He pressed his hand in front of the hole. The energy of the plasma cannon was manually diffused as it slowly closed. Even then, there were moments when it opened wider again. 01 had to grimace and make sure it closed all the way. Black plasma was starting to leak from the barrel of the cannon. He had to suck it back in before the color could revert back to red. Once he was done, he breathed a sigh of relief. The AEP unit then glared at me. I just crossed my arms in return. "Crazy human! I could have killed you! Do you want to die or something!?" he spat. I looked at him and said "Even at the strongest blast, you'd still lose a fight between us." That set him off. It was on purpose at this point. "Fine! I won't hold anything back!" he screamed as the cannon revealed itself. When it changed to black again, I yawned. I had seen it all before. "You better get ready. This isn't all I can do!" The roar got even louder as the hole got slightly bigger. Black plasma was leaking again as he panted. "Get ready to die. 3... 2..." he counted down. Before he could finish it, an explosion rocked the whole lab.
The cannon went off prematurely. It was an internal combustion and 01 was critical condition. All I could do was laugh at the situation. The damage to the AEP lab could always be fixed. It was only a matter of time. Keith and his daughter had long since stood back to clear the way between us. They both rushed to 01's side. I gave them a health pack to use. They turned it on immediately. 01 was able to reconfigure themselves quickly due to it. When he was fully back to normal, I approached him. "You suck at combat. Get out and take your blueprint to your confederacy. That is the only way you can contribute." He slammed the floor with his fist before getting up. He left the lab without another word. Keith just looked at me. "Are you suicidal?" he asked. I smirked. "Was I suicidal when you ambushed me in an X-frame and I still kicked your ass!? Twice!? Like father like son." was my answer. "Don't get too cocky. We are in rival confederacies. One day, I might come to finish what I started." I pat him on the shoulder. "That's cute. I'll be waiting with open arms. I'll kick your ass again if I have to."
With them gone, we got word of another attack on Sonic Clan repelled due to the proliferation of our equipment and tech. It was much closer though as both sides had it this time. The government finally had enough evidence to move on with a raid of Toxic Clan. They took it over and declared a big victory of the cyborgs on the continent. I was sure that Toxic Clan was either going to confederate or other clans in the region were. With the clan in such chaos and disarray, it did not seem like they would be mounting a comeback any time soon. The Conqueror faction just could not get any victories. Radioactive Clan was about to get their XX-frames together. We had sent them lots of credits and equipment. Bryant and Francine came down to the clan building and got them both times. Cold Clan and Pierce Clan could not stop it because a white peace was signed. There was no longer war against the Researcher faction. It was an established fact our transmission hubs were unassailable. Radioactive Clan had vassals. Pierce also confederated with Volition and another clan. Good for them all too.
