E.G.G 2099 Episode 4: Betrayed

AND THERE CAME A DAY, A DARK DAY. A DAY WHERE THE LIVES OF THREE FRIENDS WERE SINGLEHANDEDLY DESTROYED. AFTER THAT DAY, THE DAWN NEVER CAME FOR ACACIA BLANCO. SAD AND ALONE, SHE CHOSE TO HEED THE WORDS OF NICK FURY AND MAKE HER OWN. ON THAT DAY, E.G.G 2099 WAS BORN.

*Editor's note: I don't know what happened guys, I guess Episode 4 didn't post! I'll make sure to double check next time, but hey, now you don't have to wait as long for ep 5!

While Spider-Man 2099 and E.G.G 2099 attempt to locate the Xtractor, Walker Sloan puts Venture and James back together in hopes of stopping them. But the two only drive the wedge deeper as James figures out it was Venture that killed Ally, and doesn't react well. Meanwhile, Team 2099 discover that James stole the Xtractor and is using it to lead them into a trap. They take the bait, but not without E.I.L.E.E.N as backup! A battle breaks out, and E.G.G 2099 nearly makes it out unscathed when suddenly Fumiko is shot and killed! With no other options, E.G.G 2099 retreats, driving Acacia away and into the hands of Venture and James, with a vital secret to their cause: Spider-Man 2099's secret identity.

Click here to read E.G.G 2099 Episode 3: Trapped

Click here for Episode 3 Q&A

-Betrayed-

Miguel O’Hara walked into his apartment on the 252^nd floor of Babylon Towers. He heard shower water running.

“Dana?” He called.

“In the shower, be out in a sec.” She called back.

“Alright hon.” Miguel said, falling onto his bed.

“I hope you got something delicious for dinner!” Dana called. Miguel paused. “I’m starved! I’ve been waiting for this all day!”

“Shock it…” He said to himself. “Lyla, where are you?” In seconds a yellow holographic woman fashioned after Marilyn Munroe appeared in front of him.

“How may help you Miguel?” She asked.

“Shh!” Miguel ordered.

“Dialing down audio… How may I help you Miguel?” She asked again, quietly.

“I need you to whip up a quick dinner, something fancy, and fast!”

“Ms. D’Angelo informed me that you might ask something like this of me and has instructed me not to do it.”

“What? Lyla, you’re my maid! You don’t do what Dana tells you! Now make that dinner!”

“I will not.”

“Why? What did Dana threaten you with?”

“She did not threaten me, she said if I made dinner for you tonight, your head would explode.”

“What? No Lyla, my head won’t explode.”

“She said you would say that.”

“I’m serious!”

“I won’t do it.”

“Lyla!” Suddenly the shower water stopped. “Oh man, I am so reprogramming you! Just leave, I’ll improvise.”

“As you wish. I only do what I do to protect you Miguel.”

“Yeah, I know, thanks Lyla.” Lyla disappeared. Dana emerged from the bathroom in a robe.

“I can’t wait to see what we’re having for…” She looked to see Miguel, leaning against the wall, smiling nervously. She frowned. “Dinner.” She folded her arms.

“Oh Dana,” Miguel said, walking towards her. “I was just thinking that we could skip dinner and get right to dessert!” He picked Dana up and began spinning around the room with her.

“Ah! Stop it Migy!” She laughed. “Put me down!” Miguel sat on the bed and sat Dana on his lap, facing him.

“Sorry babe,” he said. “Work was murder. Literally. I’m just a bit distracted…”

“Aw, baby, what’s wrong?” She asked, rubbing his hair. Miguel sighed. “Well, there are some co-workers of mine… I’m trying to help them with a project that will really make their lives better, but things keep going wrong. One of them was… seriously injured and another one blames me for it. Only one of them has faith in me, I just… I don’t know if it’s worth it.” Dana thought for a bit.

“Well, if you’re sure you’re doing the right thing then of course it is.” She replied. “Your co-worker will get better, and the other one will forgive you. If you know for sure this project will make their lives better…”

“Leaps and bounds better.”

“Well then good, keep at it. That’s one of your best qualities Migy. You never give up.” Miguel smiled.

“Thanks Dana, you’re the best.” He said. He kissed her on the lips. “I love you so much.”

“I love you t-” Dana abruptly stopped midsentence.

“Dana?” Miguel asked. He looked down to see blood seeping through her robe. “No, no, no, NO! Dana!” Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell lifelessly into his arms. “DANAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!” Miguel screamed. Across the way Venture was perched on a rooftop, sniper rifle in hand. He smiled.

“Whoops.” He said. James suddenly shoved him aggressively.

“What the shock was that!” He shouted. “The target is Spider-Man!”

“Girl got in the way last second.” Venture lied, reloading his sniper.

“She had nothing to do with this Venture! You killed her on purpose!” James screamed.

“Don’t matter none.” Venture said, taking aim. “Long as I get the bug.”

“Dana!” Miguel said, shaking her. “Dana, you can’t be dead. Please baby, you can’t be…” He looked to see a red pointer laser on his chest. He hugged Dana and rolled behind the bed, the shot barely missing.

“Dang!” Venture said.

“Maybe if you’d have shot HIM the first time…” James said.

“Listen, that bug’s been a thorn in my side since day one. He needs to know what it’s like to suffer. Either way, he’s a fish in a barrel.” He activated his wrist communicator. “Renegade, you in position?” Just then three Public Eye assault hover crafts flew up to Miguel’s window.

“This is Renegade.” Acacia Wuthrich answered, piloting the assault craft in front. “We got him.” Miguel laid on the floor, behind his bed, stroking Dana’s hair.

“Dana…” he silently whispered. Suddenly he heard a noise. He peeked over his bed to see the hovercrafts. “Shock!” He shouted. He jumped out of the way as all three of them launched a brigade of missiles into his apartment.

“Ahaha! Live through that!” Venture shouted.

“Are you crazy!” James shouted. He watched in horror as flames engulfed Miguel’s apartment. Miguel sat up, coughing in the smoke.

“Lyla!” He called. Lyla appeared in front of him.

“Miguel, what is happening?” She asked.

“We’re under attack. Activate defense protocols.”

“Defense protocols offline, the power is out. It will be ten minutes before the backup generators power up.” Miguel looked to see the door caved in.

“Then find me another way out of here.” He ordered. Acacia smiled.

“That oughta…” She paused. “Wait a minute,” She looked closely. “He’s still alive! Fire again!” Each ship launched two more missiles. The apartment floor began to tilt, and everything started sliding out of the hole in the wall.

“Miguel, I have found an exit!” Lyla exclaimed. “There a doorway to the main hall in the room next door.”

“Good,” He said, sticking to the floor with his adhesive fingers as it tilted. “I need to, wait…” He looked to see Dana’s body sliding out of the building. “NO!” He let go of the floor and slid down.

“Miguel!” Lyla exclaimed as he slid. Dana slid off of the edge, but Miguel caught her in the nick of time.

“I’ve got you hon.” He said. Suddenly he was blinded by the lights of a hovercraft. He squinted his eyes as the cockpit opened, and Acacia stood up with night vision goggles, a bandana over her mouth, and a laser blaster in her hands. His eyes widened.

“Acacia…” He said. She aimed her gun.

“Renegade.” She corrected, as she shot at him. Miguel jumped back to dodge the blast, but let Dana go in the process.

“No!” He shouted, crawling to the edge to see his dead fiancé fall hundreds of stories to the ground below. “Dana!” Lyla appeared behind him.

“Miguel, Ms. D’Angelo is gone.” She said solemnly. “If you are to survive, we must leave now!” Miguel clenched his fist, then began to scale the floor, as it was now completely vertical and falling out of the building.

“Shoot him!” Renegade ordered, as all of the hovercrafts began to fire their machine guns. Miguel crawled, narrowly dodging the bullets. He got to the top as the floor started to fall.

“Where’s that exit Lyla!” He asked.

“Through that wall ahead!” She replied. Miguel looked to see a breach between him and the wall.

“Excellent.” He said. The floor tilted and fell out of the building. Miguel pulled himself up and thrust himself shoulder first through the wall. An elderly couple screamed as he rolled in.

“O’Hara!” The old man said. “What the shock is going on!”

“The building is under attack, you two need to get out of here, now!” He shouted, shoving them towards the door. He opened it to find the hallway had caught fire. “Run, I’m right behind you!” He said. The couple ran around the corner, when suddenly Miguel heard gunfire and screaming. “Shock!” He said, getting against the wall. A group of Public Eye Patrol rounded the corner.

“Did you get him?” He heard Renegade ask on their comms.

“Negative, just some old people.” The commander replied. “But hey, they lived a full life, right?” He and his men chuckled. Miguel clenched his fist in anger.

“Well spread out and find him!” Renegade demanded. “I want his head.”

“Lyla,” Miguel whispered. “How long for those backup generators?”

“Five minutes.” She answered.

“Okay, upload to my wrist control. Five minutes is all I need.” Miguel rounded the corner and, using his organic webbing, shot a web ball at one of the Public Eye soldiers. It nailed him and encased him in a web trap. He screamed and fell to the ground.

“There’s the freaker!” The commander shouted. “Get him!” They open fire as Miguel took cover. He blasted at them with web balls, taking them out of the fight one by one.

“Miguel.” Lyla said. “This portion of the building is becoming increasingly unstable.”

“Fine, time to take the high ground.” He said, leaping to the ceiling. The Public Eye moved under him, searching.

“Where is he?” One asked.

“Up here.” Miguel said. They looked at the ceiling.

“Shoot…” The commander began, but then heard the floor crack under them. “…him?” The floor shattered and they all fell into the fire. Miguel crawled on the ceiling into a room and made his way to the window.

“It’s time to get out of here.” He said. Suddenly Renegade’s hovercraft flew down in front of it and launched a missile inside. “Oh geez!” Miguel shouted, jumping off the wall and falling a few stories down before crashing into a dresser.

“It’s no use trying to escape!” Renegade called through her PA. “The building is surrounded!”

“When I get my hands on her, I’m gonna kill her.” Miguel groaned, getting up. On the other roof, James watched as people fled the building, running for their lives.

“All this for one guy?” He said.

“Gotta get the job done,” Venture replied. “Whatever the cost.”

“This is wrong Venture!” James shouted, putting his helmet on. “You’re endangering too many innocent people. I’m going to save lives.” He took off on his jet pack towards the building. Venture shrugged.

“Suit yourself.” He said. Meanwhile, Miguel was still pushing his way through rubble and debris.

“Backup generators are operational.” Lyla said. “Defense systems back online.”

“Yep, everything’s gonna be fine. Lyla, activate the stun turrets and get everyone the shock out of my way.”

“Right away.” Lyla replied, as a series of guns folded out of the walls and ceilings and began to fire stun blasts at any and all Public Eye. Miguel rushed out and started shooting web balls at the soldiers. One by one they fell as Miguel made his way down the halls. He kicked a door open and entered into a stairway.

“I’m gonna jump.” He said.

“Ill advised!” Lyla objected.

“I’m over 200 stories high. The quickest way between two points is a straight line. It’s the only way!” Miguel jumped off of the stairs and began free falling to the bottom. The walls blew out around him. He swerved and dodged pieces of building and debris. “This is insane!” He shouted, as he finally reached the bottom. He kicked the door open into the main lobby, where he saw James attempting to lift a piece of metal off of a little boy. He rushed over and grabbed the other end.

“On three.” He said. James nodded without even looking at him.

“1, 2, 3!” They both lifted and the boy crawled out. “Thanks for…” James looked to see no one there. “the help…” He picked up the boy and began herding people out. “Go, go, go!” He ordered, moving everyone towards the doors. Across the way Miguel stood on the roof of a building and watched as the massive Babylon Towers came crashing down.

“What do we do now Miguel?” Lyla asked. Miguel sighed.

“We fix this.” He said, web slinging away.

“We blew up the entire shocking building!” Acacia screamed into the face of the commanding Public Eye officer in his office. James was sitting in the corner of the room, silently.

“Yes ma’am, I know…” He said.

“So how the shock is he still alive!” She screamed, pointing to a surveillance video of Miguel leaving the building.

“With all due respect, he is Spider-Man.”

“You had everything you needed.” Venture said, coming out of the shadows.

“I know sir, but…”

“I don’t take excuses.” He said, pulling out a gun. “And incompetence must be dealt with. Renegade, you wanna do the honors?” He asked, handing it to her. James sat up.

“With pleasure.” Acacia said, taking the gun.

“No, don’t!” James shouted, but in vain as Acacia shot the man and killed him. James slowly sat back down.

“How’d that feel?” Venture asked, taking his gun back.

“Great.” Acacia replied, smiling. “I had no idea how fun it was to kill people.” James gritted his teeth together. “It’s so easy too.”

“I find it to be an effective problem solver.” Venture said.

“I know right!” Acacia replied. “Anytime somebody pisses me off, bang! They’re dead!” Venture laughed.

“I like this girl.” He looked at James. “Ain’t she somethin’ Collins?”

“You’re both murderers.” He said, getting up and leaving.

“Aw don’t mind him.” Venture said, putting his arm around Acacia. “You and me, we’ll get Spider-Man together. Soon as his tracking beacon comes back online. Don’t know where he keeps goin’ that jams our signal, but…” He looked at Acacia. “Do you?” She swallowed.

“No, I don’t.” She said. “Must be a secret base or something.” Venture shrugged.

“Either way, we got his girl, so he’ll be off his game.” He popped the sharp end out of his staff. “Then we got him.”

The elevator in E.G.G Base opened and Miguel walked out. He saw Charlie with a lab coat and goggles, working on E.I.L.E.E.N. Her hologram was going fuzzy every few seconds, as Charlie poked around inside of her helmet.

“You can grab a seat O’Hara,” He said without looking up. “Just… trying to fix up E.I.L.E.E.N…”

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Miguel asked, falling into a chair, exhausted.

“Well, sotra. Agh, Fumiko normally did this. She and E.I.L.E.E.N were pretty close.”

“Can’t you just upload her to the base and get a new set of armor for her?”

“Under normal circumstances, yes, but whatever that James guy did messed with her programming. I don’t want to risk leaking a virus into E.G.G Base.”

“Right…”

“Hey, did you hear what happened?” Charlie asked, sitting up from his work and taking off his goggles.

“Hear what happened with what?” Miguel asked.

“Volume, up.” Charlie said, as the holographic screen in the corner of the room got louder.

“Continuing coverage of the attack on the Babylon Towers.” A reporter said. “The Alchemax search and recovery team is still finding survivors, but there are already many reported causalities. Some say the Public Eye Patrol is responsible for the attack. Witnesses claim…”

“Mute.” Charlie said, as the screen obeyed. “Why do you think the Public Eye attacked the Babylon Towers? Is Alchemax up to anything you know about?” Miguel sighed.

“No, they attacked because of me.” He answered.

“What?”

“That’s where I live. They were after me. They blew up the whole shocking building and… and they killed my fiancé. Just to get to me.” Miguel buried his head in his hands. Charlie’s eyes widened.

“O’Hara, I… Are you okay?” Miguel exhaled.

“The sooner I get back to the past and fix this mess the sooner this nightmare will be over.”

“Right.” Charlie turned back and continued to work. “Man, how did they figure out who you were?” Miguel paused. Then he took a deep breath.

“Because Acacia’s with them.” Charlie stopped. He turned to Miguel.

“What?”

“She’s joined Venture and James, she’s calling herself Renegade now… she betrayed us Charlie.” Charlie looked down, devastated.

“I knew she was upset, but this… this is…” He turned back and continued to work. “All we can do is focus on the mission. You’ve time travelled before, right?”

“Yes, I have.” Miguel replied. “Actually, the first time I did it was to save the world from you.”

“Me?” Charlie asked, looking at him.

“Yep. I went back in time and met with E.G.G for the first time, Josh, Eileen and Acacia. I helped them stop you from destroying the world”

“How did I endanger the entire world?”

“In the past, Walker Sloan had travelled back in time to purchase the Cosmic Gauntlet from a rat in E.G.G. Which means you guys didn’t have it.”

“The Cosmic Gauntlet?” Charlie said, looking towards it sitting on a shelf, collecting dust. “That thing right there?”

“Well, yeah, I stopped the transaction. But before that, Walker had it in his possession and made a deal with you to merge E.G.G and Alchemax in exchange for the gauntlet.”

“What? I would never join Alchemax, why would I need it that badly?”

“Sloan went back and bought it the day after Jerome, Celeste, and Seth disappeared. He convinced you it had the same capabilities as the Infinity Gauntlet, and you were certain you could use it to find them and bring them back.”

“So what went wrong?”

“I’m not sure, but you did something wrong because you ended up splitting the planet into four pieces and putting us on a crash course with the sun.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah.”

“So you went back in time and stopped the transaction? Huh, should’ve nabbed Sloan while you were at it.”

“I did.”

“What? Then how did he escape?”

“I had to let him go. At risk of him discovering my identity. I guess that doesn’t matter now, but then…”

“How would he have discovered your identity?”

“I, uh… I gave Josh my mask before I went back through the portal. I forgot I had already tossed Sloan through. When I got in he was struggling to get out of my web, and I had no mask. So I just swung away.”

“Wow.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Suddenly E.I.L.E.E.N beeped and her hologram stopped flashing. She sat up.

“Where am I?” She asked.

“Back at E.G.G Base.” Charlie said. “You’re safe.”

“Oh,” She looked around. “Where are Acacia and Fumiko?”

“They um, went on a little mission together.” Charlie answered, looking away.

“Lack of eye contact, increase in heart rate, fluctuation in voice, you are lying. Where are Acacia and Fumiko?” Miguel looked away. Charlie sighed.

“E.I.L.E.E.N, Acacia has joined the bad guys,” he said. “And Fumiko… Fumiko is dead. She was killed in action.” E.I.L.E.E.N looked up.

“No, there must be an error, it is not…”

“I’m sorry E.I.L.E.E.N.” Charlie grabbed her shoulder. “It’s hard on all of us.” E.I.L.E.E.N looked down.

“This… this is the emotion sadness.” She said. “It is… undesirable. There is no viable way to destroy it. Shutting down to prevent further application.”

“What?” Charlie asked. “E.I.L.E.E.N, no!”

“Goodbye Charlieeeeeeeeeee.” Were E.I.L.E.E.N’s last words as she shut herself down.

“No! E.I.L.E.E.N!” Her hologram disappeared and all that was left was an empty shell. Charlie sighed. “I guess with no Fumiko there’s no E.I.L.E.E.N either. How the shock are the two of us gonna take on Venture, James, and Acacia?” Miguel thought for a bit.

“Charlie, if it’s okay with you, I could upload my AI, Lyla, into E.G.G’s operating systems. That way we have a stand in for E.I.L.E.E.N.” Charlie nodded.

“Something’s better than nothing.” Miguel tapped his wrist.

“Lyla, upload into Extremely Gifted Guardian mainframe.”

“Warning,” Lyla replied. “There are security measures preventing my upload.”

“E.G.G override protocol 117, password: apple pie.” Miguel said.

“Security measures surpassed. Uploading now.”

“Wha… but… how did you…” Charlie stuttered. Miguel laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“You father had the exact same reaction when I did that.” He replied. Charlie smiled.

“I guess I am just like him.” Soon Lyla’s hologram appeared inside of E.I.L.E.E.N’s armor.

“How do I look Miguel?” She asked, standing up.

“You look great Lyla.” He replied. “Now,” He took out a remote and pressed a button. A metal case on the wall opened, revealing his Spider-Man 2099 suit. “Let’s go save the world.”

Acacia sat sharpening a knife when James entered the room. She smiled.

“Hey,” she said. James rolled his eyes and grabbed his gun.

“Spider-Man’s signal is back online, get ready to head out.” He said. Acacia sighed she walked over and put her arms around him.

“Come on, why are you so down on me?” She asked. “I thought all you bounty hunter types were killers.” James aggressively pushed her off.

“How do you think your parents would feel about this, huh?” He asked. Acacia frowned. “Yeah, that’s right, I looked you up. Seth and Celeste Wuthrich. They and Jerome Daniels were the Heroes of Tomorrow, some of the greatest heroes that ever lived. Now your sister is gone, and you carry on their legacy like this?” He grabbed his jet pack. “Way to waste your life.” Acacia slapped him across the face.

“Don’t you dare begin to judge me!” She screamed, tears in her eyes. “You have no idea what I’ve lost!” She pulled her bandana over her mouth and stormed out of the room. James sighed.

“If she only knew…” He said.

“Collins.” He turned to see Venture. “You and Renegade ready?”

“Yeah, we’re ready.” James replied.

“Good. Now, let’s try this one more time.” Venture took out his staff. “My way.”

To Be Continued…

Alright, remember guys to leave your questions and comments so that I can answer them in the Q&A on July 16, and then tune in the next day, July 17, for E.G.G 2099 Episode 5: Concluded! And don't forget to check out Marvel's Ant-Man, in theaters that day!