Rex realizes that perhaps he was wrong about his friends abandoning him in favor of life on Systar, so he decides to do some investigating.
What he finds out may be even worse than what he originally believed.
Mayhem watched, impressed, as Benny and Bad Cop threw together a sturdy-looking starship in roughly a minute. Learning how to Master Build was still something of a work in progress on Systar, so to see two actual Masters at work was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
However, there was one minor problem that needed to be addressed.
"You don't have a space suit," she said to Bad Cop. He gave her a startled look at her abrupt announcement.
"We need one?" he questioned. "Last we checked, your 'outer space' had atmosphere and we could breathe out there."
Mayhem tilted her head at the 'we' bit, but didn't question it. "You won't need it to breathe, no, but you might find it useful for maneuvering out there." She gave him an amused smile. "The wings aren't just for show, you know. These suits are flight-capable."
"...Right," Bad Cop agreed. "Sounds good."
"Come on, we've got several spare suits yet. One of them should fit you." She motioned for him to follow and left Benny in the hangar to put their new ship through its startup sequence. Bad Cop followed without a word, pausing only once they reached the armory. She approached the spare suits, much like her own in design but plain white. "It's a good thing you're about as tall as us, otherwise you'd be out of luck." She pulled one out, slightly shorter than the others. "This one should fit. Once you put the helmet on it will adjust to your build, and then this suit will be yours to keep- it won't fit anyone else." Bad Cop nodded and accepted it, and Mayhem looked away as he stripped down to boxers and t-shirt before putting it on.
"...This is surprisingly comfortable," he remarked before putting the helmet on.
Mayhem laughed. "Yeah, that's kind of why I wear mine so much. Sometimes I'll even forget I have it on and go to bed still wearing the body suit." That pulled an amused snort from her companion. She watched to make sure he had the helmet on right-
-and her jaw dropped when it beeped and the mesh of his suit changed, pitch black bleeding through most of it, and leaving the strangest markings in white and silver. Part of her shock stemmed from the fact that the chameleon mesh technology had worked on someone not of Systarian origin, but mostly from the markings she couldn't make sense of. They looked more organic, compared to the rather technical nature of her and her scouts' markings, but it looked like he was someone of very high rank on his homeworld, from what she could guess. The massive double-pair of wings that sprouted from the suit's back, reminiscent of dragonfly wings, only further proved her assumption, even if she found the red glow of the glass to be somewhat intimidating. She cleared her throat. "If you're ready...?"
"As ready as we'll get," Bad Cop agreed, then tilted his head. "This helmet doesn't have a voice modifier?"
Mayhem blushed. "Ah... No, that doesn't come standard, I just had one put in mine so I could... you know, seem tough like you all..." They left the armory and returned to the hangar to find Batman waiting there for them. He was decked out in his own suit of Systarian armor fit for a king- likely Watevra's doing. "Your Majesty," Mayhem greeted him. "...What are you doing here?"
Bruce rolled his eyes. "My people are out there too. I wouldn't be much of a hero if I left others to do all the rescue work, would I?"
"Which is Bruce-speak for 'I'm a glory hog and can't stand not to get at least some credit'," Benny snickered. Bruce huffed at him. "But hey, the more the merrier!" He turned to Bad Cop. "You ready to- whoa." He looked the officer up and down, and whistled in appreciation. "Dang, man, that really suits you."
"Ah- thank you?" Bad Cop replied, somewhat embarrassed.
"You're welcome! Now let's get moving, I've got a spaceship to fly!"
"After you, Your Majesty," Bad Cop said dryly, gesturing for Bruce to go first.
"I don't think I like your tone, Bad Cop," the super hero grunted at him, but boarded the ship anyway. Bad Cop followed him.
"'That tone' is the only way you're ever going to hear those two words coming from me, Bruce, so you better get used to it."
"And stop calling me Bruce!"
Mayhem rolled her eyes at their bickering. She'd have to find out what sort of history the two of them shared. She watched long enough to make sure Benny's ship made it safely out of the hangar before running off to retrieve her own. They had to hurry before Rex decided to sic his raptors on the survivors.
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It was easy to see Rex's dark mood as he boarded the Rexcelsior, even before he removed his helmet. His raptors kept their distance, chittering quiet concern amongst themselves.
His Master Breaker punch hadn't caused Armomageddon. Not that he'd really been expecting it to- there was a reason he'd needed Emmet to do it, after all. His younger broth- he shook his head tersely and corrected himself- his past self felt things so much more strongly than Rex could. Oh, he had hatred and anger in endless supply, but to start Armomageddon, sheer rage wasn't nearly enough.
But it had bought him some time, destroying the Temple and damaging several of Systar's inhabited moons. Now he just needed to figure out how to finish the job.
"What's our next move, sir?" Ripley chirred at him.
"Rev her up, Ripley. She was built to be a battering ram, it's about time she lived up to that purpose. Set course for Suburbia."
"Yes sir!" She turned to bark orders at the rest of the crew. "You heard the boss! We're running full steam ahead for Suburbia!"
Satisfied that the crew had things well in hand, Rex turned his attention toward the window, giving the solar system ahead of them a dark glower. If he truly was being retconned into his own separate entity, then he no longer had to worry about preserving his own existence and could go on an all-out offensive.
But some part of him hesitated. Even after remembering everything Rex had done, even after initially being suspicious and angry at him for it, Emmet had still forgiven him. Emmet had still been willing to call Rex his friend, his brother. To hear him introduce Rex as such to the former president with pride...
It ached.
He clenched his fists.
Emmet showed such faith in him even now, after everything, and here Rex was about to betray that faith again.
No! He had to focus. He'd come here with a goal in mind, he couldn't back down now. He needed to make the Systarians pay for everything they'd taken from him.
