Some of Sonic's worst enemies are back and badder than ever! Dr. Starline, Dr. Eggman's former-right hand, has brought together Venjix, Mimic, Rough, Tumble, and Zavok and promised them even more incredible power... if they can stop fighting each other and start fighting badniks to get to it!

As Zavok, Mimic, Venjix, Rough, and Tumble fight off a Badnik horde, Starline was in his truck thinking to himself.

I've assembled quite a motley crew. Mimic. The Exerpt Spy... Tumble... A powerful oaf... Rough... A vicious scoundrel...Venjix... a vessel of power... and Zavok... Leader of the Deadly Six. Everyone one of them thinks we're in this to get revenge on Dr. Eggman but none of them realized they play a bigger part for me to get back in his good graces. In the manner of time, Dr. Starline will be back at the Eggman Empire once again. But first, I might need the advantage to battle the likes of supersonic hedgehogs or magical ponies.

Hours before the raid.

"These are target gentlemen, Power Cores.." Starline explained as showed them on his screen.

"Ha! What're we supposed to do with those? Build a ball pit?" Tumble asked.

"We've been banned from all of them caused we kept knocking the kids out!" Rough exclaimed.

"That's Eggman tech, isn't it? I thought you were going to get me off his radar and not tick him off even more?" Mimic asked.

"We need their power for phase two of the plan. Then you'll be erased from his records," Starline explained.

"What do those cores do?" Venjix asked.

"They're concentrated energy used by a variety of machines in the Eggman Empire. When properly harnessed they amplify the user's physical background. For example, A red power core can double your strength and Zavok's strength."

"Indeed? And how do we harness their power?" Zavok asked.

"Through special adaptors, I will build and supply you with."

"Okay, so what's phase two?"

"Phase two of the plan has us infliritng one of very few EggNet Hubs. It routes data flow within Eggman's network. Once we take command of that, we command all of his information."

"With that kind of access, you make it like I never existed," Mimic wondered.

"Or even get the entire empire to turn on him in an instant," Zavok gave some thought.

"There are fail-safes that would be prone to such acts," Starline replied.

"Are you sure you want to go that far against him?" Venijix asked.

"You can't use half-measures on Eggman, it's either you defeat him or it's game over. We need the cores to give us an edge."

In the present...

As great as this crew is all of them have flaws. Venjix is only doing it for the money and nothing more also likes to play dirty. He must be removed from the equation. Mimic betrayed his entire team to Eggman and is only part of this to make it harder for Eggman to track him. He's too dangerous to let loose after all this. Rough and Tumble were stupid but they were driven by vengeance, making them the type of people to cause problems at the wrong time. It would be a safe option to dispose of them as well. And Zavok is the most dangerous person among them. Giving him any amount of power was a gamble but allowing him to keep it was out of the question.

I had toyed with the idea of keeping some of them around perhaps folding them into my master plan, but no I can't afford it. Once this is done, they need to be disposed of.

"The forward guard has fallen! Tumble! Get them over the Gate!" Zavok ordered him.

Tumble to throw Rough and Mimic over the gate. While the skunk does so, he and Rough annoy Mimic with their showmanship and rhymes. Inside, Rough creates a smoke screen with his stench. Mimic holds his breath and runs through it, avoiding the Egg Pawns. Mimic climbs up to meet an Egg Pawn stationed at one of the building's large searchlights and greets them after he shapeshifts into an Egg Pawn himself. He swiftly destroys it with his gun. After the searchlight fell onto the Egg Pawn stationed at the other one, Mimic destroyed that Egg Pawn as well.

"C'mon already! Rough's over there on his own!" Tumble exclaimed.

"It seems the gate was locked the moment the alarm was sounded," Zavok deduced. "No matter."

He opened the gates with his electromagnetic powers then Tumble and Venjix rushed in while Starline drives forward with the truck.

"Great execution, sir," Starline said.

"These warriors are no Deadly Six, but they were adept," Zavok said as he hopped on. "I'll never understand you and Eggman's over-reliance on machinery."

"Machines are efficient, tireless, and unquestionably loyal. When properly programmed. Traits I thought you'd hold in high regard," Starline replied.

"Strong warriors could do everything a robot could and more."

"Well I could mass produce an army and none of them would disrespect or ignore me."

"He'll never take you back."

"Fine. We're in this for revenge. Remember?"

"More to the point-- You don't need him," Zavok replied making Starline confused. "You have potential, don't just limit yourself by being him, surpass him."

"I hate to ruin the moment, I thought this was supposed to be a quick raid," Venjix reminded them.

"Right, Mimic turned into Sonic and mock the nearest security camera."

"I can get behind that."

While Mimic does so in a warehouse, a large robot dinosaur emerges.

"I'll handle this one."

Zavok tries to control it with his powers but it wasn't working.

"It's EM-shielded!"

"Must be to protect it from the charged air caused by the cores manufacturing," Starline deduced.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking?" Tumble asked.

"Stink Bomber with a Grand Slam?" Rough suggested.

"Works for me!" Tumble grinned.

"Hey, bot! Open wide!"

"Your inside's bout to get jumbled!"

"Special delivery from..."

"Rough and Tumble!"

"Grand Stink Bomber Slam!"

Tumble jumps high into the air and throws Rough straight down into the robot's mouth. Tumble forcibly keeps it closed so that Rough can burst to open its inside with his powerful stench.

"Hate to admit it, that was impressive," Mimic was shocked.

"No time for an encore! Load up as many crates of each core type as you can!" Starline said. "I'll manipulate the footage so Eggman sees what we want to see."

As the others loaded the crates on the truck, Starline deleted footage of them at the base to let Eggman see what they wanted him to see. Shortly after this, Zavok and Tumble punch a circular hole in the main gate to make it look like Sonic used his trademark Spin Dash on it, further incriminating the blue hedgehog. With the job done, the team leaves the premises.

The next day...

Here's the report, boss. It ain't pretty.

"You called this a report?" Eggman asked.

It's all we had on security files. But it was clear that Sonic was behind it.

"Then why have him mock Eggman on his own surveillance?" Cozy Glow asked. "Perhaps Tails was covering his tracks."

"Fox boy is not that sloppy," Eggman told her. "Something else is going on and when I find out who, they're going to pay dearly."

---

Back at his base, while working on a device, Starline thinks on how Zavok has a point, considering no robot could have done what Rough and Tumble did. However, he would not allow himself to rely on anyone again, not in the way the team thinks he relies on them now. This was food for thought once he could move forward with his long-term plan. For now, he has to focus on the present and feels that he is one step closer to his newest invention. Starline zips around the base in a blue aura, flies a long distance across it with a yellow aura, and then lifts up a large box with a red aura.

"With the power of the Tricore, I can contend with self-proclaimed heroes of our two worlds," Starline said.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3-Trust Issues Estimated time remaining: 12 Minutes