Episode 10: Worst First Date Ever

[Noland Hardy]

The college experience during the first semester had its ups and downs for Markus. There were the usual perks that came with it such as: unlikable professors, ridiculous seminar class assignments where he was forced to participate in a Lego challenge with people he didn't know and probably didn't want to know, exams that he sometimes fell asleep studying for, and the astounding popularity that came with being a professional brawler on the New York Revolution that was further boosted by his teaming with Tank against the Spartans. Gargulion was getting more conditioned than he had ever been before; the array of battle tactics and Bakugan species he had been exposed to with his encounters with other pro brawlers during the pre-season gambles improved Gargulion's abilities to the point where people started hyping him up a lot earlier that he should have been as a rookie who was ignorant to the pro scene for the most part. Everything seemed to be normal for Markus...aside from the bullying that was previously mentioned and a certain feeling he could not escape.

What could have been worse than being mistreated in the manner that was portrayed in the past? Sadness, remorse, and guilt were the three elements that beat Markus to the core of his being following the aftermath of his fight against Roxy where he recognized her as the same girl he used to know growing up and had a crush on. Her being a Vestal was a surprise to him, but the idea of her not remembering who he is troubled him. The assumption that she probably wouldn't want to remember anything about him due to the past that Markus refrains from telling anyone about, including Gargulion, made him feel even worse. 

So now there's depression on top of the Brawlergate scandal becoming more annoying with each passing day. Could it get any worse? Certainly. It turns out that the PBL racked up so much money from his and Tank's time waster with Roxy and Niko that they actually gave the Spartans the choice of competing in the league as professionals. Someone must have approved of the idea because they were showing up on Earth constantly. It was not made official who was competing, so no one except for them knew what was going on.

That wasn't the problem for him though. The problem would surface when Markus went back to Maryland on his way to having a friendly scrimmage against the Washington Legion, obviously implying that he intended on battling Tank for practice as scheduled. Oddly enough, Tank had just finished mopping the floor with someone while he was prepping for the practice battle. That someone was Roxy who seemed to hold a grudge against him and Markus for humiliating her on national television. She looked very upset as she walked along the D.C. streets since she was constantly being teased for her apparent weaknesses from the negative buzz she garnered. The bus that the Revolution had taken took a route that allowed Markus to lay eyes on her once more. A spark was seen towards the front of the vehicle that caused the driver to lose control. This resulted in the bus flipping over, which would have injured everyone had it not been for Markus's timely intervention with Gargulion's ability to make the driver and all of the passengers, including himself, immune to physical contact via his shadow conversion ability. Once the technique ended, they were on the sidewalk unscathed and were relieved to find out that no one was hurt by the accident, but it wasn't over.

The spark was caused by a Hurranian that somehow took the trip with them. The confusion gave them the opportunity to transform into a mechanical Belphenoid. Markus attempted to engage it, but was stopped by the police who told him that it was their job to bring them into submission, not his. Not wanting to get in a scuffle with their battle suits, Markus withdrew for the moment. His luck would turn sour once the Hurranian-influenced Belphenoid easily corrupts the technological weapons that were being used against it, thereby turning them against the public. Their brawlers would also become tainted when they made physical contact with the contraptions in an effort to snap them out of it. This grand assimilation startled Roxy greatly to the point where she couldn't move, causing Markus to come to her defense as the police started wasting everyone. The Revolution members had been evacuated except for him, so he was the only one with the prowess to stand against a seemingly superior force to protect who was left, especially the traumatized Roxy who couldn't offer a response to help an outmatched Gargulion fend them off.

(Boss Theme 1)

[Markus Hederick]

"So...you've come back for more then...Belphenoid...?"

As Markus was preparing to get into the fight of his life for a girl who doesn't recognize him, he observed his surroundings. The police officers were slowly turning into robots. That's problem number one. Problem number two, their Bakugan were also being mechanized. Problem number three, the battle suits they were using fell into Hurranian control. This was the biggest concern to Markus aside from anything else, even Roxy in this instance. These power suits looked even deadlier thanks to the Hurranian influence. Of course, the fourth and final problem was that a Belphenoid was alive and among them. What a "wonderful" day to be in D.C.

Neither him or Gargulion knew what the battle suits actually were, what they were called, or what their capabilities were. He only saw their massive size, durable frame, and menacing-looking weapons systems, all aimed at their strongest enemy in the area: him.

"I get the feeling we're outgunned," Gargulion worried, stating the obvious unnecessarily on purpose.

"It would have taken me until the end of my life to figure that one out," Markus sarcastically responded. He cringed as he heard the Belphenoid's robotic laugh. He somehow merged into one of the battle suits that appeared to have barreled blasters mounted to its shoulders and claws that protruded from its feet. The suit became infused with the foul energy they wished never came back. Now was the perfect time to fear.

"I'd be upset if someone killed me too." He prepped his muscles for battle. Shots were then fired - bombs, missiles, blasts, the works.

"There they go." Markus swiped an ability on his BrawlX instantly. "Ability activate! Mirror Shot!" Gargulion's body hardened so his composition becomes akin to that of metallic glass. He took every single hit the enemy threw at him, stabilized them into a more controlled blast, and then sent it towards all of the machines. As he did this, the suits that had long, plated arms stepped in front of the firing line and shielded them all from massive damage. They were successful in having all of them survive the blast without a scratch in their design. On the other hand, Gargulion was left wondering how they did it.

"Um...any other ideas?"

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy was in both shock and fear with what she saw. She couldn't move as she saw the police and thier bakugan turning if you could say that. She knew that it was the thing that worryed the two she served. The Hurranians and least was the fear part and part of the shock. The other part of the shock was that Marcus was protecting her after what she did. "Why? What are you doing?" Roxy managed to say just staring at Marcus confused and shocked aout why he was doing this. After all she hadnt been nice to him so far so why would he protect her. She also remembered what he had said before as well which added more to the confusion. But her though returned to the Hurranians, what they had done to the Bakugan at home. "The pain..... the damage.....all the effots...... thier growing power..." was all Roxy thcould think in her head as she remembered the events that happened. Aquarius was confused about why her Brawler was like this and tried to snap her out of it. "ROXY?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What are you doing?!!!!! WE should be fghting!!!!!!!!!!!!" Aquarius shouted at Roxy who could hear her all lost in thought about god knows what to those around her.

[Markus Hederick]

Markus kept his eyes focused on the battle suits that were wasting everything even when Roxy asked him a question. He did take the time to answer her question, but wasn't as forthcoming with what he really wanted to say until the time was right. "Why I'm fighting for others is less important than why you're not up here with me," Markus responded with a stern look on his face.

"Please. Tell her how you really feel," Gargulion sighed.

The heavily-armored suits that blocked his counterattack stepped out of the way so that their main offensive can continue without interruptions. Fortunately, Markus was not dumb enough to not see what was going on. When their hulks charged towards him, he knew it was time to strike. "Ability activate! Shade Winger!"

Gargulion charged straight towards their line. The moment he got within range of being rammed by them was when he converted his body into a shadow. He phased right through his enemies, then dove straight into the ground to swiftly appear behind them all.

"You're mine! Shrouded Obscurity!" Gargulion conjured a black sphere in his hands and shot it just above their heads to cover their vicinity in a thick black sphere. By being in there, Gargulion was given an aura that enabled him to do whatever he wanted. He gave himself an extended usage of his Shade Winger ability, completely phasing in and out of existence to break as many of the battle suits as he could with his raw power.

The plated ones that he deceived earlier turned around to bombard Gargulion's portable gate card - as he liked to call it now - with powerful shots that could only come from creations born from unimaginable industrialization. The orb eventually shattered apart, but Gargulion managed to destroy a good portion of them within his reach before having his power forcefully taken from him, injuring him a little within the ability's explosion after cancellation.

"Dammit," Markus thought, becoming weary of what his next counter would be as they all lined their shots up to blast Gargulion straight out of the sky.

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy listened to what Marcus said and kept her answer in her head. "Because i have seen them take down those close to me like they were nothing....." Meanwhile Marcus played some cards damaging a good amount of battle suits before his gate was stopped. She then looked at the Bakugan wearing the battle suits and didn't like what she saw. The Hurranians seemed to be repairing the suits which she hated. "No......" Was all Roxy said as an old memory flashed into her mind...... Bakugan surrounded Roxy and her family as thier rose to thier feet, thier wounds and cuts somehow healing like it never happened. The mother was the only parent left by this time and fought the best she could. However those efforts were for nothing as she was defeated.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Roxy shouted nearly crying as she looked at Marcus, reminding her of her mother's defeat. With the painful memory still in her mind she didn't she Marcus, only her mother and feared of what she knew would happen if it was the same scene. "Please........ don't" Roxy said quietly, falling to her knees and closing her eyes to stop the tears that wanted to form. "Roxy....." Aquarius said softly not knowing what to do, She knew very little of Roxy's past only that the Hurranians was the reason Roxy's Parents were gone. All she could do was be beside her and try and protect her even in ball form.

[Markus Hederick]

"Um...what...?"

"Startled" was the feeling that was impossible not to feel before anything else in that exact instance. What would cause her to scream in such a way that depicts her as being crazy? Then there was the feeling of fear, the sense that Gargulion was in danger of being obliterated by the suits. It made Markus tense up a bit inside knowing that she wasn't too far off the mark if he didn't do something quick. He tried not to let Roxy's strange behavior get him killed though.

"Something happen over there? That scream was louder than the explosions that hit me," Gargulion casually asked right when he was about to be obliterated. "By the way...they're trying to kill me. That's what we're screaming about, right?"

Markus swiped two cards on his BrawlX. "Maybe, maybe not," he quickly answered. "Double ability activate! Harvey Storm plus Frame Pulse!" Gargulion's body became infused with tempest-like power that flowed all around him like a treacherous storm that all happened in a flash. The suits were stunned that not even their weighty stature could hold them in perfect position to score a lethal shot on Gargulion after they were all shaken up by the force of the technique. As if it seemed like everyone missed, Gargulion was nowhere to be found; neither his body or shadow existed in plain sight. "Try not to take too long with this one or they'll start blowing us up too," he warned. His instruction was understandable as the absence of Gargulion would mean that humans would be the next target.

This ability didn't go without flaws though since Gargulion's transparency could still be detected by the naked eye, but not all that well. This caused multiple units to go haywire upon the mere thought of Gargulion lurking around them, leading to multiple incidents of friendly fire for their side as they were tricked into testing their armor's integrity using their own weapons. He'd eventually be discovered by the Belphenoid-controlled super suit that they still didn't know the name of yet. It revealed its shoulder-mounted guns and let all hell break loose. It forced Gargulion to break invisibility, but as soon as he did, he swung his arm forward, sending a powerful blast of force in its direction to repel Belphenoid's attack and launch him backwards.

"Look, I don't know what you call yourself doing sitting on your ass while this Belphenoid is controlling these officers, but this crazy persona of yours where you're sitting there shouting random comments while crying has got to go. This is a battlefield where death is welcoming all visitors, not a psychiatrist's office." Markus gave a stern look at Roxy for her apparent refusal to help him in battle. "Get busy fighting, or get busy dying."

[Roxy Grimm]

Aquarius watched as Marcus and his bakugan continued to fight. She also heard what Marcus said at the end and it made her say something to her brawler. "Roxy... I hate to say it to you but he is right..... what ever you're freaking out about has to go. Any bad feelings you may have don't matter cause you should be thinking of survival, if not for them, for US!" Roxy looked up to Aquarius as they said this and began to stop crying. "But-" "But NOTHING! Have you Forgoten our job as a Spartan!" Aquarus shouted into Roxy's ear to make sure the point went in. "O....ok..... Lets Battle!" Roxy said before getting up and wiping away the rest of her tears away. Roxy then grabbed Aquarius and went to throw her so she could help out. "Bakugan Bra-" However she cut herself off when she saw what the Hurranians began to do... They circled all around Marcus's Bakugan which reminded her off one thing.....

Her mother it was how they destroyed her mother they surrounded her after getting rid of her partner and used the same attack at once pointed directly at her.... Roxy had seen all this but was kept quiet by her tears at the time..... She had wanted to run up to her mother and die along with her but knew her mother wouldn't want that. This memory made her hesitate and realise history was repeating it's self with her as the watcher. "What's the hesitation for?!" Aquarius said as she jumped out of Roxy's hand. "It's useless Aquarius! Even if we help history will just repeat it's self of that day in front of my eyes! Only this time we have this thing called Belphenoid that is TOO powerful to stop!" Roxy shouted at her partner begining to freak out again. "Roxy...." Aqaurius said quietly to herself still not sure what about this attack was making her freak out like she was. This wasn't normal to her and wanted to help Roxy but didn't know how.

[Markus Hederick]

Once Gargulion forcefully repelled the Belphenoid-controlled battle suit, the entire pack pounced on him. Their backs were turned, meaning that they should not have been able to see where he was at. That didn't seem to disturb them in the slightest. They must have known where Gargulion was at because when they displayed their unreal reaction time in turning around and letting all of their ammunition loose on him, they knew exactly where to aim instantly. There wasn't a second wasted with the animation. Turn, pull the trigger, rinse - all in what was only one second after Gargulion struck.

"There's something worse than Belphenoid. It's called a Hurranian. Get with the program," Gargulion casually mentioned even though he was about to get wasted.

In fact, it appears that he did. When he was shot, a large boom was heard coming from the impact location, and smoke covered his body or lack thereof. This was a sign that this fight wasn't proceeding in Markus's favor. It made him angry, not just by his own inability to combat Belphenoid effectively, but that there was someone capable of helping him in the vicinity that somehow refuses to fight.

"You know, it seemed impossible to stand against Belphenoid and his Pack before, but we kept at it and won. Your problem is your inability to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You intentionally blind yourself from the factors that can be changed, and that is why things will never change as long as there's people like that in this world and beyond," Markus firmly stated as he swiped a card on his BrawlX. "Ability activate! Subterra Frame!"

A green flash emanated from within the smoke. The sound of a formation being built with stone was heard from within it. It had earned the attention of the suits who did not wish to see any more of Gargulion's tricks, but even they were not quick enough to stop him from initiating the body-changing process. When everything was clear, Gargulion was decked out in a new body...semi-new from a certain standpoint. The transformation actually put him back in his old body - the same one his base and first evolution used. What was different about it this time was the Subterra-gleaming material layered around his body like a suit of armor, giving him a helmet and iron-hard fists around his hands.

"Not even Gladion's puny weapons can take me out of this form," Gargulion gloated very happily when the shots he took from such high-powered weapons had no effect on him. Obviously unhappy with the situation, the Belphenoid had every suit engage him without delay.

"I guess I wouldn't be too far off to think that every battle suit in the Hurranian's control can see what Belphenoid sees. That must be how they adjusted to what I was doing as quick as they did when their backs were turned. With their backs facing me right now..." Markus unveiled an ability that would paint him as a terrible person, but in circumstances like these, he didn't care.

"Just what I was thinking," Gargulion concurred. His eyes glowed purple in anticipation of what was about to happen. While continuing to resist the shots he was taking, he lunged towards the Belphenoid's suit, blocking the latter's view of what was happening in front of them as a result. "Bring her in!"

"If you're too afraid to make this move, then I'll do it for you." He swiped. "Ability activate! Nightmare Fleet!" The same glow in Gargulion's eyes manifested itself onto Aquarius's ball form. Suddenly, the Bakugan was launched into battle without Roxy's consent and forcibly stood behind the battle suits that were shooting Gargulion in the back. "Oops," he played off rather poorly.

[Roxy Grimm]

"Finally!" Aquarius said as she was helped into battle by Marcus. However she then looked at Roxy who seemed to be staring at Gargulion now. "he was-" Roxy began to say before stopping herself with a shake of her head. She then looked at Marcus and walked up to him before slapping the back of his head. "never do that again" Roxy said before getting a card out. "Ability Activate! Water's Edge!" Roxy shouted as she put the card into her gauntlet that she had kept on her left arm. Aquarius smiled as water started to form at the tip of her tail. She waited until Roxy nodded and launched the now large water ball at the battle suits behind Gargulion.

[Markus Hederick]

The resulting hit from Roxy due to Markus's deceptive move made him flinch. He held the spot she smacked for a little bit to cope with the surge of pain. He was extremely close to giving Roxy his verbal retaliation. The only saving graces for her was that he needed her help to begin with, Aquarius's sneak attack did considerable damage to the battle suits' frames, and another reason that he made too obvious for Tank to find out.

"I'll let you get away with that as long as you're not letting us die up here," Markus shamelessly accepted. "By the way...I MIGHT have to rethink what I said about you. It turns out you're not as weak as Tank and I made you look."

"Is that how people talk to their crushes now?" Gargulion asked unannounced as he was going blow for blow with Belphenoid's suit. He was resisting the hits pretty well with his armored enhancement. He was only putting scratches on his enemy, but that will all change with time.

"Aquarius put sizable dents in all of those suits, including the bulkier ones," Markus said, intentionally refusing to acknowledge what Gargulion just said. "That's no easy feat, especially when considering the amount of care that went into constructing these." The officers in control of them were apparently unhappy with the amount of unexpected damage Roxy caused, so they immediately turned their attention to her for retaliation, playing right into Markus's hands.

With the complimenting over, Markus quickly got back to work. "Ability activate! Gaia Gargoyle!" The Subterra power leaked out of Gargulion's armor. It flowed throughout the ground, easily creating cracks that aligned with its travel pattern. Durability was increased to its highest level while active. All of that power condensed into his body to give him high-grade power at a cost; he was now slower than he once was. He didn't need speed to overpower Belphenoid though. All he needed to do was grab onto his suit. The continuous shots at point-blank range didn't seem to deter this tactic. All it did was make it worse for the demon. The explosions caused more harm to his suit than it to Gargulion, and all Gargulion had to lose was the power he put into protecting himself.

Belphenoid's vision was now blocked again, allowing Gargulion to assist with the destruction of the remaining suits attempting to kill Aquarius. Gargulion swung his feet upwards to forcefully to devastate the upper portion of Belphenoid's suit. This gave a clear opening for Belphenoid's head, which Gargulion mercilessly bashed in just for the heck of it. This sent him tumbling down quite forcefully. Before proceeding to finish him off, Gargulion briefly turned around to do Aquarius a solid before the suits shot her.

"Ability activate! Petrify!" Gargulion scattered beams of bright light across the horizon until he struck each individual enemy where there weapons were, immediately depriving them of their usage until they inevitably break free due to the power they hold. Still, the tactical advantage it brings Aquarius in the form of free hits was too good to pass up, especially since they were no longer in sync with Belphenoid. "Think you can do that again, Roxy?" Markus challenged.

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy and Aquarius wacthed as Marcus and his Bakugan attacked and gave them some free target too. "Like i said before, i'm good just don't give me people that hold me back" Roxy said before getting a card out. "Ability Activate! Water's Tide!" Roxy then said putting the same card into her gauntlet knowing what it would do. Aquarius then curlyed thier tail making it glow before flicking it up creating a tide of water to rise and head for the bakugan set before them. Roxy just simply waited to see what would happen and what Marcus would have to say.

[Markus Hederick]

The wave swept all of the battle suits off of their feet. They were carried off with the current, short-circuiting along the way to electrify the water. Gargulion had to abort his approach to the downed Belphenoid to avoid being submerged in the dangerous drink. This maneuver was probably because of the lack of chemistry between himself and Aquarius, and is possibly why she's not a good team player. It did neutralize all of the battle suits except for Belphenoid's though, and his was left highly vulnerable in the water.

"Was that supposed to be that close to hitting me?" Gargulion complained.

Markus didn't want this momentum to be slowed by any more bickering, so he just went with it. "Can't say you're wrong. You're pretty good to come up with something like that, even if it wasn't on purpose," he commended as he swiped two cards. "Double ability activate! Venom Shot plus Touch of Stone!" Gargulion disgustingly coughed up a yellow-green blob of venom and spit it into the water. It was enough to turn the water into the same color, thereby giving it the same poisonous properties that began corroding the suits. Once the conversion was completed, the water began to gradually harden until it was completely replaced with stone, encasing all of the opposing suits that awaited their final destruction. As time started to pass, the stone started to wear down a little, which shows how potent the toxins were in the poison Gargulion excreted. 

"Think you can shatter that stone?" Markus challenged once again.

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy smiled as Marcus liked what she did even if his bakugan didn't like it as much. "What harm can I do to you?" Aquarius said to Marcus bakugan clearly referring to the battle they had before. "Shatter stone hey?” Roxy said before looking at Aquarius who smiled knowing what ability would be next. "Challenge accepted.....Ability Activate! Tides tail!" Roxy said as she got out a card and put it into the gauntlet Aquarius turned so her tail was above the stone before her tail went blue due to water forming around it but kept it's shape. Aquarius waited a little before moving her tail up and striked the stone. She and Roxy waited to she want would happen from the ability. Roxy hoped that the power and force from the ability would work to break the stone.

[Markus Hederick]

Gargulion landed on the ground to inspect the damage that Aquarius made to the stone structure. He saw many visible cracks travel along from the point of impact. It suddenly collapsed from all of the stress it received, leaving all of the ruined battle suits crushed underneath the rocks, including the Belphenoid. Upon further inspection, he noticed that the stone received more stress than initially expected. He could see many scratches along the rubble, meaning that Aquarius's tail did more damage to it than just jabbing it.

"Better you than me..." Gargulion silently admitted to the downed Belphenoid. "'What harm can I do to you?' Please..."

"Uh..." Markus didn't want to admit that an attack like that could threaten him if he ever became careless enough for Gargulion to be hit by it. He stumbled on his words due to a combination of preserving his pride and being nervous around her. He couldn't deny that it was beneficial for Gargulion to not be confined to a single body, because if any of his bodies lost its integrity and is struck by that tail...

"At least we see how she's a Spartan now. She has deceptive strength."

"That ended quickly with you here. You two really are amazing."

"If only it was over..." Gargulion sensed energy amassing in Belphenoid's location, so he didn't really believe that they were done yet. When it became obvious that various electric pulses were converging on top of him, he knew they were in trouble. "Does he always have to get back up?"

(Boss Theme 2)

The first act of business the Hurranians did was reconfigure Belphenoid's body to allow him to walk on two feet, an action that they didn't show they were capable of doing until now. This was done to make him compatible with a stronger battle suit they were making using the destroyed parts of the suits Markus and Roxy destroyed. The fully-armored suit they donned him with came equipped with an intimidating set of wings and four visible barrels on its wingpsan and back. In unison with its fit appearance, his wings made it the fastest machine on all fronts.

"How does something like that even exist?" Belphenoid pointed all of its cannons towards the quartet and shot them. Gargulion quickly interfered by activating, "Solid Wall!" He raised a wall in front of them all to shield them from destruction. He also added the remainder of his Subterra Frame power into the shield to enhance its defensive properties, but it was not enough to prevent it from being destroyed in its entirety. Gargulion's body was also destroyed in the aftermath, so he was forced to reform his evolved body on the fly to stand ready to fight again. Belphenoid took to the skies and was getting ready for a bombing run.

"You still with me, Roxy?" Markus checked.

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy watched as Belphenoid was reconfigured and was given a new suit and looked a bit shocked. "What the?" But before she could continue Belphnoid began to attack with his new suit and Marcus put up a wall. Sadly however the wall broke and Gargulion got hurt so with that, Roxy then got out a card and activated it. "Go Aquaruis! Ability Activate! Scorpian Shoot Down!" Roxy called out as the card was put into her Gauntlet signalling Aquaruis to move. Aquaruis then grew two water like tails along side her normal one and stingers began to be shot out of all 3 of them. Every 3 that were shot simulatinously those same 3 would join together to create a larger and more powerful stinger that traveled faster then before. "Of Course i am" Roxy said in responce to Marcus's question before awaiting for what Belphenoid would do next.