Grounded

For the next two months, Fox McCloud finds himself grounded, and desperate for a paycheck, works with a bio-scientist to become a super soldier, with explosive results. Enjoy!

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The fathomless void of space above the planet Corneria was suddenly alive with the roar of war machines, the falcon-like cries of fighters, and the glaring bright red slashes of laser blast. Arwing formations buzzed around the invasion force; a trio of massive, hulking metal monstrosities that had been dubbed leviathans by Emperor Andross, that belched out entire swarms of fighters. It was a daunting force; the leviathans moved at a steady, implacable pace, and the fighters had such numbers that they could overwhelm Corneria's more advanced arwings.

The arwings were still not out of the fight, not yet; they were piloted by the best flyers in Corneria, the planet's first line of defense. Few arwing teams shone as brightly as Star Fox; team leader Fox McCloud buzzed his comm after tearing through a dozen of Andross' robotic fighters. 

"Falco! Slippy! Status report, you boys still good?"

Fox could hear Falco's haughty scoff over the comm. "Don't worry, McCloud, I'm still here to cover your tail."

"I-I think so, Fox— how many more waves do these guys have?" Slippy tittered.

"Falco, you still got your smart bomb?" Fox asked, scanning the massive broadside of one of the leviathans, a red and dark grey color scheme splashed across it, lined with dozens of battery cannons. 

"Sure thing, Fox."

Fox grinned. "See the cannons on that thing? Their coordination is insane— I think they're being controlled by a central computer. There's a communication array right there on the portside. We knock that out, this thing will be a giant target. I'll cover your left, Slippy, you cover his right— Falco, you've got center lead."

"Copy that, Star Fox leader."

The comm system buzzed, the fourth member of Team Star Fox calling in. "Team Leader, Peppy Hare reporting in, General Pepper's got new orders for us— he's calling all forces back to the main line for a full-scale barrage."

"Copy that, Hare, tell the General we'll be there in just a few minutes."

"Fox, he's telling you to come in now."

Fox smirked. "Well, tell the good general you lost my comm. We'll be in soon." He turned off his inter-planetary channel, then on to his team channel. "Alright boys, we got one shot at this. Falco, Slippy, you ready?"

"Let's do it."

Fox McCloud pushed his accelerator as fast as it could go, and the three arwings screamed across the miles-long hull of the leviathan. Fox and Slippy drew fire from the leviathan's cannons, their arwings G-Diffusers letting them stop and turn on a dime, spinning and weaving out of the way of the laser fire.

"Payload ready to drop!" Falco announced. "Three… two… one… lettin' her rip!" 

Fox watched, holding his breath as he watched Falco's smart bomb arc gracefully, leaving a trail of white-gold refuse, and then hitting the communication array— it was a direct hit. The cannons immediately ceased firing as the tower exploded in a brilliant display of firepower.

"Good job, Lombardi!" Fox cheered. "Look at that, you earned your commission for once."

"Bite me, McCloud— wait. Are they retreating?"

Fox and Slippy watched what Falco was seeing— the leviathans were both slowly turning away from Corneria, the dull hum of their engines a sure sign they were preparing to jump to warp speed. The horde of fighters was also pulling back.

"Typical Andross," Fox quipped. "One thing goes wrong, and he takes his ball and goes home."

The comm systems on all three were overwhelmed as Corneria's defense force exploded with cheers, but one voice cut through it all— the gruff growl of General Pepper. "Team Star Fox, report to Command HQ, immediately."

Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and Slippy Toad were standing ramrod stiff at attention in General Pepper's office. The oldest member of Star Fox team, Peppy Hare, was standing at ease to the side, glancing with a furrowed brow between his teammates and the glowering jowls of General Pepper. The hound in his crisp red uniform looked down his nose at Fox. 

"McCloud, you were given express orders to pull back and join the rest of the fleet for a barrage strike," the general said in an even tone.

"Apologies, sir. Our comm system short-circuited. Might have gotten buzzed by one of Andross' fighters." Fox replied, his tail flicking slightly.

"I'll bet." Pepper scoffed. "I should ground you for insubordination— but that brash display won us valuable time to re-evaluate the Cornerian defense force before Andross comes back." The general sighed as he returned to his desk, saluting the three in a sign for them to stand at ease. "Pity I still have to ground your team."

"What?" Fox's mouth fell open, the rest of his team mirroring his reaction.

"General, we just saved Corneria," Falco shot back. "Respectfully, sir, but what kind of sense does it make to ground us?"

General Pepper held up his hand, silencing the protests. "It's not a punitive action. The problem is, the fact that the communication array was vulnerable was an absolute fluke. Nothing else we threw at those leviathans did anything. Andross pulled them back to address that vulnerability, and then they'll be back. We got out of this through the skin of our teeth, and only because you three got lucky. Andross is going to reassess his strategy, and so are we. I have some of our R & D working on a few new weapons array, but right now, I need a few arwing teams grounded for re-evaluation. The fact is, you boys are too valuable to keep up in the air right now."

Fox grit his teeth, his pointed ears twitching. "How long are we grounded, sir?" he asked in a clipped tone.

"I don't know, Fox." Pepper sighed. "You'll receive orders when we know what we're doing." The general looked over Star Fox, and nodded curtly. "Dismissed."

A few weeks and spent paychecks later, Team Star Fox met up at Dargo's, a bar popular with pilots, guns-for-hire, and bounty hunters of every stripe on the Garrin Space Station, situated in the asteroid belt between Corneria and Fortuna. The four members of Star Fox were drinking their sorrows, courtesy of Fox's tab.

"Well, this is just great. You know, it used to be, when you saved a planet, they at least gave you a medal," Falco muttered darkly, brushing back some of his blue plumage before resting his beak on the table.

"The general's a little too busy with preparing Corneria for another assault to deal with award ceremonies, Lombardi," Hare sighed, his grey fur looking paler than before— the lapine never looking older than when he was out a paycheck.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but what are we going to do?" Slippy asked, the green frog hugging himself out of anxiety.

"We'll figure something out," Fox sighed. "We'd have to end our commission with Corneria… but there's a whole galaxy out there with people who need saving."

Hare frowned. "Are we really going to end our commission right now? What if Andross comes back for Corneria?"

"Maybe the General will be able to wire us our rates up front, then…" Lombardi scoffed.

"Well now, what's this?" a smoky, familiar voice called out, Fox's fur instantly standing on end. "Why is Team Star Fox drinking their sorrows, here?"

Fox turned around, his eyes going wide. Wolf O'Donnell had been Fox's rival for years; the wolf had always been bigger and stronger, but Fox had always counted on his skill and expertise to counter it— but Wolf's strength and size had become a much bigger gulf to breach, now. The ruthless mercenary was now massive, having put on a staggering amount of brawn. His chest jutted out several inches past his muzzle, straining his body armor to the utmost. His sleeves were strung taut over biceps as large as his head, and his leather pants were ready to burst over his thick and strong thighs. Fox's eyes fell on a metal collar clamped around his pillar of a neck, but there was so much of the lupine mercenary, the vulpine's eyes fell elsewhere.

"Wolf? What— what happened to you?" Fox sputtered.

"Yeah, what'd you do, O'Donnell, raid all the steroids out of Corneria?" Falco asked.

"It's the perks of a new job, pup," Wolf smirked, pumping his arm and flexing his swollen bicep. He cocked his head towards the blue avian. "You can unruffle your feathers, Lombardi. I'm not here to start anything. Actually, I came to hire you."

Peppy scoffed. "We're not interested, you old crook."

"Oh, what? Because you got so much going on right now?" Wolf chuckled. "Look, McCloud. Me and the team have a good thing going with a scientist working in a station above Titania, but he's looking for more people— and I thought of you."

Fox narrowed his eyes. "Why? Why would you do anything to help us?"

"Because I've worked for and against a lot of mercenary groups— and while you're not the strongest, the most skilled, or the smartest, you are the most damned determined bunch of spacers I've ever come across." Wolf took a seat, easily shoving Slippy to the side. "So for once, do the smart thing, McCloud."

Fox turned to his teammates. Peppy fervently shook his head, but Falco and Slippy gave him the same questioning look he had.

Wolf rolled his eyes. "The scientist is Cornerian. He's not working with Andross, if that's what you're worried about. He's got a military commission, and he knew your old man— Dr. Felix Valette."

Slippy perked up. "Oh! I know who he is. He's brilliant with bioengineering. The defense force pulled their funding out, though— his projects were way over budget."

"Good to know he's so good with money then," Hare muttered.

Fox sighed, looking to Falco. The avian turned to Wolf. "How much does it pay?"

Wolf slid a tablet across the table, with the payment details listed. Falco's beak fell open as he looked. "Oh, Fox, we have to hear this guy out."

Fox's mouth thinned, and he turned back to Wolf. "I'm going to regret this… tell Dr. Valette we'll see him soon."

Wolf smirked, punching Fox in the arm, making him wince. "Good… might be the first time you haven't been a pain in my tail, pup."

The Great Fox dropped into the coordinates Wolf provided, near a research station orbiting the vast desert world of Titania. 

"I still don't like this," Peppy grumbled, frowning at Star Wolf's dreadnought across the way. "How can we trust Wolf O'Donnell?"

"Don't trust O'Donnell, but let's do trust the Cornerian scientist spending money like water," Falco countered.

Fox held up his hand. "I'll take the shuttle down to the station and talk to him myself— the rest of you stay here, and if there's anything fishy, I'll comm you guys."

Peppy nodded. "Good luck, Fox."

Fox flew to the station, where he was met by a tall, lean lion, dressed in a white lab coat, a datapad in hand. "Ah! As I live and breathe, Fox McCloud." He stepped across the hangar to meet Fox, holding out his hand. "I am Dr. Felix Valette, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thanks, Doc," Fox nodded, accepting the lion's hand. "I have to admit, I was a little leery about this job— usually, people don't hire both Star Fox and Star Wolf."

"I like to think I'm open-minded," Dr. Valette responded. "Wolf O'Donnell is… crass, but he's loyal enough to a well-paying contract."

"I noticed the, uh. Work you did on him," Fox said.

There was a glint in the lion's eye as he gestured for Fox to follow him deeper into his laboratory, a sprawling room filled with high-tech equipment quietly humming and vast arrays of chemical mixtures Fox couldn't begin to wrap his head around. "It's some of my finest work. I have long believed that what Corneria really needs is a stronger infantry and army. The Defense Force is… adequate, if we're only concerned with batting away pirates and mercenaries. But against something like Andross' Empire? We need to respond with something with more punch."

Fox arched his brow. "I don't know about that, I'm just a fighter pilot myself."

"But you could be more, Mr. McCloud. My enhancements to Mr. O'Donnell may not seem immediately useful to a fighter pilot, but consider what you could do with greater endurance and constitution— and if you're ever called in for a job that requires a more hands-on approach, well." The lion spread his hands. "You would be unstoppable."

Fox grinned. "I don't know if it's for me, but I agree, it's impressive work."

Dr. Valette sighed. "Mr. McCloud, please, don't disappoint me now. You're starting to sound like General Pepper."

"General Pepper?" Fox arched his brow.

The lion shook his head. "He didn't see the merits in my projects, and cut my funding. People like Pepper are keeping Corneria back— and people who take initiative suffer." He met Fox's eyes. "I heard about the last battle against Andross' leviathans, by the way. You and your team saved the planet, and your reward? You get your commission terminated."

Fox frowned. "It's… not the first time I've disagreed with the General's assessment."

"It won't be the last, if you're anything like your father," Dr. Valette grinned. 

The vulpine pilot nodded. "So… what is the job, anyways? You need protection out here?"

Dr. Valette blinked. "Apologies, Mr. McCloud, but I thought that was obvious— I'm looking for mercenaries willing to test my methods."

"Oh— I see," Fox's eyes went wide. He was quiet for a moment, and the lion seemed to pick up on his hesitation.

"You may have noticed the collar Mr. O'Donnell wore— that's what does it. It stimulates your body's muscles on a molecular level." He gestured to his lab. "Why don't you try it out for yourself? As a test run. The second you take the collar off, you'll return to normal."

Fox felt the tug of temptation, and then turned to the lion. "Alright. Let's test it out."

Dr. Valette smiled, briefly turning to his equipment and producing a collar, a slim metallic piece with deceptively little to it. "Just fasten this around your neck, and we can begin."

Fox sighed heavily, taking the collar in hand, and then clamping it in place. There were a few tense, pregnant moments of silence, and then, he felt it— a sudden jolt of energy that struck Fox deep into his core. He doubled over, gripping his middle as he felt himself convulse. He was surging, bristling with bounds of energy, all while it felt his insides were being broken down and reshaped. More than that— enlarged. That electric energy coursing through his veins seeped into his muscles, and with galvanizing shocks and waves of energy, it had nowhere to go but up and out.

It began with his chest, his flight suit bursting at the neckline as muscles he didn't even know he had pushed forward like a charging army, shoving his arms to the sides and rising large enough to meet his lower jaw, forcing his fingers apart as he grabbed at them, just to see that they were real. Fox groaned, his head feeling light. His shoulders spread out, and his arms exploded into girthy swells of muscle. He could feel his back spreading, the brawn unfurling like a banner in the wind. He huffed, his chest bouncing as he did. His legs were beginning to shake from the sheer weight of it all, but then he felt the splitting of his pant seams, quads thick and solid as columns and sculpted calves steadying him.

Fox breathed shallowly, his chest rapidly rising up and rippling as he did. The adrenaline-fueled rush made his augmented body tingle as he tensed his muscles, just to watch them bulge larger. His mind was swimming, thoughts hazy. In the moment, all he could think about was reveling over the power he could feel brimming just under his fur.

Dr. Valette watched his handiwork closely, a sharp eye studying Fox. "Well, Mr. McCloud? How do you feel?"

"I… I feel…" Fox huffed, looking to the lion. "I feel great."

"I hoped you would say that," the lion responded, patting Fox's engorged arm. "Because we have a lot of work to do, for the good of Corneria."