30 Mutant Cleanup (1/2)

The next two weeks quickly went by. Terra finished repairing the wall with large amounts of earth. The city looked like it had a new mountain on its west side due to the earth she piled up.

Ed was sitting alone in his office. On his desk was a small jar filled with his father's ashes. He stared at them silently while tapping his finger on the desk. 'The shock from killing my father was so great it caused my 2nd awakening. Yet, I haven't even cried once since then. When I stare at these ashes all I feel is emptiness. No sorrow, depression, or longing. Just a feeling as if something is missing. I wasn't this cold-hearted before becoming an esper… does awakening have psychological effects as well?'

A knocking sound rang from the door. ”Come in.” He yelled. He grabbed the jar of ashes and put it in one of his desk drawers.

”Hey!” Captain Fang walked in while smiling. ”The mech has finished being built. It took a while since the parts were divided into so many different crates. Follow me.”

The duo headed downstairs and left the base. They went to a nearby warehouse that the HQ had taken over as a temporary workshop. They entered the building and saw the giant mech towering above them.

”Pretty impressive, right?!” Fang questioned.

”Mm.” He nodded in agreement. 'Looks to be about 20 meters tall. So just a bit bigger than the one I saw at the academy. No holes or exhaust pipes. Is it not steam powered?'

”Let me introduce you. We call this model the Standard Flutter V3.”

”Eh? It's just a standard model? How many people use it?” Ed questioned.

”Mm. It is an ordinary model and we have a lot of people using it. But most of them are using the old V2 or V1 models. Don't underestimate it though. This thing is extremely deadly.” He tossed an object towards Ed. ”Here's the instruction manual. Have fun.”

He began to read the manual. The Flutter is a specialized combat mech. It's constructed from a special steel alloy that can withstand strong vibration forces. A gel compound underneath the armor further reduces the vibrations and reduces any physical damage the mech takes. Its primary weapon is a vibro-blade. A long 10-meter blade covered in corrosive dark aura that vibrates frequently to cut through objects.

Ed finished skimming the manual and frowned. 'Doesn't tell me the technical details. Let's just take a look myself. He looked at the giant mech. It was painted completely black with some red tiger stripes on the back. A red fist emblem was on the chest. The towering humanoid mech was a bit plain looking overall, but still intimidating due to the size and colors.

He walked towards the mech. A large platform with a ladder allowed him to climb to the top and enter a hatch within the head. There was no seat in this mech like the previous ones he had seen. Instead it was a mostly empty hatch with two pedals beneath his feet and a handle on the left and right side. A large window made from reinforced glass went 360 degrees around the head, allowing him to see outside.

'Let's see…' He been reading the book again. 'So that's how it works. Far more advanced than Dr. Ardy's work. I bet he'd kill to get his hands on one of these.' He slipped a foot into each of the pedals. Then he grabbed both handles with his hands. He lifted his left foot up and the mech followed suit. He moved his foot forward and stepped down. The mech did the exact same thing.

'I see. So, a 360-degree treadmill keeps me centered after each step or movement. Are the cables attached to the pedals and handles using hydraulics to control the movement?' He moved his right hand holding the handle and the mech copied his actions exactly once again. ”Amazing!!” He couldn't help but to yell aloud. ”I'll have to pull this apart and figure out how it works once Fang leaves. The EU has left us far behind in this field.”

'Next, I'll try the blade.' He moved his right hand back behind him. A large sheath was attached to the back of the mech. He pulled a long black blade from it. 'Looks just like that knife the captain used, but bigger.' He pressed a switch and it began to vibrate while releasing a black corrosive aura. 'Hmm. The black aura is obviously from black mana-powder. The vibration forces… is it a new technology? Or perhaps it makes use of earth or wind mana-powder somehow? As for power… There's no steam. Could it be the lightning mana-powder? I have a hard time believing they managed to find a way to tame it, but anything is possible.'

'Let's see. Other features… It's got the standard wheels all mechs have. Eh? It doesn't have grappling cables. That's surprising. The only other feature is full vibration mode. The whole mech vibrates. It's good for defending against attacks or taking out entire buildings? I'll have to try it somewhere else soon.'

”Figure it out yet?” A voice rang from a mana-radio embedded in the mech's head.

”Eh? Captain Fang? Yes. I've got it all figured out.”

”Good. Get ready then. We're going on a mutant cleanup. We've already cleared the safer part of the city. Now we're heading for the ruins in the west. We'll need the extra support.”

”Understood.” He controlled the mech to leave the warehouse, but he ran into a problem. ”Uhm, Fang… How do we get it out of the warehouse?”

”Huh? It doesn't have a garage to get out?” Fang questioned.

”It does… but it's too small.” He replied.

”Understood. Just destroy the warehouse. It's not important anyways.”

”Alright.” Ed controlled the mech to lift the vibro-blade high in the air. He gripped the handle tightly as he swung down. The warehouse wall didn't provide any resistance. A thick cut was left in the wall. He swung a few more times and a large hole appeared. He easily climbed out of the warehouse.

”Wow!” He yelled in surprise. He slowly turned the mech as he looked in all directions. He towered over the small 1 or 2 story buildings. He was still small compared to the skyscrapers, but he felt like a giant among men.

'Let's see. To activate the wheels, I just need to slam the heels of the feet on the ground?' He lifted his left leg up and slammed down on his heel. Some wheels popped out from the foot. He repeated the step for his right leg. Then he began to run inside the mech. The treadmill kept him in place. The mech rapidly moved forward as if it was using roller blades.

”Heh, this is pretty easy. OH, SHIT!!!” He tripped over a large piece of debris in the road and the mech came crashing down. He held up his right arm to stop the fall, but it ended up crushing straight through the wall of a nearby abandoned building. The mech slowly slid down the wall of the building while widening the hole.

He pulled the arm out and managed to stand back up. He spoke over the radio, ”Hey don't you think this thing should have safety straps or something? That could have killed me!”