RISING PHOENIX ACT SELECT

CHAPTER 17: OHM'S LAW

Marco rapidly got up from his chair and shoved it towards Celsius and Fahrenheit as hard as he could, knocking them both back a few feet. Voltage strafed past the chair and took a swing at Marco with her taser - missing him by an inch. He kicked the table towards her, which she managed to partially catch. Before he kicked it, he took the cup of water off the table - he poured its contents on the floor in front of Celsius and Fahrenheit, which caused the two to slip.

Voltage took another couple of swings, barely missing Marco both times. Fahrenheit got up and kicked Marco with the metal plate on his shin, sending him falling back on the red office chair Obsidian sat on previously. He spun a few times before holding out his foot and stopping his momentum with the blue cubicle wall at the back of the 4F Audi. He swiftly kicked as hard as he could, which sent him flying past the three of them. Voltage tried to poke him with her taser, but he was going too fast. Celsius, however, managed to get a good hit on Marco’s face with his forearm plates.

This caused Marco to lean back in pain, and combined with rolling over the water he previously spilled, the office chair fell backwards. Marco hurriedly rolled off the dry side of the chair and ran through the divider as fast as he could. Voltage, Celsius, and Fahrenheit followed him, with Voltage staying slightly behind to recalibrate her taser. Marco turned back and saw Celsius and Fahrenheit coming straight for him from the left and the right. He kicked Fahrenheit in the chest and blocked Celsius from hitting him in the face again. He shoved him away just as Fahrenheit got up, who took a hard swing at Marco’s shins, which Marco got out of the way of in time.

Fahrenheit aimed for Marco’s legs again, hitting his knee and making it buckle. This made Marco kneel to the floor right as Celsius tried to hit him in the face again. Marco used the time on his knees to elbow Celsius in the side and backwards-headbutt Fahrenheit in the stomach. They both fell backwards before quickly rushing Marco once more, with Voltage finally joining back in. Marco lifted his leg before Fahrenheit could hit it, while Voltage tried to tase him again. He caught it by the non-electric rod part and dragged it towards Celsius, but he blocked it with his arm plates. Celsius pushed the taser back, but in the process swung it at Fahrenheit, electrocuting his hand. At this point, Marco was backed up into a long table that was left out in the open.

Celsius quickly grabbed Marco’s left hand with both of his, with Fahrenheit following suit and grabbing Marco’s right hand with all his strength. They pinned him down on the table while Fahrenheit hit him hard on the shins, causing him to fall on it. Voltage held the taser in front of her face with glee before poking Marco with it, electrocuting him for several agonizing seconds.
“AHHHH…!!” he yelled out as he writhed in pain.

Voltage took out the taser while Celsius and Fahrenheit continued to pin him down on the table. As she tried to tase him again, Marco jerked to the right as hard as he could, making the taser miss him by centimeters. Marco kicked himself upwards with his right foot and used the other to kick Voltage backwards. Fahrenheit’s electrocuted hand got to him and he let go of Marco’s right hand, which he used to deck Celsius in the face. Marco kicked Fahrenheit away and fell forwards to the ground, attempting to pick up the taser that Voltage dropped just then. They grabbed at it at the same time and tugged as hard as they could, but Voltage started to get the upper hand. But suddenly, they all heard the door burst open.

It was Brianna. She ran towards Voltage and tackled her to the ground while Celsius and Fahrenheit stared in bewilderment. Marco felt two emotions at once - happy that Brianna saved him, and incredibly surprised that she was even there in the first place. Brianna quickly got off Voltage and looked at Marco with a furious expression.
“Brianna…?!” Marco yelled out.
Before she could respond, she made her way through the divider, with Celsius and Fahrenheit targeting her instead. The divider slammed shut as Voltage slowly got back up, staring at Marco with pure anger behind her eyes.

Marco got back up on his feet, still recovering from being tased a few seconds ago. It was now just them - one on one. Voltage ran towards Marco and held out her taser, which Marco got out of the way of just in time. As she whizzed right by him, he noticed that the end of the taser was much brighter than before. Voltage turned back around and took a swing, which Marco dodged by bending over backwards harder than he’d ever done his whole life. As her swing missed, Marco ran over to the table, with Voltage running right behind him. As he ran, he heard the divider slam, indicating that Brianna was still fighting Celsius and Fahrenheit on the other side. He rolled over the table and fell behind it, which caught Voltage off-guard. She knelt down and tried to tase him under the table, only to find him palms out, ready to grab her taser once more.

He caught it and pulled as hard as he could, with Voltage giving equal resistance. As they tugged, Marco stood up, which Voltage also did. He quickly freed his right hand and used it to push the table backwards, catching Voltage off-guard once more. As he pushed, the table began to fall over, all while they were still pulling on the taser. Soon, the table’s center of mass had gone too far and it fell onto the floor. With both of them still holding on, the taser remained under the table - and when it fell, it got crushed in half. Voltage fell backwards, holding one half of the broken taser in her hand. Marco tossed his broken half at Voltage before dusting his hands off, with her clutching the broken pieces angrily. She opened the divider and signaled for Celsius and Fahrenheit to retreat with her, and all three escaped the 4F Audi through the back door. The fight was finally over.

Marco leaned on the tipped table and panted heavily, trying to catch his breath. Looking up, he saw the divider open and Brianna crawl on the floor with a red mark on her face. She gripped the divider edge, using it to get back up on her feet.
“What are you doing here…?” Marco asked her before slumping over the table.
“I got worried…” she explained as she managed to stand up fully.
“I had a feeling that you’d be in trouble again…so I made my way here to back you up. Na-late ako, pasensya na…”
“You…didn’t have to do that,” Marco told her.
“But I was right. Look what you got yourself into!” Brianna said to him in a concerned tone.

“You cannot keep doing this, Marco!” she told him sternly.
“But I just learned a lot about them…and I got the key to their eventual defeat…literally,” Marco said as he pulled out the rusty key Obsidian gave him. Brianna looked at it curiously for a while, but got back to talking to Marco.
“Marco…I think you’re getting obsessed,” Brianna explained.
“Tigilan mo na ‘to, Marco.”
“Bri, don’t you understand?!” Marco told her.
“I’m finally getting somewhere again! If I find Ramone’s address, I’ll find the drive and end the Rising Phoenix! I have to keep going!”
Brianna took a deep sigh.
“You know what? Keep going. But don’t expect me to jump in the hole you dug for yourself,” she said as she walked towards the front door of the 4F Audi.

“Wait…” Marco called out as he stood up.
“I forgot to bring more money to commute back home. Do you have any…?” Marco asked her. Brianna sighed and reached into her wallet, giving Marco a crumpled up 100 peso bill.
“Pay me back next week…” she said as she walked off, heading to Gate 1.
Marco put the bill in his pocket and stared out the nearest window, contemplating what he would do next.

Whatever this S.P.E.C.T.R.E. program was, he was now on the path to putting a stop to it, and by extension, the Rising Phoenix.

All he had to do now was find Ramone.