Red Meteor Quest Season 2,Episode 10

You slowly make your way to Sally's home. As much as you want to be out helping the others, there's nothing you can do right now. You were already feeling terrible about recent revelations into who you really were, but now, you don't think you're ever going to be out of your rut. Your inability to transform is a serious blow to your self-esteem.

You wonder if Ellen would have any words if she were still alive right now. Your memories of her are flooding back at quite an alarming rate. You knew she'd have some good words to at least cheer you up in what is probably your most trying time (Her death not withstanding).

You finally arrive at Sally's home and riding the elevator up to where she is, you open the door to her usual workplace and greet her.

"Red? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be out helping the others?" she asks with a raised eyebrow

"Sally...I need your help, I can't transform." You say dejectedly

"You can't transform?!"
"Yes, please, help me!"

"I...I don't know what to do but I'll try...maybe there's something wrong with your body?"

"I don't feel sick or anything..."

"Well, it's the best I can do...come on, follow me."

She gets up out of her chair, leading you to another room down the hall simply labeled 'examination room'. Why she has this, you don't know, but you're not going to question it.

"Now I'm gonna put you under, and do a full examination alright?"

"S-sure...you won't do anything will you?"

"Don't worry, it's 100% legal."

You lay down, letting Sally put you under...and then you were asleep. It's then that you see you're in an dark...something. A dark place? You don't know what this is...

"Man, you're such a loser." a voice rings out "You lost your wife and you lost your powers...really, what good are you?"

You look at where the voice is coming from and you see...yourself?

"Who...what are you?"

"Hey there 'Red'...name's Danny. Danny Giles, nice to meet you."

>You can't be me, I'm me
>What's going on?
>I-I'm not a loser!
>Other/Write-in


"You can't be me, I'm me!" you exclaim

"How astitute of you. It doesn't matter what you say, you and I are the same person, and good god you're a damn embarrassment!"

"W-what are you talking about?"

"All you're doing it whining because you lost your powers, and finding out what happened to Ellen."

"You weren't exactly happy either!" you retort

"You're right, but you know what? I at least did something, instead of moping around all day."

"You...uh...we spent months drinking! You lost your job too!"

"Oh shut up, I was in a bad place!"

"So am I!"

"Then man, I must have been really annoying from other people's view."

"What's your point? Why are you saying all this?"

"I'm telling you to get over it. Stop being a whiny bitch. Ellen wouldn't like that, and I'm sure the other girls wouldn't either."

"And how would you know?"

"Because I'm you moron."

>Punch him in the face(1d100)
>Well if you're so smart, why don't you take over?
>Then I guess we're both morons
>Other/Write-in

>Then I guess we're both morons, dumbass.

"Then I guess we're both morons, you dumbass." You spit back at him

"Huh, well aren't you clever. If you're going to be like this, then I guess I can just take this body back on my own."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I mean, I'm technically still 'here' after all. All I have to do is defeat you and lock you away. Don't worry, I'll take real good care of those girls for you! Esepcially that Sadie girl. She's really cute.

You glare at Danny and get ready to take a fighting stance. Sure you can't transform, but you should be able to handle him, as you are now. He's just human after all.

"What...you're gonna fight? Well that's fine too. We always did like a challenge after all."

Danny takes a stance mimicking yours exactly, down to the exact same placement of your feet.

"You really wanna do this? Remember, I'm you after all."

"Then I guess beating myself down is just what I need."

>59

The two of you stand there silently sizing one another up for a moment. Both of you sizing the other up for some sort of weakness, It feels like an eternity before either of you makes a move. Feeling restless you decide to go on the offensive first, hoping to catch Danny off guard.

This is a terrible mistake.

He reads your moves  easily, grabbing you by the arm and driving his shoulder into it.

"AAAAAAAGH!" You scream out as the pain runs throughout your body.

"Come on now, you should know I'm way better than that."

Not letting up, he twists your body around his, grabbing you by the next before tossing you away like a ragdoll.

"Come on Red, you're supposed to be the super hero that all those little girls and boys look up to. What would that Tim kid think if he saw you like this? NO doubt he'd surely be disappointed. But hey, that's no problem, once I get outta here I'll show him what a real hero can be"

You stagger back to your feet, shaking off the pain, You didn't think Danny or well...you would be this much of a smug jackass, and it all it does is make you want to hurt him even more.

>Roll 1d100

>55

This time, Danny does not give you the chance to come at him, instead, he rushes you and delivers several fast blows to your chest before  delivering a kick to your face. You go flying back from the force of it, your face bloody from the strike.

"Man, how did you even survive this long?"

He runs over to you as you struggle to get off the ground, before delivering a kick to your torso, sending you flying back again.

"A weakling like you doesn't deserve that kind of power." He says meancingly

He looms over you, raising his foot before slamming it onto your head

"Why even try to outdo me. I was a normal human and I'm mopping the floor with you, and yet here you are, groveling on the floor. Do us both a favor and just disappear already?"

"I-I won't..."

"What's that?"

"I...I can't lose...the others...the others are waiting!"

"Yeah yeah, they're really waiting for someone like you. Don't delude yourself"

>1d100 once again!

>89

You ignore his words. Powers or not, you'll be damned if you're going to let Danny or anyone else keep you from seeing the Tim or any of the others! You grab Danny's leg and flip him over, the sudden move catching him off guard as he goes flying forward. You pick him up before slamming him to the ground again, and then you pick him up again delivering several quick strikes to his face, as Danny tries his best to block them to no avail.

"Why are you such a dick?! Were we an asshole before we became me?!" You exclaim delivering a powerful punch to his chest which sends him flying back

"They say that kids eventually realise their parents are assholes Red, it's just mine never got the chance to find that out, so somebody needs to know." He gasps out in reply

"What about Ellen?! How would she feel, seeing you like this?"

At that Danny actually gets visibly infuriated. "Don't you dare talk about her! Don't talk like you know everything!"

"But I do know everything, I'm you remember?"

These words only serve to piss him off even more before he starts charging at you, fury clearly on his face.

>Roll 1d100

>41

You soon learn that mentioning Ellen's name was a bad move,as Danny tackles you, hitting your gut like a Rhino as he pushes you back. He delivers several strikes to your head, before slamming you on the ground, gripping your right arm and bending it in a way that you hear a sickening crack from it.

"AAAAAAAAGH!"

Danny doesn't say anything as he  delivers another kick to your face. It's all you can take to roll out of harms way and get some distance between him and yourself. Looking at your arm, it's quite clearly broken, but now is not the time for you to be down a limb, so you do the one thing you can think of from Hyper Hero Force 5 number 456.

You snap your arm back into place.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" You yell out, the pain searing, but it does what it needs to, and your right arm is back in fighting order, or at the very least, it's serviceable  now.

"Persistent, I'll give you that." Danny said walking towards you

"Comes with the hero territory. I thought you'd know."

"Cheeky asshole."

"Look who I learned it from."

>Roll 1d100

>76

You take the fight to Danny, running towards him and ducking under the punch he throws.  You slide between his legs jumping up behind him and delivering a quick kick to his temple, which cause him to fall flat. He hurriedly tries to get to his feet, but you deliver a drop kick right to his jaw, knocking him flat again. Once again, he tries to get up, but you grab him and slam him to the floor.

"Ready to give up yet?"

"Like hell I am, last I checked, you've got more wounds than me." Danny said getting up

He rushes at you again, the two of you trading blows, him hitting you in the face, and you hitting him in the face, aside from that, the two of you don't get any serious blows off on one another.

You manage to trip Danny, making him fall, but he rolls out of the way, narrowly dodging your attack before getting back to his feet to kick you in the chest. You stumble back, before charging at him.

He does the same, charging at you, and the two of you lock into a grapple, your heads inches from one another as the both of you try to outdo one another. It's stalemate and you both resort to headbutting one another, the both of you trying to outdo the other.

"Give up already!" Danny roared

"Go to hell, I'm not giving up at all!"

>Roll 1d100

>81

You mean what you say, you aren't going to give up. You can't transform? So what? If this is what your friends would be stuck with. then there's no way you're letting yourself lose here. Red Meteor or not, you aren't going to let your friends or anyone else suffer this.

You feel yourself getting stronger, you aren't sure how or why, but you can feel more energy coursing throughout your body as you began pushing Danny back, the show of strength. You break free of the grapple and deliver a sickening punch to his gut, you're sure something broke from the hit, but you don't dwell on it as you move in and grab one of his legs wisting it backwards.

"GAAAAAH!"

You don't lose your momentum and as he's laying there on the floor, writing in pain from the attack, you move in to deliver the finishing blow, hoping to put an end to this after all.

"That's enough." comes another voice from out of nowhere. You look around for a moment, seeing no one, then right in front of you is someone you didn't expect to see at all.

"Ellen...?" You say in disbelief "W-what are you doing here?"

"I've always been here silly." She giggled, giving you a chaste peck on the cheek "Thanks Danny, you did great."

"Anytime Honey." Danny said having disappeared from under you and now a little ways off.

"So what do you think?" He asks

"Oh he can handle it, if only for a little while. He'll grow into it eventually."

You are sorely confused

>What are you two talking about
>[Confused Screaming]
>What's going on
>What's 'it'?
>Other/Write-in

>[Confused Screaming]

You don't know how to react to this. First Danny, then Ellen, you don't know what's going on, but all you can do is let out a scream of frustration, It feels like your entire past is catching up to you.

"What the hell is going on?!" You shout

"Shhh, it's okay Red...er...Danny? Ranny? Look, the point is, you're going to be fine...if anything this is my fault."

"Huh...your fault? How?" You ask perplexed

"Well, Xumir saw that you were in a bad spot and well, it took some doing, but he was able to get in touch with me."

"But you're dead...?"

"Thanks for the reminder." She deadpans "My point is, I'm always watching over you Da-er Red. I knew your heart was in complete turmoil and so I wanted to help...but there wasn't really much I could do...save for having you pulled here so you could come face to face with your more negative emotions."

"And that's what he is...?" you say pointing at Danny

"Not exactly. Really, I'm just a manifistation of your time as Danny. Memories you could say, and Ellen got in touch with me. I mean, for all intents and purposes, the real Danny Giles is gone, but some bit of him is still in you."
"So all those things you said...?"

"Just playin' the part, had to rile you up somehow."

"It's just as he said Red. I know the memories of what happened hurt, and that's okay. But never doubt yourself. You're a real hero, the things you've done, and how the people look up to you is proof of that."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. We both do. You have a heart of gold. Speaking of, look at your wrist."

You do as she tells you, looking at it, you see now that the transformer you have is no longer red, but instead gold.

"Wh-what's this?"

"With that, you can become Gold Star. Xurmir said it was a 'gift for when you finally get over yourself. Though he put a restriction on it, he said he'll take it off when he thinks you're really ready."

"I see...um thanks?" you say looking at it "How long does it last?"

"About 30 minutes. Xumir said it was strong, so be careful. Your friends are in trouble, so hurry."

"I will...and one more thing."

"Yes Red?"

"So you said you're always watching over me right?"

"Of course, I love you just as much as I did back then."

"So uh...we me or any of the other girls are uh...'cuddling'...?"

Her face goes bright red before she pushes up her glasses "Okay, and with that I am leaving, go out and save the day!"

Before you can say anything else, you wake up in Sally's place again, none worse for wear.

"Alright Red, I did a few scans and you seem okay. Some mental trauma from what I saw and you're physicially fine but-H-hey what are you doing?!"

You were already up, looking at your wrist.

>Don't worry I'm fine
>Okay, so I just kinda beat my old self up
>I saw my dead wife...
>No time to talk, the others are in danger
>Other/Write-in

>"I saw my dead wife...." while rushing out the door

You don't have any time to waste. The others are in trouble, and looking outside you can already see a big area of destruction. No doubt, that's where they are. At least finding them won't be any problem.

"I saw my dead wife." You state rushing out of the door, leaving Sally dumbfounded

"What?! What do you mean dead wife? You aren't married to any of the girls! And wouldn't that be wives plural?! Red...RED! Man, I hate all this super hero nonsense with a passion."

..."And that's  what happened." You say as you finish recounting everything

"So wait, let me get this straight." Saya starts "You're telling me that you found out your past memories, got so depressed it made you unable to become Red Meteor, you then went to sleep and fought some weird memory version of yourself, nearly lost, and then your dead wife came and spoke to you."

"Yeah, that's about it." you reply taking a swig of soda

"Oh come on, I can't be the only one who doesn't believe that right?"

"I dunno, we fought a guy who can make explosions, a freak who tosses trucks around like it's nothing, Jane is a damn ghost, and I have a girl who makes illusions and creepy hands staying in my house." Helena deadpans "It really sounds less crazier compared to all that."

"So uh...that's a thing. I didn't know you were married Red." Sadie asks "This Ellen girl...what was she like?"

"Oh she was great, I'd think you all would have liked her."

"So...was she cuter than any of us?" Sanja asks and just like that, all the other ladies eyes are on you...

>She's cute, but not as cute as(choose girl)
>Oh look at the time(run)
>Other/Write-in

>She had her charms. Like the rest of you do.

"She had her charms, like the rest of you do." You say taking another swig

"Smooth." Helena chuckles

"Hey, that answer seems way too safe!" Jane explains "That's too perfect, you can't be the perfect. Answer the question properly!"

Jane keeps demanding a 'proper' answer, but the others seem to take the answer well enough. Sanja of all people, blushing the most out of anyone. You happily joke around with Jane, dodging her questions all the while as everyone else enjoys the  generally fun atmosphere.

You know that this is only temporary, but even so, you can worry about danger tomorrow. For the rest of the day, this is all about fun with your friends.

>To Be Continued