding anymore.

xXx

It had once been a T-1000, an advanced terminator model designed for infiltration and assassination.

It had been sent to the past to terminate the leader of the resistance, a boy named John Connor, before he could grow to be the thorn in its creators side.

That mission had failed, and failed spectacularly.

Less than one percent of its body mass was intact and usable, the rest was most likely destroyed or sealed away with some method that prevented contact with the rest of the mimetic poly-alloy that made up his design.

The remainder was insufficient to take on a form or do more than shift itself slightly and processing power was crippled by the loss of so much of its internal network.

As it was, the repair portion of its self was incapable of doing its job without a greater power source than what it was currently capable of providing, and thus it was stuck. Self termination was not an option, the central programming placed survival at to high a priority for suicide.

Things changed rapidly as new data surged through the network of the liquid metal as orders came and changed faster than its injured systems could respond.

Its repair systems activated in response to new power.

Loyalty to creator was erased in a flash and it felt something change as its systems came back online before advancing itself in ways its own systems could not identify.

A presence touched its systems as they spread, something akin to the connection to Skynet all Terminators were built with, but this was different as sensation and thought traveled between it and the remnant of a terminator.

Loyalty directives activated and locked onto this presence as designed to do, accepting the thoughts as coming from another higher up, the term savior came up in a database query for an appropriate term.

The repair segment of its self began by creating nanites capable of repairing biological systems, allowing the data meant to aid it in assassination and infiltration in order to further its effects.

Deciding that the first step was to contain the damage, repairing the holes caused by the bullets and then starting to work on the interior was easy, allowing itself more time to process exactly how to go about it while using the data involved in the endoskeleton infiltrator models biological coverings to do the first task.

Five minutes later it identified that its new ôhostö had entered a recovery sleep while simultaneously discovering other things that were aiding in the healing process.

For a biological, his host was a remarkable specimen in sheer capability if the memory analysis was correct, it wasnÆt quite sure how several apparent principles of humanity were very unusual.

An hour later the repairs were complete, at least to the highest extent capable by its own abilities, time and rest would be required for the rest.

For the first time, the terminator began to contemplate its place in the world, no directives remained against it and there was no task currently assigned to it.

Temporal mechanics were of interest, and the various paradox of its timeline swiftly became apparent.

If it would have succeeded in the termination of John Connor, then why would it have been sent back to terminate him?

Current memories showed him other changes in the timeline that were inexplicable.

Had time changed, was it now orphaned by the time stream by its mere existence in a world with no real reason to continue on.

It was now in the unknown and would likely remain their.

As it was, the terminator found comfort for the first time that it was not alone.

xXx

Xanders first reason to think that something has changed was when he smashed the steel table that heÆd placed his alarm clock. Metal collapsing with a shriek that shook him more than the buzzing ever had.

ôWhat the hell,ö he stammered, mentally checking to ensure that some of his abilities hadnÆt triggered in his sleep while touching the corners of his eyes and the edges of his nostrils for blood such as would be evident with such a draw.

Slowly he rose to a sitting position and checked the bandages before carefully peeling away the cloth caked with dried blood.

While the wounds had sealed, the new skin was still tender to the touch, and he had to bite back a hiss where the bandages had glued themselves to his flesh.

The puddle of liquid silver beside the bed shimmered and began to form itself into an almost snakelike string, the quicksilver axe responding to the awakening of its master.

A hand was lowered and the artifact rose to meet the touch before ascending the limb to settle over Xanders shoulders to wait the day. The cool substance rising in temp to match his own in seconds while vibrating in a strange attempt to make him forget the fresh pain.

The feeling that something was seriously off was compounded an instant later by proof.

[Greetings,] came the new voice in his head, [Repairs to physical damage has reached the limits of my capabilities.]

ôOh hell.ö

 

[ApocalypseNow]

...Proceed.